Chapter 76

Clarke looked from Madi to Echo to Raven to Octavia, but no one was saying a thing. She cocked an eyebrow at them. No one knew what to do. Madi asked a question, but neither Echo or Octavia would answer her.

Finally, Raven sensing something was up with the name and her Fos, made a decision to say something. "It's a joke about me."

"A joke about you?" Clarke asked skeptically.

"Yeah, cause you know, I like to make things go BOOM. Ashes is what I leave behind. So I am Raven and I make ashes," Raven answered.

"Ashes? I don't think that it is very appropriate, but I don't think I can do anything about it now. But, that is not going to be your nickname, hear me?"

"I know that, Clarkey, because I already have one," Raven told her.

"Yeah, you do, 'Little Bird'," Echo replied.

Raven looked over the sword again. She was admiring the craftsmanship of it again. She flicked her thumb across the blade and it wasn't sharp. She furrowed her brow in confusion. Clarke was about to yell at her for doing something that stupid with a knife or blade when Echo chimed up.

"It isn't sharp, Little Bird. You have to sharpen it yourself," Echo told her and caught a look from Clarke. "But, before we get there, you have to learn to use it. This will be part of your therapy like I said. This will work on your arms and other muscles. In time, you'll learn to sharpen and care for the blade."

Raven just nodded along with her. It was a right of passage as a warrior. She was lucky to even beholding a sword of her own and not a hand-me-down. The bits of steel that Echo had been training her with back at the barracks were just pieces that she'd managed to salvage from the Eligius ship.

"Is this going to be like what we did back on the Go-Sci Ring?" Raven asked her.

"We'll see, Little Bird. For now, you need your rest, so rest and get better. I will be back in a few days time. Don't give Meeka or Sam any issues and maybe we'll start with something then," Echo instructed. "For now, just get used to the weight of the blade in your hands."

"Sha, ai Fos," Raven replied as she placed the blade back into the scabbard and put it by her side.

"It doesn't leave your side," Octavia told her.

"I know."

"Good," Octavia replied. "I'm going to go pack our things for the trip. Is there anything you need, Eko?"

"Just check on the cabellos," Echo told her.

Octavia nodded. She gave Raven's good knee and squeeze and left the room. Echo sat down in a chair. Madi, Clarke and Palla all looked to her to explain where they thought that they were going for a few days. She knew that were wondering what the two guards were up to, but just smiled at them.

"Explain," Clarke demanded.

"You didn't actually think that we were just going to let you go back on your own, did you?" Echo asked her.

Madi just smiled. She knew what they meant. Raven was safe and even Clarke couldn't complain about her care with Sam and Meeka. And, while Octavia and Echo were going to be their ambassadors with both the Village and the Amazons, they weren't going to deny their duties to both Wanheda en Heda.

"I know that you are more than likely going to stay with us and Palla, Klark, but Heda still needs an escort home. She cannot travel by herself and I doubt that you would let her anyway. Okteivia and I are prepping for the journey. I'm sure that you'll want to go back and check on things before we come back. I have no doubt that Palla will keep in touch with us. Raivon is safe here. Meika and Sam will be taking care of her until we return. She's not due to for any major movement therapy until we get back. I've already cleared it with Sam," Echo replied.

"And, you didn't think to clear it with me?" Clarke accused.

"You've been busy with Raven and the medical staff. Madi has been working with Palla and Elena. Besides we both know that you don't want your Mom, Bellamy, and Diyoza alone with Madi to teach her while we are here," Echo explained.

"That much is the truth," Clarke replied. "When did you want to leave?"

"In the morning, if possible. We know the route. We'll take you back to the barracks and make sure that things are going well and then we'll return," Echo explained as she studied Clarke's body language. "We'll be back and make sure that we do our jobs as ambassadors. Ai badan yu tu op en nou moun."

"Go do what you need to do. Take Madi with you. I want to speak to Raven alone," Clarke ordered.

Echo was up and out of her seat quickly. She bowed to Heda. Palla followed them out. She had things to do on her own, for the Village, for Raven, for her fosterling Lex, and to get her house ready for her guests before the Snows started. She parted ways from them as they exited the hospital.

Clarke moved around the room. Sam and Meeka had left earlier while Octavia and Echo were making the sword. Clarke looked deeply into Raven's dark eyes.

"What's wrong, Clarke?"

"I don't want to leave you here, Rae," Clarke told her, voice full of emotion.

"You aren't leaving me, Clarke. You're going back to make sure that our people survive this planet's crazy winter. I'll be fine. I'm the hospital. I'm being treated. I'm going to get better," Raven stated.

"I'll be gone until Spring, though," Clarke replied.

"And, I'll be walking by the time you're back, Clarke."

"Don't make promises that your body can't keep, Little Bird," Clarke told her with an amused smirk and a cocked eyebrow.

"I am not. I'm going to be walking. You'll see. I'll met you at the edge of the Village."

"Is that your goal?" Clarke asked her.

"One of them, yeah," Raven answered.

"And, the others?"

"Secrets," Raven said.

Clarke gave her a look but decided to let it go. She knew that Echo, Raven and Octavia were up to something that she wasn't privy to, and normally, that would make her angry. But, they didn't seem to be hurting anyone. No one was slated to be killed that she knew of, and Madi seemed to be okay with it. That gave her pause, too. Her daughter knew the secret or secrets. She shook her head. She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to believe that they were doing something behind her back. She hoped that they were working on some crazy surprise, besides Raven walking again without a limp, for their new homesteads in the woods.

