I know it's warmer where you are

And it's safer by your side

But right now I can't be what you want

Just give it time

You And I – PVRIS

Bellamy was on a warpath. It had made walking through the storm while dragging a full grown man behind him just that little bit easier.

Two more of his people dead and two seriously injured.

Well, that was if he was counting Vala as one of his people. Which he was.

Finn would be okay, he'd lost a lot of blood, but the knife had been successfully taken from his ribcage. As far as he knew, it hadn't punctured anything vital, and the boy was now dozing on a table in the centre of the room.

Vala on the other hand...

She was in bad shape. He didn't know to what extent until he was sitting beside her, trying to hold himself back from holding her hand. A group of his people were upstairs, on the top floor of the drop ship, keeping an eye on the Grounder responsible for putting her in that position.

She was pale, a light sheen of sweat covered her exposed skin, her leather bodice having been cut from her body so Clarke could get to the wound on her side. She was clad in only her small undershirt, the one she went swimming in, and now, in the light of the drop ship, he could see the full extent of the scars marring her beautiful skin.

One ran from her hip to her breast, from what could only be something jagged, as the scar wasn't by any means clean. Little scars wound across her middle, like she'd been cut by tiny knives. She had bigger slices running down her arms, and the only conclusion he could come to was that she got into her fair share of knife fights.

It seemed like every injury she'd ever gotten had scarred, and he sucked in a sharp breath as he realised that was because she'd been alone from the time she was ten, therefore having no one but herself to patch up her wounds. He couldn't imagine the pain she must have endured.

Clarke had stitched the slashed skin closed. She'd lost a lot of blood, though mostly from the head wound, and the doctor's daughter was sure the lesion would heal quickly. She wasn't as sure about the damage the ones on her head would cause, however. She'd called Bellamy down once the stitching was done, somehow knowing he'd want to see her.

Finally, after a few long minutes of waiting, the dark haired Grounder girl opened her caramel eyes, blinking up at the ceiling blankly.

"Vala," he said, not daring to grasp her hand, too worried he'd scare her. Her irises slowly moved, sweeping across the room until she met his eyes. Her caramel orbs were wide with fright, staring up at him with a fear he hadn't before seen on the girl's pretty but scarred face. "Hey," he said, forcing a relaxed smile onto his lips that didn't quite make it to his eyes. "You had us worried there."

He leaned over her, watching as she seemed to calm down. "What-what-" she tried to ask, but she didn't have the concentration to find the right words. But Bellamy knew what she was trying to say.

"The Grounder we followed," he told her gently. "He hit you over the head. Twice." She frowned when she didn't understand the words he was using, and, feeling only a little ridiculous, he mimed getting hit over the head. She nodded in understanding, groaning when the movement hurt her head and tripled her dizziness.

Noticing how dangerously pale she was, he couldn't help but reach a hand out and press his palm to her clammy forehead. He frowned deeply when he encountered burning hot skin, instead of her naturally just above average temperature.

"Clarke," he called, glancing into her eyes again, worried when she stared back blankly, her eyes alarmingly glassy.

The blonde girl, who already had her hands full with Finn as she stitched up his wound, looked over at him impatiently. "What Bellamy?"

"It's Vala," he replied, undeterred by her short tone. "She's burning up."

Clarke's face crumpled in concern. She took another long moment, before getting up and moving to Bellamy's side. She pressed her own hand to her head, frowning when she realised their leader was correct. "Mom?" she asked the radio. "Vala has a fever. Could it be a something to do with her concussion?"

That was what she had said earlier, that Vala had a concussion. She tried to keep Vala awake, but her hands were too full with Finn's surgery to worry about the Grounder girl too.

"No, no," Abbey responded through the radio. "It can't be a sign of concussion, but it can be a sign of infection. Sterilise the wound on her side again, besides that, all you can do is monitor her."

The radio went silent again as Clarke moved around the table, getting the rest of the moonshine and tipping a good portion of it onto the stitched up wound. Vala thrashed where she lay, grunting in pain as the moonshine did it's job and disinfected out the wound. Unable to help himself, Bellamy reached out, grabbing her small but calloused hand in both of his own, allowing her to squeeze it in silent support.

"Clarke!" Raven shouted when Finn began to cough, and with a final touch to the woman's stomach she turned and went back to Finn.

