Chapter 2

Clarke's mind was fuzzy when she finally woke, remnants of yesterday's events played in her head, the last thing she remembered was seeing the panther slowly approach her, surely about to devour her and leave the mangled body in the middle of the woods. So how was she alive?

Hesitantly, Clarke opened her eyes. Bright sunlight lit the area, momentarily blinding her. As her eyes adjusted to the harsh light, she realised that from the position of the sun she had been unconscious for quite some time, taking in her surroundings Clarke became aware that she was in some kind of camp. Thick furs covered her body, engulfing her in warmth. Next to her was what looked like a crude chair made out of wood and more fur. Near to the chair, was a well-built campfire, above the camp fire was a large metal pot suspended with something boiling in it. Different aromas wafted over from the pot and assaulted her senses, different spices and ingredients blended together to create a delicious scent and Clarke became just aware of how hungry she still was when her stomach groaned loudly at the idea of eating food. She shook her head quickly trying to dispel that thought, before she could even think about eating she needed to find out where she was.

Tall trees surrounded the camp, they were far bigger than any Clarke had seen before. She played with the dirt under her hands, it was slightly damp suggesting it had rained recently. Nearby she could hear a river flowing, it sounded close. The tall canopy of trees were blocking any further view Clarke could have used to figure out where she was. So for the meanwhile she was completely and utterly lost in the middle of some strange camp. "Great" she thought out loud, "alone in the middle of the woods with no clue where I am."

Except she wasn't alone. Clarke knew that there obviously had to be someone close due to the campfire however, from her earlier quick surveillance of the camp there was no one to be seen so she had just assumed that they had gone hunting or something.

Clarke, still half asleep, pulled the thick furs from her body. Cold air rushed over her exposed skin, leaving goose bumps scattered across the surface. She shivered from the sudden drop in temperature. For the past few weeks the days had been getting colder, she knew that this was because of winter drawing closer. Despite this, the temperatures Clarke currently felt were significantly lower than any she had experienced previously.

Standing up quickly in an attempt to get to the fire, a sudden wave of dizziness washed over Clarke. Her head pounded and the world around her became a distorted mess. Clarke stumbled over a root and felt herself slipping, she braced herself for hitting the cold forest floor but the impact never came.

When she looked up she found someone looking back down at her. He seemed around Clarke's age, then again with grounders it was hard to tell. He had short black hair, around the length of Millers. Full, kind eyes and stubble across his chin and cheeks. He was also tall, very tall, Clarke could swear that he was double her height.

His arms were massive and littered in tattoos, he used his strength to hold Clarke in place and had a strong grasp on her body. Clarke tried to escape from his steel grip however this grew tiring as with every attempt he only held on tighter. She began to panic as everything caught up with her, she was in the middle of the woods with a possibly hostile grounder and that she could die. Filled with renewed panic, Clarke thrashed mercilessly in his arms, kicking and scratching in an attempt to free herself.

"You need to calm down Clarke." His deep voice commanded. How did he know her name? Who was he?

Despite his words Clarke only struggled more, over time the mysterious stranger just gave up and dropped Clarke onto the hard forest floor.

The wind rushed out of Clarke with a quiet "oomph." She hadn't expected him to actually let go of her.

Bewildered she looked up to the stranger only to find he had a cheeky grin on his face and was trying to stifle laughter.

As she attempted to get up Clarke stumbled and fell over again this time face first into mud, this only made the man's stifled snorting turn into full on laughter. This pissed off Clarke, not only did he capture her but he had the audacity to laugh at her misfortune? Not wanting to embarrass herself further Clarke did not try to get up again instead she just glared at the huge grounder. As his laughter died out the man managed to form a comprehendible sentence.

"You... You're... So clumsy! Like a... Like a goufa!" Each word was cut off by another bout of laughter and Clarke was growing truly frustrated as she did not find anything about this situation funny.

Clarke waited until his laughter had fully subsided before she spoke.

"Who even are you?" Clarke was pissed off and she was sure to show this in the tone of her voice. Who did this guy think he was? Dropping her on her ass then calling her a child. If anything to Clarke, he was the child not her.

