“Checkmate—ha!" Khari put down her wooden knight with a little more emphasis than was strictly necessary, narrowing her eyes across the board at Cyrus.
He put his arms up, palms out. “Yes, yes, you win. As usual. I surrender, and all that." He winced a little at the new scuff on his board, but it would buff out fine. She was pretty sure, anyway.
Khari leaned back, shifting a bit uncomfortably against the wall. Chess in the infirmary was not ideal, but they'd managed with Cyrus sitting at the foot of her bed and the board between them. She was sideways, her feet sicking out sideways off the mattress, still in braces, though nothing nearly so complicated as the ones she'd had on in Kirkwall. “You did good, though. Almost had me that time." She liked playing with Cy—he learned her strategies fast enough that she always had to come up with new ones or he'd win. And with so few ways to spend her time, she especially appreciated that he showed up daily. “By the way, did you bring it?"
A heavy breath left his nose as he packed away the pieces. “Yes—though I ask that you please not go overboard because you have it. I really don't want anyone blaming me if you do something rash."
She grinned. “I always do something rash—no one will think it's your fault."
He grumbled something under his breath that she couldn't quite hear, shaking his head and drawing the strings closed on the velvet bag that held the black half of the pieces. “Not the point."
“I know. The point is that you don't want me to get hurt, but you can't say that because you suck at feelings. You should really work on that."
He gave her a flat look. “You're still insufferable." When her grin only widened, he stood, probably to make his escape. Coward, running away from a gimp like her. He did pause, though. “It's under that brown cloak no one's claimed—you know the one. Figured it was better if no one saw, in case they guessed what you were up to."
“Awesome. Thanks, Cy. Same time tomorrow?"
“Of course."
Khari raised a hand in farewell, but as soon as Cyrus was gone, the smile dropped off her face, and she sighed. This was the long stretch in the afternoon when everyone was too busy to see her. Not that she begrudged them that, obviously; they all had a lot to do, and normally she would, too. But without being able to spar or run or do pretty much any kind of training at all, she was starting to feel like she really was going crazy. Standing still, while the rest of the Inquisition moved on ahead of her.
Maybe she should talk to Leon about it. Poor guy was—well, honestly the less she thought about his condition the better. It still lurked there at the edges of her mind, like a shadow in the forest she couldn't quite bring herself to look at it. Khari knew firsthand that dark things like that could swallow a person, and with nothing to do but stew in her own uselessness, she wasn't sure that thought wouldn't swallow her if she let it.
Glancing around, Khari confirmed that none of the medical staff were actually present. She liked most of the healers fine, but they had her doing things at an excruciatingly-slow pace, and didn't seem to trust her verdicts about what she was and was not capable of, which was more than a little annoying. She probably wouldn't have this problem if, like Leon, she'd convinced everyone she was responsible with her health and sensible in general. Even if he was actually just as bad as she was.
Or it could just be the fact that no one had to call her 'Commander.'
Working into a stand was a process, but one she'd sort of gotten used to over the past couple of weeks. Bracing her hand against the wall, Khari slid off the bed, then walked her arms up so she could lever herself into a stand with a bit of assistance from her knees, which wobbled, but held. Steps were harder, and she knew she couldn't yet manage many of them unassisted. But that was why she was doing this in the first place. She wasn't going to get anywhere if she kept doing laps around this infirmary room and had to sit down again before she'd really pushed her muscles hard enough to build them. Of all the things she knew, she was just about most certain about how conditioning worked.
The door had a cloak hook next to it; she shifted aside the brown one that had been there forever and grinned. Cy had left a bladeless staff for her to use as a walking stick. She almost cackled when she saw the note tied around the top part.
I'm serious—don't overdo it.
Walking was a lot easier with her new aid, though the stairs down to the bailey gave her more trouble than she'd anticipated, and her muscles were burning by the time she reached the bottom, breath coming in labored pants. Ugh. She hated this already.
Making it to Rilien's tower felt about as difficult as anything in her life ever had, at least physically. It wasn't great mentally, either—the weakness of her own body was anathema to Khari. She hadn't felt this pathetic since her very first days with Big Bear. But she made it, crossing over the threshold and shouldering the door open at the same time. Unfortunately, she failed to lift one of her feet high enough and tripped, losing her balance and nearly faceplanting into the dirt. At least she caught herself in time, with the arm not currently occupied with the staff.
