A small compact mirror sat on the top of Arilee’s bedside table, looking odd amongst the tiny trays of jewelry and jars of board wax. No compact had ever sat there before. And somehow, Arilee didn’t see this as opening a way for other compacts to sneak into her life. She rarely needed or used such things. And it wasn’t as if she was one of those girls who felt the need to touch up makeup every half an hour. So why was she granting this one a place so near to herself? It was stupid. And far too girly.

And her duty, a tiny, chiding voice inside her heart reminded her. Her responsibility. And, whether she wanted to admit it to herself or not, that thought brought a little rushing swell of pride with it. She’d been found and awakened and given a purpose. And in the process, had gotten more than her fair share of scrapes and bruises. Shivering slightly, the girl threw herself onto her bed and lay back, arms crossed under her head as she studied the ceiling of her dorm room. Unbelieveable, she mused. I’ve survived a lot and done a lot. And now I have sparkly, magic powers and a Queen. No, this definitely had never crossed her mind when she would lay awake and daydream about what her future might hold. And the monsters she’d seen since she’d been saved most assuredly had never been on her bucket list of things to see.

As she lay there, a small smile couldn’t help forming as she thought of the girl who’d introduced herself as Ares. She’d been imposing, certainly, but she was also rather incredibly hot. And Arilee’d always had an admiring eye for beauty wherever she saw it. But all hotness aside, Ares had saved her, given her something she’d never known that she needed or wanted. She’d given Arilee a purpose. Something beyond surfing and goofing off and annoying her dad and step-mom. Though... the tiny, irreverent part of her mind that couldn’t be kept down wondered if Ares would be any good at surfing.

“I’m grateful for the purpose,” she turned her head slightly to address the small mirror she’d been given. “I am. But man, did that purpose have to come with ******** sparkly s**t straight out of some weird japanese cartoon? I feel like I should be screaming about power levels being over 9000.”

Granted, she looked pretty smoking in her magic clothes and she thought, all things considered, that being a Senshi of Seagulls wasn’t too bad. She liked gulls, always had. And when she’d gone jetting off to find herself a proper beach to go surfing at, she’d always admired the gulls’ graceful flights. To be connected to something like that wasn’t so bad. Not really.

With a sigh, Arilee turned onto her side so she could watch the mirror compact. Then, on a whim, she addressed it again.

“This is all pretty wild, y’know? I mean, I’ve never been very good at sticking to rules or following orders, just ask my dad or the teachers! But... I think for you, I’ll do my best to toe the line. I might not be very good at it, but I’ll try.”
A impish grin flickered across Arilee’s face as she made her promise.

“Starting tomorrow.”