Finally not being able to take the silence, Raven questioned, "Do you think that Indra has killed Bellamy yet?"

"I don't know," Clarke answered with a laugh. "But, I'm sure that he is hurting more than Octavia ever did as her sekken. She is going to either whip him in a good little warrior like Octavia and Echo, or break him in half. At this point, I am not sure which way would be the best."

"Still upset with him?"

"I'm not upset with him, really. I'm just not sure what to do with him. He betrayed me and gave Madi the Flame. He doesn't always think things through...well. He sided with Pike for Earth's sake. I am just not sure that I can trust him with a command position again," Clarke replied.

"So, he is no longer your general?"

"No, he isn't," Clarke said.

"Then, who is?"

"Echo, Octavia, Miller, Indra and Aeolus," Clarke answered.

"And Diyoza?"

"She's smart and a good planner, but she's about to be a mother. I wouldn't put her on the front lines. I'll let her train the warriors in her tactics."

"That's a good idea. She'll teach them how to make things go boom, too. Well, if she can figure out what to use here to do that," Raven started.

"I don't want to think about that for now. We're at peace and I hope that we stay that way for a good long time. But, I also am not going to be able to stop a hundred years of warriors overnight. I also understand the need for a good military. For now, we will still train a good number of the populace, but they need to understand that they need other professions if we are to survive," Clarke explained.

"They already do, Clarke. We just never gave them a reason to show it all to us. And, that isn't because we wanted to fight them. It is because we never gave them a chance, really. We were almost as bad as Mount Weather in that respect," Raven stated.

"We were never that bad," Clarke countered.

"We were and you know it. We just didn't do experiments on them. Did you forget what we did to Lincoln in order to try to save Finn? Did you forget what we did to Anya? Have you forgotten Pike? Because I haven't. We should all be dead and honestly, I don't blame them for wanting us all dead. We thought that we were superior from the moment we stepped on the ground. Well, all of us but you and Pocahontas. Both of you realized that we needed them, we needed to learn their culture and how to navigate it. We've learned from that. We're trying harder here."

"Palla didn't really give us a choice."

"But, she did," Raven stated. "We could have told her to fuck it and came down anyway, but we didn't. We did it on her terms and we still are. She's trying to learn about us and we are trying to learn about her and the peoples of Terra Nova. We are still Earthlings. They are all Terrans," Raven explained. "Except for maybe the Praha. I am beginning to think that they are some sort of mix of boogey men, Reapers and some sort of Terran Azgeda. Either way, I don't want to deal with them."

"Neither do I," Clarke replied.

"Then, go back with Madi. Help Diyoza deliver Hope and set up protection for the barracks. Keep the people close. Let those that can be spared work on our village in the lands that Palla has given us. We are now Gryfonkru, Klark. Let's make sure that we stay that way," Raven stated with a smile.

"I'm going to miss you," Clarke replied.

"I'm not going anywhere, Clarkey. I'll be in the Village or at Palla's place. We have the comms. We'll be able to talk," Raven said. "And, I know you. You'll be on the comms with Sam and Meeka to see how I'm doing almost daily. And, we both know that as soon as your mother catches wind of what's happened, she'll demand to see all their medical jargon and shit. She's gonna be mad at us both for not telling her, but she'll get over it."

"Scare of my mom?" Clarke asked her amused.

"No, I'm scared that she might relapse."

Clarke nodded. She knew what Raven meant. They made sure to hide the pain pills. But, they knew how resourceful Abby could be. She didn't take her detox well, but she survived. She hadn't show signs that she wanted more, but it only took one thing, one pill, and it would all be lost. Clarke didn't want to lose her mother, but she almost had to the pills. Everyone had tried to help and in the end, they finally got Abby back. Clarke wasn't going to let her go without a fight. She looked up at Raven and realized that her bringing up Abby was a dirty, underhanded manipulation, but it worked.

"Dirty pool, Raven. Dirty pool. I can't believe you did that," Clarke told.

"Sorry, but not sorry. Someone needs to watch her, Clarke, and who better than her own daughter. She didn't have you in the bunker and it nearly killed her. She's almost lost you too many times. Spend the time with her. Keep her sober and bring back the woman that we both love," Raven stated.

"I'll see what I can do, but I promise nothing."

"Tell you what. Give me back the Abby that was willing to be floated to get me parts to get to you, and I'll walk up to her and give her a big ol' hug when you come to see us in the Spring. Because we both know that she isn't going to stay away once she knows about the hospital and my miraculous recovery. She's a nut for medicine," Raven said with a small laugh. "I'm glad that she finally took my advice."

"Which was?" Clarke questioned.

"To stop playing politician and be a doctor," Raven told her with a big smile.

"She was always better at healing than leading, huh?"

"Yep, we fought about it a lot while you were out wandering the country side looking for forgiveness or something," Raven mentioned.

"Is that how Kane ended up in charge for the most part?"

"That and maybe I said a few choice things," Raven answered.

"Then, thanks."

"No worries, Clarkey," Raven started. "We'll be okay, Clarke. We've learned from our mistakes. We aren't going to start anything here. Palla won't let us."