Chapter 34 – First Patrol

My heart wanted to jump into my throat as we went down the elevator, the numbers slowly lowering towards my certain doom. Both Everglaive and Naiad seemed unfazed, the first a picture of noble serenity, the second wearing a bubbly smile.

To distract myself, I tried to remind myself of what Selene and Gildscale had instructed me on when we briefly stopped by his room, folding my hands in front of me while keeping my shoulders from hunching too much.

It had been a quick stop, just to see what he thought of my costume, and he’d been quite impressed. It was then I found out that showing off my outfit to the two older girls was one thing, but having his appraising eye gliding over the various frills, lace, ribbons, and general fluffiness of my outfit was another. I hadn’t been able to keep myself from fidgeting, my gaze lowered as he took me in.

Thankfully, he seemed to approve of my outfit. Both my eyepatch and bunny-eared hoodie earned special praises for giving me something more distinguishing, especially when I explained my heterochromia. Apparently, a few Magical Girls had tried the eyepatch idea for their costumes before, but it wasn’t really that effective outside a pirate or scarred warrior theme. With my eye colors, though, he’d been eager to let me know it would make me popular, especially if I got into theatrics like removing my eyepatch before I fought.

I tried not to wilt too much at the idea, and thankfully he hadn’t said anything else on the matter. After sharing a few ideas mostly directed towards Selene, he gave me some pointers on what posture to adopt for my patrol.

Which had been both humiliating and relieving at the same time.

Apparently, I gave off a naturally shy impression, which would work well with my choice of outfit. Hearing that made my face turn red, but he’d assured me it was a good thing. It would work well with my aesthetics to give an image of a new, cute, and unthreatening Magical Girl and would only be reinforced by my alias. His only advice for how to act while I was on patrol was to generally be myself.

He did suggest keeping my hands folded in front of me to keep from fidgeting with my skirt too much, though. That, and to relax my shoulders to keep myself from looking too nervous.

It had only been a few minutes of conversation, well, instruction more like, but it had already left my nerves slightly frayed. The looming sense that this patrol was a bad idea had grown to the point that nausea swirled inside my stomach. I found myself missing the comforting weight of my Umbra, but Everglaive had offered to store my personal effects and weapons in her storage device for the patrol. Considering I didn’t have one of my own and a backpack would look completely out of place with my outfit, I hadn’t had much choice but to accept.

Overall, I wanted nothing more than to call the whole thing off and disappear inside a mess of blankets beneath my bed.

Before I could make the conscious decision to voice my concerns, fate took the choice out of my hands as the elevator dinged and the door opened.

I already knew the hotel I was staying in was nice, but seeing the lobby stretched out in front of me only reinforced that idea. It was all plush furniture, tasteful art, and carefully manicured plants that gave a warm but sophisticated feel to the place. I tried to ignore the shiver of dismay in my guts, reminding myself that I didn’t have to pay for this. This was part of Fantasy Fatale finishing up their quest, one they’d been paid for. I didn’t owe them anything…

It still didn’t make the hollow feeling in my gut disappear.

Everglaive and Naiad both stepped from the elevator, and after a moment of hesitation, I followed with Selene, who had reactivated her invisibility for everyone but me in the hopes it would draw less direct attention my way.

There were only a dozen or so people in the lobby as we stepped out, and almost all their eyes turned to us instantly. I stumbled a bit, my hands squeezing tighter in front of me as the two older girls continued forward. Everglaive moved with a graceful but unyielding stride while Naiad seemed to flow across the room, her watery hair and loose costume swaying like wind playing over a calm lake.

I was sure I looked ridiculous by comparison. Thankfully both of the taller girls were going at a slower pace so I didn’t have to take quicker steps to match their own. Instead of looking at the people watching us, I tried to focus my gaze on Everglaive’s back as we went straight for the doors.

I still caught people pulling out their phones and directing them our way. Doing my best to ignore them, I followed after the two Magical Girls. Still, I couldn’t help but overhear some whispers.

