Anya looks to Lexa and the pair silently communicates long enough to stress Clarke the fuck out.

"That's why you pushed the meeting till after I woke right?" Clarke watches both of their expression, getting more anxious at the thought of her entire pack getting annihilated. "I don't know how many paired up during our run and how many have already lost their mate at this point and even if I was to be punished the group can still be led by Bellamy and Wells. I can only hope to god that Wells will keep Bellamy sane but if nothing else he'll make our group strong enough to last." Till the people on the Ark arrive.

"Clarke, breathe." Lexa holds a hand up, hovering just over Clarke's stilled chest. "There'll be no punishment."

Clarke sobs, clamping her hand over her mouth to stifle her release of worries. It has just been one thing after another and while she had rested she certainly hasn't found much peace.

"Clarke, it wasn't our intention to cause such panic." Lexa speaks while Anya settles next to Clarke and hands her a cup filled with aromatic mint leaves. "We just wanted to prepare the Skaikru and give help to the wounded before the meeting began, if the council began immediately then we would've been banned from offering any aid till after a verdict had been agreed upon."

Clarke tentatively takes the cup from Anya, focus shifting from one Grounder to the other. The Alpha stays at arm length, words formal and careful while Anya is practically touching her side. She wants to lean in and something in her thinks Anya would welcome the contact, however silent and cold the woman was remaining at the moment aside.

"You may have slayed the guardian but you've also managed to destroy the Maunon's quickest access to this portion of the valley." Lexa pours hot water into Clarke's cup, placing steadying fingers beneath the ceramic when Clarke quakes at the pairs' proximity. "In a way you've taken away a huge threat and given us a safer alternative."

"You're overwhelmed," Anya notices Clarke's trembling and fetches a blanket to wrap around the Omega's shoulders, "do you need for us to leave?"

"No!" Clarke stares down at her drink, suddenly unsure of her place between the obviously mated pair. "This is your house; it smells of both of you, I'm just… not sure why I've been allowed in here."

"You're our guest and the leader of your own pack; it's easily explainable to others why we've offered one of our best lodging." Lexa tilts her head.

"Oh, right." Clarke takes a sip of her drink; the sweet taste and warm liquid making her feel slightly better. It was silly of her to think this arrangement anything more than a political one. "I could at least let you two have your bed back, I can stay wherever the Arkers are in at the moment."

"It's not an issue to have you as our guest, Clarke." After a shared look to Anya, Lexa continues. "We both want you here."

Clarke is rather doubtful Anya is anything near pleased that she has invaded their house. Other than her suddenly kind actions Clarke can only recall Anya's hand gripping around her throat and… oh… the Beta had been her cushion during the aftermath of the Lerna fight. Clarke blushes fiercely at the memory. It's all incredibly inappropriate for her to be harbouring such feelings towards not only Lexa but also Anya who can't possibly be receptive of her intrusion.

"I'm sure my pack's two leaders can handle being in a single place." Clarke is hesitant to believe her group has willingly chosen her since most of them had followed Bellamy's summon. "I'll talk everything over with Bellamy and if nothing else we can certainly compromise over our sleeping arrangements."

"Bellamy chased after you!" Anya sneers, Lexa having obviously shared what had happened with her mate.

"I didn't answer his run!" Clarke retorts back just as firmly, she can't help but shift her eyes to Lexa who is looking rather taunt. I answered yours.

Did Lexa tell her mate that she had chased after Clarke as well? Did Anya know that Clarke had answered? A scarlet letter should be etched into her skin; Clarke feels a headache pulse at her temples. "This was not how my parents had raised me; I'm not some bond invading bitch."

"Ah, we should clarify our intentions." Lexa placed a calming hand onto Anya's neck and looked ready to offer the same reassuring touch to Clarke. "Do Sky people still tell tales of the Starting Three?"

"Alpha, Beta, Omega, the starting triangle that called for the moons blessing and gave our ancestors our wolf forms?" Clarke asks, a little off balance at the sudden shift in conversation topic. "Everyone knows of the story but no one keeps to those traditions anymore." At the bewildered expression in both Grounders' face, Clarke continues. "There's the lack of room on the Ark for one thing and of course the dwindling number of Omegas."

"Had the Great War caused defects in the Skaikru as well?" Lexa has a hand coaxed into Anya's hair, it's all rather private of a moment and it has Clarke blushing fiercely again but refusing to avoid her gaze. They are choosing to act like this in front of her; she's not going to be the self-conscious one if they have no regard for company.

