Some time in the afternoon, someone confidently walks down the nature park towards her. She's pretty, honestly a bit too pretty. Big green eyes, sleek black hair, glossy black lipstick around a confident, sardonic grin, wearing loose khaki pants and a t-shirt and an unzipped hoodie.

She comes right up, hands in hoodie pockets and slouching slightly and watches the spear drill for a bit, or until looked at.

"...Heh. There's a lot to be mad about, ain't there?"

"...ain't that the truth.  A fucking Congressman 'supports' a 'cop' who shot a child.  That sort of shit just...I can't stand it.  Hardly like I have the power to change more than jack and shit, though.  Not as I am.  And honestly I don't get how that fucker isn't already being pilloried.  If there's a Goblin just vibing, y'shouldn't shoot it; Goblins that don't hurt people should be encouraged.  But it's not like most of the monsters ever talk, so they're acceptable scapegoats for the sort of shit that humans have been pulling on eachother since the tribal days."

"Well, the cops like him I bet. And whoever else he's in a back-scratchin' relationship with. He'll gerrymander the election and stay in power, so who cares? Though maybe a magical girl could teach him a lesson instead. See what it feels like."

"Ehh.  It'd be cathartic to punch his face in, don't get me wrong, but what you want to do, with status accorded to you by being a magical girl, is drag his name through the mud, rather than give him ammunition to claim he's being 'oppressed'.  The cop's, and then the rep's by proxy; 'If the stalwart defenders of law and order cannot tell a wretched misbegotten creature made entirely of intent to harm, from a fellow human, then they're not worth the money we're paying them', perhaps?  I dunno."

"I mean... Good luck with that? Not like it'll change anything, not for real. For every Chromadyne there's dozens of Vital Jades. Ever heard of her? Didn't think so. Chinese immigrant magic girl, did activism about green card holders. A troll got her, and her team was suspiciously busy at the time. You can look up the story."

"I'm sure she exists, but...Doesn't that seem a bit too conspiracy-theory to you?  Rolling enough dice gets you a critfail eventually, no matter how lucky you are.  It's a lot more parsimonious to assume that some combination of antimemes and sheer bad luck happened - and if I were the government trying to 'suppress' that, I'd coopt it for some absurdly tepid 'pre-program requirement: stand on your head while playing a pitch-perfect rendition of Beethoven's Symphony no. 9 on the saxophone' 'aid program'."

She spear-katas frustratedly, to punctuate her point.

"The government is, or billionaires are, just too incompetent to be the Illuminati.  Fuckin' wish they were; you can kick a conspiracy in the assets, but you can't just obliterate simple greed and motivated incompetence."

Soft giggle, covering her mouth with a hand. "Oh. Sorry to go all conspiracy, my bad. You get my point though. Greed and incompetence on every level. So goddamn frustrating."

"Yeah.  Yeah, there really is."

...Something is off about this conversation, even if she's really quite enjoying it.

Not to mention the way it started.

She needs to know more.

Now, how to go about that...?

"So what brings a girl like you out to have a conversation like this with, well, me, of all people?  I'm hardly special, am I?"

"I'm on the lookout for new friends. Anyone who'd leave a goblin that's not bothering anyone alone is pretty decent in my book."

"Yeah.  I mean, I haven't ever seen that, but - you do hear rumors, that there's smarter 'monsters' out there.  And I don't really know what they'd want, but I don't really believe in killing people that aren't trying to kill me first."

"Plus you seemed like you could use the chance to vent, and I love that stuff. The only time we really feel alive is in the heights of emotion. Joy and determination and justice and ambitiousness and longing..." Her smile turns almost lustful for a moment. Then she shrugs. "I was just wandering around, anyway."

[...].exe is rebooting...

"Yeah?"

She shakes off the stun field of a pretty girl, who may or may not be one of the forces of evil, making that expression in her direction, with some effort.

That earns another giggle!

"Welllll... I'll see you around some time, mysterious, angry stranger."

"Wait, uh, we should...exchange phone numbers or something?  Is that a thing that's appropriate to ask?  ...Help, I don't know how friends work."

All true, but with ulterior motives.

"Ooh, are we flirting now~?" She licks her lips and stands up straighter, lets her eyes wander, quite deliberately. "Doing spear kata alone in the park... Young and powerless but determined. Makes you wonder what the rest of the story is. A bit of mystery is more alluring, isn't it? We haven't even exchanged names."

oh heckque

"   ."

"Ah, um, yes, but surely a mystery you can't even find the next clue for is a bit, ffrustrating," she has to force the word out over the welter of emotions thrumming in her chest, "wouldn't you say?  Not like I have a name worth giving you, anyway..."

"It might be a bit hubristic, but that's half the fun so call me... Lilith."

Oh fuck.  She knows that reference: Lilith, Mother of Monsters.

aaaaaaah she needs a distraction from the 'aw fuck this is totally a demon' alarm bells because this girl is probably an empath if not a telepath and if she's a telepath then shit's fucked, but she's not dead yet so move, act, think -

"I - well, haven't, picked, mine.  Yet.  Y'know.  And it doesn't help that - the best local school is religious and they probably wouldn't like it if I did go changing my name on them even if it's co-ed, and I need to get into a good university, so...yeah..."

She takes a deep breath.  "I...hope you're not going to take offense at that?  It would, uh.  Suck.  To have that happen."

The grin expands just a bit at the onset of panic.

"Oooops. I gave away the game. Or maybe I'm just fucking with you, 'cause it's fun. But I'd be just as bad as killer cop supporter guy if I fucked with you over your name. I'm better than that. It's your name. Individuality's the most precious, irreplaceable thing you've got. Certainly more important than something stupid like virginity, like your teachers and priests are no doubt stupidly obsessed over."

"Good grief, yeah, I really don't get why 'holy matrimony' is supposed to be so special when half of the people who swear it the way it's intended hate eachother, judging by the tropes.  Like, why do that?  Who comes up with that shit?  It's poison in the mind, self-harm for no real good.

"...I legitimately don't have a name picked out, though.

"Maybe I'll borrow one from a poet, for now; I couldn't tell you why if I tried, but Annabel seems not wrong.  Even if it's a bit morbid.  And P.S., if you're trying to not give away the game, don't let on that you're playing it, hm?  Leaning into the hubris so much was what really made me jump to that conclusion.

"Not that I should be giving you advice, probably, but...you haven't really gone and tried to hurt me any, disregarding the encouraging-punching-a-cop thing.  Which has a time and place, don't get me wrong, but my marching over there to do it now would be profoundly ineffective at actually breaking the idea that cops are good by default, which is what actually needs to change.  (Thus, the 'from my position of expertise as magical girl, that's stupid' idea.)  But anyway, monster or not...I don't see why we can't be friends.  ...hell, with benefits, if that takes your fancy, because you're right, I don't give a damn about church doctrine at this point - might've used to, when I had such a wrong idea of what it was, but I sure don't now."

She plops down on a nearby rock.

"So I'm honestly really curious what you think the 'monsters' want.  As, perhaps, contrasted with you, miss probably a demon or particularly extra goth.  Because I've just...never been able to understand it, I suppose?  Like...goblins just...bumrush people, attempting to murder on sight.  Apparently.  They don't even care who.  And...what could they possibly gain, from behaving like that?"

