Joint Work

[Jason Campbell]

Asano Anri. He didn't know much else. Well, he knew that, like him, he should put Doctor before that name. Was it a man or a woman, even that he was not exactly sure. All that he knew was that he got a call from said Dr Anri to meet with him, regarding certain students. He knew she was a psychologist if not a psychiatrist, he wasn’t sure exactly. She worked with problems of the mind and that was enough for him. He understood straight away it must have to do with SPECTRE and those who took part in it, either because they were kidnapped or they rescued them. He couldn’t tell her much about those who stayed back at the academy after all, even though being attacked must have been pretty rough on them as well. He knew some died, including a young woman he knew and an eleven year old. It was a shame, really. What were they supposed to say to their parents, who certainly believed Bellefonte was the place for them, so they could learn to control their power in safety.

There was also the case of Zoe Wallerstein-Smythe. Jason wanted to discuss her case also. He wasn’t quite sure whether Dr Anri knew of the girl already. If not, Jason would point her out as someone who might need some help. He knew she had been through some traumatic events when she was shot. Not that she was in a better state before, having almost paralyzed her girlfriend to death in the past. Sadly for the girl, Jason doubted there would be a way to turn off her power and allow her to touch people. And helping her get over it was beyond his competence. He already stretched them greatly by studying paralytics and making up a preventive so she could touch people for a little while. But the fact remained Jason believed she could use some help, help he could not exactly give her. Asano Anri however, depending on how good he (or was it she?) was, could provide it.

During their brief conversation, Jason offered her to come to the clinic. He technically was not receiving patients today so he could use his office for the meeting. He pulled out the notes he compiled about SPECTRE and also everything he got on Zoe. SPECTRE was quite brief. By the end of it, Jason had been so drained from tending to everyone that he collapsed and took hours to wake up. And an entire week to regain all the energy lost. He had never felt so low in his life but considered it entirely worth it. He managed to heal the gunshot wounds and any form of torture on the kids. All of this took its toll, especially when dealt with one after another with barely any rest in between, but it was still worth it.

So here was Jason, reading what he noted while waiting for Dr Anri to show her. He told her (or him?) to go to the reception and they would direct them straight to his office. Then they only had to knock and come in. He was curious as to whom that doctor was. And, well, to use the proper pronoun when addressing to them.

[Asano Anri]

They had not any appointments scheduled today, though they were cautious of any walk-ins that may make themselves present. The earlier half of the morning had been spent organizing and reorganizing the entirety of their office and their files, as while Anri would appreciate having a secretary or whathaveyou, they appreciated having something to do in the meantime, be it filing or the whatnot, giving them a sense of how their fellowship days were like in the first year. When it came close to noontime, they managed to leave the office, having a neatly and spidery cursive handwritten note: Out for business. If needed, please contact me at... left on the door. No walk-ins had come, but if they will afterwards, they should know how to reach them. When Anri drive into town, it's strangely familiar and yet unfamiliar at the same time. The atmosphere is similar, but it's most certainly different. Anri wonders if it is because it's been well over a decade since they've last been here.

Dr. Jason Campbell is a local doctor with mutant abilities, if they had understood his connections to the Academy as the on-call doctor properly. Having called the respectable doctor before to discuss over some students who they've looked over recently, particularly of the ones involved in the SPECTRE incident and immediate students who incited some concern from the content in their file. Anri, having seen the doctor's name more than once in some of the medical files that were on hand in the school's filing system, wished to have more detailed reports to be able to have a more accurate psychological profiling and file on most of the students.

The clinic in which Dr. Jason Campbell was familiar though slightly different in appearance than it had been a decade or so ago. Parking in some small parking lot nearby, they walked the short distance to the clinic. As they approached the desk, "Excuse me, I'm Dr. Asano Anri. I called in--" Stopping when they couldn't hear what exactly the receptionist at the front was saying, they belatedly realized that their earplugs were still in and quickly remedied it. "O-oh, my apologies. Er, again, I'm Dr. Anri--" They were interrupted, and directed to where Dr. Campbell's office was, obviously already expecting their arrival. Just knock please and the doctor will see you. "Thank you." A quick nod and their professional mask was placed back on, the slight sheepish feeling of nervousness was pushed down as they walked away. Sounds of their boots in their footsteps stop in front of a door marked with the doctor's name.

