The Second-Place Familiar

Standing before the unchanging bulletin board, she swallows a small sigh.

"Sigh... It'll be this name again today, I suppose."

The bulletin board never gets easier to look at, no matter how many times she sees it. The name written at the very top is always the same. Her own name is written below it, on the second line. It was always that spot. A rank that has never changed once.

"Someday... I want to win, just once."

She moves her heavy feet toward the summoning hall. Upon opening the door, the room is already buzzing. The top student's summoning ceremony is in full swing.

As the incantation cuts through the air, bright blue lightning strikes across the hall. When the light clears, a beautiful dragonkin girl is revealed. Her silver scales glisten under the lights, and the faint traces of elegant wings are visible on her back.

"Master!"

The girl smiles brightly and leaps into the arms of the master who summoned her. After a brief moment of fluster at the sudden hug, the top student soon wraps her arms around the girl in return. Gasps and applause erupt from the surroundings. A perfect summons. Just like always.