Heda's suite was full so Murphy stayed in the hall with the multitude of guards. The Natblida were all there with Ontari, Lexa, and Raven. Lexa was giving them a lesson while Aden, Ontari, and Raven went over the map again. Clarke wiggled in beside Lexa and listened.
Lander's army would arrive soon, possibly that night. Trikru started harassing them before they even reached their lands. In their forests. Trikru were invisible and they took advantage of this to pick at the edges of the marching body.
There were far too many for them to face head on, so Trikru stuck to guerrilla tactics, with archers moving forward through the trees to keep pace with the marchers. Scouts came and went, leaving for now through the main gate and staying to the road until they passed the outer barrier. Raven and the Natblida would go out tonight to lay traps in the roadway, the last unprotected bit of Polis' external defenses.
In the meantime, they would abscond to the workshop with Raven to make as many impromptu launchable weapons as they could. The only thing Ontari said before they left was, "No boom inside."
Raven smiled at her. "No promises. We'll be back soon."
The Natblida filed out behind her, but the silence broke before the door was closed.
"The only thing left to do is to be seen," Lexa told Ontari. "The citizens will continue to prepare, but it is tradition for Heda to speak with them before a battled."
"A speech?"
"No. Walk around. Answer questions. Let them know we have done everything we can to be ready. Speeches are for after."
"Will you walk with me?"
"Of course."
"Both of you."
"Yeah," Clarke said. "Show a united front."
"Exactly," Lexa said, and they set out.
100 – 100 – 100
As they made their way through Polis, the citizens looked as much to Lexa and Clark for reassurance and guidance as they did Ontari. Still, the word spread ahead of them. All preparations were made. Everyone had extra food, water, and weapons in their homes. More water barrels, all full, were placed in case of fire. As always, if the city was attacked, those who were not defending would seek refuge in the lowest levels of the Tower.
Ontari modeled Lexa and Clarke's behavior, taking time to speak with anyone who approached. They weren't giving orders, just listening and answering questions. Lexa and Clarke understood it was theater. Nia never cared enough for Azgedans to do anything like it. Lexa's way was better, Ontari decided. The city's mood was apprehensive but there was no panic, even as word spread about the enemy approach.
Their last stop was Raven's workshop. As they neared it, there was a small boom, and all three ran the last distance. The door opened as they approached and the workshop emptied of smoke and people. Clarke caught a whiff and quickly moved aside.
"Are you alright?" was Lexa's first question to all of the Natblida as she quickly checked them. At the third, she got a strange look on her face. Clarke snickered.
Raven was last out, gagging and trying to clear her eyes. Ontari was worried at first, then caught the rotten egg stench. "What did you do?" she demanded. "I said no inside booms."
"We're OK," Raven hacked out, and before Ontari could say more, Raven was dragged to the ground by excited Natblida.
It took a few minutes to get everyone settled down. While Ontari and Lexa peeled the Natblida from Raven, Clarke checked in with Fay and Roger.
"I told her not to," Roger complained. "It takes forever to get the smell out."
"Why are you making stink bombs?"
"Tear gas, actually," Fay said. "But it may as well smell as nasty as it makes you feel."
Clarke laughed. "That is a good idea."
"The kids love it."
"I can tell," she grinned. "Let's go see what they're up to now."
Lexa finally gained some order and all the Natblida were sitting on the ground around Raven. Ontari was beside her, and they each had one in their laps and another cuddled into her side.
"What did we learn?" Lexa asked as Clarke and the others neared.
"BOOM IS AWESOME!" Sas kom Podakru yelled from Raven's lap.
Clarke laughed aloud as the rest of the Natblida chimed in to confirm the awesomeness of loud noises. Lexa threw her a filthy look and Clarke laughed harder.
Clarke and Lexa were surprised that silence ruled when Raven raised her hand. Lexa recovered quickly. "What else?"
"There are many ways to disorient your enemy to provide an advantage," Aden answered.
"Correct."
"And boom is awesome," he added, grinning bigger than Lexa had ever seen him smile.
Clarke knew then that Lexa should give up. She walked to the side of the workshop so she could hear the remaining conversation without her face giving her away. Her hand was firmly plastered across her mouth to smother her ongoing giggles.
She peeked around the corner after half a minute. Lexa was still trying to make her charges behave but it was a losing battle. Raven and Ontari were just bigger kids, and they were all excited to get back into the shop and find out how else to blow things up and make them smell horrible.
Lexa finally gave up and left them to it. Clarke, still trying to stop laughing, met her on the path. "Boom," she giggled at Lexa.
Lexa rolled her eyes.
