Counseling
Ding-dong.
Ding-dong.
"Office of Amarat Veneer, how can I direct your call?"
"I need to speak to Mister Veneer." No titles? That was unusual. "It's a personal matter."
"Who shall I announce?"
"I am Fourth Aumhivina-of-Megamisama Halle Chatelaine, I need to speak to him as soon as can be arranged."
"I am Amarat Veneer, why does someone from my late wife's hierarchy try to reach me like this?" Pretending to be your own underling was sometimes useful, if only to protect your time...
"There's no way to put this delicately, but your wife's death requires me to get in touch with you for the counseling procedures."
"And it has to be someone from her office?"
"I imagine they'd insist on someone from afar if I'd actually managed to meet her while she was in office. But since I've started this job only after her passing, I meet the legal test of impartiality. As for her office, as Aumhivina-of-Megamisama, the spiritual health of all 12 million people in the city is our charge, there is no one else we can discharge this to." Halle had experience with these high-powered types, always guarding their time most fiercely, more than most in her office, so she got those tough nuts...
"Oh, and this is a legal requirement?"
"Yes, since she's both tribunal and a church officer, as well as your wife and the mother of your children, there are a number of formalities to be observed, and legal technicalities to be executed. I would meet with you in person, if that can be arranged. I have an office at the palace, if that is convenient for you?"
"There is nothing in this that can be considered convenient, but that's not your fault. What floor is your office?"
"I'm on the mezzanine level, fourth corridor, number 221b."
"Fourth corridor, two-two-one-bee. I'll have my staff find a hole in my schedule and recontact you to set up the actual meeting, but I imagine we can arrange something this week."
"I appreciate that, the law normally requires us to do this less than two weeks after the deceased's passing, but I hadn't been able to reach you, so the countdown starts now instead."
"Acknowledged." I went back to a semi-military protocol, my life was getting complicated. "You're only meeting with me?"
"I'm required to meet with your three children, and any of your wife's gribs or miptuns..."
"For what purpose?"
"Your wife's own counselor mentioned a few names I should contact, since they'd be helping you with the children, obviously, it's my task to make sure you're emotionally supported."
"What about my mother?"
"Err, I'd not know what to do with myself trying to advise a first circle priestess..."
"And yet, you're picking up the pieces of someone who just barely ranked any lower. My Flora was rather high in the conclave."
"I know, but I'm not advising her..."
"Our children will outrank her..."
"What?"
"I'm ranking third circle, myself..."
"That's not in your file... I'm sorry, I'm making a mess of things, that's irrelevant, I should be able to advise you and the children, regardless... Although, I would beg your indulgence, I'm not trained to help with problems specific to those higher levels of power. Everyone who has been trained knew your wife too closely to be able to do this, I'm afraid."
"Then we shall soldier on."
