Author's Note: Sorry for the wait, I got food poisoning last Wednesday and well it just caused a lot of problems for me... but I'm back and feeling strong. This chapter is: 5,672 words. It brings in a new idea of mine to extend this story even more. To give you an idea of what I mean by that, this chapter was originally going to be the challenge but now the challenge won't occur for several more chapters. YAY. :)
I have never had any medical training, I only know from what I have read online. So if anything is medically incorrect, please let me know and I will change it because yes, I can admit it when I'm wrong.
I honestly cannot choose a favorite review for chapter 9 as I'm just so overwhelmed by the fact that so many of you are leaving reviews in the first place. In all my years of writing fanfiction, I have never had a following like I've had with this fanfic. I don't know what it is, whether it's the ship I've chosen to write for or if it's the fact that I'm updating more frequently then I have ever done in the past but either way, I am loving it. So thank you to all of you that continue to stick with me on this journey. I know it's been a crazy one but I promise it will get better and soon. Clarke and Lexa will be dealing with some stuff very soon. For all of your continued support I am planning to dedicate a chapter to all of you at some point so keep watch for that. I promise it'll be good one.
Italics = thought
Chapter 10
DAY 4
Clarke awoke the next day feeling very sore. Sitting up she could feel each and every bruise and pain in her back and limbs. This was not going to be a good day and she knew it. She knew that if it was tough for her to sit up, it was going to be an even bigger struggle to start moving in the woods on their way back to camp. That was if… Lexa woke up and woke up feeling normal. Clarke didn't know if she could deal with Lexa in that state again. Learning about Costia that way was not the way Clarke wanted to learn about Lexa's old love. Sure, she had been curious about the brunette's last love Costia but she didn't want to learn that Lexa blamed herself for the loss. The only good that came from the whole ordeal was the fact that Clarke now fully understood why the commander was so closed off. Why it was so hard for her to open up. Why she made the decisions she made. Letting anyone get close enough for love was not an option for Lexa, and Clarke understood that now. So the fact that Lexa kissed her… spoke volumes now. Lost in thought Clarke didn't notice in the corner of her eye someone was coming too.
Moving her head lazily side to side, Lexa finally opened her eyes and once she did all of the pain came to her in a wave. It felt like she was being burned by fire on her right arm. In all of her years as a warrior, as a commander, she had never felt pain like this before and she was trained not to show pain. However, in this instance she couldn't stop the pain; she couldn't distract her mind enough to move past it. It was just there and there was nothing she could do about it.
Finally Clarke was brought out of her thoughts when she could hear Lexa's groaning from the great deal of pain she was most certainly in. She crawled over to Lexa sitting to the left of her legs trying not to disturb Lexa's right arm. "Lexa, you need to breathe," She pointed out noticing Lexa trying so hard not to breathe. "I know… I know it hurts to breathe but you need to."
Lexa shook her head until she couldn't hold it in anymore and let go of a breath, a breath that moved her shoulder and caused a sharp pain to shoot through her arm into her chest. She brought her left hand up to grip her shoulder trying to ease the pain but realizing quite quickly that it wasn't right. "What is…" She groaned, "What is wrong with my…"
"You've dislocated your shoulder. If you lay down, I can try to realign it," Clarke suggested putting a hand on Lexa's right arm carefully.
"Try to realign?" Lexa asked unsure if she should trust the blonde in front of her but if she didn't try something the pain probably wouldn't end and she didn't like that idea. Without much thought, she nodded her head.
Clarke backed up and moved out of the way, "Okay, I need you to lie on your back."
Lexa did as she was told making sure not to jostle her arm too much. Clarke helped by guiding her right arm until Lexa was completely on her back.
"Okay, my mom has shown me a few techniques for this but I think because of your other injuries, we're going to do it this way and because I haven't had training on the other ways." Clarke admitted not looking Lexa in the eyes.
"Do what you must…." Lexa gulped back the pain trying so hard not to breathe.
Noticing what Lexa was doing Clarke indicated, "If we're going to do this, you need to stop holding your breath."
No matter what, Lexa would not admit that it hurt, she would let her body show that she was in pain but there was no way she was going to say it herself. She needed to keep some of her dignity in this situation so she just nodded as she tried to let in brief breaths. Lexa's left hand was gripping a nearby rock with all of her might trying to transfer some of the pain there because all of the tactics that she was trained about pain were not helping. Not in the slightest.
