When the commander offers for you to join her when it is time to leave for the war meeting, you accept without hesitation.

You had spoken of nothing of true importance for the rest of your meeting, simply discussed your views on the other leaders of the coalition and where you thought they stood in relation to the commander's war. You discussed which clans would be most valuable, in relation to weapons and how many warriors they could provide, and who you thought would be most willing to provide food and supplies for the armies and who would keep as much as they could to themselves.

It was enlightening to say the least, to find out exactly what the commander thought of each of her disciples and their clans.

She favoured trikru, of course, though it was more than just bias; it was well known that the trigedakru was the first clan to join the commander's coalition without question, and it had been trikru who had helped the commander end most of the wars between the other clans, despite their own ongoing battles with your people. They were more than willing to offer their heda whatever she desired of them, though truthfully, she did not ask for much, and their loyalty to her was of no question. They would fight and die for her if asked, and they would move on from this life to the next with pride over the fact.

You were somewhat surprised when you listened to the commander praise the floukru most highly next, after the way you had seen the commander look at Luna so recently, still fresh in your mind. Despite the fact that the floukru were one of the most peaceful clans, it was well known that their warriors were fierce and well respected throughout the coalition, though they lacked the numbers of trikru and azgedakru. What the floukru lacked in warriors, they more than made up for in supplies, being one of the most prosperous clans with their vineyards and crops and a neverending ocean of fish at their backs. Luna's barrels of smoked fish and her crops of wheat and vegetables would be crucial to sustaining the commander's army throughout the war against the Mountain.

You discussed the other clans more briefly; you would need weapons from the ouskejonkru, who mined ore and silver from the mountains that surrounded their territory, and you would need the horses from the ingranrona and the sangedakru, who bred the beasts in abundance. From the other clans, such as the people of louwoda kliron and the podakru, you would need rations and whatever warriors that they could spare, to build up the rest of the commander's army.

You did not discuss azgedakru and you didn't truly need to. You both knew what was needed from your clan and that was warriors. Azgeda had more warriors than any other clan, save for trikru who matched you somewhat evenly with numbers, though their warriors prided themselves on brute strength while yours came to victory with their knowledge of their enemies and their cunning. It is people like Reivon, with her knowledge of old world weapons and her extreme intelligence and people like Echo, with her pure determination and devious mind that will give your army an edge in battle. It will be what will help turn the tide of war in your favor, when the Mounon underestimates you as savages.

It will be an army the likes of which this world had never seen, since long before the bombs that destroyed it almost a century ago.

"Where will we make camp?" You ask as the elevator slowly ascends the floors of the commander's tower towards the throne room. "It will have to be far enough away that the Mounon cannot use their acid fog. What are we going to do about that, by the way? The acid fog, I mean."

It must have been the hundredth question that you have asked so far, though the commander continues to listen to each and every worry you voice patiently, taking the time to consider each question carefully before she replies.

"I have not yet thought of an answer to that question," the commander says after several long moments of contemplation. "If you come up with an idea, I advise you to share it with me. As for where we will make camp, we shall discuss it in the war meeting, though I have been considering the plains outside the woods that surround Tondisi."

You imagine the spot in your mind, making mental calculations before nodding your head in agreement. "I know the area of which you speak; it would be acceptable. Big enough to hold the entire army and far enough out of range of any of the Mountain's technology, save a missile, though I believe Reivon told me that they would need one of their men nearby if they were to try such a thing. It could be easily prevented with enough warriors to guard the area."

The commander glances at you curiously out of the corner of her eye. "A warrior in your kru told you that? How does she know?"

You shrug your shoulders easily. "She enjoys reading, as do I, though we prefer different subjects. She has read many books about the old world and it's technology and our people have come out of more battles victoriously because of it."

"It was she who gave you the idea for the old world bomb that set fire to that abandoned village?" The commander asks in surprise and you shoot her a small grin in response.

"It was she who made it," you say proudly, causing the other woman to hum in appreciation, just as the elevator comes to a stop and the doors are pulled open.

You take a step out of the elevator and glance at the double doors that lead into the throne room, already able to hear the hum of coversation on the other side. The commander is just about to walk past you and open the doors when you stop her with your hand on her arm, causing the other woman to glance down in surprise.

