When Clarke banished Murphy, she'd never expected to see him again.

Much less being pushed along with Lexa's fist wrapped around the back of his shirt.

Clarke was stunned as Lexa tossed Murphy to the ground. Murphy looked up at her with a confused look on his face, his eyes flitting between her and Lexa. Lexa rapped him on the bad of the head. "He yours?"

"... yes." Clarke narrowed her eyes at him. "We banished him."

She nodded. "I'd seen him wandering. What did he do?"

Clarke scowled. "Murdered someone."

Murphy rolled his eyes. "Jaha Junior deserved it."

"Like hell he did."

Lexa grabbed his hair, yanking his head up. "Don't speak, ripa, or I will gag you." She looked at Clarke. "Mind if I have him?"

She shrugged. "Do what you want with him. We don't want him."

Murphy actually looked shocked. "You know this savage?"

Lexa snarled and backhanded him across the face. "Silence, banau. I will not feel guilt over harming a murderer."

Clarke approached Murphy. "You are more of a savage than she is. You deserve whatever they do to you." She nodded to Lexa, who heaved him to his feet. She raised a hand into the air and two other people dropped from the trees, each taking an arm and dragging him off.

Clarke tried to brush off her surprise. "Friends of yours?"

"Guards. They've been watching the camp along with me, though they are there more to make sure they stay in line rather than gather information. I am the one who is collecting the information."

"So is that your job? To spy?"

Lexa cocked her head thoughtfully. "I do many things. This is just another task to complete."

A vague answer. But then again, all of Lexa's answers were.

"Okay." Clarke shifted her weight, pulling out her dagger. "What now?"

"Put the knife away. Your throwing skills are fine."

Clarke groaned. She knew what that meant.

Luckily enough, days at camp were getting better. Clarke was learning to bring in more food herself rather than just have Lexa provide it for her, and a few others around camp seemed to be getting a feel for it as well. Most days, everyone ate something, even if it was only a small slice of rabbit meat.

They were beginning to organize a working system. The hunting party went out at dawn. As people woke, some would start a couple of fires, as a cold chill was beginning to set in, a time of year old-world had called 'autumn.' Some people would collect water from a small stream they had found trickling by about a mile or so east. Tents had been set up from the supplies in the dropship, usually five or more per tent, and many still slept in the dropship, Clarke included. As more and more people accepted that they needed to work to survive, more was able to be accomplished. Firewood was gathered and stored. Logs were set up around the fire pits. All in all, things were finally starting to smooth out.

Clarke continued to meet Lexa, not daily, but often. She honed her throwing skills and had, according to Lexa, gotten much better at keeping quiet in the brush, though was still far from perfect. She was confident that she would soon be able to reveal to her people the existence of the clans.

Not yet, though. Not when Bellamy still largely held control over the camp.

Clarke was more respected, definitely. People listened to her. They did as she asked. But they would much rather listen to Bellamy than to her. Clarke was a daughter of the council. They thought that if they gave up control to her, she would seize it much like her mother had.

It was still too much of a risk.

It had been four days since she'd last seen Lexa, a fairly long period compared to their normal meetings. Though many people still lazed around camp all day having fun, Clarke was working herself to exhaustion. She hadn't had the time to see Lexa.

So Lexa came to see her.

"Clarke." She felt a light shake on her shoulder, rousing her from her slumber. Clarke growled lightly from her throat, her eyes still heavy with exhaustion. "Clarke, wake."

That voice.

Her eyes cracked open and then went wide at Lexa, hovering by her side. In the dropship. Surrounded by other delinquents.

"What the hell are you doing?" Clarke hissed quietly, sitting up and looking around to make sure no one was awake. "You shouldn't be here!"

"They will not wake. Your people sleep heavy, including you. I am a hunter. I will not wake them."

Lexa was right. Nobody even stirred.

"Okay, point proven. Now, why did you come here in the first place?"

Lexa smirked. "You'll see."

"What? What does that mean?" Lexa stood, slipping out of the dropship. Clarke followed as quietly as she could. Lexa was waiting outside. "What are you doing?"

"Come," was all she said, darting off into the woods past the single dying embers of a fire.

Clarke had two choices: stay back at camp or follow Lexa into the unknown.

She went with Lexa.

Lexa moved swiftly, heading north in the direction of the mountain. She glanced over her shoulder occasionally, never long enough for Clarke to see her face, only to check that she was following. Lexa led her a fair distance before stopping. "We are just shy of it."

Clarke looked around. "I've been through here before. There isn't anything special about it."

"In the daylight, no. During the night- you shall see."

"What could be so special about the forest at night? It's still just a bunch of-" a gasp broke her words as Lexa parted the foliage in front of them. It was a familiar clearing, but the only difference was that the moss that covered the trees and the ground all glowed a blue hue. Butterflies flitted around above them, glowing just as brightly, looking like stars in the night. She could feel a wide grin stretching over her face.

"Do you like it?" Lexa asked, walking up from behind close enough for their shoulders to brush.

"Like it? Are you kidding, this is amazing!" Clarke couldn't help the laugh that broke out of her, her once drowsy body thrumming with excitement. "What is this stuff?"

Lexa shrugged, dragging her through it and leaving a dark stripe that quickly regained its glow. "I do not know. If anyone would know, it would be our healers, for they are familiar with herbs, but a healer I am not."

Clarke absentmindedly traced her finger in the moss. "Not that I'm not grateful, but why did you show me this?"

Lexa shrugged. "I wanted to. I knew you would enjoy it, and it is not something you can see anytime you want. Though I suppose I do want to escape my guards for a bit. They do not leave me alone."

"The price we pay for safety, I guess."

Lexa scoffed. "I can defend myself."

"I have no doubt you can."

