I focused as I painted the interior walls of the cabin on the open side, the darker brown wash seeping into the textured cracks to give depth and imply shadows. I dipped my brush into the watered down wood stain again and start on the woodpile, trying to make the bark stand out more, giving the twigs I'd cut up more of a 'log' appearance. I'd been working on this for hours, the trees were coming along nicely, I'd painted them, finally and they were drying, awaiting snow on top once they dried. I couldn't stop thinking about what I was trying to avoid thinking about though...
I glanced over at the fridge to my left, should I take him out and like, let him see the outside world or something? It had to be inhumane to keep someone in a cold, dark box like that. Would it be a security risk if he saw too much of my downtime? It's not like he could do anything about it now, but if he ever did turn back... It was honestly easier for me to not have to see him, too. Slightly easier to not think about him, to just work on my little snowy forest scene. It was long past dinner, and I hadn't eaten anything since the night before when Galorna made us stir fry before our mission. Somehow though, I just couldn't manage to get up an appetite, even if I did have anything to eat. Well, anything except...
I put my brush down. I couldn't sit around like this anymore. If nothing else, I needed to get my custom dessert designed for the big opening Wednesday. I could most likely still access the files and do something quick, and we were supposed to have had that done today. I dug through my clothes and found some winter gloves and slid them on; I wasn't taking any chances. I went to my door and glanced back at the refrigerator. I'd... try to change him back again later, once my mind was more clear.
I left my room, and stood in the hall, listening for any noises; anyone around I might accidentally bump into. I didn't hear anything, so I went to the stairs, and jogged down them to the common floor, and went to the conference room. To my surprise, the wall on one side had opened up into windows, and the whole place looked much less serious and a lot more inviting now. Was this how it looked when we weren't having meetings?
I sat at my spot and swiped my card, opening the screen where I'd left off and clicked through the meeting notes. It was nothing too interesting, just advice and rules on how to act, how to pose with the kids, what not to say, and a basic training exercise we were supposed to do. It looked like we each took turns pretending to be customers, and the rest of us would do a fake photoshoot with the 'customer'? It seemed like Willa had put a lot of work into the meeting, and we hadn't even gotten a chance to do any of it but design sweets before my meltdown.
Speaking of... I pulled out the stylus and drew a quick sketch of a red velvet cake with white icing on it. Simple, but still something people would buy a slice of. I'd buy it at least. Red velvet was my favorite kind of cake, aside from my mom's brown sugar cake, but that was only my favorite favorite because it was my mom's cake, not because it was particularly special.
I heard sirens bloop outside the building for a moment, and I walked to the window to peek out. Outside on the street, Willa was being led to a GGDS vehicle in cuffs. It looked like she was crying, or maybe yelling? It was... hard to tell from all the way up here. If she was being arrested... What about the rest of us?
I considered running, taking the stairs to the roof and flying home to my mom, but... I needed to face the music. I'd done something horrible, and if anyone could set things right, the GGDS would. I pulled my gloves back on and went to the stairs, heading down slowly, anticipating my fate. Once I got to the lobby, I braced myself, and walked into the open area in front of the desk. There were three GGDS agents talking to Oori, and another next to the door. I walked up to the group, and nodded to the agents.
"Oh, Candy, I'm glad to see you're more stable now." Oori said, stepping away from me slightly.
I didn't feel stable; I felt like I was laying on top of the ocean with no way to anchor myself. "Yeah, I just needed some alone time, sorry about my outburst."
"Miss... Candy, was it? I understand you were part of the unauthorized mission?" one of the agents asked.
I took a breath. "Yeah, I was." I looked at Oori, but his expression was near unreadable with his beard covering his mouth and his sunglasses over his eyes.
"I'm sorry to hear that Miss Candy. Am I to understand that there were three fatalities during that mission?"
"Well... kind of, depends on what you mean." I said reluctantly. Homicide might as well be dead, but...
"We have one body outside the building, one in the office, and one report of a death through the use of an unknown power, is that accurate?"
