[Greensboro, North Carolina, March 2023]
Maria Ortega paused outside the door to her mother's apartment longer than she meant to, listening to the myriad of sounds that had felt all too familiar to her. The hush of the building, the distant hum of traffic, the neighbor's television bleeding through the open window, and the rattle of an old heater trying its best to stay alive. Even the hallway still smelled faintly of cleaning solution and fried onions.
For some reason, the place felt smaller than she remembered, or maybe she'd simply grown used to wider spaces with brighter lights ever since she had moved to Charlotte.
She knocked anyway, her knuckles firm but hesitant.
"I already told you, I'm not interested in whatever you're selling!" Her mother, Karla, called from inside.
Maria smiled despite herself. "It's me, Mamá."
The door opened almost immediately. Karla stood there in worn slippers and a cardigan she'd owned for too many years to remember, her dark hair pulled back in a loose bun streaked with gray she pretended not to notice. For a second, they just looked at each other. Then Karla's hand flew to her mouth.
"María!" The older woman said softly, like she might scare her away by saying it too loudly. "Ay, mija!"
They hugged, the kind of hug that tried to make up for months of absence all at once. Karla smelled like coffee and laundry detergent. It was home in a way no place Maria slept ever quite managed to be.
"You got thinner." Karla said, pulling back to inspect her daughter. "Are they feeding you over there at your job? I hope all that monster hunting isn't stressing you out too bad."
"I'm fine, I promise." Maria said with a laugh. "I just shed a few pounds thanks to all the training I've been doing."
Karla stepped aside and let her in. The apartment hadn't changed much. The same couch with the sagging cushion sat against the far wall, the same religious candle set sat on the kitchen table, and the same framed photo of Maria at nine was on the shelf, the one of her missing a front tooth and grinning like she owned the world. The familiarity made something in Maria's chest tighten.
The two quickly sat at the small kitchen table, knees nearly touching. Karla poured some coffee without asking; some habits didn't need permission.
The mother/daughter duo proceeded to catch up and update each other on how their lives had been going over the last few months. Simply talking about the small things, such as all the new traffic in the area, the neighborhood, and the new manager at Karla's job.
Just as Karla was finishing regaling her daughter with a story about one of the boys at the local grocery store who tried to hit on her, Maria reached into her jacket pocket. Once it was firmly in her hand, the raven-haired teen pulled out a large white envelope and slid it across the table.
Karla frowned at it as if it might bite her. "What's this?"
"Some money. For you." Maria said gently. "I make more than what I know what to do with these days. And even though you got that big promotion at the hospital, I thought you'd put it to better use than me-"
"No! Absolutely not!" Karla pushed back immediately as she slid the envelope back across the table.
"Mamá-"
"No." Karla's voice sharpened, the way it always did when fear dressed itself up as anger. "I did not raise you for this. I already told you, a child should not be worrying about taking care of her mother."
"I'm not a child, though." Maria replied. Not defensive, just honest. "And I want to."
"You're nineteen, mija." Karla said. "You should be saving as much as you can while you're young. Living your life. Not…" She gestured at the envelope as if it offended her. "This."
Maria leaned forward, resting her forearms on the table. "I'm doing okay. Really. I don't need it. And I just want to help."
In all honesty, Maria was doing a lot more than okay these days. Her yearly salary as a DPA agent was more than enough to support both herself and her lifestyle. Thanks to how she grew up, the young 'beast magic' user was already used to being frugal when she needed to. And her video game/manga obsession barely cut into her living expenses. In reality, Maria rarely spent more than a tenth of her paycheck after taking all of her bills into account. Which meant that she had more than enough money to give away at the end of every month.
Karla shook her head. "I'm managing just fine."
"I know." Maria said. "You always do. But let me, Mamá. Please."
The room went quiet except for the ticking clock above the sink. It was the kind of uncomfortable silence that she didn't like to deal with if she could avoid it. Karla stared down at the envelope, jaw tight, pride and worry warring openly on her face. Finally, she sighed, long and heavy.