"What if implying I'm playing a game I'm not playing is part of the real game? Though now we're just getting confusing." She crosses her arms and taps her foot thoughtfully, in a way that incidentally and apparently unintentionally emphasizes what's under her T-shirt.

"What could mosquitos possibly gain from running into bug zappers? What could mice possibly gain from chewing on walls and nibbling in pantries? What could water possibly gain from flowing downhill? What could fanatics possibly gain from hating their target of choice? Which of those do you think is most analogous?"

...Yeah, that's totally intentional, but she's nonetheless dutifully trying to not stare, because staring's hardly polite when you don't have permission, and Lilith hasn't actually given it.

"That's certainly a thought.  ...Except that mice don't actually...like, there's reasons that aren't facile about why they do what they do those two things in particular.  But...hrmh..."

"But what supports the hypothetical ecosystem, how are new mice coming into being?  Do goblins fuck, or something?  Do I even want to know?  ...Probably; knowledge is power, but at the same time...what the heck is responsible for goblins?

"What's responsible for monsters?  Is that old canard about humanity's repressed desires..." ahh, whoops, well, moving on, "actually correct?  It just feels backwards, though, like...if that was true, something would be different about the world that just...isn't.  You'd have so many more vandals and parkour enthusiasts than goblins.  There aren't a lot of people who really want to do a murder!

"Unless it's counting the wannabe-genocidaires, pardon my gratuitous French word-mangling, but even then.  That's not - enough."

"Something people and not just humans have been wondering for millennia. Monsters are useless and dangerous, right, you wouldn't even want to try and pen them and harvest their skin and meat like you do for pigs and cows. Kill on sight, or report to the hotline so someone with fire for hair or vines growing from her back or eyes like storms can come and do it for you, 'cause everyone 'knows' defeating monsters makes you stronger." Eye-roll. "Would you even know if goblins weren't all bad? Not to mention countless other varieties. Goblins are the cockroaches of monsters. Simple to the point of hilarity."

"Damn.  I do suppose it'd be pretty hard to tell, without actual study, that I don't know if I've ever actually seen done.  Still, monster cockroaches are made of murder?  ...And what the heck is this about 'killing monsters makes you stronger'; it doesn't.  I've done my reading, and what makes MGs stronger is affirming themselves and practice.  Also time, but that's an invariant.  ...Damn, now I actually want to do a monster Steve-Irwin thing, just to see if it works."

"Please don't die in a stupid and preventable way, it'd be so disappointing."

"Gods, no, wouldn't be doing that if I could help it; that's a magical-girl only sort of plan.  Just...you're a people, and there's probably a lot of other people out there that're getting shat on just because of how they started existing, rather than what they do.  And if an educational TV show can help out any, then...well, it'd probably be fun?"

"I don't really know how all that works, gotta be honest."

"Well somebody has to figure it out if it's ever going to be done.  So why not try it, if I can?

"Of course, that requires having the balls, ha, to actually talk to a spirit about what I want.  Which...

"I've thought about it a few times, y'know?  But every time, I just...choke."

"Pff. Do it or don't do it. Don't complain. I can find you a couple of easy monsters if you like. You've got that spear and even blunt ones do just fine against the little stuff."

"Anxiety disorders suck, is all I can really say to that.  But yeah, you're right that I ought to either put up or shut up.  ...and I really do wonder how I'd do," she muses.

"Nothing to get the blood up quite like fighting~. Just say the word...?"

"I am absolutely going to regret this, but, word."

"Be ri~ight back."

The mysterious stranger runs off at a near sprint, ducking behind some trees. Not any faster than a normal human could go.

She runs back into view, flushed and out of breath, a few minutes later. "Goblin and a Fangbat. Fangbat's gonna be first."

Oh look! A disgusting looking bat with huge yellowed fangs, flaky patchy fur, and an ugly expression, flying after her!

And she will square up and jab it to death!

It turns out the standard spear katas are really good at dealing with monsters? Who knew. It's a pile of dead pseudomatter on the end of the blunt spear now.

The goblin's running into view now, growling incoherently. Lilith ducks behind her.

...and she will kick the dead bat off her spear's point, and bring it up to guard against the goblin!

The goblin both: Is surprisingly fast, and attempts to dodge her guard during its wild screaming charge. It's RIGHT THERE VERY CLOSE and lashing out with a claw.

And she slams the butt of her spear into its chest before it gets the chance!  It's not just the pointy end that's dangerous!

So she has all three and a half feet of a gasping, scrambling goblin scowling with hatred in its beady tiny eyes, horrible breath stinking upon the breeze, trying to get back up again and come at her.

Annnnd she can pin it down with the butt before it gets the chance, because she's really fucking tall.

"...Okay, if you can actually understand anything I'm saying, understand this.  I don't actually want to kill you.  If you don't try to kill me, I'll return the favor.  If you do try to kill me, you're going to die, understand?"

She has to try.

Growl. Glare. Half-hearted scrambling against the dirt, trying to wrench free.

"Do you understand me?"

She has a pretty good kinesthetic sense and so much more weight advantage; this guy's pinned.

It flops onto its back with a frustrated, resigned sound.

"...I am too damn compassionate for my own good.  Lilith, you still there?"

Why is she having this absurd idea.

"Right behind you. You trust me to watch your back~? I'm touched."

She makes what is definitely a sound at the flirt.

"Trust you to have any idea what the heck to do about...I'm standing here, and I'm pinning a live goblin down with my spear, and it's not presently trying particularly hard to do violence, and I'm not sure what the heck I should do now."

...five seconds too late, she realizes that she's left herself wide open for a dick joke and braces for impact.

Snrk. "Too easy. I'm obliged to take the opening. I think the poor thing's intimidated by your mighty shaft. You could just let it go and see if he's up for round two."

She suddenly whispers close to her right ear, "I can give you protection if you're worried."

"haa..."

Heavens preserve her, she's a gay mess.

"...um...protection...?"

"Hee. I promise you won't be hurt if you let that goblin go free, whatever it does next."

Well, with that said...she'll tentatively let it up.

The goblin looks around, confused, then sees the pair of them, eyes dashing fearfully between them, then runs for the treeline with a yelp.

...It's kind of failing at stealth when it peers over a bush with a glare a few second later, though.

"...How is it managing to be cute," she mutters, and pretends to ignore its peeking to see what happens next.

It's not that cute! It's really rather ugly, with a horrible stench, yellow teeth, a gangly appearance with hints of sores and muddy brown 'fur' (different regions produce different sorts; the local goblins are furry rather than scaled).

It hides again when it realizes it's been spotted.

"If you're just going to watch it I'm liable to get bored," Lilith comments archly. "But by all means, let it escape to go menace squirrels or maybe manage to kill some bunnies and foxes or a little old lady on a quiet walk in the park for her anniversary."

"Yeah, I don't think I'm going to just let it go.  But damn, it just managed to be, like...the equivalent of a toddler throwing a tantrum really loudly and running off to sulk, and then coming back five minutes later to sulk at you so you know they're still angry, yeah?  Even if...well."

...gods, she is too easily manipulated by positive attention from pretty girls.

"...I'm going to do something that's probably kinda stupid, for the sake of science!"

She fishes out a pack of Slim Jims from her bag, and throws one, barely opened, at the goblin.

