"Come With Me Now"

Lucawindmover

Chapter One

"Better"

"Are we really doing this?" Bellamy asked from just outside the door to Clarke's room.

Clarke turned away from the backpack she had been shoving a spare set of clothes into, taking in her partner's skeptical expression. She sighed and crossed the room to her small table, gathering up her spare canteen and an extra medkit. She wasn't expecting to need it, which was all the more reason to take it with her, in her opinion.

"Yes, we're really doing this," she answered, tucking the last of her supplies into the pack.

The peace between the Sky People and Grounders had been tenuous at first. It had been six months now since the Battle of the Mountain and relations were improving on a weekly basis. There were always little skirmishes and misunderstandings; the two clans had very different methods for disciplining perpetrators. After the Battle, the leaders of both sides had agreed that they should each administer justice to their own people. It was a solution that had worked so far.

Relations had been better over the last few months with fewer and fewer instances of violence and many more of friendship instead. Customs were being learned on both sides, technologies and techniques exchanged, camaraderie shared. The Grounders were able to tend to their affairs with ease now that the Mountain Men were no longer a problem and the Sky People were busy planting fields and building more permanent structures.

Clarke was sure this burgeoning trust was the reason they'd extended this invitation.

Bellamy crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe. "I don't think you get it," he responded and Clarke could feel his eyes on her as she reached under her bed and pulled out the roll of plastic tarp she used as a tent when they were out scouting.

"It's a festival, Bellamy," she answered, tying the roll to her pack. "It's feasting and dancing and drinking. Aren't you usually the one telling me to lighten up?"

He shrugged. "That's not the way Lincoln describes it. He seemed to make the festival out to be some kind of week-long orgy."

Clarke rolled her eyes. "I seriously doubt Lexa and Mattox would invite us to an orgy," she scoffed and shouldered her pack. "And even if they did, I don't see why you're complaining."

"I'm not," he replied, stepping back out of the way as she came out and pulled her door closed behind her.

"Sure sounds like it," she grumbled. He followed just behind her as they headed out of the remnants of the former space station. "Which is weird for a guy with a revolving door on his tent."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Clarke sighed. "Nothing, forget it."

"What do you care who I sleep with?" he asked as they reached the outer door and stepped out into the early summer morning. This side of the station was still in the shade and there was a light chill in the air. At least, that's the excuse Clarke used to explain her sudden case of goosebumps.

"I don't," she answered a little more quickly than she'd meant to.

Bellamy grabbed her elbow and stopped her in her tracks. "Oh really?" He looked unconvinced.

Clarke clenched her jaw for a moment before turning to face him. "Okay. Maybe I do. A little."

He was fighting a smirk, she could tell. She knew his expressions better than she knew her own…but he knew hers, too. And she had a feeling he knew that smirking at her right now would get him punched.

"Why?" he asked, his eyes dancing with the merriment he didn't dare show any other way.

"Because we're doing this leadership thing together," she answered. "I don't need you getting somebody pregnant. You can't do this job with a kid to take care of."

Bellamy's knowing expression didn't really change at her answer and she felt her cheeks starting to get hot.

Damn him. Damn his dimples and twinkling eyes straight to hell.

Clarke narrowed her eyes at him and turned away, stalking toward the front gate where a crowd of their friends were waiting.

Lexa had explained that this was a festival for young, unmarried people to mingle with others from various tribes. The Grounders had a pretty strict code of conduct when it came to who they were allowed to fraternize with. Relationships within their immediate villageswere forbidden. The clans were all so small that there had always been fear of inbreeding and marrying within family lines. For this reason, festivals were always highly anticipated by all.

There had been a lot of discussion about who was considered an adult though. For the Sky People, adulthood came at eighteen. For most of the Grounder tribes, adulthood came with a first kill, meaning teenagers as young as thirteen could be considered adults. The Sky People realized that there was no changing the Grounder culture involving who was allowed to attend the festival. In the end, Clarke made sure to spread the word around to her people that there would be a few much younger people in their midst and to behave themselves the same way as they would at home.

"Hey Clarke!" Raven called from the back of the wagon that was parked at the gate. Lexa had loaned them the use of the horses in order to transport Monty's brew to the festival site. The location was a little farther than a day's walk and there was no comfortable way to move the barrels that distance without the assistance.

