Author's Note: I can't believe I haven't written in over a year. I won't lie, the death of Lexa really shook me. Though I may never have written Clexa, I truly shipped them and hoped they would be endgame on the show. Alas, jrat took it upon himself to end that, and I lost my motivation to write. After some encouraging messages, however, I have decided that it's finally time to continue. I can't leave this story the way I had.

With the new season starting, I have my concerns for the show and how it will end up. However, I've decided that I'll continue writing however I feel my story should go. Most likely it will be completely separate from the show, so don't look for connections to that storyline. I certainly will not kill off Lexa. I probably won't even write in the CoL, because that storyline annoyed the shit out of me anyway. You'll just have to wait and see what happens, as will I.

Enjoy this continuation of Hide & Seek! FYI, some Trigedasleng will be used, so look to the end for translations.

"You're beautiful" Clarke notes, twirling Octavia's hair between her fingers as the brunette's head rests upon her bare chest.

Octavia tilts her head up to look at Clarke, careful not to totally break contact. She smiles and softly kisses the princess's chest. She loves laying with her girlfriend like this: just the two of them, completely naked under the cover of a bedroll.

"What do you think Polis is going to be like?"

Octavia thinks for a moment before responding. "Well, from what Indra used to tell me, it's huge. There's a big marketplace where people of all twelve clans come to trade. She also mentioned a central tower where the leaders meet, the commander resides, and guests of the capitol stay. I'm assuming we'll be spending a lot of time in there."

"Sounds nice," Clarke replies flatly.

"You sound worried." Octavia sits up now, and turns so she can look into her girlfriend's eyes.

"I'm going to be introduced as the leader of the thirteenth clan. Most of the grounders despise us, and blame us for the deaths of their own. Most of those deaths were caused by me and my actions, yet I'm supposed to expect them to accept me into a position of power? It just feels like we're walking into a death trap." There's no exaggeration or falseness in Clarke's voice, and Octavia can see that she is truly scared.

Octavia's response is serious and calculated, but with a level of understanding only she could offer Clarke. "Listen, like we've both learned and talked about a thousand times before, you made the choices you had to in order to protect us. We knew nothing about the grounders and they didn't have a clue who we were, so naturally there was fighting. If they hate us for anything, it's the sheer fact that we dropped out of space and came here uninvited. But now we're here and not going back. You just have to go in there strong and unapologetic. You are being brought in by their Commander. If they defy her, they'll face death."

Clarke nods, but is by no means reassured. She's simply tired of all the death. Will becoming the thirteenth clan lead to the loss of even more?

Octavia sees the wheels turning in Clarke's head, and doesn't miss her increasingly fast breaths and the sweat glistening on her forehead. Her first anxiety attack since returning to Arkadia.

"Look at me, princess. You are not allowed to take the weight of this alone. I'm with you all the way. We're not going to let more people die. I know it isn't easy, it never is, but this is going to be good for our people." Octavia rests her forehead on Clarke's, and gives her girlfriend time to steady her breathing.

"You can't leave my side when we're there," Clarke pleads after a moment.

"I said I'm with you, and I meant it. But don't forget, you brought people together before without me. Remember when we first got to Earth? You're the reason that those of us who survived are still here. Even I was butting heads with you at first, but shit, look at us now," Octavia exclaims, reminding Clarke of their progress.

Clarke can't help but laugh before slyly responding, "Yeah, now we're bumping uglies instead."

"Oh my god, Clarke. You must be spending too much time around Raven."

"Speaking of, do you think she managed to sleep last night? I'm just worried that her decision to stay in her workshop left her hyper-focused on those damn radios. We do leave tomorrow morning, and it's going to suck if she's overly tired." Clarke's concern is shared by Octavia, who promptly gets up and begins getting dressed.

"We'd better check on her then." Octavia throws some clothing at her girlfriend. "As sexy as you look like this," she gestures to Clarke's voluptuous curves, "it's probably best you get dressed before leaving the tent."

The blonde frowns as Octavia adorns a deep red tank, covering her torso. Clarke quickly gets up to stop her from putting on a pair of recycled Ark jeans.

"You know what? I think that checking on Raven five minutes from now won't make much of a difference." Clarke removes her girlfriend's shirt and begins sucking on her neck.

Octavia lets out an excited moan. "Five minutes? You'd better work fast," she commands with a mischievous grin.

"Yes ma'am," Clarke responds with a smile, before pulling the brunette into a searing kiss.

"I can't believe you kept going for over an hour," Clarke whines as she rushes towards Raven's workshop.

"You're the one who's been telling me we never have an 'even number' of orgasms!" Octavia declares a bit too loudly as they reach the entrance.

