A/N: How does it feel to have chapters posted routinely? Weird, it feels weird. In other news; I had some very disgruntled -and some downright disrespectful, responses to how I had tagged/initiated this story line. My apologies for any misleading depictions of this story, but the excerpt chosen was temporary and just the best attention grabber I had written at the time. So yes, writers do that, but it wasn't malicious in anyway. I'm not going to sit and get involved in "ship wars" so forewarning; any rude or disrespectful reviews will be deleted (which I have never had to do until this story). I am sorry that my initial presentation was misguided, but I have made all of the appropriate adjustments. In light of all of that, I present to you chapter three!

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or plot to The 100.

The journey to Polis had started off uneventful and even a little boring. Indra and her warriors flanked and surrounded the sky people -obviously an intentional power move to show any other travellers that they were protected by the commander, and nobody had allowed Clarke to even attempt and catalog the plants along the way. However it wasn't a total bust, she had been able to talk with some of the warriors that traveled with them. She learned some of their favorite hobbies that didn't involve killing unarmed children and had been told what to expect upon entering Polis.

"There are shops that line the pathways all throughout the heart of the city! Trading posts too, if there's anything you see you like Wanheda, just let me know I'd be happy to get it for you." Everything sounded wonderful, except for the new found nickname.

"It's just Clarke, but thank you Tristan."

"It's not proper for me to call you Clarke." Tristan said as he took a bite of the jerky from his travel pack, he ripped a piece off from the other end and passed it along to her without breaking stride and Clarke took it appreciatively. "You've earned the right to be called the Commander of Death; think of it like an honorable thing."

"Doesn't feel it, but thank you."

From there they walked on in a companionable silence. Clarke had insisted that they travel straight through, she wanted to arrive at Polis as soon as possible (so that they could leave as soon as possible). And just as the sun was about to set, the rustle of the leaves changed direction and a scout from Indras' numbers had rushed back to let them know he spotted people further along the path. In the moments that followed Clarke had been shoved and hidden away and watched as the trained warriors prepared to strike. It was only when she heard the familiar voices of her friends that Clarke broke from her camouflage.

"Wells!" She yelled in glee as she launched herself into her best friends arms. Despite his confusion he had quickly reciprocated and then he had to dodge a swarm of voices all at once. Indra yelled at Clarke about taking needless risks and Marcus had yelled at the new found sky people for sneaking up on them and Murphy had snarked at the welcoming committee being a little cooler than he expected. "What are you guys doing here?"

Murphy responded to Clarkes' question before Wells had processed it (he always did get distracted by too much at once). "Headed back to camp, but the better question is where are you going Princess?"

"Just because I missed you doesn't mean I won't hit you for calling me that." she grumbled fondly before addressing his question, "We're on our way to Polis for peace talks with the Commander."

"We'll join you. Although I figured we'd have already fine tuned the alliance details by now."

"I don't think so!" Indra snapped as she approached the group of young adults. Marcus had also scrambled over to them with Stevens not far behind. "The Commander is expecting a set amount of representatives of your people and wouldn't like the intrusion."

Wells stepped toe to toe with the warrior; "And I need to have words with your commander or we're going to have a bigger problem on our hands."

"We found survivors! But, not before they managed to do some damage." Zoe exclaimed as she too stepped forward.

"Explain." Marcus bit out in frustration. It seemed that Indra's demands were ignored as they proceeded to walk up the path some more.

Indra had been about to protest but Clarke reached for her sleeve, "Please, they don't have to be involved with the formalities, but they've been looking for survivors from the Ark since before the fall of the mountain."

"Against my better judgement I'll allow it." Indra stated as she motioned for her men and women to get back into formation. "Teik's go!"

As the group -now larger by five, began to enter the last leg of the stretch Clarke, Marcus and Miller had finally been able to gather all the information they needed from their reconnected group. "So Pike went off his rocker?"

Wells nodded; "Dude is scary with how much he hates the grounders. He has his own little following too from some of the survivors he found."

Miller snorted, "The man was a teacher, how useful can he be in a hostile environment?"

"We were just children and look at what we did. Not to mention he literally taught Earth Skills." Clarke reminded him from her place on Wells' right side, "So who is currently with Pike?"

"Monty's mother and a few others from Agro Station."

"So their numbers are small," Marcus pondered, "where did you say they were headed?"

Zoe answered from her position towards the rear; "We directed them towards Camp Jaha!"

Indra followed up Zoe's response with a question of her own, "Should we be worried that these extremists rest amongst your people?"