Anri made sure that their ear plugs' wire was secure around their blouse, covering it over with the leather jacket of the typical grunge-y appearance that they would take on when not in the professional, clean cut outfits they'd have on at the school. Though it seemed not to make much of difference despite the added articles of boots and leather jacket. Taking a moment to rub at the empty holes where piercings were usually present for so many years before taking the job in this town, Anri knocked precisely twice and then once in between a pause. They try not to think about whether their lipstick was smudged or not with their anxious habits appearing out of compulsion. "Dr. Campbell?" Anri turns the knob--it's unlocked, as it should be, they'd suppose--and looks inside. "Hello. We spoke on the phone. Dr. Anri." The door opens a bit more and they walk inside, slightly hesitant but confidence resumes as the time wears on. "It's nice to finally meet you in person."

[Jason Campbell]

Jason had two sets of files. Some came with this clinic, the ones the hospital could get if they ever called in. The official ones. But for every mutant patient he had, he also kept a second file, a more secret one. One where anything regarding their power and their side-effects was recorded, along with the different treatment, experimentation and thoughts Jason could come up on the subject. No need to say he kept those hidden, usually at home, far from anyone who could read them and use them to their advantage. Maybe he was being paranoid but he preferred to be careful on that matter. Considering what happened with SPECTRE, he didn’t think it a bad idea. He could only imagine the damage they could have caused had any of them got hold on his files.

The one who’ll read them however was not a threat. Dr Anri came as a Bellefonte Official. Jason had no reason to worry. He openly let members of the academy read his files. Not that it happened a lot in the past but he considered it was something he should do. They all had the same goal here, to help mutants with their power and their side-effects so they could live as normally as possible. And Jason knew he could use all the help on that particular matter. He could help with the physical ailment but could do very little about the mind. Having someone who could help about it working with him was valuable.

He wasn’t sure what to expect. Some Asian doctor of course, judging by the name, but nothing else came in mind as to the appearance or even the age. He did not recall any Anri when he was a student and although it didn’t mean anything, Jason was ready to suspect whoever would come through the door was either younger or older than he was. He straightened up as he heard the knocks on his door. Must be the shrink. “Yes, come in,” he said when he heard a voice, telling them to come in as he stood up to get to the door. Door that opened before he reached it but at least he was closer to shake the doctor’s hand.

He had to admit, he was not entirely expecting this. Asian, sure, he got that one right. And like most Asian people, he couldn’t quite give an approximate age. The leather jacket, he had to admit, he never imagined. Then again, he shouldn’t talk. Jason had one himself. He liked it as the leather was already a bit old and worn out when he bought it. Anyone who knew him found it odd as he clearly was not the kind you’d imagine with a leather jacket. He was not plaid shirt and tweed coat but probably closer to that and leather and rock attitude.

He had no clear indication of a gender however, none obvious to him that is. Should he refer to doctor Anri as he or she? Well, since he would be talking directly to them, it will be you, but still. Jason did wonder. And also hated the fact he was wondering. There was something embarrassing asking someone whether they are a woman or a man. Embarrassing and insulting. Jason wanted to be neither. He’ll have to pretend he knew exactly who he was talking to, hoping he won’t have anyone asking him later. “Yes, we did. I’m happy to see you in person as well Dr. Anri. I understood you wanted to talk about some students. It pulled out whatever notes I may have and I’d be happy to discuss them with you if you like,” he said. He did hope she meant to include him in this and not just come to take his note and leave. Sure he was not the expert of the mind but he knew those kids, at least a little. He didn't want to be left out when he felt already a part of this.

[Asano Anri]

The door closes behind them. When Anri steps into the room, its nothing too sharp or contrasting to its frequented inhabitant. Such an inhabitant in question was a bit of a bear of a man, scruff on his face and hair askew that almost takes Anri for a shocking surprise -- which would be granted, though there wasn't much of an impression before meeting him to formulate any sorts of speculation. Dr. Jason Campbell was certainly a rather tired looking individual and Anri would imagine that he would be, considering his occupation, the general populous of a town such as Kalispell in addition to his loyalties to the Academy, Anri would have been surprised that he didn't seem to have just a bit of fatigued. Otherwise, Dr. Jason Campbell was a masculine aesthetics pleasing individual that Anri would be comfortable enough to consider handsome. A bit younger than what they had expected, but from what the rumors that they had heard about his abilities as a fellow alumni of the Academy..

