Maybe today isn't so bad after all.
I mean, they did just slide right the way down what they can only assume was a very steep hill whilst blinded by heavy rain and get covered in mud from head to toe all before breakfast, but the day isn't lost.
They landed just a little ways away from a cluster of trees that is a perfect spot for setting up their tents once again so they can recover from their fright and they may even, with a little bit of clever positioning, be able to find a spot dry enough to set up a fire for cooking.
Kara likens the feeling of stepping under those trees to setting off a yellow sun grenade. The sudden break from the drenching onslaught from the sky and the ability to actually see more than just a few feet ahead of her feels like a blessing and gives her a massive energy boost, it makes her feel invincible.
The feeling doesn't last all that long since they are all still standing in liquid filth. The only way to wash themselves off is to strip off their dirty clothes and then stand in the rain until the majority of the mud has run off of their skin. It isn't the best feeling.
To try and maintain privacy, they do it a tent at a time, the residents of said tent go and the others stay away out of sight until they are done. The system works wonders for most of them, the only ones who struggle a little are Kara and Lena.
It might have been a better idea for them to go separately but neither was willing to offer to leave and give the other more privacy.
It isn't sexy by any means. The rain is blinding them, their skin is streaky with the dirt and what flesh they can see is reddened from the scrubbing of their hands from trying to wash themselves.
The intimacy of it though, that's unmatched. It is a strange thing to be bonding over, being naked in the rain as they wash away the remnants of a mudslide from their bodies.
As soon as they are as clean as they are going to get, they race into their tent, yelling to their team that it's safe for them to come out.
The scramble inside the tent is hectic, towels are slipped around them as they frantically try to dry themselves off and warm up all at the same time.
"Holy crap, that rain is cold." Kara shivers, not wanting to drop the towel to get dressed because it's currently keeping her warm.
"Tell me about it, my nipples could probably cut diamonds right now." Lena's teeth chatter as she talks.
"Forget diamond, mine could cut through obsidian."
Lena clears her throat to hide her quivering chuckle. "I wasn't aware that it was a competition."
With a huffed out breath, Kara responds, a smile adorning her face. "Me neither, my mouth worked before my brain."
"Isn't that the way it usually works though?" Lena quips.
"Do you have to keep on teasing me?"
Lena smirks, a perfect eyebrow poised. "I thought you liked being teased."
Kara loses her ability to form a decent sentence. Her mouth opens, trying to form any words but she completely fails.
"Close your mouth, darling, you'll catch flies." Lena turns and drops her towel, slipping some clean clothes on.
Kara averts her eyes when her brain catches up enough to process that she shouldn't be looking at her best friend in that way, her best friend who she may or may not have feelings for.
The sight of Lena's ass as she bent over to grab her clothes will forever be seared into her brain though and she isn't going to complain about that.
Once their clothes are covering their modesty, they blow up their mattresses and give themselves a few minutes to relax and let the morning's events sink into their bones.
Their towels are wrapped around their heads, keeping their wet hair from drenching their pillows, and their feet have been wrapped up in two pairs of socks each, their attempt at resuscitating their poor toes from the cold onslaught.
"I can't believe we fell all the way down." Kara stares at the roof of the tent as she talks.
"We really should have known better, of course, the ground would have been too unsteady from the rain, it's obvious now I think about it."
Kara knows that if she were to look at Lena, she would see the guilty look that makes her heart clench. "We all should have, I think this is just a learning moment, we need to be more careful and prioritize safety above all else."
"I agree." The emotion is clear in Lena's voice, the tears already filling up her eyes. "Someone could have been seriously injured today or worse, all because I…because we didn't think. It can't happen again."
Whenever Lena cries, it triggers Kara into crying too and this time is no different. Her eyes well up and she lets herself fall into the scenario that could have happened. Someone could have hit their head, or the drop could have been a lot steeper, someone could have been gravely injured or even died. That someone could have been Esme or Lena or any of their family.
Lena sniffs back her tears. "I am not going to lose anyone from my family over a stupid decision. I can't lose anyone else, my heart can't take it."
Kara finally gathers the courage to meet Lena's gaze and move in for a much-needed cuddle. "Our family is not going anywhere, today was a blip, we're not going to let anything like this happen again, alright? We're right here and we always will be. I always will be."
With the back of her hand, Lena wipes away the stray tears. "My god, you can be sappy when you want to be."
