I hopped off the statue and stepped over to Forica. She was flipping through the pictures she'd taken and frowning.
"Any good ones?" I asked, peeking at them
"Mm, yeah, a few. Nothing ground breaking though. Where to next?"
I looked around. "Well I'm supposed to be doing air patrol, and it looks like Lucy and Galorna are done with their fly-over, so... I'll head to the park, I'll be doing tricks and stuff on the way, you follow on foot and try and get some action shots, ok?"
"It's hard to focus on a moving object like that, is it ok if I just get a video of you and cut it into clips?" She asked
"Yeah, that's fine, uh... Let me know when you're filming, I'll do a cool takeoff?" I offered
She nodded, and when she gave me the thumbs up, I crouched and took off, flaring my wings and rocketing up into the sky. I didn't need to flap them as much as I would if I was a bird, lift and momentum were built into the power, but it did help give me a little extra speed and control. Honestly, watching the other girls, they pretty much never used their wings while flying, which may be why I was so much faster than them. I did a spiral, and shot towards the ground, snapping up at the last minute. I heard a whistle, and I grinned, someone had liked that. I did a loop de loop into a barrel roll and blasted forward, beating my wings. The air streaked around me, and I felt the familiar tunnel of protection around me as I neared my top speeds. I arced my flight, going up higher and further until I was over the park, then I twisted around, letting myself fall, speeding up until I was almost to the ground, then I beat my wings backwards, making a shockwave, and settled onto the ground.
I panted for air, it had only been a short flight, but I'd put a lot into it, and turning and moving midair took a lot more energy than just flying straight, and I'd done a lot of moving. I was getting better though, when I first started flying on the farm last month, I'd eaten dirt several times trying to land, I was just glad I was more steady in the air now.
"Holy- aaagh, holy shit..." gasped Forica as she ran up "You flew too fast, I didn't... I didn't get the landing"
I shook my head, annoyed, but I had gone pretty fast. It was supposed to be my signature after all. "Yeah, that's fine, I'll do another one later. Can we get some shots around the water though? I want to be seen in the air again soon, so Debbie doesn't get mad."
We took photos around the park for a while, getting a few with fans, as well as some of me flying over the water, and soon it was about time to head back to the square for the mid-day check-in.
"Hey, let's get one shot down there by that big storm drain outlet before we go" I said, pointing "I can pretend I'm looking into it about to fight something."
"Uhh, I guess that could work?" Forica said "It sounds kinda cringe, but we can try."
I bit back a comment at the usage of the word 'cringe'. I was supposed to be connecting to fans, and making fun of modern slang would just make me look old. I jogged down the hill to the mouth of the pipe and posed.
"How's this?" I asked over my shoulder
"Yeah, let me just- oh, shit, fuck, shit" She said. I looked back to see her backing away from the opening. I frowned and peered in. She must have better eyes than me, I didn't see-
Three glowing yellow eyes glinted at me from the darkness and I drew my breath in with a hiss. A monster attack? A mutated fallen? A set of sharp, brilliantly white teeth bloomed into view as the eyes drew closer. I fumbled on my belt for my communicator to call for help, to let them know I was under attack, I braced myself for an attack as the thing stepped out of the darkness, large shapes unfolding around it, white and long, like legs or wings, or-
I blinked, and relaxed my guard. "Oh, um. Hi, Seraphim. I wasn't expecting you to be in a storm drain?"
She smiled, her sharp teeth clean and dangerous, and started re-wrapping her face with white cloth she'd been wearing last time as she walked over to me. Had she always had three eyes? She covered the one on her forehead with the bandage and I realized she must be hiding it for some reason when we'd met a few days ago. It was pretty uncommon to see around here...
"Hello, Cand-" her eyes flicked to Forica. "...Angel Rouge. I see you're out and 'in the air' today, I've been looking for you, and you found me instead. I wanted to discuss this place more with you."
"Uh, Candy do you know this scary homeless lady?" Forica said, keeping her distance.
"Yeah, kinda, she's... fine." I said. I didn't really know if she was fine, but I wasn't about to say that in front of her, she had a sword.
"What did you want to talk about?" I asked Seraphim, turning back to her.
"This place has... inadequate woodlands, I was forced to take refuge in this strange round building. I wanted to ask, is there a place to set up my home for the time being while I conduct my search?"
I frown. "Like a homeless shelter? We have a lot of those, you can-"
"No, someplace to stay, not to take shelter in." She said, correcting me. "I have... items that need to remain stationary."
