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"Why is that important to you?" Malcolm asks curiously.

“I may not understand boundaries the way most people here would see them, and I doubt that treating my temporary pairings like my murders would be helpful.”

"No, probably not," Malcolm concedes. "But didn't having a personal connection with your warden help you graduate?"

“It did. If I am permanently paired, I plan to form a connection with my inmate.” When, they remind themself. Unless they disappear, they will be permanently paired.

Edited 2024-08-18 23:28 (UTC)

"You could go partway with a temp. Offer some... empathy. You've been where they are," Malcolm suggests.

Root had known that they were a graduated inmate, and they had told Angeal. “I was considering not telling my next temp, because I want to try having an inmate who may have no idea. I think it does give me the opportunity for empathy, though. I was able to use my experience to explain some things to Angeal.”

Malcolm loves a good social experiment. At least, any that isn’t on him.

“Let me know how that goes, because I’ve noticed Inmates tend to respect Wardens that are graduated Inmates more, but I’d love to hear how that lines up with your experiences.”

“Angeal seemed more interested than anything else, but that may have been because I brought up the fact that I graduated while I was telling him about my orb.” He seemed to have little experience with the Admiral’s brand of magic. “I also could have read his emotions wrong, because I was trying not to use my abilties.” While the Barge is much louder now that they graduated, they do have more voluntary control over their telepathy here than they had in the Rift.

Oh, that’s interesting.

“Why? Do you just think people won’t like it?”

“I need to be better about respecting boundaries. That, and the fact that letting others’ emotions stay in the background is also easier here than it is in the Rift. Doing that allows me to feel my emotions more clearly.” They pause, trying to think of a good analogy. “Like wearing headphones. It will never be exact, because my telepathy functions more like a sense than an ability, but I can control it to some extent.”

"I've been learning that, too. How to be better at respecting boundaries," Malcolm says.

“I imagine that can be difficult, given your job here.”

"You'd think, but... you're basically the only client I have," Malcolm admits. "Well, I have one other that's... contemplating it."

“Somehow, I thought you had more. People vanish fairly often, though.”

"I've... never had many. I'm not....... wildly popular."

Avalon shrugs. “Therapists are like wardens. It may just be that others are a better fit for the people here, the same way you seem to be a good fit for me.”

Malcolm considers that. "You think so?" He pauses thoughtfully. "Maybe I just have to find the ones that would benefit. Will says I'm best for people with trauma that doesn't respond well to traditional therapies. People who need a push."

“Yes. I think counseling and wardening are more about having what someone else needs than trying to help everyone.”

Edited 2024-09-08 21:12 (UTC)

“I guess so. …When I came here, I wanted to help everyone. But. Maybe that’s what I had to learn.”

“Wanting to help everyone is a good desire to have.” They know they lack that. They may be able to think of wardening as something more than a purpose, but doing so is not their first idea.

Edited 2024-09-24 16:27 (UTC)