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Jeremiah Hamilton:
After a bit of asking around about those among the Awakened that handled matters of the mind on the mundane front rather that just magical Jeremiah had reached out to Pema to set up a meeting at a location of her choosing. When the time came he arrived promptly, ready to greet her with a polite smile.
Pema Frey:
The location Pema suggests for a discussion is her office at UPenn, where her door is cracked open when Jeremiah arrives, and he's invited in when he gets there.
"Come in," she says, inviting with a wave as well as the words as she's stepping around her desk. "Feel free to take a seat." The office is small, clearly designed more for having a student or two in to talk with her and not intended for seeing patients. Outside of the desk, her chair, and the two chairs in front of it, the whole office is pretty much filled with shelves of books.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
Jeremiah gave the office a quick once-over as he entered, smirking a touch at the bevy of bookshelves as he got settled in one of the offered chairs. "Thanks for having me. Your day's gone well, I hope?"
Pema Frey:
"All my complaints about it are either minor ones or old ones." Pema closes the door once Jeremiah is inside, then goes back to sit in her own chair behind the desk. "That's an indirect way of saying yes," she adds. "I'm usually glad to help if someone needs it in some way, and it sounded like that might be the case here, so you're welcome. Do you want to tell me more about what this all pertains to?"
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"It's not for me specifically, but for one of the Sleepwalkers I've been working with. She had a rather abrupt realization about some of her past prejudices impacting her current behavior that led her to butt heads with some members of the consilium, and the stress of that along with having to rebuild that part of herself has led to some issues. She's veering on the edge of an eating disorder, best as I and one of her partners can tell, along with not getting much sleep."
"She also doesn't want to go the magical route as far as sorting out what issues she may be dealing with, thanks in part to getting prodded a bit too much for her liking on that front by others, so she asked if I could find someone who does your kind of work among the local community."
Pema Frey:
Pema's black painted nails tap lightly on the surface of her desk while she listens, lightly enough not to make any real audible sound. She watches Jeremiah while she listens and waits for it to be clear he's done before she responds. "I would be happy to see her and talk with her," she says before explaining, "even if it would be a little outside of my normal approach right now. I don't have a practice where I see my own patients directly, at least not generally speaking; I teach here, and I consult for other doctors when their patients are experiencing mental health concerns related to physical conditions they're already receiving treatment for." The tapping hand lifts a few inches from the desk and turns over. Obviously there's room for exceptions."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"I see. Any help you could give would be appreciated. She's still finding her footing at the moment, but once she does I can tell she's gonna go far."
Pema Frey:
Pema's hand comes back down to rest on the desk as she leans forward. "Yes, of course. Do you know if she has spoken with a therapist of one sort or another before? What expectations she might have? Handling these kinds of things by mundane means is generally a more effective approach in the long run, and I think it's good to proceed that way, but it doesn't usually produce results overnight."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Not that I know of, and she's not expecting a quick fix. I think that's another part of why she's shying away from the magical approach, honestly; she'd rather work for a solution than have one dropped in her lap."
Pema Frey:
"Good, because that will let her lay a better foundation for building further self discovery and understanding upon." Pema might have a legacy focused on healing the mind and the body, but that doesn't mean it's always right right tool for the job. "If you want to give her my contact info we can work out the details."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"You got it." He pulled his phone and gave Klaire's number once she was ready to take it down. "I'll let her know you'll be getting a hold of her."
Pema Frey:
A pad of paper and a pen are out for scratching down notes quickly, even if the note is just a phone number. "I do think it's better if you ask her to call me," she says even as she's writing the number down. "We're both mages, and if she's a Sleepwalker I want her to come into this knowing that it's her decision and her actions that initiated things, not something that others are imposing on her. Even if the question of willing participation is only subconscious, it can be insidious for some people."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"True enough." He nodded, sending off a quick text before pocketing his phone. "Thank you again. Is there anything I can do for you in return?"
Pema Frey:
"Not necessary." Pema closes the notebook and sets the pen down on it. "You're only asking me to do what's already my job." She makes a back and forth wobble of her hand. "Mostly, but close enough not to matter."
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Figured I'd offer." He replied with a small smile. "I'll let you get back to business, then. It was good to talk with you properly."
Pema Frey:
"Any time." She gets up and grabs her coat from its hook on one wall. "I'm on my way out as well, so I might as well walk out with you, unless you're taking a shortcut of some sort." Space magic, in other words.
Jeremiah Hamilton:
"Nah, I took my bike today." He smirked, hopping up from his seat and holding the door for her all gentlemanly-like.
Pema Frey:
"Thank you." She puts her coat on while passing out the door, then takes the keys out of her pocket to lock up behind them.
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