"Are you here as my general or my friend?. If it's the former I will deal with whatever is troubling you later". The unusual surly tone was not lost on the blonde.

Anya wanted to roll her eyes at Lexa's penchant for the dramatics but as that gesture wouldn't be proper of a high ranking general such as herself, at least not in a room full of foreign ambassadors and advisors, the teasing would have to be reserved for later.

"What troubles our fearless Heda today?" despite the wording there was no real malice or mocking in her words, Heda or not, Lexa was first and foremost her best friend and to see the young ruler in such distress caused Anya to feel extremely uneasy. It never bodes well for her, or anyone really, when Lexa was upset.

"They are getting restless" the brunette made an encompassing gesture to point at all the ambassadors gather in little groups of two or three, whispering furiously among each other and sending the others distrustful glances.

Anya instantly knew it must be something of great importance, far beyond the typical squabbles, as Lexa rarely let herself be affected by the usual pettiness displayed in her throne room. Listening to the ambassador's stupidity comes with the job, she always says.

Well, actually "stupidity" was Anya's word of choice; Lexa diplomatically calls it "grievances" and the blonde always concedes with a mocking smile, even if she still prefers her less acceptable but more apt description.

Anya doesn't have a lot of patience for most members of the court, political power-plays held no interest for the fearsome General; she preferred the battlefield of swords and blood rather than words. She understands the importance of forming alliances and keeping peace among the clans but she just can't bring herself to respect those who rose to power merely relying on their, usually empty, words.

"About what?. Did Podakru try to steal Floukru's secrets about boat building, again?. The last word was full of disdain and barely contained disgust. She abhorred people who try to prey on those they consider weaker or inferior, a crime like that could never be forgiven by the stern general.

Thankfully while Luna might not advocate for violence she believed in been prepared. Her soldiers were some of the best trained of all the clans, a lesson that Podakru learned in a painful and really bloody way.

"Or maybe Azgeda tried to arrange another ceremony in foreign lands?.

The ice nation had the unfortunate tradition of sending their children into the wilderness, to survive alone and weaponless for a fortnight, as a rite of passage to adulthood.

She wouldn't marry an Azgeda native even if they were the last people on earth. Would those hooligans ever learn proper manners?.

"I wish it was that simple my friend". A wistful smiled showed itself in Lexa's face, oh how she wished to remain as ignorant as her friend about what was truly happening in their land.

Anya only raised an eyebrow in confusion, what could be worst or more worrying?. The last time the ice nation sent her children to Sankru lands it almost led to a war, it was only by Heda's timely intervention that such catastrophe was avoided. To the dessert people, children were a treasure and to treat one with such callousness and cruelty was unforgivable.

"A group of people fell from the sky"

"What?!" Her voice reverberated through all the throne room, making the ambassadors and advisors cease their useless chatter. Anya barely acknowledged them or their looks of disdain at the sudden interruption, she was far too worried to care about decorum.

- xxx -

"Clarke"

"I'm here my love". Clarke took the brunette hands in her own, while vainly trying to stop the massive flow of blood from her wound. She had to save her; she couldn't fail Lexa this time.

Streaks of tears smudged her once pristine makeup; her clear blue eyes were raging like a thunderstorm out of control.

"Ai gonplei ste odon" The straightforward acceptance behind the words made her wail in despair, intellectually she knew Lexa had been prepared to die since the day she ascended as Heda, she had told her so, but her heart refused to let her go.

"No. I won't accept that" Always stubborn until the end she valiantly tried to fight against fate. She felt like Canute attempting to stop the ties with her bare hands.

"You were right life is…" Blobs of black blood fall from Heda's lips, sealing her inexorable fate.

"No, Lexa, Lexa"

"Nooo!"

The piercing scream jolted Octavia awake, the brunette thought they were been attacked but when the fog of sleep left her she realized Clarke was trashing and crying in her dreams. Luckily everyone else seemed to be still asleep.

For a fleeting moment she idly wondered if the regular inspections of their chambers made her more susceptible to noises, holding yourself steel to try and avoid detection required to be extremely attuned to your environment, any sudden movement could mean grave danger. She instantly vanished those thoughts, it was no time for a trip to memory lane, Clarke needed her help.

She tried poking the blonde to wake her up but Clarke was fully immersed in her nightmares and didn't respond to her gentle touch.

"Octavia? Where are we? What's going on?" Her brain was trying to make sense of things, she had been with Lexa while she exhaled her final breaths and now Octavia was hugging her and there was no trace of her lover.

