ONE | "...and chaos strikes again"
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NOVA has never been one to need company all the time. She likes her alone time — she often finds comfort in being by herself because she's had to learn to get used to it over the years. So it's not unusual to find her deep into the forest collecting wood for the fire, or for her to be writing her thoughts down in her diary alone in her tent.
And, on a crisp October morning, that's exactly what she's doing. Her diary is her most prized possession, and barely anyone even knows she has one, let alone that she's been writing in it most days since she found it in an abandoned and rustic car three years ago. She's different from the rest of them, one-of-a-kind. Nobody can relate to her experiences growing up because they had never been outcast like she was, so her diary is a way of getting her thoughts out of her mind without having to explain to anyone what she means by them.
Her peaceful writing time, however, soon gets disrupted by the sudden erupting sound coming from above her. At first, Nova doesn't think anything of it, but the sound continues and starts to get louder and louder, almost like a bomb hurtling through the Earth's atmosphere. Her eyebrows knit together as she tosses her diary and pen on her makeshift bed, lifting the flap of her tent to investigate the strange occurrence.
Before she has the chance to look up, Nova notices a crowd gathering in the centre of the village. People from all over Trikru's village are becoming more and more curious, with every one of them having the same expression as Nova — extreme confusion. Nobody is saying a word, just looking up at the sky.
Her eyes are too transfixed on the events unfolding in the sky that Nova doesn't realise someone has run up to her and joined her side.
"Dula op yu get in chit ste going gon?" (Do you know what is going on?) Her closest friend, Astoria, questions, a hopeful look paints her face as she asks Nova out of desperation. Nova just simply shakes her head and swallows. It's only clicked with her now that, as the object is coming closer to the ground, it's a dropship from the Ark, larger than the one that her and her father came down in and probably one that can hold around a hundred people. But she doesn't mention it to anyone, fearing that some people in the village might turn on her again.
With her mind clouded with so many theories of what is happening, Nova scrunches up her face and smacks her hand to her forehead. The people who have only recently been open to trusting her will start to question her about this, when she happens to be just as clueless as they are. Nothing has come down from the Ark since Nova has been on the ground, but she's learnt many times that some people she shares her home with are still skeptical about her ten years on. However, regardless of what other's think, she's done nothing but prove herself down here, so she knows she's worthy of being on the ground — and that's all that really matters to Nova.
No more words are exchanged as everyone watches the dropship descend onto Trikru land, the ground beneath them shaking as the ship finally crashes to a halt a few miles from their village. Smoke can be seen in the distance, but Nova is more worried about how her people are going to react to the ship landing in their area. After all, Grounders don't like outsiders.
In an instant, Nova is shoved from behind by someone much more larger than she is and a few faint cheers can be heard in the background, making her feel almost embarrassed that someone thinks she has something to do with this. She stumbles forward, but refuses to fall to her knees and instead, with her jaw and fists clenched, turns around to face whoever had the nerve to push her. She lacks the expression of surprise when she realises it's Rento. He's quite a bit older than her, much taller, too, with plenty of battle scars to prove his age, and he's never liked Nova ever since she was a child. Rento's too loyal to the laws and has always believed the Commander shouldn't have allowed an outsider in.
"Yu ste an idiot taim yu fig raun ai don anything gon dula op kom disha!" (You are an idiot if you think I have anything to do with this!) Nova's voice dominates the whole village as she comes inches away from Rento's face, albeit he is looking down on her, but she's not intimidated in the slightest.
Rento doesn't back off. He stays put for a few seconds, staring Nova down in a threatening manner, and then suddenly reaches for his sword. But Nova's ready to fight, and he knows that — she already has her hand hovering on her sword way before he touched his.
"Noumou! Both of yu!" (Enough! Both of you!) Before anything can get any worse, Indra appears from nowhere and barges in between Rento and Nova, creating some space between them. "Yu ste nou enemies." (You are not enemies.)
Nova huffs, rolling her eyes and shaking her head, while her eyes meet Indra's. "Not enemies, huh? Try telling that to him."
She doesn't stick around for the audience's reactions and heads back to her tent, her heart racing from the confrontation. Once she's away from everyone, she squeezes her eyes shut and allows for her heartbeat to return to normal. Nova doesn't deserve this, she never has. But there is only so much she can say.
The material on Nova's tent ruffles, indicating that someone has entered. She knows it's Indra because she's waiting for Nova to turn around before she says anything. So, Nova does just that and, by the look on Indra's face, she's come to give her some advice.
"Rento won't change his ways, that's just how he is," Indra says, dryly. Nova has never really known Indra to be sympathetic, so she wasn't expecting her to be.
"I've been down here ten years, Indra. I was in space for only eight and people still think I'm one of them! I'm tired of it. And, before you ask, no, I don't know what just happened out there. All I know is that it looks like a dropship and it can probably hold around a hundred people. Do what you wish with that information," Nova rants, her tone of voice is anything but calming. She's pissed, and she clearly can't stop her attitude from coming out in her voice and also in her body movements as her arms are flailing about without her consciously thinking of it.