"Mom, do you have anyone counseling you?" "Yes, with Shen's passing, and Flora's, I've been attending sessions, Flora was quite proactive when Shen passed, and when she did I just continued." "Well, I got contacted by someone in Megamisama..." "Not Veneer? That's where you live though?" "What, so your counselor is from Veneer?" "No, Garay, my son." "Who's this one from Megamisama, then?" "Yes, although, fourth-aumhivina?" "Usually I'd have expected eight-aumhivina or lower, but if they never met, she'd squeak by." "She's clean, Zim." "Boo? You knew about her?" "No, but her story checks out. And second-aumhivina-Megamisama confirms her assignment." "Not first?" "I'd have to have met her, son, that'd be counterproductive..." "Oh, I'm being silly again, aren't I? With Flora gone, you're highest?" "It's a legal gray area, when I'm in the city, I outrank Amalthea, when I'm away, you do, so you could technically take it over, but it wouldn't help in this case..." "Yeah, I can't be the priest that checks out my brain for cracks..." "That's reductive, there's more to counseling than just downchecking people for being misadapted..." "I'm in my military mode, mother, that's how the armed services see it. A soul check to downcheck you because you've gone too far..." "That's terrible, a counselor is there to help make sure you're happy in your job, not 'not sad', not 'not too broken to do your job'. It's more proactive than that, and more long term." "I'm the one who wrote the ad copy that tells people they should see it in a more positive light, mother. It'll take me some time to internalize the message, since I don't quite believe it yet..." "You did force a rewrite of the book..." "What do you mean?" "You're the first heir to the throne to actually work in our propaganda and psychological warfare, ever. No one had ever imagined that particular combination, nor how it'd interact with your own interests or indeed, conflicts of interest. You are telling people to believe in the system, so you can benefit from it... And you are cynical enough not to go through it like an empty exercise." "Most counseling is contagious, how contagious is this one?" "I have an official letter of protest from the director of psychology at the university of Eurani City, saying, and I quote: 'I don't need your witches to counsel my ruler's daughters, I can do this quite on my own!'." "What, so they tried Ninu?" "And Natalya and Annunzia, and both parents. The parents won't say anything, however." "Oh. And Linni?" "Linni and Luci are probably on your lady's radar, they live in Megamisama, as do Piersa and Dentrag." "Wow, ok, that's contagious." "So does the malaise of being after someone beloved passes..." "And yet, no one thought I'd need counseling after Shen passed?" "Flora was keeping an eye on you, we'd have gotten an Edict if someone had raised a stink, but with your wife to keep an eye on you, as well as me and Amalthea, you weren't considered at-risk." "And I am now." "Flora is much closer to you than Shen, and she was your bulwark against his loss, meaning we have to count her as a negative for this." "What, how?" "Look, it's simple. Your wife is there to keep you sane when your lose your cousin. Normal. You lose the wife keeping you sane while your cousin's only a few months passed? Well, that'll leave a mark! It's not rocket science." "What about all the others?" "Marhamat, Ominari, Valias and Tadros passing all count as aggravating factors, but Firrson and Linni prevent 'contagion'. You just have someone uninvolved to keep you grounded." "Not Lusi?" "She's not as close as her brother, silly sexist laws think a sister and a brother, the brother's closer." "For once, they're right." "What? But they both competed with you for a Miptun." "They did, but I only competed for a Grib with Luci." "Son, I wonder if you're trying to get me to leave your personal life alone, or actually relating relationships, but with Luci, Linni and Firrson as close as they are, I doubt it would change much..." "Do lifeguards count?" "No, err, they should, right? Especially with Shen dying of the plague, and Flora dying saving other people?" "I won't tell you how to frame your questions to Meihomei mother, but I would ask Boo how she's dealing..." "I'm fine, thank you, but... the concern's not unappreciated." Shibue broke in. "How come you're holding up? You've got no help, unlike my son." "I've got help, Linni's... helping." "What? My other son's doing damage in the detail?" "Well, not damage, but, we've been spending time together." "Come on Boo, he's been doing damage, you two've been seen at breakfast together too often that you hafta been seeing undies..." "Err, thank you for that image." "My children are growing up, that's good, they're getting involved with each other, that's not so good..." "What?" "Well, not just present company, but Firrson's dating Senya, and that's hardly good..." "Senya's dating my pilot, Venya's dating Firrson..." "More problems for me. And you, when I'm gone." "Mom..." "Son, there's an order of succession because I won't be around forever, let alone longer than Amalthea. I am two years older, so I should not outlive her, statistics, natch." "Mom, if you don't outlive Firrson, who's a pathological risk-taker, I'll be upset." "He takes a lot of relationship risks, but he's also very careful in many other ways..." "Oh." "Yeah, not that you've been risking yourself, but yeah, you're the one that drew a target ring on yourself, through your relationships." "And auntie?" "Ok, not as bad as auntie, you're the second worse." "Not a fan of Immie are you?" "Immie can go dance on the sun as far as I'm concerned. He's trouble concentrate, and allied with the kingmakers, who hate me on principle. Sosua's trouble too." "Sosua's your step father and the father of your half sister, and you should be nicer to him." "Oh, I never did manage to congradulate you for your daughter, Zim." "Thank you."