He seemed to be rather occupied with something on his mind, though Anri didn't really understand as to what, so they kept quiet about as they smiled while they shook hands. They hold onto the other's hand firmly briefly before letting go. Their lips didn't feel like it would with lipstick smeared on, and belatedly realizes that they hadn't applied any make-up today. It passes as quickly as it had appeared. Anri reaches for their earplugs almost absent-mindly, a habit to just hold them in between their fingers for some seconds before letting it go.

When he mentions the notes that he had on hand, their eyes shifted over quickly to where some papers about the desk, which invoked a bit of excitement to getting to business. They look back at the doctor's face to speak directly to him. "Of course." Anri nods once and short. Dr. Jason Campbell's voice and manner of conduct reminded Anri of summer warm-cool tones, a direct contrast to the receptionist whose voice was very winter cool-warm tones of purples and magentas. "I had hoped to consult both your professional testimony and the like on the matter of several students' files, as well as what had happened during the SPECTRE incident. Shall we sit over to where you have situated your notes I'll presume?" They walk over to the desk, beset with files and notes, and some key phrases capture their interest in bursts of color, but they force themself to turn over to Dr. Campbell out of politeness and restraint from immediately delving into what he had to offer. There was respect and boundaries to be considered when making acquaintances, and Anri would imagine that they should at least be on friendly terms with this man if they were to occasionally interact when it came to work. It was basic decency as Sasaki would put it.

Earlier thoughts came to mind that they hadn't been able to manage to bring up on earlier contract with the Dr. Jason Campbell. "If you wouldn't mind my inquiry, Doctor," Anri pauses, hesitates slightly and wonders if they're being a bit too straight forward immediately but continues on anyway. "I had been wondering about some things that I've heard about yourself. Is it true that you possess healing abilities? It makes it seem rather natural for yourself to get into medical field.." There's almost a moment of slight jealousy that erupts up in Anri at the thought, but nothing seems to give way to their face, staring right into the man's face as they stand near the desk not even three feet away at this distance. Eyes picking away and up on anything that could prove to be taken to note; smile faint and not quite friendly in reaching their eyes, but sterile and reaching their cheeks instead. They quickly add, a sheepish smile breaking their face for a moment, appearing suddenly as if they just remembered their manners. "Ah, but I apologize if I seem rather intrusive on the matter however considering how your name was mentioned several times during the SPECTRE attack on the Academy, and your association with the Academy as well, I had been just wondering how the possible total damage had been reduced in a short amount of time.." they let the thought trail off, sinking into the room and it's atmospheric mood.

[Jason Campbell]

The question of sex seemed so trivial. In the end, it mattered very little. What really was important was Dr Anri’s skills, not what pronoun Jason needed to use when addressing to them. The features did seem soft, more female-like. But it could deceive him. The clothes offered no real help either, being pretty androgynous. No matter how trivial this was, the simple fact of not knowing when the question generally never arises was enough to leave Jason puzzled and slightly pissed. Not at Dr. Anri of course, but at his own attitude. It was like that silly game where they asked you whether it was a booty you were looking at or breasts. Seemed stupid and it was but after a few wrong answers, you feel a blow to your ego and want to prove you can tell the difference. The same could be said as to his colleague’s gender. He didn’t need to know but he had to know.

He did feel enough embarrassment about it not to ask Asano directly. It would solve many problems but there was something insulting in being told your gender is impossible to determine with appearance alone. So he remained quiet, forcing his mind to go back to the topic at hand. They would have much to talk about, it will help his mind stop thinking about it. He followed their hands and noticed the earplugs but didn’t say anything about those either. He was not here to diagnose a patient but to talk to a colleague.

He nodded back as Anri approved going straight to work. They chose not to start with pleasantries and Jason was ready to oblige them. She explained what she wanted of him as they walked to his desk. It was a habit of his to sit on the most comfortable chair, his chair, in front of the patients. He didn’t think she was no patient or that she would be used to do the same. “SPECTRE affected all of us, we can say. I tried my best to tend the wounds of those who had been kidnapped and tortured in that facility as well as those who fought to retrieve them. But my expertise only extends to the physical aspect of the healing,” he said as he sat down. He closed Zoe’s file for now as it would seem they were to concentrate on the other ones at first.

