"We are on the Ground and that means we are Grounders." — Bellamy Blake, "We Are Grounders (Part 1)"
Two months had passed since they found the irradiated citizens and Madi; a lot had changed in the area. Walls had gone up around Traver and Sinclair had designed a sign to go over the gates on the main road; it read Eden. The twelve clans had divided up territory which left Skaikru with plenty of land outside of their walls. Three clans surrounded Eden: Trikru to the East in Tate Forest; Sangedakru to the West in Bear Sanddu; and Podakru to the North in Elkra. Louwoda Klironkru had an honorary territory to the South in Loche. Skaikru, Trikru, Sangedakru, and Podakru formed the Western Clans. With everyone settled, Lexa had ordered each of the three territories to hold a Summit. She would attend the Western Summit while she left Roan and Gael in charge of the Northern and Eastern Summits, respectively.
The rover neared Tate Forest and six of the seven occupants were eager to get out. Raven drove while talking loudly about the Summit to come with Bellamy, Clarke, Monty, Octavia, and Lincoln. The kids were in good spirits, but Kane was not. He sat in the back corner of the rover, hoping not to be drawn into the conversation. While he wasn't worried about the Summit itself, he was worried about the people who would be there. Namely, Titus. He hadn't seen the Flamekeeper since Pike's execution, 5 and a half months ago. But, he carried the scars and pain with him every day. He remembered how weak he had felt and how lost he was after the beating and subsequent surgery. He remembered how he had thought he deserved the punishment as a penance for all of his sins. He, also, remembered how Titus and Lexa's decisions had resulted in the loss of Skaikru lives. How they had delayed his return to Arkadia. How they had nearly killed Jasper.
"Earth to Kane," Raven called from the front. He looked up and found all six of the kids staring at him. "We're here."
"Okay," he muttered. Clarke looked at him oddly as he opened the back door and staggered out, his brace faltering for a moment. At least Titus didn't do that damage.
Clarke fell into step beside him as they walked toward the tree line. She whispered, "Are you okay?"
He nodded.
"Kane, if we see Titus, should we kill him?" Octavia asked, with a smirk on her face.
"You will do no such thing." They turned and saw Indra walking toward them. Octavia's smirk faltered and she lowered her head out of respect for Indra. "Welcome to Tate Forest, Skaikru. The village is just through the trees."
Kane and Indra grasped forearms and she turned to lead them through the trees. She commented, "I see you brought your best speakers."
"I was told that the entire summit would be conducted in Trigedasleng," Kane answered. He had hoped to bring more specialized experts on the issues to be discussed, but all he had in mind were novice speakers at best.
"I'm sure the other leaders will respect the effort," Indra said, glancing back at the team he had assembled. "Just make sure to keep them in line."
Kane replied, "Octavia didn't mean-"
"We both know she did," Indra said, "I didn't not train a liar."
After walking for about five minutes, they entered a small clearing where ten large, old cabins were nestled near the far tree-line. Several round tables had been set up in the center of the clearing for their meals and several fire pits were located next to the last cabin, wild boars roasting over each one. The place was packed with Grounders from the other three clans. They could see several tents littered throughout the trees. Indra said, "Skaikru will be in Cabin 3. The woman you wished to speak to is by the fire pits."
"Thank you," Kane said. She nodded at Kane before walking toward other members of Trikru. He turned to his small group and found confused looks.
"Who did you want to speak to?" Clarke asked.
He sighed. "The leader of Podakru. I have to make sure that we didn't take Benja from any unknown family." Clarke frowned, he knew that she didn't want to lose Benja either, but the question had to be asked. He shook the thought out of his head and said, "Now, I fear we are heavily outnumbered. We should have brought the whole council."
"They aren't fluent yet," Bellamy said. "We're all Grounders, we have to speak their language."
"You've come a long way," Raven commented, looking Bellamy up and down. He averted his gaze and Kane ignored the moment. He said, "Try to keep a low profile while I'm gone."
"Yeah, we're great at that," Monty said as he grabbed Kane's bag from him. He and the others walked away. Kane turned and walked slowly toward the tall, dark-haired woman by the fire. She glanced at him as he said, "Ai laik Markos | I am Marcus-"
"Ai get in chon yu bilaik | I know who you are," the woman replied, staring back at the fire.
He nodded. "En yu laik Yola kom Podakru, nami? | And you are Yola of Podakru, right?"
She nodded.
"Ai skat kom Podakru | My boy is from Podakru," Kane replied. Yola turned and eyed him suspiciously. He clarified, "Ai don hon em op kamp tri raun. | I found him in a tree."
"Chit em tagon? | What is his name?" Yola asked, eyes still narrowed.
"Benja," Kane answered.
Yola frowned. "Yu jos don hon Benja op? Nou Brandou? Soulin? Oulina? Taina? | You only found Benja? Not Brando? Solin? Olina? Tyna?"
"Ai nou get emo in | I don't know who they are," Kane admitted. "Benja nou chich em seingeda op. Ba em seingeda don stedaun. | Benja doesn't talk about his family. But his family was dead."
"Don chich em in chit don kom emo au? | Did he say what happened to them?" She asked and he shook his head. "Em seingeda laik lukot. Em ste os? | His family are friends. Is he okay?"
"Em nou don's chil, ba em ste os | It hasn't been easy, but he is fine," Kane said. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He hadn't planned on asking anyone this question because he didn't want to lose Benja. But this was the chief of Podakru and he had to make sure that he hadn't stolen him from anyone. He asked, "Don Benja moun seingeda? | Does Benja have other family?"
