A/N: That season finale definitely inspired me to write a new chapter. Spoilers ahead.
Traveling alone through a grounder infested forest probably wasn't Clarke's best idea. She had realized this only a couple hours into her walk away from Camp Jaha, away from Bellamy and Monty, Octavia and Raven, Jasper, her mother, and everyone else who had survived the final battle with Mount Weather.
And yet, grounder traps, grounders themselves, and all manner of wild animals still seemed more manageable than the memories brought on by looking at her people, both the surviving 100 and the Arkers. They were safe from Mount Weather, but now they had to find their comfort while battling the nightmares and injuries caused by the past few days, weeks, months.
It was time now to heal, and Clarke knew she could only begin to do that by taking a step back, by combing through the good and bad memories and acknowledging the decisions she made, the actions she took, to bring her people home. She knew she wouldn't be able to survive her time away without some supplies, so she had traveled first to the dropship to pick up any useful supplies she could carry. There wasn't much left there, as it had already been scavenged by the Arkers, but she managed to find a canister wedged under some debris, along with a lighter and a bag of stale nuts just waiting to be refilled with more food.
Her isolation had already made her feel more at ease, as her mind was finally slowing down after so much battle planning and quick, horrifying decision making. Walking away from the dropship, she got her bearings and turned east, toward the ocean and friendly clan Lincoln had once mentioned.
Two days into her trip, she was enjoying the peacefulness of her surroundings, the beauty of the forest around her making her itch for a pencil and notepad. The quiet made her extremely aware of her footsteps sounding on the ground below her, of the twigs breaking and the fallen leaves rustling. One thing she couldn't understand though, was the complete lack of appearances by the members of the Woods Clan. Lexa had called for a retreat, but this seemed a little extreme. How far was the boundary that she had agreed to with Cage? And did she really not leave any scouts to check and see how the battle ended between the Sky People and the Mountain Men?
Clarke wanted to stop worrying about these things, about anything other than her own self-reflection and healing, but she couldn't let it go. She had to make sure her aloneness in the area was not a bad omen of things to come. Luckily, Tondc was not too far out of her way. She'd only have to make up a day's walk, and it wasn't like she had a deadline to keep.
Reaching the edge of the crater that was once a thriving village, Clarke looked down and took in the destruction caused in part by her inaction. She stayed there, standing still and breathing shallowly, for what felt like hours before she saw movement in her periphery. Turning abruptly, gun raised, her eyes focused on what had caused her attention to move away from the heartbreaking sight before her.
Nyko stared back and her, empty hands out to his sides and left eyebrow raised in question.
"What brings Clarke of the Sky People to Tondc?"
He didn't seem angry or overly curious. It almost seemed as if he had expected her arrival. Clarke thought for a moment of all the answers she could give him. I was worried by the lack of people in the forest. I thought you might be planning an attack on my people, or that your people had been attacked by another clan. She could answer more truthfully. I wanted to return to the scene of one of my crimes. To start gaining closure about the lives I lost and saved. Maybe she should give a vague answer, I don't know, considering he didn't really seem to care one way or another.
"I'm here to mourn. To heal."
He watched her for a moment and considered her answer, all that went said and unsaid in those two sentences. He nodded slowly, took a step forward, and held out his left hand to her.
"You can do this while I teach you to heal others. There is much for a Sky Healer to learn."
She had so many questions for him. Why was he the only one in Tondc? Where had the others gone? And yet, looking at his outstretched hand, she came to a decision. Those questions would still be there tomorrow or the day after. Right now, it was her turn to concentrate on herself. The knowledge she gained from the Woods Clan healer would definitely help her people eventually, but that wasn't of central importance right in that moment.
She put her hand in his and gave him a small smile.
It was a start.