First Session: Noli Zaphir

Kathinja

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Lae was leaving for Mes tomorrow. With Malara, and her cult. Noli was not handling it well, and she knew she was not handling it well. And there were still...things that just floated around in her mind. Stuff she should be over with already. But she wasn't. Her head spun with so many different experiences and feelings that she felt lost and confused in her own head. With encouragement from her Papa and Flo, she finally made an appointment to talk to a therapist at the school.

She chose Valli after briefly meeting him at the community center. She still felt a little weird about talking to a stranger about her problems...it was certainly not something she did on Mes. The Prax method of dealing with mental health was 'suck it up, Prax don't have these problems.' She already knew that was unhelpful. So...she needed to suck it up and try this now. At least she had met Valli once before, so he wasn't a total stranger.

"I...don't even know where to start," she said to Valli was an awkward smile, leaning forward in her chair toward him. One of her legs was shaking with nerves.

 

Romi

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Valli waited until Noli had settled in before he gave his usual explanation. He explained his aura. He explained his policies about meeting her in public. And most of all, he explained his commitment to secrecy. He knew enough about Noli to know that she had family on the island, so discretion was that much more important.

And once that was done, he started the session properly.

"Normally I say start at the beginning, only that's not particularly productive in this case. I would say... start with the issue. What issue are you seeing in your life? People come to therapy, generally speaking, because they see an issue, and they want help sorting through it. So just think about that, and just... talk. Don't worry about making it short or concise or right. Just say whatever comes to mind."
 

Kathinja

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Noli nodded and took a deep breath. What was the issue?

"Alright, well, I guess I'll start with...my sister left to go on a mission on our home planet. She's...a lot more attached to our home than I am, so I understand she wants to help in a conflict that's going on right now, but..."

Noli sighed and rubbed at her face.

"Did she really have to go with Malara and her cult? I'm scared of her getting involved with them..."

She struggled to make any sort of eye contact with Valli as she spoke.

"I tried to explain it to her before she left, but I couldn't really...voice my worries, and she kind of just brushed me off...."

 

Romi

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Thankfully, Valli had a fairly good idea of who Malara was, even if he was far from having a complete picture. He knew enough, and that was what mattered. Malara was an alien god, Noli was likely from her planet, and so on and so forth.

"You have concerns," Valli said, doing his best to simply restate what the problem as he knew it was. "And you're worried about your sister getting caught up in things. Rushing in without thinking." He would need more information, but that was the general idea.

"And when she comes back, do you think you'll try and talk to her again? Or do you think the issue will resolve itself simply because the moments passed?" A reoccurring issue, he'd guess.
 

Kathinja

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"I-I guess that's part of it...I just want her to be safe. I don't think Mes is worth putting herself in danger for, but..."

Noli paused.

"I guess I need to accept that she does think it's worth it. But...it's Malara that really worries me."

Noli bit her lip for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts.

"I...knew Malara on a personal level that my sister does not. I had a...'relationship' with her."

The word 'relationship' came out with venom. She hardly considered what she had with Malara as a real 'relationship' at this point.

"She puts her relationships in a hierarchy. I was basically on the same level as a vibrator, to her. Needless to say, things didn't...go well. I don't see Malara as someone worth worshiping. But...there are people who feel she is worthy of worship. She has a whole cult that is obsessed with her. I'm scared of those people. What if they knew I had what they wanted, and then I rejected it? I'm sure at least some of them would resent me, would want to hurt me..."

Noli stared at the ground, her fingers fidgeting.

"What if she becomes one of them? What if Malara turns my own sister against me?"

Noli then wrapped her arms around herself, clinging to the sleeves of her dress.

"I'm scared..."

 

Romi

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A relationship. Did that mean Malara was considered an ex? Probably to some people, for some reasons. But the way Noli spoke made it clear she didn't feel the same way.

Valli was a bit more aware of godly issues. He'd looked into them a lot, figured out how he felt about it all.

"Probably better to stay quiet about it," Valli said, "and to let it fade into the background. The relationships between gods and mortals can be difficult, and they have their own pitfalls. To a certain extent, it is... hard for a god to really relate to a mortal on an equal level."

Only that was in the past. It wasn't Noli's real focus, and Valli settled back in his chair, giving a small stretch of his arms as he processed it.

"The real concern shouldn't be Malara. It should be your sister. She's the one you have concerns for, and she's the one you need to speak to. You simply need to decide what to say, decide when to say it, and then follow through, even if it's hard."

And it would be hard.

"Break it down into steps, and it becomes easier to handle."
 
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