The Consequences of Meeting a Dragon

On Seyli's next day off, Ariom and Thenio drove the golem carriage over to the academy to pick her up. Ariom had just completed an updated version of Thenio's insulation bands that filtered out more external magic power, and he wanted to test them out by taking Thenio to a few places that had higher levels of ambient magic.

Going onto the main part of the academy grounds was still a bit much, especially since Thenio hadn't entirely worked through his bitter feelings about the place. So they met Seyli and Tava at a parking area on the edge of the campus that was designed for picking up and dropping off students. It was actually Thenio's first time being there, since he'd always used the public trolley to travel between the academy and his house in the past.

To allow more time for the testing process, they arrived about ten minutes before they were scheduled to meet Seyli and stood outside the carriage to wait. Ariom was keeping a close watch on Thenio's magic power. Thenio was holding Iggy and trying not to feel nervous about being back at the academy for the first time since his inglorious exit with the magic stabilization team a couple of months earlier. And Iggy was supposed to help watch Thenio but was mostly getting distracted by the people going by instead.

Thenio couldn't help watching them, too. There were students who had the day off and were going out with friends, chatting happily about their plans. And others who were getting picked up by a family member, probably going home for the day. A few were getting dropped off—they'd probably gone somewhere the day before and didn't have to be back for classes until the afternoon.

The lively scene made him feel...oddly lonely.

"Do you miss being a student here?" Ariom asked quietly.

Thenio started a little. He'd forgotten that Ariom was watching him. "I...I'm not sure...."

Did he miss it? If he thought back to his time at the academy, he hadn't actually enjoyed it that much. And with easy access to a grandmaster wizard and his extensive library, he was probably learning just as much about magic as he would have if he'd stayed in school. Maybe more.

It was just....

"I don't think I miss it," he said finally, watching as several boys around his age joked and laughed together as they headed toward a nearby snack shop. "It's more like...I can't help feeling a little resentful...that I was never able to be a normal academy student in the first place."

Ariom followed his gaze, looking at the boys in the distance.

"There's already been a lot of research done on magic dampening devices," he said after a long pause. "There's much more demand for those than there is for insulation devices, since most high level sorcerers use them to keep their magic from leaking out and affecting their surroundings. Once we get your insulation bands figured out, it shouldn't be too hard to add a dampening layer to them. It might lessen the effects of your magic power a little bit."

Thenio looked over at him. Ariom was still turned away, and his expression was a little uncomfortable.

"I like that idea," Thenio said with a small smile. "Thanks."

After getting scolded by Jasel the other day, Ariom actually did seem to be making more of an effort to talk to him. It was still awkward whenever they talked about anything not related to magic or dragons. But Ariom was actually quite thoughtful in his own, strange way.

"Oh! I see Tava and Seyli!" Iggy said a minute later.

Following the little dragon's gaze, Thenio could make out the familiar figure of a blonde girl with an orchid-colored dragon riding on her left shoulder, walking in their direction from the other side of the parking area. Ariom also looked over and held one arm up to wave at the pair. Seyli waved back, letting him know she'd seen him.

Iggy started squirming out of Thenio's arms, clearly wanting to go and meet them. But Thenio quickly caught hold of his harness.

"Not yet. Wait until they get closer. There are too many people around, and they'll be really surprised if a dragon suddenly flies across the parking area. It might cause an accident."

"Oh." Iggy's expression was a little sulky, but he stopped trying to get free.

When Seyli was a short distance away, she said something to Tava and reached up to pat her. The purple dragon jumped off her shoulder, glided to the ground, and trotted toward them, letting out a few happy-sounding chirps. Iggy chirped back, and Thenio put him down and let him run over to her. The two dragons sniffed at each other for a moment and then lightly butted their heads together a few times, both tails waving excitedly. Thenio had seen them do this same little ritual the last time Seyli and Tava had come to Ariom's house. Seyli said it was how dragons from the same flock greeted each other.

Tava finished her greeting by licking Iggy's face affectionately. Then she came over to Thenio and Ariom, looking up and chirping at them as well.

"Hi there." Thenio smiled and bent down to stroke her head. "We're glad to see you, too."

He started scratching her ears, and Tava closed her eyes and waved her tail happily. She was wearing a leather harness similar to Iggy's but stained a lighter color and tooled with a floral pattern. Seyli was wearing a matching leather shoulder perch—a pauldron-like pad that was designed for a familiar to sit on.

"How's the insulation test going?" Seyli asked, stopping to bend down and scoop up Iggy.

"Not bad." Ariom gave Thenio another appraising look. "He's still absorbing a little magic, but it's not nearly as bad as it was. I don't think our shopping trip will be a problem as long as we don't stay out for too long. And we still need to avoid places with higher magic concentrations, of course." He glanced back at Seyli. "Do you have anywhere in particular that you want to go?"

