Clarke's POV
She woke to the feeling of a small body quivering next to her. She immediately shook all traces of sleep from her system and turned Mari over to face her, seeing his eyes rolling under his eyelids and the fresh sheen of sweat coating his brow, she knew he was having a nightmare. Clarke kissed the top of his head, sweeping delicate brushstrokes across his brow with her lips. "You're okay. You're safe," she murmured over and over again until he began to quiet. He crawled subconsciously closer to her, clinging to her body with his small hands, nuzzling his head into her chest. Looking at Mari cuddled close to her gave her feelings of intense protectiveness and she swore to never let this small boy go. With a small sigh, she realized that she would probably have to talk to Lexa to explain herself, 'Won't that be just a fantastic conversation!' Clarke thought to herself wryly.
She looked across Mari's body to see the large body of Hainofa curled up on his other side, small strands of drool making their way down from his mouth onto the furs. She held back a laugh; this was so domestic, so normal, yet it was anything but. She knew she should rise and face the day, start creating plans to defeat the Maunon, or at least talking with Lexa about what had happened last night. But, her body defeated her mind and with a tired groan she let herself sink back into the warm depths of her bed, falling back into the comforting darkness of sleep, she hoped desperately for no dreams to plague her.
She felt eyes gazing at her, so she slowly opened her own and found herself looking into the dark brown eyes of the small boy in front of her. He had removed himself from the confines of her arms and sat looking down at her with fear in his eyes. She moved to sit up with him, her eyes questioning him in return, but she let out a small laugh when a large growl erupted from his stomach. His eyes widened and the fear intensified, so she instantly stopped laughing. "Mari, what's wrong, child? You're only hungry, and rightfully so. Let's go find some food." The fear was replaced with some of his usual happiness and a large amount of relief.
She kicked Hainofa who grunted and then raised his head to look blearily at her. "I'm going to get food, sleepy." She smiled when he shoved his head underneath the covers and then stood up to stretch, eliciting giggles from Mari. She looked down at him, surprised at the sound, and immediately his eyes filled with fear and watchfulness as he met her eyes, the small laughing sounds fading into nothing, drawing his lips into a thin line.
"You don't have to be afraid anymore, Mari. I will not hurt you, and nobody else will either as long as I am here." She saw his lip quiver and fresh tears fell down the sides of face, reddening his cheeks and causing small snuffling sounds to come from the barely closed lips. "Come here," she said gently kneeling down and opening her arms, wrapping him in a large hug when he allowed himself to come closer. She stroked the soft hair on his head, letting his body shake with sobs. It was several minutes before she snuffles quieted and the tears stopped falling. She picked up his small body, feeling the ache in her muscles and the strain on her previously stitched arm. However, she ignored them both and carried him back to bed, letting him cuddle with Hainofa for a minute or two while she left to go find food.
"I'm going to find food. Will you stay here and watch him while I am gone? Don't let anyone else in." He nodded his head to answer her request, and she turned around to find some other clothes, eventually pulling out some skin-tight pants, lined with soft fur, and a light blue shirt. She pulled on her old jacket, and a pair of fur-lined shoes as well, that had taken her slightly longer to find. When she was finished dressing, she walked to the doorway before turning and speaking again, "I'll be back soon after I find something to feed all of us." And then, with a small smile, she left, closing the door gently behind her.
The hall was empty, so the meandered through it, looking desperately for someone she could ask to bring her food. Finally, she came upon a young girl, maybe ten years she thought. The girl's eyes widened almost comically at the sight of her, and her mouth dropped down to form an 'o.' Clarke lifted an eyebrow in response, she was still very new to being treated as some sort of divine creature. "I was wondering if I could have some food brought up to my room?" The girl nodded in fright, her head bobbing up and down several times more than necessary. Clarke remembered a word she had heard often and decided to test it out, "Mochof, child." If possible, the girl's mouth widened even more before she turned tail and fled down the stairs.
