Bracelets for the soul

Vale managed a smile despite how horrible he still felt about all of this---and especially about them doing this in front of a group of people who currently hated him---but he did his best. "Yes," he chuckled, rubbing the top of her head like she was a little kid, "you do sound a little too optimistic for someone who almost died. But that's what I LOOOOOOVE ABOUT YOU~!" 
He scooted closer to her and gave her the cheesiest butterfly kiss imaginable. Perhaps he was finally starting to get back to his better self...
"We'll take as many 'starts' as we can get," Albany responded with a bit of well placed humor in her tone, "If we don't keep pushing, these starts will turn to dead ends. If we end therapy where is is now, we'll have raised far more questions than answers. Uncertainties need to be addressed. Things have to broken down before they can be built back up."
Albany stared in shock at the response she was given, her pen falling from her lap and hitting the floor. There were a few moments of awkward silence where she just stared at Alti before slowly leaning over and clasping the pen in her hand. "That is...v-very concerning," She stammered, more than a little upset by his complete lack of reasoning. "Alti, those are people that you're hurting. They have friends and families and emotions. Y-You can't just--you can't just---." It was remarkable how one simple answer had shattered this woman's resolve. She placed a hand over her face, squeezing her temples so tight her knuckles turned white. A few more seconds of this and she removed her hand, her face dead-pan and void of emotion. "You are a child crushing ants on the playground. You don't understand the system you are disrupting." She turned to Cyrus, her tone still cool as she continued. "Cyrus, have you ever felt threatened by your partner? Or if not you personally, have you worried about those surrounding you? Have you had to make promises in order to keep him in line?" She spoke these things easily, as though having a connection with them. She glanced back at Alti, perhaps taking this section of the session too personally. "Ignorance is NOT an excuse for manipulation. And a relationship should NOT be based around worrying what the other might do at any given moment."

"That's quite enough," Albany's eyes shot daggers into both Galy and Aberdeen,"Amil and Vale aren't the only ones here who need to work on control. You two both have sharp tongues. If you're trying to start a fight, then we'll move onto the next topic. I'm the counselor here, as Aberdeen stated, and I will NOT allow this session to be canceled because an argument got too far out of control. Stop insulting each other and get to the root of the problem. You're trying to avoid it by moving to a physical altercation. And that is something I will not allow." 

"Maicy!!" Albany started to get up, but quickly stayed in place. She couldn't leave these people currently. Without a mediator they'd be at each others throats in an instant. So she'd have to persuade them to go after Maicy for her.
So Galy was off the list of people to reason with in order to bring Maicy back. She turned her attention to Aberdeen, "Prove her wrong," She said simply, "She may have a few points, but if you really want to show her, then go help your soulmate. She needs you right now, Aberdeen. People are born weak, not strong. But she can get past this, she can get better. And you can too, if you're both willing to try."

Alraada smiled lightly at vale's sudden happiness.
Maybe he was finally calming down.
She was still mad at him, sure, but only half-ways.
She giggled at his gesture of 'romance'
"Gah, you're a fucking dork, Vale." She said, her cheeks tinting pink.
"Maybe we should listen to the chaos over there? Or not. I think Galystris over there might kill someone." She spoke, looking back over to the near-stranger.
She wanted to hate her because her friend did, but Aberdeen seemed to be acting on knowledge they didn't have.
People clash on opinions, but that was...not justified, in her opinion.
Oh well. Last time she got into other people's affairs, she was hit with a fountain.
---------------
Disrespectful.
Worthless.
Sheltered
Arrogant.
Disgusting.
Everything Galystris hated in a person.
She hoped they ran into the same fire she did and didn't make it out.
They discounted everything she worked for. Everything they worked for.
They don't know.
They will never know.
Them laughing in the face of what she had said...
She climbed her way from the bottom.
She gave herself away for her country.
all to have pathetic, weak, hot-headed pieces of human slime shit on everything she worked for.
Everyone that died.
Every failed mission.
Every time she lay in the middle of the field hoping, waiting for someone to see her when they counted the dead.
Waking up in the morning to the wonderful sound of screams.
She became a general because she wanted people to learn and succeed, but not how she did.
Not through what she learned.
Those in her country would never discount what she had done.
Was it the morals here? Probably.
But ungrateful shits like them were why she never cared.
She worked so hard to make sure her missions succeeded, to make sure everything worked.
Death was inevitable, but she wanted to keep it to a minimum.
She wanted her soldiers to rest easy knowing they would succeed.
and that's what this garbage thought was useless?!
She would take pleasure in ripping this person's still beating heart from their chest.
"Disgusting." She muttered simply.
She was infuriated.
"They have the audacity....the audacity to say that..."
She brimmed with anger.
She knew idiots like this shell of a person were hiding somewhere in her country, so this made her wonder why she even stayed in the military.
Why she even tried to stay in and fight so that the people she aspired to be laughed in her face, put her through everything they did because of something that she couldn't control.
That hell was all for the people she used to care about.
And to hear all of her efforts bad mouth by an ungrateful subhuman brat.
It was demoralizing.
She calmed herself, and decided to keep to herself. She wouldn't stoop to their level
She wouldn't be the idiot.
Feeling is for weaklings.
She wouldn't be weak.
She wouldn't be weak like them.

