Cad's walk in the park

*Cad walked through the park, letting her wings out, feeling the wind through them, and flapped them a little, wincing at the pain. 'I've got to get them working again...'*

Amber was walking around, looking for Cad, but didn't see her anywhere. She couldn't fly, so that was of no use. If she tried flying, she could be lying somewhere crying out in pain.

*Cad dropped her crutches, and tried to stand up by herself, with an unsteady result. She flapped her wings a few more times, wincing. 'The more I get used to it, the better I'll be...'*

After intense searches, she finally got a spot on her. From the distance, she yelled at her. "Cad! What do you think you're doing!?"

*Noticing her, she fell to a knee. 'Damn...'*

Amber ran towards her. "Hey, what were you thinking? You shouldn't be out here. You're wounded, you have to rest." She put Cads arm around her neck, and tried to pull her up.

"Do you remember what I told you about Angel's wings? They have to be used...even when injured...they need to breathe."

"Are you sure? I don't know that much about it, but you can't even stay straight up."

"My legs are fine...just a bit shaky from laying in bed too long..." *She walked a little bit away, before flapping her wings, wincing each time she flapped them, but became airborne for a few seconds.*

"Well ... ok, I'll let you try then. If you really think it helps, well, I don't know anything about it. So I'll trust you on it." Still worried, she sat down on the grass.

*Touching back down, she walked shakily over to Amber.* "It's what humans call 'rehabilitation'. It's an important step of recovery, especially for an Angel."

"Oh, yeah, I know about rehab. But here we do that only when we are fully healed. Not when we're still hurt."

"Humans do it wrong...when healed, the body is conditioned to the injured state. When you use whatever is injured during the healing process, it makes it easier to recover." *She plopped down beside Amber, leaning against her for support.*

Helping her, she also was careful not to touch her wings. "But doesn't that also include the risk that it can go wrong again? Like, that your wings will break again?"

"Yes, but do it in moderation, and with care, and that will not happen..."

"I think I still have a lot to learn then. I hope you can teach me all that in the future. You're like my mom used to be. Wise, nice, and always knowing what she did." She smiled, and dusted off the dirt from Cads knee.

"How about I adopt you as my own child? Then I can be your mother, instead of just a 'guardian' to you." *She was surprised at what had just come out of her mouth.*

"You would do that? And, how would that work? I mean, do you have to do any work for that?"

"Yes, I would, and all I would have to do is fill out some paperwork. You're still a fledgling by Angel standards, so it would be like you and Gyan adopting Katie."

"But Katie isn't registered anywhere for as far as we found out. I am here, in the Human World." She got a bit closer, and put her hand on Cad's.

"It's the same in concept. I'll go to the angel world, that's where I have to fill out the paperwork. You were born there, and you're registered there as well. Here in the human world, you're considered an adult by their standards, so it would be awkward to try and adopt you by human methods."

"Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking of." She blushed a bit.

"Something wrong? You're blushing..."

"Well, I haven't had my mom for about 15 years now. We used to do fun stuff, and a long time ago, when I was 11, my dad was gone. We never knew where he went, my mom just said he was working for the betterment of the people. And I'd always, before going to bed, put a plate of my own made rice in front of his door. Every morning after, it'd be gone. Took me a couple years to understand he wasn't coming back, and the mom emptied the plate." She didn't understand why she was telling her, but it felt like she could, and that everything would be better with Cad now.

"15 years..." *That was when the War happened...'he must have died in battle'...* "...don't worry. I'll be your mother, if you'll have me. Everything will be okay."