The air about the camp was very open and the small walls the Nightbloods were trained to build around their personalities had come down slightly. In that moment Clarke did not feel like she was eating with the Commander's protégés, the deadly warriors, the future of the clans. In that moment she felt like she was sitting back at the drop ship with the 100. With children, joking, laughing, and telling stories.

After Tess had recounted their afternoon and escape Burke told the story of he and his comrades' escape and Lexa's spectacular act of saving them. As the children told of the Commander and Tarko flattening the Lynxes in less than a minute Lexa barley even moved, not allowing even a satisfied grin to cross her face. She was the most modest person Clarke had ever met.

From there Reed went on to share a story of his younger childhood where he and several hunters came upon the largest grizzly bear they'd ever seen, that had chased them all up a tree and proceeded to chew the tree down, with its knife-like mutated fangs.

Lexa even took it upon herself to speak of the time she and Clarke had been trapped by the Pauna all that time ago and how Clarke's genius led to them trapping it in it's on land. As these compliments Clarke blushed.

"What was the largest trial you ever faced in space Clarke?" Nepa asked curiously, catching Lexa's eye when addressing the Sky Girl by her first name. Lexa merely nodded in approval.
Clarke hid her chuckle at how formal her comrades were then set to thinking on the question.

Admittedly compared to all she'd faced here her life on the Ark had been quite tame. There had been no Pauna's, grizzly bears, and stampedes. Her world had actually been so small in relation to how these children and Lexa had grown up.

"I think." Clarke began deciding. "The worst I face was my last year on the Ark." Lexa's brow furrowed slightly, expecting to know the story Clarke was about to relate. But this was a time so confusing for Clarke that she wasn't even sure if she'd be able to speak of it accurately.

"On the Ark." Clarke spoke on finding the proper words. "In space there were so many of us that if you broke a law, even the smallest of laws you would be killed."

At this to her surprise many of the Nightbloods sat straighter, finding somehow this a more brutal law than many of their ways.

"The exception was if you were still considered a child, under the age of 18." Burke exhaled. Their age of adulthood was considered 16. " If you committed a crime when you were under 18 you were put in a cell. When I was still only 16 my father and I broke a law. So…" Clarke did her best to speak casually, not wanting to dampen the mood of the camp. "My people killed him and put me in prison, the Sky box. But instead of putting me in with the other prisoners they put me in solitary."

To her surprise this warranted no reaction from the Nightbloods. Many just creased their brows. Tess poked Shauna looking confused.

"That's not a term we are familiar with." Lexa said aloud, addressing Clarke by giving her knee a squeeze.

"Oh." The younger girl said understanding now. Now wondering what else these people had no concept of Clarke continued. "I was put in a room. A small room with only a window to the outside." Clarke said remembering her tight little cell. "And I wasn't permitted to see another person. The only time I saw my mother that year was just before I was sent here."

Shauna's eyes went wide.

"So how long were you in there?" Tess asked sitting on the edge of her seat intrigued.

Clarke shrugged. "A year."

"And you didn't see anyone?"

"Not really." Clarke said shrugging remembering the first few days in her cell. Mourning her father, needing some small form of comfort but finding only the cold blank walls of the Ark. That was when she began to sketch on them. She's found small bits of charcoal and just begun to make marks on the wall. Those days in solitude had been long and hard but in a way beneficial. For when it had come to Clarke living her nomadic life after Mount Weather she had been accustomed to being alone, she knew how to keep her mind sane. But now Clarke wondered if she could ever go back to that life style, she was so accustomed to Lexa's presence now.

"It's almost as if you were a hermit." Burke marvelled.

Now this was a word Clarke wasn't familiar with, Lexa must have caught this confusion.

"Hermits are people who chose to live alone in the wilderness away from the troubles our worlds and clans create." The Commander explained. "They are often considered the wisest."

At this Clarke grinned slightly. "Well I must be the smartest of you all."

The children all chuckled. Enjoying the rare bits of humour.

XXXX

Eventually as darkness fell a silence drifted over the fire as the group watched the dancing flames. Each pondering the events of the day, and the stories they were now playing in their heads.

Clarke found herself yawning, feeling the strain her muscles had undergone in making the tent supports. She was half way through the action when she realized she probably should have stifled the yawn. But by the time her hand reached to cover her mouth she felt the Commander's green eyes on hers. Lexa gave her knee a squeeze before rising. Snapping the Nightbloods from their stupors.

"Goodnight Nightbloods." She said to them all, then glancing at the still seated Clarke. Who with a jolt realized she was meant to follow. The younger girl awkwardly got to her feet.

"Goodnight Heda." The children echoed back to their teacher.

"I trust you will all sleep soon." The Commander said reproachfully. "Tomorrow we will be traveling to the coast." She paused, sensing their apprehension. "You will need your strength."

They nodded obediently, trying their best to mask the mounting excitement they were all feeling.

"We will rest soon Heda." Nepa said adjusting the logs in the fire.

Lexa's jaw flexed in a slight smile, noting the authority in the girl's voice. Then she moved from the camp.

"Goodnight." Clarke said awkwardly giving the children a wave as she followed Lexa to the tent they shared pitched not to distantly from the fire. The Commander was already holding the flap open expectantly. The younger girl entered and the older followed her almost immediately.

