The Birdcage

Violets Are Blue

Doctor Hannan's office was small and cosy; although in reality it probably was the same size as Doctor Montgomery's, so it was clearly more the decor than anything else. The colour scheme of pale blues would almost have seemed depressing if it weren't for how oppressive the warm tones of Doctor Montgomery's had seemed. Now, it was like a breath of fresh air.

"Bon-bon?" Hannan asked, taking a pale purple sweet from an elegantly patterned box before offering it to Nyx. "Shh, don't tell anyone. You're not supposed to have them."

"Uh... Thank you." Nyx said quietly, taking one. It tasted so good after days of their over-salted slop; she was surprised but then delighted to find the flavour of violets bursting on her tongue; in that moment seeming more delicious than anything she'd ever tasted.

"They're a bit special, aren't they?" Doctor Hannan grinned, wrinkling her nose playfully. Nyx suddenly remembered the rumours about this woman being on certain substances, and began second guessing taking the candy; but it seemed harmless enough.

"Please, take a seat." Doctor Hannan said, gesturing Nyx to sit down on her plush white couch. Nyx did so, expecting the doctor to go and sit behind the desk; but instead she stood in front of it, perching slightly on the edge as she leant against it. "So, I've been looking through your file, and I've noticed some things that... Well, definitely come under my area of expertise."

"Oh yeah? What?" Nyx said, perhaps a little moodier than she'd intended, but she was so sick and tired of conversations like this. There was nothing wrong with her. Licking coloured bon-bon sugar off her fingers, she set her jaw, fixing the doctor with a challenging look.

"The constant nightmares, for one." Doctor Hannan replied, unfased. "Strange episodes. And you claim to have been murdered."

"It happened." Nyx's tone was of one that would not be swayed, by any logic or for any reason.

"Fair enough." Hannan shrugged. "We can get into that later. We can talk about anything you want to talk about."

"You know, you doctors always say that, but it's not really true." Nyx said, shaking her head. "Because what you're hoping is I'll trust you enough to talk about what you want me to talk about."

Doctor Hannan chuckled. "You've been to one too many of these, haven't you?"

"Yup." Nyx scooted back in her seat; relaxing more comfortably into the couch. She had the random urge to kick off her shoes and curl her feet up besides her; but she didn't, as it felt a bit too casual for the situation.

"Alright." The woman shrugged. "Cards on the table. Let's talk about what I want you to talk about then. Your nightmares; what are they about?"

"Things that scare me." Nyx said simply.

"Well, ask an obvious question..." Doctor Hannan chuckled. "So, what scares you?"

Nyx thought about it for a little bit, before shrugging half-heartedly, picking her fingers as a distraction from the doctor's gaze. "Lots of things."

"Do they evolve when you become afraid of new things?"

"Sometimes."

Doctor Hannan had her notebook out now, and was making a few notes; Nyx fixed her eyes on the pen as it glided across the page, following its path until Hannan clicked it closed, putting the pad down and tucking the pen into her hair. "I won't write anything if you don't want me to. I'd rather you talk than I take notes." She held up her hands to prove they were empty; smiling kindly.

"I don't want everyone to know."

Doctor Hannan made a crossing motion over her heart. "Won't leave this room. Promise. I'm the best at keeping secrets." She said, raising her finger to her lips in a shushing motion; before breaking into a wide, playful smile.

Nyx sighed, crossing her arms and looking around the room; kicking her legs against the bottom of the sofa repeatedly, before crossing them and uncrossing them again. Doctor Hannan waited patiently; until Nyx finally sighed again. "I'm scared of the dark."

"The dark?"

"I know, it's stupid and childish."

"It's not, actually." Doctor Hannan reassured her. "In fact, it's probably one of the most rational fears out there; it's basic human instinct to perceive the dark as being more dangerous."

"Then my basic instinct is in overdrive; I dream about being scared of the dark. Which is stupid, because I'm asleep because it's dark!"

"It's okay, it's not stupid." Doctor Hannan reassured her again. "What about the dark are you particularly afraid of?"

There was a pause for several minutes; Nyx looking at the pattern of the carpet as she turned the question over and over in her mind. Finally, she scraped together a cohesive answer. "I guess... bad things happen in the dark."

"In your dreams?"

"Yes. There's bad things happen in the dark, I know it; but I can't see it, so I can't do anything about it."

"So it's the feeling of helplessness that you don't like? You're not comfortable with what you can't see- perhaps what you can't change. Would you agree?"

"I... don't know." Nyx said honestly; she hadn't thought about it before, not in so much depth. She could see the logic behind it; it was actually really interesting, to look at it through that lense. Surprisingly, she realised, she wanted to explore.

Doctor Hannan wrinkled her nose playfully; suddenly changing the topic. "Do you find you can sometimes be- to use the common phrasing- a bit of a 'control freak'?"

"... Sometimes. I can be." Nyx admitted, breaking into embarrassed giggles. "But I generally think I'm quite relaxed."

"It's not necessarily a bad thing." Doctor Hannan said, opening her box of Bon-bon's again and taking another one for herself. "Everything in moderation. Another sweet?"

I'm not a psychologist and I don't know psychology, so don't come for me. I tried my best. XD
So, what do you think of Doctor Hannan? Specifically, what do you think of her compared to Doctor Montgomery and Doctor Johnson?