"How do we even know we can trust you?" Bellamy questioned, glaring from his seat across from me. I sighed and rolled my eyes, this was basically how the entire morning had gone so far. It had been question after question followed by criticism or a snappy remark from either him or Raven.
"What other options do you have?" I shot back, tired of his constant snide behavior. I looked around at the others, waiting for that realization to sink in. They have no other options, not if they want to survive.
"We should try to talk to them," Finn spoke up. He, along with Clarke, Raven, Octavia and Bellamy were the only ones privy to our private briefing this morning.
"Why?" Raven asked incredulously.
"Haven't you heard anything she's said?" Clarke asked the dark haired girl next to her. "We don't stand a chance against them."
"We don't need to bury more bodies," Finn added, supporting the blonde.
I stayed quite, knowing that this would have to be a decision they come to on their own. I absent mindedly tapped my foot against the floor though as they argued amongst themselves. It hadn't even been a full day yet and I was already missing the village. The sooner they made a decision the sooner I could leave and everything could return to normal - or the closest thing to it.
"So if we do this, how would it work?" Clarke asked, turning back to face me. I snapped to attention and focused back to the task on hand.
"I'll set up a meeting with their commander, her name is Anya," I explained. "You two will meet at a pre-designated location and discuss your terms - then we all go home alive."
"That sounds too easy," Raven sneered.
"This is only going to be as difficult as you make it to be," I responded evenly.
"It sounds reasonable to me," Finn said, quieting his girlfriend's protests. "Me and Clarke can talk to the commander and …"
"No," I spoke up, interrupting him mid sentence. "Clarke must go by herself. You'll appear weak if you aren't united under one leader."
"But..." Finn started, but I quickly cut him off again.
"No," I repeated, more firmly this time. "Either Clarke goes alone or no one goes at all, that is the only way Anya will agree to it."
Finn stared at me disbelievingly but I held his gaze. This wasn't an issue I could budge on, there was no way Anya would agree to meet with two leaders - it was messy and it would also leave her outnumbered and survival was all about odds.
"She's not going by herself," Bellamy voiced. I turned to face him and shrugged.
"You can go with her, but she must meet the commander alone," I told him. "I'll let you all talk about it in private."
I stood up and dusted the crumbs from breakfast this morning off my pants. Turning to walk out the drop ship I looked over my shoulder and caught Clarke's eyes.
"Make whatever decision you must, but you shouldn't let more people die just because you were too scared to take a walk into the woods by yourself," I told her, moving outside before she could respond.
I took a deep breath of the fresh air as I moved through the crowded camp, quietly picking up rations and a water jug as I went. Circling back around I pulled myself onto a low hanging branch nestled in the corner of the camp and snacked as I observed the teens go about their day from above.
Observation was a powerful tool, both in and out of combat. That was something that Jaxon had taught me when he first started training me. So I spent the next couple hours lounging lazily watching the camp go through its routine, making notes of interesting things and tasks I would have to catch up on once I returned home. I sat up a little straighter when I watched Clarke make a beeline from the ship to the radio-cam Raven had established with the Arc. Not to long after she came out and grabbed Bellamy before leaving, not even noticing the hooded man trailing behind them.
"That's bound to be trouble," I mumbled to myself, dropping down to the ground. I was about to follow after them, but a voice from my right distracted me.
"Colette?" a male voice called out hesitantly. I turned to see who had stopped me and froze in place.
"John," I responded, surprised to see a familiar face. He looked a little worse for wear than I remembered him being, but there was no mistaking the shaggy brown hair, sharp nose and permanent scowl.
"You're really here?" he asked, stopping when he was a few feet away from me.
"In the flesh," I told him with a small smile.
"I didn't think that I would ever see you again," he admitted, looking away ashamed.
"I know the feeling, I didn't think that I would ever see anyone again," I said with a small laugh. "Come sit."
I moved over to a group of rocks and propped myself up against one and motioned for him to do the same. I knew I should be trying to catch up with Clarke and Bellamy, but John had been the closest thing I had to a brother back on the station and it felt good to see him again.