Knowing their close proximity to the fireside and the Nightbloods both women undressed in silence and crawled under the warm furs wearing only their trousers and binding. Once settled Lexa immediately wrapped an arm around Clarke, pressing her lips comforting to the back of the Sky Girl's neck. Clarke let out a content sigh and pulled Lexa's hand closer to her stomach. And there feeling Lexa's steady warm breath on her Clarke felt the tendrils of sleep begin to pull her down.

But, slowly as if resurfacing from deep water Clarke felt herself being restored to consciousness. She opened her eyes to the dark tent, finding herself in the exact same position as when she'd drifted off. She pondered for a moment to what had woken her; then she heard it. The small rumbles of not so distant voices. The Nightbloods conversing.

"Did Heda really kill all the cats with just herself and Tarko?" Tess said in awe.

"She did." Burke confirmed. "It was as if she was communicating with Tarko. He knew exactly what she needed him to do."

"Yeah." Shauna agreed.

"I can't wait to have a connection with a horse like Heda does." Reed said, lost in his thoughts. "You should have seen her when we came onto the camp." The boy marveled. "She was actually speaking with him, you could swear he was speaking back."

"I'd love to be able to do that with my horse." Tess added.

"You all realize she only can do that because she's been with Tarko for years." Nepa suddenly snapped. "He's the Commander's horse after all. You only get a horse like that if you are the Commander."

Then a silence fell over the fire. Clarke felt Lexa's hand tighten on her stomach. Lexa was awake too, or perhaps hadn't even fallen asleep.

"I'm sorry." Nepa caught herself, trying to pull back the words she'd spoken. "I just. It's hard to think of myself with a horse like that." The girl's words trailed off, knowing herself to be in the wrong. She'd broken the largest undeclared rule of the Nightbloods. Never speak of being the Commander. Never speak of a time where all others around you would be killed.

"Maybe things will change." Tess said sadly. "Maybe there won't be a conclave."

"Of course there will be a conclave Tess." Reed barked.

"But why?" Tess said. "So many things have changed under Heda's rule. Why can't that be one of them."

"Because someone's got to become Heda." Shauna grumbled. "And we all can't do It."

"Why not?" Nepa asked suddenly. "Heda's uses the council for wisdom, they even have the power to overrule her under extreme circumstances." At this Burke laughed to himself, having heard the girl's theory over and over again. "What if there comes a time when we are all the council?"

"It won't happen." Reed scoffed. "It's not our way."

"Coalitions were never our way." Shauna said deciding to side with Tess on the subject. "Heda changed that."

"Love was never accepted as Heda." Nepa played off of Shauna. "Yet look at her now."

"It's came with a great price." Reed said and Clarke could almost image all of the children looking at the tent. "They've both been hurt. Perseus…"

"Everyone's hurt them." Burke cut in, not letting his brother finish his thought. They were all working as hard as they could to wash the memory or their betraying brother.

"But they're still here." Tess added, sounding very small when compared to the husky confident voices of her fellows. "I like Clarke."

Clarke smiled to herself, she felt Lexa press in closer to her.

"So does Heda." Shauna joked lowly.

"I'm glad she does." Tess whined, begging them to be serious for a moment. "She was so angry when I first came here." The girl paused, thinking for her words. "I was afraid of her." Clarke sympathized with the girl, Lexa had been quite terrifying when she'd first met her. "Now… Now she doesn't seem that bad."

"You clearly weren't there to see the Lynx." Shauna added, enjoying irritating the youngest girl. But with the pouting expression she was met with from Tess she was forced to concede. "I know what you mean. It's like I feel closer to her."

"It's because Clarke has made her open up more." Nepa said entering the conversation again. "None of you knew Heda back at the birth of the coalition. She was much like she is now."

"Except after Becca." Burke mumbled. Lexa's hand tensed again on Clarke's stomach. Clarke placed a hand over the older girl's and rubbed her fingers gently over it. Comforting her.

"That's exactly why we have to hold on to her and each other now." Nepa addressed him firmly. "We all saw what she can become. How fragile we all are."

"I'm glad Clarke is still here." Tess said again. Sounding simplistic but want to enforce her opinion.

"We all are Tess." Nepa said fondly.

"She is a great teacher." Shauna agreed.

"And she's got a kindness Heda doesn't." Burke added.

"Plus she's good for a laugh." Reed smirked.

"No matter what happens in days to come I'm glad she and Heda are together." Nepa said, well aware by now that their voices would have at the very least woken Heda. "They've opened up the possibility of having a life to all future Hedas." The others grunted in agreement. "We get to love now too." Nepa said slightly louder than she should have.

The group hushed her. Though they spoke of Lexa's new found kindness they still feared her wrath. It was growing quite late. They should have gone to sleep some hours ago.

"Maybe Clarke will speak to Heda about ending the conclave." Tess said quietly.

Then came a silence. Where on the sound of the crackling fire could be heard. A silence where each of the Nightbloods pondered their youngest's words. They'd spent the majority of their lives with the understanding that they'd one day be forced to kill one another or die trying. A very bloody, scaring future. One that none of them truly looked forward no matter how much they wanted to be Commander. But Tess' small ideas sparked a slight hope inside them.

Clarke felt Lexa's hand relax against her stomach. As if in a way giving up. As silently as possible Clarke rolled over to look at the Commander in the dim light of the tent. Lexa simply shook her head defeated.

For she knew that of all the traditions she'd changed as Heda the conclave would remain. There was only one flame and could only be one Heda. It was there way.

One day the children would have to die.