Am I the only one who thinks Clarke has an awful lot of medical knowledge for someone who was thrown in the Skybox at 16/17? (Think of when she tries to heal Tris)
I love The 100's world/universe and the Octavia & Clarke dynamic is super interesting and doesn't get enough of air time in my book...I look forward to playing with both :)
Chapter 1 – Dead bunnies & Old Friends
In the end she was gone less than three weeks. She'd walked away because she desperately needed to find peace but all she really found was that she was woefully unprepared for the bitter cold of winter.
Clarke could tell herself she'd left for space, for distance from the choices she was forced to make but really she'd simply left because she didn't have any strength left to face anyone. She felt as hollow as the mountain that she was trying uselessly to put behind her. Dealing with anyone and their disappoint, their anger or even support was more than she thought she could take. She had nothing left to give.
The first thing she'd done after parting from Bellamy was walk back toward the Dropship, once there she picked up some supplies. The hundred had left the Dropship under duress, whisked away not to return... but before that final battle, before Clarke had burnt 300 grounders alive and before the remaining 100 had frantically retreated, they had been packed intent on leaving for the coast.
Since the Mountain Men's capture of the 100 and since the fall of the Ark, everything had been left at the Dropship as it was. So it was easy to pick up a discarded pack left untouched, protected in one of the many bolt holes. She thought about staying, it'd been a fairly unforgiving place but in the months since they'd landed it'd been a home of sorts and her heart longed for the comfort of home.
In the end she left without even staying the night.
It was Octavia that found her weeks later. Clarke shouldn't have been surprised, if any Skaikru was going to have a hope of finding her it was going to be Octavia. But she was surprised, surprised because she was ninety nine percent certain that Octavia still hated her guts. After all she'd already said it "after this we're done." and she was pretty sure the murder of another 380 souls on top of TonDC had done nothing but reinforced Octavia's thoughts about her. So when one day, in the late afternoon she stood up from cleaning a rabbit (only the second she'd caught) and looked straight into the dark eyes of her friend, she let out a startled sqwark and took a stumbling step back.
"Jesus, Clarke... How has something not eaten you yet?" Octavia remarked dryly stepping further out of the surrounding foliage, Lincoln suddenly melting out of the shadows like smoke at her side.
"Octavia?..Wh-What are you doing here?"
"Looking for you obviously" Octavia's already dry tone somehow got drier.
Clarke tried to get a read on the girl in front of her but Octavia's time under Indra had taught her well. The girl stood contained and alert and was clearly similarly assessing Clarke. They stood like that just staring at each other before suddenly the tension flowed out of the brunette and she glanced to the man at her side, tossing her dark braids over her shoulder. Clarke gratefully used the moment to get her bearings. Settling her weight once more in her heels she sunk back into a crouch and resumed cleaning her rabbit... badly. She supposed she should be friendlier, greet the other girl and her stoic partner properly but again she found she just didn't have it in her. In the end she went with direct.
"Well I guess you found me" she said avoiding eye contact and focusing on her rabbit with the intensity of her her mother performing surgery
"but the question is why would you of all people come looking for me?"
Suddenly all the fire and anger that almost seemed woven into her friends soul came simmering to the surface, dark eyes flashed and she growled.
" God Griffin why do you THINK!" here Octavia took a few heated steps forward entering Clarkes personal space "You LEFT us...you left us to deal"
Since embarking on her enforced sabbatical one of the things that vaguely worried Clarke about herself was that she alternated between gut wrenching guilt or a kind of numb emptiness, like her mind had decided it was all to much and in order to protect her it just shut it all off. Her isolated days just encouraged her apathy.
But now, now she found her own fire, thrust back suddenly into the company of others, she suddenly found the spark of something that wasn't emptiness, depression or guilt. Anger. So what if most of that anger stemmed from a reluctance to have her delicately balanced apathy bubble burst? It was something.
Dropping the gory mess in her hands she shot to her full height so she was nose to nose with the brunette..
