From the Streets |• Clexa AU

Falling Into Place

  "Hey, can we talk?" Lexa asked with her hands tucked in her back pockets. She slowly manuevered around the roof vents until she sat next to Demetria. The two sat and stared at the sunset, their legs dangling off the ledge. Demetria had simply wiggled her jaw in an acknowledgement to Lexa's presence, staring at the setting  sun. Warm colors melted into each other as the sun stretched it's final rays and dipped into the beyond, resting for another night.

  "They branded me." Demetria said, breaking the silence; her voice wavering. Lexa snapped her head to her, a look of pure fury on her face.

  "What?" Lexa asked slowly, assuming she had heard the wrong statement.

  Demetria lifted her right arm, slowly unraveling the pastel bandage that concealed the burn mark.

   Lexa sucked in a sharp breath as the bandage fell off and the mark was revealed.

   It was bloodied and scabbed but the mark could still be noticed. Demetria avoided looking at it, her eyes carring unshed tears.

"Yu laik a gona." You're a warrior Lexa said, slowly turning her arm so she could look at the brand in all angles. "It means warrior."

   Lexa saw red blisters on the arm, and assumed that Demetira had tried to scratch the mark off. Multiple times.

"It means I belong to them. I'm property." Demetria snapped back, rewrapping the wound.

"They did it to remind you were you come from."

  Demetria had opened her palm and deep scars from her fingernails stuck out like a sore thumb.

  "That doesn't make it better."

  "Where we're from doesn't make us who we are. Someone from the sky and someone from the ground could find the strangest similarity. It's our roots Demetria, not our hearts."

  "Everything they taught me is still in my head, I can't get it out."

  "Head versus Heart." It always will be the head against the heart.

  "It's embedded in my brain Lexa. I get nightmares, that I can't wake up from. I hear things and I-"

"It's called PTSD, you'll get through it. Yu don seingeda, yongon." You have family, child.

  Demetria finished wrapping her arms and wiped her tears, smiling a bit as Lexa reminded her of what she had.

  "Everyone has had an identity crisis, yours is just ten times more dramatic; you'll be fine." Demetria giggles in response. "Everyone misses the old Demetria so now would be a good time to come back to us." Lexa finished, laughing as the teen rolled her eyes.

"There we go. One more thing-" Lexa started,

"Nomou wochop, beja." No more lessons, please Demetria said hastily as she stood up and walked off back into the house before Lexa could catch her.

***

"Why's everybody so silent?" Lincoln asked in his seat next to Octavia. A friend and family reunion was called for and Clarke being Clarke had prepared a last minute dinner with, of course Clarke not actually making the dinner.

  "It feels weird without Luna." Octavia informed him.

  "Well I say good riddance." Demetria said, earning a round of agreement as she tucked into her pasta.

  "Let's leave this all behind, we can only move forward." Anya stated, watching Raven warily from across the table. Clarke nearly suffocated at the sexual tension and changed the topic before more heated glances could be exchanged.