I'm Fine Finished

The night before that Adonis had been the one to take Katrina to the Hospital Wing on the back of a broom that they had flown on together. Once they had arrived there though Katrina had fallen at the entrance and he helped the other nurses carry her to the cot she was placed on. Adonis stood by her bedside for a good remainder of the night until having to retreat to his common room as ordered by the nurses to get some rest. He couldn't help but worry though about her being okay. The boy wished he had gone back to retrieve others and help take them to the Hospital Wing that night after bringing Katrina there.

Once it was the morning though, Adonis had woken up earlier than usual to check on Katrina and see if she was awake yet. Unfortunately, she still wasn't awake at that time and Adonis had to go to leave since it was Sunday now, so that he could get his morning practice in the Quidditch training pitch, eat breakfast, and finish up homework that was due the next day on Monday. Everything that he had to do seemed to go by fairly quick without much trouble. Adonis had found himself back in the hospital wing a few hours after noon in no time after doing everything he needed to.

Upon entering the Hospital Wing, Adonis spoke to the nurse who had been tending to her throughout the night to get caught up on how she was feeling and her current state. He then walked over to Katrina's cot with his ever present charming and bright smile. "Hey Katrina." Adonis said hesitantly as he took seat beside her bed with one of his hands clasped over something in it.

"Glad to see you're finally awake now. I stood with you for a good bit during the night until I was forced to leave by the nurses. Came in the morning to check on you again but you were still asleep, so. But now you're awake! And I brought you something." Adonis extended a hand forward and opened it, showcasing a charred piece of wood in his hand. "It's a piece of the bookshelf I had burnt when we first meant." An embarrassed chuckle escaped his lips as he rubbed the back of his head. "I figured the thought of it could cheer you up hopefully since looking back on it now is quite funny to me." He assured with a smile on his face to hopefully brighten her spirits.

Katrina continued to glare at the spot on the wall even when she heard a door open and footsteps follow in. Certainly an unconscious patient had a visitor. Katrina wished she could turn away, but her arm was so sore that she wasn't sure if she'd be able to roll over without smashing it. Stupid injuries. Instead, she decided that she would pretend to be asleep, so she allowed her eyes to flutter close and leaned back in the pillows more. However, when the person's footsteps stopped at the side of her bed, and the bed dipped down when someone sat on it. Katrina's eyes instantly opened to see Adonis sitting right there.

Katrina had completely forgotten about him. The last hour of last night? The night before? Was really hazy. The second-year sort of remembered Adonis leaving when she was by a table, but then he came back. She somehow must have managed to get on the back of a broom with him even though she was-- and still is-- deathly terrified of brooms. They got into the castle and Katrina got up to the Hospital Wing supposedly, then crumpled on the ground. The oddest part, is that the rest of that night was kind of foggy, almost like her mind was keeping her from thinking about it. Like her brain knew she was too weak to handle it.

It was a conscious effort to listen to Adonis' words. Almost like her thoughts were so loud that they could easily block out what he was saying. Must be the potions. Her mind was able to wrap around the fact that he had stayed with her for a long time last night. She silently puzzled over the fact that he had stayed with her instead of going back to his own friends. Her heart soared, there was someone who cared enough about her to stay with her for hours.

Adonis opened his clasped palms to show a piece of charred wood. Her mind sluggishly put together that the wood was from the first time they had met. The smoke in the library, Katrina extinguishing the flames, their jovial first interaction. The memory pulled a smile at her lips. It was relieving, thinking about anything else besides the reason she was here and the fact that she really hurt. The memory of that day a month back? more? played through her head.

Katrina didn't know why she didn't really want to talk. She hadn't since she had arrived unless she had to. It must be the fact that she hated being the patient. Katrina was much rather be the person who came and checked in on the patients, or the person taking care of the patient. That was the reason she was so prickly and annoyed.

"Thanks," Her own voice sounded new to her ears. It was gravelly and cracking, a tone lower than usual. The smoke and lack of talking had obviously taken it's toll. But the 'thanks' had been for more than the wood. It had been for taking care of her and bringing her to the Hospital Wing so she didn't bleed out on the Pitch. It was for caring enough to stay well into the night in hopes that she would wake up. It was for bringing a smile, even though she didn't really feel up to returning it. It was for meeting her that time in the library and talking to her on that jog and singing with her and listening to her story and saving her life. The word held the thousands of words she wished she could say.

