The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 28

"Strisis (little sister)."

"Luna."

Hang on. Sisters? Knowing Lexa wouldn't like facing her sister after what seems like a long time sitting on the ground, I help Lexa up and she stays close to me (which I don't mind in the least, it's just surprising). They stare at each other, looking equally surprised.

Unable to hear the silence for any longer, I break it. "So you two are sisters?"

"Sha." Lexa confirms quietly. "Luna, I have not seen you since the Conclave. You have always sent another when I have called a meeting with the clan leaders."

"I did not think you would want to see me again." Luna admits.

I'm kind of lost. Maybe they'll give me clues or something as they talk. Or not. Maybe I'll just have to ask Lexa later.

"Of course I do. You may have run, but you are my sister." Lexa says.

Luna takes a deep breath and gives her a sad smile. "I was right, you know. You are a great Heda, better than I ever could have been. Forgive me?"

"You are already forgiven." Lexa smiles at her and they grasp each other's forearms.

There's a loud boom in the distance that makes us all jump and draw our swords (I didn't even notice Luna has one). I notice the dark clouds in the distance heading our way.

"It was just thunder." I tell them, watching the sky get darker with every minute that passes. "We need to head back to the cave if we don't want to get soaked."

"Sha." Lexa agrees, but then glances at the dead Pauna. "We should bring it back to the village. Its meat could feed everyone for an entire day."

I frown at that. "How are we supposed to-"

I'm cut off by Lexa whistling. I hear something trampling the undergrowth and turn to face it, my sword still drawn. I let out a sigh of relief when I see the horses running towards us.

Lexa's gallops until it hits the edge of the bones surrounding the Pauna's camp. It rears up as it stops, it's ears flicking backward as it huffs.

Lexa clicks her tongue, "It's safe."

The horses seem reassured by her words (do horses understand English or are they just responding to the tone of her voice?) and walk towards us. I'm glad Lexa made us put the saddles and everything we need to ride on them earlier today. Lexa's horse has a bunch of rope stored in its saddle's pouch.

Lexa takes it out and hands part of it to Luna. Apparently understanding exactly what she has in mind, Luna begins hopping and together they wrap up the Pauna. They attach the other end to the horses' special harnesses that I didn't know the purpose of until now. There's another loud boom and Lexa calms the horses after it with the soothing sound of her voice.

"Luna, Clarke, get on the horses. We need to get going." Lexa orders.

"No." Lexa raises her eyebrows at me, so I elaborate. "The two of you are both injured, so you get on the horses. I can walk alongside you." She still doesn't seem completely convinced. "The horses will be going slow since they'll be dragging such a large thing."

"Very well. Stay close to us, but be careful not to get your feet stepped on by the horses." Lexa says and then her voice quiets and softens. "Luna and I can explain our history when we get to the cave."

Going back feels longer than it probably is because halfway through, it starts sprinkling. Which I don't mind, but I'll have to wring out my hair when we get back (it's truly amazing how much water my hair can store). Then, seemingly out of nowhere, it starts pouring.

I groan and hope that Lexa will let us build a bigger fire this time because I don't feel like freezing to death. I hear something behind me and turn to look. There's one of those creepy giant rabbits on top of the Pauna for some reason. I fall back and try to surprise it, wrapping my arms around it. It squirms and I curse as it bites my arm before I kill it.

The horses don't need to pull any more weight, so I pick it up off the Pauna and begin carrying it. Which I regret immediately because the little floater is a lot heavier than I expected. Oh well, we should be close to getting back by now.

I keep trudging on, noticing that every once in a while Lexa will turn around and make sure I'm still here, despite the fact I can see her wince in pain every time she does. Other than that, the rest of the way goes uneventful and relatively fast.

I let out a loud sigh of relief that I think makes Luna chuckle when we get to the cave. I set down the rabbit next to the campfire and stretch my tired arms. Luna and Lexa take everything off the horses and lead them to graze. To be honest, it's really impressive what Luna can do despite the fact that she's hopping everywhere and standing on one leg. She has really good balance.

I take out my braids and run my hands through my hair to get rid of any tangles, watching some of the water stuck in my hair drop to the ground. I wring out most of the rest, knowing from experience that it's impossible to get all of it.

Lexa brings over the extra firewood and gets to working on starting a fire. Luna compliments me on the rabbit I caught and takes it over to a corner of the cave and begins skinning it.

We work in silence (well, they work. I'm kind of worn out after the hectic mess that was today) until Luna's find prepping the rabbit and brings it over. The smell of cooking meat fills the cave.

"You want to hear what happened with Luna and I?" Lexa asks me.

"As long as you're both okay with it."

Luna and Lexa look at each other for a moment and nod.

I can't wait to figure out their history! It'll probably be similar to the canon one, but not quite. Thank you for reading and stay awesome!