Chapter 3
Andes woke up just after sunset and looked over at Clarke. She was still fast asleep. She was a beautiful girl, but deeply troubled. She sounded like a great leader, and Andes knew that being a leader was a terrible burden. So many lives depended on you. These thoughts brought back memories, memories she hadn’t thought about in a long time. If she had chosen a different path, would she have been a leader? She brought herself back to the present. She reached over and gently shook Clarke. Clarke slowly opened her eyes, and it took a couple seconds to remember her situation. She rubbed her face. “I’m ready, sorry, I’m awake.” She stood up and rolled her shoulders back to get the kinks out.
“Ok, let’s get this rope back on you. Would hate to go through all this trouble of saving you only to have you fall from the tree and die.”
“Yeah, that would kind of suck.”
“Suck?” Andes looked up at her while she wound the rope around Clarke’s waist.
“Suck,” Clarke realized maybe she didn’t know the word. “Suck, means stink, like, that would stink, or that wouldn’t be good.”
“Oh, ok. Yeah, that would definitely suck.” Again she smiled at Clarke, who smiled back at her, she was a quick learner.
Andes started down the tree, slowly, making sure Clarke followed in her footsteps. It took a little longer getting down than going up, and once Clarke’s feet hit the ground she let out a big sigh of relief. As they started to coil the ropes back up, Clarke heard a sound in the bushes, an animal, a big animal. She looked at Andes, who didn’t seem to hear it.
“Did you hear that?” Clarke asked with panic in her voice.
“What?” More rustling. “Oh that. Well, when I told you I lived alone, I lied. I do have family, three boys.” Clarke just stared at the girl, what the hell was she talking about?
Andes let out a soft whistle, and then a soft sound inTrig, like she was calling someone or something. Clarke’s heart leapt in her throat, because out of the bushes came three very large wolves. She looked at Andes, who looked back at her, “meet my boys, Clarke.” They came over to Andes and rubbed against her, and she leaned down and hugged them all and kissed each on the head, “my good boys.” She made them sit. “Clarke, come here and meet my dogs.”
Clarke hesitated. “Dogs? They’re wolves.”
“They’re dogs Clarke. I raised them from puppies.”
“You mean you raised them from cubs, because those are wolves.”
Andes scoffed at Clarke. “Do you want to meet them or not?”
“Ok, I guess.”
“Then come over here.” Clarke walked slowly up to the first one. “This is Jaks, Jaks ron.” The wolf raised his paw at Clarke and she shook it.
“Good boy. And this is Sampson, and this is Midnight, obviously because he’s black as midnight. “ Clarke met each one, still very unsure of them.
“They’re my eyes and ears in the forest. We’ve saved each other may times. They’ve been with me for 5 years, they’re all I have.” Clarke watched the animals with Andes, and she could see the devotion in their eyes. She decided she was safe.
“Where they abandoned by their mother?”
“No, she didn’t abandon them, she died. I came across her body, and these guys were just hanging around her, hoping she would get up, but she was gone. I skinned her and wore her pelt for a while, so they would imprint on me. I guess it worked, cause I can’t seem to get rid of them now.” She rubbed their heads. “Well, we should really get going, are you ready?”
Clarke nodded. “Yep, as ready as I’ll ever be,” she said.
“Good, here,” she handed Clarke some dried meat that was in her pack, “I don’t know about you but I’m starving. We’ll have to be quiet as we walk, voices carry through the forest at night.” Clarke nodded again, she figured it was going be a long one.
Andes sent the wolves off and they started walking south. Clarke stayed close behind Andes, since she seemed to know where they should be walking. They walked for hours in silence, and Clarke thought she was going to pass out from exhaustion. Finally the sun started to rise and Andes suggested they find a place to stay for the day. Clarke liked that idea a lot. Andes knew the terrain, and guided them to a rocky outcrop. She went up in the trees to make sure there was nobody else in the area.
“God, don’t fall, “ Clarke called up to her.
“Relax, I never fall,” she called back down. It was all clear, so they spread the furs out. Clarke slid down and put her head back and fell asleep immediately. Andes just watched her for a few minutes. When she was sleeping, she looked so much younger. With her hair the color of the sun, and her eyes the color of the sky, she really was a sky girl.
Hours later, Clarke opened her eyes, blinking in the bright sunlight. She had no idea what time of day it was. Across from her lay Andes, sound asleep with her head resting on one of the wolves, Jaks. Now that looked comfy, why didn’t Clarke think of that? She struggled to stand, stiff from lying on the hard ground, she groaned and stretched. Jaks picked his head up, which in turn woke Andes up. Clarke felt a little bad now, everyone was up because of her.
“Good morning, “ Clarke said, “or I guess it’s actually good afternoon.”
Andes made a guttural sound in her throat. She sat up, and looked around. “Did you just wake up?”
