Nyx
[Wednesday, Dreyrune 17, 4310]
—Aspen's Therapy Room—
When I entered the familiar therapy room for my session with Aspen, I found the room to no longer be familiar. One major difference was that Aspen wasn't the only one waiting for me.
Beside him was the beautiful woman I have been doing virtual therapy sessions with twice a week—Pavo Dahlia.
Well, well, well. Look who is here. Aspen and Pavo had individually mentioned they had a surprise for me today. I just hadn't known it would be a joint surprise.
I placed my shoes and satchel in a cubby, then bowed and greeted my brother and Pavo.
"Good morning to you both on this fine day. What did I do to deserve the pleasure of having you both here this morning?" I questioned while I took in the room change.
The space appeared significantly larger. The biggest change was that the previous wall that separated this room from the one next door was now transparent, making both spaces at a glance appear as a single room. There was now a door in the wall, but I was sure the wall could also be shifted to look opaque because of therapy privacy regulations.
What an interestingly romantic yet practical move my brother has made.
He can work beside Pavo and still maintain a layer of professionalism. He turned away from me when my grinning face turned his way.
Pavo's giggle sounded like tinkling bells as she showed her amusement at our wordless interaction. She laid a hand on Aspen's arm, then whispered something softly to him. He nodded and relaxed enough to look in my direction, though not directly at me.
He is so adorable when he is trying to hide his fluster like this. When Pavo cleared her throat, I gave her my attention like she wanted. "Good morning and welcome to you, Lady Nyxara. It is a pleasure to finally begin our in-person sessions." She glanced at Aspen with a mischievous glint in her eye.
"It was planned for me to come in today since I've cleared all background checks. You and I have built enough rapport that I have been officially granted the privilege of being one of your therapists."
"Yay! Aspen will go over the division of our responsibilities in a moment because he will still be your primary care physician." Pavo had been looking at me while she spoke, but her gaze had drifted back to Aspen once again, who was studiously focusing on me. Oh, this is going to be a very fun session today.
Aspen gestured for me to join them at the low table they were seated at. I sat down, kept my main focus on Pavo while also keeping Aspen in my line of sight. He was being far too adorable today for me not to watch him fidget.
"Imagine my surprise when I arrived to find Aspen had set up a therapy room for me to use right next to his for our sessions and the other sessions I will have with clients here in the complex." Pavo's light teasing made a blush appear upon my brother's caramel skin—especially his ears.
"Stop teasing me, Thae'loren (my resting heart). You are only giving her ammunition to use against me later." Aspen's mutter was barely audible, but I heard him nonetheless. "Oh dear brother, you have already done that well enough on your own. Do Lux and Keir know what you've done for our future sister-in-law? Do our parents or Kin-branch know?"
I leaned forward provokingly. Aspen pulled that damn stick out of nowhere, then used it to shove my head back toward my side of the table. "No comment, Moonbeam." I rubbed my sore forehead to Pavo's laughter at our antics.
"I now see that if Aspen joins us for a session, I must include time for sibling teasing before we can properly start the session." She smiled as she wrote in a grey notebook that looked new.
Based on the glare and threatening aura radiating off Aspen, I wisely did not comment on how it was the same brand the family had gifted me. The notebook is a Corevein product that is not widely available, so she could have only gotten it from one of us. My grin had turned my eyes into crescents.
Líma, who hadn't entered with me before, came in now pushing a tea cart. With a huff, Aspen got up to help Líma set up the tea and snacks on the table. Ignoring my stomping brother, I looked over the woman who I was growing to consider as a confidant.I'd noticed at the party that she was roughly my height at 5'7". With Aspen being 6'5 that was a decent height difference.
Her short, honey-blonde hair was braided back, secured in a bun. Behind cat-eye glasses, her emerald-green eyes were vivid and clear. The green blouse and beige slacks she wore gave her a casual, professional aura that instilled a level of trust and respect from those around her.
Yet, what sets Pavo apart from others in my opinion would be her smile and scent.Her smile felt like sunlight spilling across tranquil water. Soothing and invigorating. Mixed with her rose and whipped cream scent, she is like a walking therapy sanctuary.
She is a good match for Aspen—warm relief to his earthy structure. When I glanced at Aspen talking to Líma out of the corner of my eye, I noticed an entwined cord of purple, black, and gold energy flowing from his third eye core towards…Pavo's heart core.
Fascinating. I wonder what that means. I saw something similar between Keir and Venus. Mmm, I'll ask Zen first about this, and if she doesn't know, I'll ask Azrail.
I was brought out of my musing when Pavo's warm hand squeezed mine. "You know, I thought you would be taller in person, but you are actually the same height as me."
I shifted around the table to sit right next to her. Her hands weren't completely soft like I thought they would be. As a Root witch and healer therapist, she most likely had a garden of some sort that she grows herbs and plants in.
"And you, my dear, are giving the impression that you will be more of a handful in person than you seemed to be virtually." She accepted a cup of tea from Líma with a nod like she hadn't just playfully snapped back with enviable ease.
Say what now? Are all my older sister-in-laws going to be queens of sass? The wink she gave me made me smile back dazedly as I accepted my tea from Líma. Aspen after pouring his own cup of tea, did not return to his seat next to Pavo, instead he sat down next to me.
I looked at him curiously, but he turned my face away with his hand. I pinched his hand in retaliation for his manhandling. His yelp brought Pavo around the table to examine his hand.
He looked at her so aggrieved that I almost choked drinking my tea, amazed at his performance.
