A/N: Finally showcased some of the other povs. I know I do a lot of timeskipping but I'm really just trying to get it to a certain point in the plan where things are going to flow nice and smooth, hence the importance of everyone else.
Happy Mother's Day everyone!
The unwelcome night sky showed its face sooner than anyone would have liked. The high energy camp settled down with the sun, leaving behind the warm glow of the campfire and the soft murmur of exhausted voices. Most of the exiled survivors had called it a night, making good use of the extra tents Clarke and Bellamy had found on their expedition.
Clarke had been attempting to rest in her own tent, away from the social circles of camp. It was an unusually quiet night. A friendly chill in the air lingered against her skin, strangely keeping her mind stuck in the present. Her eyes fluttered open to examine the emptiness that had surrounded her. It was an odd thing, being alone. For months she had found herself with nothing but the company of the universe. Her life of solitary confinement had pulled her into a state of self-awareness, a state where she could accept her fate. Until she had stepped foot on earth, the certainty of death had been the one thing keeping her together. Most of her fellow criminals had filled the fear of uncertainty with the greatness that was human interaction or companionship. Yet on the cold autumn night she found herself facing a solitary life once more, accept this time she could not count the days until she would be reunited with her father.
Clarke exhaled quickly and sat up. Sleep was not her friend tonight, not that it ever had been. She pushed aside her blankets and scrambled out of her tent, embracing the familiarity of the dark night sky.
It was never her intention to visit the unmarked graves of the deceased but she had found herself there anyway. The soft glow of a blooming bunch of luminescent flowers danced across the graves, highlighting the peace and certainty that could be found in death.
"I should've come sooner." Her words came out hushed as she took a seat next to the fourth grave that had been dug. "I'm sorry Wells, I'm so sorry." The wind rustled the trees above as if the earth had been trying to communicate with her. "I should have listened to you. I should have been a better friend." She cradled her face in her hands.
The idea of talking to the dead bodies of the deceased had never made sense to Clarke. Back on the ark, the dead were floated. There were no final words with the body, no humane send off. It made sense really, once dead the body was a mere carcass of useless atoms. She knew those that gathered around the Eldan tree had often sought comfort in the idea that the soul of the person lost was always looking out for them but until she had actually tasted Earth, that was simply crazy talk.
"What am I doing? This is ridiculous." She removed her hands from her face; her body as still as the tree trunks in the wind.
"Yeah, but it's comforting to think that when I'm buried here you'll still come by and annoy me with your righteous regrets."
Clarke's eyes quickly darted around the darkness. She didn't need to see the face to know who was speaking to her. The voice had grown all too comforting within the past few days.
"Wh-What are you doing here?" Her eyes connected with Bellamy's, the flush of heat associated with embarrassment filling her cheeks.
"Having a conversation, what does it look like I'm doing?" He was perched against a tree, his shirt clearly missing. That seemed to be a habit of his.
"You should be entertaining the women in your tent, not spying on me."
"If you were in my tent, I could be doing both."
A brief silence settled between them, a memorial for the night of vulnerability that had brought them closer. The memory came with mixed feelings.
"What do you want from me?"
"I need you to stay alive and keep my sister safe."
"You seem to be doing a pretty good job of that."
"When she finds out I'm gone, she's probably going to shut everyone out. You have to make sure she doesn't come after me. She's too innocent to make it on her own."
"What the hell are you talking about Bellamy?"
"I'm leaving tomorrow evening. I'll spend a few nights in the bunker before I-"
"Wait, you're leaving? You can't leave."
"If I don't leave now, I won't be able to make it to safety before the ark comes down. I can't let Octavia witness my execution."
"You're not leaving." She stood up gracefully, ignoring the fact that her pants had been covered in dirt. Her hands found their way to her hips and with the most serious mom expression she could muster up, she stared deep into the soul of Bellamy Blake.
"Yes, I am. It's for the best."
"Liar. You're just a coward too afraid to face your fears."
"You must be looking into a mirror."
Clarke narrowed her eyes, unamused with his retort. Bellamy could compare them all he liked but that wasn't going to persuade her to let him go. A night ago, he had promised her that he wasn't going to abandon her. A night of vulnerability filled with lies, if she hadn't been so upset she might have actually felt hurt by the entire situation.
"We're going to talk to Jaha, tonight. If he doesn't pardon you, you can leave tomorrow night." Bellamy cocked his head to the side, weighing the true intentions of Clarke. He didn't think she'd let him leave that easy.
"Alright. Let's go then."
They took a few steps away from the unmarked graves, their shoulders brushing as they re-entered the boundaries of camp. The walk to the communication tent was short and quiet. The fate of their partnership had depended on the outcome of this conversation, a few days ago that would have been a more pleasant thought.
"Wait," Clarke placed her hand on Bellamy's chest, stopping him from entering. His skin was cool to the touch. Her words lingered on her lips, her thoughts taken back by the steady heartbeat pulsing through her fingers. "If you don't get pardoned, I'm leaving with you."
