7 – Monsters and the Scars of Battle


The last few days pasted quickly as Jasper got to know the real Ontari. The Azgeda girl seemed to be a creature of extremes. Curious one moment, super violent the next. Though she was doing her best to balance the two.

Put Ontari with a book... well... she was happy.

Ontari was a voracious reader.

If there was a text out there she was going to read it.

Forget piles of gold and jewels in some treasure vault, if there was some ancient library out there she would find the key to it and revel before the pages of lost knowledge before her.

She liked to read to her fellow Nightbloods... Sharing that knowledge had gained in hopes of undoing the crime of ignorance Queen Nia had placed on her.

If things had been different, Ontari would have made an excellent teacher.

Though the violence had shaped her as it had him, but there was sense that she was finding some inner peace... That wasn't when she was meditating to gain the knowledge from the previous Commanders.

Seeing Ontari walk with a staff in her hands as she now made her way to the showers was a major achievement for her. Ontari wasn't using the crutches too much anymore but her swapping to a staff both gave her a weapon but also a more benign tool to temper her mood with. She could kill you with it, but it would take some time to do so.

The Ice Nation had been feared by their veracity, but almost through luck and circumstance Ontari had become more in control of herself thus using that veracity as a means to heal.

Roan had let the truth out that Ontari had been harmed by Nia in ways that the late Queen had attempted to take control of the Commander's Flame by using the young girl to gain its secrets. Ontari had never really had her freedom and had been treated more of an attack animal than as a person. Servant girl, instead of a member of the Royal family.

Thrust in Nia's death and the political shifting taking place within the Ice Nation with what the new political order was to be. Ontari was a lost young woman thrust into a situation where she had neither the training nor the knowledge to handle situations rationally. She was a creature of instinct.

Alie had played this to her advantage to give the young woman what she wanted.

Somehow Ontari sought out the knowledge she needed and Alie just feed the girl's desires to her heart's content. Content to the point to where Ontari had become a lamb ready for slaughter.

Maybe it was part of the genetic hard wiring Bekka had put into the Nightbloods, but Ontari had started seeking out who she was. Toss in the uploaded personalities of the Flame that had Followed Clarke into the City of Light and Ontari was getting her much denied education of what a Nightblood should be. Jasper could forgive the girl when she looked flustered. Kindness was a new thing to her, so when she encountered it… well… being seen as non-hostile helped her calm down. Then there was the nervousness she had when people caught her between her Ice Nation self and Coffee Shop girl.

Ontari was a little nervous at times when she saw others caught her talking with the past Commanders and they saw how weak she was in her education of being a leader to all of the Grounders.

When the Glowing Forest Ambassador walked in on her talking with her predecessor Einheart as she was reciting the names of those who had come before her she almost freaked. She was stuck between acting like a Commander or the young inexperienced woman she was. It sort of flowed as such from various recounting Jasper had heard:

"Bekka, Adam, Carmen, Einheart, Ory, Aida, Francesca, Forza, Leska, Clarke, and myself." Ontari had been speaking at the time. Ontari was doing her best to keep the names in order. "What do you mean I have to say it again?" Ontari pouted like a young child. "We have done it so many times that my voice is nearly gone from my throat."

The Ambassador watched as she watched the young woman was nearly to the point of tears.

Ontari took another deep breath and did her best to say the names again. "Bekka... Rebekka... Einheart... you want me to say them with their kru?" Ontari was flustered as she started again.

"Rebecca Mugan kon Polaris, Adam kon Trikru, Einheart kon Flukru, Ory kon Delphi, Aida kon Broadleaf..." Ontari gritted her teeth. "Francesca..." Ontari had started to beat her forehead with her fist. "Francesca..." Ontari was trying to force the Kru name from her memory.

"Francesca of the Glowing Forest." The Ambassador had spoken up. Ontari spun around to see the woman standing there. To say that Ontari looked like a frightened rabbit was an understatement. "My Pardons for interrupting." The Ambassador had heard of Ontari's rage when she had been interrupted when she was in a train of thought.

"How long have..." Ontari was doing her best to compose herself, but Einheart had calmed the girl as another Heda... Francesca started to speak to Ontari. "Alright... Heda Francesca." Ontari was doing her best to present a decent face towards the Ambassador. "Ambassador I was..."

"Working with the spirits of your predecessors." Ontari nodded as if she had told to do so. "Uzac was too blunt trying to ask things of you that you were not prepared for. Also... I see that Wanheda's training and time among her warriors have tamed the Beast of the Ice Nation." This is when Ontari responded. Ontari was being complimented on her work, not insulted for not doing better.

"Not tamed... um... welcomed into their pack. I still have my fangs and claws." Ontari started to be more truthful on how she felt, there was nervousness about her, but an honest nervousness that fit her situation. "Many of the Hundred... Not enemy... But cut from the same cloth… forged of pain and endurance. Feel normal, understood, and free."

"Well... May your time with your fellow wolves bring forth a healthy forest for all Kru." The ambassador spoke. Wolves and Healthy forest was a term jasper wasn't familiar with, but given its context probably meant a time of great prosperity.

Ontari's surprise at the compliment as the ambassador left her to continue training with Spirits of the Heda.

