Chewtoy Squad

Leandra walked into the barracks, repressing a small sudder as she did. It still disturbed her to be in her barracks after the attack, but her requests to change barracks had been denied. They seemed to believe it was better to constantly expose her to what she feared.

Today, though, she had a purpose. She bypassed her bunk completely and went to the bunk of Dominika, where the daughter of Jupiter lay in bed asleep. The healer grabbed her shoulder and shook it. "Wake up, Nika. You've got crap you have to do today."

Lately all Nika had been having was nightmare upon nightmare. The flashbacks of the hill in the glistening moon light, and the moments when she had been laying in the mud, hugging onto the surfaced root as if it had been her life line. Those few moments where she felt hopeless and scared haunted her in her dreams. Sometimes even walking around and hearing something move in the bushes makes her uneasy. It was difficult to live your life in fear sometimes, but, Dimitri told her that the beast was dead

Her current dream had been unusual in terms of the normal pattern. She was actually in a peaceful sleep of nothingness, well from what she remembered. She was actually getting much needed rest instead of being completely exhausted. Not to mention she was still not used to being significantly less mobile than she used to be, and some mornings she still forgot she needed her crutches before she could walk.

When she felt a shake her eyes flew open startled, and her blue eyes looked over to the girl beside her. Leandra. The one she called chew toy once, well you could suppose Nika had made out her own fate that day. She finally processed what Leandra had told her and she groaned, "Like what?" the demigod was stubborn but she figured it wasn't good to be stubborn with the cohort healer.

"Like learning how to use crutches, getting your bandage changed, guard duty. Come on, chew toy." She replied, then tossed a bottle of clear fluid over to Nika. "Drink that before I do the dressing change and it won't bother you as much."

The daughter of Jupiter sighed and she pushed back her blankets, she honestly couldn't be bothered to change out of her shorts and purple camp Jupiter shirt. If people thought she was going to change, they were sorely mistaken. When Leandra answered her she rolled her eyes, "Yea guard duty, my a**." She mumbled and swung her leg over and had her foot press on the floor. It was weird not to feel it on both sides, but Nika was alive and that was all that mattered.

Catching the bottle of fluids Leandra gave her, she heard the chew toy comment but she was in no position to say anything this time. "I think I set myself up when I called you chew toy." The demigod sighed deeply and opened the bottle and began to drink the clear fluids. After a few minutes she set it down,

"Nemesis likes balance. And cruel irony." Leandra replied, giving Nika a somewhat sympathetic smile. "I was joking about the guard duty, but not about the learning to use crutches." She said as she looked at the stump and started to take off the dressing that covered it. "You need to start moving around more. Laying in bed doesn't work."

"Yes, she wants world balance, and I just want balance while I stand." Nika said making a joke and she watched as Leandra started to take the dressing off. As she felt the air a bit Nika felt a bit of discomfort but nothing too bad, not like a chunk of flesh being taking out of her leg in the first place. "You mean hobble around everywhere and embarrass myself?" Nika asked with a slight chuckle, although that was an actual fear within herself. She knew she had to go walk around more but some days she just didn't feel like getting out of bed, it was such a pain half the time.

Leandra carefully assessed the stump to make sure it was healing. There was no drainage on the bandage this time around, and the incision didn't seem red or inflamed. It was improving. She grabbed a clean bandage and started wrapping it tightly. "Can't avoid life forever just because you're embarrassed or afraid, Nika. Or believe me, I would still not be coming into these barracks. I know the type of fear it can cause, when you know you're going to die." She said quietly as she wrapped the stump.

Leandra looked up. "Now, you have to move past it. Or at least start to try to. The same as I have to move past my own chewtoy incident."

Nika sat there in silence for a bit after Leandra had spoken to her. It was difficult sometimes, because the only person she would try and do anything for, just to see him in a good mood was Dimitri, but to hold that much pressure on someone was stupid, and Leandra was right, she did have to get out there.

"So crutches can't be that difficult can they?" The daughter of Jupiter asked curiously, as Leandra had finished wrapping up her little stump. "How long does it take, to get a prosthetic anyway?"

Leandra shrugged, "Crutches don't take long at all. A prosthetic? Well, for that you need one made. Second cohort, talk to the weird guy that likes explosives and talks to himself. Doesn't do metaphors. He knows about making prosthetic legs, I'm pretty sure he can hook you up."

Nika nodded and as her bandages were replaced, she reached for her crutches she was given. This was going to be fun. She roughly knew how they worked, but she was afraid of falling. Standing up she steadied herself before she got her crutches and put them under her arms. "So is there any tricks or something on how to move with these things?" She asked. She also put the mental note of the one kid from the second cohort.

"Weight on your arms, not your underarms. Wide for stability. Crutches first, then swing forward. If you fall, protect the stump unless you want to see me a whole lot more. And stars, you'll see stars. Might even see Thor, and you know it hurts if you see someone else's god." Leandra said, smiling a bit at the end.

Nika laughed a little and the description, and it really did feel nice to laugh more often. Trying to display her weight on her arms more than her underarms, when she felt good enough she put the crutches forward, and then she swung her leg forward. Once her foot hit the ground she had to try and stabilize herself. She could feel that her leg alone wasn't meant to support her yet. Nika could also feel being unbalanced due to the lack of her leg, but it'd be something she'd have to get used to. "How long would it take to get used to walking with a prosthetic?" Nika asked curious to know.

Leandra watched carefully as Nika crutched forward. It was not greatly coordinated, but she didn't fall over. ""I honestly don't know how long it would take. It took me a couple days to get used to a cane, but a new leg? Especially needing a joint? I have no idea."

Nika nodded, and she practiced using the crutches a bit more, feeling a bit more comfortable with them now. "So how exactly do crutches and stairs work? do they even work at all?" Nika was truly puzzled, she never had a reason to use the crutches beforehand.

"Keep the crutches on the step you're on, push up with your arms and swing your foot up. Bring one crutch up, then the other. Try not to fall. Personally I think a walker is easier for stairs, but I imagine your pride would require you to kill me if I even suggested it." Leandra replied, the last part fairly lightly. She understood the frustration. She was still getting used to what she couldn't do now that her leg was mangled.