An Injured Lion Still Wants to Roar Chapter 4
Pairing: Clexa
Rating: Children be wary (K+)
Notes: I was surprisingly productive yesterday, so y'all get another chapter before my writing speed undoubtedly goes down. I think people will really like this chapter :3
Clarke slumped guiltily, lowering her head, as she watched Lexa press herself against the nests edge, a low whine escaping from her feline throat. She should have known better than to be in her lion form when Lexa woke next. The sight, for one who was unused to it, was quite shocking, as the brunette had demonstrated. The blonde stood, worried, as the older girl coughed and swayed, transforming to her human form in hopes of defusing the situation.
It had been a few days since she'd brought the injured warrior to her cave, the other girl shifting in and out of lucidity since the first time she'd awoken. She'd slept for the majority of the time, but had been conscious enough for Clarke to feed her and help her out into the woods to obey the calls of nature on multiple occasions. The blonde had even managed to give her a bastardized version of a bath in the pool of water at the back of the cave, ridding her of the mud matting her hair and cleaning her injuries more thoroughly than with a simple cloth.
The fever that had been running rampant through the brunette had only broken the night before, so Clarke supposed she shouldn't be that surprised that Lexa didn't remember the majority of the last few days. Her face creased into a frown of concern as the older girl swayed once again, rushing forward to catch her as her knees gave out. The blonde lowered her charge slowly to the furs, cupping her face in an attempt to get her attention. The scent of fear rolled off of her in waves, choking the air around her.
"Lexa, breath. Come on."
Her words only seemed to make it worse. The brunettes breaths came in short, sharp gasps, ones that were surely painful and seizing. Lexa clamped her eyes shut, clutching at the furs with pale hands as she trembled. Clarke grabbed her clothes from where she'd thrown them over the edge of the nest, slipping them on as she moved to support the older girl's head and lower her to lay down. The sight of Lexa panicked and afraid was painful. It made her heart seize in a vice grip, the ache becoming more intense as she acknowledged that she was the cause of such fear.
As time passed, the brunettes breathing became more regular, less stuttery as she calmed. Clarke placed a tentative hand on her chest, feeling the slight jump of each harsh breath, and the slowing beat of her heart. Her other hand gently combed its fingers through tangled locks, scratching lightly in an attempt to soothe and distract from the pain. Eventually, Lexa blinked up at her tiredly, eyes dim with exhaustion.
"Lex?"
She asked hesitantly. The brunette's scent of fear had dulled, being replaced by the sharp tang of distress and sorrow. She wanted to ask so many questions. Was she alright? Could she do anything? Was she in pain? Did she want to talk about what happened, or leave it for another time? She wanted answers, but also didn't want to overwhelm the tired girl. A groan was the only response at first, silence stretching between them for several minutes before Lexa moved to scrub at her face, wiping away the tears that had streamed down her cheeks. The brunette dropped her hand to cover Clarke's before speaking.
"I am so sorry, Clarke. I didn't mean to turn you into this."
The blonde's frown deepened at her words. She wasn't entirely sure what she was referring to, but whether it was her ability to turn into a lion, or her displays of, seemingly, newfound brutality, it was explained by the same thing. Slowly, she moved her hand to cradle the older girl's jaw, thumb whispering over the smooth skin of her cheekbone.
"I was born this way, Lexa. I have always been a beast, I've just restrained it until now. A wolf in sheep's clothing, if you will."
She could feel Lexa shiver under her touch, jaw trembling as she searched for the words to respond.
"I don't-"
"Daaaamn Griffin, you've made a love cave. Nice!"
An angry snarl ripped from her throat at the interruption. She could feel her eyes flash as her lion roared angrily within her. It was displeased by both the disturbance and the invasion of it's territory. Placing Lexa's head back amongst the furs, she stood, shoulders hunched as she stalked threateningly towards the new arrivals, placing her body deliberately between them and her human.
Raven stood smirking at the entrance to the tunnel, eyes scanning the space gleefully. Octavia stood beside her, slipping on a shirt and pulling her arms through the sleeves. The younger brunette must have transformed, being another one of the few Shifters on the Ark, and acted as the mechanics form of transportation, seeing as the older girl could no longer do so herself after her leg injury. Clarke snarled as they stepped further into her space, making them pause. The growl held a warning, conveying her vexation at their presence, as well as threatened harm should they continue on their current path. Octavia held up her hands in a sign of surrender, but Raven simply smirked, cocking a hip as she crossed her arms.
