GOGGLES.

the new year celebration was the first chance korsika had to personally meet any of the sky people and she would openly admit they were a strange breed indeed. and the young man sprawled out on the forest floor seemed to be a testament to that. she’d been watching him for sometime and come to the conclusion early on that he wasn’t dead, just asleep. the rhythmic rising and falling of his chest was proof of this. korsika crouched beside him, observing all she could—what he wore, the way he was built, the weapon he carried, or perhaps lack there of. but she couldn’t be sure of such a thing without a proper search.

when his eyes finally opened, the fearful reaction was more or less expected, but the severity of it raised questions even for her. it was clear that he’d screamed, but the sound was lost on her. as was every other sound that surrounded them. she studied him carefully, watching the way his mouth moved over the words carefully, picking out every one she could. kori leaned backwards on her heels and sat unmoving for a moment. it seemed she’d stumbled upon a sky person who enjoyed the drink a bit too much. or maybe it was something else as she couldn’t smell the alcohol on him, often an obvious tell.

korsika finally rose to her feet and made a fast motion with her left hand, as though it was talking before bringing it to her ear and shaking her head slowly. her dark gaze shifted to the surrounding area for a brief moment, already aware that he was alone out here, the real question was why? she lifted a finger and pointed to the forest around them and then finally directly at him, her lips forming one soundless word.  ❝ why? ❞ 

𝐉𝐀𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐓 𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐀𝐒 he watches the other.    confusion flashes across his face as the grounder rises to her feet and makes that motion with her hand,   and it takes a moment before recognition follows on his features.   understanding.    her wordless question seems to solidify the fact that she can’t hear him,    but jasper doesn’t underestimate her.   no;   instead,   the delinquent swallows thickly,   continues watching her every move,   and tries desperately to control his breathing...    all while nursing that terrible,   head-splitting ache in his forehead.

“ i,   uh-- ”   think,   jasper,   think.    it’s not so easy when he basically poisoned himself with drugs last night.    “ why? ”    right.    what is she even asking?    jasper glances around to any indication as to what she might mean and clears his throat,   but he comes up empty.   looking back at her,   jasper asks,    “ why...   what? ”    jasper tilts his head back a little as he observes the other,   and then—

𝐈𝐓'𝐒  𝐍𝐎𝐓  𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐄  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐖𝐀𝐘  𝐒𝐇𝐄  𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐀𝐍𝐒  𝐀𝐓  𝐇𝐈𝐒  𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐒  nor  when  she  visibly  rolls  her  eyes  at  the  mourning  man  but  bree  doesn’t  care  enough  to  apologise  for  it .     anyway ,   it’s  his  fault  for  bringing  the  mood  down  even  more  when  i’m  trying  to  help ,   she  thinks .     “  best  stuff’s  reserved  for  like  bad  injuries ,   i  don’t  think  they’ll  give  us  that  for  a  headache  or  bruised  muscles …  ”   she  fake  ponders  for  a  second  before  putting  on  a  gasp ,   turning  back  to  jasper  like  she  had  an  idea .     “  they’d  give  us  morphine  or  something  if  we ,  like ,   broke  a  bone  or  something .     mangle  it  good ,   what  do  you  think  ?  ”

-

𝐉𝐀𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐘 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒𝐍’𝐓 cater to his grief.    jasper doesn’t need to be fixed like some sort of engineering project:   his grief exists because of the people around him,   minus the one who ran like a coward from what she’d done,    and he’s going to voice it.    if he doesn’t,   who will?    he will not let the innocents inside of that mountain go forgotten,    but that doesn’t mean he needs to be babysat all the time.    told to do better.    told to grow up and get on with it and behave.    that is not jasper,   and that’s not what he’s going to do.

Raven understood better than most what Jasper was going through, why he was mourning and struggling with life right now. She had lost Finn and she went through a very dark path back then because of it. Although, with her friends’ help, she managed to overcome it and went through mourning him in a healthy way. That was something Jasper wasn’t doing and Raven wanted to help him see it. “You can totally make your own decisions, but I can’t watch my friend go through a path of self destruction. Do you think Maya would’ve wanted that?” She paused. “I know it’s hard and I know it feels like ther’s nothing else out there worth living for, but that’s wrong. The best way to celebrate those who are gone is by living and making sure you make them proud, wherever they are.” Raven placed the bottle on the ground next to her, before looking up at Jasper. “You are … but you’re acting like a little kid right now.” 

-

𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐉𝐀𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐑’𝐒 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃 as raven asks that one particular question:   do you think maya would’ve wanted that?    never mind the fact that he’s not entirely sober,    but that question pushes him over the edge,   so much so that he doesn’t even hear the next few sentences raven speaks for the anger coursing through his brain.    his words tumble out before he can even stop them:    “ do you think maya wanted to be burnt alive by the very people she tried to help? ”

“  𝐖𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊… 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊… 𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐄.  ”  she begins walking backwards slowly, further out into the forest and away from the wall.  it doesn’t really matter what they do, so long as jasper is outside the camp.  “  we can start small.  ”  looking over her shoulder to check where she’s going, she stops by a tree and turns her gaze back to him.  

“  just walk  ” —she pats the trunk beside her—  “  to this tree and back.  ”  she hopes he will do it: he won’t want to but he needs to. 

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐇𝐈𝐌,   the faster jasper jordan’s heart begins to beat.    he steps forwards a little as if to reach for her,   to pull her back,   and it’s a subconscious movement he doesn’t even realise he’s making.   his feet suddenly stop when his conscious mind takes over again,   or rather,  when fear sets in.   his mixed emotions are evident in his features as his lips part as if to call for her to stop,   but the words never leave his mouth.