"No! You know what Octavia? I DON'T know what to think because the last time we talked you were pretty clear you didn't want anything to do with me !
The two women stood breathing hard and glaring at each other.
It was Lincoln who broke their stand off, silently moving to stand beside them. Putting one large hand on Octavia's shoulder. At his touch she visibly deflated, letting out an explosive breath, breaking eye contact with Clarke.
Turning his attention to Clarke.
"We're here to talk, there are things you need to know" Looking down he nudged the mess of a rabbit at his feet " But not like this"
The girls held themselves still watching each other before Octavia sighed again.
"He's right there are things you gotta know..."
Clarke took a moment to consider before she nodded. As much as she didn't want her apathy bubble burst (she couldn't even call in peace in her head) whatever was going on was big enough to motivate Octavia past her very obvious anger to seek her out. She didn't commit genocide just to let it turn to shit the moment she turned her back. For this reason she'd hear them out.
"Ok"
Lincoln glanced at the sky. "There is enough light left in the day, I will hunt us some dinner. You two talk." he said with a pointed look.
It didn't sound like a request to Clarke. With that he turned and began to pick his way silently into the trees.
"Hey Lincoln!" He pause swinging round to look a her over his shoulder "Uh thanks" He nodded once before disappearing.
The two girls stood awkwardly in the weak light of fading afternoon considering each other. Clarke glanced around the small clearing and creek before gesturing to Octavia to follow her up the small embankment.
"My camps up here...I only came down here to clean dinner. We can talk there." With that she picked up the mostly usable rabbit and started to lead the way. Octavia grunted and started to follow scrabbling up the steep slope. They walked in silence along the ridge that led to a rocky out crop where Clarke had chosen to make her camp.
Octavia cleared her throat "It's good you didn't camp right on the creek...It flows to fast, makes to much noise, you wouldn'ta been able to hear people sneaking up on you"
Clarke cut her eyes across to her companion. She was clenching her teeth, her eyes darting around taking in her surroundings and clearly was still angry but also clearly trying to move past it, Clarke had enough sense to recognize an olive branch when she saw one.
"Uh yeah...Lexa taught me that" But apparently not enough sense to really think before she spoke. It was obviously was the wrong thing to say. Octaiva snorted and was now clenching her fist as well her jaw.
"...and of course you lapped up her lessons.."
Clarke decided to say nothing, they were arriving at her camp anyway. She'd made the camp up against an outcrop of rocks in the hope of preventing people from sneaking up on her from behind but it also provided some decent protection from the elements. Instinctively she'd gone for higher ground but this higher ground was more exposed to the icy wind that came roaring off the mountain. She was frequently very, very cold.
The supplies she'd picked up from the Dropship were pretty handy, containing one of the Dropship tents and a spare fly (made from part of the ship parachute) She used this to shield the fire pit-come-sitting area.
Walking into the camp she dropped the rabbit onto a large flat rock that in her head she called "table rock" before stoking the low embers in the fire pit to a full flame. Her wood pile she'd placed on the other side of the camp so it also doubled as yet another wind break and barricade. This done she settled on a log by fire before realising there was no where for Octavia to sit.
"Uh sorry! Normally I don't have need for a second seat...Here you take this I'll find something" With that she stood beginning to look just past her tinder pile where she knew there were some larger stones but Octavia waved her off.
" Nah don't worry about it Princess" and with that she dropped bonelessly to the ground close to the fire. How she made such a mundane move look graceful Clarke didn't know but envied all the same.
"Nice set up you got here...planning on staying a while?" Octavia said while idly tracing patterns in the dirt with her fingers.
Sitting back down Clarke fed a few more sticks into the fire which was now flickering nicely.
"Wasn't the plan but I might.."
"What was the plan? WAS there a plan?"
Clarke glance away out into the twilight shrugging "No, not really... Just to get away.. ." She sighed and rubbed her hands over her thighs to warm them, already the temperature was dropping.
