"How the hell are you doing that so quickly?" Octavia wonders out loud.
Open gun. Remove bullet clips. It's not that hard, when you have prior experience with the guns. Of course, Octavia doesn't.
"Look on the bright side," Finn says from where he's slumped in the corner. "You're getting through them faster than me." He raises his cup mockingly and drinks from it. From the smell, Clarke suspects it contains vodka. She wonders where he got it, and if he should really be mixing it with whatever pain medication he's on.
It's a bad joke. But then, considering how much pain he's in and that he can't see, it's pretty impressive he's joking at all right now.
"Clarke has always had very clever hands," Wells says calmly, working through the guns methodically and carefully.
Octavia snorts. "Oh, I bet she does." She winks suggestively at Clarke. Lincoln, standing guard by the door, smiles slightly at his girlfriend.
"To draw so well, I meant!" Wells says hastily, face reddening slightly. "I meant to draw well. Not... whatever you were talking about."
"I'm sure someday you'll understand what I was talking about," Octavia says in mock sympathy, still struggling to get the clip out of the gun she's on.
"Maybe you should stop making fun of me and just concentrate on your own weapon," Wells says, giving her an annoyed look.
"That's what she said," Finn says, taking another large gulp out of his cup of liquor, and letting out a sour laugh. It's an even worse joke.
There are fifteen people working to get the bullets out of most of the guns right now. There were twenty earlier, but some had to go do other jobs. There's no way anyone could take a gun – they're not exactly small and Lincoln's at the door – but occasionally when there's a noise Clarke's head snaps up anyway, and for just a second she thinks someone's about to shoot up the room. She wonders if that reaction will ever stop happening.
"Maybe the reason I'm so bad at this is because I'm actually Trikru and shouldn't be touching a gun," Octavia says thoughtfully.
"Maybe you'd be better at it if you stopped squirming in your seat and deliberately annoying everyone else," Clarke suggests dryly. Octavia's not too thrilled she's missing practice for something so boring, but Indra had told her it would be a good opportunity to practice her meditation – which Clarke thinks is code for 'stop bothering me'.
Octavia sticks her tongue out at Clarke.
"So do you know who's coming back to Arkadia and who's staying in Polis?" Wells asks, diplomatically changing the subject. He picks up another gun and opens it to remove the bullets, adding the clip to his pile – the biggest pile out of all of theirs, even Clarke's, because he's been sitting here the longest. Then he puts the gun in an empty barrel – well, empty except of grease, anyway.
"We have thirty-one people returning permanently to Arkadia, including Monty and Jasper," Clarke says. "According to Bellamy, anyway. Eleven more who would like to come back briefly to visit their families but want to continue living in Polis after that – we haven't worked out yet what we'll do if their families want to go with them, that's something I'll have to discuss with Lexa if it happens. Everyone else is apparently pretty settled by now."
"No more thefts?" Wells asks.
"Two minor crimes," Clarke says. "Bellamy ensured they got the necessary punishment, from the sound of it he's actually doing pretty well at this. Monty told me his students and their families adore him."
"All of the Skaikru Sekens are going to be so jealous when we get back," Octavia says cheerfully. "While they've been stuck protecting Polis from nothing at all, I've been in actual battle -" She breaks off, apparently remembering what that battle was and what happened in it, and casts an apologetic look at Finn that he can't see. "I mean, unless we stay in TonDC. That is Indra's home I guess. But I overheard her the other day talking to Anya and we might end up going to Polis to manage some things after the Mountain's dealt with, since that Titus guy might not be coming back. She and Anya are arguing over who should go do his job."
"He's the Fleimkepa," Clarke says, quietly marvelling at how casually certain Octavia is about the Mountain being 'dealt with'. "Indra could take over his job helping to protect Polis, punish criminals there, and train the Natblida in combat, but she can't exactly do his religious duties. If Nia's killed Titus we're going to have a serious problem." She sighs. "Lexa thinks she'll probably try and trade him back for some kind of mercy, though. Or it's possible Gustus got them out in time, since we know he was suspicious about Nia. We just don't know enough." 'We just don't know enough' feels like it's become Clarke's motto, lately, which is ironic considering that out of her people she knows the most about what's going on.
"For that matter, 'after the Mountain's dealt with' is hardly going to be the end of our problems," Wells points out. "There's the Ice Queen. Diana Sydney. Setting up this place properly." He sighs.
"Maybe we could attack the Mountain from all sides," Octavia says, switching the subject again and looking at Clarke. "Just start taking out all the cameras and sensors from every direction, wipe them all out. Then they won't know how to respond."