((cassiroll))

    Cyrus's eyes moved from their spot trained on the ground towards the pen and then up to the battered housewife's face, which had dropped all attempts at professionalism. Now with her newly donned stutter and absolute look of horror, the scientist grit his teeth and glanced between the two of them as their following exchange took a notably darker tone. It was true, he really didn't know much of anything. He'd only gleaned bits and pieces of Alti's life story and was fully aware of some of his past activities. Running demons through a village, calling the underworld his 'home', the gears in his head started whizzing quickly as he tried to piece together the information he was being presented. That's when the conversation between the blonde and his partner came abruptly to an end, the woman refocusing her questions on him.

    Immediately he shook his head in response to the first question. Doubts or not, he could at least answer the first one outright. "No, not since the first date." His eyes flickered up to hers for a moment, locking eye contact. "Trust me, I made sure that wouldn't be a problem after night 2. If I felt threatened I sure as hell wouldn't be sitting here right now. I'd be a good 500 miles away back at home." Leaning back into his chair, he frowned and crossed his arms. "Truth be told, I get kinda uneasy worrying that he's going to jump into the fights that flare up, and we've made a couple promises and deals in the past. But you're throwing around loaded words like 'manipulation' pretty damn early in the discussion, yeah?" he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to keep his head level. Her words were bothering and instilling a lot more doubt in him a lot more than he'd liked, his mind racing. The rapidly increasing amount of discomfort was painful and foreign, Cyrus thoroughly befuddled by this new swarm of emotions. Was this sort of weird psychological sensation her intention? Feels more like I'm being manipulated by you, lady. Guess that's not too surprising from someone with a career in psychology.

    There was so much noise and chaos surrounding the little conversation bubble they were in that the scientist wasn't even bothering to process. All he knew was that a certain Hedgehog was making more noise than the rest and there was now an empty chair in his peripheral vision. But he continued to filter out all the external stimulants rather than acknowledge them. Any further pricking and prodding at his nerves was just going to break him down further.

Aberdeen was caught off guard as Maicy exited the stall and hugged them, the headless person dropping their prosthetic head before hugging Maicy back. "Y-yeah, of course! I'm always here for you, okay? Whenever you need me! I promise!" They chimed, their head shifting into a pink hue. "Now, we should probably go back out there, Albany's probably waiting. Plus those scientists probably won't be happy with us if we spend too much time together in here, heheh..."

Aberdeen reentered the room with a new found confidence, their chest puffed out and marching proudly next to Maicy's side before stopping in front of Galystris. Barely being able to hold back their giggling, they slid their feet together and gave the woman an overexaggerated salute. "GENERAL GALYSTRIS, SIR! CADET ABERDEEN REPORTS!!" They shouted in an over-the-top manner.

With greeting their oh-so-emotional general out of the way, they sat back down next to Maicy, their aura brimming with a yellow hue due to how funny they found themself coupled with the fact they'd managed to help their partner. They were giggling like a child once more. They let out a deep breath to calm themself down from their giddy state and looked to Albany. "Alright, we're ready to keep going." Aberdeen chimed.

"They defend me?" Aberdeen asked, feigning innocence. "That's funny, I don't remember a war ever being fought in OUR soil. Only off in other countries. Hm, must not be paying attention to world news." They brushed her comment aside. Aberdeen hit the ground and laughed, "Bitch, I wish you would. I fucking WISH you would. But instead you're gonna do just what a general does! Sit back and watch someone else attempt to do the job for you, whether its Amil, Vale, Alti, or Nace."

They stood up from the ground, giggling again and sitting down next to Maicy. "Lay your hands on me again and I'm gonna hit you so hard that burn on your face switches sides."