As word had gotten around that Ontari was spending time trying to catch up on necessary skills to lead, many of the leaders had started to cut her some slack. Overhearing Ontari speak to Bekka for some insight to how she had to deal with the problems of being a Commander only forced home the issue of how much a monster Nia had been in the life of the young woman. That pain not only forced Ontari to run into Alie's open arms without question. For one as damaged as Ontari had been, Alie had presented herself as a teacher and protector to guide the young woman along to reach her full potential. Alie had presented Ontari a world without pain and suffering and Ontari had nearly paid with her life.

When Ontari had started to make some... educational and protective decrees on the treatment of her fellow Nightbloods had not so much been unquestioned... but was understood. Ontari was trying her best to prevent the same suffering and troubles she had gone through at the hands of Queen Nia.

Ontari was fighting for the future of her fellow Nightbloods and preventing the events and crimes that had been done against her only highlighted that she was finding her voice and when to bear of her teeth to her foes.

Ontari had found her pack... Something to fight for… that only made her that much deadlier, but also granted her a level of control over her life that as long as those things she cherished were left alone, she left you alone.

The Hundred had become a sort of symbol of this changing time and Ontari's membership to it gave them and some of Skaikru some slack over the missteps taken over the past year.

The Hundred were not seen as a threat, but in a sense... Lexa had planned on them taking up the slack in making a group that could to a degree prevent and undo some of the damage those like Nia had done to the world. Considering that nearly half of the delinquents had died since their arrival and the conflicts that had taken place, the idea of Lexa wanting to add warriors from different clans to build up the Hundred wasn't something Jasper wanted. But seeing Ontari emerging into a well formed woman, Jasper was starting to understand Lexa's reason of wanting to re-forge the Hundred into something more.

The idea of adding fifty-six new members to the remaining Hundred was a fate that Jasper wouldn't wish on anyone given the selection process he had gone through when he had been "Thrown to the ground." Though if Ontari was any sign of things, he would hate to see who else would be brought into the fold if they had to go through the same hardships had he had experience. Jasper had seen too much pain for anyone to be willingly banished from their people. But in his case it had been done to preserve some sense of civilization that had been created on the Ark.

Some things needed to die. Some traditions. Some of the things that made the world a fucked up mess. Like the Nightbloods fighting to the death so that a new Commander could be chosen.

In some cases things needed to be saved. Such as Maya, Shay, Lincoln, Lexa and Ontari, but out of that group only one was still breathing.

Scientist, Storyteller, Healer, Leader. The world needed more of those. Maybe that was the reason Ontari… a teacher in training had survived. Being a Commander was one thing, but this… being with her fellow Nightbloods and teaching them about the world… This was worth it.

Given that the showers were now shifting from being the men's to the women's now was one thing Ontari had gotten used to. Ontari had walked into the showers thinking on using it like a tub. After the initial shock of stripping nude searching for the tub. Miller had guided Ontari towards the shower heads and turned on the water. Ontari was a little shocked at first being hit in the face with the water, but when she realized that it was warm and she lavished in it. Warm water was like gold, and to be showered in it was like Heaven. Though Ontari wasn't the first Nightblood to have showered in Arkadia. That went to her kid sister Artesia.

When Artesia had taken her first shower... well, everyone in Arkadia knew about what had taken place. Shessh… That girl could run.

Artesia's streaking incident a few days earlier had taken place when Abby had taken off the dressing off of her head wound. The girl's body had become grimy and Abby had decided to clean up the girl like the mother she was. When Abby had her get a shower for the first time it had been a sight to see. Abby and Clarke had practically had to tackle the naked girl just to dry her off when she came streaking out of the shower stalls stating that the building was raining warm water.

Ontari had been a little upset at the situation, but understanding that they were guests in Arkadia, Artesia's little exclamation was taken as a cultural learning experience. That and Abby being revealed to be Wanheda's mother, well calmed Ontari down. Though Artesia was still being the hyper little girl as she spoke of seeing battle scars on the mothers of Skaikru. Which brought about some curiosity from Ontari on seeing these first hand.

Now given that Ontari wanted to make sure the same incident didn't happen again decided to get the young Nightbloods to bathe. That and some of these kids needed to get the grime cleaned off of them as some of them started to smell. The worst offenders being some of the Nightbloods that had hit puberty.

So today given how slow things were going Ontari was going to make it into a bath day. Afterwards Jasper would start teaching the group about the Periodic Table of Elements so that they might know some of the basic knowledge of the threat they were facing.

Jasper had been tasked on explaining what Chemistry was and a rough breakdown of the elements of the Periodic Table of Elements. Ontari wanted to know what her enemy was and how to best to defend against it given the time to mount a full attack had long past courteously of Alie. Even if they couldn't physically attack it, Jasper could do his best to teach these kids that not all Radiation was a bad thing, it just came down to the amount you got exposed to and how long you were exposed.

In other words… they were all being slowly poisoned to death. That didn't mean that like all poisons, there were ways to reverse the damage done to the body.

Hopefully when Raven and Murphy got back, they could give some good news, or at least a course of action they could take to dilute this poison mess to something that wouldn't kill everyone it came into contact with.

For the time being there was always hope.

That and Ontari was looking good today.

