Chapter 47
Adara took the others to Anya's tent and asked for entrance. When granted, they entered and saw Anya and Indra sitting down. They both looked up when they entered and Anya let out a laugh at the sight of four clansmen instead of four Skaikru.
"All we need to do now, is teach you how to be a clansman and how to speak our language. You already look the part." she said, still chuckling. Indra looked them over and said nothing, though she was impressed by the tattoo Adara had gotten. She wasn't going to say that of course. She just grunted her approval instead.
"What now?" asked Adara.
"Well, looking like that, you can move more freely around Tondc without the maunon knowing you're not one of us. You can go overland to your bunker and it'll be quicker. We won't give you horses but we will give you an escort back to your village and then my people will come back through your tunnel system."
"Good. Did the Commander show you the pictures we gave her?"
"Yes. Each man and woman's faces have been committed to memory, but we still need to know who is who and what they do in the mountain."
"We can help with that. Harper, do you want to do it?" asked Adara. She wasn't going to order Harper to do it if it brought back painful memories.
"Yes. I know who most of them are and what they do," she replied quietly.
"Alright, Seth, Blake, you're with me and behave yourselves. You wouldn't like Trikru punishment, you might not live through it." Both boys looked scared. Adara saw this and thought it was a good thing. If they were too scared to do something, they shouldn't get into trouble.
Adara took them to the healer's tent and showed them around. She introduced them to Nyko, the head healer, and told them that if they were ill or injured during the times they were in Tondc, to come here for treatment and NOT to wait until they got back to the bunker. Both boys nodded.
She showed the boys all around the village and then took them to meet the Commander.
"Okay guys, show the Commander the respect she has earned. Call her by her title at all times and when you meet her, you bow to show your deference, got it?" The boys nodded. Adara nodded in acknowledgement.
They entered the Commander's tent when bade to by Gustus. They bowed to the Commander and then stood there, waiting until the Commander was ready to talk to them.
"Welcome back, Adara," said the Commander before turning round. When she did, she was shocked by the three clansmen standing in front of her. She got up and walked to them, looking all three of them up and down. She walked behind them, inspecting them from head to foot. She noted the braid in one boy's hair. Scout braids. The other was now newly bald. She could tell the slight difference in skin tone but it was negligible. She noted that Adara's hair was too short to braid, but the tattoo did a fine job of proclaiming her leadership status. It would do the job of getting her clans to realise she was the leader of the Skaikru. They looked like true clansmen, they just didn't act like it - yet.
The Commander realised that this time around, they intended to show that they were willing to fit into the clan cultures and ways. No half attempts at learning the language or wearing their clothing. She remembered when even Clarke sometimes baulked at wearing Trikru clothing. She hoped to see Clarke embrace it more as she couldn't wait to see her lover in traditional Trikru clothes. Octavia was going to be jealous when she saw Adara and her people dressed like this!
"Maybe we should send Lincoln back with you, with some clothing for Octavia. She would be very unhappy if she couldn't wear our clothing!" Lexa said, with a smile. Adara laughed.
"Yeah, she would, but I think she'd go out and find a way to barter for some herself. I think she was always meant to be Trikru, she was just born in the wrong place." Lexa smiled. She decided to get on with other business.
"I've seen the pictures you sent and shown them to the other leaders and warriors in Tondc. We have a good idea of their faces now and if we see any of them, they will be marked and noted. We will not kill them yet, but when the mountain falls, all of those in the pictures will die for their part in the kidnapping and wholesale murder of my people, not to mention what they are doing to my people by turning them into reapers."
"Understood, Commander," said Adara. "We know that justice needs to be served, so if a few of them are taken alive, you can show them Trikru justice. The civilians, however, have been deceived by their leaders, just as we were deceived by ours up on the Ark. We will not hold them accountable for the actions of a few. Dante, Cage, Tsing and the military and those doctors working on the projects involving your people are yours to deal with however you want, but the civilians are not to be harmed, Commander. I do not want to kill an entire population just because their leaders are evil."
