I just wanna point out that I have no clue how people track in the forest or anything whatsoever about medicine [stitching, bandaging, nothing :))] I'd die in the wilderness. He... he? So... don't take anything I wrote here relating those things for granted... they are purely based on things I saw in Tv shows and movies.

Hope you enjoy!

~ It always rains the hardest on people who deserve the sun. ~

Roan was glaring daggers at the girl sleeping peacefully across from him. She was sure taking her sweet time dreaming, a trait uncharacteristic of the sky girl. In the short month that the two had shared the cave, Vivian had always been the first to wake, even if she was not the first to leave her cot. But the girl was out cold in that particular morning and Roan's patience was at its limit. They had hunting to do; food didn't wander into the fire pit on its own.

He stalked closer and crouched beside her. Her chest was heaving slowly indicating she was in no distress. Her eyes would occasionally roll behind her closed lids. She looked so freaking frail sleeping there on the improvised sleeping pallet. Her skin, that had been flawless from what he saw on her arrival to the ground, was etched with cuts all over her exposed arms. Her left cheek held an ugly looking bruise. It was an old one, almost healed, but the violet mark looked out of place on her pale skin. He couldn't see more, and he'd never admit he wanted to. Nevertheless, his hand reached for her hair and pressed it between his fingers. It was silky and black in the low light of the cave.

She was rather pretty, for a sky girl. Far from breath-taking, Vivian had a charm of her very own, something alluring, like the calling of a hearth the night during a snowstorm. Her eyes most of all were what always pulled him in, spellbinding him. So incredibly different from his steel glare, hers held a warm brown that emitted nothing but gentleness. They were beautiful and they were staring back at him. His own blues were glued to them and for a moment he had half a mind to claim the little sky girl as his. The dry tears on her cheeks reminded him that, even if her body was getting stronger with every passing day, her spirit was still weak. She was still mourning the loss her friend. So he lightly punched her shoulder instead and moved away from her.

"You missed your morning training. How long were you planning to sleep?"

"Ah, why didn't you wake me up?" He shrugged and picked up his hunting gear: a long spear - the one item he had left from Azgeda - and a bag with a few essential things like a water skin and some extra knives.

"You looked like you needed it. I'm heading out to get food. Are you coming or staying?"

"Definitely coming!" She jumped out of the cot, throwing the blanket to the side. After stretching her arms with a small whimper, she picked up her jacket and tucked her little black gun at her back. Finally, she strapped a small knife on her belt and joined him at the cave's entrance. They stared at each other for a few more seconds before she furrowed her brows. "What?"

"Do you even know how to use that?" She looked at the knife he was pointing at then back at him.

"Sharp point forward and staby-stab? How hard can it be?" He must have grimaced because she stuck out her tongue in a childish manner. "You could teach me if you have a problem with my methods."

"You 'methods' are gonna get you killed. Come on, it's already late." He left the cave and listened for the still clumsy steps of the young woman. She fell in line with him and was stealing glanced from the corner of her eyes, pouting her lips. Her thoughts were so loud he could almost hear them. "Just say whatever is brewing in your head and get over with it."

"Well then, will you teach me? To use a knife? It doesn't even have to be a knife. That spear of yours looks rather awesome." The scoff came as natural as breathing. Surely she didn't think she was that strong from just a few routine exercises.

"As if you could wield a spear…" He stopped to check the ground for any tracks, human or animal and was pissed when the girl kept pestering him on the matter.

"We can stick to the knife then."

"No."

"Why not? What use has to me all the running around and lifting things if, in the end, I still can't defend myself?"

"Because you're not ready." He stopped tracking and got up, turning to face her. "And because I said so." In truth, Roan had been planning on teaching her the basics of some weapons. He had decided some time ago that a bow and arrow would serve her best for the time being. But he was enjoying teasing the girl from time to time. More often than he cared to admit to himself.

"Oh, come on. Pretty please?" She jumped in front of him, hands clasped together in a praying gesture. She was lightly bouncing on her toes as she looked directly into his eyes. He was almost fooled on agreeing, but she was not going to win this 'argument' that easily.

"Tell you what. You catch me an animal, any animal, and I'll teach you to use a weapon of my choosing." Her eyes sharpened as if sensing he was trying to deceive her.

"A weapon of your choosing? Is it going to be a stick or something of the sorts?"

"You'd be surprised of the damage I could do with a simple staff."