Vala's pained eyes slid to Bellamy again, and he tightened his grip on her hand. He'd just opened his mouth to say something when there was a loud shout of his name from above them, clearly coming from the level they were holding the Grounder on.

"I'll be back," he assured her gently, but she didn't respond, merely staring up at him blankly until he finally tore himself away, climbing up the ladder, soft expression melting into a much harder mask.

Things seemed to be looking up, until Raven shouted that Finn was seizing. Then everything seemed to go the hell.

It was only mere seconds after his seizing stopped that Vala's began. Just barely coping with the stress, Clarke flew to her side, repeating the same actions she had just done with Finn. The foam dripped from her lips, her eyes flickering as she struggled against whatever was in her system.

"How can she be infected too?" Raven cried, stroking Finn's hair back affectionately.

"It's not infection," Clarke responded tightly. "Hang on," she said in realisation. "I've seen this before. Shortness of breath, fever, seizing; it's poison!"

"Clarke you sterilised everything, I watched you do it," Raven countered in confusion.

The blonde's attention was drawn to the Grounder's knife laying on the seat along the wall. "Not everything," she growled, picking it up and heading for the stairs. She paused, turning back to the Grounder ally she already had. She just hoped she was lucid enough to talk. "Vala," she began carefully.

The woman was strong, her eyes peeked open, and she coughed only twice before silencing.

"There was something on the blade," she said slowly, holding up the weapon so she could see, hoping she would understand. "Poison."

"Unklir jus," she replied stiltedly, eyelids fluttering worryingly. "Fis op."

"English, Vala," Clarke implored, leaning down so they were closer. "Please."

"Bellamy," she coughed, only the whites of her eyes showing as she had a minor seizure before stilling again with a pained sigh.

"He's busy, you need to talk to me," Clarke said, feeling so desperate she could cry.

"Fis op," she called out again, head lulling back.

"No, no! Vala, stay with me!" she yelled, grasping either side of the woman's face and squeezing gently, hoping she'd stay conscious. The hope was in vain, however, as her eyes fluttered, then shut. Pressing her fingers to the Grounder's neck so, fearfully checking her pulse. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief to find she was only unconscious, but still very much alive.

As she stared down at her new friend, she was filled with a renewed sense of determination. Snatching the knife up once more, she began to climb the ladder, a glare that she felt was becoming permanent sitting on her face.

Bellamy didn't take it well, but she didn't expect him to.

She hadn't anticipated torture coming into the equation at any stage of the day, but once it was presented, it was difficult to shelve. "How long does he have?" the leader asked, concerned frown in place.

"Not long," Clarke told him seriously.

Suddenly his expression twisted into something like pain. "Vala?" he asked breathlessly, eyes anguished.

Taken aback by the severity of his response, her brow furrowed, and she realised that maybe the connection he and Vala shared ran deeper than she thought. "She needs an antidote," she told him, and the soft and worried expression on his face hardened into something much fiercer.

He cracked his knuckles, turning back around. "I'll get him to talk," he swore, rolling his shoulders as he prepared to do the worst.

Octavia protested, of course. Bellamy paid her no mind, barely waiting for Clarke's reluctant agreement before turning and laying into the Grounder with a belt from the drop ship – an action he wouldn't ever be able to take back.

As Vala drifted in and out of consciousness, she searched the room for Bellamy. When he was nowhere to be found, she'd notice Luk propped up on the table beside her, nuzzling into her skin with his wet nose.

Coughing up more foam, the Grounder girl tried to sigh, only to cough some more. She knew enough of the Trikru's culture to know she'd been poisoned. "Clarke!" she tried to yell, spots in her vision making it difficult to concentrate. Her voice came out as more of a croak, and she hacked once more, tilting to her side to allow the fluid from her mouth.

There were several poisons it could be. It was impossible to tell exactly which one. Her knowledge of the poisons was limited at best, everything she knew she'd picked up on the run. She carried some antidotes with her, but they'd been taken along with her shoes the last time she'd been attacked by outliers.

She didn't know what was in them, and even if she did she wouldn't have a clue how to tell the Sky people's healer so she could make them herself.

Fingers woven into her friend's thick coat, she drifted again, frowning softly as she heard something of an agonised scream from what seemed to be high above her.