"What are you doing?" "I just gave them a bath." "Hiss!" Went the rolled up towel... Oh, there's a cat inside? "Yeah, I wrap them up in a towel after their baths, they end up calmer." "And you're just giving a bath to the babies?" "Yeah, only the babies really needed one, parasite treatment at 2 months, requires a bath." "How do you do it? You're outnumbered eight to one... I had kittens growing up, they're harder to corral than people think." "Your father thought me, actually, he didn't give you the cheat codes it seems." "What? Dad?" "Yeah, you keep the cats busy with each other is how you stay sane... And you enclose them in seperate rooms so you can work on the kits while the parents are napping, or something... Hmm, nice look, am I missing a festival?" "Yeah, at least, if you're not coming with us, Nameihomei is going to the Day of the Peaches, in Tsou, not Moniq though, this time." "Why?" "Luci's going to the Moniqan one, they decided not to go together, maximize diplomatic impact and all that." "I'm a diplomat, by that logic, I should be going to a different one..." "Well, we only got two invitations, that I know of, if you have more, I'm sure that'd make sense." "Oh, yeah." Linni knew of six different festivals they'd been invited to though, he wasn't going to tell her his team had state had flubbed this one. Certainly the four remaining weren't things he'd willingly go to? NuovaFirenzane day of the Cardamom cheese? Meh. New Etruscan day of the crab? He was allergic! Aegypsoon day of the Snake? *shiver* Oh and there was another festival today, why couldn't he remember? "Hey you two." Nameihomei just barged in, as was her wont, the small woman's body not unlike a train or a comet, expecting to pull people behind her by sheer force. "Nameihomei." "Auntie." "Good thinking." Mikhala said, when she saw the towel-wrapped purrfettos. "Hum?" Linni looked poleaxed. "Hmm, what?" Shibue, however, didn't even know what she was alluding to. "Purrfetttos, for the day of the kitten, quite apt, and will probably keep them out of trouble too, might want to wrap the grown ups too." "What?" "There's a festival in Kagomei today, too. Which is why Linni's not coming, as kitten-ra, he's officiating."
"Office of Fourth Aumhivina Megamisama, I'd like to set up a meeting for you." "What?" "Hmm, pursuant to regulation." "Why don't you try from the beginning, my day just isn't going my way today." "Oh, then the Aumhivina can certainly help!" The perky medical aide at the other end positively oozed sweetness and bright things. Linni looked down at his eight wrapped Purrfettos, purring purrfectly, hmm ok, not going so bad, that experiment worked! "Please explain why the Aumhivina is contacting me." "Err, the Aumhivina of Megamisama's office, which was led by the late, great, Aumhivina Flora Dandelion, has identified you as someone who may bear watching, following her passing. The local Domei of Megamisama code." "Oh, code 869.32, b, annotated." "Oh, well you're familiar with that bit of legislation." "Everywhere except how you got to me?" "869.3.b is contagious through familiy links, as well as intimate ones. Your near-brotherly relationship with her Herevallin is something she noted herself in her own file. And we really should not be speaking of this through communicator, can I please help you find a scheduling lot with the Fourth Aumhivina to discuss?"
