"Not that I'm aware of, but I could also come back for another session if you wanted more time to think about it or anything."

"When are they waking up the new one - what're we calling the new world -"

"Hasn't been scheduled but probably not for at least another month; the Findekáno there is going to wrap up some things in Valinor in case he's not allowed to return and then catch up on things to be able to provide more contextualized advice. No name consensus; the file tree's called 'Millennia' but it's a placeholder."

"If you've done it for me will it go any faster with him -"

"Yeah. Alts have very similar mind structures. I'll still run into stamina limits but the work itself will be quicker."

"I think I'm ready to start today. On the not experiencing anything as pleasant."

"Okay. - Probably the actual best way to do this as long as Pterodactyl's here would involve leaning on that a little, because you have emotion sharing already built in, but insofar as this is practice for the new one that won't help..."

"Yeah, I doubt he'll be in a mood to get married. How much is this practice for the new one, is it helping you much -"

"To the extent the cases will be the same, a lot; I'm not sure exactly how much to expect them to differ."

"My Luster alt might've been better practice, having experienced a lot more of the same timeline and not believing this to be reality and everything..."

"I should probably ask him, but he doesn't have a Kib to test-drive me."

"I'll tell him it helps."

She nods. "So, since you are also a patient in your own right and not just practice, I can still do the thing that relies on being married, but there's other possibilities."

"What are the other possibilities?"

Oh what a smorgasbord there are. Apparently therapists deal with emotional numbness all the time and there are a ton of techniques for it depending on patient mental architecture, etiology, religious beliefs, and desired target level of chipper. Some of these techniques are even potentially applicable in this case!

"Let's do it off the bond, that sounds most - straightforward."

"Okay -"

This involves some artistry on Findekáno too, standard spiel ensues, and then she shows them both what she's doing, copying this and spoofing that and prodding the other thing, all gently enough that she winds up with the mental equivalent of a candyfloss sculpture that will dissolve in light fog, just enough for a few days of testing it out tops.

Which is good because it's a bit overwhelming.

Boots waits, in case he wants it removed sooner than "whenever it collapses".

He will curl up and ask his Findekáno to sing something but not ask for it to be removed.

Okay then. "Send me a message if you want it removed or shored up," she says, and she goes.

The music is pretty. He forgot what enjoying things felt like. He cries and curls up tighter and is -

- is something. He doesn't want to live but this is a very different sort of painful.

When it crumbles he takes a week off and asks Boots to put it in permanently.

So she comes back and puts it all together again how it was and then pushes harder, and there, it's stuck.

"Think that's going to have to be all for a while, it's overwhelming and a little scary and painful, sorry -"

"It's completely all right, you can have as long as you need," she tells him. "Let me know if and when you'd like to book another appointment."