"I don't want to."
"You have to. You can't walk, and Mula doesn't like to go into the cities."
"Why do we have to go in there anyway?"
"We can't get all our supplies in the forest."
Raava pouted as Wan lifted her onto his back. It had been two days since he found her in human form. She still could not change back. "Why can't I just stay with Mula?" she asked.
"Think about it. Jaya and his group hated spirits," he stated. "What if there are more of them out there?"
"What does it matter? I'm in human form." She put her chin on his shoulder. He looked at her sideways.
"Those markings on your head can give you away if they look close enough." She took a hand from around him to pull the hood down a little farther over her head. She wondered if that was why he gave it to her.
"So basically, everywhere we go you are going to carry me." It wasn't a question, so he didn't answer. Just smiled. She poked him in the back of the head. "Then teach me how to walk."
"Ok. Let's see." Raava was sitting on Mula's back.
"What is there to see?" she asked Wan as he paced in front of her. He stopped and shrugged.
"I don't know how to teach someone to walk," he admitted. Raava rolled her eyes and scooted off of Mula. Wan watched as her feet met the earth, and for a moment, she was standing. Then, he blinked. There she was crumpled on the ground.
"Forget walking!" she yelled. "How do I do that?" She pointed at his legs.
"Really?" He stretched his hands out to her. "I thought you would have at least been able to stand." She grabbed his arms and tried to pull herself up, but she had no idea how to do anything with her legs- even wiggle her toes. "Here." Wan pulled this time; her arms straightened as she was lifted up from the rock beneath her. Wan was tall enough that when her face was at the same height as his, her feet couldn't touch the ground.
"What are you doing?" she scowled.
"You're so small!" he laughed. She started to pull on her arms.
"Put me down!" With one last giggle, Wan slowly lowered her until her feet were flat on the ground. "I'm doing it." She grinned, looking down at her feet. Her white dress caught in the breeze and shifted. Wan loosened his grip a little to see if she could stand by herself, but her knees bent automatically. She cried out. Wan let her down all the way so she was sitting again.
"Maybe we should start off simpler," he suggested.
"Like what?" she muttered. She looked up at him. He sat down next to her.
"Can you move your feet?" She shook her head. "Let's start with that then. Try to move your toes."
"You mean those extensions on the ends?" Raava asked. He nodded and maneuvered her body so her legs were straight in front of her and her arms supported her in the back. She stared at her toes in hard concentration. "How?"
"I don't know. Try to think about moving them."
"Because I'm not already doing that," she replied with sarcasm. She waited a few moments. "Did I do it right?"
"Do what?" Wan asked.
"Did I do the sarcasm correctly?"
He laughed. "Yes, you used it correctly."
"Yes!" Raava clapped her hands but made sure she did not move otherwise. Wan observe their work. A week had passed, and she could put enough strength into her legs to hold herself up now. "I can do the stand!"
"You can stand," Wan corrected.
"I can stand," she repeated.
"You want to try to walk now?"
"Not really."