[In response, she leans back. It occurs to her that this may be too much to combat in one instance. Lexa had tried with Clarke after Finn died. Her efforts there were less successful for a different reason: the reason being that they proved too successful. Clarke had stifled all of her emotions so that she could do monstrous things in the Mountain after Lexa abandoned her, and only Lexa could see the error of her ways. The privacy of their conversations had granted her that, and she knows it's not her place to explain what Clarke had gone through.

But she does strive to do better this time. There is still the gnawing in her mind that his emotions are only hurting him, preventing him from being who Clarke believes him to be, but she ignores that. He may sense it, may know that she's obscuring that perspective, because while it's how she copes and survives, she knows better than to push that on others. (Besides, she had begun to balance out that notion herself before she came here.)]

Our people handle these matters differently. I know I'll never fully understand where you come from on this. What we view as strength make most of Skaikru struggle. It's surprising that Octavia has done so well under Indra's training.

[It's one way of saying what she's thinking without saying it. It hints to Clarke and it hints to how she may be the worst for this particular conversation.

But if she means for him to live, he has to do it without finding some means to harm himself with his thoughts.]