Chaos Amplified

If Elfin lived for a thousand years, she imagined she would never fully comprehend how magic worked. Back home, magic was reliable. It could be reliably trusted to cause any sufficiently delicate technology to explode. Here, her watch never shorted out, her tablet never died, and no amount of endless show tunes pumped through her headphones could cause the little devices to pop and squee like usual back at the Warren.

This world's magic was nothing like the magic of Tris'Hath. Then again, this world was nothing like Tris'Hath. And yet so much like it. More like it than she'd ever understood. There were entire worlds out there that looked at planet hopping like a regular Sunday activity. There were worlds that blended technology and magic with the ease of peanut butter and jam. There were so many worlds, and so many types of magic, and so many dragons.

Today, only one dragon and one world mattered.

The moment Meeuren had trundled up to her, all damp fur spattered in clumps of wet sand and ungainly, wrinkled wings stuck out from his sides like stabilizers, Elfin knew that he was for her. The brightness of his eyes, the bounce in his step, and the absolute mischief scrawled across his face. All of it spoke to her before the sweet, soft magic of his mind trickled into her own.

::Hi!:: He said, as clear as if he'd shouted the word into her ear.

"Hi," she said back, still undecided about this whole telepathy thing.

::Your name is Io Su Wan. Mine is Meeuren. People call you Elfin, but you're not an elf, are you? I've never met an elf, so I wouldn't know.::

Elfin knelt down as Meeuren planted himself by her feet. A tuft of wet fur obscured one eye, and he shook his head to clear it away. This caused his long, floppy ears to slap against the side of his head in a way that made Elfin grin like an idiot. She loved this little dragon already.

"No, I'm Barokian. I picked the name Elfin. It's a tradition back home."

::Oh cool! Can I pick a fun name?::

"Sure. I don't see why not. We can have a party for your name choice too. Just like I had."

::I like that! I want to be called... um...:: Meeuren tilted his head from one side to the other, deep thought putting furrows in his brow. ::Um...::

"You don't have to pick right now. We'll work on that."

::Okay! Hey, can I tell you a secret?:: Meeuren scooted a little closer until his tiny muzzle was an inch away from Elfin's nose.

"Anything."

::I heard you in my shell. I know you want to learn about magic. I think I'm magic. My dad can take magic away from stuff. I'm going to try real hard to do that too, because then your stuff won't blow up from the magic.::

Elfin didn't reply right away. Her mind had flown off in a different direction the moment that Meeuren mentioned his father. She knew that Naeuso had the ability to leech magic away from magical items. If Meeuren could too, if he could control how much magic a thing contained...

The connections fell into place in short order. The experiments that had failed due to an unexpected magical surge. The tech destroyed by getting a little too close to a magical plant. All the outlying factor and uncontrollable variables that her parents had fought over the years. All of it now lay open before her thanks to this perfect, precious hatchling.

Elfin let out a whoop of delight and swept Meeuren up in her arms. She swung him around as the little hatchling squealed in delight.

::I want to help with all your experiments! All of them,:: he crowed in her mind.

"You and I are going to do so much science together," Elfin said as she cuddled the hatchling to her chest.

::Science! That's what I am. You can call me Sci.::

Elfin lifted the hatchling up to eye level. His hind legs swung freely in the air, never still thanks to the furious wagging of his fluffy tail.

"Sci, you're my new best friend."