Our People (the Third Book of the Her Weakness series)

Chapter 112

Lexa's POV

We stare in awe at the smoking piece of wood while Raven looks immensely proud of herself. She has good reason to, that was amazing.

"Raven. You build a robot that walks and has laser vision on a boat?" Octavia questions, even though we all know the answer to that.

"Um. Yes?" Raven responds hesitantly.

"That is..." Octavia shakes her head, awe clear on her face. "Raven, you ARE awesome."

Raven blushes and mumbles out a thank you. Octavia grins at her with loving eyes and wraps an arm around her shoulders.

I hear steps coming toward us and look up. It is Luna, and she looks curiously at the robot.

"Hey, Luna." Raven greets her. "I built a robot. It shoots lasers from its eyes." Luna just looks at her blankly. "Shall I demonstrate again?" She picks up the controller.

"No!" Octavia cries. "Rae. Uh uh. Nope. Not again. You'll set something on fire or something." Raven's finger slowly inches towards the red button. "You better not! If you touch that button Reyes, you won't be touching me later."

"You wouldn't," Raven gasps, paling. 

Apparently she doesn't want to risk it because she turns the controller over, switching the lever labelled "safety" back on and then turning the it off. Octavia nods, satisfied.

"What did you come over here for?" I ask Luna. "I assume it is not because you missed being around us."

"You are right, but I do miss you occasionally Lex."

Luna reaches down just to ruffle my hair affectionately. I protest, not really minding too much. It reminds me of when we were kids in Polis.

"So what did you come over for, if not to bask in our awesomeness?" Raven asks.

"Nakai has thought of something you may find interesting. She is steering the boat, but if you are interested you could go to her."

"What is it about?" I question curiously.

"Pirates," Luna responds simply.

It takes a second for her response to register in our minds. I smile at how Clarke's head raises from my shoulder in interest. I have heard that there are pirates, it has been brought to my attention at a few meetings with the Floukru ambassadors. I have not heard much but am interested in learning more.

"Oh fuck yeah." Raven says, practically leaping up, her eyes dancing with excitement. "The ground is awesome!"

She starts dragging a willing Octavia towards where Nakai is perched and watching them with amusement. I help Clarke up and we follow them. Luna goes over to the guards, probably to tell them about this.

By the time we get up to where Nakai is, Raven is already pestering her with questions.

"Do they wear eye patches? That would be so cool." She gasps, her eyes going wide. "Oh does the leader have a parrot? And a hook hand?"

Raven's practically bouncing up and down while Octavia looks at her like she is thinking about how adorable her girlfriend is.

Luckily, Nakai finds Raven and her questions funny rather than annoying. She continues steering the boat, seeming calm and undisturbed.

"Raven, chil yu daun (calm down)." I say, letting some authority leak into my voice.

"Party pooper."

Raven sticks out her tongue at me, making a nearby sailor wince at her in sympathy. He must think that I will cut it off or force her to do some difficult labor. She is my friend, and she is Raven. No one can control her (except Octavia through her disturbing threats that she will abstain from sex with Raven).

"You will not punish her for speaking against you?" Nakai asks after a moment and it becomes evident to her that I will not do anything to discourage her disobedience.

"It will do nothing." I shrug. "It will just make her vengeful, then my nights will be full of pranks from her. Besides, Octavia can control her."

"What? No she can't!" Raven protests.

"Yes I can." Octavia says.

"Yeah you can. You're just so hot that I can't help listening to everything you say." Raven winks, making Octavia grin and lightly punch her arm.

The guards join us then with Luna and Nakai nods to herself. "Luna told you that I am going to tell you about pirates?" We nod. "Alright. There is a band of them near the city."

"Why have you not killed them or informed me before?" I question, frowning.

"They are in a cove that while it is not well hidden, it is incredibly difficult for even the most seasoned sailors to get to. They do not cause enough damage to us for us to want to risk it. They make sure to be just enough to be annoying while remaining a nuisance instead of a threat."

"Like Raven." Octavia provides.

"Hey!" Raven protests. " I can build bombs, babe. I'm a threat. Totally threatening."

"Sure you are. Absolutely terrifying with that pout." Octavia taps Raven's bottom lip to prove her point.

Nakai clears her throat to get our attention again. "They sometimes board our smaller vessels when they are on their way back from fishing. It has gotten worse in recent months."

"Months? How long has this been going on?" I ask.

"Since a little before I became leader." Luna states.

"Luna, that was years ago!" My voice is a little louder than before.

"Yes, I know. It was not much at first. Just taking a few fish at first. Now, their ranks have grown with criminals who cannot make their mark in our city. I have tried to minimize that by creating good paying providing jobs for some of the ex-criminals. It has helped the good ones, but not the bad."

"We can help you." Clarke says.

I blink, hardly believing I had not thought of this sooner. "We can. You say it is hard to get into their cave?"

"Sha (yes). There are sharp, jagged rocks and it is shallow."

"Why not walk there?" I suggest.

"The current is very strong." Luna answers.

"Then we go when the tide is low." I say. "When will it be?"

"Tomorrow afternoon," Luna responds.

"Then if we are all up for it, we will go fight your pirates for you."

They're going to fight pirates! Thank you all for reading and for your amazing comments! Stay awesome!