Chapter 88

Echo sat in the hospital while Raven was sleeping. The snow had started outside and Palla begged them to stay in town. Octavia had agreed for them both. Sam and Meeka had cleared out some space in the room near Raven for them to stay in. It wasn't what she was used to, but Echo was bound to make it work. She had to admit that she wasn't worried about their lodging as much as she was worried about Clarke and Madi.

"Still upset about Bell?" Raven asked as she woke up to her fos sitting at her bedside, again.

Raven watched her, looking for something, but she didn't know what it was. Echo and Octavia had only been back for a few days. She'd watched the trials on the comm tablet. Raven had also been working hard on her PT and pain management. Now, that Echo was back, she wanted to show her how much better she was.

"It seems I lost him a long time ago, Striksora, but maybe I just didn't see it. It doesn't matter now. I'm here for you and for heda." Echo told her before asking more, "When does Sam usually come check on you? Before or after breakfast?"

"After," Raven answered.

Echo just nodded. She didn't look like she was going to move from the chair until she was told to. Raven wanted to ask her more, but she knew she shouldn't push any harder at the moment. They were mentor and mentee. Echo was her teacher, but she'd come to care for her while they were on the Ring. She knew that Echo was hurting. But, Raven had no room to move. Whatever she had with Shaw was waning, and it was her fault. She had other things to worry about and her lovelife or lack there of wasn't something for her to worry about at the moment. She needed to worry about her training, her rehabilitation and whatever else Echo deemed important for her to become jusgona.

There was a small knock at the door before it opened. They both turned to the doorway and saw Sam standing there with a tray of food. Echo was surprised at it, but she sat still. She wanted to see what Sam was bringing. She wanted to make sure that Raven was getting enough nutrition and foods that would make her stronger and heal faster. Sam ignored the stares and moved closer to Raven. She grabbed the hospital bed table and pushed it over Raven's bed. Setting the tray down, she pushed it back to Raven to begin her breakfast.

"Since you've been doing so well, we are going to change up your training a little bit today," Sam announced.

"How?" Echo questioned as she sat up straighter and stared at Sam harder.

"Well, while you were busy with your troops and training, Raven was working on her leg strength. It wasn't but a few days after you were gone that Raven actually stood up, unassisted for over five minutes. Palla can even confirm this. She's upped that time daily. She's been working with Meeka in the PT rooms on her leg strength and trying to walk unassisted. She's been on the bars for the last month, but the last few days we've had her try with our using the bars for support. She's learned that they were there in case she needed them, but they weren't there to help her constantly."

"And?" Echo inquired.

"She's gone from just a few steps to almost a half length without any support at all."

Echo smiled. She didn't know if it was fast, but she knew that sort of progress was still good. She was proud of her. She knew that Raven was getting better, but she also knew that Sam didn't want Raven to push herself to the limit. Raven needed to find a limit and work towards finally pushing past it. Echo was going to help her move passed this and be a bigger and better warrior. Echo would default to Sam in how to push her, but she knew that it would have to be done. She knew that they would disagree on how to do it, but Echo wouldn't let Raven's health suffer. She would push her mind when she couldn't push her body, so to know that Raven was listening to her doctor and therapists, a fellow mechanic, Echo knew that she was ready for more training.

"So, what do you want to do different with her today?" Echo asked.

"We have a pool. I want to start water resisting training. It is low impact on the body, but it is hard on the body, too."

"I don't understand," Echo replied.

"It's like this, Fos. Think of the water like a bunch of bodies. I will be standing in the water and forced to walk through it. This will put pressure and weight against me, but it will be like when we were in space. I'll be floating, so it won't be as hard on the body. The water will allow me to do things that I can't do without it. So, I will have someone in the pool with me and possible some bars. But the water will hold up my weight while I'm working the muscles. It's all about resistance and low impact. You can even start to work in other exercises for me to work on my warrior skills, too," Raven explained.

"Sha, that sounds good," Echo replied. "Can I get in with her?"

"I don't see why not. Palla will be here soon as will Meeka. We'll head down there then. Do you both have clothes that we can do this with?" Sam inquired.

"I'm sure that we can come up with something. I'll go see Octavia and find something for us both," Echo said as she stood up. "Eat up. We'll be back soon."

Raven just nodded. Sam watched her leave but said nothing. Instead of trying to talk to Sam more about her healing and the physical therapy that they were going to be doing in the pool now, Raven turned and looked at the tray of food. She didn't recognize most of it, but then she knew that she wouldn't. She'd barely been on Earth long enough to recognize most of the meats and veggies that the Grounders used and cooked with. She just knew that the flavor was lightyears better than the protein pastes and bits of rations that she managed to get while growing up on the Ark. What Kane and the others tried to produce in Arcadia wasn't much better, but it had been Earth food. She wasn't sure that she could identify eighty percent of the Terran food, but she knew that it was delicious. She also knew that it was protein, with carb loaded fiber, and there was some other vitamin rich veggies and fruits. It was always a balanced meal for whatever Sam and Meeka had planned for her that day. Today, it looked like she was going to be working out, a lot. There were more carbs than anything, but there was also a good amount of needed protein. She was thankful for the taste of the food because it made it easier to palate it. She reached for the fork and began eating.

As soon as she started to eat, Sam turned back to watch her. She gave Raven a small smile. She said nothing as she silently assessed Raven for the day. Knowing that her wounds were healed and the scars were very small from the operation. Raven knew what she was doing and paid her no attention. By the time she was done with breakfast, Octavia and Echo came back in with some small clothes for Raven to change into. They had already changed, and Palla was now with them.

