A/N: What can I say, I'm back, bitches. And short reminder: Clarke and Lexa are running from Pauna. And Quint is dead, not that this is a loss.

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They ran and ran and ran. For a very long time. Then Lexa spotted a tunnel and they ran into it until they reached the end...and stopped dead in their tracks.

The tunnel opened into the bottom of a deep pit, littered with bones, bloody corpses and half eaten forest animals. They landed in the feeding grounds of the Pauna.

"Watch out!" Lexa's guard screamed and pushed his Heda out of the way. Lexa grabbed Clarke and pulled her to safety with her. Only a second later Clarke saw, what the guard was so afraid of, as he got crushed by the Pauna dropping to the ground. Since the giant gorilla blocked the way to the tunnel, Lexa and Clarke could only run further into the pit and climb up to a gallery. What tokk them a lot of effort, took the Pauna only a single jump. Desperately, Clarke turned around and shot bullet after bullet into the beasts chest. The Pauna stumbled back, fell and with a thud landed on the ground of the pit. Silence followed. Only interrupted by Clarke and Lexa's heavy breathing.

Clarke etched closer to where Pauna fell, but Lexa pulled her back, whispering, "Don't risk it."

Reluctantly Clarke let Lexa pull her back. She had to make sure, this thing was dead. A second late, she changed her mind, a loud roar disrupted the silence and Pauna jumped back onto the gallery.

Clarke and Lexa turned and ran through something that probably once was a door. Finally they came to the edge of an old parking garage. Nature had claimed most of it back.

Lexa looked over the edge. "We have to jump," she stated matter of factly.

Clarke got next to Lexa and looked down. She didn't like the distance between the ground and them, but she also knew, that they couldn't go back and if they didn't want to become a Pauna snack, they had to jump. Another roar came from behind Clarke and she jumped. Luckily for her, her fall was broken by moss and she rolled away a little to further absorb the impact. Lexa came down beside her and screamed in pain. Lexa only slipped away from Pauna by a few millimetres and couldn't land properly. But she still scrambled back to her feet, supported by Clarke, because she twisted her ankle.

In a small tunnel Pauna finally caught up to them and grabbed Lexa's ankle. This was the first time Clarke has seen pure fear in Lexa's eyes. Struggling to hold on to a metal pole while the Pauna damaged her twisted ankle even more. But she still bit back the screams of pain.

In a split second Clarke decided to position herself and she emptied her gun into the Pauna's chest again. Further wounded, the Pauna stumbled back and that was the second Clarke used to pull Lexa further into the tunnel, through a door. She put Lexa up against the wall, grabbed one of her swords and used it to block the door. She let out a sigh. They were safe for the moment, but the door wouldn't hold forever and honestly, she had no idea how they'd get out of this.

"You should've left me, Clarke. Now two will die here instead of one," Clarke heard Lexa voice her own fear. But unlike Lexa Clarke refused to give up so easily.

Clarke tried to conceal her own far with sarcasm, "I still am relatively new to your world, but my people say 'thank you' when someone saves your life."

But Lexa stood firm in her ways, "I'm serious Clarke," when Clarke rattled on the bars, she looked up to her, "To lead well, you must make hard choices."

"Hard choices?" Clarke knitted her eyebrows, "You're telling me?"

"I've seen your strength," Lexa tried to make Clarke see her point, "And it's true. You have held yourself against my people. You've made Anya like you. You have led your people here. But you waver. You couldn't kill Quint. And you couldn't leave me to save yourself. That was weakness."

"I thought love was weakness?!" Clarke mocked.

"Mockery is not the product of a strong mind, Clarke," Lexa responded as stoic as always. But in her eyes was fury. She didn't want Clarke to die here just for her. Clarke had so much she still could give this world.

This finally pushed Clarke over the edge and she got into Lexa's face, even though her voice was still calm, "You wanna know why I saved you? I need you. God forbid one of your kill-happy generals becomes commander. You may be heartless, but at least you smart. You are our best shot at peace."

For some reason Clarke couldn't grasp, this made Lexa smile, "Don't worry. My spirit will choose much more wisely when I pass."

