"Clarke."

"Yes?" The blonde broke off her conversation with Nyko and turned around to face Lexa.

"Would you like to meet my cat?"

Clarke gave a glance back to Nyko, forgetting that he wasn't Raven or Octavia... someone who would give her a look back with some raised eyebrows or knowing smirk. Instead, the grounder just looked off into the distance as though he had no right to be overhearing their conversation.

"Sure," Clarke said hesitantly. She noticed Lexa's shoulders and face relax considerably. Ever since the commander walked away from Mount Weather and Clarke, and the kiss, it had been a little tense between them. It had taken her a while to realize that she could have easily come to the same decision to save dozens of her own people. It's not really something they've talked about out loud, though. It's mostly been communicated through looks. A look of I'm sorry. And a look of I understand... not I forgive you, but I understand why.

"This way then," and she started to slowly walk back to the direction she came from, waiting for Clarke to come abreast of her. They started to wind their way through the brick and wood houses of Polis.

!OvO!

Polis was still a maze to Clarke, so she followed Lexa's lead when a turn would be made, but she did notice that they were heading in the direction of the commander's house.

"Have you heard how we know who the next commander is?"

"I haven't, but I've been wondering."

They continued walking forward as the brunette started to explain. "We believe that once the current host's fight is over the commander's spirit enters the Spirit Realm for a certain amount of time – it is different every time. Because of the variation, it is not as simple as selecting the next child born to Trigedakru. Each newborn is noted for the next year after the commander has died. When the youngest turns six the selection is done with those still alive."

Lexa paused to lift her arm to indicate turning to the left – Clarke's side. Clarke recognized that they were now going in a different direction than Lexa's house, which was nearby.

Clarke wondered what sort of selection process was done – imagining battles to the death or some feats of strength and fitness. The blonde hummed to show she was listening and wanted to hear more.

"They took us out to an ancient city where the plants had reclaimed their land, but there was still corpses of the buildings. Our challenge was to catch a cat – just a house cat that had become feral after the Great War, " she clarified as she noticed Clarke's shocked expression. The blonde had been thinking of the big black cat that attacked them when getting Jasper from the tree. "The first child to bring a cat back to the general is deemed to have the commander's spirit."

Lexa started to slow down in front of a wood building that was relatively large compared to the other houses. On the right side of it there were holes in the wood placement towards the roof - to allow sunlight in, Clarke guessed. There were two front doors; Lexa opened the one to the right and held it open for the blonde.

Inside this half of the house were a menagerie of boxes, cubbyholes, climbing posts, blankets and beds made out of different kinds of fur. And the cats! There were so many cats. The blonde had no idea how many were in the room, but guessed at least 30 were visible.

"What is this place?" the blonde couldn't help but ask.

"It is usually referred to as The Cat Lady's House – she lives in the other half," Lexa replied while pointing to the left, where Clarke noticed the only door on that side of the room. "She kept getting more cats so she had this building made especially to house herself and the growing number of cats she took care off. But not all of these cats are hers. She has become a caretaker of sorts. When people leave for war, battles, or other things they often leave them here and she takes care of them. And some people, like me, leave them here during the day so they can enjoy the company of other cats while we are busy."

Clarke started to chuckle. There were so many cats. She couldn't believe anyone could take care of so many or why they would want to – it didn't smell the greatest. There were several cats on high perches and three lean cats working their way up different posts. A couple others were drinking from a small tub of water in a far corner. In the back wall was a small hole near the floor, allowing the cats to get in and out of the building.

As she took in the room, the blonde could feel Lexa's eyes on her. She turned to see the commander giving her a faint smile.

"I... we didn't have any pets on the Ark, unless you count some people taking care of plants and fungi," she tried to explain her awe. Lexa's smile just grew a little bit.

"Then Gustave will be the first you will meet."

"Do they... bite or scratch?" Clarke asked hesitantly, remembering how the large black cat had attacked her and her companions.

