She isn't even sure who it was that told her what had happened. Doesn't remember what they actually said. All she heard was Klark hurt. She could hear the dread in their voice as they spoke. The worry. Klark wasn't just hurt. Being hurt is a broken arm or a slice. Something that can be fixed.
This wasn't that.
She should have known. The moment Twilight stopped in the middle of the battle and released a sombre howl that something was wrong. How the wolf knew what had happened she has no idea. The wolves and their connection to each other and to Klark has always been odd. Wells once joked that they all shared a single brain cell and that's how they always seemed to work in perfect harmony. She and other members of Floukru however believed it had something to do with the powers of Wanheda. To train three wolves was something never heard of before. To be able to communicate with them nonverbally is something else.
Storm had followed Wells into battle. One wolf watching over each of them. The pack protecting its family. So, when Twilight stopped and howled she should have known something had happened to someone. But the battle was happening. Death and destruction surrounded her and she couldn't stop without risking her own life so she kept on going. Slaying any Azegda warrior she came across.
When everything settled, she noticed how agitated Twilight was. The need coming off of the she wolf to run off somewhere. She was about to let the wolf do just that when the messenger with news about Klark came. She didn't know where the healing tent was. Where Klark was being cared for. She didn't wait for the messenger to tell her. Instead, she took off running after Twilight. She didn't need the messenger to tell her. Not when Twilight and Klark were connected and would lead her to where she needed to be.
Arriving at the healing tent Luna takes one quick glance around at everyone gathered. The air around them is scared and worried. Which does nothing to settle her nervousness. It just reminds her that this wasn't a small injury. But it's the defeated look on Onya's face that tells her everything she needs to know. Meeting her sister's fos eyes she can see the defeated look lingering. How when she spots Luna there is almost a pity in them. A sympathy for what is to come.
Panic wells up in her at this. She spots Wells next to Onya. Frantically she makes her way over to him. "What happened." She all but shouts at him. All the composure she managed to create from her time as a leader vanished the moment she heard Klark was hurt. How can someone possibly be calm or composed when their houmon is hurt somewhere. It's just not possible.
Onya looks away from her. Gritting her teeth she moves towards where everyone else was gathered giving her and Wells a little privacy. By that action alone Luna feels her heart drop. The devastated look on Wells's face does nothing to alleviate that worry. He doesn't answer her question instead choosing to reach out and pull her into a tight hug. One that is meant to be comforting but instead just makes everything seem more real.
Behind her, the wolves all lie down on the ground their head resting on their paws as strangled whimpers escape them towards the healing tent. At the sound of the wolves' distressed calls and knowing the connection they share with Klark the very last of Luna's resolved cracks.
Klark is in that tent. Klark is hurt badly. Very badly. Badly enough that no one is willing to talk to her about it. That Wells would rather hug her then tell her just how bad it is. A moment of realisation hits her with the power of being hit by a cart. Klark isn't just hurt. Klark is dying.
A sob escapes her, and she sinks into his embrace. Klark could die. She could lose the woman she loves. The one she intended to spend the rest of her life with was dying and she can't do anything to help her. A part of her wants to break out of Wells's hold and rush into the tent. To see Klark. But she knows she can't do that. Klark needs the healers focused on her doing so would put Klark at risk. But she doesn't want Klark to be alone. Whatever she is going through she doesn't want to leave Klark alone. It was always something that the blonde girl was afraid of. That her actions would force everyone she cares about away from her, and she would be left all alone. Luna and promised that wouldn't happen. That no matter what came for them they would always be together to face it.
Sending Klark away was the hardest thing she has ever done. But the idea of Klark dying was too painful for her to even imagine. So she sent her away. Sent her under the disguise of getting help for Floukru but really she just wanted Klark away from here and safe. And for a short time, she was. Klark was with Onya again. With her people. She was away from all this. She was safe.