You realise what you've done a second too late and pull your hand back as if you've been burned. You clear your throat when the commander looks up to meet your gaze, pushing down your embaressment at the way the dark haired woman looks at you in response to your touch.

"Sorry," you say hurriedly, waving in the vague direction of the commander's arm before continuing. "You should wait here for a moment."

The commander's brow furrows in confusion at your suggestion. "Why would I do that?"

"So that I can go in first," you reply, resisting the urge to roll your eyes when the commander continues to stare at you blankly. "I will go in first and you can wait for a minute before you follow me and make your grand entrance, as you always do."

A tiny smile tugs at the corner of the commander's lips at your words and its a strange thing to know that you've almost somehow caused her to smile, for whatever reason.

"Or, we could go in and make a grand entrance together," the commander says slowly, that smirk still tugging at her lips before it suddenly disappears. "Unless you do not wish to be seen with me, in which case, I understand your desire for discretion."

"What?" You ask, your brow furrowing in confusion before you sigh and shake your head as understanding seeps in. "No- I mean, that isn't why- nevermind. Let's just go."

The commander raises an eyebrow at your stuttering, but she follows you without hesitation as the guards open the doors for you. You stride into the room, almost side by side, though you make sure to keep yourself one step behind the commander, for the sake of politics.

The hush that spreads across the rooms almost instantly is enough to cause a shiver to run down your spine and you're entirely aware of the looks you recieve, standing at the commander's side as she sweeps into the room. It's not entirely unpleasant, since you are more than used to being on the recieving end of suspicious glances and angry eyes, but you are somewhat surprised that at least half the looks you recieve border on approval and relief and no small amount of envy.

You can't help but smirk at little bit in response and it's only briefly that you wonder just how long it will take before this information reaches your mother's ears.

You decide that you don't really care all that much.

The commander turns away from her throne at the other end of the room, the leaders of the clans parting before her as she leads the way to an almost hidden door on the left side of the hall. She pushes the heavy wooden door open and steps inside a candlelit room and you follow her without a moment of hesitation, your blue eyes widening when you take in the sight before you.

There is a large round table in the centre of the room, though there are no chairs that surround it. Candles line the walls and are spread over every available surface, illuminating the map that covers the entire length of the table. You step toward the edge and gaze down with a look of reverence, your hands gliding briefly across the skin upon which the map is drawn in so much beautiful detail.

In the very center of the map stands a detailed model of the Mountain, with a field of yellow flowers at the base that surrounds the door that leads inside, a door you know well. South of the Mountain spreads the vast lands of trikru territory, with a small model of each and every village that is hidden within the woods, from tondisi to kalgonasa. Thick blue brushstrokes weave between the trees, rivers and creeks, with smaller, darker lines to show roads and tracks, some that you know and others that you don't, (you file away these small bits of information for later use) leading between villages and hunting grounds. Further away still is Trishana, the lands of the glowing forest, that you had visited with your father when you had been only eight years old. A peaceful people, the Trishana clan worships the beautiful forest, tainted heavily with radiation from the old world bombs, which causes the flora and fauna to glow in the dark of night.

(you remember your father's face, his tanned skin glowing blue as he stared up at the century old trees of the forest, fingers reaching for the bright azure butterflies that flew peacefully overhead. You think of the glowing flowers that he weaved into your blonde hair, the ones you still had, tucked away in your drawers at home, as dead and lifeless now as the man himself.)

Further south, the forest of the trishana blends into the coast, where miles of golden sand seeps into the bright blue ocean. Your eyes linger fondly of the island of the floudonkru, where Luna rules over her peaceful clan with their beloved boats and wine. The island is not overly large, though the entire city is surrounded by high wooden gates, similar to the ones that surround your own city. Buildings made of wood and rock sit at the center, surrounded by vineyards and crops, with hundreds of minature boats anchored around the island, dingy's and rowboats and even a few large ships.

You let your eyes wander to the east, where the great lake of the Podakru sits, surrounded by hundreds of tiny villages that live off the biggest body of water that you have ever seen, outside of the ocean. Behind the lake are the mountains, where the people of the Ouskejonkru dwell in their cities of rock and to the north of them spreads the smaller city of the Boudalan.