"Yes." Murphy bit out, "It's why Golden Boy needs to talk to your commander."

"It probably would have been better if one of you went back with them."

"We were, until we met up with you."

Clarke stopped short and turned towards Stevens; "Go to Mount Weather, warn my mother and make sure that eyes are kept on Pike and his people every second of everyday."

"Got it, mind if I take Costa with me?"

"No, it's better to work in pairs."

Miller turned to inspect the guards he had selected and pointed at two from the rear; "Go with them! We'll replace your spots with Wells and Murphy this way our only unplanned guest is Zoe."

"Surely Lexa won't mind me bringing my friend Zoe along, right Indra?"

Indras' nostrils flared with the same bit of anger as when Clarke and Lexa reappeared after the missile landed on TonDC. Though this time she had the liberty of being able to say or do something against Clarke. Instead she took a deep breath and nodded once; "I think we should stop here for the evening. My men are surely hungry and this kind of travel is not familiar for you or your people either."

"Perfect! It'll give us a chance to discuss this issue in further detail." Clarke smiled brightly as she walked ahead of Indra. She had started to gather small bits of wood, though she didn't want to stray too far. The first lesson she had been taught on the ground had been to remain skeptical of her surroundings despite how peaceful they appear. It was clear that Indra and Miller remained skeptical as well. So much so that Miller had gripped Clarkes' arm and pulled her out from the foliage and directed her towards the center of camp.

"We don't know who or what could be in these woods, so sit and stay."

"I'm not a dog Miller."

"Sit." He pointed towards the sleep roll that had been spread out for her and while she was incredibly tempted to stand with her arms crossed over her chest ready to fight for as long as possible, she was only able to pull it off for a minute or two before she grunted and sat down. "Now stay."

Clarke chucked a pebble at Millers' retreating form with a laugh. Moments later Wells and Murphy found themselves on either side of Clarke and the trio spent the majority of the night in close and quiet discussion. Occasionally they had to call in Marcus or Indra for input. The concern with Charles Pike was that he had been their teacher and he had earned the trust of almost every adult on the Ark by principle. If he did manage to gain more followers and they did go out and do something stupid all the hard work in Polis would be for nothing. It had been Indra that reminded them of their position, their chance to tell Lexa before anything even happened.

"We don't know what they did before we found them."

"What they did before they rejoined your people is their responsibility, not yours." Indra replied coolly as she poked at the fire. "Where did you find them?"

"We aren't sure whose territory we were in, but the warriors were like no other clan we've seen before." Wells gestured towards his face, "They used white war paint to cover their features and masks and they all wore heavy furs."

Indra cursed low under her breath, "Ice Nation; they're going to be the biggest opponents to the alliance."

"I thought the alliance was already finalized, what's going on Clarke?"

Clarke patted Wells on the arm gently, "You missed a whole lot since you left camp."

"Apparently…" he grumbled out, but wasn't able to further ask any questions as Clarke had already begun to explain.

"Things didn't go as smoothly as we wanted when taking on Mount Weather. We ran into some complications with the commanders' people as well, but hopefully this trip can clear all of that up."

"So we didn't get our people out?"

Marcus took pity on Clarkes' discomfort and took over the explanation, "We did what we had to do and we did succeed in rescuing the surviving people."

"How many did we lose?"

"We rescued forty-seven kids from inside the mountain. Everyone is on their way to making recoverings, but healing will be what takes the longest."

"So then what's the issue with these Ice Nation people? Shouldn't they be thankful that we managed to take down a major enemy like that?"

"They put a bounty on me." Clarke stated as simply as she could have stated the sky was blue. "Their leader thinks that if she can kill me she can harness whatever mystical power is within me and live forever."

"Shit if that's the case I could have killed you months ago." Murphy quipped sarcastically. He hadn't stopped munching on the small rabbit in his hands to do so, which made the essence of his comment that much funnier, but none of the official adults in the group found it entertaining at all. "I'm just saying." he grumbled around his meal.

"I fail to see how this is funny." Indra huffed.

"It's not funny," Wells started, "in fact it is downright terrifying that your people just keep coming up for reasons to want to kill us! Still though, we can't dwell on the frightening things we need to press forward. I assume that's why the commander has called for a treaty with us and thus provided the escort of Clarke?"

"Yes."

Murphy finally finished off his meal and resituated himself as he said "That's good, because if this were a trap you'd be in some real trouble."

"My warriors outnumber yours, do you really think if this were a trick you could counter attack?"