“About 5 minutes ago.”
She yawned and moved her neck around to get the kinks out.
“Nice pillow you got there.” Clark said.
Andes looked down at Jaks. “It was a nice pillow actually.”
“Yeah, well, thanks for sharing.”
Andes smiled and stretched her arms up in the air and stood up. “Well, maybe I’ll share tonight if you behave yourself.” She gave Clarke a big grin.
Clarke just gave her a as mean a look as she could manage, but couldn’t really pull it off. “So tell me, is there a bath in our future?”
“You feel the need for a bath, Clarke?”
“God yes, you don’t? Because you smell like a swamp, I’m just saying,” Clarke said teasingly.
Andes looked at her, then looked down at herself, she was pretty filthy. She took a whiff, yeah, that was bad. “I used mud from the river, that must be it.”
Andes stood up and stretched some more. She moved closer to Clarke and sniffed.
“I don’t smell that bad, swamp girl.” She said with a smile. Andes looked at her, then rubbed her arm along Clarke’s arm. “Yo, don’t do that, I don’t want that stench.” Andes, a wide grin splitting her face, moved close to her again and rubbed along the other arm. “Seriously, stay away, don’t you dare, “ she said, starting to laugh a little, but giving a warning look to Andes, “Stay back, swampy,” backing away now, with her hands up. But Andes was too quick for her, and she wrapped her arms around Clarke and lifted her in the air and shook her a bit, then set her back down. “Oh, my god, I will get you back for this.”
“There, now we both smell like a swamp, you won’t know who you smell, because a bath is at least a day away.”
“You think you’re funny, but you’re not.”
“Oh, I’m funny.” Clarke was exasperated, and Andes just laughed at her.
“I’ll go find us some food, you stay here,” she walked past Clarke, but stopped right next to her, took a sniff, “You stink.”
Clarke shoved her playfully. “Go, get us some food, me and the boys are hungry.”
Andes came back with a couple rabbits, already skinned. They started a small fire, small enough to cook the meat, but not too large to send smoke up in the air. They didn’t want to give away their location to anyone. They ate in silence for a while. Andes tossed scraps to the dogs.
“Andes, don’t you get lonely out here by yourself?”
“No, not really. I do go into the villages occasionally though. I trade for supplies, stuff like that, “ then she raised her eyebrows at Clarke, “take care of some other needs.”
“What needs?“ Clarke asked. She thought she got the gist of it, but she wasn’t exactly sure.
“Needs, you know, needs. The body has needs Clarke.”
“You mean sex.”
“Sex?”
“Yeah, you know, when two people, lay with each other.” Clarke left it at that.
“Ah, sex, it that what you call it up in space?”
“Oh, we call it lots of things, sex is just one of them. The easy one.”
“Then yes, I go to the villages for sex.”
Clarke was curious now. This was some good dirt.
“Who do you have sex with?”
“There are a few women that I like to visit.”
“No men?”
“No, no men.”
“Do you care for them? Or is it just physical? Just satisfying those ‘needs’.” Clarke put quotes around the “needs” part.
“I like them. They like me. We talk, and then have sex.”
“Damn, you’re like a playa.” Using the phrase that Raven loved to use. “So what, you have a girl in every village?”
“Pretty much, yes.”
“Like friends with benefits.”
“Friends with benefits?”
“Yea, it’s casual, um, nobody gets all mushy and lovey and gooey eyed at each other, no commitment. Just casual sex, just sex.”
“I guess so. I have a few friends with benefits. What about you? Do you have friends with benefits?”
“No, not really. I guess I’m more the lovey, gooey type. I kinda lost someone that I really cared about recently. So, the friends with benefits is off the table right now.”
Andes thought maybe that was what made her sad. “Well, it sounds like friends with benefits is just what you need then. No commitment, just sweet release. You shouldn’t deny your body that pleasure just because you’re not gooey eyed over someone. “ Clarke didn’t have a response to that.
“Didn’t you ever just, I don’t know, just lust over someone? You absolutely had to have it?” Andes asked, widening her eyes for emphasis.
“No, well, maybe, I don’t know. “
“C’mon Clarke, You must have a lot of people wanting you, you’re very beautiful. I wouldn’t kick you out of my bed.” She said wryly.
Clarke was caught off guard with that comment. “Did you just flirt with me?”
“Flirt? Not sure I know what that means.”
“Flirting, ugh. That’s when someone, how the heck do I describe this? OK, when someone makes comments, of a sexual nature, but in a playful manner…, but not…well, yes, it’s sexual, but not overly sexual, more like, under the radar sexual….. ”
“Yes, I was flirting.” Andes started laughing. “I do know what flirting is Clarke.”
“What? Oh ok, thanks for making me sound like an idiot.”