To the west of the Mountain, less than fifty miles away from the trikru border, is the capital city of Polis, with the model of the commander's tower standing proudly in the middle. The city is larger than any other in the coalition, holding thousands of people from each of the clans and spreading out for miles in each direction. Your blue eyes flick from the training grounds to the library at the city's center, with the hundreds of huts that house that city's inhabitants at the edges. The markets line the main street, that leads to the commander's tower, along with other buildings and structures that you haven't visited yet.

To the south of the capitol is the small village of the Yujleda and to the north is the Louwada Kliron, which is surrounded by dense forests that are inhabited by dangerous beasts that are the center of children's nightmares. Even further west of the Mountain and of Polis, is the small city of the Delfikru, followed by the large expanse of desert that belongs to the Sangedakru. Below the desert, the plains of the Ingranrona lie, where hundreds of horses run free across the hundreds of miles of tall grass that belongs to the Plain Riders clan.

Finally, you look to the North, where directly behind the Mountain and spreading out for thousands of miles, is the land of the azgedakru. Your territory is surrounded by snow capped mountains that stand hundreds of miles tall, and they curl around your territory in a protective curve, before they meld into the lands of trikru to the South, Boudalan to the east and Louwada Kliron to the west. Your city sits closer to the south, though it is still more than thirty miles to the Mountain and even further still from trikru territory. The small villages of your people are spread throughout your territory and you are both surprised and proud to find that there are paths and places that have not been placed on the map.

You look up from the table to find the commander standing directly across from you, studying the map similiarly, though she glances up after a few moments as if she can feel your gaze. You can't help the smile that slowly spreads across your lips and it only grows when the commander returns it without restraint.

You have been in the war room for two hours already and things are yet to get any further than what you and the commander have already discussed in private.

You fight the urge the roll your eyes when the leaders of the Sangedakru and the Ingronrona get into another pissing match about who will send more warriors and horses to the capitol for the war.

You run your fingers through your tangled blonde locks and share a weary smirk with Luna, who stands by your side, before glancing at the commander for the hundredth time this evening. She leans upon the table, her head tilted slightly towards the two men who continue to argue, even as her green eyes trace numerous paths on the map. Her nimble fingers tap out a pattern upon the stretched canvas as her eyes dart from Polis to the Mountain and back again, flickering over roads and hunting trails, searching. You try to follow the path she is constructing with her gaze; bordering around the edge of the trikru territory for maybe forty miles, before following the road that crosses through both trikru territory and trishana. It leads far enough away to avoid the Mounon's acid fog, you notice, and you are aware of the way the commander's eyes linger on the plains outside of the trikru woods that she had spoken of earlier, maybe a four hour trek away from Tondisi.

From the other side of the table, your own fingers fiddle with a minature flag, black with the commander's sigil painted on both sides. You place it down upon the map, just outside of the commander's tower, before slowly beginning to drag it over the canvas, along the same path that the commander had mapped with her gaze. Your fingers move painstakingly slow as you slide it past the trikru border and through the glowing forests, until you come to a stop in the middle of the plains and twirl it in a slow circle before you pull your hand away casually and leave it there.

You look up briefly to find the commander's green eyes focused intently on the flag, the tiniest smile pulling at her lips.

On the other side of the room, the pissing match continues, oblivious.

To your left, you watch from the corner of your eye as Luna picks up three of the minature flags, studying them casually before leaning over to drop them with nochalance upon the map. You raise your eyebrows curiously at the positions she places them in; one in Tondisi, one to the west, maybe ten miles away from the plains where your own flag was placed, and one to east at a similiar distance.

It does not take you long to come to the same conclusion as Luna and when you do, you raise your eyebrows further upon your brow in pleasant surprise at what both you and the commander had overlooked.

If the Mounon did decide to drop a missile on your army, it would only be effective against one portion of the force, leaving the other factions to continue the fight. And with more than one camp, you could spread out the leaders of each kru, having them move between camps regularly so that the Mountain Men would not know where they were at any given time.

"Have I told you today how wonderful you are?" You murmur under your breath to the other woman, glancing at her out of the corner of your eye. "How smart and beautiful? How in awe I am of you?"

"Beja, Klark," Luna grins, meetings your blue eyes with her sparkling grey. "Don't stop."