He paused, raising his head and staring at Asano as they asked the right to question him. “Yes?” he asked, waiting to know what their inquiry would be about precisely. A faint smile appeared on his lips as they asked about his power. “Yes, I believe some called it the healing touch. It’s not exactly accurate. I don’t heal, what I do is I provide the body with the energy required to heal itself at a faster rate. Taking from my own energy might I add,” he explained. He rarely put it like that but they were a doctor as well, even if they worked for the mind more than the body unlike him. Asano was not the first one to tell him it seemed appropriate he chose the medical field. It did seem as the most logical choice. Obviously, it required more than just his ability to become a doctor. They did the many years of study too, they should know how much work it was. “My father had the same power and was a doctor as well. I simply followed on his footsteps,” he added with a brief nod. He had no idea just how much Asano knew of Kalispell but there was a time his father was known around here. A long time ago, mind you, more than fifteen years. They would have been a teenager or a young adult by then. It wouldn’t be surprising that the name Campbell rang any bell.

He smiled again, this time slightly bigger, when they apologized for the intrusion. “It’s quite alright, I understand. I did use my abilities, as well as my medical skills, during the rescue mission. It was the main reason for my presence. We weren’t sure exactly in what state we would find the kids and we were going against military-trained men,” he said. To him, it explained why his name would be mentioned so much at the time. They could have sued a few more like him then.

[Asano Anri]

The ability to increase the rate of healing by transferring one's energies seemed a more virtuous ability than their own. The jealousy from earlier seemed to erupt much more suddenly in Anri, a bittersweet coveting feeling that stemmed from their own insecurities of their abilities. It comes and passes, as Anri considers the situation at hand, and the looming presence of SPECTRE's existence and their actions, the reason as to why they've come to look over Dr. Campbell's files. Every ability seemed to have come with their own consequences, no matter the comparison as they've all come together with an enemy whose face will change but always remain the same at its core. A core that's been present in the cullings of multiple peoples. Anri hopes that this doesn't become the case for the people here that they could possibly do something about to protect them.

Their thought process is interrupted by the realization of Dr. Campbell's father having taken practice here in the town of Kalispell as well. It didn't connect before, stopping Anri into a slight daze body language wise, nostalgia hitting them. A soft look. From what they remembered, there were a few schoolmate friends that they had, always finding themselves at the school nurse or visiting the clinic whenever in town. They mostly tagged along for the most part, no real reason to require the doctor's treatment as their abilities were kept suppressed and released at regular intervals to keep their mind under control. The faint memories were running by (their eyes glance over to the windows, making sure that they weren't actually doing just that and that their abilities weren't playing around again unknowingly). With that sudden moment of panic, they turn their attention back to Dr. Campbell, taking in his behavior and processing further what he's been saying.

Nodding, "I see.. A well thought out choice." A brief comment. They get their mindset back into trying to understand SPECTRE's aftereffects on the students, the people of the town, their families. Leaves behind the nostalgia of Kalispell from a decade ago. Eyes catching onto the files on the desk, looks towards Dr. Campbell. Arms to their sides, head being lifted from mindless thinking. "The students who were kidnapped and would be rescued. Erika Bellefonte, Trevor Paige, Solkat Suin, Frank Cox.. Was there anything in particular that stood out to you when they were found?"

[Jason Campbell]

He knew his power could sound pretty impressive. He guessed it kind of was, to force the body to heal itself at a faster rate. Of course, there was a downside, as there always was one. It was his own energy that was used. Sure, it would require less of him then it would normally take you to heal normally of a wound, but it was still a big chunk of energy drained from him. He was out of breath with low heartbeats at the end. He even saw white dots once and fainted a few times, an action his body took at last resort to force him to recuperate. His power might not hurt others, it was quite the reverse, but Jason wouldn’t be surprised if one day his heart decided to give up on him. Not to add that he was a workaholic who tended to forget even to eat or sleep when doing research. Once that was done, he regain the weight and tried to exercise but such lifestyle was not ideal and he knew it. But it was who he was and he accepted that a long time ago.

