Chapter 1: Water

"Clarke, are you sure we're going the right way? We've been walking in the forest for hours, and still haven't seen a single deer," said Octavia, trudging behind me with a spear in her hand. Behind her were Monty and Jasper, tossing berries into each other's mouths from a distance as they walked. Their spears were practically dragged on the ground.

I led them through a rough game trail and replied, "Yeah, this is the right way. Don't worry."

"Hey, Octavia, you know a lot about Greek and Roman mythology, right?" asked Jasper, his mouth full of berries.

"Yeah, my mom used to read me those stories as a kid. Might as well tell your kid all about the Earth before you send her to the floor for bedtime after all," replied Octavia, grunting as we pushed our way through a particularly rough patch of brambles.

Monty chimed in, "Tell us one. All my parents ever read to me at night were agricultural tech manuals."

"Well, considering we're hunting deer in the woods, you want to hear the one about Actaeon?"

"Go ahead. Never heard of him."

Octavia began, "Okay, so Actaeon was a Greek hunter with the most ruthless hunting dogs. One day, he was hunting in the woods with them, when he came across a woman bathing in the river."

"Lucky guy!" laughed Jasper, as he high-fived Monty.

"You wanna hear the rest of the story or not? Anyway, unfortunately for Actaeon, that woman was Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt. He was awestruck by her beauty, unable to take his eyes off her. Again, unlucky for him, she noticed him, and in her embarrassment and anger, she turned him into a deer. Actaeon's dogs didn't recognize him in that form, so they tore him to pieces. Badass story, right?" quipped Octavia with a grin.

"That was depressing. You've ruined my dreams," complained Jasper. Monty added, "Note to self: avoid naked women in the woods."

Now, that would be a welcome sight in these woods, instead of all these eerie trees and shadows. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and whispered to them, ""Guys, quiet. Eyes forward, weapons up. There could be grounders around. We're almost there."

We crept over a steep rise of rocks. At the top of the ridge, the tree trunks and bushes provided enough cover to hide all four of us. As we took our positions in cover, I heard the others sigh with relief.

In the clearing ahead grazed three deer. One had two heads, one of which was smaller and more deformed. The other two only had one each thankfully, which made them easier to look at. Their backs were against us, which gave us an advantage.

"Three deer? Damn, when we get back to the dropship, we're going to be heroes," commented Monty softly. Jasper nodded, turned to me and asked, "So what's the plan?"

"I'm not sure we can take all three of them," I answered honestly with a sigh, "Even though we have four spears, it might not be enough to take them all down. We're better off targeting one, and if we kill it fast enough, we might have time to chase a second."

As the others nodded in agreement, I pointed at the two-headed deer and said, "Octavia and Monty, throw your spears at that one. It's the biggest, and hopefully it's the slowest. Jasper and I will try to box it in from the sides. If we take it down quick, we'll go after the one on the right. We'll try to keep it running between us until you two catch up to get it from behind."

Jasper and I edged along opposite sides of the clearing, taking care not to step of twigs or dry leaves on the ground. As soon as I raised my hand signal, Monty's and Octavia's spears launched out of the bush towards the two-headed deer. One spear struck its hindquarters, while another was lodged deep into its neck. It fell to the ground with a gut-twisting groan. Since it was clearly dying, Jasper and I chased after the second target.

In its blind panic, the deer was unbelievably swift as it tore through rough trails in the woods. But it was easy enough to frighten and trap between me and Jasper, as we tried to get closer from the sides. I could hear Monty and Octavia catching up to us from behind. We had it surrounded.

Suddenly, a deep roar pierced my ears and a black shadow from the tree above engulfed the fleeing deer. I stopped abruptly, digging my heels as hard in the ground as I could. A black panther stood a few meters away between me and Jasper, with the deer's broken neck trapped in its jaws. It dropped its prized and growled in warning as Monty and Octavia approached.

"Guys, back away slowly," I said in a low voice, stepping back with my spear lowered and aimed at the panther. "Keep your weapons aimed but try not to make any sudden moves."

As we backed up and moved closer together, the panther advanced with a steady growl rumbling in its throat. "Clarke, it sounds angry," whispered Octavia, her shoulder pressed hard against mine, "I don't think we can handle this one."

Racking my brain, I came up with only one solution. "I'll distract it. As soon as it goes after me, run back to the dropship and get some gunners. I'll wait. I'll find someplace to hide."

"That's insane," snapped Jasper, shaking his head vigorously, "We can't just leave you here. Where the hell can you even hide?"