"I think we could take you," he said as he threw himself down to his back and closed his eyes, "you forget that when you pushed our backs against a wall we lit three-hundred of your people on fire."

"Murphy!" Clarke admonished with a slap to his chest. "There's no reason to bait Indra like that, I trust her. And we need this alliance!"

"I know Princess, but I'm just saying! We tried the peace talks before, right? And clearly whatever happened there fell through. So what happens if we get to Polis and the commander is in with the Ice Nation? Or worse, believes the same bullshit that they believe and wants to kill you for her own success and immortality?"

"Then we handle it," and there's a glint in Clarkes' eyes that is unreadable to everyone except for Wells, "but there won't be a reason for us to handle anything, right Indra?"

"I assure you that Lexa is seeking peace."

"Then it's settled, we'll finish out the last leg of the trip tomorrow morning. We will go into Polis and secure a sturdy and secure alliance that will help us survive the winter and then we will release any information that could be useful on Pike and his issues." Marcus said as he also adjusted himself to get comfortable -as comfortable as he could get on the ground with just a simple blanket as protection from the elements. He got settled and watched as everyone did the same, the fires remained lit and it was apparent they were on familiar land. Marcus Kane fell asleep quickly, as did Murphy and most of the other warriors (with the exception being those put on watch). It was Clarke, Indra and Wells that remained awake until late into the night.

The trio sat in silence. Indra kept a watchful eye on everything going on around her, like a true leader would do. Wells stayed up to tend to the fire for as long as possible, while Clarke feigned sleep in her own bedroll. Hours later he too succumbed to the pull of exhaustion and sleep. Once his body relaxed and his breathing evened out Clarke peeled her eyes open, not shocked to see that Indra had kept to watching her closely. She moved slowly so she didn't disturb anyone with her movements. Indra waited for her to sit up fully before she pried; "You should be resting, it'll be a long day tomorrow."

Clarke simply nodded, it wasn't that she didn't know that already, but it wouldn't make a difference. "No need to worry, I'm more of a night owl anyway."

Indra nodded as Clarke probed at the fire with the same stick Wells had put down moments ago. "Do you still see their faces? Hear their voices?" Clarke remained silent in response, but the downcast and shadow of her eyes answered Indras' question on their own. "You must find a way to honor them. It's the hardest part of being a leader."

Clarke swallowed thickly, "I've only ever done what's needed of me. And I bear it so that they don't have to."

Neither woman said anything else for the rest of the night.

Polis emerged in the distance around midday for the travellers from Arkadia. At first it just seemed like a far off speck, but then as they got closer and closer the definition of the city came more into focus. The tower -which had obviously been constructed before the first apocalypse, stood tall and center and was marveled at by the sky people. Tristan had asked why they had been amazed by something as simple as the commanders tower, but it felt impossible to describe the experience. It was always hard to explain to someone from Earth what it had been like to live in the cold emptiness of space. Though they did all try; in the end Tristan had reassured them that he understood enough and that new places excited him as well. Then immediately following his acceptance the sounds of the city were heard through the surrounding trees. Metal clashed on metal and the rush of voices as they drowned each other out. There was sound from the livestock too!

Even the ground beneath their feet shifted. Remnants from the people who lived there prior to the apocalypse still rested, only now there were flowers and plants throughout the concrete cracks. Deconstructed buildings had been partially redone to convert themselves into shops and stands, stables for horses (actual, real horses!) and taverns. There were vendors all along the main pathway and it was apparent that one could barter for a good or trade, or even just purchase. It had felt incredibly overwhelming to the people who resided in a metal box and thrived on rationed goods. If it didn't fulfill a specific need then it didn't exist. Any good that existed outside of the realm of necessity were coveted and sparse. Just a reminder of the depravity that came with being a sky person.

The tower seemed incredible the closer they got! It probably allowed for a perfect view of the surrounding forest. The defense mechanisms were limited, something that surprised Clarke, it was an easy target and one would assume the best defenses would be placed around it to prevent it from being taken over or falling. The inside was just as impressive as the outside. Furnishing was minimal and the walls were a dingy and cold stone, but there was a pulley system to lift them through the floors in the event they didn't want to take the stairs. Each floor served its own purpose. The first floor held the kitchens and washrooms for laundry. The second floor was designated for the live-in servants. The third and fourth floors held the armory and warriors quarters. The fifth floor would be where Lexas' advisors (fleimkepa's) slept and the sixth floor was where the nightblood children slept and lived for their duration in Polis. Their training ended at a certain point and eventually they would be expected to return to their clans to follow out their duties regularly and expected to return for the conclave when the time arrived. The seventh and eight floors were set up to house ambassadors and guests. That would be where Marcus' accommodations were and the other ambassadors from the twelve clans as well and then the representatives were spread out between the two floors as well. The ninth floor was where honored guests were housed -this would be where Clarke would rest, and the tenth floor held the throne room where all the meetings of the coalition took place. The room directly above that, the eleventh floor, held Lexa's private living quarters and then the last two floors from above were used for private meetings and sacred rituals.

