Apologies! This update took way too long. Let's just say life happened, I fell into somewhat of a hole and crawling out is harder than it sounds. Still working on the way up, but gotta start somewhere, right? :)

Also, I had a bit of a dilemma on how I wanted this to continue. I mean, I know how and what and I have some pretty clear ideas on what happens later, just the problem was getting them there. I wasn't sure about that and I needed it to work. Combine that dilemma with all the other stuff going on and the result is that not a whole lot of productive things were happening.

It's a short installment, a little 'in between-er' I guess. But I owed you guys this, because you are fabulous. Once again, thank you for reading and enjoying. Thank you for leaving comments. I hope you keep doing so.

...

Clarke just finished getting dressed after another good night sleep. The wound in her side wasn't even bothering her that much, at this point it was more itchy than painful and she had to stop herself from fiddling with it. As long as she took it easy, she was fine. She had decided that a walk outside would do her good, the walls in this room were becoming all too familiar and she needed to get out of here and get some fresh air. She straightened her jacket and stepped out the door.

She blinked a few times to get used to the sunlight and when she did, she noticed there was no one around. She could hear voices and started walking towards them. After a few seconds she found herself on what looked like the town centre. It was clear that the town was much smaller than Tondc. She saw some heads turning in her direction but no one really stared. Anyone that saw her just simply noted her presence and went on with their business.

Clarke walked over to a cluster of tree stumps, correctly assuming that those were used as seats. She sat down on one and leaned back, taking in her surroundings and the people around her. She only saw a handful of warriors, most people were dressed in casual clothes, going through the motions of their daily routine. She saw some people at what looked like a slaughterhouse of some sorts, they were skinning a dear with swift and practiced motions while another deer was hanging from a rope, blood dripping out of its neck. She looked in the other direction and saw a few kids running around, chasing each other, wrestling each other to the ground. She figured they couldn't be much older than six, realizing that the warrior training for them was basically already starting through their play. All of those kids were potential warriors.

She closed her eyes for a moment, relishing the sunlight on her face. It had been a while since she felt it. Before coming down to Earth, she'd never felt the sun on her face, but she realized that during her recovery inside, she'd missed the feeling.

"I see you are well." A familiar voice spoke.

Clarke opened her eyes and found them looking at the young woman in front of her. "Lexa."

Lexa nodded. "Clarke."

There was a moment of silence. They hadn't really spoken since their tense conversation two days ago, apart from a few brief visits by Lexa to see how she was doing. They had been short visits, neither of them really knowing what else to say besides the 'how do you feel' and 'getting tired of these walls' comments. There was still a huge elephant in the room that neither of them knew how to address.

Lexa sat down next to Clarke, who adjusted herself slightly, sitting up a bit. The uncomfortable silence lasted for a few seconds. Clarke wondered how long Lexa would stay here in Cliffton. She couldn't imagine it would be much longer before she had to go. Looking at this town, there wasn't much commanding to be done, she figured. She also realized that Lexa probably didn't have much reason to be here other than Clarke herself. That thought gave her a slight rush of blood to her cheeks but she tried to shake it off.

"Aivo tells me you have recovered enough to travel." Lexa broke the silence, Clarke was grateful for it.

"Yes, he told me the same this morning. As long as I take it easy, I'm good to go." she replied.

"Good. Tomorrow you will go back to Tondc." Lexa announced.

Clarke pondered this a moment. She wanted to go back, sure enough, but she still kind of dreaded a long journey. She was fine strolling through the town, but walking all day? She wasn't close to being her old self yet and she knew it.

"How far is that from here?" she asked.

"It can be done in one day but with you traveling along, there will be an overnight camp." Lexa answered.

Two days of walking. Clarke released a sigh. "Lexa, I admit I am eager to go back to Tondc and I'm feeling a lot better but I'm not sure I'm up for a two day walk yet."

"You are not." Lexa agreed, causing Clarke to look at her questioningly. "That's why I have arranged a horse for you." Lexa stated simply, a faint hint of a smile appearing on her face for a moment when she saw the relief in Clarke's eyes.

