"Doc Qin! Heyyyy, howya doin!" Bolin spread out his arms, "Man, do I feel, hmmmm, good to-day!"

"I'm glad to see that, Bolin. What's got you in a good mood."

"Everything, man! I'm loving my job at Future Industries so far. Asami went up to Varrick, and they got to talking, and now everything's great! Even better than before! I mean, I thought things were going well before, now everything's fantastic! I'm holding tryouts for the Fire ferrets this weel. Wanna go see?"

"I can't accept gifts from patients, Bolin."

"Awww, come on. I'll throw in tickets to the maaaaatch!"

"That's not helping, Bolin."

"Aw, come on! Don't you have kids? Think of them, bringing them to the big game, two teams going at it, BAM, bam! Ding ding ding! It's whole family entertainment!"

"I'll think about it, but I can't accept gifts. It's against my code of ethics. You're my patient."

"That…That doesn't make any sense. I mean, I get not treating my friend or my brother, but not accepting free tickets?"

Dr. Qin leaned back in his seat, "Say someone committed a crime. They were my patient."

"Uh huh."

"He gets arrested. He's thrown in jail, and I'm subpoenaed to testify about his mental capacity, and his sense of ethics."

"You can do that? What about privacy and stuff?"

"If the court has a warrant or a subpoena, from the court, not just a lawyer, depending on the nature of the subpoena, I might have to testify. If it happens, it's usually about their mental state, whether or not they're sane. Now, say that patient is sane. But if I tell the court that they're crazy, then they might be declared unfit for trial."

"Right."

"Now imagine that patient is giving me tickets to the Pro Bending matches."

"Riiiight, I getcha now, okay-Hey!"

Dr. Qin let out a good-natured laugh, and leaned back into his chair. Bolin scowled, smiled, and shook his finger at Dr. Qin. The psychologist raised his hands defensively, smiling.

"So what's on your mind, Bolin?"

There was a thumping on the lobby door. Bolin jumped in his seat, which was barely visible with all the fluff of the chair.

"Sorry about that. Let me go see who that was, sometimes patients drop in for emergencies. If I have to deal with this, we'll make up the time today or next week, okay? Usually it's nothing."

"Right, nothing. I'll be right here."

Dr. Qin stood, and went to answer the door. A young woman with straight, black hair, accented eyes, a smooth chin, and an expressionless face stood before him. She was wearing Northern Water Tribe robes.

"Hello, young lady, can I help you?" Dr. Qin asked.

"Is Bolin here?" she asked.

"I'm afraid I don't know who that is. Would you like to schedule an appointment?"

"I know Bolin is here," she said, pushing Dr. Qin out of the way and stepping inside, "I demand that you tell me where he is."

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. If you aren't here to schedule an appointment, I must ask you to leave."

"Bolin! Come out here and answer for what you've done to your fiancée!"

"Young lady, whatever business you might have with this Bolin, you need to-"

Bolin stood exited Dr. Qin's office, and Eska's neutral face turned to a passive fury as her eyes widened. Dr. Qin tensed, and took a step towards the telephone. Eska turned to look at Dr. Qin, who froze in place.

"I do not appreciate liars," she said to him. Dr. Qin shook his head.

"Even if I wanted to tell you he was here, I couldn't. It's against my code of ethics to do so. Especially if I think such a person intends my patient harm. I think it's better for everyone if you were to leave, young woman, before I have to call the police."

"You won't call the police," she stated, and Eska's arm shot out, with water darting towards the phone. A clay disc shot out from its palce on the wall, interrupting the water. The disc was then in Bolin's hands.

"Eska, no. You can't do this. You'll get in trouble."

"Don't talk to me about trouble, Bolin. You've got a lot to explain. We were meant to be married!"

"No, Eska, you were forcing me into something I didn't want to do," Bolin took in a deep breath. Eska's eyebrows furrowed, and her lips clenched together.

"Bolin. My sweet. I still have enough affection for you that I am willing to forgive you, if you promise never to leave my side, again. Do you understand me?"

"I understand."

"Good. Then let's go, Bolin," Eska turned to leave. Neither Bolin nor Dr. Qin budged.

"No," Bolin said.

"What."

"I'm not going with you, Eska. It's over. Please, move on. I didn't mean to break your heart and make you so upset, but I can't be with you. It's not healthy for me. And it's not healthy for you, either. Please, Eska-"

"No. No, Bolin, you do not get to refuse me. You instigated this, you don't get to go back on your word now. And I have decided that you are mine."