Overall the tower was functional. They sky people were escorted to the pulley system and hoisted up to the twelfth floor where Lexa had been anticipating their arrival. The floor held a singular habitable room, the others became more like balconies with barely any space to stand. Indra entered the room and bowed to her commander before she presented Clarke and her companions.

"Heda, ai bring yu skai kru."

Lexa turned from her position at the window and walked off to the side of a chair, her arms she kept folded at her low back, "Good, bants osir nau. Der ste much kom discuss."

Indra bowed once more and disappeared out of the room. The silence that followed was heavy, but it wasn't more than a moment before Lexa had motioned for her guests to take a seat along the opposite wall. The way they sat had the sun glaring in from the window and it hit Clarkes' face and blinded her for a second. In the short time it took for her to adjust, Lexa felt her breath catch within her chest; the way Clarkes' right eye shone like a clear lake had briefly distracted her. The moment was gone and over as Clarke sat further back in her seat this time giving Lexa the opportunity to see the coldness that rested in hre blue orbs. She noticed how small Clarke had looked, how prominent her elbows and collarbone were. She noticed the way her face concave in on itself when it used to be round and full. She used to be soft in her skin tone and now she looked sickly. Her hair lacked luster and now just rested, dull and dingy. It created a horrible bubble of guilt and shame and for a second Lexa forgot she was in a room with several other people.

"Sky People…" she called out softly in hopes that a glimpse of the girl she knew would still be there, awaiting her call, but the fire had been extinguished from Clarkes' eyes and instead all she got in response was a cold stare. When it had become clear that the sky people waited on Lexa to speak she snapped from her internal musings and focussed instead on their senior man, their ambassador. "Have you given thought to my invitation?"

Marcus nodded once; "We are open to discussion, but we haven't made an official decision just yet."

"Wise of you to use caution Kane." She smirked and then eyed up the rest of the party. "Who have you brought with you for this visit?"

"Of course you know Clarke and myself and I'm sure you remember Nathan Miller. Over there is John Murphy and Wells Jaha -two guards that were hand selected to ensure our safety and our remaining guard members were taken by Indras' warriors to freshen up. Next to Clarke is Zoe Monroe."

"I believe my invitation called for three represetnatives of your people."

"We figured since my attendance was already expected that it would be good to have Zoe tag along if she were needed." Clarke replied in a cold voice that left no room for argument.

"Of course," Lexa conceded easily enough, she then attempted to redirect the mood of the room, "welcome to Polis! I am sure that in your time here you'll find yourselves welcomed easily."

"I'm sure we will." Marcus smiled sincerely. "I'm assuming our talks of peace are not to remain this private or intimate."

Lexa let out a small peaceful chuckle, "You are astute and correct. The official peace talks will begin tomorrow at dawn and then your initiation into the coalition will follow. We plan to celebrate this occasion with a feast afterward."

"Excellent, I'm sure it will be a wonderful time."

"Indeed," Lexa stood and motioned for the people in front of her to do the same as she led them back towards the door, "come now, let me show you where you'll be staying. We've prepared separate rooms for each of you."

She led them to their respective spaces. Clarke had been the first to separate from the group. Her people waited in the hallway while Lexa showed her around her accommodations, but the younger woman assumed there would be more to it. She had been proven correctly when Lexa had reassured her that her safety was paramount. To which Clarke had told her she already knew, because Wells and Murphy would be just outside of her door. Something that did not sit well with Lexa in the least bit.

"I would like the opportunity to prove your worth here, having my guards would do just that. Nobody would dare try anything with them present."

Clarke raised an eyebrow and laughed once, "I don't need your appraisal Lexa and I'm not scared of some bounty hanging over my head. My men will guard my space."

Lexa sighed, "I have to be going, but do you think we could meet tonight?"

"I don't think that's a good idea Lexa," Clarke turned away from her, "I think it would be best if we kept my time in Polis platonic."

"I see, well I am sorry for that." Though she had a dozen or so more questions and she desperately wanted to console and soothe the girl in front of her, her back remained turned and Lexa knew it wasn't the right time.

