1

Clarke had just finished settling Madi in one of the tents that had been erected for them. She'd put her on the cot that Clarke would claim for herself. She noticed that there were two others in the tent as well. When she looked at the other cots, she noticed Raven's bag on one of them and Octavia's on the other. She smiled. They weren't going to leave her alone unless she was Anya or someone else that she knew that they trusted completely.

She had seen the relief on Dax's face when they came into the camp, but his wasn't the only one. She knew that they were all worried about her. Octavia, Raven, and Murphy now especially with the addition of Madi into the mix. She knew that it was going to be a long night around the campfire. They were going to want to talk, but she wasn't sure that she was ready to open herself up more to them. There were things that they needed to do and people to save. She couldn't let her emotions get the best of her so quickly. They had a time table and they needed to stick to it. She would just have to do like she always did. She'd bear it, so they didn't have to.

There was a gentle clearing of a throat just outside the tent. She knew whoever it was knew that Madi was in the tent sleeping. She was appreciative of their awareness, but she didn't know what she was going to do with all her plans now that she had to move them around Madi.

She turned and looked back at the girl as she slept. She couldn't help but smile at her, until it turned into a frown. Madi had chosen this curse. She'd lived, had children, watched them grow, and still she told Keyron to send her back to Clarke, to her Nomi. Clarke didn't want this for her. She never wanted Madi to have to deal with it all. But, now, a six year old, who had memories of a full life, was in her arms already. It might have only been roughly six months or more early, but it was still much for Clarke at the moment.

She moved to the flap and saw that it was Anya. Her amber eyes were dark in the low light, but she could tell that the warrior woman before her was unsure of what to say or do. Monroe came up behind her, though.

"Raven sent me to check on the girl," Monroe stated.

"She's sleeping, but stay close for me. She's important to me and I want her to keep safe. Is there someone that you want to stay with you? I'll send them over," Clarke offered.

"I wouldn't mind anyone. Let Dax and Harper have the morning, though. They work well together."

"Okay, I'll see if I can find Miller then. I think that he would be a good partner for you. Thank you for doing this for me, Monroe. It means a lot," Clarke told her.

"Just doing my job, Clarke. I know that we don't know what it really going on, but you seem to have a good idea. You're taking care of us and keeping us alive. The least I could do is take tonight's watch over the both of you."

Clarke just nodded and then hugged the girl. When she backed up, she saw that Anya had cocked an eyebrow at the gesture but was keeping her mouth shut. Monroe took up her position in front of Clarke's tent. Clarke looked to Anya and then took off towards the closest fire.

When they approached, she saw Harper, Monty, Miller, Octavia, Jasper, Murphy, and Raven. They all moved over Anya and Clarke to sit. They all stopped talking and looked to Clarke for more instruction.

"How do you feel Miller?"

"Good," he replied.

"Good, you've got night guard with Monroe at my tent," Clarke told him.

"Okay," he said as he stood up and started to move in that direction.

Clarke moved to intercept him. She looked him over and saw that he already had a spear and knife with him. She nodded and moved closer to him, leaning in so no one else would hear her next command.

"Guard the girl first before the rest of us, understand?"

He nodded.

"She isn't just important to me. She is important to our survival. Keep her safe and alive no matter what," Clarke commanded.

"I will, Clarke. Don't worry. I'll protect her."

"Harper and Dax will relieve in the morning. Once we are set, the four of you will have to pick your teams. Start talking with Monroe tonight and give the challenge over to them in the morning. I need to know who you trust to guard us and stay closer to us. I'll get you more training. You get me names. You are one of Octavia choices, which means you're going to be one my captains. Understand?"

Nodding, "I got it. We'll have a list for you soon. I'd better go. Don't want to leave Monroe alone."

"Always two on her from now on," Clarke stated.

"Right. Got it. Always two on the kid."

Clarke nodded and let him go. When she turned back to the fire, she saw the strange looks that Octavia, Raven, and Anya were giving her. Murphy just smiled and went back to poking the fire before them with a stick. Clarke moved back to her seat and sat back down.

"What was that?" Octavia asked.

"Just protecting Madi."

"So, how's the mini-me?" Raven asked as she stared at Clarke more fully.

"Sleeping for now. She's thinner than I'd like, but that is probably because she's been running for days. She doesn't remember exactly when Sangeda warriors showed up, but she hid like she was supposed to. When she came out, the village had been razed. She gathered what she could, which wasn't much, just a small knife and started north. She knew that eventually she would find her way to TonDC. She knew that she would be safe there. I really need to talk with her more."

"But, she doesn't have a scar," Octavia added.

"I know. But, she also hasn't restarted as many times as we have. She said that she remembers being with you in Eden and being old, but the other time she didn't live much past Praimfaya. I don't want to push her. I can't imagine the mental stress that she is under due to the fact that she lived to have children and see her children have children. And, now, she is a child again, without her birth family," Clarke stated.