"You ready to learn to swim, Little Bird?" Palla asked entering the room.

"Never learned on Earth, so I guess now would be a good time, yeah?" Raven replied.

Echo looked appalled and then her sister jusgona to see if the news was true. Octavia merely grinned. Sam and Palla just cocked their heads.

"Don't look at me like that, Echo. We didn't have time to worry about swimming. We were barely on Earth for a year before Praimfaya struck. After that, I guess it didn't really matter, especially up in space on the Ring or down in the bunker underground," Octavia explained. "Besides, the one time that I tried to go swimming, I ended up being attacked by a giant radioactive water snake thing."

Raven chuckled, "I heard about that. Show her the scars on your leg. I don't think she'll believe you until then."

Octavia moved towards the chair that Echo had been lounging/resting in earlier. She lifted her leg and moved her shorts to the side just enough for the white streaks of scars to be seen. Echo's eyes widen. She realized that she'd never seen them. She'd never had the opportunity. She'd been in space with Raven. If Octavia had been with them, she would have seen them.

"Well, then I guess, we'll start with you two and then work our way through the others after the Snows."

"Yes, we will. Swimming is a must for living on the ground," Echo added. "Does Heda know how to swim?"

"Who do you think taught Clarke?" Octavia quipped. "If she hadn't, Clarke would have drowned in little fishing hole. It was quite deep. Madi taught her how to fish, how to swim, how to live in that valley. They kept each other sane and alive. Clarke knew how to hunt. She'd taught herself after the mountain, but Madi helped her perfect it. In some ways, it is a strange arrangement between them, but no one would doubt that they love each other like mother and daughter. They would do anything for each other, and they have."

"I know," Echo murmured.

"Then, we don't have worry about them learning how to swim, but the rest of what was Skaikru."

"What about you, striksis?" Echo questioned again, in Trig, trying to see if Octavia had just been covering her own training up for Raven's sake.

"No, I never learned. Lincoln was going to teach me. He'd told me how important it was. He was going to take me to Floukru with Luna and let me learn in the sea. But, we never got the chance," Octavia stated and then dropped her head.

"Why not?" Palla asked, not realizing how sore of subject, even so many years later it was.

"Pike, Azgeda, and ALIE," Raven hissed as she turned to stare the wall, no longer acknowledging anyone else in the room.

"Does that-"

"We need to work on Raven. The dead are gone and the living are hungry. We are all together, now, and we protect our own. It is our turn to care for Osir Striksora and help her learn to fly again. Are you going to help with that? Or, do you want to hurt us all more with our pasts?" Echo demanded.

"To the pool then," Sam stated before anyone else could. "Do you want to walk there or use crutches?"

Raven tilted her head just a little towards the doctor. She wasn't eyeing. She was still trying to put old demons back to rest as she looked on to her friends, her sisters from Space and Earth, her "blood" sisters.

"I want to try to walk, but I know that I'll need the crutches for support back," Raven said truthfully.

"Good assessment, Little Bird," Palla replied. "I'll carry them there. I am sure that Octavia and Echo will be with you on the walk there. You need to show off your new gait to them anyway. No time like the present, eh, Little Bird?"

"We'll be outside waiting for you," Sam added. "Take your time and don't rush changing. We have until lunch for the pool. After lunch, I'm turning you over to Echo and Octavia to work on your warrior or whatever training."

They all nodded. Palla and Sam stepped out of the room. Palla had taken the crutches with her like she said she would. Raven knew that they were just outside the door and waiting, but she was nervous. This would be the longest that she'd gone without the crutches to move on her own. Sure, she'd have Palla, Octavia and Echo there to catch her, but Octavia and Echo were about to see how well she could move on her own for the first time since Murphy accidently shot her in the back. She was about to show how well the surgery and her recovery were going for her left leg.

"Do you need the brace?"

"No, not for this," Raven told them as she moved around on the bed to place both feet on the floor.

She didn't get up. She simply reached out for the clothes they'd brought to for her wear in the pool. Raven knew that Grounders didn't believe in modesty the way that Skaikru had. And, honestly, she'd gotten over it living on the Ring with just six other people. They had always been busting up on each other. It also didn't help that they had so few clothes up there. She changed quickly and then stood up, on her own, much to the amazement of her jusgona sisters.

"If you think that this amazing, wait until you see me walk," Raven stated as she slowly shuffled to the door.

"By the Goddess and all the Hedas," Echo murmured as Raven walked to the door unassisted.

"Ready to train me for real, now, Fos?" Raven questioned as she opened the door.

"The question is are you ready, Sekken? I told you that you would fly again, Striksora. And, look at you, you are. Soon enough, you'll be beating Octavia in the ring and making the others look bad. I can't wait to rub in their faces that I've trained you and made you the best warrior among us."

"Yeah, well, she'll at least be a hundred times better than Bellamy could ever think of being because we'll have trained her. As for taking me down, I don't see it happening. I'll let her try though," Octavia replied before Raven could.

"Well, I did be Echo on the Ring, so I figure after more training with the both of you, I'll be able to take you on, Octavia," Raven quipped.

"She beat you?" Octavia questioned and looked at Echo expectantly.

"Yeah, well, that is a story for another day. It is a time to learn to swim and for this physical therapy. So, Sam, if you would lead us to the pool."