Therapy: Three Witches and a Shrink

Stormy's anger was simmering all the way to Dr. Shreever's office. Something had clearly been bothering Darcy when she got back, and if it was Shreever's fault he was going to pay! In fact the more she thought about it the more certain she was that he must be behind it. Darcy had been in fine spirits when she left, then she came back acting like her world had been turned upside-down. By the time she arrived at Dr. Shreever's office Stormy was about ready to tear right into him. The guards, sensing her agitation from her body language, were all keyed up to grab her at the first sign of open aggression. When they reached the office, Stormy twisted the doorknob brutally, flung the door open and marched right in without knocking. The guards dashed in right behind her and grabbed her by both arms before she could reach Dr. Shreever's desk. Stormy strained against her captors as she tried to reach the psychologist sitting placidly behind his desk.

"Shreever! What the hell did you do to Darcy?!"

Dr. Shreever steepled his fingers in front of him as he calmly regarded the tempestuous young witch.

"And a pleasant afternoon to you too Stormy. Won't you please have a seat?"

Stormy lunged at him with a cry of rage, but only managed to move forward a few inches before she was dragged to a halt by the guards. She struggled furiously to shake them off but they refused to let go. Dr. Shreever shook his finger at her in admonishment.

"Tch tch tch. Stormy, you really must learn to control that temper of yours. Until you do, it will continue to control you."

Stormy stopped struggling and glared daggers at him.

"Hrrrrh! Don't give me all that psychobabble! I wanna know what the hell you did to make Darcy so upset!"

Dr. Shreever raised an eyebrow in feigned surprise.

"Is that what this is all about? I am truly moved by your concern for your sister witch, however I am afraid I can't give you that information. Doctor-patient confidentiality prohibits me from discussing a patient's case with anyone else. If you really wish to know what we discussed I suggest you ask Darcy."

He rose from his chair and walked around his desk to stand in front of her.

"For now I suggest you put your anger away and take a seat so that we can begin your session."

Stormy gave a frustrated shout and tried to kick at him. Dr. Shreever stepped nimbly out of the way.

"You see Stormy? Your rage has made you quite predictable. I already know about your tendency to kick things and was anticipating it. Now I really must insist that you calm down and have a seat."

Stormy screamed and started struggling against her captors once more.

"Rraaahh!! Fuck you Shreever!"

Dr. Shreever's face went hard and his gaze became sharp and deadly as he snapped back at her in a commanding tone of voice.

"Amanda Stormwind! That will be ENOUGH of that! SIT DOWN right now or I will SIT you down!"

Stormy stopped struggling and drew back instinctively, her eyes wide with fear. She knew that she was in real trouble when someone used that tone of voice. She immediately recalled what had happened the last time Dr. Shreever had spoken to her like that. It was an experience she wasn't eager to repeat. She lowered her head and huddled in on herself defensively.

"Yes Dr. Shreever."

Dr. Shreever flicked a steely-eyed glance at the guard on either side of the storm witch. The guards glanced at each other uncertainly, then released her. Stormy quickly retreated to the relative safety of the chair in front of the desk. Dr. Shreever nodded his approval.

"Much better. Thank you gentlemen. You may leave us now."

The guards exchanged another uncertain glance. Guard Number One spoke up for both of them.

"Are you sure?"

Dr. Shreever nodded curtly.

"She won't try anything now. She knows quite well what will happen if she does. You may go."

Both guards stood at attention and saluted, then turned and left the office. Dr. Shreever turned to stare down at the chastened witch.

"I'm sorry to have to be so hard on you Stormy, but I will only tolerate such unseemly behavior for just so long. You know better than to behave like that."

Stormy kept her head down and said nothing, but her jaw clenched in frustration. Dr. Shreever walked back around the desk to sit down in his chair.

"I would like to think we could become friends, but that can only happen once you have learned to show me the proper respect. I really think we can have a lot of fun together, but that is going to be entirely up to you."

Stormy raised her head just enough to glare at him.

"Fun? You think it's fun being humiliated like this?"

Dr. Shreever leaned back in his chair and gave a weary sigh.

"No Stormy, I don't. Nor is it fun for me to have to treat you this way. I really would much rather that we could talk like civilized human beings, but so long as you insist on railing against me for every little thing that irritates you about being here that can't happen. Why don't you try telling me, without all the dramatics, why it is that you are so angry with me?"

Stormy leaped up out of her chair and leaned forward to jam both fists down on his desk.

"You wanna know why I'm mad at you? I'll tell you why I'm mad!"

Dr. Shreever leaned forward with a stern expression and shook his finger at her.

"Ah ah ah! I said no dramatics."

Stormy straightened up with a growl, holding her clenched fists down at her sides.

"I'm mad at you because you're holding us here against our will, because you think you're so much better than us, and because you treat us like children!"

