Chapter 2: I Need Him
"Alright, so you're telling me the only way to start is to get ink on my body?" She asked sitting in an uncomfortable chair.
"No, you don't have too, but it's sort of a promise. If you put the ink on your body years later when your kids about it you'll have a real reason and you can say you successfully survived whatever this is."
"A promise?"
"A promise."
"Okay," she nodded taking off her long sleeve shirt. "An arrow. On my arm"
"Just an arrow?"
"Yeah," she gave a short nod indicating which arm.
"Why?" He asked beginning the process.
She gave a small wince to her healing arm, "before things can get better, they have to pull back and get worse." She paused seeing a small nod out of the corner of her eye, "and that's what weapon thing you're gonna teach me cause I'm desperate."
He chuckled, "Yes sir." After about an hour of her wincing, and an occasional verbal ow. The masterpiece on her arm was completely done. It was simple and elegant much like her personality. It suited her. She stood up stretching out her limbs feeling her sore body need some sort of movement. Cora looked over at Sitka he was getting some sort of cream out of a jar, her curiosity was sparked as she walked over to him before getting a refreshing feel to the stinging arm. "Hey give it an hour or so and it won't hurt as much."
"Okay," she examined it some more then glanced at him. "Why do you guys not live in a village? I just thought that most of you would be in groups. Strength in numbers, that sorta thing."
"My mother never liked living in the village and with the approval of the commander we were aloud to live off the beaten path." He commented grabbing a coat, "Why, well that we never really knew."
"Is that the only reason at I'm here. I figured your commander would've killed me, with the whole war thing."
He nodded, "we can also slightly bend the rules out here which she likes as well."
"Well if your commander doesn't get me first, your sister might take that."
"Athena is just a little rough. All ripped at the ends and such."
"She's still one master piece, well a deadly-life-threatening-one." Sitka chuckled tossed her a jacket causing her to jump back slightly.
"What is this for?"
"Just cause you should wait doesn't mean we are," he smiled continuing, "you coming?" Cora nodded sliding the jacket on as they stepped out into the chilled evening.
"Alright punk, let's do this. I can take you my arm and all." She taunted.
"I'm sure you can. But–"
She cut him off quickly, "but? No–no but's in these parts. Please don't but me. You're mother has had me doing chores all day long. And not the fun ones no the boring ones where I have to learn my place." Cora mimicked complaining.
"Calm down you're still gonna fight just not me. I might, hurt you." He chose his words hoping they weren't fatal
"Bullshit. I could take your scrawny ass so fast you'd–"
"–You're fighting Kenai," he cut her off like she did he.
"I mean if you wanna break him sure."
"Cora you haven't seen me fight I could be better than you," she scoffed seeing the small boy walk out confidently. He was all bulked up with the masses of clothing
"Alright come on champ, let's go." He smiled taking off his jacket allowing a little bit more mobility, while the blonde put her hair up.
They raised their fists, she had a small smirk watching his first step. He's going with a right uppercut. She adjusted her stance avoiding smoothly. Reacting by grabbing his back pushing it down on to her knee. He groaned staying bent over, she continued elbowing his back sending him into the mushy grass.
She rested a moment feeling adrenaline pump away the aches of battle wounds. Her domination continued as she pulled the boy into a choke hold, feeling his veins pump blood though desperately struggling to circulate. Sitka moved watching for the boys' hand. Shortly he was tapping on her arm to let go.
"He submits, he submits." The older boy repeated watching as she let go, rising to her feet. The blue-eye warrior stuck out her hand feeling the high fade and pain seep in like a small water leak, although shortly, it would flood the house.
"See I'm a badass you just can't handle it." She replied her breath labored looking at the older brother.
"Okay so you're a badass but you really don't wanna fight me."
"I really do though," she almost begged.
Footsteps approached behind the three, Cora looked over her shoulder seeing the brunette with a beat up face walk towards them. She avoided looking at the blonde only towards her older brother, "what now that mom isn't here you think you can flirt your way into her liking you?"
The blonde only rolled her eyes sticking her hands into her coat pockets feeling a slight warmth start circulation in her fingers again. "Athena get the stick out of your ass. You're acting childish."
"Oh really, I'm acting childish? She slaughtered our people. Murdered 300 of our men."
"Monkey see, monkey do."
"Excuse me?" She spat at Cora turning her attention.
In response Cora rolled her eyes, "You attacked us first, we simply responded in the same manner. You speared my friend for no reason, it wasn't us who started it."
"You burned a village to the ground!"
"We were trying to signal to the people in the sky that we were fine. We didn't even know where you guys were!"
