The training chamber was dimly lit, filled with the rhythmic hum of machinery and the faint flicker of artificial lights lining the walls. Theo cracked his knuckles, rolling his shoulders as he prepared himself for whatever Erasmus had in store. After a week of gruelling training, he was eager to see how far he had come.

Erasmus stood beside a pop up console, fingers gliding over the interface with absentminded precision. He barely glanced at Theo before speaking. "Today, we test your ability to combat psionic combatants."

Theo raised his arms and exclaimed, "With mind bullets!? That’s telekinesis Kyle." He was secure in the belief that Erasmus didn’t listen to Tenacious D, but he couldn’t help himself.

Erasmus snorted. "No..." He tapped a final command, and a section of the floor slid open. A small, round creature, no larger than a basketball, hovered into view. It was covered in fluffy, cloud-like fur, its tiny eyes blinking with an innocence that felt entirely out of place in Erasmus’s lab.

Theo frowned. "Uh. What? What am I looking at?"

Erasmus crossed his arms, watching the creature with a hint of amusement. "This is a Vennothian Puffling. It is incredibly rare, deceptively adorable, and capable of psionic influence beyond most things you’ll encounter in this world. They’re also pretty friendly, so this is the perfect test setting."

Theo stared at the creature, then back at Erasmus. "So… what? I fight it? Punch the furball in the face? I don’t know if I can do that. It will automatically turn into a head pat."

Erasmus sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "No, you imbecile. It’s going to try and manipulate you. If you can resist its influence, we’ll have our answer as to how psionics affect you."

Theo squinted at the creature. It made a soft, cooing noise, its round body gently bobbing up and down. He tilted his head. "Alright, fine. When do we start?"

Erasmus smirked. "We already have."

Theo blinked. A slight but strange fog crept into his mind, like the sensation of walking into a room and forgetting why he was there for a split second. He frowned, shaking his head. The feeling was subtle, barely noticeable—like the edges of his thoughts were blurring, but not enough to cause concern.

He turned to Erasmus. "Wait, that’s it? That’s all it’s got? I thought I was gonna start seeing ghosts or suddenly believe I was a teapot or something."

Erasmus tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Interesting. The Puffling’s ability should have fully ensnared your mind by now. But instead, you’re simply… a bit annoyed?"

Theo shrugged. "Mildly confused, but yeah. Mostly just disappointed."

Erasmus began pacing, his analytical mind whirring. "This confirms a theory I had. Your unique biology means you lack the system's energy pathways—pathways that psionics manipulate. That makes you resistant, if not outright immune, to psionic attacks."

Theo grinned. "So, what you’re saying is… I’m a natural counter to mind readers and creepy mentalist guys?"

Erasmus stopped, giving him an exasperated look. "Yes, congratulations. You are functionally a brick wall to psionic influence."

Theo pumped a fist. "Hell yeah. Finally, something in this world works in my favour."

The Puffling let out a chirp, almost as if it were frustrated that its ability had failed. Theo reached out and patted its tiny head, ruffling the soft fluff between his fingers. The creature made a pleased trilling noise, rubbing against his hand.

Erasmus’s eyebrow twitched. "Theo, stop befriending the test subject."

Theo smirked. "I don’t know, Raz. I think I like this little guy. He’s kind of growing on me."

Erasmus let out a long-suffering sigh. "Fine. But it’s going back to the wild. We don’t have time for pets."

Theo scooped up the Puffling, cradling it in his arms as it nuzzled into his chest. "Impossible. Professor Meep and I are bonded for life. He can help you with your science as he is now an accredited professor since I named him such."

Erasmus stared at Theo, his expression a cocktail of exhaustion and disbelief. "Professor… Meep," he repeated flatly.

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Theo nodded sagely, holding the tiny creature up like a prized artifact. "Yes, Professor Meep. Esteemed scholar in the field of being fluffy and excellent. Look at him, Raz. This is the form of a true intellectual."

Professor Meep let out a soft, questioning meep and wiggled its tiny paws.

Erasmus pinched the bridge of his nose. "Theo, that is a glorified sentient stress ball with barely enough cognitive function to avoid walking into walls."