"There's little need for an Omega's fertility in limited space and we require more medical treatments to ensure..." Their continued sterility. Clarke thinks better than to share that piece of information. "Omegas are costly to the Ark hence why couples were always encouraged to abort their omega young."

"Abort?" Lexa furrows her brows, she seems to get the gist of where Clarke is going with this but questions all the same.

"I was lucky to be born at all."

"Barbaric!" Anya roars and shoots out of Lexa's reach, she turns her back on Clarke as she stalks to the far side of the room.

"Clinical." Clarke explains, she's been taught her whole life of her special circumstance. How much her parents gave daily just to support her life. Her emotions on the subject are too twisted up in trained gratitude towards Ark's lenience to her existence. It's a knee jerk reaction for her to defend the Ark's laws.

"You're a perfectly healthy Omega, there's no reason to have 'aborted' you!" Anya is livid and paces throughout the room, a snarling rumbles through her vocal cords. "Do not be so appreciative of their so deemed altruism towards you."

"It is done, Anya, Clarke is with us now." Lexa's expression reminds Clarke of her mother when her father was being particular eccentric, almost a 'do you see what I have to deal with'. It's an exasperated type of fondness but the Alpha also seems conflicted with the information shared. "You were the one that told me dwelling in the past foils the present, miya."

"Chief Indra's advice." Anya has a rather vicious smirk as she drops back beside Lexa. "It's good to know you pay me some mind."

"Ai hodnes." Lexa moves till her forehead presses into Anya's, she closes her eyes and waits till the Beta's rolling growl settles before pulling away. "Focus."

Clarke sighs, shifting uneasily at the scene before her. This was all very very private. Her near silent noise has Anya's sharp gaze piercing into her which makes her drop her eyes. Clarke swirls the cup in her hand, watches the leaves move instead of the more interesting pair in front of her. She drains the cup and chews nervously on the mint to give her something to do rather than stare.

"There has always been a need for all three to attain balance in a pack." Lexa starts, bringing their conversation back to the topic at hand. "Anya did not mean to lose her temper but be assured that the thought of Bellamy near you has us both…" she smiles all teeth and no play, "on edge, he shouldn't have challenged me in the glade, you had already expressed your choice to them but other than Wells neither Alpha's respected your wish."

"It was their first moon." Clarke automatically sides with the Arkers, having been instructed her whole life to be careful of her pheromones. Even with her extra suppressant costs to the family she has always been a liability to the Ark. Her mother had been kind enough to opt out of permanent sterilization. It was a common path for Omegas to bear since they were still able caretakers. There is plenty of floatation sentences on the Ark meaning there are always unattended orphans in need of adoption.

"No, Clarke, never let anyone use instinct as an excuse to you, we were permitted these wolf forms but they are a gift and not a scapegoat for the gluttonous," Lexa is firm in this fact, "know that no one in my southern valleys will ever violate your wishes on the matter of the chase, it's something punishable by purge of one's family bloodline."

Clarke doesn't know how to react to this severe information.

"We are better than our baser selves and Omegas should be cared for, never taken advantage of." Anya adds in, her fangs elongating for a moment before she settles once again under Lexa's hand. "After the Great War the Earth had been poisoned and we've lost many Omegas to defects, it wasn't until lately that there's been a rise in healthy births."

"I hope our chase will still be accepted by you." Lexa holds out her hand, palm up to Clarke. "I had followed with the intent of running for both me and my mate; I should have made our attempt at your favour more clear."

It seemed like a fairy tale though Clarke had always known better than to dream up better prospects for her Omega self. She's not so foolish to indulge herself on such a fantasy. It would be too painful of a daydream for Clarke to entertain while locked up. Caged by her own biology and the Ark's law. Probably kept from floatation because of her mother alone. There are always methods to lose a delinquent; an error in the dock coding or an air containment breech. It wouldn't be the first time Clarke has heard particularly challenging individuals too young for corporal punishment and too much a drain to wait the long years to 18 sentencing to just 'disappear'.

Though here, here she was wanted not by just one but two potential mates. They were treating her with respect she had never been taught to expect. If she had been fortunate on the Ark she may have found a mate willing to indulge in the expense of keeping her medical upkeep till after their first had been born and then she would have been permanently sterilized.

"Even in the stories, it's extremely difficult to have a compatible union of three." Clarke's shaking grip tightens around her cup. "What if I'm just the Omega you're settling on and not… I'm just…" she can't help repeating what she's been told a million times, "and I'm I'm lucky to have been born."