"So is it true?" John asked, breaking me from my thoughts.
"Is what true?" I replied, not knowing what he was referring too.
"That you're with them," he said. "That you're a grounder now."
"That's such a stupid name," I grumbled to myself. Technically we all lived on the ground now which would make us grounders as well by its very definition.
"But yeah," I answered. "I live with one of their clans, along with some others from the Arc."
"They seem like assholes," he said. I raised one of my eyebrows and shot him a look, John wasn't exactly known as a golden child so the irony there was rich.
"I guess what I meant to say is that they seem... ruthless," he corrected after taking a moment to find a better descriptor.
"Yeah they can be," I admitted, shrugging slightly. "But they're also loyal, generous, and kind when they can afford to be. But life down here isn't easy, so at the end of the day they're going to do whatever it takes to survive."
"So it doesn't get any easier?" John asked quietly, taking a sudden interest in his combat boots. I frowned slightly as I watched him next to me. He had never had it easy back on the Arc, and apparently he wasn't going to be able to catch a break down on Earth either.
"No, it doesn't get easier," I told him, putting my arm around his shoulder and playing with a bit of his hair that had fallen out of place. "But we get stronger because of it."
He didn't respond, but instead just sat deep in thought. I sat in silence next to him, comfortable enough with just having a familiar presence nearby again.
"They hate me here ya know?" he spoke up after a few minutes, his tone low and cold. Pulling my arm away I reached down for his hands that were clasped in his lap tightly.
"They just don't understand you John," I told him. "There's a difference."
"I've killed people," he admitted quietly, still not looking at me. I squeezed his hand I was still holding.
"We do what we have to down here," I told him firmly. "Things we aren't proud of, things that change us, things that keep us alive."
"Can't imagine you speaking from experience there," John replied sarcastically.
He didn't know the new Cole, I reminded myself. He didn't know the Cole who hunted with her bare hands, who painted on war paint and gouged out a man's eye. He only knew the Cole from the Arc, the soft medic who wore her heart on her sleeve, who was easily embarrassed and avoided confrontation. He didn't know that the Cole from the Arc had died on impact, that the woman sitting next to him was someone completely new. He didn't know now, but he would soon.
"The Earth changes everyone John, even me," I told him.
"The Earth give you that scar?" he asked, looking up at me again.
"No, but the man who did has one to match now," I replied with a smirk. I was self conscious about the mark, but it wasn't something I would ever let hold me back. It would be a badge I would wear with pride, and a warning for others that I wasn't someone they could dominate.
"Good," John said with a half smile of his own. "It kinda makes you look badass."
"Murphy!" a voice called out from the makeshift wooden fence around the camp. "You're next for watch!"
John groaned but got to his feet, he looked back at me, a hint of sadness flashing through his eyes.
"Go," I told him, motioning toward the gate. "I'll be around."
He nodded and left. I stood up as well, dusting the dirt off my pants. Pulling out the small glass vial Nyko had given me before I left I dabbed some of the purple oil onto my wrist and the base of my throat, inhaling as its aroma swirled around me.
"What is that?" a girl asked as I moved into the drop ship.
"A type of lavender oil, it comes from some of the white flowers native to this area," I replied smiling at Octavia who was seated in one of the back corners.
"Here," I offered holding the vial out to her. Slowly she made her way towards me, like how prey would approach a predator.
"It was gifted to me before I came here," I told her, watching as she dabbed a drop on her wrist.
"A gift? They must care about you then," she said, watching me closely for a reaction. I raised an eyebrow but nodded none the less.
"Some more than others," I admitted.
"Are they good people?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yes," I told her, not pausing for thought. The clansmen were a lot of things, but they were not inherently bad.
"Clarke and Finn want to talk about peace," she told me after a second. I stayed quiet, waiting for her to continue. "But they want to keep Lincoln as leverage when you leave."
