Soon, Kyubey appears at her window.

She lets him in.

'Hi Kaylee!  Are you ready to become a magical girl?'

'I'm... not totally sure.'

'I know it's scary, but the world needs more magical girls.  Plus, what if Lianne got hurt while hunting witches?  If you were just a normal girl you wouldn't be able to save her like she saved you.'

'I think you'd make a better magical girl than you think you will, Kaylee,' Kyubey says.  'You just have to wish to be a good person for the job, like we talked about doing.'

'...okay.'

She takes a seat on her bed, cross-legged.

Kyubey assumes a position opposite her, looking strangely formal for a weird alien cat.

'Do I have to say it out loud?'

He shakes his head.  'You have to say it, but it can be over telepathy.'

'Okay.'

She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes.

'I wish to be the sort of person who would make a good magical girl - someone who can face down witches without being afraid, and who can take fighting monsters in stride without panicking or - being constantly stressed out.'

Light, and wind, and something that is not quite pain.  White light emanating from Kyubey, and blue light emanating from her - 

Her outfit has changed.

She looks down at herself, sees stockings and long silk gloves, a frilly light blue skirt - twisting her neck around she thinks she can spot a blue bow on her back.  She's the perfect archetypal image of a magical girl.  She's wearing a silver tiara, with a cerulean gem set into the front that she's aware of like it's a part of her body.

She climbs off the bed, stands up.  She's lighter on her feat, every movement effortless.  She feels like she could hop from the driveway to the roof if she needed to.  Hesitantly she reaches out and unsheathes a narrow throwing dagger from thin air.

'You're a real magical girl now, Kaylee,' Kyubey says.  'Congratulations!'

'I feel different.'

'Magical girls are stronger and faster than ordinary humans,' Kyubey says.  'You need to be, in order to fight witches.  For now you should transform back, though, so you don't draw any attention.  Change your soul gem into its ring form - that's the jewel in your tiara.'

As soon as Kyubey tells her to do it, it's obvious that she can, and how.  She does: the magical girl outfit recedes and is replaced with normal clothes, the dagger disappears.  The gem becomes a tiny jewel set in an unobtrusive ring on her right hand.

'Ordinary people won't notice the ring if you don't want them to,' Kyubey says.  'But you shouldn't take it off.  Always keep your soul gem on your person.'

She nods.

'So... what now?'

'Well, you don't have to hunt right away,' Kyubey says.  'Your soul gem was just created, so it's still really fresh, and if Lianne will lend you any of her grief seeds you can use those to heal.  But you shouldn't put it off for too long.  I can help you on your first hunt, to find a witch that's not too strong for you.'

'I think I'd like that,' Kaylee says.

'Okay!  Let me know when you're ready to go on your first hunt.'

'I will.  I think for now I need to just - sit around and... process, I guess.'

'That's fine with me,' Kyubey says.  'Would you like company?'

Kaylee sits back down on her bed.  'Sure, if you don't mind sticking around.'

Kyubey hops into her lap, curls up, and purrs.  'Not at all!'

Awwwww.

Scritch scritch.

Eventually, though, Kyubey has to leave.

Kaylee paces, and sits, and lies down on her bed, and sits up, and paces, and thinks.

She's a magical girl now!  She doesn't have to worry about getting attacked by a witch and not being able to defend herself.  She doesn't have to feel like she'll never be able to repay Lianne for saving her.

...She hadn't really realized how much she'd been worrying about that, until she didn't have to any more.  That wasn't the only reason she went through with it, was it?  No, of course not, it's like Kyubey said, the world needs her to save it.  She'd thought that before she even knew about magical girls.

Mallory became a magical girl without totally trusting Kyubey.  That wasn't a bad call, was it?

Besides, she does trust Kyueby now, doesn't she?

...Mallory said to think hard about her wish.  She said she regretted just wishing for improved memory.  ...But Kaylee's not necessarily gonna feel exactly the same way just because she also wished for - mind-augmentation.  It's different.  She probably wouldn't have been able to fight witches at all without her wish.  It's good.  This is a good thing.

She spends Sunday catching up on her homework, trying not to think in any more circles.  It's no fun and it doesn't seem to be helping her.  She made her decision.  She's a magical girl now.

She doesn't try to get in touch with Lianne telepathically.  She wants to make the announcement face to face.

Monday arrives, and shortly thereafter, the school bus.  Kaylee gets on.

Lianne is there, reading a different book this time.

"Hey Lianne!  May I?"  She gestures toward the seat.

"Of course!" She shuffles over a bit. "How was your weekend?"

"Pretty good!  Yours?"

"Mostly same old, same old, though I had fun with the scouting group. The other girls are all great." 'We ended up hunting a witch none of us would've been able to handle on our own, except maybe Mallory, she's an amazing fighter. It was - intense.'

'Oh jeez, I hope everyone's okay!'

'We're all fine! We got a bit low on magic towards the end, but luckily the witch had a huge grief seed, and Mallory and another girl had brought spares to heal up mid-fight, which is a really smart idea. We all work well as a team, too.'

'That's good.'

'I, uh, kinda have some news on that front too actually.'

 'Really?'

'Kyubey came over.  We talked.  I... I honestly think he just doesn't understand humans very well, and that's why he comes across weird.  Like - he asked me to help figure out why you didn't trust him, and it honestly seemed like he just didn't get it at first.  And then when I explained it to him he - it seemed like he felt bad.  So.  I think, like you and Mallory said, he just has trouble talking to us.  And when we talked, I said I'd - help him out with that.'

'And - we talked some more, and we talked about what my wish would be, and he said the vaccine wish probably wouldn't work.  And we - I picked another one.   And then on Saturday - '

She displays the ring on her finger.

'I decided to go through with it.  I'm a magical girl now.'

