Well here's part two! Great to see the story actually drew some attention and I was very happy about the favourites and followers. Thank you very much. Let's see what you think about this draft and my idea how to fix the problem with Luna. And I came up with the idea myself, really, though it resembles the end of season 4 a bit.
Enjoy reading
TWO
- Wanheda's Intention -
Octavia left the cabin they got not half an hour after they had been brought there. To her, there was no reason to talk about the happenings anymore. The last chance was gone, Luna was unable to fight Ontari and so she had no reason to be stock with a depressed Clarke and a pissed Bellamy any longer. Jasper and Monty hadn't said a tone since they'd arrived here and they hadn't looked like this was going to change.
The cool breeze, which hit her once she left the building, was comfortable and brought the smell of salt. At the same time, it brought the sounds of cheering and blades clinging against each other and her feet moved without a second thought.
The village lay on top of dangerous cliffs, Luna had mentioned before, well hidden at the outskirts from the forest. There was no chance to reach the about two dozen cabins from somewhere else than the woods and since the trees stood extremely close and were highly guarded as she saw from the distance, it would be hard for intruders to enter unseen. Luna was smart and had built a small independent society, this was beyond all question. Though the huts looked as instable as the ones in Ton DC had, their structure was sophisticated and static and they seemed to withstand the strong coast breeze with ease.
At some time, Octavia would have thought about staying. If she'd known were they would have gone back then when…Lincoln had asked her, maybe she would have decided different. But it was too late. Lincoln…Lincoln. It hurt as hell but she spelled and pronounced his name again and again in her mind. And with every time it hurt less until the constant burning was only like a burn, like she's placed her skin over a fire for too long.
Yeah, she might have stayed if things were different. But they weren't and she discovered the reason right in the middle of the crowd she was headed to. Suddenly, every other step hurt.
"You have to stay calm and focused. Think before you act." Hell no, he couldn't be serious.
Octavia stopped a bit behind the group of people, who were circling something that looked like a training area. The ground was dusty in general, but here there was a nearly round area with sand. In the middle there were Oliver and a younger grounder boy, maybe about 14 or 15, who was listening attentively to what the older man was telling. A group of fife kids was sitting a few feet next to them, listening as well. The group around them looked like they were simply curious spectators.
Octavia crossed her arms in front of her chest and peeked through some lose strains of hair to the group. Her back touched the wall of a small hut and as she stood in the shadows nobody seemed to notice.
After a few minutes, she had figured out the meaning. The other man, standing next to Oliver was called Gus and seemed to be kind of a teacher. He was small but muscular, his head full of sandy brown hair and his eyes looked fierce and kind at the same time.
Beside the kids, there was a group of older grounders, due to her clothes apparently warriors.
After a few other lectures, which reminded her painfully of what Lincoln had though her, Oliver stepped back into the lines and the kids and the younger men started a few sparring matches. It was nothing serious, since they only seemed to practice techniques more than real fighting, but Octavia liked to watch them. It became even more interesting when the dark skinned grounder left and her mind could focus on something else than him.
Although the lessons kept going the complete afternoon, Octavia stayed and watched. She enjoyed the little peace of everyday life in this village she missed since weeks. Or rather, she had missed since she'd arrived on Earth. There had been no time, when she could have developed something in a comparable way and it pissed her off.
"Hey Skigirl! What are you doing here?!" An angry voice disturbed her thoughts and Octavia needed a few seconds to recognize the dark haired woman in front of her. Kasha.
"Standing and leaning against a wall?" She offered half heartedly, because she saw her calm evening fading. "Is there a problem with that?"
When Kasha stepped closer, Octavia caught a glimpse of the people who slowly stopped fighting and instead started to stare at them. The grounder woman was about a head taller than Octavia and looked down on her with a burning gaze, head held high and on hand on the blade at her hip. The Blake only raised an eyebrow.
"I don't want scrum like you here, Skygirl." Kasha hissed hostile and Octavia could only roll her eyes. What a surprise. No day without trouble.