Grimacing, she used it to push herself over onto her back. “I'm okay. No need for a rescue here. Just miscalculated a little, that's all."
"Aren't you supposed to be in hibernation still?" The question came from Ves, but he didn't sound at all surprised to see her, nor was there anything chiding in his tone. He appeared over her, armored sans his silly winged tallhelm and clearly in the midst of rigorous physical activity the likes of which Khari wasn't capable of just yet. He offered a gloved hand down to her, if she wanted it.
“Turns out I'm really bad at hibernating." Khari smacked her hand into his and returned his grip, accepting the help to her feet with minimal fuss. She had to lean heavily on her staff after that, but at least she didn't fall right back over. “Thanks. I decided they weren't letting me walk enough, so I designed my own exercise plan. It was going pretty okay until the doorway, I swear."
A soft click signaled Stel's practice sword sliding home into its sheath; she'd clearly enough been Ves's opponent. For quite some time, judging from the redness to her face. "Do you need to sit down? I can set up one of the targets if you wanted to practice throwing from a seat or something." She pushed a few shorter, loose hairs out of her face with one hand, laying them back against the crown of her head. "Only if you wanted to practice at all, I mean."
“I dunno." Khari pushed a breath out through her nose. “I came here to do something like that, I guess, or to ask if you guys wanted to take a walk at least even though I can't run, but—" She glanced down. It was strange, seeing parts of her own body this splinted up and injured. Knowing that she was this helpless. It rankled, and the fact that she didn't even have the steam left to train or anything like that made her feel like shit. Frustration bubbled under her skin, fizzing around in her nerves, but not going anywhere. There was nowhere for it to go. Nothing for her to push it into. Not when she lacked even the baseline ability to move the right way.
“You know, I shouldn't have interrupted. I'm sorry. I think I'm just gonna—go back." It would be hell even trying to get back up the stairs she'd climbed down, but she'd manage it somehow. And then crawl under her covers and contemplate her humiliation, or something.
"Are you sure?" Ves asked. He didn't normally sound concerned about her, or if he was, it was like with his last comment, veiled behind a tease or a prod of some kind. But he sounded concerned now. He glanced to Stel and then back. "We were just finishing with a round anyway, if you wanted to stay for a break. Or..." He failed to come up with anything, and shrugged. "I don't know. I just know that laying around and doing nothing can be the hardest thing for people like us. You don't need to go back if you don't want to."
Stel nodded, a thoughtful look crossing her face a moment later. "Or, uh, I'm not sure how you'd feel about this, but I could probably help a bit. Sort of... dull the worst of it, so we can take that walk if you want. It's only a temporary fix, but it should help build your strength back up if you walk more, right?"
For a minute, Khari wondered if the healers had been holding out on her. But maybe this was one of those things that Stel had learned from Harellan or something—she didn't exactly know all the details, but she didn't need to. Ves was right: she'd be completely miserable if she left and didn't accomplish anything productive for all her effort even this far. If she really wasn't going to be interrupting anything important, well.
“I'd—that'd help a lot, I think. Thanks, Stel."
"It's no problem," Stel assured, stepping forward and placing her hands on Khari's shoulders. "Just give me a minute here; I kind of have to get a sense for you first." She shut her eyes, grip tightening just enough to be snug, though Khari didn't immediately feel anything different.
The actual process wasn't localized to just her legs. It felt kind of like being dunked in water, warm enough to be comfortable, and then like that heat sunk into her skin instead of staying outside of it. Tight muscles loosened, the sharp sparks of pain that lanced through her when she moved the wrong way dulled to a minor ache, more akin to the soreness the day after a particularly difficult training exercise. It was far from her usual condition, but it did permit more normal movement.
Blinking her eyes open, Stel stepped a pace back. "How's that? I can adjust it if something doesn't quite feel right."
“Amazing, is how that feels." The little aches that were left were pretty trivial, at least to Khari; it was alarming how sharp the contrast was, almost. Too bad it wasn't permanent. “Seriously. Magic hands." She grinned, already feeling about a hundred times better, then looped one arm through her friend's. “Just in case anymore doorways try to get me, though, I'm going to hang on to you and my stick. Last one to the garden's bringing me pie in my infirmary bed tomorrow."
"As long as I get to have some of it, I don't mind being the rear guard," Ves commented. He set down his training weapon along with his helmet on a wall mounted rack, and moved to join them.
