The early morning breeze lifted a light curled strand of brunette hair from her shoulder. It landed just above her jaw, tickling at her cheek. She whined, attempting to blow away the hair.
"Hey"
The voice annoyed her deeply, and she squeezed her eyes closed tighter in hope to get back to sleep. But the cap of a boot came into contact with her side, nudging her and bringing more hair into her face.
"Luna, wake up"
"What?" She whined, finally reaching up to swipe the hair from her face and look up.
Clarke stared down at her with her hands on her hips, concern splashing within watery blue eyes. Chestnut eyes flicked past her at the empty space behind the blonde. There was an absence of another person. A person who was very close to both of them.
"Where's Lexa?" She questioned, sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"I don't know" Clarke's hands slipped from her hips to hang loose at her sides. Luna noticed the blood smeared across her hands, buried dry beneath her finger tips.
"What happened? Who's blood is that?" Luna gripped Clarke's wrist to get a closer look.
"My horse's. Maybe one of Pike's guys?"
"What happened? Where's Lexa?" Luna asked once more
The blonde paused, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she glanced down into the grass "She went after Pike. He ran and, well she went after him."
"Alone?" She exclaimed, earning a nod from the other girl "And she isn't back yet?"
"No. No she isn't"
Pushing herself to her feet, Luna stretched out her tired muscles and started towards the trees "I have to go find her."
"Woah, wait" Clarke held out her arm to stop her "You need to stay"
"Why Clarke? She could be hurt! Or dead for all we know!"
Clarke flinched at her words. Even though she still managed to get Lexa back, it still hurt to hear her name and that word in the same sentence together. "I know" she whispered
"Then why are you so conflicted on letting me help her?" She yelled "She's all I have!"
"Luna"
Clarke spoke quietly, calmly. As if her words would cool off her anger quickly and effectively. It didn't.
"Look behind you."
With a loud puff of a sigh, she turned on her heels. At first, she had no idea what the blonde girl was trying to say. But then she lowered her gaze, and understood.
Raven lay on her back, head turned to the side and rested on her red jacket. In Luna's opinion, she was most beautiful when she was sleeping. She looked more at peace, looked her age, and most certainly didn't look like she was in pain or had been tortured far more than once in her time down on earth.
But what caught her off guard was the sleeping baby that lay on her chest, hand gripping tightly to her grey tattered shirt. Natalia.
"She's not all you have." Clarke spoke from behind her "You have Raven, and... the kid"
Luna turned her head, brow furrowed in confusion.
"You need to stay. For them."
"But what about Lexa? She's my family too, Clarke. I care about them but I also care about her."
Clarke pondered for a moment. She knew she needed Luna's help. God, she needed all the help she could find. She was worried sick about Lexa to the point where she couldn't stand to take another breath because it hurt so much. With a tight lipped smile, she nodded.
"We'll give it until noon and we go look for her. Okay?"
"Fine. Do I get to go back to sleep now?"
Clarke nodded, crossing her arms over her chest and turning away. She walked to the outskirts of the woods, sitting down at the bottom of a large trunk. Leaves crunched below her, and she shuffled back to lean against the tree.
She could see Murphy wondering further into the trees, hands in his pockets, back slightly hunched. His typical stance was almost depressing, but it was always a comforting sight to see the same old Murphy wondering aimlessly. His arms came out to balance as he walked down a log, legs swing to place his feet one in front of the other as he whistled. After choosing to end his little balancing game, he reached down beside his foot, emerging with a palm sized rock. He threw it weakly.
Even as Clarke watched the distraction of which was John Murphy, she still couldn't pull the same question from her mind.
Where the hell was Lexa?
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Where the hell am I? Lexa thought as she limped stumbled through the woods. The pain in her arm had became almost unbearable, and she must have lost much more blood than she originally thought. Her eyes were beginning to droop, and her mind was fuzzy.
Which way did I just come from again?
She was lost. Completely and utterly lost. Her sense of direction had never been so flawed since she first began training with Anya. Back then, every tree looked the same, and every stack of leaves and twigs looked indifferent from the rest. Just like they did now. The small puppy whined in her hand, licking at her thumb.
"You're... hungry?" Lexa breathed out, almost stumbling over a falling branch. The young wolf yapped in response, giving the skin of her palm a light nip "Stop it" Lexa whined.