"...I have no idea how those even got in there; I don't really eat them, but I'll take it; it's convenient.  You want one?"

"Sure, why not? I won't even make a dirty joke about it, there's such a thing as too much of a good thing and all."

Goblin scrambles for cover at the thrown object. It peers at the Slim Jim where it landed once it calms down, but doesn't seem especially interested once it decides it's not a threat.

"Is it weird that I'm surprised you didn't?", she says, handing one over.  "'cause I kind of am."

Presumably, some amount of time passes with the jerky unmolested.  "Well, we have determined that goblins aren't doing what they do for the meat.  Probably.  ...D'you have hobbies besides people-watching?"

"It's no fun if you get too used to it. If I tease someone I want them to be teased. And... Eh. We kind of move around a lot. Doesn't leave a lot of time to pick up random hobbies. I guess... 'be gay, do crime'?"

"Oh, trust me, I will be.  Despite myself."

"...There's a we?  I have to admit, I'm surprised you didn't just, suddenly exist in your full glory one day.  Or maybe you've been picking up strays?  That...strikes me as much more in character for you."

"Obviously I'm talking about my perfectly normal family and my annoying dad who travels, like, a lot. Anyone of my other friends would be people I shouldn't tell ya much about without some due caution, hypothetically."

"Obviously.  Opsec's important, given your hobbies."

"Yeah. I think it's time for me to go. See you around some time. Just remember, if you want to make an omelet you're going to have to break some eggs."

The snerk that jolts out of her at that last line is unexpectedly genuine.

"Well, I'll see if I can find some good recipes that work with the stuff on my shelves, but it's not like I know what's in the pantry around here.  I figure you can find me, so, see you 'round, then?"

"Yep! Enjoy your spear katas!"

And off she goes, hips swinging and humming cheerfully.

Oddly enough, after Lilith disappears beyond the nearest corner, she doesn't resume doing katas; instead, she starts doing research.

Also she calls and lets Animal Control know there's a goblin lurking in the park woods that she doesn't want to run off and have to chase down, but has cowed; it's sitting there in a bush, glaring.  In case someone wants to capture it.

'Vibrant Jade magical girl death in line of duty', 'how smart can monsters be', 'can monsters grant magical girl powers', 'can monsters look human', 'can smart monsters control or create lesser monsters', 'does telepathy exist', 'what happens if someone tries to make someone who's already a magical girl into a magical girl'...She'll refine these if necessary, but that's the thrust of her research.

Okaaaaay, Animal Control sighs. Thanks for reporting. We'll deal with it.

Flip-phones are not great for detailed internet research but there's a public library not too far from here.

...January 9, 1997 - Vibrant Jade, a Spirit Association South US member in good standing, tragically perished while participating in a monster suppression mission near Carol Springs, Florida. The incident also resulted in 3 civilian deaths, over 30 injuries, and severe injuries to 2 other Spirit Bearers (her teammates Gilded Slash and Brutal Croc). Her death in the defense of civilians and nonmagical society is in line with the finest traditions of the Spirit Association's protective mission. Her mortal remains were cremated and returned to family in accordance with recorded wishes. Her ghost passed on the mantle of magic to an undisclosed individual...

Makinak: Even goblins will actually try to dodge, I don't buy the 'like insects' argument. Warbols build tools: [link]. Trolls make shelters: [link].

45366: flies dodge swatting tho?? and birds make nests and shit

Makinak: Guys, this isn't about goblins, I'm talking about so-called "infiltrators" or saboteurs.

Samwell: I've never seen one of those rl Mak but I've heard of them. The most dangerous kind of monster is the one that understands us and plans.

45366: do shades count as mostners

Makinak: No, shades are former Spirit Bearers. They're meaningfully distinct. Midway Airport 1991- The Rot Fuel incident. There's no way they didn't notice monsters nesting in gas tanks with all the insane checks planes go thru unless something was actively hiding them?

Samwell: Yeah that's the kind of thing I mean. Scrapped hundreds of planes after the first one crashed and hurt trust in the system.

...The prejudice and supposed "natural evil" of so-called "Dark Girls" is just another facet of society's deliberate organization to suppress and disadvantage certain subsets of the population for the benefit of the ruling class. When scientifically studied, there have been ABSOLUTELY NO discernable differences in the fundamental nature of any magical girls whether they be spirit born, genie wishes, ghost mantles, or tapped by a provocateur. The differences in observed behavior can be attributed entirely to personality, temperament, and circumstance with this blatant racism driving actions that would not otherwise be considered and...

...In some ways the most dangerous classification of monster, "Infiltrators" (or "succubi") can appear human at a distance, blending into crowds and taking advantage of the very people we try to protect. Seeming to revel in creating paranoia and discord, they will murder isolated individuals or cause property damage due to their presence (See: Miasma). Infiltrators cannot hide all the signs of their nature, so look for the following: Sharp claws, black or discolored skin, black eyes, an obvious smell, metallic hair, odd proportions, sharp teeth, lack of a navel. They are somewhat intelligent and capable of basic speech, but an actual conversation will reveal their true nature as they are incapable of complex abstract thought or reasoning, so ask suspected individuals math questions in order to...

The Monster King is a titan-class monster capable of controlling or influencing every monster within approximately 10 miles (16 kilometers) of itself, and constantly gathers as many monsters as possible to itself. The overwhelming swarm-like nature of Monster King attacks is even more dangerous due to the vicious cunning with which it uses them, with hundreds of examples of spirit bearers being confronted with tactics or enemies that exactly counter their own strengths...

Mind Maven: No, I would say 'true' telepathy does not exist. There are truth compulsions, glimpses of thoughts and memories, but these are always simplistic and surface level. My own ability to see the reasoning of others is sharply limited as it causes immense strain on my own mind and does not fully capture any emotion of memory connections for example.

Interviewer: What about mind control? Could a monster brainwash someone into evil, for example?

Mind Maven: No. Brainwashing is... It doesn't work that way. It's conditioning and convincing people over time, or tempting them to do things they wanted to do on some level. The general rule is that any mind-affecting powers tend to be fairly obvious. I wouldn't say it's impossible, but I would be deeply surprised if one could be "brainwashed" in a real movie style, and absolutely staggered if it was not obvious to everyone around you.

Interviewer: So the movie took some liberties, I'm hearing.

Mind Maven: Laughs. Yes.

The last search just gets general information on becoming a magical girl.

What, even if she site-searches the forum from earlier?

(And what does general information on becoming a magical girl look like for her area, anyway?)

Makinak: No, there's no such thing as a "double" spirit bearer. The initial transformation is from human into a different kind of being, and it's not something that can be done twice any more than a butterfly can metamorphose into a butterfly.

_xSilentStormx_: No but like. Can they give each other power? Like batteries or something?

Makinak: ...I don't know. I'm pretty sure they have to get stronger the hard way.

General information says: To become a magical girl you need to either wish for it with a genie (do not mess with genies), get a nature spirit to empower you (they usually demand servitude/employment in exchange), or get the ghost of a dead magical girl to pass the mantle on to you. You don't technically have to go join the Spirit Association but you really really should. If someone says there's another way, that's a scam or a hoax or maybe some kind of weird cult, don't trust it.

Well, then.

What are the spirits in her area?

Lilith really was quite right about putting up or shutting up.

