sub rosa (Bellamy Blake x reader)

xliv. perverse instantiation, pt 1 (3.15)

The collective agreement is to head back to Arkadia, where you can regroup, talk to your friends, and figure out what to do next.

You sleep for most of the ride, the drug that Luna's clan gave you making you drowsy, but sometime in the afternoon, Bellamy wakes you up. "We have to charge the rover. You should get out and stretch your legs, and let Clarke check your shoulder."

You nod and follow the others out into Azgeda territory, and you stop beside the rover to stretch your body and shake the heaviness from your bones. Jasper passes around some rations from his pack, and you happily accept the small bag of dried fruit that he offers you. Everyone eats and sits in silence, the failure of Luna's rig leaving most of you grumpy.

Clarke eventually comes over to you, her face blank, jaw clenched, and you know she's still upset, more so than everyone else. But she puts aside her anger and asks, "How's your shoulder?"

You pull off your jacket and tug down the neckline of your shirt so she can peek beneath the bandage. "It's fine. No pain."

You wince as she pokes the skin around the cauterized wound, and she gives you a look that says, "Really?"

You give her the same look in return. "I mean, yeah, it hurts when you poke it, but it's not that bad."

She gives a little satisfied sound as she rewraps it and helps you back into your jacket. She takes a peek at the wounds on your wrist, from the cuffs Emerson put you in, removing the bandages completely when she sees that the only thing left behind are bruises. Bellamy checks the rover and yells, "Rover's almost charged. We need to pack up, we'll be home soon."

Clarke steps away from you slightly, her worry for you now replaced by her earlier frustration. "Then what? Run away?

"We're not running away, Clarke. We need to regroup with the others and find another way to defeat-"

She cuts him off, "There is no other way! We need to find a Nightblood. We need to unlock the Flame. It's the only way to stop Alie."

Jasper looks up from his perch on the hood of the rover and snorts. "What do you expect us to do, Clarke? Walk into random villages asking for their Nightbloods?"

"If that's what it takes."

You give her a sharp look, and start, "Clarke-"

But Octavia cuts you off. "No, Clarke. If Alie can find us on Luna's rig, then she can find us anywhere. I won't help you destroy another innocent Grounder village."

"If we don't find a Nightblood, there won't be any Grounder villages. Or a home for us to go back to."

Bellamy glares at her, "That's all the more reason we go there and make sure our friends are okay."

She looks at Bellamy, and then Octavia, then Jasper, seeing their disagreement with her. Then she turns to you, eyes almost pleading, but you shake your head, keeping the united front. She nods once, looking betrayed, before pushing past you and walking into the woods. You turn and look after her, watching as she disappears into the trees. You look at Bellamy and sigh, "She'll be fine. Just let her cool off."

You turn and start helping the others pack up the rover, moving quickly and silently. As you're lifting one of the bags of guns, you hear a grunt and you freeze, turning towards the woods, searching for the source of the sound. You see nothing, but the hairs on your neck are lifted, and you grab a gun and take off towards the forest. Bellamy calls your name, confused, but you ignore him and slip into the trees quietly. You pick your way through the woods, ears perking up at the sound of talking nearby. As you move that way, the voices grow loud enough for you to make out their conversation. "I need to find a Nightblood to put that in."