Blondes are rare these days

[Clarke Griffin]

Isa

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Her legs burned like fire. Days blurred into nights and vice versa. Clarke Griffin lost all concept of time as she walked and walked and walked, never being content with where she was. She needed to leave, to put distance between herself and her deeds and most importantly the people. A few of them reminded her constantly of what she had to do, of the lives she took, of the pain she inflicted on them. Others made her want to vomit, to scream and punch and take out her anger at them as they abandoned them with not good reason other than their cowardice and egoistic ways. She just needed to go, to go and find a new place and for that she walked and lost track of time. It could have been days or weeks or even a month that she had been travelling. Finally she reached another nation. The ice nation.

The leader had welcomed her. Words of Lexas rang I her ear of how the leader had Lexas girlfriend killed for information, so Clarke knew approaching her was dangerous, but at the same time it was easy. It was easy because they hadn’t abandoned her people actively. And they had a common enemy. Clarke found herself welcomed. She got a little hut, where she could sleep and learn and take care of people. It was like a second nature to her and as such Clarke felt at ease with the ice nation. It didn’t take long for her to adopt the typical braids and clothing. But as she did, some people started calling her by a different name. It was only by accident that she one day caught someone calling another blonde ‘Clarke’, discovering that the people were simply mistaking her for the other woman. Clarke didn’t approach her then as she had a patient in labor. It was two days after her discovery as she approached the other blonde. 

“You are Isa, right? I think people are mistaking us for the other sometimes.” 

[Isa]

❅AI GONPLEI❅

AI SWIS

Isa had been away from Azgeda, traveling with Valdis, when Clarke arrived. She learned quickly about the Sky Person who settled into a hut and began acting as a healer, but had made no effort to meet the woman. She had heard of the woman in her visits to the Triku lands and had no real curiosity towards her.

Then the first person called her Clarke. Later another did. She could understand why they mixed them up from behind. Even though Isa was a few inches taller than the Sky Person, their hair and clothing were similar enough to confuse a handful of people.

"I am." Pale eyes roamed over the woman, taking a measure of her before reaching her face. "Even in the ice, hair like ours is not a common sight." 

Isa said nothing further, but she did not return to working on the fletching of the arrows she had been trimming. She simply waited to see if the other blonde would speak. She waited to see what Clarke wanted from her.

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[Clarke Griffin]

“Is it not?” she asked curiously. Was it that rare with the Grounders? Clarke wondered why? Actually why was it relatively rare those days? Clarke was just a beginner in medicine in terms of analyzing genes and all that. It would have taken her a while to analyze the reasons behind it and besides neither Camp Jaha, nor the Grounders had it. Maybe some of it survived somewhere, maybe they could eventually build some at Camp Jaha, but for now there were more pressing matters for both cultures: Survival being the top priority. 

“You’re a warrior, right? The people mistaking us kept wanting to give me weapons.” She wondered if they would have done the same, would they know exactly who she was. Probably not. Even they would know the number of people she killed in Mount Weather, their leader had hinted to something like that. They really should not entrust her with a weapon, it might end up badly, but Clarke felt like it would end up badly for herself. “Are you just defending your people or going out to hunt as well?” Maybe Clarke could ask her to bring her something for the poor lady in her care. She did not have much to trade, but with warriors the chance of her getting to do something in return was there.

Isa

[Isa]

❅AI GONPLEI❅

AI SWIS

"Few children are born with pale hair. Fewer keep it into their adult years." She motioned in the direction of her village with a flippant flick of her wrist. It was a simple matter of fact true for any Grounder clan. Brunettes outnumbered blondes and as blondes hooke up with brunettes, the numbers of blondes lessened. It was just the way things were. "It usually darkens over the years, hence the rarity."

"Yes, I am." The weapons strapped to her back and side was evidence enough of that, but she found no issue in confirming it. She doubted that Clarke was daft enough not to know a warrior when she saw one, especially with plenty of clues to make it obvious. "I'll speak to them about that. They've also come up to me to ask about medical stuff. If you've noticed a few broken noses now you know why."

"Hunting," Isa looked at her, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. Either the woman was interested in her or she had something she wanted from her. Perhaps a mixture of both. "I don't do guardwork if I can help it."

