/\/\/
/\/\/
Byrd strode into the drop ship after Murphy, smirking when Bellamy and Raven held their guns up toward them.
'Damn, I thought we were past this,' She playfully teased.
Bellamy rolled his eyes, lowering his weapon before he looked toward the boy behind her.
'Murphy. What are you doing here?' He queried.
'I believe I was invited,' Murphy replied before throwing an arm over Byrd's shoulders.
'I thought we could use an extra gun,' She shrugged; 'Might be a good idea.'
'Finn should've been right behind you,' Raven began to pace.
'Don't worry. Skywalker's gonna be fine.'
Murphy moved to place his bag down, leaving the girl to smirk over at Bellamy.
'You know,' She drawled; 'Tav's gonna be pissed you left her behind.'
'She's got Lincoln to worry about,' He waved her off.
'Whatever you say.'
She moved to lean against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest; trying to hide her pain. Her eyes snapped to the door when a shadow danced over the curtain, Finn rushing in with Clarke in his arms, unconscious.
'What happened?' Bellamy asked.
'A Grounder hit her on the head,' Finn replied quickly.
'Put her here,' Murphy placed his bag down to act as pillow.
'I need a bandage. A rag. Anything,' Bellamy stammered.
'Got it,' Byrd ripped the bottom of her shirt off; 'Here.'
'Hold her head... Clarke, can you hear me? Clarke. You're gonna be fine. You just need to rest.'
Byrd's eyes followed Finn when he threw his bag down and moved to stand away from everyone, watching Clarke with scared eyes that focused on the blood.
'Hey. It's just a bump on the head. Clarke's gonna be ok,' Raven told him as she approached him; 'Are you?'
The boy didn't reply, allowing the dark skinned girl to wander over.
'We'll figure this out,' Raven told him.
'That's what she said. Right before I almost got her killed,' Finn snapped before he pushed his way past her and out the door.
Byrd followed after him quickly, grabbing his arm before he got too far ahead.
'Hey, that would've happened if you were wanted or not,' She curled her head down to meet his gaze; 'This isn't your fault.'
He snatched his arm back as he shook his head, walking a few steps away. She watched him closely, before he spun around suddenly; begging her with his eyes.
'You need to kill me,' He stated; 'You need to do it now.'
'Killing you is a last resort,' She shook her head.
'And this is where we're at.'
'No, it's not. It's a last resort when we're surrounded by grounders and we have no other choice.'
'I don't understand you! You said you'd kill anyone without a second thought, why not me?'
'Because you're my friend, Finn. I don't kill my friends.'
'What if I attacked you?'
'I'd hurt you, I wouldn't kill you.'
'Please, Byrd.'
She shook her head as she stepped back, 'No. Not yet.'
She turned away and walked back into drop ship, avoiding the boys gazes inside. She moved to climb up the ladder, only making it to the first rung before she couldn't move. Byrd rested her head against the run before her face, clenching her eyes shut. Two hands came to sit upon her rib cage, slowly helping her down.
Murphy looked down at his best friend, running his thumbs under her eyes to rid of the tears lingering in her eyes. She shook her head slowly, wrapping her arms around him; hiding her face in his shoulder. He held her back, placing a soft kiss to her hair. Bellamy watched on silently, a small smile of his lips at how the pair interacted.
/\/\/
Byrd laid on the ground beside Murphy, a gun in hand and her knives laying beside her; waiting to be used. It had been a while since they'd gone on guard, and so far, so good. Not a grounder in sight. She laid her head on top of her hands, winking at Murphy as he shook his head at her. But as the sound of hoof beats hit her ears, her head shot up and her eyes scanning beyond the wall. Almost immediately, her eyes landed on a grounder on horse back before they moved across to another one. She nudged Murphy, her eyes never moving toward him.
'Bellamy,' He called quietly.
'Yeh, I see them,' The boy replied; 'We got company! Get out here.'
Clarke and Finn rushed out of the drop ship, their eyes looking down at their friends before they looked out over the wall.
'Get down. Grounders,' Bellamy demanded.