"I don't care." She only said, pushed herself from the wall and walked past the other woman, eyes already between the huts and searching for another silent spot she could spend the rest of the day.
Obviously the Grounder wouldn't let her. She hissed an insult in Trigedaslang and before Octavia could react, Kasha gripped her arm and kicked into her knee bit, so she stumbled forward into the group of people. Annoyed shouts reached her ears but she already tightened her stand and whirled around, angry fire in her eyes.
"Don't touch me!" She hissed and ignored the shocked look around her, "I have no desire to stay another day so let me alone."
"Anyway you came here and brought danger with you." Kasha threw back, eyes angry, body tensed. She walked straight through the people and Octavia snored silently. Why the hell again?
"Are you numb? I said piss off."
Suddenly Kasha jumped forward, gripping her wrist and holding it so hard Octavia hissed in pain.
"Be careful how you talk to me."
Octavia had enough. With a single movement, she gripped Kasha's arm with her free hand and tossed her around. A kick in her stomach and the Grounder-woman lost the grip on her, before she landed in the sand, hair messed up and mood deadly. It took her only a second to be back on her feet and only then Octavia realized that they were standing in the middle of the sparring area. A dark smirk grew on her lips, when Kasha growled.
"Do you want a piece of me, Grounder? Come on, I'd love to smash your ugly face." Actually Kasha was kind of beautiful but Octavia had successfully cracked her pride, when the woman came at her. She didn't even think about the blade at her hip and attacked with a low kick Octavia could evade. Quick fist blows followed, most of them blocked but one hit her in the stomach and she groaned, before she fought back.
And suddenly, there was only fury. A scream rose from her throat that surprised Kasha as much as herself but a second later she saw red. She hadn't had a real chance to fight for days now and there was so much pure hatred she had to let go of. And so, Kasha spit blood, when Octavia's fist crashed into her face. A kick followed which let Kasha stumble back but she somehow stabilised her body and suddenly remembered her blade. Concerned shouts reached Octavia's ears but to her own surprise there wasn't even the slightest bunch of fear. She had no weapon, no blade, only her fists but she smiled brightly and even opened her arms a bit, saying: "Come at me."
If dead was all she could get from a blade, why fear it?
It was one of the few times, she was grateful for living under the floor for sixteen years, when her body moved in a flexible way that made the spectators gape. Her back bowed to the maximum, until her hands touched to ground behind her feet und she managed to use to momentum to kick Kasha's blade out of her hands with one leg. The warrior screamed in anger and held her cracked wrist while Octavia came back to her feet, hands still on the ground and grinning.
Blood. All in her screamed of blood. Anger, rage, fury, everything mixed up to a dangerous cocktail that poisoned her brain and she though of nothing but crushing the woman in front of her. So this time, Octavia attacked first. The speed knocked Kasha from her feet and made her fall hard on her back. She tried to roll to the side, but Octavia reached her and a kick in her abdomen made her fall moaning to the side. The Blake was after her immediately and pulled her up, hands in her pretty hair, which was now stained with blood from a little laceration on her forehead.
"Stop it!"
Octavia didn't listen. Instead the tossed the woman to the ground again, awaiting another attacker to come and help the Grounder. The man who stormed through the crowd was no other than Aron and he stopped immediately when he saw his comrade laying on the ground, obviously in pain and Octavia standing threatening over her.
"Skikru!" He barked furiously and came at her with drawn sword. "How do you dare to attack her!"
Octavia only snorted and prepared. He was bigger than her, more muscles and more weight. It would be harder than Kasha, who was more similar in body shape and strength but she didn't expect Aron to be as quick and agile as she could be. But after all he had a blade and she hadn't. So her next move was to jump back and grip Kasha's blade the woman had lost before. She never had the chance to use it properly. When Aron came at her, the man from before, the teacher Gus, jumped in front of her and said calmly: "Stop it."
Aron looked like he was about to explode.
"Who are you to question me? Yo shil em op?!"