"Oh, well..." So they did mean it like that. "Homicide isn't dead, he's just... I can't recover him."
"I understand, powers can be difficult. Is there a chance he will come back in the future?"
I looked at the ground. "I'm trying my best, but I don't know how to bring him back, I'm sorry... If you know of a way to reverse powers, maybe?..."
"It's just for our records, and no, powers work on a case by case basis, we can't dedicate resources to any one individual's power because the time and labor wouldn't apply to any other cases."
"Ah, Miss Candy," Oori said "I wanted to let you know that we'll be getting a new PR agent soon. Miss Willa has been let go from our service. Please pass that along to the other girls, won't you?"
I look from him to the agent that had been talking to me. "Wait. Wait, I'm still on the team? I'm not in trouble?" I was sure I'd be sent to Lorgiaia's temple to be stripped of my powers and shipped off to the moonbase for the rest of my life...
A different agent spoke up. "No, we have been over the computer records and been through the deleted meeting notes. We also got a full confession from Miss Willa herself. As far as you knew, you were acting in the best interest of your goddess, at the behest of the church. No charges against you will be filed, it's all on Miss Willa."
"I... We don't..." I felt shocked, but relieved. "We honestly aren't in any trouble?"
The first agent shook his head. "No ma'am, we will require this team to update and reinforce security measures, and require direct communication on missions, but you were all acting within your rights as chosen given the threat level of the organization in question."
"Ok, wow..." I said "I guess... I'll go tell the others?"
"Thank you, Candy," Oori said "and let them know the grand opening is postponed until a week from today, to get the new PR agent caught up and to make sure all of you are in top form."
"Yeah... ok, yeah..." I said.
"We'll be out of your hair soon sir, we just need to ask one or two more questions, and we'll be gone." The last agent said, pulling a clipboard out from under his arm.
"My... hair?" Oori said, running his hand over his bald head. Despite my mixed mood and emotional stress, I had to try not to smirk as I walked towards the stairs.
I headed up to the common floor and sat on the couch, thinking. I had almost wanted to get punished for it, to make it real somehow. As it was, the agents didn't even care if he was alive or dead, they just needed a number to put down. Chosen law was weird and murky compared to civilian law as it was, but this seemed like a bad way to handle it. Not that she'd meant to or had a choice, but Galorna was literally going to get away with murder, and I was getting away with condemning someone to a life worse than death.
My phone buzzed and I pulled it out. It was in the team's group chat, the one we'd voted on a leader in, with a new message from Lucy.
'hey, I'm ordering delivery. I was going to get pizza, anyone want in?'
I responded to her
'I'll share whatever you guys get, I'll pay you back. Everyone meet me in the middle floor though, I need to talk'
I got a thumbs up from Lucy, then one from Drizti a second later. Galorna requested meat lovers, and they chatted about how to pay Lucy back for it before deciding on just using cash. Alele was noticeably absent from the chat... Was she still upset? I know I would be if my teammate almost erased me just because I touched her hand... I couldn't imagine the fear she must have felt. I know the fear I had felt as soon as I touched her spark, and it'd taken hours of working on my diorama to calm down. I imagined her in her room, playing her mandolin and crying, and I felt sick to my stomach.
The elevator dinged open behind me and I looked around to see the others minus Alele. Lucy and Drizti stepped out, and Galorna stayed behind, the elevator taking her down. She must be on Pizza duty, I assumed. I put my hood on to make sure as much of my skin was covered as possible, and stood up.
"I'll pay you back later, Lucy, my money is in my room, ok?" I said, walking to the counter to set out plates for everyone.
"Yeah, it's whatever. I have more money than I've ever had right now, and my medical stuff and rent is covered by the church, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it all." She responded offhandedly.
"So... Candy, are you alright?" Drizti asked "I know it hit you really hard once you realized- last night I mean."
"Uhh, no?" I said "I feel horrible, and I can't fix it, and I can't ever touch people ever again, and-" my voice cracked "I don't want to think about it."
