Hey again guys! I'm back again and with another chapter for you lovely readers. I just wanted to say again that I'm touched by your wonderful reviews, and I'm glad that everyone is still enjoying this as much as I am still very enjoying writing it. Everything with the grounders really starts in this chapter and we're getting into the real meat of the story here. This is also where things really start to move off from canon. Not that AU isn't the name of basically any time travel story, but you get the point, right?
One person, in their review, mentioned dying as a requirement to have come back, but y'all should know that isn't necessarily the case, so you don't have to worry about Lincoln or Raven having died after Clarke did.
On those notes, here's the next chapter of Once More. Props again to my lovely beta: trueloveaddict-ally.
Chapter title from the Five Finger Death Punch song Remember Everything
Disclaimer: (see chapters 1-3)
Before:
She could find Lincoln and ask him to take her to wherever Lexa was.
...
"You brother, if he knew a grounder had you, he wouldn't be all too happy. Especially not with what just happened to Diggs and to John."
...
Gimme half an hour and we'll have contact with the Ark." Clarke saw the questioning glance towards Octavia and knew what the mechanic was asking. She shook her head and Raven deflated for a moment. She quickly regained her demeanor though and grinned.
...
Apparently they have orders not to attack us. From their leader. I don't know if he meant Anya or…" She trailed off. Raven gave her a knowing smile.
...
Clarke learned that the people trying to kill them were traitors, so that must mean that the order came from Lexa herself and not Anya. Clarke was still wondering, worrying, about what had changed and, more specifically, if someone else had changed it.
...
"I know who you are." She said, ignoring how Lincoln's eyes widened at that. "Octavia and I, we're friends, and she tells me a lot. She trusts me. And all of the things you told her, well, she needed someone to tell here, someone safe." ... "You realize that that means that I know you can speak English." It was a statement, not a question. She heard Lincoln say yes as she knelt to rifle through the pockets of his coat.
...
"Lincoln?" She asked quietly and his eyes widened again. ... "Clarke?" Her name caught in his throat in a gasp.
...
"This body has never experienced the red." He said slowly. "But my mind is still my own, and it is a craving, but I am managing. I can manage."
...
Jus drein jus daun. Blood demands blood. The Commander would understand and Lexa would see strength in the action. Hopefully.
...
"Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic that he's still alive, and here, but it won't ever be the same again Clarke. Not to me anyway. I can't look at him how I used to. I was so mad at what you'd done, for a long time, and now it's like I don't even know him. I don't know what to do. Knowing that he has what he did in him, it honestly scares me a bit…" Raven trailed off at the unexpected honesty in her statement.
...
"We'll figure everything out, Raven."
Now:
After the two day storm had finished raging its way through their area, they had taken ten of their people to scout the forest for the natrona camp site. The traitor's camp site. Clarke had brought Octavia, Charlotte, and Monroe while Bellamy had chosen Wells, Finn, Sterling, Roma and, surprisingly, Murphy. Clarke was beginning to suspect that Finn himself had only come along to try and talk them out of what they were going to do, that they might see it as an act of war.
Clarke knew differently, but she couldn't say anything. They'd be doing the Commander a favour by getting rid of those who didn't listen to her command. Finn's constant badgering was starting to get to her though. That, and he hadn't brought any weapons with him except for a knife he'd made that first day.
He quieted down though when they actually found the place where the grounders were staying. No one had really talked much on the way there, keeping a close eye on their surroundings and making sure there was no one scouting them.
Clarke motioned for everyone to stay back and motioned Octavia to her. She pointed at the two guards at the outskirts of the camp.
"We'll go around, flank them, and drop them quietly." She said. Octavia nodded and the two parted, Clarke walking one way before doubling back closer to the guard. She sank low and tried to keep out of sight of anyone else out in the camp. Clarke pulled her knife from inside of her jacket and readied it.
She stalked up behind the grounder, seeing Octavia do the same on her side. Clarke nodded and both clamped a hand around their grounders' mouths, dragging the knife across their throats. Clarke kept her hand over the guy's mouth as he sank to the ground, lifeless. She nodded at Octavia again and they made their way back to the forest where the rest were waiting.