“Woah, are those Magical Girls?”

“Well they aren’t cosplayers, idiot.”

“Holy shit, that’s Everglaive and Naiad!”

“Woah… Wait, who’s that other girl, then?”

“Must be one of the new ones they’re showing around…”

“Cute!”

“Black and purple colors, huh? She’s one of those rare ones, then.”

“A Dark, yeah. Pretty sure they represent courage or something.”

“More like cuteness.”

I felt my face turning red, but the other two seemed completely unfazed. A plain looking girl in a yellow scarf and matching sundress blinked as we passed, looking up from her phone with wide, amazed eyes. Her phone quickly shot up to start taking pictures of us, and I tried my best to look unfazed even as my cheeks burned hotter.

“Absolutely adorable…” I heard her giggle as we walked past, and I wondered if it was too late to call off the patrol.

Thankfully, it didn’t take us long to step out of the hotel and into the midday light.

It took me a moment to blink away the glare, and when I did I immediately looked around. Navigating in Arcadia was made somewhat easy by the fact the city was mostly circular, buildings growing taller and denser the closer to the middle you were. That, and the fact that the Arcadia Spire was directly in the center of the city also made orienting yourself simple, the skyscraper of smooth angles, glass, and helipads standing out with a distinctly futuristic architecture.

I wasn’t great at judging the distance, but by the buildings around me it looked like we were in one of the inner-middle districts. It was a fairly nice place in the city, busy but not claustrophobic like the central circle.

That being said, it was midday, which meant the streets did have a decent number of people on them.

And, of course, three Magical Girls stepping outside drew attention almost immediately.

To my surprise, most people just kept moving, giving the occasional glances or watching from the corner of their eyes. A few did pull out phones and point them our way, and I tried not to wring my hands together too tightly as my throat suddenly felt very dry.

“The first thing to learn about patrols,” Everglaive said, choosing a direction and beginning to walk, “is the unwritten etiquette of approaching or bothering Magical Girls.”

I followed along, the three of us moving at a leisurely pace. Selene kept by my side, a gentle presence that helped calm my nerves.

“It’s a behavior people have more or less adopted over the years,” she continued, “as to when it’s okay to approach a Magical Girl or not. Most of it is subconscious, but some people have actually codified it online. The first indication is how fast the Magical Girl is walking. If it’s a leisurely stroll like this…”

She paused as a woman in a sweater nervously approached. Everglaive gave her a smile, slightly tilting her head.

“Hello. Is there something I can help you with?”

“I-I, um,” the woman shifted nervously, clutching her purse tighter. “I don’t want to bother you, but… Can I get an autograph?”

“Of course. Do you have something you’d like signed?”

The woman paled looking at her purse in horror.

“Oh, um…”

“No trouble,” Everglaive assured her. “I have something right here.”

With a flourish of her hand and a flash of viridian light, a photo appeared in one hand and a sharpie in the other. Naiad made a similar motion, similar items also popping into her hands. The woman’s eyes bulged at that.

“Would you just like a signature, or would you like it made out to someone?”

“Oh! C-could you sign it to Melissa? That’s, um, my daughter. She’s a big fan of your team.”

“Of course,” Everglaive nodded with a relaxed smile, sharpie moving deftly over the photo. It only took her and Naiad a second and then they were handing the pictures over to the stunned woman. She looked between the two of them with a big, thankful smile.

“Thank you so much for this! It’s going to mean the world to her that, oh-”

She trailed off, seemingly only now noticing me standing behind the other two Magical Girls.

“I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with you, but I’m sure my daughter would still love a signature.”

Inwardly I started to panic a little. My mouth moved a few times, but no words seemed to come out as my heart started pounding in my ears. Naiad glanced at me, then gave a cheerful wave of her hand at the woman.

“Ah, she’s new! I’m afraid she hasn’t made her debut yet, so she’s not doing signatures right now. We’re taking her on a sort of training patrol, you see. Thank you for asking, though!”