"Which means he fits right in with me," Theo quipped, plopping the Puffling onto his shoulder. Meep immediately flopped against his neck, trilling contentedly. "See? He's already part of the team."

Erasmus turned back to his console, muttering something about wasting perfectly good resources on nonsense. Theo, however, was undeterred. If Professor Meep had only a short time in the lab, they were going to make the most of it.

First, Theo decided that Meep needed to explore his new kingdom. He placed the tiny creature on one of Erasmus’s many worktables, where it immediately discovered a small, spherical drone about its own size. Meep sniffed it once, then proceeded to aggressively boop it with his nose. The drone whirred in confusion and tried to roll away, only for Meep to chase after it, his stubby limbs working overtime.

Theo gasped dramatically. "Raz! My esteemed colleague has discovered the ancient art of drone herding!"

"Get it off my equipment!" Erasmus snapped, typing furiously as if sheer willpower alone would remove the Puffling from his workspace.

But Theo was already invested. He nudged another drone into play, watching as Meep pounced onto it like a victorious hunter, only to immediately roll off and land in a heap of fluff. Unfazed, the little creature wiggled upright and resumed its relentless pursuit.

"Unbelievable," Erasmus muttered as he watched his once-serene laboratory devolve into chaos.

At some point, Theo found an old lab coat hanging on a chair. With a bit of effort, he fashioned a makeshift professor’s robe for Meep, using a strip of discarded wiring as a belt. "Now this is a proper scientist," Theo announced, presenting Meep in his grand new attire.

Erasmus finally looked up, and for a split second, Theo swore he saw something dangerously close to amusement flicker across the old man’s face.

Then the moment was ruined.

Meep, emboldened by his new title, decided he needed a proper perch and launched himself onto Erasmus’s head. The scientist froze, his icy blue eyes narrowing as the Puffling made itself comfortable in his hair.

"Theo," Erasmus said in a tone so calm it was terrifying.

"Yes, Raz?"

"Get it. Off. My head."

Theo grinned. "I think he likes you."

"If you do not remove it in the next five seconds, I will replace all of your meals with nutrient paste made from its essence."

"Don’t say things like that! You’ll hurt his delicate sensibilities. The mind of a genius is a fragile thing. "

Erasmus’s patience snapped. With a flick of his wrist, a small drone zapped to life, gently scooping Meep from his head and depositing the Puffling back onto Theo’s shoulder. Meep let out an indignant meep, as if personally offended by his relocation.

Theo rubbed the tiny creature’s head soothingly. "There, there, Professor. Some people just don’t respect greatness."

Erasmus turned back to his console, muttering about burning the entire lab down and starting over. Theo, satisfied that Professor Meep had left his mark on the place, leaned back against a nearby counter.

"Well, Raz," he said, stroking his fluff-covered companion, "I think today was a success."

Erasmus didn’t look up. "Get out before I reclassify you both as failed test subjects."

----------------------------------------

A few hours later, Theo stood at the edge of the jungle biome outside Erasmus’s lab, the Puffling nestled in his arms. He knelt, setting it down gently. "Alright, little dude. Time to go."

The creature looked up at him, letting out a soft, questioning chirp. Theo ruffled its head one last time. "Go on, get out of here before Raz starts running more tests on you."

With one final trill, the Puffling bounced off into the underbrush, disappearing into the foliage. Theo watched it go, a small smile on his lips.

Erasmus stood behind him, arms crossed. "Are we done with the sentimental nonsense?"

Theo grinned. "For now. But let’s be real, that thing’s totally coming back."

Erasmus muttered something under his breath about buffoonery before pivoting back toward the lab. Theo lingered for a moment, watching the tiny fluff ball disappear into the underbrush. A genuine pang of loss settled in his chest—Professor Meep had, in his short tenure, become more than just a test subject. But as he turned to follow Erasmus, the old man spoke without looking back.

There was the faintest pause before his voice came, carefully neutral. "That thing belongs out here, Theo. Keeping an undomesticated creature in a high-risk lab filled with volatile experiments and equipment is a fast track to disaster. Sentimentality doesn’t change facts."

Theo sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. But c’mon, Raz—he was a prodigy in the field of adorable anarchy."

Erasmus let out a long-suffering sigh. "Exactly why he had to go. It was you or him. You only just won out…"