But now she's dying. And Luna can't help but feel like it was her fault. She sent Klark away. She was the reason Klark wasn't safely tucked away behind the cities walls. If she hadn't sent Klark away would she be safe and unharmed. Was this her doing.
"Wells." She gasps in between cries pulling back to face her the man Klark calls brother. "What happened." She needs to know. Needs to understand how they got to this point. What Klark had to endure and just how bad it is. She needs to know. She needs... She needs Klark. "Please." She begs. The not knowing was killing her.
Wells hesitates in answering her. He blinks back his own tears eyes screwed tightly shut as if she's trying to fight back the memory of what happened to Klark. Her plea seems to be the last thread holding him together. He lets out a shuddering breath before answering her. "Clarke... she... I... She got hit by an arrow... One to the chest..." An arrow pierced Klark's chest. Luna tries to assure herself that it's ok. Many warriors have taken arrows to the chest and have managed to survive. Klark herself has healed many injuries like this. "And then... a second arrow impaled her leg." Wait what. A second arrow. Wells doesn't stop there. "And then a third went into her shoulder and she went down Luna. She just fell..." His voice cracks at saying this. He looks at her almost as if pleading for her to forgive him for something that isn't his fault. "Neither me nor Anya could reach her in time. She was just lying in mud bleeding out of everywhere. Anya managed to get her here, but she lost a lot of blood. Riley has gone in and is giving her blood but... I don't know if that will be enough."
Three arrows. Klark took three arrows.
Fear swells within her now knowing what happened to Klark. She may not be a healer but has been around Klark and the wounded enough to understand what Wells was telling her. Looking off towards the tent she knows she can do nothing but wait for news. To hope that Klark will pull through. That the power Wanheda wields will be enough to protect her houmon once again.
Luna doesn't notice Wells calling out her name. Doesn't notice the moment she all but drops to the floor. Doesn't notice when he sits down next to her taking her hand. Nor when the three wolves pad over to her. Storm lying down in front of Wells. His hand stroking the wolf's blue merle fur. Twilight rests her head on her legs seeking comfort from her. The black and tan wolf curls up to Luna as she absently begins to stroke her. How Anubis sits next to her taking his place as her protector. The blue roan wolf growls at everyone who tries to move closer. Everyone but Onya.
Luna doesn't notice any of this. Her sole focus rests on the tent as she prays to Wanheda to protect Klark. To not let this be the end of them.
When Clarke opened her eyes she was surprised. She remembers the arrows. That battle outside of Delphnea. The fire and blood. Wells and Onya's cries of her name as she fell. She remembers all of that. So why isn't she injured. Why isn't she in pain.
And where the fuck is she.
Forest green vine like ropes hold dark brown planks in place forming a circular hut. A small fireplace is to her left and to her right is a dark oak door. She's resting on a bed with a black frame with white woollen blankets covering her. They feel almost too soft. Silk like but fluffy.
Off to the side is a table with four seats. Above the table on the wall is a craving. It seems to be a set of wings attached to a ring on top of a cross. It's vaguely similar to her. Like she has seen it before. Or some depiction of it.
The more she looks at it the wings kind of look like the war paint she wears. Her own personal insignia she created with Onya years ago. Similar but different. This one has more emphasis on the wings have more feather like strokes out then the ones on her eyes do.
Just as she moves to get out of the bed the door creaks open and a man with braided raven like hair and cold blue eyes lock on to her. "Uhhh… Hi." Clarke states when the man doesn't say anything but watches her intensely. Far too intensely for her liking. Who is this man and why is she in a bed. Where is Wells. Where are her wolves. Where is Luna.
"You're afraid." The man states in a somewhat detached tone.
Clarke raises an eyebrow in response. "I would prefer to say confused with a side of caution." She has no idea where she is or who this person is so it would be fair to say she isn't comfortable with this situation.
Her comeback seems to impress the dark haired man. "Good. Fear is a useless emotion. It's designed to hold us back."