Relief spread through him when she shook her head. She said, "Jos yu seingeda. | Just your family."
The feast started at sundown and Kane was seated at a round table in the direct center of the clearing with the other leaders: Lexa, Indra, Yola, and Caris, the leader of Sangedakru. The other table surrounded them. Bellamy, Octavia, and Lincoln were to his left at a table for warriors; Monty and Raven were in front of him at a table for environmental specialists; and Clarke was to his right at the ambassador's table. Lexa stood to open the feast, "Mochof gon komba raun. Oso lan dison digon op chich kom choda op en fami chit ste mous meija gon oso kru. Stot au. | Thank you for coming. We use this feast as a chance to speak with each other and discuss what is important for our clans. Begin."
She took her seat again and talk immediately erupted. Servers brought out food as Lexa asked Kane, "Markos, chit ste brana raun Traver? | Marcus, what is new in Traver?"
"Brana tagon. En's Idin, nau | A new name. It's Eden now," he began. "Osir ste hod daun. Osir na groun op. | We are secure. We are growing."
"Ha? | How?" Yola asked, genuinely curious.
He continued, "Mou plan ste hon gredi in. Osir kru wich dison in bilaik chilnes. Emo gaf kigon in kom wor. | More women are getting pregnant. Our people believe this is peace. They want to move on from the wars."
"Oso dula | We all do," Lexa nodded. She turned her attention to Caris and Sangedakru, allowing Kane to look away. He could see Raven and Monty talking animately about their concerns for the radiation with their Grounder counterparts. Bellamy, Lincoln, and Octavia's table was already very loud and most of the warriors appeared to be engaged in a drinking game of sorts, his people included.
Dinner waned on and Kane was able to advocate for more technology amongst the clans and training on guns so that they would be prepared after the radiation was livable again for any threats coming their way. The dinner wrapped up and Lexa left first. The other clans slowly followed and Kane went to find the other six members of his group, but a hand caught his forearm. He turned and found Titus at the other end or the hand. He hadn't seen him all dinner. Kane asked, "Chit yu gaf? | What do you want?"
Titus said, "Heda na wich yu in, ba nou ai. | The Commander may trust you, but I don't."
Kane replied, "Ai nou wich yu op ida, ba ai na flou chilnes thru hir. | I don't trust you either, but I am working for peace here."
Titus glared at him and said, "Skaikru na nowe get chilnes in. Ai na get em klin. | Skaikru will never know peace. I'll make sure of it." He jerked Kane toward him for emphasis and Kane felt his knee give way despite the brace. Titus looked down at it and smiled. "Chit don kom yu strechon au? Chon don dison koma? | What happened to your leg? Who had the honor of doing this?"
"Don kom wor op | It happened in war," Kane said through clenched teeth. "Nou laik du flou uf thru va ai. | It wasn't someone using their power over me."
"Bilaik bida sich hir? | Is there a problem here?" Raven asked as she and the others walked over.
"Ah, tu frikdreina | Ah, two freaks," Titus commented, looking down at the brace on Raven's leg.
Octavia took a step forward, her hand reaching for the sword that would have been on her back had weapons been allowed. "Chit don yu biyo? | What did you just say?"
Titus began, "Ai don biyo | I said-"
From across the field, Lexa yelled, "Titos, teik Markos gonot! Komba raun, nau! | Titus, let Marcus go. Come here, now."
Reluctantly, Titus released Kane's arm and walked away. Raven muttered, "What a dick."
By day three of the Summit, only a few things had been accomplished. For one, Octavia hadn't killed Titus, but that was only because Kane insisted after the incident at the opening feast. They had also managed to hammer out trade routes along old roads that would connect the four clans better as well as open trade with the other two territories. They had designated who from each clan would be tasked with fixing and maintaining the roads. However, for the main issue of contaminated food and radiation, they hadn't accomplished much. It was too specialized and they needed more of their people to understand the issue. Each clan would compile all of their experts and hold an Environmental Summit the following week.
Skaikru was preparing to leave when Indra came hurrying over to them. She said in a rushed voice, "Our scouts just came back from Louwoda Klironkru territory. They found something that you need to see."
Kane looked toward the others and said, "What is it?"
"Just come," she said. He and the others followed Indra to the rover. Lexa was waiting by it, her face solemn. Kane glanced to Clarke, but her mind seemed to be on the mission and not on Lexa. Raven climbed into the driver's seat and Bellamy sat next to her in the passenger's; the rest clambered into the back. They drove in silence and Kane's mind was running through possibilities of what could have happened; Indra and Lexa seemed shaken to their cores.
The drive lasted an hour, but it seemed so much longer due to the deafening silence in the rover. The only words spoken were directions from Bellamy as he followed the coordinates that Indra had given him. They parked at the bottom of a steep hill and exited to make the climb. It was slow and Bellamy helped Raven. Kane detected an odd smell as they ascended the hill. The sounds of their heavy breaths had filled the air by the time that they crested the hill, but those breaths were taken from them when they saw the scene below them.
The valley was full of bodies. Kane's eyes scanned, trying to get a count, but there were too many. He estimated several hundred. Some were half out of their tattered tents. He could see some weapons littered around, but it seemed as if they had been taken by surprise as they went about their everyday lives. These were not warriors.
"They are all Azgeda. The scouts checked," Lexa said, finally breaking the silence. "Families. Men. Women. Children. Dead for at least a few years."
Kane felt a lump in his throat as he reached for the radio at his hip and changed the dial to channel 2. He muttered, "Scanlan, do you read?"
It was a few moments of added silence before the head guard responded, "What is it, Chancellor?"
"Lock Eden down. We have a problem."