Seeing Ontari now leading the Nalbalda and young Delinquent girls to bathe... Well, the Ice Beast was becoming a howling wolf with her pack. Well she needed to have a better name than that. Something nobler… something that had an animal in it with some serious teeth to it.

Now standing with the male Nightbloods as they leaned against one of the walls of one of the buildings most of the topics had moved towards the usual man stuff as they waited for the girls to finish up. Several of the boys who he was standing with were still reeling from having been scrubbed from their manly dirt. They had gotten a bath earlier as Ontari had scrubbed the more annoying dirt from behind their ears and dug several Potatoes out of their ears. Even as a soaked mess, Ontari had his heart in her hands.

"Jasper..." One of the older boys spoke up looking at him. "The story of the Va'coom. Where Emerson captured it and was going to feed you and several members of the Hundred to it. Were you scared?" Jasper looked at the young boy as he watched as Harper was making her way to guard duty.

"To be Truthful. I was. I had been knocked out tied up and was about to have the air ripped out my lungs when I woke up in the airlock." Jasper saw the confusion on the boy's face.

"Air... You speak of air like it is an object." Jasper rolled his eyes.

"It is, just that it is a liquid and like a fish you are swimming through it. Water is a liquid but it is just much denser than air. Once you understand that then you understand that when a vacuum takes place it is the draining of a liquid from one place to another."

"Air can be drained?" The boy spoke.

"It can be drained, bottled, funneled, channeled, compressed, expanded, frozen, and burned." Jasper spoke as he started to realize that it had been a long time since he had relied on his science and chemistry knowledge... Well other than making Shine.

"You can do that to air?" The boy was now following every word from his mouth.

"Yeah... a vacuum is a state in which matter goes into. I mean an airlock is a place where the air is drained out from one area and flushed into another."

"Wait... so the Va'coom isn't a creature... Emerson placed you into a room where he was going to drain the air out of it and leave you to die like a fish out of water..." The boy exclaimed.

"That sums it up." The boy was blinking. The Grounder kid was processing the horror that Jasper and his friends had escaped from. This was no monster... this was a slow calculating torture device of doom. Hell putting an axe head swinging back and forth on a pendulum would have placed this room into that territory.

"The Montkru were even more evil than I knew about." The boy started to sense that there were more creative ways for one to die in this time in which he lived. Jasper wondered if a session of reading some Poe stories out to this kid would be seriously damaging to him.

"Not all, some worse than others. But if you were pushed to do what they had to do to survive, you would have pitied them." Jasper didn't want to speak ill of the dead, or one of the dead, but even in Hell there were those who sought redemption for the sins of the past.

This is when Jasper watched Harper move up into the watch tower. Despite everything that had happened, hurting her, Monty, and Raven had hit home the most. That was when a roar could be heard from outside the gates.

This is when the guards starting rushing towards the noise. Jasper moved to keep the young Nightblood safe behind him. But knowing that the boy sensed something important going on he started to push on Jasper with all of his might. This is when Harper started to come down the ladder from the tower.

"Harper... What is it?" Harper looked to be in shock.

"Jasper... Remember all of those Grounders that got turned into Reapers and we worked to turn them back... Well one of them is outside."

"A Reaper?" This had the boy's attention. "Are you going to slay it?"

"It is Senua..." Jasper blinked a few times.

"Wait... you mean the female Grounder that had be brought in chained up so we could purge that red crap from her system." Harper shrugged.

"The Same one..." This time another roar took place.

"Wanheda... face me."

"I guess she is pissed about something." Jasper moved as several guards both Arkada and Grounder moved to confront the woman in full war paint.

Jasper had seen Grounders ready for battle, even at the battle of the bridge was nothing like this.

"Where is Wanheda?" The female grounder warrior was holding her long sword in both hands ready to strike down any who approached her.

"Senua?" Harper approached the female warrior. The woman's face was in half blue war paint with markings that covered most of her upper face and a section along her chin.

"Where is Wanheda Skaikru warrior?" Harper approached the woman with her hands raised.

"Senua..." Harper spoke before the warrior lashed out.

"Senua is dead... She died when the Montkru strapped her to that table and turned her into a Reaper." The woman roared out.

"Sin..." Harper looked like she was ready for this woman warrior to strike. "You are no longer a Reaper."

"Ripa... Ripa..." The woman started to chant. "Flesh eater... Child Killer... Servant of the Mountain... Monster." Senua called out. "Where is the Commander of Death? I command her to give me Death."

"What happened?" Harper spoke realizing that this woman wanted to die in battle.

"Ripa... always Reaper." The woman started to take a swing at Harper at a safe distance. The woman seemed to be acting like she wanted to have a fight.

"They saw the monster the Mountain men turned you into and not the woman that returned did they?"

"They did... They threw horse shit at me... Kicked from my home... Then I heard of the City of Light. I place to be welcomed, no pain... no suffering." Senua looked ready to take a few people with her just so she could travel to the City of Light. "I desired that… I hungered for that. Then Wanheda killed the Savior of All… I will have Wanheda's blood on my flesh as I drag her to the next world and the City of Light with me."

"No wonder you are pissed at Clarke..." The woman looked like she was about to shove her blade through someone.

