Months after the everyone returns from the mountain…

Chapter 1: Favors

The cracked dirt beneath her worn boots whispered the dusty truth with each tiresome, shallow step; they were stuck in a relentless drought. Her entire week had been filled with facts about their lack of rain, mostly facts saturated with Monty's intermissions concerning how Jasper never had any time for him now that Maya was a permanent member of their ragtag society. Clarke used the first opening to get away from the Jasper-Monty-Maya debacle, unaware that she would be trekking through the scorching hot forest with her mother.

Luckily, it wasn't just her mother. David Miller, Harper, Raven and Octavia joined her.

At first, she appreciated Octavia's willingness to escape from Camp Jaha but when Bellamy joined the group, all her appreciation faltered. It wasn't Bellamy that caused Clarke to suck in a lungful of air, although he did cause her to breathe differently—it was her mother. It started with a gentle eye roll in his direction as she discussed navigation with David Miller and proceeded to a rude comment concerning Bellamy's gruff attitude. She hadn't disguised her dislike for him one bit and it was creating an uneasy tension between everyone. Naturally, Bellamy acted like he wasn't affected by Abby Griffin's demeanor.

The ground was parched with the piercing rays of the sun, the fireball acting as hot brands from a fire on the once green landscape. Clarke watched the thirsty birds helplessly perching on trees with their beaks extended towards the sky as they awaited the soft dribble of rain. Her brain turned over the information she'd learned in Earth skills concerning famine, delusions, and scarcity. It was the symptoms of the drought that prompted Abby to sanction the mission to find water beyond the partially dried river near the camp.

So far, the map Clarke valued desperately proved to be useless. Earth changed too much for the outdated piece of paper but she still kept it folded in her back pocket so she could amend it seclusion. According to her calculations, it was late July and their condition would only get worse. Of course, no one wanted to hear her less than optimistic approach. Clarke was only trying to be practical rather than wishy-washy on the subject of "salvation." They assumed that the mighty Chancellor would bring them out of the natural disaster with hydrated lips and smooth skin. Clarke wanted to snort at the foolish concept. Her mother did not control the weather. She did not carry the sudden cure to every Earth problem they faced. Even Clarke recognized that she, herself, lacked control over the situation. The repeated hike for water was draining their resources and eventually, they would realize this.

"We're stopping." Abby informed everyone, glancing in Clarke's direction for the first time in hours. Clarke nodded and leaned against the biting bark of a tree as she watched people gulp down the scarce amounts of water in their canteens. Idiots, she thought as her blonde hair attached to the uneven surface of the tree. She closed her eyes to block out the images of inexperienced "survivalist".

After minutes, a hushed voice pulled her from the beginnings of nap. "I need you to do me a favor." Octavia chimed, nudging Clarke awake with her bony elbow. Her eyelids fluttered briefly, eventually narrowing in the direction of her friend. Octavia went on, "I don't want to share a tent with Bellamy tonight."

"And you think I do?" Clarke asked with an arched eyebrow.

"I think you don't want to have to share a tent with your mother." Octavia pointed out with a wry laugh. She must have realized her statement wasn't satisfactory for Clarke, so she continued, "I've already talked to Raven. She'll share a tent with your mom because of their amazing friendship and I can share with Harper." Octavia was mostly indifferent about Harper. They weren't exactly friends, they weren't exactly enemies, either.

Clarke crossed her arms, yanking her head away from the tree only to lose a few strands of her hair in the process. She smoothed down the frizzed pieces before addressing Octavia's "favor" proposal. With a heavy sigh, Clarke gave into the brunette. "Fine, only because I don't feel like dealing with her tonight. Does Bellamy know?"

"Why ruin the surprise?"

In all their time together, Clarke realized she and Bellamy never shared a tent by themselves. It sent a cold shiver through her that highly contrasted with the dry heat beaming down on her skin. She watched as Octavia darted off in the direction of Raven and Harper before she asked herself, "What the hell did I just agree to?"

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