Private Penciled In

[Tannor Grene]

Tannor’s gaze didn’t waver, but his voice softened just enough to draw attention.

“You insist that I am a droid,” he said quietly, “and you speak of it as if it absolves you from risk… from connection… from the possibility of being hurt.”

He leaned back slightly, letting the observation settle between them. “Tell me, Braze… why is it so important to you that I must be a droid?” A pause, deliberate, letting Braze wrestle with the question. “Is it because the idea of opening yourself to another human - someone who can care, and can be wrong, and can… fail you - feels too dangerous?”

Tannor’s expression remained composed, neutral. “You describe love, sacrifice, fear, and intent… and yet, you need me to be incapable of all of that. A reflection… a program… a thing without risk or desire. Is it easier to trust a droid than a person?” Another beat. “Perhaps it’s not about me at all, Braze. Perhaps it’s about what you’re willing or not willing to risk for connection.”

Tag: Braze

 

[Braze]

Tags: Tannor Grene ​

"I mean… I've opened up quite a bit, but you keep circling around and turning assumptions into declarations with pure unabashed assuredness. A real person would just… understand rather clearly that what I'm expressing, what I'm actually asking for, is genuine connection. And that isn't what's being given here.

You just don't understand. So far, nothing you've said suggests that you can understand any of that, or make that kind of connection. People are complex. We're social creatures. We need real connection with others. You don't answer the questions I pose because you just can't."

His tone remained even and light.

"You can mimic patterns remarkably well from your data pool. You can approximate the sound of humanity. You can replicate a version of it through personification. But you can't inhabit it."

He explained briefly pausing, "You are completely unqualified to counsel or assist in the resolution of ethical or moral questions. That's the crux of the issue here. I don't need you to be a droid. You just seem determined to act like one. I'm not interested in debating that."
Braze didn't look away from him as he spoke keeping a steady gaze.

"I'm trying to reach you… to make a connection. But it seems you're incapable. Right now, you're dressing up what I've already said and handing it back to me like it's new. Stop reframing me, and engage with me."

 

[Tannor Grene]

Tannor’s expression softened; a faint shadow of a rueful smile appearing. “You’re right, Braze,” he said, voice low, almost conspiratorial. “One of my… shortcomings, I suppose, is that I don’t always allow myself to connect fully with my patients. Not because I don’t want to, but because… the line between doctor and patient matters. And once that line blurs, it can complicate everything.”

He moved deliberately, getting up from his chair and moving towards a small table. He reached for a small decanter and two glasses. The amber liquid caught the light as he poured the brandy into each glass. “Perhaps we’ve been circling because I’ve been approaching this… incorrectly. Let’s begin again, differently. No analysis, no reflection, no debate. Just… conversation.”

Tannor lifted each glass in hand and returned to him, pausing just before his chair. He offered a glass toward Braze, holding his gaze steady. “I’ll listen. You’ll speak. And if you’re willing, we’ll share a drink as equals for a moment. No pretense. Just us.”

Tag: Braze

 

[Braze]

Tags: Tannor Grene ​

Braze was quiet for a time, listening to him speak, and remained silent for what may have felt painfully long…

"I agree… there should be some form of professional doctor patient relationship." He rested back, looking relaxed once more as he shifted his anchor points.

Braze turned those jade green eyes toward the amber glass before slowly lifting them back to Tannor's face. "…" He made no motion to reach for the glass, leaving it where it was, seemingly disinclined to partake of the beverage. One snowy brow lifted after a few silent moments of unspoken consideration.

"I would think that… a genuine connection between people is necessary for this kind of thing to work. I can't readily trust you if I don't have a genuine connection with you. One would think trust is pinnacle to therapy…"

 

[Tannor Grene]

Tannor lowered the glass onto the small table, keeping hold of his own before settling back into the chair with an ease that felt practiced rather than performative. He took a slow sip before speaking. “You’re right,” he said quietly. “Trust is central.” His fingers rested loosely around the crystal. “There was a time when I didn’t trust anyone either.” His gaze drifted for only a moment; not away from Braze, but inward. “I aligned myself with a politician I believed was principled. I stood beside him. Publicly. I believed what he said.” A small pause was given as the memories returned to him. “He changed allegiances when it became advantageous. Reversed every position. I learned about it through a public broadcast.” His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. “The fallout was not abstract.”

He shifted slightly in his chair. Not enough to expose anything, but enough to imply the memory lived somewhere beneath fabric and skin. “I carry scars from that period. Physical ones.” There was no embellishment. No real story attached. “And for a long time, I carried the others more visibly than I realized.”

