from the ashes (she will rise) ➸ octaven

chapter 4

By the time she gets undressed and falls into bed, it's started storming. Octavia quickly comes to learn that the old house doesn't take well to storms. With even the smallest gust of wind, the walls creak and the windows sound as if they're caving in. She rolls onto her stomach and smothers her head with her pillow to try and block it out.

"Psst."

Octavia thinks she's hearing things, but when she lifts her head, the door creaks open slightly and Lexa pokes her head inside.

"Wanna hear about materialism?" She holds up her encyclopedia hopefully. Octavia doesn't miss the quiver in her voice. She sits up slowly, rubbing her eyes.

"Don't like storms?"

Lexa takes that as enough of an answer, because soon she's closing the door behind her and hurrying over to the unoccupied bed. Sitting cross legged, she turns to a dog-eared page in the book and starts reading.

"Materialism," she nods softly. Octavia lays on her back, gazing at the ceiling. "Materialism, also called physicalism, in philosophy, the view that all facts (including facts about the human and and the course of human history) are causally dependent upon physical processes, or even to them."

Lexa clears her throat and flips to the next page. And somehow, Octavia finds it easier to fall asleep with Lexa's voice draining out the storm. By the time they get to "martian," Octavia's long gone.

-----

The next morning, Octavia's stirred awake by the hiss of the shower being turned on. She's quick to grab her things and make her claim to the second bathroom, relaxing as soon as she steps into the shower and the hot water soothes her muscles. It's a bit of a struggle to wash her hair with one hand, but she manages.

Holding her towel around her with one hand, Octavia stumbles out of the shower and digs through the drawers in search of a comb. Coming up empty, she huffs and turns to the medicine cabinet adjacent to the mirror. Something else catches her attention, though, and before she can stop herself she's studying the translucent orange bottle of pills, turning it around in her hand.

Raven Reyes. Take by mouth as needed for pain.

Octavia winces and quickly puts the bottle back, shutting the medicine cabinet a little more forceful than necessary. Suddenly she feels guilty for having found them.

By the time she gets dressed and goes downstairs, everyone's just getting ready to leave. Lexa offers her a shy smile, handing her a piece of toast. Octavia thanks her, holding it in her mouth as she tugs her backpack over her shoulders. And with that, they're off.

"You're telling me it's nearly 80 degrees out and you're wearing a jacket?" Raven raises an eyebrow at Lexa, who shrugs.

"I like it," she hums, smoothing out the hem of the floral peach sundress she's wearing. Over it, she's clad in an olive green jacket that serves as more of a parka. Raven just laughs, and Lexa hopes down the front steps and down the sidewalk. Raven and Octavia exchange glances, but Raven just shrugs and follows her.

Lexa peels an orange as they walk, tossing the peel into the grass beside them. She offers Octavia a slice, who takes one and keeps her eyes focused on her feet, stepping on every crack in the sidewalk. Clarke diverges from them, taking a left turn when they hang a right. Lexa just shakes her head and keeps walking.

"Was your dad a smoker?"

Octavia jumps when Raven appears beside her, and she moves to walk in the grass so the girl can have more space. Mouthful of orange, she raises an eyebrow at the girl.