Clarke got into position and picked up Lexa's right arm, "Okay, I need to move it this way." Slowly she brought Lexa's right arm out so that it made a ninety degree angle to her body. "I'm sorry," she stuttered noticing the pain Lexa was holding back as she moved the arm. Moving around Clarke placed her right foot on Lexa's side to get better grip. "Now normally, this way would be done by pulling your hand to pull the shoulder back in place but because of your injuries to your wrist I don't want to cause more damage there so I'm going to try this by pulling at your elbow, okay?" Clarke asked wanting to make sure Lexa was okay with the change in position.
Lexa just nodded staring up at the cavern ceiling. She wanted to be strong, she wanted to face this pain but she couldn't. She couldn't seem to look at her arm.
"Okay, here we go… I'm going to count to three…" She indicated looking at Lexa and getting a nod. "One… Two…" On two, Clarke pulled Lexa's elbow and with a relief Clarke could hear the shoulder pop back in place with a *pop*.
"Ugh…. I though you said on three," Lexa groaned out as a sharp pain shot through her shoulder and Lexa couldn't help but to bring her left hand up to her right shoulder and grip it but after a few moments, the pain began to subside. Obviously, it was still there but it wasn't as bad as it was before. Now she could feel the pain in the rest of her arm but that pain doesn't even compare to what she had felt in her shoulder. Carefully Lexa sat up and tried rolling her shoulder, with some difficulty and pain she was able to before Clarke stopped her.
"You need to take it slow, okay? I know you want to get up and fight but you can't. You need to see a real doctor for that injury." Clarke pointed out knowing that she wasn't completely qualified for this.
Lexa nodded, "Of course. You are the expert here." She tried breathing in and out and the pain was a bit more manageable. "Now, can you help me up? I need to move around."
"First things first..." Clarke didn't know how to ask what she needed to ask so she just asked it blatantly, "What is my name?"
Lexa looked at her confused, "What kind of question is that? Of course I know who you are."
"Humour me Lexa. Who am I?" Clarke looked expectantly upon Lexa waiting for the answer she was sure to get because Lexa wasn't acting the way she was the night before.
"Clarke… Clarke of the Sky People," Lexa answered. "Now why would you ask me such a question?" She asked curiously.
Clarke moved to Lexa's left side and wrapped an arm around Lexa's middle to help her get to her feet, "Let's just say you were not yourself last night and may have thought I was someone from your past," She confessed not looking Lexa in the eyes as she looked around for something she could use as a sling for Lexa's arm.
It was like Lexa knew what Clarke was looking for when she ripped the loose material hanging from her belt all the way around her and handed the black material to Clarke. "Here. Who did I think you were?" She asked wanting to know but a bit afraid of who she was going to say.
Clarke took the material, "Thank you." And began making a sling out of it and tied it on her left shoulder. "Now that you're up do you feel any other injuries or is it just your arm?"
"Do not try to dissuade me from the question Clarke." Lexa finally made eye contact with Clarke. "Who did I think you were?"
"No injuries besides your arm then, good. The fewer injuries we have trying to get back to Camp Jaha, the better," Clarke avoided the question trying to walk away from Lexa when a hand on her left arm stopped her.
"Clarke…" Lexa urged her to answer her question. She did not want to ask again.
Without looking back at Lexa, she just looked at the water falling in front of the cave, "You thought I was Costia," She barely got out in a whisper and wasn't sure Lexa even heard her until she felt the hand release and the commander appear in front of her.
"I thought you were who?" Lexa was sure she heard her past love Costia but she had to make sure her ears were not betraying her. With all of the water she had gotten into her system, it wasn't much of a stretch for her to think maybe she had heard wrong.
Clarke still would not look at Lexa, she wanted to make eye contact but she didn't know how to tell Lexa about the night before so she repeated herself averting her eyes anywhere but on Lexa. "You thought I was Costia."
Lexa froze; her ears did not betray her. She did hear correctly. "Did I… What did I…" She didn't know what to ask, she didn't know what to say to that revelation.
Finally Clarke looked at Lexa, looked into her eyes knowing that Lexa wanted to know what happened but being who she was would never ask that question. Let alone know how to ask that type of question so Clarke answered anyway, "You blamed yourself for what happened to her. I never fully understood what you went through until last night. I-" She paused for a moment to figure out what she wanted to say. "I know that we both lost past loves, but I never knew how much you blamed yourself until that moment."