'What did you wish for, then?'

'I'd - it's kind of personal, I'd rather not say.'

'Okay, I understand, the other girls didn't really want to discuss theirs, either. Just - I hope your wish makes you happy.' 

'Thanks, Lianne.'

'So, next weekend I think I'd like to come with you to the magical girl meeting, maybe try going for a hunt.'

'Yeah, that'd be great!'

'Oh good!  So what kinds of things did you do there, other than hunting witches?'

'There were three other girls there - two magical girls, Alex and Sophie, and a potential, Taylor. We mostly chatted, though before hunting Mallory had us practice fighting together. We talked about potential wishes for Taylor - some of them got pretty silly. We also decided that since we're apparently superheroes now, we should have superhero names. We haven't named the team yet, though.'

She giggles.  'You're a superhero team?  That's awesome.  What's your superhero name?'

'Glimmer! I couldn't really think of anything better.'

'Aww, I think Glimmer's great.'  Kaylee pats her shoulder.

'Thanks!' And the bus starts pulling up to the school. 

Students disperse.

*

At the start of lunch period, before either of them has made it to the cafeteria, Kaylee pings Lianne again.

'So, um.  If you don't mind me asking.  What's fighting witches like?'

'...Exhilarating and terrifying, I guess. I've only fought two of them so far, but - there's... This commonality to them.' And she recounts the fight against the pottery-witch.

'Wow, yeah, that sounds scary.  I'm glad you're okay.'

'I'm sort of... anxious to get my first hunt over with.  Like, scared, but also... impatient, I guess.  Did you get that after you became a magical girl?'

'Yeah, kinda, though I'd already had the one fight. I was more nervous about a witch attacking people near me.'

'Oh gosh, I didn't even think about that.  Now I'm really glad I became a magical girl.'

'Do you just go hunting on Saturdays with the group?'

'I've been dowsing a lot, there don't seem to be any anywhere in my range around here. I don't think they like the suburbs much. And, yeah, so far I'm planning on just hunting on Saturdays, though in a bit I'll probably start on Fridays, too. Probably try for weaker witches or even familiars then.'

'That's a good idea.  Would it be okay if I went with you on Fridays?'

'Yeah, of course! We can be a superhero duo!'

She giggles.  'Glimmer and... um, I don't know... Bluejay?  Because my costume's blue.'

'That sounds like a fine name! Hey, what's your weapon?'

'I got throwing daggers.  You've got that really big sword, right?'

'Yeah! Turns out it makes a pretty good shield, or I can throw it sort of like a discus.'

'Oh wow, that sounds cool, I'd like to see it.  What does Mallory have?'

'Guns - apparently originally just pistols, but now she can do all sorts of ridiculous things. Like machine guns. And canons. And long guns that fire exploding shells. Alex's got a bow and arrow, while Sophie's got, like, spears and stuff.'

'Guns?  Pff, that's cheating.'

'I think if I got to pick I would have picked a bow and arrow.  What about you?'

'It's weird, but they don't do as much comparative damage as you'd expect? Like, Alex was blowing holes in the witch with her arrows, though she was also being kinda reckless with her magic. I think the weapons are just - manifestations of magic. And I really like my sword, I think it - fits me, somehow. This might sound a bit silly, but it's like I was meant to wield it.'

'That's not silly.  It's kinda cool, actually.  And yeah, that makes sense, I was mainly joking.'

'Do you think they match to our personalities somehow? Though, yeah, in any normal fight Mallory's guns would be totally cheating.'

'Mm, I'm not sure.  I think I would have expected a bow and arrow in that case, the knives were a surprise.'

'Maybe they fit wishes somehow? Or like, what you're feeling when you wish. A sword-shield-thing definitely fits mine.'

'Yeah, that could be.  I'm not sure how you'd get particular weapons out of - most possible wishes, though.'

'Kind of hard to tell without more data, really. Guns don't really match Mallory's wish, either.'

'Yeah, I guess not.'

'I wonder if Kyubey knows? Though that seems like a kinda silly question to bother asking.'

'I don't think he'd mind if you asked him.'

'Okay, I'll ask, then.'

'Kyubey?'

'Hi!  What is it?'

'Do you know what determines our magic weapons? And for that matter our costumes. Like, why do I have a sword, why does Kaylee have throwing knives... Why are they all different?'

'No one's really sure, as far as I know.  A lot of magical girls see their own or other girls' costumes and weapons as appropriate to their personality - sometimes right away, and sometimes after coming to know themselves better.  But some magical girls never say anything like that at all.  It's hard to know.'

'That was kinda my guess. Thanks for answering!' And she relays Kyubey's answer to Kaylee. 

'You're welcome!'

'Yeah, that kinda makes sense.  ...Maybe whatever process makes us magical girls just figures out the weapon we'd be best at using, somehow.'

'That might be it! Wielding the sword is super intuitive, for me. I don't think I'd click with a ranged weapon or something nearly as well.'

'Yeah.  I don't know how I'll do with throwing knives - guess I'll find out whenever I go on my first hunt.  I think I would be more comfortable using a ranged weapon than getting up close and personal with a witch, though.'

(Maybe less so after the wish I made, she does not add out loud.)

'Yeah, that seems safest. And the witch we fought together was really too big to use anything other than ranged weapons on. I don't think closing with them's going to be a smart idea, if they're the stronger kind.'

'Yeah, maybe not.'

'Though who knows how things will develop as we get stronger and more experienced. Having to throw my sword was definitely frustrating... Mallory showed me a way to sort of - powered jump - that's kinda like flying, and Kyubey said that proper flying's possible. Maybe if I master that I can close better even on large witches.'

'Yeah, it's probably easier to fight big huge things if you can fly at them,' Kaylee says.