"Oh... well, here, hold still." Drizti said. I froze, and looked at her, puzzled. She climbed up on a stool and leaned forwards on her knees, hugging me around the torso, burying her face in my ribs. I gasped and lifted my arms up.
"Drizti no!" I said. "It's dangerous, I just said-"
"All you girls need lots of hugs, and you're wearing that big hoodie anyway! You can still be touched, you just need to be careful! I just want to make sure you know I can give you hugs still." She said, smiling.
"That's kinda gay, not gonna lie." Lucy said, watching us as she leaned against the back of the couch.
"Hey, that's not- wait, can you say that?" Drizti asked "Is it like, you're allowed to call things gay and it not be rude because you're trans?"
"Nnnno, trans and gay are like, different things." Lucy said "but... I am also gay, so yeah. I totally did mean it in a rude way though."
"Well, it's just girl stuff..." I said, unsure of how much Lucy knew about female bonding. "It's just, like, normal? Girls usually hug more than other people, it's just a thing, saying girls need hugs isn't inherently gay."
"I think I am actually gay though..." Drizti said, thinking. "Or something like it? I think about girls and others the same way I think about guys, like I want to get hugs from everyone."
"Is that a gnomish euphemism?" I asked "Wanting to 'get hugs' from people?"
"N-no!" She squeaked "Gosh, Candy, I just like hugs, don't be rude."
"Drizti, that's just... normal?" Lucy said, raising an eyebrow at her "Almost everyone feels like that."
"Oh, is it? I'm sorry, I thought we're only supposed to be attracted to people we can make kids with... That's what my clan taught at least." Drizti said, confused "Sorry, I wasn't trying to like, take the gay for myself."
"No, outside your clan, it's not quite as... restrictive." Lucy said "Like, no gender preference is the norm, only liking people you can reproduce with is very rare, and gay is only when you like specifically the same general gender presentation as yourself."
"Oh, gosh, I didn't mean to steal your terms, I feel terrible..." Drizti said sadly, clutching her hands.
"I straight up do not care," Lucy said, sounding bored. "I know that I only like fems and I do be a fem tho, so I'm gay. Past that, other people can call themselves whatever the fuck they want." She must have had this conversation a few times too many as well.
The elevator dinged, and we all looked over. Instead of the pizza being here though, Alele stepped out, her hands gloved and her usual leggings replaced with thick camo cargo pants. She stayed close to the wall, and looked down at the ground.
"I don't need any pizza, I just wanted to hear the news Candy had to tell us..." She said, barely audible.
"Ok, I'm waiting on Galorna, but once she's back up, I'll tell you all at once." I said
"Ok." She said, and leaned against the wall.
"Hey, I don't think I really did almost change you." I lied "I think I just was jumpy and over-reacting to being startled, you weren't in any danger."
She looked up at me and glared. "Then why are you wearing gloves?"
I looked for an excuse, I couldn't exactly claim it was because I was cold... "Even if it was an overreaction, I want to be safe until I understand my powers more." I said, trying to downplay her fears.
"Ok, sure." She said shaking her head, unconvinced.
I'd have to be careful, she'd just openly called me out on bullshit, if that happened too much, I'd be other-ed in the group even more that I already would be for having a useless power.
The elevator dinged again, and this time it was Galorna with the pizza. "Hey, so like, there's a GGDS car parked right outside..." She said. "Should I be concerned about being brought in?"
"Oh, no, that's what I wanted to talk about actually." I said "It turns out, we're all cleared. They're pinning all three deaths on Willa, and they said we were 'acting within our rights' as chosen so... yeah, it's all good."
"Holy- wait, three deaths? Did the guy we gave the bullet wound to die?" She said, setting the pizza down.
"Ah, no... Homicide was declared unrecoverable, and, uh, dead." I said.
That hung in the air for a moment.
"Was that all?" Alele said
"No, Oori told me to tell you that we're bumping the opening to Saturday to give the new agent time to get brought up to speed, and... that's all I know."
