First Session: Eve Dawning

EmiRose · Jun 9, 2018

Eve was quite nervous to say the least. His last therapist had recommended Mr. Bryndiarsson to him, as he specialized in trauma cases such as Eve's and could probably help him more than Eve's last therapist. After Eve had separated himself from the bad influences couple of years ago this therapist had helped him get stabilized again. But maybe it was better to see someone with firmer experience.
Eve had been doing better lately, partly thanks to broadening his social circle, but these rumours floating around lately and all the suspicious, hostile gazes on him had spiked his nightmares. Eve was seeing the scenes from his past vividly again and was starting to have some flashbacks in normal everyday situations. Eve's sketchbook was yet again filled with scenes from his past, which wasn't good at all.
Eve squeezed the sketchbook against his chest as he hesitantly knocked on Mr. Bryndiarsson's office door. Eve was still wearing the face mask to hide his cut lip.
As Mr. Bryndiarsson would open the door Eve would nod slightly and look the man in the eye.
"Good day, Mr. Bryndiarsson. Nice to meet you. I am Eve Dawning, I am here for an appointment."

@Romi

Romi · Jun 9, 2018

Valli gestured for Eve to come in and take a seat before he returned to his own place, a plush armchair that wasn't quite across from the couch and armchair from the other side of the room, but at least in a position where he could clearly see his patients no matter where they sat. He settled in, a blank notebook of his own on his lap, but he was in no hurry to start writing it, the pen staying in his lap.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Dawning," Valli said, giving him a smile. He wasn't big on handshakes--plenty of his patients were uncomfortable on physical contact--but he did his best to be friendly anyway. He wasn't thrown off by the mask, but he wasn't one to make snap judgements even in the worst of circumstances.

"So, I normally start sessions by just covering the basics. I have a low level aura effect that makes me appear a bit more presentable than I actually am--the effect is mild, but I feel like it's worth saying. As a second note, if I run into you while out and about, I won't acknowledge you unless you acknowledge me first. I understand that some people don't like talking about therapy, or revealing they're in it."

He disagreed, of course, but that was neither here for there.

"And perhaps most importantly, anything you say in this session is strictly confidential. I can only break this confidentiality in the event that someone is in danger, whether you or someone else."

EmiRose · Jun 10, 2018

Eve took a seat, feeling unusually timid. Eve wasn't scared of strangers and Mr. Bryndiarson must've been already aware of Eve's background. But...after all, opening up to someone new was a mentally exhausting process.
Eve listened to Mr. Bryndiarson while he covered the basics, and thought he respected his work ethic. Eve nodded along to make it clear he understood.
"Yes, thank you. I do not mind your aura, so please be at ease about it."
Eve lowered his sketchbook to his lap, able to relax slightly.
"I imagine my old therapist told the basics about my situation. Or would you like to hear it with my own words?"

Romi · Jun 10, 2018

Valli tended to try and avoid hearing people's stories from anyone but themselves. If there were important or relevant details, yes--nothing was as frustrating as finding out several sessions in that a patient was a compulsive liar. Valli could only judge things based on what he was told--he didn't have a way to verify if the things he was told were actually true.

"Only the utter basics. That you were looking for someone who had experience in dealing with trauma-related cases to help work through some issues you've been having. I prefer to get as much of the story from my patients as possible. Even the most attentive therapist will focus on the things they feel are relevant, and I'm afraid the story they give tends not to be the full story. So... in your own words is ideal."

EmiRose · Jun 10, 2018

Eve's suspiciouns were proven true when Mr. Bryndiarson wanted to hear Eve tell his problem with his own words. Well, naturally he would want that. Eve took one deep breath and gave Valli the sketchbook he was holding.
"Please use this as a reference when I explain about my past, if you wish. There are some things I cannot voice without triggering a lapse. I have sketches in there, of my...experiences. Some might be graphic, so please proceed with caution."
Eve inhaled and exhaled slowly and took a better position. Then he began.
"I was found as an infant by a group of scientists, that worked for a chain of labs. Those labs conducted inhumane experiments on creatures, to discover their full potential. They started testing on me when I turned 6. Small things at first. Changes in diet, shots and such. But as they discovered more of me, they..."
Eve stopped to take a single staggering breath, holding the memories at bay. In the sketchbook there would be pictures of the experiments, one being the one that cause Eve's legs be scarred with burns. There were also isolation experiments, shock experiments and so on.
"The experiments became more taxing, both physically and mentally. It continued until I was 13. And when I was 13, that July, I...they made me..."
Eve had to stop and breathe in order to calm himself.
The last sketch in the sketchbook would be of the scene Eve couldn't describe, of all his friends, other test subjects, burned alive in a small room. Eve had done it, burned them all alive. He hadn't known.
Eve was fighting against a lapse and was able to push it back. He was squeezing his hands together tightly, his knuckles were bone white.
"I destroyed the whole laboratory, burned it to the ground. They found me, almost only survivor. They brought me here. And I have been here ever since."
Eve straightened his back, there were nearly tears in his eyes.
"I experienced some hardships at the beginning, and through ages 16 to 19. My previous therapist was able to help me stabilize myself, and I believe I have gone through improvement. But now...there is a rumour about me. Rumour that causes people to look at me, suspicious and even hostile. I've experienced some minor lapses and flashbacks, and my nightmares are much more vivid too."
Eve sighed and looked at Mr. Bryndiarson briefly before looking down.
"Forgive me if I talk too much, Mr. Bryndiarson."