Again it was Luk who woke her. Over the years she'd become hyper-tuned to the feeling of him snuffling into her exposed skin, a communication that danger was close and she needed to get moving. She shot up, hands snapping to her thigh for her trusty knife, only for her to fall back down again, strength zapped and hand empty of cool metal.

"Hey," a voice said gently, the tone comforting, and realising she'd shut her eyes again, she slid them back open, wincing through the light at a familiar freckled face.

"Bellamy?" she asked, just to be sure.

The taller man nodded, leaning closer to her, resting his forearms on the metal table by her hip.

"It be Unklir jus?" she asked him to make sure she understood, words slurring with exhaustion.

He smiled, the expression annoyingly charming to someone who felt so terrible. "If that means poison, then we're on the same page," he told her casually, but there was a tenseness in his eyes that caught her attention.

"What be bad?" she asked, forcing her eyes open fully to peer at him worriedly.

"Nothing," he was quick to say.

Crease appearing between her brows, she frowned at him. She moved, hand reaching out until it pressed against the leader's cheek. Slowly and clumsily she brushed her thumb along the skin under his eye, tapping it gently. "Wrong be here," she said pointedly, tapping the dark bag again for good measure. "In eye."

He winced, reaching up to clasp his fingers around hers, regretfully dragging it down and away from his face, something about the way she instantly saw through him was alarming. "I just had to do something today that I really wish I hadn't," he said, feeling guilty but surprisingly not at all apologetic.

His brown eyes meeting her wide caramel ones, he knew he'd made the right decision. And he'd do it again in a heartbeat if it meant it would save Vala's life.

"But I don't regret it," he told her impulsively. "It saved you, so it was worth it."

Vala pursed her lips thoughtfully, trying to take in what he was saying. "Yumi lukot," she told him sincerely, bowing her head. He hummed curiously in response. "Bellamy and Vala be friend," she translated with a tired smile, and he nodded his head with a smile for both of them.

It wasn't the first time she'd said as much, but he got the feeling she liked it; calling him her friend. Since he also got the feeling she didn't really have any, apart from him.

Beside them, Luk jumped up, tongue lolling out as he awaited instruction. Bellamy looked to Vala for an explanation. "Luk name come by Lukot," she said, glancing down at her companion with affection. "Mean friend."

He vaguely recalled her telling him the same thing only just after they'd met, but he hadn't been paying proper attention back then. He realised then that she'd literally named her dog 'friend', which was as adorable as it was sad. He decided he liked being her friend, and would do everything he could to make sure he was a good one.

Vala recovered quickly. By that night she was sitting up, and by the following morning she was walking around. She was more than relieved to have her belongings back in place; Bellamy had made sure they were back in her possession as soon as she was lucid enough to hold a knife without hurting herself.

Clarke kept a close eye on her, but otherwise allowed her free roam of the camp. People still seemed afraid of her, but little would change that other than time, so she let it go. It wasn't until her second day up and walking about that she was told about what was happening in the top floor of the metal cave.

"Hey! Vala!" a voice called, and surprised it wasn't Clarke, Bellamy, or Octavia for once, she looked up, raising a curious eyebrow at the approaching Sky boy. She recognised him from only days ago, when they'd talked by the fire.

"Jas-pa," she greeted him sloppily, raising the hand holding her knife and waving it in the air in welcome. A girl sitting a few paces to her right squealed and flinched away, and Vala had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. She could handle a knife.

"Good to see you up and about," he told her, stopping beside the tree she was leaned against, but not sitting down, instead merely peering down at her with a wide grin.

"Clarke heal me," she proclaimed, returning her attention to the small chunk of wood she was idly whittling down.

"Yeah," he nodded, glancing up at the drop ship thoughtfully. "I haven't seen you go talk to the Grounder yet," he said, and, not sure what he meant, she looked away from her mindless task, brows pulled together confusedly. "I mean, since you actually speak his language, I figured you'd be the first person Bellamy would go to."

"What?" she asked bewilderedly, eyes sliding between the boy and the metal cave.

"You know?" he prompted, smiling slowly melting from his face. "The Grounder? The one Bellamy captured and locked up in the drop ship?"

