Murphy is uneasy of his place so he crowds into Bellamy's side. He had submitted as everyone else did to Clarke but he still averts from her path when she nears. He had followed Bellamy before but he's being pulled by her now. He has no intention of giving up Bellamy's part in the destruction of the bracelets, not after how the fellow Arker had stood before Wells for him. His loyalty is torn between Clarke and Bellamy but after sensing his reluctance Clarke doesn't push.

She doesn't have time to cater to his wounded pride and as long as Bellamy has control of him, she's fine with Murphy's blurred allegiance.

Clarke focuses on the others, sorts them back from the walkway into the ship so she could check each individual and tend to their rapidly healing wounds. She instructs her pack to conduct themselves as usual, only asking for a guard routine to be scheduled and volunteers to bring up a real defence. Most turn to Bellamy for his orders on security but he struggles for his human form. Its Wells that shifts back, he's spent from the run here but eager to help. He brings the people up to date of everything that had happened. Wells delegates tasks leaders as he had seen done on the Ark and in TonDC, each group answering up to him or Bellamy though Bellamy was a silent figure for the time being. Bellamy stands with Wells though, unrelenting in his actions of protecting Murphy but also showing his peace with Wells' authority.

The people calm and take to their appointed tasks; there's a feeling of harmony in the group, liveliness and a reassuring solidarity throughout the camp. It was already late in the evening when Clarke and the others had return and most of the Arkers were tucking in for the night but they were willing to forego early rest to follow Clarke's new leadership.

Those taking nightwatch armed themselves with wooden spears while others worked to haul scrap metal and fallen timber into forming a hodgepodge circumference of a wall. It doesn't fully shield the camp but it'll do as a start.

Clarke takes a pause by Anya but feels the entire pack attuning to her actions. She wants to be selfish and take a moment but her people need her. The Ark needs her. Everything rests on her and needs her action but all she needs is Lexa and Anya. She's so frustrated and spent a whine escapes her, soft but clearly showing how upset she was.

"A leader must always tend to their duties." Anya voices, understanding to a fault.

The camp is watching, curious of what might happen between their leader and the Grounder they found within the Lerna caves.

Clarke sighs and the spell is broken. The camp moves when she calls for Monty and with one last regretful look towards Anya, she seclude to the upper deck of the ship with Monty; discussing well into the night on potential methods to communicate with the Ark.

…...

When Clarke finally exits the ship she's glad for the fresh air and barely present dawn. There's guards posted at the perimeter of their land. Others work near the fire to sharpen metal into tools. Murphy has people grinding the broken pieces of their ship into fine edges, his eyes are nervous to find Clarke's approval. Nathan and Jones help to wrap the blunted ends in the coverings of ripped seats.

There's cohesion in the group like never before.

Clarke looks around but doesn't see Anya present. She's disappointed as she approaches the bonfire. She finds Roma leaning against a felled log, tending to the flames. Monroe is near her whittling the tip of a wooden pole into a sharp point.

She's quick to smile and welcome Clarke. "Thought you and Monty were gonna just keep talking till night came back around."

"Monty was nodding off and taking real long blinks," Clarke jokingly mimes Monty's valiant efforts at staying awake, "and then pretty much passed out before I could finish asking if he needed to sleep."

Monroe laughs and Roma grins, enjoying her partner's pleasure and Clarke's presence. "Perhaps you should join him for a rest."

"I've been out for so long that I'm too tired to sleep." Clarke rubs at the material bound over her healing arm. "You ever get like that?"

Monroe frowns, dutifully running through her memory for such a time.

"It feels like we've been sleeping the whole time on the Ark," Roma places her hand on Monroe's bouncing knee, "does that make sense?"

"Yeah, it's like a whole other part of us was just put down in the Ark and now it's getting to live." Monroe nods, making an effort to stop jittering.

It all seems crazy that they had to crash land and almost die to have a real start at life. To becoming who they really are. Clarke is frazzled, but her mind is still buzzing around their situation. Her attention is called back to the moment when Roma nuzzles into Monroe's neck and causes the shorter girl to blush redder than the flames when her eyes connect with Clarke's.

Clarke is happy that those two had found each other but yearning spikes overbearingly strong in her heart. She's missing Lexa something awful and is unreasonably irked that she couldn't find Anya.

"You're pouting." Wells has sidled next to her at some point and apparently set on giving her grief.

"Am not." Clarke tries to be dignified, sitting up straight from her slouch.

"You should go to sleep."

"Can't."

"I recall someone who once stayed up all night to win a bet and ended up hanging onto the wall for dear life."

"Oh don't bring that up again." Clarke drops her face into her hands.

"Then she woke us all up with her tears since she ran out of energy to function."

"Oh my god." Clarke slams the elbow of her good arm into Well's ribs, all too aware of their audience. "I was like four and I won that bet."

Roma is too polite to tease like Octavia would've and Monroe is trying her hardest not to laugh at the image.

His jubilant expression turns muted by a sight over Clarke's shoulder. "Anya's been scouting the outskirts of camp all night; I think she's worried about you."

Clarke turns her head so quickly she's almost certain she gave herself whiplash. Anya is a shade among the tree trunks but she's made her presence known. She's clad in something more than the cloak from earlier but her armor is still considerably lighter.

Clarke nearly jumps up from her spot but the sudden movement and lack of sleep has her dizzy. Her muscles are cramped and achy from the ride. She feels unwieldy even as Wells steadies a hand onto her back and after judging Clarke's behaviour one more time, nudges her towards Anya with a grin. "Go get your girl."