"Yes, I do Aron. Kids, help Kasha." Two of the kids stumbled closer, ready to help the distressed woman, but she just slapped their hands away and growled at Octavia.
"Bitch."
"Likewise."
"Octavia!" The Blake only groaned and threw away the blade when Bellamy and Clarke made their way through the constantly growing crowd. "What are you doing?!"
"What?" She answered darkly with a smirk, "You may slaughter an entire army, but I may not kill one woman?"
"Octavia!" Clarke yelled at her now. "We came here in peace!"
"Oh calm down, you two, I was joking. The bitch attacked me. I just defended myself."
Aron growled with disgust. "As if you…"
"She speaks truth." Gus man stated and for a second Aron looked shocked. Anyway he didn't seem to doubt him for a second, since his eyes moved to the green eyed woman just a moment later.
"Kasha? She defeated you?"
"Nasty little bitch. She cheated on me."
"No Kasha, you lost, because you didn't think. She was better. Em might bilaik com skikru ba em ste gona."
Well, Octavia wouldn't say she herself thought so much during the fight. Something she realized just now, when her rage began to cool down. And with the fading anger, the pain came back. The resignation. The sorrow. A gona huh? She was just a broken woman.
She vanished from the scenery and nobody except Bellamy tried to stop her. With every step she took, she felt the look from dark mysterious eyes burning into her and she saw his big figure in the shadows of the cabin she had stood before. She didn't turn around, but kept walking until she reached what was probably the end of the village. It had to be, because a few feet further the ground vanished and the cliffs fell about two hundred feet down to the sea. Waves crashed against the bedrock, hungry, like the radiated animals used to bear down on their prey.
Octavia heard the steps behind her, strong and determined steps, which might be unheard on a better ground like grass or earth. But the stones crunched under his feet and so she turned around, face blank. He stopped very far from her, about ten meters, but she felt as if he could read her face from all over the distance. He was tall, strong and handsome and again she could cry, because at the distance he looked exactly like the man she loved and who had a bullet in his head now. She had never had the chance to bury him properly…
"What do you want?" She asked after a minute of silence, because everything he was doing was to stare at her and she didn't like it, because something, maybe a crippled little peace in her soul, started to feel warm and restless under his gaze. His longing gaze. Damn no…No she couldn't bear it. She was just imagining Lincoln, how he had looked at her. This man didn't know her.
"Who ever had your heart, has trained you well, Octavia com Skikru. You fight like one of us." Pain ripped her just regenerating soul into two and she wondered how often she'd have to go through this again and again until it didn't feel so final anymore.
.
"I know he has." She pressed forward, throat tight.
"Why have you named yourself Trikru, when you came from the sky?" No. It was too much.
"Go." She whispered, "Please just go."
But he didn't. He stayed were he was, figure tall and protective, although he as well had weapons at his hip and a knife in either of his boots.
"I don't want to. Tell me."
Lincoln would have gone, she knew. He was determined but not that persistent if he could see how much she was in pain. And she knew it was obvious, since her eyes were wet and her shoulders shaking.
But before she could break, a commotion close to Luna's tent saved her. Oliver tensed and concern flashed his face, making it even more handsome. Damn. Some people rushed to Luna's entry, Clarke one of them, Bellamy close behind. She couldn't see Jasper and Monty and probably it was better like that. Less people, who might get in trouble.
"Luna's dying."
The words just came, she didn't saw them coming. The effect they had was interesting to watch, though his eyes became like ice the first time.
"Disease?" Was her first guess and seemingly she had hit the mark. Now with a stronger voice and able to ignore the already fading weakness in her heart, she tightened her shoulders and made a step.
First he watched her silently, eyes unreadable, even for her. Then something in his pupils lit up for a second and he answered calmly: "There is no help. Radiation has brought her body to its limits. It's already a miracle she has survived so many years." This was indeed true as Octavia knew.
And to her own fucking surprise she stopped him from turning around by saying: "I was born in the Sky but I was an unwanted child. Because of…Lincoln I became part of the Trikru. Not for long. But long enough."