"Abby sent us. You know, generally when a giant lion kidnaps the leader of the grounders word travels kinda quickly. You should know better than to draw attention to yourself like that."
The blonde growled again, even louder than the first. She'd known that running onto an active battlefield and taking Lexa would draw attention, but she, and her lion, hadn't cared. So long as Lexa was safe, she didn't care, consequences be damned. At her growl, Raven frowned, stepping back and breathing deeply to scent the air. Octavia did the same, watching the blonde suspiciously out of the corner of her eye as she inhaled. The two girls shared a look before backing slowly towards the entrance.
"Okay, Princess, I don't know exactly what you're thinking, but okay. I'll tell Abby what you're doing, but have you told her-"
The mechanic motioned to Lexa, who had somehow managed to stand behind her.
"What you're doing?"
The growl, that had come out as an almost constant since the duo had arrived, stuttered in her throat. The slight interruption told the mechanic all she needed to know, drawing a disapproving frown onto her face.
"Tell her soon, Clarke, or this could get messy. Remember the 45' Law? There are rules for a reason. You can't just claim someone without saying anything."
The blonde swallowed as they left hurriedly, muscles tense and eyes wide. Confusion rolled off Lexa in waves, growing stronger as she stepped closer, placing a tentative hand on the younger girl's shoulder. The contact quieted her lion slightly, allowing her human mind to absorb Ravens words.
45' referred to an event on the Ark during the year 2145 that had had the potential to be catastrophic had it not been stopped in time. While the Shifter population was small, maybe one for every fifty people, their presence had a great effect on the running and laws of the Ark. Their existence had influenced the decision of creating the 'One Child' rule, as well as the changing of the ration size regulations, and the event of 45' had been the final straw for creating the 'Shifting Ban' or the more official name The 45' Law.
Shifters were inherently territorial, it didn't matter if the animal one shifted into was naturally territorial or not. Each Shifter was taught to control their instincts, as a battle between two giant beasts would spell disaster for both the Ark and anyone present, however, that didn't always stop slip ups. She'd been fifteen at the time, only just coming into her own ability to shift, when it happened. From what she understood of the public report, a Shifter had been dating a non-Shifter. It wasn't an unusual occurrence, considering the imbalance of population, but the difference in nature's almost always created some form of confusion.
Such as when courting, Shifters would scent mark the one they were seeing. The marking itself was harmless, simply a scent that clung to the marked person to ward away anyone else that might show interest. Of course, normal humans couldn't smell or detect such a thing, which had led to the disaster that had been dubbed simply as 45'.
A regular human had attempted to flirt with the marked individual, who had reciprocated playfully unknowing of the scent mark and it's meaning, leading to a fight with the Shifter which had escalated far beyond what normal human guards could handle. The Shifter had transformed, becoming some form of canine, leading to the deaths of at least one Shifter and three civilians. The event had led to the 'Shifting Ban'.
It hadn't really been a ban per se, considering that the council had ordered all Shifters to be outfitted with chips that prevented shifting alongside the standard birth control. She herself had ripped the chip out once she'd left Camp Jaha, fully intent on shifting to escape her pain and suffering.
Swallowing thickly, she turned to look at the brunette that continued to gaze at her in confusion. Taking in a deep breath, she scented the air, taking in the earthy aroma of Lexa and her own scent that clung to her. The smell of the mark made her lion purr. She'd been scent marking the older girl since she'd taken her from the battlefield. At first not consciously, she'd assumed it was the close proximity, but as time went on she'd found herself simply holding the brunette or curling around her to sleep, purring as her own scent enveloped the other girl. Apparently, she'd done it more than she'd thought, as Raven and Octavia had been able to smell it from as far away as the cave entrance. Sighing, she stepped closer to Lexa, wrapping her arms around her waist until she had her firmly in a hug.
"We need to talk."
She said this quietly as she burrowed her face into the brunette's neck. Lexa stiffened in her grasp, the smell of confusion and surprise, along with a slight hint of joy, swirling around her. Without speaking, she led them over to the nests edge and slid down to lean against the wall of furs. The older girl sat beside her, pulling a fur over to wrap around her still mostly bare frame.
"You understand I'm not human, yes?"
She didn't look at Lexa, staring straight ahead at the far side of the nest, but felt the gentle nod. She chewed her lip, afraid to continue. On the Ark, Shifters were well known and understood, but on the ground, that wasn't the case. She wasn't sure how the very human girl beside her would react at the explanation of her instincts. She was afraid of how she would react to hearing the blonde's desire to mark her, claim her, protect her, and be solely hers. Her desire to tear apart anyone who threatened her, to unabashedly, aggressively and publicly stake her claim on the brunette. She was afraid she would recoil, be disgusted by her instincts and nature.
