Hope you enjoy!

~ Nothing has been the same since the devil on my shoulder reached out its hand and asked your angel for a dance. ~

Roan smirked as he watched the loud sky girl do what she did best - roam the forest, signaling her position to whatever had ears to hear. Besides the fact that she was recklessly making a target of herself, her singing was just terrible; no rhythm, no voice, no consistency. But he couldn't bring himself to despise her, not as much as the first time his ears were tortured by her wailing, anyway.

Vivian. It suited the sky girl, he supposed. To his ears, the name sounded outlandish and even a bit childish, like gibberish a babe might mutter when still learning how to speak. It was curious and ever so slightly intriguing; just a little amusing. All words he could use to describe the sky girl herself.

Vivian was particularly happy. She was humming an old song that got stuck in her head the day the Ark fell, managing to stick in into Chloe's mind as well. It was a catchy tune, even if she couldn't get the notes quite right. But things were getting better for the survivors of the Ark. The alliance with the Commander Lady was on, as the two groups had found a common enemy: the mountain men – who were apparently evil and keeping the delinquents hostage for some reason. They were working on safely getting them out of Mount Weather, though the people weren't told much. Some things never changed! However, the thing that made her the happiest was that she finally knew his name.

Roan. It fitted him like a favorite sweater, worn and molded over his shapes and edges. It screamed power and vigor, made her think of the thunder and nature unleashed. It reminded her of fearless warriors depicted between dusty pages of ancient books. She must have whispered the name a hundred times, tasting the sound it left on her lips.

A horn echoed through the woods and she froze in place, ending her little daydream.

Roan cursed under his breath. It had been some time since the last fog and he was expecting it to come sooner than later. He was prepared, he knew what to do! The sky girl looked utterly confused though, wide eyes looking left and right. He made the decision in less than a second. Jumping down the tree he had been watching her from, he was by her side in no time. He grabbed her upper arm and pulled her along to his cave. She didn't resist at all and it made him a little annoyed that she was coming so willingly. He was, after all, still an enemy to her people.

His temporary 'house' was just at the base of a small mountain, nothing more than a hollow in the massive rock. It had the advantage of having a narrow entrance, making it hard to spot if you weren't looking for it. Roan pushed the girl in first, rougher than he intended to, and followed her into the cavern just as the poisonous mist reached the entrance. It swirled and churned with long deadly tendrils, but never moved past the threshold. His head snapped to the darkness of the cave only to see the girl had lowered herself against the hard wall, panting wildly.

Vivian was out of breath. If she had ever reached such incredible speed before, she couldn't recall. If she'd ever reach it again, she would surprise herself. She realized that without Roan pulling her and up when she stumbled and dragging her after him, her legs would have never moved so fast. He saved her life. Again! How many times was that?

Her eyes moved to him, still standing by the cave's mouth. He scared her a little, face shadowed by the soft light that passed through the yellowish fog. His hunched shoulders gave off a defensive stance, sending a shiver down her spine. But she didn't think he'd hurt her. Why bother to get her out of harm's way only to inflict the pain himself. No one was that cruel, surely.

As her breaths became longer and fewer, he finally seemed to relax. Vivian watched him stride past her into the pitch-blackness beyond. Terror surged through her, not knowing how far the cave stretch for and if he was abandoning her alone in the dark. She lifted herself to her feet as warm light ate away the shadows. She moved closer to the fire and sat down, placing the bag she had beside her. With curious eyes she inspecting her surroundings.

It was not as big as the darkness made it look in the beginning, roughly the same size with the room she shared with Chloe. It had the small fire pit in the middle and what seemed like a fur-covered cot by the furthest wall. A bunch of threatening weapons rested in the corner. But what made her lips turn upwards were all the little things scattered around; items she had swapped with him. He had kept them! She wasn't sure he wouldn't just discard the stuff he had no practical use for, like the small bullet casing or the old rusted scissors, but she thought they were a nice representation of her world. She was pleased with her choices of 'souvenirs'. Not even the gloomy expression he wore as he sat down on the other side of the fire could wipe her glee away.

It would have been complete silence, if not for the cracking of the fire.

"How long does it usually last?" She was warned of the mysterious killing fog, but not much was known about it, besides the terrible effects it had.

"Varies." She sighed. She was bad at this. Or he was making things difficult. Either way, she wanted to hear him speak; his voice was… something else. Throaty and masculine, it went hand in hand with his name and complemented his rough appearance. She couldn't picture him like anything else other than a grounder, a fighter. She started chewing on her lip, deep in thought.

Roan stared at her. She was an intruder in his home, despite the fact that he had shoved her inside. There was that fight again behind her eyes; she was trying hard to come up with other things to say. He considered giving her an earful for her stupid behavior. Why couldn't she just stick with her people? But, alas, he was curious about some things, too. She was trapped there with him with nowhere to run; she'd have no choice but to answer him.

"What's it like up there?"

"Huh?" Roan's vice interrupted her train of thoughts. She was focusing so hard on what to say to him that his question, that he asked willingly, caught her by surprise. I was the first time he stated a conversation with her. It only took them being forced together by a killing fog.

"The sky your ship fell from."

"Oh, it's horrible." With all the wonders Earth had to offer, her mind had been far, far away from the distant space. "Actually, it's kind of like this cave we're stuck in right now, only made of metal. There are no resources so everything is carefully rationed: food, water, medicine, clothes… anything you can think of. The drained water is cleaned and put back into use; so is the oxygen. With no plants, there's no fresh air." She took a long breath and continued, her mood darkening considerably. "If you go outside, you die. In a matter of a few excruciating seconds."

