Chapter Eight: We Are Grounders Now

Clarke dropped her pack onto the floor, sighed and looked up. The mountainside loomed before her, dauntingly high even on the gentlest slope. She took in the view and thought back to the drawing she had done. She'd forgotten about both it and the second she had handed it to in the chaos after Jaha's message. Now she remembered every detail. She imagined the buildings she had sketched come to life. How they would stretch up the slope of the mountain, reaching towards the sky. It would take a long time and a lot of effort to achieve, but Clarke could not wait to see it happen. A proper home for her people down on Earth. A place they could stay in, grow from and defend as their very own.

For now, the Sky people would have to make do with tents. After the delay in leaving Polis, the supply carts had had to be stocked again. A large camp would be made at the foot of the mountain, so that everyone at least had rudimentary shelter. Then water and food would be the next priority. The hunter seconds that Lexa had ordered to accompany the Sky people would soon be missed back in Polis. The Sky people would have to learn hunting techniques quickly. The Trigeda builders however faced a much longer stay with the Sky people in their new territory. Building of permanent structures wouldn't start yet. Not until the necessary materials had been salvaged from the interior of the mountain. Clarke's expression soured at the thought of people having to go back into Mt. Weather.

"Are you well, Clarke?" Lexa asked. She was standing beside her and similarly appraising the view before them.

"I'm fine. I knew it was going to be a struggle, coming back here. Guess you just don't realise how much until you arrive though."

Lexa turned to face her and tilted her head, obviously weighing up what to say. "It's a defensible place, especially with a good building layout. And there are several streams running down the mountain that could be diverted wherever you need water. Soil is good around the foot of the mountain. This territory is a gift. One you have every right to take."

Clarke gave a weak smile. She appreciated Lexa's efforts to focus on the positives. She couldn't blame her mother at all for accepting Lexa's offer of the land. It was the ideal spot and undeniably beautiful. But still it meant building on top of a mass grave. A grave that Clarke had filled herself. "I can't wait to see what my people build here. But I'm glad that I have my own home to go back to," Clarke admitted.

Lexa looked like she was about to move closer, but she stopped when Bellamy and Raven approached them.

"Not to interrupt the honeymoon or anything, but these tents aren't going to build themselves." Raven prodded. She referred to an old Earth tradition of a newly married couple going away together. Another impossible tradition to hold onto on the Ark.

Clarke turned to her two friends and shrugged, "Just admiring the view."

"Gross." Raven shot back.

"I was talking about the mountain," Clarke explained with a sigh.

"We should go and help, Clarke," Lexa spoke softly. She was obviously so used to Raven's humour by now to be completely unfazed by it. "Or at least I should help whilst you stand out of the way," she added in her own wry tone. Maybe she was unfazed by Raven's humour because she could be as bad at times, Clarke mused. The small group began to move away from the mountainside to where the larger crowd were gathered.

"Hey I might not be able to figure out a tent, but I can put a person's innards back together," Clarke protested.

"Amazing isn't it?" Bellamy finally spoke up. He'd been watching the back and forth between the three ladies with a bemused expression. Clarke thought that perhaps he enjoyed seeing everyone getting along so well almost as much as she did. "We have the doctor who can't put up a tent." He gestured at Clarke. "And the rocket scientist who managed to burn soup," then he pointed at Raven. She made a face at him.

Lexa let out a snigger. "We all have our weaknesses, Bellamy."

"Yeah and we all know your's is jumpy blondes with generous cleav-" Raven started,

"Go any further and I will end you," Clarke warned.

Raven raised an eyebrow, "See. Jumpy."

The four of them approached one of the carts that was full of wooden tent poles. As they approached, Aldrin moved and joined them, making a team of five.

"I see that there are already enough people working on the larger tents. We should concentrate on the smaller two-man ones for sleeping. Each will need one large pole and four shorter ones." Lexa instructed. Between them they collected enough poles for three tents.

"I'll go fetch the canvases," Raven offered. Clarke gave her a nod and her friend went off.

"Right, where to?" Bellamy asked as he readjusted his grip on the materials he was carrying. Clarke watched as Lexa glanced around.

"This way," she started walking towards the tree line until she reached a small area of flat land with good tree coverage. "We need to build the tents in a circle. A campfire in the middle."

Raven rejoined the group with the tent canvases. She did not come alone. Lincoln, Octavia, Monroe and Harper were also with her, carrying their own tent materials.

"Room for a few more?" Monroe asked.

"How many?" Lexa asked.

"Three. Monty is helping to construct the communal tent, asked if we'd build him somewhere to sleep."

Lexa gave a nod, "There is room." Clarke watched as Lexa glanced around on the floor. The Commander located a stick and used it to draw a large circle in the dirt. Then she marked six spaces around the perimeter. "Aldrin and I will construct our own tents first. Watch us closely and see if you can copy. Lincoln, you may as well start with Octavia, too." Lexa spoke. Clarke felt herself smiling again. Lexa's voice was almost light. Clarke had just discovered that her wife had a passion for teaching others. "Clarke, why don't you try and build Monty's tent for him?"