"My kind is different from humans…"
She began slowly, choosing and weighing each word carefully.
"We are extremely territorial. Our beasts, when they consider something theirs, are willing to fight to the death to protect it, and when they consider something theirs they mark it… I mark it."
She turned her head to look at Lexa out of the corner of her eye. The brunette listening attentively, her brow ever so slightly furrowed. The scent of confusion had turned into barely suppressed excitement. The smell was electrifying, sending shivers of anticipation down the blonde's spine. She didn't allow herself to think about what the change could mean.
"We mark in couple of ways, through scent… physically."
She couldn't stop her eyes from travelling to Lexa's bare neck, watching as her throat bobbed gently. The next few words stuck in her throat, mouth suddenly dry.
"I would like to apologize, because I have scent marked you without consent…"
The rest of her sentence faded before she finished, hoping Lexa would understand. While she did still hold some anger for Lexa's abandonment at the Mountain, she understood her decision. It was one she would have made herself if she was in the same situation. Her understanding didn't stop the spark of anger, but it did allow her to give forgiveness, although the insistent pining roars of her lion did help with that as well.
"But… you said not yet, and after the Mountain…"
The brunette sounded almost hopeful, her eyes wide as her gaze searched Clarke's. The blonde had to restrain herself from leaning over to touch the older girl, the mere inches of separation making her skin crawl.
When she had said 'not yet' she had been working through hundreds of things. The loss of Finn, the war, the fact that she was actually on the ground. Her lion hadn't helped in the matter, rumbling and roaring in the back of her mind, telling her to take what was obviously offered and what she desired. She'd ignored it's cries, controlling her instincts with an iron grip. Now, after living as a beast and realizing how fleeting life could be, she had every intention of seizing her opportunity for happiness with both hands.
"What you had to do at the Mountain was necessary. You saved hundreds versus the hundreds we would have lost had you not taken the deal."
Tentatively, she reached a hand up to cup the brunettes jaw, drawing her closer so she could rest her forehead on hers. She swallowed thickly with nervousness, her eyes downcast.
"And 'not yet' didn't mean never."
Lexa's breath seemed to catch at her admission. Her scent changing to become an indecipherable mixture of emotion. A few moments pass, the blonde feeling more anxious by the second, but it all quickly drained away when she felt the soft pressure of lips on her own. Her lungs seized for a moment, a small sharp inhale before she breathed out in one long exhale through her nose.
Their lips molded together perfectly; even more perfectly than the first kiss they'd shared before the Mountain. It was a warm, intimate sensation that had them both shifting to be closer. In mere moments, the temperature of the air rose noticeably, their movements unhurried but intense as they pressed further together. A slow, languid swipe of her tongue on Lexa's lower lip had the brunette whimpering.
Gently, Clarke pushed against the other girl's shoulders, rolling her onto her back so the blonde could hover above, their lips still locked. Lexa gripped at her sides, hands wound tightly in the fabric of her shirt, pulling her closer so their bodies were flush against each other. Eventually, they separated, gasping for breath. They remained close, Clarke dragging her lips across the heated skin of Lexa's jaw until her lips rested above a hammering pulse point. A teasing scrape of her teeth over skin had the brunette shivering, arching up as a breathy moan escaped trembling lips. A pained gasp had the blonde drawing away quickly, looking down at the girl beneath her with concern.
"Are you okay?"
Her voice was husky and breathless but filled with worry. Lexa was tense beneath her, breathing heavily, eyes screwed tight. After a moment, she relaxed but her jaw remained tense, like she was warding off the last waves of pain. The blonde rolled onto her side, leaving about an inch of space between them. Her fingers gently brushed against the flexing muscles of the brunettes face, stroking rhythmically until the tension slowly drained away.
"I'm alright. Just sore."
Hearing Lexa's voice had Clarke slumping in relief. She'd been afraid that she'd somehow hurt the other girl, who's injuries she'd irresponsibly forgotten about in their passion. The sight of Lexa's face twisted in pain made her heart twist painfully and sent her lion into a protective fit. Sighing tiredly, she nosed at the older girl's jaw, eyes closed, as she edged closer, an arm wrapping tentatively around a bruised waist.
"Would you be… willing to continue… this, once you've healed enough?"
She could feel Lexa smiling as her lips grazed against the corner of her mouth.
"Of course, Clarke. I would like nothing more."
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