Lexa listened intently to what Clarke was saying really taking it in because she hadn't really thought about Costia in a long time. She had thought she'd gotten past what happened to her but obviously not. She had someone new in her life, someone she really cared about so she thought that she'd finally come to terms with what happened to Costia but this story Clarke was telling was clear that she had not fully accepted it.
"…So I tried to give you what you wanted. I forgave you. I wasn't sure it was right that I was pretending to be someone I wasn't but you seemed really broken up about it. I hope that's okay?" Clarke asked not sure exactly how Lexa would respond to her pretending to be Costia.
"If I were in your place Clarke, I would have done the same…" Lexa admitted trying to put herself in Clarke's shoes. If Clarke would have awoken and mistaken her for someone she blamed herself for killing, she'd have forgiven Clarke as well.
Clarke nodded, "Good because I didn't really know what to do in that situation. I'm just glad you're back to your old self." She let a little smile appear on her lips.
Lexa nodded, "So, shall we go outside this cave and see where we are so that I can figure out how to get us home?" Lexa needed to move the conversation to something else as she could not talk about her past love with her hopefully future love anymore. It was too strange for her.
Clarke wiped at her eyes ridding herself of any tears that may have appeared in her eyes from the situation as she moved to exit the cave, "Yes that would be good. I'm hoping you know where we are because I have no idea."
Lexa followed Clarke out of the cave and down the rocks until she was on the lakebed rocks, "Hm… We may need to walk around a bit." She looked around as they walked around on the rocks. Looking at Clarke concerned, "What happened to you?" Using her left hand she pointed at Clarke's limping right foot.
"Ah, yes well it appears that I may have sprained my ankle at some point. Don't worry; it should be fine in a day or so." Clarke explained.
"If you are sure you are okay, I will drop it." She noticed Clarke nod so she turned back to walking around until she noticed a piece of her armour on the rocks, she looked up at Clarke as she felt the material in her hands, "So, how did you get us here anyway?"
Clarke looked at Lexa confused, "What do you mean? I thought you got us here." She stated.
Lexa shook her head, "The last memory I have before waking up just a few minutes ago was when I…" She trailed off as she didn't want to think about what happened. "When I let go of your hand…" she barely got out in a whisper as the memory plagued her mind. The moment she let go of Clarke's hand. Releasing her grip on the grey material of Clarke's shirt to the brief moment their hands touched before the only she could see was distance between the two of them. She was stuck in a daze when she felt a hand on her right arm.
"Lexa, I understand why you did what you did. I didn't agree with it but I get it. You were trying to save me. Clearly, I don't do well with people telling me what to do," She moved her arms around motioning to everything around them. "I wouldn't be here with you if I did." Clarke noticed what might be called a smile appear on the commander's lips. "However, if you didn't save us and I didn't save us… Then who or what got us here?"
Lexa went to shrug her shoulders forgetting her right shoulder was just in pain and a sharp pain shot through her being as she winced. She pushed the pain down and answered, "All that matters is that we are alive."
They continued to wander around the area for several minutes before Lexa decided they should go back to the cave so that she could do some thinking. That's what she told Clarke however; in actuality she thought Clarke should get off that ankle for a bit.
Sitting back down in the cave, Clarke looked at Lexa, "So, do you know where we are?"
Lexa looked at Clarke trying not to show her uncertainty, "I am not completely sure where we are."
"What? I thought you knew the lands, how do you not know where we are?" Clarke asked.
"I believe I just need a few moments to figure out where we are. It should be fine. Do not worry Clarke, it will come to me," Lexa tried to convince Clarke that everything would be fine.
XXXXXXXXX
"Raven, we shouldn't have to go outside of the fence to work on it!" Wick yelled at Raven as they were walking toward the gate that would inevitably lead them to the mysterious metal object outside of it. He stopped right before the gate, "That fence right there." He pointed to it. "It's there to keep us safe from what's outside of it!"
A few grounders around him muttered something in Trigedasleng that were clearly meant to be an insult.
"Sorry, I didn't mean you guys…" He tried to apologize as they stormed off.
"Good job Wick, now you've pissed off the very people we've aligned with." Raven shook her head. "You're an idiot." She tried to walk past him when he continued speaking so she stopped to look at him.
"I'm an idiot," He pointed to himself. "YOU are the one that is making us go out in this cold ass weather to work on an equally cold piece of metal outside. When we could easily be in our warm workshop but noooo…." He complained.
