"I can't believe she had the audacity to…" Murphy hissed through gritted teeth as he swung his leg, his foot colliding with a moss covered log. He grimaced in frustration and pain but he was careful to keep the expression of it to a minimum. His pride and dignity had taken a plummet after he was challenged, no one dared defy him, and those that did never got away with it.
"That bitch is going to get what's coming to her, you better fucking believe it" The boy growled out to his companion, his finger poking Finn's chest.
"Don't worry, she will. But for now we need to get these off and calm down; or you'll run them back to her" Finn kept his voice low as not to be overheard as he pushed away Murphy's hand. His expression was one of warning. Finn liked Murphy, they were fast friends from the age of five, they were nothing more than just bullies to the others but only they both knew the real background of each other's history, even back then.
Murphy's calloused dirty fingers wrapped around a long thick branch covered in the grey slush of mud, his tongue wrapping around his teeth in a semi snarl. He fixed the branch between the stubborn silver bracelet and his wrist, snapping the monitor off, leaving a bright red welt in its place.
"There, they can think we are all dead." His boot kicked away the offending item and glancing up at Finn, shielding his eyes from the sun that was shining through the trees.
"And what about the others, back at the ship?" Finn questioned as he broke the bracelet off; tossing the branch to their cronies standing nearby, watching them repeat his action. Hearing the thuds of the bracelet hitting the ground was certainly satisfying.
"We can go back, they have guns in the ship and we can grab them from right under their noses" Murphy grinned sadistically as he watched the emotions play out on Finn's features, those of pure malice and a vicious smile came across his lips in agreement of his plan.
Finn stopped, realisation hitting him, "But how will we get back to the Ark when the dropship is damaged? Also now we've removed the bracelets, they won't follow us down. So how will we acquire the guns, Murphy?"
"Shit…"
"But we can still get the spare clothes and any food they might've found," Finn quickly replied, hoping to soothe his maddened friend.
Crisp leaves crunched under his boots, his front plastered against a tree as his eyes landed on Clarke and the others. He and his company were on their way back to the dropship to steal the remaining supplies. He waved for Finn to go ahead as an idea sparked up in his mind. He had unfinished business with the blonde and he was going to knock her down a peg or two. Keeping close to the trees, he moved with swift feet; avoiding being out in the open. He slammed back out of sight as she turned to regard her surroundings, suspiciously eyeing her surroundings, and stepping forward in his direction. This was his chance; he couldn't believe his luck as he waited for the perfect moment to grab her.
His small beady eyes darted around to make sure that no one else was in the vicinity. He knew he had to do this quickly in order to get away, before suspicion was cast on him. He laughed to himself, creeping closer to the blonde; thanking the fates that she was deaf and she could not hear him creeping up beside her. Murphy jerked away out of her sight when she spun around, avoiding detection. He heard the ground give away under her feet, with tension coiled in his calves; he leaped forward to grasp at her wrist. He wasn't going to let anything take this moment away from him. A niggling thought swam in the back of his mind… this was a trap. That meant, they were not alone. There was someone else here on the ground with them, he spat out a threat and he saw her eyes widen in fear. A searing heat in the pit of his gut rose in satisfaction. Blood staining the tip of his fingers with the bracelet, he loathed the very sight of her.
Confusion clouded over his features, his sharp hearing picked up hoof beats in the distance. He loosened his grasp on her wrist, intending on letting her fall to her death when he felt a blow thudding on the side of his temple. His head exploded in pain and he heard a thrumming echo throughout his skull. He let Clarke slip out of his grasp as his vision blurred into darkness and he slipped into unconsciousness.
"Lexa, of the Trikru" The figure announced to the blonde. The warrior carefully peeled herself from the young woman when she was sure that she was able to stand up herself; nodding to Anya, her companion to take care of Murphy. He was rolling around in the foetal position, groaning to himself, which was thankfully halted by a swift kick to the gut by Anya's heel. "Shop of!" Heavy lidded eyes turned back to the blonde's form.
Clarke couldn't quite pick out the lip patterns and assumed that Lexa had an accent. She was only able to pick out the 'a' at the end of the tall brunette's name, flushing in embarrassment that she could not understand. The blonde cleared her throat and pulled herself together and whispered softly. "I'm Clarke. Thank you for…" Words failed her at that moment and she couldn't find the words to express her gratitude so she pulled her notebook out and started scribbling into it before handing it to a confused Lexa. "You saved me, I can't thank you enough. He was going to kill me."
