Secrecy (Hosie)

Part 71: Blood

"You're the Tribrid."

Hope shoots him a fake smile,
"Congratulations, you've figured it out. Now that we're all caught up..."
She turns to Josie, who stands in the cells doorway, and suddenly her voice is a thousand times softer than before,
"Love, you might want to look away for a second," She turns back to Clarke, quickly drawing her hand back, merely a second from plunging it into his chest.

"Wait, wait, wait! I can help you with your Malivore problem!"

Hope halts her movements, "Why would I need your help?"

"I've worked for the human faction of Triad for years, inside the facility where the Malivore pit is located. I can take you there—"

"Right, and part of your plan is for me to die. Like we haven't heard that a thousand times already."

Hope is about to thrust her hand forward, but his panicked words stop her again.

"There might be another way!"

Hope turns Alaric, and then to Josie, who looks to her with just as much confusion.

But there's a glint of optimism in her eyes, a hint of hopefulness.

So Hope caves, turning back to Clarke.

"You have 30 seconds to explain. 29, 28..."

"Okay, so Malivore can't be completely destroyed without you dying. But, Malivore is made of mud...meaning he's malleable. His form can be manipulated. So if I take you to him, you can use your magic to condense him and trap him in something, so no more monsters can escape."

Hope wears an incredulous expression.

There's no way it can be that simple.

Can it?

She straightens her posture, crossing her arms against her chest as she thinks about it, "What makes you think this could work?"

Clarke visibly relaxes, "I've studied Malivore my whole life. He was melted down from a mud-man to a pit before...Why shouldn't we be able to change his form into something else?"

Hope turns to Alaric and Josie, silently asking what they think.

Alaric looks like he's still contemplating.

Josie just shrugs, "It's worth a shot?"

Desperation and adversity can create otherwise unwelcome alliances.

Hope nods, turning back to the guy tied up in the chair, "Okay...But I swear if you do anything to screw us over—"

Loyalties and partnerships forged through apprehension and mistrust are tenuous at best. Easily broken if one party proves the hesitations of the other to be warranted.

"I won't. I want Malivore gone as much as you do."

But when surrounded by the darkness of our most desperate days, it may be these contentious cooperations that provide the ability to do what needs to be done.

Though Hope doesn't completely trust him, she nods, accepting that they'll work together. "Great, pack your bags. We're gonna have ourselves a road trip next week, as soon as I get back from New Orleans."

Hope is about to exit the cell with Alaric and Josie, when Clarke cautiously adds, "So...would now be a bad time to tell you that I saw your friend leaving the school?..."