"Alie's City of Light is a Lie." A woman's voice called out. Jasper turned to see Ontari standing next to Clarke. Senua saw her foe standing there and waited for moves to be made.

"Come and face me Wanheda." This is when Ontari raised a hand.

"Clarke may I speak to her?" Ontari started to approach the woman when Clarke nodded her approval. "Senua... I know the peace you seek. I too have known violence in my life. Alie offered lies as she stole your pain and memories to use to keep you compliant as she moved to destroy the world." The woman started to look at Ontari.

"I want death... I want peace." The woman looked like she was moment from losing it.

"Sen... We can help you." Harper spoke as the woman was looking over her decision of taking a blade or a bullet.

"Help me? Help Me... Monsters don't need help... they need to be put down like the savage animals they are." This is when the woman took a swing at Harper as she tried to spear the young Gunner to death. Harper dodge the spearing movement of Senua's blade before slamming Senua's blade with the end of her Shock Stick.

Now most Grounders are not used to seeing a weapon like this being used, but the smell of Ozone, piss and well shit bursting out of Senua's form did put them on the offensive. Harper had taken this woman down without killing her.

"Sen..." Harper moved to kneel down by the former Reaper Woman. "Stay with me." This is when Clarke took off in a flat run towards Harper's side as she checked the woman's pulse. Jasper realized that he might as well help given that Senua was one of the few Reapers that he had help round up in the few times he had been sober since Maya's death.

Several warriors looked at Harper as she moved to collapse the shock stick back down to its palm-sized form.

"Here, I have the feeling you are going to need to have this more than I do." Harper said handing the shock stick to Clarke.

"You only hit her blade and not her?" Ontari's mind was racing on how this small thing could bring down a Reaper or even a former one down to the ground.

"Metal conducts electricity." Harper spoke. "I am glade that she was at least touching the blade when she tried to spear me." This is when Clarke moved to check on Senua's hand. The palm and fingers of the woman's hand were lightly burnt.

"Some heavy second degree burns on the palm with light third degree on the tips of the fingers." Clarke spoke in full Doctor Mode as she moved to check the pulse. "Pulse is steady. No arrhythmia to the heart, but I need to get her to the medical bay to ensure that there isn't any more severe damage."

"Why are you helping her?" Ontari spoke up looking at the woman.

"Because she isn't the only one who is in this state Ontari. Alie's corrupted vision of a perfect peaceful world was a siren cry to those who were in pain." Clarke spoke as she looked at Ontari. "It is my duty as a healer to make sure they are healed." Ontari was not liking the fact that it had been one of Clarke's lieutenants who had been the victor instead of the Commander of Death herself.

"So I should not have run a blade into her lung!" Ontari spoke matter-of-factly. The look of shock was priceless as Clarke glared at the Nightblood girl. Ontari's back step was her way of explaining the truth of her actions. "Which I did not do." Clarke checked the sides of the fallen woman just to make sure.

Ontari's joke was a little too morbid for even his taste. But in light of the current situation all Jasper could do was sigh in response. Clarke looked close to wanting to slap the crap out of Ontari, The only thing that prevented Clarke for doing so was the fact that she was occupied in treating her patient. This is when Clarke responded by saying one word in Grounder. Whatever it was had Ontari gulp. It was something pertaining to death, but the context was strange.

What was so scary that would make Ontari instantly started to help Clarke without question. Jasper could see the nervousness in Ontari's hands as she followed Clarke's instructions to the letter. As Jasper moved to aide Clarke and her to take in the former Reaper into the camp, Jasper took note that Ontari looked to be a very frightened girl by this statement. It wasn't until they had the woman chained down to a bed and was checked out for what other injuries had taken place that Ontari rushed into his arms.

Jasper felt her warm body under his fingers.

"Tari..." Jasper spoke as Ontari started to speak something in her native Grounder tongue.

"Jomp em op en yu jomp ai op. Jomp em op en yu jomp ai op. Jomp em op en yu jomp ai op."

Attack... something... Attack... no... be attacked by.

Jasper didn't know enough of the Grounder tongue to translate, but it was a context for... not battle... Attack position. Attack Clarke's position. She had verbally attacked Clarke's position of power among the Grounders. Probably given the context and how she was acting, it maybe meant a death sentence.

"Tari..." Jasper moved and kissed her on the forehead. "Ai hod yu in." This is what snapped the Nightblood back to reality. Amazing what saying "I love you" can do in making a girl love you.

"Jaspa... Ai hod yu in." Ontari looked to be nervous as she started to realize what was going on with her actions. "Did my actions anger Wanheda?"

"Anger yes... but Clarke was in full doctor... healer mode. So... I would give her some room until she is done with this battle." Jasper spoke as Ontari started to realize that she had caught a glimpse of and nearly the full wrath of the Commander of Death. This is when Jasper moved away from Ontari for a moment to speak. "Clarke is there anything that I can snag for you supply-wise?" Clarke who was sorting through removing Senua's glove swore for a moment before she sighed and picked up a pair of surgical scissors.

"Ah... Yeah... you can see if you can snag some Hydrogen peroxide and some alcohol."

