Here, Kitty, Kitty

The Worst Thing

There were a few things Cassie became vaguely aware of when she finally woke up. First, there was an unbearable throb pulsating through her head, quite like that time Harry had knocked her out after finding her in the maze and dumped her in the cells. Then, when she attempted to twitch a finger or move her hand, she had to strain to do so. Her limbs resisted the attempt, causing a discomforting spasm. The third, there was an irritating itch coming from her left side. It was extremely bothersome, given that she couldn't move her hands right now. After realising this, Cassie's lips parted to voice her annoyance, only for a tickle to spring up in the back of her throat. It also wasn't helped by the fact that her mouth was unreasonably dry, and she had to wiggle her tongue around until it produced enough saliva to soothe it. Unfortunately for Cassie, when the rest of her finally caught up to the fact that she was now awake, a startling nausea settled deep in her stomach. It gave her very little time to jolt up into an upright position to avoid throwing up all over herself.

"Oh fuck!"

With her eyes clenched shut, Cassie felt around below her for the edge of whatever she'd been sleeping on and rolled over to make sure whatever was left in her stomach came out on the floor. Moving so quickly after being asleep for however long she had been wasn't the best. The headache she'd been immediately plagued by after waking grew to insufferable levels, shocking her head with pain every time she vomited. Simultaneously, the skin on her side stretched uncomfortably as she lay on her stomach, reminding her of what had transpired before she passed out.

Placing one hand against her forehead in an attempt to prevent her head from hurting, her other hand gripped the scratchy sheets below her, her knuckles whitening from the hold. Whoever was in the room with her had been swift enough to draw her hair back away from her face, gently holding it against the back of her head. Cassie was grateful, as the soothing hand stroking light circles around her upper back provided friendly support.

"You're okay, Cassie."

Slowly, the little cat allowed her eyes to drift open, readying herself for the discomfort of light. Thankfully, there wasn't enough of it to irritate her sight. The room she was in, which she soon came to realise was a familiar bedroom on Uma's ship, was shrouded in a pale-blue tint. The only true source of light was a flickering candle on the bedside table.

Finally, when Cassie's stomach stopped trying to rid itself of the contents of her stomach, she ran the back of her hand across her lips. Still, on the off chance it would start up again, she stayed where she was.

"How long was I out?" she asked. Her voice was quiet and scratchy, a rather worrying indication of just how long she'd been asleep.

A sigh came from behind her. "Just over a week," replied Helena, keeping her voice low. "You've been in and out of it; we didn't really know which way you were gonna go."

Cassie grimaced. On the Isle, there was a lot that could go down in only a week, and she dreaded to think of what had happened when she was out.

"Got some catching up to do, huh?" joked Cassie, though even she could tell it was hardly the time for humour.

"In a bit," said Helena. "I need to check you over first."

Gingerly, Cassie shuffled backwards and rolled onto her back. When she found herself face-to-face with Helena, though, her self-pity was shoved into the backseat.

Dressed in fluffy black bottoms with red-heart prints and a comfy red sweater, which Cassie recognised instantly as her friend's pyjamas, Helena's hair had been thrown up into a messy twist on top of her head. The Queen of Hearts had decided to go without her signature red lip and painted face this time, and Cassie was only slightly annoyed by the fact that her friend was still as beautiful as ever. However, the area around Helena's eyes was puffy and red, likely from crying for a long period of time. It was painful to see just how exhausted her friend was, and Cassie hated that she might've been the one to cause it.