Vivian had to use all her self-restraint not to roll her eyes. Show off! Of course he could do a lot of damage with a staff; he could probably kill people with his bare hands. That could not be said about herself, though. She could barely kill stuff with her gun, gun that only had two bullets left. She needed a weapon, a grounder weapon, that she could use.

"I think I need something sharper, don't you?"

"I don't know... You might end up harming yourself more than the enemy." She wanted to punch that smirk right off his hunky face. He was clearly having a blast making fun of her. But Vivian was not about to back down. If there was anything she learned about Roan, it was that she had to be persistent with him.

"How about something I could use from afar? Like a bow?" He seemed to ponder on it for a while and when she was sure he was going to turn down her proposal, he agreed.

"Fine."

"Really?" She jumped in joy and wrapped her arms around his neck, lifting herself on her toes. It had come so natural that it didn't register until his arms were on her waist, pushing her away.

"Don't celebrate just yet." He peeled her off himself, a stern expression on his face. "I said I'll teach you if you catch a wild animal first. I don't see you having any venison."

"Oh, yeah, right… Almost forgot about that." Where was she going to find a small, non-lethal animal to capture? She felt his eyes trailing her as she examined their surroundings for animal trails, just like he had shown her a few times before.

Vivian stepped carefully on the ground, keeping an eye out for tracks, broken branches and disheveled foliage. There were a few signs that something had passed through a bush on their left, but whatever it was, it seemed big so she ignored it. If it passed her knees, she didn't want to battle it with a small knife she didn't really know how to handle.

Roan's lips kept twitching upward as he looked at the sky girl struggling to track like a real hunter. She would crouch down and brush off the fallen leaves and try and determine the direction a branch was broken in. He sighed as she passed a few obvious signs; they were not eating anytime soon. Maybe it hadn't been such a bright idea to make her hunt their lunch, though he was amused at how she ended up thinking she had managed to convince him to show her the ways of the bow and arrow.

He must have taken his eyes off of her for a second, distracted by rustling leaves behind them. It turned out to be a bird, flying away past their heads. When he turned his gaze back at the sky girl she had distanced herself from him, knife in hand. He took a step forward and noticed Vivian was stalking quietly a boar piglet. The warning died in his throat as the mother boar came charging at the girl. He would've laughed at the pathetic attempt to stab the boar if the high pitch scream hadn't chilled his blood. In five long strides he was between the girl and the wild animal.

To call it 'a battle' would be making fun of it. The boar charged angrily to defend its piglets and all Roan had to do was slide to the side a little and jam his spear in the animal's neck, pushing it backwards. The gurgling noise died soon after and the boar stopped moving altogether. He turned to the woman sitting on the ground. She was holding her right side, her face scrunched up in pain. He knelt beside her and pushed her hands away a bit forceful and lifted her shirt.

"I'm alright. It's just a scratch."

"It's a pretty deep scratch!" She turned her face away from him, flustered by his words. He examined the wound and was glad the boar's tusks hadn't dug any deeper. Still, she needed stitching. Searching through his bag, he pulled out a cloth and wrapped it tightly around the young woman's waist.

"Keep pressure on it. I'll deal with it when we get back." Extending his hands to help her on her feet, he pondered what to do with the piglets that were squealing at their mother from a short distance. He took three knives from his pack, each finding its target with deadly precision. They had enough food, but without the mother to protect them, the piglets were bound to be eaten sooner or later. He could take them to a trading post and exchange them for something else; Vivian needed some clothes that didn't scream Skaikru from a mile. Tying the smaller boars together, Roan hauled them over one shoulder and proceeded to do the same with the bigger animal. He tossed the light bag to the girl; she could at least carry that.

Vivian caught the bag, slightly startled, and placed it on her shoulders, then continued to keep her hands pressed to her wound. It hurt like hell. She remembered with terror the last time Roan closed a wound on her shoulder and was sure it was going to happen again. She would have voiced her concern if he didn't look so god damn pissed and ready to strangle someone. So she followed him quietly, only gasping a few times from the pain that jolted trough her abdomen.

"Sit!" It was the first thing Roan said when they entered the cave. She almost wanted to deny him the satisfaction of obeying such a direct and curt order. But blood was starting to spread over the bandage and her shirt; she needed his help, again. Was she ever going to be capable to survive on her own? At least a week alone? A day? She'd settle for not being killed by animals and plants on the least.