"I'll see if I can track down one of my stashes of Shine that Monty or your Mom didn't find, but the Hydrogen Peroxide I think I can fish out of one of the labs. If all else I can see if I can make some. I am taking Ontari with me." Jasper spoke as Ontari started to realize that helping Jasper with this task might put her back in good graces with Clarke. Clarke nodded at this. Distance and cooler heads needed to prevail for the time being.

Walking together, Ontari seemed very introspective.

"Tari... Could you tell me what Clarke said?" Ontari looked at him with pleading eyes.

"The word she spoke... a good translation of it is..." Ontari took a deep breath as she worked on the best translation of it. "Death Whore." Ontari shuddered some. "A Luster of death." That last phrase had Ontari praying in her native language and chanting to Bekka. Jasper stopped and brought her close and started to rock with her back and forth.

"It's alright... your gallows humor wasn't what Clarke was expecting given the situation." Jasper spoke as he started to understand her some more. "Also... I guess that word has some weight and history to it if you are fretting over it. I mean like how you and your fellow grounders see guns and firearms as being taboo." Jasper leaned in as he smelled Ontari's hair. Ontari's recent dietary requirements had made her smell like fruit and nuts and especially strawberries within her deep scalp. "Want to tell me the origins of the story?" Jasper spoke as he reached out to massage her lower back with his thumbs. Even wearing Arker clothing, Ontari liked showing off her midriff or her cleavage-line. Today it was Midriff. Though the skirt she was wearing was more for keeping herself clean from scrubbing the young Nightbloods than for beauty. Though the cutoff leggings showed off the lines of her thighs and buttocks. Her top was more of a borrowed t-shirt of his. But as he moved his fingers along her back, her bra or breast wrap that she had around her was something he understood that he needed to learn how to untie if they ever decided to take their relationship to the next level.

"I will but as we acquire what Wanheda needs." Jasper got the feeling that this was going to be a long story.


The first place that they hit were his quarters. Ontari watched as Jasper moved to pound on a panel where Columbia had been sleeping next to Daven over the last few nights when their evening teaching sessions went long. Ontari hadn't realized that Jasper had hidden things in this room, but as drawing of the nearby woods and several images featuring the scar patterns of her people Ontari started to get the feeling that there was much that he had been hiding from her. Though the attempts of drawing her face stated that he was in love with her.

Seeing the metal bottles Jasper moved to take them out.

"Ontari, could you help me gather these up." Jasper spoke as he started to count the bottles. Ontari knelt down to pick one up. She attempted to pull the lid off, but it wouldn't move.

"Damnit, this thing is..." Ontari gritted her teeth as she yanked on the top of the bottle. Then Japser's hands connected with her's and with a twist the lid came off. Ontari just blinked at she got a whiff of the contents... The Strong scent of the grain and alcohol burned her eyes.

"If you want to take a drink, you can." Jasper spoke as Ontari realized that he was offering the bottle to her.

"You offer this drink to me?" Ontari was impressed.

"Just go slow..." Ontari leaned back the bottle and took a drink, then she couldn't breathe... Ontari's felt her breathe being stolen from her as she attempted to clear her mouth of the powerful beverage. Coughing for several moments Jasper rushed to her side. Ontari had drunk strong wine before, even the strongest of the Mead honey Wine that had been brewed by some of the Kru for mid-winter had never been this strong. Eyes watering Jasper moved to take off his shirt to wipe at her face. "... Well, guess that Skaikru Shine is a bit strong for you if you are not used to it." Ontari just coughed as she worked hard to regain her breath. This is when she saw the scar on Jasper's chest. Where the injury around his chest showed that he had been hurt via a spear thrust.

Ontari reached out and touched Jasper's chest.

The Injury looked to be severe... nearly fatal...

"Who..." Ontari was doing her best... Damn Skaikru Ale. She needed to speak. With a series of coughs Ontari was able to work enough air down her throat to speak. Jasper patted on her back to help clear the fumes from her breath.

Jasper looked down to see what she was looking at. Then with a deep sigh he moved her to the bed and sat her down. Bottles of Ale long forgotten.

"How... Did... You?" Ontari patted at Jasper's wound. This is when Jasper turned around to see that Ontari needed another rag to clean herself that she saw that he didn't have one wound, but two...

"It's alright... take your time." Jasper was more concerned about her than her interest in his body or its injuries.

"Your... Wounds." Ontari was able to spit out with actual spit.

Now she had his attention.

"Oh..." Jasper realized what she was talking about. "I got speared through my chest by a few Grounders who decided to use me a live bait." After a moment Jasper added. "Clarke saved my life after... several days of suffering."

"Live Bait..." Ontari had known of this trick. Capture an enemy by spearing him. Just treat his wounds so that he wouldn't immediately die on you and leave them in a place so that you could kill his rescue party. Ontari moved to touch the scar tissue. "Scar... The Scar on your back." Ontari felt... scared. Not battle scared, but scared for Jasper as she realized that this had been a nearly fatal wound.

"The Exit wound." This now had Ontari's attention. Jasper would have been dead... or at least near death when... Commander of Death. The term wasn't from slaying the warriors of Mount Weather... It had come from her healing skills. Clarke...

Clarke had Commanded Death to leave this boy alone.

Commanded Death itself to let this boy live.

Commanded Death to let Ontari herself have a second chance at life.