Lexa's eyes flickered over the note, curious as to why the woman in front of her was writing notes, and slowly realisation set in. The lack of inflection in Clarke's voice, the struggle to speak her words clearly and the notebook which looked well-worn as if she used it many times over the years, she was deaf. Clarke was looking at the ground, in clear embarrassment, gloved fingers under the blonde's chin and tilting her up to meet the brunette's gaze.
She pulled both of her gloves off so the deaf woman could see what she was about to do. "You are deaf, yes? Can you understand me when I'm doing this?" The brunette signed her words fast, assuming that the blonde would understand. Her expression falling at the woman's struggle to keep up, this was unusual for in her culture anyone who was deaf was taught how to communicate from a very young age.
Clarke chewed on her lower lip, her thumb pushing it between her teeth and she bit at the cracked chapped skin. This was a nervous habit that she had picked up whenever she felt overwhelmed with the situation. She hadn't expected the stunning brunette to sign to her, remembering the last time that she had tried to sign; wincing at the memory of her mother's angry expression. From then on, she would watch old videos of sign language and taught herself privately but that was some years ago; realising that it wouldn't have worked to her benefit.
Clarke was rusty but she wanted to try, for her saviour in front of her. "Yes, I am deaf. Very rusty. Can only fingerspell."Clarke was sure that she had made mistakes in her fingerspelling. She felt lighter knowing that there was at least someone on the ground that didn't look at her with contempt or revulsion. This was an unsettling feeling for her; she had so many questions for the two women in front of her. She once more tried to fingerspell, her curiosity getting the better of her. Azure eyes glancing at Anya, "Who is that?"
The stoic brunette's gaze went to Anya, her green eyes twinkling in mirth and yet her expression stayed cool, not giving anything away. With a huff and a roll of her eyes, Anya kicked Murphy once again; not contributing to the conversation in any way. Clarke recoiled at the other blonde's attitude having grown used to it being aimed at her.
After the initial confusion over her signing to the blonde, Lexa decided to take the notebook and pen from Clarke's hand; using her preferred method. "That is Anya, she will not hurt you. I promise. We will need to speak about why and how you have come here. Are there others with you?" Lexa's lithe fingers brushed the blonde's fingers when the notebook was handed back. There were many dangers in the forest; she and Anya knew they had to keep moving. She let out a small nod towards her general, her arm outstretched indicating to the boy writhing on the hard ground.
With a quiet "Sha, Heda" Anya brought Murphy back to consciousness and forced him to his feet; taking him over to her chestnut mare, to take him back to TonDC.
Clarke watched them with rapt attention, falling back on her nervous habit once more; her lower lip becoming red and raw. Lexa gently grasped the woman's wrist and removed it from her face and shook her head and finger-spelled slowly so Clarke could understand. "To my village. Are you with others?" She repeated her earlier question, to get the blonde's attention.
"Yes, they're near the river" Clarke responded. She knew the others would be there by now after their little excursion. They had been claiming that they'd wanted to see what a river looked like, seeing it on a map that was left on the dropship for them had not been enough.
Lexa responded with a curt nod and led her to her own horse, a tall white stallion, helping her up onto the great beast. "It is quicker this way, hold on to me" The warrior pulled herself up to settle in front of Clarke, a small smile when she felt hands and arms creeping around her waist.
A war cry tumbled from the Heda's mouth as she squeezed the horse's flank telling him to speed up. His hooves thudded into the ground, producing a simple rhythm against the path. His muscular legs flexed, jumping over fallen branches in his way; the sunshine beating down upon their faces. Clarke took this opportunity to tune into her heightened senses, she could smell the earthy tones and pine coming from the young brunette in front of her, the war-paint upon tanned skin. Her fingers trailing subtly over the clothing, it felt like no other fabric that she was used to seeing or wear. Clarke could smell fresh water nearby and she was looking over the woman's shoulder to catch sight of her friends, the horse slowing down from a gallop to a steady trot.
The brunette jumped off and landed gracefully and effortlessly onto the ground after many years of practice. The blonde however refused Lexa's help and tumbled off the horse, groaning at the pain in her legs causing a smirk to cross Lexa's lips. The blonde rolled onto her feet and dusted herself off, giving Lexa a look that meant that she wasn't doing any more riding any time soon.