"We will protect her," Raven assured her.

"I know that we will," Clarke said. "I am also worried about the fact that Sangeda attacked Eden. They had no real reason as to being this far south, especially now. Azgeda wouldn't have sent them. They are loyal to the coalition and Lexa. It makes no sense."

"It doesn't, Skaiprisa, but trust me when I say that both Luna and Lexa will seek answers for you."

"And, how many will die for that?" Clarke quipped as she stared hard into Anya's eyes.

"Hopefully only the guilty. Lexa knows that not all of Azgeda wanted her dead when she went after Nia. And, she didn't really want a war with her either. She tried to stop the civil war, but in the end, she couldn't. Roan backed her and the coalition as they took back Azgeda for the people and away from Nia's influence."

Clarke just nodded. She knew better than anyone that Lexa didn't wage war to just wage war, and all the losses, from both sides of the conflict, would be Lexa's to bear. She knew that losses would happen, but yet, she knew that if she didn't act things would be worse. Clarke knew that. Oh, how she knew that and she bore her own losses scarred across her own heart. She didn't want anymore.

"We need to figure out why they are doing this?"

"And, we will. Just not tonight and not before we talk with Heda about it. For now, we will protect the girl and continue with the mission we must face. Other lives are counting on all of us, now," Anya explained.

Clarke nodded, but she knew that she'd been scolded at the same time. She knew that Anya was always going to be trying to teach her something. She couldn't blame her for that. She was a warrior, but she was also a Fos.

"What do we need to be worried about while we are here?"

"Nothing much. In a few days, we will leave for TonDC. Until then, I expect all of you to follow whatever directions that I or Danae, the village elder, give you. We will be helping them prepare for the storm that is coming. Thanks to your arrival, and our shared blood, we have the timeline for it coming. But, I need to ask that those of you that have the blood don't share that information and do not get hurt if you can help it. If you do, call for Clarke or myself. No one else at this time, understood," Anya told them.

"The blood?" Monty asked as he looked around the fire.

"We have a special blood, Monty. Octavia, Raven, Murphy and myself...it was a test that was started on the Ark," Clarke lied. "We found some old information from before the bombs. Unfortunately, we couldn't give it to everyone. Mom did her best to give us as much immunity as she could before we launched. For now, the four of us shouldn't do anything that could cause injury. We will wait for Lexa, their Heda to come. Then, we will let everyone else know about it."

"So, what is it?" Harper questioned.

"We have black blood," Octavia answered truthfully.

"And it is only you four?" Harper asked.

"The child has it as well."

"But, she wasn't on the Ark," Monty stated.

"I know."

"There is more to this isn't there?" Monty questioned.

"Isn't there always?" Raven quipped. "Just wait for Mama G and Kane to get here. We'll explain it all then, okay? For now, listen to Clarke and Cheekbones. They are going to keep us all alive."

"Is that why you seem to know more than the rest of us?" Jasper inquired.

"Something like that, yeah. Just for now be good and know that I am doing everything to keep us alive and healthy," Clarke told them. She turned and looked at Anya. The older blonde was given her a look. "Heda will probably be here tomorrow. Knowing Lexa, she is probably pushing through the nights to get here from Floukru with Luna. So, tomorrow, I expect everyone to be good and not act out. She is the leader of the Kongeda and Trikru."

"So, what does that mean for us?" Monty asked.

"She is the leader of this Earth. The Kongeda is a coalition of twelve tribes or clans. They call those clans krus. Trikru or the Tree People, like Anya, are where we landed. She is also their default leader. She has someone run things in her place because she is the high leader for all twelve clans."

"So, they all answer to her?" Jasper questioned.

"Sha, Boy, they do. She is not one that you want to make angry. She has the power of twelve nations under her and she isn't afraid to use them," Anya stated.

Jasper gulped. Clarke reached over and touched Anya's leg, trying to calm the warrior. She knew that Anya was trying to scare them, and succeeding, but she didn't want them all to shit their pants as soon as they saw Lexa on the morrow. She wanted them to have a healthy dose of anxiety about living on Earth, but she also needed them to not be scared shitless. She turned and gave Anya a look and the darker blonde just shrugged and gave her a grin. She knew exactly what she was doing and because Anya was Anya, she was getting off on it, too.

Looking around again, she saw that Lincoln wasn't there or nearby. She started looking around. Octavia took in her searching and wondered who Clarke was looking for now. They knew that Madi was in the tent and guarded. Raven was with them. Murphy was close as well. She looked around the different fires until she landed on Charlotte.

"I'll go talk to the Sprite. Who do you want me to leave her with? She's been following Artigus and Nyko."

