Sorry for the wait... file has been a little hectic of late. But no worries, this story is far from over *wink*

Hope you enjoy!

~ Light is easy to love, Show me your darkness. ~

Have you ever hurt so bad you thought it was the end?

After having family and friends floated one after another, Vivian was convinced she knew how to deal with loss. She never expected the pain to hit her anew in full force, never thought it could hurt worse than all the times before. In truth, she should've expected it. Chloe had been more than a simple friend; she had been the pillar that always supported her, a bright light that always knew how to cheer her up. And she did just that until the very end, until it actually killed her. If Vivian hadn't been sulking in her room, Chloe wouldn't have gotten it in her head to go outside camp. She could've still been alive and well, maybe on a date with that guard she was smitten with.

Or maybe, if she had pulled the trigger a little faster that day. If, instead of freezing in place, she would have shot the grounder like she was taught to, perhaps she could have also killed the one that sent the killing arrow. Chloe might have still been there, laughing, complaining about the muddy ground and creepy insects, warming up to Roan who could've helped them back to camp.

Those thoughts were eating away at her. She was convinced she would've lost her mind the past three weeks if not for Roan. He hadn't given her a purpose. No, that was Chloe's doing. Vivian wanted to get strong and survive the ground as her friend asked her to. But Roan was working her to the bone, not letting her mind wander for long and that was also helping a lot.

The night was the only time she dreaded. During the day she had things to do; most of them involved fending for her life. But as the sun fell beyond the horizon her dreams would be plagued by guilt and doubt. Some nights she would be blessed with a dreamless slumber, her body and mind too tired to entertain her broken heart. So she would work harder and harder every day, in hopes of exhausting herself just enough to fall asleep the moment she hit the small cot that was made for her.

As she was doing her morning routine that day, she spied Roan from the corner of her eye. He was sitting in the shade by the entrance of his cave, watching her with an amused expression, as if waiting for her to call it quits. Vivian let out an exasperated breath and ran just a little faster. She was not sure if he has helping or tormenting her for his own amusement, wanting to see how long she could follow his absurd instructions before she finally gave up. But either way, it was helping her, both physically and mentally.

She let her thoughts drift to the grounder. He was infuriating more times than he was pleasant. She almost tripped on her own legs as she remembered the terrifying first days of her 'training' when he made her hunt her own food. She went almost two days without eating before he finally got it in that thick skull of his that it wasn't enough to throw her in the wilderness to make a hunter out of her. He had to teach her step by step. She let out another sigh, bracing herself for the last lap.

Roan's eyes glistened with glee as he observed is sky girl's routine. She was carrying heavy logs on each shoulder as she ran in circles in front the cave. One more lap and she stumbled on the ground catching her breath. She didn't waste any more time, setting herself for her pull ups. Sweat was running down her forehead and her cheeks were reddened. Her black shirt was damp as was her hair, messily pulled up. She surprised him more and more with each passing day.

At first, he only agreed to train her so he could scare her with hard work. But she pulled through and when she didn't back out, he sent her to hunt for her own food. He knew she could never pull it off; he was hoping she' run back to her people. He hadn't expected her to starve herself rather than admit defeat. Maybe it was her friend's dying wish that fueled her, but the sky girl sure had some willpower, despite lacking the physical kind.

He watched her as she finished her drill and made her way besides him with heavy feet. She let herself fall on her ass with a thud only making his smile grow a little wider. He handed her a water skin and she jugged it with greed. His eyes never left her as he wondered why he was enjoying working her so hard. He felt, for the first time since his banishment more than two years ago, alive. He had a reason to wake up early in the morning; he had things to occupy his mind with, other than obsessing over a way home. Things like what to add to Vivian's training, how to get her upper muscles stronger or what to teach her next. He was debating to either teach her to use a bow or hand-to-hand combat, but wasn't sure which would suit her best. The bow was great because it didn't place her in immediate danger, but close quarters combat could prove useful in any situation. He was startled by her voice.

"Is there something on my face?" He blinked a few times as he realized she was staring back at him with big curious eyes. Every time those brown orbs peered at him he felt his guard lowering.

"Nothing. Except a lot of dirt."

"Pfff. I'm still cleaner than you. When have you bathed last?" She made a waving gesture with her hand as if to disperse the odor. Roan let out a dry chuckle. She had gotten bolder in the weeks she had spent with him. Or perhaps, she got comfortable enough around him to show her true colors. Still, her comment made him self-conscious. Was he really that dirty?

"I wash when necessary. Unlike you who should just go live in the river."

Vivian opened her moth, mean comment prepared, but stopped as his eyes averted from her. Had she offended him? Nah, Roan couldn't care less of what she thought. Even if he seemed to lighten up to her in the past weeks, they really didn't talk much besides training. Well, it had been half her fault; she hadn't been feeling really chatty. She still wasn't, but at the same time she wanted to get to know the grounder better. She was particularly curious about him being banished, but she felt like they weren't at that level of friendship yet. Well, insulting his hygiene wasn't going to get her in his good graced either. She sighed and stretched her arms, changing the subject.

"Damn, it hurts in places I didn't even know I had muscles in." She wined a little and earned a smirk from the grounder. "Say, I always meant to ask, are all grounders good at this?"

"Good at what?" His sky blue eyes fell back on her and she felt a little relieved; he wasn't mad at her for the dirt joke after all.