"C'mon, all the kids had fun. They're all safe, and even they'll admit they smell bad so baths won't be an issue tonight. Plus, tear gas is a good idea for when they try to get close."
"It is, but Raven is disruptive."
"You just noticed that?"
"No, but Ontari allows too much."
"Titus said the same thing about you and me."
"You weren't blowing things up."
"That's not my gift. Also, nothing really exploded. There wasn't even any broken glass. And before I forget, none of them are allowed in our rooms until they don't stink."
"It was bad. Smelled like rotten eggs and manure."
"That's probably what it was."
"It is inventive," Lexa admitted.
"And everyone is leaving us alone for a little while."
It took half a second for Lexa to realize what Clarke meant. She smiled at the other woman, grabbed her hand, and they walked more quickly toward the Tower, brushing aside anyone who tried to engage them.
100 – 100 – 100
As the waiting dragged on, the mood in the city grew more apprehensive. People were beginning to jump at any unexpected noise and Raven's workshop kept them all on edge as small explosions and loud noises burst from the windows. Lexa had given up on keeping the Natblida away from Raven and out of the workshop, especially since Ontari was there much of the time.
She and Clarke let Ontari be and spent their time on the go. They systematically checked preparations again and reassured parents and their children, refusing to move on until they had smiles from the littlest ones. They went through barracks, too, and spoke with the gona as well as their officers.
The battle started on the third night when a flight of flaming arrows dropped into the city. It took little time to get all of the volunteers moving, but they put out the fires.
Clarke stood on their balcony and tracked the incoming arrows. She hadn't been to bed yet, hadn't even removed her armor, despite Lexa's urging. She kept an eye on the fires, too. Lexa joined her after hearing Clarke swear.
"Jokin branwada," she said as Lexa put her hand on Clarke's back.
"Everything looks under control," Lexa observed.
"So far," Clarke agreed. "He's too stupid to realize that all he's doing is giving us ammunition."
"Do not underestimate them," Lexa cautioned.
"They underestimate us."
"I hope."
"Me, too. Skrish." Clarke pointed southwest. "Time to go."
"Be careful." Lexa pulled Clarke in for a kiss before letting her go.
"You, too," Clarke answered over her shoulder.
100 – 100 – 100
Murphy was waiting in the hall. "Hey."
"Hey. Game on," she told him as they headed down the hall to the stairs.
"About time. What's the plan?"
"Southwest wall." She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and sent a guard for Raven.
Clarke and Murphy climbed up, and Clarke greeted and encouraged the archers she passed. When she got to the best viewpoint and started looking around, Murphy handed her a pair of binoculars.
"Thanks." Clarke looked through the lenses after adjusting them and pointed with her free hand. "There. They think they're sneaky."
"What do you need, Clarke?" Raven asked breathlessly.
"Thought you'd want to enjoy the show." Clarke handed her the binoculars and pointed.
Raven cackled as she watched. "Wait until he reaches the surprise filling."
Murphy snickered at that and watched gona creep through the undergrowth as they approached the initial belt of defenses.
Clarke looked around for a general, and was happy to see Kemp. "Time to fire on them."
Kemp smiled grimly while he nodded, then yelled, "Loose."
For nearly 30 seconds, it rained arrows on the prone warriors outside the walls. When that ended, the survivors got up. Half retreated, but the other half charged through the barriers. Two steps later, the first of them exploded into red mist. The rest stopped, staring, and Kemp ordered a second barrage of arrows.
Only three fighters made it back to the trees, and they were wounded. Raven and Murphy exchanged a high five. Clarke took the binoculars back and looked around. She didn't say anything as she took off to check on the other side of the gate. Ontari waited there and greeted her happily. "Klark! Raven's mines worked."
"Yup, now let's see if they learned anything."
Murphy and Raven joined them seconds later. Clarke scanned the tree line, noting the troops she could see, and handed the binoculars to Ontari.
Ontari looked carefully. Clarke could tell when she saw them.
Raven, still riding the high of her initial success, called. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."
Ontari and Clarke each grabbed an arm and pulled Raven down as they ducked. Arrows flew over them. Clarke looked at Murphy. "Get her outta here."
He grabbed the arm that Clarke freed and kept a hand pushing on her head to keep her low until they could climb down. "Where are you supposed to be?"
"In my workshop but"
"No buts. Stay off the walls. Keep making dangerous shit."
"I didn't know you cared."
Murphy stared at her for a beat. "You done?"
"Yeah. You're no fun anymore."
"I'm lots of fun when we aren't in a fucking battle. Get your shit together," he told her, whirled around, and ran back to the wall.