Legally Your Problem

The thing she summoned was the size of a small horse, the colour of a bruise, and had far too many opinions for something that had existed, in this realm, for under a minute. "This is a non-standard outcome," said the examiner, who had retrieved his clipboard and was using it as a shield. "Miss Wisp. Per Academy regulation, a summoned entity that cannot be immediately dismissed becomes the legal ward of the summoner. Until it can be rehomed." "Rehomed," Wisp repeated. "Or returned. Voluntarily. By the entity." He eyed the bruise-coloured thing. "Does it want to go home?" The creature considered the question with what looked like genuine effort. Then it sat down, heavily, on the examination circle, smudging it beyond all use, and announced in a voice like a cello falling down stairs: "No." "There," said the examiner, ticking a box. "It's settled. You've failed the practical, but you've passed Involuntary Guardianship, which is technically a higher credit. Congratulations, I suppose."