Clarke's heart stuttered to a stop as she stared at the girl in front of her.

This couldn't be real. It was impossible. No one could have survived the radiation. Clarke stepped back, shaking her head. "That's it. I'm insane."

She heard the girl laugh lightly. "You are not insane, Skaigada. I am quite real."

Clarke watched her warily. "How? How could people survive? The amount of radiation left after the missiles was lethal. No one should be able to live out here."

The girl tilted her head curiously. "You live out here, do you not?"

"I-yes, but- have you lived outside your whole life?"
"I have. And so have my parents and their parents before them."

Clarke's head was swimming with this new information. They weren't the only people left? They could have survived on the ground for the last few generations? Also, the fact that they now shared a forest with a group of unknowns. "Do your people live around here?"

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Yes. Your Skai ship fell on our territory."

Clarke held her hands up. "We're really sorry about that. Truly. We didn't choose to land here. Hell, we didn't even know people lived down here. We thought we were the last people alive."

"'Down here?' You did not live 'down here' before?"

Clarke shook her head. "No. We lived in space." At the other girl's visible confusion, Clarke amended her statement. "Up there. In the sky."

"Impossible."

"It's not!" Clarke huffed in frustration. "It's- you know what, this doesn't matter right now. Would you happen to know the best route to get to that mountain over there?"

The girl looked to where Clarke was pointing and stepped back, her hand resting on the hilt of- a sword? "Why do you wish to know? Do you hope to go there? Is that where your people come from?"

"What? No. No, we didn't come from there. But we think it has resources and want to get there so we'll have somewhere to survive. We don't know how to survive out here."

The girl smiled a bit. "I've noticed. I do hope you know that people already inhabit that mountain."

"They do?" Clarke perked up. "Is it your people? Will they help us?"

The girl practically growled, her hand clenching the hilt of her sword. "Those ripas are not my people!"

"Woah. Calm down. I didn't mean to offend you." Clarke looked back at the mountain with a new interest. "You don't seem to like the people who live there."

"The maunon are murderers who steal our people and turn them into monsters before sending them back to kill those they once loved."

Clarke was taken aback. "What? How?"

"We do not know. No one has ever returned from being a ripa."

Clarke didn't know how to follow what had turned to a much darker conversation. She glanced at the mountain again, trying to imagine the people inside.

She looked back at the girl. She had her head held confidently and seemed perfectly at ease in the forest, something Clarke could not admit to. She had her head tilted slightly as she watched Clarke.

"Are you the leader of your tribe?" Clarke started a bit, surprised at suddenly being spoken to.

"Not necessarily. I'm trying, but no one wants to listen."

The girl snorted in amusement. "I noticed. They do not seem to care about their inevitable death."

"Exactly," Clarke muttered under her breath before she realized exactly what had been said. "Wait, how would you know that?"

"I have been watching you, Klark kom Skaikru," she said, moving slowly closer. "You would be a much better leader than the other boy. Bellomi, I believe."

"Yes." Clarke shifted nervously, not entirely comfortable with this unknown girl in front of her. "Exactly how much do you know? About us?"

"As much as I need to. You do not know how to survive. You are no threat to us, not as long as you stay the way you are." She raised her chin up, looking down her nose at Clarke. "You could change that, though. If you were to take charge."

Clarke was getting confused. "You sound like you want me to take charge."

"I do."

"Why? If we would become a threat, then why?"

"Because I have now met you." Her eyes glistened with interest as she scanned Clarke up and down. "I would not have shown myself to you if I didn't have a purpose."

"And what would that purpose be?"

"To ally my tribe with yours."

"What?" Clarke sighed heavily, rubbing her temples. This was getting to be too much. "Why? What could we do for you?"

"In all truthfulness, not much." The girl looked to the mountain, a frown forming on her face. "But you could do much for others, others who, with your tek, could become an even greater force. I do not want our enemies to get ahold of your tek."

"We don't have much of it. What could it do for your enemies?"

"I have seen the one you call Bellomi using his 'gun,'" she said, the word sounding awkward on her tongue. "In the wrong hands, it could be a weapon of massacre."

Clarke realized that this girl didn't know the gun was out of shots, but she didn't bother correcting her. If these people became hostile, they'd need the leverage. "Okay. Then how do you want to work this 'allies' thing?"

"For now, all we need it a mutual agreement to not provoke the other side. I would recommend keeping this from your people for a time until everything is figured out."

"Wait a minute," Clarke said. "How would that benefit us?"

The girl cocked her head as she thought. "I suppose I could help provide you with food."

"Okay. And what do you mean keep it from my people? Why would I keep a whole population hidden from them?"

"Your people are unorganized, unprepared for political moves such as other nations. They would act rashly, especially Bellomi. I fear they would try and attack us. If that were to happen, I would be unable to prevent my people from retaliating."