“It was quite funny. Your little brows got all scrunchy, such a determined look on your face.”
“I don’t like you right now.”
Andes took her canteen and splashed a little water on Clarke. She gave Clarke her best puppy dog eyes.
“Oh, does that usually work. Flashing the eyes, flashing the smile. You’re probably used to getting anybody you want, aren’t you?”
“Usually.”
Clarke suddenly felt out of her league and wanted to change the subject, “So, if you live alone, how did you become such a great warrior?”
“Great warrior? Oh, no. I’m a better lover than fighter,” she said with a wicked grin, might as well keep flirting, this girl was flirt worthy.
Clarke smiled at that, “Well, shit, you took out ten warriors in less than five minutes, you must be fantastic in bed then.”
That got a big laugh out of Andes.
“So they tell me Clarke, so they tell me and it was eleven, but who’s counting.” She did not lack for confidence.
“Seriously, I never saw anybody fight like you did back there. How did you do it? You had three men coming at you, and you made it look so easy.”
Andes rubbed behind her neck absently.
“Well, it’s hard to describe. The only thing I can say is, that I seem to know what they’re going to do before they do it. It’s like my mind is analyzing the situation, figuring out the probabilities, letting me anticipate their actions. I know I’m probably not describing it very well. It’s something I’ve always been able to do, ever since I can remember. And it’s just not people, when I’m hunting, the same thing. I can anticipate which way the animal is going to move.”
“So, you guess?”
“No, it doesn’t feel like guessing, it feels like I’m seeing into the future for a few seconds. And what I see, in my mind’s eye, is always what happens. I know, it’s really strange and you probably now think I’m crazy. You’re on a long trek with a crazy person.”
“Sounds amazing actually, impressive. Although if you told me without me seeing it, I would think you were crazy, and I would probably kill you in your sleep, when your mind’s eye was sleeping, and run away.” They both started laughing. Clarke looked at Andes thoughtfully, “ok, I’m thinking of a number, between 1 and 10.”
“Why are you thinking of a number?”
“I want to see if your mind’s eye can figure out what’s in my head.”
“I’m not a mind reader, for god’s sake.”
“So, you can anticipate moves, but not read minds? Well, maybe it’s not as impressive as I thought.” Clarke said kiddingly, and got up to make her bed for night.
“Seven.”
Clarke stopped what she was doing and turned around with an incredulous look on her face, “What did you say?”
“Seven.” Andes looked at Clarke and started laughing all over again, “Wait, was that it?”
Clarke walked over to Andes and put her in a playful headlock, “oh my god, are you reading my fucking mind? Have you been inside my head the whole time?”
Andes was rolling now, “No, I swear I can’t read minds, I just totally guessed at that.” She was grabbing Clarkes arm, trying to pull it off, but not trying too hard.
“Are you sure?” Clarke asked, still holding Andes.
“I’m sure, I swear, I’m sure.”
Clarke let go, “you’re a jackass, cute, but a jackass just the same.” Clarke wasn’t serious, she was just having fun, she had no idea why she felt the need to touch the girl though, but she did. The girl was having a weird affect on her, must be all the flirting. When was the last time someone flirted with her this much, maybe Finn?
“Damn Clarke, you’re stronger than you look, “ Andes said, rubbing her throat.
“Oh please, now I know you’re lying.”
Andes was fun. She still found that hard to believe, a grounder who was fun. Who knew? But something was different about her, very ungrounder like. It was her speech pattern, her words, the way she phrased things. More old world, Clarke’s world, then this new world. She certainly was mysterious.
“I’ve never met a grounder like you. You’re kinda fun, it just blows my mind.”
“Well, I already told you I’m not like every grounder. Life can suck down here. Did I use that right?” Clarke smiled and nodded. “I could be dead tomorrow. So why not enjoy every minute of what life has to offer?”
“Very philosophical.” Clarke said and thought that was a good way to live your life, and wished she were as unburdened as Andes. They were both sleepy after their meal. There was still daylight, so they thought they could take a little nap. “I’m going to shut my eyes for a few minutes, and I’m going to dream of a bath.” Clarke said.
“I’m going to dream of a bath for you too.”
Clarke threw a stick at her. “Hey, I thought you were going to share your pillow there.”
“I said I would share if you behaved yourself, putting me into a headlock is not behaving.”
“I promise I’ll behave tomorrow.”
Andes looked at her, Clarke said she was cute, so she certainly wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to lay close to her. “Ok, if you promise.”
Clarke held up two crossed fingers, “I swear.” Andes nodded, and Clarke moved over next to her, not touching, and rested her head on Jaks. “Much better. If you’d packed pillows, this wouldn’t be an issue.”
Andes turned and smiled at Clarke, “I’ll remember for next time.” And Clarke once again thought what a beautiful smile it was.