"Ok, well, I'll be in my room then." Alele said, swiping her card.
"Won't you take some pizza with you?" Drizti asked, pointing to the two boxes on the counter. "We can't finish all this with just the four of us..."
"No, I need some time, ok?" She said, turning away.
We watched her go, I felt bad, and I really hoped she'd come around to being friendly again, she was hard to please, but she was still a team member and we needed to get along. Galorna opened the top pizza box and pulled out three pieces onto a plate.
"Well, I'm going to eat... I'm starving." She said, sitting at the bar.
"So... are you doing ok? You seemed upset earlier." I asked her as I took off a glove to get myself a slice.
"...I'm just rethinking my strategy is all." She said. "Like I said, those people were paid well, and the union wouldn't have put them in a location with guns if they weren't willing and ready to die."
"Tha's kinda cold, Lorna." Lucy said around a mouthful of pizza.
"...Don't call me that, ok? And I know it's cold, but it's the only way I can tell myself that what I did to that guy outside the door was 'ok'. The other one, the one who was holding Drizti, he deserved it, he'd already killed her once, but the first one... I just have to tell myself that he knew the risks."
"That's... one way to see it." I said. I wished I could do that, rationalize it away, make it all seem like it wasn't a big deal.
"How about you?" Galorna asked me, eyeing my bare hand. "You holding up ok?"
"Well I almost cried when Drizti asked me that a few minutes ago, and I have a man in my refrigerator upstairs..." I shuddered "I'm just trying to think about how I'm even going to be a part of the team now. I can't use my power without-"
I looked at her, remembering. "...Oh, yeah, I guess you have the same problem..."
"Actually..." She said, not quite looking at me "I figured it out... I can project my punches, right? So when I'm training, I'm not trying to hurt you guys, so the fists appear in front of you and get pushed into you. When you're fighting someone for real though, you're supposed to try and aim behind them, to get more power in your punch, so..."
"Oh gods you really were punching them in the brains..." Lucy said "That's so cool..."
"It's not 'cool', Lucy, I killed two people." She said sternly. "This is why we needed much, much more training. I can still hit people, I just need to control my projection distance better."
"So... I'm the only one who can't use her power..." I muttered, putting my crust in the trash. "I'll be the 'lame' one, I'll never get any fans or ad deals, this is just great."
"You could be the fast one?" Drizti offered "You're way better at flying than the rest of us, you could make that your power and just pretend it's the only one?"
"No no no, it's like, a marketing gimmick, like, we make promo materials about how fast you are, and how good you are at flying, and like, really push it?" Lucy said "And... the people will just buy it, they don't care. Some nerds will look at videos and say 'hey she's not that much faster', but like, who cares about some dumbass nerds? We're MGs, we're supposed to appeal to kids first and foremost."
"Wow, that's pretty well thought out..." Drizti said, surprised.
"I've seen it before in other teams, I used to be a huge chosen fan before I decided it was too masc of an interest." Lucy said sheepishly "I used to know alllll the teams and the secrets and who was dating who and what their favorite foods are... That stuff is big in the chosen drama magazines."
"Oh, so that's why we had to fill out those stupid personality charts..." Galorna said. "Shit, I hope everything I wrote was kid friendly."
"So, you know all about chosen, right? Like, obscure ones?" I asked Lucy "Are there any with a power like mine?"
She thought about it. "Uhh, well there's not many chosen that have powers that last indefinitely, and even less who have transformation powers... There's Gorega, she can kinda turn people into stone? But you can chip off the top layer and they're fine, just kinda sore... Other than that..."
She took another piece of pizza
"Oh, I know, there's... what's his name, Binder? He can merge people with existing items and seal them into it, body mind and soul, but if the item is damaged, they just pop back out, so... not really the same after all..."
"Well, huh..." I said "I guess I really am on my own here..."
"We'll figure it out, Candy it's ok!" Drizti said, giving me a thumbs up "You'll be fighting bad guys full strength in no time!"