“Oh, right,” the woman nodded a few times, giving me a big smile. “Well, good luck to you, then! I’m sure my daughter will be excited to hear I met a Magical Girl pre-debut. And thank you, all three of you, for everything you do.”

“It’s our pleasure,” Everglaive demurred with a slight bow of her head.

The woman gave a little wave and walked off with a bounce in her step, but while we were standing still, a small crowd had formed around us. Maybe spurred on by the woman’s actions, more people started to approach Everglaive and Naiad.

I swallowed down my anxiety, doing my best to keep myself looking calm even as I took a few steps further back and to the side to be less obtrusive. As the two Magical Girls signed some more autographs, I heard more than a few people ask about me only to be given the same explanation from Naiad or Everglaive.

Some people still tried to approach, but thankfully Naiad intercepted most of them and explained them off.

To say the whole thing was uncomfortable was an understatement. It was worse than being a third wheel because I was still getting attention, and all I could do was nervously smile at the people taking pictures and try not to wring my hands together too much. I felt so tense that I had to remind myself to breathe.

[Don’t worry,] Selene’s voice soothed. [You’re doing great.]

“I’m just standing awkwardly while they do all the work.”

[Ah, but you’re looking great doing it.]

“What do you mean? It has to be obvious how nervous I am.”

[It is,] Selene agreed, and I felt myself tense more. [But that’s the beauty in it. There aren’t many Magical Girls who can pull off or even try to pull off being the shy type.]

“I’m not trying to pull off anything!” I mentally hissed at her.

[Exactly! That makes what you’re doing genuine, and it shows. People like that.]

I tried not to squirm more hearing that I was being watched, being judged, that closely. Thankfully, after a few more minutes, the crowd finally began to dwindle, and I let out a long breath when we were left alone. A few people still had phones taking pictures from afar, but the street immediately around us was finally clear.

“Good job,” Naiad said, walking up to me with a gentle smile. “You did amazing!”

“That’s what Selene said, but I didn’t do anything,” I muttered, looking at the ground.

“That’s nonsense,” Naiad frowned. “You did two very impressive things. First, you were yourself.”

I gave her a confused look, and Everglaive stepped in.

“Many Magical Girls put on a mask of sorts, adopting a personality. Fierce and unafraid. Steadfast and loyal. Lighthearted and energetic. Kind and sisterly. Whatever the combination, they see being a Magical Girl as the chance to live a separate, new life that was denied them. While I don’t begrudge anyone seeking a fresh start, it sometimes comes across as disingenuous, especially early on while they discover their new persona.”

“And in time, those do become true personalities,” Naiad agreed. “But most Magical Girls choose to be more heroic or larger than life. Not many choose something honest and vulnerable. It’s funny, in a way, but being all dressed up in a costume and having the powers we do as Magical Girls actually makes it harder to not act like some heroic defender.”

I wasn’t really sure what to say to that. They were congratulating me like I had made a conscious decision, but I was literally unable to pretend to do anything other than just stand there. It would have been more impressive if I had been able to act confident and unafraid. At least then I would have been doing something brave.

But I had just been filled with too much anxiety to do anything else. I hadn’t even thought about the possibility of it. I’d just defaulted to being myself, and I was just… just…

Awkward. Nervous. Shy. Weird. Unimportant.

Pathetic.

I swallowed down the lump in my throat, the word echoing in my head.

“I… I was mostly just trying to remember to not stop breathing…”

“Like I said,” Naiad said, giving me a soft, pained smile. “You did two impressive things. The first was being who you are instead of trying to put on a mask. The second was going out of your comfort zone.”

That earned her another confused look, and Everglaive chuckled.

“Remember, there are some Guardians who forgo the public aspects of being a Magical Girl completely. You lose out on quests and points, but for some people, that’s worth it.”

It would totally be worth it…

Shifting from foot to foot, I gave them a helpless shrug.

“I, um… I mean I’m not good at this anyway, so…”

Naiad blinked a few times, head tilting.