...Also are there any genies in her area.  She's not going to ask to be made a spirit-bearer from them, probably...but favors from powerful beings are never wasted.

Oh, and "quantitative differences in spirit bearer initial power by source" goes in the search bar, while she's constructing her plan-tree.

Genie spotters of New England are kind of confused about how there... Have been no genie sightings in months? In the entire New England area? Where are they all going? To Canada, to the midwest, to Florida, to Europe?

Spirit Bearer initial power seems to be all set to the same, low standard. Apparently the first week to month of growth is explosive and then it settles down.

Is she still sitting in the park where she called in a goblin?

Prrrrrobably?  She's at least checking in on the darn thing to make sure it doesn't menace any little old ladies.

Well, animal control has shown up in a golf cart, carrying their actual sharp spears and long nets and so on, and would like her to clear out while they hunt for the nasty.

"Yeah, I called this in.  It's over in that bush, I'm pretty sure.  Also there was a monster bat, but that's dead now."  She wrapped up the corpse in a couple of plastic grocery bags (which she usually carries around for making dog owners clean up after themselves, but that's another story).  "...Honestly I'm kind of invested in seeing how this goes, if you don't mind?  I can handle myself, at least against the little shit.  ...And if it's bigger shit, more people running away means more potential survivors to pass the message on."

She has never really understood where her mixture of cavalier attitude towards and burning resentment of the existence of death came from, but it's there anyway.

The first guy peers at the dead bat in plastic bags. "They vanish eventually, by the way. Damn. It's just a goblin, they said. Where there's one there might just be one but where there's two there's a dozen."

"We're really not supposed to involve bystanders," the other one comments.

"He got the bat."

"Point. But look, monsters are serious business. I don't want to explain how you got hurt or killed because you were too cocky."

"I know my limits, and I'll stick in the back."

"Ugh."

"C'mon, Jeb. Don't all teens just want to stab something occasionally?"

"That doesn't mean I should let them. We're here to do a job, not fuck around. No."

"You're here to do a job, I left this specific job undone for you solely because tromping through the woods on my own after a goblin is bloody stupid considering how fast they move, and I'm not a magical girl who can bullshit out some swanky magic solution to that sort of problem."  Yet, she doesn't say.  "I want to finish this job I undertook.  No more, no less.  But I understand your point, Jeb.  Good hunting."  She'll just, go, then.  Probably ought to look up the local spirits in more detail; Lilith was leading her on very specifically, but having more options is better.

Teenagers. What are you gonna do. 

"Have a nice day," Not Jeb calls after her.

"Thanks."  She smiles, though it's...strained.

Anyway, it's continuing-research time.  Unless a goblin suddenly jumps her.

She can reach the library peacefully.

New England doesn't have as many nature spirits as it used to. But the state parks have a few, there's a few river spirits, some lake spirits, a bunch of mountain spirits who are suspected in suspicious coal mining accidents by some, an apparently very ornery winter spirit and a harbor spirit of Chesapeake Bay who demands a wooden ship be sunk in the bay annually for some reason and it became a miniature festival, a famous waterfall spirit on the James River in Virginia who is apparently chattier than most, and the Mt. Marcy Killer, who is really not a very agreeable spirit at all.

Maybe she'll talk to the boat one next time she visits; she thought it was some sort of historic record thing, not a spirit thing.

Well.

...What's the character of the coal mining accidents in question?

...annnd the Mt. Marcy Killer.

Yeah, she's heard about that one alright...racking her memory to figure out what, though, is probably more effort than a search query.

Rockslides, floods, elevated monster activity above what people expected, and one time a wildfire.

Why, the Mt. Marcy Killer kills everyone who goes to Mt. Marcy. Even magical girls pursuing monsters.

...Yeah, the mountain spirits are right out, as much as global warming must stop.

...What the heck is with the spirits around here and unusual amounts of violence?  It's really fucking weird!

Probably explains the genies.

Alright, time to go map a quest.  Let's start with the one in Virginia and work her way back...

Well to be fair, the agreeable and peaceful ones get much less scary news written about them. She can find some regions said to belong to two forest spirits, an odd prairie spirit known as Culpeper Cut, a spot on the upper Potomac that might be a good place to talk to one called Washington Snowmelt, all on the way back from old James Falls.

Alright, those go on the list.

And tomorrow, she'll set out in search of them.

There's a smudge of black lipstick in the shape of a pair of lips on the car's driver-side window when she heads back for the night.

"Well hello there."  That's honestly the most surprising thing about all this.  "Hope you haven't been waiting long," she drawls out on general principle, despite not expecting Lilith to actually be present.  (Should she show up, however...she has a few lines.)

Lilith is not in evidence!

The drive down into Virginia the next day is uneventful and boring. It takes two and a half hours to get down to James Falls.

She arrives, then, at the Falls, and...presumably has instructions for treating with the spirit?

There's a little tourist trap park sort of place with a kitschy souvenir store and a stone ampitheater where what looks like a 12-foot-long dragon made of foamy water is lounging and chatting with a hiker about local bird species!

She'll wait, then.  She has time enough.

(And it's neat to hear someone talk about something they're interested in.)

"Hello.  I'm planning on trying to become a spirit bearer, and thought I'd ask you about the process, especially from the patron's side."

"Oh? I get a lot of those. I'm quite happy with my Citronella right now, I'm afraid you're out of luck."

"I wasn't realistically expecting you to give me magic, especially not for the merest asking, but I would like 'interview tips', if you'd be so kind.  You do a lot more talking with humans than some, but still have perspective I lack."

"Oh, alright, alright. Yes, I'm very 'well socialized'." Scoff. The foamy water flows into a new position. "My sensory modality is almost totally untranslatable, but most things humans and monsters get up to are painful. Ranging from an itchy zit to the burning agony of a spear in the gut. The amphitheater? It's itchy. Like beard stubble or so I'm told. But as long as the whole state park thing holds strong I'm safe, and part of that is having a spirit bearer or two who's in my corner, so to speak. Well, and making sure it's inconvenient for people if I stop cooperating," a gesture to the souvenir shop. "I can't kill monsters nearly so well as you lot. You're very good at murder. Like those shark-sucker fish, I pour the energy of the land down into you to ignite your soul and you keep me clean after. But what separates a good bearer from a poor one is how much I can trust you to be reliable after the fact, and most of my kind are really damn bad at judging that and accordingly picky."

"Mm-hmm.  So prior action in the spirit's interest would be useful?  Showing alignment by what I've actually done, and then making the case that I could do more of it with power?"

"Better than the alternative but your chances are pretty slim. The usual way is positive references."

"I see.  Unfortunately, I haven't many friends worth mentioning, and none of them are magical girls, that I know of.

"...I have so many questions about your proprioception or interoception of the actions of men and monsters, now that I'm aware you have such; it sounds...I'm sad I'll never get to experience it, even if it's mostly pain.

"Are things that men and monsters do ever good feelings, incidentally?  I'd...the idea that every step I take might leave a trails of hurt behind, just...that's horrible and it shouldn't.

"It's very rude of the world.

"...And fuck beard-stubble."

"Cleaning out the monsters is very good! And helping me burn out all that fucking kudzu. Invasive species are terrible."

"Yeah, but that first requires that there be monsters; I mean, like, things that're positive, not just less-negative.  But yeah, fuck kudzu.  ...Except isn't that also a human-made problem?  ...No, wait, I think it's just an asshole plant.  I read about this at some point..."