Lunch winds down; food is disposed of.

'Definitely!'

Lianne says bye to Kaylee and her other friends, then heads to class. The rest of the day's fairly unremarkable, and she greets Kaylee happily when gym rolls around.

"Hi Lianne!  How were your afternoon classes?"

"More of the same, really. Though we're going to be starting on another play in English soon. How were yours?"

"Orchestra was fun!  I think I'm finally caught up with all the songs everyone else has been playing since the beginning of the school year."

"That's great!"

"Yeah.  It was tough, especially since I haven't been practicing as much as I should be because of - stuff."  'Magic stuff.'  "But I got there."

"Yeah, starting at a new school can be rough, I guess." 'I still haven't told my mom I'm dropping track. I'll discuss it with the coach today, though.' "It's good that you're catching up, though."

"Yeah."  'I forgot you mentioned you were gonna drop track.  That's... well, depending on how enthusiastic about it you were it might be a shame, I guess.'

'I mostly enjoy the exercise, which I can do in the morning. It's just - if I'm planning on spending my weekends hunting, I'm going to need the extra time to study and de-stress and all. I might join another club or two, though, that won't cut into the extra time too badly, and I can study during them sometimes. And - Mallory said social life tends to get sacrificed. I'd rather sacrifice track than spending time with my friends, all things considered.'

'That makes sense.  Maybe I should cut down on clubs too, I wouldn't want to miss out on socializing either.  Especially not with you.'  She flashes her a grin across the gym.  'Though if we're both magical girls I guess we've got an advantage there.'

She grins back. 'Clubs are the main way I socialize, actually. And I was thinking of joining one of yours - you're doing creative writing and GSA, right?'

'Yep!'

'I'll probably want the extra time Friday to get my weekend homework done - my mom's a lot more likely to agree to let me go out that way - but creative writing sounds fun! Though I'm not a big writer type... What're they both like?'

'Well, I've only been to each one once, but... GSA is sort of like a social club but not really?  Like, everyone sits in a circle and talks about - experiences with being queer, like if someone's been getting bullied it's a place to get support, and if someone just wants a place to talk about it with people they know won't react badly people will just chat.  I guess sometimes they talk to the administration if a teacher's being a jerk or not punishing bullies enough, and sometimes they organize stuff for things like the Day of Silence, but there's nothing like that coming up now.'

'Creative writing club has a period at the beginning where people talk about the sorts of stories they're writing right then, and then there's some free time at the end where you can work on what you're writing, or chat with other people.  Technically it only goes for an hour but the teacher who runs it will let you stick around until the after-school bus comes, if you want.'

'Hm... I think I'll do just creative writing for now, then, see if I enjoy it, though I might swing by the GSA meetings every now and then, especially when there's activism stuff to do.'

'Cool!  Creative writing club meets on Wednesdays.  I'll let you know when GSA starts organizing their next event.'

Eventually, gym too must end.

'Okay, thanks!'

Lianne heads to track once gym's done, and explains to her coach that she's falling behind in classes and needs more time to focus on homework and studying. He nods, says something commiserating about the modern homework load, and assures her there'll be a place on the team if she wants to rejoin later. 

She thanks him, and heads for the school library until the activity buses arrive (might as well get started on that whole 'responsibly focusing on classwork' thing).

Her mom doesn't seem to know how to react to Lianne dropping track. Eventually she settles on asking Lianne's sister to make sure she spends at least two hours studying after getting home each day she would've had track. (Which, ugh, but her mom doesn't threaten to make her drop the 'scouting' group, so better than the worst-case scenario.)

Kaylee doesn't have any extracurriculars on Monday, so she goes straight home.  She goes up to her room to work on homework; while she works, she transforms, as quietly as she can, and then conjures a throwing knife, examining it idly, turning it over in her hands, weighing it in her fingers.  Even with no practice, it's easy-but-not-trivial to balance the butt of the knife on her finger.

After a few hours, Kaylee pings Lianne.  'Hey.  How'd your mom take it?'

'She's making me spend extra time on studying and homework, minimum two hours a day until my grades improve. Got my sister on enforcement, who's not going to let slacking off slide. So ugh. But kinda to be expected, given my excuse.'

'Jeez, that sucks.  Sorry.'

'Yeah. At least I'll still be able to do clubs, and I'll have time to hunt Friday, though it looks like I won't be able to do GSA, because time crunch. And, hey, my weekends are still free.'

'Yeah, that's something.'

Time passes.

Tuesday goes much the same, though Lianne's a little bit distracted. She really likes chatting with Kaylee; they never seem to run out of topics. She feels... more and more distant from her other friends - they don't know, and maybe this is what Mallory meant by social life suffering.

Anime club rolls around. They're watching the first episode of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha - apparently it codified part of a modern sub-genre, the club president informs them at slight length (if anyone's going to pioneer the field of Anime Studies, it's going to be their club president) - in a departure from their usual trend of watching mostly older, classic anime. 

Kaylee sits next to Lianne, naturally.

'...it's kinda weird watching this now.  - Jeez, it's only been a week.  So much has happened, it feels like a lot longer.'

'I know! I'm just - a lot less excited about action sequences and stuff, now that I've seen how scary the real thing gets. Also, I kinda wanna throw popcorn at the screen for getting things wrong. Though I'd need popcorn for that.'

Kaylee giggles, covering her mouth with one hand.  'Is that a thing?  Throwing popcorn at the screen?'

'My cousin does it for sports calls she disagrees with, so it's a her thing, at least.'

Kaylee giggles again.

'...Um.  Just to make sure... are you okay?  Watching this?  I mean, you seem fine, but...'

'It's... definitely weird and kinda surreal, but it's not traumatic or anything? Though I'm a bit sad I don't enjoy it like I used to. Who knows, maybe that'll come back as I get used to this whole magical girl thing.'