“What do you mean? You’re kind of a natural, you know.”

I stared at her. That… wasn’t true at all? So why had she said that unless-

Oh. She’s being sarcastic. She’s making fun of me.

I bit down on my teeth, looking down and hunching into myself. Pushing down the pang of hurt that flashed through me, I clenched my hands tighter together. She wasn’t wrong really, and it really wasn’t that big of a deal to make a joke or two about me considering everything she’d done. It still hurt, a surprise papercut to the back of my heart I wasn’t prepared for.

“Oh, uh, no, I’m being serious,” Naiad suddenly insisted, sounding suddenly worried.

My throat felt dry, and I was about to say it was fine until Everglaive hummed in agreement.

“It’s true. You’ve had no PR training, and yet seemed to know exactly what to do. Anytime somebody pointed a camera your way for a picture, you made sure to look at them and smile, one that didn’t look too forced as well. It gave off the impression that although you were uncomfortable, you still cared. For introverted Magical Girls, this is exactly the type of perception that is recommended.”

“But, I…” stammering a bit, I looked between the two of them. “I wasn’t even thinking about it. I just didn’t want to be rude.”

Naiad giggled a little, and Everglaive’s lips quirked up at the corners, her eyes glittering.

“Which is already more awareness and empathy than most people can muster on a normal basis,” Naiad smirked. “Trust us. You did good. It probably doesn’t feel like it, but for your first time out in public being swarmed? You were great. Sure, we were here to help ward off the worst of it, but that’s just a good tactic for first timers.”

Everglaive nodded, eyes flicking to Naiad with amusement.

“Indeed. Although I seem to recall that even with good planning, things don’t always go nearly so well.”

Naiad froze, and a pink blush formed that was stark on her pale blue cheeks.

“Ever!” She sputtered, eyes wide.

“I’m just making an observation,” Everglaive gave a hapless shrug. “Things could have gone much worse. You could have frozen solid before turning and sprinting off into the distance.”

Naiad groaned, slapping her hands over her face and murmuring something about payback and never taunting the healer. With how high-strung my emotions felt, it took me a moment to work out what was being said.

“Wait… you…?” I trailed off as Naiad let out a louder, more dramatic groan.

“And just like that, my reputation with the newbie is ruined,” she whined, causing Everglaive to chuckle.

“Let’s just say, our soft and friendly healer wasn’t always so good at dealing with people. She’s mostly grown out of it now, though”

“I’m still an introvert,” Naiad pouted. “I’ve just gotten better at wearing a mask while I’m out. It’s not like I hate doing this kind of stuff, but I’d much rather be alone listening to some piano and rain sounds while reading a good book.”

I’ve just gotten better at wearing a mask when I’m out.

Something in me clicked together at that, and worry and guilt instantly flooded my veins as I looked at the sulking healer. Here she was forcing herself to spend time out with me, and I had just assumed she was okay with that because she made it look so easy.

Stupid. I should know how easy it is to hide behind a mask. How did I miss it?

Chewing on my lip, I took a few halting starts before I found the words.

“I, um. I-if it helps, you make it look easy,” my cheeks began heating up. “I mean, I know it’s not, but I, um, I would never have noticed. And, um… thank you. For helping me, I mean.”

I felt particularly dumb by the time I finished stuttering through my botched attempt at making her feel better, but Naiad didn’t seem to notice. Instead she had a hand over her chest and was giving me a warm, gentle smile.

“Thank you,” she responded quietly, the words filled with meaning. “That means a lot to me. As a healer, I interact with people a lot, but it took me a long time to get to where I am now. Also, you’re welcome. I’m just glad I get to spend my time helping a new Magical Girl, especially one as nice as you.”

My face felt like it was on fire, and I wasn’t sure how to properly react to that. Thankfully, Everglaive saved me from ruminating on my embarrassment by gently clapping her hands together.

“Well, now that we’ve had our first meet and greet, shall we continue? Crowds are starting to form again, so unless we’d like a repeat performance, we should get moving.”

