Metis leaned over his wife’s back, his hands gently inter-folding into the gaps of Lyra’s fingers, tugging on the slightly off size bck military gloves she was wearing. Both their eyes fixated on the thin screen in-front of them, the rest of their house unlit.

  Lyra opened her mouth to say something, but she quickly closed it unsure of what to say. Opened, closed, opened, closed, after repeating this process a couple more times, she spoke.

  “We… made the cut” Lyra sounded slightly aghast, shocked, and happy.

  Metis detached his fingers from her palm, before taking the front of her slim bck cap, and pushing it down until her eyes were covered.

  “And what was that for?” She asked pyfully, while she looked up, the cap still held over her eyes.

  “I just wanted to protect your beautiful face,” Metis replied, his voice trembling, and wet.

  Lyra lifted her right arm and slowly took off the cap, revealing a teary eyed man, crying with a soft smile, the ugly kind, but not to her. Tears slowly dripped onto her forehead.

  Lyra lifted herself from her chair, her silk woven bck military pajamas rubbing against her soft bck hair.

  After tucking the chair she was sitting in back into the metal table, she embraced Metis for a deep kiss. His tears still running. Her arms in-between his she rubbed his back through his bck-silver striped uniform indicating an analyst. He wore no cap.

  After a period of time, which could not be defined by the couple, Metis took his handkerchief, stuffed in the front pocket of his uniform, which was also ordained with a purple star, he wiped himself and his wife of the mess. He swiftly composed himself and spoke.

  “It is te, let’s go to bed,”

  “Yes, analyst sir!”

  Lyra spoke jokingly.

  They went to bed in their uniforms, which were equipped with magical comfort and cleanliness for only 9 Qhern if you join the military.

  ————

  “The republic of freedom, and most other space fairing magical girl integrated militaries did not handle discipline the same way as pre-them society did, instead of following orders and obeying superiors, blending in with the crowd and maintaining group homogeneity, one was expected to be as individualistic as possible, this was a for a variety of purposes, to enhance their magical girls powers, to potentially awaken any magical girls, but most importantly to root out them. Now these reasons may not seem like enough reason to rearrange the military and give up group order, but the cost of even a single one of them managing to infiltrate anywhere with a high enough importance and be unnoticed is catastrophic enough to warrant said action. After all they are the best at blending in with the crowd.” General Crow barked on in one of his usual absurdly long rants. But this time his words had a use.

  “Are you suspecting I’m one of them?” Metis questioned.

  “No, but …” general Crow bbbered

  “You are quite different from most people in this Sector,” Metis stated,

  “Well I am a unique man, after all the call me …” Crow responded before bbbering on

  General crow ughed, almost deliriously while smming his hand against the wooden table, which was weirdly empty. While Metis looked outside longing for the majestic pink willow trees, just outside the windows.

  “It’s quite nice outside, isn’t it?” Metis calmly asked his hands positioned together like a thick wall.

  General Crow stayed quiet for a moment before shortly responding.

  “You’re not one of them,”

  Metis raised an eyebrow a questioning look appearing on his face.

  “That’s true but what made you change your mind,” Metis raised.

  “Your too calm, and you have a missing thumb and index finger, if I were to guess probably caused in an accident or a birth defect ” he spoke, “They would never make a mistake like that,”

  ———————

  Lyra walked the streets of New Kand city, looking upon the pink willow trees that were stuck between all altitudes, on rooftops, down the hill by the river, in the ground, sometimes in parking garages. Lyra couldn’t say she was particurly fond of this city, considering she had moved here from Punnet only a while ago and now she was moving, but she would definitely remember it. Lyra quickly adjusted her bck leather jacket, which she got as a complimentary gift during a mission. It was especially comfortable as the magical who blessed and manufactured this specific model specialized in comfort, coolness, and cleanliness, so although it wasn’t particurly fit for battle, it was simply the best for pleasure. Lyra continued her stroll waving to pedestrians and other military officers in reserve. Most of which were female. Lyra paused for a moment before she lifted her arm and looked at her digital watch.

  It was nearly time, and her dearest husband still was being questioned…