"Um, all of it, fighting, hunting… I guess, what I mean to ask is, are all of you trained like this?" He thought for a while, his gaze clouding for a second before he answered.

"Where I come from, yes. We are a nation of warriors."

"Where you come from? I thought all grounders were united under the Commander or something like that."

"Something like that."

"Oh, come on. I'm really curious. I've been dying to ask you all sorts of things in those first days I met you."

"Ask something else." She was about to protest when it hit her she was asking him to tell her about the place he was banished from. She was so stupid! She was tired and sore, but it was no excuse to be insensitive. Like she couldn't bear thinking of the camp or anything that could remind her of the friend she lost, he must also dread talking about his kin. How hadn't she realized? She meant the question to be about grounders in general, not about his home. "What? No other questions, sky girl?"

"Uhm, I'm sorry."

"That's not a question." She bit her lip and tried to calm her thoughts. He didn't seem pissed, but he wasn't willing to tell her about his past either. So, what else could she ask him? Everything that came to mind returned one way or another to his banishment. The last thing she wanted was for him to completely shut her out again, to shout at her and send her to her peoples' camp like he did once before. She liked it there with him, she didn't want to go back where everyone looked at her with pity and offered condolences. She felt tears invade her eyes and had to turn her head away. "If you're not going to ask anything I will."

"Huh?"

"Your people didn't come to the ground together. The first to get here were a bunch of children. Why? Why not send some of your warriors with them?"

"They were prisoners back on the Ark. I think I told you before that people got floated for every little misdeed they committed, no?" When he nodded she continued, happy he changed the subject and didn't let their conversation die, even if the subject was still hitting close to home. "Well, that didn't apply to kids under 18. They were imprisoned. Those delinquents were sent to Earth to see if it was still polluted."

"You thought the ground was polluted? Uninhabited?"

"Yes. I'm really not sure how they didn't know the truth. I mean with all that technology… Anyway, everyone was surprised to find out the people on the Ark were not the only survivors."

"So, your people came down thinking they'd be the only ones around." She could feel the amusement in his words.

"Yeah, I guess the joke was on us."

"Still, that doesn't explain why the next ships crashed. Some of them were burning before they reached the ground." A shiver ran though her body as she recalled the moments between her station entering Earth atmosphere and the crash landing. "If you don't want to tell me it's-"

"No, it's not that. I honestly don't know the exact reason. It was chaos up there. You see, the Ark was meant to be able to sustain life for 100 years. After that, we were supposed to return here. But they didn't calculate right. The air reserves weren't going to last that long and they hadn't made preparations in time. What you saw crashing… it wasn't the actual ships that were meant to land us back to Earth. It was actually the place we lived in, modified at the last minute." She let out a sigh and a sad smile crept on her face. "I thought we were all going to die."

Roan almost bit his tongue. Great! He was trying so hard to keep her from getting depressed about her dead friend and all he managed to do was get her sad over different things. There was just no winning with her, was there? He extended his hand and placed it on the top of her head, ruffling her hair. It had dried in the sun, her bangs curling awkwardly, and was once again soft under his fingers.

"You sky people sure are stubborn. But to think you were the only ones on the ground…" He chuckled and warmth entered his body when Vivian did the same. Her eyes would always get a wonderful glow to them whenever her smile was genuine. She was too easy to read, all her emotions painted in vivid colors on her face. But he liked that about her; he didn't have to guess how she was feeling because he could always tell with one look.

He remembered how at first he wanted nothing to do with her, how he thought about killing her, slitting her throat. And now, he actually enjoyed the sky girl's company. But was it her company specifically? She got him out of the loneliness he had fallen into. But could she be easily replaced? Was he using her to fill that void inside him or was it her that was aiding him all along? She searched for him even when he had been anything but nice to her. She came back time and time again after he had sent her away. Was it him that was helping her or was she the one saving him?

"You got that far away look on your face again… What's bothering you, Roan?" With barely a whisper, she pulled him out of his thoughts. She rarely called his name, but every time she did it was as if he was hearing it for the first time. He blame it on the way she pronounced the name, a bit different, her lips rounding more than needed for the 'o' sound.

He watched her as big doe-like orbs stared back at him, waiting for an answer, searching for it within his own eyes. What was bothering him? There was nothing more pressing than his banishment and that was nothing new. When the girl before him cocked her head to get a better view of his face he just shook his head.

"Nothing." Deep down, he knew what the problem was – he was getting used to it, to being out in the wild, away from his controlling mother and the responsibility of being heir to the Ice Nation. But there was no use pondering on it too much. It was not like he had a plan to get back. Yet. One step at a time. "Come on. I'm starving."

Vivian watched as he got up and headed inside the cave. It was her time to shake her head. She didn't know what was wrong with him, but he was keeping things from her. He'd get this funny look from time to time, like he had just realized something important, or like he had momentarily forgotten about it only to be abruptly reminded. Whatever it was, she desperately wanted to know. Sometimes she thought he wanted to share his worries with her, but in the end, never did. It bothered her that he didn't trust her still. But, nevertheless, he was nicer to her than in the beginning. He accepted to train her and allowed her to stay with him. Gotta be happy with the things you get, right?

Dusting herself off, more out of habit than anything else, she headed towards the alluring smell of cooked meat. She would play his game a little longer, not pressure the grounder too much. But she made it her second purpose to get him to open up. One day he'd finally see her as someone he could confide in.

Thoughts?

Also... I'm really mad the TV show.