The pair ducked behind a rock beside Raven, their weapons aimed toward the wall. Everyone waited for some sort of an attack as more grounders appeared on the other side of the wall, but none came.
'We're surrounded,' Clarke whispered.
Finn's head rose slightly at her words, his gaze meeting Byrd's across the camp. She was the first to look away, lowering her gaze to the ground before it moved back to the wall.
'We need to get him inside,' Bellamy stated; 'Go.'
Raven moved Finn and Clarke inside, leaving the remaining three to enter not a second later; remaining just inside the door to keep a look out. Byrd ended up having to lay down, her hips becoming too much for her to stand. Clarke checked her over, much to her reluctance, warning her to stay out of the fight.
'Like hell I will,' She sneered.
'Byrd,' Finn's voice came from above her.
'No.'
'You said-'
'They're not attacking, Skywalker. It's not going to happen.'
She pushed herself up to stand, stumbling back slightly. She glared toward him, placing her knives away.
'And if you think annoying me will make me change my mind, you're insane,' She snapped before moving to lay else where.
'They're not moving any closer,' She heard Murphy mutter.
'Staying out of range. Probably waiting until it's dark,' Bellamy replied as he stepped back behind the curtain.
'If we hit them now, at least we'd take them by surprise.'
'We don't even know how many of them are out there,' Clarke reminded him.
'I'm not hearing any better ideas, Clarke.'
'We'll give them something,' Raven chimed.
'All they want is Finn,' Bellamy shook his head.
'Finn wasn't the only one at the village.'
'You bitch,' Byrd spat as she strode over to the group, leaning on Murphy.
'What are you talking about?' Clarke asked.
'Raven, hold on,' Bellamy tried to reason.
'Whoa, whoa, whoa,' Murphy spoke up; 'Raven, I came here to protect him.'
'No,' Byrd shook her head; 'She knew I'd bring you. She knew I wouldn't leave you. This was her Plan B.'
'Enough Grounders saw him at the village. They'd believe he was the shooter,' Raven explained.
'Sick bitch,' Murphy spat.
'Raven, you don't mean this,' Clarke shook her head.
'You know what they do to people,' Bellamy added.
'They want a murderer, we'll give them two for the price of one,' Raven chided before aiming her gun at the pair; 'Drop your gun.'
'Go to hell, Raven,' The pair sneered.
'Put it down, Raven. Like it or not, they're one of us,' Clarke tried to reason with the girl.
'I said drop it,' Raven ignored her.
Byrd pulled her knives from her back, slipping her gun into Murphy's waistband.
'How about we cut off your hair and your boobs, mess your face up a little bit, then we'll give you to the grounders?' She spoke with daggers in her voice; 'What do you think, Murph?'
The boy smirked down at her, matching the one that sat on her lips.
'Stop! Stop!' Finn suddenly yelled before he pushed Raven's gun down; 'We're not doing this. They've got us surrounded. The only thing we can do is stay. And defend this place.'
'I'm with you,' Bellamy and Clarke nodded.
'Murphy.'
'Yeah?' The boy replied softly.
'Take Byrd. Go upstairs. Watch the rear. I'll take the lower level. You three, take the front gate. That's the plan. All right?'
Everyone nodded, lowering their gazes. Murphy and Byrd were the first to move, the boy clambering up the ladder; leaving her at the bottom to look up it.
'Hey. Skywalker,' She called; 'Give me a hand?'
Finn nodded and wandered over, holding her steady as she slowly climbed halfway up the ladder. Once he couldn't reach anymore, she paused and looked down at him.
'If this doesn't work, I'll do it,' She told him quietly; 'Don't leave... Ten minutes. Ok? Give us that long. I promise I'll do it.'
He nodded, 'Ok.'
'Promise me.'
'I promise.'
'I love you, Skywalker.'
'I love you, too, Little Bird.'
She smiled softly, holding her hand out to Murphy to climb the rest of the way up the ladder. She sat for a second once she made it to the next level, her best friend wandering over to look out the gaping hole in the back of the ship.
