She is sitting in the library, studying. It's her most common pastime, by hours; spending time with her sister is more enjoyable but Jaromira prefers to socialize more broadly and Katarzyna would only get in the way. This is better on net; the two of them share a room, so it isn't as though her sister's time is entirely hogged by the other girls who call this boarding school "home." Or at least "prison." Katarzyna doesn't mind it, though; the school library is excellent, and basic manners and care for the books has endeared her to the librarian to a sufficient degree to lubricate the interlibrary loans process when there's something she wants to read that they don't have.
"Try adding some opal seafoam to the wings like you did with the opal blue."
"Yes, but it will probably be better for flying. Try extending the crescent pattern up from the primaries to the whole wing."
"Magic really likes its glitter, doesn't it. Try adding a beaded fringe to the hem of the skirt."
"I think at this point we're micromanaging enough that you'll get much better returns from getting opinions from someone who isn't me."
"Alright. The magical girl club should be useful for that."
She opens her laptop to see if the teacher has emailed her about when it is. He has; the next meeting is tomorrow, and a different teacher is going to drive her after class.
Jaromira leaves to manage the gossip mill's interpretation of recent events.
Katarzyna stays. Going back to the library would involve more interacting with people than she wants to do right now; the internet is an acceptable source of information, and, when it comes to magical girl stuff, much better than the library.
She waits patiently until the end of classes the next day.
The big public school is in Phoenix, and its magical girl club has seven members not counting Katarzyna:
- Mercedes, the club president, who introduces herself and everyone else, and has green dragon wings and a dragon tail and horns and wears a lot of gold silk;
- Natalie, approximately a naga, probably culturally appropriating the Roma or at least the pop culture conception thereof with that outfit, jingles when she slithers;
- Alexis, with rabbit ears and a cotton tail, leaning unnecessarily on sex appeal for costume interest but also themed around lavender (plant, not color);
- Faith, who is three feet two inches tall and going for a vaguely period effect with her clothes in homespun-ecru and shades of brown;
- Isabella, with pointy swift wings and nothing else, drapey dress over a clingy underlayer in dark red and dark blue festooned with a motif of circles with circle cutouts;
- Gabrielle, yellow ballgown and sunset-colored wings;
- Brooklyn, managing pants with enough layers and embroidery and rose-themed accessories accenting the black and gold base color scheme that it must take her an hour to get it all right every time she needs to redo it, black bat wings with gold tats of roses.
These are magical girls and therefore she has nonzero desire to make a good first impression.
"My name is Katarzyna Kozlov--I apologize if that's hard to pronounce, my parents are from Poland. It's lovely to meet you all."
"Zyna it is!" says Natalie.
"What are your powers?" asks Isabella.
"It appears to be some sort of--magic perception. Initially all I could sense was that I, myself, existed, but I can sense all of you, as well."
"I have that, I call it my libido," hoots Alexis.
"Huh," says Isabella, ignoring Alexis. "- can I try something with that?"
To Isabella: "Certainly."
To Alexis: "I believe that your libido draws your attention to the fact that you know we are present, rather than informing you if you had not previously known and/or introducing a new avenue to this perception. If I am wrong, please inform me."