GRIM REAPER¹, bellamy blake

059 ━━ dangers lair

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THE WALK was silent, tension brewing heavily in the air. Take Bellamy's poorly hidden jealousy, Iona's underlying feelings (plus the shock of falling back in line with a childhood friend), Jakob's obvious distaste for the Skykru man, and you get one thing: hardly confined chaos.

The group was holding on by a thread, occasionally sharing heated glares, frowns dancing between their faces.

To say Iona was unhappy of her current situation would be an understatement.

First of all, she's still reeling at the possibility she's fallen head over heels for a man she loathed when first meeting. That enough is confusing and frustrating, even more so when mixed into her concerns about sharing her past.

Bellamy doesn't know about the massacre, nor does he know about her family, and he couldn't possibly begin to understand why a Trikru woman was once bound to the Ice Nation with heavy chains.

Now she had to attempt to explain Jakob's existence without revealing every little detail she's made valiant efforts to keep hidden from Bellamy.

She was absolutely livid.

However, denial remained her best friend, and I'll do it later was her motto. In this case, she was able to put off the feat with ease. Perhaps one day she'd gather the courage to share more of herself, but today was not the day.

No, today was the day she was determined to find Clarke. The woman had been in danger for far too long now. It was time for her to return home, or what was left of the ruins she used to be familiar with.

Despite being there throughout all of the changes Camp Jaha- now Arkadia- had endured, she still felt dizzy sometimes.

The place had changed, the rankings, the rooms- everything had changed. Even the people.

It wasn't like Iona was very active within the so-called community of Arkadia. In fact, she only made her presence known during her lessons. Otherwise, she would lurk in the back, watching from afar.

Regardless of what anyone- Bellamy- had to say, she still felt like an outcast within their home. She wasn't welcome and everyone knew it. The only reason she was allowed to even pretend to fit in was because of her closeness with Bellamy.

Aside from that, she doubted anyone there truly saw her as Skykru.

Hell, she hardly even saw herself as one of them.

Glancing at her arm, she slightly lifted her sleeve to reveal the winding Trikru tattoos still embedded in her skin. She made no efforts to cover them, nor did she want to.

"Fancy needlework," Jakob snickered from the side. He sent her a cocky grin before lifting his shirt up slightly, putting the entirety of his left hip on display.

Dancing up the side and disappearing under his shirt was black ink that traced in squares. They connected together and together until they formed a large tower up the side of his hip; she was sure they meant something, but the meaning fell limp within her mind.

Togetherness, perhaps?

As if reading her mind, he scoffed, "Nothing so clever. Merely a mark for every fight I returned from. I consider this my own congratulations."

Bellamy huffed from the side, clearly unimpressed.

Subtly, Iona reached a hand out behind her, opening her palm and giving him room to intertwine their fingers if he felt the need. Within seconds, his hand was surrounding hers, squeezing softly, fingers drawing circles on the back of her hand.

"I see," Iona hummed, and Jakob's brows furrowed as she made a thoughtful face. "I have a similar tradition."

She didn't share further, deciding to leave it at that, but Bellamy knew she was referring to the marks upon her katana. It was merely custom in her tribe. So why wouldn't she share that information with Jakob?

Smiling slightly at the thought that he knows something Jakob doesn't, Bellamy allowed a slight pep to grace his step as he followed closely after Iona.

Jakob merely watched them, eyes narrowing, but he followed nonetheless.

It had been another silent ten minutes before the group came across a stairway leading down into the ground. It was an older ruin from before the Earth's destruction, Iona figured, as she had never seen such a building.

She hadn't thought twice about the ruin, figuring someone would hide Clarke in a far more hidden spot, but it appeared as though Bellamy did.

He immediately drew his sword, running down the steps, hand freeing from Iona's in the process.

"Bells-" She called after him, stopping halfway as he pressed a finger to his own lips, signaling the woman to be quiet. Huffing at the order, she shared a look with Jakob, drawing her katana, and mumbled, "Can't tell me what to do..."

Jakob snickered to himself, shaking his head. Then, he began descending the stairs, Iona following suit.

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