JUNE EVENT: CAMP

[sailmods]

early on June 10th, Friday's morning announcements end with a request for everyone going on the latest excursion to meet her in the atrium. she seems in noticeably better spirits than she had been last time, and she leads them cheerfully to the tender. once they are all aboard, and the door is securely shut, the interior fills with gas, and, perhaps, their last thought before they slip into unconsciousness is "oh shit, not again."

passengers wake up on a rickety old school bus, driving down a dirt road surrounded by woods. what is it that they notice first? that, no matter what they were wearing before, they are now wearing a camp t-shirt and legitimately horrifyingly short shorts? the overstuffed backpack between their knees? the words "take one down and pass it around" dying on their lips? the fact that Friday is absolutely driving the bus?

or, maybe the fact that it's already slowing down, pulling up in front of a massive wooden sign, saying:

 

 

 

 

 

CAMP AION

when they get out of the bus, Friday is the one to divide them up into their cabin groups, and she is the one to give the counselors their very official-looking clipboards and whistles. she explains that they are in charge, and that she will be back to pick them up in a week, and... very little else. she responds to nothing outside of whatever is on her unseen little script, and she gets back on the bus shortly after, leaving them there.

welcome to camp. let's make some summer memories!

Comments

[skaikru]

...yeah, that's the jist of it.

( turns out season 4 is easy to summarize in just a few words.

she doesn't need to tell him about how they'd tried to make the remnants of the ark into a bunker first, and she'd consigned half the seats aboard it over to the ice nation and roan in order to save bellamy blake's life — the precedent has already been set that she'd kill her own people for him. there's no romantic tryst that inevitably ends in heartbreak this season, only the venom her own friends spat in her face every time she makes a hard choice. who are you? when have you become this person?

you're not god, clarke. you don't get to decide who lives or dies.

alright wanheda, savior of us all — it's too bad you weren't a real nightblood because then you could have been commander, imagine how many people could you have killed then?

you're the one going too far and using the same justification, "it's all for my people".

one day they'll thank you for what you're doing here.

i bear it so they don't have to.

ai gonplei ste odon.

...sorry, what was the original tangent before she just fell into a record playing of formative quotes? anyway, past a certain point, the painful memories fold over on themselves and just yield numbness. they're just memories, and there's one point she needs to hit on to bring this entire conversation back to it's beginning. )

There was a fight over the bunker. ( because of course there was. ) A conclave between the clans, and Octavia won. She decreed we were no longer separate peoples, but Wonkru. And so a mix of all surviving grounders and sky people made up the 1,100-plus who filed in with the wall of fire on their heels. But Raven was still out there, so. I couldn't stay. We couldn't stay — Bellamy, Emori, Harper, Murphy, Monty, Echo and I. But there was no way to get back to the bunker after we got her. So, space was the only option.

( and she does some quick math, seeking a more accurate count. )

It was closer to 1,200 in the bunker. And seven in space. They were the only survivors after Praimfaya. And they were all, each and every one of them, my people by the end.

[neverleave]

[A conclave. So another battle royale? Win, and survive a deathwave? Better incentive than a crab, at least...

This is how they all became her people - with fight after fight, survivors dragging themselves from under their loved ones' bodies until they had to unite because the enemy was no loner another person.

It sucks. Natsuno hardly defines himself as a particularly good person, and hearing her story - he still prefers his own way, of not allowing yourself to feel regret for doing everything for a precious few (always few, never hundreds) while the rest burn.]

...thanks. For telling me.

I don't know how many will be your people here, but. You don't have to stay behind this time.

[Maybe he's selfish. But he doesn't want Clarke to keep tormenting herself over choices and then sacrifice herself for everyone else's survival.]

[skaikru]

( oh, so he listens but doesn't seem to quite... get it. )

No, they are all my people.

( it's not like signing up for stede bonnet's crew, even those who don't ask to be cared about are inevitably swept under the umbrella of people clarke feels obligated to save. the headachingly optimistic newcomers, the lazy pool loungers, the idiots, even the psychopaths to some degree. is there still a line there? absolutely, the same line she'd drawn between bellamy's life and the 250 people in tondc who hadn't expected a bomb to drop on them in the middle of the night. there will always be those who are more important to her than the rest — like natsuno, like mizuki, like darcy and diana and venti and rita and jade now apparently. )

Just because I don't think this has a happy ending doesn't mean I'm not ready to do any and everything I can in order to save them.

( that includes pulling any sort of lever again. that includes killing, even if that's lost it's importance in the face of the regeneration aspecthere. that absolutely includes being left behind. )

[neverleave]

Okay.

[Natsuno doesn't share the sentiment, but it's her choice.]

Just remember you're not alone in this.

[He only feels obligated to precious few, but Clarke is first and foremost. If the unimportant masses need to be saved along the way, so be it. If she needs to pull a lever, he'll break the door down and remove everyone out of her way.

And if she wants to stay behind, he will absolutely stay with her until somehow, she survives.]

[skaikru]

( what a boon it is, to not be alone during what very much feels like the end of the world all over again. to actually crack open her tightly reserved jaw and spill (almost) every deep, dark cloying truth and for once, not be met with vitriol and disgust. in this exact moment, shrouded in darkness and side by side with a friend, camp doesn't feel so bad. )

...yeah. I know.