"What took you so long? He's waiting for me, us." Octavia grabbed the sleeve of Finn's jacket and pulled him to the border of camp. The fire in the middle was the only source of noise as the rest of the camp had retired for the night, or at least hidden away.
"Oh, I'm sorry your boyfriend stabbed me in the chest making it hard to move. How rude of me to keep him waiting." Finn shot Octavia a look but the innocent girl ignored it.
It had only been a day since she had helped Lincoln escape but she couldn't get him off her mind. Finn had disclosed the information that Lincoln had shared with him and through a strange coincidence, Octavia had actually spotted Lincoln when she was out getting water with others from the camp. They had arranged a meeting and through all the excitement, Finn had somehow gotten dragged into the mess for the sake of negotiating a treaty of sorts. If Clarke wasn't going to listen to him, he would simply have to take action himself.
"Why couldn't we meet him during the day?"
"You know why. The risk of getting caught is not one we can take right now. Keep up."
The rest of the journey was traveled in silence. Finn considered all of the danger that they were putting themselves in. Octavia dreamt of the moment she would get to taste Lincoln's lips against hers once more. It had been an intoxicating moment. She was a hopeless romantic, but no one could truly blame the girl who had spent the majority of her life hiding under the floor. Over the course of her earth adventures she had developed feelings for three men. One was deceased, one was a native to the treacherous earth, and the last had been the one boy that her brother actually approved of.
"Here, he said torches would mark the spot."
"Because this doesn't seem like a trap at all. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes."
Octavia led them into the alcove, her eyes desperately searching for the man who had saved her life.
Jasper paced the second level of the drop ship in a heartbroken haze of confusion. Monty was tinkering with the bracelets again, pulling them apart for their chips but with every step that Jasper had taken Monty's line of thought would only be interrupted.
"Alright bro, what's wrong?" Monty placed his work on the makeshift table and turned to face his frantic friend. The drop ship was empty now that the storm had passed. The new tents had given the remaining survivors more than enough space outside which allowed Monty to focus on the more technical aspects of survival.
"Do you think she likes me? I mean like really likes me?"
"Who? Octavia?"
"Yes, the most beautiful girl in camp."
"Well, she kissed you and you risked your life to save her. Twice technically. So yeah."
Jasper stopped in his tracks, his mind clearly rattled. "That's exactly what I was thinking but then I just saw her walk into the forest holding Finn's hand. I mean, what is with that guy?"
With such perfect timing, Raven came crawling through the hatch; her interest clearly peaked by the mention of her boyfriend. The sight of her drew the attention of both Jasper and Monty. While silence would have been a more welcome conversation, Raven was in the mood to talk.
"I was going to ask if you guys knew where Finn was but I guess I got my answer." She took a seat next to Monty, her hands reached out to grab the container that held his moonshine.
The tension in the air thickened, the silence filling every inch of space. Monty and Jasper exchanged a brief moment of eye contact, a moment that had said everything they could not.
"It's hot in here, I need some air." With that, Jasper was gone, leaving Monty and Raven alone to fill the building silence between them.
"Engineering student?" Raven took another swig of the god awful moonshine, her eyes stealing a glance at Monty.
The two of them hadn't spoken much. Besides configuring a way to communicate with the ark, there was no reason to have a conversation. Raven was too caught up with keeping Finn safe, and Monty was too busy finding ways to liven up camp.
"I guess you could say that."
"Where'd you learn how to make moonshine?"
"Books and experimentation really. It's not as difficult as it looks. Jasper and I have-"
"What's so damn special about Clarke? Since the day I got here, it's like Finn doesn't even want to be a part of our relationship any more. He's too busy trying to get Clarke back." Raven shoved the container of moonshine into Monty's hands, her comments lingering in the air around them.
"I really, this is just, shouldn't you be discussing this with another female?" Monty put the moonshine back where he had it and scooted away from Raven. The conversation was not one he had ever thought would be taking place, especially not with Raven. She was a volatile one, not a talk about emotions type of girl.
Jasper and Monty weren't exactly the sweet-talkers that Finn and Bellamy had been. Put into perspective it really explained a lot and the conversation grew to be even more awkward.
"No. Look. If your girlfriend risked her life to come to Earth just so she could be with you, would you push her aside so you could figure out your feelings for some dumb chick you met ten days ago?" Raven had placed her hand on Monty's wrist pleading for some enlightenment on her current predicament. It was a rare side of Raven, one Monty had only assumed that Finn saw.
"I don't have a girlfriend and girls aren't really lining up to date me, so no, probably not."
The silence between them settled once more as the truth came out. It wasn't unwelcome, but it wasn't quite comfortable either. After what had felt like a month, a small gasp escaped Raven's lips clearly dismissing his response.
"I know what I have to do. Thanks moonshine boy, you've been really helpful." Her face lit up with a devious amount of excitement. After a quick squeeze of his wrist and a peck on the cheek, Raven exited the drop ship, leaving Monty to his thoughts.