"When I first left I just walked and walked..." She gazed back into the flames "But I couldn't keep it up I only had a bit of water and no food. I'm useless at hunting.."
"I dunno there is very dead bunny on that rock that says otherwise.." commented Octavia softly. Now it was Clarkes turn to snort but she gave a tentative smile at the girl sitting across from her.
"yeah don't get excited its only my second catch in like three weeks...don't even ask what I did to catch it."
"Well I've been trying to play nice but you DO look like shit..."
Clarke would have been offended if she didn't know it was true, she'd seen her reflection in the creek this morning. A lack of food and no sleep (thanks to the constant nightmares) had done her appearance no favours. She looked haggard.
"Thanks, you say the sweetest things" Here Octavia smiled and Clarke was reminded for a split second of the easy banter they once had. Octavia along with Finn had been her first friends down here on earth and if she were being really honest they were the first friends she'd made in a long time. Being part of the "privilaged" had made making real connections as a teenager difficult, in hindsight she was lucky she had Wells. The brunette by the fire seemed to be waiting for her to continue so she went on.
"I kept walking until it was clear I couldn't continue. I''ve stopped once before this, camped for a couple of nights down in the valley, just to regroup, spend sometime finding food properly. Then I started walking again and then I ended up here. This will be my fourth night...I was going to move on soon, so I guess you're lucky you caught me.
"Yeah I guess we're lucky we did" said the girl and Clarke was unprepared for how bitter she sounded, not knowing what to say next Clarke let the silence grow. Octavia was frowning hard scratching little furrows into the earth with a twig. Clarke cleared her throat.
"So uh why were you looking for me?"
Octavia didn't look up from her etching in the dirt "We should wait for Lincoln to get back to talk about that..."
Now Clarke was confused.
"Pretty sure he told us to talk before he left"
The girl on the floor glanced up "No he didn't mean about that..."
Clarke raised an eyebrow.
"He's a lot more zen than me y'know? He wants me to deal and he likes you..." Clearly this last bit frustrated her... although she sounded frustrated in general at the moment, so Clarke wasn't completely sure.
"Well I mean that's good, I like him too..."
"arrghh" Her Octavia got to her feet and paced to the edge of the firelight, dusk had settled and while the world outside of camp was still in half light it was beginning to turn blue with the approaching night. She stood there gazing out for a long time. Clarke was about to ask her again what was going on when she spoke.
"You were suppose to be my friend." It was said in the smallest voice Clarke had ever heard the wild girl use and Clarke felt her heart leap to her throat and lodge there. When nothing more was forth coming Clarke rushed to defend herself.
"I was, I AM...We're friends Octavia..." and Clarke was at a loss
"I don't think I believe you" She still wasn't looking at Clarke, still sounding hurt. This wasn't the Octavia that Clarke was use to. The Octavia she knew was all wild anger and aggression, hurt them before they hurt you style responses...
Clarke couldn't keep sitting either she stood and took a few steps closer.
"Yes we are! I know things are kind of shitty between us right now but you know that's not because I don't think of you as a friend. You have to know that! We're fine on my end, really. You're upset with the choices I've made but everything I've done I've done for you and the others...Everything" Here Clarke's voice trembled ,she was already feeling too raw.
"... NOT for me! " Said Octavia whirling around and THERE was the fire Clarke had been expecting.
"I thought you were my friend ya know? I thought you cared about me. You were like the first girl friend I ever had..." She paced toward fire staring at it.
Clarke just stared, not sure where this was coming from, not sure what to do to fix it.
"I mean I know we didn't always agree but didn't I always have your back? Even against Bell I had your back! Especially in those early days!" Here she stared at Clarke earnestly
"and yeah things were a bit rocky for a bit cuz you tortured Lincoln but I got over it because I understood you just wanted Finn to be ok and I get that...So I thought we were good..." here she trails off.
