Kira whistled through her teeth and Fenrir stopped walking. The grounder took two more steps so that she was standing beside the wolf, near enough that his fur tickled her leg. She pat his head, reassuring herself that he was not defensive. If the animal was calm, it meant there were no predators nearby. In the center of the clearing, just as she predicted, was a boy tied to the tree. He was shirtless and bloody with vines around his torso and wrists, but his wound had been tended to. There were plenty of traps between her and the tree, but she knew where all of them were. It wasn't a problem because she was not attempting to get to the tree. Her curiosity satisfied, she turned her back on the boy. Cutting him down would be too great of a risk. She had already put herself in danger by moving this far into Trikru territory.
The boy groaned and the wolf barked. Kira hesitated; it hurt her to hear someone in so much pain. She took a breath and swallowed and then walked away. It was not her problem. Yet as she moved a new question was raised. She saw what the people of the trees had done with him, but how long would he last? Would his people come for him?
"Get," she ordered the wolf and scaled the nearest tree that still gave her a view of the hunting pit. Kira spotted the blonde girl from before, not far off from her position. She was with four other by the river, but they were too far away still to see properly. Kira clutched the branch with her thighs as she strained forward. The air that was calm on the ground was a violent wind at her altitude.
The wind though, carried the voices to her instead of wiping them out. "Now would be a good time to get out that gun," Kira heard a female voice say.
Kira gulped; she was safe because they would never see her up there, but the mention of a gun still frightened her. These sky people were seeming more and more dangerous. They spoke like the Mountain Men, they carried the same weapons. Perhaps they weren't going to be her new people as she originally thought.
The boy moaned again and the group hurried to follow his voice. As they approached, Kira was able to see them better. Alongside the blonde girl was the long-haired boy from before, the black kid from the bonfire, a boy Kira didn't recognize, and finally their leader. His hair was no longer slicked back, but fell casually above his eyes.
Not him, Kira worried as they stepped into the clearing.
"Jasper?" the blonde girl cried. "Oh my god, Jasper."
"Clarke, be careful!" The long-haired boy tried to hold her back.
Jasper. Clarke. Kira committed the names to memory.
"What the hell is this?" Bellamy asked as they began walking towards the gruesome sight. Clarke stepped on weak ground and instinctively, Bellamy reached out to grab her as she fell. He caught her arm as she dangled above a pit of spears. It would be so easy to let her slip.
"Get her up!" Finn yelled, but the man barely heard it.
One accident and his life would be safe from the ark. She was heavier than expected. The other guys rushed to his side and helped him lift her from the pit.
Kira drew a knife from her boot at the commotion. She would have given anything for her bow and a couple arrows. Why did she leave it behind? Her aim had always been perfect. Whether it was an arrow, a spear, or a blade, Kira would always hit her target. The problem was that she liked this knife and she didn't want to waste it saving the life of someone she didn't know.
A growl came from the tree line and Kira adjusted her grip on the blade.
"What the hell was that?" Murphy asked, trying to hide his panic.
"Grounders?" Bellamy suggested although he knew it wasn't. That noise wasn't even remotely human.
Kira watched in horror as the panther revealed itself. The kids below her seemed frozen in fear as the animal ran towards them. "Bellamy! Gun!" Clarke shouted and the leader reached for a weapon. Kira snarled sounding quite similar to the beast. By the time her knife would make it to the creature, the cute one would already be dead. It was pointless.
Bellamy's hand grasped air and for the first time since they landed he truly felt panic. This wasn't just losing the kids' trust. He was about to lose his life. The echo of gunshots startled him and he looked up to see Wells holding his weapon. He hadn't even noticed the kid take it from him. He should have been a thief, Bellamy scoffed, regaining his composure as the animal fell out of the air, mid-pounce. He couldn't believe it, Wells just saved his life. He didn't want to dwell on it. He wanted to get Jasper and get the fuck out of there, back to camp.
Kira let out a sigh of relief and then bit her tongue, surprised that she let out an audible sound. In fact, she was impressed with the black boy. He was too young for her to think he was cute, but he reacted like a grounder. She put away her knife and shimmied down the tree. Her feet planted firmly on the ground, she wanted to find Fenrir, but didn't dare whistle in case the sky people heard her. Kira began heading back towards her shelter, knowing it was still hours away. She grabbed her spear from where she had planted it in the dirt before climbing the tree, thanking the goddess that it was still there.
The sun set and the temperature plummeted. Kira could see her breath, but didn't mind under her pelt. She whistled for Fenrir, but no animal responded. Fear found its way to Kira, closing her chest. Did the panther kill him? She knew it hadn't, she would have heard the wolf fighting, but fear was not a reasonable thing. The woman picked up her pace, not caring if she was seen. She whistled again, pushing through the forest, jumping over roots and breaking branches as she headed towards her tent.
The journey back to camp was slower for the sky people, not arriving at the dropship until well after dark. Bellamy and Murphy carried their kill in the parachute Wells had packed while Wells and Finn carried Jasper.
Fresh meat, Bellamy thought as they gently placed it down. He was happy to get rid of it, his arms aching and drenched in sweat, but he would never show it. Already a plan was formulating in his head as he basked in the cool light of the moon. They're gonna think I'm a hero. "Who's hungry?!" he asked and was answered with cheers as he often was.
He looked over and saw Octavia, smiling. He reached out and drew her towards him, placing his chin on top of her head. He would have to be more careful, he had almost lost her twice now. Who would take care of her if he died? He smiled with his arm around his baby sister's shoulders.
⃝⃝⃝
Fenrir was not in Kira's tent either. She let out a cry of frustration, throwing her spear against the rock wall in anger. It snapped in half, but she was too upset to care. There was a lump in her throat that prevented her from crying. Her stomach churned as she ran in direction of the Skikru's camp and her thoughts were preoccupied with not vomiting. Kira scoffed when she saw the dropship; surrounding it was what looked like the beginning of a wall, but it was a pathetic wall. She chuckled to herself and wiped her nose on her forearm, sniffling away the sadness. She sat in the grass with her arms resting on her knees, watching the kids line up. The glow of the fire made it look arm and homely as they traded their matching bracelets for chunks of meat. One didn't though and then Clarke didn't. Another made to grab for meat and Kira thought there might be anarchy. She should reveal herself now, before all hell broke loose.
Bellamy caught the kid's wrist before he touched the food. How dare they defy him. He swung at the kid and his fist connected with the boy's jaw. He glowered as he watched Clarke and Finn walk away. If they thought they could remove him as leader, they had another thing coming. No one wanted to get hurt. As he simmered in anger, he realized his sister and Atom were both missing.
It satisfied Bellamy to see Atom hanging in the tree. He told Atom no one touches his sister and the kid went off and decided to make out with Octavia.
"You guys aren't just going to leave me here," Atom begged.
"No, Atom, I won't be disobeyed," Bellamy replied. There would be rules. His rules.
Kira watched Bellamy leave the fire and realized she had missed her opportunity. She felt a soft head rest itself against her leg and looking down, she saw Fenrir. She cried out and threw her arms around the animal's neck, burying her face in his gray fur. "I thought I lost you," she whimpered.
Fenrir's only response was continued panting.
The grounder picked herself up off the ground and brushed the dirt from her leather pants. "Let's go home," she smiled at the wolf and he trotted beside her back to the tent.