She watched him start the fire and place a blade to heat. Her stomach did a back flip. She almost wished she'd pass out from blood loss before he had to cauterize the wound, but she didn't think she'd actually lost that much blood. Her eyes followed the grounder instead, trying all the while to calm her nerves and prepare for what was to happen. Roan hung the piglets on a wall by the thread that bound them and proceeded to prepare the bigger one for dinner. Hacking the hind legs, he placed them above the fire then lifted his eyes to hers. She gulped involuntarily and had to avert her eyes. He was angry! But she didn't know what to say or do. His anger was clearly directed at her and to some degree she understood why – he had to step in and save her again. She could have been more cautious, could have asked before heading on her own, could have done a thousand different things if she just stopped to think for a second.

He got closer to her and lifted her shirt, pressing it against her, silently telling her to hold it there. She bent to take a look at the damage when his skillful hands took the makeshift bandage off, but his glare made her straighten her back again. He gripped her around the waist and she stiffed, closing her eyes, mentally preparing herself for the pain. She was about to remind him he hadn't given her anything to bite on when the hot iron was pressed against her skin. Her hand reached for her mouth to snuffle the scream out, but she ended up biting on her fingers instead. Tears welled in her eyes, a few finding their way down her face.

"Let it breath for a minute." He turned from her and went back to managing the cooking boar. It took her a few minutes to get used to the burning sensation and steady her voice.

"Thank you…"

"It could have killed you! Why? Why are you so… "

"Stupid?"

"Ignorant! What did you suppose the piglet was doing on its own? Didn't it cross your mind that the mother might and should be near?"

"Not really… I mean yeah, but I thought it was small and I could have a chance of catching it and then you were going to teach me…" Her words died in her throat, all her energy directed to keeping more tears from bursting from her eyes. She felt so pitiful in that moment that it embarrassed her to no end, even if he saw her in worst shapes. She wanted to hide under a rock and live the rest of her miserable life there, away from his judging glare.

"You could have told me what you were doing."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I only wanted-"

"Yes, you wanted to learn how to use a weapon. Much good it did you." She bit her lip to stop it from trembling. He wasn't going to teach her after all. She averted her gaze from him when he came back to apply a weird smelling salve and wrap a clean bandage around her. Vivian felt tired, her limbs weak. When he was done, he cut a piece of the cooked meat and shoved it to her with another barked order to 'eat it'. She didn't realize how hungry she was until the first bite. Meat tasted good, she hadn't had any of it back on the Ark. She eyed Roan who was sitting in his usual spot, across the fire from her. The fury behind his blue eyes seemed to have died down, but his brows were still furrowed.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry! Be careful so you won't need to apologies. 'Sorry' does nothing to prevent things, it doesn't keep you alive."

Vivian's head dropped, the burning fire suddenly presenting much interest. He was right, of course. He usually was, not that his ego needed to be informed of that. She wanted to promise him she'd do better next time, she'd be more careful, more aware of herself and her surroundings. But knowing herself she'd probably walk right into the wolf's den. Instead she promised to herself that she will try to learn more from Roan, to follow his instructions at heart and to ask when unsure of things.

She lifted her eyes not moving her head as if to spy on him from between her lashes. He had discarded the bone he was eating from besides the fire and was staring blankly at a spot near it, or perhaps at the bone itself. He was lost in his thoughts again and Vivian was incredibly curious to know what was going in that head of his. She wished he'd talk more to her, tell her more about himself, just randomly have conversations. They talked, sure, but most it was either to tell her to do stuff or to complain about the way she had done it. It had been her fault too, for being shut inside herself for a while after Chloe. But she wanted to get to know Roan better and she had hoped it would happen naturally. A joke here, a comment there. But it had been over a month since they were sharing the small cave and he would still not open up to her. It was a step up from their initial encounters, but it was still far from what she was expecting. From blood loss or exhaustion or pure mistake, her next thought came out out loud.

"You're gonna trust me one day…" She clasped her hand over her mouth, panic rising. It came out a little louder than a whisper, but in the silence it clattered like metal against metal. She hoped he was going to let her words slide, but his eyes lifted from the fire and landed on her.

"You think I don't trust you?" His voice was in its usual gruff and steady tone but his eyebrows were lifted in something she pegged as disbelief. Vivian noticed long ago the thin scars that framed his face, but never had they stood out so boldly. She weighed her words carefully.

"Do you?"

"I sleep completely defenseless next to you." She scoffed and rolled her eyes, not sure if he was making fun or truly believed that counted as trust.

"That only proves you don't think me capable of killing you in cold blood, in your sleep. Or at any other point, really. But you… don't tell me anything. I know nothing about you, save for your name and that you were banished…"

"What else do you need to know?"