I grinded my teeth together in irritation, I had promised him he would leave when I did and that wasn't something I wanted to go back on now.
"Lincoln isn't a good bargaining chip Octavia," I told her seriously. "He is just another warrior, and expendable by the commander's standards."
"What?" she asked, as if insulted by the information.
"If you use him as an ultimatum, they will let him die before agreeing to anything," I said, repeating what she already knew. "You gain nothing by keeping him here."
"Bell wants to keep him as insurance," she explained, her tone revealing how upset she was. "But if they won't take him, then Bell will kill him…. We need to get him out of here."
"And what do you purpose?" I asked, interested to see what she would come up with. Already a dozen escape plans had formulated in my head, but all of them involved at least one or more casualties.
"I don't know yet," she admitted defeatedly. I rolled my eyes as she pouted - so much for determination.
I turned my head as the front curtains rumbled as someone tore through them, my first instinct being to grab the knife I kept on my waist. I growled slightly when I remembered it had been taken from me. I relaxed when I realized it was only the nerdy asian boy who I had seen paired with Jasper all day. He looked between me and Octavia with wide eyes.
"Why are you guys inside?" he asked incredulously, slurring his words slightly. "The world is beautiful, and green and ….. big!"
He held his arms out and motioned around him wildly.
"Is he always like this?" I asked Octavia quietly, not wanting to startle the man who was now looking at his hands in amazement.
"No," she responded moving closer to him. "Monty are you alright?"
"Yeah," the boy named Monty replied. "Look at these, these are mine."
He held out his hands to Octavia in excitement and I bit back a laugh.
"These are mine too, but you should have some they make the world amazing," he told her, handing her a few small nuts.
"Is this all you've eaten today?" she asked, and he nodded back enthusiastically. I walked up behind her and actually laughed when I saw what she was holding.
"That explains a lot," I said quietly, mostly to myself.
"Really?" Monty asked. "I have to go tell Jasper!"
I shook my head as he ran back out the ship's doors.
"He's blown," Octavia said looking at me for an explanation.
"Yeah he should be if that's all he's been eating," I told her, looking pointedly at the nuts in her hands. "Those are Jobi nuts, when they go bad they make people hallucinate."
"These are half of our winter food supply," she murmured as she looked down at her hands.
"You're in for one hell of a winter then," I teased. Octavia looked at me suddenly with a glint in her eyes.
"We can use these!" she said. "If the whole camp is high as a satellite, then we can walk Lincoln out the front door and no one would even notice!"
I paused for a second and ran through her plan, it wasn't actually a bad idea. The trick would be making sure that everyone in the camp had at least a few of them.
"We can tell them that the supply is going bad, that they won't last so we should eat them now," Octavia said, solving the problem I had absent mindedly blurted out.
"That would work," I replied. I followed her out of the drop ship and walked over with her to the supply bins, we would need to do this quietly so it couldn't fall back on us. Half way over Jasper walked up to Octavia and grabbed her shoulders roughly.
"They're here," he whispered at her. "The grounders are here, and I just want you to know that I love you."
Octavia looked to me for help but I just shrugged my shoulders.
"You deal with him, I'll handle our other problem," I told her, ignoring her silent plea.
"Mind if I grab a pack? Missed breakfast this morning," I said to the group of teens that were organizing the winter supplies. None of them looked directly at me, but one girl nodded in response.
I picked up a bag of the Jobi nuts and made a shocked noise - that got the groups attention.
"These are fall nuts," I said to no one in particular.
"What does that mean?" the boy from my right asked as he paused.
"Well it's almost winter," I explained. "It means that these nuts are about to go bad."
"What? They're supposed to be the main part of our winter supply," one girl shouted. "What are we going to do now?"
"Why don't you switch rations?" I suggested, trying to act as concerned as they were. "Eat these now and save the rest of the month's rations for winter."
"How much longer do you think these will be good for?" the boy asked, holding some of the nuts in his hand skeptically.
"A day or two at best, look at their color," I said, lying my way through our exchange.