Clarke can't take it anymore
"God O, we ARE good! You're my friend! Why the hell would think I'm not!" She takes two steps around the fire and now they are facing each other
"Because you save your friends!" Octavia shouts and all the air leaves Clarkes body. Suddenly Clarke know what this is about and she's not sure she has the strength for this. This is about TonDC.
"After all that's what you DO isn't it Clarke?" but Clarke has no voice to respond.
"You saved Jasper when you hardly knew him. You did everything you could to save Charlotte, save Raven, save Bellemey...and Finn don't get me started on Finn...how many times did you go above and beyond for him?" The girl in front of her is shaking with emotion and Clarke shakes along with her.
" No you know what? I've changed my mind. Lets talk about Finn. You were ready to let us go to WAR for him! For one guy! There was an army a thousands banging at our door waiting to kill everyone..and you said NO. I know you might have kinda loved him but let's put it in perspective this was a guy you'd known only as long as the rest of us...and still you said no."
"So I don't understand why less than a week later...the same person who tired to save Finn, at the risk of everyone, WOULDN'T try and save me? Unless I just didn't matter to that person unless they just weren't my friend..."
Clarke can't breathe, she literally can't breathe. As Octavia finishes her tirade Clarke's ears start ringing, she takes another breathe but can't get any air and her vision is tunneling. She's not even aware that she's dropped to her knees until she puts her hand out to steady herself.
Because all of what Octavia says is true and the depth and the real cause of Octavia's hurt over TonDC finally becomes clear. It was never just her disapproval for Clarke's choice to sacrifice the battle for the war...though Clarke know that this is still a large part of her friends conflict. Octavia is just too black and white, too immediate in the way she views the world to ever fully accept TonDC. But Octavia is also the one among them that embraced Grounder culture as her own and the Trikru were a people soaked in sacrifice so on some level Clarke knows Octavia must get it.
No Octavia's vehemence comes from being the one that came second. From being unwanted by everyone except two people. Desperate for a place in the world, to matter to be valued. On the ark her life meant so little they would've killed her for just existing...and now just when she thought she mattered , just when she thought that she had a place, Clarke had inadvertently reinforced the view that she was disposable,inconsequential compared to the rest.
Except that's not what Clarke meant to happen. Not at all.
Clarke is gasping and Octavia is now reaching for her in concern, dark eyes wide as she takes in Clarkes struggling form.
"Clarke! Clarke! Easy! Breathe! Deep breaths C'mon on breathe with me...in, out, in, out see? In, out, in, out...that's it. You're having a panic attack.. I use to get them sometimes when I was in confined spaces" the small space under the floor is left unsaid "...Bell would breathe with me...in, out, in out. See look? you're ok."
"I forgot you were there" It leaves Clarke's mouth as a strangle whine and Octavia rocks back on her heals eyes searching the blondes face.
"I forgot you were there. I forgot you were there...I looked right at you and I forgot you were there. You and Marcus you were the only ones in TonDC and I forgot! I saw you when I arrived and then I went to Lexa and we talked and I was frantic trying to think of what we should do...there was everyone in the camp and there was everyone in the mountain and everyone was in danger and and and I just forgot you were there!
Its all just tumbling out of her mouth. Its been weeks since the mountain, weeks since TonDC and she hasn't yet fallen apart about it but she thinks she is now. Maybe she needs to.
"I'm sorry I'm so sorry... I forgot about you! I nearly killed you!" she says with a moan
Octavia continues to look at her before nodding sharply in what a detached part of Clarkes brain notes was a particularly Grounder motion..
"Ok"
Clarke blinks
"Ok?"
"Ok you forgot I was there..." here she gives a loose one shouldered shrug " I mean don't get me wrong its not great to be forgotten either but...But its so much better than you just not..." here she loses articulation. "I mean clearly you care." She waves a hand gesturing to Clarkes hunched form. " I...I thought, I thought you didn't...and that made me feel stupid and mad..." And hurt Clarke adds silently.