"If you were to let us, we would be the lucky ones to have you Klark kom Skaikru, you've led your people well and have placed them before your needs even during a time of crisis and your own injuries." Lexa's eyes are soft in the light of the flames.

Anya appears quite agitated by Clarke's once again admission to being lucky to be an Omega and live and does little to control it. "Let us answer?"

"If I don't, what will become of my people?"

"We've both agreed that an alliance is acceptable but if you were to be our mate then I would have Skaikru be taken into my Coalition and as our Omega there's little the other clans can do to contest this." Lexa takes a steadying breath before reaching for Anya's hand. "This is not a political request Clarke; surely you can tell how we feel for you."

Lexa's interest is perhaps clear but to Clarke, Anya appeared to be just obedient to her Alpha's wishes. The woman has been hostile and rough in turns. It's hard to handle knowing the fate of your entire group rests in your choices. Clarke holds her hand up against her forehead, the building headache from before mixes with her fatigue, she doesn't feel equipped to deal with any of this right now but she's also sure as hell if she passes out she'll end up in another round of nightmares.

Her decisions would be dictating the path of her entire pack, perhaps she was the leader.

"We don't mean to rush you, it would be unacceptable to have your choice be made under duress and we won't have you think of our announcement of interest as a forceful act," Lexa adds when she sees Clarke's struggle, "perhaps it's time for us to leave; the venom is still making its way through your body, it has been known to cause rather uneasy sleep and you need your rest."

Anya nods in agreement and stands when Lexa tugs at their joined hands. They make a striking pair; Clarke wonders how well she'll settle between the two of them. Clarke can detect under Lexa's bravado and impassivity that she watches Anya with a vigilant protectiveness. It's a fierce kind of emotion, something stemming from lost and heartache. Though it's harder to recognize this behaviour outside of the house, from little she has seen, they stand together but never touching, always formal. Both Anya and Lexa are remarkably detached in public but staunch in their stance beside one another. They seemed magisterial over everyone Clarke has seen them interact with. Unyielding being the word Clarke would use to characterize them.

"You said it was acceptable for us to all stay in the same hut." Without the bitter liquid from before Clarke worries of the dreams that will haunt her. The pair look hesitant which has Clarke mumbling, "I can't sleep."

She's mortified to admit it out loud. She can't indulge in her neediness for companionship when Earth has dangers she can't begin to understand. She's making a mockery out of whatever good impression she has managed to accumulate.

"There's no shame in dealing with trauma outside the battlegrounds." Lexa tone is soothing as she offers her hand and leads Clarke back to the bed. "We will stay as long as you require us."

"Lay down." Anya pushes on Clarke's chest until she's flat on her back, the woman piles on blankets until Clarke starts smirking at the suddenly attentive fussing. Anya blushes and turns away from the squirming girl in her bed.

Maybe Anya wasn't as vocal as Lexa but perhaps she was just as willing to allow Clarke into their home.

The candles and flames are snuffed one by one until only a sliver of the moon's ray pierce into the room. Clarke can just make out Lexa and Anya helping one another strip from their armor, shirts, pants and holy fuck do they sleep in the nude because Clarke may want the company but she's not sure she's ready for anything like that.

She screws her eyes shut as the bed dips on either side of her. She tries to remain calm, to center her breathing but she can't. When she hesitantly peeks she can just make out Lexa in her wolf form. Her mouth is open in almost a laugh, her tail wagging while Anya has her head down on her paws, looking quite perplex at Clarke's abrupt stiffness.

"Oh my god, you two are having me on."

Lexa barks, mouth still open in good humour until she leans experimentally close to Clarke's face. "Well at least I know you are having way too much fun on my expense."

Lexa snorts her nose in answer, and then makes herself comfortable aligned just a hair's width from Clarke's injured side. The bed is quite huge, seemed impossibly large for just one but with her two companions beside her she doesn't feel like the bedding is sinking her into waiting nightmares.

Lexa's tail is wagging under Clarke's stare, though the she-wolf's tries to keep her mouth and eyes close to feign sleep. It's ridiculously endearing for such an imposingly sized wolf.

Anya's face is sharper, having a more tapered snout than Lexa's, appearing almost fox like. Her colouring is quite a bit darker than Clarke's but splashed with blonde and brown undertones. Her face is the lightest, almost like a mask of condensed tawny fur over the smattering that covers the rest of her body; the colouring is complete with dark markings over hazel eyes. The shape reflects the paint Clarke recalls from her first meeting with Anya making her wonder if Lexa's wolf form has something similar but the room is too dark for her to ascertain that fact. She can't quite remember how Lexa looks, not the exact patterning. It was her first time encountering another wolf and it had been the scent and feel of her surroundings and Alpha that had enamoured her.

