the rustling of leaves broke the tense silence of the forest.

two grounder guards, clad in scavenged armor and armed with spears, exchanged wary glances.

*they were patrolling the perimeter of the commander's camp, a routine task that rarely yielded anything more than the occasional stray animal.

"did you hear that?" one of them, lincoln, whispered, his hand tightening around his spear.

"just the wind," his companion, a grizzled veteran named ares, grunted dismissively. "stay sharp, lincoln. heda expects vigilance."

but roan remained unconvinced. the rustling persisted, growing louder, closer.

then, with a sudden crash, a figure tumbled from the trees, landing heavily on the forest floor.

it was a girl, clad in simple, travel-worn clothes.

her face was pale and streaked with dirt, and her arm was clutched tightly to her side, blood seeping between her fingers.

"help me," she gasped, her voice weak and trembling. "please… i'm lost… and i've been attacked."

ares and lincoln cautiously approached, their spears still raised..

"who are you?" ares demanded, his voice gruff. "and what are you doing in our territory?"

"my name is y/n," she said, her eyes wide with fear.*

"i was traveling through the forest when… when an animal attacked me. i managed to escape, but i got lost. i've been wandering for days."

lincoln lowered his spear slightly, his expression softening. "an animal? what kind of animal?"

"i… i don't know," y/n stammered. "it was big… and fast… with sharp claws. it tore my arm."

ares examined her wound, his brow furrowing. it was a deep gash, but it didn't appear to be life-threatening.

"she's telling the truth," he said to lincoln. "she's injured."

"we can't just leave her here," lincoln said, his gaze fixed on y/n's pale face. "she'll die."

ares hesitated. they were under strict orders to report any any outsiders, but he couldn't deny the girl's desperate plea.

”alright," he relented. "we'll take her back to camp. but she'll be questioned. heda will decide what to do with her."

”lincoln helped y/n to her feet, supporting her as they made their way through the forest. she winced with every step, her face contorted in pain.

as they approached the camp, the grounders emerged from their tents, their eyes fixed on the approaching group.

whispers rippled through the crowd as they took in y/n's appearance.

ares led her to the medical tent, where a healer examined her wound.

after cleaning and bandaging it, the healer declared that she would recover, but she would need rest.

ares then led y/n to a small, empty tent and told her to stay there until heda summoned her. y/n nodded meekly, her eyes downcast.

as ares left the tent, y/n allowed herself a small, almost imperceptible smile. everything was going according to plan.

she had successfully infiltrated the commander's camp. now, all she had to do was wait for her opportunity to get close to the commander and begin her mission.

later that day, a messenger arrived at y/n's tent. "heda summons you," he said, his voice curt.