Taming Chaos // J.M // The 100

Chapter 60

"Has anyone seen Murphy?" 

It's been a whole nine hours since he'd begrudgingly left Murphy to finish his work detail.

Ethan's searched the entire station and the only answers he seems to squeeze out of people are confused and questioning looks.

He ducks under the circular door to head outside, right into the rain that's been pouring since yesterday.

The first thing he notices is Indra.

She's barking orders to her warriors, sweeping her arms out as they head towards the open gates. Something about hunting for food.

Ethan's eyes lock briefly on his mother, rushing back and forth between a suspicious group of people on the opposite side of camp.

He frowns.

There's a sudden round of cheers.

Ethan pulls his curious gaze away to instead see Octavia, armed with a sword, stuck in a ring of spirited grounders.

Thing is, she's not being forced into this cheering circle.

She's fighting voluntarily.

When Octavia hits the ground, gasping for air, Ethan's heart skips a beat. He walks faster, almost jogging.

"Hey, you gonna give up that easily?" Octavia breathes out, twisting onto her knees.

Indra glares, "If she wants more, oblige her!"

Octavia carries a good swing, but the unknown grounder delivers a sharp elbow to her nose seconds after, blood exploding down her chin.

"Yikes." Ethan winces, trying to peek over the crowd.

She forces herself to stand and she fights hard. Octavia isn't giving up. Ethan admires her for that, but he's also immensely worried about how far the grounders will go.

Octavia rolls, head slamming into the earth. He jerks forward, "O!" Instinct has him pushing through grounders and guards to get to the front, eyes wide. But an arm pulls him back, clutching at his shoulders. He tenses, ready to send his boot backwards into a knee, but it ends up just being Harley, blue eyes telling him to let Octavia do this. And Ethan knows, but it isn't easy to watch. 

He settles down, watching with rapt attention. The words Octavia taught him itching at the forefront of his mind.

"Ge smak daun, gyon op nodotaim." Ethan whispers. 

Get knocked down, get back up. 

Octavia resonates with it to the very core and he can see it even now when the audience assume she's down for the count. 

She isn't.

Bloods seeping steadily from a cut on her forehead, pouring from her nose and down her lips.

Indra's not frowning, for once.

Octavia throws her fist. Ethan winces as soon as the grounder catches it in his hand, twisting it until she's crying out in pain.

She springs back like a cat, and spits the blood gathered in her mouth directly into the man's smug face. 

Octavia smirks, even though she's knocked back down within seconds.

The grounder kicks her while she's down, foot driving into her ribs and it almost has Ethan moving again, holding his breath. That's enough, that's enough, that's enough-

Indra steps in.

Trikru leaves on her command.

Ethan shrugs past Harley and rushes into the circle-no-longer, skidding onto his knees in the wet mud beside Octavia. He brushes the hair out of her face, searching her cuts and bruises, before he ducks under her arm.