Lexa's lips twitched into a slight smirk. "Gustave won't. Some might, though. If you make relatively nice cats angry then they may even if they usually would not. But Gustave won't; he may have started out feral, but he's a natural at being domestic," she reassured. "Gustave," she started to call. "Gustave!"

Somewhere forward and to the right, they heard a meow-groan.

Clarke noticed Lexa let out a soft sigh.

"He is not going to come," she said under her breath.

The commander started her way towards where they heard the sound, carefully picking her way through the cats. Clarke followed, noticing Lexa making her way to a group of cats lying on a pile of furs. Lexa stopped and sat on top of a large platform/cubbyhole that was near these cats.

"Gustave," she called one more time.

The fattest cat Clarke had ever seen – the fattest cat in the room – slowly started to stand up and stretch from the middle of the furs. He looked at Lexa, then took his time making his way to her. The gray cat sat in front of her and let out a soft meow.

Lexa picked him up, sat him on her lap, and began to pet him. He began to purr. Clarke noticed that Lexa looked the most relaxed she had ever seen her.

"You can pet him," Lexa said – the lift of her eyebrows saying, if you want to.

Clarke took the couple of steps forward and her left arm reached out towards the cat. Gustave's head reached out to inspect the new person's limb. Clarke froze.

"It's fine," the brunette reassured. "He likes being pet." And it was fine. Gustave continued to examine Clarke's hand and wrist until her fingers reached his side and back. "Especially behind the ears." The blonde moved her hands to the back of his neck and behind his ears, where she had noticed Lexa petting just moments ago.

Lexa inclined her head to the side, indicating Clarke to sit... if she wanted to.

Clarke realized this is the closest she's been to Lexa since the commander left her at Mount Weather. She wasn't exactly sure how she felt about that, but after hesitating she sat next to Lexa.

The commander's right arm withdrew from Gustave's chest and the cat moved forward to sit on Clarke's lap.

"Oh Lord... he's heavy."

The faintest laugh came from the brunette, causing Clarke to look at her. Lexa shrugged. "Only the best food for Little Gustave," she lilted as she began rubbing his back.

Clarke raised a questioning eyebrow at her – this was definitely not the commander that she knew. Gustave started to purr and her attention was brought back to him. Though he was heavy, it was a comfortable weight, and she enjoyed the softness of his fur.

"He likes you."

Clarke could feel Lexa's green eyes on her again. She turned her head to meet them. "He probably likes everyone." She couldn't imagine the cat being anything other than cuddly.

"That is true." She paused. "He likes you more, though – I can tell."

"How?"

Animal behavior wasn't something that Clarke had spent much time studying. She didn't think it would be pertinent since the generation after her was mostly going to be dead when they were supposed to leave their space cage for Earth.

"Why wouldn't he?" Clarke's face asked the question again, not accepting the non-answer. "He doesn't purr like that with everyone he just has just met. Cats aren't exactly the most trusting animals, but he's calm and comfortable – the slow sway of his tail and his heavy eyelids," Lexa explained.

Gustave did look like he could fall asleep at any moment. Clarke began to pet the side of his neck and different areas, seeing if it would change his demeanor at all. They fell into a comfortable silence, only the sounds of dozens of cats echoing inside the room.

"So, was 'Little Gustave,'" Clarke couldn't help but lilt the name as she continued to pet the content cat, "ever... thinner?"

"Not that I know of."

And here Clarke had imagined an agile, young Lexa chasing a lean feline or having to outsmart a cat in some way, but now it looked more like she happened upon the large "feral" cat napping in an abandoned building with an easy source of food. She smiled and shook her head in disbelief at the commander.

"I had just turned six, Clarke."

!OvO!

A.N.

I hope you enjoyed reading.

I've never actually owned a cat, so hopefully everything is correct-ish in that area. And if any of the other things are against the canon of The 100, let me know – I tried to keep it in the canon universe, but I'm no expert on it. So I made up some names (the Great War) and stuff for things that don't seem to have any context in the show (yet).

Please review – I would love to know what you all think and your headcanons. Thanks and have an awesome day!