If someone had told me that Aspen would act aggrieved after I pinched his hand, I would have asked them what they were smoking. Of course, I couldn't witness this phenomenon alone, so I took pictures and a ten-second video as proof.
Our family wouldn't believe me otherwise. Aspen realized I was up to something just as I uploaded the evidence to the family chat. Aspen was back to glaring at me as our phones began chiming simultaneously with notifications. Pavo picked up that I was up to mischief again but didn't comment, just looked back and forth amused.
"Okay, that is enough sidetracking. If I had known you two were this bad, I would have kept you two apart and done this session differently. Finish your tea, Nyx, then we will get started on what I have planned today. Both of you behave. Understood?" Her stern tone was effective.
I nodded and finished the rest of my tea. I noticed what I hadn't before. My breathing slowed significantly, and my thoughts felt clear. My awareness sharpened as if I had just done an hour of meditation. I could even perceive the remaining knots in my essence system loosening slightly.
I brought the cup closer and let my senses tell me what was in the blend. From my lessons with Nimra, I have become quite adept at discerning and identifying plants by their scent.
Moonleaf, lavender stem, crystallized jasmine essence, and blue lotus. This is the threads of infinite blend. Good for essencecraft refinement and intention resonance.
I gave Líma a thumbs up, and she fanned herself; she was so proud that I approved of her pick. Pavo's warm smile was comforting as she too drank her own cup.
"Líma did well in her tea blend choice. Aspen, did you tell her what we would be doing in the exercise today?" Pavo placed her cup down to write in her notebook again.
"Yes, I told her to pick something that would be good to help Nyx feel her essence easier today. Líma said they had the perfect blend. I will have to ask Uncle Hael for a container for us when I next see him. He has truly improved his skills in this little hobby of his." Aspen spoke casually enough to confirm my suspicions about how well the two were getting along.
They already interact so naturally as if they have been together for years instead of only becoming friends a month ago. I guess when you find your person, you just click. Now I'm curious when they will officially become a couple. I also wonder if they will be monogamous or polyamorous.
Looking at them out of the corner of my eye again I tested my ability to see the cord between with the intention of seeing if they would be mono or poly. From both of them I saw a faint entwined cord of black, purple and gold that formed a triangle to an empty space. I could almost taste the scent of ginger and amber. So one more to complete a triad.
When I opened my mouth to hint about their third, I got an immediate sense of warning. I reflexively snapped my mouth shut.
So no talking about the possibility. The stronger I get, the more free yet restrained I feel. The sensation of learning the rules by testing the limits feels weirdly natural.
With time, I feel I will learn how to circumvent those limits. When studying the law, I always found it most exciting to figure out how to bend rules without technically breaking them.
"I see you are done, Lady Nyxara. Aspen, please proceed with explaining our roles in Nyx's treatment." Pavo kept us on track in a way that I found enlightening and frightening in the same breath. I could sense I did not want to ever be on this woman's bad side. She seems like the type to hand you the shovel for you to dig your own grave.
"Ah yes, well as Pavo alluded to earlier, I will be stepping back as your primary therapist but will remain as your primary care provider. My focus will be on your physical and metaphysical health. You have reached the point where you need someone you can speak to about anything and not worry about having to censor yourself with."
"As your brother, there are topics we would both feel embarrassed talking about, so Pavo will be your sounding board and guide going forward." He took my hand, looking at me with a watery smile.
"I'm so proud of how much you have grown and achieved over the course of your recovery. I wish I could keep walking this part of your journey with you. But it has been agreed that with you reaching an 80% sync ratio, it's time for us to begin stepping back and shifting our focus to integrating you back into the wider world." His tone and words were as soft as his gaze.
I sensed his reluctance to let me step out from under his wing. I gave him my full attention so he could see in my eyes and sense for himself that I felt ready to take this step. It was time to transition to the next stage.
After the ritual's success, I will be on a fast track to fill in any remaining gaps in my memories and skills. I will be completely rooted in this life, and I can't stay under their collective overprotection forever.
No matter how much they want me to remain their cloistered princess, they also want me to show the world what I'm truly made of. Pavo did not speak up, but she did subtly help keep us from getting too emotional by letting her scent and aura lightly permeate around us.
I gave her a grateful wink, then returned my focus to Aspen when he continued speaking. "Your sessions with Pavo will be just next door, so if either of you ever needs me, I'll be only a knock on the wall away. Instead of daily sessions with me, we will have check-ins every other week until you are completely cleared of your Velintra sickness."
"I will miss our dedicated time together doing yoga and talking, so we will have to find time in our schedules to continue our dedicated bonding time. Maybe we can have yoga and lunch together once or twice a week. How does that sound?" His eyes could not hide his hopefulness.
"Sounds good, big brother. I would miss you too much if I went days without seeing you. Soon I'll be back in school, so my time with you and everyone else will be less frequent. Sure, I'll be back on weekends and holidays, but it won't be the same."
Now I was tearing up. Aspen pulled me into a tight hug. The scent and feel of his tears wrapped around me like a cloak of love. "Let's not borrow later worries. One day at a time, Moonbeam. You will see us all at least once a week, even if that means we have to come stay overnight downtown."
I squeezed him back. In the Tharym bond, I felt everyone send feelings of love and comfort. I knew they didn't know what was going on, but they still sent us support regardless. I sent them back feelings of gratitude and love. I don't think I'll ever get tired of being loved so unconditionally by my family.