Chapter 83

Raven didn't know who or how they got the cameras up around the pits, but she was glad. It was odd to see Octavia, Echo and Miller in full armor again. They weren't at war. This was just a trial. She then remembered that Clarke and Madi would have to watch. Hitting a few buttons, she scanned through the cameras until she saw them sitting off to the side on a makeshift dias looking down at the Pits. Clarke looked annoyed and Madi just looked like Madi. Aeolus was behind them. Indra was shouting at the applicants. Raven was trying to count them when suddenly a sound started coming through.

"Sorry about that," a voice told her. "I know that you want to hear it, but I don't know where to set this thing. I've never used tek like this. Jok. Octavia!"

"Wait a minute, Echo. I'll set up over there," Octavia answered.

Then there was just noise of movement. She minor mumbling and then Raven could hear Clarke, Indra and Madi talking. She flipping through the cameras until she had them on the screen.

"Now, you won't be able to know everything that is going on, but I'm going to leave the comm on with Clarke and Indra. They'll explain things to you as they are happening. And, don't worry about. Abby already has the clinic ready for any injuries. I've got to go. The mic will remain on until the end of the trials today. There are fifteen applicants. Bellamy is one," Octavia told her as Raven saw her bend down to hand the comm to Clarke. "Don't worry, I won't beat him too bad. I've got to go. Clarke has you now. Be good, Little Bird."

Raven nodded at the screen. Palla was behind her. She saw how they all changed. They were all stoic, but there was more to it than that. There was a familiarity to the situation. She knew that Clarke had told them that they sought peace, but it seemed like they were all built for war.

The fifteen applicants moved around the Pits. They were all announced by Indra to the crowd in a booming voice. Raven smiled. She knew a few of them and she hoped that they would make it. She wasn't sure about Bellamy though. He'd been trying and training, but she still wasn't sure that he had the mentality for what it took. She wasn't sure that she did either, but she knew that even if she didn't make jusgona, she would be a warrior in her own right. Echo wasn't going to fail her as her Fos, and she certainly wasn't going to let Raven fail.

The first series of tests would be weapons knowledge. It was simple tests, almost like games. They had targets that were stationary that they had to hit. There was knife throwing, ax throwing, and archery. It seemed too simple to start, but then again it made sense. If they couldn't hit the target, there was no reason for them to continue the trials. She knew that they would later have to fight each other, hand to hand and with weapons. There would skills with riding, hiding, and trying to get to a target without detection. They knew that they wouldn't all make it. Only the best of the best would make it, but it was also on a points scale. They didn't have to place in each event, but they needed to do well in each event.

"Is this like some sort of warrior competition?" Palla asked.

"It will seem like it, yeah, but it is a test. Those that pass will be the elite guard. Those that fail will be able to train and try again."

"When?"

"Whenever Heda, Wanheda, Skairipa en Azripa say," Raven stated.

"So, when will that be for you?"

"When Echo thinks that I might be ready," Raven answered without thought. As soon as she finished the sentence, she turned to look at Palla. There was understanding there, also the want to take away her pain. "How did you know?"

"You don't think that I know what you want? Why is it that Echo is so damn protective of you? You aren't a child. You aren't a normal apprentice to anyone. You have your own skills, but Echo went out of her way to make you a sword to train with. She wouldn't let you have the surgery until she talked with Clarke about it. She will not put you in danger. She treats you like a kid sister. And, she talked to me before she left. She was very adamant on what I was allowed to do with you without her. But, most of all, she made sure to let me know that Sam and Meeka were the only ones that were allowed to stop your training."

Raven just shook her head. She should have known that Echo would have talked with Palla without her knowing. It had been clear that Sam and Meeka were the only ones allowed to her physically push her leg. Raven knew that Echo would punish her worse if she got a bad report. She'd push things, but she'd stop when Palla, Sam, or Meeka told her to. She wanted to get better, but she didn't want to punished for pushing too hard too fast.

"Does it bother you that you aren't there?" Palla asked her.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because I should be. I am one of them. I've been with them since the beginning, but I got shot. I've always been in the back building and fixing things, making sure that we had bullets, building bombs, and such, but I've never been able to defend myself or them."

"So, you pushed to be trained?" Palla questioned.

"I did."

"And, it worked."

"I am rather stubborn," Raven replied.

"I know, Little Bird. But, how did Echo become the one that is training you? Why wasn't it, say Octavia or Indra?"

"Indra is our general. She has more important things to work on. As for Octavia, she's...broken still. Clarke being her charge and being Clarke's second won't allow her to take one on herself. She has to prove to Clarke that she can do her job and be trusted with someone else's life first. She's...they are better together. Echo was the only other logical choice. Heda knew that she would be hard on me, but fair and honest. If Echo doesn't think that I can hack it as a gona, she'll let Madi know and I won't ever be able to compete. I'll be sent back to my workshop."

"And, that would be a bad thing?" Palla inquired.

"No, not really. It will just mean that I am failure. I've never failed at anything I've put my mind to, except relationships, but who needs love?"