The Commander looked at Adara. She wanted to say no. She wanted to destroy everyone in the mountain because they all had clansman's blood in them. But she also knew that Adara was right. She couldn't destroy those who knew nothing of the true nature of how that blood was acquired. They had been deceived. They had been told lies. They believed that the clansmen were doing this because they didn't want a civilisation to end. Lexa hoped that when they did learn the truth, that they revolted against their leaders and refused the treatment. Though in doing so, they would die because now they needed clansmen blood to live. It was a mess.
"I will agree to that on one condition. Those civilians that are in agreement with their leaders are to die too. I will not let a group of people who have no compunction about killing us just for our blood, to roam free. They will find another reason to kill us. It is the nature of those who lie to themselves that they need a justification for the killing. They will find one, on that, I have no doubt, Heda Adara." Adara blinked at the first use of her new official title. She knew that it meant the Commander was talking to a leader of a clan, but acknowledging that she, Adara, was not her equal. Adara nodded.
"Sha, Heda."
After that the meeting turned to what the Skaikru needed to do before the mountain was taken. They talked for quite a while before the meeting was adjourned.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Adara and her team left Tondc through the gate rather than in the tunnel. To say they were worried was an understatement. Even though they were accompanied by Tomac, Fio and Artegas on a hunting expedition, they couldn't help looking around to make sure they weren't being watched by the mountain men.
They headed east northeast first for about an hour, then went more south east. Eventually they stopped to learn how you use a bow. After an hour's tuition, they moved off to hunt. Adara and Fio went left, Artigas and Seth went right and Tomac, Blake and Harper went straight ahead. Everyone was silent and moved quietly through the woods, listening as they went. Adara heard a noise off to the left ahead of her and she froze, raising her hand in a stop gesture the Trikru warriors had taught them to warn Fio she had something. She looked ahead and saw between two bushes, a deer. Adara motioned to Fio where the animal was. He silently moved up to her shoulder and looked. He nodded and motioned her to take the shot. She put an arrow to the bowstring, lined up the shot, took a breath and held it, left out half of it and held it again before firing.
The arrow was true and hit the deer in the neck. Adara moved as soon as the arrow hit, rushing to the deer and drew her knife and slit its throat, killing it. She knelt and put one hand on the animal and thanked it for giving its life so they could eat. Fio came up to her and nodded to her in respect before kneeling to skin and gut it. The others came up and watched as Fio worked.
"Nice catch, Fio," said Seth, admiring the deer.
"Wasn't me," said Fio without looking at him. The others looked at Adara in surprise.
"You killed it?" asked Seth.
"Yeah, my first animal kill," she said, sadly.
"Who did you kill?" asked Blake. Adara looked at him. "Well you said it was your first ANIMAL kill. You've killed a person?"
"Shumway," said Adara with a sigh. She didn't see the need to keep bringing it up.
"What? You did that? Why?" Questions were being fired at her by the boys.
"He raped my mother before killing her. I don't want to talk about it anymore."
"But-" Blake started, only to be slapped up the back of his head by Harper.
"Shut the fuck up! She doesn't want to talk about it, so shut up!" Harper hissed at him. She walked away shaking her head at the stupidity of the boys. Next time, she'd make sure these two dipsticks stayed behind.
They stayed there until Fio had finished dressing out the deer and then tied the deer's front feet together and then the back. He cut a sapling down and stripped it of the branches and leaves, then slid it through the legs of the deer. He called the boys over and got them to carry it.
They carried the deer back to the bunker. Miller was again on duty and welcomed them back. They opened the hatch and Harper and Tomac went down and were handed down the deer. The others followed and they moved off towards the stairs when there was a ding. They turned around and there was Murphy getting off the elevator.
"You got it fixed," stated Adara.
"Yup, Raven worked it out. We found an access door that leads outside onto a small ledge that has solar panels on it. She fixed the wiring and now we have another source of limited power. We're using it for the elevators and medical bay."
"Outstanding!" Adara said, smiling widely. "We got dinner," she said, pointing to the deer that the boys were carrying.
"Good, Octavia's been out and got a boar, so good eating tonight," said Murphy. "Come on, let's use the elevator. What happened to your face?"