"Mom, do you have anyone counseling you?" "Yes, with Shen's passing, and Flora's, I've been attending sessions, Flora was quite proactive when Shen passed, and when she did I just continued." "Well, I got contacted by someone in Megamisama..." "Not Veneer? That's where you live though?" "What, so your counselor is from Veneer?" "No, Garay, my son." "Who's this one from Megamisama, then?" "Yes, although, fourth-aumhivina?" "Usually I'd have expected eight-aumhivina or lower, but if they never met, she'd squeak by." "She's clean, Zim." "Boo? You knew about her?" "No, but her story checks out. And second-aumhivina-Megamisama confirms her assignment." "Not first?" "I'd have to have met her, son, that'd be counterproductive..." "Oh, I'm being silly again, aren't I? With Flora gone, you're highest?" "It's a legal gray area, when I'm in the city, I outrank Amalthea, when I'm away, you do, so you could technically take it over, but it wouldn't help in this case..." "Yeah, I can't be the priest that checks out my brain for cracks..." "That's reductive, there's more to counseling than just downchecking people for being misadapted..." "I'm in my military mode, mother, that's how the armed services see it. A soul check to downcheck you because you've gone too far..." "That's terrible, a counselor is there to help make sure you're happy in your job, not 'not sad', not 'not too broken to do your job'. It's more proactive than that, and more long term." "I'm the one who wrote the ad copy that tells people they should see it in a more positive light, mother. It'll take me some time to internalize the message, since I don't quite believe it yet..." "You did force a rewrite of the book..." "What do you mean?" "You're the first heir to the throne to actually work in our propaganda and psychological warfare, ever. No one had ever imagined that particular combination, nor how it'd interact with your own interests or indeed, conflicts of interest. You are telling people to believe in the system, so you can benefit from it... And you are cynical enough not to go through it like an empty exercise." "Most counseling is contagious, how contagious is this one?" "I have an official letter of protest from the director of psychology at the university of Eurani City, saying, and I quote: 'I don't need your witches to counsel my ruler's daughters, I can do this quite on my own!'." "What, so they tried Ninu?" "And Natalya and Annunzia, and both parents. The parents won't say anything, however." "Oh. And Linni?" "Linni and Luci are probably on your lady's radar, they live in Megamisama, as do Piersa and Dentrag." "Wow, ok, that's contagious." "So does the malaise of being after someone beloved passes..." "And yet, no one thought I'd need counseling after Shen passed?" "Flora was keeping an eye on you, we'd have gotten an Edict if someone had raised a stink, but with your wife to keep an eye on you, as well as me and Amalthea, you weren't considered at-risk." "And I am now." "Flora is much closer to you than Shen, and she was your bulwark against his loss, meaning we have to count her as a negative for this." "What, how?" "Look, it's simple. Your wife is there to keep you sane when your lose your cousin. Normal. You lose the wife keeping you sane while your cousin's only a few months passed? Well, that'll leave a mark! It's not rocket science." "What about all the others?" "Marhamat, Ominari, Valias and Tadros passing all count as aggravating factors, but Firrson and Linni prevent 'contagion'. You just have someone uninvolved to keep you grounded." "Not Lusi?" "She's not as close as her brother, silly sexist laws think a sister and a brother, the brother's closer." "For once, they're right." "What? But they both competed with you for a Miptun." "They did, but I only competed for a Grib with Luci." "Son, I wonder if you're trying to get me to leave your personal life alone, or actually relating relationships, but with Luci, Linni and Firrson as close as they are, I doubt it would change much..." "Do lifeguards count?" "No, err, they should, right? Especially with Shen dying of the plague, and Flora dying saving other people?" "I won't tell you how to frame your questions to Meihomei mother, but I would ask Boo how she's dealing..." "I'm fine, thank you, but... the concern's not unappreciated." Shibue broke in. "How come you're holding up? You've got no help, unlike my son." "I've got help, Linni's... helping." "What? My other son's doing damage in the detail?" "Well, not damage, but, we've been spending time together." "Come on Boo, he's been doing damage, you two've been seen at breakfast together too often that you hafta been seeing undies..." "Err, thank you for that image." "My children are growing up, that's good, they're getting involved with each other, that's not so good..." "What?" "Well, not just present company, but Firrson's dating Senya, and that's hardly good..." "Senya's dating my pilot, Venya's dating Firrson..." "More problems for me. And you, when I'm gone." "Mom..." "Son, there's an order of succession because I won't be around forever, let alone longer than Amalthea. I am two years older, so I should not outlive her, statistics, natch." "Mom, if you don't outlive Firrson, who's a pathological risk-taker, I'll be upset." "He takes a lot of relationship risks, but he's also very careful in many other ways..." "Oh." "Yeah, not that you've been risking yourself, but yeah, you're the one that drew a target ring on yourself, through your relationships." "And auntie?" "Ok, not as bad as auntie, you're the second worse." "Not a fan of Immie are you?" "Immie can go dance on the sun as far as I'm concerned. He's trouble concentrate, and allied with the kingmakers, who hate me on principle. Sosua's trouble too." "Sosua's your step father and the father of your half sister, and you should be nicer to him." "Oh, I never did manage to congradulate you for your daughter, Zim." "Thank you."