I gave a jerky nod that Naiad mirrored with liquid grace. Everglaive started walking without preamble, and I followed.

Weirdly enough, Everglaive was moving at a quickened pace, a fast walk that Naiad easily matched without discernible effort. I had to take extra steps to keep up with the two taller girls, but I found myself matching their pace without too much issue.

“So, back to our lessons,” Everglaive continued as we wove our way down the street. “We were talking about the etiquette of approaching Magical Girls. As was just demonstrated, when we’re going at a leisurely pace, people are many times more likely to approach for pictures and autographs. However, if they see us moving at a good pace like this, the chances of being stopped dramatically go down.”

Naiad nodded, absently looking over at a young, wide-eyed girl staring at us as she was pulled along by her mom. Naiad smiled, giving a wink and wave that made the girl’s mouth drop open in a wide grin.

“Part of it is subconscious behavior. We look busy, we’re basically celebrities, and we sometimes have legitimately life saving duties we’re trying to get to. Combined together, and most know not to just stop a Magical Girl moving with purpose. The unofficial guide to interacting with Magical Girls that was put online has also helped. The more hardcore fans who would normally be likely to stop you will have read it and know not to interfere.”

“It still sometimes happens,” Everglaive shrugged. “If it does, a simple apology and explanation that you’re trying to get somewhere is usually enough. If not, you can pull the patented emergency escape maneuver.”

Naiad giggled, then held up a hand to her ear.

“Yup. Just press your hand to head like you’re listening to an earpiece and look serious, then suddenly take off running in a direction or jump to some rooftops. People will assume you got an important call or are heading to an Usurpation. Makes it easy to disengage if people are making you feel uncomfortable.”

Nodding a few times, I found myself feeling conflicted. On one hand, pretending to get an important call just to avoid a conversation felt a little… disingenuous.

On the other hand, it would let me avoid social interaction if it got to be too much.

Which meant I’d definitely be pulling that move with minimal amounts of shame.

“On that note, there’s the etiquette of running and roof hopping,” Everglaive said as we paused at a crosswalk. “Generally speaking, if you have high enough Agility, rooftops are fair game to traverse for Guardians. So long as you aren’t loitering or causing damage with your jumps.”

“How much Agility do you need for that?” I asked, excitement coloring my voice as I imagined myself soaring through the air, the city skyline outlining the horizon around me.

“It depends. Some of the packed residential and commercial areas have rooftops pretty close to one another, while others can have vast height differences. Generally, the biggest obstacle is being able to jump across streets. Officially, a minimum of 100 Agility is recommended with 150 being preferred.”

I stumbled a little at that, eyes wide as Naiad giggled.

“Yeah. Lower than you would have thought, huh? It’s surprising how much distance you can get with a running long jump. Honestly, the biggest obstacle is when building heights are different. You don’t get nearly as much value on your vertical jump from Agility as you do horizontally.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

That… that meant I wasn’t that far away from meeting the basic requirements. I mean, if I focused on it, I could get there in only three levels.

But, it would mean horribly skewing my stat distribution. More so than I already had, anyway. As tempting as it was, it probably wasn’t worth it.

The weirdest part was that I didn’t feel particularly different, even with my Agility and Dexterity at seventy. There was no sense of speed or sudden strength. I just felt… normal.

Although, now that I thought about it, I’d been keeping up with Everglaive’s fast pace for a bit now, and I wasn’t feeling even the slightest bit winded. In fact, the pace didn’t feel that much different than a normal walk. It wasn’t like we were running or anything, but I’d never been athletic. Being manaborn also seemed to come with a fifty-fifty chance of coming with a variety of health issues, and I’d been one of the unlucky ones to have some manifest.

It was surprising I’d done so well at the mall, really.

Then again, adrenaline and being in a literal life-or-death situation probably had something to do with it.