To your right, the pissing match goes on and on.

You are so busy grinning down at the map, you do not notice the small frown that furrows the commander's brow, as she gazes at you from across the room.

"Em pleni." The commander's voice cuts through the men's arguement like a knife, despite the softness of her words. "This has been enough for one day, we will continue this discussion tomorrow."

She dismisses you all with a wave of her hand and you pause for a moment, wanting to discuss things further with the commander, but you take in the small frown etched on her brow and decide that it would best for you to wait.

You turn around with the others, walking behind Luna as she slips out of the war room, and you glance out of the window to take note of how late it is. The moon has only just begun to rise and it is still early enough that you are just about to ask Luna if she wants to return to the tavern, when someone calls your name.

Your close your eyes briefly and let out a silent sigh, only opening them when you feel a hand pull gently on your sleeve.

"Meet me at the tavern after you are done?" Luna whispers, her gaze flickering between you and the still open door to the war room, where the commander is waiting for you to return.

"You read my mind, oh beautiful one," you say in response, earning a grin before Luna turns to swagger out of the throne room, leaving you alone.

Well, not entirely alone.

You walk back into the war room to regard the commander, who still leans over the map with that small furrow between her brows. She seems somewhat annoyed, and you wonder if the arguement between the sangedakru and the ingronrana leaders got to her more than she was letting on. It was almost enough to drive you insane, and you are somewhat in awe of the commander's patience that she was able to put up with it for so long before calling the meeting to an end.

"Yes, heda?" You ask politely, coming to stand across from the commander once more. You look down at the map, your gaze falling briefly upon the way the commander's fingers still tap rythmically against the fabric, before you turn your eyes to the Mountain.

"Do you believe that splitting our forces would be the wisest course of action?" The commander asks you quietly and you open your mouth to answer immediately, but let it close again once you consider the commander's tone. It feels like a test, the way she asked you the question and you stare down hard at the map as you consider your reply.

"No." You say slowly, feeling the commander's eyes pierce into you, but refusing to look up. "I believe that splitting our forces is our only course of action. Keeping the army in one place would be foolish and arrogant and it could very well be what loses this war for us."

You look up then, to find the commander predictably gazing back at you, her eyes contemplative as she studies your face. You try to keep your expression blank, hiding the unexpected anxiety you feel at the intensity of her gaze, before the commander nods her head once and returns her eyes to the table.

"I admit, I had overlooked this folly until Luna pointed it out," the dark haired woman murmurs, her eyes flickering between the four flags that rest upon the map. "I am glad that she was here and that her eyes follow you so closely, for we may not have seen our mistake until it was too late, otherwise."

You actually flinch, not at the words, but at the tone which the commander uses to deliever them. There is an unexpected bitterness there, heavy and thick, along with no small amount of disdain, directed towards you. You are unsure of why it effects you so, all you know is that it does.

What is worse, you have no idea what you have done to earn it.

You open your mouth to snap back instinctively, but decide against it at the last minute. Instead, you turn on your heel and walk away, leaving the door to the war room open behind you as you cross the floor of the throne room with quick steps. Your heart feels heavy in your chest and you stomach is twisting unpleasantly by the time the two heavy double doors close behind you with a tone of finality. You try to push the negative feelings away as you slip into the elevator, but the commander's words continue to ring in your skull.

The commander does not call you back and for that, you are grateful.

You return to the tavern, where you find Luna already waiting, always with a smile when she sees you.

You let her ply you with cup after cup of the floukru's famous wine and you let yourself forget about the way you had felt, alone in the war room with commander, with the bitterness of her words slipping beneath your skin like a blade.

You drink and you smile and when your kru come down from the tower to join you, you let the memory slip away even further, to be replaced with ones of laughter and stories.

You don't think about the woman who currently stands outside your bedroom door, with words on her lips that she rarely ever says and a confused frown on her face as she wonders why she wants to say them at all.

When you return to your quarters, it is long past midnight, and the people of your kru had retired long before, leaving you at the tavern with Luna until you were the very last patrons.