"So tomorrow morning." Clarke looked to the woman next to her, who nodded. She realized that Lexa was probably going back to her Commander duties, visiting other towns. The thought of parting ways with Lexa wasn't very appealing. Even thought things between them were still a little tense, she didn't want to say goodbye just yet, there were still things left unsaid, she felt. She just wasn't sure how to address them, or even what exactly they were. Clarke didn't know what it was that she wanted but she knew she didn't want to leave Lexa just yet.

"So…" she started hesitantly, looking at Lexa. "Where are you going next?"

Lexa turned her head to Clarke, catching her eyes. "Tondc." she replied, "I'm traveling with you."

Her horse calmly followed the one in front of her. Clarke closed her eyes for a moment, the rhythmic steps of the horse almost had some sort of hypnotizing effect. She tried to relax a bit and tried to ignore the feeling in her behind after a whole day of riding, something she was still getting used to. She felt safe, surrounded by several of Lexa's guards riding next to and behind her, Lexa herself riding in front of her. They had been traveling for most of the day with a few breaks here and there, more than they would have had if Clarke hadn't been along for the ride. She knew the traveling pace of a convoy like this would be much faster but after all, the purpose of this one was getting Clarke to Tondc and she wasn't fit enough to travel at the rapid speed they normally would. Clarke felt silly for thinking she had to walk all this way, of course they would have horses, that's how the Trigeda got around.

When Lexa had announced that she was traveling with her, Clarke didn't know what to think of it. She wanted to think that Lexa accompanied her because of her, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking that Lexa simply had duties elsewhere and this was just a convenient opportunity for her to get where she needed to go. She knew Lexa still cared about her, their talk from before had made that clear to her, but they still seemed so far apart that the fact that they both still had deep feelings for each other just didn't seem to matter in the grand scheme of things. Lexa would never be hers, she feared. Whatever this was or was becoming, Clarke didn't want it to be just a casual onetime thing. If this was ever going to be something, she would be in it for the long haul and she needed Lexa to be on that same page. If she was to have her, she wanted her one hundred percent and she simply didn't feel like Lexa would ever be able or willing to give that. A part of her would always be the Commander. Clarke feared that on those terms, it would never go further than it had gone already. It would remain a memory of a kiss in a tent.

Still, Lexa could have left before Clarke was able to travel but she had waited. Lexa could have sent a bunch of people after her to see if she could be rescued, but she dropped her other duties and came for her herself. It was all so contradicting. Clarke was an outsider and Lexa could never choose her, yet she seemed to take every opportunity to be around her anyway, went out of her way to save her life even when she had other things to attend to. Way to turn off your feelings, Clarke thought with a slight smirk on her face. Lexa couldn't cross the line, but she sure seemed to be balancing on it.

Lexa held in her horse until Clarke's had caught up with hers and they were riding next to each other.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

Clarke smiled slightly, not planning on telling her that her backside was starting to feel like stone. "I'm good. Glad I didn't have to walk."

Lexa gave her a small smile. "Horses do the walking for us."

"That they do." Clarke replied, looking at the woman next to her for a moment. Lexa looked so natural on her horse, while Clarke still felt like a wooden puppet sometimes. She had been given some lessons and she was getting used to it more and more, but it just didn't compare to Trigeda, who were probably taught to ride not long after they learned how to walk.

Lexa was looking up at the trees, or maybe past the trees at the sun that was slowly starting to lower itself.

"How are your wounds?" she wondered.

Clarke looked down at her own body. They had been bothering her slightly for the past hour or two, but not so much that she felt like she couldn't move on. "Well, they're not bleeding." she said.

Lexa understood. "We will set up camp soon, it's starting to get dark and we're almost at the clearing we were aiming to reach before nightfall. The journey tomorrow will only be half as long as it was today."

Clarke nodded, watching Lexa as she spoke. Her words had sounded reassuring, letting her know they were close to resting for the night. Clarke realized she had understood that Clarke's answer had been neutral, not admitting that she was slightly hurting, but didn't feel like complaining about it. She had learned that Lexa was very perceptive long ago. Shutting off your feelings didn't mean she couldn't read those of others very well. Clarke figured that must be even harder, having to make all those decisions while you know exactly what that feels like to those you make those decisions for, but you have to make them anyway. Clarke studied Lexa's profile for a bit from the side when Lexa turned towards her and captured her eyes for a brief moment, before averting them back to the road in front of them because one of the guards had raised his hand. They had reached the clearing.