from the ashes (she will rise) ➸ octaven

chapter 23

The next morning -- Raven's birthday -- starts out with Indra sending Clarke and Raven out to run errands. Errands, coincidentally, that will take much longer than originally intended. Thanks to Clarke, who, when they're already halfway home, realizes that she "forgot" to stop at the dry cleaners -- derailing them for at least another two hours.

By the time they finally arrive back at the house, Raven is annoyed and hungry. As they make their way inside, she trails behind Clarke, lugging an armful of groceries. Almost immediately, she notes something is up. It's too quiet.

She stops just short of the kitchen, a knowing look on her face. 'I'm not in the mood, Lexa," she deadpans, well aware of Lexa's affinity for hiding behind corners and jumping out to scare people.

There's a long pause of silence and Raven rolls her eyes. "Very funny," she mutters, giving in and making her way into the kitchen. "But don't get mad at me when I punch--,"

"SURPRISE!"

Raven stumbles backward, a loaf of bread falling out of her arms. Lexa tugs a string on a small plastic bottle, causing confetti to burst out and rain down on them.

Recovering, still slightly startled, Raven's eyes scan the kitchen -- the colorful streamers, the cake in the middle of the island, and the cut out letters hanging above the table. She cracks a smile. "Impressive."

Octavia takes the groceries from her arms, pushing them aside atop the counter. "You like it?" she asks, tossing Clarke a bag of chips. "I was afraid you'd kill us all."

"I'll save that for later," Raven teases. She's honestly still a bit shocked, considering she'd nearly forgotten her own birthday, but she plays it off the best she can. "Where's Indra?"

"Visiting family," Clarke nods. "You're a legal adult now. You can be our babysitter."

"We've got until 3am to do absolutely nothing," Octavia nods, leaning against the counter. "We got takeout, too. Plus an extra thing of that spicy sauce you like."

"Not too bad, tiny," Raven laughs, nudging Octavia's shoulder.

(For Octavia, the look of surprise on Raven's face is more than enough.)

---

"This is the last time it's just gonna be the four of us," Lexa speaks up, stealing a piece of chicken from Clarke's plate with her chopsticks. They've all congregated in the living room, eating Chinese food and waiting for their usual Friday movie marathon to start.

"Don't remind me," Clarke rolls her eyes. "I'm not in the mood to deal with a bunch of new kids."

"At least you'll be out in a month," Octavia reminds her. "Me and Lexa are stick here."

"At least you guys get free food," Raven adds, laughing softly. Octavia scoots closer to her, pretending she needed to reach something on the table. Raven teasingly ruffles her hair.

"It's starting," Lexa hisses at them to be quiet. She hops up to turn off the lights, bouncing back onto the beanbag. Raven grabs the blanket hanging over the back of the couch, slinging it around Octavia's shoulders and pulling her closer.

---

Octavia's not sure when she falls asleep, all she knows is that when she wakes up, it's to Raven nudging her shoulder gently.

"O," she whispers. "It's almost time."

That's how Octavia ends up following Raven upstairs, reality hitting her when her eyes land on Raven's half of the room, barren except for a suitcase and a few boxes stacked on the bed. Soon, she's helping the girl lug the last of her belongings down to the trunk of her car -- she'd agreed to drop Raven off at the apartment when she and Lexa departed for Nevada.