"She's right, look at how dark they are," another girl chimed. "We should eat these today before they go bad."
WIthin minutes the food sorters had gathered the attention of the rest of the camp and had offered the nuts as free game for the rest of the day. It didn't take long for everyone to start grabbing handfuls of them and gobbling them down like crazy. With a content smile I grabbed a small ration bag of the nuts and made my way back towards Octavia who was still dealing with Jasper.
"No, this is an anti-grounder stick, it will keep them all away," Octavia told him as she sat him down in a circle she had drawn in the dirt.
"Oh, not an anti-grounder stick!" I called out sarcastically. "Those things are powerful."
"Really?" Jasper asked, looking between myself and Octavia. I nodded, egging on the situation.
"They scare even the toughest grounder," I lied.
"Good," Jasper said determinedly. "Let them come now."
"You keep guard, we're going to go inside where it's safe," Octavia told Jasper gently. Moving past the crazed boy with a stick me and Octavia walked back into the drop ship.
"These are for you," I told her, tossing her the bag of the Jobi nuts I had lifted. "A gift for our guard upstairs."
"Good idea," she replied, moving towards the ladder instantly. Moments later she reappeared with a small smile.
"So what now?" she asked. I pulled at one of the hammocks tied in between two poles and positioned myself on it.
"Now we wait," I told her.
It didn't take long for the guard upstairs to appear. With dilated eyes he came down mumbling about the moon and how stars were the jellyfish of the sky. With a few encouraging words to hunt out these jellyfish the ship was quickly abandoned leaving only me, Octavia and Lincoln.
"See if you can't find some clothes for him, I'll start getting those binds off of him," I told Octavia, already moving towards the ladder. With a silent nod she made her way outside as I climbed up. I left the hatch open as I reached the third floor.
Moving towards the ropes holding his wrists I started on untying the knot.
"What are you doing?" he asked, his voice raspy and strained.
"Freeing you, like I promised," I told him, slipping the rope off one of his hands.
"I need you to get a message back to Anya and the Tribune," I added, moving over to his other arm.
"What?" he asked, wincing as he lowered his arm down slowly. After days stuck in the same position his muscles were probably fatigued and atrophied in place.
"That negotiations are moving forward, but I need more time," I replied. I started on his ankle ties when Octavia appeared holding a bundle of clothes.
"We're getting you out of here," she told him determinedly. I stayed quiet as I struggled with the knot and pretended like I hadn't already made that abundantly clear.
"How?" he asked, switching to English for Octavia's sake. I looked up as he groaned as he fumbled to catch the bag Octavia had thrown to him.
"Jobi nuts? The effect wears off though," he said warily. Undoing the last knot I stepped away from him.
"Yeah, but by the time it does you'll be long gone," I told him.
"Just get as far away from here as you can," Octavia nodded, moving closer to help him steady himself. I kept my distance, I knew he was only allowing her to help him because he wanted her close, not because he needed it.
She helped him slip on a hooded jacket and zipped it up quickly for him.
"You smell like lavender," Lincoln said quietly as he stared at a now blushing Octavia.
"It's Coles," she admitted shyly. Lincoln ignored her comment and brushed a strand of hair out of her face, leaning in to kiss her as he did. I stayed quiet and let them have their moment, feeling a strange sense of deja vu.
"It comes from a white flower," he told her as he pulled away slightly. "Look for them, they will lead you to me."
"You need to go," I interrupted. "In your condition it will take you at least half a day to make it back to the clan, and they need to be updated as soon as possible."
He nodded and moved towards the hatch. I followed the two down, moving past them to get out of the door first. Looking around everyone was still under the effect of the nuts, I motioned for them to follow and intercepted the wandering teen who was approaching the ship.
"Am I a mop or a broom?" he asked me, clearly confused. "I need to know!"
Turning him away from the ship I moved back towards the center of camp with the boy.
"Definitely a broom," I told him. He smiled and sighed in relief.
"Good, that's what Raven said too," he explained. Catching site of the brunette the boy reached out for her as she approached.