"Yeah O I care" The blonde says her breathing and composure slowly returning to normal. Dusting herself off she sits back on the log resting her elbows on her knees and dropping her face into her hands before scrubbing at her face and running a hand through her tangled hair.
A warm body drops onto the log next her pressing against her side. Octavia had always favoured action over words.
"I think about it all the time, you know? I mean I decided I couldn't evacuate the village, which haunts me but it was the call I made... but to forget about you? I would have just grabbed you on the way out. I should have just grabbed you..."
"I wouldn't have come, I'd have made a fuss..." The brunette had been watching the fire but here she turns to give Clarke a dark smile " I'm not like you, If I'd known I'd have tried to save them...I'm not a commander, I'm a warrior I react I don't preempt. Then we BOTH would be dead...So its probably a good thing you're forgetful or all our kru would be drained and dead"
Clarke gives a weak smile back she's surprised by her friends insight. She bumped her shoulder against the one currently leaning up against her before saying lightly.
"I know. I'd have lied to you..."
Octavia looks affronted
"Hey!" She made a grumpy noise "Then we *still* woulda been on the outs... I would of hated you for being a liar. No one likes a liar Clarke."
"Hated me..but you would have been alive to hate. A fair trade I'd say..." Octavia just leans further into Clarke in answer.
Night had fully fallen now and the noises of the night had started up as the two sat in comfortable silence. Clarke could hear the meeping noise of what she hoped was an owl, hoped because she figured an owl was unlikely to try and eat her.
"I assume you'll let me know when we should be worried about Lincoln..."
"Meh he's fine. The man was born in the forest...I'm more worried about him bringing home enough rabbits."
Clarke couldn't help but smile. "Well that sounds awfully domestic..."
"Shut up" replies the girl next to her but a large grin slides across her face.
They sat just watching the hypnotic crackle and pop of the fire.
"Its happened before you know..."
"Hmmm?"
"Me. Forgetting important things under pressure..."
"Clarke..."
"No, no...back on the Ark when were younger. You might not remember because well you were probably under the floor at the time..." The brunette grunts "but years back there was an explosive fire in C deck...pressurized oxygen line exploded"
" No I remember, Bell had started up his guard training by then...He musta been 18? 19? Mom was freakin out because the trainees shadow the guards and she thought he might be down there...I've never seen her so stressed."
"Yeah it was bad I mean really bad..." Octavia glanced at her in surprise
"You were there? What were you doing down on C deck?"
"No No, I was in Medical..." Clarke hunches further in on herself
"I started training pretty early, so I spent afternoons in the clinic following around doctors on duty" she shrugged loosely "...getting them anything that they needed and practicing simple stuff, stuff like inserting IV's, stitches, strapping a sprain..."
" The Doctors Second" Says Octavia decisively before getting up to grab some more wood for the fire, sticks in hand she moves toward the fire snapping them into thirds as she goes.
Clarke smiled wryly at Octavia's translation of Ark life to Grounder life, once again reminded that really, her friend had experienced much more life on the ground, than she ever had in the sky.
"Yeah pretty much..." Watching her friend poke her fire she's unable to help herself "There are some larger logs over there too, maybe put one of those on it'll probably need to be a bit hotter and lower to cook dinner"
The young warrior pauses in her chore only so long as to shoot Clarke a withering look.
"I know how to make a fire Clarke...get on with your story"
Clarke holds up her hands in the universal gesture of surrender "OK ok sorry! though I'm pretty sure you just nominated yourself to cook dinner !"
Clark picked nervously at a loose thread in her jeans before turning her thoughts back to her confession.
"Anyway unless there was a contagion not contained medical wasn't too bad, pretty quiet in fact...but this...this was like hell" Clarke shuddered at the memories "Three dead and eleven with burns ranging from 2nd to 3rd degree. We just weren't really equipped to deal with it. Fire on the Ark was mostly unheard of..." Octavia quirked an eyebrow at her "It's due to the amount of oxygen it consumes it was pretty much banned, any fire was closely monitored..." the blonde elaborates for her sheltered friend.
