Clarke dropped to her knees in the mud next to the stream, barely registering the icy chill seeping through her trousers. She almost groaned in relief as the dull ache receded just slightly from her tight muscles. She noticed the small rock face across the clearing that she could use to make a good shelter, perhaps she'd stay here for a few days. Sometimes it was days before she found another water source, she should make the most of it. Since leaving Camp Jaha she had walked for weeks, months maybe. The season was turning, with the last bit of green still clinging to the trees whilst the rest lay brown and crumpled beneath her feet.

Water soaked into the sleeves of her jacket as she scooped handfuls of water to splash onto her face, wincing at the frigid water. Clarke held her hands beneath the surface and scrubbed at her hands. Only when her hands were a pale, waxen yellow did she stop to fill her water canister. She grimaced as she flexed her stiff fingers, and glanced around the clearing. And froze.

Blended with the rocks was a monstrous creature. She suspected it belonged to the bear family, but it was far larger than any she'd read about. It hadn't seen her yet. That was good, right? It yawned and lumbered to its feet as it sniffed through the undergrowth. Clarke swallowed audibly as she watched in horror. It was far, far larger than a bear. The breeze picked up and the bear stopped, swinging its gaze around to land on her. The ground reverberated with its growl- or maybe that was just her legs trembling. Slowly she reached to the back of her waistband for her gun as she assessed her options. No trees suitable for climbing, or tall enough to get her out of its reach. She doubted the two bullets left in her handgun would do any use. The bear flared its nostrils as it hungrily drank in her scent. It's jaw dropped open to taste the air, and at the sight of the large yellow teeth her courage snapped.

She ran from the clearing. The moment she moved she remembered all the books and old movies on the Ark that said never to run from a bear, but it was too late now. Damn bears were never a problem on the Ark anyway. Her legs almost locked in fear at the sound of the bear pounding after her, each leap shaking the earth. She gulped in huge lungfuls of air as she fled, not daring to take her eyes off the treacherous terrain in front of her. She could hear the bear gaining on her terrifyingly fast. She hurdled a fallen sapling, landing clumsily but managing to stay on her feet. She ran like she'd never run before, the cold air piercing her lungs as she gasped and black spots filling her vision.

"Run!" Clarke heard the shout from the trees but didn't stop to see who it was. Even as she felt the bear's hot breath behind her she felt a flash of irritation, she was running, damn it. She broke through into another clearing filled with dead leaves that she kicked up as she ran. Out of nowhere a force hit her from the side, knocking her through the air. Even before she landed she tried to work out what her new assailant was. She hit the ground hard and her foe crashed into her, driving all of the air out of her lungs as she rolled across the solid earth. She came to a halt on her back but she couldn't move and her lungs filled with fire as she tried to take a breath. The bear swept past her crumpled form and then vanished with a roar that trailed off into a whine. She closed her eyes as she panted for breath, felt leaves drift down onto her face. When the pain in her lungs eased a fraction she struggled to sit up. Her leg was twisted beneath her and pain streaked up her leg as she tried to move it. Then she saw the grounder. She fumbled for her gun but it was gone. The grounder carefully stood and brushed the leaf litter from his clothes, then barked something in Trigedasleng, but he wasn't looking at her.

More grounders appeared from the trees and approached what she now saw was a large pit dug into the earth, as long as five men. In total six grounders stood in the clearing, speaking rapidly and clapping each other on the back. Only one, the man who had tackled her, appeared to be a warrior. He turned to her a stood over her, assessing her for several long seconds before he held out a hand to help her up. Clarke took it cautiously, watching for any sudden hostility. But he ignored her and approached the pit instead. When she did not follow he beckoned her.

"Come." Clarke hobbled over to the pit, trying not to put weight on her injured knee. Standing at the edge of the pit she could see the pitfall trap clearly, the bear impaled on several vicious stakes. It heaved ragged breaths but it knew it was defeated. The warrior drew his sword and jumped down into the pit, steering clear of the jaws. He spoke reverently, and the other grounders echoed his words. They all turned expectantly to Clarke.

"We must thank its spirit." She hastily mumbled something that sounded a little bit similar. The warrior nodded, and then finished the beast off. He spoke more in Trigedasleng, and a boy of no more than twelve tied a rope to a sturdy trunk and tossed the end into the pit. The warrior pulled himself out and spoke to the others again. They laughed and looked at Clarke, who suddenly felt self conscious.

"You nearly met the same fate as that one." He explained with a jerk of his head to the pit. She blushed.

"Thank you for saving me." He was apparently the only one to speak English, and a lot friendlier than other grounders she had met.

"Ah, it was no problem, I would have been more displeased if you had ruined our hunt."

"Sorry." She mumbled again, still unsure of herself. But he broke into a wide smile. These northern Grounders really were a lot friendlier. Had she ever even seen a grounder smile before?

"Do not apologise to me, it was Kofi's hunt that you stole." He gestured to the boy who shrugged and answered with a shy smile. "He says he will get the next one, and he will do it better." Though embarrassed, Clarke took this as a good sign, that she was relaxed enough to worry about such trivial things.

"As a thank you for your help in the hunt you must come to our village, we will feast tonight. First I must fetch others to help though." He gave more instructions to the others and then strode away.

The grounders ignored her as she limped across the clearing to pick up her gun from where it had fallen. Kofi tensed as he saw the gun and muttered the word aloud to the rest of the group, who turned to look at her warily. Clarke smiled and made a show of emptying the clip, and tucked it into her waistband, feeling a little bit naked with no weapons. Three of the five held wicked looking spears, and all of them carried a knife. They seemed to understand though, and relaxed again. A girl slightly younger than herself banged her fist against her chest.

"Mina." She guessed that was her name, the rest of the Grounders followed suit and then looked to her.

"My name is Clarke." The group grew still, and Kofi chattered excitedly in Trigedeslang before turning to her.

"Clarke kom skaikru?" She nodded uncertainly and they erupted with noise. They were going far too fast to understand any parts of it, but there was a lot of angry headshaking, mainly by the two eldest Grounders, and a lot of gesturing to the pit and to Clarke. Kofi kept repeating Clarke kom skaikru with awe. Eventually the elders seemed to give in, and gestured to Mina and Kofi.

"Come." Kofi said, excitedly beckoning to her. Clarke felt unease trickle down her spine. She tried to shake her head politely. Kofi repeated himself several times, gesturing as well but she refused, she could hardly walk anyway. Mina approached and squatted next to her. She poked Clarke's knee sharply and she couldn't help but wince with pain.

"Leg. Hurts?" Clarke nodded.

"I can't walk like this." She tried to explain, but could see they were lost. Mina opened her pack and spoke rapidly with Kofi, who raced off to the edge of the clearing. He came back with large branches which she used to make a kind of splint. It helped a lot, but Clarke still didn't want to go with them. However she soon changed her mind when Kofi roughly grabbed her wrists and tied them together before she could register. Damn, he was strong for a kid half her size. He jabbed her with his spear point and she quickly got the message. She was going with them.