"Wick, do you know what that is?" She asked getting very irritated that he was questioning her motives. "Because I don't know what it is! I don't think it's in anyone's best interest to have a piece of tech that we know nothing about inside our place of home."
"You know guys I was thinking maybe we could try using…" Monty trailed off as he finally looked up from his clipboard at the scene in front of him. "Oh… bad time…"
"Bad time," Raven emphasized before looking back at Wick. "Actually, Monty maybe you could weigh in on this argument." She moved to catch Monty before he walked too far away from them. "Wick here," She pointed back at him, "He doesn't understand why the object should be outside of the fence and not in our workshop, thoughts?" She used her eyes to convey that if he crossed her, she'd make him suffer.
"Um…. Uh… I…" Monty stumbled over his words. This was why he wasn't good at talking to women. Angry women are scary. He thought to himself.
"Use your words Monty," She said through clenched teeth. "You agree with me right?" Raven asked him waiting not so patiently for his answer.
Wick finally walked over to where they were, "Raven, you're scaring him." Raven huffed crossing her arms in front of her. "Monty, it's okay if you agree with me. We've been friends for a long time so I'm sure Raven will get over it if you side with me." He smirked trying to convince Monty that his argument was better so that he could get out of this freezing weather.
"Well I think that for now it should stay outside the fence…" Monty was cut off by Raven.
"Wahoooo…. HA I told you Wick, I was right you were wrong," She started to shake her hips and dance around as best she could with her bum leg. "How does it feel to lose Wick?"
Wick shook his head, "Haha…" He said feeling unimpressed.
"However," Raven stopped dancing and looked at Monty to continue. "I do think that with proper examination, we should be able to bring it into the workshop sometime today." He nodded his head agreeing with his statement.
"Ha, I told you Raven." It was Wick's turn to celebrate. He pushed her left shoulder playfully.
Raven's mouth fell open in shock, "Really Monty? You couldn't have at least let me celebrate in victory for five minutes. You had to ruin my fun at Wick's expense. Thanks." Raven huffed out in disappointment. "Come on, you guys let's go."
"What? I don't get to celebrate." He exclaimed chasing after Raven. "Raven, does this mean we'll bring it in?"
"Monty's right. If we can make sure it's not going to explode or it can't be triggered to explode, we'll bring it into the lab because as much as I hate engineer's, you're right it is very cold out here." She explained as she rubbed her hands together. "Monty, are you coming?" She called back to Monty still standing in the place they left him.
"Wait, so then why did you fight me on the subject if you knew I was right all along?" Wick asked as they walked out the gate and toward the object.
Raven turned to him with her winning smile, "Wick, if I can mess with you. I'm going to mess with you." She raised an eyebrow for extra effect. "Now let's figure out if this thing is a threat so we can get out of the cold." She said as they approached the object sitting in what was Clarke and Lexa's training ground.
Monty finally caught up to the two of them carrying the tool box, "Okay so as I was saying, I think we should…"
Again he was cut off by Raven, "Yeah yeah Monty, how about you let the professional handle this and if I need your help, I'll let you know." She turned to the object and moved to the other side to look at it. The height of it hid her face a little as she got down on her knees to examine it.
Monty leaned forward so that he was next to Wick's ear, "She's a bit of a firecracker isn't she?"
"Yeah, she is but that's what I like about her." Wick whispered back.
"I heard that! Are you guys working or talking about me!" She yelled from the other side of the object.
Wick raised his eyebrows to Monty with a smile as he got down on his knees to look at the other side of the object.
XXXXXXXXXX
Lexa was sitting at the edge of the cave crossed-legged with her eyes closed trying to figure out where they were meanwhile Clarke was eating the rest of the rabbit she had cooked for them.
When Lexa finally opened her eyes, "I know where we are."
"You do?" Clarke asked trying not to sound too surprised. She didn't want Lexa to feel like Clarke didn't trust that she didn't know where they were.
"Yes. I would say that to the south about a half a day's walk is The Marsh People and we need to go to the North East to get back to our camp. I am unsure of how many days it will take us with my arm and your leg. On a normal day, I would say it would take us about three days but with these injuries it could very well take longer." Lexa explained turning her body back to Clarke to start gathering their things.
When the number of days finally hit Clarke, she stopped gathering their food and stared out blankly as a thought occurred to her. "Uh Lexa," Lexa stopped her work and looked up to Clarke. "You said that it will most likely take more than three days for us to get back?"