That's true in one way. Being afraid can stop you from doing something but having no fear is worse. That's how people die. We need fear to keep us sane. To stop us from doing something stupid. "Or make us think something through before acting. Fear is what keeps people alive."
The man pulls up a chair from the nearby table and sits across from her. "In small doses yes. But fear. True paralysing fear is what has brought many great warriors down."
"So has over confidence in their abilities." Clarke shoots back feeling proud of herself.
"Your fear has held you back for years. Fear of rejection, disappointment, of pain, of embracing who you really are. And what you have become. It holds you back. It surrounds you and drags you down dark pits of your own doing. Your own personal chain to stop you from accepting the truth. You are brave I will give you that. You have faced many things that would destroy other people. But even now you are holding back. The power you hold is worthless if you don't use it."
Ok... Clarke is officially confused as to what the fuck is going on. Her eyes narrow at the man. "Who are you." That's the first question she should have asked the stranger. Not started a debate on the usefulness of fear.
The man seems to look at her with disappointment. As if she should know who she is. "See now I thought that much was obvious."
Clearly not if Clarke doesn't know who he is.
Clarke takes a moment to look around. There is nothing nearby she could use as a weapon. The man facing her is tall and broad. He has a dangerous aura around him. His cold eyes seem familiar. Almost as if she has looked into them hundreds of times before. But that doesn't make any sense. Does it.
Yet even with the danger rolling off of him, Clarke doesn't feel scared of him. It's an innate feeling telling her he isn't a threat to her. "We've been through a lot together Clarke of Floukru." He states. "All three of us have actually yet you still don't seem to understand who you are." Three of us. There are three of them. What. Where are the other two. Why is it just them.
Understand who she is. What she wants to know is who the fuck he is and where on earth is she. "Who are you." She asks him again through gritted teeth levelling him her best glare.
He smirks towards her. "You need not be afraid Clarke. We are one in the same. I stand as your faithful protector." His smile seems to grow as if what he is saying amuses himself. As of there is some joke taking place here and she can't see it. Something so obvious. "You could say I am your guide while in the afterlife."
Images of the arrows hitting her flash through her mind again. Afterlife. "This isn't real." She mutters looking down at the bed. "I was hurt. This is a dream." The beach comes back to her mind. "Where am I." She asks understanding a little more of what is happening but still nothing makes sense. If she was dead, wouldn't she be greeted by people she knew or just met by an endless darkness. Not this weird dream state.
"The place between life and death." The man answers holding out a flask for her. She doesn't know why she takes it. She just does. "A domain you hold much power over. As do I. As do our sisters. Where we were born from. Our very own safe haven to learn and understand."
"Our sisters," Clarke repeats now completely lost as to what is going on.
The man only smirks again in response before nodding his head towards the drink. "Drink. It will help you." Doing as he bids Clarke takes a mouthful of the sweet liquid. There is a metallic taste to it. Pulling the flask away she wipes at her lip. To her horror dark red blood drips down her finger. The sight is enough for her to drop the flask. Only it doesn't spill. No, the moment she lets go it vanishes from her site leaving no trace of its existence. Not even on her fingers. Yet she can still taste the sweetness of it on her tongue.
"What did I just drink." Screeches horrified at what she had just drunk.
"Something to help your body recover." He says sounding almost bored. "I just told you that."
"That was before I knew it was blood." Clarke snaps back at him. Who gives someone blood to drink.
"Is blood not what with stains all of us." He answers. "Given how much you lost... trust me you'll need it." Now she knows this is a dream. But this is still very strange. Then again most of her dreams are strange but still.
"You still haven't told me your name." She tries asking yet again.
It's not surprising when he avoids answering her question again. "What is a name. I've had many. Even you gave me one when we met. Your instinct as to who I am picked out clearly for you. As it was with our sisters." Seeing her confused face he rolls his eyes. "Come on Clarke I'm giving it to you. Surely you must know who I am." His voice turns frustrated. Almost to a growl.
