Talia Cleirigh

She smiled, “I think he’s still in the council room.”

“You aren’t indebted to Ronan because he was your mentor. That’s not how that works. You should know that. You’re a Cleirigh because he saw something in you. Something enough to make him want you to be apart of our family.“ Ethan pulled over into an empty lot. They’ve never had this conversation before and Ethan was starting to feel a little like Nathan. “You think we want you only for your power? That Roman and Ronan Cleirigh keeps you around only for your power? I love you but do you have any idea how idiotic that sounds?“

Talia let out a harsh laugh. “Yeah, he saw the ability not to lose his brother, Ethan. I’m not saying that’s what everyone else sees, but that is my purpose for Ronan.” She could feel this was a long way from over when he parked the car, and pinched her nose. “Oh I’m idiotic now? I love you too, but you are coming into this with about a century of distance from the entire situation. You don’t know what went on with either of them or me because you weren’t here.”

Ethan sent a harsh glare her way. His face clearly conveyed that he didn’t believe her and he wasn’t in the mood for any bullshit. “My family isn’t as perfect or cool as everyone thinks we are. You could have gotten your own place. that wouldn’t have taken your value away them or your friendship.”

“You have the benefit of always having them in your corner. If I didn’t do this-” She wasn’t sure what would have happened. Or what she felt would have happened. “You know I was taught by your father for a reason. That they kept me for so long. Don’t act like I would have been if Roman didn’t need me. Audo, Kady and I are the only mental powers your father has taken on; that’s not a coincidence.”

Leaving the Council Hall

   “I was just leaving, is there something you need?”

“What I’m assuming is that one is for short term help getting and staying asleep and the other is long term? Combating their inner problems that may or may not be disturbing their sleep? I would rather the second option completely with only the first as a added measure if you see it fit.“

“I don’t want to take up much of your time, Doctor. I can have my people contact you directly for our trial run while I get my people to draw up a contract. Does that sound agreeable?“

“That would be correct.” Talia was pleasantly surprised by that and a smile popped up on her face. “I typically find the second option the best for long term success.”

“Every other night.“

“Starting tomorrow?”

“What trauma? I fucked up and I’m being punished for it. I get it. I’ve even accepted it and have come to terms with it. I just want to sleep, eat and live my life without people acting like I’m a ticking time bomb.“

“I don’t know what you’re asking me, Talia.“

“Okay.” Talia looked away and straightened the pens and papers on the desk. “Never mind that. Do you want me to visit every night, every other night?”

“It started about a week after I was turned” she admitted, “I’ve tried drinking before bed, going for runs to try and wear myself out but it doesn’t seem to matter if I run five miles or drink five bottle of wine my brain still won’t switch off,” 

“I’ve heard of marijuana helping, but I can see you feel a bit past that. Have you tried potions? They can be a great deal more addictive, but also more potent. I have a shop that I always recommend; it’s called Wondering Worlds of Magic. It’s run by a local warlock. There are many brands of potions to try there. Judson, the owner, should be able to find you the best fit for your needs.”

“How does your process work? I would like to tell them what to expect.“

“Well if you would like to focus on the sleep side of things I would visit them while they were sleeping and enhance the sleep process. Bring them into REM and push any bad dreams away. If we were focusing on therapy, we might have some sessions in my office and begin working through trauma there. I’d be able to talk to them while they’re in their subconscious and it would be similar to having a session, but without the barriers that some patients bring in. If I feel there needs to be more actions taken, I might also help calm and relax them while they’re going to sleep.”

“I don’t need healing,” she insisted, “I just need to be able to sleep,”

“And how long have you been unable to sleep? With hyenas, some form of substance is often needed to calm down.”

“Human shifters are typically a very ambitious group. I have 4 to 5 people in mind and they are all human shifters. Would you rather a larger test group?“

“No, that should do fine. I only ask because I can fully use my powers on those who know about magic. It takes longer to suggest my presence in my human patients’ minds is normal and all apart of the normal therapeutic process.”

“Talia… I’m stuck without my magic… It’s unnatural. There’s no fixing it. Any quick fix that’ll keep me off of longer term potions and keep me from waking Peter at night would be unbelievable.“ Duke tried not to sound defeated but he was. “But I don’t want Peter or the family knowing either.“

“There’s coming to terms with your trauma, though. When you get better, are you going to associate all the pain you’ve been carrying with you with Peter? Wouldn’t you rather be at least neutral with your feelings over this?” Talia sighed sadly. “I’m willing to do whatever you need. It will be hard to do it without Peter knowing, but I’m sure we can come up with something.”

“I like the sound of hypnotherapy. I also think it could benefit us in the long run.“ Sirius replied. “We’re not just talking about cops, doctor. I plan on building this into our networks insurance policy and possibly making it mandatory for those under internal investigations. That’ll include officers, dispatchers, detectives, forensics, IT, lawyers, victim advocate, judges, and more.“

“How would you feel if I assign a few of my members to you? As a trail period.“

Talia nodded, a little surprised, but happy to go along with that. “That sounds very ambitious. And I do believe it’ll benefit you. How many patients were you looking to try out initially, and would they all be supernaturals?”

“I’m not familiar with them at all really,”

“By allowing the majority of communication to happen within the subconscious, healing can begin faster.”