Lexa nodded, "Yes, I do believe so." She answered missing the fear on Clarke's face.
"What does that mean for the challenge?" Clarke asked the question she didn't particularly want to ask but needed an answer for. "Today is day four, if we aren't back by day seven, what happens?"
"Well…" Lexa thought for a moment before answering. "In situations like these with a competitor not being there for the challenge, usually the person is either banned from ever coming back to camp or killed on sight." She explained with very little emotion. "However, that is usually decided by the leader of that clan. Since the earth shook and we ended up here, the challenge will most likely be moved to a later date. It cannot happen without the leader there and with my being with you, it will happen when we get back." Lexa added.
"Okay, well how does training work then? I mean you're supposed to be training me but with your injuries… Does that mean we'd wait until we get back to camp so that I can be trained by Indra or maybe Ryder?" Clarke asked feeling a bit better about the challenge but becoming even more nervous because it meant she'd have to learn from someone else. That was something she wasn't looking forward to because she'd gotten used to how Lexa trained her.
Lexa shook her head, "No, once we are back to camp the challenge will occur. I can still train you with my injuries. We are trained to learn how to fight with both arms, my dominant hand may be compromised but I still have my left arm. We have many days to get back to camp; you will be trained by then."
"Got it," She gulped nervously.
"Clarke, you do not need to be afraid. I will not let you go into that challenge unprepared," Lexa indicated trying to calm Clarke's nerves as she finally noticed the fear in her eyes.
Clarke smiled weakly as she gathered her sword and placed it snuggly on her back. After picking up all of the food, they made their way out of the cave.
"Clarke, leave the last rabbit. We do not want anything to be able to track us. If we need food, we will hunt for it," Lexa pointed out to Clarke.
"Good point," Clarke agreed as she followed Lexa until she noticed Lexa wading into the lake. "Uh… Lexa, what are you doing?"
Lexa looked back at Clarke, with the water up to her knees, she pointed out, "Clarke, it will be much quicker if we go through the lake rather than around it."
"Right but, I haven't had the best experiences with water here on Earth with monsters trying to eat us and all that…" Clarke confessed not feeling completely okay with going in the water.
"Clarke, we obviously were in this water and we are still here. It is fine. Now come on," Lexa motioned with her hands as she walked further into the lake.
Clarke gulped nervously as she thought, you can do this Clarke. It's just water. Yeah, water. Once the water was about mid-chest in height something occurred to her, "Uh Lexa…"
Lexa a little ways ahead, swam back to Clarke, "Yes… What is it now?"
"Well… There's just one problem with this plan," Clarke didn't know how to say what she needed to say because she didn't want to seem weak to Lexa.
Lexa waited for an answer, "Yes."
"I… I don't know how to swim," Clarke confessed waiting for laughter to come from the commander or maybe some snickering or some snide remark about how one should know how to swim. However nothing came, Clarke peered at Lexa and she couldn't read the look that was on her face. "Lexa, did you hear me?" Clarke asked wanting to make sure the commander heard her.
"I did not think this through. I am sorry Clarke. We will have to go around then as I cannot properly teach you how to swim in such a short time with these injuries. Come… We will take the long way…" Lexa admitted to her mistake. She didn't think it completely through. All she was thinking was how to get back home the quickest not who she was with.
Clarke followed Lexa out of the lake. "So does this mean that if I live out the challenge, you'll teach me to swim?" She asked felling a little hopeful.
"Clarke, you cannot think like that. If you do not think you can win then there is no point in my training you," Lexa stared down at Clarke trying to make a point. "But yes, I would be honored to train you on how to swim."
Clarke nodded, "Sweet does that mean-"
Lexa put up her hand in front of Clarke to stop her from speaking, "We're being watched," she whispered just loud enough for Clarke to hear. "Come with me. Quickly, maybe we can lose them in the woods."
Clarke tried her best to stay close to Lexa as they bounced from rock to rock and then into the woods but with her injury she eventually could not see where Lexa was until she almost crashed into her. "Oh, do you think we lost them?" Clarke whispered to Lexa standing behind her.
Lexa peered around looking into the woods around them wishing she did not have the injury she had otherwise she'd climb up into the trees for a better view.
"Well, well well, it is you…" A voice boomed from behind a rather large tree to the right of the two women. A rather large man appeared from behind this tree with a large smile on his face. "When I heard from my scouts that they had spotted the commander of the tree people wandering around in my territory, I had to come and see it for myself."
