At last

Chapter Fifty Six

Clarke's point of view

The group had been riding for a few hours through mostly bare terrain with a few patches of newborn trees and plant life here and there when Monty suddenly let out a groan, noticing dark clouds quickly approaching on the horizon. "Looks like we're in for some rain."
A round of displeased sighs and grumbles passed through the rest of us.
"We'll head for that patch of trees up ahead. We'll stay there until the storm passes," Miller announced from the head of the assembly.
"We won't make it in time," I was close enough to hear Monty mutter quietly.
I quickened my horse's pace to catch up to him.
"Remember when we had a black rain false alarm and Jasper decided it was funny to stick his tongue out and then pretend that he was dying while we all watched?"
Monty rolled his eyes lightheartedly as he remembered his old friend's stunt from all those years ago. He raised his eyebrow at me. "Don't tell me you actually think that was funny?"
"No, no! He went too far with that one. What was funny, though, was when he "floated" Jaha."
"And when we shot that foam all over your face."
I narrowed my eyes at that but a smile slowly crawled onto my face at Monty's smug grin. "Alright, it was pretty funny."
We both shared a laugh before continuing riding in a comfortable silence. I glanced over at Monty to see a wistful sadness had replaced the smile on his face.
I sighed. "Monty, I'm sorry. I was just trying to lighten the mood, with us about to be getting poured on and all. I never thought about you being hurt if I brought him up-"
He blinked at me in surprise before cutting me off. "What? No, Clarke, it's fine. I mean, it still hurts a little, but it helps to think about the good memories of him." He smiled a little at me, "I'm not mad that you brought him up. He was your friend too. Just because he's gone doesn't mean that he shouldn't be remembered."
I smiled back at him, feeling genuine pride that he was able to cope with the loss of his best friend.
Suddenly, it began to downpour. The others around us let out loud, irritated groans.
The smiles only spread on mine and Monty's face as we both thought the same thing. Copying Jasper's disturbing performance, we both stuck our tongues out to the rain. Monty began to pretend to choke and I followed along, pretending to choke as well. The two of us let out a combination of over exaggerated chokes, coughs, and gags until Bellamy interrupted from behind us:
"The hell?"
Bringing our performance to a halt, we looked around us. Miller and Harper were looking back over their shoulders at Monty and I with confused and judging expressions. Bellamy wore the same expression, his brows furrowed and his lips slightly parted.
Monty and I looked back at each other and simply let out a loud fit of laughter.
§§§
When we reached the patch of trees, which turned out to be a mini forest, we tied up the horses under a cluster of trees that offered a few layers of leaves overhead for protection.
"We should try our luck with hunting while we're here. This patch of vegetation is larger than most, there ought to be a least a few animals living here," Bellamy suggested, running a hand through his soaked hair.
"No, we'll wait until we set up camp for the night before we try hunting," Miller responded, leaning against a tree trunk.
Bellamy narrowed his eyes at the rejection. "Miller, these tiny forests are hard to come by. We need to try hunting now while we have the chance."
Miller was unshaken. "If we hunt now, we'll just be dragging a carcass along with us for the rest of the day. We'll eat rations only when we have to for now."
"And what if we don't find anything when we set up camp? Would you rather deal with starvation or inconvenience?" Bellamy challenged, his hands on his hips.
"Hauling a carcass isn't just an inconvenience, it costs us time and energy-"
I cut Miller off as his voice started to raise. "Alright, enough! I agree with Miller; we should stick to rations for now and hunt once we set up camp."
"Clarke," Bellamy began, glaring at me with betrayal.
"It's not like we're not going to find anything, Bellamy, there are plenty of vegetation areas along the way. Nobody hunts on these lands; there's bound to be lots of animals out here. Besides, we shouldn't wander around in this weather, we'll catch a sickness." I looked around at the others. "Does that sound good?"
Miller, Monty, and Harper were nodding in agreement. Bellamy only rolled his eyes but didn't object.
"It's decided," Miller declared.
I released a small sigh, spying a fallen log at the edge of our sheltered area and making my way over to it, sitting down and praying that the rain would subside soon.
——————————————————-

Bellamys point of view

I look over at Monty who has a smile on his face.
"What?" I ask.
"Nothing," he laughs quietly.
I look around me. Nothing is different.
Then I hear Miller snicker to himself too.
"Clarke..." I shake my head.
"What?" She smiles.
"What did you do?" I laugh.
Then placing my hand on my head I turn around. As I do I hear a loud roar and someone jump toward me. I scream in fear, falling into my back and quickly try to push my self up to safety.
Everyone's laughs fill the camp as I stare up at Harper who has a smirk on her face.
"Got ya," she smiles.
"Go float yourself," I laugh as heat fills my cheeks.
As I look around every one a look of pure joy speaks on their faces. Each one of them with tears in their eyes from laughing to hard.
"It was not that funny," I groan.
"Yeah okay," giggles Harper with a smirk.

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