A Different Start

[Clarke Griffin]

@nyko

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Jasper was dead, probably. He was speared in the chest, probably close to the heart. He could die from that easily and with whoever attacked them still close, there was no way they could just go over. They would make themselves easy targets. The kids ran, they had to. Given the unfamiliar terrain they stumbled over branches, struggling to hold themselves up, especially Clarke. She was no runner, had no real physical strength right now, so she was slightly behind, though not too far from Monty. The sound of an arrow cutting through the forest was entirely unfamiliar to her as well. Pain erupted in her shoulder as the arrow hit his mark. As Clarke fell, being knocked down by the force of the arrow, she saw Monty and Octavia stop, but Finns hand shot out to drag Octavia on. Clarke screamed again as another arrow hit her back. Soon everything went dark around her, though all she knew was that the others got away.

When Clarke came to, she still felt the pain, but she knew she was no longer on the forest floor. As the world came into focus again, she realized she actually lay in something akin to a bed. Was she back on the Ark? Was all of this just a nightmare? A feverish dream? No. The place looked nothing like the Ark. She could see decorations that she couldn’t place. Somewhere herbs were hung to dry, fabric shielded the inside from most of the light from outside, so she could not make out much more. Clarke sat up carefully. “Hello? Where am I? Ouch…” She noticed the pain in her back and shoulder again and her medically trained mind immediately made the connection to the warmth she felt. She was running a fever, probably, or coming down from one. “Anybody here?”

[Deleted]

The irony. To strike down their presumed enemies, only to tend to them. When they had the boy speared against the tree, Nyko was called to heal him. His attitude was as always, but inside, he felt the waste of it. Why spear the boy only to use resources to save him? They were a perceived threat, everyone knew it, but even as a warrior, violence was not Nyko's primary instinct. It did not resolve anything. But at the moment, it occupied his time. The wound was deep but not life threatening. His efforts were not in vain, but they then dragged him off, speaking something about being used as bait. Or as a warning to the others. How many of them were they? Nyko said nothing. He did his duty to his people, what was asked of him, and he left, journeying back through the woods. Truth be told, he was searching for any more sign of the others. They didn't seem to have weapons that overpowered his own people's. What threat could they be?

Among his journey he caught sight of one of them. A young woman. He stopped in his tracks, looking at the familiar arrows that pierced her. They were of his own people. There was an ethical dilemma here: to help a young woman, or to stay loyal to the Trikru. They had struck to kill, otherwise the arrows would not be poisoned. And she was not only hit with one, but two. Though as Nyko thought it over for only a few seconds. There was no decision to be made at all. He crouched down next to the woman, putting a blade under her nose. She was alive. But would not be for long. He would not need to go far from here to tend to her. He broke the arrow and picked her up, slinging her over his shoulders so that he would not aggravate the wounds.

He brought her to a small tent, one that was far enough from his village, but a station to aid the injured and sick. He immediately got to work. He successfully removed the arrows, tended to the entry points, sealed it to stop the bleeding, and then gave her the antidote for the poison. She needed more than the normal dose as she had been struck twice, and left out alone for longer than she should have been. Now, it was up to her as to how hard her body would fight to live. He stepped out for a moment, looking at his surroundings to ensure no one was near. He knew this would not be well received should his people discover that he had saved a Sky Person. But as far as Nyko was concerned . . . she was an innocent. She was innocent until proved otherwise.

After washing his hands, he quickly prepared a meal, a specific one for her that consisted of various medicinal herbs, a few insects that would help with the pain. As he crushed and mixed it alll together, he heard a faint sound and he re-entered the tent to see her sitting up, just in time for her to question whether anyone was here. He didn't respond. Any answer he gave would be redundant since he was standing right now. Instead, he approached her, his hand going to the back of her head to firmly hold it as he moved the bowl to her lips. "Drink." A clear, blunt instruction. He didn't elaborate as to what it was, but he now revealed that he could speak their language; that he could understand and be understood.

Tag: Clarke Griffin

[Clarke Griffin]

Clarkes mind was still clearly affected by the fever that had held her in her grip. Maybe it was still there, high enough to make her slightly delirious – if so she didn’t really feel it. It was one of the reasons why she wasn’t sure what the situation was. Maybe she was still delirious and this was all in her head, but it looked real to her. All doubts dissipated the moment she lay eyes on the man. He was faster than Clarkes mind could act right now, holding a bowl to her lips and the back of her head. He ordered her to drink in simple and clear English. They understood their language. Then again should she be surprised? They were in what used to be the United States of America. Survivors could speak English and it appeared they did. It made sense. Clarke thought for a moment. Should she drink? He had her in a dry, warm place, the wounds were clearly treated, though still painful, but since Clarke didn’t know if he had painkillers to begin with. She could endure pain. Everything about the situations told her that he had no bad intentions with the drink, so she drank.

It tasted horribly, bitter, weird, but Clarke pushed through. Despite how it made her gag, she drank it all, though afterwards she put a hand on her mouth to stop herself from throwing up. Convinced that the man intended to help her – and if he didn’t, she was screwed anyway – she wanted to keep it down. Even on the Ark medicine tended to not taste nicely. Breathing slowly, she knew her stomach settled slowly, for now. She would not throw up what he gave him if she took down her hand, which she needed to do in order to talk to the man. For a split second doubt was in her. What if he had poisoned her? Well, she was screwed either way. 

“I’m Clarke. You saved me, didn’t you? Do you know… why we’ve been attacked? I – what did we do?” They had to have done something, surely? Why else would they attack and then treat her? Maybe it was getting close to the mountain or any other rule they violated.

@nyko