Wells appeared minutes after Lexas' departure and found Clarke on the pile of furs with her knees to her chest and her eyes closed tightly. He had taken one look at her in the forest and knew something was wrong. The way that she curled into herself in broad daylight just confirmed it. He popped back out to tell Murphy to stand tight and then dumped his gun on the table in front of the bed before he made himself a physical presence next to Clarke. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him and she went with no argument. The second her chin found his shoulder and her legs tossed over her lap she let the first tear slip. It was impossible to stop the rest from there and Wells just held her while she cried.

Despite the calm and cool presentation Clarke Griffin put forward on a normal basis it wasn't entirely abnormal for her to have moments like these. It was hard for both her and Wells back on the Ark. To their peers and classmates they lived in luxury and to the kids who grew up similarly they were competition. The Ark was not a setting of peace, despite the constant preaching from Marcus Kane. Nobody could truly believe that two kids such as Clarke and Wells understood strife. It didn't matter that Clarkes' only friend was Wells, it didn't matter that her parents didn't have time for her or that she was all alone for most holidays and birthdays. It only mattered that her mother was a councilwoman and lead surgeon while father was the head of the engineering department. Equally hardpressed was Wells whose father was the Chancellor! He was bullied ruthlessly as a teenager and he was a pawn in every single game played by the people in his life.

It was true that Clarke and Wells grew up together, but they became each other's friends for survival. Wells was too good for Clarke -always would be. He was sweet and intelligent and loyal to a fault. He knew all of Clarke's non-verbal cues to her moods; when she was scared her fingers would twitch, when she was sad she bit the corner of her bottom lip, when she was angry her hands flew through the air at every word as if she couldn't speak without them. He knew her ability to hold a grudge was impressive, if not a little daunting and he knew that when she was happy her cheeks flushed and she jumbled her words together. And he always, always knew when she needed him to be there for her the most.

Despite the self deprecating pedestal that Clarke hoisted herself on to Wells saw only the good within her. She loved him in a way that she never allowed herself to love. He was her best friend and brother in every sense of the words! She stood by him and refused to step aside when he was picked on and sometimes it ended with her own bruise or busted lip, but she wore those discolored pieces of skin proudly. Clarke had a darkness about her too, she fell into a depression when they were teenagers and there wasn't much that could get her out of bed. She went to class and she kept her grades up. Despite her parents adoration and love for her their attention was split between their pressing responsibilities and careers and Clarke was an afterthought in many ways. So she'd skip a couple meals, or sleep through a day of classes under the guise that she wasn't feeling well, or on the worst of the days she'd blow up at Wells and yell at him and shove him away until he eventually overpowered her exhausted body and forced her to breathe.

There had been a balance between the two of them. They always managed to find each other and bring comfort when needed. They wanted the best for their people, but more than that they wanted to live. Their lives in the Ark were about survival; yes they knew that their lives had been easier in comparison to many others, but it wasn't living. Their short time on the ground had been the same fight but a different battle. Wells didn't know what had happened in the mountain, he had been away from camp immediately following Finns' execution. He didn't know the weight behind Clarkes' decisions and desperation or the sacrifice Miller made as he went through gruesome rounds of physical torment and transfusion after transfusion. He didn't know about Jasper or Fox or Harper… he didn't know any of it. And the more that Clarke cried in his lap, the more she sobbed her apologies and the deeper the story got the more terrified he became.

"Clarke…" he tried after her erratic breathing cut off her voice, "Clarke!"

"I tried Wells…" she panted, her face pressed against his shoulder and her knuckles white from her grip on his shirt, "I tried, I tried, I tried!"

"Clarke, come on now, listen to me!"

She gulped in a rough breath and pulled back enough for him to see her face, "I didn't want to do it, but I had to and now they just haunt me. I didn't ask for this Wells! I didn't want this! I-"

"Stop, Clarke, just stop!" Wells pleaded, "You don't have to defend yourself to me, ok? I get it! What you did will not define who you are, but how you move on from here will. Starting right now I need you to take a couple deep breaths and I need you to just focus on that ok?"

She nodded and worked on her breathing. "Good, now after you get your breath under control I want you to sleep."

"I can't."

"You can," Wells pressed on as he started to readjust them, "the worst thing that happens is you have a nightmare. It'll be scary and it'll feel real, but it won't be and Clarke if you really need some extra reassurance that it'll be okay, Murphy and I are right on the other side of that door."