Clarke considered. "Okay. Just for now."

"Very good. Before we part," the girl reached into her pack and pulled out the rabbit Clarke had failed to catch, a bloody wound on its back boasting its death. "Have this. An act of goodwill, say."

"Thanks, I guess." Clarke took the rabbit and weighed it in her hands before she noticed the other girl slipping away. "Hold on."

She paused. "Yes?"

"I never got your name." At the girl's odd look, Clarke elaborated. "You know my name. Shouldn't you return the favor?"

A beat of silence passed between them and Clarke worried she had overstepped some unseen boundary before the girl answered. "Leksa." She was gone ere Clarke could say another word.

"Lexa." The name was an unfamiliar one, short and simple, but Clarke liked it in that aspect. She had the rabbit tucked under an arm as she walked back and went over what had just happened.

People. There were whole tribes of people out there, not just surviving, but dealing in politics and other things that Clarke had never thought she'd have to be a part of, not on the ground. And though she hated having to deal with this alone, she knew she couldn't tell anyone. Not even Octavia. They weren't ready to hear this, especially not Bellamy's followers. Octavia, Finn, sure, they'd deal with it fine, but Clarke didn't trust them. Not yet. Not with something so big.

She got back to camp and the first thing she saw was people crowded around the fire, cheering on something she couldn't see. Her fellow survivalists were away from the action, seemingly disagreeing with whatever was going on. Clarke went straight to them.

"Clarke! Thank god you're back," Octavia said, running up to her. "Bellamy and Murphy are removing everyone's wristbands."

"What?" She set the rabbit down on a bin, ignoring Jasper's exclamation of joy at the prospect of fresh meat and marched over to the fire, pushing through the crowd. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Murphy looked up from whoever's wristband he was trying to pop off. "What does it look like, Princess? We're freeing ourselves from the bastards that sent us down here."

"They'll think you're dead."

"That's the point," Murphy deadpanned, pushing down hard on the piece of metal wedged beneath the wristband. It cracked open, and the crowd cheered.

Clarke scowled, pushing over to where Bellamy stood behind Murphy. "Why are you letting him do this?"

"Because, Princess," he said, rolling his eyes, "We don't want them coming down here after us. They say they'll pardon us from our crimes, well, they're lying. We like being free of their rules, free of all rules. Down here, we can do whatever the hell we want, whenever the hell we want!"

The delinquents roared in agreement, throwing out slurs toward the Ark, toward the chancellor, the council, her mother. Herself. Clarke scowled and, realizing she couldn't stop this, pushed her way back out of the crowd.

Jasper was still poking and prodding at the rabbit but Monty turned to her, as well as Octavia, Wells, and Finn. "So?"

"It's pointless," Clarke said, looking back at the criminals. "They won't stop."

Octavia scoffed. "Guess we'll be splitting this catch up ourselves."

"It's a good catch," Monty said. Jasper nodded in agreement.

They started their own small fire, and Monty did his best to skin the meat before they strung it up over the fire. The smell alone drew over some of the delinquents, but Octavia kept them back. "You got your wristband? No? Then back the fuck up!"

They happily split the meat among the six of them, not nearly enough to sate them but it was the best food they'd in weeks, better than any of the beat that had ever been produced on the Ark. It was their first taste of actual meat and, though it was a little overcooked, it was the best Clarke had ever eaten.

Bellamy wasn't very happy. "Clarke!" She sighed heavily and heard Octavia mutter 'here we go again.' "You got meat?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me? Or share any of it?"

"I am sharing it," she said blatantly. "And I didn't tell you because you don't seem to care much about whether you survive or not, so why bother?"

"Clarke-"

Octavia interrupted him. "Bellamy, why don't you stop being an ass for two seconds and you catch your own food."

Bellamy stood there scowling for a moment before he turned and called a couple of the boys to him, slipping off into the forest.

Clarke felt someone slide in beside her. "So, Princess, how'd you manage to catch this? I didn't think you were the type to go hunting."

Clarke raised an eyebrow at Finn, but seeing everyone else looking at her she answered. "Snuck up on it and stabbed it in the back." Or, that was what she tried to do. Lexa was the one who'd done it.

Finn whistled. "Shit, Princess, that's harsh."

"Are you complaining?"

"No," he said through his bite of rabbit meat.

Clarke turned back to her own food. "Thought so."

She caught a glimpse of movement in the bushes and could feel a grin tugging at her lips when Lexa appeared. She hovered in the shadows, scanning the camp, and offered Clarke a smirk when she noticed her watching. Clarke grinned back as discreetly as she could before Lexa slipped back into the foliage.

"Clarke?" She focused back on the people around her, waving it off as nothing.

This would be a hell of a secret to keep.