Ontari touched her own near fatal wound.

This is when Ontari moved to her knees and prayed to the gods.

She had to seek forgiveness for interrupting Wanheda during her treatment of the injured. She didn't want the spirits of the dead that she had participated in their torture of under the control of Alie seeking her out and dragging her to the underworld.


Jasper was a bit in shock when he saw Ontari fall to her knees by his bed.

She was chanting something.

Maybe the fact that Ontari and him had both survived near death experiences that she was possibly praying to her gods. He knelt down and started to pray to his own gods next to her.

Jasper hadn't been all that religious in his life, but amazing what a spear through the chest will do for someone finding their faith.

Jasper leaned and started to speak in a mixture of a prayer and a retelling of the events.

"Mother Earth, I know that it has been many months since I last spoke to you, but I guess that it is time for me to talk to you again." Jasper spoke as Ontari slowed her own prayers to her gods to listen. One thing about Ontari, if you got her attention, you had her full attention as she started to listen in. Maybe her crisis of faith was being eased by the fact she wasn't alone in going through something so horrific. "I mean the last time I spoke to you I was moaning through levels of pain after some Grounder threw a spear through me. Whatever you had in mind in having Clarke work through those days to save my life I still do not know why. Maybe you had something planned for me. Maybe to be there for a girl who went through a fight of her own like I did?" Ontari moved closer. Maybe her own fears being calmed by the fact she wasn't alone in being scared of what had happened to her.

"Bori... I ask that you speak to Skaikru god Earth Mother on my behalf. I know that my recent actions of being called a Death Whore are well deserved. Even-more-so in light of me falling under the spell of Alie the Red Witch. I ask for you to give me the strength to cleanse my name of those actions. If I must perform Blood must have Blood by spilling my own Blood to do so, then let me do so." Ontari felt Jasper moved his arm around her.

"Mother Earth, I know that this girl beside me is one of your children, so if you can ask her gods to let her speak to her on your behalf, that she isn't alone in her pain." Jasper was asking her gods to take pity upon her. Maybe even allow her to have a little bit of peace in her short violent life.

"Jasper... You asked your gods to watch over me?" Ontari seemed less scared sensing that he as accepting of her ways.

"Well, you did ask your god Bori to..."

"Goddess... Bori is the Goddess of the Northern Lights. She watches over those in her care." Ontari spoke as she started to trace the scars on Jasper's chest.

"Are these green lights that show up in the night sky?" Jasper spoke.

"They are..." Jasper grinned, Ontari must have seen the Aurora Borealis from around the Great Lakes area of the Ice Nation territory. Maybe seeing them from his position in the Sky must have meant that he understood the majesty she and her people worshipped. "You know, before I was torn from my Mother's arms... she said that I would meet a boy that would know of Bori's protection." Ontari moved to take off the shirt she had been wearing. She was offering herself up to him.

"Tari... If you want to..." Jasper felt Ontari's eyes bore into him. She was seeking a primal protection of herself. To feel safe. To feel loved. But given Ontari's lack of social skills, probably meant sex. Maybe she saw this as a blessing to have the family she so wanted.

"I want to make love to you my General." Jasper moved to stop Ontari. He wanted her… but not like this? He wanted her comfortable, herself, not desiring protection out of some need for safety and power. He wanted her happy, safe, and maybe… to give him the chance to ask her to marry him. Plus there was another reason that was by the door of his room that having both of them rip their clothes off in passionate lovemaking would have been awkward to explain to the others.

"Alright... But I think we should save the love making for later until we get the rest of the supplies." That was when Jasper cleared his throat. "And out of sight of your little sister." Jasper thumbed in the direction of Artesia. Ontari blushed out of embarrassment as she realized that Jasper had saved the both of them from a very uncomfortable situation before her fellow sister Nightblood.

"Jasper... Wanheda sent me to see what was taking so long in getting the supplies she needs to treat the Reaper woman." Artesia was giggling some. "... Are you going to yell at him sonraun gada?" Ontari felt Jasper move as he started to slide Ontari's shirt back onto her. The groan spoke volumes as she started to slip an arm though one of the sleeves.

"No..." Ontari gritted her teeth. The Mood had been killed, but Jasper giggled as Ontari started to realize that he respected her, not for her position or power, or bloodline, but for who she was.

"You know, I like her, she brings out a side of you. I see the woman you were when we were in that coffee tavern." Ontari relaxed as she started to feel safe as she realized that the price of his loyalty was already paid for and it hadn't required her spreading her legs to receive it.

"She was a lie." Ontari spoke as she moved to shove her other arm through the borrowed t-shirt.

"Not all of her. Yes she was without the pain, but that spark that was her was still here." Ontari tilted her head at this as he placed his hand on her heart. The scar there only highlighted a battle had been fought to keep her alive.

"But it was a..."

"Lie... What about me? How much of me was the lie that you saw while we were there? Were the scars under my shirt there when talked about leaders and government, and all sorts of things you were reading about?" Ontari started to realize that the scars, they had been shaped by them, but also they needed them to grow stronger.

Ontari reached up and ran a finger over Jasper's chest scar. Jasper at the same time traced his fingers on top of her breast bone where her scar was forming. The breast wrap pulling her breasts together in a sultry way as Ontari hadn't pulled all of the t-shirt down yet as it was still hiked under her armpits.