The Grounder, who resembled Lincoln so much didn't smile at her, like her love used to. The kindness in his face was completely missing. Yet she saw the tiny flinch at the corner of his mouth and tried herself a smile. Nobody would call it honest therefore it was too agonized, but he seemed to understand in an awkward impossible way what she was trying to express.
Without another word he turned around to join his people with their concern for his leader. She watched his figure disappear in Luna's cabin and took another look at the sea. The Ocean was huge. She's never seen it in real and pictures didn't come close to how far and endless it seemed. Nevertheless she couldn't enjoy it. She was unable to feel this kind of joy for something like nature anymore. And she hated fate for that.
The second she neared Luna's cabin, she heard the loud fight, but she didn't understand what was yelled. She expected it to be either Kasha or Aron but the figure that finally burst out and nearly crashed into her was unexpected. Bellamy looked like he'd seen a ghost and fought an entire army at the same time. His face was pale, his eyes looked haunted and she could see how the veins under his arms tensed in a way that make them grow out of his skin. She considered asking.
She let him pass without a word and entered the cabin instead. Inside she found a desperate looking Clarke, an ashen-faced Kasha, a heavenly pissed Aron and the man who had defended her before at the sparring area, named Gus. It was pure irony she was facing and so she only said dryly to a surprised Clarke: "How do I know that the plan you probably have will get another hundred people killed, Wanheda?"
While Clarke looked like she either wanted to slap her or to burst out in tears, Kasha let hear a dangerous growl, when Luna, who looked even worse than in the morning, focussed her. Her lips were red and built a scary contrast to the rest of her face.
"You're wrong, Octavia. This will save us. It has to."
"Then why did Bellamy just storm out like a mad bull? Up to know he hasn't been so much against slaughter if it was for common good, so this time you probably came up with something extreme."
"Octavia, I…"
"Shut up. I don't think I want to hear you're explanation."
"THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!" Aron suddenly yelled and within a second, Clarke had a knife at her throat so roughly a stream of blood came already running down her light skin. She didn't give a peep but her eyes widened in shock. There was a part in Octavia moving and screaming at her to help, but the majority of her hard-bitten consciousness only stood there, smirking.
The poor queen had finally pissed off her knight. What a big surprise.
"I don't allow the death bringer to take you as well! I won't allow it! I…"
"This is nothing you allow, Aron. This is my decision, only." Luna's voice was faint, yet strong although she would make much more impression if she hadn't the appearance of a dead body.
"Someone so kind to enlighten me?" Octavia asked half heartedly and was ignored as expected. Now Kasha joined the fight and took one of Luna's pale hands, her before so cramped face suddenly kind and full of desperate concern.
"Luna, you cannot possibly think about doing this. It's impossible."
"It's not." Clarke breathed, panic still in her eyes and blade still at her throat, "And we have no other choice."
"Of course there is! You will go right now! You're not wanted anymore!"
"ARON! TEIK GO!"
The tall man screamed in frustration and pushed Clarke away, who managed to grip a table to not fall backwards.
"You can't honestly think about it, Luna! You'll die when they do this to you!"
Somehow, Luna managed to keep calm and when she spoke, Octavia understood why. And suddenly out of nowhere, she felt profound sympathy and understanding towards the other woman, because she simply said: "I'll die anyway, the one way or the other."
Then she spoke to Clarke, eyes on Octavia though, who felt watched. "Does she know?"
"No." the blonde princess answered hesitantly and now Octavia's instincts started screaming in alert. "There might be somebody else, but most of the people back in Polis aren't fit to the task. And I will not risk choosing somebody who might hurt my people. If this is supposed to work, we need somebody of Skikru or better somebody who is Earthborn and considerate to our people. She's our best possibility at the moment.
I'd rather risk Ontari slaughtering us all than creating another legitimate commander who will do just the same if I have another chance"
"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Octavia interrupted, anger now rising. Create a commander? This sounded treacherously like a plan on others costs and so God wanted now she herself seemed to be the target of another Griffin plan that would eventually kill more people than it saved.
