July 17, 489 U.C. - Continued.

With the world at my fingers, my fingers danced across my keyboard. Words shot by. I pulled up a movie and the g-boards. Don’t tell my dad. Using the Guardian site for anything is strictly forbidden. But it’s not my fault that’s where everyone went. A girl needs to go where the people are. My friends were on it, and I needed to see if they were around.

With the site launched, I began scrolling. Then panic shot through me like burning mana. I hit the close option as I spun.

“Forgetting something?” Dad asked from my doorway.

I considered it. I’d eaten, cleaned, and trained. “Nope,” I said cheerily as sirens blared in the background.

Dad sighed and rubbed his brow. “Food. Bring at least one thing back. If you get more, you can avoid a breakfast run. So, I’d advise getting something good.”

“There’s a mana storm,” I protested.

“Be quick,” Dad said. He pointed towards the door.

I scowled, opened my drawer, and grabbed my mask and goggles. For those who’ve never been off-world, it’s the standard package. The mask covers your nose and mouth. It seals. The canister usually lasts four hours if no oxygen is around.

Placing the mask up on my face, the ribbons snaked out and secured it. My goggles did the same, purple ribbons snaking out around my brown hair. Text flashed up on the goggles.

Oxygen remaining: 94% (89 hours at current air quality).

Oxygen warning is in effect.

A mana storm is in effect.

I headed for the door, grabbing the fishing gear that was leaning next to it.

With spear and gear in hand, I headed down the barren hall. Turning, I opened the front door and headed outside. The door clunked shut behind me. Houses surrounded me, slightly distorted by the plastic tunnel that linked them. For the lucky people on Earth, it’s your standard shared walkway with enough air to breathe without a mask. It connected twenty houses in our little block.

Walking down said hall, I did my best not to get distracted by the gardens that grew in front of some of the homes. Instead, I focused on the airlock, my shoes clumping as I walked. Walking into it, the door clunked shut behind me. Then it attempted to siphon the air out and replace it with the outside. No, it didn’t do a great job, but the goal was just to try to slow down the lost oxygen.

With a hiss, the other door opened, exposing me to the raw air of Vuln. Flashing lights caught my eye as the door clunked shut behind me. At the same moment, pure fire flashed through me as the swirling mana hit. It burned through my entire body as I turned. Go numb. Just go numb. I took several long breaths while waiting for that to happen.

Finally, I shuffled down the narrow concrete street, ignoring the scooters on the corner. Instead, I picked up my pace and began jogging down the empty street. The streets were very quiet. Only those with magic can enjoy a mana storm, and I’ve heard that many of them don’t care for them.

I turned and jogged through the streets. My dad wasn’t going to pay for a scooter. He was committed to the training thing. Passing several hastily made houses, businesses, and towering apartments, I headed towards the river that was to the northwest.

Walking past a house that looked like it was about to collapse, I turned and jogged up a larger road. Then I started passing the nicer buildings. Looking up, I studied the terraformer. Like most days, it sat there uselessly, the nobles unwilling to pay for further expansion.

Looking away from the towering chimneys, I glanced at a shop nearby. Ads played annoyingly in the windows. Yes, some of the food looked delicious. But Dad would have grounded me. And I couldn’t afford it. So, I sighed and turned my focus while jogging down the lane toward the center of the city. In front of me was the government building. A massive ad was playing.

Join the Royal Guardians! Enjoy planetary travel, property, and great compensation!

A magical boy and girl were waving. The ad left out the need to get magic, and the need to get fae approval to get it. All of that ignored the fact that the fae would kill me if they found me. But I digress.

Looking away from the sign, I picked up the pace, running through the empty streets. Then the sound of chirping hit my ears. I spun with a grin. A rotk was nearby; it offered an easy option to be done for the evening. I crept down an alley as quietly as possible.

The brown, burrowing bird was pecking at something, likely trash. It chirped and pecked the ground again. They look like chickens for those who are wondering. They taste similar too. It chittered, fluffed feathers, and pecked at something.

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Pulling out a knife, I took careful aim. Then I launched the knife. It looped while zipping through the air. The rotk jerked its head up and flew off. The knife missed, bounced, and clanged off the cement.

“Darn it,” I cursed and picked up my knife. Then I forced myself to head to the river while daydreaming. I won’t repeat my daydream as I don’t remember it.

My daydream was interrupted a few minutes later when someone yelled at me.

“Stop!” an officer yelled.

I spun to see a man in uniform. “Yes, officer?”

“Fishing license?” a policeman said as he walked up. “And you really shouldn’t be out in this. It’s the reason that I’m forced to be out here. Penalties are increased.”

“Sorry, sir.” I pulled out a fishing license from the basket. The security ink shimmered as I handed it to him. “I should be in the system. Your computer didn’t pick it up?”

The officer ignored the question. “I’d like a scan.”

