hadriel | 008 [Video]

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008 [Video]

[So the fighting may be over, but that doesn't mean everything is going to be immediately fine. Finally having the time to really think about everything that's happened, and for everything to sink in, is going to make the next few days and weeks just as much of a challenge for some here as the last have been, if not more so.

But that is, hopefully, something he can help with, if at least a little. And there are new arrivals as well, who not only had to deal with the end of the invasion but also everything that goes along with suddenly finding themselves in an entirely new world, not to mention the sudden setting change too.

So he's trying to look as composed and calm as possible, which is a bit of a struggle since--like pretty much everyone else--he's exhausted and didn't get out of the whole ordeal with the Null entirely unscathed. Compared to some people he definitely fared better, but there's still a pretty obvious bruise across his cheekbone and around his eye; it's not too serious, but the main problem is that it's also not very helpful in looking as professional and put together as he's trying to appear.

Still, he's doing his best, and he lifts his chin a little and takes a deep breath before speaking.]

If anyone is injured, or just in need of somewhere safe to rest, the hot springs and the fire station are both serving as temporary locations for the clinic. Additionally, considering the seriousness and extent of everything that's happened in the last few weeks as well as the arrival of new people, it's worth reiterating that I'm a psychologist and so if anyone wants to talk, whether about recent events or otherwise, I'm available to meet.

[A short pause.]

I'm... Not exactly sure where, since my office doesn't exist anymore, and I probably should've thought about this before making this announcement...

[That would've been good planning, if he weren't so tired and scattered, but okay, refocus--]

But that can be decided on an individual basis. Additionally, if you'd like to respond privately, you can do so.

[And he includes a brief explanation of how to make a conversation private. With all of that out of the way, he'll put a filter on the post himself and add another message.]

[Private to friends and coworkers]

I hope you're all okay, and... If anyone who wants to let me know for sure that they are, that would be great.

[He's worried about everyone. :c]

[[ooc: Anyone on the Clinic staff list or who has positive CR will be included in this filter; feel free to assume your character's included if they and Lance know each other and are on good terms!]]

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Don't take on too much. You can't actually counsel everyone in this place, you know.

[He sounds a little worried - but he's a little amused, too. Such a blanket offer seems like far too much, but it also is not terribly surprising, all things considered.]

I'm hoping that not everyone in this place needs the offer.

[He offers the response with the same mix of worry and amusement, although he's glad to hear from Adam.]

Did you and Ronan get through everything okay?

You know we all do. Better to hope that most people are too embarrassed to take you up on it.

[Look, this city is full of emotional fuckups.]

We both survived. It was... bad, though.

...Okay, that's true, but I'm pretty sure hoping for that would automatically make me a bad person.

[It's a joke, sort of, but also kind of true. He definitely can't hope for that, so instead he'll just settle for hoping people aren't so bad off that they can't wait a few days to talk to him.

And... The rest of that response is sort of reassuring, and sort of not.]

Bad in what way?

[Is there something he can do to help?]

You just offered the entire city psychological help. I'm not sure there's anything you could do that would make you a bad person, short of actual murder.

[And that, hopefully, they can all avoid. For now. All things considered, murder is probably not the worst crime anyone here has committed.

Adam hesitates, not sure how honest to be. He's still in the habit of lying about any damage or pain he might take, a long ingrained habit.]

Ronan got hurt. He'll recover, but it could have been a lot worse.

[That response prompts a faint smile.]

I promise not to do any murdering.

[But he's concerned by that hesitation, and the actual answer isn't a lot better.]

I'm glad it's not worse; is there anything I can do?

[And, because he feels like he should ask directly for several reasons--]

You weren't hurt yourself?

He's all bandaged up, he should be okay. He just needs to rest and not do anything stupid.

[Whether either of them can go too long without doing anything stupid is the real question here.]

I wasn't hurt.

[He hesitates, because he's not sure how to explain or even if he should explain.]

I used too much magic. It made things... weird for awhile.

Okay, good. Hopefully we'll all have time for more resting and less stupidity, at least for the next few weeks.

[It's hard for everyone to resist doing something stupid, Lance included. And he's quiet a moment, considering Adam's next answer; he's curious about exactly what might've be the side effects of overusing his magic and why, but that's something he can ask about later.]