Clarke glares at Wells and then looks to the others around the bonfire only to find Roma and Monroe moving the pile of sharpened poles to those prepping their walls. "They don't know."

Wells gives her a rather dubious look; he's clearly not buying it. "Clarke they'll know soon and they'll support you on this too."

"It's not that easy." There's the Chase and the whole ordeal with the council and there's never time for anything else and-

"Okay." Wells quirks his lip in a grin, acceptance and support in bounds.

She's so grateful she hugs him and he gladly returns the affection.

"Now go, she's looking so pissed she'll get the others freaking out."

Clarke turns to see that Anya was glowering no more than usual and still restraining herself to the boarder of the forest. Clarke gives Wells' arm a squeeze and heads determinedly towards the Beta.

Anya stays still at her spot and lets Clarke come to her. She has her hands behind her back and she's about as straight as the trunk she's standing next to. While she's physically retrained the warmth is clear in her voice. "Clarke."

"I'm sorry," it just gushes out of Clarke, "it took all night to go over everything with Monty and then to start gathering the materials he'll need, I shouldn't have just left you hanging but it couldn't wait, the moment he wakes up he's going to be working on a communication device," she takes a breath but with Anya's silence she just keeps going, "was everyone respectful towards you? Did they do something to cause you to leave camp?"

"I left camp to patrol." Anya was quick to settle Clarke's worry.

"Everything is good?"

Anya nods.

There's a respectable distance between them and the silence is rather tense.

Anya takes in how jittery and nervous Clarke seemed to be and makes up her mind to share more. She's not like Lexa and well no one is quite like her Alpha, she doesn't know if she can ever be that diplomatic or casually conversational but she tries. "I didn't want my presence to make your people uneasy or intrude with what you wanted to accomplish."

"Well it's done, it's good." Clarke explains, feeling self-conscious, she knows she doesn't need to tell Anya anything since the Beta had witness her taking charge of her pack. "You don't have to leave camp for me."

Anya tilts her head, gazes towards where Clarke had come from. Clarke turns and sees Wells still watchful and a bit too hopeful, he gives her two thumbs up and she's quick to move and block Anya's view of his gesturing's.

Anya frowns, Clarke was hiding their interactions. Did Clarke want the Arkers to stay oblivious of their intent for the Chase?

"You are still considering Bellamy?" Anya's tone comes off as neutral but slow.

"I never considered Bellamy in the first place." Clarke denies and reaches out for Anya, her fingertips just barely against the other woman's hip.

Anya looks at where Clarke has touched. "I'm not rushing a decision."

"I know, I know you wouldn't rush me." Clarke rubs her thumb just over the rise of Anya's bone. "It's just… it's a lot of responsibility to acknowledge yours and Lexa's Chase…" Clarke tries to catch Anya's gaze and gauge her reaction. "I can't right now, not with everything that is happening on the Ark and with us needing to produce something useful against the Mountain Men, I'm not in this just for the convenience, I don't just see it as some trade."

Anya puts her hand over Clarke's. Wishes she could explain Lexa and hers intent. Could properly tell Clarke how sacred a Chase is and how much it means to their society. She would've thought the words should come easy to her since it's something every pup knows but she's a warrior through and through, not a story weaver.

If Lexa could've escorted Clarke then Anya wouldn't be stuck mute before an expectant listener.

"Lexa will explain when we meet with her next." Anya can see Clarke's controlled disappointment.

Clarke can feel how stiff Anya is under her hand. It takes a moment of being worried that she's crowding Anya before insight hits her.

Anya is unsure how to get Clarke to understand.

It's suddenly reassuring to see Anya struggle through making this thing between them work. That it's not only Clarke in the deep end with no idea where she's at or what she should do. The Alpha and Beta might be in the know but they'll still have to communicate it to her, bring her into their fold. They seem to want that.

"May I ask questions about the Chase?"

Anya snaps her head up, startled and pleased with such a solution.

Clarke takes Anya's anticipatory silence as a welcome to her query. She decides to start with vague, easy questions. "How long has the Chase been occurring?"

Anya tilts her head, confused; there's never been a time when the Chase was not important. "Since the start."

"Are there a lot of rules?"

"They vary among Clans but it is sacred for the Southern tribes." Anya looks at Clarke for another question but it seems she'll have to expand. "The contamination made things far more brutal but productive survival became more important than just capture for all this past century."

"All?"

"The Northern tribes are stubborn in approach towards fertile females but Lexa brings that to finality with her reign."

There's a whole history here for Clarke to know but she'll have to take it upon herself to learn it another time. There's something pressing she worries about, the safety of her people, acceptance and their livelihood. She's in charge of them without dispute now, their lives are hers to protect. "If, I'm only saying if, for some reason I refuse yours and Lexa's Chase, what does this mean for my pack?"

"Your pack will be expected to produce information against the Mountain Men." Anya is unsure what more Clarke could be asking after, there are no repercussions for refusing their request for her hand.

"So no more or less is expected out of my pack than any other group, there's no punishment or blood price as the death of the Lendra had placed on us?"

"Of course not!" Anya growls, disturbed to have Clarke have such a belief.

Anya's sudden agitation has Clarke snapping her hand back, holding it against her jumpstarted heart. Clarke isn't afraid; she knows neither Anya nor Lexa would be the one to physically harm her but… Anya is furious.

"I didn't mean to be rude-"

Anya holds up a hand, pausing Clarke in her apology, already she's stepping back. Could this have been what Clarke had thought the whole time? Anya feels no better than Ontari. She doesn't know how to handle the mayhem of emotions that threaten her composure.