Chapter Text
In the six days since the news of the missile strike had reached Polis, Lexa had gotten exactly twelve hours of sleep. The ambassadors were were certain that SkaiKru had launched the attack on Ichmon and they were thirsting for their blood. After what happened on the Mountain, Lexa knew the SkaiKru would feel betrayed, but she had seen a few of them had come to understand what the Ground, as they called it, required of them. She had hoped that this understanding would spread and that with time they would be able to form a lasting alliance. They had not seemed this rash to her when they were planning the attack, could they truly be behind this attack?
If they were, why Ichmon and why now? They had been quiet for months with no attempt at communication.However, her scouts had notified her that the SkaiKru were transporting supplies from the Mauon home to their camp. They could have been using this as cover for repairing some of the Mountain Men’s weapons and if they weren’t responsible, a bigger and far more perplexing question posed itself: Who else would be capable of launching a mauon missile?
She had worked tirelessly to calm the ambassadors enough to accept her plan of caution and rebuilding, instead of the immediate retribution that Azgeda had instigated the others into demanding. After an exhausting round of meetings Lexa had finally been able to get the council to accept that she would first focus on the village that had suffered the actual attack and then determine who was to blame.
That had been all the more tiring because she to, wished to make the people responsible for this atrocity pay for their actions. She had had to control her own rage and ever growing frustration in a room full of outraged hot-heads yelling over each other. Her mind, body and self-control were exhausted and the demanding times showed no sign of ending, but perhaps she would be able to catch a full night’s sleep tonight when she had seen to Ichmon.
Two days ago, she had set off from Polis, leaving many very disgruntled emissaries in her wake. She, Indra, Irvin, Ington, Rida and Iden had been riding straight through the nights, only stopping to give the horses and their bodies a brief respite. They had skipped meals, training and sleep to get to Ichmon as quickly as humanly possible. Now they were less than five minutes out, they had slowed down slightly and Lexa had straightened out her armor and braids, ready to look far more put together than she actually was.
The scouts around the village, which were noticeably lacking in numbers, carried the message of their arrival ahead of them. The trees thinned and their horses came to a stop at the edge of the crater. I have looked upon too many craters in my life, Lexa thought to herself.
She knew that the survivors had already sorted through some of the rubble, but from here it was impossible to tell how much. Tents of many shades and sizes were scattered throughout the destruction and people scuttled about the landscape, reminding Lexa that she was here to help and support, not gaze on from a distance. With a quick hand gesture they cautiously made their way down to the center of the crater. The village chief, who had been out with a hunting party when the bomb hit, approached them with a respectful bow to Lexa. With a nod from her Heda, the dark haired woman straightened her spine and spoke. “Welcome, Commander. We are honored by your visit.”
“Thank you, Ationa.” Lexa spoke with a loud and confident voice, “We are here to help. More warriors and some of Polis’ best healers are on their way.”
“Many thanks, Commander.”
“We will set up our tents and then we may discuss what has been and can be done to allow you all to recover from this terrible tragedy. I promise we will find whoever did this and they will pay for their crimes with their life! Jus drain jus daun!” She could see that her speech helped, but there wasn’t the usual cheering, everyone was exhausted.
“Mochof, Heda. The living tents are in that clearing over here, those are the kitchens and the three deep orange tents are the healer’s. We have constructed a set of stables over there. With your permission Eace and Negie will assist you.”
“Mochof, Ationa.” The rest of her entourage nodded in respect to the chief and they rode over to the aforementioned clearing, now joined by two young seconds. They made quick work of the tents and Lexa insisted on helping with the horses, hating that protocol stipulated she just sit around idly while the others set up her tent and throne. She had considered whether to even bring it with them as it was a lot of extra weight, but she was bound by her people’s beliefs and opinions as much as they were by her laws.
Ationa approached not ten minutes after they finished and Eace had brought them all some food. They sat down together at the table Eace and Negie had managed to turn up. It took most of Lexa’s remaining restraint, not to wolf down the food in front of her. Once they had finished, she motioned for Ationa to give her the full report.
“Well, This center clearing was wiped clean by the impact, most of our homes have been entirely destroyed, but as you can see some of them are still standing at the edges. The initial blast took out most of our elderly. Thank the gods that we had two large hunting parties out at the time and that the children were training at the river. We have been able to establish temporary housing for the survivors and we are making decent progress through the rubble, but our warriors and horses are tired from shifting the stone and the healer would have run out of herbs two times over, had she not had the foresight to send children out with samples to gather more. In all we have recovered 327 bodies, with another 134 unaccounted for, 216 dead, another 68 have succumbed to their wounds, most before the healer arrived, we currently have 43 injured under her care. Excluding them we have 179 survivors, those unable to help in the search efforts are working on recovering belongings, cooking, watching the children and assisting in the construction.” Lexa could hear the pain in the chief’s voice, she clearly cared very deeply about her people. Lexa gave her a sympathetic nod, before speaking.
“May the Spirit guide them home. You said the healer showed up?”