Wanting to be sure she was translating correctly, Vala dropped the wood and slid the knife back into place on her leg. She was several inches shorter than Jasper, but she managed to be a hundred times more intimidating as she narrowed her kohl smudged eyes up at him. "There be Grounder in metal cave?" she asked deliberately, jaw clenched so tightly it ached, hands curled into fists. Suddenly feeling frightened, getting the idea that she hadn't previously known about their prisoner, he stepped back and spluttered incoherently. "Jasper," she snapped harshly, demanding a reply, the name coming out more correct now that she was serious.

"Well, I mean–yeah," he confirmed, and without waiting for more she spun around, long hair flying out, heavy braids slapping Jasper in the chest as she left.

She stomped towards the cave, not for a moment stopping to talk to anyone, even Clarke as she called a question about her health over her shoulder. She went straight for the ladder, grasping the rungs of the thing and hoisting herself up. The movement made her still-healing side ache, and she hoped she didn't pop a stitch as she tore up the ladder on a mission.

The hatch to the top level was shut, but thankfully not locked, and she shoved it open with little care, pulling herself up and onto the ground.

"Vala?" Bellamy was the first person she saw, standing over her with a frown. "What are you-"

She shoved him aside, having little care for him in that moment. A second later she laid her eyes on the Grounder suspended by rope, dried blood on his face, one eye completely swollen shut.

After staring at the warrior in horror for a long moment, she spun around to shoot a lethal glare at the commander of the Sky people. "You no tell me you have be Grounder?!" she shouted furiously, the intensity of it shocking Bellamy. He'd seen her desperate, and defensive, but never angry – at least, not to that extent.

"Look," he said, puffing out his chest as he stepped forwards, not about to let the men surrounding them see him acting like her bitch. "It's not your-"

"Idiot Bellamy," she hissed, enraged as she bared her teeth at him. "This be war move," she growled. He looked unsure for a moment before stepping closer, opening his mouth to tell her off for speaking against him.

She spun around, ignoring whatever he had to say, and faced the restrained Grounder, crossing her arms and glaring at him too, the fury never leaving her eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked him in Trigedasleng. He merely stared back with his one good eye, face clear of emotion. "Your tattoos say you're Trikru. Are you one of the commander's men?"

He didn't respond, remaining completely stoic, like he didn't understand her, even though she knew he did. "What are you saying?" Bellamy asked her, and she twisted her head around to shoot him a lethal glower. He pressed his lips together begrudgingly, not liking it, but knowing it was wiser to keep his mouth shut.

"These people are good, they're merely scared and think they're protecting their own," she said softly, taking a step closer. Deciding to take it further, she continued. "My name is Vala."

Again, he said absolutely nothing.

"He no talk me, he no talk you," she said with a sense of finality. Eyes flickering over his injuries, she turned back around to glare at Bellamy.

Sensing more was coming, he sighed, running a hand over his forehead. "Get out of here," he instructed his men, who were all watching on curiously. "Miller, come back in ten for your watch." The Miller boy nodded, the last to disappear down the hole in the floor. Bellamy turned back to Vala once they were alone, only the Grounder in the room to overhear them.

Taking that as her cue, she began to speak. "There best be justice be cuts," she growled at him, and he shifted his weight, beginning to feel oddly chastised. Her English was hard to understand, but he knew what she was trying to say. He almost always did.

"He was the only one with the antidote to the poison in your system," he defended, pointing aggressively at the huge man. "I did it to save lives." Her glare did nothing but harden. "He's the one that hit you! That stabbed you and Finn!"

"He be protect he," she hissed back angrily. "You be same him place."

"So because it was self-defence, it was justified?" he asked back, voice raising.

"I no hear what this mean!" she shouted back, edging closer to the leader, fists clenched and ready to throw, though she'd never do it. Not to him. "Bellamy wrong!"

"Why are you so angry?!" he yelled, taking a step closer and scowling down at her intensely. "These are the people who banished you when you were ten years old! You should be happy for a chance to get some revenge!"

"No want revenge!" she retorted shrilly, eyes wild.

"Then what do you want?!"

"Be care for!" she screamed, then stopping short, not having meant for that to come out.

Bellamy paused, his anger melting quickly. "You mean that...you want to be accepted?" he clarified, frowning down at the savage looking girl, kohl trailing down her cheeks in a messy way that was completely familiar to him now.

