Bellamy
After they got Abby and Kane off their backs, Bellamy and Octavia went to Lincoln to fill him in and invite him along.
"This isn't a good plan," Lincoln protested, glancing at Octavia apprehensively. She gave him a reassuring smile, reaching out to squeeze his hand.
Bellamy watched them for a moment before speaking. "Probably not," he allowed. "But Clarke got herself into trouble and we have to get her out of it."
"There is so much you still don't understand," Lincoln said, letting out a sigh and shaking his head slowly.
"That's why we want you to come," Bellamy answered with a nod. "You and Echo. She's from the Ice Nation… she knows the land, the people."
"Have you ever been there, Lincoln?" Octavia asked.
He nodded. "Yes, a long time ago," he said. "It's far from here." He frowned at Bellamy. 'This woman, Echo- how do you know you can trust her?"
"She was in the mountain with me," he explained. "In the cages… hers was next to mine. She helped me overpower the guard, helped me escape. I never would have made it out of the harvest chamber without her."
Lincoln looked at Octavia, who gave him a reassuring nod, but the man was clearly still troubled. "The Ice Nation is a formidable enemy," he warned. "One that shouldn't be made lightly."
"No," Bellamy said firmly, shaking his head. "They forced that outcome when they took Clarke. We're already enemies, the only question is whether we act on it or not."
"And have you considered not acting?" Lincoln asked.
Bellamy glanced at Octavia, and then he shook his head. "No, not really."
"We can't just let her die," Octavia agreed with a small shrug. Bellamy appreciated her saying that. He respected his sister's feelings about Clarke's part in what had happened in tonDC, had even struggled with that revelation himself, and he knew that Octavia and Lincoln collectively held a grudge about it, but he also knew that his sister didn't want Clarke to die.
"I'm worried you don't understand how dangerous this is," Lincoln said.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because you're bringing Octavia," he said bluntly. "If you knew how risky your plan is, how formidable the queen is, you wouldn't let her go."
Bellamy glanced sideways at Octavia, who was frowning deeply, and he couldn't help but smile a little. "I don't think she'd let me leave her behind."
Octavia brightened, grinned at him. "You're damn right I won't."
Growing serious again, Bellamy looked at the older man and said, "We'll be a lot safer if you come with us."
Lincoln looked to Octavia. "There's no talking you out of this?" At the defiant shake of her head he sighed and said, "Fine. Then I'll come."
"Thank you, Lincoln," Octavia said, hugging him close.
"We'll need weapons, ammunition, rations… what else?" Bellamy asked, his mind going over the details.
"Horses," Lincoln replied. "Clothes that will let you blend in."
Bellamy nodded. "And where will we get those?"
"Echo is with Lexa, isn't she?" Lincoln asked. "She can get you clothes, and the Commander may be willing to give us horses and weapons too."
"I don't just want swords," Bellamy said, smiling sideways at his sister. "Unlike her, I'm not a samurai."
Octavia grinned at him, but Lincoln frowned. "Guns are problematic. They'll mark as outsiders immediately."
"Then we'll hide them," Bellamy said.
"Alright," Lincoln answered slowly, but he still seemed uncertain. "But they're a last resort."
"Agreed," Bellamy said with a nod. He touched his sister's arm. "O, go and get together four packs, medkits, canteens, and as much rations as we can carry. I'll get some guns, get Echo, make sure we have clothes, and we'll meet back here in thirty minutes."
He felt glad to have a plan, but he was nervous. While he walked back to Lexa's camp, he frowned thoughtfully, thinking of Lincoln's questions. He hadn't considered not going after Clarke, not even for a moment. She was in trouble and so he wanted to go.
He had even decided to bring Octavia, despite the danger that he knew would be involved, even before Lincoln pointed it out. That could be explained by the fact that she wasn't the same scared little girl he'd always looked after, that he knew now she could hold her own, but the other question still stood- why hadn't he considered leaving Clarke to deal with the Ice Nation on her own? After all, she'd abandoned him, and he was still angry about it.
Bellamy shook his head a little. He knew there was no choice, not really. It wasn't just that Clarke would have done the same if he'd been the one who was taken, or even that Lincoln's fear had made him afraid of what she might be going through right now… it was the simple fact that one of their own was in trouble. Clarke may have walked away, but she was still considered their leader, not only by the other members of the hundred, but also by the Grounders. She was important to the stability of the group and if she ended up in the wrong hands she could do damage.
He knew Octavia would laugh at him if she'd heard his thoughts at that moment. She would call him on his bullshit, his logic, and call it out for what it was: a cover. Yes, Clarke was all those things, but that wasn't why he was going after her- not really. More important than all of that, she was his friend… his best friend. He'd never had a friend before Earth; he'd been too busy worrying about Octavia, always going home right after school and work to make sure she wasn't alone. Clarke had become an unexpected friend to him, but she was a friend to everyone else in camp too… she had been deeply missed since she'd walked away. Bellamy had been among those who'd missed her- underneath his anger, his hurt at her abandonment, there was a keen sense of loss.
