He always enjoyed creating interior elevations. He liked laying out the cabinets, choosing what sizes looked nice together, and sketching them into one coherent vision that would then be presented to the client. He enjoyed the detail work, and he enjoyed seeing the intricate, completed space come together. Ben could tell that Mara was still perched on the back of his chair by the momentum created when he rotated even slightly in his chair. He could feel her eyes staring at him. He even had the feeling that, judging by her silence, she was smiling her menacing, toothy grin, though of this he could not be certain. Regardless, he set…

She looked up at Benjamin as he closed out of the web pages she’d opened, and then glanced down at the papers that lay disheveled in front of her. It was a solid minute before Benjamin had noticed the quiet scribbling of the pen in her hand, on the sheet of paper which contained the details for the project that he was working on. In a blank portion of the page, she had drawn a rudimentary floor plan of what looked to be some sort of stone house or castle. Thick, shaded-in walls formed the outer-perimeter, with a thick, black column – likely a fireplace – in the center of…

The caffeine helped Ben focus, and the warm drink helped him to relax. Mara, who now sat sulking atop a filing cabinet next to the window, stared down at Ben with wide, motionless eyes. She was angry, though had clearly abdicated. And Benjamin, content, took pleasure in this moment of tranquility, as he continued about his work. Again, he noted that Mara, while still certainly being her usual self, was much more well behaved than she often was. He made particular effort to avoid looking in her direction, or to give her occasional growls and hisses any attention. At one point, he could sense her becoming agitated again, and anticipated…

“The reason that I ask, Benjamin, is Because it is very rare for a new medication to begin showing signs of success so quickly. Usually – and you’ve been through this before,” he paused to make eye contact with Ben, who quickly shot his own gaze back to the doctor’s face, giving an awkward smile and a singular head nod. The warrior, who now stood in front of the door, again hissed as it lowered itself into a crouched position. Benjamin could see the glint of it’s eye through one of the holes in the enormous, fiercesome mask, which now motionlessly studied him. “–usually there’s a bit more of a…

When the doctor stood and walked to the door, opening it for Benjamin to leave, it became apparent to Ben that the warrior had dissipated. The doctor then walked back over to the computer cart, in the opposite corner of the room. “Yeah, Tuesday should be fine.” The doctor leaned over the desk, scribbling with his pen, “Ok, here is…another…month-long script. By my calculation, you should be down to your last dose by…oh, today actually.” He tore the piece of paper from his notepad and turned to hand it to Benjamin, with a knowing, cheeky grin. Ben reached for the paper. From somewhere behind him, he could hear a faint…