"That's fine. Just make sure that she gets to bed early. The rest of them can make their own decisions. Make sure she is in a tent near ours. I want to make sure that she is close in case she has a nightmare," Clarke told her.

"Do you want me to stay with her?"

"You don't have to, Oktevia."

"I'm not offering for nothing, Skairprisa. I'm offering to allow you to have more room in your cot. The Mini-me is already in yours, remember?"

"I know that," Clarke clipped out.

"I'll stay with both of them. The guard will be set. Your people will be safe for the night. But, if you have guards ready for the morning, they should be heading to bed soon. The watch will wake them if you give me their names," Anya told them.

"Octavia?"

"So far, I only have a few guards that I trust to do anything."

"Besides Harper, Miller, and Monroe?" Clarke questioned, making sure to stay in Gonasleng for the rest of those attending the fire.

"They are going to be my captains. Miller and Monroe seem to be on Strikheda. So, I'll leave them there."

"They are for tonight. In the morning, Dax and Harper will take over. Which means that after training, we need to figure out more guards."

Octavia nodded, realizing that was what Clarke and Miller had been talking about earlier. She looked to Anya to see if she had any objections to their selections, but she couldn't read the older woman. Anya just nodded along with their words, not adding anything as they speculated on who they should pull into their ranks as guards.

"Lexa will give you Lincoln," Anya just added into their conversation as she stared hard at Octavia.

Clarke once again, put her hand on Anya. She knew that the older woman was doing as Lexa asked. Giving Octavia Lincoln now would save them the trouble of him having to betray his people and allow them to fall in love again. It was both a blessing and a curse. One that Clarke knew all too well with Lexa, but she hoped that this time that Octavia would be able to keep all the way until they reached Eden and have many babies together. Squeezing Anya's leg, Clarke dropped her head as she stared into the fire.

"I want Murphy to train as well," Clarke added.

"But, I'm not a warrior. I'm a cook. I take care of the kid," Murphy countered.

"I know, but you are also a scrapper. You're my cockroach, Murphy. I need to know that if things get hard that you will fight back and help defend us all."

"Always, Princess," he replied as he dipped his head, realizing that she was right. He needed the training. Especially if he was going to fight to get to Emori and keep her.

"And, I remember my promise to you, John. She's on my list. She is still a priority for me," Clarke told him when she realized he understood her want for him to be ready to fight if needed. "You'll be a secret weapon. Not because you are a cook, but because you won't look as threatening as warrior."

He gave her a large smirk.

"We will need to visit the armorer in the morning. We will make sure that everyone is properly armed or getting that way. You've got enough metal here to help make yourself some decent knives and spears. I don't know about swords, but we will work on those, too," Anya told them all before switching to Trig. "She has already sent some armor and a sword for you, Skaiprisa. I am sure that you and Skairipa will need to try them out. She wanted to make sure that you were protected even when you weren't with her."

"And, I am sure that she would have sent an entire battalion to welcome us if you hadn't talked her out of it as well," Clarke said.

"She would have, yes. She did entertain the idea, but it wasn't me that fully talked her out of it. It was Eko and Luna. They reminded her that sending such a force would be seen as aggressive and might start something that none of us wanted to happen," Anya replied.

"That much is true. We don't need a war this early in the game. There are too many other things that we need to take care," Octavia added.

Anya nodded in agreement. Clarke, Raven, Octavia, and Anya might have been the only ones sitting at the fire that understood what other things they were talking about, but they also knew that a war between the Trikru and the 100 would descract them too much from the Mountain and trying to get things into place before Praimfaya. As it was, Clarke, Raven and Octavia were going have their focus split on both until after the Mountain fell.

"It is a good thing that Lexa has already started preparing for the bunkers," Clarke stated.

"Sha," Raven replied. "Now, we just need to get to TonDC so we can take care of the rest for all our sakes."

"Time for bed. Make sure that everyone gets some where to sleep, Octavia. Jasper, don't fight me on this. You are still getting to make 'shine. Get some sleep and in a few days, you'll be making a permanent still," Clarke commanded with a smile. "Raven, first thing in the morning, we need the radio up. I want to talk to the Ark to see how things are going in their preparations. Monty, do me a favor and get with Wells and check our gear. If there are some things that you think that we can donate or barter with, let Octavia know after training in the morning. She'll be able to tell you what we can get a good deal on and other stuff. Murphy get with Bellamy in the morning and start dividing up people in to crews for work details. I'll talk with Aurora."

"Are you going to give him any power this time?" Octavia asked her.

"That will all depend on him. Everyone had a long day. Let's get some sleep," Clarke told them as she stood.

"You going to follow me so I can give you the armor?"

"Can it wait until morning?" Clark asked her.

"Only if you agree to train with me, Skaiprisa," Anya answered.

"She'll be there," both Raven and Octavia answered, only to be glared at by Clarke.