Clarke shakes her head. "The only reason using a bunch of EMPs might have worked is because they're fast, they go off in an instant, and they'd take out all the guards' communicators as well. It would leave them blind and reeling, and we could use that window of time to get our people inside the Mountain before they could recall theirs and send out the acid fog. If we start attacking one camera at a time they'll contact all their guards over their walkie-talkies and get them to come in, then just burn us all. If they wanted to be even more straightforward they could even just explode a missile directly above themselves – you don't need a spotter at that distance." She opens the gun she's holding with a little too much force and nearly drops it. "Of course, even EMPs might not work if they just decided to let the guards die, and sent out the fog immediately."
"Would they do that?" Wells asks, frowning. "Just kill their own people?"
"If they thought they had to, without a doubt," Clarke says flatly. She puts down the gun she's working on, suddenly tired. "You just reminded me, I need to go talk to Lexa about something."
She stands up and stalks off, past Finn, who seems to have fallen asleep. His cup has tipped over.
Lexa is conversing with Anya when she enters the tent they use for strategizing. A map is open on the table, but neither are paying attention to it. "If you do not tell her, of course she will not know," Lexa is saying bluntly. "Just as you do not know if she -"
Anya makes a hushing noise and Lexa breaks off, turning to see Clarke. "Hei, Clarke," Lexa says softly.
"Hei, Lexa," Clarke says, smiling at her. Since Anya's the only other person in the tent, she leans in and kisses Lexa lightly.
"You two disgust me," Anya informs them. "The other day was bad enough, but this? Please remember I am present." She turns and leaves.
"Just wanted you to know we're nearly finished with the guns," Clarke tells Lexa.
"Good," Lexa says, looking relieved. "Indra and the Azgeda are ready to go on your command. I will feel better when the guns are in Polis."
"Except thirty of them," Clarke says. "Actually, wait, make that twenty. We can get the other ten from the guards' guns. I can't see any situation in which having more than thirty people with guns gives us a noticeable advantage, not against Mount Weather."
"No," Lexa sighs. "I suppose not. Bullets cannot harm the outside, and that is the part we are having problems with. Once we figure out how to get inside a relatively small force could easily take the place, from what you have told me."
"A small force with Raven to blow through some doors and Monty to hack through others, yeah," Clarke says. They've gone over this so many times and they still don't have anything. "Not many of the Maunon have any experience with fighting or have guns. The people will be the easiest part. It's everything else that's the problem."
"Could we blow the river somewhere higher, change its course?" Lexa says doubtfully, turning her head to study the map. "Remove their water supply entirely? That would force them all out, at least."
"And completely change the topography and ecosystem of the region," Clarke says. "We don't know a safe way to change the course of the biggest supply of clean water in the area. Whole villages might be washed away, plants and animals would die, hills would be eroded, and there's a pretty decent chance if it goes through the wrong area we'll end up poisoning the water supply." She takes Lexa's hand and kisses it anyway, grateful that they're still able to come up with new ideas even if those ideas aren't workable.
"We will figure this out, Clarke," Lexa promises quietly. Then she sighs. "Perhaps we should not have waited for your people to join us. If we had gotten Raven working on bombs instead of radios, perhaps we could have killed the Maunon with radiation before they became immune."
"That might have worked if Emerson hadn't remembered," Clarke allows. "But since he did, trying to do anything the same way as last time would have just gotten us all killed. From the sound of it the generators are being guarded pretty heavily."
"Trying to come up with a strategy is making my head ache," Lexa admits.
Clarke kisses her again, pressing enthusiastically against her until Lexa takes a step back from the onslaught and lets out a little noise of pleasure. "Is this helping?" she asks teasingly.
"I don't know," Lexa says, but her eyes brighten a little.
"Mm-hmm. How about now?" Clarke rests her hand on Lexa's hips and pushes her back even more until Lexa's half-sitting on the table. Clarke shoves the map out of the way. She kisses Lexa's collarbone and works her way up the side of the other girl's neck in short, sweet kisses.
"It is hard to tell," Lexa says, sounding breathless. "You should keep trying, just in case."
Clarke lifts her so that Lexa is sitting entirely on the table, and runs her hands to rest on Lexa's knees, pushing them apart so she can stand between. "Good idea," she says, and cups Lexa's head to hold her in a deeper, more passionate kiss. Lexa moans into it, and when Clarke pulls back a little she follows Clarke's mouth with her own, continuing the kiss. Clarke bites lightly at Lexa's lower lip and runs her right hand up Lexa's leg, and Lexa wraps them around her waist tightly.
"I'm not sure," Lexa gasps after a while, letting out a little whimper and bucking herself towards Clarke's questing fingers. "Not sure... that this... is helping me to think, ai niron." She flashes Clarke a smile anyway, which fades as she lets out another moan, tossing her head.
"You think too much anyway," Clarke says huskily, and then they say nothing at all.