That said, he was curious as to what power Asano might have. At first, he thought empathy could be good for a psychiatrist but then believed it was the other way around. Being affected by other people’s feelings, getting too involved, it was not good. Not to add they might have something entirely irrelevant to their career. Having the right power for a job does not mean you have the desire or the skills for it.

Jason always had a little pinch to his heart mentioning his father. The man had let himself down in the past fifteen or so years. Jason had no idea what kind of man he became after the death of his wife, Jason’s mother, but he knew in what state he was a few days before his death, only a year ago. It was almost a year. Maybe he should see his grave, commemorate it. Perhaps he could convince his brother to come too. The younger man still refused to trust Jason, too many bottled up rage, guilt and pain between them. But Jason was determined to fix that.

Not today however. Today he was working with Dr. Anri. Jason took a deep breath as she talked of the students who had been kidnapped. “Frank Cox was dehydrated and famished but overall didn’t seem to have suffered of anything else. She was exhausted, I had her rest and gave her an IV until we went back to the school. The others suffered more physical torture,” he began to say, every now and then checking in his files to know he was getting it right. “They were drained both physically and mentally. But we also had people who had been shot, I’m afraid I didn’t have the time to properly look at their psychological state. And I passed out before we could fully heal everyone. I can tell you the Bellefonte girl is keeping it inside. I wouldn’t be surprised if her idea of processing with what happened is to pretend it never did,” he added, sighing a bit as he didn’t feel like he had much to tell her. He gave her the files however. “Feel free to have a look. I can send you a copy if you wish.”

[Asano Anri]

As Anri listened, taking in what information Dr. Campbell was providing them, eyes browsing over the files and automatically stepping closer as soon as he handed the files over to them. Taking their eyes off of Dr. Campbell brief behavioral strangeness, seemingly catch up on something on his mind, before mirroring the same focus that he's placed onto the conversation, they nod. Hands flipping through the papers as they skim through, occasionally pausing to fully take in the information being provided, the medical files being a good starting point for psychological examination. "I understand that you and the rescue team were doing everything you could at the time. Psychological examination wasn't something to consider when getting them out safely was the priority." They note the injuries, and Dr. Campbell's comment that he had passed out after healing. Considered how the students who were tortured psychologically and physically, their states and their after reports of what had happened. If Anri had been around earlier, they would've advised this, but they would suppose that this was their job now. To relieve what trauma could have taken root.

Their hands move as quickly as their mind did as their focus changed hands per the student and their files, often repeating and going over them twice, thrice. Laying out the files along side to fully cross examine between them all, trying to understand these students as paper dictated them to be. "Having a copy of these files would be very helpful, yes. Whenever you have the time to, doctor. Thank you." Anri comments off-handedly, still immersed in the information, subconscious preparing themselves to be in the right mind of state to be able to approach these students after knowing what had happened to them.

"I've prepared already some appointments to meet with some of these students. Frank Cox had sent back the lack of need to attend, and looking over this as well as taking your statement, I can see that she probably won't need my help. On the other hand, I've been trying to get Erika Bellefonte," Anri takes into consideration what Dr. Campbell had said, quickly tucks it away into their pre-diagnosis, "and Trevor Paige to be able to have an appointment, and will be doing a psychological examination with them soon. I'd hope that they'd agree to doing therapy if the examination shows any harmful aftereffects from the trauma they've experienced." They list off, speaking their intentions as they remained still to continue to absorb the files for several more minutes before turning their head to look at Dr. Campbell. Their eyes having caught note of files unrelated to the SPECTRE kidnapped students. "Oh. I'm sorry for diverging momentarily, but I've recently taken a student into therapy. She was in medical attention during the time in which the kidnapping happened, if I remember correctly," they gesture over the files as they maintained eye contact, "a Zoe Wallace-Smith?"

[Jason Campbell]

Jason was usually careful who he was giving his files to. The fact Asano was sent by the Academy had him trust them a little bit more but he also searched for them. He made sure to have confirmation he could talk of the students to Dr. Anri without hesitation and checked their background a bit. His search did not go very far, only enough to make sure they were who they claimed to be. The fact that they were comforted him and despite the questions still lingering on the back of his mind regarding Dr. Anri, he still decided to trust their professional opinion. When he talked to them, it was like he would with any colleague of his.