'I wouldn't have let her kill you, you know?' She stated as she pushed herself up to stand.
'I know,' He muttered.
'Then why that look?'
'I'm fine.'
'Bullshit.'
Murphy looked out at the forest before them as she came to stand beside him, not once moving to look at her.
'I've never known someone who has wanted to kill me so much in my life,' He sighed.
'There's gonna be plenty of those,' She smirked; 'Ignore Raven. Love does crazy things to a mind.'
'And you know, how?'
'I'm here, aren't I? In the middle of the woods with you to protect Finn.'
'So, you're saying you love him?'
'Yes. But I love you more. I wasn't going to leave you in that camp with the chance of you dying... Or maybe, I'm just crazy.'
'I love you, too, Magpie.'
She smiled as she turned her head to look at him, his face mirroring her own. That was when his eyes flickered down to her lips, her own doing the same. Her smile faded with his, their concentration going into reading one another; trying to figure out if the other was going to pull away. And though, neither of them did on purpose, a yell from outside brought their attention away from one another.
'No,' Byrd whispered before she ran for the ladder.
She slid down it, cutting open her hands in the process before she raced for the door.
'Finn,' She yelled when she saw him with his hands in the air; 'You idiot.'
Grounders jumped him from everywhere, everyone merely standing around to watching him be dragged away. Byrd pulled her knives and strode forward, gripping at the handles with blood dripping from her palms.
'Byrd, no,' Bellamy yelled as he grabbed her upper arm.
'No, Bellamy,' She ripped her arm away; 'I gave him ten minutes. I promised him ten minutes till I did what I promised to do. That time's up.'
'Promised to do what?' Clarke asked.
'Kill him.'
She turned and raced into the forest, disappearing from sight; leaving the others to follow after her. But no matter what Byrd did she couldn't catch the grounders on horseback; killing the ones who stayed behind to keep them away.
/\/\/
They stood behind the fence, looking over the grounders out in the meadow as they prepared to kill Finn. Their chants rang in waves, hardly allowing for silence. Byrd stood right on the fence, almost touching it.
'What is that?' Abby asked as she looked at a huge pole being put up.
'It's for Finn. They want us to watch,' Clarke replied.
'We're gonna get him,' Bellamy reasoned with Kane; 'We'll get in close and we'll hit them hard.'
'Son,' The man sighed; 'There's thousands of them. Even if we could kill hundreds, they'd still wipe out this camp and your friend would still die.'
'We have to try.'
Kane shook his head, his silence letting Byrd know he wasn't going to do anything.
'Well, I'd rather die trying then stand here like a damn coward,' She snapped as she turned and shoved her way through the crowd.
'Abby,' Raven begged; 'Abby, we have to do something.'
The Delani girl strode toward the gate, leaving nothing but a small knife on her as a weapon. She dumped her larger knives by the gate, sliding the smaller one up her sleeve. She grabbed the grounder head she had cut off, wrapping its hair around her hand.
'Byrd,' Clarke called as she came up behind her.
'What are you doing?' Bellamy asked the pair.
'I'm gonna talk to the commander.'
'What else do you have to say?'
'I don't know... I don't know.'
Byrd unlocked the gate, pushing it open just enough for her to get through.
'You can't go,' Clarke grabbed her arm.
'Why not?' She hissed.
'Let me talk to the commander.'
'I promised him, Blondie. I promised. I never promise.'
Clarke looked over her before she whispered, 'I'll do it for you.'
She rolled her lips together, fighting with herself in her mind. She shook her head, holding her position.
'It wouldn't be right,' She muttered.
The blonde nodded, turning to face Raven when she called her name.
'Give me your hand,' The girl demanded.
Clarke held it out to her, watching her in disbelief when she slid a small knife up her sleeve.
'If she won't let him go, kill her,' Raven stated firmly; 'Things'll go crazy, and we'll grab you and Finn.'
Byrd stepped out of the gate, looking down at the grounders below; pausing to wait for Clarke.