'Okay, good.'

The episode winds down; Kaylee makes casual conversation with other club members, glancing over at Lianne and smiling frequently even when they're not talking telepathically.

Yeah Lianne's smiling back and occasionally glancing over, too, even as she chats with her various friends and doodles a bit. 

Eventually anime club is over, and yet more eventually the bus arrives.

As they're sitting down, Kaylee says, "Hey Lianne - you mentioned having me over for dinner sometime?  Wanna do that tomorrow?"

"I'll have to ask my mom, but tentatively yes."

"Yeah, I'll have to check with my parents too.  I think they'll be okay with it, though."

"Yeah, I can't really imagine my mom saying no, but stranger things have happened! Do you want to just come straight over after clubs?"

She chuckles.  "Yeah, that sounds good to me.  I'd like hanging out some before dinner, and maybe after too if your mom doesn't mind."

"I'll have my obligatory two hours of studying in by then, so I don't think she would. I'll let you know for sure tomorrow morning, though!"

"Cool!"

The bus trundles homeward, and eventually reaches Kaylee's stop.

"See you tomorrow, Lianne!"

"See you!"

And home, where once her mom arrives she confirms that, yep, Kaylee can come over, as long as Lianne gets her studying done first.

She talks to her dad and her dad okays it, so the next day, after creative writing club, Kaylee gets off the bus at Lianne's stop.

She rings the doorbell.

Lianne meets her at the door.

"Hi Kaylee! Come on in - "

"Hi Lianne!"  She enters.  "How long do we have until dinner?"

"About two hours, after my mom gets home. What do you want to do until then?"

"Hmm," Kaylee says.  "We didn't get around to trying DDR last time I was over, did we?"

"Nope! I'll have to find the mat - feel free to set your stuff anywhere and get a snack or something while I look - "

And the mat can be dug out of the closet and the coffee table pushed back a bit to make extra room.

Kaylee sets her bag on the couch and examines the fridge for snacks.

There's, like, cheese sticks, pudding cups, or various dips. Plus some fruit on the counter, or a silly variety of granola bars, chips, crackers, and such in the pantry.

Pudding cup get!  She returns to the living room.  "Need any help setting it up?"

"Nah, I got it! Thanks for offering, though."

The mats are set up in short order, and they can play (does Kaylee have any opinion on which DDR game? Lianne's somehow collected multiple).

Kaylee doesn't even know what all the DDRs are.  Lianne's choice.

The newest one, then. 

"So which difficulty setting should we start at?"

"Let's start on easy."

Easy it is!

Lianne hasn't played in a while, but she's still pretty good at the game. (Though she notes that she's apparently gotten even more coordinated since becoming a magical girl).

Kaylee is somehow both a surprisingly good DDR player and an extremely bad dancer.

Lianne might be giggling a bit. Might. 

"Hey, what are you laughing at?"

She knows what Lianne is laughing at.

Giggle. "You're just so cute, I can't help it!"

Now Kaylee's giggling.  And blushing.  The only reply she can muster is "No you're cute!" which just makes her blush brighter after she says it.

Lianne laughs, enough that she ends up missing a bunch of arrows in a row. "Thanks!" 

"Nooooo it's an insult!  You cutie!"

"I'm dastardly adorable, then?"

"Yes exactly!  How dare you!"

Lianne almost falls over giggling. She's definitely losing the game; playing DDR while laughing is surprisingly hard.

"Well, if I'm dastardly, then you're a supervillan of cuteness!"

"How dare!  How dare you!  You take that back!"

"All fall before your adorableness!"

"I could sue you for slander!"

"I plead truth!"

"Pshh, it'll never work.  You're gonna go to jail.  For slander.  And also being cute."

"No jury would convict me!"

"We'll see about that!  I'm taking you to court!  Do you know how to take somebody to court?"

"Zero clue."

"That could be a problem."

Giggle. "Possibly. Just a small one."

"Very minor problem.  Hey, weren't we playing a video game or something?"

"Or something! I think we've both lost by now."

"Wanna start it up again?  Kick up the difficulty?"

"Sure!" And a new song can be selected.

Kaylee will happily keep this up until Lianne's mom gets home.

Lianne mostly will, though she needs to break off around five-thirty to go help her sister make dinner. "We're being fancy today. No pizza or delivery when friends are over. My mom gets home too late to cook, though... I forgot to ask earlier, any dietary restrictions?"

"Nope!  Not picky, either.  Do you need any help?"

"No, we're good! You're the guest, you should relax."

"Well, if you're sure.  Thanks!"

Then dinner can be prepared, finishing shortly after their mom gets home. Dinner's a pasta dish, the sort of thing that looks kinda fancy but isn't actually that hard to make.

"Looks good!" she says, when dinner is served.  "Smells good too."

"Thanks!"

She smiles, and takes a bite.  "It's delicious!  Thanks for making it!"

"Thank you for coming over!"

Lianne's mom then asks how everyone's day's been; Lianne responds generically, while her sister briefly gripes about a teacher but says her day was otherwise good.

Kaylee's day was good too!  Biology was interesting as always, Orchestra was fun.  She talks a bit about the story she's writing for creative writing club, involving talking animals.

"Wow, you're way more creative than me! I'd really like to read that story at some point, if you don't mind."

"I think I'd like that," Kaylee says.  "Just Lianne, though," she adds, grinning.  "Special best friend privileges.  I'm nervous enough about showing the folks in the club."

That might be a bit of a blush. Definitely a delighted smile. "So you're enjoying creative writing, then? And it's okay to be nervous, though I'm sure your story's great! I can proof-read it some though if you'd like? If you think it'd help with the nerves."

