Makira approached her stressing boyfriend. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she joined him. "I'm sorry, but he's right. When war is on our doorstep, we cannot spread ourselves thin. They'll send scouts first. They will try to get you to waste your ammo before they move in. Finish the mines and ready yourselves. Bell, come on."

Leading him away slightly, Makira grasped his shoulders. "I know you're stressed, ai haihefa, but you need to address this situation with care."

Bellamy let out a deep sigh. "You said it yourself, they're not ready."

Makira nodded. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you if the situation changes."

The young man kissed her forehead before heading towards his tent.

Makira's dark eyes flickered to the device for a second, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Tell Bellamy what?"

Jasper's voice answered before was cut off. Scowling, the healer moved into action. "Someone wake Bellamy." Grabbing the walkie talkie, she spoke in a deadly calm voice. "Murphy...let Jasper go. Now is not the time to pick a battle."

His voice answered after a second over the staticky device. "Pocahontas, you don't know what these people did to me. They strung me up for a crime I never committed."

She hit the button. "You're right, I don't know. But I'll tell you what I do know: trikru is attacking soon. To them, you're just another person from the sky, just another member of Skaikru. And I get it. Jus drein jus daun. You were just seeking justice. But let me ask you this: did Jasper ever do you wrong?"

It was silent for a moment. "No. Doesn't matter. Your boyfriend will kill me if I go out there."

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. His brown eyes scanned Makira as if to check if she were alright. Letting out a tired huff, Bellamy spoke in a low steady whisper. "Raven and I think there might be some broken panels that we could crawl through. Murphy likes you [not that I can blame him], so keep him talking. We need to find it."

Makira kissed his cheek before talking into the small black box once more. "Give me some time, I think I can convince him to work something out. With a war approaching, we can't afford to tear ourselves apart. I can make him see that."

"I don't think you know your boyfriend as well as you think you do. He's gone for my head before, he stung me up, kicked the bucket out from underneath my feet." His voice seemed to waver slightly.

Makira closed her eyes as she considered her options. Keep him talking, Bellamy's voice echoed through her head. "I can do it, I know I can. I was born to lead, 'to ascend' as my people call it. It is my birthright, as is it my real name."

"Your real name?"

Makira smirked slightly. Okay, his interest was peaked. It dropped as soon as it came. This is it, she thought to herself, after I tell him, there's no going back. You tried so hard to blend in, and now you're throwing it all away.

"My real name is Aleah. It quite literally means 'to rise, to ascend.' I'm what my people call a natblida. It quite literally means 'nightblood'. Only those with blood as black as night can become commander. So you can only imagine my parents disappointment when I refused to join the conclave to challenge the few others like me for command of the twelve clans."

It was silent for a moment. "Um yeah, you lost me there. What's a conclave?"

"A fight to the death. There were 9 others, including my little sister."

"Woah woah woah, you're telling me that your parents were disappointed that you didn't want to kill your sister? That's a load of bull shit if you're asking me, even for you grounders."

Bellamy stalked over to her. "Raven's got it open. Go with her, you're better at physical combat."

The girl eyed her boyfriend suspiciously. "What are you planning?"

Bellamy kissed her forehead. "Don't worry about it, Princess. I'll be okay. Just go."

Makira kissed him softly. "Alright. After the war, I have something that I need to tell you. It can wait."

By the time she found Raven, Jasper had already been freed. Her dark eyes scanned them. "Bellamy traded himself, didn't he?"

Jasper lowered his head. "Sorry. We should get going."