"You saved my life," Honestly, Katrina didn't know how bad the injuries had been. Especially comparing them to the other barely alive bodies around her. But she did know that if he hadn't taken her, she wouldn't have been able to get herself out of the Pitch. Likely, they wouldn't notice her pale, unconscious body and left. It would only been the next morning after she had bled out and had become sick or likely dead that they would have found her.

Katrina looked back to Adonis with dull eyes and managed a crooked smile, an expression that said everything that she had been thinking.

@Katrina Walker | @Adonis Thorn

OOC Note: The first 1,000 words of this were written in the middle of the night and have nothing to do with visiting Katrina in the Hospital Wing. Basically, Bridget is restless for the whole night and it's a lot of internal dialogue. For you casual readers or even people in this thread, feel free to skip to the part actually pertaining to this thread.

Bridget had not slept a wink. After she'd gotten Santario medical attention, she'd hung around the Great Hall, watching as the injured poured in. And there were a lot of injured students, but that was what Hogwarts balls were for. She wasn't trying to assess how bad this ball had been compared to previous ones, though. Instead, she was searching for her friends. Praying they were okay. Katrina came in on a broom with a first year boy she vaguely recognized from her House, stung in at least one place and generally looking worse for wear. The lion wasn't walking on her own, which wasn't a good sign, but at least she wasn't the worst case she'd seen. As much as she wanted to check on her friend right ten and there, though, she knew now wasn't the right time. She would only keep Katrina from getting the help she needed.

After a quick check of the Hospital Wing to make sure no one important to her had already gotten there, she concluded it had just been Katrina. Not much of a surprise--she cared for very few people. Allowing the nurses to do their jobs, she meandered the halls, eventually arriving back at her dorm. The Slytherin changed out of her outfit and into a hoodie and leggings. Her dress and leather jacket hadn't sustained too much damage, and, as predicted, a few Scourgifies and Reparos later they were good as new. The question was now, what would she do for the rest of the night?

Bridget couldn't sleep. She tried for about five minutes before deeming it a lost cause--her mind was just too awake, still running on adrenaline. There was so much--too much--to worry about. The night's events replayed in her mind, over and over. The snake found herself casting spells absentmindedly, levitating pillows, lighting and unlighting her wand, making the stuffed teddy beat she hid under her blankets for when she had nightmares dance with Tarantallegra. Was Victor Moore okay? Scratch that, she knew he wasn't okay, but was he alive? She'd last seen the boy badly burned and not moving, and now that she thought about it, he hadn't been in the Hospital Wing. St. Mungo's, then? Or... was he dead? There was always someone who looked dead. Dymphna Teague in her pool of blood at the Masquerade. Elena Jones after the spider bites. So far, she was 95% certain no one had actually died. But he could be the first. This was real life and people could die, they did all the time.

She did not want Victor Moore to be dead, and it had absolutely nothing to do with keeping a clear conscience. Okay, so maybe she didn't want that guilt, those what-ifs stuck with her, but she wanted him to be alive simply because he didn't deserve to die. He hadn't done anything wrong. She'd never even met him, but he seemed like an okay guy. Better than some she'd seen, anyways. Marion too, as far as Bridget could tell, was harmless. Yes, Bridget had cast the Blindfolding Spell at her, but that was to prevent her from petrifying all her friends, and she'd missed anyway. And yes, she had stolen her letter, threatened her, and used Marion's dislocated shoulder as leverage in the Owlery, but she had never once wished death or suffering on the older girl. Bridget could be ice cold, cruel even. But not that cold.

And there was still the question of Vladimir. They had not gotten any answers out of him, only new questions. Vladimir scared her. He was strong and durable, but that wasn't the scary part. It was that he was smart. Any amount of sheet force could be taken down if you were clever enough, but brain and brawn together... Now that was a dangerous combination. Top that with the face she had zero clue what he wanted, and he was impossible to beat. If they even need to beat him, that was. What if they had it all wrong? What if Vladimir was just a normal, innocent student they'd all ganged up on? Then again, what if his lack of aggression at the Ball had been intentional so he looked innocent?

As she sat crossed-leg on her four-poster bed, time ticking away, Bridget started to wonder if everything he'd done so far had been a set-up to make him look a certain way. The Owlery, for example. If Vladimir had posted Victor and Marion's locations on their Common Room door as they suspected, it made sense for him to expect the Slytherins to demand answers. That was the logical thing to do after your House had been almost killed and two people had heard noises no one else could. After that, Victor and Marion would certainly be wary of their own housemates, so they'd only have one person to trust--their friend Vladimir. Wait, did that even make sense? What would Vladimir even need their undying loyalty or whatever for?