Bellamy gave them both a look when they got back, nodding at their actions. She could see the pride in his eyes towards Octavia. Not at the killing, per se, but more at the fact that she was learning and growing and he was proud of his little sister. Wells was looking at Clarke like he didn't know her, and she was sorry he was feeling like that, but he really didn't. Clarke was different than she'd been on the Ark, and she was different than she had been in the last time.
She had grown and, to be fair, so had Wells. He could hunt now, fend for himself. His attitude was somewhere between Finn's and Bellamy's. He didn't want to start something with the grounders, but at the same time, they had killed his people. He wanted what he saw as justice. Clarke just saw it as them taking out threats.
Finn was looking at them as well, and Clarke didn't care much for what he was feeling, it didn't matter. He was out of her hands, it wasn't like she was going to come around to his side, and he definitely wouldn't adopt her own reasoning.
The rest looked excited and Clarke pushed down the sick feeling in her stomach that it was wrong. They shouldn't look excited at the prospect of killing, even if it was grounders. Murphy looked the most ready to go, he could barely keep still, shifting his legs every few seconds and keeping his hands on his gun. Why they had given him one was a mystery to Clarke, but she supposed the firepower was welcome.
But excitement does not a good raiding party make, and Clarke had a bad feeling.
"We go in hot." Bellamy said. "Weapons at the ready, eyes on the lookout. We don't know how many are in there, but we shoot to kill people. Every single one of them will be doing the same." Everyone looked at Bellamy and nodded before moving out, guns at the ready for some, knives, and swords – in Octavia and Clarke's case – for others.
Someone had just come out of one of their tents and, when they saw the bloodied and dead guards, they sounded the metaphorical alarm.
It was just him yelling.
Clarke readied herself as the first of the grounders came at her with his sword in the air. Mentally she scoffed, this guy had left himself wide open. He swung widely and Clarke ducked under his blade, getting closer with the move, and brought her sword up into his stomach. The body froze in surprise and pain before dropping, coughing up blood.
Blood rushed in her ears and Clarke could hear nothing else save for her heart beating away in her chest.
Clarke looked at her sword and at the fallen grounder's. She only debated for a second before picking his up and testing the balance in her hand. When she was satisfied with the weight, she brought it up just in time to block an incoming strike from her newest threat.
They traded blows, Clarke almost getting cut several times, before she found an opening and slashed her sword across his chest and through his shoulder. Maybe not an instant kill, but she knew she'd found an artery. He wouldn't take long to bleed out.
She took a moment to survey her friends, making sure they were all okay. No one was coming at her so she had a second. Bellamy had shot one of the grounders who it looked like had rushed at him. His gun was scanning the area, ready to shoot at anything that came at him. He didn't shoot anybody else's fights though, Clarke thought that was for fear of hitting one of their comrades.
She saw another rush him from behind and called out to him. He turned in surprise, gun up, and shot at the mass moving towards him without thinking. Clarke saw him sigh and then give her a thankful nod.
Clarke kept looking. Octavia had taken down one of her own and was in a battle with another. Clarke smiled as the brunette held her own, even at close range. She caught sight of Charlotte and was thankful she had no bodies around her. She didn't need that blood on her hands so young.
Sterling had his gun scanning like Bellamy, but he hadn't shot anyone yet, not that she could see anyway. Roma was the same, gun up, finger on the trigger. Clarke saw Murphy with a grounder at his feet and saw that he'd bled out. Clarke wondered why he hadn't been shooting, but decided she didn't want to know that right now.
She turned and saw another grounder coming at her. He was several meters away and was ambushed by Monroe who jumped on his back. His hands reached up to grab her, and Clarke was ready to move but, before she knew it, Monroe had her knife in the guy's neck. The girl dropped to the ground and the grounder fell forward, dying.
Monroe caught Clarke's eyes and nodded before running off.
