Chapter Text
He's imploding inwards on himself.
He feels utterly lost, like a baby, naked and exposed, in the middle of a desert. He feels angry. He was shunned from the world of magic to protect his family, his mother had always said. But when he can't even protect his family, what good was there from shielding him to magic? He could've protected them more if he understood.
And now, kneeling in the expanse of Clarke's arms, he can't help but feel robbed. With the knowledge of shapeshifters and supposed magic in his blood, he can't help but wonder if things could have been different. Could he have avoided killing the wolf if he knew what it was? Could he have saved his sister if he knew how to use the magic in his blood?
Since the day Octavia was taken from him, he has felt a resounding emptiness, a displacement from the world. He felt like he was stuck in between both worlds without permission to live in either.
And yet--
Forests are lush with raw magic, the plants and trees natural conduits for the supernatural. And now, the trees seem to know the sins he carries. Their industrious height which once comforted him now seem to cage him in, taking the sky and sealing him into cavern of their bosom. The rivers which once guided him now seem to roar angrily, vengeful. The moss hides from him.
His mother. Octavia. Dax.
He's standing on a pile of graves, a breath away from becoming one himself. He knows the forest can feel it. He's been a stranger fumbling around the world of magic for decades, his footsteps leaving carnage in their wake. Whatever he touches, he kills.
The forest is no longer his ally, it sees the truth. It is dealing judgement.
Suddenly, Clarke screams as vines descend upon them from the cavern of trees, snapping him out of his despair. It's like the world sharpens, cutting through the panic in his mind, as he watches the vines wrap themselves around her body and yank upwards. A scream rips from her throat as she's throttled through the air, upside-down.
"Clarke!" He screams, his voice raw from crying. He scrambles up to run towards her but another vine wraps around his middle. A scream tears from his throat and he's suspended upside down. He can feel his blood crashing violently in his body like water in a jug as the vines shake them violently.
"Clarke, can you grab onto something?" He manages to shout as he desperately tries to find purchase on anything. He can't see her, he's too tangled into the mesh of vines which seem to be tightening their grip. The vines dig uncomfortably into his belly, and he's like he's about to pop like a blueberry in their grasp.
Clarke groans, "No, but let me try something--" she cuts off. He hears her grunt and groan before he feels a weight slam into his suspended body. Something wraps around his midsection tightly on top of the vines.
"I didn't mean me!" He grunts.
He feels Clarke huff against the back of his neck, "Well, you're better than nothing!" To prove her point, she wiggles a bit before locking her knees around his legs, clinging to him.
"Thanks," he deadpans. But Clarke attaching herself to him has done little to improve their situation. The vines are still tightening their grip as they hang them from their ankles and stomachs, and he has no idea how he'll get them down from this height.
And then suddenly, the vines snap back, violently racing back into the trees, and he and Clarke hurtle to the ground. He curses and twists around, wrapping his arms around Clarke in the vain hopes of breaking her fall.
When they land, he sees stars as pain explodes across his back like a thousand whippings. Clarke's weight slams onto his a microsecond after his back hits the ground, pushing his guts into the ground. He lets out a strangled cry as white spots begin to circle his vision.
"Shit! Sorry!" Clarke scrambles off of him, elbowing him in the gut as she does. He just groans some more.
Suddenly, he sees a brown-skinned girl with a red cloak and a cane glaring down at them. "Which one of you idiots messed with the forest magic?"
Clarke glares at her. "Who the hell are you?"
The girl looks unimpressed, "The witch who saved your ass. Who the hell are you?"
Bellamy manages to sit himself up, leaning his weight on his elbows, although the world seems to shake as he raises himself. He may need to keep his eyes closed for a little bit.
"We don't mean any trouble," he says.
The girl snorts, "You pissed off the trees. I've never seen them react so badly to anyone. You're definitely trouble."
Clarke squints at her. "How do you know we pissed them off?" she demands.