I didn't really want to fight at all, I just didn't want to be useless or seen as 'less cool' by the fans and marketers... "Thank you, Drizti. Until then..." I looked at my puffy winter gloves "I'll need to find ways to cover my skin."
"Oh, oh!" She said "We're supposed to go shopping soon, we can go tomorrow! We can look for cuter hats for me, and gloves and stuff for you! It'll be fun!"
"Oh, um... ok, sure, tomorrow?" I said, thinking. I really wasn't feeling up to it, I just wanted to stay in my room and work on my model, maybe watch a period drama. I couldn't risk the others falling away from me though if I wanted to be 'valuable', I needed to be a 'main character' to all of them.
"That sounds good to me, I'll have to be really careful in public, but... I guess I'll have to go in public to get the stuff I need to go in public eventually"
"Perfect! We should invite Alele too!" Drizti said, clapping. "She needs cheering up, and she'd know all the best stores! Plus I kinda owe her a dress..."
I really hoped Alele would say no. Her fear of me, the way she was processing all this, it just made me feel guiltier and guiltier. I smiled wide "Oh, of course! That's a good idea, I'll text her tomorrow morning!"
I pointed upstairs "I have to go now though, I was in the middle of a project, and I want to get back to it. Lucy, I'll pay you tomorrow, ok?"
As I went up to my room with a couple leftover slices of pizza wrapped in paper towels, I wondered if it'd be rude of me to keep them in the refrigerator...
~~~
I stood by the front doors, a sweater, gloves, and a scarf on. It wasn't even close to cold enough for any of this, but being around civilians would be dangerous, so I needed to be prepared. I couldn't use my phone with my gloves on, and I hadn't heard back from Alele if she'd be joining us. Drizti was supposed to have been here five minutes ago, but she was nowhere to be seen. I looked outside, a group of teens were looking at me from the other side of the glass. One pointed to the door and mimed me opening it. I sighed, and swung it open from my side.
"Yes?" I asked
"Hey, uhhh..." A goblin boy asked "Are you one of the heroes who's going to be working here?"
"...Not officially until Saturday. Right now I'm just some lady." I said. These must be clout chasers, trying to get into our fanbase before we were cool.
"So... can we get a pic with you? We won't post it until after Saturday, if that matters." A tall dryad girl said, holding up her camera.
"I don't... You know we're a magical girl team, right?" I said "We're expecting the fans to be between eight and fourteen. I'm not sure how cool it'll be to have a picture with me."
"Hey, I'm fourteen, I totally fit that range." One of the human kids said, finger-gunning me
"Ok, fine, just... Don't post it until we come out as heroes, and whatever you do, don't touch me." I said, opening the door open all the way.
"Wow, rude much?" The dryad said, growing her arm out longer to get all the teens in the shot with me behind them.
"No, I have an issue with being touched, I-" I started to make an excuse.
"Smiiiiile!" She said, and I plastered a fake smile onto my face as her camera clicked.
"Ok, was that good?..." I asked.
She checked her camera. "Yeah, that's fine, thannnnks!"
I waved to the group as they headed further down the street.
"Who were they?" Alele said from behind me. I jumped and turned around.
"Ah, just some kids trying to get a picture with me. I just did it to get them to keep moving..."
"That was sweet of you!" Drizti said, giving me a thumbs up "Not even official and already making fans happy!"
"Yeah, whatever. You want gloves, right?" Alele said "We'll need to go downtown to the shops. There's a couple places that sell what you're looking for, opera gloves. They'll cover your arms as well as your hands."
She still seemed prickly, but she wasn't as shaken up as she was yesterday. She seemed moody and grumpy, but not afraid.
"Sorry again about yesterday." I said "I freaked out, I don't know how to turn the power off or anything, or how to really trigger it, so I was scared I'd-"
"Just stop, ok?" She cut me off "I'm over it, just don't touch me with your skin ever again, and we'll pretend you didn't almost condemn me to your tiny fridge for the rest of my life."