The hairs on the back of Clarke's neck stood up and Clarke turned, sword at the ready. The grounder came at her and Clarke's blade clashed with his. She pushed forward with all her strength and he stumbled. She was thankful that the guy was only slightly bigger than she was or that wouldn't have worked.
She moved around him as he righted himself and slashed at the back of his knees. He sank to the ground and Clarke slashed her sword across his neck. Messy but effective. He fell the rest of the way to the ground and Clarke looked at her blade before looking around again. Her haze was clearing as the blood rushing through her ears lessened.
Clarke looked at Bellamy who had just found another target and, this time, when she heard the bark of the weapon, Clarke fell to her knees, hands on her head. Her sword had fallen from her grip and was on the ground in front of her. Of all the places for this to happen, this had to be the worst.
Clarke was too caught in her panic to notice the next grounder coming towards her. She was stuck in her head with her demons. She didn't notice how Wells called out for her. Didn't notice anyone call her name.
When she became aware of the world around her once again, Clarke felt something on her back. It was warm, and Clarke's brow furrowed in confusion. She looked around, trying to regain her bearings, and saw the devastated look on everyone's faces. Clarke took a breath and stood, her heart racing. What had happened? She turned around and any colour that might have made its way back to her face was lost again.
Charlotte was lying there on the ground, next to a dead grounder. Her knife was sunk inside him and his was bloodied at his side. She sank to her knees beside the girl, a hand on her arm, shaking her body.
"Charlotte? Charlotte, come on, please. No, no, please no!" Clarke turned her over and saw her coat dark red, matted with blood. Clarke's hand automatically went to cover the wound, applying pressure. But it was too late for Charlotte and now, Clarke had her blood on her hands. Figuratively and literally both.
Clarke didn't feel the tears on her face, didn't feel the hand on her shoulder that belonged to Octavia, didn't feel the second one that belonged to Wells. She didn't feel anything. All she could see was Charlotte's lifeless eyes staring up at her.
Clarke moved her hand to Charlotte's face and closed the girl's eyes, choking back a sob.
"Yu gonplei ste odon." Clarke said quietly, her voice wavering, cracking. Your fight is over. Charlotte was too young to be in this fight.
And suddenly Clarke was angry. She was angry at the Ark, again, for sending them down here. Angry at Jaha for his stupid plans. Angry at the grounders for causing this.
Most of all, Clarke was angry with herself. She had brought Charlotte into this. She had brought Charlotte with them and had put a knife in the girl's hands. Clarke sat back on her heels and raised her head to the sky, screaming at the expanse until her throat screamed back at her to stop. It was then that she felt the hands on her shoulders and shrugged them off.
She slid her hands under Charlotte's small form, one hand under her knees and the other around her back. She stood and saw that Octavia had sheathed her sword – one that she, too, had taken from one of the grounders she'd felled – and had Clarke's in her hand. Clarke only nodded at Octavia, not looking at anyone else.
She couldn't stand to see the pity she was sure was in their eyes.
Clarke looked around and saw the bloodbath that had taken place. All in all, counting the two guards, Clarke counted that at least twenty grounders had been camped here. She started walking, speaking to everyone behind her in an even voice as she did.
"Take anything you find here that could be useful. Extra clothes, supplies, food if there's any." Clarke continued walking, taking it one step at a time, Charlotte weighing against her.
She made it back to camp, her stride only wavering a couple of times as she sank to a knee before she regathered her strength and stood back up. Murmurs started growing in volume as she walked through the gate, stone-faced. She walked to the dropship, ignoring the looks she was getting.
She walked inside of the machine and laid Charlotte down on a cot, kneeling beside the young girl. Clarke brought a hand to Charlotte's face and brushed the girl's hair away from it. Clarke clenched her jaw as she caught sight of her hands. Suddenly she stood and ran out of the dropship towards the tent with their extra clothes.
Clarke rooted through the jackets, offhandedly noting that the others must have made it back before she had because there were furs and more rugged clothes in the piles. Clarke shrugged off her own jacket while she looked and tossed it on the ground like it was on fire. It wasn't, yet, but it would be soon enough.