"You're too much like your father." The woman muttered.
Maria smiled. "You loved that about him."
Karla snorted. Then, reluctantly, she pulled the envelope toward herself. "Fine… but I don't like it. And don't plan on making this a regular thing."
"I know." Maria said. Relief loosened something in her shoulders. "Thank you."
They drank their coffee after that, the tension easing into something softer.
"So…" Karla said, studying Maria over the rim of her mug. "This job of yours. You like it?"
Maria thought about what to say before she responded. The long hours, the constant paperwork, the way adrenaline could spike without warning. The chaos. The responsibility. She nodded. "Yeah. I do. It's… a lot. But I like it."
"Is it dangerous?" Karla asked quietly.
"Sometimes." Maria admitted. "But they train us. And I'm careful."
Karla reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "You always were."
"I've made some friends, too." Maria added, trying to lighten the moment. "Good ones. Although a couple of them are a bit too weird for my taste."
"That's good." Karla said, and she meant it. Her daughter had briefly told her about some of the characters that she had been spending her time with during some of their previous conversations. Like that rich girl who was the sister of that singer that she loved to listen to at work, or the young man who could apparently create whole trees with a wave of his hand. "You shouldn't be alone in all that."
They talked a little longer after that. About work, about nothing important, about everything that was. Eventually, Maria stood, slipping her jacket back on.
"Leaving already?" Karla asked, hope flickering.
"Yeah…" Maria said with a sigh. "I've got an early start tomorrow."
Karla nodded, hiding her disappointment well enough. They hugged again at the door, tighter this time.
"Be safe out there." Karla whispered.
"I will." Maria said. "I promise."
Outside, the night air was cool and steady. Maria walked down the stairway, the envelope's absence strangely reassuring.
A little while after that, Maria was back in her own place, and she wasted little time kicking off her shoes, changing into her pajamas, lying down, staring up at the ceiling.
The day replayed itself quietly in her mind as he allowed the fatigue to wash over her. Her mother's voice, the apartment's smells, the weight of the hug. Eventually, exhaustion won. Maria closed her eyes, ready to sleep, carrying a little more peace with her into the dark.
-(o)-
[The Next Day]
"Seriously?" Evan looked at Valerie with a look of pure astonishment on his face.
"Yup…" The tall blonde frowned as she leaned over the table.
The restaurant that the two young sorcerers were currently sitting in smelled like citrus and grilled meat. It was the kind of place that tried too hard to feel casual while quietly charging way too much for everything on the menu. All while low amber bulbs, brick walls, and a shitty playlist that drifted between indie acoustic and something vaguely jazzy attempted to spruce up the atmosphere.
The duo had been here for the better part of twenty minutes, simply chatting as they waited for their food to arrive.
Such an occurrence wasn't exactly uncommon these days, given how much time Evan and Valerie had been spending together over the last few months. In actuality, the two of them hung out together at least once a week when neither of them was working. And when it wasn't just the two of them, it was usually the entire group.
"The guy just walked out on you? Just like that?" The 'wind magic' user then asked.
"Yup…" Valerie replied.
At the moment, Valerie was recounting the story of her latest disaster of a blind date that she had to deal with only a couple of days ago.
In short, Valerie and a guy that she had met on a dating app that Sebastian had recommended to her agreed to meet up at one of the local ramen shops on her day off. Naturally, the tall blonde had spent most of the day getting ready and dolled up for the occasion. Even going so far as to spend an extra hour in the gym just to make sure that she looked her best.
But unfortunately for her, things went south before the date had even started….
The moment her date, a young man who worked for the bank that the MacNamaras own, arrived at the restaurant, Valerie went to greet him at the door and give him her best attempt at a bright and charming smile. However, as soon as the man laid eyes on her, he suddenly started looking really uncomfortable and decided that he didn't want to go through with the whole thing after all.
Of course, Valerie asked the man why he suddenly got cold feet after already coming all this way, and the guy just flat-out told her that his reasoning was because she was taller than him. The woman didn't even get the chance to look shocked before he ran back to his car and pulled off before she could fully process what was happening.