Her head was starting to hurt from all the speculating, so she gave up on it. Now what to do? Bridget wasn't necessarily bored, but she was certainly restless. After already breaking curfew she decided staying in her dorm was a good idea, although that left her with little to do. She paced the Dorea Potter dormitory for awhile, flipped through books barely registering the words, and even brought out her sketchbook for the first time in months, only to end up staring at a blank page.

Finally, finally, it was morning. Since it was Sunday, she had a whole day in front of her with absolutely nothing to do. She half-considered asking for her detention for attending the Secret Blossom Ball right then and there, but ultimately decided it would be a bother to the Professors. Besides, there was at least one thing she'd rather do first. Visit the Quidditch Pitch.

She skipped breakfast since she didn't have an appetite, but in hindsight maybe that was a bad idea as eating was something to do. Oh well. The Pitch was a mess, scorched grass and turned over tables and vampyr mosp carcasses. Bridget hated seeing one of her favorite places in Hogwarts like this, but it would recover. A good idea for detention would be to have them clean up the Pitch, and the grass would grow back. The same could not necessarily be said about the students.

Tine passed agonizingly slowly. The night's activities finally caught up with her, so she ate lunch to quell her grumbling stomach. At long last as she wandered past the Hospital Wing door for the who knew however many-th time, she learned Katrina Walker could have visitors.

Bridget practically ran over to her friend's bed, but found enough self-control to at least speed walk. Having someone to talk to had never sounded so good, and that was saying something as Bridget was reputationally introverted. She wasn't super thrilled to notice someone else already with her, though she supposed it was good for Katrina to have more than one visitor, and he was the boy who'd gotten her to medical attention so she had to give him that.

Pasting the closest thing she could to a smile on her face since seeing your friend injured didn't exactly make it easy to smile, she went to pull up a chair to the other side of the hospital bed, but paused. The boy seemed to know Katrina and was showing her... a piece of burnt wood? Odd. An inside joke or reference probably. Would she be interrupting? Should she come back later?

Wait. That was silly. Katrina was Bridget's friend. She was comfortable around her. She didn't have to wait for the boy to leave to talk to her. Less confidently with whatever smile she'd mustered gone, she pulled up the chair.

When the conversation between the two of them paused, she said, "Katrina. How're you doing?" Observation told her not too well--she had bandages around her arm and head--but she was in good hands. Still, she couldn't help but feel kind of bad. No, not bad. Terrible. Guilty. She hadn't been there for her friend at the ball. Bridget had no clue what else to say, but for the sake of the friend she'd already let down, she forced herself to provide a reassuring smile.

Adonis sat there waiting for her to gather her thoughts and be able to respond to everything that he said. He supposed it was a lot, especially with the condition she was currently in and having to force herself to comprehend it against all odds. It was a lot to handle and he felt sort of guilty in a way that he hadn't suffered like some of the other students or the people that he knew. If he could, he would've switched positions with someone else to save them the pain. Sure, he didn't sound like much of a Slytherin because of such thoughts. But he wasn't like everyone else all the time, he wasn't some selfish being. What he was though was someone who believed he was born to make history. To be a leader. To be ambitious, not thirsty. A quote that Adonis always constantly reminded himself was 'be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire'. The things that did were being there for others when all seemed hopeless.

He was a very sociable person that liked to get around and talk to a multitude of people, yes. But were they all truly his friends? No. They were not. Sure, he had his dorm-mates and whatnot that he would care and be there for but the ones he saw there had already left and/or were helping out others leave the pitch. Plus, he probably talked to Katrina the most out of everyone else and was concerned for her well-being due to caring for her. Hogwarts had a grand way of succeeding in always being attacked and the students getting themselves into things they shouldn't have stuck their noses in. Most of the students here would make great actors and actresses with their love for drama it seemed due to always finding trouble one way or another.

The smile that was present on his face only grew bigger when he heard the one simply word that came out of her mouth, 'thanks'. He knew she meant more than what had escaped her lips. Adonis could tell that it came with all of their previous interactions, the meaning of it being so much more. He was thankful for every bit of it. Being able to connect with her and share bits of his past along with being able to hear hers. Even singing with her. That had to have been one of his favorites for sure and he hoped they could do it again at some point. "Of course. You're very welcome." Adonis said with a firm nod, beaming brightly with a smile in appreciation. "I'd do it again if it comes to it but let's just hope that isn't the case for either of us. And if it is? Good luck carrying me." Adonis said to her jokingly with a grin.

