Sensory Therapy (Nagi/Ru)

[jarahamee]

Ru had been apprehensive about seeing a therapist, but he thought it might help him with.. some things. Some important things he’d been avoiding addressing. He had simply been surviving, living in fear, and anyone would know, that was not a way to live.

Officer Telmore, who Ru admitted was more than a little dashing, had recommended he seek counciling and find a proper mentor, and he was more than happy to oblige, all things considered. It would be a relief not to have endless nightmares at the very least, and not fear enemy assault whenever he was doing anything but working.

So with this in mind, he checked his written card and wandered into the appropriate office space, checking the name against the doors and wondering if he took the wrong turn.

Hopefully not, because then he’d be late for his appointment and though he had left plenty of time to spare a lot of it had gone into finding his way around this place.

Ru matched name to card and then, after a moment that seemed to last forever, he’d knock.

“Uh.. hello?”

His voice was timid but he was dressed to.. relatively impress, with a blue satin shirt, swallowtail jacket, dress-pants and cravat. His thin, finely featured face looked all the more vampiric when taken with his outfit. Or he simply looked all the more like a well-dressed Goth.

[Marshmallow]

A brief silence stretched following the knock and tentative greeting. And then there was movement behind the door, light footsteps and the clack of a cane. The latch turned, and door swung inward. A cheerful voice and a bright smile on a ghostly pale face greeted Ru from the other side.

"Hello, hello! Welcome, come on inside!" Nagi chimed as he took a step back and waved his new client through the open door.

The corner office was spacious, though the decor made the area seem cozy and inviting. Warmly-neutral colors on the walls and carpets, decorative shelves lined with trikets and baubles - many of them Asian in origin. There was even a sweet little bonsai tree on the desk. Nagi work space was nestled in a corner, separate from a lounge-style seating area with a set of plush sofas. A floor to ceiling bookshelf lined one wall, and across from it a large window overlooked the city below.

"Have a seat anywhere, make yourself at home. Okudo, the time?" Nagi hummed as the door swung shut.

Perched in one of the corners was a Lidth's Jay, quietly preening. It perked up, and replied in a surprisingly deep baritone voice, "San-ji han."

Nagi beamed. His cane swept careful arcs across the carpet as he made his way back to his desk, and the folders laid out atop it. "Perfect. So, you must beee... The vampire, right? Ru was it?" He turned to face where he had last heard his client's movement, and offered a short bow. "Hajimemashite, Ru! That means 'Nice to meet you!'. I'm Kiyohara, but you can feel free to just call me Nagi. We're friends here, after all! So, what brings you to my office today?"

[jarahamee]

Ru paused, holding his breath. It was something he did unintentionally, now that he was a vampire, but he did it with striking frequency. It was really worst at night when breath might be visible; his lack of warmth was all but obvious. He really, really hated being a vampire.

While Ru was usually fairly wary of others, he saw no reason to be here; this person was unthreatening, even if they were some kind of supernatural creature. He could see it from their aura, but nothing of the how or why. Only that it was the truth. He was so used to being terrified by any spirit he came across, reacting like a normal person had become an abnormality.

Ru looked down at his hands and seemed to consider his answer before he spoke.  For looking like a proper vampire, he lacked the power and poise that all of their kind seemed to possess, instead resembling a slim, pale gentleman ghost in a tailcoat standing before Nagi. He wasn't sure, honestly, why he had come, besides that Agent Telmore had said he should go...

"Er, yes, that's me, I'm a vampire. It's good to meet you, Kiyohara... Well, my uh, liaison-agent Telmore told me I should consult with you. I um, came from a situation, and I've had a hard time adjusting..."

He didn't feel like explaining the situation right now. In fact, thinking about it made him want to generalize more and talk about details less. It made him sick with anxiety to dwell on memories of being trapped in that mansion with his Progenitor. He shivered, just once, and then looked away, brushing his arm.

"I uh, was just following his advice..."

He finished, a little quickly.

[Marshmallow]

Though he naturally couldn't see it on his client's face or in his body language, Nagi could all too easily detect Ru's anxiety. He heard it in the slight waver of the vampire's voice, and in his carefully vague choice of words.

Nagi smiled serenely and nodded. "Of course, say no more," he soothed. A sort of calm understanding seemed almost to radiate from him, like he carried a small piece the soft quiet of the forest where ever he went. "Telmore's a smart man; You've definitely come to the right place. Come on in, sit, relax - make yourself comfortable." As he crossed the room from his work desk to the artfully arranged sofas and chairs, he motioned for Ru to follow.

"Before we get started officially, I just need to make sure you're aware of something," the blind man said as he settled himself in one of the cozy chairs, file folders in his lap and cane resting at his feet. "I am a Kirin. Are you at all familiar with my people, Ru? It's okay to say no - there's no judgement! Kirin aren't very common outside of Japan."

Nagi paused and waited a moment before continuing.

"My people are known for producing a kind of aura. It's something native to my race, completely natural - there's no spells attached, so don't worry! All this aura does is tend to make the people around us - around me - feel more calm and at peace," he explained. "Now, it doesn't always affect everyone in the same way. Most people hardly even notice it while I'm in my human shape. Some people are totally immune, even. There are those who find the aura comforting and seek me out, but there are also people who are sensitive to auras that get.. anxious. So if you think this will bother you at all, please let me know. I'm here to help you, after all. I want this to be a place where you can feel at ease."

[jarahamee]

Ru processed things, and decided that he really didn't mind. Honestly, with all this mind-reading and probing from every living thing in a 10 mile radius, he felt like a comforting aura might be welcome. He threaded his anxious fingers together and then looked at the seat before him before settling down into the chair.

At least the Kirin had taken the time to explain things to him, which was more than anyone else had done. Besides the slightly-helpful Sarkany, he had felt rather alone in this world since he became a vampire. Even Aaron was aloof as much as he was kind.

"Er, well, I know a little bit about Kirin, I know they look like...deer-dragons...And they're lucky, but nothing else, honestly. I'm otherwise pretty ignorant."

He looked down at his feet.

What if that was racist? He didn't know. He felt like it would be offensive to say he also knew about them from the beer brand.