'Clarke,' Raven called one final time; 'You have to help him. I owe him my life.'
The blonde nodded and followed after the Delani girl, striding toward the rows of warriors in masks. Byrd strode through them calmly, looking over each of them with no emotion in her face. They all moved out of their way, making a path for them. The yelling around her came to silence, only the breaths of the horses and the flickering to the flames could be heard.
The pair were forced to stop when the leader of one of the tribe pointed a spear toward them, Byrd stepping forward till the tip touched her stomach. She smirked when the woman refused to lower it, a humoured glint coming into her eyes. She stepped forward again, hardly wincing when the point pierced her skin.
'I'm here to talk to your commander,' Clarke stated.
Byrd stepped forward once more, 'Let me through.'
'Let them pass,' A powerful voice called as a woman stepped out of the tent.
She was tall, tan, war paint decorating around her eyes. Her gaze never left Clarke, only briefly looking at the girl beside her.
'You bleed for nothing,' She stated as she looked at her shirt; 'You cannot stop this.'
'No. Only you can,' Clarke begged; 'Show my people how powerful you are. Show them you can be merciful. Show them you're not a savage.'
'We are what we are,' The woman drawled.
Byrd smirked at the comment before it fell away as her eyes came to land on Finn's scared face, his eyes flickering everywhere.
'Then I'm a killer,' Clarke exclaimed; 'I burned three hundred of your people. I slit a man's throat and watched him die. I'm soaked in Grounder blood. Take me.'
'But Finn is guilty,' The commander stated.
'No. He did it for me... He did it for me.'
'Then he dies for you.'
'Are you willing to die for him?' Byrd asked as she threw the head at the woman's feet.
She jumped back with wide eyes, her eyes turning into slits when she looked back up at the dark skinned girl.
'Let us say goodbye,' She stated; 'Or I can arrange your death.'
'Do not threaten the commander,' The woman who had poked her with a spear stepped forward.
'It is ok, Indra,' The commander waved her off.
'Can we say goodbye?' Clarke asked.
The woman nodded once, both the girls walking toward Finn. He looked at them with teary eyes, the Delani girl letting Clarke go first. The blonde cupped the boy's face and kissed him hard, resting her forehead against his afterwards.
'I love you, too,' She heard the girl whispered.
'I'm scared,' Finn croaked.
'You're gonna be ok.'
The blonde stepped back and let Byrd wrap her arms around Finn's neck, slowly slipping one down; letting the knife fall into her hand.
'You promised to wait,' She whispered.
'I couldn't let you all die,' He muttered.
'I'm not scared to die.'
He nodded before he kissed her cheek, hiding his face in the crook of her neck.
'You're ok,' She whispered as she pressed the blade just into his skin; 'Look at the sky... Do you see the stars?'
He nodded once he looked up, 'Yeh.'
'Focus on them. Focus on the stars. I'll see you in them.'
She plunged the knife between his ribs, hitting his lung. A soft gasp left his mouth, but he didn't say a word.
'Thanks, princess,' He whispered; 'Thanks, my Little Bird.'
'Look at the stars,' She replied; 'You're ok.'
Byrd blinked back the tears that formed in her eyes when Finn's head came to rest upon her shoulder, feeling his last breath leave him. She could hear Clarke sobbing quietly behind her as she stood there for a moment longer, running her hands through his long hair one last time.
'I'll see you in the stars,' She whispered.
She stepped back slowly, letting Finn's head fall forward; hanging there. She let out a shaky breath, blinking back her tears quickly. The girl drew her knife from his lung, her hand covered in blood as she turned to face the grounders. She felt numb, but everything hurt so bad. The grounders raised their weapons and moved to charge forward, but were silenced by their commanders hand.
'It is done,' She yelled.
Byrd clenched her teeth when she heard Raven begin to scream, her eyes never leaving the commander. She let Clarke slip her hand into her own, letting the knife sit between their palms; the blood staining them.
'No! No!' Raven screamed; 'No!'
The pair stood before both the camps, neither of them breaking the silence that seemed to envelope the entire forest.