"I am Kai." So his name was Kai, the man –Kai- had quite a clear voice and he seemed confident with his English, this made Clarke believe he was a warrior. Clarke became panicked once again, she was in the north so did that mean this man was ice nation?

Trying her best to still sound threatening Clarke spoke in a clear voice.

"What clan are you from, Kai."

"I am of no clan, Clarke. I am a nomad, banished by the commander for treason. However, I am originally TriKru." Clarke did not expect him to reveal that much, her anger had now dissipated and she felt compelled to learn more about Kai.

"Why was you banished? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She wasn't sure as to why she added the last sentence on, probably because she wanted the stranger to feel comfortable around her.

"It's not that good of a story." He said quietly.

"I have time."

"Okay, Clarke. I will tell you my story." He moved closer and sat down next to where Clarke still remained.

With a deep breath he began his story.

"The events leading up to my banishment all began when a ship fell from the sky-"

"Wait our ship, skaikru?" Clarke cut in.

"Yes SkaiKru, may I continue?"

"Sure."

"As I said it all began when a ship fell from the Sky, I was the nearest on patrol so I investigated the scene. Which was where I found a group of teens. At that point I should have gone straight back to TonDC to report to Indra about you all. But I couldn't, I could tell you were all like goufas, inexperienced without a leader. I saw you there Clarke, trying to lead, I also saw the Bellamy boy. I didn't go to TonDC because if I did there would have been an army at your doorstep before you could even think about having a life on earth. So I stayed, simply observed for a while. Before long I found other scouts nearby and told them to tell Indra and Anya you were all peaceful, to spare you for now. I observed you for a long time, held off the army while I still had reasoning to. When the time came where they decided to finally attack I couldn't. I knew you and the skaikru like no one else, the weeks I spent watching you all made me realise that you were not trouble. I was one of the best warriors in TriKru so naturally I was asked to fight and when I refused I was banished. Which is how I ended up here."

Overwhelmed by this information Clarke no longer felt in danger by the man but instead thankful.

"So you prevented attacks before."

"Yes, although I could not stop them all I prevented many, including several attempts on your life."

"Wow, uh, thanks I guess."

"You're welcome Clarke kom SkaiKru."

Unsure of what to say now Clarke just sat processing information and the two fell into a comfortable silence.

After a while Kai's voice cut through the silence.

"Why are you here Clarke?"

"What do you mean?"

"Last I saw of you, 300 warriors were burnt and you was victorious, so tell me, why are you weeks away from your camp?"

"It's not that good of a story." Clarke said repeating Kai's earlier words.

"Mockery is not the product of a strong mind, Clarke." He retorted.

Clarke jolted at the words. Thoughts of Lexa invaded her mind, taking her back to before the mountain after they escaped that damn gorilla and were in the cage. When Lexa repeated those same words. She shook the thoughts from her mind

She trusted Kai now, she was unsure why as she had only known him for a short while, she needed to tell someone about everything so she did.

She told Kai everything, life on the ark, her dads death, about little details from the original 100, the aftermath of the war. She told him how she was trapped in the mountain and her escape with Anya, she told him about the alliance with Lexa (missing out the kiss), she told him all about taking down the mountain, the innocents she killed. She told him how she left Camp Jaha and how she ended up here. Clarke poured her heart out to the near stranger yet he felt like an old friend. He did not ask questions because he understood, he understood and accepted Clarke, he did not criticise her he just nodded and for that Clarke was so grateful as since she landed on earth she had needed a friend like Kai to talk to.

"I don't know what I'm going to do now though, I certainly won't be going back to Camp Jaha." Clarke sighed. She had nothing now.

"Stay with me."

Clarke was shocked, she didn't expect that."

"Wh-what?" She stuttered.

"Stay with me." He repeated. It wasn't a question, more like an order. "I will train you. Teach you the grounder culture. How to fight, hunt, cook, and heal."

"Why?"

"You really think I am going to let you go out by yourself, you were half dead when I found you. Besides you're not that bad company. Also my sister would kill me if I didn't."

"Who's your sister?"

He ignored her question. "So Clarke, stay with me? Let me make you into a Gona."

"I accept."