"I'm not anybody's! I'm not a thing! And-Why am I still holding this? Here you go, Doc," Bolin handed Dr. Qin the clay disc. Dr. Qin moved to put it back, placing him much closer to the phone. Bolin continued, "I just wanted to have some fun, maybe have someone to be affectionate with, but my time with you was not fun and it was not affectionate. At least not to me! I don't want to be tortured in my relationships, and certainly not for the rest of my life."

Bolin produced a choker necklace from his pocket, and he extended it to Eska, "I'm sorry."

Eska's eye twitched and her lip quivered, tears starting to dribble down her cheek. The tears then started to float. Boli's hand shook, and he took a step back.

"Eska," Dr. Qin took a step forward, one hand on his phone, "Before you commit any felonies, why don't we try to sort this all out."

"Doc!" Bolin called, and Eska whipped her head to regard Dr. Qin.

"You obviously care a great deal about Bolin's acceptance of you. His attention is something that you covet. Since Bolin ran away, what have your thoughts been? Have you had a restful night? An unstressed moment?"

Eska stared at him, unmoving. He continued.

"Eska, if that is how you've been, then what you're going through is not normal. You may need help, but hurting me or Bolin or trashing my office will not do anything to assuage your strain. And stringing Bolin around by the nose won't help, either. You'll still be stressed, you'll simply have a whipping boy. But torment doesn't alleviate your anger, it never does. It just makes you even meaner. Are you a mean person, Eska? Is that the standard you hold yourself to?"

She slowly shook her head.

"Then let me help. Let Bolin go, and let's try to work this out."

"No," she pointed at Bolin, "He stays."

"All right," Dr. Qin let go of the phone, "But no violence. We sit down. We talk, that's it. We tell each other how we feel, no threats, no icicles, and no cops. Can you do that?"

"Do it for me, Eska? For the, uh, um, times? That? We've? Had?" Bolin offered, "I don't want you to be angry. Please stop being angry…"

Eska's nose scrunched into a snarl, and she regarded the calm and collected Dr. Qin and the cowering Bolin. She turned to one of the fluffy seats, and sat down slowly and gracefully.

"So, Eska. Let's start from the beginning of your relationship with Bolin. Indulge me, and describe it. I want to know things from your perspective."

Eska stared at Bolin, who shirked away from her in his seat. She began to talk, "When I first saw my sweet little mooselion, he awkwardly attempted to associate himself with my geographic origin. I thought his antics amusing, and so I accepted his obvious attempts to proposition me with bonding."

"So you think he was funny."

"I did not say that," she stated, "I said he was amusing."

"Right, I understand."

"Yeah, that's me. Bolin…The amusing," Bolin squeaked.

"So what did you do that first day with Bolin?" Dr. Qin asked.

"He won me prizes at the fair," Eska told him.

"What did you do, then?"

She blinked, "He…Won me prizes."

"Did he complain?"

"No. He was satisfactorily obedient and diligent. I was pleased with my bounty of fairground gifts, though their content and quality was lacking, such as all things from the Southern Water Tribe."

"You don't like the Southern Water Tribe."

"They are uncultured barbarians. They are concerned with things and material gain. There is no substance to their existence. It is empty, if sweet. Like candy. Too much of it, and you become fat and unhealthy."

"What should they concern themselves with, then?"

The door to the lobby opened slightly, and Dr. Qin called to them, "Busy, I'm sorry. Emergency session, we'll reschedule."

"Oh, sorry, Doctor Qin, I'll go," the person said, closing the door. Dr. Qin turned to Eska.

"Sorry about that. Please, Eska, continue."

"They must concern themselves with the spirits, and their relationship to the world. They need to be more focused on people and each other, than about the size of their homes or their…Rrrr…Boats. Or machines and devices."

"So people need to think about each other more, in the Southern Water Tribe?"

"Indubitably so."

"Would you say Bolin, while you were with him, thought about you, and attended to what you wanted?"

"Yes. His attentions were adequate. Hence why his betrayal hurt me so," she grounded her teeth at Bolin. He shivered with each repetition. Dr. Qin held up a hand.

"Please, Eska, we are trying to establish better communication here. Threats do not function well for this. Whatever your frustrations with Bolin, I must ask that you not intimidate him, especially when it is his turn to share. So you appreciated having Bolin listen to you?"

"It was refreshing. My brother and I do everything together, but we have nobody doing things for us. For us to have someone attending to us, without question and without demanding something in return, it was most agreeable to have him around."

"Your brother, all right. Are you two close?"

"Normally inseparable."