( this feels like another new level of friendship unlocked. she'd really like nothing better than to take his hand for a moment and just squeeze. for a brief moment her fingers twitch tellingly, but ultimately clarke just sighs. when she finally pries her knees from her chest and lays back down on the cabin rooftop, it's with a quiet sort of acceptance. yeah, she knows she's not alone in this and for him, she'd actively try to do better. )

Thanks, Natsuno.

( silence wins for a beat. the faux sun is still several hours off from rising, and there's no ambient insect activity. just unnerving quiet, maybe a hint of wind. clarke almost thinks she can hear her own pulse, and the breathing of any sleeping cabin occupants below them. )

What about you?

( feel like talking? i'll listen. )

[neverleave]

[What about him? Natsuno's silent for a while, staring at the dark lake and debating whether he should say anything. He spoke with Lumine earlier, seeking her immortal perspective on things, but couldn't reach a satisfying conclusion. Maybe Clarke's perspective - very mortal, and yet wider than his - will help.]

I've been thinking... our way out of this is probably to take the captain down with us, and I'm fine with that.

[He truly is. That hasn't changed. But he started thinking about the way.]

But. Do you think it's okay to use this time to figure other things out? About what I am, and what it really means for me.

[skaikru]

( clarke blinks a little in surprise at that. but her answer is relatively immediate, no hesitation — )

Of course it is.

( not the same measure of grace she extends to the likes of stede bonnet, who seems content to fluster over interpersonal relationships, his own ghosts, and the sorry excuse for a crew he's gathered together and claims to care for. it's different when a self discovery is just a side quest, something to chew over when new ideas on how to get out of here are few and far between. there's admtitedly more downtime than clarke's accustomed to, despite the constant needling fear that something new and horrible is just around the coroner. and if she'd any questions about herself and what she might be capable of doing, she'd be asking them too. )

I'm...sorry. I didn't know you still had questions about it.

( the downfall of stoicism and deadpan, others just sorta assume you know what you're talking about. )

[neverleave]

I didn't, until recently.

[He was a monster, he was dead and the Serena Eterna was nothing more than an unwanted delay along the way. Fuel his spite until this pocket dimension is no more, then stop existing like he was supposed to.]

But I guess... [A pause. When he speaks again, his tone is lower.] realizing just how many different realties and people are out there gives another perspective. [Natsuno scowls, sounding downright grumpy now, like he's admitting something he shouldn't.] And I don't know if I should keep thinking about it, because I don't want to get distracted. Or comfortable.

[skaikru]

( wow, she didn't know it was possible for him to ever sound more grumpy than his given baseline, yet here that is. )

You really think it's possible to get distracted from all of this?

( yes, camp is boring. but they both know even if this entire venture ends in little to no bloodshed, there was always more coming. interpersonal frustrations are mounting, enemies emerging, and each new person who arrives here throws a wrench into already grinding gears.

as for comfortable — has he ever been comfortable? )

...I wouldn't worry about that last point. The Captain won't let that happen.

( unacknowledged, the deeper implication is: i won't let that happen either. for as long as he'll have her, clarke will be at his doorstep, dumping newfound mysteries and theories before dashing off to put them to the test. and she's come to trust that he'll follow her into the mouth of hell and back with very little discussion. )

[neverleave]

Guess not.

[It's tempting to just leave it at that, but after another pause, he admits:]

I meant comfortable with what I am. [He won't deny some it has been useful, even invaluable here, but it's didn't end with having a better nose or healing from damage. He could do so much worse.] Back home, the shiki acted like it's obvious I'd be like them once I turned. But now I'm here, and - I don't know. Should I pick and choose which part of it I'm willing to accept?

[skaikru]

I don't... ( have any real answer for that.

her own changes in biology and physiology don't hold a candle to his, but what it all mainly boils down to was choice, right? guilt ridden and scared of the impending deathwave, and wearing the noose of responsibility tightly around her own throat, clarke'd had the option to inject emori and hope for the best. but had chosen to turn the needle to the crook of her own arm. )

I can't answer that for you. I don't know if there is a good answer for it at all. But... I think there could be a lot of peace in acceptance. ( she's a filthy hypocrite but the advice is sound. ) There's no way to go back, is there? You can't be a human again, I'd guess.

But knowing the full scope of what you are doesn't dictate who you become. That's entirely up to you, and all the other shiki can choke on their expectations.

[neverleave]

No, there's no going back. [No way to be human again, no way to delete everything that's happened.] ...I'll think about what you said.

[Other people here have been telling him that, and though they don't know the full story, he respects their opinion. Especially Clarke's.

(It's totally rational, of course, not like it makes him feel better, because emotions and unrelaiable and gross)]

[skaikru]

...I'm sorry. That I can't give you a clearer direction.

( but while he's learnt over the course of their friendship just how utterly reckless and stupidly self sacrificial clarke can be, she's been learning just how stubborn and willful natsuno can be. unlike mizuki, he's not the sort she wants to tell exactly what to do. whatever he path he follows is going to have to be one he chooses for himself, and she'd just tag along for the walk. )

But whatever you pick, if there's a way for me to help you with it, I will. In every single way I can.

( different worlds, different struggles, different specifies — whatever stands in the way of total understanding, he's not alone in this either. )