Dr. Shreever leaned back in his chair and laid a finger along his jawline contemplatively.

"Well now, that is certainly the single most coherent argument I've gotten out of you thus far. In honor of this achievement I will answer your charges in all seriousness. First off, I am not the one holding you here. You yourselves hold the key to your own freedom. When you are ready to behave yourselves as mature, responsible witches you will be released. Secondly, I admit that I do indeed think I'm better than you, but not because I have a degree or a big fancy office or because I can string large words together with ease when the mood strikes me. No. The reason I think I'm better than you is because I can hold a simple conversation without flying off the handle. Once you have mastered that skill I will consider us as equals. As for treating you like children, you are the only one of the three whom I have had to treat that way. Both of your sisters are intelligent young ladies who are fully capable of holding a civilized conversation without losing their tempers. I would very much like to be able to do the same with you."

Stormy looked like she was about ready to explode. Her teeth were clenched, her body was rigid, and her arms were shaking. She glared at him with an intensity of hatred that had she still retained the use of her magic would have blasted him right out of his seat. Dr. Shreever sighed and rubbed his brow wearily.

"Stormy, do you honestly think I like saying these things to you? Do you think I get a kick out of insulting you? I'm not here to boost my own ego at your expense. I'm here to help you, to do whatever I can to elevate you above your present circumstances. Why must you insist on making every encounter a battle between us? I just want to be able to talk to you, to get to know you a little better, but all I ever get to see of you is your anger. I know there is so much more to you than that. Why do you keep letting your anger hold you back?"

Stormy blinked in surprise and confusion.

"Huh? What do you mean hold me back?"

Dr. Shreever perked up at once as he realized he had discovered an opening. He got up out of his chair and came around his desk to stand before her, gazing at her with a new intensity.

"I mean you are allowing yourself to be limited by your emotional reactions. Something bothers you and you get mad at it, seeking to batter it into submission to your will, and thus completely overlook other possibly much more effective options you may have available. Stormy, you have at your disposal the power to reshape your entire world, but only if you choose to seize it for yourself. Anger should be your weapon, your tool, bowing to your will. It should never be allowed to rule you. So long as you continue to prostrate yourself before the rage within you you will never see how truly powerful you can really become."

Stormy frowned at Dr. Shreever, but this time it was a thoughtful frown.

"So you're saying if I stopped getting angry all the time I'd become more powerful?"

Dr. Shreever continued to hold Stormy's gaze as he sat down on the edge of his desk.

"Not quite, but almost. What I'm saying is that anger gives a person tunnel vision. You can only see what's right in front of you, and that can be very limiting. It can keep you from seeing some of your more effective options simply because they aren't the most direct ones. But when you control your anger, use it as your tool rather than letting it use you, you may see things you can do that you would never see while blinded by rage."

Stormy turned away and wandered over to stare into the fish tank.

"I don't know Doc. Just don't get mad and I'll see all these options that'll let me control the world? It sounds too easy."

Dr. Shreever smiled at her back. She was thinking about it, considering her options, and that was exactly what he needed her to do.

"Of course it isn't that easy. The path to true power is never easy. Getting angry and losing control, that is the easy path, and what has it ever gotten you? As Icy said yesterday, you are 'bottom of the totem pole' in your group. That isn't because the others are more powerful than you or smarter than you. It's simply because you get picked on more by the others, and you get picked on more because all too often you allow your anger to do the thinking for you, which causes you to make foolish mistakes they can tease you for."

Stormy turned to look at Dr. Shreever in surprise.

"Wait a minute. They pick on me so much because I get mad about it? But I get mad because they pick on me!"

Dr. Shreever slid off the desk and walked toward her with an expectant look in his eyes.

"Exactly! It becomes a vicious cycle! They pick on you. You get mad. They think it's funny and pick on you some more for getting mad. That makes you even angrier. And on and on it goes. Of course eventually either you get fed up and stop responding or they reach a point where they have to stop teasing lest you lose control and blow up at them. I'd imagine by now they can guage your anger level pretty well and know just how far they can push you before you blow."

Stormy clenched her fist and looked off to one side.

"Hrrr. So that's how they've been keeping me down all this time!"

She blinked and looked up in surprise as Dr. Shreever placed his hand upon her raised fist.

"I can help you Stormy. You have within you the power to take control of the situation and turn things around. All you need do is learn to make anger your slave rather than your master. I can teach you to do that."

Stormy looked at him suspiciously.

"I don't know. Icy says you're messing with our heads. Why should I trust you?"

Dr. Shreever grinned at her conspiratorially.

"What better way for me to mess with their heads than to take the sister they hold in such low regard and make her their equal? Take a gamble on me Stormy. This could be your big chance to show them both what you're really made of. Besides, what have you got to lose?"

Stormy returned Dr. Shreever's grin.

"Okay Doc, you're on. I'll show those two just what I'm made of."