Lexa gets sick and despite being her stubborn self, Clarke takes care of her
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Clarke gave a sigh of relief as she approached the guards posted at the village's entrance. The two warriors gave her solemn nods of recognition, which she returned before continuing past them. Lexa and her guard had been camped here in Tomac for about a month now: a mid-sized village about a day's walk from Polis.
Clarke, on the other hand, had spent the last few weeks back at the Ark landing site with her mother and friends. While it had been nice to see everyone, she had quickly felt stifled and claustrophobic within the metallic walls of the compound, and being back in the woods felt like coming home.
"Klark kom Skaikru."
She spun at the title, spoken in a familiar voice, and smiled to see Indra cleaning her sword by the campfire. The older woman remained stone-faced, but it was significant progress that they could interact without Indra actively plotting to rip Clarke's throat out, so Clarke would take it.
"Indra," she greeted her. "How is everything?"
"Heda is in her tent," Indra replied, ignoring Clarke's question. "She will be pleased to see you." Her expression tightened in judgement, and Clarke bit back a sigh. She and Lexa had been courting for about four months now, but there were a few still in the other woman's cadre who didn't approve of their leader fraternizing with a foreigner. Indra never said anything aloud, but her body language and tone were a clear enough message.
"Mochof, Indra. I will see you later."
The other woman grunted and went back to her weapons.
Clarke had only been to Tomac once before, but her feet remembered the path to Lexa's tent. Nyko was standing guard outside along with another warrior whose name Clarke did not know, and she stopped to greet them.
"What are you doing standing post, Nyko?" She couldn't remember the last time she had seen the healer acting as a guard, although like all members of Trikru he was proficient in swordplay.
He shifted, clearly uncomfortable. "No reason, wanheda."
Had Clarke been in a different mood, she might have stayed to question him further, or even asked about the honorific that he had directed towards her. But she hadn't seen Lexa in almost three weeks, so she pushed her questions to the side and entered the Commander's tent.
She didn't see the other woman at first. "Lexa?" She called out, squinting her eyes against the gloom. Why was it so dark in here?
Then something shifted at the far side of the tent, and Clarke was astonished to see Lexa curled up beneath her furs, apparently sleeping. It was past noon, and she didn't think she'd ever seen her nap before.
"Lexa?" She asked more softly, inching her way towards the tightly-wrapped bundle that was her girlfriend. Lexa seemed to hear her this time, and she poked her head out of the furs.
"Clarke?" She rasped. "You're back already?"
"I told you I was coming back today, silly." Clarke sat on the edge of Lexa's pallet, smiling fondly as the other woman disentangled herself.
"I didn't remember," Lexa mumbled, rubbing at her eyes with the heel of her hand. Clarke's eyebrows furrowed.
"Are you all right? I've never seen you sleeping in the middle of the day before. And I definitely sent a messenger from Camp Jaha when I left a few days ago."
"I wasn't sleeping, I was just lying down," Lexa corrected, though her sleep-worn voice begged to differ. She turned away from Clarke to cough into her fist: wet, harsh sounds that made Clarke wince.