His attention suddenly diverted over towards Bridget as she came over to them before looking back at Katrina. "Well, I guess my turn is over now. So, I'll let you two have your time to talk." Adonis slowly stood up with a smile and a nod to the both of them, placing the piece of charred wood next to her on her bed. "Feel better soon and come find me when you do. Buh bye!" The boy gave the two girls a two-fingered salute with a smile before turning on his heels to leave.

Leaving the thread.

@Katrina Walker & @Bridget Collins

Katrina glazed out for a moment. It was so odd having to exert so much effort just to concentrate. Also, not being able to move at all was not helpful. There was a crook in her back that kept distracting her and making her have to refocus on Adonis. Katrina found that not having to look at him, but simply focusing on listening made it a whole lot easier to comprehend what he was saying.

At his comment about carrying him Katrina managed a half-hearted laugh. It was then that she realized that he likely had to carry her. A faint blush rose to her pallid face at the thought of her being so helpless. Again, the realization that he likely saved her life rose to the front of her mind.

The door creaked open again and Katrina wondered if the nurse was going to shoo Adonis away and make her take more medicine or something. Thankfully, it wasn't the nurse who came in, instead it was another visitor, Katrina could tell by their hurried footsteps. Her head wasn't positioned to easily see who it was, and she was too afraid that turning her head would pull on the bandages around her ear, and since her ear wasn't bothering her at the moment she decided to wait until they got into view.

In the corner of her eye, Katrina saw that the person was her friend Bridget. Bridget managed a worried smile before pulling up a chair. A weak smile pulled at the lioness' face.

Both of the snakes seemed to be slightly off put by the other, but Katrina hardly had the focus to notice. Adonis decided it was his cue to leave and placed the wood on the bed before doing so. Katrina wished she could wave and instead gave him as much of a smile which looked more like a grimace as she could.

Bridget asked her how she was going and Katrina managed to get out, "I'm fine," Which again sounded like the understatement of the year. Her voice didn't sound much better this time and Katrina hoped she wouldn't sound so in pain for the rest of her life. "The nurse s'id I'm just healin' slow," The lioness hated the way her words slurred together like she couldn't pronounce anything.

Katrina took a moment to look Bridget over, thankfully, she didn't look like she had been hurt. "Y're doin' okay too?" This time her words sounded more recognizable, but her voice still sounded wrong. There was so much more that she wanted to say, but it might just be better to have Bridget do most of the talking for now since even I can't understand myself.

Even though she was in pain, Katrina was glad that her best friend hadn't been hurt.

@Katrina Walker | @Adonis Thorn

The boy left pretty much right after Bridget arrived. Had she done something wrong? Bridget frowned. It was possible he'd been there for awhile and was ready to go, but she couldn't help but feel like she'd messed up somehow. "Did I scare him off?" she muttered. Whatever just happened didn't really matter though. Her focus needed to be on Katrina, and Katrina only, unlike it had been at the Blossom Ball.

It became impossible to keep that attempt at a reassuring smile on her face when Bridget heard the difficulty Katrina had in simply talking and what the nurse had said about her healing slowly. That wasn't good. Katrina had not had the worst injuries of the Ball, and Bridget supposed she'd just gotten used to the speedy recoveries magic provided. It would be okay. Katrina was going to be fine. She had to be. Bridget just had to muster a brave face for now and keep counting on the amazing Hogwarts nurses. It was true that they couldn't fix everything--her blackened veins were proof of that--but stab wounds were nothing new. "I'm sure they'll have you good as new in no time. And yeah, I'm completely fine. Not a scratch."

In fact, it was almost maddening how she hadn't been injured at all. It wasn't fair. Why was it the students that had done nothing wrong got stabbed and some of them made it out completely unscathed? Why was it terrible friends like herself were fine and people like Katrina who had already been through more than her fair share of tragedy ended up in the Hospital Wing? It just wasn't right. But there was nothing she could do about it. Visiting her friend and making her stay in this room a little better would have to be enough.

@Bridget Collins

The drag of sleep and sedatives was slowly wearing off. The pain medicine and numerous other potions were still inhibiting her slightly, but she found that she could think and listen and look around. Multi-tasking never felt so good. She didn’t really feel up to talking yet and she was still slightly prickly, simply agitated that she wasn’t doing as well as anyone else. She slowly put together the pieces that Bridget and Adonis seemed slightly off put by the other. It didn’t surprise her much though, they likely hadn’t met and might be a bit wary of another person seeing her. Katrina didn’t mind, as long as they weren’t being rude or anything, Katrina was fine with it all.