It was good for Raven as well. Although the she would never complain, her leg would have caused her a lot of grief with a walk that far. She'd been making great strides in the last few months but she would always need her brace. It slowed her down and tended to make her incredibly sore over long distances. If it weren't for the ability to ride, Raven might not have been physically able to join them.

Clarke grinned and raised a hand in acknowledgement before moving to the head of the group where Lexa waited with only a few of her warriors. She was acting as the Sky People's guide to the festival. The rest of her people had already left and would be waiting the arrival of their Commander and the new guests.

"Are your people ready to leave?" Lexa asked by way of greeting as Clarke approached.

"I believe so," Clarke answered. "But I'll hang back to be sure."

Lexa nodded and gestured for her warriors to move forward. Clarke watched as the cart and almost twenty of their people filed by, most laughing and joking and expressing general happiness to be leaving camp for a reason other than work. She caught Jasper, Monty, Harper, and Murphy among themand was glad to see that her friends were getting a break.

Bellamy waited with her, his eyes scanning the faces for his sister.

Clarke saw Octavia coming but decided not to say anything as she snuck up behind her brother and covered his eyes with her hands. "Guess who?"

Bellamy smiled one of his genuine, dimple-inducing grins. "Lincoln?"

Octavia laughed and pushed him away. He turned and ruffled her hair, which might have been easier if there hadn't been so many braids. It must have been something he was accustomed to doing back when she was younger, a habit that being on the ground hadn't broken.

"You better behave yourself, big brother," Octavia said, giving him a hug.

A look of relief crossed Bellamy's face as her words sunk in. "You aren't going?" he asked.

Octavia shrugged. "Lincoln said this was a celebration for unmarried people."

Clarke had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as Bellamy's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"You're not married!" he sputtered.

"Well no," his sister responded and Clarke could see the same twinkling in the younger Blake's eyes that she'd seen in Bellamy's earlier. "Not by Sky People standards anyway."

As much as Clarke would have been entertained by a Blake family discussion on marriage, she knew now was not the time. Glancing around, she could see the group was beyond the gate and quickly gaining Bellamy could really start in on Octavia, Clarke grabbed his arm. "We don't have time for this right now," she said, catching his glare. "We're going to get left behind."

Bellamy's jaw clenched and his eyes looked murderous. He turned back to his grinning sister and said, "We're not done. When we get back, me and you are gonna talk about this. With Lincoln."

While he stormed off, Clarke reached forward and gave Octavia a parting hug. "Was this really the best time to tell him that?" she asked, only partly serious.

Octavia laughed. "There was never going to be a good time to tell him," she answered. "But I was hoping at least this way you could maybe smooth it over for me? While you guys are gone?"

Clarke smirked. "Yeah right. What makes you think he'll listen to me?"

Octavia winked at her. "I think you underestimate your powers of persuasion when it comes to my brother."

After one last hug, Clarke was jogging through the gate and down the eastern path, contemplating exactly what the younger Blake had meant by that.

Raven was exhausted. If she had just ridden in the back of the cart for the trip, like Clarke had asked her to, she would have probably been fine. But a couple of hours into the trip, she'd noticed how Lexa's warriors were sending disdainful glances her way and muttering to one another. It was too much. Raven wasn't about to let them see her as weak. So she'd gotten out of the cart and walked the rest of the way. The last few miles had been hell, her lower back cramping and her hip and thigh sore with muscle fatigue.

When darkness fell on their little caravan, Lexa called a halt and they made camp. Raven couldn't have been more thankful. After a quick once-over from Clarke, Raven was ready to crash.

There was plenty of room still in the back of the cart. Even with the tents they'd brought and the barrels of Monty's brew, the whole back half of the cart was empty. Since Lexa's clan wasn't traveling with them and the Sky People didn't a lot to offer, there was space enough Raven to stretch out here.

She tossed her pack in first and awkwardly climbed into the cart. Lucky for her, there was no wall on the back of the cart, just a rope tied across to keep the barrels from sliding off the back. She wasn't sure she'd have been able to get over one of the sides without someone helping her. She propped her pack against one of the barrels and leaned back against it, trying to get comfortable. Her feet were almost hanging off the end and for once she was thankful she wasn't taller.

It was a good thing they weren't worried about being attacked out here because the amount of noise her friends were making was ridiculous. As badly as she wanted to go to sleep, she grinned at the sound of it. They needed the opportunity to celebrate and act their age. There had been a celebration of sorts after the Battle of the Mountain but there had been so much to mourn at the same time. This festival was something entirely different; it was a chance to get away from their every day lives and just enjoy being alive.