"I don't need to know anything. It's just that… you seem to have a lot on your mind sometimes, like mere minutes ago. You stare into nothing and space out and I'd kill to know what you're thinking in those moments."

"You'd kill, eh?" He practically dismissed the possibility of that happening with a simple smirk, but Vivian was not ready to give up on her pursuit. She wanted to know more, get to understand why he did some things and maybe get a glimpse of hew he viewed the world. What made him sad, what brought a smile of his face and what motivated him to go on and live - she craved to know all that.

"Don't turn this into a laughing matter. I'm serious. I want to help. As meager I my offer might appear to you… "

"You can't help. Not with this."

"Is it about your banishment?"

"Yes."

"How… "

"Our Queen saw exile as a fitting punishment."

"What for?"

"I plotted with the Commander." Vivian waited a couple of seconds, eyes fixed on his face, then decided to push her luck. He was talking; best take advantage of it while it lasted.

"This is all very vague, you do realize that, right?" With a sigh he pushed his fingers through his tangled hair and continued his story.

"Azgeda -The Ice Nation- wasn't truly submitted to the Commander. There was war between our people before the Coalition. Our Queen bowed to Lexa, but never thought the alliance was truly beneficial to us. I thought otherwise. Being one of the clans brings multiple advantages: trading options, protection. When the Queen found out about our ploy, she agreed to join the Commander fully on one condition: I was to be banished. So the Commander agreed."

That must have been the longest he spoke without interruption. Vivian was amazed at both the small victory and at his words. She took all of it in, and, though she felt like there was more to it, thought better of calling him out.

"You got what you wanted in the end, though. The Ice Nation is now one of the Commander's clans, right? It could've been worse. Your Queen could have killed you and declined joining the Coalition too."

"She did a lot worse. She killed all the people I had dragged into this mess. Not to mention she doesn't intend to be under the Commander's rule for long. I know my queen, she'll never respect the Coalition. She has ambitions, plans. Perhaps I walked right into one of her schemes."

There was frustration in his voice, his hands balling into fists. Vivian wanted to help, wanted to make things better, because, if things were as he described them, he did not deserve the punishment he was given. The Commander all but betrayed him in favor of an alliance with his people. But what could a sky girl like herself do in the matter at hand? Exactly nothing! And now he was upset and it was all because she made him talk about it. She moved to sit beside him, but refrained from the initial thought of placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have insisted…"

"No, it actually helped a little, talking about it to someone." Tough she guessed he only said that to her benefit, she still gleamed with joy on the inside.

"I may not be of much help, but I'm always here if you want to talk about something. I'm especially looking forward to bad-mouthing that evil queen of yours when you're ever in a particularly bad mood." She leaned closer to him, bumping her shoulder to his upper arm, than straightening back up, small smile on her lips. The gesture granted her a scoff from the man, but the corner of his mouth twitched upward for a moment. She was going to count that as a win!

"Come on. You still have training to do." He got up and she could only stare at his retreating form.

"What? But I'm injured! You said I could've died."

"Those were not my exact words… And you aren't getting any stronger sitting on your ass all day." He was out of the cave before she could complain anymore. She grunted an insult, but she couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. Roan shared his story with her, even if perhaps just a fraction of it. It was a good day, all things considered. She only wished that the next time he opened up she wouldn't have to get injured.

Thoughts? This chapter ended up just a tad longer...

1. Thanks for all your reviews. They make my day. Also, no worries, I plan on sticking to this story till the very end.

2. To Megohime of Mutsu :I think he's a little ooc, too. And I kinda get what you mean by 'to much in his head'. I was initially going for a grumpier version of him, still sour 'cause of his banishment. But I'll work on that. :D

I do plan on integrating Vivian in the story line[ and in the Ice Nation :))) he he I'll fave fun with that ], though it will take a few more champers before they go after Clarke [ I'm still debating if he takes Vi with him... but I'll see when I get there. At any rate, she's gonna be at the fight between Roan and Lexa and from there on in the plot.]

3. Regarding the time... I think it flows a bit different from the TV show... I mean... I think be now Clarke should have been on the run... That's gonna happen in a few more chapters I guess...

4. I don't he's dead... but if he is in the show... he isn't gonna be in my story... Just so you know. I ain't killing him!

5. Can I take a moment to mourn Lincoln's death? What was up with that? So sad... Someone better end Pike soon -