"Got a tat," Adara said, nonchalantly. Harper laughed.
"If you say so," said Murphy, turning back to the elevator.
They took the deer to the kitchens, which was gratefully received. After that, Adara gave Tomac and Fio a few more pictures she'd gotten off Murphy to give to the Commander. They declined a meal saying that they didn't feel comfortable underground. Harper led them to the tunnel and gave them a hand light to use as they made their way back to Tondc.
xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx
Clarke and Octavia watched as Adara walked into the command centre to check up on Mount Weather. Both girls just stared at her tattoo.
"What the hell, Adara!" Octavia yelled.
"You didn't!?" asked Clarke, equally stunned and disbelieving.
"It was the easiest way to look like a clansman. Harper, Seth and Blake got clothes, Harper and Seth got their hair braided with scout braids and Blake - well Blake had to make the ultimate sacrifice and get his head shaved." Adara shrugged.
"Why did you need to look clan?" asked Clarke.
"It's easier to travel overground than under. It takes just over an hour to walk here. We did stop off for a hunt first, though, so we now have deer on the menu too."
"But why get a tattoo?" asked Clarke.
"Because she's showing the Commander that she's serious about integrating with the Trikru. Last time, we didn't do that. I choose my brother over my future. I'm not doing that this time, though. If Bell doesn't like it, tough. It's not his life. Adara's doing it right this time." said Octavia.
"We were integrating last time," said Clarke, somewhat hurt by the implied rejection.
"No we weren't, Clarke. You tried but even you didn't embrace their ways. You only wanted to be with Lexa, but you still held out for your own beliefs instead of making her ways, your own. It was like you wanted her but you rejected her primitive ways, Clarke. We all saw it, even your mother. We were all waiting for you to take that final step, but you never did. You basically stayed an Arker, Clarke," said Octavia, trying to be patient and not yell at her for a wasted opportunity. "We would have followed you and fully embraced the Trikru ways, but with you as our leader, your rejection of their ways was the reason needed for the others to reject it as well." Clarke stared at her listening to the words and remembering how it was then. She realised that she had indeed rejected Lexa's way of life. She hadn't even tried. God, she was such an idiot. She wondered how Lexa could want to be with someone who unknowingly, but openly rejected her ways. She knew now that if she wanted to be with Lexa, she would have to make an effort to get to know her ways. She had some thinking to do.
"Okay, I get that now. I didn't do enough to fit in with her life. I need to make that right this time. I'm not letting her go this time and if Titus has a problem with that, then he and I are going to clash a lot. I'm the ambassador for Skaikru and I will be by her side for the rest of my life. Not sure about the facial tat, though." Octavia laughed.
"Okay, no facial tat, but I think you're right. You do need to do more, but remember, this time it's Adara who's leading. We follow her this time. We can dress as clansmen and we only get a tattoo if Adara says we can, okay? I don't want the kids thinking their tats say one thing and the Trikru are laughing at them because it's actually the sign for branwoda." said Octavia.
"Branwoda?" asked Murphy.
"Fool, idiot, basically you when we first came down," said Octavia, shrugging her shoulders.
"Very funny," said Murphy.
"Lexa was the one to suggest it. She made sure that the tattooist gave me a leader's tat," said Adara. Octavia studied it. It started as an arrow above her left eyebrow and it curved around the eye getting broader until it seemed to twist sideways, coming to an end upon her cheekbone at the side of her eye.
"Looks good, Adara. It's definitely a Heda's mark. The Commander must have designed it herself."
"Huh?"
"No two heda's have the same mark, but they have one aspect of the curve here," Octavia said, touching the place the tail seemed to twist. "This one looks a bit like a comet," Octavia continued. "Probably because we came from the sky. It denotes where we came from."
"I like it," said Raven from the doorway. Jones was standing beside her staring. Raven pushed off from the frame and came over. "Dig the threads, too."
"Okay, okay, everyone back to work. What have you got to show me here. I know you've got solar power now, Raven. You can show me later, okay?"
"Okay, but I want to show you everything we've got done."
"Deal," said Adara. "Now, what's happened so far?"