The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 23

Lexa and I travel until the sun gets low in the sky. By then, I'm exhausted from riding for so long with few breaks, though Lexa has stopped every time I asked her to and even some times I didn't.

"How do people ride horses all the time?" I groan as I get down onto shaky legs, meeting Lexa's amused eyes. "My butt's killing me."

"Most have ridden horses since their youth. I apologize, I did not think it would be so bad for you."

"It's okay. I'll recover all feeling in the lower half of my body eventually." I joke, making Lexa give me a small smile.

But seriously, I feel like what I imagine a newborn horse is like. My legs are still shaking from traveling and I'm surprised I haven't fallen on my face at least once yet.

Lexa clicks her tongue and leads the horses through a ton of plants against the side of a rocky hill. I blink, wondering if I'm imagining things (maybe all that motion on the back of the horse rattled my brain or something).

Lexa's head comes out of the plants. "Are you coming, Clarke? We should be safe and dry in here tonight."

She pulls aside some vines hanging down and of course there's a giant cave behind all that green. I walk in, pausing pretty much the second I get inside. It's... incredibly beautiful. There's a light source at the top that seems to be moving and glowing and- Wait it is glowing. Float me, those are blue butterflies and they're glowing. Other than that, there's a good sized pool of water in the middle being fed by a slow-moving stream trickling through the cave. The pond looks almost deep enough to take a bath in. I can't remember the last time I took a bath (I must've been a little kid, small enough to fit in the sink or something. Water was in short supply on the Ark). The horses are drinking from it, and Lexa's letting them so I'm guessing the water's safe to drink.

Lexa moves slowly over to the horses, touching their sides carefully so they know where she is. She unloads our things and I move over and take them, making sure to follow her lead and letting my hands brush against the horses. I set our stuff against the nearest wall.

I look around, taking in the beauty the cave again. I'm glad I brought my sketchbook, I have a feeling I'll be busy drawing this for a while. Lexa begins setting up, so I drag my eyes away from the cave and instead focus on Lexa. She waves her hand, silently letting me know that she doesn't need my help right now. Instead of drawing like my hands are itching to do, I watch her pull furs from the packs and set them on the ground, making two separate piles.

Once she finishes one, she gestures to it. "This one is yours."

"Mochof (thank you)." I say, deciding not to mess up her carefully crafted bed for me. Instead of taking it apart I sit on it, pulling my sketchbook from my backpack.

"Pro (you're welcome)." Lexa murmurs back, her voice echoing.

I glance up at her from where I'm flipping to a fresh page to draw on and almost regret it. Lexa looks stunning in this light, more so than usual and she has this gentle expression... I grab my pencil and begin to draw what I see, even after she goes to focus on another task.

I glance up a few times curiously, noting that she's making a small fire. Which is smart, and this cave is big enough where we won't suffocate in smoke as long as it isn't too large, and the entrance is  hidden behind the plants, so unless we have a giant bonfire in here, it won't be visible from outside. The smell of cooking meat hits me and my stomach grumbles, reminding me I haven't eaten much today. The horses have moved off and are chewing on some grass that managed to grow in here.

Deciding to wait until Lexa finishes cooking, I put the finishing touches on my drawing of her. I flush, realizing she might want to see what I've been drawing for so long. I don't really want her to see that I drew her. I don't know what her reaction would be.

I quickly turn to the next page and draw a group of the butterflies until Lexa calls me over.

The warmth from the fire is a nice change from my back being pressed against a cold, rocky wall. I stretch my muscles as I walk over, not noticing I've brought my sketchbook and pencil over until I sit down. Oh well. I'm not getting up again just for that.

"Pauna is not far from here, so this can become our temporary shelter until we catch and kill it." Lexa says, handing me a plate with cooked meat and berries on it.

"Was all of this in the packs that were on the horses?"

"Not all of it, no. I did bring some herbs  that don't grow in this area and some fresh meat, but everything else I gathered during our stops. We will have to actually catch something tomorrow if we want to eat meat." Lexa shifts and clears her throat. "Would you like to know about our enemies now? We can wait until later, if you would like."

"No, I'm fine with talking about it now. As long as you don't mind having to talk between bites."

"I do not mind." Lexa's mouth twitches up and we begin eating until she stops and continues. "Though all twelve clans are supposedly loyal to me and my Coalition, there are many who would rather have war than peace. There is one prominent risk in the Coalition itself, the Azgeda (Ice Nation). It is not the entire clan, mainly just their Queen, Nia and those loyal to her. She will not do anything until the Maunon, the Mountain Men, are taken care of. They are our main enemies. They watch us and when they are around, our people disappear. We are not certain what happens to them, but we know that some are kept while others are turned into abominations we call Reapers. They are mindless, bloodthirsty killers. They are worse than Pauna because they used to be some of us."

Lexa's jaw clenches, pain in her eyes. She cares so much about her people.

"I'll help you take down the mountain."

Ooh... Cliffhanger. Kind of. Thank you amazing humans for your kind words and for reading this! Stay awesome!