"Well... If you won't tell me what god you're following, I don't know of anywhere... I'd say you could stay at your god's church, but that doesn't really apply here." I said, shrugging.
"No, my god has no presence here," She said wistfully "and telling you about him could be... disastrous. One sister flying around is one thing, but I've seen your forms of mass communication, this entire world would be infected with my god in a matter of hours if the wrong person was converted."
"Well... Thanks for not telling me about your god, I guess?" I said, confused. I'd never heard of someone referring to being converted as being 'infected' before, not even with the more dangerous gods.
"Why can't she just apply for a patrol, and take the option for new or unregistered gods and goddesses?" Forica suggested.
I looked over at her, surprised she knew about something like that. "Wait, what do you mean?"
She looked unsure. "Well... If you prove you have holy power, you legally have to be allowed to register as a chosen if you want, so she could go to the GGDS office, be declared as a chosen by showing her powers, put down a fake name as her god, and then apply for an area to patrol? They can put her up in a base as part of the payment for the patrol, it'd be a shitty apartment or empty building or something, but it'd be something?"
Seraphim finished tying her bandages, but I could see her grin under them. "Ah, that's so... semantic...." she hissed "I love it, Come, let us go to the office!"
"I- I gotta do a job, and I have to go check in..." I said, unsure.
"Well, let's head back and see what your bosses say, maybe you can go with her anyway?" Forica offered "It sounds like you two are friends, so I'm sure if you explain, they'll let you head out for a few minutes."
I really didn't want to, but... I almost felt bad about leaving her here to be homeless. Almost. Still, this could be used to my advantage... "Forica, could you follow us to the office and get some shots of me helping her? Maybe do like a 'helping the chosen community' thing?"
She frowned "Well, I was thinking you'd just, like, help your friend, but... I can do that, yeah."
"Perfect!" I said "Let's head back and talk to Oori and Debbie!"
~~~
I stood in the line at the GGDS office and grumbled. Forica stood behind me, her mouth a thin line, not wanting to speak up.
"Now Miss Candy..." Oori said "We knew there'd be a line when we headed out, there's no reason to complain like that, work with dignity, I say."
It wasn't the line, it was that there were no photos allowed, and that Oori had tagged along to file our paperwork at the same time, and that he'd had the 'wonderful' idea to have Seraphim request to be assigned to our section too, so I'd 'have connections with the other heroes in the area'. This was not going how I planned at all, I'd have just stayed at the square and done loops if I'd known it'd be like this.
"This card says my god's name is 'Lorem Ipsum', I don't wish to anger my god with false worship, could I scratch that part out?" Seraphim asked, looking at her ID card.
"No, just- it's not a real god, it doesn't mean anything, your god won't get mad." I said, exasperated.
She glared down at the card, but slipped it back into her sleeve anyway.
"So... What's this line for?" Forica asked "Is everyone here applying to the same section?"
"Oh, no, this is the line to be assigned a hearing." Oori said "We'll go to a separate room to present why we should be assigned that area, and we'll be compared with other hero teams who have requested to be assigned the same area. We're a shoo-in though, we have a headquarters there, and we don't need any additional funding."
"And myself?" Seraphim asked frowning "I have neither of those things, and my 'god' is listed as a 'nothing'."
"I'll, ah, put in a good word." Oori said, winking. "You are Candy's friend, after all."
There was that word again... I wish I'd said something, clarified that I didn't actually know this insane, scary, giant, glowing lady with a sword, but it was too late now. I folded my arms and sighed. The line couldn't go fast enough for me, and I was just so frustrated at even having to be here. I needed to be out there, getting more fans, every second I wasted was another second Alele was getting ahead of me.
Finally, after what felt like hours, we were called into a small room with a couple older agents with notepads. Oori showed them photos and diagrams of the building, and our financial statements, as well as an example of our powers in action. He handed them the file and sat down giving me a small wink as he did, pointing at his foot. I was confused, what did- oh... 'shoe'-in. I groaned quietly, but gave him a polite smile. He really was kinda funny, when he wasn't being his usual work mode self.
"So, Mr Oori, From these documents, it's very clear that you'll be taking over as the primary patrol group for the area your headquarters, no questions there, however, your companion, miss, ah, 'Phim'? She is another matter." The middle agent said, frowning at Seraphim's made up ''real name'.
"Well, I was under the impression the current patrols would be leaving once there was a permanent solution, and we do need more than just our team if we're going to patrol around the clock." Oori pointed out.