"What are you doing?" "I just gave them a bath." "Hiss!" Went the rolled up towel... Oh, there's a cat inside? "Yeah, I wrap them up in a towel after their baths, they end up calmer." "And you're just giving a bath to the babies?" "Yeah, only the babies really needed one, parasite treatment at 2 months, requires a bath." "How do you do it? You're outnumbered eight to one... I had kittens growing up, they're harder to corral than people think." "Your father thought me, actually, he didn't give you the cheat codes it seems." "What? Dad?" "Yeah, you keep the cats busy with each other is how you stay sane... And you enclose them in seperate rooms so you can work on the kits while the parents are napping, or something... Hmm, nice look, am I missing a festival?" "Yeah, at least, if you're not coming with us, Nameihomei is going to the Day of the Peaches, in Tsou, not Moniq though, this time." "Why?" "Luci's going to the Moniqan one, they decided not to go together, maximize diplomatic impact and all that." "I'm a diplomat, by that logic, I should be going to a different one..." "Well, we only got two invitations, that I know of, if you have more, I'm sure that'd make sense." "Oh, yeah." Linni knew of six different festivals they'd been invited to though, he wasn't going to tell her his team had state had flubbed this one. Certainly the four remaining weren't things he'd willingly go to? NuovaFirenzane day of the Cardamom cheese? Meh. New Etruscan day of the crab? He was allergic! Aegypsoon day of the Snake? *shiver* Oh and there was another festival today, why couldn't he remember? "Hey you two." Nameihomei just barged in, as was her wont, the small woman's body not unlike a train or a comet, expecting to pull people behind her by sheer force. "Nameihomei." "Auntie." "Good thinking." Mikhala said, when she saw the towel-wrapped purrfettos. "Hum?" Linni looked poleaxed. "Hmm, what?" Shibue, however, didn't even know what she was alluding to. "Purrfetttos, for the day of the kitten, quite apt, and will probably keep them out of trouble too, might want to wrap the grown ups too." "What?" "There's a festival in Kagomei today, too. Which is why Linni's not coming, as kitten-ra, he's officiating."
"Office of Fourth Aumhivina Megamisama, I'd like to set up a meeting for you." "What?" "Hmm, pursuant to regulation." "Why don't you try from the beginning, my day just isn't going my way today." "Oh, then the Aumhivina can certainly help!" The perky medical aide at the other end positively oozed sweetness and bright things. Linni looked down at his eight wrapped Purrfettos, purring purrfectly, hmm ok, not going so bad, that experiment worked! "Please explain why the Aumhivina is contacting me." "Err, the Aumhivina of Megamisama's office, which was led by the late, great, Aumhivina Flora Dandelion, has identified you as someone who may bear watching, following her passing. The local Domei of Megamisama code." "Oh, code 869.32, b, annotated." "Oh, well you're familiar with that bit of legislation." "Everywhere except how you got to me?" "869.3.b is contagious through familiy links, as well as intimate ones. Your near-brotherly relationship with her Herevallin is something she noted herself in her own file. And we really should not be speaking of this through communicator, can I please help you find a scheduling lot with the Fourth Aumhivina to discuss?"
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