"I think you should talk to her in privacy. I will think about your offer, Clarke Griffin. As I've said, I'll die eventually. If I decide to help you, I insist you'll do anything to keep my people safe as well." Clarke only nodded and pulled an annoyed Octavia carefully out of the cabin.
The second they were outside, the Blake shook off the small hand aggressively and walked towards the cabin their people used. Clarke followed her silently, completely lost in thoughts and when they reached the building made of wood and metal, Octavia could already hear another dispute inside. Great.
Already expecting the worst Octavia unceremoniously busted into the cabin and ran directly into a discussion between Monty, Jasper and Bellamy and whatever last had been pissed before, it was obviously still topic.
"No! It is out of question she's taking the damn thing!"
"Then what shall we do instead, Bellamy?" Monty shouted back in a surprisingly angry voice and tried to face the rampaging former janitor. "Do you have a better plan then please, tell us!"
"I just want a fucking plan that doesn't get my sister killed, damn it!"
Octavia stopped dead in her tracks and blinked a few times in confusion. Behind her she heard Clarke closing the door, because outside some people were already wondering where all the noise was coming from. Now the boys had also recognizes the two women standing in front of the door and Bellamy's face darkened the second he saw his blonde princess. Octavia only giggled meanly.
"Well, beside the part of me being killed, I want to know what's up." And over the shoulder to Clarke she hissed, "This time he's definitely pissed at you. How did you screw up this time?"
But before Bellamy could erupt, Jasper stormed forward and he was staring at Clarke with angriness too.
"Clarke has the ridiculous idea to put the AI into somebody who hasn't got the nightblood and that's impossible!" Now he turned to Clarke. "You have said yourself it will kill anybody instantly!"
"But there might be a chance it doesn't! If we…"
"Don't come up with this bullshit again, Clarke!" Bellamy shouted and all about his body screamed threat towards the blonde, "You'll not engraft Luna's bone marrow into my sister, because it might turn her into a damn nightblood! If you want to play crazy surgeon do it the hell with somebody else!"
Okay. This was something Octavia had never expected.
The sun finally set outside and Octavia and Clarke hadn't spoken a proper sentence yet. Shortly after his explosion Octavia had kicked Bellamy as well as Jasper and Monty out and locked the door, leaving her alone with Clarke. And the blonde looked like she expected another shrieking attack. But Octavia had fun to keep quiet because it made her terribly nervous. She had simply placed herself in the old and uncomfortable armchair and watched the pale blonde with a look she knew was cool and accounting.
And while she fretted Clarke purposely with her emotionless silence, her brain ran at full speed.
So Clarke's plan was to engraft Luna's bone marrow into her body like the Mountain Man had done to change the blood type, what made them immune to the radiation like the Sky People. The idea was…funny. Disgusting but funny and heavenly ironic, because Clarke chose probably the only way to piss Bellamy completely off so he refused to talk to her again. Great. If the topic wasn't so serious she would have laughed.
Did she want to be the guinea pig for this experiment? Hell no.
Did she want Clarke and Bellamy to keep fighting? Maybe a bit.
Did she volunteer to do this? Definitely not.
But if they were pulling this through, would she agree?
"Clarke." She said eventually and saw the nervous blonde flinch the same second. She expected her to scream and to freak out. Octavia was close. "Tell me you aren't serious about this bullshit." She had the slightest hope she'd understood something wrong, but again, Octavia Blake told herself she shouldn't be surprised how unscrupulous this woman was. Clarke Griffin gulped then nodded.
"Yes I am." And that was the moment the anger took control.
"I will not become a crazy leader of a bunch of savages just because you got the former one killed, like you kill anyone around you!" Octavia screamed and jumped up from the armchair in a way that made the furniture crash against the wall.
"Just because you have a fucking desire to be the world's saviour I won't play your game!"
But obviously Clarke wasn't ready to back down. Or she was just stupid. "Then you'll let Ontari lead them? She'll kill all of us, all of our people, if she hasn't done it already!"