"I..."

"I love you my Ice Wolf." Ontari took shocked look at him.

"Ice Wolf?" Onari moved closer to him.

"Clarke is called the Golden Wolf. You are from the Ice Nation, but like the Hundred, we are like a Pack. So welcome to our wolf pack fellow wolf." Jasper moved and barked at her like he had seen in an old nature film that Pike had them watch during survival training.

"Ice Wolf... I like it." Ontari growled, a little as she playfully moved over to kiss/lick him. Artesia just giggled. Ontari rolled her eyes as she moved and placed her head on Jasper's chest, fingers rolling over the scar tissue. The realness of it made her calm down.

"You like him..." Artesia called out. Ontari looked over and said something in her native tongue. Jasper needed to learn more of the Grounder language as Ontari leap from her position on the floor to chase after Artesia. Most of what Jasper was able to get was loosely translated as: "the torture of laughter" as Ontari made her way out to the hallway.

Coffee shop girl was back and was about to get revenge her little sister for messing up her potential sexcapades with the boy she was in love with.

Jasper was glad that of what happened so that he could plan a decent date for the both of them.


Ontari felt a little better about herself as Artesia walked with them carrying a small box of supplies. The bottles of Skaikru ale and a few rags were in the young Nightblood's box, but Ontari was carrying the more dangerous items. This Hyg-dro-gen Per-Ox- side according to Jasper could be dangerous if it caught fire or was injested. Jasper had found a few bottles from the Hygh-dro-pon- yeks bay. Such a strange compound, but when Jasper stated it was used to killed plant mold in soil and was also used to be burned to make fuel to bring their villages up and down from the sky. Ontari sensed that something this powerful shouldn't be left unattended.

"So... This was used on Anya's forces when she attacked your camp?" Ontari felt the bottles under her arms.

"Yeah... I was able to rig up a bypass to spray the area where we would be attacked. Raven just rigged up the igniter to light the stuff up."

"I heard that they had been burned to ash." Ontari spoke listening to the story of Anya's failed attack on the Hundred.

"Most were, but the effect afterwards was that every seed in the ground started to bloom like crazy. I mean there is a layer of grass so thick that you have to cut at it with a knife to hit soil."

"Slay your foes with this weapon, then later raise your crops on the land where their bones lay." Ontari was impressed but also she started to realize why Skaikru had wanted to place their farmers upon the land of the Mountain Men. The slaying of a great foe also meant they would have a great crop upon that land.

Skaikru were following their warrior tradition.

Nia, had thought it was them claiming the Mountain... No... Skaikru didn't want to be in those caves. They wanted to plant their crops upon the land of their foe.

They wanted to plant seeds upon the bones of their enemies so that in a way they could consume their power in the months to come.

They wanted to plant their crops before the bodies of their foe had rotted into nothingness and become stronger.

Nia had ruined their right for victory over their foe.

If Ontari ever found Nia's pickled body, she would hack the damn thing up and plant it within the farm soil of Skaikru so that she could claim the power for herself and the others of the Hundred-kru.

Blood must have blood.

Veins to Vines, Bones to Berries, Corpses to Crops.

Wanheda knew where Nia's corpse was, Ontari was going to make this right.

Walking into the healer's chamber's Ontari watched as Clarke was checking over the body of the female Reaper.

"Wanheda... we bring the supplies you asked for." Ontari spoke with fealty.

"Place them on the table and bring me the following: A bottle of shine and a bottle of Peroxide." Wanheda spoke as she checked over the neck scars of the Reaper. Over in the corner stood the Skaikru warrior, Harper as she kept her weapon at the ready. The firearm was almost as large as a sword. If it had a name it probably was something along the lines of Grounder Killer, Bather of Blood, or Cleaver of Flesh. Ontari felt that given the past situation with her comments towards Wanheda needed to be put right and Harper looked like she would use that weapon upon her. Slayer of Ice Wolf that probably was going to be the weapon's name after this if Ontari didn't undo the damage done with her words and actions for her ill comments over the injured.

"Commander..." Ontari decided to be direct with the Skaikru woman. "I know that you called me a Death Whore for a good reason." Ontari swallowed hard. She needed to put her pride in check no matter how much she wanted to stab Clarke of Skaikru to death, maybe there was a reason that Leska had commanded the young Nightblood to obey the order "Clarke of Skaikru must not be harmed!" But placing the bottled on the small metal table near where Wanheda was working Ontari started to realize the level of intensity the woman was working at. Almost on the level of one going into combat.

"Sit... I need you to observe." Wanheda motioned for Ontari to watch what she was doing. Ontari moved to sit in the chair next to the Reaper woman's bed. "What do you see?" Wanheda spoke as she pulled out a stick covered in some sort of white fuzz.

"I see the burn marks on the hand and fingers." Ontari spoke.

"Yes but there are two types of burns. The light ones on the palm is what is called a Second Degree burn. Now there are four types of these. The first type usually takes place usually under extreme sun exposure or long exposure to long heat like picking up a overly hot piece of meat from a meal. The second is broken up on two levels, outer skin and deep flesh. Now the outer skin ones can be seen around the edges of where the glove I removed had been. The deeper injuries can be seen around where the metal palm guard had been." Ontari was viewing the injury on new terms. For Wanheda's healing skills she was viewing the injury like a collection of foes. "Now the third type where the metal was touching the skin as you can see the pattern of where the metal was pressed into her flesh."