"I don't know you." She shouts at him. Throwing the covers of the bed she stands looking down upon him.
"Yes, you do." He replies before taking a deep breath. He looks down to the ground and from the light of the fire Clarke notices there is an almost blue tint to his dark hair. "This is new to you. I get that. Your fear is still holding you back. Your unwillingness to be who you are is what is stopping you. But have no fear. You will accept it. Soon. You won't have a choice." Why does that sound like a threat.
"What does that mean." She demands. She feels powerful here. Not physically but almost like there is a different power to her. Nothing makes sense. Her head hurts. Too much is happening for her to process. Confused and missing something Clarke tries to think. Tries to understand. The man seems familiar, but she can't place him. What is going on.
"It means I am with you until the end. We will stand together as we have done for years." He stands as well moving closer to her. He reaches out and grabs a hold of both of her shoulders. A firm but non-threatening grip holds her in place. "Our time here is coming to an end. But remember we will be watching. And we would die before we let anything happen to you or to Luna. Have no fear of that. The natblida holds our protection. As well as your brother. We stand guard as they rest."
Before she could question him more, he roughly pushes her backwards. Instead of slamming into the wooded wall as she expected, she sinks into a hole of darkness. A bright light appears and rams into her. Her entire body jerks upwards and she wakes up gasping.
Luna sits beside Klark as she rests. The past few days have been all but a blur to her. The tribe's battle against the garrisoned Azegda forces was cause for celebration among the clans. News of their victory was however tainted among her clan with the knowledge that Klark was hurt. Adria had come by and sat beside Luna for a while.
Klark's young sekon put to the test after the battle working with many other healers to help as many people as she could. Luna smiles to herself knowing how proud Klark would be of the girl. Especially after she got into an argument about how to save a member of Bouldalan. The healer wished to end the suffering of the man but Adria was sure he could still be saved. They argued about it until Adria shouted with a ferocity that she was seken to Wanheda and Wanheda would have him thrown in a cell for wasting life.
That shut the healer up and Adria got to work and did end up saving the warrior's life. Whispers about Wanheda's powers working to keep warriors alive through her chosen seken has gathered much respect for the girl among the clans.
Rora and Luka had also come to check in on Klark and stayed awhile. Rora taking on the silent approach while Luka talked to Klark as if she was awake and listening to his words. He reminisced on all the trouble they had managed to get up to. Some stories even brought a laugh or smile to her face.
Members of Skaikru created a schedule where each person was given an allotted time to spend with Klark before going back to help with the rebuilding effort. Delphnea and the surrounding villages had taken so much damage that even with twelve clans helping there was still so much work to be done. Hunters and gathers have been working overtime trying to refill the clan's deprived stocks.
Luna knows she should be out there. She is the leader of Floukru after all. She should be helping in the rebuilding effort. But she can't bring herself to leave Klark's side. Rora, Luka, Delano, Ven and Derrick have all agreed to take on the role of leader between them while Luna stays with Klark. The five of them telling her to stay while they deal with everything.
The only other person to stay by Klark's side was Wells. Not surprising but the two of them couldn't bare to leave Klark alone while she fought her way back to them. The healers said that Klark should be fine but it's all down to her now. Abbi, Klark's mother has come and gone. Not wanting to leave Klark but having to leave to help other wounded warriors.
Onya has spent a lot of time in the tent. But she has duties keeping Trikru in line and helping Heda plan out their next move against Azegda. Leska's most trusted general had congratulated her on her marriage to Klark and upon hearing this Luna couldn't help but laugh. Of course, Klark would tell Onya. The amount of love and respect Klark held towards Onya still takes her back at times. To Klark Onya was far more then just her Fos. She was her friend and the first person other then Wells she felt she could open up to on Earth. The horrors they endured together forged a bond far stronger than Luna had originally believed.