Raven rolls her eyes and turns in her chair to face her friends. "And this is why I've been sleeping in here for the last five nights. Granted, the metal floor isn't the most comfortable surface, but it's much better than trying to sleep between your sexual tension that first night."

Octavia exaggerates a wink, and Clarke can only scoff and shake her head when she sees it. The blonde approaches the workbench where Raven is sitting to see five completed walkies amongst various tools and parts. "Have you even slept?" Clarke asks as she picks up one of the radios. "You did say these take forever to make."

"Well, I would have slept, but I got to thinking, 'what if the radios had some sort of emergency wake function?' That way, if, for example, you two have the brilliant idea to turn yours off again like when the grounders showed up here, we'll still have a way of sending a distress signal. So, I tinkered for a bit until I got it to work, rewired each walkie to have the same function, and then you guys showed up!" Raven sounds much more enthusiastic than her face looks. Her eyes are red and puffy, she's running pale, and she's emitting a sort of mad-scientist-who's-about-to-snap vibe.

Octavia appears a bit puzzled as she moves to stand between Clarke and Raven. "Wouldn't it have just been easier to tell everyone not to turn off their radios?"

Clarke snickers under her breath and slightly nudges her girlfriend, as a warning. Raven certainly looks defeated.

"I mean, I definitely think that was a good idea and clearly you're fucking brilliant, I just feel bad that you haven't slept at all," Octavia elaborates in an attempt to ward off an emotional breakdown from the mechanic.

"It's all good. I'm good! I just need coffee or something. Do we have coffee around here? I don't even know…" she trails off, standing but then immediately falling back into her seat as her head starts to spin.

"Slow down there, Reyes. How about we take you back to your tent so you can rest?" Clarke offers, as she and Octavia move to either side of Raven and help her up.

"What about you two?"

Octavia laughs, "Clarke was complaining about being in that tent with me for an hour, there's no way we were going to be spending the whole day in there."

"Not funny," Clarke replies with an eye roll. Despite her seriousness, the other two girls can't help but laugh.

After getting Raven settled, Clarke and Octavia begin walking over to their own tent. Well, it used to be Clarke's, but since coming back, it became both of theirs. Octavia didn't feel comfortable sleeping in the Ark room where she had stayed with Lincoln. Plus, she liked being outdoors. It's no house, but it's a place for just the two of them. Well, usually. But this past week it has been Echo's temporary residence.

"I'm still bitter about having given up our space to some Azgeda gada whom, by the way, we may not even be able to trust."

Clarke wraps an arm around Octavia's shoulders and gives her a quick, reassuring squeeze. "Gada? How about gona, since we're not trying to offend anyone. Look at it this way, tomorrow we leave for Polis. Once we're there, we won't have to worry about Echo anymore. Either way, I think she seems nice."

Octavia huffs, "If by nice you mean fake, then yeah, very nice."

Clarke laughs and shakes her head as they approach the tent.

A rather chipper Echo emerges as the girls arrive. "Heya! Ha yo?"

"Nou foto. Yu?" Octavia's response is far less enthusiastic.

"Ai ste kik raun!"

Knowing that Octavia is simply not having Echo's sunshine, Clarke decides to do the talking. "Glad to hear it! From what everyone's been saying, you've been quite the pleasure to have around Arkadia. Unfortunately, we've barely had a chance to speak this whole week, so I've neglected to ask if you need anything for the trip to Polis."

"The commander left behind a horse, so I suppose the only other thing worth bringing along would be some food and a water container."

"Fair enough. I'll make sure we have that all ready to go tonight."

"I too never had the chance to ask, do you also plan to ride horses, or will you walk? Because I must say, it is a rather long journey."

"Well, Octavia and I will be riding. Raven, Bellamy, and Kane will follow in a truck."

"A truck?" Echo inquires, with a suspicious naïveté.

Now Octavia chimes in with attitude, "It's like a metal horse."

"Oh, I see. similar to what the Maunon used."

"The trucks are actually from Mount Weather," Clarke replies remorsefully.

"I take it that is why you will not use one, Wanheda?"

Confusion immediately sets in for both Clarke and Octavia.

"Wanheda?" they simultaneously ask.

"Yes. You are the Commander of Death."

Translations:

Azgeda gada – Ice Nation girl

Gona – Warrior

Heya! Ha yo? – Hi! How are y'all?

Nou foto. Yu? – Not bad. You?

Ai ste kik raun! – I'm doing well!

Maunon – Mountain Men

As always, if you notice any translation errors, please let me know!

Author's Note: Ah, cliffhangers. I certainly look forward to continuing with this. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up within two weeks.

Favorites, follows, and reviews are always appreciated.