Her tense body relaxed, expression thawing into something much sadder.

"Vala," he began softly, growing more calm with every passing second, ignoring the Grounder that was now looking at them with far too intelligent eyes. "They banished you," he told her sincerely. "You don't need anything from them, least of all their acceptance."

She shrugged. She thought she knew what he was saying, and she knew that, but she couldn't help but want it anyway. It was an instinct, they were her people. But, she supposed as she stared up into Bellamy's dark eyes, they definitely weren't her home.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Come on," he said softly, waving a hand towards the hatch. "Let's get out of here." She didn't move an inch, merely tilting her head at him curiously, staring at him like she could see right through him, but at the same time had no idea what to make of him. "I figure we could use a swim," he said significantly, meeting her eyes pointedly.

Vala pursed her lips, considering his offer for a long moment before turning back to face the restrained Grounder before them. "Just try to cooperate," she told him in their shared language. "They only want to feel safe."

With that she turned around, walking back to Bellamy's side and nodding at him once, slipping down the rungs of the ladder and making her way back to the first floor of the strange metal cave.

People tried to get Bellamy's attention as they made their way through camp, but he barely blinked as he told them to go find Clarke instead. He was on a mission.

Vala led the way, the darkening sky making it difficult for Bellamy to recognise the way to, what they had both come to think of as, 'their' place.

The Grounder girl said nothing, still feeling irritated – no, angry – at the Sky boy for his blatant deception. More than anything, though, she was tired. As she stepped over gnarled roots twisting out of the dirt, she sighed. She didn't have any control over the Sky people, Bellamy least of all. She was allowed to be angry, but she didn't have a right to berate him for doing what he thought was right. What she said to the unnamed Grounder still stood.

They were acting out of fear.

Vala found the taller man was right, she could use a swim. The air was still warm, being only mid-autumn, and she found her leather attire clinging uncomfortably to her skin.

Her armour was off in one smooth movement, and she dropped the durable cloth to the ground, deciding she was far too tired to play, instead merely stepping into the water, enjoying the way the cool liquid enveloped her. She sank underwater as soon as she was deep enough, running her hands over her face, uncaring that it probably smudged the kohl there even further.

She reappeared along the edge, feet only barely touching the bottom as she stood where it was shallowest.

Bellamy did the same, taking off his jacket and shirt before slipping in the water, easily reaching the floor as he walked through the water towards her.

The wet clinging to his skin shimmered in the combined moonlight and soft radiance from the glowing plant life and fungi growing around the edge of the water. He dipped under the surface, popping back up not a second later, dark hair sticking to his forehead. Vala's eyes followed a droplet of water as it trailed from his temple, down the heavy freckles on his cheek and over the curve of his jaw, travelling along the column of his throat and over his strong collarbones before finally disappearing into the rest of the water.

His skin was perfect; she didn't know it was possible to go through life without getting marred by scars as she so obviously was.

She frowned to herself, she was still upset, she shouldn't be thinking about the Sky boy's impossible beauty, there were more important things to focus on.

"I'm not going to apologise," Bellamy said suddenly, and Vala's eyes snapped up to meet his, searching for what she wasn't sure she'd be able to find. "I made a decision for the good of my people, and I don't regret it."

"No mad you do this," she spoke before he could say anything else, features pulled into a deep frown. "Mad you no tell."

She also knew she didn't have a right to be mad about this, but she couldn't help it; she didn't understand why her friend had kept it from her. Friends didn't do that, did they?

Bellamy considered her words with a frown, eyes flickering over the glow her face was bathed in. "Next time, I'll tell you."

She didn't think he really would, but she didn't say anything. She stepped back slightly, tipping her head back to peer at the stars littering the sky above them, mulling over the day's events. "What it be me?" she couldn't stop herself from asking, and he took a step closer, eyes glued to her expressive face.

"What do you mean?" he asked, genuinely confused by her broken English.

"If Grounder be me," she elaborated, lips pursing as she scrambled for the words. "May you hurt me like hurt Grounder?"

"But it wasn't you," he countered instantly, taking a step closer. She didn't step back, holding her ground, refusing to be pushed further away. "I wouldn't hurt you. Ever."

Her severe expression didn't lift. "Skaikru have they way," she said gently, meeting his eyes, head tilted back to see properly. "Grounder have they way also."

