Fireheart | Raven Reyes [O.H.]

21 | peace was never an option

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chapter twenty-one!
PEACE WAS NEVER
AN OPTION
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WHEN ARES EMERGES from his tent, tugging his jacket on over his hoodie to protect himself from the abrupt chill of the autumnal night air, he finds the rest of the camp still in full swing. He hadn't realized that when he and Raven had been alone, it was like time had stopped. The rest of the universe didn't matter. For a little while, he could forget that they were in the middle of a war, that they're low on supplies, and that they're probably all going to die in a day or so.

On second thought... maybe he should go back to bed.

Ares turns around and starts to retreat back into his tent, but the voice of Jasper Jordan stops him in his tracks. "Ares!"

A sigh puffs from his lips. He turns around, and the look on his face must be cutthroat, because Jasper averts his gaze and nervously adjusts the strap of his rifle across his shoulder. "Uh, you're wanted up front for more foxholes."

"More what?" Ares asks with a wrinkled brow.

"Foxholes?" Jasper repeats, sounding unsure of himself. The confusion on Ares' face isn't the kind that makes Jasper think that Ares is in the wrong for not knowing what it is. It's the kind of expression that makes Jasper think that he's the one going insane and there are no such things as foxholes.

"Yeah, I've been in the ammo tent all day, so..."

"Oh." Jasper chuckles meekly. "We're digging some tunnels to get across camp quicker. Hopefully they can provide some cover, too. Bellamy left with Monty, Raven, and Octavia to go look for Clarke and Finn, so Miller's in charge."

Raven? She'd already left? Ares suspects he shouldn't be surprised. She's the kind of person who has to keep moving, who'll hardly stop working even if it kills her. But for a moment in the tent, maybe he'd thought she'd wait up for him. He'd thought...

Well, it doesn't matter what he'd thought, because the reality is that she's gone and Ares needs to start thinking with his brain and not what's in his pants.

Then something about Jasper's words strikes him. "What happened to Clarke and Collins?"

"You didn't hear?" Jasper asks. "They're the only ones from the hunting trip who hadn't come back yet."

Wonderful. Missing campers — and Clarke, of all people — will not be good for morale. Collins could honestly step off a cliff and Ares wouldn't bat an eyelash, but he has to admit that he's gotten used to having Clarke around. All she's ever done is try to help him. Now, if she's missing in action, the least he can do is do Clarke a favor and stop slacking off.