"You were having a nightmare, bawling your eyes out and screaming. I tried to wake you but well…"

"I… thank you"

"Are you ok?" It felt stupid to ask that but she didn't really know what else to say.

"Yes, thank you for your concern. I was dreaming about my father". Another lie piling up on top of the hundreds she had told since she woke in her alternate reality but truthfully what could she say that didn't sound like she belongs in the psychiatric wing of the Ark?.

Clarke gave herself a second to ponder her situation; could she share with Octavia what was truly happening? How would she start explaining?. She could envision almost word by word how that conversation would turn out.

"I was given a second chance to redeem myself, to try and do better, a higher power, who I share my soul with, by the way, granted me a once in a lifetime opportunity to save Lexa"

At this point, the blonde could clearly see in her mind Octavia's confused face morphing into disbelief.

"A higher power? Soul sharing? What the fuck are you talking about Clarke?".

"A few moons from now I will be known as Wanheda, the commander of death"

"Yes, death. I know, I was shocked too, but she… ohh well it doesn't matter, not really, the point is I'm not completely human anymore"

"No, I'm not immortal Octavia. Just let me finish please"

"Who the fuck is Lexa?"

"Funny you ask that Lexa is the woman I'm in love with and who will decide if we get to stay on earth or if the grounders will just slaughter us in our sleep. Ohh, did I forget to mention we aren't alone on earth and the grounders aren't even the biggest threat around here?".

"Clarke I need you to answer me honestly. Did you smoke too much of Monty's weed or did you find something else around here?. I get it, it feels nice but you will lose your mind if you abuse that kind of shit"

If just thinking about a fabricated dialogue in her mind gave her an exasperating headache she didn't even want to contemplate what damage the real version would do.

The blonde realized that she has grown to appreciate Octavia, even more, this time around and she suspects that the sentiment is mutual, for while they had been allies in their first reality, they had never truly bonded, not the way they are doing now at least, but despite their blossoming friendship the brunette would definitely think her insane or even if for some reason Octavia miraculously believed her; what is to say that her involvement wouldn't be detrimental to execute her carefully crafted plans? What if telling her meant doing irreparable damage to an already fragile timeline?. No, she couldn't tell her the truth. She couldn't carelessly risk Lexa's life just because she couldn't keep her mouth shut.

Completely unaware of Clarke's internal monologue the brunette simply nodded solemnly and didn't press for more details. She still had nightmares about her mother and while they had become less frequent, they didn't hurt any less.

"What are you doing?" Octavia asked curiously when she watched Clarke extending her arms and legs while moving her body towards the floor. It looked like she was trying to hold her whole body up with only her arms.

The blonde counted ten more push-ups before sitting in the grass and acknowledging her friend's question.

"Exercising"

"What?"

Clarke immediately understood her perplexity. Exercising was not something that was encouraged, or even taught about, in the Ark. You didn't really need big, developed muscles to live in a space station; as a matter of fact, it was preferable that you didn't have them. Bigger muscle tissue burns more energy and thus needs more food for sustainment and that is something that the Ark council would never be able to afford for the whole population. Food had always been regulated to the extremes; everyone got the bare minimum needed to survive.

"This is called exercise. It helps to condition your body to be more resilient and makes you stronger"

"How did you learned?. I sure as hell never even heard about it"

"I…" but before she could even try to craft an acceptable lie Octavia shook her head and filled the blanks for her.

"Let me guess, you read it in one of your old world books or saw a documentary, didn't you?"

The blonde swiftly nodded, her face mirroring Octavia's smile but for completely different reasons. While the brunette thought that the line about old books and documentaries was quickly becoming their inside joke, Clarke saw it as an easy and believable lie that she could spat anytime she needed, after all without access to the Ark's library no one could dispute the veracity of her claim.

"While it makes me extremely happy that for some reason you decided to pursue a strange hobby like watching documentaries about camping in the old world, for the life of me I can't understand why would you put yourself through this torture. I honestly don't see the point and don't take this the wrong way but you look like you will keel over anytime" Clarke could hear the curiosity and the concern on the tone of her voice, the blonde just smiled at her.

"Don't worry; I'm stronger than I look. It will take more than just push-ups, planks and crunches to take me out of the game"

"I know that you beat up my brother after all"

"About that I…" Clarke rubbed her neck in uncertainty; she hopes her actions hadn't caused a rift between her and the woman who was rapidly becoming her best friend.