The puppy surprisingly did as he was told, and curled up into a tight ball, closing his eyes.
If Lexa wasn't holding him, she could have probably kept more pressure on her wound, losing less blood and as a result make it back to Clarke faster. But she was tired of leaving people to die. She thought perhaps, she could begin with helping this puppy.
The distraction of the baby animal causes her foot to get tangled in an external root of a tree. It felt like it was almost tugging her to the ground as she fell. And as she landed in the shrubbery, the puppy squealed in surprise and fear. Her consciousness was giving up on itself, and her eyes slowly slid shut.
The last thing she saw was her new found puppy pawing at her cheeks as he nibbled at the tip of her nose.
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"Clarke?" Murphy's voice echoed back to her, his tone thick with confusion and... worry? "Clarke!"
The blonde pulled herself up from the tree "What is it Murphy?"
"You're going to wanna see this" He said. In the distance, she could see him crouch down.
Immediately, her pace picked up, and she was leaping over vines and woods-like objects to meet Murphy. Her feet almost collapsed from below her when she could see past the long grass and Murphy's figure.
A body lay in the dirt between high reaching patches of grass on its side. The tips of the brunette braids were soaked in blood, which seemed to be slowly oozing from a forearm wound.
"Lexa?" Clarke gasped as she dropped to her knees, immediately rushing to her lover's aid. She tore up the fabric of her jacket to make a makeshift rag and stop the bleeding. She tied it as softly as she could around the woman's forearm, still ensuring it was tight enough to apply some sort of pressure "Lex, are you with me?"
She spoke softly with fear in her shining blue eyes, and she lent over to check her pulse on the soft skin of her neck. The thudding against her fingertips forced a relieved sigh from her lips, before she lifted her hand to brush against Lexa's pale, smooth cheeks, swiping away a leaf which has stuck to her face whilst she was unconscious.
What she didn't expect, however, was the loud yap that came from the dip in Lexa's waist. Both John and Clarke turned in confusion at the small bump under Lexa's thin black shirt as it wiggled to fight its way out.
"What the hell?" Murphy commented "What is that?"
"I.. don't know" Clarke said quietly, reaching for the bottom of Lexa's shirt. As soon as she lifted it puppy height, out shot an energetic puppy, yapping as he barrelled up Lexa's hips before sliding down her leg onto the floor. Both people watched in shock as the puppy used the commander as a sort of play frame.
"You're seeing this, right Clarke?" John said
"Yeah, Murphy. I am"
The small pup sprinted up Lexa's arm, paws flailing as he attempted to run in a straight line. As he reached her shoulder, he lost balance and fell into the crook of Lexa's neck. Small eyes looked around in confusion before he decided it was a comfortable place to be, and he stopped squirming to nuzzle further into Lexa's neck.
"I think we might need some help getting her back" Clarke murmured, still staring at the commander and her puppy.
"...yeah" Murphy said, also unable to tear his eyes away.
Until of course, Clarke elbowed him in his side, forcing him to jump out of his own mind and start running back to camp. Clarke shuffled closer to Lexa, stroking the puppy.
"Well Lex, this was not what I was expecting at all" she said quietly with a small laugh.
She could have sworn she saw Lexa's lips quirk ever so slightly.
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The throbbing pain in Lexa's arm was the first thing that brought her back to consciousness. That, and the glaring mid-day sun that she just so happened to be staring directly at. She grunted quietly, turning her head to the side. That was when her face was engulfed by curly hair.
After years and years of facing the same problem, she knew who it was.
"Luna?"
Silence.
"Luna"
Finally, a sigh leapt from Luna's lips as she turned to face the commander, bushy hair flipping behind her. Dark brown eyes stared down at Lexa.
"Hello" Luna commented, dropping on her back once more
"Hello" Lexa replied
"What happened to you?"
"Oh well, you know. The usual." Lexa glanced at the girl once more, taking in the ash that still painted her face and clothes "How about you?"
Luna shrugged "The usual"
The silence hit them once more, and Lexa's free hand quietly played with the hem of her own shirt to keep her occupied. She had been so used to just laying in silence with Luna as a child, yet she had still forgotten what it was like. It was a strange feeling, nostalgic for sure, but also a comforting feeling. It was like having her sister back.