"It's from Japan, humans brought it over for urban decoration and then it became everyone's problem. Though it's not as all-powerful as people seem to think sometimes. A lack of negative things is positive. I don't really have hobbies or physical desires like y'all do. If everything is fine and healthy, it's like a blissful Saturday with delicious food, a good book, and a loving spouse."

"Urban decoration.  Urban decoration?!  I have never been more disgusted with my own species' sheer blockheadedness!

"Okay, global warming is honestly more concerning on an intellectual level, but...well, sometimes petty things are easier to muster sheer fucking indignation about.  People can do better than that!  Grow native ivies, go fancy and do tiny or specially-shaped fruiting trees that have the added benefit of feeding people except, nooo, that undercuts capitalism, they sha'n't..."

"But...it's good, that you have good experiences."

"I happen to agree. Anything else you'd like to chat about? It looks like we have someone waiting."

"I'd like to keep in touch, especially assuming I get someone to enkindle me, but I shouldn't monopolize your time.  Thank you for the advice!"

And off she goes to her next potential spirit employer.

The online instructions for this one are, uh, go to this one trail and yell? 

"HELLO!"

Nope.mov

...She'll give it a few minutes, then try again...

"HELLO?"

Still no answer! The internet did warn her that might happen, though.

Well, she budgeted fifteen minutes at each stop, so she'll try one more time, to be sure...and then leave, if it doesn't work.

"HELLO!?"

No spirit comes out to meet her.

Welp.  Next!

Another state forest, but this time the spirit answers, with sudden silence aside from a terse annoyed voice made of wind.

What do you want.

"I wish to know if you would currently be interested in contracting a spirit bearer, and furthermore, if so, under what terms you would employ them.  I am looking to be enkindled, and am seeking to ascertain my potential employers."

I have many more choices than you do and their duties would be to purge the forest of filth on a regular basis. But if you insist, show me what makes you valuable. Are you clever? Are you fierce? Go on.

"So you do.  I am quite clever; I am clever enough to be able to draft an agreement that would ensure that I was, in fact, compelled by more than just my word to aid you - indeed, compelled by the weight of human government itself, perhaps the closest thing to a spirit humans have; I am also strong enough to kill some monsters even without magic empowering me.  Perhaps, if you wish to point the way to a small infestation - no more than three monsters, and no amorphs, for I've naught but a spear and an improvised fire-thrower that I hesitate to even mention, in the way of arms - I could demonstrate the one, and speak of the other?"

(She brought basic armor, too, dipping into several years' unspent birthday money, and has a first aid kit, just in case.)

Audacious. I don't actually want to kill random humans and I do know how easily you can weasel your way out of contracts. Then again, it would be an impressive demonstration of resolve. Or foolishness. One of the two.

"Hiring you a lawyer would be worth every penny for the power I'd get.  Or perhaps the Spirit Association has some on retainer already, but that would be a conflict of interest considering that really, their mission is significantly also advocacy for spirit bearers.  Perhaps the WEF...I'm actually surprised there isn't a government agency about this already; spirit bearers are strategic assets, or at least tactical ones, even if they're not military, and you need to have spirits to make spirit bearers, unless you want to stake your strategies on the roll of the dice of genies.  Maybe it's packed somewhere in the Byzantine depths of the Department of the Interior, getting no funding because business lobbyists somehow exist and capitalism's a consumptive horror."

The Spirit Association is an old institution and reliable by human standards. I trust their judgement on candidates for the most part.

"I see.  So if the Spirit Association vouched for me, it would be sufficient as character reference?"

It would weigh heavily in my judgement. That and some sort of pledge or contract - also so verified - and a demonstration of sincerity here and now, by attacking a minor pest as you offered. All would contribute to my positive consideration, though understand that I make no promises.

"Indeed.  I would hardly expect you to do so, yet.  Do you have a target?"

The wind blows in a specific direction, off the trail and uphill.

And she shall carefully follow, keeping her eyes peeled and her shortspear (read: her regular spear with some of the haft unscrewed, so it's less likely to snarl up in trees) ready.

The foe is a pair of ambushers. You approach soon. Watch the trees.

"...I am not sure," she admits, in a low, quiet voice, scanning the forest, "whether asking for you to point out which trees, and the facings, would be within the parameters of the challenge I've been set.  And it is not like I will always have friendly spirit attention, especially if the Mt. Marcy Killer is as the stories say."

My attention is not infinite. And yet. It is wise to ask me about the thing you are currently helping me with.

She describes the tree they're in. They're a pair of Toothblankets. The name is pretty self-explanatory.

And the Toothblankets can be introduced to her spear.

...She really ought to get a crossbow, or something like that.  It has spear-likeness points, as far as projectile weapons go.  And she's sure repeating crossbows exist, even if she hasn't seen one in person yet.

The first one spends enough time flailing around after being pierced that she has to quickly back away from the second, and it manages to lightly scratch one of her arms. But nothing worse than that.

Something about the wind shifts slightly when both are dead.

May I mark you to better remember you and nothing more?

Good thing she has armguards and a first-aid kit, then.

"You may."

It is done. You should go for now.

And go she will.

To her next stop, of course.

Culpeper Cut is the spirit of a large plain in the shadow of some hills that was clear-cut for logging and then left fallow for long enough that it turned into a grassland instead, and a spirit from a different region moved in. It's apparently erratic, but mostly harmless. The roads in are marked 'PRIVATE - KEEP OUT', but not, like, patrolled, or have cameras or anything.

...who even owns this place?

Well, the original lumber company folded but a trust was created in 1923 to hold onto the land and tried to sell it to farmers and then to suburban developers but that's when Culpeper Cut showed up and the Spirit Association stepped in and got Virginia to drop state property taxes and then tried to buy it but the state senate of Virginia tied it up in bureaucracy or something and-

-Uh-

-Suffice to say 'it's complicated, maybe nobody'.

...well, that means she could probably argue her way out of a trespassing charge given half a chance, and she's not even a lawyer.  ...Do the signs look like they receive upkeep?

Not really.

Yeah, she's going in, then.

So now she's hiking through a bunch of flat grassland.

There's a weird kinda-laughing sound off in the distance?

Great.  "Well, if that's you, Culpeper Cut, hello."

If it isn't...ugh, fire is so crude a weapon and yet it's what she has.   And a spear.  Can't forget the spear.

(But she needs more spears.)

The laughter cuts off.

This time it isn't a voice forming vaguely English words. Instead she's suddenly aware, having deep and certain knowledge, that Culpeper Cut doesn't get many visitors and is amused by her presence.

"I'm glad to have brightened your day.  ...That's really cool, however it is you're doing that."

Culpeper Cut is very weird. It thinks she should SUDDENLY HAVE AN EXTREMELY DETAILED MENTAL MODEL OF MONOCOT PLANT CELLULAR BIOLOGY.

!

She will take notes!

(because all knowledge is worth having and preserving; because knowledge is power; because she enjoys autistic infodumps and feels a fondness for Culpeper Cut because they, too, have a special interest -)

It's all slipping out of her head, far too fast to get everything down, but Culpeper Cut is excited that she's excited about the amazing wonderful intricacies of PLANT CELLS!