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[Clarke Griffin]

That was interesting. Given the Arks limited place and genetic pool, it was logical for the blonde trait to die out over the generations. Clarke was one of the few ones to be born as blonde as she was. Gingers and blondes were just rare these days with every culture it would seem. The genetic pool seemed to have been able to expand more, but it seemed even here the blondes were getting rare. Why, though? Did the blondes rarely survive for some reason? Maybe someone could find out about it. 

“I did notice a few broken noses. They will have to deal with a dent in the nose for the rest of their lives. You did quite the impressive number on them. I have barely been able to reset them.” And even then she was not able to reset it so that the break would become invisible. She would have needed other supplies for it, supplies she had no access to here with those and surgery was unnecessary.

“Why not? Is it boring?” Clarke could kind of understand that. It was boring for her, too, on the very, very odd occasion that she had to keep watch down at the dropship. “Would you mind taking me with you, next time you go out to hunt?” She knew her way with weapons and would stand out of her way, as her priority lay on the plants she learned of and needed.

Isa

[Isa]

❅AI GONPLEI❅

TAG: Clarke Griffin

"They had it coming," Isa said in regards to the men and women who received a blood and broken nose from her. The fact that the healer had difficulty in resetting them left a small smirk on her face. Served them right for mixing her up with someone else and annoying her. It was not like she did anything life threatening, although some mornings the thought did cross her mind. Being mistaken for the Skaikru woman after just rolling out of her furs and still shaking off sleep made it awfully tempting to give them a worse injury than a dent in their nose. "They've learned a valuable lesson about misidentifying the woman they're approaching."

"Yes," She glanced at Clarke, surprised by her line of questioning. "I get restless. I don't enjoy standing around with a weapon. I'd rather be using it."

Isa tapped the arrow she had been working on fletching against her leg as she considered the idea of taking Clarke with her. Limited experience around Skaikru told her that they could be somewhat noisy in the woods and she was uncertain how steady their footing would be on the snow and ice. Clarke, however, had been in the village long enough that her footing was steady enough. 

"Fine," She gave a short nod and lowered her eyes to the arrow to finely trim the edge of the feathers. "You ready to go now or do you need some time? I was just about done here."

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[Clarke Griffin]

“To be fair, I’m new here, they might just be used to you and my presence is confusing them. Most of the people who confused me with you have been men so far. At least on the Ark men did not exactly pay attention to the subtly differences between women. A woman is blonde: Oh it’s that one. All they registered.” She tried to make light conversation, though she did not know if it was appreciated or not. She hadn’t had a light conversation in… well since she spoke to Bellamy before Finn got himself killed. Light conversations were absent from her life since that day and she missed it, missed the ease and the lack of consequence in them. Clarke guessed they would remain absent from her life from now on. They certainly would have been in Camp Jaha. 

“I understand you in that.” She didn’t like standing around during her training either, but it had to be done. Now she could actually do something, keep her hands and mind busy with making cures, giving them, or correcting broken noses thanks to her fellow blonde. “Let me just grab a knife and I’ll be ready.” She carried a small knife with her even know, since you never knew what would happen and a knife was a basic instrument in healing as well, but it would do nothing to protect her. It was slightly too small to really do any damage to an attacking enemy or defending yourself from a charging animal – unless it was a bunny, but bunnies did not attack. Clarke turned. She all but sprinted to her little healers hut, to grab the knife in question before she returned to Isa, surprised by her own ability to skid over the snow and ice in a controlled way – most of the time. She still occasionally slipped and fell face first into the ice. Unlike the others, she wasn’t born here, she learned it.

Isa

[Isa]

❅AI GONPLEI❅

TAG: Clarke Griffin

"Well, they should learn their lesson quickly. A bloody nose should make them take a second to actually pay attention." There was no sympathy in her voice towards the men who earned themselves a bloody nose. Then again, Isa was not well known for being a warm-hearted woman. She did, however, offer Clarke a small smile. "I don't expect much from these men. I have yet to meet one that noticed the finer details of a woman's appearance unless she was naked."