"Well, you might not have had to live in the fridge." Drizti pointed out "We don't know it's pie every time, it could be other stuff too, the only thing is we know it's edible, so she can get the power boost."
"Stop stop STOP. I don't want to think about it, I want to think about shopping and getting tea later, and how jealous I am that Candy got the first fan-photo instead of me."
"Sorry, I didn't know you wanted that honor?" I said
"It's fine, it'll just be put on fan sites and in magazines as the first time you were seen in street clothes, and most likely dominate the gossip scene about us for weeks because of how suspiciously bundled up you are in the middle of spring, taking spotlight away from me and the grand opening. It's fine."
I really hadn't thought it was that big a deal... I wanted to be popular as much as she did, but hearing the thoughts that had run through her head in the moments since the picture, I felt outclassed in my understanding of what that meant.
"Weeeeell, let's just not worry about that, it'll be the new PR person's job!" Drizti said "I want to go shopping, I've never been before, and I'm really excited!"
"Wait, you've never been shopping?" Alele asked her, shocked.
"No, in my clan clothing was assigned," Drizti said "and we didn't really have any opportunities to go into the city proper unless we were on the outreach team."
"Outreach team?" I asked, holding the door open for them as the came outside "I thought clans were gnomes only, are that many gnomes without clans that you need an outreach team?"
"Well, as you know, not all gnomes are in a clan, and that's getting a lot more popular these days, and we also wanted to get gnomes from other clans to join ours. We'd just try to reach any gnome we could, really. I did it for a while as a teen but it was really scary talking to people like that... And we never went to the shopping places, mostly we'd go around where the other gnomes were, like the parks and the tunnels."
"Ok, so..." I said as we started for downtown "how do they feel about you being in the city now?"
She shook her head. "When I was chosen, I had to collect my stuff and sneak out, I left a note telling them I was leaving and breaking off my engagement. They'd have said that me being chosen was 'proof' I wasn't worshiping the earth enough. If I was a true gnome, no god would ever consider me as a chosen."
"That sounds terrible, I'm glad you left." Alele said, shaking her head.
"Mmm, well... I really miss my family and my friends, but... once I realized I had a chance to actually be someone, to do something with my life, I started to feel trapped, and I had to leave. But... I'm very lonely these days compared to a couple months ago..."
"Well you have us, right?" I offered. "I'll be here for you if you need anything at all."
I hoped that'd get me brownie points with Alele too, make her think of me as less scary. I did want to be there for Drizti, but I wasn't sure I'd be the best at making her feel any less lonely.
"Yeah, like, we're a team or whatever, right?" Alele said. "This is your new clan, we got you. Hit me up sometime, we can cuddle, even." she gave a wink and stuck out her tongue a little. I rolled my eyes, of couse that's where her mind went when someone complained about being lonely...
"Aw, girls..." Drizti said, smiling. "That means a lot to me... I was always around someone at home, even sleeping we all shared a room, so... I've never felt as alone as I did sleeping in the hotel room for those few weeks while I waited for the building to be finished. I appreciate you being willing to be there for me."
I thought about what she'd said. That made it sound like she'd want to be around someone constantly now, too. It'd be better to ease her away from needing that than to just always have someone be around her. I thought of what made me feel less lonely when I was alone; talking on the phone, playing games online with my brothers, watching my shows...
"So, did you have TVs in your clan?" I asked, picking the only thing I could think of that didn't require other people.
"Umm, yeah? But they were in the rest halls." She said "We'd turn them on once a week or so and watch a movie, or sometimes videos about safety, or stuff like that."
"Well, personally, TV makes me feel less lonely." I said. "I love turning on a show set a couple hundred years ago, back when everyone wore fancy clothes and you weren't allowed to marry people from other churches, and just soak in all the personal drama."
"I know about stuff like that..." Drizti said, thinking. "I tried to watch something on the TV in my room at the hotel, but it was... indecent."
