Event Private Finished Bracelet Buddies

Valli had not had a good day. He'd gone to the speeches expecting to get excited about the school, and instead he'd left after one and a half feeling slightly ill.

He hadn't expected it. He had some very, very mixed feelings about Alma's speech, and even more mixed feelings when he responded to the knock on the door. Apparently, she wanted to talk. Probably not for a session, either - if she had, she'd have booked one most likely. Instead she was dropping by on her own time.

"Miss Malivani," Valli said, gesturing for her to come in before closing the door behind them, ensuring his privacy. "Personal business, I guess?"

No sitting then. Valli made a point of sitting himself, settling down on the couch and looking a smidge more tired than usual. Not as exhausted as he probably should have, but his power kept that from ever happening.

"You've done well for yourself," Valli said, wishing he'd thought to make tea. "And you've come a long way in a short period of time. The pace of your recovery has been good." A little bit tired, but he could handle this. "You wanted to talk?"

Obviously, or she wouldn't be there, but he was leaving the door open for her to talk about what he wanted to.

It wasn't a very comfortable discussion. Not at all. And truthfully, even if it wasn't a session, Valli was very much treating it like one.

"You did," Valli said. "Divulging what happened to you can be empowering. It can be... reclaiming what was taken from you. I simply was caught off guard by it."

On second thought, Valli got up, heading over towards the corner, crouching down, and retrieving an electric kettle from a small cupboard.

"Would you like some tea, Alma?" Valli offered, getting himself set up.

Valli went about the motions of making tea in his office, something he'd clearly done quiet a bit in the past.

"You don't have to apologize to me, or to anyone," Valli said. "It was simply unexpected. I planned to talk about the idea of reclaiming later, but you've moved up the schedule a bit."

Valli turned, leaning against the wall and stretching slightly. He was more relaxed than he normally was during his sessions, but also a bit more tense.

"I can relate. I don't know how much you learned about me before your last therapist referred you to me, though."

"It was," Valli said, returning to the couch and setting his own tea down, as well as placing tea for Alma down on the little table. "So when I say that I understand the feelings, I mean it. For me, it wasn't the person who harmed me. Instead, it was everyone else. I didn't think they would ever get the chance to do it again, but I didn't think things had really changed, either. I knew that it would happen to others, because the circumstances around it hadn't changed, and so I turned my anger and frustrations against them... much like you are. You are campaigning for change that might have stopped what happened to you. You are reclaiming the power in your own life."

Valli paused, a small frown appearing on his face.

"But I am worried that you may not have considered the other issues with this."