"Aww, thanks!  I think I'll be just as nervous either way, but I'd still appreciate it.  Creative writing's fun!  I don't think I could be an author but I like writing stories sometimes."

"Hobbies are pretty important, too! I could maybe join you - "

"Once your grades are up," her mom interjects.

"- Once my grades are better. I'm not the writing type - that's seriously a great skill to have - but I could, like, do illustrations or something."

Kaylee blushes.  "That'd be cool!  I can't draw at all, I think that's more impressive.  We could make a comic together!"

"That'd be fun! Though I'm really not much past doing just, like, sketches..."

She shrugs one shoulder, and smiles.  "I haven't been writing that long, either.  We can figure it out together."

"I guess so!"

Grin!

Dinner proceeds.

Lianne's family's not all that talkative - most conversation stays extremely shallow. Her sister's a bit gruff, but her mom's unfailingly polite (even if she seems somewhat distracted), and neither really tries to get to know Kaylee all that well.

Eventually dinner's over, and Lianne's mom starts clearing the table, waving off any offers of help. "I didn't cook, so it's fair that I clean. You all go enjoy yourselves."

"Thank you!" Kaylee says to Lianne's mom.  Then, to Lianne: "So, you up for more DDR?"

"Sure! Or we could go up to my room; I think my sister might want a turn on the TV soon?" She half-turns to said sister as she says this.

Her sister shrugs. "You two can do whatever, I can watch something on my computer."

"No, I don't mind hanging out in your room.  Shall we?"

"Let's!" 

Lianne's room is decent-sized, with walls that are probably white, though it's hard to tell under all the posters, bookshelves (with books, knickknacks [mostly anime themed], and assorted sports trophies), and pegboards full of drawings. The desk is big, with a dedicated space for drawing next to the computer. For seating, there's pretty much just the bed or the desk chair.

Kaylee smiles when she sees Lianne's room.  She examines the pegboards.

Mostly finished sketches, some pen drawings, some colored pencil drawings; Lianne's style has very obviously been strongly influenced by manga. They're almost all single-subject, in a simple perspective with little or no background. Still, her drawing has a fluidity to it, and what're probably the more recent drawings (on a half-finished board) suggest the beginnings of a more distinct style, with attempts at more complicated perspectives. 

"I really like your drawings," Kaylee says.  She looks around for a place to sit, and then gestures to the bed: "May I?"

"Aw, thanks! And sure, feel free." She plops down in the desk chair.

"Thanks."  She sits.

"So, uh," she says, lowering her voice, "have you heard from Kyubey lately?"

"Not really, though he's not big on the whole reaching-out thing, and I haven't contacted him. I was kinda surprised he didn't ask to go witch-hunting with me, though."

"Yeah, that does sound like the sort of thing he'd want to do."  She fidgets with the ring that has her soul gem on it.  "To be honest, I kind of imagined it would take up more of our lives than this.  Maybe it'll feel like more once I've gone on my first hunt."

"I mean, we're not really using magic a lot, or trying to maintain a territory. Being out here seems to have put us away from the bulk of the action, I guess. ...Maybe once we're able to move around better it'll take up more, it's not like either of us has a car. Girls in big cities are probably busier. And, yeah, it does feel like a lot to me after the fights - it's a good bit of my conscious attention, y'know?"

"Yeah, that makes sense."  She lies back and exhales heavily.  "It feels good to talk about it out loud, not just over telepathy."

"Definitely. The telepathy's - useful, but kinda weird-feeling." 

"Yeah.  And... I don't know, there's something about actually saying the words.  I am a magical girl, and I have to fight witches, because a talking cat granted a wish for me.  I have a transformation sequence, and I can conjure throwing knives."

I wished to be braver.  I would have been too scared to go in after you the way you went in after me.

She sits up.

"I... don't like keeping secrets."

"I know what you mean, though I'm more - okay - with the secrecy. It's... It's just all so absurd. In a horrifying way."

She nods.

"I wonder if... if everybody knew, someone could figure out a better way to fight them.  I know Mallory said nonmagical weapons don't work great against them, but..."

"Yeah. They have to work some. Though most people being - just potential victims - would complicate matters. A lot. And you'd probably run into child labor problems or something, and have a crackdown on letting girls under eighteen fight, and there might be resistance to letting girls wish. Some people might also freak out more about the telepathic aliens than about the witches. But we need to do something, and - I'm optimistic about the magical girl group, and how much it improves our effectiveness, but sometimes I worry it's not enough."

"Maybe we could... scale it up, somehow?  Gradually?  Like everyone who's in it now can go on to start their own groups as they have more experience, and we can just... iterate.  And - I don't know how Kyubey finds potential magical girls, but it might be easier if we can go public.  ...You're right about the kids thing, though, I don't know what to do about that."

"Yeah. We can also ask Mallory what her plan is, long-term. And, like, I definitely agree with some kind of age limit on wishing? But - not the one people would probably set. Not when - all of this - is so important."

"Yeah."

"...Do you think we were too young?"

" - I don't feel like it, but - maybe that'll change once I'm older. And I'm sixteen, that's - almost old enough to join the military. Not too long ago, it would've been old enough. Is old enough, some places."

"You're sixteen?  I'm fifteen," she says vaguely.  "Yeah, maybe you don't know you weren't old enough to become a magical girl until you are."

"Yeah, I - think you're right. And - I had to make the contract. I wouldn't trade saving you for anything, and if Kyubey cared about 'old enough' we'd both be dead."

She smiles and looks down at "wouldn't trade saving you for anything."

"Thank you," Kaylee says.  "I feel like - I'll never be able to thank you enough, for saving me."

Slight smile. "I know you feel the need to thank me, but - I don't need thanks. It was... The right thing to do, and - I'd never wanted anything like I wanted you safe."

