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Post by snalf on Nov 7, 2011 17:51:09 GMT -5
Naturally, becoming a Wherhandler had completely screwed up the young woman's schedule. Not to say that she didn't love it, of course. It was just something she had to get used to. It had turned out okay, and the rather troublesome green never left her side.
Lexisk's sad. Why? Why sad? crooned the Wher, eyes gazing up at Lexine as she walked. There was a strange thing with the 'little' creature, where at the moment, only a few emotions actually were valid. Fear, in Lexine's case, Sad, Happy, and Mad. There was very little variation between them, either.
'For the hundredth time, I'm anxious, not sad! ' Lexine returned with a rather exasperated tone. Lexisk stopped walking and gave her a blank stare for several long moments, as if her brain itself had broken or some sort of wire had snapped. After several more long seconds of the stare, she suddenly began going back to her usual walking pace as if nothing had happened.
Lexisk's sad, yes?
At that, Lexine felt it fit to just give up the argument. In any other situation, she would have done something like face-palming. With another deep breath, she stopped at the Mindhealer's door. Raising her fists, she knocked lightly. Oh shards, she was going to be killed for waking someone up so early! But she needed something like therapy, even though Lexisk didn't agree! Not that Lexisk knew what therapy was in the first place.
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Post by Ferret on Nov 7, 2011 18:12:02 GMT -5
Light as the knocking was, it was still enough to jerk Leevi into the world of the living once more. Old habits were hard to break. Others didn’t break at all. Taking a few deep breaths, the young mindhealer paused, just to make sure that he really heard the light tap-tapping at his bedroom door. Also make sure that some flit hadn’t accidentally flown into the room somehow.
“Brrrrp?” said Kay, sleepily lounging on Leevi’s pillow. Something was happening! People slept at night! But hers was no longer asleep! Zrrrrrr thought approaching… “Mrrrep?” she asked, suddenly aware that she should be concerned about Leevi getting up. And then she forgot and quickly took advantage of the warm spot he left on the bed. “Zzzz…”
The door creaked open. And then it creaked open more widely when Leevi saw that someone was looking very distressed. It didn’t matter that he was wearing the Pernese equivalent of footie pyjamas. Someone needed help. Also, they had a wher, he realized, looking at the green dragonkin with surprise.
“Can I help you?” he asked, with complete honesty and concern in his voice. “Come in, please. Sorry about… well, everything…” yeah, now that he was settling in, the room was gradually becoming messier. Still, Leevi was able to round up some chairs and get those set up. And tea! He needed tea. Tea helped everything, he believed.
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Post by snalf on Nov 7, 2011 18:25:16 GMT -5
Lexine nearly jumped when the male opened the door. She should have been expecting that, but alas, she wasn't. For a moment, the Wher tensed. With a reassuring touch from her handler, Lexisk relaxed.
Stranger, danger! Danger, stranger! she snorted suspiciously.
'No. Not a dangerous stranger. Behave.' The poor girl couldn't put it any simpler. Lexine shuffled into the room, scanning her surroundings apprehensively before taking a seat.
"I-I'm sorry t-that I didn't c-come during the d-day. I'm a-asleep then," she chirped, keeping her back straight and putting her hands in her lap. Clearing her throat, she glanced again at the Wher. Well, at least Lexisk was sitting next to her rather tamely. It was a concern, really. She couldn't keep the green inside like this with her all the time once she got bigger. It was a dilemma.
There were greater things to talk about, though. Like breaking her habit of stuttering. Oh, did she rue that habit! Or, to cope with people asking about the bandages that wrapped around her arms. Those silly bandages, covered in doodles of Firelizards and Whers. She looked at her arms before focusing her gaze on the man. "I n-need to just t-talk for o-once," she noted.
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Post by Ferret on Nov 7, 2011 18:43:01 GMT -5
“It’s no problem at all. My door is always open.” In fact, being woken up was practically a vote of confidence in the young mindhealer. It meant that people would come to him for help and that filled him with pride and happiness. Which was quickly followed by guilt because… well, these people were still in pain.