Raven had just closed her eyes and started to drift off, despite the noise, when she was jostled awake by the sensation of someone sitting on the back of the cart. The boards groaned and she could shuffling.

"What are you doing moping back here?"

Raven pushed herself up on her elbows, her eyes searching the darkness for a face to go with the voice. "Murphy?"

Even with the lack of light she could see as he looked back over his shoulder and smirked at her. "Congratulations," he snarked. "Genius."

She laughed softly and fell back on her pack, remembering speaking those same words to him half a year ago. "I'm not moping. I'm sleeping…or at least trying to."

Murphy laid back and tucked his arms behind his head. His legs were still hanging off the end of the cart and she found herself wondering if that meant he didn't intend to stay. "You definitely should," he said. "We're only going to be in the woods for about an hour tomorrow. The rest of the trip will be with almost no shade. Gonna get pretty hot."

"You've scouted this way before?" Raven asked, closing her eyes again.

"With a hunting party, yeah. I mean, we didn't go as far as where the festival grounds are. I think we'll be back in the trees again before we're done. But I do know we're gonna go through this big fucking field and it's gonna be scorching."

Raven groaned. "Figures."

Murphy chuckled. "Hey at least it'll be flat. That'll be better for your leg, right?"

She shrugged even though he couldn't see her. "Who says I won't just ride in the cart?"

"Who the hell do you think you're fooling here?" he asked. She looked down at him to see his eyes on hers in the gloom.

Raven rolled her eyes.

"You're hurting," Murphy said, not a question but a statement.

"I'm not even going to ask how you know that," she grumbled. "You were staring at my ass, weren't you?"

He laughed and Raven could feel him bump her hip with his elbow, thankful it was her good one and not her sore one. "Couldn't help it," he answered. "I had a great view."

"You're such an ass."

"You would know."

She grinned and closed her eyes again. There was no way she was going to fall asleep like this. "What are you doing back here, Murphy?"

"Figured it was a good place to sleep. Better than the dirt anyway," he answered. "But you beat me to it."

"The cart's big enough for two, you know."

The cart creaked and Raven peaked through heavy eyelids to see him scoot farther into the cart. "Why, Raven Reyes," he said in an overly scandalized tone. "Are you asking me to sleep with you?"

"I don't ask," she responded without missing a beat. "And you know what? Let's call this invitation revoked, shall we?"

He just laughed and settled in. "Don't get your panties in a bunch."

She wanted to be annoyed at him but she was just too damn tired. And sore. After a particularly long and jaw-aching yawn, Raven decided that Murphy was mostly harmless these days and no danger to her while she slept. She attempted to roll away from him but her left hip was too sore for that. So instead, she rolled toward him, tucking her arm under her pack.

Murphy had his eyes closed and if he wasn't already asleep, he was close. He seemed so much younger when he was relaxed, a side of him that people rarely saw. Hell, it seemed like none of them ever relaxed anymore. This retreat from their usual responsibilities was absolutely needed for each of them to shake a little of that weight that seemed to be ever-present.

Raven curled her knees up a little as she started to fall asleep, ignoring how they pressed into Murphy's side. Or maybe she did it on purpose, she wasn't sure. She thought she might have felt him rest a hand on her knee but she didn't flinch and the peace of sleep finally claimed her.

"I'm just a believer that things will get better. Some can take it or leave it but I don't wanna let it go."

American Authors "Believer"

A/N: Friends! Thank you for reading, seriously! For those of you wondering what's going on with "Up in Flames" I can tell you that I'm absolutely still working on it and you should be getting a new update sooner rather than later. It has not been abandoned, I can assure you.

I'm going to be working on these two stories at the same time. Updates will follow my muse between the two but you can be assured that I will always be working on something.

Also, if you'd like to know exactly what's going on with Murphy and Raven in this story, check out "Even." That story takes place about six months before this one and will give you some insight into their dynamic and their past.

Last but certainly not least, a huge thank you to Marina Black1. Her encouragement and beta-love brought this story to life. Her current story, "Walking Through Fire" is fantastic and explores a side of Murphy we don't get to see a lot of in the show. Thank you all for being so supportive. And get ready! This story is going to be a LOT of fun.

~Luca