His gaze returned fully to Braze, steady and unguarded in a different way now. “I withdrew. Became precise and careful. I told myself it was wisdom.” A faint breath released. “It was fear. I had to decide whether betrayal meant connection was foolish… or whether it meant I had misjudged character.” He paused for a quiet beat. “I chose to relearn how to assess consistency instead of intensity.”

His expression softened just slightly. “So when you say you need something genuine in order to trust me… I understand that instinct.” Another small pause. “I am not untouched by consequence, Braze. I am not theoretical.” He rested the glass down gently. “But therapy is not built on me proving my wounds to you. It is built on me showing up the same way, each time. I’m not asking you to trust me blindly. I’m asking you to observe me. Over time."

Tag: Braze

 

[Braze]

Tags: Tannor Grene​

Braze remained quiet for a long stretch after Tannor finished speaking, the silence was deafening...

"Politicians…" he muttered, the word laced with clear disdain. "Never been fond of them. Any of them. They always seem to wear whatever face gets them what they want in the moment. Sounds like yours just proved the point."

He leaned forward slightly and reached for the glass of brandy on the small table. His slender fingers closed around it, and he gave the amber liquid a slow swirl, watching the way it caught the light. He brought it closer, took a cautious sniff… and immediately made a face, nose wrinkling in clear distaste.

Braze wasn't one for alcohol. His few limited experiences with the stuff had always felt strange... bitter, burning, and oddly disconnected from anything pleasant. Still, after another brief hesitation, he took a small sip as a deliberate sign of good faith. The taste made him grimace again, but he didn't set the glass down right away.

He stared into the liquid for a moment before speaking again his voice softer than before...

"…I know I make this difficult," he admitted, jade-green eyes lifting to meet Tannor's. "I'm always waiting for the moment someone proves they'll disappear or change on me. Part of me knows that's not entirely fair to the other person. But the rest of me…" He trailed off, swirling the glass once more.

"The rest of me is tired of being wrong about who I can actually count on... There's precious few people I can trust in this universe... and Trust is just a luxurious commodity I just can't afford to give out blindly with the sensitive things...

It's exceptionally difficult for me to trust some one I don't understand or know... It's hard for me to trust those close to me... and you're still a stranger... So how am I supposed to do this? If we're doing the 'observe over time' thing… I guess I'm willing to try. But I still think you holding back too much is going to make this harder than it needs to be."

 

[Tannor Grene]

Tannor listened without interruption. Not just to the words; but to the spaces in between them. To the hesitation, and to the effort that it took to say them at all.

When Braze finished, Tannor did not respond immediately. He allowed the silence to settle; not as pressure, but as acknowledgment. “You’re not making this difficult,” he said at last, his voice both calm and even. “You’re being honest about the conditions under which trust has failed you.” His gaze remained steady and attentive without intrusion. “And that matters.”

A brief pause followed that was measured. Not searching for words, but choosing them with care. “And you’re right about something else,” he continued. “I am holding things back.” There was no defensiveness in the admission. No attempt to soften it. “That isn’t distance for it's own sake. And it isn’t a lack of respect for what you’re offering here.” His tone remained level, but there was a quiet firmness beneath it now. “It’s structure. It’s what keeps this space from becoming something that ultimately harms you instead of helping you.” He let that sit for a moment. “If I start meeting you with equal disclosure - matching experience for experience - it stops being about you. It becomes reciprocal. And reciprocal relationships come with expectations, attachments, and obligations that don’t belong in this room.” Tannor made a slight shift in posture, subtle but intentional in the way that it was both grounded and present.“You deserve a space where you are not managing someone else’s responses. Where you are not calculating what to give in order to receive.” His eyes held Braze’s, unwavering but not unkind. “That is what I’m protecting when I hold that line.”

His words then softened. Not in meaning, but in delivery. “That said you’re also right that trust doesn’t form in a vacuum. So here is what I can offer you.” His hands settled loosely, open, unguarded in posture if not in history. “Consistency, transparency in process, and honesty when it serves your understanding - not my relief.” He paused for a beat. “You don’t have to trust me yet. But you’ve already done the harder thing.” His gaze flicked briefly to the brandy, and then back again. “You stayed. You spoke plainly. You’re trying. And that’s where this starts.”

Tag: Braze

 

[Braze]

Tags: Tannor Grene ​

"I'm not used to spaces where I don't have to manage the other person… How often are we supposed to do this? What am I supposed to do while I'm here?"

He took another sip of the brandy and winced, blinking, white eyelashes fluttering before setting the glass aside with a soft sigh. Then he shifted in his seat and settled again.