Time: present Location : Arkadia  Closed for Jasper Jordan  @mountainscarred​​

“Jasper!” 

  With everyone about to leave soon for Polis. Harper wanted to check on him, to see if he would be tagging along but mostly to see how he was doing. Monty had mention something, that Jasper seemed off? Harper being so busy with prepping for the trip and shadowing the Chief that she scarcely had time to sleep let alone check in on Jasper.  After Mount Weather, she been distant. But that was more her trying to work through her own feelings about the situation. Worried and scared, she had to claw out of a dark place. And there were many days that she still was, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t help her friends. And no matter what, Jasper was her friend. A smile brighten her features, as she slowed. Falling into step with Jasper, as she gave him a playful push on his shoulder.  “I was wondering if I’d see you.” she chirped , jogging a little faster as she began to walk backwards in front of him.

 “ Are you coming to Polis? Chief Miller said we could do with some more hands, if you’re up for it? Get to see how the other half lives.” she waited for a response but when she got nothing she waved a hand in front of him. “ Hello, anyone in there?” 

𝐉𝐀𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐒 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐀 𝐌𝐔𝐑𝐌𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐔𝐌 as harper shoves him playfully,   the smallest,  weakest smile tilting his lips upwards before it vanishes.   he’d been staring at nothing but a spot on the ground and it took a while for him to come out of it.   luckily for harper,   jasper doesn’t hate her the same way he hates monty right now,   so his attitude towards her is mostly positive.   “ congrats!   you found me. ”

𝐍𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐒𝐄𝐓 regarding self-preservation might have changed,   jasper’s instinct when he wakes up in the middle of the woods with a grounder staring over him is still to scream...    which is exactly what he does.   jasper surely alerts half the forest to his presence as he notices the other,   and as he scrambles backwards,   his head hammers with pain in response to the drugs he took last night.   how did he get outside of arkadia?    how does he even get home?    if only he knew just how far he’d wandered...    “ shit, ”   jasper hisses,   his hand flying up to cover his eyes with a groan.    oh,    it’s bright.    “ crap,   okay,   just...    just give me a moment.    god,   what’s wrong with the S U N! ”   he exclaims,   hand flying away from his face in irritation.

“ 𝐈  𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄  𝐈  𝐃𝐎𝐍'𝐓  𝐔𝐒𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘  𝐋𝐄𝐓  𝐇𝐈𝐌  𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏  𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄  𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 .  ”     ayla’s  hand  is  still  gently  stroking  her  son’s  back  as  he  softly  snoozes ,     cheek  firmly  smushed  against  the  soft  grass .     she’s  taken  to  bringing  shaun  out  to  the  field  beyond  arkadia’s  perimeter ,     giving  him  the  abilitity  to  roam  about  the  land  like  she’d  always  wished  she  could  as  a  child .     “  shi —   fuc —  sugar ,   damn  it .     ‘m  trying  not  to  swear  around  him .     what  i  was  trying  to  say  was  did  you  need  anything ?  ”

𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍   ﹕     arkadia 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐃  ﹕     present 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆  ﹕     open to all

“ 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 ,  𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 ,  𝐒𝐎  𝐆𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐌𝐘  𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓  𝐍𝐎𝐖 ,    you  want  me  to  score  us  some  uppers  or  something ?  ”     the  blonde’s  tone  is  bored  as  she  feigns  concern .     is  it  even  concern  or  just  bad  influence ?     “  i  used  to  be  so  good  at  conning  them  down  in  ‘med ,     not  sure  if  they  caught  on  but  if  i  can’t  get  it  from  their  stash  then  i  know  some  people  who  owe  me .”

𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍   ﹕     arkadia 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐃  ﹕     present 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆  ﹕     jasper jordan, @mountainscarred​

Raven couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the bot before taking a seat next to him. She understood his pain, the grief he was going through and she wanted to let him deal with it on his own terms. But she didn’t like where it was going anymore, how Jasper was on a path to self destruction. “I think you’ve had enough for now, my friend.” The mechanic reached for the container and took it away from him. “I don’t have a cranky look, I’m just worried about my friend.”

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐉𝐀𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐒 raven take his drink from him is because he has a small slither of respect for raven,   but he can’t help the way his gaze follows it,   fingers reaching out for it the entire time as if he might suddenly develop telekinesis.   in raven,   though,   jasper sees his own struggles in her:  just like clarke took maya from him,   clarke took finn from her.    from all of them.    when would they stop becoming expendable?    jasper doesn’t know,   and he doesn’t want to admit that that’s not entirely the case.    jasper snorts,    turning away from raven in a somewhat wobbly fashion.    “ yeah,   sure, ”   he grumbles,   taking a few steps away.   where is he going?   he doesn’t know.   

          𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐀 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐘 at being outside the camp’s walls.  the ground is so beautiful.  with no walls in sight, she could walk for hours and hours in any direction.  but for jasper’s sake she plans to stay within sight of the camp while he’s with her, she knows not to push him too far too soon.  she grabs onto a tree and swings round to face him. 

“  jasper, the jerks from camp are the only things you’ll run into this close to the wall.   ”  the grounders have yet to attack the camp, so far jasper is the only one that has been attacked by them and that was after he crossed the river.  it seems unlikely that any would be here right now to attack them immediately outside the camp.  “  i know you’re scared but you can’t stay inside camp forever.  ”