The One Who's Fallen

Chapter 66

I'm still too tired to hunt long, but I do end up getting a pretty good amount of food. I gathered some berries that I know both of us like and managed to catch a squirrel and a rabbit. The squirrel was harder to get; I had to throw my dagger and I hit it's neck.

I go back after that, finding my way in the darkness. I didn't go very far so it isn't difficult. I pull up the hatch after standing there for a moment, waiting and listening to make sure there are no Maunon watching me. I don't want to give away where Lexa is, but thankfully I don't hear anything out of the ordinary.

I climb back down and turn to see a tired looking Lexa sitting on the couch with a different blanket wrapped around her shoulders like a cape.

"You were gone when I woke up." She murmurs.

"I gave you a note." I say as I approach her.

She hums. "Sha (yes), you did." Lexa doesn't say anything else, so I'm going to guess that she was worried about me.

I help her up and lead her to the bedroom. "Come on, hodnes (love), let's go back to bed."

Lexa crawls back into bed, not even noticing that she still has the blanket around her shoulders. I quickly change back into the comfy clothes, grinning when Lexa whines unhappily when I've been gone too long. Her eyes are closed and her hand is reaching out of the covers at me.

I don't bother trying to put my armor back on the table nicely. I set my backpack on the floor gently so I don't squish anything and rush back into bed. I should probably put some of this in the fridge or store it somewhere better but I'm still exhausted, and sleeping in Lexa's arms again sounds incredible. Lexa opens her arms and I cuddle up against her. I fall asleep quickly.

I wake up when I feel Lexa stir. I can tell without opening my eyes that it's much later than when we fell asleep.

"Morning." I murmur from where I'm laying my head against her chest.

"Good morning, Clarke. Were you successful last night in getting food?" Lexa asks, her voice raspy from sleep.

"Yeah. If I can get the oven or something to work, I can cook the squirrel and rabbit I killed. If that doesn't work, I have berries too."

"Good."

She sounds relieved and I don't blame her, the canned food tasted as good as it looked. And it looked disgusting and barely edible.

We get out of bed and I let Lexa get the bathroom first again. She takes her armor with her. I grab my armor from the table, examining them for any scrapes. I bumped into a tree or two last night because I could barely see. I had the flashlight, but that wasn't useful when I was trying to catch animals.

Right after I finish changing, Lexa opens the door. "The food is in the backpack. You can take it to the kitchen." I say.

Lexa nods and gives me a small smile.

I quickly go to the bathroom and wash my hands before walking out of the bedroom. I stop at the entrance of the kitchen and lean against the door frame. Lexa has filled a (clean) bowl with the berries I found and is humming some song I don't recognize as she pulls out the rabbit and squirrel. I can't help noticing how domestic and right this feels.

Lexa looks up and sees me. Her face lights up in a wide smile. "You remembered my favorite berries."

I walk inside and get close so I can gently rest my hands on her hips. "Of course I did." I lean in and kiss her gently.

This isn't the fast peck I expected; this has the potential to turn into a full blown make out session. I'm definitely not complaining though. I reach up and cup her jaw as she rests her hands on my biceps. She tries to deepen the kiss but we're interrupted by our grumbling stomachs. We pull apart and rest out foreheads together, chuckling.

"I guess we should have breakfast." I murmur, reluctant to part from her.

"We can eat it on the couch so we can sit closer together." Lexa suggests.

"Good idea." I kiss her nose and gather the strength to pull away and survey the food. "I'm kind of in the mood for rabbit. Are you okay with that?" Lexa nods. "Alright. First, I'll have to see if these old rust buckets work."

I examine the oven. The inside, despite the door being closed, is covered in dust. I clean the interior fast, just enough so it shouldn't catch anything on fire. I turn the dials after studying the faded labels. There's a click and I brace myself for something, but nothing happens. It keeps clicking like it's trying to light itself but doesn't have the gas or whatever that it needs.

"Shoot. No oven, then." I sigh.

I try the stove next, which had the same problem and can't do anything. Then I try the microwave, which doesn't turn on.

"I guess we get to eat berries until we're in a place where we feel safe enough to light a fire. Oh, Lexa. After or during breakfast we should figure out what we're doing next."

Lexa cocks her head. "We are going back to TonDC."

I grin at her response. She's so cute when she's confused. "I know, but that's not what I meant. Like are we going around the mountain? Or are we hiking to the trail? Do you feel up for it? When should we leave?"

"We can leave today if you would like. I feel much stronger. I would like to hike up to the road." Lexa replies.

"And you're sure you're up to that?" I ask worriedly. She raises and eyebrow at me. "I just don't want you to overwork yourself or get hurt again."

"I will be fine." Lexa assures me.

"Then I guess we'll leave a little after we eat."

Alright, next chapter they're going back out into the world! Also, did anyone else watch the Carmilla finale last night??? I don't know how I functioned in school today after such an emotional roller coaster! Anyway, thank you all for reading and for your lovely comments! Stay awesome!