Vivian has always been a rabid environmentalist. Learning about magic didn't change a thing; it just gave her another tool. She's had so many plans. Some of them worked. Some of them didn't. The failures, she learns from and moves on. Today is by far her most ambitious project. Today, she's trying a spell of her own invention: restoring extinct species to the world. And not just any species. She wants to bring back the powerful magic of ages past. She wants dragons and sphinxes.

She did her research. She's cobbled the spell together from six or seven different places, and joined it together with hypotheses and crossed fingers. She tested out the individual pieces as much as she can- there's a few newly-not-extinct beetles running around her hometown now- but finally it comes down to it. The spell has some weird preconditions and a hell of a lot of setup, but she's done. It's time. Reversing the damage done in the Great War. All in a day's work, right? That's the goal, anyway.

The spell goes flawlessly. The runes and the chanting and the various pieces take her three days, but if she can do it it's worth it. When she's finally done, she has to take a moment to collect herself, and then she looks at the circles she's drawn.

The circle to her right now holds a tiny sphinx. All paws and fluff and sprawl, it's utterly adorable and Vivian can't restrain an "Awwwww." She walks over and cuddles the new arrival. "You're just the cutest little sphinx, aren't you? Yes, you are, you are the cutest." She turns to the other circle. "And your sibling is-"

-not there.

Vivian blinks at the empty space. "...huh." She looks down at the fuzzball in her arms. "Well, you worked," she tells the girl. "Nothing's wrong with my spell. So the only other thing that could have gone wrong is..." She pauses to sort out her thoughts, not quite trusting herself, but she's double checked it twice. "...I guess there's dragons somewhere after all."

---

Ultimately, she decides that the dragons will have to wait. Given the whole medallion system- which she's mostly impressed by, but has some really glaring, obvious flaws with perfect hindsight- the dragons might not even know they exist. She could try to tweak the spell to create a new dragon even though they're not extinct, she could try to find existing dragons, she could-

-she has a baby to raise. An extraordinarily cute little girl who just so happens to come with paws, wings and a tail. And she will raise her without all the ridiculous cultural baggage that led to the first war, and teach her magic, and they'll help save the world from itself.

She finds them a house with a backyard and wards it so the mundanes will overlook it. She arranges to sell spells and charms to the local Avalon for an easy source of income. And she focuses on raising her daughter.

She names her Isabella.