"Hey! I'll have you know I'm sappy all the time."
Lena can't help but laugh at Kara and her ridiculous jokes. She just has a way of lightening the mood and making her feel better.
"Would you mind if I asked you to lie with me for a little bit? I need to force myself to relax before my muscles cramp from the stress."
"Not at all."
The mattress sags with the weight of them both, they mustn't have blown it up quite enough, but still, they can't be bothered to either blow it up more or to shift onto the other one. The cuddle is an excellent remedy for their stress and anxiety, so they stay there for as long as possible, simply wrapped up in the presence of the other woman.
Kelly and Alex take the initiative to cook for them all as an apology for eating all of the crackers this morning and leaving them with nothing. Lena is a hundred percent sure that it is all Kelly's doing and Alex would make them help if it were up to her, but whatever.
"Come on guys, get a move on! The food is getting cold!" Alex's abrasive voice cuts through the air, interrupting them from their light doze.
"Coming!" Kara leans up and shouts back then offers a hand to Lena to help her up.
They rush out of the tent, barely remembering to shove their feet into their still filthy boots and to throw off the towels from their head as they pass through the entrance.
They must have felt really guilty since they have given them bigger portions and kept the smaller portions for themselves. Once again, Lena notes that it must be Kelly's doing.
The food is devoured at record speeds, and barely any words are exchanged between bites.
The scrape of spoons against the empty bowls makes Alex wince, the squeal of metal on metal scraping its way through her body. She fights the urge to ask them to stop and lets them get on with it, only speaking when they have completely finished.
"So, what do you guys want to do? Should we wait it out or should we just hope for the best, I don't think we can fall down any more hills, we should be on the lowest ground we'll find in a while."
Lena and Kara share a look. "We should wait it out, there has been enough unnecessary danger for a while, it's safer that way."
Kara nods along to Lena's words, agreeing emphatically. "Took the words right out of my mouth. The safety of the team is more important than the little amount of ground we will achieve by battling through the rain."
"I'm with them, I don't need any more adrenaline rushes today," Nia says.
"Alright, I guess we're waiting it out," Kelly announces.
That makes them all smile, nobody really wants to go back into the onslaught, that would be hell. The little spray they are getting through the gaps in the branches of the trees is bad enough and they can't wait to get back to their tents for shelter.
Right as they begin to make their way to their respective tents, they hear a loud, muffled shout in the distance. Kara can't make out what the person is saying but she does know that they need to skedaddle out of there sharpish.
"On second thought, pack up and do it quickly. We don't know who they are, so we need to keep ahead of them. Hurry." Kara rushes towards her and Lena's tent, folding it down quicker than she ever has before and lugging as much of their stuff onto her back as she can manage.
The others are right behind her, rapidly helping each other gather all of their things and rushing further into the thick of the trees.
Their heartbeats thud in their ears with each step they take. Even the headless Kelex somehow has a panicked jolt in its movements.
The shouts become more regular from behind them and appear to be getting louder, showing that whoever it is, is getting closer by the minute, rounding on them.
Esme is hooked in Alex's tight grip, giggling as they run, completely unaware of the danger they may be in. They have no idea who these people are or what they want. They don't know if they just happen to be travelling in this direction or if they are heading right for them. This situation is one big unknown.
"We should turn, if they change direction too, we'll know they are after us." Kelly pants.
"Ok." Lena, who was leading the group makes a sharp right turn, trying to keep her eyes out for any scarlet plants as she does. That is not a situation they want to find themselves in again, they will probably have nightmares about that for the rest of their lives.
Their pace is as steady as it can be given the situation, their boots are slapping into the wet ground, and it takes all of their balance not to slip on the wet leaves, but still, the shouts are right behind them.
"They're shouting to keep looking." Kara is clearly out of breath and struggling but since they are closing in, she can now make out what the people are saying.
"I'm getting the feeling that they may be after us." Nia wheezes. "Let's try another turn."
Nobody argues, they simply take a left turn, so they are headed further into the trees, completely disorientated due to the rain and unfamiliar terrain.
The fear only increases when it becomes clear that they have not only not been able to lose them but also that they are closing in.
"Do we hide?" Kara asks.
Alex points out the obvious. "Where in the world would we hide?"
Their brains are going rapidly, all trying to figure out how to get out of this situation but all of them struggling to think with their tired bones and lack of breath.
