A Scraped Knee, and a Sleep Disorder...

[Insomnia]

Insomnia slowly pushed the door to the Hospital Wing open, and peered in. It certainly looked like a hospital, but you could never be too cautious. Mab, her Cornish pixie, flitted into the room, zoomed around the ceiling once, then flew back to land on Insomnia's shoulder. Mab chirruped, and gently tugged on Insomnia's ear, confirming that this was, indeed, the right place.
Insomnia shuffled slowly into the room. It was apparent that she did need help, for she was leaving a thin trail of blood, from a badly scraped knee, on the floor behind her. She was also rather damp, since she had arrived, only a little while ago, during a rainstorm.
She took a seat on one of the white beds, and waited.

[Shae]

The ghost had spotted the little pixie fluttering around the ceiling of the Hospital Wing and had wondered what she was doing there.

Her moss-green eyes followed the small creature as she flew down to land on a girl's shoulder, who proceeded into the Wing, and sat down.

The girl came out of the cold room and went to have a look at what was wrong.

"Hello." She said, kneeling down in front of the girl to examine her knee.

"My name is Shae and I'll be you're ice today." She said, touching the knee lightly to chill the area and slow the bloodflow.

"Though I'm afraid I can't pick out the grit, or wrap it so that nothing else get's in. Physical form is needed for that, and I've only got my ethereal form left."

Though she had been reading a lot of books about the ether, and summised that such books were probably dictated by very creative and ingenious ghosts to people who could actually pick up a quill.

"And I haven't learned how to manipulate the air to be something solid yet." She said quietly to herself.

Looking up into the face of the girl, the phantom smiled in a way she hoped was soft and encouraging.

"So, what happened, and is there anything else you need medical help with while you're here?" she asked in a tone softer than she usually used when she was trying to find out how something had happened.

[Insomnia]

Insomnia stared at Shae for a moment, then remarked,
"You're a ghost. That's very interesting. I've never met one before, though I'd heard that they existed."
Mab pinched Insomnia's ear, and she started.
"Oh, I'm sorry if I was rambling. Um...what was it that you asked? Oh yes, um, well I slipped coming up the steps to the Main Door. It's rather rainy out, isn't it? Makes surfaces slippery, and quite hard to navigate. What was your name, again? Shae? It's very nice to meet you, Shae. My name is Insomnia. Thank you for numbing my knee. It was beginning to sting quite a bit."
Mab gently tugged on Insomnia's ear, and chirruped. Insomnia nodded, and dug her hand into a damp pocket, retrieving a biscuit, which she handed to Mab. Mab ate it daintily, then sat quietly.
"This is Mab. She's my pixie, and she helps me sleep. I have quite a hard time of it on my own. I'm rather tired most of the time, it's why I tend to lose focus. I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable."
Insomnia smiled haplessly, and dark circles could be seen beneath her eyes.

[Shae]

The phantom didn't much like it when people talked about ghosts as if one weren't standing right in front of them, but she supposed that most people had never had a ghost standing in front of them.

"I didn't know it was wet out, I haven't been out lately to see." The purple-haired girl remarked when Insomnia explained how she had hurt her knee.

What really caught the young spectre off guard though, was when Insomnia apologised for possibly making her uncomfortable. It was usually the other way around, though the girl apologised for little if anything.

"There are a few crackers on that table, if you would like some more Mab. But please don't eat them all, I think you might burst, and you wouldn't want to ruin you're lovely figure." The etherial being said to the pixie on the other girl's shoulder.

"You're quite welcome to help yourself too, Insomnia." She added, a small teasing smile on her lips as she pointed to the plate on the table by the bed.

Each table had a plate of crackers at night, in case a patient woke up and was hungry. They were good, because they were loud enough that a nurse would hear the crunching, but also they weren't so full of flavours as to upset a delicate stomache.

"For trouble sleeping, a muggle doctor would recomend sleeping tablets, a witch or wizard might recomend a spell you only might learn if you pay attention in all your classes in case it gets mentioned. Me, I'm going to recomend a soft bed, a hard day's work, and a on-off switch to the back of your head." The phantom had put on an air-hostess type voice, while she had said that, and promptly broken into a smile as soon as she had finished.

"Shame about the on-off switch, though. They're so hard to come by these days. I know, I've looked." She had too.

[Insomnia]

"That's very kind of you, to offer Mab crackers, she does love them so. Go ahead, Mab, you may have two." Insomnia said. "An on-off switch would be lovely, though I'd have to agree that they are rare. I've never seen one myself."
Mab flew to the plate, grabbed three crackers, and flew back to Insomnia's shoulder. She gently dropped one into Insomnia's lap, then ate the other two, munching quietly. Insomnia picked up her cracker and took a bite.
"These are very nice crackers." she remarked. "As for my sleep disorder, I'm afraid I've tried most pills, and they only manage to put me to sleep for a few minutes, at the most. Most charms have about the same effect. However, it turns out that Cornish Pixies have a rather powerful sleeping spell, and Mab can keep me asleep for up to five hours. Which is very helpful. Would you like a demonstration?"
Insomnia looked askance at Shae. Mab munched on.

