Hope - Clarke & Madi || The 100

IV

The sun was already standing quite low in the sky when she was finished. It would begin to get dark in about an hour. She climbed into the rover to see how Madi was doing. She had not only drawn the arrow, but also a bow, lying under it. It amazed her how good her drawing skills were for someone who had never drawn before. "Em ste meizon, Madi. (It is beautiful, Madi.)"

"Mochof. Ai ste odon nau, (Thank you. I'm done now,)" she said and gave the sketchbook and pencil back to Clarke.

"You can draw whenever you want," she told her with a smile. "The more you practice, the better you'll get."

Madi tried to rub some graphite off of her hand, which kind of worked, but mainly only caused it to spread out. "You say that with everything,"

"Well, then it must be true." Clarke gave Madi's drawing a better look. The lines were steady and smooth, not like you would expect from someone's second drawing. She turned one page back to the apple and came to the same conclusion. "And you've for sure never drawn before?"

Madi looked up from her hands to the trees and plants outside. "Not like this, no."

Clarke frowned at her answer, which sounded a bit odd to her. "Then like what?"

Madi sighed and turned to her. There was something in her eyes that Clarke interpreted as a mixture of sorrow, anger and fear. Clarke's expression softened immediately. She had seen that look before when she was talking about her life before Praimfaya. "It's okay. You can tell me."

"When I was still a prisoner, I used to make drawings to pass time. On the wall with stone. Or on the ground with sand. I usually drew the outside. I hadn't seen it often, only a few times. But my parents told me about it. I drew a lot. I liked it, I really did. But when Praimfaya was about to come and they let us free I told myself I would never draw again. I didn't have to because I could actually see the outside. And because it only reminded me of that time."

Clarke knew Madi found it difficult to talk about her past and she could hear it in her voice. It was so long ago, yet it was still half of her life. She imagined a little girl trapped somewhere underground, surrounded by stone drawings. Just because she didn't know what else to do. She felt anger come up together with the thought, but she knew she couldn't change anything. She couldn't change the past for Madi, nor could she make her memories about it better. So instead, she asked, "What changed your mind?"

"You." Madi smiled. "You used to draw the outside too. Even when you were in confinement."

"It was the only thing that kept me from going insane," Clarke said quietly. "That and fantasizing about going to the ground." She let out that she had meant that her soul would return to the ground once she was executed on her eighteenth birthday. She thought differently about that now though. When she died, she wanted to go to the stars to look down and watch over the ground and everyone on it who was important to her.

Madi nodded "Exactly. I realized I shouldn't give up something I love just because I had bad memories connected to it. I created some new ones today. They're fresh and clear and beautiful. If you leave out my ankle at least. And maybe they'll overpower the old ones."

"You said that beautifully, ai strik Natblida (my little Nightblood)," Clarke said and pulled her into a hug.

Madi groaned. "Ai non ste strik, Klark (I'm not little, Clarke). You're barely even taller than me," Madi complained, but hugged her back nonetheless.

"I know, but ai biga Natblida sounds kind of stupid, don't you think?"

"Maybe." She pulled back from the hug and stretched a little. She had been sitting this whole time due to her leg.

How is your ankle?" Clarke asked.

"Much better than this morning," Madi answered.

"That's great." Clarke could tell by her voice she wasn't lying to calm her. "I want to see if it's swollen, okay?"

Madi nodded. "Yeah, of course."

She carefully removed the blanket and then the bandage. Her ankle was a little swollen, but that was normal. Nothing to worry about. She wrapped the bandage around it again and put the blanket back. "Are you hungry?" she asked once she was finished.

Madi nodded. "Yes. But can we eat outside? I'm sick of this rover."

"That's understandable. I'll help you get up," Clarke said, but Madi stopped her.

"No, I want to try it myself."

Clarke gave her a protesting look, but Madi nodded calmingly. She sighed. "At least put on your boot." She handed it to her and backed up a little, so Madi had more room. She knew how stubborn Madi could be. If she wanted to do something, she did it.

Madi put the blanket away and carefully put on her boot. She then pushed herself to the exit of the Rover. She put her legs over the edge. They weren't long enough to touch the ground, so she had to let herself fall a few centimeters. She landed on the ground with a quiet thud.

Clarke hurried up and got out of the Rover too in case she needed help. "Laik yu ait? (Are you okay?)"

"Sha," Madi answered. "I think I can walk. But the question is if you will let me."

She hesitated but decided she was being overprotective. It was only a sprained ankle after all. Madi could decide for herself if she was able to walk or not. "Try it if you want. But don't be too stubborn to not stop if it hurts, okay?"

Madi didn't answer and took a few steps. She was still limping, but that was understandable. She could walk much better than this morning. "See? Everything's alright."

Clarke sighed relieved. "Fortunately, yes. Now go sit down on the trunk. I'll make a fire for the meat."

A/N: I know this chapter is kind of short. The next one will be longer though and we get to see Clarke telling stories about Lexa! And if you want to make someone really happy today, comment and vote! It takes only a few seconds and you're probably wasting your time on the internet anyway (like me, oops). School is starting this week by the way. Help!