Octavia instantly waved away her concerns "Don't. He totally deserved it; maybe it will help him pull out his head from his ass"

"I read about it but never really tried it until I was sent to solitary confinement. Exercising not only relaxes your mind but also most of the time it made me so exhausted that I would instantly fall asleep. Trust me the scariest thing about solitary is that you have too much time to let your mind wander; sometimes I thought I was going insane"

The brunette accepted the explanation, trying to conceal the pity that was surely reflected in her face, while been imprisoned was no joke, been in solitary must have been hell. At least she had someone to talk to when things got to be a little too much, someone to complain and laugh with. As a matter of fact, since she had been sent to prison, she had a fuller social life than before. Irony at its finest some would say.

A pensive gloom twisted Clarke's features. The brunette didn't like the look on her friend's face, someone as full of life as she shouldn't look so despondent, it was unsettling.

"Do you… mmm… do you want to talk about it?. "About being in solitary, I mean"

A stifling tension settled between them, the silence wasn't unbearable but it was not comfortable either, it was just… heavy.

Clarke looked at her oddly, like she couldn't comprehend what she was saying.

"I…" words got stuck in her throat. It had been so long since she had confided in anyone. Lexa had been the only person she had ever opened up to and even then she hadn't said much.

"You don't have to if…" but the blonde had a faraway and lost look in her eyes and didn't seem to listen.

"It was well… lonely… obviously, but that wasn't the worst, I could deal with been alone; I had exercise and art supplies to distract myself and while I love my mother we don't have a close relationship, she has always been too busy with Ark businesses to properly bond with me so there was not much to miss really. I didn't care about the guards' cruelty either, sometimes I even defy them for my own amusement, no matter how much they tried they couldn't break me and their frustration was worth any punishment"

Octavia didn't ask about the guards, she was intimately familiar with their special brand of cruelty. Subconsciously she rubbed her left thigh, the scars that dotted the place a permanent reminder of her first day in jail. She didn't dare to even imagine what they could have tried with someone as headstrong as Clarke.

"My worst enemy in solitary confinement was… well…me, my mind. I played up every mistake I had ever made, trying to predict if the outcome could have been different. I blamed myself for so many things, things that weren't my fault or even my responsibility but I just keep thinking that maybe I could have done something, say something to change it. It was foolish to think that way, I know, but with nothing but time in your hands your mind can become quite cruel"

Despite the circumstances that prompted the confession she was grateful that Clarke confided in her, it made her feel closer to the blonde.

From Octavia's point of view, Clarke Griffin was undeniably an intriguing person. She should have been spoiled and a bit arrogant, like all members of the upper echelons of the Ark tended to be, yet she defied all stereotypes, she marched to the beat of her own drum and didn't let anyone or anything stand in her way.

The blonde fall silent, she looked like she wanted to say more but at the same time, her confession seemed to weigh her down like she revealed too much of herself. Sensing that Clarke might bolt at any minute Octavia took it upon herself to cheer her up.

"Could you… I mean… would you… teach me how to exercise?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, we will have to learn how to fend for ourselves and there is no better way to do that than getting stronger. Honestly just looking for supplies for the tents made me exhausted, I'm not sure I have ever walked that much in my whole life". She said with a rueful grin.

Clarke chuckled at the admission but was glad Octavia realized the need to improve their physical shape if they wanted to survive. If the brunet's first reaction was any indication, it would be an uphill battle to convince everyone else.

"Do you want to start now?"

"There is no time like the present"

"We should try something easy first. Let's do this for a minute or two" She said and showed her friend how to do a plank.

Octavia could barely hold herself for a minute before she fell onto the floor, wheezing and gasping for air.

"What the fuck?!. You call this easy?. You are fucking insane Clarke Griffin!" she grumbled but dutifully started again. The blonde just smirked at her and lauded her for her determination.

"I remember the first time I tried a plank, I gave up in like 30 seconds so honestly you are faring better than I did. You have to be patient, with time and practice this will be a breeze!".

Octavia gave her an evil eye and stuck her tongue out at her; Clarke just laughed and pushed her to try doing a few push-ups.

After a couple of push-ups, the brunette finally gave up and rolled to the side, arms and legs falling limply at her side.

"Just so you know I still hate you. I would punch you but I can't move"

"It will get better, trust me"

"I do… trust you that is".

Clarke had no idea that something so simple could fill her with so much joy but Octavia's words touched her heart. To anyone listening they were simply talking about exercise but looking in her friend's eyes Clarke knew that the sentiment runs deeper, Octavia trusted her with her life and that was a gift she would never take for granted.