"Um. Okay, well, right now critters in general are in the closet, and also the adoption system is quite terrible. So I want to pull a Frankenstein and graft the two problem's solutions together, slowly unveil the masquerade, make sure the adoption system is not terrible and that critter children get to go to homes that won't disown them for being critters, that sort of thing. Oh, and also reverse engineer medallions, because we have a cap on them and it is extremely inconvenient."

"That does sound inconvenient."

"Yup. And it's not like they're indestructible, either, so eventually we will run out of them entirely, unless we figure out how to make more. So I am also working on that, on the side."

"Well, good luck. I suppose I could try duplicating yours in case I can after all. There's no magical stuff to copy, back home, so maybe the limit's not as hard a limit as it looks like?"

"Thanks. I'm not turning down any attempt to make more, though testing if it worked would be a problem. Since it's one medallion per person and they are greedy and jealous little chunks of metal."

"Sure," he agrees. "I'll head to an Avalon and find an amuletless peryton and offer it. Thanks, if it does work. I will probably start begging you to make tons of them, if that's the case."

"I could be persuaded."

He snorts with laughter, and returns to being human. "Can't have that! You are a potential medallion factory! I need you. Mind you, if you tell me to buzz off I will, because I try not to be a jerk."

"I mean, as you can see I can make these things pretty damn fast. I imagine I will still have time for other projects."

"True!" he agrees. "But it's not like I can force you to make them, so I might as well be nice about it."

"And if you could force me to make them, then...?"

"Then I would ask you very nicely if you would or not, and if the answer was 'no' I would continue my mission of 'trying not to be a jerk' and accept that as an answer and not force you to do anything in particular!"

"Okay then." It occurs to Cam to go ahead and conjure a leather coat, slightly lumpy due to wings but not obtrusively so.

"Also, I'm a scrawny fifteen year old who knows only a smattering of magic and probably can't even manage anything practical under pressure. So you are double safe, not only do I not want to but I'm pretty sure I am completely incapable of it."

"I mean, you could threaten to send me home before I care to go, although as threats go it's kind of lukewarm."

"Pretty much, yeah. Oh no, I could put you back to where you were before I was even involved! Quake in fear, demon, at my powers of mild disappointment!"

"Aieeee. Please, summoner, no."

"Bwuahahahaha!" cackles the summoner, completely unconvincingly.

"Farish, I do not want people to run into me while I am doing magic. Also if I blow myself up I don't want any casualties aside from the obvious one."

"Is that a likely hazard?"

"Eeeeh. No? But magic is kind of dangerous, and it does - things." He motions to Cam. "Strange things. Think of it like chemistry, but combined with - Sudoku, or something. And it can explode or summon someone from another dimension."