She leapt forward, and the fox was ready. Her dagger was knocked aside, but she was ready for that and twisted into a throw. The fox yelped as he went tumbling through the air. She was after him, diving with a feral snarl of her own. He barely managed to parry her as she tried to drive her dagger into his heart.

He was quick, and agile. She had underestimated him. But she had more strength, and more skill. She grabbed his incoming foot and threw it over her shoulder without letting go. She slammed him into the ground like a sack of grains. "I am nothing's prey, least of all a damn fox!"

She felt him grab her tail. She let out a hiss of pain as he used that as leverage. With a grunt of effort he was back on his feet, and a moment later, she was the one on the ground, having been thrown. She latched him with her feet and kicked him away, bouncing him off the far wall.

"You'll pay for that!" The fox snarled, and with a flick of a hand he sent a blast of flame at her.

She was moving, her warrior's instincts screaming at her. Part of her roared in her head; some male with such shoddy genes had no right to even look at her, let alone dream of bedding her. She dodged, her blade slicing at the fox's arm, cutting it to the bone. Blood splattered on the floor. He yipped in pain, and then he was on the ground.

The door slammed open, a professor in full attire and a deep scowl stepped in, her voice raising, "What is going on here?!?"

Daisy stopped, and stood, panting heavily. "Sorry. He attacked me. I had to defend myself."

The professor stared at her, then at the fox. She raised an eyebrow. "Mister Theodoren, this room is registered to her. Did she ask you to leave?"

"She turned down my advances, so I decided to make her pay," he grumbled.

The professor put her hands together slowly. "We are not animals, Mister Theodoren, even if we share some similarities. If a lady asks anyone to leave their room, we are to oblige them. That is what civilized people do." Her hands were suddenly parted, a wave of energy crashing out of her. Daisy barely managed to brace herself, but Theodoren got tossed backwards into the wall again.

"Ma'am," he coughed, holding his chest.

Daisy noticed the wave hadn't entirely missed her. Her blade had been knocked away. Had the teacher meant to do that? She didn't reach to reclaim it. "Sorry for the ruckus. I, uh, didn't want to have to hurt him, but I had to defend myself."

"Yes," the professor nodded, looking at the mess. "I'll send the janitor along to clean up your room, and a healer for you. Mister Theodoren, this is a school, and not that variety of school. You will have to be punished for violating our rules."

"Sorry, Professor." Theodoren hung his head.

Daisy watched as Theodoren was led away. Then she turned back to the professor. "Sorry about that. I was trying to avoid hurting him."

The professor seized Theodoren by the scruff of the neck. "Miss, it seems he was the one who was the aggressor. You defended yourself, as is right. A healer will tend you. But for now, go to bed. Classes will start in the morning." She left as quietly as she had come, as if her feet weren't even touching the ground.

Daisy pointed at herself. "I'm not a student." The complaint felt weak, and she just closed the door with a sigh. She didn't feel like going for a run anymore, so she sat on the bed and waited. Cedric was the one to show up. He looked around. "Wow, what happened in here?" He hurried to get cleaning the blood that had sprayed the area. "Did you have to kill someone?"

"No, not a kill." She chuckled. "Just a jerk that won't try that again. Sorry about the mess." She leaned back on the bed, relaxing, watching him work. "You're a good janitor. Thanks." She then looked up at the window. "Hey, Cedric, if a girl were to ask you to leave, would you?"

He blinked. "Of course I would. That's just the polite thing to do."

"Good answer." She grinned at him. She knew it was. "So, Cedric, are you a student, too?"

"I'm a janitor. I'm studying magic." He blushed. "So, um, yes and no. Students need funds too. I'm not the only one working here."

She nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. I was just curious." She watched him. "And what kind of magic do you use? Or will use? Or are interested in?"

He finished a part of the wall and returned to his bucket of water. "I'm a water mage." He waggled his fingers at her. "I'm not great at it. But I can summon water, and freeze and thaw it. It's useful." He grinned a little. "It means I never go thirsty, and I never have to worry about bathing."

"Oh, that is useful." Daisy nodded. "And it must come in handy when you're cleaning." She cocked an ear. "Why aren't you using it right now? Just practice? Seems like it'd be easier."

He colored, ears folding back. "Sorry, I don't have enough power for it. I used a little to get some fresh water for the cleaning."

She sat up, curiosity clear on her face. "Can I help? with the magic, I mean. Is 'power' like a pool you run out of, or something else?"

"A pool, yeah. And it gets bigger with use, and better use. Like exercising a muscle, I guess? But it also means I don't have much to use to clean." He looked around.

She takes his hand. "So try mine. See if it works for you. I'm not using it." She grinned. "Let me be your pool."

Cedric blinks, and then his ears fold back. "I don't know." He looked nervous, but didn't pull away. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Daisy nodded with complete confidence. "I don't appreciate people trying to take what I deny, but what I offer is another thing. Go ahead."

Cedric took a deep breath, and then he focused on his hand, and on the connection to Daisy. She could feel a tingle, a rush of something, like static electricity. She felt it go down her arm and to her chest, then back up. Her power was rushing into the suction he made, filling him with her magical essence.

