Chapter Text
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In the mayor's office at city hall, the walls no longer held city maps or extravagant paintings. Now, they were covered in blurry photographs taken with a telephoto lens.
The mayor pressed a button on his desk, revealing a small bronze statue of Beaver-Girl that he had secretly commissioned. "She saved my life... She risked her life, her beautiful, angel-like face, just for me," Jerry sighed, his gaze lost in the ceiling as he reflected. "It’s destiny. She is the First Lady this city needs..."
During the grand opening of one of his many infrastructure projects, things had gone terribly wrong. Mayor Jerry, who was posing for the cameras while cutting the ribbon with a ridiculous pair of silver scissors, never saw the disaster coming. The structure collapsed completely, triggering a cave-in that threw him straight into the turbulent waters of the river.
Panic seized him due to how strong the current was. The freezing water rushed into his mouth and nose, his designer suit grew heavy, sinking him little by little toward the bottom, and his end seemed imminent. The faint, glimmering lights above were fading; everything was turning blacker by the second...
Then, a streamlined silhouette dove into the depths.
Swimming against the current with a colossal strength that felt like an engine, she grabbed him firmly and dragged him out of the rushing water and onto the shore.
Jerry collapsed onto the grass, unconscious. Before he could even react, Beaver-Girl gave him two hard slaps on the chest with her gloved hands to make him spit out the water.
Seeing that he still wasn't breathing, the magical girl didn’t think twice; she leaned over and gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Jerry gasped awake, taking in the air and the shock of having the face of that suited figure so close to his own. The world stopped for him. But the magic didn't last long.
Beaver-Girl pulled away abruptly, wiping her lips with her forearm with a grimace of absolute disgust. While he coughed, trying to catch his breath, she glared at him, narrowing her eyes in sheer annoyance.
"Ugh... Are you serious, Jerry?! And you call yourself the mayor?!" she snapped in a firm voice, visibly irritated and blushing. "Stop procrastinating and fix this mammal habitat once and for all, instead of building useless things that don't work and break easily, you idiot!"
Without waiting for an answer, she took a superhuman leap, launching herself away from the scene and leaving him completely alone, soaking wet.
Any other politician would have launched a smear campaign against the superheroine for such an insult. But not Jerry.
From that exact second, the mayor's world stood still. Approval ratings no longer mattered to him at all. The only thing that mattered was the alluring, fierce creature who had brought him back to life and insulted him with such elegance. He was completely captivated by her.
"Sir, I still think that girl is trouble," his assistant said, rubbing his temples. "Besides, election law does not permit marriage to magical rodent girls."
"Nah, bureaucratic details!" the mayor exclaimed, slamming his desk tiredly. "If she won't come willingly to receive my eternal gratitude, I'll just have to get more creative. Bring her to me!"
Half an hour later, a man dressed in camouflage from head to toe and wearing a hat entered the office. He called himself "The Invisible Tracker," the best exotic trapper in the region.
"Do you want me to eliminate her, then, Mr. Mayor?" the man asked in a gruff voice.
"Are you insane?! No!" Jerry corrected, outraged. "I want you to find her and tell her I'm inviting her to dinner! But since she is very reluctant and elusive, you'll have to use... persuasive methods to get her to accept. Oh, and by the way, I want you to give her this..."
The mayor pulled a piece of imported wood, carved into the shape of a heart, out of a safe.
"Bring her here. I will give her the finest treatment she deserves, at the most expensive restaurant in the city. In the meantime, I'll be waiting for her with scented candles and a bottle imported from Italy."
However, Jerry didn't have the slightest clue about the truth. In his head, Beaver-Girl was a celestial creature; he was completely oblivious to the fact that behind that magical mask and those dazzling white tights hid Mabel—the girl who detested his very presence with every fiber of her being, the two of them having been at odds with each other for quite some time.