The girl looks at them strangely. "Well, I certainly didn't piss them off. I know how to stay off the tree's bad side," she snarks. "So, I'll ask again: who are you?"
Clarke scrambles for an answer. "We're just traveling across the land to meet his sister," she lies. It's close enough to the truth that Clarke doesn't stutter over it.
The girl raises an eyebrow. "Where's the sister?" she asks.
Clarke shrugs, "Tondisi."
The girl's body stiffens at the mention of the town. "You're headed to Tondisi?" she breathes, her hand coming up to finger a chain around her neck. Bellamy notices that the chain has a wood carving of a raven attached to the middle.
Bellamy nods. "Yes."
The girl bites her lip, fiddling with her necklace, looking troubled. Bellamy glances at Clarke who shrugs helplessly at him. They could run but if the witch was powerful enough to handle the vines, she's probably strong enough to stop them from running away. They just have to hope she's friendly.
She seems to make up her mind in the next moment because her hand drops to her side to form a first. She nods and fixes them with cold glare. She walks over to them and crouches, grabbing them both by the collars of their shirts. "Listen, I got you out of the trees so you owe me. My boyfriend was arrested last year for something he didn't do. I want you to get him out," she demands.
Clarke pushes the girl's hand away from her incredulous, "You want us to break someone out of prison? We could get arrested!"
The girl snorts, “Then don’t caught.” She turns to looks at Bellamy, her deep brown eyes boring into his. He gulps, he feels like she can see every crevice of his soul. "Besides, he has enough magic to get you in and out safely."
Bellamy frowns. "I don't know how to use magic," he admits.
The girl scoffs. "The trees don't react to just anything. They were probably reacting to your magic, it's all twisted and dark," she explains.
Bellamy furrows his eyebrows. "What do you mean it's twisted and dark?"
Raven looks at him, shocked, "Did no one teach you anything about magic?" Bellamy thinks back to hiding in the cupboard once Octavia was born, the closest he could get to magic being the small keyhole in the cupboard.
Bellamy shakes his head. "No, no one taught me about magic."
The girl swears, "Well, that's not helpful. An untrained warlock is dangerous." She thinks for a moment before sighing. "I guess you'll have to do regardless," she murmurs.
Clarke huffs, shuffling closer to Bellamy. "Why can't you break him out of jail?" she argues
The girl glares at Clarke. "I'm bound to this forest as its guardian. I can't leave," she explains. Clarke and Bellamy deflate. The girl just stands up, dusting her hands off on her trousers. "Let me make this clear, you're my best bet at getting Finn out of jail. Bring him back here otherwise I'll make sure you spend the rest of your lives as toads," she orders. With that, she begins to walk away, leaving Clarke and Bellamy shellshocked.
She wouldn't actually turn them into toads, would she?
Clarke asks as much, her face pale at the notion. Bellamy grinds his teeth, annoyed. They keep stumbling across obstacles and diversions from their journey to Octavia. The swamp witch is just another detour. But when he remembers her threat, he deflates.
He rubs a hand across his face, perturbed. "I don't know but I do know that if she does, I'm not sure I'll be able to reverse it."
Clarke groans, "We're breaking her boyfriend out of jail, aren't we?" She falls back on the grass with a thud, covering her eyes with her arm, her golden hair spread out behind her like a halo.
Even though he's heartbroken, angry, and annoyed, even though he's confused about his supposed magic, desperate to save Octavia, and drowning in guilt from the bodies he's left behind, he can't help but smile at the sight. She's beautiful.
He's glad she's here with him.
"I guess we are," he agrees quietly. One detour and then they'll go back to finding Octavia. Just one stop.
Just then, a thought occurs to Bellamy, and he swears. He turns around. “Wait!" Bellamy calls out. The girl pauses and looks over her shoulder at them.
"What's your name?" he asks.
The girl looks at him, and she looks morose. "Raven. My name is Raven Reyes."
She then turns back around and disappears into the forests. Bellamy looks at Clarke who sighs. Apparently, they're going to break someone out of prison.