"Alright." She slipped the arrow into its quiver and leaned back against a tree as she wated for the other blonde. Although Clarke was not the most graceful and silent on the ice, she managed to move swiftly and not fall on her face when running to her hut and back. Despite herself Isa found herself impressed.

"Not bad, Sky Woman. You have the makings of a good Azgeda in you." She offered with a small nod as she pushed herself off of the tree. Her pale eyes dipped to the knife, too small to be much good in an actual hunt but not entirely useless, back up to the other woman. "Alright, let's go."

created by lilith

[Clarke Griffin]

Clarke wasn’t sure she liked the idea of becoming one of the ice nation, but for now I was exactly what she wanted. Clarke had no other place to go, no better place to go. She could help people here. She was safe from Lexa, from the people of Camp Jaha. Existing here was easier. Maybe it was what she needed. Maybe she would really become one of them. So far there was little judgment here. They understood, especially the Queen did. Clarke had been honest about what happened, she had told what happened from her point of view, not bothering in hiding what happened.

“I think I would like that.” She said slowly. She wasn’t entirely sure she really would like it yet, but given the place, the leader, her hut in which she could help people and the readiness in which the Grounders seemed to accept her if she repaid their welcome with actual service. This society was easy to grasp for her. Action and Reaction. She understood it. She liked it even. Clarke followed Isa outside, humming softly at the air. There was smoke inside their village, here she could smell no thing. The air had a scent to it, different from Camp Jaha. She loved it. It reminded her of something she always imagined in the books on the Ark. “Did you ever smell stale air, Isa? Compared to this, this is a wonderland of scents.”

Isa

[Isa]

❅AI GONPLEI❅

TAG: Clarke Griffin

"I think that's a lie." She glanced over at Clarke, the corner of her lip twitching upwards in a small, quickly aborted smile. Isa may not know everything about the other woman, but she knew she was Skaikru. Whatever had taken her away from her people and into the ice and bosom of the Azgeda society, it was likely not enough to sever the bond between her and her people. Even though Isa felt that Clarke had the makings of a fine Azgeda, she doubted that she would ever be anything but Skaikru, even if she were to live among them for years. "I think, in the end, you like being Skaikru better than Azgeda. They are your people, after all."

"I have," She said thoughtfully as they walked through the icy woods. It was not a scent she liked, especially compared to the crisp wintry air she was used to. "There are building sealed up everywhere. Bunkers that have survived over the years. I would rather be surrounded by the smell of blood and death, because at least that stench is alive. Stale air... I imagine it's what the dead themselves smell."

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[Clarke Griffin]

“In the end it might not be my decision.” Clarke pointed out. “What has been done… I doubt there is a way back to them. And out of the Grounders clans… Azgeda is the one I can trust the most at the moment.” Not that she fully trusted anything or anyone at the moment, least of all herself. She had killed too many people, to trust herself and she had seen the depths and horrors in a persons soul, so she knew not to expect too much from people anymore or the worst. “What does it matter which group of people I belong to, blood will always flow and will always be the same shade of red, no matter what.” They were all just human. They had see different roads, they had different experiences, different governments, but in the end, they were all only human, only some had committed worse crimes than others. 

“I never compared it to something like that. The air on the Ark was like it. Then again, I guess you could say it was a bit like a coffin in the sky.” It was a coffin for many people these days. Only a small percentage of the people who lived there had survive d coming down to earth and even then people kept dying. She hoped that was steady for the people now, that there was less death. But could they survive winter? “You could say a lot of us were dead up there and only earth revived us. We were going through the motions, never developing and going out of the ordinary was almost impossible or punished with death, so… yeah, I think you might be right. It could be what the dead smell.”

Isa

[Isa]

❅AI GONPLEI❅

TAG: Clarke Griffin

"True, it may not be your decision," She replied thoughtfully. If the Skaikru did not want her

back then there was no way for her to change their mind. If whatever Clarke had done was bad enough, then even her people may not welcome her back. For a moment curiousity rose within It passed as quickly as it came. It was no business of hers and there was no gain in knowing what had happen. "But if you're uncertain now, you'll never be certain. One day you may find the question unbearable. The only way to answer it would be to go and find out for sure."