"Raven, will you tell me again?" he asked desperately. I shot her an amused expression and shrugged. I hadn't seen her earlier and by her demeanor it was clear that she was one of the few that were missing the Jobi nut experience.
"You are the most beautiful broom, in a broom closet of brooms," Raven huffed. The boy was clearly happy with her praise though and went off to tell his friend the good news.
"Do you know what's going on?" she asked me, looking around the camp hesitantly.
"Found these in your rations," I said, handing her some of the nuts I had kept in my pocket. "When they go bad they cause temporary hallucinations, by the time I figured it out the supply was all gone."
"Great," she groaned. "Hey, Walker! Get down from there, there are no squirrels up there."
She moved past me quickly to go fetch the boy attempting to scale a nearby tree. Laughing to myself I made my way to the perch I had sat on earlier this morning and returned to observing the camp.
"I know what you did," a voice called out. I looked down at Finn who was braced against the village wall and sent him an innocent look.
"And what exactly did I do?" I asked.
"You helped Octavia free the grounder," he replied seriously, though there was no anger in his voice.
"I don't know what you mean," I replied easily.
"I saw you all exit the drop ship," he countered.
"Yeah, seems like everyone is seeing something today," I said resting my head against the tree. Lincoln was long gone by now, his accusations meant nothing.
"I saw him, he stood not even three feet away from me before he left," Finn argued.
"Why didn't you stop him then?" I asked curiously, not bothering to make eye contact with the boy.
"Because I want peace between our people and his," Finn answered, surprising me.
"And what does everyone else want?" I replied, dropping down to the ground. It seemed that he wasn't going to leave me alone as long as I stayed put.
"Clarke agrees with me," he said hesitantly.
"And Bellamy?" I shot back, already knowing the answer to my question.
"He's unsure, but it doesn't matter," Finn told me. "Can you set up a talk between us all or not?"
"I can," I replied. "If that is what you guys decide, then I can leave in the morning to arrange it."
"You'll go nowhere," I heard Bellamy growl from behind me. I turned to the taller male and held my ground - out of everything on Earth, Bellamy would be the last thing to intimidate me.
"The grounder is gone, he was our leverage," Bellamy continued, stepping closer to me. "You'll have to do in his place."
"Keeping me here will get you nothing but an angry army at your gate," I warned.
"Let them come," he growled. "We can take them now."
Moving to the center of camp he called out to get everyone's attention. The effects of the nuts were wearing off and now most of the camp just stumbled to attention in a hungover fashion. As Bellamy made his speech my eyes found Clarke. Guns or not, they were outnumbered and out matched.
I didn't advert my eyes as the blonde made her way over to where me and Finn were standing.
"Guns? Really Clarke? I thought we wanted peace," Finn accused.
"We do," she replied, looking at me as she answered instead of the man next to me.
"You don't get peace with rifles," Finn argued.
"We'll only use them if the peace talks don't work out," she tried to reassure him. "We still want you to set the talk up."
"I was under the impression that I am no longer allowed to leave," I told her, motioning towards Bellamy who was now handing out the rifles.
"We need some sort of leverage against them, just in case," she explained.
"Leverage only works if you have something they want," I countered.
"You must mean something to them, they wouldn't have allowed you to come here if they didn't trust you," Clarke argued.
"Trust and value are two different things Clarke," I told her. "I can leave tonight to set up the meeting and be back before morning though, I will stay with you until the meeting but no longer than that."
"How do I know that you'll come back?" Clarke questioned.
"How else are you going to know when the meeting is?" I said, stating the obvious.
"I'll go with her as well," Finn added from next to me. I shot the wounded boy a questioning look, he would be a poor choice for guard detail.
"But you're still hurt Finn," Clarke tried to reason, but Finn just shook her off.
"I'm fine," he told her. "I'll go with her as a sign of good faith, and make sure everything is arranged right."
"If you're worried about him, I'll let Octavia come as well," I offered.