"Yes, it's just she doesn't have funding, and we'd need to offer her a base of operations, and the other magical girl team that's going to be patrolling the area also had no funding or a base, so-"
"Wait, wait, what other magical girl team?!" I said, standing up partway from my seat. Oori pulled me back down by my skirt and glared at me.
"I'm pretty deep into MGs, and I wasn't aware there was any other new teams..." Forica said, tilting her head.
"Ah, 'magical girl' is a bit of a misnomer, really. They call themselves 'The Unchosen', from what I understand, none of them are backed by a god or goddess, so they don't have any funding. They're part of a new movement by the city to show that anyone, not just chosen, can be a hero."
"How did they even pass the test?" I asked "Don't you need to have at least 3 D rank powers to form a team?"
"Well..." The agent said "I can't discuss their abilities, but I can say that they all tested well into the C rank range without any chosen powers. We were very impressed."
"So..." Forica said "What about Sera? If she ends up testing as a C rank too, would you approve her?"
"That's the minimum rank required to be a solo hero, I personally would say she needs to be a B rank before we considered her, because of the two full teams already in the area." The agent said apologetically.
Seraphim stood up and placed a hand on the hilt of her sword. "Well then. Let us start the tests! Who am I facing?"
Oori stood up and patted her arm. "Now, miss Sera, they just need to get an idea of your powers, it's just going to be a few tests, no combat."
She frowned and shook her head. "I would rather face someone, but I can pass any test you present me with. I will outclass the heretics with ease."
One of the other agents scrunched up his face. "Don't use the word 'heretics', if you please. And we can do the tests here on site, if you can just follow me..."
As Seraphim was led off to the tests I checked the clock in the room. If we got this over with fast, I could still get back and have 30 minutes of air time before we needed to get ready for the fancy dinner tonight...
~~~
Oori beamed and slapped me on the back, making me stumble slightly. "Wow, an A rank chosen, in our pocket! I'm so glad you brought her to me, Candy." He said, nodding. "She's going to be very useful, I'm glad she's in our section of the city!"
I felt frustration and anger inside me as I walked with him back to city square. A rank? Really? Just for being kind of strong, using a laser, and being good with swords? I was only officially C rank, but I was pretty sure I was almost as strong as her. Of course, with my power I was confident I could have tested as high as A, maybe B on a bad day, but I couldn't exactly show that to them to prove it unless they had someone on death row, and I was supposed to be keeping it a secret anyway. I could take Seraphim in a fight though, I knew it. She had to get close to use that sword of hers, and she had a lot of exposed skin on her hands, around her sides where her robe had holes in it, her midriff, I'd just need one touch and-
I blanched and shuddered. Was I really thinking that? She was supposed to be our ally, and I didn't even want to use my power in the first place. I felt a sick feeling of guilt. Was I that focused on my own fame and popularity that I'd fantasize about using my power on someone I was supposed to be helping? A lady who was obviously in need of support? I folded my arms across my stomach and looked around the square for Forica as we walked up. She'd headed out first, while me and Oori were finishing up our application, and she should be here by now. I spotted her talking to Galorna over by the Valley Nurses' tent, and I made my way over, feeling too drained and guilty to fly.
"Oh, Angel Rouge! We were just talking about you!" Galorna said, smiling at me as I walked up.
"Oh... you were?" I asked, unsure if that was a good thing.
"Yeah, I hear the fans love you, gonna get some more pictures? We've got a few minutes before we need to head into the church!"
I thought about it, and glanced over at Forica, who gave me a thumbs up.
"Um, no, we got a lot of photos of me already." I said. I really didn't want to be photographed while I was feeling this mixed up.
"Do you think you could get photos of the other girls?" I asked Forica "Just get a nice picture of each of them, so all the fans remember we're all on a team, and we're working together."
"Oh, uh, yeah! I can do that, no problem. Uh, miss Angel Saffron? Could you pose?" She said, mildly confused.
"Hey, no problem!" Galorna said, grinning "And you'll find Angel Verdant in the tent behind me, she got a little power fatigued, so she's resting. Angel Cobalt and Angel Sable are both in the square somewhere, you might have to track them down!"
Forica took the picture, and ducked into the tent to find Drizti. Galora leveled a look at me and pulled me aside around the tent and spoke in a low tone.
"Candy, I get that you're trying to build a brand, but you can't just leave for half the mission like that, we all needed to be here and be seen."
"I-I was with Oori, at the GGDS office." I said, blushing. I had originally gone there to build my brand, yes, but it didn't work out, so Galorna didn't need to know that.