Clarke let out a groan, "I thought I was supposed to stay out of the way?" Still, she gathered up the poles and canvas she would need and went to stand by one of the spots Lexa had marked.

Lexa and Aldrin began to construct their tents and the rest of the group began to follow what they were doing. They were very simple structures. The four shorter poles formed triangles at either end and the longer pole balanced on top of them. The canvas was thrown over and secured with sharpened rocks, like arrowheads. Soon, they had constructed six sleeping tents, even Clarke.

Lexa inspected the work they had done. Clarke couldn't help but to imagine a younger Lexa, new second, having her own efforts appraised by Anya. She wondered if Lexa had been excited about getting to train her own apprentice one day. Only she was identified as the new Commander so that that could never happen.

"Good," was all the praise they got. "You just need sleeping mats and a blanket."

Monroe had already crawled into her tent, "It's a bit of a squeeze," came her voice from inside the small structure.

"You and Harper will have to snuggle up then," Octavia answered back.

Clarke didn't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for Monroe for the teasing she had to endure. But then Harper giggled herself.

"It's not like you don't sleep practically on top of me anyway," Harper said towards the tent Monroe was sat in. Clarke's eyes widened and she wondered when that had happened and why she didn't already know about it.

Raven saw her surprised expression, "So out of the loop Clarke,"

Clarke shrugged, "I've been busy. Working. And getting hitched."

"To a regular match-maker. Who would have guessed it?" Bellamy said and he gave a sly look in Lexa's direction.

"Hey. I was totally going to say that dare first. The Commander stole my idea!" Raven whined.

"Then you should learn to recognise the good opportunities from the bad ones. And don't let the good ones pass you by or get taken from you." Lexa responded. Her voice was even, but her eyes darted from Raven to Bellamy as she said the last part. Clarke furrowed her brow. She got the feeling that Lexa and Bellamy were sharing some sort of in-joke. The very notion of those two having an in-joke in the first place was quite laughable. Yet there was undeniably words going unspoken between them. Clarke thought hard about Lexa's words and found her own eyes darting from Bellamy to Raven and then back again. She almost gasped when the thought struck her.

"That's great advice, babe," Clarke agreed, "You're on a roll with the wisdom today."

Lexa smirked at her, "I'm always 'on a roll' with the wisdom, Clarke. You just choose not to heed it."

"Sick burn, Commander," came Monty's voice. He had rushed over to the group from wherever he had been working. "Clarke, your Mom wants to show you something. This way."

Wordlessly, Clarke began to follow Monty. The others fell in behind her too. He lead them through a veritable construction site of tents and started up the mountain. They walked up the slope for a while until they finally came to a natural plateau. It was covered in grass and wild flowers. Abby was there waiting, along with Marcus.

"Mom? You wanted to show me something?" Clarke asked, wanting to get straight to business. She was a little peeved that Monty had failed to mention how much climbing would be involved. Her mother turned towards her voice and beamed at her. She stretched out her arms and motioned to the flat expanse of land.

"Our capital's meeting place," Abby announced, "Well, eventually."

Clarke glanced around the spot again and gave an appreciative spot, "A good spot," she agreed. She turned and looked back down the mountain. She watched the crowd of people working together to construct their temporary shelter. "We'll get there, Mom."

Abby walked over and stood beside Clarke. "We will."

"You know," Marcus spoke as he approached too, "We still need to think of a name for the settlement. I doubt anyone wants to live in a place named after Jaha after what's happened."

Clarke wanted to nod vigorously in agreement, but then she had a thought. "Not that Jaha, anyway," she spoke.

Abby and Marcus regarded her with sympathetic smiles. Clarke pondered a moment.

"Clarke's right." Bellamy said, "Wells was the best of us when we first got sent down here. Kind. Selfless. A real hero."

Clarke felt her chest tighten at hearing Bellamy, of all people, speak about her best friend like that. She bit the inside of her cheek and had to force back tears.

"Then I would be proud to be Chancellor of a city named in his honour," Abby said.

Clarke thought about her best friend, about how hopeful he had been that they could all learn to get along. She imagined how happy he would be now, seeing the first group of Sky people to reach the Earth being so close. And on top of that, the Sky people as a whole finding friends among those already living on the ground. Everyone was united, just like how the Ark had been born. Clarke thought back to her childhood, remembered practicing her lines for the Unity Day parade with Wells. She smiled,

"Unity Wells," she said aloud.

"Unity Wells," Abby whispered back. She nodded, "I like it." Then Abby turned to face down the mountain and she shouted, "Can I have everyone's attention please!"

The bustling below came to a halt and the Sky people looked up towards their Chancellor. Her mother's voice always carried well over large distances, Clarke mused. The thought spurred several more childhood memories.

