"I was thinking, since you said you wanted to do something really unique, why not set up a moon viewing party for the lunar eclipse later this month? You'd basically be getting in ahead of everyone's mid-Autumn festival planning and set the tone for the whole season without having to celebrate before the holiday. Plus you could theme the whole event around the eclipse, lots of masks and mystery, and you could actually change during the dark of the eclipse itself and come out in gown like you were Chang E herself..."

"I'm sorry, you're adorable when you get excited," Ruiqi smiled at her new event planner. "Please, go on, I'm dying to hear what else you have planned." The girl was barely out of finishing school and so enthusiastic!

The girl blushed, coughed, and coughed again before she was able to continue. "Well I have some swatches and a sketch..." Ruiqi had a little trouble concentrating, the blush was so pink against Nafisa's brown-brass skin.

"I always like bands nobody's ever heard of," Ruiqi told her. "Reminds them that I'm the one setting trends." She considered for a minute. "Two weeks ago I heard a band play that would be perfect. Angry folkpunk, three guys and a girl, and the girl played the biggest string instrument I've ever seen on a club stage. Can't remember their name, though. Do your best, or find me somebody just as good." It took Nafisa six phone calls and an evening in a warehouse that she doubted had a liquor license to find out they were called It's Not There. The band was every bit as good as Ruiqi said they were. "I've got a gig for you on the full moon," she told them after. "We're busy," the lead told her. "You'll cancel," Nafisa said, and when she explained where they'd be playing, they did.

"It's <i>not</i> a Mid-Autumn Festival party," Nafisa explained to the caterer over the phone, "but we want a menu that everyone will be ripping off next month. Can you give me that?" Behind her, Ruiqi listened and smiled.

"I, ah, actually got R&D in on this," Nafisa hesitated. She held up the lantern in one hand and the remote in the other. Ruiqi forced herself to look serious for the girl. "Go on." "Ixtli said she could program it to match the moon exactly," she explained, as the lantern's LED light was cloaked in a slow-moving darkness powered by a tiny bloodstone in the base. "So the partygoers can't miss the totality, and they can't miss your entrance." "Your idea?" Nafisa shrugged. "I had a concept. Ixtli did all the work." "I like it. Can they make two hundred in time?"

It looked like the party was going to go off without a hitch, and Ruiqi couldn't be happier. The society reporters were having a field day and the rumor was that It's Not There already had a record deal waiting at the end of the night. The eclipse had just reached totality. The lanterns were dark, with only the blood-red shadow of the moon, fairylights and the occasional flash photography keeping everyone from tripping over each other. It's Not There was going to play a short set of their loudest songs, in lieu of the crowd banging on things, and there would be fireworks just before the moon returned. Everything was planned meticulously, and Nafisa liked it that way. In an alcove to the side of the roof deck, Nafisa was all but tearing Ruiqi out of her dress and trying hard not to think about other circumstances in which she could to so more slowly. They were making good time. Ruiqi was down to stays and spells, the most basic layer of undergarments. Nafisa was blocking the view of the niche, just in case a curious photographer came around while Ruiqi was arranging her second dress. She slid into the underskirt first, and Nafisa tied the waist-straps while Ruiqi reached for the first proper robe of four, each with it's own knots and sashes. It was sheer luck that the first shot hit the side of the niche and buried into the concrete. Tiny shards of the wall sprayed in Nafisa's face and she pushed Ruiqi against the wall without thinking. "Isa?" Ruiqi asked, confused. By then Nafisa had turned and drawn the gun she kept just above the hem of her skirt - a tiny thing powered by a bloodstone to act as both gun and taser. It wasn't what she'd have preferred to have, but she hadn't exactly been planning for this. "Shots fired, Miss," Nafisa answered without turning around. Another shot pinged off the stonework, too close for comfort. "Are you hurt?" "No, but I need you to let me out," Ruiqi hissed at her. "Isn't taking care of you my job?" she asked, but she stepped forward and gave her boss more room. "First, your job is event planning and PR," Ruiqi answered. Nafisa felt her hair move but she couldn't quite tell what her boss was doing behind her. "Second, I <i>can</i> handle myself in an emergency." There was a strong scent of ozone and lilac, and an energetic field spread over Nafisa's vision. Another shot fizzled against the shield. Nafisa turned and looked at her. "I didn't think-" "Didn't think the rumors were true? I really am a witch. But I appreciate your defense of my character." Ruiqi glared into the darkness. "I can't find him, though. If I keep him occupied..." "I'll fish him out." Nafisa nodded. Ruiqi thought seriously for a minute. "What kind of finishing school did you go to, anyway? No, tell me later. Busy now, I don't want to miss my entrance." Nafisa nodded and stepped through the shield, leaving her tall sandals behind and ignoring the tingle across her skin. She dashed down the the narrow access corridor in search of the maintenance ladder she'd seen earlier. As she climbed, she saw bursts of light coming from where she'd left Ruiqi - illusions of fireworks, to confuse the shooter and distract the guests. There was another pop, and she finally saw the shooter, dark against dark sky, where her silhouette blocked out the stars. Nafisa stepped forward as silently as she could - the tiny pistol was not as powerful as she'd have liked. Two quick shots and the shooter dropped anyway, electrical charge arcing briefly over her body. Nafisa checked that there was no pulse and dashed back to Ruiqi as fast as she dared. Totality would be over any second and that dress was- Already on her. "You <i>are</i> a magical girl," Nafisa whispered, only a little awe in her voice before she recovered herself. "Shooter's taken care of, Miss." "Good. Get me to my entrance. And consider yourself promoted."

Nafisa only knew when the party finally ended because someone shook her awake to a silent dawn instead of a noisy darkness. She blinked and rubbed her eyes before realizing the person who'd shaken her awake was Ruiqi.

"Oh! Sorry, Miss. Do you need me?"

"Well, yes," Ruiqi smiled. "Magical girl or not, I can't get out of <i>all</i> of this on my own."

"I meant that about the promotion," Ruiqi said as Nafisa un-knotted the second layer of sashes.

"To what?" Nafisa asked.

"Hmm. Good question. Why aren't you in security?"

"I don't want to do that all the time. I'm happy to protect you, I like you. But I wouldn't want to get assigned to something I don't agree with."

Ruiqi raised an eyebrow at that, but Nafisa was concentrating on a recalcitrant knot and didn't notice.

"How about 'personal assistant'? That sounds like a reasonable promotion from PR, doesn't it?"

The knot came loose and Nafisa looked up. "You're sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. I'm always sure," Ruiqi said. "But first I want to fire you."

"Fire me? Why?" Nafisa's heart sank, and she stood there holding the lower robe, unable to move.

"So you can tell me if you don't want to do this." The taller woman leaned down and nibbled on Nafisa's ear.

Nafisa dropped the robe and started to scramble to gather it up.

"Leave it," Ruiqi whispered, and the younger woman did as she was told, blushing hard.