Not to mention the way Onya has acted around Klark. Growing up with the woman Luna can safely say she treats Klark differently then she did herself and even Leska who was like a little sister to Onya. It was strange to see but heart warming. Even after everything that has happened, Luna is glad that her houmon has Onya back in her life.
Leska had come a few times but hadn't stayed long not wanting to see Klark in this position. The look her former officiate had given her told her when Klark was better the two of them would need to talk. Something Luna isn't looking forward to but was expecting. She's spent nearly four years lying to Heda. She's betrayed the woman who spared her life and Leska will demand answers. Answers she won't like if the looks she has been sending Klark are any indication.
Across from her Wells is sleeping in his chair. The three wolves lying down spread out through the private room resting but keeping a lookout for any would be assassins. Sleep has become an even rarer occurrence for her these past few days. Every time she closes her eyes she's terrified that something will happen to Klark. If she isn't watching her anything could happen. No, she needs to stay awake. She needs to watch over her houmon.
Klark's breathing has been quiet and rhythmic. Luna has been keeping track ever since she heard Klark had punctured a lung. If her lung was damaged her breathing would be shallower. Abbi repaired the damage so Luna has been carefully listening for any changes which could mean something's gone wrong.
It was her careful attention to detail that helped her to notice the change in Klark's breathing. It slowly begins to speed it. Klark began to twitch as well. "Klark." Luna reaches forward taking hold of Klark's hand. Looking over to Wells she calls his name a couple of times. Each time louder than the last until he eventually seems to hear her. Her shout making him jump awake. His eyes darting over to her looking for whatever it was that made her shout. "Something's happening." She states turning her attention back to the blonde. Her breathing has become more laboured. Rapidly become more laboured. "Something's wrong."
Wells moves closer to Klark as well. "What's happening." He touches the top of her head. He feels the heat building under his hand. She's almost feverish but fevers don't just suddenly appear.
"I... I don't know." Luna replies a sense of panic settling in her stomach. Something is very very wrong. But how. People don't just suddenly turn like this. Luna has been paying close attention to make sure of that. Not to mention Abbi has been running every test under the sun to make sure her daughter is alright. "We should get Abbi." If anyone would know what was happening it would be Skaikru's head healer.
Wells nods and goes to leave. Just as he's about to leave the room Luna screaming out his name halts him in his steps. Turning back to face his leader he is greeted by the sight of blood starting to drip down Klark's face. It's coming out of her eyes.
Luna and Wells both start to panic as Wells rushes out of the room searching for Abbi leaving Luna alone with Klark as the blood drips down her face. As Luna desperately tries to wipe it away. "Klark." She pleads tears forming in her eyes. "Beja Klark. Beja stay kom ai. Klark. Nou ban op ai. Beja Klark. Beja. Ai hodnes. Ai na nou dou of yu. Beja."(Please Clarke. Please stay with me. Clarke. Don't leave me. Please, Clarke. Please, my love. I can't lose you.) She begs in between sobs. Begging for Klark to stay with her.
The blood seems to stop leaking from her eyes which Luna is forever grateful for. But what caused it in the first place. Was one of the arrows poisoned and they missed it. Or was something else at play here.
Behind her the three wolves have come together sitting up straight watching the scene unfold. Three pairs of eyes observing what was happening not making a sound as they stood guard against any outside threats. All waiting to see what will happen.
Laying in the bed Klark seems to have stopped twitching her body relaxing. The fever on her forehead disappearing as fast as it came. Her breathing returned to normal. If it wasn't for the blood still staining her face you wouldn't be able to tell anything had even happened.
Luna brushes some loose strands of hair away from Klark's face. "Kom op bakon gon ai." (Come back to me). She whispers resting her own head against Klark's.
With a gasping breath, Klark's entire body jumps in place forcing Luna to move back a little. Then bright blue eyes snap open meeting darker brown ones. The blood forming a wing like pattern under her eyes. "Klark." Luna gasps out not believing the sight in front of her.
She's awake. Klark is awake.
But what just happened.