Fading Echoes . • . X-Men Fanfic . • . BOOK 1

seis

Chapter Six:

Ekka felt uncomfortable. She sat in the soft, leathery seat with a woman in front of her. Glasses were balancing on the brim of her nose, they were rectangular and the frame a deep shade of purple. The woman was writing something down, she had been for quite a few moments, but finally, she looked up and smiled at her.

"Sorry for the wait, dear," She said finally. Ekka was slightly surprised when the woman spoke French, not English. "Had to finalize a few things."

"Oh..." Ekka murmured, shifting in her seat. Flutter was sleeping in her palms, so she didn't want to move too much.

"Okay, let's start off with the basics. How are you doing today?" She smiled, her sapphire blue eyes glowing with the curtains drawn open beside them.

"Uhm... Good?" Ekka replied, confused.

The woman chuckled, "That's good. I am Ms. Justine. What's your name?"

"They did not tell you my name...?" Ekka asked, surprised. She assumed that Charles would tell the woman everything she needed to know about her before actually meeting her. It made sense, but apparently that wasn't true.

"Yes, they did," Ms. Justine admitted. "But, I find it easier to introduce yourself to others whenever you get the chance, that way, it's much easier to make new friends."

"Oh, well, I–I am Ekka. And this is Flutter." Ekka said, motioned to the slumbering bird.

Ms. Justine smiled, "It's nice to meet both of you. Now, Ekka, you know why you're here?"

Ekka squirmed, looking down, "M–Mister Xavier said that you were a doctor but for your feelings?" Ekka said, but it came out more like a question.

Justine didn't mind and nodded, "Yes. That's very true. I'm what you would call a 'therapist', although some people call us 'shrinks'. We help people who don't feel good, or people who want to talk about their feelings." Ekka nodded, but she was a little confused still. "So, for example, let's say you were really sad, and you bring yourself to be happy again. That's when you would come to people like me. You talk to me, tell me why you're sad, and I'll help you get happy again."

"But... I am not sad," Ekka said, confused. "Why would I be sad?"

"Maybe, because of what happened at the Circus?" Ekka stiffened, her eyes darting to the floor. "It's okay to talk to me, Ekka, I won't tell anyone — I'm not allowed."

"Yo–You are not allowed?"

"Yes," she said with a laugh, "I'm actually not allowed to talk to anyone about this. It's called Doctor-Patient confidentiality. It's like, whatever you say to me stays a secret, and since it's a secret, I can't tell anyone."

"Oh..." Ekka murmured, "S–So, I am allowed to talk about the Circus here?"

"Yes, you can tell me about anything."

"What if I... I do not want to talk?"

"I won't force anything out of you," the woman said and Ekka visibly relaxed. The woman wrote something down. "We could talk about something that's not personal. The Professor told me that you were fond of Little Red Riding Hood. Is that true?"

"I... Ye–Yeah... I dressed up as her for Halloween. I–I even made a basket, Vera told me that I should, since she has a wicker basket in the story."

"And who's Vera?"

"She is my..." Ekka trailed off, looking at the ground, "Friend." She finished, almost surprised with herself. She realized that he hadn't had a real friend since Fira. Would Vera leave Ekka like Fira had? What if she got hurt?