There was also another, selfish reason, that he wanted to save her. If she came back then the burden of leadership would once again be shared. Despite the larger command structure present in Camp Jaha, the remaining members of the hundred still looked to him, and if Clarke was here he knew that he could offset some of that pressure onto her. They had always been better as a team than alone.
When Bellamy reached Echo's tent he stepped inside and noticed that she'd changed her clothes, now dressed warmly and in armour, ready for a journey.
"I need clothes so I can look like a Grounder," he told her.
"You're right," she answered with a nod, giving him a small smile. "Even those who've never heard of the Sky People will know you don't belong."
He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. "Is there really anyone who hasn't heard of us?"
"Perhaps," she said with a small shrug. "Across the sea, maybe."
Bellamy laughed. "Octavia and Lincoln are coming with us. They're gathering supplies right now."
"Very well," she said with a nod. "What can I contribute?"
"Horses," he said. "And weapons. Do you think Lexa will be willing to give those to us?"
"I believe so," she said with a nod. "Wait here." She left the tent and returned soon after with a pile of furs and leathers. "These should fit you," she said, handing them to him. "I'll see about the other supplies."
She left again, and Bellamy started taking off his clothes. It wasn't the first time he'd dressed up liked a Grounder, and it brought back the apprehension that he'd felt when Lincoln had been escorting him to the Mountain. He still had nightmares about the decontamination, the cages, the bloodletting, and he wondered if Echo had the same dreams.
By the time she returned, he was dressed head to toe as a Grounder- leather pants and shirt, a fur vest, and furry boots. Echo had chosen the clothes well, and they fit perfectly.
She looked him over and gave an approving nod and said, "There's not a lot we can do about your hair or your skin."
"Thanks," he said dryly. "That gives me a lot of confidence."
Echo laughed softly. "I meant no offense, it's just that your hair is very short and you have no markings."
"You mean tattoos?" he asked. "Yeah, they weren't really a thing where I came from."
"Yes, tattoos," Echo agreed gently. "And you have no kill marks either. It's clear you're not a warrior."
"I have killed," he said quietly, swallowing a little. "But in my culture, we don't celebrate murder."
Echo frowned at him. "It is not a celebration," she said, seeming a bit offended. "If you take a life, it must be done with care… for good reason. One way to acknowledge that importance is to make a mark… each scar is a memory… you wound your own body so that you never forget the cost that has allowed you to continue living."
Bellamy swallowed a little, glancing away. "I'm sorry," he said finally. "I didn't understand all that."
"Sky People have a habit of making assumptions," she replied irritably.
"Now who's generalising?" he asked gently.
He thought that might offend her further, but she actually laughed softly at him. "Perhaps you're right."
"So what about the tattoos?" he asked her. "Yours are blue… I've mostly seen black ones before."
"The Woods Clan favours black pigment," she said with a small shrug. "The Ice Nation favours blue."
"I get the impression that the Ice Nation is pretty far from here," he said. "So how did you end up anywhere near Mount Weather?"
Echo went to her pack and started loading it up with her supplies, not saying anything for a while. Finally she said, softly, "That is a story for another day."
"I'm sorry," he said, sensing her discomfort. "I didn't mean to pry."
She looked at him for a long moment. "We all have our stories," she said gently. "Some are good, some are bad… but they all make us who we are. I'm sure there are things you'd rather not discuss."
"You'd be right about that," he said quietly.
"My mother used to say that if you have to drink a bitter tea, there is no use adding to the brew," Echo told him.
He smiled a little. "Your mother sounds like a smart woman," he remarked. "When was the last time you saw her?"
"The day she died," Echo answered shortly.
"Me too," he said softly. "But I didn't know that was the day until she was gone."
Echo paused, fixing him with a serious look. "You are adding bitterness to our tea," she pointed out.
He couldn't help but smile. "You're right," he said. "I sort of have a bad habit of doing that."
"Then think of something good," she said. "Think of Clarke, of your reasons for going on this journey. Or think of someone else that you love."
He opened his mouth to protest, to say he didn't love Clarke… he wasn't really sure if he was capable of loving anyone but his mother or Octavia, since they had been the only people that mattered for so long. But he realised it was pointless to argue, so he just nodded. "I'll try," he said. "I'll try to think of something good."
She tied off her pack and stood up, nodding to him. "From now on you must be not be Bellamy of the Sky People. You must learn from your sister and become Belomi kom Trikru. That is the only way you will survive. Now let's go."