You say goodbye to the other woman in the elevator, sharing a sloppy grin as the dark haired woman leans lazily against the wall, making a promise to meet up for lunch the next day to soak up any residual alcohol in your stomachs. You stumble out into the corridor that has been reserved for the azgedakru alone, ignoring the guard that eyes you warily as you wander down the hallway, quietly humming the tune that some musicians had been playing at the tavern. You open the door to your quarters after several minutes of fumbling, kicking it closed behind you and throwing your leopard skin cloak to the ground at your feet.

You're half way through pulling off your second boot when someone clears their throat from across the room and despite the amount of alcohol you have drunk, adrenaline makes you instantly alert.

You pull the dagger from the small of your back without a second thought, throwing it across the room with deadly accuracy and would have hit your mark in the throat, had they not ducked out of the way at the very last moment.

"Motherfucker," you hiss furiously, falling naturally into your mother tongue in your shock when you take a proper look at the intruder. The room is dark, lit only by the single guttering candle on your bedside table, throwing flickering shadows over the other woman's face. "What the fuck, Leksa?"

The commander's eyes are almost comically wide, the whites of her eyes clearly visible in the darkness of the room, and her eyebrows rise even further in surprise on her brow when she takes in what you have said. You realise too a moment later that you have used her name instead of her title, but you are too drunk and still in too much shock to really think about it, or care.

"Have you lost your mind?" You continue to speak in azgedasleng without thought as you reach down to finish pulling off your other boot. "I could have killed you!"

"I apologise," the commander responds woodenly. "I did not think."

"Obviously," you growl, reverting back to gonasleng with ease. You run your fingers roughly through your hair, taking a moment to think about the fact that you almost just accidentally assasinated the commander of the twelve clans. Skrish. "By all the gods of the old world, what are you even doing here?"

You turn to look at her when you recieve no immediate reply and your eyes fall instantly on the way the commander is gripping her hands together in front of her body, almost as if in prayer, though she is squeezing so tightly that her knuckles have turned white. If you didn't know better, you would think that the commander was nervous.

"Well?" You ask when it seems that the commander will not reply. "Is there a reason for your prescence in my quarters? Or has Kostia just kicked you out of your bed?"

You are only partially aware of what you are saying, your mind and blood thick with wine as you stumble towards your bed, unable to care that the commander of the twelve clans is in your room as you unbutton your shirt. All you care about is the fact that it is hot and you are tired.

"Kostia has not joined me in our bed for some time."

That is enough to give you pause and you turn around to face the commander with wide eyes, noting the way she stares back at you in just as much shock, if not more, at what has slipped out of her mouth. You sit heavily on the edge of your bed, with your shirt half unbuttoned, and simply continue to stare back at the commander without words.

"I'm sorry." You both say at the same time, only to pause simultaneously once the apology has slipped from your lips. The commander still looks to be in a state of shock, so you take advantage of the moment and decide to speak first.

"I am sorry," you say softly, more than a little glad for the alcohol running through your veins. "It was not my place to ask, though I am sorry to hear it all the same."

"It is of little consequence," the commander replies, though the subtle break in her voice is more than enough to tell you how she truly feels about the subject. It is raw and so unbearably human, that in this moment, you cannot hate her. "And it is not why I am here. I came to apologise for the way I spoke to you earlier. I was frustrated at the way the negotiations for the war were going and I let those frustrations out on you. It was unfair of me and I apologise."

You raise your eyebrows in surprise at the words and you wonder if its the alcohol in your system playing tricks on you. "How long were you waiting here to say that?"

The commander shrugs nochanlantly. "Since shortly after you left the war room."

If it's possible, your brows rise even further. "That was hours ago. You could not have waited until the morning?"

"I have found that is unwise to wait to say such things," the commander says, once again wise and all knowing. "I do not wish to die regretting things that I have left unsaid."

You give yourself a moment to let these words sink in, before you let a tiny smile crack your lips. "I do not believe that you would have died before morning, commander."

"Maybe not," the commander shrugs her shoulder easily, brushing off the words. "Maybe I just did not wish to wait. Either way, I have said what I needed to say; I will depart now so that you may rest in peace."

Your eyes follow her as she walks slowly to the door and you are still smiling slightly when she turns once to glance back at you.

"Reshop, heda," you say, earning a tiny smile in response.

"Goodnight, Klark," she returns, her voice equally soft.

And then she is gone and you can't help but wonder if it all had been a dream.