"I am currently standing on what will become the meeting place of our new home. The Skaigeda capital." There was a cheer and some clapping from the crowd. "Of course, a capital city needs a name. One that reflects the values of it's inhabitants. When we first sent down one hundred of our children to see if the Earth was survivable, there was one young man on the dropship who stood out. He got himself onto the ship out of loyalty to my daughter. As her best friend, he wanted nothing more than to protect her. But when he came down to the Earth he far surpassed even that selflessness. He showed admirable courage. He did not let being in an unfamiliar place destroy who he was. A kind and decent person. I can vouch for this personally because I knew him since he was a child. That young man was Wells Jaha. He truly represented what goodness, what unassailable altruism we are capable of. As humans. As Sky people. Therefore, it is my honour to name our new home 'Unity Wells' in his memory. May he forever serve as an example to all of us and may his unwavering kindness be the foundations on which we build our new society."

The cheering was raucous and undeniably optimistic. Clarke put a hand on her mother's shoulder and squeezed, "Thank you," she whispered.

Thankfully, the night was a dry one. Clarke fidgeted in the tent and wondered how unpleasant they would be to sleep in in damper conditions. The Sky people would have to prioritise building permanent- and waterproof- sleeping areas first. Her worrying was interrupted when the canvas opened to reveal Lexa. She crawled into the space and flopped onto her sleeping mat.

"You weren't waiting up for me, were you, my heart? I was helping to translate Abby's speech to some second's who do not know English. The name you have chosen seems popular."

Clarke grinned at the news. She propped herself up on her elbow and looked at her wife, "I'm glad. And I wasn't waiting for you. I was actually wondering how unpleasant these tents would be to sleep in when it's raining."

"From experience? Awful," Lexa replied, "Your people have a lot of hard work ahead of them."

"Still I guess rain seeping in is better than air seeping out into the vacuum of space," Clarke mused. Lexa raised her eyebrows. "There is no air in space. The Earth's atmosphere- the mixture of gases around us- is held by the Earth's gravitational pull. But go fifty miles straight up and there is no more atmosphere."

Lexa concentrated. Clarke could see Lexa's mind work. She sorted through the information Clarke had given until she nodded in comprehension. "What a strange place you come from, Clarke of the Sky people."

"I don't know. Earth's turned out to be a pretty wild ride."

"Has it now?" Lexa laughed and raised her eyebrows.

Clarke scoffed, "That's it, you are not spending any more time with Raven."

"I heard that!" came Raven's voice, presumably from the tent next door. Clarke was reminded again of just how makeshift the tents were. They we not at all soundproof.

"On a related note, I'd like to ask you both to refrain from any more 'wild rides'. There are some things friends do not need to know about each other," Raven added.

"This coming from the person who asked Lexa to give a practical demonstration of her favourite type of 'wild ride'." It was Bellamy's voice that chimed in. It was coming from the same direction as Raven's.

"Raven? Are you sharing a tent with Bellamy?" Clarke pried. She gave Lexa a wicked grin.

There was a pause and then, "None of your business,"

"Yes you are. I saw you go in!" a new voice shouted. It was Monroe.

"Oh my gosh. Can't anyone keep secrets in this friendship group?" Raven protested.

"Raven. Pot/kettle again. You literally blabbed to Monty about my crush on him,"

"And look where that's gotten you both!" Raven shot back.

"Also, I did not know about that either, Nate. So you just walked yourself into your own trap there." Clarke spoke, identifying the other new voice as belonging to Nate Miller.

"Okay, can we agree that this little circle has turned into a bit of a couple's retreat and shut up now?" Octavia's voice came into the fray.

"Wait, Aldrin is the odd one out!" Raven called back.

There was a loud harrumph from the tent next to Clarke and Lexa's. "And I am more than happy to keep it that way, if you will take my meaning, thank you Raven." Aldrin spoke clearly.

"Fair." Raven replied, "I guess if you wanted someone, your Commander Cupid would have set you up by now anyway," she added. The matter was settled. The circle of tents finally grew quiet.

"Looking forward to going home tomorrow, Clarke?"

"Even more than I was five minutes ago," Clarke replied to Lexa in jest. Her sad smile gave her away though.

"You'll be able to visit again soon enough, Clarke. I will accompany you whenever I am able. Now that the Sky Nation is part of the coalition, it does fall under my overall command. I have a responsibility to see that Unity Wells is built adequately."

Clarke reached out and stroked Lexa's cheek. Her wife smiled and closed her eyes, leaning closer into the contact. "You are amazing, you know?" Clarke said, quietly now so that nobody else would hear.

"I think I must be, for I have managed to convince you to spend your life with me."

Clarke's response was to lean in for a kiss. Eventually, their lips parted and they settled onto their mats ready to sleep. They had the journey back to Polis to face tomorrow. Clarke closed her eyes, her head resting against Lexa's chest. She marvelled at how she had gotten to where she was. Falling asleep in the arms of her wife. Surrounded by her friends. Looking forward to going home. For the first time in such a long while, Clarke fell asleep feeling nothing but hopeful for the future. Both she and her people had found their place on the Earth. It had been quite the journey to get there. It had tested every single one of them, Clarke perhaps most of all. But finally it felt like it was time to stop surviving and start living.

THE END.