Clarke sighed, hoping what she said hadn't offended the girl. She had been positive that it was some sort of appreciation, a thank you of sorts. She was shaken from her thoughts when she heard a low growl coming from the direction of her rooms. She ran back, winding her way through the hallway, and found Lexa outside of her rooms holding the door open. When Lexa heard her, her head snapped around to face her, leaving the sight of the wolf and boy in replacement for Clarke as she neared.
"Lexa, did you need something?" She kept her voice even, not betraying any source of emotion.
"We need to talk about what happened last night. I also will need to speak with the boy." Lexa replied, her voice edging on frosty.
"He's a child, Commander, a hurt and traumatized one at that. He doesn't need you torturing the information out of him." Clarke spat back, her anger rising dramatically.
"Unfortunately, that is not your choice to make, Clarke kom Skaikru," Lexa replied, her voice hard and her teeth gritted together, making the muscles in her jaw clench under her tanned skin. Clarke loved that she could read Lexa so easily, it made her seem more human somehow and she reveled in it.
Clarke was about to reply back, a harsh response poised on her tongue, when she was interrupted by the arrival of the young serving girl she had met earlier. The girl looked between the two of them, feeling the anger rolling off of their bodies, filling the air with a thick tension. "Will you be eating with Gekozen, Heda?" The young girl asked tentatively.
Lexa nodded her head at the girl, never breaking eye contact with Clarke, a small smirk growing on the corner of her mouth. Clarke glared at her, her blue eyes darkening into stormy orbs. With a barely contained snarl, Clarke stalked into the room, not bothering to wait for Lexa or the serving girl. She found Hainofa sitting on the bed with Mari in between his legs. She felt her anger break slightly when she saw the attempts of braids in Hainofa's fur, and Mari's fingers still woven through the longer hair on his chest. However, her anger quickly returned when she heard Lexa and the young girl enter the room behind her. She waved her hand in a harsh gesture towards the table, making the young girl scurry towards it with the food before fleeing out of the room, shooting anxious glances at Clarke.
Mari looked at Clarke, before flicking his eyes to Lexa's intimidating form. She watched the warm brown eyes fill with anxiety and fear, and he burrowed his face in Hainofa's fur. Clarke looked at Lexa and saw that she had put on her Commander face, and while dressed in her full regalia, it was quite the sight to behold, and she could understand how it had instilled fear into Mari.
She walked towards the bed, and fingered one of the braids on Hainofa's chest. "These are very good, Mari. With a little more practice, I'm sure you could best Heda." He looked up at her, hope filling his eyes. His posture became looser and he unwrapped himself from Hainofa to hug her.
"You really think so?" He asked her, and his voice quavered slightly, showing the deep insecurity that lived inside of him. Clarke felt a pang in her heart and she grasped the boy tighter, determined to show him the splendor of the world, instead of its terrors.
"Of course, little one," she soothed gently, ruffling his hair with her free hand. She let out a small 'oomph' when he jumped on her and wrapped is bony legs around her middle. She placed a hand under him, while the other held him in place against her chest. Using her legs, she pushed upwards and walked towards the table, crooning at him in hushed whispers. She met Lexa's gaze as she placed the boy in the most comfortable of the stiff chairs at the table, and saw awe and admiration there, as well as something else that she couldn't quite place.
She turned her attention back to Mari, who was gazing longingly at the food on the table, small rumbles echoing from the empty caverns of his stomach. "Let's get you some food. Hmm what do we have here?" She picked at some meat on a platter and took a deep sniff, "Venison," she said, answering her own question, before placing a large amount on a plate. She moved to place some fresh fruits on the plate, as well as a piece of toasted bread. As she turned back to face the boy, holding the plate in one hand, she noticed him slipping something into his lap. When he realized she had seen him, a flaming blush crept over his cheeks and guilt filled his features.
She moved closer and placed the plate in front of him, before holding her hand out, silently asking him to give her what he had taken. He placed a small, sticky cake in the center of her palm. When she moved her free hand towards the boy, he stiffened and leaned back, as if preparing himself for a harsh blow to the face. Clarke immediately stopped moving, guilt and horror filling her gaze. She placed the honey cake on the plate before crouching down to be face-level with him. "Everyone deserves a little sweetness," she said in her happiest voice, although inside she was reeling with resurfaced anger towards those that had instilled that response in him. She looked up at Lexa and saw similar emotions in the lines of her face, and the harness of her green eyes.