She can't help but grin fondly.  "You're a sweetie.  Are there any other people who come over to talk about plants with you?"

Culpeper Cut doesn't get many visitors. Most of its visitors are infuriating.

"Oh no; I'm sorry to hear that, what are they doing that's so frustrating?"

They say things like 'oh, let us farm here' or 'oh, keep the coyotes away from the town' or 'oh, have you seen any monsters lately'.

"And you just want to talk about plants!  Well, keeping monsters in check is actually pretty important to making sure there's people you can talk about plants with, if your spirit neighbors aren't as excited as you are, but yeah, that's honestly rather rude of them, to just show up and ask you things like that without even doing anything nice for you in return!"

Culpeper Cut just had the most hilarious idea! It should give her magic! It would be the funniest thing it's done in a while. The Spirit Association would be so confused.

"They would, wouldn't they!  And I'll see if I can get you some better visitors, mhm?"

The coyotes start laughing again, all around.

Culpeper Cut doesn't need better visitors. It will teach her more about PLANTS if she wants. It will give her magic if she wants (because it would be funny).

"Yeah, you don't need them, but you're doing something nice for me, so I want to do something nice for you!  Beyond, of course, confusing the heck out of the Spirit Association, by showing up and," she can't help but intermix her comments with giggles too, Culpeper's laughter is contagious, "telling them you enkindled me!"

She should help it with its jokes next time it has a joke to play. One of its favorites is: Messing with the town's weather stations!

"Mmhmm?  I don't want anyone to get hurt about it, but sure!"

That sounds a lot more like the annoying things most visitors say. Culpeper Cut is no longer amused.

"Aww."

"Hmm, lemme see if I can put it a way that makes sense, and - frames the things I have lines about, rightly -

"A really good joke understands the audience it's playing to?

"And 'three dead, seven injured in surprise tornado' isn't a joke most humans would laugh at, isn't a context most humans could find humor in at all; they'd be rather miffed, and might put in effort to prevent you from pranking them more; that's the sort of thing I wouldn't want to abet for - well, anybody, really.

"Whereas making a funny face on the radar is just funny.

"Does that make sense?"

Culpeper Cut doesn't want humans to come kill it. It thinks that there are too many rules. It doesn't want to give her magic anymore. Here's some more (kind of sullen) plant facts. Chloroplasts. Yay.

"...hey.  I'm sorry.  I fucked up.  I didn't mean to imply anything like that was at all likely; I don't know if it's even possible, and I don't really believe that whatever you might have been planning would've been like that.  You didn't hurt me, and you could have.  ...And honestly, I do agree; there's too many rules, and lots of them are stupid rules made up by people who wouldn't know happiness if it bit them on the ass.  It's just that I think 'try to not actively hurt people slash make their lives worse for my presence in them' is a rule that's worth having, and if we were going to be partners...that's the sort of thing you need to know about partners, going in?  I'd love to add humor and mystery and cool plant facts to the world.  Just not suffering.  And...well, I think I just messed up on that, with the way I flubbed having this conversation with you.  I'm sorry.

"...if I could, I would offer you a hug, or something; I'm...not sure how one does that, with spirits?  But...I would like to make amends, somehow, for the emotional harm I've done to you, in my fumbling attempts at communicating meaningful things.  Or if that's just, not possible, I'll leave, if you want.  Or if you just want me to leave.  This is your land, from my perspective; I'm only here 'cause you let me be.

"So...what would you prefer?"

Culpeper Cut thinks the visitor really does not understand it and vice versa. It's confused why she thinks it thinking her thinking it would kill people would be bad. [Confusing ??neurochemistry?? details]

(A tiny little songbird lands on her head, tweeting away.)

D'aww.  She smiles fondly, albeit over a chasm of still-somewhat-worried hesitancy, at the songbird.

"It's...yes, I think you're right; neither of us are doing the best job at understanding eachother, yet."  (Her pen scritches away at the neurochemistry details.)  "Most of the conversations I have, they're with people who're as blind to the world around them as I am, or moreso, who wouldn't understand even a tithe of the neurochemistry you mentioned just now - and I have to admit that I'm also part of the group of people without understanding of neurochemistry worth mentioning.  I literally don't see the world in the same way you do.  So -

"There's a way, I think, that my having this conversation with you is surprisingly like a human talking to a genie.

"And one of the big things about genies is that they don't - move to build abstract models based off of information they have, the way a human in the genie's position might; genies think concretely or, well, almost not at all.

"So part of my apology was - about having made incorrect models of you, perhaps twice in a row, and the way the actions I took, based upon those models - which were still all I really had, at the time - hurt your feelings, regardless of my intent.

"And the inadvertent communication that I thought that you were likely to do something that hurt people more than the average prairie would, was a concrete example of an abstract failing - like I might use to try to explain to a genie.

"Because - I'm, we're, still trying to understand what you can understand, and what you want.  The only model other humans have of you, that I was able to find, was basically them throwing up their hands and saying 'we give up', whereas - your actions have a clear internal logic; I might be comparatively blind, but that shines through loud and clear, to me?  You have values you pursue in the same way I pursue trying to make people's lives better for knowing me.

"And that's something else I'm apologizing for, that I didn't live up to my own standards for my actions; you're a person, by my perhaps-broader-than-standard definition thereof, and I'm...not succeeding at bringing you joy?

"Not yet, at least.

"And I want you to be happy, to be having fun, to be satisfied with what you're doing with your life.  I value that for its own sake, the same way you think plants are the best thing to ever exist.

"Does that make sense?"

Culpeper Cut has good models of the weather and animal behavior but can't model human behavior. It can't rely on things it thinks humans think. It likes poking them and seeing the weird things that return as deviations from the model.

"Gods, I know, right?  Humans are so weeiiird.  And I have an inside view of that, so I know what I'm talking about!"

She promptly starts discursing about human psychology and neurology as best she knows humans to understand it!  She knows so many things!  Did Culpeper Cut know that in the event of a hemisphere of the human brain becoming completely detached from the other, both of those brains have people in them, and their control is basically split down the body laterally?  That's really spooky!  And then, there's the uncanny valley effect!  Humans have a specific instinct to detect things that just don't look quite human, that's actually tuned to spot things that are more subtle than, for example, detecting a 'succubus' infiltrator with, like, obvious pointy claw-nails!  Which is really weird!  People think it's probably about spotting sick or dead humans, but nobody's really sure!  And then there's, oh, what was it, she had this really cool and weird thing in mind just a minute ago - oh!  The subconscious mind, the instincts of humans, decides things before the conscious mind, but the conscious mind, the bit she's using to talk to Culpeper Cut, basically tricks itself into thinking it totally decided what it did, telling a story about it retroactively!  And maybe has a veto, apparently?  She'd be happy to get some more weird humans facts!  Weird humans facts are cool!  Kind of like PLANTS!  Oooh, has Culpeper Cut ever heard about the human language that basically installs an entire functioning compass in its humans' brains because it doesn't have relative directions?

...Culpeper Cut is pretty confused about most of these concepts. Sodium channels-brain/blood barrier-pacemaker cells?

"Ooooh, I think I see the problem you're having!  Have you ever tried zooming out?  Pretending, for a moment, that the individual cells are 'opaque', without detail, and just caring about the connections between them?"

That sounds like something that's going to take a while to make sense of.