She walked to the side of the tent and ran her hands through the bowl of water there, scrubbing viciously at them to get the caked blood off of them. She scrubbed and scrubbed until her hands were red for a different reason and then scrubbed some more. Clarke fell back onto the floor when she was done and breathed in deeply.
She looked off to the side and saw a jacket that looked a lot like the one she had worn before coming back to this place. It was blue and had fastenings on it and Clarke grabbed it immediately, pulling it on over her shirt.
Clarke laid there for a while, eyes closed, breathing in and out and focusing only on that. She didn't think about how their raid had gone, didn't think about Charlotte, or about how now she had even more deaths on her hands.
When she did get up, Clarke picked up her bloodied jacket and pulled her knife out of the inside pocket, moving it to her new one. She walked out of the tent and past the fire in the middle of camp, dropping the jacket into it without a second thought as she continued making her way back to the dropship.
She saw Raven when she walked into the machine again. Raven stood when she saw Clarke and by the look in her eyes, Clarke knew she knew what happened. How could she not, with Charlotte right there. Clarke looked at the little girl and, for a moment, she could pretend that she was just sleeping. But then the illusion was gone and there was only death.
Clarke sighed heavily and looked at Raven who just moved towards her. Raven wrapped her arms around Clarke when she was close enough and Clarke sank into the embrace.
"So many, Raven." She said quietly and felt Raven nod against her.
"I know." She said. Clarke let out a shuddered breath.
"She was like my second. She looked up to me, and I got her killed." Clarke whispered.
"It's not your fault, Clarke. You did what you could." Clarke shook her head.
"I should have done better. I hear a gunshot Raven, and suddenly I can't move." Clarke took in a ragged breath. "I didn't tell you this, but I died before I woke back up on the Ark. I died Raven, and I killed Cage in the process but he shot me." Raven pulled back and looked into Clarke's eyes.
"And you go back there when you hear it." Raven said quietly. Clarke closed her eyes and nodded. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. It's mine, and it's a weakness." Raven sighed and shook her head.
"Quoting the Commander now, huh?" Clarke cracked a small smile before going back to nothing.
"Three days, Reyes. We leave in three days, during the Unity Day celebration." Raven nodded and stepped back.
"Clarke?" Clarke looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "I hope you can find what you're looking for." Raven turned back to the radio and her tinkering station. Clarke knew that Raven wasn't talking about Lexa, and only had an idea of what Raven was actually talking about. Clarke turned and walked over to Charlotte again. She stopped at the cot and looked down at the girl.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, before walking out of the ship.
She found Wells digging graves just outside of the camp beside where her and her group usually practiced their knife throwing skills. She looked at him and he looked back quietly before he started digging again. He was already on his third grave and Clarke knew that was the one meant for her friend.
She bit her lip, nodding at Wells before turning back and walking inside the camp barriers again. She leaned against the wood inside and brought a hand up to cover her heart. After a few calculated breaths, it was beating at least semi-regularly.
Clarke walked back to the ship and bypassed Raven, moving up to the floor with Lincoln. She dismissed the guard there who only hesitated for a second before going down the ladder. Clarke sighed and closed the hatch before moving to a chair near Lincoln.
"So?" He asked. Clarke smiled wryly at the warrior before answering him.
"There were two times more of them than there were of us, but we got them all." She paused before looking into Lincoln's eyes. "They killed my second. I hesitated and one came at me and she stopped him, but he killed her in the process."
"She died a good death." Lincoln said. "Protecting her heda." Protecting her Commander. Clarke cringed at the title.
"I'm no Commander." She said tersely. "She didn't have to die for me, I wouldn't ask that of my people." Lincoln shrugged as much as he could in his bindings.
"You are a leader, Clarke. People will die for you whether you ask it or not." Clarke laughed humourlessly.
"Somehow Lincoln, that doesn't make me feel any better about it." She looked at him then. "We have three days until we leave. When everyone is celebrating Unity Day, we'll sneak out." Lincoln nodded.
"I have a place, not far from here, with everything I need inside. That's the only stop we have to make."