“You, Ves, have got yourself a deal."
He put his arms up, palms out. “Yes, yes, you win. As usual. I surrender, and all that." He winced a little at the new scuff on his board, but it would buff out fine. She was pretty sure, anyway.
Khari leaned back, shifting a bit uncomfortably against the wall. Chess in the infirmary was not ideal, but they'd managed with Cyrus sitting at the foot of her bed and the board between them. She was sideways, her feet sicking out sideways off the mattress, still in braces, though nothing nearly so complicated as the ones she'd had on in Kirkwall. “You did good, though. Almost had me that time." She liked playing with Cy—he learned her strategies fast enough that she always had to come up with new ones or he'd win. And with so few ways to spend her time, she especially appreciated that he showed up daily. “By the way, did you bring it?"
A heavy breath left his nose as he packed away the pieces. “Yes—though I ask that you please not go overboard because you have it. I really don't want anyone blaming me if you do something rash."
She grinned. “I always do something rash—no one will think it's your fault."
He grumbled something under his breath that she couldn't quite hear, shaking his head and drawing the strings closed on the velvet bag that held the black half of the pieces. “Not the point."
“I know. The point is that you don't want me to get hurt, but you can't say that because you suck at feelings. You should really work on that."
He gave her a flat look. “You're still insufferable." When her grin only widened, he stood, probably to make his escape. Coward, running away from a gimp like her. He did pause, though. “It's under that brown cloak no one's claimed—you know the one. Figured it was better if no one saw, in case they guessed what you were up to."
“Awesome. Thanks, Cy. Same time tomorrow?"
“Of course."
Khari raised a hand in farewell, but as soon as Cyrus was gone, the smile dropped off her face, and she sighed. This was the long stretch in the afternoon when everyone was too busy to see her. Not that she begrudged them that, obviously; they all had a lot to do, and normally she would, too. But without being able to spar or run or do pretty much any kind of training at all, she was starting to feel like she really was going crazy. Standing still, while the rest of the Inquisition moved on ahead of her.
Maybe she should talk to Leon about it. Poor guy was—well, honestly the less she thought about his condition the better. It still lurked there at the edges of her mind, like a shadow in the forest she couldn't quite bring herself to look at it. Khari knew firsthand that dark things like that could swallow a person, and with nothing to do but stew in her own uselessness, she wasn't sure that thought wouldn't swallow her if she let it.
Glancing around, Khari confirmed that none of the medical staff were actually present. She liked most of the healers fine, but they had her doing things at an excruciatingly-slow pace, and didn't seem to trust her verdicts about what she was and was not capable of, which was more than a little annoying. She probably wouldn't have this problem if, like Leon, she'd convinced everyone she was responsible with her health and sensible in general. Even if he was actually just as bad as she was.
Or it could just be the fact that no one had to call her 'Commander.'
Working into a stand was a process, but one she'd sort of gotten used to over the past couple of weeks. Bracing her hand against the wall, Khari slid off the bed, then walked her arms up so she could lever herself into a stand with a bit of assistance from her knees, which wobbled, but held. Steps were harder, and she knew she couldn't yet manage many of them unassisted. But that was why she was doing this in the first place. She wasn't going to get anywhere if she kept doing laps around this infirmary room and had to sit down again before she'd really pushed her muscles hard enough to build them. Of all the things she knew, she was just about most certain about how conditioning worked.
The door had a cloak hook next to it; she shifted aside the brown one that had been there forever and grinned. Cy had left a bladeless staff for her to use as a walking stick. She almost cackled when she saw the note tied around the top part.
I'm serious—don't overdo it.
Walking was a lot easier with her new aid, though the stairs down to the bailey gave her more trouble than she'd anticipated, and her muscles were burning by the time she reached the bottom, breath coming in labored pants. Ugh. She hated this already.
Making it to Rilien's tower felt about as difficult as anything in her life ever had, at least physically. It wasn't great mentally, either—the weakness of her own body was anathema to Khari. She hadn't felt this pathetic since her very first days with Big Bear. But she made it, crossing over the threshold and shouldering the door open at the same time. Unfortunately, she failed to lift one of her feet high enough and tripped, losing her balance and nearly faceplanting into the dirt. At least she caught herself in time, with the arm not currently occupied with the staff.
Grimacing, she used it to push herself over onto her back. “I'm okay. No need for a rescue here. Just miscalculated a little, that's all."
