Ben had a headache. And for the first time in the last few months, it wasn’t induced by a hangover. The reason was still the same, and it would remain that way until something changed. Days had passed wherein Ben asked himself what had to change in order for the world to right itself again, but there wasn’t an answer to be found, especially at the bottom of a bottle. He had nursed it anyway and it was a wonder how he hadn’t royally blundered at work. Prewett seemed confident in him at least, and Ben would be damned if he lost his job. That was the last thing he needed, so in order to make up for any possible slip-ups that had occurred within the past few months, he threw himself into more field work.

That meant interviews around the country, late nights spent pouring over paperwork and maps.

It was fucking tedious. For the first time, there was precious little that would loosen the constant knot in his chest, not even sparring with Hatchitt. The woman put up a good fight though, which made things bearable when it came to spending nights by himself, alone. He’d been recommended by one of his staff to head to the barn, but that had only served to resurface memories of Ari and how they’d gotten so lucky when Mr. Holm found them together. In the end though, Amos had been right, and taking a ride had done well to at least distract him. It wasn’t as if he could keep sending Hatchitt home to her husband with too many cuts and bruises. Jesse was a good sport about it all (or so Fallon told him), but even if Ben knew where his romantic sensibilities lay, Jesse didn’t, and he didn’t want to give the man any cause for suspicion.

Thoroughly bruised from their sparring sessions, perhaps it wasn’t the best idea for him to go riding around Hyde Park in Muggle London. Transportation wasn’t an issue, but the constant bruising on his ribs were certainly protesting. Every step that the beast made sent pain radiating out from his abdomen, and it didn’t help his relaxed posture get any better, which in turn, made his mount extremely jumpy. It seemed the day was destined to go from bad to worse, because once they reached an intersection near the lake, the horse immediately spooked. Her whinny pierced the air and she bolted just as Ben caught a glimpse of… a Diricawl flapping its way between unsuspecting muggles.

Before he knew it, Ben was thrown off. He hit the ground just as his shoulder gave a sickening crunch. Someone shouted, and Ben tried to keep consciousness to see who had done so, before everything started to fade from view.

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