(Continued from here with @discipulusmaleficus )
“Information. On diagnosis, for a start, perhaps more if you prove yourself useful.” A subtle challenge, as if he doesn’t expect him to. “You could say I'm…”
He sits still, unconsciously grinds his rings against each other with a tiny, metallic noise. The smile and the lightness of his voice stay set, masklike. He’s not nearly close to reading Clemcy’s mind, but he can feel enough to feel uncomfortable.
“Investigating the source of an anomaly. On behalf of a client, of course.” He’d wrung his brain for a better lie and found none. Delivered it with passing confidence and a dry mouth. “The literature on all of this is sparse, I’m sure you understand.”
Clemcy makes cold, deliberate eye contact at the implied challenge; unimpressed, disapproving. (Annoyed. He has nothing to prove to this child, knows better than to rise to the bait, but… the desire to extract the respect he is due still exists, nonetheless.)
His flat expression shifts to a faint frown at the mention of a third party. “Ah. A client. I see.” Does he believe that claim? It hardly matters; his response is the same regardless, and Kalmar will just have to sort out his own priorities from there. Clemcy sits up and shuffles briefly through his desk, pulling out a blank notepad and his basic consultation fee sheet.
“The literature is sparse, yes — due to knowledge hoarding and cultural taboos, of course, but also because souls simply are not well-characterized by language or generalized ritual. Understand that without performing an in-person examination I cannot provide a diagnosis,” he says. “Anything we discuss like this is information, as you say; consultation, not action.”