Done with the fire Octavia came back to sit by Clarke throwing herself down haphazardly jostling Clarkle and the blonde was surprised at how much she appreciated the casual contact.
"People were screaming and moaning and their skin was just like melting off them...It, I...thinking back it was kinda like the mountain..."
Now Clarke feels ill her stomach rolling. Octavia seems to sense this and wraps a loose arm over her shoulder.
"Both the Mountain and this fire are in the past Clarke...they're gone. They can't hurt you and you can't help them, sucks but that's the way it is." Something about the brunettes tone triggers a memory.
"The dead are gone and the living are hungry?" she murmurers.
Octavia drops the arm to look at Clarke in surprise.
"Did Indra tell you that?" She demands.
Clarke studies the girl in front of her.
"No. No Lexa did..." Clarke swallows the lump in her throat "Just after we burned Finn..."
"Huh. Indra said the same thing to me. After the missile...but before I figured out that you knew. Maybe the high and mighty Commander Seconds to Indra too, that'd be classic. She thinks she's better than the rest of us but really she's exactly the same!"
Clarke ignores Octavia's animosity towards Lexa for the moment her mind busy making links.
"I don't know about Indra but she was defiantly Anya's Second...and it sounds like Anya spent a lot of time in TonDC..."
"No, you're right that does explain it... Cuz I'm pretty sure Anya was Second to Indra at some point. Indra always seems doubly grumpy when Anya is mentioned. I know right? how is that even possible? But its true I swear it...and once she dropped the line 'even Anya wasn't this unless' when we were training"
Interesting.
"Any way so you were in the middle of fucked up situations even before the ground? What happened next?"
"To be fair it was just this one time that was fucked up...mostly my life was embarrassingly easy"
Octavia makes a 'whatever' gesture with her hand and nods to Clarke to get on with it.
I forgot." Clarke released an explosive breath " People were in pain and dying and I forgot"
The brunette wiggled so she could see Clarke better.
" You are going to have to rewind a little for me Princess. What did you forget?"
"The supplies" she replied succinctly.
"Ark medical only kept a certain amount of supplies on hand and immediately after the explosion we were very quickly in short supply. We just weren't use to handling the volume or type of injury. Dr Roberts sent me down to the Quartermaster to resupply."
Octavia is listening intently now, grounder still, focusing on the story she was being told.
"I knew what he said, I understood..I said 'Yes sir I'll get it right now" and I ran all the way to the Quartermaster. But when I got there I couldn't remember one word he said. In the end I just did the best I could, I tried to get everything I thought they would need but I'd never even seen burns before."
Clarke glances to her friend but she's quiet just watching her. Shrugging Clarke continued.
"I got back and just as I thought I didn't have a whole bunch of things they needed...including morphine. Dr Roberts was at his wits end with me and ordered one of the senior assistants to go back and put me on clean up duty."
"Did anyone die because of it?" Asks Octavia her scrutiny still intense and Clarke is startled by the question.
"What? No. I don't know. I don't think so, I hope not...Two died before they reached Medical the third died later but he had burns to 80% of his body...so he probably would have died with or without the delay in supplies."
Octavia nods "See? So you forgot it wasn't the end of the world"
"But..."
"How old were you?"
"What?" Again Clarke is caught off guard by her friends question.
"Well I just mean I remember Bell being like 18 maybe 19 at the time...so you must have been pretty young"
"Fourteen. I was fourteen"
"Jesus Clarke! What were you even doing there! You were just a kid! "
She just gives a helpless shrug in response.
"The fact is I WASN'T suppose to be there emergencies weren't part of the Trainee Programe I just happened to be at the clinic that day and was anxious to help. My Mother wasn't happy either I'm pretty sure Dr Roberts is lucky to have a job..."
" I'd say Good ol Doc Roberts is lucky to have all his parts let alone a job ! Mamma Bear Griffin is pretty scary when people mess with her cub""suddenly Octavia slaps her knee "...no wait wait I'm mixing my animal metaphors! What are baby Griffins called?"