Things are better now, though? Less weird?

We deserve a little rest after all of that.

[But he's not sure they'll get it. He can hope, but after everything... well, there's no way to be sure.]

Yeah. I feel almost human again.

[For a moment he's quiet, struggling once again to explain.]

I get my power from a forest, and it doesn't really... think like a person.

I... Can't begin to guess what a forest thinks like, but I can imagine how that might be strange.

[Vaguely imagine, anyway. Theoretically.]

It's wearing off, though? Does that happen every time you use a lot of magic?

Not like I normally do, that's for sure. And it tries to help - when I'm scared or when I'm angry, it tries to make me feel better. It just doesn't really understand how.

[And it does help - it just pushes him away from feeling like a human might.]

I've never used this much magic for this long before. But yeah, it's happened before. It used to bother some of my friends, I think.

A person's thoughts and feelings are probably just as confusing to a sentient magic forest as its are to us.

[Which is... A sentence he never thought he'd ever say, but that's kind of how things go in Hadriel.]

I'm glad it wants to help, at least. Weird or not.

Yeah. It wants me to feel better so it just kind of... takes stuff away, when I let it. And a lot of the time, it's easier to let it.

[In situations of great stress, anyway. Adam prefers not to on a daily basis, but when they're being attacked by evil robots and he's trying to protect himself however he can? Yeah, he'll let the forest take his fear then.]

It has good intentions, it's just not human. Like some of the gods here, I guess. They don't really understand why we do the things we do or why we feel the way we feel, but they need us anyway.

[That doesn't sound like the healthiest way of handling things, but Lance can't exactly judge at the moment. So he'll just file that away mentally and focus on the last part of what Adam said.]

The motives of your forest and those of the gods may not be quite the same.

[The way they think might be similar, but if the motives aren't then it's important not to make a false link between them.]

[That makes him smile.]

I'd be pretty concerned if they were. Though I guess that would make them easier to understand, at least for me.

[Though even Adam doesn't always know what his forest wants. He's just its servant, when it needs him.]

I just mean that none of them have the same perspective as us. We're... smaller, more contained, we think so differently.

[Having a god-whisperer would be pretty cool. But yeah, he gets the idea, and nods.]

I'd say that perhaps it would possible to facilitate more understanding, but that would take willingness and effort on both sides.

[And although some of the residents here might be willing, and Hope probably would be from the gods' side of things, he's not sure any of the others--gods or general population--would care to do so.]

Yeah. I can't really blame anyone for that - not us, not the gods. Your own problems always seem much bigger than anyone else's.

[Adam's no exception to that.]

Have you talked to the gods at all?

[Lance is slightly less inclined not to blame anyone for it, but he won't argue. It's not like Adam's attitude is bad, just different, and he's totally right about one's own problems seeming more important.]

I've spoken with a few of them, but only at any length with Hope.

[Who is, incidentally, the only god he likes. He might like some of the others more if he talked to them more, but he isn't all that interested in doing unless it might be useful.]

Have you?

Not really. I did once, to make a deal, but we didn't really talk.

[He just got what he needed and got out.]

I guess I've avoided getting too involved in... all that stuff. The gods, the Null. At least, until I couldn't avoid it anymore.

Was there any particular reason you wanted to stay out of it?

[He's curious; was it just a lack of interest, or a more specific cause?]

I've had my fill of being controlled by strange inhuman entities, I guess. Mostly I just care about keeping my friends safe here.

[It's a bit of a selfish viewpoint, but Adam has never seen himself as a hero.]

That's fair. I only really began speaking to them when I had a specific reason to do; I didn't exactly want anything to do with them otherwise.

[And he still doesn't, aside from what he can get out of them, so he's definitely not judging.]

I can understand that.

[It seems like the sensible thing, to Adam. But he's always been a sensible type.]

Anyway, I'm sure you have things to do. I just wanted to make sure you were all right - and not taking too much on.

Yeah, I'm okay. But thank you, for the concern.

[He means it; it's nice to know people care.]

You should probably get some more rest, though.

[Considering the comment Adam made about feeling 'almost' human.]

So I'll talk to you later.

Yeah, I'll do that.

[And bit by bit he'll feel like a person again.]

Thanks, Lance.

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