Ever the genius, Lena offers up a solution. "Up, we go up."
"Up where?" Kara asks.
"Into the trees, come on." With a firm grip on her shoulder, Lena drags her to the nearest tree. "Give me a boost."
Kara does as she's told and cups her hands together to give Lena a foothold so she can propel herself up into the branches of the tree. The others are following suit, all clambering up into the branches of neighbouring trees.
With a running jump, Kara grasps onto Lena's outstretched hand and uses her firm grip to pull herself up onto the branch next to her. They carry on climbing as high as they can, hoping to put as much distance between them and the shouty strangers as they possibly can.
The sound of boots stomping in their direction announces their pending arrival. Kara leans into Lena to whisper to her, "I think it's safe to say that they are definitely following us, there's no way they just happen to be taking the exact same route as us."
"I know, I don't understand how though, there's no way they were physically tracking our steps because the rain would have washed them away before they could make out where we are going, and they couldn't keep up that pace. They must be tracking us a different way."
They both find their eyes drawn to the Kelex, which is now hovering just above Alex and Esme, nestled in between branches so it is completely covered.
"You don't think…" Kara snaps her mouth shut when the strangers come into view. They can't get a good look at them with all of the branches and leaves in the way as well as the battering rain but that's most likely a good thing.
Kara has to fight back the tears from hearing her native language spoken so freely below her, despite what they are saying.
"Find her."
"The general wants her brought back unharmed."
"Quickly, she must be close, the tracker has stabilised, she has stopped."
Kara shuffles as close to Lena as she can so she can whisper right into her ear and not raise her voice even the slightest bit. "They have a tracker and know we've stopped but they're only looking for one person. They say that their general wants her brought back somewhere."
"What do we do? They'll find us sooner or later?"
All Kara can do is offer a helpless shrug in return, she has no clue at all how they can get out of this situation.
The tracker must be accurate enough that the strangers are lingering around the general vicinity of the trees but not accurate enough that they can be led right to them. They can hear them shuffling about below them and checking around the brush in the area.
Kara's heart stops when the Kelex gets blown by a gust of wind and hits a nearby branch with a thud. The strangers' attention is now on the tree that Alex and Esme are hiding in, Alex's hand covering Esme's mouth gently to keep her quiet. The Strangers are peeking up between the lower branches, trying to get a glance at them.
She reacts out of pure instinct, rushing down a few branches as noisily as she can to try and draw their attention to her instead. As their heads snap in their direction, she shoots Lena an apologetic look but only finds a look of pure understanding peering back at her.
The next thing she sees is the bright light of a flashlight being sent up into her eyes and an order in Kryptonese being shot at her and Lena, who has now climbed down to her level too.
"Come down! You must come with us!"
Kara and Lena follow the orders, slowly descending the tree and dropping down the last few feet into the thick mud at the base of the tree. They throw their hands up in surrender as a man steps forward and takes their packs off their backs rather harshly.
"Rude," Lena mutters as it jolts her shoulder but a sharp glance from Kara tells her that she should be careful around these people, they don't know what they want or who exactly they are looking for.
The guy rifles through their packs, searching for something. Kara is worried about what they will do if they don't have what they're looking for and worried for if they do. There is no clear explanation for what is going on.
As he rifles through Kara's pack, his hand lands on whatever it is that he must have been looking for but unluckily for Kara and Lena, they can't get a good look at what it is he has found.
They are surrounded by a dozen military-looking guards, all staring at them with a loathing intensity that unsettles them to their core. They definitely don't look amused when they spot the sword that Lena was carrying either.
With sharp orders, Kara and Lena are directed back in the direction they came from, and neither dare to so much as glance back, too afraid to give away the location of their family to these people.
Purposefully, they don't say a word, not to each other and not to their captors, they don't know what they want so they won't risk giving them anything by being too loose-lipped.
They aren't totally sure where they are going but do recognise their previous camp, as short as their stay was when they are directed to trudge through it. It is quite confusing when they get to the base of the hill, surely they aren't expecting them to climb all the way back up it.
Instead, they are led a little way down from their initial landing point and are shocked to see large, modified pods. There are four of them and they all seat four people now instead of just one, as the average pod is designed.
They are forced into pods, each sitting next to their own guard to prevent any funny business. A windshield comes over the top of them protecting them from the rain, but they can't even begin to be thankful for the reprieve, they just hope that the others are ok.