[Above all else, returning home should be celebratory. Although Clarke has already been back to Arkadia numerous times since she first left, it finally feels like a homecoming. She doesn't come alone. Bellamy is at her back, gun in hand. Her mother's at her side. Kane is just ahead with haunted eyes, and Octavia leads the pack. Everyone is reluctant to let her trail behind after what she's done to Pike. It makes sense, really.
But Clarke wonders if she's really earned this return. Has she handled the burden of her people's lives well enough? Has she overcome her own pain well enough to face them? Can she continue on, knowing that they know that she's given up once? With what lies ahead, she doesn't know.
She's barely had the chance to talk to anyone. Her waterside chat with Bellamy had helped, but everyone else has been too muddled, too caught up, to really address what she's done before. Jasper had done a fair amount of it himself, and ALIE had picked up the pace there, too, using Raven's mouth as his own. Now that they have time to breathe before they have to make a plan, will things change?
(Does she want them to change? Guilt comes naturally to Clarke.)
But she knows—knows that she has returned. Knows that she's back. She watches as everyone passes through the gates of Arkadia to start their lives over yet again, and she does what she can to help.
After a while, she slips off to find Raven. Jasper has been admitted to medical care and Monty's been stitched up. Many of the people who are suffering the affects of losing the chip are all being placed under medical surveillance, but Clarke knows one person who isn't entering that care. It's been so long, and their lives have almost necessitated that they move on from one form of pain to the next. To the minds of many, Raven's help in stopping ALIE means that she's fine.
Clarke isn't so sure.
She eyes the makeshift chip controller as she passes by it, fingers dropping down over the blue chip in the center. Her fingers memorize how similar it is to the Flame (which she still holds in her jacket until a new round of Nightbloods are found). Her eyes lift from the chip to the back of Raven's neck, as well as the computer systems that she's slowly working on. Getting Arkadia back into functionality is important, especially due to the mapping systems that they likely have in their databases. It makes sense, even if it looks a little lonely.]
Hey, [Clarke begins, though she almost wonders if she's invading.
me too, me too
But Clarke wonders if she's really earned this return. Has she handled the burden of her people's lives well enough? Has she overcome her own pain well enough to face them? Can she continue on, knowing that they know that she's given up once? With what lies ahead, she doesn't know.
She's barely had the chance to talk to anyone. Her waterside chat with Bellamy had helped, but everyone else has been too muddled, too caught up, to really address what she's done before. Jasper had done a fair amount of it himself, and ALIE had picked up the pace there, too, using Raven's mouth as his own. Now that they have time to breathe before they have to make a plan, will things change?
(Does she want them to change? Guilt comes naturally to Clarke.)
But she knows—knows that she has returned. Knows that she's back. She watches as everyone passes through the gates of Arkadia to start their lives over yet again, and she does what she can to help.
After a while, she slips off to find Raven. Jasper has been admitted to medical care and Monty's been stitched up. Many of the people who are suffering the affects of losing the chip are all being placed under medical surveillance, but Clarke knows one person who isn't entering that care. It's been so long, and their lives have almost necessitated that they move on from one form of pain to the next. To the minds of many, Raven's help in stopping ALIE means that she's fine.
Clarke isn't so sure.
She eyes the makeshift chip controller as she passes by it, fingers dropping down over the blue chip in the center. Her fingers memorize how similar it is to the Flame (which she still holds in her jacket until a new round of Nightbloods are found). Her eyes lift from the chip to the back of Raven's neck, as well as the computer systems that she's slowly working on. Getting Arkadia back into functionality is important, especially due to the mapping systems that they likely have in their databases. It makes sense, even if it looks a little lonely.]
Hey, [Clarke begins, though she almost wonders if she's invading.
Is she invading?]
I thought you could use some company.