She shook her head. "Not really. I can get most of the things I need from the academy store. I just want to let Tava have a change of scenery. She gets pretty bored staying at the academy all the time."

"Do you take her to classes with you?" Thenio asked, straightening up and opening the carriage door so that Tava could jump inside.

"Some of them. Since I'm in the magic zoology department, quite a few students already have pre-familiars that they brought with them when they came to the academy. And the professors are usually okay with them attending classes with us as long as they aren't disruptive." Seyli walked forward and leaned into the carriage to put Iggy in his padded box next to Tava. "The dormitory we're staying in has daycare facilities for magic beasts, too. So she stays there sometimes. She doesn't like it that much, though. It's mostly natural magic beasts there, so they have to keep them under pretty tight control to prevent any fights breaking out. So they stay in individual pens most of the time. Safe, but boring. I only leave her there when I have to."

Thenio wasn't sure how to respond to that. On one hand, he could sympathize with the problem of trying to take care of a dragon while attending school, especially now that he had a little bit of experience looking after Iggy.

On the other hand, when he'd been an academy student, he'd felt obliged to pick the cheapest dorm room he could find, so as not to rack up more sponsorship debt. It was a cramped space with only a bed, a desk, and a tiny closet squeezed into it. He suspected that Tava's daycare pen was actually more luxurious....

After they'd all gotten into the carriage, Ariom started up the golem and steered it out of the parking area.

"I want to stop by the government district first," he said. "Since it's not that far from here. I need to register Thenio as a handler for Iggy."

"Oh, right." Seyli nodded. "They're really strict about that here in Kamari, so it's better to get it taken care of as soon as you can." She glanced at Thenio. "Should I register him for Tava, too?"

Ariom also glanced back at Thenio. "If you want. I think it's better not to let him take her anywhere by himself, but it's probably fine if she and Iggy are together."

Thenio shifted uncomfortably. "That...um...." He looked in Seyli's direction but didn't meet her gaze. "It's all right if you don't want to. I know Tava is really precious to you, and we haven't known each other for very long, so.... Well, I can understand why you might not trust me to take care of her."

"What?" Seyli sounded surprised. "No, no...you're getting it backwards. We're worried about you, not about her."

Thenio blinked. "Huh?"

"Thenio...what was the result of your last magic power test?" Ariom asked.

"My last test? It was 346, wasn't it?"

What was Ariom asking that for? He'd been the one performing the test. They'd done it in his magic analysis lab just a couple of days ago.

"Right. 346. A bit below average for a first year at the Royal Academy. Though that's actually to your benefit, of course. If it were higher than average, your magic explosions probably would have killed you already."

Thenio frowned. He understood what Ariom was saying, but he didn't really like having it pointed out so bluntly....

"All right, then," Ariom continued. "Seyli? When was Tava's last power test?

"About six weeks ago. Dad gives her a checkup whenever we go home for class breaks."

"And her power level?"

Seyli gave Thenio a slightly apologetic look. "2154."

Thenio stared at her. 2154?! That was the equivalent of a second rank sorcerer.... He looked down at the innocent-looking purple dragon, who looked back at him with a curious expression. She was obviously aware that they were talking about her but didn't understand exactly what they were saying.

"You get it now?" Ariom asked. "She might not have the best breed conformation, but she's still a purebred Violet Flare. They're a high magic breed. If Tava decided to attack you, she could burn you to a crisp and make your magic explode before you even knew what was happening. Of course, she's a sweet girl, and Seyli has trained her well, so it's very unlikely that she'll do that, but...."

"But she's still a natural dragon," Seyli finished for him, her expression serious. She didn't seem at all offended by the suggestion that her dragon might attack someone. "No matter how smart they are or how well they're trained, natural dragons will still fall back on their instincts if they're very frightened or angry. And remember that she only knows she shouldn't use magic around you because I've told her not to, not because she actually understands your condition. If you took her out for a walk and something attacked you along the way, she'd probably use magic to protect you. It wouldn't even occur to her that it might hurt more than help."

"Oh." Thenio didn't know what else to say to that.

Seyli gave him an understanding smile. "Well, like Ariom said, the chances of something like that happening are really low. So it's not like you need to be afraid of her. She likes you a lot, so she wouldn't hurt you on purpose."

While they were talking, the carriage had traveled from the academy to the adjoining government district. They pulled up in front of a building with a sign reading 'Magic Beast Registrar' on the front.

Ariom parked the carriage and then pulled Iggy's leash out of his bag and handed it to Thenio. "Here. Put this on him, will you?"

Iggy pouted. "Do I have to wear it...?"

"Yes, you do," Ariom replied evenly. "There's a sign by the door that says so. 'Please keep all magic beasts caged or tethered inside the building.' That means you have to wear a leash."

