THE MOMENT
"HEY! COME BACK!" Vernon gripped the newspaper tighter as the silvery smoke took shape again. The wyvern tried to escape, but his magic was too strong and he cast the summoning as soon as it vanished. He swung hard as soon as he noticed a definite shape. Unfortunately, he hadn't realized it was a humanoid shape.
It was a short, olive-skinned woman with aquamarine stubble on her head. She happened to be standing at the exact same height as the Wyvern fluttered, and Vernon smacked her with the newspaper before he realized it wasn't the creature.
"Who are you?!" He dropped the paper in surprise, but didn't apologize.
"Given the assault as soon as I arrived, I think the more important question is: why are you hitting our animals?" She replied with a calm tone and stern sea-green eyes.
"What do you mean, your animal? I summoned it!"
"Using a practice spellbook from a magic academy you're enrolled in, owned by Chroma Corp. Our spell, our creature you summoned. Why are you hitting our wyvern?"
"Well, that explains why it didn't listen to me. Your wyvern is defective!"
"That's a claim worth investigating," the woman nodded. "How so?"
"It roared in my face! No barrier spell, or even the hint of any incantation!"
"Did you summon it with the intent of casting a spell?" she asked.
"I didn't know what it did, so I summoned it to find out."
"So.. let me make sure I understand this. You summoned a wyvern without any intent, just to 'see what it did'. Then, when it acted like a wyvern, you punished it, physically?? Do you see that it did exactly what you summoned it for?"
"It's supposed to cast a spell, or attack my enemies!" She glanced around the empty backyard.
"There are no enemies, and you didn't ask it to use a spell. As far as it was concerned, you wanted to play."
"I don't want a pet, I want magic," Vernon replied.
"Magical creatures are alive and deserve just as much respect," she said. "If you don't agree, I'd suggest you drop summoning and take up another magical discipline."
"No, I'm still going to be a summoner," he replied.
"That's your choice as a student," she nodded. "My name is Meredith, by the way, and if it wasn't clear, I'm here on behalf of Chroma Corp. If you are going to continue being a summoner, I feel it's appropriate to give you a clear, unambiguous warning."
"Huh? For what?" Meredith held her hand out, and an earthen pillar rose out of the ground and raised the curled newspaper up to her. It'd loosened its roll, but the soil curled around it and tightened it once more before being put directly in her grip.
"Chroma Corp. takes the wellbeing of our animals very seriously. If you strike an animal even once more, you will thoroughly regret it," she said.
Vernon didn't understand at first. She held the rolled-up paper in her hand, but she wasn't using it to strike him. Small, delicate green vines had sprouted up out of the ground; they were tearing long, deliberate pieces. It was a show of control as the vines shredded the paper strip by strip.
"Yeah," Vernon chuckled. It was mostly a result of nerves and bad habits. "I'll regret it? That's not unambiguous at all," he said.
"I thought it was pretty clear," Meredith nodded with a smile. "No matter what you imagine, I promise you it'll be much worse, to ensure that regret. It also guarantees you'll survive," she winked, then crumbled like dust. "... in some capacity, at least."