"Driz, no, that was-" Alele started "Listen, we're going to have a watch party, ok? We'll each pick something to watch, and we'll meet in Candy's room to watch it. We'll show you what stuff is cool, and you can watch it when you feel lonely. Got it?"
"Wait, my room? Why my room?" I said
"I only let people into my space who I'm planning on sleeping with." Alele said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I'd really rather spend time with you girls than to replace people with a television, but... I'd love to have a party!" Drizti said.
"We'll need to get creative with the seating, or like, make sure Candy is burrito-ed in a blanket." Alele said. "For obvious reasons."
I felt bad again. I couldn't even have a simple get together without having to think about my power. Not that I really wanted to throw a party. The girls were fun though, and I didn't mind, I just would have rather had it anywhere else. The common floor had a TV, that would be the better option, but being vulnerable and letting people into my home would be endearing and make me 'the hostess' of that kind of thing, which would be points towards be being a valued member of the team. It was a fair trade off in the end.
"I'm sure we can work it out. Let's do it Wednesday night, ok?" I offered "It'll be like, since we're not having the big opening that day, we'll still have something to look forward to."
"Ok, yay!" Drizti said, pumping her fist "I do look forward to it!"
"Anyway, that aside, we need to apply to have a bus stop set up closer to our headquarters..." Alele said "We shouldn't have to walk this far just to get to a bus. We've got stuff to do."
"Oh, are we taking a bus? I thought we'd just walk to downtown..." Drizti said
"I was going to walk, yeah, but... I just realized I'll have bags on the way back. How close is the closest bus stop?" I asked "To be honest... my mom dropped me off in front of the building in our truck, I've never taken a bus before."
"Three more blocks... Fuck it, We'll be in the same 4 block part of the city give or take all day, we only need the bus to get there. I'm ordering us a rideshare."
"Well, I won't say no to that." I said
"I'm not really sure what that is, but I can guess, I'd like that too. You guys are hard to keep up with on foot if I'm being honest..." Drizti said
"Ah, yeah, fair..." I said. I hadn't thought of that...
"It'll be here in like, fifteen minutes. Let's stop here and go ahead and get tea now while we wait, 'k?" Alele said, jutting a thumb at the cafe behind us.
"Oooh, tea... I love tea!" Drizti said
I pulled at my scarf. Tea was the last thing I needed, I was already sweating... maybe they'd have an iced coffee or something instead.
~~~
I sipped my mango slush and flipped through a rack of clothes. I wasn't seeing anything that stood out to me. I would wear plain clothes every day if I could, and if I needed to make a public appearance I could just transform, but Alele insisted I have at least two or three pieces of formalwear. They needed to be long, I'd need pantyhose under them, and they needed to look good with opera gloves, so our options were very limited. I'd found one evening dress with a flared skirt and three quarter sleeves that worked pretty well, it was red so it even fit my color scheme, but I was having trouble finding anything else.
"Hey, Driz, did you see this?" Alele called out from across the store. I glanced over to see her holding a gray beret that was pretty close to Drizti's skin tone.
"Oooh, it wouldn't be too same-y?" Drizti asked, trying it on
"No no no, your hair breaks it up, it looks fine." Alele assured her.
This had to be the fifth hat Alele had convinced her to get, between the beanie, the sunhat, the fedora, and something called a 'cloche' that looked 80 years out of style, it was hard to imagine a situation that could come up where she wouldn't have a hat ready. Once we were done here, we'd head over to the alternative shops to find Drizti some street clothes that didn't make her look like a priestess or a nun, and more than likely, more hats. I sighed and grabbed a skirt and blouse out from under a display. They looked good together in the advertisement, so it was most likely fine, and the blouse was long sleeve. In a perfect world, I'd get fitted for a cute dark red suit, but... that involved being measured, and therefore touched.
"Hey, I'm ready when you are." I said to the girls, holding up my findings.
"Oh, um, ok, are we going to another store?" Drizti asked "I got a cocktail dress, but it's... not something I want to wear a lot..."
"Oh, we absolutely are." Alele said "We have to make you even cuter than you already are, and loose robes are not your look."
