It had been a long while since Madi spoke to someone who knew Trigedasleng. Ever since her family had died and her kru had died, Madi didn't exactly bother to learn, or to speak Trigedasleng, for that matter. When every day after the next was a fight for survival, chances were that language wasn't exactly necessary when hunting for fish and setting bear traps.
But after meeting the two strangers in the midst of Shallow Valley, Madi noticed that her Trigedasleng weren't as up to standards as it should've been. Which really irked her, because she really felt like Clarke, an outsider, shouldn't have known more Trigedasleng words than she did. Madi could almost envision her sister scolding her with the eloquence of her words, moaning about how Madi's language use ''hurt her worse than what a dance of death could've done,'' while her Mother and Father looked disapprovingly on.
Whenever Madi stumbled on that particular subject, she usually glumly turned her thoughts away from them, biting back a small sigh. Even though her sister had caused so many screaming matches between the two of them—which admittedly Madi lost, due to her being extremely young at the time (what was she, four? Five?) and with all that said ''language eloquence'' that her sister scoffed that Madi had ''possessed''—Madi would gladly give all her bear traps even to just trade her sister back. And that was really sad and pathetic and annoying, and SHE KNEW THAT... but Madi missed her family.
Which left her to the subject of accents, after Madi shrugged off as many tears as she could from the game she called: ''try not to think about your family!'' Which was not very effective, for obvious reasons.
Either way. Accents. Everyone who used Trigedasleng would eventually form one somehow. Accents were usually clan-specific, with Azgeda's draggy tones and Louwoda Kliron Kru's inflated wordings or Trikru empathising on the kru in everything.
Accents were usually Madi's go-to method in discerning Clan-specific people. But Clarke's accent had baffled her. It was like a mix between Trikru and English, dempathizing on bits of vocabulary that should've been empathised or accidentally mixing up the tones and how long she should stay on a letter in a word.
Clarke's accent had been wonky, which jarred Madi enough to remind her that though she might look like one of them, she was an outsider. She had noticed Clarke's accent emerge less and less though, ever since their sessions at the creek, but it didn't change the very clear fact that she wasn't a part of Polis. Or at least, hadn't been until fairly recently.
But Lexa's accent was perfect. It sounded familiar, at least to Madi, and was a typical Polis citizen's type of accent. She could discern from the familiar accent that Lexa was part of the Trikru, and already Madi felt somewhat settled into a modicum of trust. Trikru was familiar, a friend.
Something she could trust, though she didn't remember who—or why—that was ingrained in her mind.
And so, only the slightest on edge, as Madi looked at Lexa, she asked: "What are you doing here?''
At her query, Lexa gestured at the notepad that she placed on the table a while ago, after Madi entered. ''Recording the existing species, edibles, and flora,'' she said idly. ''It is a need, if we wish to survive in the coming future.''
Madi nodded, quietly. Usually, Madi didn't bother with notetaking or drawing or whatever—she just wasn't good at it, for starters, and so far, stuffing anything green in her mouth seemed to have worked at keeping her alive thus far. But she supposed that with only one leg on deck (after Madi injured Clarke), there would have to be a need for a backup plan.
Madi's eyes flickered from Lexa's face to her wheelchair. Her curiosity was getting the better of her. ''What happened?'' she almost blurted out, and regretted almost immediately. Okay, Madi, just what did that have to do with anything?
Lexa's response was a hum so quiet she nearly couldn't hear. Then, she gestured to her legs, unmoving in a wheelchair.
Although Madi was uneasy, at first: didn't this intrude on Lexa's private space? Madi finally found herself involuntarily inching forward; and when she reached Lexa, she looked at the woman for approval; and when she nodded, Madi slightly touched Lexa's legs on the wheelchair.
They seemed no different from everyone's; despite the slight scarring and a tattoo of sorts, there was nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn't damaged, like Sankru's, or injured and broken. Or at least, it seemed so.
Madi had seen Lexa go and take care of Clarke in the bear trap, and later on while fetching water—and though Madi didn't know why, Lexa couldn't use her legs—like it was just dead-weight, just hanging there for some reason Madi didn't know.
''Will it heal?'' Madi asked, because she knew even though the damage wasn't obvious, Lexa wouldn't be in a wheelchair without reason.
A small, sad smile passed the woman's features. ''No.''
At this, Madi frowned, but asked no further questions. Usually, wounds healed—even those she set for people's legs in bear traps—they would be good and new in about a few months or so. So why was this different? The woman, however, continued.
''I was shot by a person, who was trying to kill my friend.'' Then, Madi's frown deepened, because wasn't there a rule once against the Clans using guns? She didn't remember the exact details, but she did remember seeing a surge in guns in Louwoda Kliron Kru after Wanheda slayed the Mauron. Or unless the person who shot Lexa wasn't a Clan member at all.
Noticing her frown, Lexa gave a solemn smile. ''The bullet fractured my spine; messed with my nerves. I was paralysed; I could not move my legs.''
Madi's eyes flittered nervously from Lexa's legs to Lexa, as if unsure of what to make of it. ''Is that why you're here?'' Madi asked, trailing her fingers on Lexa's legs. She wondered if Lexa could feel it. ''Because you cannot move?''
Lexa nodded quietly, inexplicably, the movement so small that Madi nearly didn't catch it. ''Yes, for one,'' Lexa said, looking at Madi in the eyes. For some reason, it reminded Madi of one of the lessons she'd had in Polis. Not Louwoda Kliron Kru's, though. It was different. At Madi's questioning stare: ''I was marking down the fertile flora and calculating harvest times before you came in-however, I am finished for the day.'' Lexa's hand slipped back to her notepad. ''And two, I was waiting for Clarke.''
Madi shook her head, which seemed to visibly surprise Lexa. ''No. Clarke's not coming back for a long time. She needs to take a bit to prepare until she really begins spear-fishing.'' Then, a sheepish grin. ''She's not actually all that good at it.'' Madi offered.
At first, Lexa didn't seem to know what to make of this information, but after a few moments, Lexa's expression transformed into something of determination. ''Well, goufa. Seeing we have time... would you like to go on a hunt?''