"You said that there was a forth type. What is it?" Ontari started to understand some of what was taking place.

"The forth type is charred flesh, where it goes down through all of the levels of flesh and towards the bone. That is the most difficult to heal and to treat. In most cases the flesh has to be carved off to help save the life as it has already died for it has been cooked." This image made Ontari shudder. There had been stories of Reapers cooking their victims alive, but to know that there was a healer's term for what took place made Ontari gulp. "Now we are dealing with the middle of the group of four, so what you brought me will help in the treatment process." Ontari watched as Wanheda started to clean off the injured flesh with several instruments taking care to use the per-ox-cide to cleanse the site.

The Per-ox-cide foamed much like winter and spring Honey Mead on the site. The Reaper who groaned at this action seemed to be pain, but not so much from the injury, but from the fact that she was still alive. Ontari could sense the emotional pain of this woman who had her humanity taken from her and thrust back with just as much force upon her. Woman to beast back to woman again will with the memories of what she had done weighing on her soul.

As Wanheda started to move to using the Shine to cleanse the blood of where the deep and dead flesh had been, Ontari watched as the battle took place. Precision and being methodical in her actions as avenues of attack were taken upon this miniature field of battle. Ontari moved to look at the cut-away glove that had been removed prior to her arrival. The damage had been unseen, as so had the foe Wanheda had been fighting. But looking over at the hand, the scale of the battle that had been fought highlighted that Ontari had to look deeper at a situation. There was more taking place under the surface unseen then there was on the surface that could be initially seen.

Wanheda moved to add some healer's powder that was made from pig skin and healing herbs that the bandaging process was taking place. The bandaging was being done with care to cover the more severe wounds first before moving to work on the less severe ones. Ontari felt that her own knowledge about combat was far weaker than Wanheda's. Ontari wouldn't have seen moves that Wanheda would have exploited to her full advantage in battle. How many kru would be lost? How many forces would she lose if Ontari herself decided to engage Wanheda in a war?

"Are you alright?" Wanheda spoke placing a hand on Ontari's shoulder.

"Just realizing how much knowledge I lack in fighting wisely." Wanheda grinned, not out spite, but out of understanding. A lesson had been taught and her student had learned her lesson.

"The first rule of understanding is accepting that one knows nothing, once you understand that then learning what to do next comes easily." Ontari felt that this wasn't a lesson about combat, it was understanding that she needed to grow.

"Wanheda..." Ontari felt small as she looked at the scene of the battle that had taken place. "You don't see me as weak, but needing of an education."

"And a family... I see how you act around your fellow Nightbloods, especially Artesia." Wanheda spoke to her student. "I know why you fight now. That is something that Alie never could really give you. But now... You are willing to learn to fight to give them a future. That isn't a weakness. That is your strength."

"So... What you had me witness here..." Ontari motioned to the bandaged hand.

"Context... And I wanted to see your reaction to tending to the injured and wounded. Maybe one day the wound you might be treating might be of someone you love or one of your fellow Nightbloods." Wanheda's words stuck in Ontari's mind as she saw Leska reaching out to touch Clarke. The look in Leska's eyes spoke volumes and a secret had revealed itself to her.

Heda Leska and Wanheda had been lovers...

"Wanheda..." Ontari rose before correcting herself. "Clarke of Skaikru... How did Leska die?" Wanheda looked down and sighed. "An accident by Titus's hand." This is when she answered. "Thank you for..." The imagery flooded by to Ontari. It was Roan who had slit Titus's throat.

"It wasn't me who avenged Leska... It had been Roan's blade, but it was Titus's hand that did the deed." Ontari let the truth be known. "Leska's spirit reaches for you." Ontari shifted.

"Clarke, if you and Ice Girl here need to have some private time together, I can keep an eye on things here with Senua." Harper of Skaikru spoke. The look on the blonde warrior's face stated that she wanted to spend time with the former Reaper. There was some history between the two, maybe Ontari would learn about it later, but for now... Seeing Leska in so much pain.

If Ontari herself died... would one of the Nightbloods move to sooth Jasper's pain?

"Clarke..." Ontari bit her lip. "I do this so that I can grant you peace so in the future when I die... My beloved can have peace." Leska turned towards her understanding.

"I will tell you, but only before you and the rest of the Nightbloods and my friends." Harper looked at Clarke. Maybe this was a chapter that needed to be told so that a period of mourning could take place. "I will tell you tonight after dinner."

Ontari got the feeling that maybe this was setting a precedence for those who would be carrying the Flame in the future.


Translations:

/\ Jomp em op en yu jomp ai op – You harm her, you harm me.

/\ Ai hod yu in – I love you too.

/\ sonraun gada – Big sister.


Some of these translations come from another fanfic named Don't Be Afraid by sailor8t which you can find at and Archive of Our Own. Thanks to sailor8t for directing me to trigedasleng. Info for the help for later chapters.

Please review and let me know what you all think of the story so far.

Hearns