"Why should I give a fuck about this, Clarke?"
"They are your people."
"Hell no! They stopped being my people the day they floated my mother for having me. The 100 stopped being my people the day all of you ran back to the adults as soon as you cold. You stopped being my people the day you left us to run back to Lexa as her toy. Bellamy stopped being my people the day he started following Pike and my people – Lincoln! – died the day this damn son of a bitch shot a bullet through his head! So tell me Clarke, why the fucking hell should I give a damn about a single one of you?!"
Her heart had started pumping faster and she felt the Adrenalin rush through her veins. Anger, hurt. She wouldn't allow Clarke to use her again. She wouldn't be a pawn for a queen who would even sacrifice her king to reach the other side of the chessboard. Not again.
And still, Clarke had the brass neck to say: "Because we are the only ones you have left. And you're not made for being alone."
"How do you know? You know nothing, Wanheda, you just know how to get people killed on accident. Screw all of you who have tried to lead their people onto the right path because you've all fucked up royally." Finally, finally she allowed herself to unload the piece of what could only be called hatred towards this woman. But her target was tougher and more persistent than she'd expected.
"Then do it better." Octavia snorted.
"I'd rather drown myself."
"I'm sure Ontari will do this for you, if we don't act now."
"She might try." Octavia would pay her back.
"So you have no problem fighting her?"
"She's a bitch. I'd love to punch her in the face." But right now she'd also like to break Clarke one or two bones, preferably this little nose in her fraudulent face, so she wouldn't give much on that.
"Do it then. And after this you'll take over her place." Clarke tried again and Octavia threw up her arms in played despair. "Once again, why on Earth should I do this? Why should I try to hold together the 12 or 13 clans if everything they will wish me is death? How shall I even do it? What's your plan, great Wanheda? Right now all I've heard will get me killed. I don't think Bellamy will appreciate that." She saw Clarke make a face at her words, what proved she wasn't as sure about her plan as she tried to tell them all. But her voice was strong and calm when she spat out an explanation, Octavia didn't expect.
"Because you have always been the only one of us who has tried to accept the way one has to live on this Earth. You weren't just surviving. You started to live. You managed to befriend grounders while we were focused on fighting them." Octavia had no idea how to react to that, because it was true. She hated it when Clarke was right.
"What about Luna? I don't think she'll appreciate being killed for a mere chance." Although what she'd seen in the cabin made Octavia wonder if the leader of this place was just tired. She'd seen it in her eyes. The blue had been watery, overlapped by a misty shadow, she'd seen before. Luna was tired of living.
"I've talked to her and I think she will agree, because she understands it's the only way to defeat Ontari and to restore peace."
"I'm not the best at being peaceful Clark. You should know that."
"I know indeed. But you're all we've god." She dared a step forward and although Octavia screw up her nose, the blonde faced her directly. "Ican make you a nightblood, Octavia and so you'll have the right to claim the throne. Once you have the flame, Ontari will unable to do anything against you."
"Well, she might try to kill me." Octavia stated, but somehow, her defence was fading. And only God – if there was one in this goddamn hell – knew the reason.
"We won't let her." Her opponent said determined.
"Why?" She asked back. "I've been not the friendliest to you. You owe me nothing."
"Because you are part of our people. And you're someone the grounders will accept as their leader. It's not me and god knows not Bellamy. Raven is too weak at the moment and she's generally too stubborn. The others would never be able to lead and that's no insult but simple truth. Right know we have only you. Because you want to be one of them. Because you already are one of them. We just have to prove it."
Silence filled the cabin. Wind blew from outside against the wooden structure and made the door creak in a way that underlined the spoken words awkwardly. Octavia's mind felt blank. Her heart had been dead for long now anyway and so all she had left right now was instinct and a half alert consciousness.
It was ridiculous she asked.
"Do you think it works? Do you really think it's possible?"
And she got the probably honest words she ever got from Clarke. "I don't know. It should. It must."