"Okay enough, instead of shouting why don't you just, fight? No weapons or anything, you wanna fight," his attention was at Cora then turned to Athena, "and you have anger so fight." Sitka intervened, suggesting something hopefully not catastrophic.
"You want to fight? Let's fight," Athena spoke taking of her her jacket. She rotated her neck hearing small pops Cora only huffed a laugh nodded watching the girl take stance.
"Fine, since you're so desperate to attack someone," she said carefully raising her arms. Athena lunged her fists locking with Cora's cheek sending the girl back. Cora regained balanced avoiding another three punches. The blonde kicked her foot up after contact it was grabbed and she was spun hitting the harsh ground with force.
She tried to stand but felt her leg being pushed towards her back. Cora breathed out a small cry wincing. Athena stood on the back of her thigh watching as the girl struggled to crawl away. Cora, desperate began to slide towards Athena before grabbing her ankle using any strength to pull her down.
Evidently the brunette fell on the blonde. Cora scrambled to a stand relying on one leg. Right as the other warrior stood Cora gave her a fist to the face watching as the girl fell back as well. Charging she repeated her actions three more times before feeling her leg throb.
On the ground Athena grabbed a rock hiding it beneath her fists. Kenai looked at his sister seeing a devilish smirk. Quietly he whispered to Sitka-who was caught up in the action-"does Thea have a rock?" Sitka searched her hands finding the weapon, he stuck out a hand stopping the boy from warning the muddy blonde. "Sitka."
"Wait."
Cora clutched her leg before looking up she dodged yet another blow before feeling a rock hit her back. She brought her elbow to the girls cheek opening a wound, spinning she brought another blow to her stomach watching as the girl dropped to the ground. "You play dirty. It's pathetic." Cora spat blood to the side before limping off into the hut like house.
Kenai giggled, "damn, she's good."
"Go away you brat," Athena grumbled getting up. Sitka stuck out a hand helping her up.
"Go inside," he told his younger brother watching as he strolled into the house. "You did play dirty."
"Shut up."
"Thea, you have to let it go. I know you thought you loved him, but there are many loves. This one you just gotta breathe and move on." The brunette swallowed back tears.
"Just one love?"
"One out of many, and I'll be here to help you through all of them." She nodded biting her inner cheek. He opened his arms which she snuck under as they walked inside. "You shouldn't be so mean."
"She'll be fine, I hit her with a rock and she's still standing." Sitka only shook his head walking in watching as his sibling walked off to change.
The blonde used a damp rag to clean up her muddy face in a broken mirror. She stripped of her clothing finding a comfy pair of bottoms and her tank top. Cora felt sore, her body ached for some sort of rub to relieve the pressure. Some sort of pressure against her body. Physically she was okay—besides the given—but mentally she craved the feeling of fingertips against her skin. She closed her eyes taking soft breaths.
• •
"One more time."
"You multiply 'x' throughout 'x+3x^2' which gives you," a curly blonde hair fell over her shoulder cutting off the guardsmen view, "x^2+3x^3'." She looked up her doe eyes waiting his approval. The blonde man smiled sticking up a hand, receiving a high five.
"You may outsmart me." The corner of her lips lifted before wrapping her arms around his waist. The 14 year old girl closed her eyes, feeling his arms rest on her back. "You've done good kid."
"Cora."
The blonde turned feeling a strange height difference. "Bellamy?" She glanced back over her shoulder seeing a small girl hugging a guard disappear.
"Hey Scout, good to see you can still take a hit."
"Shut up. I punch harder than Murphy." The boy with freckles smiled. "I'm dreaming right? Because those hallucinations suck ass, they're all so dark and scary."
Bellamy smiled, "Yeah. This is a dream."
"Okay, so I'm talking to a man who died, in my dreams. I guess this isn't the worst thing that's happened."
"Really? You're just chill about me being dead. If I am dead. I could be alive."
"No, Blake don't even thing about doing that thing where you give me hope and I'm supposed to go find you. Because hope sucks ass."
"Who in the hell told you that Hope sucks ass, maybe she wants to suck a lollipop."
Cora shook her head elbowing him. "Alex had me read the book the Maze Games maybe. I don't know basically it had this creepy old white guy who had and obsession with flowers said something about hope. But hope really, she just lets me down"
"So you're saying, you're perfectly fine talking to dead me instead of the real me. Where you can touch me, smell me, hear my voice all the time."
She hesitated, "that's what I'm saying."
"Well what about Clarke? Jasper, Miller? Raven? Don't you wanna know what happened to her. If she died."
"The likely hood of Raven surviving is barely anything. She probably bleed out on the floor. May she rest in peace." Cora sat down on a chair backwards in the dark room.