"Why her?" Clarke asked, looking at me questioningly.
"I trust her," I replied honestly. "She was saved by a 'grounder' so she knows that she can trust us, which in turn means I can trust her."
"Fine," Clarke gave in after a moment. I turned towards Finn and instructed him to get ready as I sought out the brunette. It took a few minutes to circle the camp, but I eventually found her sitting away from the fire with her back turned to her brother. I came up beside her, crouching down on her level.
"We are going to set up the peace talk tonight," I said under my breath, trying to ignore the heavy stare of her brother behind me. "I need to find Lincoln before he reaches the council, and Clarke doesn't want me to go alone - can't lose her leverage and all that crap."
"I'm in," Octavia responded immediately after I mentioned the previous prisoner.
"Thought you would be," I said happily. "Meet me by the gate in a few minutes."
I stood up and walked away, making another full circle around the camp before heading towards the gate. When I arrived Finn and Octavia were already waiting beside an anxious Clarke.
"Maybe this isn't a good idea…" Clarke started, obviously starting to regret her decision. I groaned, Anya was going to have a field day with her if she didn't get her act together.
"Don't get second thoughts now Clarke," I warned. "I'll set up the talk and we'll be back before you know it. Lets go."
Finn lead the way, with Octavia slipping out behind him. I moved to follow but Clarke grabbed my arm.
"If anything happens to them," she started to threaten, her concern clear in her eyes.
"Nothing will," I promised. "I told you I would stay with you until the negotiations, and I meant it. We'll be back in a couple hours, don't let anyone find out were gone in the mean time alright?"
She nodded and released my arm. Content with her reaction I slipped out the gate, closing it quietly behind me. With the Finn and Octavia flanking me we moved out. I was careful to keep my guard up, looking for any signs of the clan or other warriors as we made our trek. After a few minutes I stopped and picked up a white flower that had been placed openly on a tree limb.
"Well he wastes no time," I mumbled under my breath, tossing the lavender flower to Octavia. Once she recognized it her eyes lit up and she raced past me onto the next flower that was waiting only a few feet away. I let her lead the way until we came to a back entrance of a cave.
This must be Lincoln's home away from home I noted. I wasn't surprised when he stepped out to greet us, but he obviously was when he saw three people instead of one.
"Lincoln," I greeted softly. He nodded his head in return.
"Have you spoken to anyone else yet?" I asked, switching languages so we could speak privately.
"Sha," he affirmed. "I ran into one of the warriors from my clan on my return, they went to fetch someone from your northern clan before I could tell him anything. I am supposed to meet with them shortly near the river a half a mile from here."
"Good," I replied. "Octavia, stay here and make sure we weren't followed. Finn and I will meet with the others in your place Lincoln."
"Why do I have to stay here alone?" Octavia questioned, oblivious to what I was trying to set up.
"Because it will be one less person I have to worry about them killing," I explained honestly. "And you won't be alone, Lincoln will be staying here with you."
"Okay," she conceded, looking at the wounded warrior next to her.
With a quick nod I started to move west towards the river Lincoln had mentioned. Finn followed behind carefully, tensing as we made our way through the forest. Once we reached the edge of the trees I motioned for Finn to stop, holding my finger up to my lips to let him know to stay quiet.
It took a moment but eventually the sound of muffled voices became clear over the silent flow of the water next to us. From our spot in the trees I could see two warriors appear by the river, with the moon overhead I was able to make out their shapes but not much else. One was armed with a bow I noticed though, I would have to be careful in my approach. Warriors tended to shoot first and ask questions later.
I picked up a nearby rock and threw it against a tree that was twenty feet away from our position. As it ricocheted against the tree the two warriors turned and drew their weapons.
"Lincoln?" one called out, his voice was unfamiliar to me.
"Which one of you is from the northern tribe?" I called out, trying to throw my voice so they wouldn't pinpoint us.
"Who are you?" the warrior with his sword drawn called out.
"Cole?" the second warrior called, lowering his bow.