“Sha, Heda. Our village healer Trigu was one of the first bodies we found. This healer showed up with a warrior four days ago.” Ationa spoke of this healer in an ambiguous tone and she perplexed Lexa as well. Healers were well respected figures, yet they usually stayed in their village for life and truly very few became nomads. Had this one, something to hide?
“Would you speak well of her?” Lexa ventured.
“Sha, Heda. If nothing else, then that. She and her companion had saved many a life since they have arrived. Kala is very knowledgeable and handles the many injured with an almost practiced ease. She has great foresight and has already begun training one of our own, Alexsa, in the art.”
“So what kind of impression has she made on you?” People with secrets were rarely something Lexa could afford.
“Kala seems trustworthy and highly capable, however, I have only known the woman for four days.” Lexa nodded.
“It would be appreciated if I could speak to her. She may have a unique insight on how we could organize the assistance from the other warriors.”
“Glady, Heda. However, I do find it worth mentioning that I believe she is not planning to stay.”
“That is understandable, still.” Lexa said with a hand gesture. This woman was grew more perplexing by the minute. Ationa motined for a small boy to come closer. He bowed to Lexa, then turned to his chief.
“Run to Alexsa and tell her to fetch Kala. Heda wishes to speak to her.” He ran off. At Lexa’s inquisitorial look, Ationa elaborated. “We have all learned to avoid entering without permission as much as possible and always let Aurora or Alexsa go first. Kala is fond of children, but dislikes ‘people who don’t have a clue what is going on trampling’ through her workspace.”
“She has had that much of an influence already?”
“A man once got so drunk that he knocked over her boiling kettle of cleaning fluid. She looked like she was ready to give him death by a thousand cuts. Even my bravest warriors avoided her after that, they, and I, have gained a deep respect for her.” Lexa was impressed. She leaned back as they waited for Alexsa and Kala to arrive. It was no more than a quarter of an hour later when a small brunette girl approached them cautiously with a muscular redhead in tow. The woman, who was undoubtedly the healer Kala, immediately caught Lexa’s eye. She wore an abnormal amount of weapons hidden about her body, so many that Lexa herself wasn't even sure she could find them all, and she moved in a way that Lexa had never seen before, like a predator, but uniquely light and poised, yet lethal and sharp. She held her head slightly bowed, shielding her face from view.
When the duo got closer both took a knee and bow respectfully her. She dismissed the girl. The woman did not rise. “I have heard what you have done for this village. I thank you for your efforts.” Lexa spoke in the Commander’s tone. The woman before her squirmed slightly, but did not look up as she responded.
“I am honored by your thanks, Heda. I simply wished to help where I could.” It sounded foreign, yet the healer’s voice slithered familiarly through her senses, leaving behind a trace of the woman that had hoarded Lexa’s thoughts for far too long. What was she doing here? Her heart started pounding and she just barely held in a gasp. It seemed as if the woman in front of her could sense the change in Lexa, as she now slowly looked up to gaze into the Commander’s eyes.
Lexa’s forest green orbs met walls of cold blue steel and it hurt. It hurt deep down in her spirit. Before, even if the blonde was trying to hide her feelings, her eyes had always told Lexa how she truly felt about whichever situation they were in. Those eyes had been warm, kind and so expressive of their owner’s emotions, yet now they were an emotionless wasteland. Clarke had always been so open, so honest about her feelings, claiming them as a strength instead of a weakness, it truly stung to have the other woman close herself off so completely from the world. I did that to her, Lexa thought, this is my fault.
Tears threatened to escape her eyes, but she forced them down. They were not in private where Lexa could afford to show her feelings, like she had done in the tent before the Mountain. They were exposed and in the direct presence of one of her officers, this was no place for feelings. Or apologies.
Lexa steeled herself for the conversation to come.
“This makes your actions no less deserving of my gratitude.”
“I do not leave people who are in need of my help defenseless.”
“You have managed the situation quite well.”
“I had hoped it would not have to come for this, the necessity for my gifts often comes with great strife.”
“I to am sadded that it had to come to this tragedy.”
Clarke simply nodded at Lexa’s last, but her eyes morphed into icy tundras, leaving Lexa to contain a wince. In conflict to the freezing stare, Clarke kept her tone falsely warm and respectful.
“I had heard you wished to speak to me about a matter of some urgency. If that is not the case I would respectfully like to request that this conversation be moved to a point in time where I do not have two people in my care just barely holding on to their lives.”
“I thought that you may have a unique insight on how we may organize help in the most efficient way once it arrives from Polis, but we can have this discussion when you do not have injured in need of your immediate attention. May the gods have mercy on them and you Kala kom Kru.”
“Mochof, Heda.” This time Clarke was the one who walked away. For Lexa each step felt like a punch to the gut, rubbing salt into the wound of her heartbreak. She had not known how deeply she had fallen for the Skai Prisa, until she had betrayed her trust and felt how much it hurt her to see the pain in the blonde’s eyes. It equaled the sensation of pushing a serrated sword into her gut and turning it along with their fate.