"Mhm!  But it'll help with understanding humans!  I could bring over some textbooks?  Humans have been trying to do this for a while, and while we know we don't really understand even half of what's happening in there, we've made some progress!"

Culpeper Cut would like to be alone now.

"Alright; do you have a preference on whether and how soon I should come back?  I enjoyed talking with you."

She may come back. It doesn't really care about the timescale.

"Then I'll come back next weekend and bring some books I think you might like."

She thinks she's made a friend?

Culpeper Cut sends some more hyena laughter at her on her way out!

The last spirit on her list is Washington Snowmelt, a spirit of the upper Potomac and the headwaters that feed it.

To the Washington Snowmelt she goes, then!

What's its reported disposition like?

It complains about monsters a lot. Spirit bearers tend to use it as a bounty board.

Oh boy, that sure sounds like something.  And might put her at odds with Lilith if she really throws in.

Well, time to meet them.

"Are you here to fix the microphone?" A sphere of slushy ice asks her when she goes to the described concrete pier.

"No, but I could probably try if you wanted.  Would you be Washington Snowmelt, then?"

"Yes. I use it to report monsters, but it breaks often. Because of the monsters."

"I can imagine.  Is it an open-air sort of dealie?  Because underwater microphones probably should exist..."

"It's in the shed."

The problem is: Plug fell out.

"...cable's unplugged; you need those.  I'll just pop that back in for ya."

"...so, you really don't like monsters.  I'm not particularly fond of monsters either, and am looking to become a spirit bearer."  Both true, if honestly not as related as they might seem.

"Testing. Testing. Marker 472, seven Goblins and two Beasts travelling north. Marker 138, lone Troll. Suspicious activity near marker 17, uncertain valence."

"Many people are looking to become spirit bearers. I have empowered one recently and cannot do so again."

"I see.  Well, I'm glad I came out here, regardless.  Have a nice day, Washington Snowmelt."

...Yeah, her next stop is...

She's going home, and then maybe she'll stop by the Spirit Association to yell at them a bit because, really, she shouldn't have had to fix that!  And the way they're handling Culpeper Cut!

The drive home reminds her that it's lunchtime, and so she pulls in to a local café, to both plan her plan of attack on the SA local, and just genuinely enjoy some comfort food.

She doesn't care who says it, there's no wrong season for hot chocolate.

"Fancy meeting you here," comes a familiar, amused voice startlingly close to her left. "My treat, since you've been busy?"

Eep!  "Ohh, hey, Lilith.  Sure; I don't make a habit of turning down free food."

"Not going to ask where the money comes from?" Smirk.

She heads inside, beckoning with slim fingers to follow.

"Not my money, not my problems."  She grins back.

And she follows!

They get seated quickly. 

"So, how was your morning? I've been dealing with annoyances, myself..."

"Mostly the same; I did a tour of some of the local spirits, seeing who's in the market for a new Spirit Bearer.  Stabbed a couple more monsters for one of the woods, fixed an unplugged cable, just, minor errands that're ingratiating.  ...The way Culpeper Cut is described is bullshit, incidentally; it's just an autistic prankster with a special interest in plants, it's not erratic, if you can just model that at all.  So I'm planning on yelling at the SA later.  They should know better.  ...Honestly, I really like it.  It's just, adorably enthusiastic, you know?  ...Oh heavens help me I have just had the mental image of you and it meeting and it would be a glorious disaster if you two got along."

She grimaces. "Huh. I haven't thought of it that way. When they have the ability to smite you... Somehow I doubt it'd be a good idea to say hi. But treating spirits badly for bullshit reasons like laziness or capitalism? Sounds about par for the course.

"Yeah.  Or just, pure refusal to consider alternate perspectives."  She politely elides over the confirmation of her thoughts about Lilith's monstery-ness, though Lilith's empathy can probably pick up on that being noticed.

"I almost got enkindled by it, actually.  It thought that'd be a really funny prank to play on the Spirit Association.  Tripped over my own tongue instead, but honestly I would've felt weird just showing up and getting what I wanted on the first meeting anyway.

"Anything you feel like talking about with how your day's been going?"

"Hmmmm. Helped one of my less civil friends. He's a really really tall guy, has trouble hiding, both metaphorically and literally. Too big can just be inconvenient and painful, though it's also fun... Worked on staying in shape too. It takes a lot of maintenance to keep this body. I hope you can appreciate it."

She twists to the side and runs her hands down her front. "Worth it when I can fluster you like this~"

Heckque.

"I'm certainly, ah, not complaining, eheh~"

"Oh, I'm so glad! Ahem. So. Culpeper Cut almost booped you, did it? I bet the SA won't take you seriously at all unless you go back and get it to do so, or find another way."

"I do have - one of the woods spirits', which one did I stop at second..."  She has the maps...  "That one's seal of 'I'll boop her if you lot think she's trustworthy', killed some toothy things for it - so I suppose it depends on if they can see it.

"But yeah, honestly my plan with Culpeper Cut is to just show up with books and maybe cool plants, and just, be friends?  Insofar as that's possible?  Not really angle for booping as a primary goal; it feels all...taking-advantage?  In a way I don't like.  Punching down, instead of up."

"I mean, I can almost smell it. Spirits aren't usually subtle. It's boopiness will go to waste if it doesn't use it."

She smiles, gently.  "What's it like?  To see things like you do?  I find myself wondering about other perspectives, today, more than I usually do."

...And if the present arrangement permits, she feels surprisingly like she should be snuggling up to Lilith while she listens to the answer.

They're in a booth seat. Lilith looks a bit surprised, then makes a dramatic 'fine, fine' sort of expression and budges over with a smug smile so Annabel can lean on her. She's soft and smells nice in some unidentifiable vague way.

"I honestly think I'm... Pretty normal? I see and hear and smell things. I get impatient and bored. I like sleeping and eating and other nice sensations." With this her arm reaches around Annabel's back for a sort of side-hug at the waist. "The only big difference is what options I have. The grass is always greener."

She nods along quietly, and then drifts into an explanation: "Apparently I'm feeling affectionate," she murmurs quietly, "to one of the few people I can honestly claim as friends.  Who understands me, as I seek to understand them.  Who inspired me to do a difficult thing, today, and succeed where I might have otherwise faltered.  So...thank you, Lilith; I'm better off for knowing you."

"-Ha. Hahaha! Wow. Friends, huh? I wasn't even... That's so strange. It's, uh, not what I was going for." She frowns a bit and sits straight again. "Talked to you 'cause you seemed unusual, you know."

"Yeah, I've never, ever been...normal, normative?"  She's looking at her hands, as if seeing them for the first time; her voice is a bit...floaty, distant, almost mystic, as she continues, one hand returning the side-hug.  "And...we're definitely the sort of unusual you'd like to have around, I think; there's this...rage against the machine, that's only held in check by trying to care about everybody, including the monsters; even though a part of me dreams of a righteous cause to smite over, people are people are people...and killing people just...feels wrong, especially when they're not hurting anybody.  Even if they are, people do things for reasons; there's so many better solutions than the terminal violent one, that leave more people around, to experience them.