"And you're okay with that? Just letting her die. Not knowing for sure." He questioned walking around the chair.
"Of course I'm not okay with that but what am I gonna do? Huh, Bellamy? What the hell am I supposed to do now?"
"I mean you could be leave go back to the drop ship. Or you know maybe just get strong and then you look. After you get 'better' you'll go back and find little dead Raven." She licked her lips feeling his eyes on her.
"Why would I wanna see her dead body. What good would that do? I mean besides traumatizing me yet another time."
"Alright what about the Ark. It came down hard and fast you're saying you don't wanna check out the crash site?"
"If the Ark came down that means they ran out of oxygen. So they're dead too, Abby, Jaha... Alex." She paused talking a deep breath, "All of them they're dead no point in looking either."
"You don't just wanna check, make sure that no one survived?"
"Nope. They ran out of oxygen and couldn't figure out their shit to land on the ground. It's not my problem."
"Never gonna see Alex again, man was like a brother to you and you're telling me that it doesn't bug you at all?"
"That's what I'm saying." Her voice lacked all confidence.
"What about me?"
"What about you? My best guess is that either the grounder slit your throat or you died in the fire. So I wouldn't be able to find you anyway." She tried to reason.
"Cora, you're missing the point. I could be alive. Living, breathing, running around desperately trying to find you. And you just wanna let that go?"
She stood up with a shout pushing the chair, "I don't know okay? I just- I'm scared that I'm gonna go back to the drop ship and either find a bunch of living people who are crying. Or I'm gonna go back and find blood. I don't like either of those choices but what I know is that I don't wanna just sit and cry for hours over people who didn't even know me.
"I don't want to think about the thought of Lucy having her throat slit open and her body torn apart by savages. I don't want to find blood covered faces of horror. I don't-I can't find you dead because that scares me more than death itself.
"Don't you get it? You, Bellamy Blake, you're my person. I can't have a burning picture of your dead body in my mind. I need consistency, something that I can actually put my finger on and feel. It's like you're in my veins Bellamy, and I don't want the picture of awful death. I want the picture I have of you smiling, laughing, walking around as if you're the best badass.
"I need that." Her eyes were on the verge of raining as she leaned on a brick wall.
"That's why you have to go back. Get strong, Cora. Become better, and then, go. Leave and start a new life. No history. No old love. Just leave. I'm sure there's another clan around here that hasn't tried to poke us with a sharp stick," she giggled her rosy cheeks having a single tear fall.
"Be free."
She closed her eyes smiling bowing her head. she could almost feel his presence. Like she could touch him, and suddenly he kissed her forehead, and the darkness of the room lit up, white surrounding the area. The brick walls gone, just pure light.
A gasp opened her eyes "Bellamy!" Tears streamed down the girls cheeks as she felt arms constricting her movements. "No, no! He was here! I have to find him. I have to touch him. Let go, I have to find him." The blonde blurted tears filling her vision.
"Cora, hey relax. Calm down," Sitka encouraged into her hair lightly running his fingers through her hair. "He's not here."
"I have to find him," she sobbed falling into a resting period, leaning onto his chest. He carefully shushed her as she squeezed her eyes shut. "I need him."
"I know, it's okay," From the doorway Athena and Kenai watched as their brother. In within the ten minutes of sobbing Athena had realized that this girls' glue was not as strong as she made it to be. Sitka continued to hold the weeping girl until she had cried herself to sleep. And even after her leaned his head against the wall and feel asleep holding the girl making sure she knew she wan't alone.
Im the early hours of the morning, Scarlett had arrived, the sun wasn't even up as she walked into the room Cora was supposed to be sleeping alone in when she found Sitka holding her gently. On the floor like Kenai in the fetal position, and Athena slept on a chair that hung from the ceiling in the corner. Her eyes finished wandering around the room and she left. The corner of her lips pulling at a smile.
~
Hey guys! Okie dokie first things first the edit is kinda what Cora looks like only sugar coating the injuries.
Also holy crap Bellamy Blake is her person. [greys anatomy fans if you feel me] and of course the lovely "the Maze Games." Well she was close.
Another thing is that
—Sitka is portrayed by Arron Taylor Johnson.
—Athena is portrayed by the lovely and talented Elizabeth Olsen
—Scarlett is portrayed by the kickass warrior Scarlett Johansson
As for Kenai I just can't find/think of someone. If you happen to let me know in the comments I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Anyways song for the chapter is...
In My Veins- Andrew Belle|| this song is bloody well done and it screams at me CORAMY.
Alright guys I love you thank you so so so so so SO much for reading. As always the comments make my day as much as when you press the pretty star. Anyways thank you lots I hope you're enjoying Cora's new journey.