"I can try to stop saying it so much if you want."

...She really wants to hug Kaylee right now. She's not sure if that'd be welcome.

"No, it's - not a burden to me, and you should be able to express your feelings."

"Okay.  Thank you for saving my life, Lianne."

She giggles slightly. "Thank you for being my friend."

"You're welcome.  And thank you for that, too.  Being my friend, I mean."

"You're welcome! It's really no trouble at all. Happy to be your friend at any time."

She giggles.  "Same goes for me!"

Giggle. Broad smile, then embarrassed chuckle. "Well, that got deep fast." Softer smile. "It's really nice, having you to talk to."

"Yeah, that happens with me sometimes."  She laughs.

"It's nice talking to you too.  You're a really good friend, Lianne."

"Thanks. You're - the best friend I could have asked for."

"...would it be all right if I hugged you?"

"Yeah. I - a hug sounds nice." She gets up.

Kaylee stands too; then, hug.

She leans into the hug for a bit, resting her chin on Kaylee's shoulder (she smells nice, which strikes Lianne as somehow oddly unfair, though she's not sure why), then reluctantly disentangles herself and sits on the bed, next to where Kaylee was earlier.

Kaylee sits down next to her.  She's grinning.

Her phone buzzes.  She checks it.

"My mom's asking when I'm gonna be home.  - Jeez, it is getting pretty late.  I - should probably head home soon."  She has the sudden urge to apologize, but - would that be a weird thing to say?

She glances at the clock. "Oh, wow, yeah, it is late. My mom should be able to give you a ride again, if you'd like."

"Sounds good to me.  ...I had a really good time tonight.  Thanks for having me over."  (Gosh, why is sitting next to Lianne making her heart flutter so much?)

"Thanks for coming over! I really like hanging out with you." 

(Lianne is completely oblivious to any heart-fluttering, though only partially oblivious to the warm, fuzzy feeling she gets when around Kaylee.)

"Yeah, me too.  We should do this again.  Maybe I can show you my place?  I don't have any drawings but there's a couple stories on my laptop I've been working on," and then on a wild impulse she adds, "or I could play cello for you."  The image of playing some slow and beautiful cello solo for Lianne is suddenly a very attractive one, for some reason.

"That sounds great! I'll have to get permission from my mom, of course, but she might allow me over on a Friday, since I'd be able to get my homework done over the weekend. Probably not this one, though."

"Well, we'll see each other this weekend during the hunt, right?  So that's okay."

"Yeah! So, should we head downstairs? I can go get my mom if you're about ready to go."

"Yeah, let's."  She texts her mom - "be home soon!" - and they can head down.

And Lianne can fetch her mom. 

Lianne walks with Kaylee to the door and says, "So, see you in class tomorrow?"

"See you then!"

She hesitates, then holds out her arms in a hug-me gesture.  "One for the road?"

Hug!

Hug!

"Bye, Lianne!"

And then, to the car, and home.

Lianne's mom isn't as chatty as she was the last time; she mostly just asks if Kaylee had fun, and if she has any plans to visit again (they'd be glad to have her).

"I had a great time, thanks for having me!  I'd love to come over again some time."

"As long as Lianne's grades stay up, that sounds wonderful. Maybe the two of you could have a study session?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea."

"Well, just let me know when."

"Will do!" Kaylee says, as they pull up to her house.  "Thank you again."

"Anytime!"

She lets Kaylee out at the curb, then wishes her well and drives off.

"Goodbye!"

*

Thursday passes.  Classes remain straightforward and people remain friendly.  She doesn't have anything after school on Thursdays, so she goes straight home, hiding up in her room and practicing her weapon-conjuring.  It turns out she can create ordinary combat knives as well as throwing daggers, though they're a shade trickier.

She tells her parents about "the scouting group that her friend Lianne joined" and that she's interested in joining up as well; if it's all right with them she'll be heading into the city on Saturday.  It is all right with them.

"Have fun!" her dad tells her.  "Say hello to Lianne for me!"

"Dad, you haven't even met her," she says affectionately.

"Doesn't mean I can't be friendly!"

Friday comes.  She's getting jittery, waiting for her first hunt, but it's not exactly nerves.  She's not as afraid as she expected; could be the wish is doing her some good.  Classes pass.  GSA passes; she's quiet.

Finally, Saturday comes around.  She pings Lianne.  'Meet you at the community center?'

'Yeah! I need to finish up here, then I'll be on my way.'

'See you there!'

Kaylee gets there first, and spends a few minutes waiting outside the community center.

Lianne arrives soon enough. She smiles when she sees Kaylee, hurrying up to her a bit. "How was your day?"

"Hi Lianne!  It was pretty good!  My dad says hello, by the way."

"That's nice of him. Tell him I said hi back." She heads into the community center, complaining lightly about her homework load as she leads the way to the group's meeting room.

Taylor's not there, nor is Alex, but Sophie and Mal are sitting and chatting quietly. 

"Hello!" Kaylee says as they enter.  "Are we early?"

"No, not really. Alex can't make it today, and Taylor's running a bit late."

"Gotcha.  I'm Kaylee, hello!  I've met Mallory already but no one else."

"I'm Sophie! Nice to meet you."

"You too!"  She sits down.  "So, how does this usually work?"

"Usually we talk for a while, sometimes about witches we've fought, or techniques we've figured out, or often just about our lives, since I've noticed it helps to have someone to vent to who's in on the secret. After a while, we head out to hunt. This time, since you're new, I'll want a short training session before the hunt, to familiarize ourselves with each others' techniques."

"Sounds good to me!  Do we want to wait for - um, Taylor, was it?"

"We can introduce ourselves some, at least. Taylor should be here soon."