Clarke smiles "Pretty sure we're cubs too...or we might chicks"
"Nah chick is waaaay too stoner lingo for you ...you're definitely a cub"
"Huh. And what would you know about stoner lingo Little Blake?..."
"When questioned? Nothing at all." Is Octavia's smug response.
Clarke's mind turns back to the previous conversation and she blurts
"...She still wanted me in the Clinic! Even if she didn't want me there for the fire she still wanted me there!"
It comes out far angrier than she meant it too. Clarke can feel the small flame of anger unfurl and sit heavy in her gut as it always does when thinking of her Mom. She can't help it, she doesn't want to still be mad but she is. She is still furious at her mother and the sad thing is she doesn't even really know exactly what for anymore.
"She probably just wanted the best for you. Trust me. Family does that." Its clear Octavia is thinking on a specific event." Anyway didn't you wanna be a Doctor?" She asks after a moment
"No, No I did, I really did... I wanted to help people. It wasn't the being the Doctor that was the problem, it was the pressure that sucked. I'm the Chief Medical Officers daughter"
Octavia rolls her eyes
"Hey no I'm serious! There were expectations. How many Medical positions do you think were available on the Ark? How many Doctors do you think 2,500 odd people actually need? If you wanted to get a gig in Medical you needed to make damn sure you were the 'S why I was in that clinic at 14."
Clarke went back to tugging on the loose thread. She shouldn't she was only going to make a hole.
"Kids of the current staff had the advantage because we were automatically accepted into the Training Programe. What we did with that was up to us...but no one wanted to be THAT kid who had it handed to them and still couldn't make the cut."
Octavia opens her mouth to respond but as she does Lincoln emerges out of the darkness with no less than three rabbits hang from a wire at his side.
"Hell yeah Bunny for the Belly!" Octavia crows exuberantly instead.
Clarke groans and slaps the girl next to her on the shoulder
"God shutup! That was the worse line I've ever heard!...remember you're cooking tonight!"
"What!? Why!"
" Its my Camp and Lincoln caught it...therefore you get to cook it!"
Clarke looks back up to Lincoln for confirmation. He's standing just inside of the light of the fire, rabbits now in one hand ready to pass on but he's watching the both of them with the smallest of smiles touching the corner of his mouth. For Lincoln it was the equivalent a full toothed grin.
He ducked his head stepping forward to pass the rabbits to Octavia.
"I am glad to see that you two have talked" Clarke couldn't be sure but she thought his smile got slightly bigger and it definitely turned into a smirk as he lent down to drop a kiss on Octavia's forehead while slyly depositing the rabbits in her lap.
" and Clarke is right Hodnes, I believe it is your turn to cook" Love
"Lincoln!?" Squalked Octavia apparently displeased at having freshly skinned rabbits land in her lap.
"C'mon!? Seriously? You're suppose to be on my side!"
Clarke who was sure she'd never laugh again after the mountain couldn't help but chuckle at her friends antics.
"If you want to get them out of your lap while you prepare... I've dubbed that rock over there with bunny number one on it 'table rock' its relatively clean of sand..."
Octavia rose with a long suffering sigh.
"Clarke that's not a bunny over there that's the mutilated corpse of a slasher victim. Would one of you two branwoda please find me some water? All this heart felt yaking has made me thirsty..."Fools
With that she unceremoniously drops the rabbits onto table rock and goes in search of a suitable skewer.
Lincoln quirked and eyebrow at Clarke before turning to rummage in one of their packs presumably to look for the requested water.
Clarke stretches here legs and gets comfortable. Despite her 'apathy bubble being well and truly burst, the blonde finds she doesn't care. Right now she's getting as much warmth from her friends as the fire in front of her and after weeks out in the cold she welcomes the relief. So for now she'll savour it, savour it right up until the moment is shattered by whatever news her companions bring her.