"Spirit?" Clarke asked confused.

"Yes, when I die my spirit will choose my successor. Heda's spirit chooses the next Heda in a conclave," Lexa elaborated.
"Reincarnation," Clarke understood, "Has it anything to do with your dark blood? And what is a conclave?"

Lexa answered, "Yes, only Nightbloods can bear the flame. When I pass all Natblidas fight to the death in the conclave until the last one standing becomes the new Heda," a deep sadness filled Lexa's voice, "How are your leaders chosen?"

"That sounds barbaric. And stupid, quite frankly. Our leaders are elected. Chosen by the people," Clarke commented.

"And your people always choose wisely?" Lexa questioned this strange concept. It could never work with her people, she thought. They might not chose wisely. On the other hand the spirit had chosen Sheidheda before her.

But before Clarke could answer or Lexa could continue her thoughts, loud bangs on the door interrupted them. They backed up against the wall in fear. "It found us," Clarke whispered.

"Don't be afraid, Clarke," Lexa tried to calm Clarke, "death is not the end."

"Sorry to disagree, but it kinda is. And we are not gonna die here today. I need your spirit to stay where it is," Clarke got out through gritted teeth.

"Than get ready to fight," Lexa drew her remaining sword and stepped towards the door, "Pauna's coming in."

That comment sparked an idea in Clarke's mind. It could kill them or it could save their asses. And she was willing to take that risk. "Maybe we let it in." Clarke ran to the wall with the door and shouted, "Come here."

In a split second Lexa decided to trust Clarke, something she doesn't do easily, and got beside Clarke. Between two bangs, Clarke got the sword in the door away and Pauna pushed through it. With all the force the monster used to throw itself against the door, it stumbled and flew to the other side of the room. Clarke used these seconds to pull Lexa out of the cage and block the door again.

Lexa and Clarke took sharp breaths. They looked at each other, not quite ready to believe that they made it. A bang on the door woke them from their trance. "Let's go," Lexa said and Clarke just nodded. They started running again, Clarke supporting the still limping Lexa. After they put a considerable distance between the feeding grounds and themselves, they slowed down to walking pace. Lexa's ankle bothered her and Clarke definitely didn't have enough training and muscles to keep running. When it started to get dark, Lexa made a small campfire and while Clarke fell asleep, Lexa took guard, sitting close to the fire to keep herself warm and rest her ankle.

Clarke shot up. The roar of the Pauna had startled her. Blinking, she realised, it was day again. And then a voice came from behind her, "It's okay. You're safe." Clarke's head flew around. There she was, Lexa. She looked tired. "How's your arm?" Clarke asked. "Hurts," was Lexa's response. Another roar could be heard in the distance. "We should leave. This cage won't hold forever," Clarke said and got up.

"Wait," Lexa sighed behind her, "I was wrong about you. Your heart shows no sign of weakness."

Before Clarke could answer, she heard another roar. And then a lightbulb lit up inside her brain. "The cage won't hold," she mouthed. Excitedly, Clarke looked at Lexa, who just raised an eyebrow. "I think, I know how to take Mount Weather. We've tried to get inside, but they've already let us in."

"What are you talking about?" Lexa asked, shaking her head in confusion. But Clarke just continued, "Your army is already there. Locked in cages. We just need someone on the inside to let them out."

Lexa began to understand. "Bellamy." It was more a statement than a question. Clarke nodded. "And you have faith in him?"
"I do," Clarke answered. She was sure of it, "he might be a dick, but he'd do everything to bring them down. If anyone can do it, it's him."

"I hope, you faith is well-placed. Because if he can't get in, we can't win." Lexa was still sceptical, but Clarke was not. "He will," Clarke smiled at Lexa and put the fire out with her feet. She had newfound energy. "Lexa, this is gonna work."

With how hopeful Clarke was, Lexa had to be a little exited too, so she took lead again, and told Clarke her plan for going home, "We'll go to TonDC. It's only an hour from here. There we'll get a horse and head back to the Skaikru camp."

And with that they started walking.