"Okay." Clarke sighed and sat back, turning to the desk. She pulled a piece of paper from the floor and began drawing with the stick of charcoal that Lincoln had had in his jacket.
This is how the next few days were spent. Clarke would sit with Lincoln, making sure he was comfortable, drawing to try and forget the events of days past. She left one day to say goodbye to Charlotte when Wells had come up and said that he was going to put her to rest.
Clarke felt weird at this, she felt like they should be burning the bodies in the grounder fashion. She didn't know why she felt like this, but it seemed more freeing than burying them under the dirt. She let them though; they buried John and then Diggs and then finally Charlotte. Clarke buried her with her knife in hand and tried to remind herself that the girl's death was not in vain.
It was hard.
On the second day, just after dusk, Raven came up and gave Clarke the guard stick and tone generator that she had asked for. They were quickly thrown together, so they wouldn't last as much as the originals of either item, but they would serve their purpose for a good amount of time. Raven reasoned that the electric baton could charge a heart at least twenty times. After that, it was up to fate how much longer it lasted.
The generator could hold an estimated seven long bursts of the high frequency, enough to incapacitate and capture a reaper.
Though when Raven had said that and Clarke looked at Lincoln, she remembered that she hadn't told Lincoln of Raven being back. That had calmed Lincoln who then began to talk, not fearing for himself. They discussed plans and before they knew it, Raven was heading off to sleep.
Finally Unity Day was upon them, the Ark signal clearer than ever and Raven had a video link ready to go. Clarke spoke to her mom who assured her that preparations were going to plan and that they would be on the ground sooner rather than later. Clarke then asked to speak to Jaha and had Bellamy come in.
"Sir, when you sent us to the ground, you sentenced us to die. But somehow, the majority of us are still alive." Clarke's voice cracked slightly before she shook it off and took a breath. "A large part of that is because of him, because of Bellamy. He kept us together and brought back food for all of us. He makes them feel safe, Chancellor, and he is a strong leader. I don't doubt that he's made mistakes, but he has information that I'm sure you'd like to have. For example, the person that wanted you dead."
From there, Bellamy told Jaha his story. How Commander Shumway had come to him with a proposition. With a name and the story, Jaha officially pardoned Bellamy seeing as though he wasn't actually dead. They watched as Jaha sent a few of his guards off to arrest the offending officer.
"Chancellor, if I might?" Thelonious looked at her and nodded. Bellamy looked at her too, wondering what she was thinking. "Well, it seems unlikely to me that a guard on his own would want you dead, sir. Are you sure he was working alone? Because if he wasn't, whoever he was working for might try to get to him while he's in your custody." Clarke raised a brow at the suggestion.
Jaha looked like he was thinking and then nodded again. "You know Clarke, I think you're right. I'll keep him as secure as I can before I get information out of him." Jaha looked off to his side before looking back at them. "Only guards that I personally know and trust will stand guard." Clarke nodded and sighed.
"Well, I think it's time for the celebrations to begin, don't you two?" The Chancellor winked at them and smiled. Bellamy chuckled beside her and Clarke forced a smile onto her lips.
"Yes, sir." Bellamy said. Clarke rolled her eyes and smiled at him, knowing he was only thinking about the batch of moonshine that Monty and Jasper were cooking up.
It didn't take long for everyone to gather by the communications tent, or for Raven to set up the monitor so that everyone could see the celebrations being held back on the Ark. Once everyone was gathered, in both places, Jaha began his speech about how this would be the last Unity Day celebrated on the Ark as everyone would be down on the ground within a year.
Jasper came out of his and Monty's tent with his "Unity Juice" and everyone gathered, just like Clarke hoped they would. She saw Octavia off to the side, slightly brooding because of the fact that Lincoln was still locked up in the ship. If only she could know that Clarke was planning to get him out of there that night.
Why can't she? Clarke thought to herself. She would be ecstatic to know that Clarke planned on getting out with Lincoln, and she could play it off as an act of peace for Unity Day. With that, Clark made her way over to Octavia and nudged her gently when she was close enough.