“Other than roof jumping,” Everglaive continued, drawing me from my internal musing, “the other way to get around quickly is running on the streets. If you’re going that route, use the bike lanes, but be mindful of actual bikers and other Magical Girls. It’s always the responsibility of the Magical Girl with the higher Agility to make sure accidents don’t happen.”

“Also make sure to follow traffic laws,” Naiad chirped as we crossed a street. “Obey red lights and things like that. The only exception is if you can safely jump over an intersection, but at that point you definitely have enough Agility to be on the rooftops, so… yeah.”

We continued in a comfortable silence for a while, drawing the eyes of people but never having anyone come out to stop us directly. I still tensed up whenever I saw a phone appear to take pictures, but I did my best to continue as if I didn’t notice.

Selene for her part followed along happily, hopping along with us and taking in the various sights with interest as we passed onto a street filled with cafes and other small restaurants.

Everglaive was also looking around, stopping in front of a quaint looking coffee shop and pointing to a symbol on the glass window. It looked vaguely like a pointy wizard’s hat on top of a girl’s smiling face done in a cutesy, chibi style.

“Ah, perfect. You see this symbol here? That’s the icon for a store offering discounts to Magical Girls who come in costume. A blue hat and circle around it means you get a flat five dollars off any purchase a day plus a ten percent discount after that. A green version of the symbol means you just get the percentage discount.”

“It’s honestly a good deal for businesses,” Naiad hurriedly added, glancing at me with a complicated expression. “Sure, they give us free stuff and discounts, but in return, they get great marketing. How many people do you think stop to take pictures or shop at a place where a Magical Girl is purchasing things from? I’ve literally walked into an empty coffee shop to enjoy some peace and quiet and had it fill up not ten minutes later. Just try not to take advantage of the five dollar discount at the same store every day. Other than that, stores really don’t mind giving out the discounts, and they love it when you stick around, even if it’s just for a few minutes.”

Everglaive dipped her head in agreement as we continued walking.

“Precisely. Any loss they incur from our purchases is more than made up for by our presence. On that note, don’t be afraid of being approached while at a restaurant or getting coffee somewhere in costume. It’s very frowned upon to approach a Magical Girl while they’re eating somewhere.”

“That doesn’t stop them from waiting until you’ve left the store though,” Naiad sighed. “So don’t be surprised if you get mobbed on your way out, especially when you get more popular.”

I nodded, my eyes now looking for the icon on the windows of the stores we’d passed. I’d seen the symbol before, but never really questioned what it meant. Chibi art and more anime-themed ads were pretty common in Arcadia, in part due to the large Japanese population but also just the increase in popularity the style had seen when Magical Girls had become an actual part of reality.

Now that I was looking for the symbols, they seemed to be everywhere. It seemed more rare for a store to not at least have one. The blue discounts were certainly rarer except at the cafes and pastry shops where they seemed to be a standard practice.

As far as the discounts went, I found myself coming to terms with the idea quickly after the explanation. I’d make sure to take Naiad’s advice and not visit the same shop too often, but being able to get five dollars off a purchase was…

Well, it was surprising the amount of value five dollars could get you if you knew what you were looking for.

“Other than common etiquette, traveling rules, and discounts,” Everglaive continued her lecture. “The only other thing to cover is dealing with inappropriate or rude members of the public. That and crime, I suppose.”

“Yeah,” Naiad screwed up her face in distaste. “You’ll have classes at the academy about public relations and how to finesse situations where people are being weird or annoying. Honestly, for now I’d just recommend using the emergency escape maneuver if you find yourself in a bad situation.”

Everglaive nodded, giving a polite smile to a businessman who’d stopped in his tracks to stare as we passed.

“Agreed. Disengaging with an unpleasant community interaction is rarely a bad move. As for crime… It’s honestly best left to the police to handle. Interfering with a situation opens you up to all kinds of liability, and without proper training, it’s all too easy to make a mistake, especially at the lower levels. It is important to remember we are not members of law enforcement, nor are we vigilantes or heroes running around in masks. Despite the surface-level similarities, we are Guardians, defenders against the ever encroaching nightmare.”