Drizti looked down at herself "They- well, I don't really have curves, so it's-"
"Driz, I barely have curves, there's tricks for that, and we're going to help you find casual clothes to sell that illusion, got it?"
'Oh, really? Ok!" She said "Do you use those tricks too, Candy?"
"Uhhh, no, I just... actually have curves, or some at least. I never really had to try for that."
"Uh huh, says the girl that lives in sweaters and high waisted jeans, I see you." Alele said, raising an eyebrow
I blushed. "Well I didn't start dressing like that because of my shape, I just like cozy sweaters, and short jeans make me nervous."
"Sweaters and high waisted jeans, hmm..." Drizti said "I don't want to steal your look, but I'll remember that."
We checked out, and headed out onto the street. Alele was getting... Frustrating. I really wasn't dressing like this to accentuate my body, but the fact that she called me out on it made me unsettled, like she could see straight through any walls I put up. She was observant and smart, and I'd need to make extra sure I stayed aware of what I did and said around her.
"Oh, look! A chosen!" Drizti said, pointing.
I looked across the street to see Lady Lunge of the Downtown Queens crawling across the sidewalk in her odd, lurching way, her limbs stretching and distorting as she pulled herself along at inhuman speeds. She slammed into a man with a stroller and pinned him to the ground with one hand, her fingers and palm blurred and warping as space shifted to try and contain her non euclidian form.
"Please, please, I'm the father, I just want to see my kid again, please..." The man sobbed
"Kidnnnnapping issssss kidnnnnapping, peon." Lady Lunge said in her echoed, slurred voice.
Another member of the Queens, Miss Missile landed beside them with a boom and a thud, and pulled a crying child out of the stroller.
"I'm sorry Mr Calahan, but you lost custody, you'll need to go through the courts if you want to see little Emily here again, and this little stunt? Did not help your odds." She hugged the girl and rocked back and forth. "Lady Lunge? Bring him back to HQ, I'll get this little cutie back to her mom, Queens, move out!"
As Miss Missile flew into the sky with a blast and Lady Lunge crawled away with the wailing man twisted in her blurry and un-knowable limbs, I couldn't help wonder about the story behind it all. Was the man abusive? Did the courts just side with his wife because she was the mother? Was the kid safe flying through the air like that?
"Whoah..." Drizti breathed "I've never seen a chosen fight before..."
"Driz, we were in one two days ago." Alele said "And what we saw just now was hardly a fight"
"Well, I didn't see the fight we were in, I was a part of it." Drizti said, frowning "and it's still cool to see famous chosen do stuff, I've even heard of those ones..."
"Well, soon we'll be doing stuff just like that. In... what, two weeks?" I said, thinking of our first patrol.
"Do you think we'll get to save a kid too?" Drizti said "I'd love to save a kid, I think it'd feel really nice..."
I sighed. I hoped we wouldn't have to save anyone. I hoped we'd just be minding out own business the whole time, but this was the area we'd be in that day, and we'd been here less than an hour and already seen chosen doing their jobs. The odds of us not having at least something to do were pretty low. Saving a kid though, it took a special kind of person to put a kid in danger.
"Well, even if we don't..." I said "At least you'll still get to meet the fans, right?"
"Oh, yeah! I wonder if I'll recognize anyone from the first event on Saturday on patrol the week after!" She said, smiling.
"Well if you do," Alele said "Make sure to let them know you remembered them, that level of personal interaction is key in building audience and a strong fanbase."
I thought about the meet and greet, and walking around the city with my arms exposed all day. There was no way I'd be able to go all day without accidentally touching someone unless I wore my new gloves, and if I did, it'd throw our whole costume cohesion off. If I wanted to make fans I'd need pictures and handshakes and to not be afraid of turning a child into an edible treat if they got too excited and touched my face. This was going to be hard. Luckily, I had a while to think about it, the next store looked... gothy. Far more suited to Lucy than me. I'd have plenty of time to plan what to do while the other two poked around.