- because with a rush, the water hammer falls!

There's a slight yelp.

And then, all at once, the riot of color starts to clear. 

"Ugh! Fair cop. But for the record, you got lucky with the trajectory there, guessing which direction I'd retreat."

Clara does a little twirl, and settles down -

- for Luna to explain her thought process.  "I'm not actually sure how much of it to attribute to chance, versus poor tactical decisions on your part and educated guessing on mine and Clara's - were I you, I'd have actually opted to stay in close, and deny me a mobility advantage as well as my ability to fire - actually, hmm, considering fire, and the way it isn't good for plants, yeah, staying out of close range makes sense - hey, did you know I had any sort of 'artillery' prepared, coming in?  Anyway.  Hmm...I think that what really got you was pausing to be smug.  That gave us a better read on what you'd do - you thought momentum was on your side, but I got inside your OODA loop; I knew you'd be coming after me - so I took advantage of that to make a trap for you to spring, and refined it when you struck, drawing the water hammer in along your line of attack, and relying on the momentum of the spray, and the fact that you'd have to come back around, to handle the uncertainty in targeting.  Or maybe I'm just post-hoccing, but it sounds legit, doesn't it?"

"......Nerd. In a good way, probably. I think you're saying that I wasn't taking this seriously? That's true, at least. I fight on wordless instinct more than planning most of the time, these days. I thought you had something other than that dome, but," shrug.

"Hmm.  Combat has to be run on instinct more often than not, and you discarded most of yours, for fairness' sake.  I won't say it wasn't reasonable, for teaching purposes especially, but I will say that the goal of winning became exponentially harder," Diana expounds.  "I can think of a few ways we could have prepared other reasonably undodgeable counter-strikes, as well, given that we knew roughly the direction you were coming from, and have a Clara, who, combined with fire..."

"Well, we haven't tried it yet, but let's see if this works like we expect it to..."

...Clara and Diana will, if the impromptu demonstration of wind-boosted fire means anything, make one hell of a scorched-earth murderblender some day.

The fire spreads rapidly forward, scattering as the wind hits it, but not as a solid mass - more of a rush of embers in a wide cone. That is still plenty distracting and painful, of course.

Also. Also this: There's a half-second blur of movement and then very slight stinging pain along her throat, where one of Rose Weed's gauntlet thorns is suddenly pressed up against it.

"Just remember how high the ladder goes. Don't get cocky. Okay?"

She doesn't even flinch.  "I am but a speck of dust in the eyes of monsters.  I just hope I'll make them blink."

Rose sighs and stands back. "Do. Not. Approach. The Evertree or the Monster King. Don't even think about it. They will kill you and it will be pointless." Her eyes are distant. "It's- Time for me to go."

"...hey.  I know what stupid tactical and strategic decisions look like.  I'm not going near those fuckers, not unless they're already chasing me and I have nowhere I can run.  ...And frankly, my solution to the Evertree is a fucking laser beam, from as far away as I can manage.  Not hand-to-hand combat.

"...Also.  Would you like a hug?  Or would that...be unpleasant?"

"I don't really know you, you know? So no hug. This is just me feeling nostalgic for being a bright-eyed newbie. Good luck, Luna. Look me up some time when you think you've made it."

And then Rose Weed walks out of the sparring room, heading for the exit.

"Well, I'll see you in a hundred years, then.  Be safe yourself, okay?"

Alright, she's going to visit the library now.

Her orientation person is waiting just outside the gym! With paperwork that has been through more stages of the gears of bureaucracy!

"Do you mind a brief detour for an ID photo, or straight to the library?"

"I don't mind doing the bureaucratic stuff first; it means less interruptions of my reading time."  She winks.  "But also I do mean that."

Well, the ID photo will take all of two minutes, conveniently! They want it in raiment, though. She can get it updated whenever she wants.

She'll...do that up in Diana's raiment, probably; it's the best balance for daily use magical-girling.

Now she has an ID! It says she is Luna, a Spirit Bearer, nonmember.

"I may as well be a member of the Association, I think."

"Parent or guardian signature, or enough time and other paperwork to get around needing that, I'm afraid."

"See what I mean about signing my own life away?"

"I don't think so? But I don't make the rules. I think this is due to finance laws."

"I am somehow perfectly competent to risk my life fighting monsters but not competent enough to sign up for my trade union on my own recognizance, is what I mean.  What's this about finance laws?"

"Oh, the monster-hunting license requires that too. It's because we charge dues, and technically waive them for the first two years unless you end up with some sort of strike, but- We're not allowed to make minors pay dues without the consent of their guardians. This is just official recognition that you have magic. We can add 'speaker for Culpeper Cut' later on depending on how things turn out, too."

"...Well, that certainly is a thing, I suppose.  Not sure I think it's a smart thing, especially given that there really isn't any reason I know of that I couldn't pay dues at a regular shop, but I guess it's probably tied up in the Association's particular flavor of weirdness, given the vast varieties of shit you get up to.

"Anyway...speaker for Culpeper Cut?"

"There's a lot of particular weirdness. We do get up to a lot of stuff. If it's chosen you as a representative, yes, a lot of spirit bearers are specifically tasked with representing their spirit's interests to human society, so we have a mechanism to recognize that officially. It's not... Power of attorney or anything, it's mostly a label."