"Clarke! Where have yo- what happened to your hand and who is this?" Octavia ran over towards her friend, bringing Bellamy along with her; firing off as many questions as she could. Lexa raised her eyebrow at the small brunette and took charge since she could tell the blonde couldn't keep up with the questions.
"One of your own attempted to kill her and I stepped in. I do not know his name but we have him. I am Lexa, of the Trikru. You are her friends?" She had shielded Clarke partially behind her, her hand on the hilt of her dagger.
Bellamy noticed the movement and held his hands up to pacify the commander. He respected the obvious authority and while confused at the fact there were already people on the ground; that was another thing that the Chancellor kept from them. One more reason to hate his own people on the Ark. "We are her friends, and I think I might have an idea who the person might be." He glanced at Octavia who was writing everything that was said in the blonde's notebook. "Are there more of you out there?"
Green eyes looked up at the trees and signalled for her guards to come out. The sight shocked the three teenagers, watching as four tattooed men climbed down from their perches. A sense of pride was coming from the Commander, her chest puffed out and her head held high.
"As you can see, I do not travel alone. These are my gonas, I believe in your language you say warriors?" She continued on. "You are from the Skai?" She questioned the boy, while her eyes remained on the blonde; she felt a pull towards her that she could not explain. There was a pained look in the blonde's and yet she appeared strong willed.
"We were sent down here to see if the ground was habitable… But really they sent all of us down to die. All of us have done things up there to survive and yet we were seen as criminals. My little sister there" He gestured towards Octavia, his head hanging low as he remembered the loss of their mother. "Her only crime was that she was born."
Clarke's eyes watered at the revelation of her new friend's background and wrapped her in a tight hug, her face nuzzled into the girl's neck. Octavia's whole body tensed up but relaxed into the touch, needing the comfort just as much as Clarke did. The brunette pulled away from the hug at the sound of footsteps behind them, turning her head to see the rest of their contingent. The clinking of swords was heard as they were being unsheathed at the new danger, to Lexa that is.
"No, don't! They are our people." Clarke stepped in front of the Commander, her blue eyes pleading with Lexa to pull her warriors back.
"The same people who were willing to trying to kill you only a few moments ago" Her eyes grew hard as she regarded the newcomers, her distrust for these Skaikru growing by the minute, seeing the look in their eyes when they looked at Clarke. She did not feel comfortable leaving Clarke in the company of these people.
Wells was pacing in the background; he had kept his head down and kept away from Clarke, giving her space. His concern grew for his former best friend, especially after hearing what the Commander had said. He couldn't contain himself any longer and stepped out to touch Clarke. Lexa cut off his motions with a tight grip, "Who are you and who was it that tried to kill Clarke?" His teeth were bared in anger at that very thought.
A pale hand softly touched Lexa's elbow, giving her a soft look that made the Heda back away from the insolent boy. She exceedingly disliked the Skaikru, all except for Clarke and her two friends. "I am Heda Lexa, the Commander of twelve clans. I would recommend against speaking out of turn, or you'll find yourself without a tongue." She spoke with a low and dangerous tone, challenging him.
"It was Murphy" Clarke tried to get in between Wells and the newcomer. She was desperate to avoid blood being shed; she pushed Wells back out of their personal space. Staying close to the woman, she bit back a cry of pain when a sharp shooting pain made itself known in her wrist. She looked at Lexa for help, cradling her wrist to her chest.
"I do not tolerate people attempting to kill one of their own, he is with my General, he will undergo punishment for what he did to Klark,"She stated coldly, pure anger flashed in her eyes, her grip loosened around her sword as she sheathed it once more.
Dissent rose through the group, in objection to the boy's capture, with shouts of "Give us Murphy back!" "That girl is a liability" "We can outnumber them".
Lexa moved backwards to her horse; her hand slipping into Clarke's and squeezing it reassuringly. She shot a glance to her warriors, indicating for them to make a quick escape. She took off sprinting, whistling for her horse; throwing her leg over the horse and pulling Clarke up behind her. She kicked the horse's flanks urgently egging him on to speed through the forest, putting as much distance between themselves and the group.
A conflict of ambivalent emotions was running through Clarke's veins, dominated by confusion and guilt. Guilt for leaving her friends and confusion as to why she felt the air around them turn hostile. She could only hold onto Lexa that little bit tighter, securing herself to the brunette's back. Where she went from here… she did not know but one thing for sure; she felt safe now.
But what of Octavia and Bellamy, she needed them, just as much they needed her.