She glanced over at Oori, who was on the phone and directing a van that had just pulled up where to park.
"Did he need help? I'm glad you went, but-"
"No, I'm sorry, I met up with one of my-" I hesitated, then pushed through "-friends, and she needed help registering, I think she's a new chosen. She needed somewhere to stay, so I helped her get set up with the GGDS and get a patrol and a small building..."
"Oh..." Galorna said gently. "I'm sorry, that's very sweet of you, I didn't know. I'm sorry for getting onto you about being gone. Helping the less fortunate is always the first priority."
"Well..." I said "She was living in a storm drain, but she's also an A rank, so I'm sure she'd have gotten help soon, I shouldn't have blown off the first mission."
Galorna whistled "Gods, an A rank? You don't see those often. But I think you still did good. If you hadn't helped her, she could have been helped by a fallen and gotten recruited, and then we'd have a new A rank threat in the city to deal with. You did the right thing, Candy, as a friend, and as a hero."
She carefully patted me on the shoulder and gave me an encouraging look. I felt worse than I did before, to be honest. I'd lied to her, I was still upset at Seraphim being so much higher rank than me, I was upset that I was upset, my plan had failed, I'd blown off the mission, I'd been selfish, I'd fantasized about basically killing someone who trusted me, and here Galorna was praising me for it all. My stomach was tight and there was a lump in my throat, what was I becoming? Was being this selfish and petty really necessary to be a magical girl?
"I- I need to go sit down, I'm sorry." I said to Galorna, giving a polite, small smile to her "I'm feeling a little tired."
"That's fine, head over to the church, we're almost done anyway, go ahead and rest up or get changed." She said, nodding.
I jogged out of the square and down the road the church was on. I stepped into the big double doors and was hit with the rush of cool air and the smell of cleaner and a vague scent of burning spices. I took a deep breath and relaxed. I hadn't been to the church since me and my mom visited to introduce me to the leaders when I told everyone I was a chosen. I should be going here once a month or so, to be seen, but I still didn't know all the rules about the religion, and I didn't want to look like an idiot. A member of the church jogged up to me and leaned in.
"Hello, miss Clenson?" he said softly, as a question more than a statement. I nodded, and he waved me along. "Right this way, we have one of the study rooms set up as a changing room, and your clothes are already in there."
"Oh, th-thank you." I said. He'd recognized me on sight, that was... kind of a strange feeling, but I'd have to get used to it, as I got more famous. He led me along side of the auditorium to a side passage to the room he'd set up for me, and I let myself in. I was going to wear my red dress with the flared skirt I'd bought with Alele and Drizti tonight, but I had a few hours to go before the big dinner, so I sat down in a large chair and un-transformed. I looked down at myself and sighed, stood up, and took off the dumb fake magical dress, draping it over the rack of clothes. I sat back down and rubbed my head, I had a killer headache, but with the corset off, my stomach didn't feel as tight. The guilty feeling still stuck though.
I got a water bottle out of a little basket and sipped it while I looked at my reflection in the mirror that had been set up, and pulled at my cheeks. I looked worn out, tired even. Not a good look for someone about to go to a fancy dress ball. I stared into my own face, tracing the red on my lips with my eyes, the faint pink eye shadow, the blush on my cheeks. There was so much red on me, so much 'rouge'. I probed my lipstick with my tongue, but it didn't smear; it was waterproof and made to look and feel like it was a part of me. I thought of the blood pouring from the bite I'd taken out of Homicide, and imagined it staining my lips. If I ate him up whole, would I fill up with blood?
I lay my head back against the chair and thought about myself. I wanted popularity, I wanted to be loved, but did I really want to be the kind of person who wanted to be popular? I'd grown up being taught by movies and TV shows that 'popular girls' were stuck up pricks, and I'd been taught by real life that they were actually just people who you craved being around. The way I was going, I was going to be a TV popular girl and not a real one, and then I'd be everything I'd hated while growing up. I reached for my phone before remembering that it was still in the van, and sighed. I'd need to work on my public image later, but I really did want to be the kind of person people wanted to be around. Was that selfish of me though? Wanting people to want to be near me while knowing that it's actively dangerous to let them get close?
The door banged open and I jumped, covering my chest and pulling my legs up into the chair.
"Oh, hey Candy..." Drizti said, closing the door behind her. "I think me and you are sharing this room..."