O… k… well, the wher seemed safe enough. Her eyes weren’t red at least, which Leevi was prepared to count as a good thing. As the girl started to talk, the mindhealer sat in a chair across from her, trying to look like as little danger as possible. The last thing he wanted was to get mauled by a wher. But, when the wherhandler spoke, the mindhealer’s attention was all on her, wher almost entirely forgotten.
Or as much as he could forget.
“Alright,” he said carefully and gently. “Do you want to start with names? I’m Leevi and that’s Kay. What should I call you and your wher? And would you like some tea? I can send Kay down to the kitchens with a request.” Although the chances of actually getting tea from that would be remote, he realized. The firelizard still regularly got lost in one room, let alone managing to find her way all the way down to the kitchens. Still, he had to offer.
"Now... what did you want to talk about?" Shards, he wasn't even going to insist on names if she didn't want to give him one. Talking was more important.
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Post by snalf on Nov 7, 2011 18:56:07 GMT -5
The nice comment made her smile fleetingly. It was actually a bit alien, but she took it contently. Her hand moved to rest on her companions head, gently feeling her hide and taking comfort in it. The Wher would be tame enough.
"I'm L-Lexine, and s-she is L-Lexisk," she tapped the beast on the head at the mention of her name, much to the Wher's annoyance. "Tea w-would be n-nice, if it i-isn't a h-hassle to g-get it," she added going back to stroking the green's head.
What did she want to talk about? Well, there was a lot of things, honestly.
"I w-was just..," she paused, trying to find the right words, "I g-guess I've j-just been a l-little too q-quite about m-my stresses," Lexine said, taking a deep breath. It was kind of weird, going to someone else for help. Well, someone that wasn't a Flitt or Wher. Her little winged friends were tucked away back where she slept, probably enjoying all the space they were taking up.
"I'm a b-bit l-lost."
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Post by Ferret on Nov 7, 2011 19:12:55 GMT -5
“If it makes you feel more comfortable, then it’s no hassle at all.” Or, rather, no amount of hassle would be too much by Leevi’s measure. He got up and poked Kay awake, ignoring the gold firelizard’s protesting ‘krawws!’ and gave her a note. “Go to the kitchens, Kay.”
A jumble of images from the fat firelizard. Kitchens, warm, smell, food? Yes, she loved food! To her, it sounded like Leevi had just given her free reign to go to the Best Place. Not noticing the letter in her jaws, she took off like a very, very fat jumbo jet. After a few laps around the room, she forgot what she was doing and tried to land again. It took two more attempts before Leevi managed to usher the flit from the room and towards the kitchens. Hopefully, she’d find her way back but, if she didn’t… well, he knew where she would be.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Lexine and Lexisk. She’s a very pretty wher,” he said politely, but quickly returned to the main point. Lexine wanted to talk. He sat down again and patiently waited, even when Lexine stumbled over her words and struggled to collect her thoughts. He had all the time in the world for his patients.
“How are you lost? Is it just that you’re in a different place than you wanted to be?” Well, of course that could be it. It wasn’t like small children regularly thought, ‘when I grow up, I want to work in prison!’ or something. “Let’s start with why you feel like you’re lost and go from there.”
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Post by snalf on Nov 7, 2011 19:28:19 GMT -5
Lexine watched as the Flitt went away on her little quest. Shards, did she love those little psychos. Kay herself was really precious, and reminded her of Tart. "T-Thanks," she said shortly as he complimented the Wher. Lexisk herself looked pretty flattered, and had a rather smug aura about her now. Well, Leevi was okay by her book.
'Yes. Stranger good.' she crooned.
Ignoring her companion, she began, "T-To tell y-you the t-truth..I'm n-not too s-sure," she shrugged, sitting there in silence for a few moments, pondering her feelings. "T-There is j-just s-some big h-hole" she explained, "J-Just, of u-unsureness about e-everything. I m-mean, getting L-Lexisk helped, but n-not as m-much as I'd h-hoped."
If that made any sense. Hopefully, it did.