Clarke felt herself get tucked in under one of the fur blankets; "They'll wonder where I'm at for dinner."

Wells smiled, "Then they can bring some food to you." He finished adjusting her blankets and pulled the curtain over the window to block the high afternoon sun. He walked out of her room moments after he pressed a comforting kiss to her forehead.

Clarke fell asleep before Wells could reassure Murphy that everything was alright (even if it wasn't). She woke up in the middle of the night, not from a nightmare, but on her own. It felt invigorating and she let out a deep moan as she stretched. The thought of returning to sleep caused Clarke to scrunch up her nose in distaste, because sleeping during the day and at night were totally different things. Instead she looked around the room for something to wear. To her luck there was a cloak in the far corner. It was old and musty and smelled weird, but it had a hood and offered enough camouflage for her to blend in that she could get away with some scouting. She pushed her door open softly and popped her head out first before she cleared the doorway.

"Whatever it is you're thinking of doing Princess, I wouldn't." Murphy grumbled from his spot to her left. He looked at her pointedly with raised eyebrows and she couldn't help the small playful smile followed. "I mean it, go back to bed."

"I can't sleep now Murphy, I'm wide awake." Which wasn't an entire lie, she thought to herself, "I just want to do some looking around, find any weak points, you know that kind of stuff."

He rolled his eyes, "You wouldn't be wide awake if you had just slept like a normal human. You exhausting yourself to the point of a breakdown and then sleeping for almost twelve hours is your own fault."

"Well I didn't do it on purpose Murphy," she grumbled, "but that's besides the point! I just need a quick walk and then I promise I'll go back to bed."

"Miller would kill me if something happened to you."

"Nothing's going to happen to me."

"Wells would cry all over me if you got stabbed," he continued to muse aloud as if he hadn't heard her insistent response, "and we both know how much I hate anyone crying on me or near me."

"I'm going now."

"Be back before Prince Charming wakes up for his round of guard duty." He looked at his bare wrist for emphasis, "You've got an hour."

She nodded and then slipped down the hallway. If she used the pulley system she was positive that Lexa would be alerted so instead she found the stairway. The climb back up would be brutal, but if she could gather just a little more information on their location and positioning -maybe if she got lucky she could overhear some late night conversations, she'd feel better. She just needed to move and do something (maybe turning Lexa down on her offer to meet up was a bad idea). When she reached the ground level she pulled the cloak tighter and made sure the hood remained up. She spent some time on the main property and avoided the guards that were on patrol to the best of her ability.

Of course then she had to go and run right into one. "Ai laik sorry."

The guard shook his head and snapped back, "Watch em." and then turned and stormed off. For a brief second Clarke thought he looked handsome with his unruly dark curls, but the second he opened his mouth all handsome vibes flew out the window. The man was a jerk.

He didn't bother to turn and look back around at her, which was probably a good thing as she held up a one finger salute to his retreating form. If he had seen it she had no doubt he would have wanted to confront her and then she'd have found herself caught in an argument with a guy she didn't even know. Clarke never liked smug men. Instead she waited for him to turn the corner and then proceeded to go in the opposite direction. She did eventually come up to a garden on the grounds of the tower. She couldn't make out if it had been built intentionally or if the Earth reclaimed that exact spot after the bombs. It could have been symbolic or a holy place, but Clarke just thought it was beautiful. She wandered around full circle, to ensure that nobody else was there with her, before she took off the hood on the cloak.

It happened as she had her arms up. A muscular arm wrapped itself around her neck and trapped her so that they remained bent at her head. She immediately went to try and kick out at her oppressor but he was better prepared and all it did was invite him to pull her closer against his body. Clarke felt sick. She began to try and twist and in true desperation latched her teeth onto his arm, which seemed to do the trick, because suddenly she had been freed.

"Fuck!"

She spit and then reached for the gun she kept in the waistband of her worn out and tattered pants. She didn't hesitate as she pointed the gun at him, "Who are you?"

The man had a jagged scar that ran along his face and long untamed brown hair, he was still upset over the bite to his arm as he said, "What kind of savage bites someone?"

She blinked in surprise and wavered for just a second, "What kind of savage approaches a woman from behind and then traps her like that?"

"Obviously a man that was trying to keep your god damned hood up! Are you not aware of the danger you're in?"

"I don't even know who you are to make that judgement. It seemed perfectly safe until you came along." She clicked the safety off of the handgun. "Now I'll ask one more time, who are you?"

A/N: The plot is thickening. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this installment! Next chapter things get heated and then we're basically in it! Let me know what you think.