Bridget asked if she scared him off and Katrina would have shrugged if she had been able to. Instead she sort of cocked her head as if she could shrug and regretted it when her ear felt weird. Numb and tingly almost. She still didn’t feel up to talking much. Simply hearing her voice made her remember that she was the patient and that other people were pitying her. She should be helping the nurses and doing stuff and checking in on people, not uselessly laying on a white bed taking time from other patients.

Bridget comforted Katrina with her words. She didn’t know what she would do if she found out that her best friend was hurt. Katrina forced herself to think back on the ball. She had seen Bridget in the beginning, when they had promised to stay safe. But then, what had Bridget done. Had she been a part of the group she had seen fighting? Perhaps the group that had cornered that one kid? Fighting off mosps and being lucky? Escaping while she still could? Katrina wanted to ask, but the words didn’t really come to her. Instead she decided talking about what she did would be good enough.

“I thought I could protect others,” Katrina paused, thankful that her words were no longer slurring as much, but instead simply sounding gravely and in pain that she really wasn’t feeling, “I fought off one mosp, protecting River, it got my ear,” Katrina winced slightly at the memory, “Then—I cast the smoke that actually worked and ran away to help others,” A blush rose at the memory, she didn’t even know what happened to the others that had been there, had River been stung? “I threw the fire roses in water… then I saw one boy against a huge mosp,” A shudder ran up her spine, “I crammed him under a table and got stung in the arm,” At the mere thought her arm began to pulse, psychosomatic likely. “Then the mosp left and Adonis took me to here a guess,”

Katrina closed her eyes for a moment, wishing she hadn’t brought up all the memories. They now openly flooded her mind. Overwhelming her senses and causing a wave of panic to rise up in her. Not a panic attack, not now. Her chest constricted and she couldn’t breathe right, she could feel her blood pounding at her ear and on her arm. Too much, too fast. Why in the world had she brought it up?

@Katrina Walker

Bridget simply listened as Katrina recounted her experience last night. She couldn't help but wishing Katrina had just left the mosps alone, since she'd done that and they'd ignored her, but then again, she'd come to that conclusion through observation. Bridget had been busy with other things when the horrible over-sized bees showed up, so naturally she hadn't been engaging them. By the time she'd decided it was best to just leave them be, many of her schoolmates had already been stung.

Katrina had been infinitely more helpful last night. So much braver. Selfless. Sure, Bridget had helped but not as much as she would've liked to. What had she even done? She'd unfrozen Tyranni and flown Santario out, but that had been about it. She should've been there for her friend.

The Gryffindor's breathing quickened, and Bridget saw it in her eyes, the fear that belonged to last night. Her hand made it's way to Katrina's uninjured arm, squeezing slightly. Pulling her back to the present. "Hey. It's over now, remember? You're safe."

She would sit there for a while longer. How much time elapsed, she did not know, not bothering to check her watch. As the minutes ticked by, she stayed with her friend, hopefully providing some amount of comfort, however small, just by being there. Perhaps she'd even partake in some trivial conversation, but she carefully steered around the ball. Bridget was okay. The night didn't hold too many terrible memories for her. Still, though, it was something she wanted to avoid talking about, at least right now. Eventually, she would leave to allow the redhead to get some much needed rest. With one last glance over her shoulder, she knew she couldn't let Katrina get hurt, couldn't not be there for her. This, she decided, was never going to happen again.

Bridget Collins has exited the thread.

Katrina felt the memories rise up, prepare to surge, ready to rush forward and cripple her more. But then-- it paused. Bridget had a hand on her arm and it was like the panic attack simply stopped in its tracks. Katrina let Bridget's words wash over her, she was safe, it was alright. At first, the panic attack sat at the brink of her consciousness, waiting for her to let her guard down for just a second. However, the longer Bridget stayed, the weaker it became, until Katrina wasn't thinking about it anymore.

Her and Bridget talked for a while, about unimportant things, but it was better than sitting alone feeling sorry for herself. Never again was Katrina so thankful that there were people in the school that actually cared about her. She hadn't realized that she meant something to them, enough that they were willing to spend some time out of their day to help her feel better.

After a while Bridget left, allowing Katrina a while of rest. Time passed by, slowly or quickly, Katrina couldn't quite tell. The nurse came around with another dose of something at some point and Katrina took it without protest. There were quiet murmurs as other students were opened to visitors, however Katrina stayed alone for a while.

As long as she healed as fast as possible, that was all that mattered.