"Did you finish it?" Luna whispered "Did you kill him?"
Lexa took her time answering "He is dead"
Her words hit them both for the first time, Lexa finally coming to terms with what had happened. Pike was dead. She had left him to die.
"You did it" Came a whisper.
Lexa lifted her head from where it had came to rest, and found Clarke standing, staring. Lexa simply nodded.
The blonde girl with teary blue eyes dropped down and hugged the commander, pouring her heart and soul into the one person between her shaking arms. Clarke's whispers of love and care in her ear have her a feeling of something she hadn't felt in a long time. She felt like she was finally home.
"I'm sorry about Polis, Lexa. It was your home." Clarke said softly, running her fingers to untie the knots in Lexa's hair.
"Polis is nothing but a structure, Clarke. It can be rebuilt with time." Lexa assured. Clarke pulled away from their embrace to flash a warm smile. A smile which Lexa matched with ease.
"Everyone!" Jaspers recognisable voice caught everyone's attention "Hey! Listen up!"
The lanky man scrambled onto the hood of skaikru's rover, which Bellamy had managed to retrieve to transport the wounded from Polis to their makeshift infirmary. If his voice hadn't managed to gain people's attention, his helpless attempts to get onto the hood certainly did.
Kindly, as well as discreetly, Lincoln offered him a small hand onto the Rover.
Clearing his throat and brushing off the dirt from his trousers, Jasper stood up straight, spreading his arms out in celebration "The asshole is dead! Woo!" He cheered, before pumping his fists in the air "I think it's time good old Jasper Jordan started brewing some of his best moonshine, huh!? Party time!"
Clarke scoffed and rolled her eyes. Of course Jasper's first thought would be a party.
"Uh... anyways" He said, lowering his arms. He shuffled from foot to foot and clasped his hands together "On a more serious note. I think we all need to reflect on ourselves. We lost so many people in this war against Pike. Including a treasured commander, who somehow managed to come back to life and save all our asses..."
"Jasper" Octavia whispered "what are you-"
"I think we all owe this... ghost commander" his words earned a small chuckle from the crowd of warriors who had gathered "For saving us all. But we also owe ourselves. Every single person who fought to get Polis back and rid Pike of his leadership... none of this would have happened without you either. The war is over. Now we can go back to living in peace, rebuild, enjoy being with the people we have left. Celebrate yourself. God knows you've earned it."
There was a wave of silence throughout the camp, nothing but a small whisper of "what is god?" Until finally, and slowly one after another, people began to clap, until finally an applause flooded its way toward Jasper.
He grinned and lifted his fists to the air one more time before jumping off the hood of the rover.
"Well, that was dramatic but surprisingly inspiring" Raven said sitting herself down behind Luna, who quickly shuffled her head into the other woman's lap. She tickled the baby's nose, earning a hiccup of a giggle.
Lexa turned to them, eying the child which Raven clutched protectively "And who is this?" She questioned quietly
"Natalia" Luna whispered. The baby turned in Raven's arms at her name "We confirmed the loss of her mother through others who lived in Polis with them. Her father passed protecting her. We've decided to look after her."
"She already seems to be taking after you" Lexa watched the baby wiggle with unrest.
"Your humour is draining my life span" Luna commented.
"Speaking of taking after people" Clarke interrupted "That wolf pup we found you with."
Lexa turned quickly "He... is he still alive?"
"Yes. I suppose you'll be glad to know that Monty and Harper have been looking after him while you were out. He made repetitive escapes to find you though. There's been quite a few times they've been running around this camp driven insane trying to find him."
"That sounds like Monty to be fair" Raven chuckled. The baby's hand shot out and grabbed her hair, tugging on it "ouch! Ow stop it! Stop it now! Ouch, child! Ouch!"
"Raven the not how you get her to stop. You know this" Luna sighed, sitting up and leaning over Natalia, who also grabbed a fist full of her brunette curls "hey, hey, hey, no. Let go!"
Lexa and Clarke glanced at one another and laughed. It seemed that the two women still had a lot to learn about raising children.
But after all, there was plenty of time to find out.
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HELLO PEOPLE! I'M BACK AGAIN WITH ANOTHER CHAPTER!
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