"Okay!  I'm Kaylee, I found out about magic stuff about a week and a half ago when I was attacked by a witch and Lianne saved me - " she smiles sappily at Lianne as she says this " - and I only decided to become a magical girl this Monday.  I figured, so few people seem to know anything's going on, we probably need all the help we can get."

"That's great! I've been a magical girl for about two years now. And, yeah, it's a bit of an uphill battle. I hunt pretty often, and the numbers never seem to actually go down."

"Oh, wow, that's a while.  What's it like, doing this for so long?"

"Mallory's been at it even longer, I'm pretty sure. But, yeah, it gets - tiring after a while, though the witches start seeming pretty much normal fairly quickly. This group's a super nice change of pace, especially compared to the usual territory disputes. Those fights are never fun."

"You've been in fights with other magical girls?  That sounds awful."

"It's not exactly uncommon, especially in cities. A lot of girls try and establish territories, and even if you're not trying to shake their hold, they object to competition. Most of why Mallory's thing is so revolutionary."

She nods.  "Well, let's hope we can get lots of girls on board."

"So, what's your weapon?  I've got knives, I know Lianne has that big sword..."

"Spears! All sorts. And Alex has a bow and arrow, and Taylor doesn't have anything yet since she's a potential. Mallory's got guns."

"Cool!  Do you have any guesses how different weapons get chosen for different people?  Lianne and I were talking about it the other day, and it seems like Kyubey doesn't even know."

"No idea. Guns seem to suit me, but I've seen what looked like some pretty poor matches before, too."

"Personality match is the best I can figure, but that doesn't seem to be it entirely. Spears just seem - thematic? For me at least."

"Yeah, for me I would have guessed bow and arrow.  ...Have either of you ever seen two people with the same weapon?  Like, just by coincidence?"

Sophie shakes her head, while Mallory looks pensive. "I've seen category repeats - there's only so many possible weapons after all - but always the - base weapon - is different, and I've never seen two people with the same weapon-category in the same room. I've also never met another person with guns as their weapon, even though I've heard them mentioned."

"Hmm.  So, like, someone else might be able to make different kinds of spears, but the default - the way it comes out if they're not trying for something specific - would be different from Sophie's.  You think guns are rarer, for some reason?"

"...Not that rare. Bows and arrows are extremely rare from what I've seen, but guns - I've heard plenty about others with some kind of gun. Bladed weapons of various types seem to be most common, though."

"I would have expected it to be the other way around, personally.  Uh, stop me any time if you want to talk about anything less frivolous," she laughs lightly, "but what's the most out-there weapon you've ever seen?"

"Lasers. Honest-to-God lasers. That was a rather interesting one-off."

She laughs.  "Like - like futuristic laser guns, or little laser pointers?"

"Like futuristic laser guns, though shot from her hands."

"That's awesome!  I kinda wish I could meet her."

"That - won't really be an option. I think she would've liked to meet you all, though."

"Oh.  - I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I didn't really know her that well, only heard about her death a while after she dropped off the map. It was about eight years ago, too."

Kaylee nods.

"...I guess it's gotta be pretty dangerous, especially with everyone working against each other.  I'm glad you're trying to fix that."

"I do what I can, but - thank you."

"How much do you think we'll be able to... expand, over time?  Like, if we all..."

...if we all survive

"...if we all grow up and start our own branches, say, and still manage to coordinate between ourselves..."

"Hm, assuming Taylor becomes a magical girl, and Alex continues attending, and each of you goes on to mentor others - I'd say we'd probably get to three to five girls each at a minimum, maybe more as word spreads. Unfortunately, the low density of girls would end up acting against us, at least until we've been active for a while. I should also be able to at least impact if not outright recruit more girls than just this - but even if not, the six of us should manage to reach at least another eighteen to thirty girls, probably sometime in the next decade at the most.

"Change will be slow, but that's more than what anyone else has managed so far. I'm hoping that our success will also inspire copy-cats, and the impact of that's harder to estimate."

"I wonder if there's a way to get non magical girls to help.  People who are too old to make contracts, or boys.  Like, they can't fight, but... if there's ever enough of us that we can go public, maybe they can raise awareness or help fund full-time fighters... do you know if there's anything ordinary people can do to make themselves or other people safer from witches?"

"That's a good idea, but - no. I don't know anything. Being very aware of the symptoms of a witch's kiss and knowing to call a magical girl when you see someone afflicted would be the only thing I can think of, but that'd rely on bystanders intervening, which they usually don't."

"Surely if we could work with the police... but we'd have to be public by then..."

She thinks back to what it felt like to be affected.  No, there's no way she could have fought back, even if she knew what was going on.

"I think... even if people can't do anything, it would be better for them to know, though."

"I agree. It's - I can see why secrecy could be important, but it's right that people know."

"Same, though I think I get where you're coming from on the secrecy, too. A lot'd be impeded with everyone knowing."

"You all have a point. Still, I really don't think we're in a position right now to come forward, and there's a lot of risks to it, since it's never been done."

"I may be getting ahead of myself a bit, yeah.  For now... fight witches, I guess."

Taylor chooses that moment to arrive, knocking on the door briefly before letting herself in. "Hey everyone! Sorry I'm late."

"Hello!  I'm Kaylee, I'm new.  I'm guessing you're Taylor?"

"Yeah! I'm a potential; I haven't really decided what to wish on yet - and Mallory says I should wait until I'm sixteen, though Kyubey says my wish will be stronger if I'm younger. Lianne mentioned you last week. What'd you wish for?"

"I'd rather not say, it's kind of personal."

"Oh, sorry! I wasn't really thinking, most people don't want to talk wishes."

"It's okay.  Can I ask how old you are?"

"I turned fourteen a few months ago."

"Happy it-was-your-birthday-a-few-months-ago!"