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Post by Ferret on Nov 7, 2011 19:51:00 GMT -5
Right. Write! He needed something to write with. Leevi briefly scrabbled among the hides on the desk before he found something he could wrote on and then another brief scrabble to find something to write with. “Do you mind if I take notes? It helps to keep things in order,” he asked, just to make sure. It wasn’t necessary, but it always helped to be able to write things down so he could remember them later.
“So… you feel directionless?” he hazarded. Actually, it sounded like more than just that, but it felt better to start with the simple problem at first. This almost certainly sounded like some sort of long-term anxiety disorder. Leevi’s interest was permanently captured when Lexine mentioned the problem becoming easier to deal with after getting her wher. To him it sounded like the perfect study for animal-based therapies. Plus, it sounded like an opening to the problem.
“Really? That’s very interesting. How did you feel when you Impressed?” he asked, all curiosity. And, a beat later, he added, “If any of my questions make you feel uncomfortable, please say so and I’ll stop and we can talk about something else.”
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Post by snalf on Nov 7, 2011 20:27:08 GMT -5
She watched as Leevi scrambled around for something, before tilting her head and answering his question, "G-Go right a-ahead!" Notes were completely okay! It was interesting that someone was actually going to pay attention! Yay!~
"D-Directionless is a g-good way to p-put it," she nodded, glancing at the Wher. "I f-figured that I w-would g-get on t-track w-when I became a h-handler, b-but n-now I d-don't know w-what to do..." It was a bit sad to admit, but it was the truth. She could still be a Master Healer with Whers, but she was overall unsure. "I-I'm stuck o-on the p-past," she added grimly.
Impression. That was always a nice thing to talk about. It had been one of the happiest moments of her life so far. "G-Getting Lexisk w-was a b-blessing," she smiled, "I d-don't have t-to feel s-so lonely a-anymore," she noted and pet the creature affectionately. "I'm o-okay with q-questions. Worry n-not."
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Post by Ferret on Nov 7, 2011 21:35:43 GMT -5
Leevi’s quill made a few scratching noises as he marked a few things down. “It sounds like you have a good idea of what’s bothering you already. That’s good,” he said encouragingly, with another bright smile. Hmm… two directions… he decided to pursue the Impression angle; talking about Impressions was the sort of thing that made people feel more comfortable and that was important here. Speaking of Impressions…
Kay returned at that moment, purruping and sending feelings of full stomach and warmhappy to Leevi. Like a blimp, she sailed into the room. Much like the Hidenburg, it took her a very short amount of time to crash into the mindhealer, unceremoniously scrabbling up to his shoulder. “Barrp!” she ‘brrped’ in surprise at the sight of Lexine, having long forgotten about the woman and her wher. New friends! She loved new friends! Gently, Leevi put up a hand to keep the firelizard back for now, which meant the gold quickly became distracted by his hand.
Well, at least she wasn’t carrying the note. “Equal chance she carried the note successfully or ate it,” he said to his patient. “Alright so… your Impression. Wherhandling is an odd choice. Not a lot of people choose to be wherhandlers. What led you to it?” He tilted his head to one side, not realizing that Kay was doing the exact same thing. Although, in her case, it was because she was trying to chew Leevi’s fingers.
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Post by snalf on Nov 7, 2011 21:56:28 GMT -5
Lexine nodded, "F-For the m-most part," she rubbed the back of her head with her free hand for a moment before returning it to her lap. She gazed at the firelizard and gave a little amused sound. "F-Firelizards are s-strange. M-My two b-boys are a l-lot of trouble," she mused.
Anyway. Back to the talk of impressions. The messed with the bottom of her pant leg restlessly, looking rather amused by it's new game. She'd let it be for now.
"I t-took to Whers b-because I l-like them m-more," she admitted, gently swatting the little thing away from it's game. It got annoying really fast. "A-And one s-saved my l-life when I w-was younger," she added, a little bit of hesitation noticeable. That would have been a better thing to add first. Her arrival to the Wher and all things before it had been rather hard to cope with. It most sure to be the cause of most of her problems that she faced.
Another little laugh was given. There was always something about animals that charmed her more than people. The little creature was just overall amusing.