He nodded as they understood the situation the whole rescue team had been in at the time. Making sure everyone would get back to the school alive was of course more important than checking which one was in foetal position, having a nervous breakdown. After that, Jason tended to their physical wounds, not the mental ones. They all went through something traumatic of course, and it was natural for it to affect them but it was just too fresh back then to be really certain of how badly they were scarred by it. Jason still could barely believe all that had happened. He saw stab and gun wounds before, he was not flinching at the sight of blood but the face the horrors your very own government put children through, it had been a shock to him also. The only reason why he did not freeze at the thought was because they needed him.

He chased that memory away from his memory. They were safe now and with the help of Dr. Anri or anyone else they saw fit, they shall also get through what happened. He nodded as they agreed about the copy. “I’ll have them sent to the Academy,” he assured them. Jason didn’t know the students very well. Most of the time, when he was called, it was for an emergency or after an accident. He usually saw them once, maybe twice, the nurses more than able to do the follow-up afterwards. “I do worry for them. They suffered through a lot of physical torture perhaps more than the others,” he replied as she mentioned Erika and Trevor. Jason was also worrying for Elsa, Erika’s twin sister, although he doubted she would ever talk to Dr. Anri. Besides, his worries were more medical than psychological. The girl used her power to the point Jason feared damage to the brain. He wished he could have her do tests but he dealt with her temper to know what kind of answer he would get from her.

Jason straightened up when Dr. Anri mentioned Zoe. “Yes, she had been shot prior to the rescue event. I’m glad you talked of her, I wanted to mention her to you,” he said, finding her file on the pile and giving it to them. In it, there was more than the simple notes on her wounds but also of everything else he gathered. He healed her girlfriend when Zoe accidentally paralyzed her airways and Jason later chose to help her find an antidote should this occur again, as well as a preventive to give her the chance of touching people. “As you can see, I worked more with her,” he said although the simple fact her file was thicker than the others was enough to say so on its own. “She is unable to touch people without paralysing them. I am afraid she might never be able to. Obviously, this and the potential danger of her ability is making her fragile.”

[Asano Anri]

Anri keeps Dr. Campbell's comment on Erika Bellfronte's and Trevor Paige's condition and what they had gone through in careful thought. Their eyes were temporarily blurring out of focus as they pause for a moment to take in that information, before relaxing back into leaning over the files to take in what information they offered. The off thought becomes a wondering if the incident had traumatized them, and something strange follows up with, after something like that, would it have been expected that they were to be traumatized? Questions that trauma counselors were trained to answer to, not so much as psychiatrists.

Eyes snapped immediately to the file that Dr. Campbell reached for, intent on both more information to add to files already stored away mentally. Intrigued that Dr. Campbell had already wished to speak to them about Zoe, they stand up from leaning over the SPECTRE files, eyes watching the files and moving between it and Dr. Campbell in silent observation. Their head crooked, tilting slightly to the left, quite impressed by the amount of dedication that the file must've surely have been attended in, judging by its size. Their hands reach for it, noting everything that he says, nodding shortly. "I see.." Taking the Dr. Campbell's statement into consideration as they thought over Zoe's case entirely, finding an understanding to her anxious behavior, as well as the gloves that she wore. "Fragile.. They found the wording strange, having the mind to look for Zoe's medical documents, a slight perplexed frown on their expression. "Do you mean physically or mentally?"

[Jason Campbell]

Jason might have treated some students from Bellefonte but he didn’t know the mental state they were in. Most of the time, they were unconscious and often severely wounded when he was called to look into it. There was no reason to call Jason after all if the nurses at the school were able to do the work. He rarely did any follow up. He knew he was healing wounds and diseases entirely with his power. If there was any pain remaining, it was ghost pain and so he couldn’t do anything about it. His job was quickly done, even without his power. Asano’s work required more time.

There was one student however that Jason knew well enough to speak about her issues and mental fragility. Zoe. He had seen her panicked after she nearly killed her girlfriend, he saw her nervous and in pain as she recalled previous incidents, hopeful as he brought her tools to keep her ability under some form of control, even some guilt out for the same reason. It was a good thing that Dr. Anri brought up Zoe because he meant to talk to them about her. The file he made with her information contained everything from the effects on Devyn to the latest research he conducted for her in the hope of creating a temporary preventive. He wouldn’t mind summarizing it for them right now but of course, he intended to send a copy of that file also. He felt a responsibility towards the young girl.