"Heh. Thanks, I guess. How old are you both?"

"I'm sixteen."

"I'm fifteen."

"So not too much older than me, then! Have you been to any witch-fights yet, Kaylee?"

"Nope, this'll be my first.  I'm a little nervous."

"Fighting witches kinda worries me, too. I've never seen one but I've heard about them. It does sound kinda cool, though."

"...yeah, I could see that.  ...I might feel differently once I actually do it, though."

When it doesn't look like Taylor has anything else to say, Mallory speaks up. "Anyways, I think we should discuss the last hunt some, now that we've had time to think it over."

She summarizes the hunt in pretty fine detail, mostly for Taylor and Kaylee's sakes but also to refresh Sophie and Lianne. "So what mistakes do you think we made?"

"We shouldn't have waited to see what that whirlwind thing was doing, and should've just gone straight for the witch. Also we probably shouldn't have tried to engage all four of those familiars at once; we didn't want them coming up on us from behind, but thinking back they were ignoring us until we opened the doors, so that probably wouldn't have been an issue."

"We also weren't being careful enough with our magic. We used too much on healing and against the familiars, especially me and Alex."

"Good, those were my conclusions, too. Can anybody think of anything else?"

Lianne, Sophie, and Taylor all shake their heads.

Kaylee does too.

"Has anyone figured out any new techniques? Kaylee, what can you do?"

"Well, I haven't tried too much yet - I can make knives, they come out as throwing knives by default but I can also make, like, melee knives - I looked up knife blades on wikipedia, and there's a few different, like, shapes I can do, like for slashing or stabbing.  I haven't tried flying or anything."

"That's great! You've already worked out more than most do this soon. We can work together on more."

She smiles.  "Thanks.  So, what sort of - acrobatics - can we learn to do?"

"There's the long jump we talked about for the last hunt, and proper flying is possible, though magic-intensive. It's more feasible to just use it to change directions on a jump. Increasing your strength, flexibility, and speed beyond the standard boost you already have is a very common trick. Long jumps are useful for maneuverability, especially with you using a ranged weapon. Different aspects come more easily to different people, depending on various factors. Your wish can also impact your powers. Anything related to your weapon will come intuitively, though figuring out new shapes for it can be harder."

She nods.  "So I'll know how to do stuff with my knives, not just be able to do it easily.  Kyubey also mentioned telekinesis - has anybody managed that?"

"Some. Nothing that'd be useful for a fight."

"I can, and fairly well, but it's draining and my magical capacity isn't particularly high."

Nod nod.  "I'll focus on learning the physical enhancements.  What else can you guys do?"

"I can make ordinary weapons into something that can damage a familiar - not well, and it isn't an efficient use of magic, but it's better than a plain weapon - heal myself and others, create barriers, summon restraints, cancel others' magic, shut off pain - wouldn't recommend doing that, it slows your reaction times - I can also do a few niche things, like affect the rate something's decomposing at. There's a host of other abilities, as well."

"I can't do even half that, though I don't have a lot of spare time for just playing around. I mostly focus on combat stuff. I've gotten pretty good at summoning and using different spears and at healing myself. I'm trying to work on a barrier."

"Oh wow, that's a lot. I wouldn't even know how to begin trying to do any of that stuff."

"I can walk you through things some, though everyone has their own methods and specialties. I mostly focus on low effort, high impact - I can't do anything too draining, like summoning clones of myself - I once fought a girl who could do that."

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that, thanks.  Summoning clones sounds useful - I'd feel weird about it if they were all different people, though."

"I don't think they are from how they fought, just extensions of the original. It seems like a high-magic move, though. Is there anything in particular you want to work on?"

"Hmm... healing other people sounds like it could be useful even outside of fighting witches, if something mundane bad ever happened."

"That's a great thing to work on. I'd suggest studying anatomy and conventional medicine some, too, to make it take less magic. It's also easier to heal others after you've healed yourself a few times, which is pretty intuitive."

"I can do that - it'll be a head start on studying to become a doctor, too, if I decide to try to do both."

"Does anybody have other questions?"

"Yeah. Kaylee hasn't picked a superhero name yet!" She turns towards Kaylee. "Last time we decided we're basically a superhero team. Lianne's Glimmer, I'm Moon Dragon, Alex is Ace of Hearts, and Taylor's waiting until she wishes. You should pick a code name, too. And maybe suggest a team name? We haven't picked one properly yet."

Kaylee giggles.  "I think Bluejay - my costume's blue."

"That's cool! Mine has some small moon designs on it. So Moon Dragon."

"That works!  I don't know what our team name should be, though."

"Yeah, no one had any good ideas either."

"Excuse you, my idea was hilarious."

"It was horrible, is what it was."

"What was your idea?"

"Magical Task Force Five! Or six now, though Magical Task Force Six doesn't sound as catchy."

"It'd have to keep changing!  Magical Task Force f(x) where x is time."

"Magical Task Force Function is actually pretty catchy, if nonsensical. Like most super sentai team names, to be honest."

She giggles.  "If you put enough cool sounding words together it'll all work out."

"Exactly!"

Sophie groans. "We're not naming the team magical task force anything. It's silly, is what it is. Anybody have a better idea?"

"I don't know, though since this is going to get pretty big someday I feel like we should have 'League' in there somewhere."

"Magical League of Supreme Justice!"

Helpless, helpless giggling.

"No."

"What about just 'Magic League'? Or 'League of Magic'? We could do a stylized 'M' as our symbol."

"But that's just boring."

"I'm sorry Lianne but I think I'm going to betray you.  Magical League sounds good.  Or League of Magical Girls?  That has a nice three-letter abbreviation."

"Noooo! Kaylee how could you, I thought we were best friends! Join me, and resist the boring side!"