"Tava has to wear her leash, too, see?" Seyli said, clipping a leash onto Tava's harness. "So be a good boy and put yours on. We need to do this so that Thenio will be able to take the two of you for walks without getting in trouble."

Iggy perked up a little at the mention of walks and allowed Thenio to attach the leash to the ring on his harness.

Thenio was beginning to suspect that the little dragon disliked the idea of a leash much more than the actual thing. It didn't seem to bother him that much once it was on and Iggy stopped thinking about it.

With the magic beasts properly tethered, they left the carriage and went into the building. The entrance was large, presumably to accommodate creatures like gryphons. Inside, there was a spacious lobby with a stone floor and a high ceiling. There were a couple of long counters against the far wall. One of them was already occupied by a woman with two little rain bears on leashes, but the other one was empty, so they went to it.

The bears both turned and stared at Thenio as he came closer. He grimaced a little and looked nervously at the woman next to them, hoping she wouldn't notice. She glanced briefly in their direction and then down at the bears, but it didn't look like she thought there was anything strange going on. She probably just thought they were interested in the dragons.

Rain bears looked like light grey or blue bear cubs with short, fluffy tails. They were cute and docile, so they were popular as pets, but their magic power was quite low. Those two most likely weren't familiars, so they wouldn't be able to tell their owner that they were actually staring at the teenage boy who just came in, rather than the two dragons with him.

Relieved, Thenio turned his attention to the counter in front of them. There was a middle-aged woman standing behind it, giving them a pleasant smile.

"Welcome," she said as they came up to the counter. "How can I help you?"

Ariom nodded at Thenio. "We want to register this boy as a handler for these two dragons."

"All right. I'll just need to verify your identification first. Please place your badge here."

Ariom pulled out his certification badge and held it against the crystal slab she was pointing to. Her eyebrows went up very slightly at the sight of the grandmaster sigil, but she maintained her professional attitude and didn't comment on it. The crystal glowed faintly. The woman looked at a display on her side of the counter and tapped on it in a few places before nodding.

"Very good. Now I need to scan your dragon's identification mark."

Ariom lifted Iggy off his shoulder and put him down on the counter.

"Such a handsome little fellow," the woman said with what appeared to be a genuine smile.

Well, it would make sense for someone who worked at a place like this to like magic beasts.

She pulled a small magic scanning device out from under the counter and held it out for Iggy to look at. "I'm just going to scan your shoulder with this, all right? Hold still for me for a minute."

Iggy watched with interest while she ran the scanner over his right shoulder. When magic beasts were registered with the Magic Beast Office, they had a small magic formation inscribed onto their skin, which served the same function as an identification badge. The placement naturally varied depending on the species of magic beast, but the right shoulder was the most common. You could also get identification marks for regular, non-magic animals, but it wasn't required by law like it was for magic beasts.

After a moment, the woman checked a small display on the scanner and then nodded again.

"All right. That checks out." She turned to Thenio. "Now I'll need you to put your badge on the slab, please."

Thenio took out his own badge. He was currently using one that had been issued by the enchanting guild when he'd gotten his magic assistant's license.

The license had been much easier to get than he'd expected it to be. He normally would have had to take written and practical competency tests, but they'd both been waived. The written one was because he was a student at the Royal Academy, so they could assume he was at least at the level of passing the entrance examination. And he was given a special exemption on the practical skills test due to his unusual magic affinity. Thenio wasn't sure, but he guessed that the guildmaster had pulled a few strings for Ariom's sake, since she seemed to like him. And she'd attended the meeting at the hospital, so Thenio knew she was aware of his situation.

The crystal slab glowed faintly, indicating that the badge and Thenio's unique magic signature matched up. The woman tapped on her display again and then looked up with a smile.

"All right. That's one done." She looked at Seyli. "Now let's do yours, dear."

Seyli and Tava came forward and repeated the process. When they were finished, the woman nodded yet again and smiled at Thenio.

"All right, then. Thenio Iterune is now a registered handler for Ariom Denifor's dragon, Igneous, and Seyli Ayerin's dragon, Tava." She rummaged under the counter for a moment and then pulled out a thin booklet, which she handed to Thenio. "Since this is your first time being registered as a magic beast handler, I'll give you this. It's an explanation of the rules that handlers are required to follow. Kafron takes magic beast safety very seriously, and the consequences for violating the rules can be quite severe, so please read them carefully. If you have any questions, you're welcome to come ask for clarifications at any time. Now, is there anything else I can help you with?"

Ariom shook his head. "No, that's all for now. Thank you."

The woman with the rain bears had already left, and no other magic beasts appeared on their way out of the office, so Thenio didn't have to worry about explaining the strange nature of his magic to anyone for the time being.

He hoped Ariom's idea of a magic dampener really worked out. He liked magic beasts and all, but their unusual attraction to him really was a bit awkward....