"The height difference wasn't even that bad." The tall blonde then stated while solemnly rubbing her finger over the condensation of her drink. "He was only a few inches shorter than me, barely. Honestly, I don't see why stuff like that even matters in the first place."
Evan did his best to suppress his laughter before replying. "Well…these things happen, y'know. Everyone has their preference and what they're comfortable with at the end of the day."
"It's still stupid." The 'fire magic' user then said before sitting up and looking the man in his pale green eyes. "Like, be honest with me, is it really that big of a deal if a woman is taller than you?"
For a brief moment, Evan considered whether or not he should even entertain the direction that the conversation was about to go in. In times like this, he usually just told the woman whatever they wanted to hear with a slight bit of contradiction mixed in to make it sound like he was being genuine. That was typically what he did when put in situations like this. But after thinking about it briefly, he decided that there really wasn't any point in doing so.
"You want an honest answer?" The 'wind magic' user then asked.
"Yes!"
Evan simply shrugged before giving his response. "Well…yeah…it's actually a pretty big deal for most people."
"Why, though?"
The man then leaned back in his chair as he began to explain. "Let's be honest here, most women don't want to date a man who's shorter than them. I can only really go off of what women have told me in the past, but the majority of them are pretty clear that they only really pay attention to men who are taller than them because that's what they like."
"Okay…." Valerie nodded her head as she waited for him to continue.
"And with how social media works these days, most men are under no illusions that women usually prefer for the man they date to be taller than her. Plus, it doesn't really help that a shorter man being with a taller woman is such a rare thing that it automatically draws a lot of attention whenever they go out. Most guys aren't really into having that many eyes on them, and it's really easy to feel insecure about that kind of thing."
"But why feel insecure about it if you're already with them?" Valerie then asked. "That's so dumb!"
"Whether they want to admit it or not, most people do care about what others think about them. Even total strangers. And all it takes is for one stray comment to make a guy feel uncomfortable being with someone if he thinks that people are going to look at him funny because of it. Plus, it's not exactly a secret that men are often rejected by women because of their height. All of that, plus some other stuff, basically combines into the guy not even wanting to bother with it altogether to avoid a potential headache or blow to his self-esteem."
Valerie stared at Evan for a couple of seconds before sinking even further into her chair. "That's dumb. And totally unfair."
"Maybe, maybe not." Evan smiled. "But hey, that's life."
"What about you? Have you ever had to deal with that?"
"Nope! Dude, I'm six-foot-five! I rarely meet anyone, man or woman, who is as tall or even taller than me. Hell, the only person I personally know who is taller than me is my cousin, Elijah."
Somehow, that did nothing to help the hole that was slowly developing in Valerie's self-confidence. This was the third time something like this had happened to her in the past year. And from the sound of it, it didn't seem like it was going to stop anytime soon. At this point, she was starting to wonder if she should just give up on dating for a while to preserve what was left of her ego.
The silence between the two lingered for a bit before Evan decided that they drastically needed a change of topics. Seeing Valerie all sad and dejected like this was really putting a damper on his mood. So, he decided to discuss something that he actually wanted to talk about.
"Anyways…" The 'wind magic' user then said. "My sister has another concert coming up here in the city in May. You know, the one she does every year in Freedom Park, where she gives out all of the tickets for free."
"Yeah." Valerie nodded. "I remember seeing an ad for it on Instagram a little while ago."
"Would you like to go?"
The 'fire magic' user leaned forward in her chair after hearing that. "Seriously?"
"Yeah." The dread-head nodded. "My parents are making me and my sister go to show our support and rub shoulders. And since we're going, Elizabeth thought that we might as well bring you guys with us. We know that you're all fans of Elaine's music, so it seems like you'd all have a fun time."
"Of course! Count me in!"
Evan simply laughed at the woman's sudden change of mood. "Quintin's going to be there too, since he's Elaine's personal meatshield. I remember you said that you wanted to meet him since you guys are cousins. And this seems like the perfect opportunity for that."