“Sure.” I placed my hand on a presented device. It looked like a palm scanner. You know the black thing. It clicked and a light on it flashed green.

The officer’s eyes flickered as he used his augmented reality. “You are authorized. You really should try again later. Mana storms are dangerous. It’s very inconsiderate.” The officer glowered at me.

I stared at his nose. It was on the larger side, and he had a large mustache underneath it. His mustache twitched.

“Well?” the officer said irritably.

“Sorry, sir. I’m just going to grab a quick fish and go.” I turned and headed down the streets while pondering his ire. It was likely the mana storm. But I wasn’t making him be out here. This was legal; if he had to follow me, it was on him and his life choices.

The officer scowled and followed. “Why not do this after the storm? Don’t you feel it?”

“It’s not so bad anymore,” I replied. I was numb to it at that moment. There was already plenty of mana in my body from the storm and food. At a certain point, it’s hard to add more fire.

“And I don’t have records of you in school. Why?” the officer demanded.

I sighed. “I’m homeschooled. You can check exam scores. I have them registered.”

“I see. I will be watching since you won’t leave,” he said irritably.

“Don’t feel obligated. Fishing can be boring.” I skipped down the streets while he trailed behind. The buildings towered around me as I passed through the center and followed along the terraformer. Eventually, I ended up at the canal that fed the plant.

The water was in a large concrete canal that quickly faded into mud and rock. I headed to that portion, climbing down into the canal and perching on a rock. The sound of the water mingled with the smell of the nearby forest. Chirping and water filled my ears and made me smile. Then the mood was ruined as the muttering officer walked up. He let out a huff.

This work was stolen from Magical Girl Platinum on Royal Road. Please message me there.

Ignoring my escort, I began pacing the bank while studying the clear water. I don’t know how long it took. I do know that the officer’s irritability continued to grow as he watched me pacing around in search of food. Then a striped fish drifted into view. With the skill of someone who’d been doing this for ten days, I placed the tip in the water and released the elastic. The spear shot forward, thunking into the mud.

“Darn it,” I cursed while the officer used words that would have landed me in trouble. To my surprise, he took my miss personally and cursed too.

Minutes passed. Shadows grew long; cursing filled the air. I turned and shot him an angry look as a fish swam away from the racket.

After another eternity, a large fish swam into sight. Once again, I shot the spear forward; it glided through the water, sinking into the side of the large fish. A massive smile spread across my face. The fish responded with a frown. It did not much like the spear inside of it. Swimming forward, it pulled me straight into the water with a yelp.

Water sprayed into the air as I slammed into the chilly canal. With a fierce frown, I clung to the spear while my mask unhelpfully added commentary.

Unable to access atmosphere. 3.7 hours remaining.

The message wasn’t needed. I had noticed the seaweed and mud directly below my face. The coldness of the water was then offset by the burning mana inside of it. That snapped me back to the task at hand. I did my best to swim against it. Then I used my feet as we raced through shallows, skidding through the mud. It slowed. I attempted to pull it in as I stood. Then it surged with newfound fury, giving me another attempt at face-first water-skiing.

I failed miserably to get my feet under me again. Instead, I reeled in the spear. Then I stabbed the fish in the gills with my knife. It slowly went still as it bled. I swam to the bank and climbed out, hauling the fish and spear. Water dripped everywhere as I walked up onto the street, looking like a drowned rat with a massive fish clutched in its paws. Then I turned a vibrant red as I saw the officer. He was looking at me like I had the plague.

“You know that it’s illegal to swim?” the officer asked while backing away from me.

I shook my head, sending droplets flying around me. “I didn’t swim. I was dragged in,” I clarified. That should have been obvious if he was watching at all. I grabbed the rest of the things, putting the fish in the basket. Then I continued walking towards him while water dripped everywhere.

“That’s still a potential criminal charge,” the officer said while stepping further away from the fiery water.

I scowled at him. It seemed that they had nothing better to do than charge girls who were dragged into rivers. I shivered while walking closer to the officer, who kept backing up. Then the mana from killing the fish hit. It flooded through my body, nearly causing me to scream. For those who haven’t done it, it’s an experience. It feels like it’s burning into your soul. In fairness, that might be accurate. After all, that is the easiest way to get and grow magic.

I didn’t much appreciate that fact at the time; instead, I just wanted to leave. “Please, officer. I need to dry off. I want to go home.”

“No more fishing, alright?” the officer asked.

“So, starve to death?” I asked with a scowl.

The officer frowned. “Do I need to arrange a visit from social services?”

“No. I just want to go home. Please?” I asked while considering giving him a nice, wet hug.

“Fine, but don’t let it happen again,” he said.

Grateful for that, I turned and headed home. The mana from the fish hurt horribly. It made the water, food, and storm seem like nothing. Stoically, I showed no emotions as I walked home. Do not believe the rumors that I started crying the second the officer was out of earshot. I did not do that. I simply returned home and finished my studies.