"Why is he not here now?"

"He cared little for Bolin. This is something I had to do alone."

"Without his help."

"Correct."

"Even though he knows this is something that is very emotional for you? You seem to be a very composed young woman, Eska. Would that be fair to say?" Dr. Qin asked.

"Yes," she stated, "it would be."

"Why was he unwilling to support you, do you think?"

"Desna believed this was a flight of fancy. That ultimately Bolin's fate was inconsequential. I did not want to so frivolously abandon my fragile turtledove to this cruel, uncultured world."

"Do you have a favorite toy, Eska? Or a diary, or something like that? A blanket?"

"Yes."

"What if you'd lost it. Would Desna help you find it?"

"No. It would have been my responsibility to keep track of it. If I were to lose it, then it is my responsibility."

"What about Desna? What if he lost his special something? Would you help him find it?"

She paused, thinking about this, before saying, "No, and for the same reason."

"Are you sure?"

"I-Maybe without his knowledge, I would make an endeavor to assist him in his search. I suspect he would be similarly subtle."

"So if you do everything together, why not do the things that matter, protecting the people and things that you love, why not do that together? And how does treating Bolin like a slave mean you think of him? Eska, relationships work two ways. From one, to the other, and back. It's a mutual agreement."

"If you treat me like a thing, how is that any different than having a really big boat?" Bolin blurted, with a burst of anger on his face. He realized what he'd done, and hid behind a pillow. When he was not struck, beyond Eska's glare, he realized he was not in danger, "When you forced me to laugh at something I didn't thinkw as funny, or had me act like your…Your servant, I didn't really see what it was I was getting out of our relationship, y-you know? I felt like I was in danger all the time. And I know danger! I fought the Equalists! I've been in the Triads, Eska. Turtledove I may be, but I am not a fledgling, and I am not a Carrier Hawk! Well, maybe in that I've got talons like a Carrier Hawk, but, well, you know what I mean!"

Eska stared at Bolin, making him increasingly uneasy. Dr. Qin broke the awkwardness, "Eska, is Bolin your first boyfriend?"

"No. I had a handful when I was younger. None of them lasted as long as he."

"...Right. And Bolin? Is Eska your first girlfriend?"

"Well, I mena, if she's the first girl I've ever had as a friend, no, but, if you're talking about, you know, a romantic partner, then, well, um, yes…" Bolin admitted.

"So neither of you are experienced with successful relationships. Eska, can you tell me what you wanted out of your relationship with Bolin? What did you expect to get from Bolin? Other than some manual labor."

"I…Do not know."

"Did you expect to get something from him?"

"Yes."

"But you don't know what it was."

"…Correct."

"Bolin, what did you want out of your relationship with Eska?"

"I wanted affection! And warmth! Laughter! And good times! You know! Hang out! Share some meals! I didn't mind spending time with your brother, but we had almost no alone time with each other, and when we did, it wasn't any different than when he was there! I might as well have been dating him!"

"Are you saying I am not humorous or warm? That I am boring?" Eska challenged.

"Yes! That is EXACTLY what I am saying!" Bolin put his fingers to his temples, sighing. Eska's head hung over her chest. Bolin continued, "You are selfish, insensitive, mean-spirited-"

Dr. Qin held up a hand, "Bolin?"

"-angry, bitter-"

"Bolin!"

"YES, Doctor Qin?"

"Hold on the gut-spilling," he leaned over, "Eska? Talk to me. How does that make you feel? Don't be afraid to hold it back, come on."

She lifted her head, showing the tears and running makeup that blotched and smeared all over her face, "Worthless…" she managed to moan, "Something to be ignored and scolded."

"Like a child?" Dr. Qin offered. Eska, nodded, smearing her makeup and tears and snot on her robe sleeve.

"Always remain quiet! Be seen and not heard, and only seen when told to be!"

"I-I never wanted-" Bolin stammered.

"Never have my own space, never have my own opinions, never have my own time! Everything has to be just so! And when do I get free time? Once! A! Year! When we go to the South pole, filled with simpletons!"

"…And then there comes the Earth Bender, with his awkward advances," Bolin said. Eska looked up at him, and sniffed.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, Eska, I didn't know it was like that. But…As bad as things have been for you, I can't take what you give me. It's too much. I'm sorry.

"Yeah…Okay…" Eska sobbed. She stood and shuffled out the door before Bolin or Dr. Qin could say anything else. They stared at the door.

"I'm calling a colleague. And the police," Dr. Qin declared.

"Yeah that might be a good idea."