Now in the darkness of their room, Lexa was a foreboding shadow beside her; though instead of the drowning nightly visions Clarke has had to endure these last couple of days, Lexa's presence exudes security.

She lifts her hand just over Anya's head. The she-wolf looks expectantly at Clarke, her tail swaying ever so slightly but she stays still for the most part. Clarke may have withheld her touch for a bit too long though because a low whine escapes Anya which makes the wolf huff and quickly twitch to face away from Clarke.

"Hey, don't be like that." Clarke mumbles sleepily, the calmness radiating from the pair settling her down; she scratches the fine coat along Anya's snout and grins when the wolf dips to let the fingers glide up the bridge of the nose. "You're awfully sweet like this."

Anya opens her mouth, carefully closing her teeth around Clarke's fingers, nipping at them ever so gently.

"Yeah, you're a big softy." Clarke yawns, taking her hand back to cover her mouth. She feels safe, unlike the previous nights she now knows where she is and the situation of her pack. She has little trouble drifting to sleep between her two wolves.

…

Clarke wakes to birds chirping a morning song; it's unusual compared to the ever present hum of the Ark. The mechanical droning had seemed organic to her, making the soundless vacuum of space seem less infinite. Even with the sky barely lightening into daybreak she finds Lexa already gone but Anya still sleeping by her side in wolf form. She moves gingerly, the angle she had slept in had her arm settle oddly. She doesn't want to wake Anya, but she'll need to find her people and well, also a washroom.

She really needs to find a washroom. Quite urgently.

She shifts from the bed, pulling the covers off her body and blanketing them over Anya. It's a bit amusing to see the fierce warrior be tucked away, a fluffy tube of plush sheets rising and falling to steady breaths.

Clarke tries to close the door as quietly as possible and heads to the center of the village. There are already people busying about. Numerous guards patrol the outskirts of the grounds while citizens set up for the coming day. The smith's forge is being relit but the anvil is left untouched until the sun has truly risen.

She watches a girl run, sprint as fast she can out a doorway before getting called back by her mother. She wants her daughter to take a young boy along for the day and the girl makes a huge fuss against it. Clarke may not know their language but she can understand the older kid's wishes to be free. No one wanted to be in charge of the younger students in her class either. The girl's vehement fighting makes the younger boy red in the face and tears to fall from his eyes. He rubs at them but it only makes a mess. The mother sighs and the girl quickly ducks down to pick him up and swings him around until he chokes up a giggle. She pulls a silly face and it makes his giggle turn into a tittering laugh.

Oh.

It reminds her of the antics between Bellamy and Octavia last night, the teasing interactions. Right, she feels foolish for thinking the two as classmates or friends. Their facial similarities can be easily noticed when she pays attention. The Grounders are of course permitted siblings. Population control wasn't something this society has to limit. The environment alone seems to be doing a fine job at that.

"A second child isn't seen as a resource drain."

Clarke turns to find Octavia watching the same scene; her eyes hold a reminiscing shine. "I guess we are all expendable, no matter where we are but at least here we aren't found guilty and in confinement for just being born."

"Octavia…"

"It's fine." Octavia states, her tone dropping the matter. "You're up awfully early."

"I wanted to make sure you guys were alright and to see who was here and who returned to look after our camp." Clarke bites her lip and jitters from foot to foot.

"And your big ol' house doesn't have facilities?" Octavia asks her eyebrow quirking up along with the corner of her lips into a smug smirk. "You've gotta go when you gotta go and you," she points her finger like a gun at Clarke's stomach, "have gotta go."

"Okay, fine, yes I have to pee," Clarke throws up her uninjured arm, "are you happy?"

"Kinda, yeah." Octavia's gaze softens and she places a tentative hand on Clarke's shoulder. "I heard what you did for us… for me and you've become our defacto Co-Chancellor with Bellamy at this point and I wanted to see you're still human enough to get teased."

Clarke sighs, grinning tiredly back at Octavia. "I'm not sure I want to be a leader."

"Well you kinda already are," she shrugs, "them the breaks kid."

"O, I'm older than you."

"Whatever, do you want to use our shared washroom or what?" Octavia throws her thumb over her shoulder and looks towards a large housing near what seems to be the training grounds.

Clarke stalks past her and focuses mostly on preventing herself from making a mad dash through town.