"Come with me." She said quietly. Octavia looked at her questioningly. Clarke motioned to the empty dropship and Octavia nodded before both of them moved inside.
"What's up Clarke?" She asked once they were inside. Clarke looked around to make sure there were no guards or anyone listening before turning to Octavia with a slight smile.
"I'm getting him out. So stop worrying, and have some fun today." Octavia's brows came together in confusion. Clarke pointed upwards. "No better day than today. He shouldn't have been here in the first place, you know that as well as I do."
Octavia broke out in a grin and practically bounced over to Clarke before pulling her into a hug. Clarke laughed slightly and hugged her back before pulling away.
"You're really going to let him go?" Octavia asked. Clarke nodded before hesitating for a moment. Only Raven knew that she planned to leave with Lincoln. What would happen when it was discovered that they were both gone? Clarke bit her lip. They would think he escaped and took me as a hostage.
"I'm going with him, Octavia."
"What?" She yelled before looking around and lowering her voice. "I want to come." Clarke sighed and crossed her arms.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea…"
"Why not?" Damn it, Clarke thought.
"You need to stay here, Octavia. With Char-" She choked slightly on her name before clearing her throat and trying again. "With Charlotte gone, Octavia, you're the only person left who I can trust to keep everyone training. To keep everyone's eyes off of our disappearance, and to keep them from looking for us. You're the only one I trust to do it." Clarke moved to put a hand on Octavia's shoulder and squeezed it gently, hoping it would be enough for her.
Both of them were quiet as Octavia thought. Before long, Octavia nodded hesitantly and Clarke gave her a grateful smile, pulling Octavia in for another hug.
"I want you to know, Octavia, that in these past couple weeks, you've become like a sister to me." Clarke whispered. "I don't know how long I'll be gone, or if I'll be kept, or what will happen. But you should know that." Clarke pulled back, her eyes slightly misty. It was true, what she said. She didn't know what would happen when she found Lexa again, but in case of the worst, Octavia needed to know.
Octavia put her hands on Clarke's arms and gave her a bright smile. "I know Clarke, and I feel the same. You're like the big sister I never had but always wanted. Bellamy was great, but not so great with the girl things, you know?" Clarke chuckled and nodded before motioning outside.
"Go and celebrate, make sure everyone gets something to drink." She winked and Octavia laughed.
"Good plan, boss. I'll make sure of it." Octavia leaned forward and kissed Clarke on the cheek before heading off. Clarke was left smiling and laughing lightly to herself. No matter how much of a badass Octavia was or became, Clarke hoped she never lost her brightness.
Later that night, everyone was at least tipsy, on their way to being drunk. People were talking and laughing and having fun. Drinking games were set up at tables and everyone was having a good time.
But today was as much a Unity Day celebration as it was a funeral for the masses to share in. Not in the traditional sense of mourning, but of celebrating the lives that their fallen had lived. Clarke smiled as she surveyed the people.
Someone walked up to her then and out of the corner of her eye she recognized it as Finn. When would he understand that she didn't share his view on how to handle things here? Clarke sighed as he spoke.
"This seems wrong, to celebrate coming together when we have a grounder locked up in our ship." Well, okay, he wasn't wrong.
"It's not just about that, Finn. It's about letting go, just for a night. Since we've been here it's been all about surviving. They deserve more than that, we all do. They deserve to live. So for tonight, at least, they're living." She looked at him then. "Why aren't you with Raven? I'm fairly certain she's celebrating the day just as much as the rest of them."
Finn looked out into the crowds and sighed. "She's been distant, I don't know what her problem is. Nothing has changed between us since we came down here, it's like she can't even look me in the eye. I don't know what to do."
Even though he was against their ways at every turn, Clarke felt sorry for Finn. She knew why Raven was acting how she was and it wasn't something that they could just talk about. "I'm sorry Finn. I don't know what to tell you." He shook his head before sighing once more. He looked at her and smiled before walking off.
"What was that about?" She heard Bellamy ask as he walked up, taking Finn's place.
