Set shortly after Karigan returns from the far future.
Ben withdrew his hands from Karigan's temples, the pale glow that surrounded them fading as he moved back. He bent over his healer's bag and rummaged through it, shoulders tense and humming a discordant tune. He didn't seem to be searching for anything, only loitering in her room.
"Ben." He turned to her, and Karigan saw him slip something into his hand, the one on her off side. "Ben, I'm not completely blind. What is it?"
Ben swallowed and held his hand out. On his palm rested a leather ball, small enough to hide in his fist. He stepped across the room to hand it to her. She took it, eying the fine stitches. It had little give and the leather was smooth against her palm..
"Your depth perception will be off, because of…" He cleared his throat. "Well. If you practice throwing and catching it, it should help."
"Thank you," Karigan swallowed back the lump in her throat. Her friends tended to avoid the topic, and while the reminders were painful, the eyepatch itself was a more constant reminder than any awkward condolences.
"Don't worry about it." Ben said with a smile. "I must report to master Vanlynn, so I'll leave you to try it out."
Karigan nodded absently, already rolling the ball from palm to palm, along her fingers. The door clicking shut behind Ben masked Karigan's curse as she miscalculated and flicked the ball to the ground, where it rolled out of her reach. She swung her legs down to retrieve it, but yanked them back when a loud hissing emanated from beneath her. Wide-eyed, Karigan leaned forward to see Ghost Kitty peering from under the bed, tail fluffed up like a bottlebrush and ears flat to his head. He yowled at her, then darted around her legs to chase the ball and saunter back to her, prize held in his mouth.
"How did you get in here, Kitty? Vanlynn won't be pleased." Ghost Kitty leapt onto the end of the bed and, with delicate steps, made his way over to Karigan's side. He dropped the ball to give her a cheerful "mrrp!" and butt his head against her arm. Karigan picked it up after scratching his ears, settling back against the headboard. Ghost Kitty followed her, starting up a rumbling purr. It was one of the best sounds Karigan had ever heard.
"I missed you too, boy." She scratched under his chin, smiling as his purring became near-deafening. She could feel the soothing rumble in her fingertips.
Abruptly, he latched his teeth around the ball still in her hand, eyeing her with excited, dilated eyes. She let go of it, and Ghost Kitty dropped it as well. Curious, Karigan flicked the ball to the floor. Ghost Kitty leapt off the bed to pick it up, but simply sat and watched her with it in his mouth.
"Give it to me, Kitty. Jump back up." Ghost kitty lashed his tail at her, but didn't move. Karigan sighed and stretched her arm out to him. "Please. I'll throw it for you."
Apparently satisfied, Ghost Kitty jumped back up and butted her with his head. Hitting two birds with one stone, Karigan cast around for a suitable target. The hot soup she'd eaten that morning had left a pale ring on the lacquered cabinet across the room, and Karigan pulled her arm back, squinting at the small circle. She threw the ball, and it bounced off the tabletop's corner. She cursed. As it rolled along the floor, Ghost Kitty leapt after it.
"Guess I do need the practice, don't I?" Karigan mused.
Each time she threw the ball, Ghost Kitty would run and fetch it for her, occasionally making supportive noises after particularly off-aim shots.
By the time an apprentice healer arrived with lunch, Karigan was feeling much better about her recovery, even if she hadn't made any noticeable progress. Ghost Kitty hid under her bed until the healer left, then promptly jumped up to nose at the soup and soft bread she'd received. Karigan left him a piece of beef as a reward for his work. In thanks, he dug his claws into her thighs and curled up on her lap to sleep.
Karigan carefully placed her empty bowl and plate on the stool beside her. She kept one hand on Ghost Kitty, letting his slow breaths relax her, while she tossed the ball into the air with the other. Small tosses at first, barely leaving her palm, then higher, catching it in her palm, with the tips of her fingers, balanced on the back of her hand. She fumbled it occasionally, and Ghost Kitty would grumble whenever it rolled onto him, but the exercise was peaceful. Best of all, she felt like she was actually doing something, even if it was just regaining her old co-ordination.
Eventually, Karigan dozed, Ghost Kitty cradled in one arm, the ball held tightly in the other. She woke up briefly as someone arrived to collect her bowl, and heard a hushed conversation between an unknown apprentice and Ben.
"What is it?" They both started at her voice, and Ben shooed the apprentice outside.
"Your cat can't stay," he said, "he's a health hazard." Karigan frowned.
"But he was helping me. I've gotten a lot better with the ball because of him." Her fingers carded through Ghost Kitty's fur, and he rolled onto his back, paws folded over and purring loudly.
"But he's a cat. The patients need isolation, many diseases don't transfer well."
"Then I guess you'll just gave to release me, wont you?" Karigan grinned smugly. If she could just leave the mending wing, she'd feel a lot better. Getting back to the Rider wing, even if it wasn't her old room, was the only thing she wanted right now.
"I'll ask Master Vanlynn. You really only need the occasional check up of your injuries, and as long as you don't go straight to the training rings, you should be fine." He sighed and left the room.
"You're the best, Ben!" She called after him. Ghost Kitty meowed, rolling his eyes to stare accusingly at her.
"Sorry. But we can go back. Neither of us has to stay here with the terrible food and the narrow beds." Karigan grinned and buried her face in Ghost kitty's fur. He squirmed away and jumped down, just in time for Master Mender Vanlynn to stride into the room.
"What is a cat doing in my place of healing?" Vanlynn turned a glare onto Karigan, who gulped. Ghost Kitty darted between Ben's legs and streaked down the hallway.
"He's leaving?" She offered. Vanlynn huffed and came over to poke at Karigan's injuries, but Ben give her a thumbs up from behind the Master Mender. She was getting out.