She left the boy to his own devices while she turned around to face the food again, piling up a large place of meat and fruit and putting it on the floor. Hainofa leapt off the bed with a dull thud and plodded over to his meal, sniffing at the meat with hesitation in his eyes. "Oh come on," she jested, "Surely venison two days in a row won't kill you!" He let out a whine. "You're such a baby. Eat it or eat nothing," she threatened. His eyes widened and he quickly bent down and scarfed as much of it as he could down in one bite. She laughed at his antics and turned to fill up her own plate, pausing as she looked back at Lexa, who was clearly uncomfortable, shifting from one foot to other almost imperceptibly.
"Would you like to join us, Lexa?" She asked, seeing relief enter the older girl's eyes as Clarke addressed her. Clarke felt a pang of remorse. She had been treating Lexa very harshly, and she knew that this couldn't be an easy thing for her to deal with. She knew how much Lexa hated having to play a double role, hiding her true self to please her people, but it angered her when Lexa used the Commander persona against her.
Lexa took a step towards the table and with an encouraging smile from Clarke, picked up a plate with her beautiful, long-fingered hands, and began to serve herself breakfast.
Halfway through their meal, Hainofa let out a long, throaty burb that earned him a sharp reprimand from Clarke, and a peal of giggles from Mari. Lexa looked faintly amused, a small smile threatening to spread across her face. Clarke saw it, and smiled back at her, her eyes twinkling with happiness she had not felt since her people had been captured. The meal was soon finished, leaving all four of them with bulging stomachs and dimming minds, all of their blood having rushed to their stomachs to digest the food.
However the moment was broken when Lexa cleared her throat and looked expectantly at Mari, who grew stiff and nervous under her gaze, twisting his fingers together underneath the table. "Will you tell me what happened, child?" Her voice was uncharacteristically gentle and Clarke found herself drawn to that voice, to Lexa, who was shining through tough exterior the Commander.
Mari nodded his head and began his tale. It was full of horrors and Clarke felt tears well up in her eyes. The boy spoke with an emotionless voice, his face void of expression except the paths of wetness that covered the planes of his cheeks, dripping down onto his tunic. He told them about how it had started after his father had been captured by the Maunon, and his uncle, his father's twin, had moved into their house to take care of them. Mari paused here, and Clarke nodded encouragingly at him, wiping away his tears, assuring him that everything was going to be okay.
He continued, detailing how his uncle began to use his mother, and then would hurt her when she fought back. He cried harder when he admitted that he had tried to protect her but wasn't strong enough. He said that he had walked in on his uncle forcing himself on his mother and he took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed his uncle, but his uncle on picked the knife out of him and killed his mother in front of his eyes, telling him that she was dead because of him.
"That's when Clarke and Hainofa came and rescued me. Please don't hurt them Heda." He ended his story with sobs just barely contained in his chest.
Lexa looked at him with barely contained fury gracing her features, although when she saw that she was frightening the boy, she controlled herself and allowed her sympathy for the child to shine through. "Your nomon will be avenged. You are a very brave warrior, Mari. You fought for what was right, never be ashamed of that." All it took were those gentle words for Mari to be completely overwhelmed, unable to contain the sobs that tore through his body, leaving him shaking and whimpering in his chair. Clarke picked him up and carried him back to bed, wrapping her body around his and crooning things into his ear.
Lexa's POV
She was stunned by the boy's story, feeling a red mist of anger consume her as she thought of the tortures this six-year-old child had endured. She reconsidered her decision to burn the uncle, and decided he deserved no such honor. She needed to make a spectacle of what happens when such an occurrence happens, and that it will not be tolerated. She refocuses on Mari, seeing his fear, and trying to bring down her own anger. She consoles him the best way she knows how, in her gentlest voice, but the child still bursts into tears. She looked at Hainofa confusedly, unsure of what she did wrong, and not wanting to upset Clarke anymore by her actions.