"Hell yeah!" Valrie then shouted loud enough to draw the attention of some of the other customers sitting at the nearby tables. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I've always wanted to go to one of Elaine's shows, but the tickets are always so damn expensive that I never got the chance!"
"Don't worry, since you're going with us, you'll be able to get the full backstage experience. And, as much as I hate to admit, she does put on a good show."
"Oh, I can't wait to tell Aunt Zoe about this! She's gonna be so jealous!"
In all honesty, this was exactly what Valerie needed. Between all the drama that was the aftermath of the Iznana raid, work, training, and all of the other romance-related nonsense in her life, the chance to kick back and enjoy going to a concert with her friends is just the kind of thing that was needed to recharge her battery.
The sorcerer duo then fell into a comfortable silence after that as the waitress finally arrived with their food. The air was punctuated by the clink of silverware and the low murmur of conversations around them.
While she was in between bites of her meal, Valerie suddenly found herself absentmindedly watching Evan as he elegantly dug into his food. There was just something about the guy that seemed to captivate her to no end. How he leaned forward when he listened to her speak, how his fingers tapped invisible rhythms against the table, how easily he pulled a strand of hair away from his face to avoid making a mess. The whole image was like something straight out of a movie scene.
A dangerous thought suddenly crept in as the tall blonde realized what she was doing.
Valerie couldn't help but wonder whether or not she truly had a chance with a guy like this. He was basically perfect in every way imaginable.
She could still remember that time back at the mansion when Elaine had told her right to her face that she was indeed his type. And Valerie would be lying if she said that those words didn't make her feel all warm and tingly on the inside. But, at the very least, it was direct confirmation that he did find her attractive.
Maybe it was the way he listened to her problems without trying to fix everything. Or how he never seemed intimidated by her job, her height, or the parts of her life that might've scared other people off. Maybe it was the fact that he seemed to feel comfortable around her without even the slightest hint of hesitation in his actions.
Valerie swallowed and looked back down at her plate, heart beating a little faster. A slight blush now appeared on her cheeks as she suddenly became hyper-aware of the fact that she was only wearing a hoodie and some gym shorts that showed off most of her legs.
Did she have a chance with him?
And if she did, was she brave enough to ask?
For a moment, Valerie just sat there, caught between comfort and possibility, wondering if the next step was hers to take. Wondering if she should take the leap and test the waters.
"So, did your aunt ever tell you about what happened to you during the raid?" Evan's voice then brought the tall blonde out of her musings. "It sounded like she knew exactly what was going on when you started beating the shit out of that Aaron guy."
"Huh? Oh…yeah!" She replied after finally getting herself in order. "I didn't really understand all of the details. But she said that I have some rare sorcerer trait that's connected to the reason why I can't use my magic. She called it the berserker state, or something like that…."
-(o)-
Info Card: DPA Salaries
Upon entry into the Department of Paranormal Activity, all new agents receive a starting salary of $80,000 a year. Additionally, all agents receive a yearly increase of $6,000 every two years that they remain with the agency.
Agents who work within their station's respective APS squads receive an additional $10,000 a year in hazard pay, but only as long as they are on the station's official roster.
Deputy-Chief Agents receive a yearly salary of $175,000 upon entering their position, while Chief Agents receive a salary of $200,000.
Several allowances and special pay incentives are also given to agents with unique and desirable skillsets that are sought after by the agency. Such as sorcerers who possess 'healing magic', S-rank sorcerers, and those who work directly for the DPA's central office.
The DPA also authorizes agents to officially engage in bounty hunting within the borders of the United States of America and its territories. Any sorcerer who turns in a bounty through the appropriate channels will receive a one-time payment for their services. These bounties usually refer to either capture or kill missions of a specific target. However, these can also include the procurement of key pieces of intelligence needed by the agency.
The highest confirmed bounty on record ever given out by the DPA was given to Jean-Jacque Mubele for the neutralization of former Iznana Branch Head, Kwayme Ayew. Mubele received a payout of $2,500,000 for his services.