She offered her a small smile, one that barely moved her lips, in response to learning that she trusted the Azgeda better than the rest of the grounders. It did not mean much since the Skaikru were not well known for trusting Grounders. "Because we define ourselves by who we join with, that's why. We're not content with our blood being red, because the blood of the enemy is red too. We set ourselves apart, banding with those like us, to further separate us from those we hate."

Isa listened to Clarke speak of the Ark and the air like it. She never liked spending much time in Bunkers and tended to avoid it if it was possible. They made her restless - more so then she already was. She felt a bit of pity for the Skaikru who lived on the Ark. "Well then, welcome to life"

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[Clarke Griffin]

“Maybe I will. Maybe the Azgeda will cross paths with them in the future and the question will be answered that way.” Why did she say maybe? She knew how things worked in this world. The Arkers needed the Grounders. Clarke knew they would need the help of the Grounders. They might be preparing for one winter now, but only just looking around, Clarke knew that they would meet struggles in other winters, they would meet struggles in summer as well. She had heard just too much to give in to illusions of this life being easy. They needed the Grounders knowledge of how to survive. Without the Grounders here, Clarke would not know how to dress warm, but not heavy. She might even have fallen victim to the biting cold of winter – actually it was more than likely.

“Thank you.” Clarke whispered. She did agree, this was life, for many. She lived, she had a pulse, but life, the joy and pain of it, was no longer what one could understand as it. Not for her. Life was a difficult topic in Clarkes life now. She could no longer define living as a life for her. It was complicated. “I don’t understand, though. Lexa turned away from us so fast, yet despite what your Queen did to her, she clings to this alliance. Why do you agree to it? What does the alliance bring to you? Your people don’t strike me as the kind of people to follow her without questioning her." 

Isa

[Isa]

❅AI GONPLEI❅

TAG: Clarke Griffin

"Only time will tell." It went without saying that at some point the Skaikru and Grounders will run into one another. Winter was coming and it will be the first one for the Skaikru. While Isa did not know what winter was like where Clarke came from, she doubted that it was the same as what they would soon face.

If the alliance that had come up between the Skaikru and Grounders still existed, then it was likely one would offer the other some assistance. The Azgeda were experts when it came to Winter so some of Isa's people may be sent down to work with the Skaikru to assist them. It was also possible that some would come to the village to learn first hand. So Clarke may end up having to face her people sooner rather than later.

"I agreed to nothing." Isa replied with a hint of emotion colouring her tone. A bitterness of unfinished business. "But war has to end one way or another. This is the best case scenario..." She paused as she stopped walking and turned to look at her. "We question her, but her words are not law. We can, along with the other clans, override her if we have a strong enough reason to disagree."

After a moment she turned away and continued to walk through the snowy woods. "Aside from a peace that lessens the number of those dead, it opened up trading between the clans which is beneficial. That and we know that Lexa is a leader who bases her decisions on logic rather than emotion, as any leader should. Makes tolerating the Coalition more bearable."

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[Clarke Griffin]

“It spares the innocent.” Something that Clarke couldn’t do. She had been forced along a certain way. She had tried it all, everything that would come to her mind has been tried and it had been proven faulty and fruitless. She couldn’t save the mountain men, not while they were killing her people. Her loyalties were clear, had always been. She had no choice, just like she felt she had no choice but to leave her people.. She couldn’t burden them with her anymore, with seeing her, with dealing with what this all did to her, because Clarke carried no illusions about her own state of mind, not anymore. She had seen Finn after she killed him, if that was not telling, what was? There was no doubt she would see others.

“I supposed survival is logical.” But at what price? To lose all credibility with others? Clarke was sure there were others who disagreed with what happened that day, not just Lincoln. The war had been won, Clarke had gained knowledge of it afterwards. Had they stood their grounds, those responsible could have been punished without harming the innocent hopefully. There would have been less collateral damage. They had been desperate to keep the Arkers with them, willing to let go of the Grounders, because then they were useless. The problem was the Grounders had no guarantees. There was no doubt the Mountain Men would have turned on them the minute they found out the bone marrow was a solution for only one generation. All the children would still not be immune. It wasn’t part of their genes. It could have been so easily, but the obvious solution was lost to them. 

“The Mountain Men could have had it so easy to achieve their goals. Without harming people.”

Isa