Lexa's lips twitched into a smile. "Sit with me, Clarke."

Clarke sat next to Lexa in the moss, curling her feet up beneath her. "So?"

"Tell me about you."

Clarke raised an eyebrow. "If I do, I expect you to return the favor."

Lexa hesitated, but as much as she knew she shouldn't, she had started to trust this skai girl over the last couple weeks. Never once has she suspected Clarke of having ulterior motives or even something as small as telling a lie. She truly believed the Clarke she saw before her was genuine. Not a facade like Heda. Clarke had nothing of the sort. She and skaiheda were one and the same. Lexa could not say that about herself. In all truthfulness, she was more herself around Clarke than she was around any of her people. Everyone back home saw her as Heda. To Clarke, she was only Lexa.

And so Lexa found herself agreeing.

Clarke's smile made it worth it.

"Tell me about where you live."

Lexa clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth, considering. "I live, officially, in Polis, the capitol. It is many days from here on horseback, so I am currently staying at the capitol of this clan's territory, Tondisi. Or, I will be, once my mission is finished."

Clarke was leaning forward, eager to hear more about this mysterious population and their customs. "What clan are we in?"
"The clan we are currently in is called the Trigedakru, or Trikru for short. To the north is Azgeda and Sankru. East is Floukru. South is Louwoda Kliron and Yujleda. West is Ouskejon Kru. I am from the Trikru, though I only lived here for the first three years of my life until I was moved to Polis."

"What clan is Polis in?"

"Polis also resides in Trikru Territory. It was one of the only old-world cities to have even a single building still upright. That single building is the commander's tower." Lexa's eyes shone as she began to speak about Polis. "The tower is the best part of the city. It is over a hundred stories high, though not many have access to the upper levels. The top is where the eternal flame burns. The city itself would take hours to cross on foot it is so large. I would guess at least thirty thousand reside within the city, not including the constant flow of travelers. People from all clans come to Polis, so trade is very diverse."

Clarke's eyes widened. "Thirty thousand? How many people are in all twelve of the clans?"

Lexa shrugged. "Trikru has around thirty, forty thousand people total, and it is one of the most populated clans. I would estimate at least a couple hundred thousand people inhabit all twelve territories."

"Hundred thousand," Clarke mumbled. "That's… incredible. How big are the territories?"

"On horseback, it would take months to cross from Trikru to Ingranrona Kru."

"Holy shit." Clarke leaned back heavily against the tree, sighing loudly. "That's… a lot."

"Indeed. We have become good at staying alive."

"Yeah, I can tell." Clarke sighed again. "The Ark only has about two, three thousand people. You could crush them."

"Not everyone is a warrior like myself," Lexa said, pulling out her dagger. "Many are, though. Especially in clans like Trikru and Azgeda. At least half of the population, if not more."

"That's still over a hundred thousand. I can't believe your commander actually decided to give us a chance when you could have easily wiped us out and went on with your lives."

Lexa was amused. Little did she know.

"The commander is just, at least whenever justice is an option. She has spared your lives for now."

"I'm glad she did." Clarke looked around at the bioluminescence. "Even if she hadn't, I'm glad we came down here. It's hard, but it's so… free."

Lexa smiled. "I could not imagine living how you did. I don't think I could have dealt with such restraints. You are strong in that aspect, Klark."

Clarke smiled back, leaning over and bumping their shoulders. "Maybe so, but you'd still put me on my ass in seconds if I tried to beat you."

Lexa chuckled quietly. "You have a strong mind. In a battle of wits, I'm sure we would at least tie."

The two laughed again, but a voice interrupted their bubble of peace. "Clarke?"

Clarke knew that voice. "Shit," she hissed. "You have to leave."

"Who is that?" Lexa asked, rising to her feet easily and helping Clarke up. "Why do they want you?"

"He must have noticed I was gone," Clarke said. "And that would be Finn."

Finn. Lexa knew of the boy. He was always ogling at Clarke, always trying to gain her favor. It made her sick. He was pitiful and didn't realize that Clarke had no such interest in him. She felt the urge to punch him in the face, to watch the blood run from his broken nose, whenever she saw him staring at Clarke like she was some sort of goddess. It made her insides boil.

Clarke saw Lexa's scowl. "You don't like him. Doesn't surprise me. You can tell him how much you hate him later. Right now, you need to leave." Lexa hesitated but heard the crunch of the skai boy's feet on the earth. She nodded and gracefully scaled one of the trees, peering out from behind the thick trunk. She caught Clarke's eye one last time before the shaggy-haired boy stepped into the clearing.

"Holy shit…" he looked around at the glow but lost interest in it when he saw Clarke walking slowly toward him. "Clarke! There you are!"

"Finn." Her voice had a hint of anger and frustration, something Finn didn't seem to notice. "Why were you looking for me?"

"I saw that you were gone and I was worried," he said, once again looking at Clarke like she was vital to his existence.

"I can take care of myself. I don't need you to protect me." His face fell a bit and Lexa smirked. "Stop treating me like I'm a child. Go back to camp, Finn."

Finn looked broken. "I just want to make sure you're okay."

"Yeah, well, I don't need you to," she snapped. "Leave."

"I can't leave you out here by yourself!"

Clarke groaned. "Fine. I'll come back with you. Don't do this again," she warned. Finn nodded, happy Clarke had accepted his 'help.' Clarke sent an apologetic look to Lexa, mouthing 'sorry' before Finn took her wrist and dragged her away.

Lexa could feel herself seething. How dare that insolent boy treat Clarke like she was some branwada goufa who needed a caretaker. It was blatant disrespect, and Lexa had to restrain the urge to knock him in the head to see if it would put some sense into his brain.

Lexa began her return to her own camp, pondering over what it was about the skai girl that made her feel such emotions.