She knew all that because she read about it, asked about it. She had to know what fate came to her parents, what fate awaited her, had she broken the rules. And she wanted to so many times: in the long nights in the orphanage, when Chloe had gotten sick, when her friends were floated one by one. But her best friend had stopped her every time, telling her she had to live to honor her parents. For whatever that was worth, she didn't know.

Roan didn't miss the change in her demeanor. When he saw the sky people for the first time, showing off their advanced technology and weapons, he'd presumed they were like the Mountain men: a greedy bunch that wanted more, so they set to have a piece of the ground also. The whole fucking sky was not enough for them anymore. He imagined, from their lack of skills and physical strength, that they spent their days in comfort, not missing on anything. He never thought they came to the ground because they were dying up there. Most of all, never considered it being dangerous.

"Can't be that bad. Plenty of things will kill you here too." Her eyes finally snapped up to his, brows furrowed.

"Your organs begin swelling throughout the body, stretching it to approximately twice its normal size. You'd be ripped apart from the inside, by your own enlarging heart and kidneys. Your watery eyes and mouth freeze as the blood starts boiling in your veins. The air is sucked out trough every pore, turning your skin blue, and, if you had the idea to take one last breath and hold it in before you stepped outside, your lungs would burst apart. All of that happens to you in a few heartbeats. So you decide if it's bad enough for you."

"You lost someone." It wasn't a question, it was obvious from her tone that the subject both pained and angered her.

"I didn't lose anybody. They were thrown out. I told you, resources were inexistent up there; our reserves were dwindling by the hour. Any crime, no matter how small, would result in your expulsion from the Ark - one less mouth to feed." Vivian needed to calm down. It was not Roan's fault; it wasn't fair to dump her repressed anger on him. Besides, they were finally talking and all she was doing was spitting her words at him. She wanted to keep talking, but the words got stuck in her throat. "My parents… "

"What were they like?" If that had been an attempt to lift her spirits, it was the poorest one she ever heard. But it wasn't all his fault, he couldn't know it was a sore subject for her.

"I never really got to know them." Her voice came out dripping venom, surprising herself. She sighed. Staying calm and cheerful was harder in practice than in theory. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You're angry for what they did to them, for what was taken from you."

Vivian could have listened to him talk forever. His raspy voice echoed in the small cave, filling her ears and smoldering some of the bitterness that rooted in her heart. She felt like he was talking from experience, despite his calm facade. What had been taken from him?

"Why are you always alone out there?"

"The same could be asked of you?" Her eyes rolled on their own accord; she hated when questions were answered with questions. It was such an annoying practice that people used to avoid being honest.

"My friend doesn't like the forest and my people tend to get snatched up by mountain men or killed. That's why I'm alone out here. Your turn."

"I was banished."

"Oh."

Well, she hadn't expected him to actually answer and she clearly hadn't foreseen those words coming out his mouth. She had thought that he enjoyed the forest too, or was out hunting, or whatever it was that grounders did in the woods. It dawned to her that the cave they were in was small and cramped with all his things. He was alone out there every day and night. He was most likely torn away from his friends and family. In a way, he had been floated, exiled to fend for himself. The death might not be as sudden but it was slow and lonely, and painful nevertheless. He too was angry. She wanted to push the subject further, ask why he'd been banished for, but doubted Roan would like talking about it. How could she change the subject?

Roan examined her face with interest. She looked surprised, but not disappointed; if she had intended to use him as a bridge to his people, she did not show it. If anything, it seemed like she was empathizing with him, sensing his unwillingness to further discuss the matter. He had already said too much. But perhaps the little sky girl had no foul motives to infiltrate his cave, no hidden reason to try befriending him. Maybe she was just grateful he had saved her life. Repeatedly! It was possible that Vivian was not all that bad. Her stomach let out a low growl and he sighed.

"I have some dried meat if you want."

"Oh, I have some berries, too." She picked the small pack she had slid down her shoulders and rummaged through it, bringing out a small transparent bag filled with ripped red berries.

He paled instantly.

He was inches away from her in the blink of an eye, slapping the berries out of her hands and grabbing the front of her shirt. He lifted her with ease and brought her face closer to his. Cool anger ran trough him and weather it was directed towards her stupidity or towards the mother that banished him – fate of which he had just been reminded- he wasn't sure.

"Have you eaten any of those?" His voice rang into his own ears, calm but threatening. Her warm eyes were wide in disbelief and fright, her cold hands pulled at the fingers clenched on the black fabric of her shirt.

"N-no. I-"

"If you want to die so badly I can make it quicker."

"I-I thought they might be bad, that's why I didn't… I took them s-so I could ask… "She was blinking back tears. As if he'd hurt her after saving her worthless life. "I'm sorry." What was she apologizing for, her vapid mind? What had he been thinking, that the shivering creature in his grasp could plot something so nefarious as to use him against his clan? No, she was too naïve for things like that, too trusting, too weak and way too ignorant. Vivian was just a drowning insect he stubbornly saved time and time again.

But no more!

"Come! I'll take you back to your people."

The fog had cleared. He pushed her back against the wall when he let go of her. He didn't need to look back to know she was following; her shaking legs were cracking every stick and leave on the ground. What had gotten into his head that he could be friends with her? Her death sentence was hanging above her head even if she didn't see it, if he had prevented it for a while. She was struggling to keep up with his long strides, but he just wanted to get rid of her, dump her with her lot and forget of her existence. She was a distraction he had no need of. Nothing more, nothing less.

I feel like I should've stuck to a one shot O.o

Anyways, the dark part is next after all :))

Anyone else loved the the last episode with the stations and the first Commander?