Marie's POV

I hover in the doorway, glancing in. Raven is still asleep, lying on her back with her head tilted to the side, her cheek resting against her forearm. Dark violet hair strewn across the bare skin of her arm. I enter the room quietly. It's been about a week and I've gotten everything approved, she can finally be discharged. Raven's eyes flutter behind closed lids. Her head turns towards me as she wakes. "Good morning," I whisper. She grunts in acknowledgement and props herself up. "You ready to go?" I ask.

"Go?" she questions, rubbing at her eyes. "Oh, right. Sure." She moves to stand from the bed. I put a hand on her shoulder and press her back down.

"Just because you're leaving the hospital doesn't mean you're in any fit state to walk. A nurse will be coming by soon with a change of clothes for you and some crutches, that you are going to have to use," I say.

Raven sighs, but doesn't argue. Instead she turns her head and stares out the open doorway. A minute later the nurse comes in with raven's change of clothes. I look at the girl strangely. She always seems to know before someone enters the room.

"Here you are Raven," the nurse says as she deposits the folded clothes into Raven's lap.

Raven lifts the lime green sweatshirt and winces. "I don't suppose you know where my cloak is?" she inquires.

"Your cloak? Oh sweetheart that's filthy and torn. You don't really want it back," the nurse says.

"Yes," Raven argues. "I do. And my belt and everything else too."

"Well… I suppose I can look for them, I'll be back in a moment," the nurse agrees. She hurries back out.

Raven sifts through the rest of the cloths. She lifts up a stretchy pink skirt and raises an eyebrow at me.

I laugh. "Not into dressing up are you? Its probably so you can get it on over your cast without a hassle." Raven sighs. "I'll let you get changed in peace. Just call out if you need anything," I say. I rise from the bed and leave the room.

Raven's POV

I sigh and unbutton the hospital gown before tugging on the white t-shirt and lime green sweater that, unfortunately, lacks a hood. I glare at the bright pink skirt before reluctantly pulling it on.

"Raven? You okay?" Marie calls.

"Yes," I reply.

"Can I come back in?"

"Sure." I watch her reappear in the doorway. My cloak is draped over one arm.

"The nurse brought these back," she says. She lays my cloak and belt on the bed, and leans a pair of crutches up against the bedpost. "The rest was to damaged, its already been thrown away." I glance over my belt. It's caked in mud but otherwise intact. My cloak is torn in several places and the ends are coated in a layer of mud. "We can get it repaired and you'll be able to wear it soon."

Without a word I pick it up and drape it across my shoulders. I fasten the clasp and pull my hood up, relaxing into the familiar fabric.

"Or you can wear it now. at least let me wash it and mend the tears. It'd be little more of a crude fix, but you'd have it for tomorrow," Marie offers.

"Thanks," I say, genuinely grateful for the offer. "I just want to keep it on for now. Its familiar," I admit.

"Okay," Marie nods. "Come on, let's go home," she decides, picking up the crutches and offering them to me. I accept them begrudgingly, allowing my arms to dangle over the tops and my fingers to curl around the bar. Standing, I take a cautious step with my good leg then thrust the crutches forward and let them take my weight as I take another step. I grunt and wobble. Marie grabs my shoulder to help steady me.

"Thanks," I say as I try again. I slowly make it out the door and down the hall. This would be so much easier if I could levitate. The receptionist smiles at us as we leave through the automatic hospital doors. Marie leads me to a simple brown car and opens the passenger door. it takes quite a bit of effort and a lot of support, before I manage to get seated. Marie takes the crutches and slides them into the backseat before closing my door and walking around the other side. I put my seatbelt on as Marie climbs into the driver's seat and starts the car.

As she drives, I rummage through my cloak pockets. My runes book is still tucked into the inside pocket, where it belongs and is thankfully intact. My communicator on the other hand is fried. I flip the lid of it only to have it crumble in my hand. The locator on my cloak's clasp is broken as well. "Great."

"Everything okay?"

"Fine."

"Alright. Hey, I know you probably want to get home and rest, but Megan's with my sister for the day and if you want, we could go out and get a few things. Clothes and some paint for your room maybe? It's a forest green at the moment and we can change it if you want. I know you like to read, there's a bookstore nearby. You up for it?"

"Uh," I hesitate.

"You know what, its fine. We'll go another day," Marie decides.

"No, um, actually, it sounds… nice. Thank you," I say. I can't believe she's willing to do all this for me.

Marie leans over my shoulder and I stare at the paint swab against a can of pain. "Are you sure that's the color you want?" she asks. "It's really dark. You've got a window but it won't really do much against that."

I sigh and retract my hand from its place on top of the paint can's lid, letting it fall back beneath my cloak. "You think I'm creepy," I sigh.

"No, Raven, no," she protests, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I don't. I just think you're a little different. It's a pretty shade of blue, I just think it's you won't get much light in your room if you go with it. How about this, do one wall a lighter color, so you've got some proper lighting to read by," she suggests. "Look, Raven, I just want to help you, but you have to let me in or I can't."

"I know," I sigh. "I'm just not great at talking. Especially about my past."

"I understand that. I don't need your life story, I don't even need an explanation most of the time, but I do need you to meet me half way. I told you, I don't care what your past is like; we're not in the past. But it seems like every time we take a step forward, you take two more back. I just want to help, let me," Marie begs. She wraps her arms around me and I stiffen. But for once, instead of pushing her away like I would anyone else, genuine warmth sweeps through me and I relax into her embrace.

"Okay," I agree. "I'll try."