She looked awful, her grey skin was more grey than usual, she was slouching, and she was moving like her muscles were killing her. I remembered what Galorna had said about her getting power fatigue and I got up out of the chair in front of the mirror and waved her over.
"You look really rough, were you helping with the clinic?" I asked "I didn't know if you'd be doing much with them with how your power works..."
"Mm, no..." She said, climbing into the chair and curling up on the seat. "I was making shapes with my powers, remember? Turns out making and moving the little orbs takes a tiny bit of energy from me directly, so doing it hundreds of times builds up, and suddenly I was on the ground, no mana left."
I pulled my party dress off the rack and stepped into it, pulling it up around my neckline and wiggling my arms in.
"I thought Lorgiaia powered our actual powers?" I said "How does that even work?"
"She does, I think..." yawned Drizti "But making the connection to her to use them still takes magic from us too, at least that's what the Valley Nurses told me."
"So..." I said, looking at her while I tucked my gloves under the sleeves "Were they able to help you at all?"
She shook her head "No, they gave me an energy drink, but their powers don't really work like that. Field Dress said she could help me if she had leeches, but she'd been forced by their PR team to stop bringing them on missions with her."
I shuddered at the idea of leeches, and slid my tights off under my dress, replacing them with pantyhose.
"Can you dress yourself?" I asked "If we're really really careful, I think I can help you, but..."
"I'll be fine." She said, sitting up and stretching. "I'm just tired and sore. I'll be sleeping in late tomorrow, and skipping practice, but I'll be fine tonight for a few hours I think, as long as no one asks me to do math."
I snorted "Why would anyone ask you to do math at a charity dinner?"
"I don't know, I just hope they don't, I couldn't even begin to think of how to do it." she said, smiling at me slightly.
"Ok, so... say... four times twelve?" I said as I passed her the forest green cocktail dress she'd picked out.
"I'd just guess." she replied "A hundred and two, I don't know, don't make me think, Candy."
I felt myself smiling for real, just a bit. She always made my days a little bit more lighthearted, just by being herself. It was easy to see my teammates as rivals for my popularity, or just my supporting cast, but they were supposed to be more than that. Here was a real person sitting in front of me, someone who'd tried so hard to impress people that she'd passed out. Someone who was trying to respond to every single fan, no matter what, someone who was still brand new to the world outside her clan, and giving everything she had to be the best magical girl she could be. I felt my sense of self diminish, looking at her. She wasn't just another member of the team to plan around or analyze, she was a friend, they all were, and I needed to remind myself that through all the training and rehearsals.
"Hey, Driz?" I said as I put on my red dress flats. I never could walk in heels, hopefully no one would notice.
"Yeah?"
"You're a great magical girl, you inspire me, I just want you to know." It felt cheesy and stupid saying it out loud, but she beamed at me anyway.
"We gotta inspire each other, friend!" She said, with more energy than she'd had since she walked in "You inspire me too, that follower count, your dedication, making allies already from what I hear, I think you're an inspiration too!"
The feeling of guilt came back, and I tried to ignore it. "That's a good system, I think. I'll inspire you if you inspire me, ok?"
We shared a smile, and I thought about how shitty of a magical girl I was as I finished getting ready.
~~~
"...and that's why I can say, with confidence, that Lorgiaia's Angels are going to take the city by storm! We're working hard and doing our best, and we've got a good team dynamic that brings us closer and closer together, every time we train or hit the streets!"
As the rich people around us cheered, I lightly sipped my champagne and rubbed my head. The headache hadn't stopped yet, but I was doing my best to hide it. Galorna's speech was... not the best. She'd been in debate in high school, sure, but the speech sounded like it'd been written by a high schooler, to put it politely. I watched the crowd and picked at my food, some kind of fleshy flower with too much spice on it. The others here were all wearing the face paint and ribbons, and I felt self conscious that me and the other girls weren't. Looking over at the crew's table, even Oori and Debbie had theirs on, but Oori at least still had his sunglasses on over it.
As Galorna's speech finished up, the room broke into applause, and she gave a thumbs up as she walked off the stage. She'd chosen to wear a loose fitting white top with low cleavage tucked into dress pants that flared around the ankles, so when she walked off stage, she fluttered, giving her an almost etherial look that clashed with her stocky body and muscles. I felt myself blushing, and looked back down at my food before my mind wandered.
"Awww..." Alele whispered to me "Someone's getting all flustered, what's the matter, you like girls that are stronger than you?"
I made myself smaller and shot her a look "I think everyone likes that, Alele, it's not weird."