Romi · Jun 13, 2018

Valli took the sketchbook, but he didn't flip through it just yet. He instead listened, letting Eve talk. The experiments were obviously a wound, but not a fresh one--one that had years of therapy and processing to help handle. But there was, truly speaking, only so much that could be done. Even after years of therapy, there would still be trauma. Therapy was about learning to move past it, not about learning to forget it. It was about learning to cope, to nowt have an immediate breakdown, and Eve was already at that point.

And now he was facing something new. A rumor that was bringing back old memories. Something new to puzzle out and deal with, and Valli nodded as he finished his story, flipping through the sketchbook and getting a better idea of the situation.

"There's no need to apologize. Therapy is, being realistic, primarily about the patient talking. You can talk however much you want to talk, and if needed, I'm not afraid of barging in. I'd be a very poor therapist if I didn't know how to politely interrupt."

Valli glanced up from the sketchbook, giving Eve a small smile before setting the sketchbook down on the table between them.

"Do you want to talk about the rumor? That seems to be the major focus for right now - you've been working through your early years with your old therapist, but the rumor is something new."

EmiRose · Jun 14, 2018

Eve had been in therapy for many years now but he never got used to being the one talking. Even though Eve wasn't used to being the center of conversation he did not mind it that much. Eve wasn't particularly shy. But talking about himself for extended periods of time potentially very little interruptions would never not be at least slightly uncomfortable for him.

Eve tried to answer Mr. Bryndiarson's small smile, although it wasn't visible through the mask. He didn't take back the sketchbook, in case Mr. Bryndiarson wanted to look at it again, and folded his hands in his lap.
"Well, the rumour is that I have stolen and plagiarized other people's works. But I swear it is not true. I would never copy someone else's work. I merely immortalize things as I see them, and I take good care I don't copy something someone else has created. I draw my inspiration from people and the world itself."
Eve got a defensive tone in his voice, he didn't want Mr. Bryndiarson to think of him as a copier.

Romi · Jun 19, 2018

Rumors. Or really just a rumor, from what he could tell--the idea that he was a thief, a copy. Someone taking the work of others and passing it off as their own. Valli cocked his head as he considered the accusations, and then mentally slid himself back and focused on what really mattered: Eve's reaction to them.

Because proving he hadn't copied was easy. Dealing with his own emotional response to it was much harder.

"I think it might be helpful for you emotionally to be proactive with it. I know there's a common sentiment of just ignore bullies and they'll go away, but realistically speaking that doesn't often work. In a case like this, where someone is actively targeting you, you'll probably be able to feel more comfortable by going on the offensive and dealing with the rumor itself."

Valli paused for a moment, drumming his fingers on his knee as he thought before deciding what advice to offer.

"Obviously you can't just hunt down every person who's heard the rumor, but you can go directly to the people who you've supposedly copied. Speaking to them directly might calm your concerns, letting you know for sure that it isn't them making accusations."

EmiRose · Jun 22, 2018

Eve knew Mr. Bryndiarson was right when he suggested facing the rumour, and it's spreaders, head on. But just the thought made Eve's breath go shallow, the thought of confrontation. He briefly tugged his mask. Behind it was a cut on his lip he had received from a person, who had in turn confronted him about the rumour, demanding to know if it was true. And when Eve had denied it and tried to explain he had been slapped, causing him to bite his lip. This incident made Eve feel even more timid about confrontation.
Because he could do much worse things to people than just a cut in the lip if he willed it.
"I-I know that this situation requires such methods. I have been advised to do so by other people as well. But I...I'm not sure I can."
Eve hugged himself since he didn't have his sketchbook at the moment. He looked down and tried to take slow, deep breaths.

Eve flinched a bit when Mr. Bryndiarson mentioned going to the people he had supposedly copied from. He couldn't even picture it, and did shake his head quickly a couple of times.
"It wouldn't be any use. I don't have the words to defend myself, and would just get talked into a corner. I'm sorry to be so negative, Mr. Bryndiarson, but I really do not have faith in my capabilities to confront people."
Eve sighed a bit and lowered his arms from around himself slowly. He glanced at Mr. Bryndiarson and took a breath, mentally preparing.
"I...I might have a hunch...about who it is. The one behind this all."

Romi · Jun 25, 2018

Valli noted the cut on his lip, but jumped to no major conclusions. There was no guarantee the cut was related in any way to what had happened, and no indication from Eve that it was true either.

"Confrontation can be difficult," Valli said, speaking with the same calm tone he generally kept in sessions. "But learning to confront people is a skill, and one that people are better to learn sooner rather than later. Going through life without confronting people is a hard way to live. An almost impossible way."

Valli leaned back slightly in his chair, returning to more well-trod ground.

"You need to learn to advocate for yourself. Not with the person you suspect as being behind the rumor, but instead with the school. To approach them directly, and to have them investigate the rumor. Find someone who will help you--a supportive teacher, maybe--and then taking the step forward."

Valli was not volunteering. That would step over the line for him, and he didn't have enough experience with Eve anyway. Eve would need someone who knew him better, and who knew his art better, and would be willing to point out that he needed to have his case looked at.

"Some important things to remember is that confronting people can be uncomfortable, but that asserting yourself is a healthy practice."

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