He took a deep breath as he thought about how fragile Zoe was. “Both, I would say. But I was referring to her mental state, mostly,” he admitted. He wasn’t sure how to put it exactly but he felt it necessary to at least try. “She is a smart girl, I believe she knows she might never be able to touch people for very long before paralysing them. She nearly killed a student after it affected her respiratory system. She’s very scared something of the like might happen again and I do worry of the effects it would have on her should another incident happened,” he told Asano. They were both professionals and he was hoping for Dr. Anri to be able to help Zoe, if the girl accepted the help. He was hoping she would. “Have you talked to her already? You’ll find she is a very nervous person,” he added.

[Asano Anri]

Anri nods, understands Dr. Campbell's sincere concern for Zoe as they've already developed a bit of a soft spot for the girl already, his tone and evidence apparent in the form of a dedicated file. "Yes, I had noticed that she's a rather nervous and anxious individual. Her gloves and general covering up of clothing was rather indicative of that. We had the one session thus far, after we arranged an appointment together. We'll be continuing next Friday. However," remembering that original point of topic, "I would have to disagree partially on the notion that Zoe is fragile. Yes, while there are some aspects that seem so, she's been making already great steps on her own towards a natural healing process of attaining both confidence and control in her life as a maturing person. I would hope that our weekly sessions may help contribute to that." Anri felt quite sincerely that Zoe was truly making progress already, though they could also believe that their bias of the girl already could be clouding slightly how it was as is with such positive regard.

There's a moment where Anri has their arms crossed over their chest, lips pressed in thought as they looked over the files another time in quick succesion of looking back to Dr. Campbell."I've.. been working on the theory that perhaps her control on her ability could be connected to her nervousness and anxiety." Which was rather based off of their own studies and therapy through trying to deal with a difficult ability themself, Anri was hoping to try the approach. Hesitant, but trying to find reassurance and more importantly, another opinion on matter. There was also the same possibility that Zoe's abilities couldn't be controlled mentally, based off of emotions as their own had started off as. "Of course, this is only in stride of my own experience and studies in which I've been involved in myself. I'm not too sure yet, as I'll have to look further into how her abilities function physiologically in conjunction to her brain, but I think that it could be a starting approach from how I see it." Anri didn't like the slight unsure tone that was trying to reassure not only Dr. Campbell but theirself as well, but bared their intrigue on Dr. Campbell's response.

[Jason Campbell]

To be fair to Zoe, Jason had to say he understood why she was so nervous. She didn't need to doubt herself so much but when you could hurt someone with a simple touch, you might be uncomfortable around them. That being said, she was more nervous than necessary. It was pathological and most certainly affected her life as much if not more than her power did.

For once, Jason was actually happy to hear he was not entirely right about someone’s personality. Then again, he barely ever was right. He was a terrible judge of character. “The first time I’ve seen her she nearly paralyzed her girlfriend to death, I guess it is only normal to be fragile then. But she did come to me on her own free will, it does show she wants to improve,” he said. For a moment, Jason got lost in his thoughts, remembering about those two events and also of the research he had conducted following that second meeting with the girl. “I’ve been working on different forms of antidotes and preventives for her power, there are details about it in the file,” he added, tapping said file with a finger as he seems to remember Anri was still in the room with him.

They got all of his interest back however when they exposed their theory regarding Zoe. “You mean she might have a better control of her power if she gained better control of herself?” he said, already thinking about that possibility and what it implied. He did consider it an interesting theory. He did think Zoe would always secrete some paralytic but perhaps she could control just how much, making it possible for people to touch her. At least to pass by her without feeling a numbness if she wore no gloves.

He was still thinking about how possible it might be as Anri kept talking. He did sense they were expecting him to answer to that. He couldn’t remain silent on this. “Well, she naturally secretes a paralytic substance. I don’t remember every detail about it but I had it analyzed and the result is in the file,” he began, again pointing at the file. “I don’t know just how much control she can gain through this method. Chemicals did seem to do somewhat of a good job if only temporarily. But whatever effects it has on her ability I say it can only do good on her, mentally speaking. We both know the dangers of severe anxiety,” he told her. It was good to be able to speak of a medical case without needed to vulgarize anything or even explain why he was saying so. If one knew what stress can do on someone, it was even more Anri than Jason.