"Which is a long-winded way of saying that I don't think I could bear to consider hurting you, even if someone made my being booped contingent thereupon, because whatever you've done, and I'm almost sure there's something, you've still done it out of caring in your own way, and that...I want to support that, want to encourage that, want to defend that.  And I really don't think I'm misreading you, no matter what you say.  You fuck with people, for sure, and you enjoy throwing the apple of discord...but it's mischief, not malice, that drives it.  You definitely have ulterior motives, you're certainly cultivating me for something...but:

"I'm better off for knowing you, for seeing and speaking to and spending time with you, and I expect that to continue to be so, no matter where I go from here.  ...Also, you're incredibly pretty."

"I am, aren't I? Fuck. It's, it's a survival strategy. You know? The vain hope that if I don't do anything too bad maybe I can just keep doing it forever. I used to be... A lot angrier. I'm furious most of the time. There is so much bullshit and I'm practically made of it. The heavens look upon what man hath wrought and reply only with death. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.

Waitress is coming over soon. Eff why eye."

...there is no worrying about the waitress (- she can scratch out an order on her pad of paper -) there is only giving Lilith so much hug.

"Then fuck heaven, for dropping that burden on you."

Lilith sighs and leans into the hug, her head resting against Annabel's shoulder.

"Not that I know the deep truth of the matter. Not for sure."

She squeezes Lilith supportively.  "Doesn't matter.  Whatever's responsible, you have my support in whapping it with a newspaper until it stops being like that.  You deserve better."

Lilith hums softly...

And places a quick peck on the side of Annabel's neck, then straightens up and smiles over to where the waitress is showing up and orders a pancake meal with soda.

She's going to order something more lunch-shaped; a toasted sandwich, with chicken, red sauce, and various cheeses, and a side of mixed steamed vegetables.  (She orders a hot chocolate for her drink.)

The diner is well equipped to fulfill these requests and the waitress goes off at an amiable amble.

Lilith fills the lunch conversation with occasional small talk, but mostly a comfortable quiet as they both eat. She looks kind of thoughtful.

"So..." Lilith drawls once their plates are mostly empty. "What would you do if you got magic?"

"You know, I'm not really sure?  But...use the power I have, to be kind.  Ironically, considering my opinion of cops, to protect and serve; to uplift the downtrodden, bring hope to the hopeless...to inspire people to pursue their dreams.  To pursue my dreams; to advocate for a world where people aren't just allowed, but are encouraged, provided with the tools, to do what they wilt, an it harm none - to advocate for a world where people can be who and what they are without fear of censure, without being forced to conform to societal diktat.  To make the world kinder.  And maybe that's an absurd dream, but it's my dream, and I'll fight for it til my dying breath, with magic or without."

"Not a lot of specifics in that dramatic speech? Inspiration. Protect and serve. Pfah. That's straight out of the magic girl propaganda! And going up against the established interests is going to break shit! But you just said it was an ideal. Okay, what would you do about Culpeper? Amd what about yourself? Surely there's things you want personally."

"Yeah, it's propaganda...but the police most definitely don't mean it and never have, are allowed to just sit there as people die and claim they're doing their jobs because in the eyes of the law they are.  And...I hope I wouldn't be that sort of hypocrite; I'd certainly advocate for imposing that duty if the cops are to have meaning at all.  Not that I think that's the best solution to the fact that all cops are bastards, I think most problems are solved by simply actually funding the social services and not enshrining into law being fucking prudes and busybodies - did you see the bill from the Senator of California about decriminalizing basically everything in the 'vices' category? - but imposing a duty to protect, and consequences for failing, would be palatable, simple, and not readily opposable; it just needs a platform.  And I have a clear inciting incident for the narrative.

"What do I do about Culpeper, with a position as a magical girl...

"I kind of think that the underlying plan doesn't change?  Be its friend as best I can; advocate for its interests, show it some cool plants.  What changes is the scale I act on; magical girl status is a force multiplier to, especially, social status attacks, and I can use that, especially if I'm willing to be a standard-bearer and, perhaps, lightning-rod, for being unapologetically queer in more ways than Chromadyne, who's just gay and kind of an assimilationist from the rumors I hear.

"What would I want to do for myself?  ..."

"oh, fuck...what would I?  How much have I been hiding depression behind a veneer of selflessness?  I'm just going to have an existential crisis for a minute, and get back to you?"

A good thirty seconds pass, one finger held up in the 'hold on just a minute' gesture, as she wrestles that back under control, but it doesn't take more than the minute she quoted.

"Okay, what I'd do for myself...

"Well I'd definitely come out; if any time's the time it's this one, when I'm reforged in the fires of enkindling, and give my high school's probable transphobia a very big Fuck You.  I'd probably...Get a motorcycle?  I feel like getting a motorcycle is a thing I should do if I become a magical girl, for some reason.  And definitely revamp my wardrobe, I mean, look at this, it's a decent outfit but is it stylish?  Nope!  And I could do better if I wasn't so dang dissociated from very important things being Wrong with it half the time!

"Hmm.  Other things...kiss pretty girls who want me to kiss them.  Maybe some pretty boys, too.

"Generally, unapologetically unleash my desires, bare my teeth at the world-as-it-is, dare it to try and smack me down when I'm going to be the baddest ass to ever badass if I have anything to say about it so they can't. stop. me."

She says what she says next with an almost reverent quiet, breath heaving as she recovers from feeling all her hidden feelings - "I'd want to foment liberation, because I want to be free."

"I think you'd be hot in motorcycle leathers. And being untouchable and magic at idiots will be fun. You ought to record it. And like, you're a person who ought to get to have nice things too, right."

Oh, fuck, she would.  Her brain is melting from rampant lesbianism, and that is certainly part of the explanation for what she is about to do being what she now does.

"Yessss it would be that's such a good idea, I could kiss you, that's just wonderful..."

...A thought occurs.

"...Say," she breathes, words quiet, whispered into Lilith's ear, "are you a nice thing?  Because I've been wanting you for a while, and just not quite daring to ever say it...but you seem to be encouraging me to dare to, to try and seize what I want, Lilith~"

Lilith grins and looks at her, lips slightly parted, and rests one hand on her leg. "Well, duh. With how much trouble I went through to be hot, having it appreciated is... Delicious. So go ahead and just be careful of me taking what I want too."

She places a conspiratorial finger to her lips and hums, amusedly, consideringly...  "Oh, I think I'll be quite happy to give you what you want, once we're in a good place to get it~"

And with that said...well, she did say she could kiss Lilith...so she does, with quite some fervor, for a good, solid minute~

"A little teaser for you, you sexy succubus~"

Lilith eagerly kisses back, hungrily, breath warm against Annabel's skin and arms wrapped around her neck. The 'succubus' comment seems, perhaps, apt- There's something intangibly compelling as she makes quiet happy noises. A scent? A tingling? Just the pretty face and deep eyes looking back with desire?

"Oh, yes. I'm sure we'll come to a mutually agreeable exchange. I'll be sure to show you how I deserve that little moniker, hm? Alas, it would be pretty annoying to deal with the scandal of seducing you more right here in the diner... Even if it'd be pretty fun too."

She is so doomed~

"It really would, on both counts," she says and also thinks, "so let's hurry up, get the check and head on out, hmm?  I'm sure you know a place~"

Lilith coolly slides a crisp $100 bill onto the table. "I, in fact, do know a place where we can be as loud as we please."

"Then let us depart~"

(The plot resumes in thread 3.)