'Lexisk thinks Lexisk's need pet Lexisk more!' The Wher grumbled, looking at her accusingly. Lexine her a little more attention.
"S-She l-likes being the c-center of my a-attention." Just like the firelizards. Lexine had it pretty hard with her companions. Two Flitts who had no concept of intelligence, and a Wher with no concept of fear. Poor girl.
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Post by Ferret on Nov 7, 2011 23:05:37 GMT -5
“Much more trouble than I thought they would be,” Leevi agreed, making another note on the newly-formed chart. “But it’s a good sort of trouble, you know? Kind of like… no matter what else happens, I know Kay will always be there for me. She’s not going to judge me for anything so long as I keep feeding her.” And, it was soppy to think so, but Leevi liked to think that the gold flit actually adored him and not just because he gave her delicious treats.
A few more words, a few more scribbles. “Can you tell me a bit about that? A wher saved your life, that’s pretty impressive. When I was growing up----I grew up in High Reaches Weyr-----I didn’t think much about the whers.” Which was rather a pity, come to think of it. They were pretty interesting creatures. He grinned as the Green abruptly decided that she wanted more attention and wasn’t at all shy about trying to get it.
“Mrrp?” Now that caught Kay’s attention once more. Bigflit big, she reported solemnly, nibbling Leevi’s hair.
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Post by snalf on Nov 8, 2011 15:12:37 GMT -5
"M-Mine fly into t-things and g-get stuck," she seemed annoyed at the thought. "I a-adore them, b-but they d-drive me insane." Like Plum thinking that every water source was meant for swimming in, or Tart not seeming to understand the concept that he couldn't fly through walls. And yes. Treats always seemed to help.
Where to start? There was quite a bit to her infatuation with the big, gnarly brutes. "W-Well..." Lexine considered, "I-It was j-just doing as it w-was supposed to, b-but I s-saw no D-Dragons coming to h-help, so," she shrugged. "W-Whers have b-been my f-focus since I g-got here. I d-didn't really k-know how l-looked down on t-they were u-until people w-were rude about h-how I liked them. W-Watch Whers h-have are r-really special to m-me."
'Lexisk better than dragon! Lexisk pretty. Lexisk's pretty too.'
'Lexisk is the best.' Lexine returned shortly, patting her. "T-They're quite d-different from d-dragons, so I've h-heard."
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Post by Ferret on Nov 8, 2011 19:26:20 GMT -5
In retrospect, perhaps ‘insane’ was not the best word to use around a mindhealer. Leevi considered it carefully before discarding it as little more than a colorful description. People who actually were insane rarely admitted it or even realized it. That was, after all, part of the definition of insanity, the inability to recognize the truth of things.
“Ok… can you start at the beginning? What was happening?” he asked gently, trying to figure out what the ‘it’ was and what it had been doing. A good place to start for now, he hoped. Start with something she’d be comfortable talking about and then move up to talking about her childhood. Everything came back to childhood, so the mindhealer believed.
“Oh, definitely. Whers are definitely different from dragons,” he said with all the authority of one who lived most of his life around the beasts. Well, dragons at least. Whers were… from another world, practically, one dominated by night and darkness. “But that’s not a bad thing either. Different isn’t bad.”
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Post by snalf on Nov 8, 2011 21:31:13 GMT -5
Lexine sat there in silence, going over when would be the best point to start off from. Well, it was mostly a comfort thing. There was quite a bit to discuss. "W-Well, when I g-got here, the p-people bring me h-had an issue...And," she paused.
The right words didn't always come the way the should, "M-My father t-tried to stop m-me from living h-here, and h-he was v-violent," Lexi cleared her throat, "The Wher t-that helped m-me was a-actually the o-one who stopped my f-father," the word father was said with a tone and feeling of rather distaste, as if it were laced with poison.
"W-Whers are a g-good kind of d-different," she agreed, "T-They're just as u-useful, and I b-believe the bonds a-are just as s-strong," that was a fact, according to her. Having a Wher was a lot like having a Dragon! Just quite a bit rougher and daylight wasn't something you were all that used to anymore. The night was quite, though. Not a lot of people.
Just how Lexine liked it
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