:Even if the ONLY thing gods can do is possess people and perform minor magical feats that normal Gifted people can also perform they could, like, do logistics or something, yeah:

:I wonder if Predain has gods looking out for some people - if not I wonder if I could convince a god to...: 

:I guess I could ask Lionwind how the Kaled'a'in got the setup if you think it's worth it but it doesn't obviously look it? Kaled'a'in aren't all that influential as a group the way an unusually successful nation or whatever normally would be:

:That's true. Which - hmm, kind of makes it feel like their Goddess is being stupid? Surely if She were - strategic about it, they could be more successful?: 

:I don't think there's an obvious reason to think the gods care about anything we care about at all! Lionwind admitted he didn't expect he'd be able to understand whatever she was getting at and had no idea what it was:

:...Right. I guess that's not actually surprising. Just - I don't know, maybe we could trade with Them for things They care about, in exchange for actually helpful help? ...Can people talk to gods on purpose, I don't actually know: 

:I mean, obviously you can talk to them but whether they are paying attention I couldn't tell you and they typically do not respond:

:I guess. Maybe I'll go see if there are any books in the library about it: 

:Lemme know if you find anything good!:

:I will!: And he drops the Mindspeech link and heads out. 

Aza shows up (walking, not Gating, and so a few minutes late) to the patient appointment the next day.

Their patient is a very young woman - older than Aza, of course, but maybe seventeen or eighteen. She seems anxious and fidgety, and like she has a hard time focusing on the conversation with them.

Her mind, when Lionwind gets her permission for Aza and him both to look, definitely looks like something happened to it; a wide section of gears appears shoved out of alignment, and like it's only gradually shifting its way back to normal. 

Huh! Aza can bounce this to Lionwind. She doesn't actually see any large objects in here that could have done that on their own, though mind-clockwork does not consistently obey the laws of cause and effect in the way that physical clockwork would, so that isn't a guarantee that Vkandis did it, but she tentatively indicates to Lionwind that she leans toward the hypothesis based on her admittedly limited experience looking at ordinary psychosis.

It's really very useful having Aza's Sight to compare against his! Lionwind bounces back his impression of a river, which also looks as though some force carved one bank out to the side, adding a curve where there oughtn't be one. 

:I am inclined to agree with you: he sends to her. :It is not conclusive at all, but - well, it is a good prognosis even if this was ordinary psychosis, her mind is not too disorganized and it looks as though it should return to normal in time:

Oh, yes, that is sure a fucked-with river. :Yeah - I think I could nudge some of this maybe more easily than you can?: Lionwind's metaphor is very cool but it's more holistic and hers is more... ... ...gears-level.

:Yes, that would be good - though I had better approach the matter of asking her delicately, she is - rather defensive about it, since she does not believe there is anything wrong with her: 

:We can tell her we suspect it was a real miracle and Vkandis just didn't clean up after himself:

Lionwind's face stays perfectly professional, but his mindvoice is amused. :I like that idea for a framing of it! ...As long as she does not take offence at us making her god sound like, oh, a teenage boy who cannot be bothered to clean his room: 

And he turns to the young woman and, very kindly and respectfully, describes what they're noticing, and admits that, as a Mindhealer, he isn't a priest or shaman and cannot diagnose 'miracles' as a sure thing, but he leans toward that. And in any case, she seems to be getting better, which is very good, and is what Vkandis would want for her if this was in fact his miracle. And they can help her get all the way better sooner, if she's willing to let Azabel nudge her mind back toward its mundane ordinary-life shape? 

...Sure, Azabel can do that. 

Aza recites her typical spiel about how she will go slow, it may look like the room is going blurry or melty and she can close her eyes if that bothers her, Aza can stop any time if she's uncomfortable, etcetera, and then she cleans up after the god who cannot be bothered to clean his stolen brain.

Their patient nods along to her explanation and seems pretty unbothered by the actual Mindhealing process. She confesses that she felt way weirder than this last week. 

"I'm not surprised," Aza remarks neutrally.

And Lionwind reassures her a bit more and gives her some advice for how to defuse the tension with her family; which god she worships is none of their business, he assures her, but it is something that brings up a lot of feelings. He says that he knows they love her deeply and this is part of why they're being so obnoxious about it, because they're scared for her wellbeing. He suggests she be very obviously well at them, and boring and neutral on the topic of gods until they've calmed down about it. 

The patient listens through this, paying better attention now that her gears are less out of whack, and then thanks both of them and leaves. 

Lionwind shuts the door behind her. "Good work," he says to Azabel. "What did you think?" 

Aza is not sure why anyone cares much which incomprehensible dubiously-competent brainthief somebody likes to have their supplicatory chats with but she doesn't say that. "You'd talked to her parents, right - I wouldn't have been particularly promissory about their motives since some people's parents have bad motives but you met them."

"I did talk to them. I think they are average parents - they may not always love her effectively, or know how to put her first when their own feelings come into it, but they do care about her, and I think my advice to her will work well with them. If I had not met them, I would have caveated everything I suggested to her much more."