"He's worried about him and Raven. He says she's been acting differently, but everything is different isn't it?" Clarke looked at Bellamy who was already looking at her.
He shrugged. "It's not exactly life on the Ark. We took it for granted up there. Everything was easy, just do well and do your duty. Down here we have to fight for our lives against Acid Fog and mutant jaguars and grounders. Every step is dangerous and we're all trying to just stay alive."
Clarke nodded and smiled, nudging Bellamy. "Why don't you go and get a drink, you look like you could use one." He laughed and looked at her again.
"I was going to say the same thing to you." She smiled again and shrugged.
"How about we both go and get one then?" Bellamy chuckled and outstretched his hand.
"After you." Clarke rolled her eyes, a small smile still playing across her lips, before she tilted her head and walked towards Jasper.
They both had a drink, as promised, before Bellamy headed off to find his sister who was partaking in the games. Clarke looked around for the last time and then decided.
It was time to go.
She made her way to the dropship and then up to Lincoln's floor. "It's time," was all she said when she got there. Clarke strapped her sword to her back and put both of her knives in their places. She picked up the small pack she had put the guard stick and tone generator in and strapped it over her sword. Clarke moved over to Lincoln and unbound him, watching as he rubbed his sore wrists. His shoulders weren't as taught as they would have been because Clarke had been letting him out of the fastenings when she was sure that they wouldn't be disturbed.
"We still need to be careful, but everyone is distracted with games and partying. We'll go get you some clothes first before we head off." Lincoln nodded as Clarke undid his feet as well and then both of them made their way out of the ship.
Clarke lead, making sure the way was clear before motioning for Lincoln to follow. When they got to the clothes tent, they went inside and picked up a few things for Lincoln. A shirt and a jacket as well as some shoes.
When he was dressed, they started their trek towards a gate. Clarke stopped by the weapons table as her eye caught sight of a knife. She wouldn't trade the one she kept in her jacket for anything, but the one tucked into her belt wasn't the best. She looked behind her to Lincoln who was also scanning the area.
"Pick something." She said. He should have a weapon, they didn't know how long they'd be looking. While he decided, Clarke picked up the knife and put hers in its place. She noticed something else on the table and smiled.
Clarke picked up the thigh strap, with a built in sheath, and fastened it to her belt before sheathing her new knife into it. She looked at Lincoln who had a sword at his waist, but his attention was elsewhere.
"Raven." Clarke looked behind her at the approaching figure. They were both wearing dark clothes and were far away from the masses, so no one else would have seen them. But it seemed Raven had been looking.
"Only you could be over here while everyone else is over there celebrating." Raven said in greeting. She got close and then pulled Clarke in for a hug. "Be safe, Griffin. I don't want to have to tell mama Griffin that her daughter died because she wasn't careful."
Raven pulled back and smiled softly before looking at Lincoln. "And you, keep her safe."
"Clarke can take care of herself Raven, you know that." Raven chuckled and looked back at Clarke.
"I know, but it doesn't mean that she doesn't rush in head-first sometimes." Clarke rolled her eyes before looking over Raven's shoulder.
"I told Octavia we were leaving. She wanted to come but I told her that she needed to keep everyone here safe and in shape. Watch out for her, Raven, and be safe." Clarke looked back at Raven who was nodding.
"May we meet again." She said, and Clarke smiled.
"May we meet again." Clarke moved out of the embrace and looked at Lincoln. "You ready?" He nodded and so did she. Clarke spared one last look to Raven who gave her an easy smile before they were on their way.
Clarke and Lincoln left through the back gate, leading to Clarke's cave. The walk there was silent and when they arrived, they both moved inside. Her drawings lined the walls, but Clarke paid the no attention as she swapped her packs, making sure to move the electric baton and the tone generator to the pack that she was taking with her.
Inside of it was a tent, a couple bottles of water, salted meat wrapped in cloth, and a bit of art supplies for if she had a moment to herself. She strapped that one where the last had been and then looked at Lincoln who was looking at her drawings.