"Aren't you supposed to be in hibernation still?" The question came from Ves, but he didn't sound at all surprised to see her, nor was there anything chiding in his tone. He appeared over her, armored sans his silly winged tallhelm and clearly in the midst of rigorous physical activity the likes of which Khari wasn't capable of just yet. He offered a gloved hand down to her, if she wanted it.
“Turns out I'm really bad at hibernating." Khari smacked her hand into his and returned his grip, accepting the help to her feet with minimal fuss. She had to lean heavily on her staff after that, but at least she didn't fall right back over. “Thanks. I decided they weren't letting me walk enough, so I designed my own exercise plan. It was going pretty okay until the doorway, I swear."
A soft click signaled Stel's practice sword sliding home into its sheath; she'd clearly enough been Ves's opponent. For quite some time, judging from the redness to her face. "Do you need to sit down? I can set up one of the targets if you wanted to practice throwing from a seat or something." She pushed a few shorter, loose hairs out of her face with one hand, laying them back against the crown of her head. "Only if you wanted to practice at all, I mean."
“I dunno." Khari pushed a breath out through her nose. “I came here to do something like that, I guess, or to ask if you guys wanted to take a walk at least even though I can't run, but—" She glanced down. It was strange, seeing parts of her own body this splinted up and injured. Knowing that she was this helpless. It rankled, and the fact that she didn't even have the steam left to train or anything like that made her feel like shit. Frustration bubbled under her skin, fizzing around in her nerves, but not going anywhere. There was nowhere for it to go. Nothing for her to push it into. Not when she lacked even the baseline ability to move the right way.
“You know, I shouldn't have interrupted. I'm sorry. I think I'm just gonna—go back." It would be hell even trying to get back up the stairs she'd climbed down, but she'd manage it somehow. And then crawl under her covers and contemplate her humiliation, or something.
"Are you sure?" Ves asked. He didn't normally sound concerned about her, or if he was, it was like with his last comment, veiled behind a tease or a prod of some kind. But he sounded concerned now. He glanced to Stel and then back. "We were just finishing with a round anyway, if you wanted to stay for a break. Or..." He failed to come up with anything, and shrugged. "I don't know. I just know that laying around and doing nothing can be the hardest thing for people like us. You don't need to go back if you don't want to."
Stel nodded, a thoughtful look crossing her face a moment later. "Or, uh, I'm not sure how you'd feel about this, but I could probably help a bit. Sort of... dull the worst of it, so we can take that walk if you want. It's only a temporary fix, but it should help build your strength back up if you walk more, right?"
For a minute, Khari wondered if the healers had been holding out on her. But maybe this was one of those things that Stel had learned from Harellan or something—she didn't exactly know all the details, but she didn't need to. Ves was right: she'd be completely miserable if she left and didn't accomplish anything productive for all her effort even this far. If she really wasn't going to be interrupting anything important, well.
“I'd—that'd help a lot, I think. Thanks, Stel."
"It's no problem," Stel assured, stepping forward and placing her hands on Khari's shoulders. "Just give me a minute here; I kind of have to get a sense for you first." She shut her eyes, grip tightening just enough to be snug, though Khari didn't immediately feel anything different.
The actual process wasn't localized to just her legs. It felt kind of like being dunked in water, warm enough to be comfortable, and then like that heat sunk into her skin instead of staying outside of it. Tight muscles loosened, the sharp sparks of pain that lanced through her when she moved the wrong way dulled to a minor ache, more akin to the soreness the day after a particularly difficult training exercise. It was far from her usual condition, but it did permit more normal movement.
Blinking her eyes open, Stel stepped a pace back. "How's that? I can adjust it if something doesn't quite feel right."
“Amazing, is how that feels." The little aches that were left were pretty trivial, at least to Khari; it was alarming how sharp the contrast was, almost. Too bad it wasn't permanent. “Seriously. Magic hands." She grinned, already feeling about a hundred times better, then looped one arm through her friend's. “Just in case anymore doorways try to get me, though, I'm going to hang on to you and my stick. Last one to the garden's bringing me pie in my infirmary bed tomorrow."
"As long as I get to have some of it, I don't mind being the rear guard," Ves commented. He set down his training weapon along with his helmet on a wall mounted rack, and moved to join them.
“You, Ves, have got yourself a deal."