"I'll climb a tree or find a cave. We can't all die here." With that, I slashed at the panther and lodged my spear deep into its shoulder. "Go!" I yelled as it pounced. Dodging to the side, I took a second swipe against it and dashed towards the end of the clearing, hoping to get its attention. "Go! Now!"

The others took off sprinting. Octavia looked back and called, "Stay alive, Clarke! We'll be back for you!"

I hope so. I dodged another pounce from the panther and turned heel, running as fast as I could in the opposite direction. Racing between the roughened tree trunks, I ran until the forest seemed to stream around me. All I could hear were my own heavy breathing, the pounding of my footsteps and the approaching growl of the panther right at my heels. I pushed through a bramble of thorns and realized I had run right off a steep bluff that overlooked a river.

Suddenly, the world spun as I tumbled over and rolled, trying to grasp half-hidden tree roots to stop my fall. I landed with a muffled thud on the mud below, and tried to scramble back onto my feet, but the muddy ground was slippery. The panther stood at the peak of the rise and launched itself down with an ear-splitting roar.

I held my arms up to defend myself, when I heard a sudden thud and it landed right on top of me. Its mouth was wide open and inches away from my face, so close that I could smell the deer's blood fresh on its muzzle. What shocked me was the arrow wedged right between its eyes. I shoved its heavy, limp body off of me, and I leapt up to stand.

"Hod op!" shouted a voice behind me. "Chon yu bilaik? Chit yu gaf?"

Great. Grounders.

I raised my hands and placed them behind my head, as I turned around slowly to face the source of the voice. A few meters away, right by the river, stood a female Grounder. Her bow was drawn with an arrow aimed directly at me. Her mouth was a thin, tight line as her fingers tensed around the bow.

Her drawn weapon didn't surprise as much as the fact that she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. Her olive skin gleamed under the sun. Green eyes stared back into mine, and reminded me of the streaming forest I had just run through. She seemed to be a few years older than me and a few inches taller, but her build was leaner with more muscle. Her long brown hair was draped over one shoulder. What added to her beauty was that her battle-ready stance seemed so natural.

Another surprise — she was completely naked.

Just my luck. My very own Artemis.

"Please! Don't shoot!" I struggled to speak in a clear and loud voice, keeping my hands up and my eyes locked on anything above her shoulders. "I'm not a threat! I was just running from that creature."

Her fingers tightened around the bow, as she replied in a low voice, "I'll decide if you're a threat or not."

"Wait, you speak English? Please, I don't mean any harm." I took a small step back.

"Stay where you are, Skaikru! Do not move!"

She sounded angry, so I froze and raised my arms even higher. "All right! Just don't shoot, ple—"

Suddenly, she loosed her arrow, which whizzed right past my face. It was so close that I felt the air it cut graze my cheek. As every muscle in me tightened, I closed my eyes and prayed the next arrow would miss too.

Several excruciatingly long seconds passed, when she said, "You can open your eyes, Skaikru. It's dead."

I opened my eyes and saw that she had lowered her bow. She gestured for me to turn around. As I did, I saw a second black panther lying a couple meters away with her arrow deep in its side.

"Its mate must have followed during the hunt," she explained. Based on the sound of clothes rustling behind me, I realized she must have been dressing up. "You're quite an unlucky one, Skaikru." Her voice seemed to lighten with that small joke.

I turned to face her and saw her decked in dark Grounder armor. Feeling that I could relax around her, I lowered my arms and said, "Thank you. You saved my life twice just now."

"Consider them as debts that you owe me, Skaikru," she said frankly, strapping her bow around her shoulder and securing a sword at her hip. She was armed with a number of knives that fit in the seams of her armor. A quiver full of arrows rested against her leg.

I extended my hand and said, "My name is Clarke."

She eyed my hand for a second, then looked right in my eyes. Her own eyes flicked from left to right, scanning my face as though she was looking for any reason not to trust me. With a sudden exhale, she grasped my forearm tightly and replied, "Lexa."

Suits her. That definitely sounds like a goddess of the hunt's name.

"Thank you, Lexa."

"Maybe you can do me a favor in return, Clarke."

My curiosity piqued, I asked her, "It depends. What do you need?"

"For you to come quietly."

Gripping my forearm with unforeseeable strength, she swung her sword with her other arm, ramming the hilt against my temple. My vision blurred and I felt myself slump to the ground. She caught me as I fell.

"Sorry, Clarke," she whispered into my ear as she dragged me.

This really is my lucky day.

I passed out.

A/N: Heyow! This is my first Clexa fanfic, since I crammed the past three seasons into my brain over four days. Reviews would be much appreciated! :D