"Sha," I replied, confirming my identity. If they knew my name then they had to be from my tribe, my nerves settled at the realization. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard.
"Where are you? Come out," the voice instructed as he moved down the river bed trying to locate me.
"Stay close," I whispered to Finn before moving out of the trees.
"Penn?" I questioned as I caught sight of the warrior. Even in the pale moonlight I could make out his cheeky lopsided grin.
He went to respond but his grin faded as he realized I wasn't alone. I quickly stepped in front of Finn as Penn raised his bow again.
"Who is that?" he asked, now on guard.
"He's from the Arc," I replied, purposely not switching languages. "Put your bow down Penn, we're here to set up the peace negotiations."
"We can set them up back at the village, he does not need to be here," Penn replied.
"I'm not coming back to the village yet," I told him. "They are still wary of the clan, I told them I would stay with them until the meeting."
"Jaxon will not like that," Penn argued, as if I hadn't already thought of it.
"It's for the good of the clan," I replied, leaving Jaxon's name out of it. There was no reason for Finn or anyone back at the Arc camp to be more aware of the my ties to the clan then they already were.
"We won't hurt her, if that is what you're worried about," Finn offered hesitantly, trying to follow the one sided conversation.
"The boy thinks he can actually hurt you?" Penn questioned with an amused grin.
"What did he say?" Finn asked quietly, annoyed that he couldn't understand what was happening.
"Enough of this," I groaned. "Finn, this is Penn. He is a warrior from the northern clans, and can speak English perfectly. Penn, this is Finn. He is one of the leaders at the camp and came with me seeking peace. Now, the sooner we get something set up, the sooner we can all go home."
Penn grunted but slung his bow over his back and barked at the warrior next to him to put away his sword as well.
"When can we meet with your commander?" Finn asked, trying to sound as confident as possible.
"The day after next at noon," Penn responded. "The commander has decided to meet at the old bridge north of your camp."
Finn looked at me and I nodded in approval. The bridge was as good of a place as any. It wouldn't allow for either side to attack without notice, and was open enough that neither leaders would feel cornered.
"Your leader is to meet with the commander alone," Penn continued. "And she must come unarmed."
"Deal," Finn agreed. Well that was easier than I thought it was going to be.
"I will let the commander know immediately," Penn replied. "But if any harm comes to Cole…"
"I'll be fine Penn," I said, interrupting his threat. No need to ruin the meeting now.
"Are you sure you must stay?" he questioned, switching back to his native tongue.
"Yes," I replied shortly.
"And what should I tell Jaxon?" he asked. I paused and thought that over for a second.
"That I'll see him in two days time," I said. There was so much I wanted to tell Jaxon, but nothing appropriate enough to send through a third party, even if it was Penn. It would have to wait. He wouldn't need Penn to tell him that I miss him to know that I did anyways.
"Lets go Finn," I said, placing my hand on his shoulder to direct him back the way we came. Even though I trusted Penn, I kept myself between Finn and the warriors until they disappeared from sight.
"That went well," he commented as we moved back towards where we had left Octavia.
"It didn't go badly," I agreed.
"Do you miss it?" He asked suddenly.
"Miss what?" I asked. I missed a lot of things, he would have to be specific.
"Them. Living in their village," he answered.
"It has become like a second home for me," I explained. "So yes, I do."
"Don't you miss the Arc at all?" he followed up. "I mean you could always stay with us. We're the same after all."
Pausing as we reached the front of Lincoln's cave I could hear the two talking quietly inside.
"No, no I couldn't," I told him, staring at the scenery around us as I thought about life on Earth.
"Why not?" he asked sincerely.
"Because I'm not the same anymore," I told him before calling into the cave for Octavia. The moon was near its apex. It was time we returned back to camp before anyone noticed we were missing.
Sorry it's been so long since an update! Work, college, life and all the normal excuses apply. This chapter is a little longer to make up for it though!
Please continue to review and favorite/follow. Love getting notifications throughout the day! Next chapter will be up much sooner - promise!