Work Text:
Tessa hated being a magical girl. Okay, not really, it was pretty awesome, but she hated being a Magical Girl, the kind of public figure that had to do stupid publicity stuff like this public signing. She knew Sylvia and Sally enjoyed it, and she knew Sylvia would never let her forget it if she skipped on it, so she was here, signing posters and such.
In the middle of signing what must have been her ten thousandth poster, she asked the canned question she always asked, “What’s your name?” What she wasn’t expecting was the long pause, as the child across from her struggled to answer.
She looked up, out of curiosity, and saw a small boy, black hair grown out a bit puffy, looking down at his shoes. Tessa knew how to deal with nervous kids. “It’s okay. Hey, why did you come to our event today?”
The kid stuttered. “My s-sister’s a magical girl. And, um, I wanna be just like her.”
Tessa looked at the kid for a bit, and she saw the determination in his eyes. For a minute, she tried to understand. Then it clicked. She corrected herself: her eyes. “Who’s your sister?”
“Um, Silver Strike.”
Tessa smiled. “Oh, she’s really cool! Well, I’m sure when you’re old enough, you’ll be just like her.” She looked down at the half-finished signature and altered it a bit. Satisfied, she handed the poster back to the little girl, who beamed. She had written, “To the girl I met at the Public Mall, let me know when you choose a name and I’ll sign it properly! Alchemical Aether.”
Smiling, the girl stuttered out a “Thank you” and wandered off. Tessa smiled. She hated these publicity events, but sometimes being a Magical Girl was all right.