"Where did you learn to draw, Clarke?" He asked when he noted that she wasn't moving around anymore. He didn't take his eyes off of the drawing though.
"I didn't have lessons. But my dad, he was an engineer, always drawing out his plans. I guess I get it from him." Clarke smiled and then moved over to Lincoln. He was looking at one of the first picture's she'd sketched. Along the wall were many pictures of the ground. Forests, the glowing flora from their first night on the ground, the waterfall from when they had been looking for Jasper. There were a couple of the gorilla, one in a deteriorated zoo enclosure, the other with the beast standing up, fists pounding on its chest in all of its terrifying and majestic glory.
There were also sketches of people. Mostly ones of Lexa that had rattled around in her mind's eye, begging to be captured in a drawing. There was one of Lexa lying under her furs, back propped up on pillows. There was one of the Commander's profile as she looked onto her people, the day the signal had been shot up into the sky. Only a couple of minutes after they had kissed.
There were others, scattered and piled, not meant to be seen. Images of inside the mountain after the level had been irradiated. Clarke had image after image drawn onto the pages. It was her way of trying to let go of the past to focus on what was happening now. The images begged to be let out, to be the monsters under her bed, to be acknowledged. But Clarke only did that here, in this place that was her own.
The one Lincoln was looking at though was one of him and Octavia. Clarke remembered that morning. It was after Ton DC, and she couldn't sleep. She had woken up and gone for a bit of a walk, only to stop when she caught sight of the couple leaning back against a large tree. The sun was coming up on the horizon and Lincoln and Octavia looked like they had no worries in that moment.
"I thought we were alone." Lincoln said. Clarke shrugged.
"You were, I only woke up because I was restless. I only stayed for a minute before leaving you to it. You both just looked so peaceful, I felt like it needed to be drawn." Lincoln turned to her and smiled sadly.
"Do you think-"
"I do." Clarke said, knowing what he was asking. Octavia already liked him; if they spent more time together, she was sure that Octavia would make the choice to be with Lincoln again.
"I do not want to make a move first this time. I would feel like I was pushing things to be as they were. It is up to Octavia." Clarke smiled softly and moved on put a hand on Lincoln's arm.
"I think she will, Lincoln. She's already invested. She wasn't even celebrating with everyone else until I told her I was getting you out of the dropship." They were both quiet for a moment before another of Clarke's drawings caught his eye. Clarke noted the one that he was looking at and her brow furrowed.
That drawing was a source of confusion for her. Most nights she had nightmares full of death and accusations, painful memories that haunt her in her sleep. Other nights she had peaceful dreams of a quiet life, sometimes featuring a certain Commander.
After every single one of them though, one of the only things that she never failed to remember about her dreams, was the symbol that she had drawn against a silhouette. It was a circle and on two sides of it was a crescent. She didn't know what it was, or if she had seen it before, but it was always there in her dreams.
"Do you know what that is?" She asked, and Lincoln looked at her surprised.
"You don't?" She shook her head. "But you draw it." He stated.
"I do. It feels like it's important, but I have no idea what it is or where it comes from. Do you?" Lincoln shook his head and crossed his arms.
"It seems familiar to me, but I don't remember where from." He looked back at the drawing. "Maybe heda will know. May I?" He pointed at the drawing and Clarke nodded. She had so many of them, she didn't care if he took one. Lincoln took the drawing and folded it until it was small enough to fit into one of the pockets in his jacket.
"Are you ready to go?" He asked. Clarke looked around before looking back at him.
"Maybe we should sleep here for the night, and make our way in the morning." Lincoln nodded and Clarke shed her weapons and her pack. They both found a place and settled in and, before long, Clarke was asleep.
Firstly I want to apologize to a friend because we talked about some things happening and now I've gone and turned around and done the opposite of what we talked about. Things can't be good changes all around. Angst happens, especially on the ground... So yeah, that happened.
As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts and feelings on stuff. Put your questions, comments and concerns in a review because I love reading them.
Thanks for reading and I'll see you all either Friday night of afternoon on Saturday. Until then, have a great week.
-Bad Wolf