Lexa finally made eye contact with him and a smile Clarke had never seen before appeared on her face and she walked right up to her and hugged him. "It is good to see you Morad," Lexa exclaimed as she pulled away from the big man while Clarke looked at the situation confused.
"Lexa, you know you can me Mo, we've been over this," His big smile took over his face.
Clarke noticed he had short scruffy hair and no beard or tattoo on his face that she could see. There was some smudged black chalk on his face however like the stuff Lexa used when she went into battle. His grounder clothing was different from the tree people; it looked like it was made from the land. As in made of twigs, moss, and bark, it looked like if he laid on the ground, he might just blend in.
Finally after brief conversation in Trigedasleng, he looked over to Clarke, "Who might this be Lexa?"
Lexa moved away from Morad and moved closer to Clarke, "This is Clarke. She helped me win the war against the mountain men."
He pursed his lips, "Wow… Is she?"
Lexa understood what he was implying and added, "Yes, Clarke is my… Companion… Yes, she is my companion." She answered a little nervously knowing that she would need to explain what that meant to Clarke so that she knew. For now while in front of Morad she needed to do this without clearing it with Clarke first.
He nodded his head, "Yes, I thought that might be the case but I wanted to make sure. Now what are you two doing so far away from your village?" He asked wanting to know why the commander of the tree people would be so far without any guards with her.
"We got caught in that river and ended up here. Which is why we are both injured," Lexa explained knowing he would know what river she was referring too.
He shook his head, "You know you are not to go in that river."
"The earth shook, we fell in the river. Believe me, it was not by choice," She pointed out to him.
"Ah… That makes more sense. I did not think you of all people would be in that river on purpose." He admitted knowing how many warriors Lexa had lost because of that river. "Well then, would you like to come back to my village until you are rested enough to go back to your own village?" He asked noticing the scrapes, bruises and serious injuries on both of them.
Lexa nodded, "Yes that would be very kind of you."
Lexa and Clarke followed Morad a little ways until they came upon a couple of horses.
"You can take Luka's horse. He was going to do some hunting anyways. I am sure that you two can ride together?" He asked looking between Clarke and Lexa.
Lexa nodded, "Yes, of course. Clarke, how about you sit in front as I am hindered with my arm?" Lexa turned to Clarke who had been silent for quite a while now.
"Uh, yeah I can do that," Clarke responded as she hoisted herself up on the horse and then helped Lexa up on the horse. She thought it would be much more difficult for Lexa to get up with her arm but with the help of Luka, it wasn't too difficult. Clarke wanted to ask Lexa what it meant to be someone's companion but she also didn't want Morad to overhear and then Lexa's plans go completely out the window. So for now, she decided to keep quiet until she and Lexa were alone and she could get some answers.
Lexa tried to find a position so that she could hold on so that she didn't fall off but still be able to give Clarke space and not overwhelm her.
"Lexa, you're going to need to hold on to me if you don't want to fall off," Clarke pointed out to the commander as she could feel her fidgeting behind her.
"I do not want to make you feel uncomfortable," Lexa whispered.
Clarke could feel Lexa's warm breath graze her neck causing her to shiver a little, "I'll be fine. I'd rather you not fall off this horse and get injured even more." She whispered back to Lexa not being able to look her in the eyes.
With some reluctance, Lexa eventually placed her left hand and right hand on Clarke's hips to steady herself and hopefully be enough support so that she didn't fall off.
"With your injury, you may need to sit a little closer and wrap your arms around me completely Lexa. I don't mind," Clarke indicated to Lexa.
"Are you two ready yet or what?" Morad was getting a little frustrated with the amount of time it was taking for two people to get settled on a horse. "Lexa's she's your companion, she's not going to kill you. Wrap your arms around her so that you don't fall off."
Lexa did as she was told not wanting to give her plan away.
Clarke all of a sudden could feel her body temperature going up from the feeling of Lexa's warm body flush with her back. It didn't matter that they were both still wet from the lake. Clarke couldn't even feel the wetness of the clothes anymore. All she could feel was the heat from the body behind her combined with the strong arms wrapped around her. She was getting lost in the feeling when Lexa shook her out of it as the last of the horses had galloped away from them. Clarke got her bearings and followed the other horses to the village of these people where Clarke was going to get some answers from Lexa.