Anyone else wouldn't have know what she was trying to say, but this was Bellamy, and somehow he always knew what she was trying to say. "We can't let him go," he told her softly, voice coming close to something like regret. "At least not yet. He'll go get his people, bring them back to slaughter us."

"Slaw-tar?" she tried to copy, face scrunching adorably as she tested the unfamiliar word.

"Kill," he clarified, fighting to keep the emotion from his face.

Her strong brows pulled together as she realised what he was saying. He wasn't wrong, the warrior would most certainly get the rest of his unit, perhaps even alert the commander, and then they were all in trouble. The only way that wouldn't happen would be if the Grounder in their cave was a nomad like her.

But that was extremely unlikely.

"Bellamy do he think right," she finally said, voice soft and less harsh than usual. She moved her arms through the water, the feeling of it silky smooth and cool against her skin. "I stand with you."

"We're not your people, Vala," he said before he could stop himself, hating himself that little bit more when she winced.

"Have no people," she bowed her head in agreement, eyes sliding shut, covering up the pain in their depths. "Only be friends. I stand with friends."

Her admission made him realise that maybe he didn't have to face the following days alone. An idea occurred to him, and the force of it made him pause.

"I'm leaving." He'd said it before he was able to stop himself.

Vala blinked in surprise, taking an extra moment to translate the words. "Where you be leave to?" she asked, tone calm and accepting. She didn't ask why, didn't argue, didn't try to talk him out of it. He loved that.

"See, that's the thing." She didn't ask him to explain himself, but he felt obligated to anyway. "I need to leave before the others come down-"

"Come be sky?" she interrupted, glancing up as she always did, like she'd find the answers there.

"Yes. If I'm still here when they come down, they're going to kill me." Vala paled at the words, back to watching Bellamy with attentive, worried eyes. "So I need to leave, but, I don't think I'd get very far," he paused, biting his tongue for a moment and turning his own gaze to the stars above. "At least, not without you."

She ducked under the water again, taking the moment of privacy to frown, running her fingers through her impossibly tangled hair. She reappeared, breathing deeply as she glanced back at the Sky boy in the water with her, his eyes still focused stubbornly on the stars. "Bellamy ask Vala to run with him?" she eventually said, speaking slowly and deliberately, wanting absolutely no miscommunication.

"Let's be honest," he said, voice layered with bitterness. "I wouldn't last a week out there on my own. I don't know where I'm going, and I don't know what other kinds of threats are lurking in the shadows. I'd be stupid if I didn't ask for help." Vala frowned, and Bellamy got the sense that his explanation wasn't good enough. "And...I suppose, it would be...nice...to not be completely alone," he finally admitted, stumbling over his words with a pained wince.

The thought of leaving Octavia made him ache deep down, but he was forcing himself not to focus on the feeling. She hated him anyway, she had every right to after what he said the last time they spoke. She wanted him gone, and he had to go to survive. It was win-win. That didn't mean he couldn't indulge a little and take the Grounder girl with him, if only for company and (loathe was he to admit it) protection.

"Octavia?" was all Vala said, voice disturbingly soothing.

"She doesn't care," he spoke his thoughts aloud gruffly. "And she doesn't know. This stays between us, you got that?"

"Hush op," she said with a sure nod.

He frowned at her in confusion, and she lifted a single finger to her lips, pressing it against them pointedly. "Secret," he nodded, understanding what she meant. "We say 'secret'."

"See-crit," she repeated stiltedly, and, feeling oddly light, Bellamy snorted in amusement, enjoying the way a bright, stupid grin appeared on her kohl smudged face at the sound. "When?" she asked him after a beat.

"In a few days," he told her gently. "Once I'm sure they'll be okay without me. Without us." He sighed suddenly, looking over his shoulder into the bluish glow of the forest, staring in the direction the camp was in like he would magically be able to see it through the trees. "In the mean time, keep teaching fighting skills, hunting skills, anything they're willing to learn. They're going to need it all."

A/N: Hello lovelies. I know a lot of you had certain desires for Vala to somehow know Lincoln, but no dice. She does have a connection to the Trikru, but you won't find out how for a while yet.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will definitely be seeing you guys again soon. Be sure to send me a message, give me feedback and tell me what you guys like or wanna see more of.