Indra doesn't even flinch. She's become accustomed to Nova's sudden outbursts over the years, so she simply just stands there, arms crossed and waits for her to calm down slightly.
After a minute of standing in silence, Indra sighs and looks at Nova, whose eyes are still focused on the ground beneath her feet. "We're sending a search party to scout the woods soon. I want you to be on it."
Raising her eyebrows, Nova seems somewhat shocked as her head perks up. "You do?"
"Your knowledge could be useful, Nova. Despite what you may think, we need you. Anya thinks so, too," Indra states, and it puts some confidence back into the girl. She hates to feel like she's not good enough, or not worthy enough of being on the ground, but Indra has just disproved her thoughts. Maybe she is needed more than she thinks she is.
Nova nods her head out of gratitude. "Thank you, Indra. I'll be there."
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Autumn has always been Nova's favourite season of the year. She looks forward to it, it signals that change is occurring, whether that be just in the weather or in life. There is a rosiness to the leaves that wasn't there only a week ago, and the ground has started to become littered with the dead leaves, making a crunching sound every time Nova's thick, combat boots collided with the earth.
It's this sound that means she can hear someone approaching her from behind, their footsteps quick as if they're jogging to catch up. Nova turns her head and a smug smile appears on her face as the person joins her side.
"En weron don yu been, Harlo?" (And where have you been, Harlo?) Nova wiggles her eyebrows at the boy suggestively, knowing exactly why he's late to the search party. They are at the back of the group, so none of the other ten people even realised he was missing in the first place.
"That is none of your business, m'lady," he responds in a joking manner using his 'posh' English voice, something that has become all too common in their friendship, a form of inside joke between them and Astoria. They often like to talk in English amongst themselves and see it as a way to keep their conversations between them because not every Grounder can speak the language well.
Nova wouldn't know what she would do without her two closest friends. She met Harlo and Astoria when she was thirteen and they were both fifteen. They had been in a training class together and, despite living in the same village, Nova had never met them before. Astoria had later told her that it was because both their parents didn't want them associating with the outsider, but that didn't stop them becoming friends later on when the two realised they could make their own choices. Astoria and Harlo decided to include Nova into their tight-knit group from that day on, despite the disapproval from their parents.
"None of my business? Harlo, I'm deeply saddened you don't trust me enough to tell me who your next conquest is," Nova exasperates and pulls her hands over her chest in an attempt to look hurt. She's only teasing him, playing into the fact that he has a new love interest almost every week. All Harlo does is backhand her arm with a playful look upon his face. They like to tease each other, it's just how their friendship works.
"Come on, is it a boy or girl this time?" Nova asks him, less jokingly this time but Harlo still looks at her with his brows raised. "What?! I'm genuinely interested. All jokes aside, I want you to be happy, Harlo."
But before he has the chance to respond, one Grounder, named Anto, interrupts their conversations. "Shut op! De Skaikru na ste anywhere."(Shut up! The sky people could be anywhere.)
Nova feels an urge to talk back to him and say they've only been walking for fifteen minutes and the dropship landing was miles away, but she refrains from doing so and decides it's probably best to avoid any further confrontation for the day. So both her and Harlo keep their mouths shut for the remainder of the trek.
After another hour of walking, cheers can be heard in the distance, most likely from the sky people.
"Weapons gon de ogud!" (Weapons at the ready!) Indra instructs the group, but Nova is the only one that doesn't reach for her sword. She's not here to fight with anyone, and she's certainly not going to harm anyone from the Ark. As much as she doesn't want to be associated with them, although small, she has a connection with them that nobody else on the ground does.
Everyone appears to be on high alert as the voices of the sky people draw closer, but Nova is the only curious one. As Indra tells them to climb the trees, everyone from the search party scatters into the tree tops. Nova follows Harlo, climbing up after him and perching on one of the branches that overlooks the dropship site but isn't so close that she can easily spot people. The smoke has long cleared and all that can be heard are the voices of those that are out of the ship. They're teenagers, just like her.
From below the tree, Nova notices a few of them running off after each other, but they're too quick for her to get a proper look at their faces. They all seem so care-free, so adventurous and mesmerised by the wonders Earth has to offer and she somewhat envies that. She never had the time to explore, she was thrusted into Grounder life the moment her father died, so she never really saw the beauty in the world until only recently.
For a moment, Nova finds herself wondering if she could have been one of them. If her father hadn't have stolen the pod and brought them to the ground all those years ago, would she be apart of them?
Harlo whistles at her to get her attention. He nods in the direction just off to Nova's left, and she sees some sort of confrontation happening between three boys next to the dropship. They're arguing over something carved into the wall. Squinting, it takes Nova a few seconds to realise it says 'first son, first to dye'. She stifles a laugh, shaking her head at the fact that whoever wrote it can't even spell, for Christ's sake. The two boys appear to be targeting one boy in particular, who she guesses is most likely Thelonious Jaha's son, considering the message they're both laughing at and the fact that he looks the double of Jaha, from what she can remember.
