「 ✦ Bambi- Bellamy Blake ✦ 」

Lucent

softly bright or radiant

Athena struggled to pull the sleeves of her pants high enough to avoid the water, but they stubbornly refused to cooperate. 

With a resigned sigh, she gave up, allowing the water to seep into her pants. She couldn't deny the sensation was oddly pleasant, a fact that Bellamy would soon discover.

"I didn't come here to take a bath, Bambi," Bellamy stated, his tone teasing as Athena splashed him with water once again.

Athena grinned mischievously, undeterred. "No, but you could definitely use one," she retorted playfully, pinching her nose theatrically as if he emitted an imaginary odor.

Bellamy chuckled at her antics, a fond smile tugging at his lips as Athena turned away to search for the radio.

Just as Athena was engrossed in her task, she felt a sudden deluge of water soaking her from head to toe. Startled, she spun around to find Bellamy grinning behind her.

"Oh, I'm so gonna get you, Freckles," Athena declared, her eyes sparkling with mischief. The two of them, behaving like carefree adolescents, were interrupted by Raven's no-nonsense voice cutting through their playful banter.

"Are you two done? Your boyfriend here kind of ruined our only source of communication, so start looking for the radio," Raven admonished as she walked away.

Awkwardly standing there, both Athena and Bellamy soaked from their impromptu water fight, they exchanged sheepish glances after Raven's departure.

"See, now you got us in trouble," Athena accused Bellamy, though she knew she had instigated the playful chaos.

"Hey! You started it," Bellamy defended himself with a grin, though there was a hint of apology in his eyes as they both set about searching for the radio.

Suddenly, Jones's voice pierced through the tension. "Hey! I found it!" he exclaimed, holding up the black radio triumphantly.

Excitement bubbled up among the group as they rushed over to Jones, their hope rekindled at the sight of the recovered device.

"Can you fix it?" Clarke inquired eagerly, turning to Raven with a glimmer of anticipation.

Raven inspected the radio thoughtfully before replying, "Maybe, but it'll take half the day just to dry out the components to see what's broken."Athena's shoulders slumped in disappointment, the weight of their situation sinking in. 

"Like I said, it's too late," Bellamy stated solemnly, his voice tinged with regret.

"Bellamy, stop talking, you're not helping," Athena interjected firmly, shooting him a warning glance.

Clarke's eyes blazed with anger as she marched up to Bellamy, her accusations sharp and unforgiving. 

"Do you have any idea what you did? Do you even care?!" she demanded, her voice trembling with emotion.

"You asked me to help. I helped," Bellamy replied, his tone seemingly nonchalant, but Athena could discern the guilt lurking in his eyes.

"Three hundred people are gonna die today because of you!" Clarke's accusation hung heavy in the air, the weight of her words echoing through the tense atmosphere.

Athena couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Bellamy. While his mistake had dire consequences, she knew he hadn't acted out of malice.

He couldn't have known the extent of the danger, the lives at stake. It was a harsh reality to face, but blaming him wouldn't change what had already happened. 

"Hold up. We don't have to talk to the Ark. We just have to let them know we're down here, right?" Raven's voice cut through the tension, her eyes alight with determination as she presented her idea.

"Yeah, but how do we do that with no radio?" Finn questioned, his brow furrowed in concern.

Raven didn't offer an immediate answer. Instead, she turned on her heel and swiftly made her way back to camp, her mind already racing with possibilities.

As Athena trailed after Raven, a sense of admiration mingled with frustration washed over her.

"She's been here for such a short time, yet every time I stand next to her, I feel like the most stupid person on earth," she confessed quietly, her voice heavy with defeat.

TIME SKIP

As the others busied themselves with building the campfire and setting up the flares, Athena stood alongside Raven, offering assistance wherever needed. With a sense of satisfaction, she watched as Raven finished setting up the last of the flares.

"Thank you for your help," Raven said, offering Athena a genuine smile of appreciation.

"Anytime," Athena replied warmly, returning the smile before scanning the crowd for her friends. She spotted Bellamy and Clarke nearby, but Octavia was nowhere to be seen.

Assuming Octavia had wandered off for some solitary time, a habit she was known for, Athena made her way over to Bellamy, joining him by the campfire.

"Hey," she greeted him with a smile."Hey," Bellamy responded, his gaze drifting upwards toward the night sky. 

"You think they can see it from up there?" he asked, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

"I'm gonna pray that they do, but honestly, I have no clue how those flares even work," Athena admitted with a self-deprecating chuckle. 

Once again, she found herself acknowledging the vast gap in technical knowledge between herself and Raven.

"I swear, Raven works miracles with those machines. Wish I had even half her know-how," Athena continued, a hint of admiration in her voice. "But hey, maybe we'll get lucky, and those flares will light up the sky like she planned. Fingers crossed, right?" she added optimistically, hoping for the best despite her lack of expertise.

"Right.."

30/4/24