Ai Hod Yu In
Chapter 3
AN: Hey guys! Sorry it's taken me so long to update this. I don't know why, but I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter. Really quickly, I just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all of you have read, followed, favorited, or reviewed this story. Now, with that said, on to the story!
Clarke hadn't really thought of how things would continue as time went on in Shallow Valley. After her first two weeks, she had met pretty much everyone. One boy was about her age, and he had just returned from serving in Heda's army. He often bragged about how wise Heda had been to leave Skaikru to die. She often had to restrain herself from punching him in the face.
She had begun to help the village healer, and she was amazed at how much she'd learned while here. She had a basic knowledge of Grounder medicine, but there was so much more she needed to learn still. Still, the job had brought her back to the early days with the 100, when she was constantly found tending to the sick or injured. She'd constantly been learning something new about medicine on the ground then too, and it was a much simpler time.
She'd found herself quite fond of Nala, Marcus, Gustus and little Madi as well. The small family was very close. Madi was too young to participate in the family dinners and game nights that they often had, but she would grow into them. Nala and Clarke had often sat in the earliest hours of the morning with a cup of tea, and Nala would insist that Clarke should talk about the nightmares that woke her every night. Clarke had assured her that she was just fine, but the other woman had sent her a look that assured her that she knew she was anything but.
Clarke was amazed at the fact that she could even deal with the tiny little human that was Madi, though. Clarke had only met a few babies in her life. Children were highly regulated on the ark, and most of them had died when coming to the ground. Still, Madi was different than any child that she had met. She had her mother's blue eyes, though her eyes were shaped more like her father's. Her father's brown hair, but the curls were all her mother's. Her little body was very pale, and she had the littlest fingers and toes. She was perfect.
"Clarke!" Gustus called out excitedly, running back to the house after his day of school. "Can we draw together? Please?"
Gustus had decided that Clarke's ability to draw was the coolest thing ever, and he'd quickly decided that he had to learn as well. Since then, the little boy had begged every day for her to let him draw her, and she would give him pointers as they went along. He wasn't too bad either. You could tell that the drawings were made by a child, but they had to be advanced. She wouldn't expect that level of expertise from just any child.
Marcus had become a bit of a bright spot in her life as well. She couldn't quite put her finger on who he reminded her of just yet. So far, she was leaning more towards her father. Her father had been just as close to her as Marcus was to Gustus. The little boy idolised his father, and who could blame him really? Marcus went out early morning with the hunting parties every day. He was considered 'first shift' of that particular job. Midday, the 'second shift' would trade off. Marcus would spend his second half of the day helping at the farms that supplied most of the village's food.
Meanwhile, Nala spent her days looking after all of the village's rowdy children as the school's teacher. The children all adored her, and Clarke couldn't really blame them. Nala was the kind of person who made you like her automatically. It didn't mean Clarke trusted the woman, but Clarke didn't really trust anyone these days. That was why everyone thought she was from another clan. No one knew that she was really skaikru, and that was how she preferred it.
"Let's go then, little Gustus. Perhaps we can try to incorporate some trees into your drawing as well today. What do you think about that?" the little boy seemed even more excited if that was possible. His trees had improved a bit, but she knew that if he kept drawing them they would only improve.
"Maybe some birds, too!" His smile did her in. He had little dimples when he smiled, and she could never help herself. She always had to smile back.
"Birds, too, if you want," she laughed, "Let me go see if your nomon minds us taking your sister for a bit."
"Take her!" she heard a shout from a few feet away. Nala giggled as she passed the baby over to her, "I never mind a bit of alone time with my husband, and I certainly never mind a free caretaker."
Clarke held Madi in one arm and Gustus's hand in the other as she made her way to their spot. She situated Madi on a blanket in the grass, and she laid next to her. She closed her eyes, and for the first time in a long time she felt safe. If only that feeling could last forever.
