"A lot of people who've been in the association a long time care about seniority. Depending on the chapter, it'll range from largely ceremonial - the chance to speak first at meetings for example - to all sorts of small benefits. More access to facilities, first choice of contract jobs, an extra vote at fifty years, access to discretionary funds or ability to sit on the organization's advisory boards. Dues start being required after a few months, go up over your first five years, but go down again with enough seniority. My chapter leans more toward the ceremonial side. Sufficiently senior members can reserve the gyms or meeting rooms or request things about the facilities, and technically they can demand a meeting with me, but that's about all in terms of actual privileges here and the meeting thing doesn't even quite count because I'll meet with any member who wants a word."

"Okay." It makes sense that some old semi-immortals would get hung up on seniority. With any luck she'll be around long enough to find out if that will happen to her.

"It doesn't seem like there's anything else to cover, then?"

"Nope, I guess not."

"Have a nice day! Feel free to email me if you end up needing anything." She hands over a business card.

"Thank you!" And once she's out of the office she'll text Teddy that he can come here if he wants, and then go hit the gym.

Will I just be helping you with the tests?

And coming up with other tests, and helping me interpret the results, and generally being a second scientist in the room.

Teddy doesn't answer her text right away.

Then she'll work out in the gym for a while, blasting fire out of her clawed hands and working on both volume and control.

After a while he replies, 

Maybe next time. Working on the genie thing.

The gym contains some spirit bearers! They smile or wave politely but otherwise leave her alone.

She smiles at them politely and also leaves them alone. Today's goal is to get strong.

The scales almost reach her elbow after another magically exhausting half hour of practice, and some of them are smaller, especially where she needs flexibility.

One of the other spirit bearers finishes doing exercises with a large boulder in the corner that's full of rocks, and waits for Margaret to be interruptible, then asks, "Hey, I don't recognize you. And you look new. Hiya, I'm Cassandra."

"I am new! Name's Margaret, nice to meet you."

"Yeah, same. The raiment - looks like you've got maybe one thing, that's what I meant by new."

Her own looks to be about average - not ridiculous like the chapter head's was, but not simple.

"I could do the stereotypical smalltalk thing and ask what your magic is, or how you got it, but don't feel obligated to answer. I do magic shields."

"I have fire, and my arms do this! I got it by teaching a genie a bunch of robotics." she says, holding out her scaly arms. "Magic shields sounds cool! Can I try to put fire through one of them? Not with you on the other side, obviously."

"Cool! Lizard arms. My best shields need me to be behind 'em. I don't mind - pretty sure I can hold up to whatever you hit me with in a frontal attack."

"I bet you're right. I just like having something to aim at." She squares up. "Ready when you are!"

Cassandra takes a wide stance and holds her forearm straight up, elbow bent, fist clenched. "Hold!"

And a dull green translucent square appears in front of her as she grins, maybe four feet to a side.

Margaret blasts the square with the hottest fire she can manage, which might be a bit hotter than used to be the case!

The square is indifferent to this treatment.

"Whoo, you've got a blowtorch, not fireballs!"

"Yeah, it's super fun, I should take up glassworking." She rakes at the shield with her claws.

"You totally should. Heating things back up whenever they start to cool too much would probably be really convenient."

Her claws actually bounce back off the shield with some fairly strong recoil and a low thrumming sound.

"Woah, cool, your shield hits back! Incidentally, does saying 'hold' when you make it help somehow?"

"Yeah, it helps me a bit. I'm not sure if it's a focus thing or if incantations actually matter, but some 'bearers call out their attacks really dramatically and swear it helps a lot."

She releases the shield.