"Everyone," Palla answered quickly.

"You're one to talk."

"What does that mean?"

"You know exactly what I am talking about. You've got the mark. Madi knows it. I know it, but Clarke doesn't. For a bunch of people that believe in reincarnation, you sure as hell are being a chickenshit when it comes to our blond bombshell. She's still hurting over Lexa, but I swear that I see her in you. She just needs to see it, too," Raven said.

"No matchmaking."

"Who said anything about matchmaking? I didn't. Did you?" Raven quipped.

"Little Bird," Palla warned.

"Look. She likes you. She does. She's just scared, and rightfully so. Everyone that she loves, like really loves, dies. She's so damn scared about it that she allowed Echo and Octavia to make the jusgona. Lexa didn't have them, and she died. She's just trying to protect what's hers."

"And, that includes me?" Palla asked.

"I think that was more of Madi's wishful thinking. Why else do think that she made sure that Echo and Octavia were our two ambassadors? They are the best, but they will also be close to you. That is just added protection to keep you alive in Madi's eyes. She sees what we all see between you and Clarke. She wants Clarke to be happy and you can do that. But, it is more than that."

"Like what?" Palla inquired.

"Clarke can make you happy, too. But, it is even more than that. We could all be happy here. Making you happy could help us be happy, too. You are giving us things like Lexa did, but you have to stay alive. If you can do that, protect us, help us, and we survive this winter as bad as you say it is going to be, then Clarke might give you a chance. We need to make it through this winter first," Raven told her.

"You're right. You all have to make it through the Snows first. Maybe after that, I can do something more to show her that I care about her and Madi."

"Well, we both know that you already have Madi's blessing," Raven quipped.

"And, you?"

"Jury's still out. I'll let you know after you don't kill me during training," Raven said, laughing. "But, seriously, give her time. Let her get settled. Let her see that we are going to be okay and you'll see another side of Clarke."

"Watch the trials, Raven. We will not dwell on things that we can't control. Clarke is own person and I will not push her into anything. So, let's focus on you and seeing what we need to work towards, yes?"

"Sounds like a plan, Palla," Raven replied as she turned back to the screen to watch the trials.

They've broken them up into groups of five. Miller has one group, Octavia another, and Echo the final five. Bellamy was put into Miller's group.

"Smart call," Raven said as she watched them move around the Pits.

She watched as they each took their turns at the stations in the Pits. She wasn't really focusing on anyone really, but she was following Bellamy the most. But, that was only partially true, she wasn't really watching them as they did their movements; she was watching Octavia and Echo more. She watched their eyes. She could tell who they were watching the most. Echo was watching the archery targets, while Octavia was watching the knife throwing. Miller was watching the ax throwing, but Raven could tell that he wasn't really worried about it. He was just following his contestants and recorded their scores.

It didn't seem to be that close of a competition. Raven could already pick out several that were in the lead in points, or she thought that they were. She realized that she didn't know what the points system was. She didn't know how they were scoring them period. The more she watched, the more questions that she had.

"What's wrong?"

"I need a pad."

"Why?" Palla asked her.

"I need to take notes."

Palla just nodded, reached down and pulled a tablet out of the bag that she had near her chair. She powered it on and then handed it to Raven. Raven took it and wasted no time finding an application to let her take notes. She was furiously swyping across the screen, but kept looking up to make sure that she wasn't missing anything. Finally, she watched each rotation and then took notes. Palla just smiled. She knew that Raven was serious about her training and fixing her leg, but she didn't realize that it was this serious.

To her the trials looked something like the Olympics of old. She'd read about them and even seen a few films about them. There wasn't much sport to be done on Helios. They spent most of their time surviving and working to help each other survive. It wasn't paradise, but it worked. Now, seeing the members of Wonkru, who were more militaristic, doing the same things, she wondered if including some sort of sport wouldn't help her people. She would get with Balt about it and see what they could come up with. For now, she was focused on watching the trials. She knew that the more she knew about it, the more she could help Raven train.

For starters, they couldn't go outside and have her start on archery. But, in the hospital they could work on knife throwing. It was also an upper body skill. She could work her arms and teach her how to target with her eyes. She decided that when she went back home tonight, she would fashion some sort of targets that could be hung on the wall. It would be a known distance and they could work from there. She was sure that Echo would back her on this, too. For now, though, she would just watch and wait. They had time to figure this out, and she knew that Sam and Meeka would be back soon to make Raven stand again.

"How in the Hell?" Raven asked as she saw one the applicants land five perfect throws. "That's like impossible right. You can't be that good. What is he an assassin? Who the Hell is he? What clan is he originally from? Do you know? Should we be worried about him? Do we need to call Echo and warn her?"

Raven asked in rapid fire, before Clarke's voice came over the comm again.

"Well, that was intense. Seems like it got Indra's attention, too. Do you know who that is Madi?"

"His name is Solan. He is Trikru. He is just as good as his eldest sister."

"And, who was that?"

"Luna kom Floukru."