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For most students at Beaverton University, the biggest problem of the week was surviving midterms and getting enough caffeine. For Mabel Tanaka, the problem was that, because of a mystical pact she had accepted to become the King’s Royal Paw, she now carried the weight of being the guardian of Beaverton's glades, forests, and green spaces. Under the guidance of a forest spirit named George—a friendly and reliable beaver who was now her friend—she was also the defender of all mammals and a fighter against the surreal, polluting creatures that appeared from time to time.
"Cloak of Dried Leaves, Armor of Wind..." she whispered, focusing deeply. "Strength of the Forest Current, transform me!" Mabel exclaimed, reciting her invocation mantra while hidden behind one of the campus walls.
A flash of emerald-green light, accompanied by a flurry of magical sawdust sparkles with the scent of pine, completely enveloped her. Her college clothes vanished, replaced by a spectacular, sleek, aerodynamic, and highly resistant waterproof combat suit. It featured reinforced armor, alongside an elegant, iconic mystical beaver tail and a matching wand. Atop her head, small beaver ears glimmered into view. To crown the design, a large bow projected a subtle, youthful energy with a magical glow that radiated the strength of the oaks.
Mabel couldn’t be more embarrassed. In her daily college life, her outfit usually consisted of baggy pants, oversized hoodies three sizes too big, and the absolute comfort of passing unnoticed across campus.
But this heroine suit was a completely different story.
The outfit was way too short for her liking, hugging her figure with an almost architectural precision. To make matters worse, the contrast with the mystical, stark white thigh-high tights accentuated her silhouette in a way that Mabel found downright embarrassing. She felt completely exposed to the world.
However, to Mayor Jerry, that outfit was a piece of empyrean art; it had him completely losing his mind every time they were near each other, unable to articulate a single coherent sentence without sighing.
Mabel would always tug at the edges of her suit, trying in vain to cover up a bit more while shooting Jerry a death glare.
Furthermore, even though she was still her normal height—being considered the shortest girl in her class—her presence now commanded the respect of a force of nature. She was now... Beaver-Girl!
She slipped out of her hiding place and grabbed her things, walking away quickly and discreetly.
At that moment, George popped his head out of Mabel's backpack, chewing on a wrap made of leaves and bark.
"Hey, Mabel," George whispered, being equally cautious. "I feel a disturbance, a presence nearby. It smells like...? Something smells like a trap..."
Mabel suddenly noticed the bushes rustling in the distance at that exact moment. Thanks to her enhanced magical girl senses, she could spot someone's camouflage boots sticking out from the foliage.
"I'm telling you, kid," George whispered, "I have a bad feeling about this."
Mabel sighed. Being the local superheroine was already hard enough on top of college homework, but having to defend herself now against the bizarre plans of persistent stalkers was going to require more than just a strong beaver tail.
'If I transform again, he’ll know who I am,' Mabel thought to herself, crossing her arms. 'But if I do nothing, this guy is just going to keep hounding me... Wait. What exactly does he want? Could this have something to do with Mayor Jerry?'
"Hellloo! Hey, you! Come on out! I can see you..." she called out, encouraging him to leave his hiding place and face her. "What's the matter? Don't be shy, I know you're there..."
With that, the man stepped out, brushing off his clothes, and bowed slightly as a sign of respect. "Good afternoon, miss. Allow me to introduce myself. My intention is not to bother you. I come on behalf of Mayor Jerry to convey his wish to speak with you tomorrow night at City Hall so you two can interact privately, as he would like to get to know you better... He wants to have a date with you."
An incredulous smile formed on her lips; she was definitely going to reject the stupid invitation. But suddenly, a mischievous smirk played across Mabel's face.
Mabel accepted without a second thought... only to be left completely stunned when she received a meticulously carved piece of wood in the shape of a heart. The small detail left the heroine speechless, staring at it in utter bewilderment.
That docile surrender left George completely dumbfounded. From the edge of the backpack, the magical beaver watched the scene with wide eyes, trying to process it; he was fully aware of the deep contempt Mabel felt for the mayor. Seeing her give in so easily to Jerry’s ridiculous romantic delusions was something he never could have predicted.
"Calm down, George..." she whispered confidently. "We're getting a free dinner out of this...!"
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