The grandmother clock on the hearth ticked. Esmeralda scratched behind her ear. Raven stared out of the window at the cars passing by. Cocking his head to one side, the counselor studied the couple’s body language. One looked ready to pounce and the other seemed barely awake but was definitely alert. Tall and slim, one had a swoosh of jet black hair and annoyed dark eyes. The other was a fluffy. Looking left and right, the counselor waited. Raven tapped his foot. The counselor twirled his pen. Stretching her back, Esmeralda yawned.

“See that what I mean, Dr. Fantanbolus. Total disconnect,” Raven said. “Esme doesn’t care about working on us at all.”

“I hear you Raven, but let’s use “I” statements. Can you reframe your statement?” Dr. Fantanbolus said.

“I feel like all I do is serve her. Everything is on Esmeralda’s terms. I feel like my familiar is an asshole,” Raven said, pounding the arm of his chair.

Ears folded back, Esmeralda hissed. Raven hissed back. Blue violet light sparked from Raven’s eyes. With an angry flick , Esmeralda’s tail batted the energy back towards Raven. He screamed. The harsh sound twisted into a caw as Raven transformed into a large black bird. Shaking out of his clothes, the bird continued to caw. Raven jumped free. Knocking over a lamp, Raven flew around the therapist’s office. Dr. Fantanbolus grabbed and missed the lamp. Esmeralda made a leap for Raven, catching some tail feathers. Her chair fell backwards. The cat somersaulted and a naked woman landed on all fours.

Esmeralda stood and slipped into Raven’s abandoned shirt. Tutting, Raven landed on the clock. Stamping her foot, Esmeralda pulled a slender black feather from her mouth. The bird jumped up toppling the grandmother clock. The counselor caught the clock inches from the floor.

“Damn! It is the same every time. You’re always angry, blaming me for your craptastic magic skills. I can’t deal with it so I shut down. My bad!” Esmeralda shouted at the bird.

She grabbed the rest of Raven’s things and marched out of the therapist’s office. The door slammed and Raven banged into the picture window. With a sad caw, he landed on the window seat. The door opened.

“Come on,” Esmeralda called.

Raven flew to the door and landed on Esmeralda’s shoulder. The door slammed again. Sighing the therapist picked up the chair.

“Good session, see you next week.”