She giggled and shook her head "You'd be surprised. That said, since you confirmed it... You know I'm stronger than you, by a lot, I have that elven strength.~"
I shook my head "I don't know what you're trying to do, I literally can't even touch you, flirting or teasing or whatever you're doing is pointless."
She sat back and pouted "We could figure something out... It's been like, weeks, and no one is dating anyone yet. Most importantly, no one is dating me."
Galorna sat down just as Lucy looked over "What are you two talking about?"
"Alele wants me to date her." I said bluntly.
"Hey- wh-" Alele sputtered "No! I was- it's a thing we do, it was a callback!"
I narrowed my eyes at her "So you're saying you're not interested?"
She glared at me, but didn't answer.
"I don't know if dating Candy is a good idea, Alele..." Galora said in that motherly tone she took when someone got hurt during training "You wouldn't be able to do any of the things you'd want to do with her, you know."
"Oh for the love of the gods..." moaned Alele "It. Was. BANTER. Besides, I'm not JUST into people physically, I have emotions too, you know."
"You know..." mused Lucy "If Candy wore a wetsuit, like the kind divers wear? I bet-"
"Ok, shut up, everyone, drop it. I'm not about to listen to people speculate on my future 'love life' while I'm at the fanciest dinner I've ever attended." I snapped
Drizti opened her eyes for the first time in a while and sat up off the arm of her chair "Candy has a love life?" She said sleepily "I'm so proud of you..."
"Lay back down, Driz" Galora said "She doesn't really, we're just talking."
I slid down in my seat, blushing hard. I didn't want or need this kind of attention right now, I was already all mixed up. Still, in a masochistic sort of way, it was making me feel more at home, more like I belonged here, with them. I needed to plan another get-together, the watch party had gone very well, and I was surprised to realize that I actually wanted to do something like that again. Maybe I could have them over to play a racing game or something...
"I just wanted to thank you ladies so much for your hard work and dedication today!" an older man's voice said, disrupting my thoughts. I jumped, and slid back up into my seat, looking around.
A tall balding man in his 50s, dressed in black robes was standing next to Galorna, one hand resting on her shoulder.
"We were very happy to see such lovely, hard working girls chosen to represent us." He said "and seeing so many different lifestyles and backgrounds represented at this table, I truly think it'll bring a lot more unique followers to our church."
I felt a little awkward at that, after all, as a cis human woman, I was the exact stereotype of a follower of Lorgiaia, so that last part obviously wasn't directed at me, but I still felt lumped in with the statement somehow. I wanted to say something, to let the others know that I wasn't trying to pretend that I was helping draw in new eyes as much as they were, but somehow saying anything would almost certainly make things more awkward than they already were for me.
Who was this guy anyway? He was acting like he was in charge, but I'd never seen him before, and he wasn't one of the priestesses, was he the event planner? I looked around to see if anyone else was dressed like him, but he was the only one in those strange robes. I'd ask Oori later, when I saw him again.
"Who are you, anyway?" Lucy asked, looking him up and down "Are you with the church?"
The man laughed, and smiled slightly. "You could say that, yes. You could say I've 'been with the church' quite a lot! You see, I'm Lorgiaia's current husband."
My eyes widened and I had to try not to gasp.
"Her husband?" I asked. "I didn't know she was married."
"We try to keep it within the church, but yes!" He said, nodding "She takes a new partner every thirty or forty years or so. I help her with the parts of being a goddess that require a human touch, I keep her grounded, so to speak. I was the one to convince her to finally choose heroes! She'd wanted to put it off until the 'fad died down', but I told her if she kept waiting, she'd just be left behind."
"Well... Thank you for that?" Galorna said, unsure how to respond
"No problem, girls. I'll leave you to your dinner now, I just wanted to personally thank and congratulate you." He said "Oh, and save room for desert! It's some wonderful candied rose petals on an absolutely fantastic white cake!"
As he walked off, I looked back down at my food and frowned. At first it'd seemed like the girls and I had been chosen for who we were, when we were first chosen, but after his little revelation, I wondered if we'd been chosen for what we were instead, in an effort to draw more people in. It was a gross feeling, like I wasn't really good enough by myself, like I'd only been chosen to fit the current demographic so the others' 'different lifestyles' wouldn't alienate the current members of the church. Was that why I was more popular than them? Not because I was more appealing or working harder, but because I was soaking up the pre-existing demographic, while they were having to forge whole new paths?
I felt the guilt coming back, and I leaned back in my chair, my appetite gone and my mind full of worries and hurtful thoughts.