[Shae]

The girl smiled when Insomnia appreciated her attempt at a joke.

The ghost's smile widened as she watched Mab fly straight to the plate of crackers, and back with an extra for Insomnia.

"Well, at least you have some way to help you, and Mab seems to be a good friend to you as well."

She looked from the Pixie munching her crackers to Insomnia.

"As for a demonstration, sleep is for night, and that's a little way away yet. If you want to demonstrate, I have no problem with that, but otherwise, you need to take some of that cotton, use those tweazers to dip it in the warm water, and clean that scrape." The phantom said, pointing to each of the objects in turn.

"I can't do that for you, I can only hold on to ether, and I'm not very good at that yet."

[Insomnia]

Insomnia smiled pleasantly at the ghost, as she retrieved the tweezers. Mab placed her other cracker on the bed, flew to the cotton, and brought a wad of it to Insomia.
"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. You do seem to be a very practical ghost, and I've always believed that practical people manage to grasp things quickly." she reassured Shae, as she took the cotton in her tweezers and dipped it into the warm water Shae had pointed out. Mab went and got her cracker, then gently guided Insomnia by the ear, who had been, rather dizzily, trying to swab her scrape while standing, back to the bed.
"Much better." Insomnia remarked as she gently brushed the damp cotton against the ragged skin. The pain seemed to wake her up, and she was able to clean it efficiently.
"What do I do next?" she asked Shae, while tossing the cotton into the nearby wastebasket.

[Shae]

"Wrap it." The ghost replied, liking the pun about being able to grasp things. It may not have been intentional, but she liked it.

"You could put a bandaid over it," She said, indicating the draw. "But it looks a little too big for a bandaid." She mused, analising the scrape.

"I recomend a stip of bandage, wrapped around three times at least, and secured. Re-wrap it each night or morning, so that the wound get's some air, and your flesh doesn't start to stink. Also, by checking it regularly, you can see whether it is getting better or worse. But only in the morning or evening."

The phantom made her way over to the bandages cupboard and tried to open it, but yet again, she proved to herself that she just couldn't do it yet.

"Oh, bother." She said, looking at her hands. "Well, the bandages are in here, rolled and organised by length. Knees are best with two metres, so that you can still bend." The dead girl explained, a sorry look in her green eyes.

[Insomnia]

Insomnia got up, and appeared to be thinking hard about something as she picked out an appropriate length of bandage.
"I don't know whether there are any other ghosts in Magic Horizons, but, if there are, could you ask them for lessons?"
She took a roll that looked suitable, then went back to sit on the bed. After a few false starts, and not a few tangles, she managed to encircle the damaged knee. Mab, having finished her crackers, had gone looking for something with which to fasten the bandage, and offered Insomnia a roll of surgical tape. Insomnia sealed the bandage, and gave her knee a few test bends.
"I think that works." she said with a look of accomplishment. She smiled at Shae, while petting Mab on the head with one finger.

[Shae]

The ghost smiled as well. Insomnia had done a good job, but there was something else. Then she remembered.

"Surgical tape won't always be handy, so take two of those fasteners, from that drawer. You've done an excellent job at that, Insomnia." The girl was happy that Insomnia had done so well, she needed to be able to do it if she was going to re-wrap it each day to check on it's healing.

"As for other ghosts and lessons, by the time most people die, they're ready for it. I'm the only ghost haunting the place at the moment." She said, knowing the truth.

"But I can manipulate the air enough to turn a page, so I read all the books written on the subject." The phantom said, smiling at the girl and her pixie.

[Insomnia]

Mab quickly grabbed the two fasteners, and stuffed them into one of the pockets in Insomnia's coat.
"Well, I feel fortunate that I've met a literate ghost. And I thank you for your help, Shae. I do hope I get to talk to you again, but, I'm afraid I've yet to be sorted, and would like to get my things sorted out. I can come visit you, even if I'm not injured, can't I?"
Mab chittered an agreement, and the pair looked askance at Shae.

[Shae]

The ghost's moss green eyes softened at the offer, and an honest smile warmed her face.

"Of course you can. I would be delighted to have some company." The girl said, her four foot high etherial form a little way above the ground.

"And Mab as well of course." the phantom added.

[Insomnia]

Insomnia's face lit up in a delighted smile.
"Than visit you I will, Shae! As soon as I've settled in. Thanks, again." she said, and curtsied to the ghostess. She then headed for the door, Mab flitting about her head.
"Come, Mab, you probably remember the way to the Main Hall, right? You'll have to show me..." her voice trailed off as the door shut behind her.