It's clear Jaha is still the Chancellor after all this time, otherwise they wouldn't be taunting his son.
The confrontation is over before it even started, with Jaha's son saying something inaudible to the boys and swiftly leaving.
Nova goes to say something to Harlo, when suddenly she can no longer get the words out of her mouth. At the bottom of the tree she's in sits, who she can only assume, her childhood best friend, Nathan Miller. She can't see his face clearly, but the boy has the same skin-tone as him, a similar body posture and a beanie on his head, which Miller never took off even as a kid.
No, that's impossible. There's no way Miller's here, not at the bottom of the same tree she's in. Harlo notices Nova's visibly distressed state and quietly asks if she's okay, to which she just nods.
"Yo, Miller! Come look at this!" An unknown boy shouts his name, and the sudden realisation hits her like a truck when Miller stands up and she can see his face more clearly. He hasn't changed much at all. These are the people she should've grown up with, should've gone to school with and should've experienced this with.
Nova feels like she can't breathe — like the oxygen has been sucked out of her chest. Her heart is racing as dozens of questions and scenarios flood into her head and, as much as she tries to focus on the task at hand, she's really struggling to put her emotions to one side, like she's been taught to. She can't do that this time, it's too personal.
"Nova! Oso gaf in gon gyon au!" (Nova! We need to go!) Harlo calls while simultaneously hurrying down the tree, concern written in his voice. He only ever talks in Trig to her if it's serious. Nova's not too sure what has just happened, whether Harlo is telling her to get down for her sake or if they were given the orders by Indra but she didn't hear them.
Nova decides it's probably best for her to retreat back to the village anyway. "Sha, ai laik kom yu." (Yes, I'm with you.)
She shakily heads down the tree, still cautious not to alert any of the sky people, no matter how shaken up she feels.
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Nova had walked ahead of the group alone on the way back, her mind completely jumbled. She never thought she'd feel so conflicted when seeing the others from the Ark, otherwise she wouldn't have agreed to Indra's request. Thankfully, everyone had left Nova to it on the way back to the village, Harlo suggesting to the others that it was probably for the best.
So Nova isn't surprised when Harlo enters her tent without asking first, which he's never done in all the time he's known her, and sits beside her on the bed. But she doesn't mind, she could use the company.
"Are you going to explain what happened out there?" Harlo asks, resting his hand just above Nova's knee as a sign of comfort.
She sighs deeply, looking up at her friend for the first time since he came into her tent.
"I thought I could handle it, you know? As soon as I saw that they were my age, I started to question what my life would've been like up there. Would they have been my friends? What would school have been like? And then I saw a boy who I remember being good friends with as a kid. His name was Miller. His father was a guard, just like mine, so naturally we hung about a lot because we were from the same station. And I guess I'm frustrated because I thought I didn't remember much from my life up there, but seeing him...it just made everything come flooding back. Like my mind had been suppressing all these memories right up until that moment."
Nova never intended to pour her thoughts out onto Harlo, but she finds that once she's started, she simply can't stop.
"Wow, that's a lot to process in that little head of yours," Harlo jokes, tapping the top of her head as a way to lighten the mood. His gesture makes Nova giggle, a smile finally forming on her face. She's grateful for his sense of positivity at a time like this.
"No, but seriously. There's nothing wrong about feeling the way you do, it's probably natural. And it sucks that nobody can relate to your situation and that you have to go through this alone, but just because you're the only one feeling like that doesn't mean that nobody is going to be there for you. You can annoy Astoria and I all you want if it helps, or talk to Lincoln, just don't bottle your thoughts up, okay? Even if we've been trained to do that, it doesn't mean we can't be human from time-to-time."
Nobody seems to understand Nova as much as Harlo, so she instinctively wraps her arms around him and smiles into his chest, warmth radiating from his body.
As soon as Harlo leaves her tent, Nova makes the decision to see Indra. But she doesn't need to look that far because Indra is already walking up to her tent, obviously wanting to have words with Nova too. Her face is stern and her walk is heavy, but that doesn't concern Nova because she already has a feeling she's not on Indra's good side after today.
"Just say what you need to say and get it over with, Indra. I know I wasn't fit for the job today, clearly."
"You're no longer able to see the sky people. Your heart ruled too much over your head today, and you know a warrior doesn't let emotions cloud judgment. You've been taken off any further search parties and you aren't to leave this village unless instructed to. Do I make myself clear?" Indra's tone is strict, which Nova expected, but she hadn't quite prepared herself to feel shamed by her leader, which explains the faint redness in her cheeks.
She suddenly regrets ever taking up Indra's offer of being apart of the search party. Maybe then Nova wouldn't feel so ashamed of herself.
Nova nods, swallowing harshly with her heart practically on the floor. "Yes, Indra."
A warrior doesn't let emotions cloud judgement. She's heard that too many times to count, yet her emotions still threaten to take over her.