"The child is simply overcome with emotion. Do not blame yourself, Heda, he needs to purge it of his system. Clarke will take care of him, do not worry." She heard the wolf's voice in her head, and noticed how different it was from Clarke's. It was deep and throaty, somehow managing to still sound melodic. It matched his sweet disposition, and Lexa was suddenly aware for how grateful she was that Clarke had him as a sort of family. She nodded her head at him, but her attention was drawn back to Clarke and Mari on the bed when she heard the small boy ask if Clarke would sing him a song.
Clarke quickly acquiesced and began a soft tune that Lexa did not recognize.
"Two little boys had two little toys
Each had a wooden horse
Gaily they played each summer's day
Warriors both of course
One little chap, he had a mishap
He broke off his horse's head
He wept for his toy then he cried for joy
As his young playmate said,
Did you think I would leave you crying
When there's room on my horse for two
Climb up here Jack and don't be crying
I can go just as fast with two
When we grow up we'll both be soldiers
And our horses will not be toys
And I wonder if we'll remember
When we were two little boys
Long years had passed, war came so fast
Bravely they marched away
Cannon roared loud, and in the mad crowd
Wounded and dying lay
Up goes a shout, a horse dashes out
Out from the ranks so blue
Gallops away to where Joe lay
Then came a voice he knew
Did you think I would leave you dying
When there's room on my horse for two
Climb up here Joe, we'll soon be flying
I can go just as fast with two
Did you say Joe I'm all a-tremble
Perhaps it's the battle's noise
But I think it's that I remember
When we were two little boys
Do you think I would leave you dying
There's room on my horse for two
Climb up here Joe, we'll soon by flying
Back to the ranks so blue
Can you feel Joe I'm all a tremble
Perhaps it's the battle's noise
But I think it's that I remember
When we were two little boys"
When Clarke had finished singing, Lexa felt tears in her own eyes. The blonde's voice was soothing and melodic, utterly beautiful. It had lulled the small boy to sleep, and Lexa was very grateful for the fact, knowing it would be easier for the child to deal with pain of his mother's passing if he was well-rested. She quickly wiped away the beginnings of tears from the corners of her eyelids, knowing that Clarke would turn to look at her soon. She was right, the blonde turned her head; tear lines etched into the planes of her face and blue eyes rimmed with red.
Lexa watched as Clarke extracted herself delicately from the grasp of the small boy, leaving him to snuggle with the large wolf beside him. Clarke walked towards her, swaying slightly and motioning for Lexa to join her before exiting the room. Lexa followed quickly, not wanting to miss a moment alone with her Seelehalb. As soon as the door was closed behind her, Clarke spoke.
"I want you to promise me that Mari will come to no harm." Her words were blunt and forceful, digging deep into Lexa. Her eyes were held by Clarke's captivating and concern-filled blue ones, and Lexa knew that she would do anything for her.
She gulped, "You have my word. But if I may, I have a suggestion for his new living arrangements?" Clarke nodded hesitantly at her words, clearly indicating for her to continue. "I have a very dear friend in another clan, the Floundukru, who would gladly accept Mari as her own. She is a leader there. It is a peaceful clan, isolated on an island. He will know only love and care." She ends her small rant, green eyes still locked with blue. Her heart beats erratically, hardly holding hope that Clarke will accept her plans.
She is greatly surprised when Clarke quietly agrees with her, sadness and acceptance leaking out her words. "It will be better for him to grow up somewhere free from his past, no matter how much I may dislike it." Lexa realized this was as good a response as she would ever hope to get, and very tentatively she reached out a hand to pat Clarke's shoulder. The other girl stiffened but soon relaxed into the touch, slowly breaking down and allowing her own sobs to come out. Lexa pulled her into an awkward hug, but the connection between them soon eased any tension, leaving two slightly broken girls desperately clinging to each other.
Lexa forced herself to pull away sooner than she wanted to. "The clans will be gathering in two days time. We will transfer Mari then. Later tonight will be the funeral pyres, although he," she spat that word, "will receive no honor for the end of his fight." She paused, trying to reign in her emotions. "When the clans convene we will celebrate the beginning of winter, and plan for our imminent march on the Maunon."