Cedric let out a squeak, his eyes wide. "Wow! You've got a lot of power!" He pulled his hand back, and stared at her. "That's a lot!"

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Daisy considered that a moment. "Another brood mouse thing? Can you clean now?" She felt a little dizzy, but not in a bad way. She was more giddy than anything, and that didn't make any sense. She'd just given him a chunk of her power, and it had made her giddy. It was like, hm, like she was happy to support him, to lend a hand to someone worthy of it.

He was staring at her. "What?"

"Ah, cleaning, can you use your water magic now? I'm curious." She waved encouragingly, tail lashing.

Cedric blinked. "Oh, right, um." He closed his eyes, focusing. She felt another tingle in her chest, as the connection was restored. She knew, somehow, she could cut off that link, but she had no desire. It felt nice.

She felt that energy rush down her arm and into the rabbit, and he was smiling, his eyes still closed. Water formed around him and went to work on the blood. It was effective, and she could see the blood disappearing. It was working, and she was happy to see it.

"Well, that's interesting. You really are good with magic." He watched with equal amazement as the cleaning sped up with their combined effort. "Wow!"

"That's your magic. I'm just a handy pool you're borrowing from." She kept a firm hold of his hand, gladly fueling his efforts. It was nice to be a help to the bunny. He was a nice person.

Cedric finished the cleaning, and then he opened his eyes to smile at her. "Thank you, that was really interesting." He started gathering his things, putting it all away. "All nice and clean. You sure you're okay? None of that was your blood, I hope?"

"None at all." She let him go to gather his things. "I can handle a fox or three. I'm a warrior."

He chuckled. "I'm glad you're safe. Have a good night." He hefted his bucket even as it emptied, the water evaporating away. "See you next time."

"Goodnight." Daisy waved as Cedric left. She then flopped back on her bed, looking up at the ceiling. She was feeling giddy and a little horny. "What is going on with me?"

She thought of Cedric, going about his duties, and the fact that they would meet again. She was happy to think about that. He was a nice guy, and he seemed to like her company. That was something to look forward too.

As she thought about Cedric, she found her hand trailing down her front. She caught herself at the last minute and brought up her hand to glare at it reprimandingly. "Alright, if I like him so much, I should join him. I could be a student, couldn't I?"

It was a thought. She wasn't sure what the rules were for the school. She wasn't a mage. She wasn't sure if she could learn magic. She was a warrior. She roughly tossed aside those objections. "They'll either let me in, or they won't. Why make up their mind for them?"

She smiled up at the ceiling. She could feel the power in her, and the power she had given to Cedric. "This world is amazing." She let out a soft chuckle. "I'll have to learn how to be a mage. Or at least, how to be a good power pool." A soft, giddy giggle. "And maybe, eventually, I'll figure out how to get home."

She sat up and stood up, looking around. She had forgotten that goal. Could she get home? She flopped on the bed. "I'm happy if I do or not." She was surprised to say it, and she was surprised to mean it. She was happy to live here. This was a good place. And she was a mouse. A powerful mouse. A warrior.

And maybe a magician of some stripe too? She faded to sleep musing on what that could be like.

***

Morning light streamed through the window of her room, and she woke up with a yawn. Daisy rolled over in her bed, and stretched. She could feel the power in her, and it was warm. It felt good. She got out of the bed and walked to the window. She looked out the window and saw the city, bustling with rousing life.

She trailed a finger along a line of foot-traffic she could see. She saw a large number of people making their way to work. "Everyone is awake and about." She smiled. "I can be a student here. I'll figure it out."

She went to the door and pulled it open. Outside, she found the hallway empty. "Already at class?" She took a step, paused, and withdrew. She quickly got on her armor, blushing, and dashed out anew.

She wandered around the school. The halls were mostly empty, but she did find the occasional person. They were all students, or at least they seemed to be. They didn't seem to mind her presence. Following the signs on the doors, she wandered on the administrative building. She found a large room with a big desk in the middle of it. An older wolf sat there, looking at some paperwork. He was wearing a suit, and he had a monocle.

She jogged up to him with a smile. "Hello! I'd like to become a student. What do I need to make that happen?"

The old wolf looked at her. "A prospective student, hm? You're not a mage, yet you seek to join our school? Why?" The old wolf put down the paperwork. "We are a university of magic."

Daisy put a hand on her chest. "I'm a deep pool of magic, if nothing else. I'd like to learn how to use it, or at least make it even bigger, to help other mages around me. I think that's useful." She was confident as she spoke.

The old wolf nodded. "A noble pursuit, but we are not a charity. We are a school for magic. We have classes and fees and all of that. Do you have any silver to your name , to speak nothing of the gold likely required?"

Daisy stood up taller. "I'm also an experiment, at this same university. They're paying me gold per day, paid out every two weeks. It's enough to pay for the school, isn't it?"

The old wolf raised an eyebrow. "How much were you assured?"

"Fifty gold a fortnight, plus possible extras." Daisy had a smug smile, feeling money wasn't going to be in her way.

The old wolf rubbed at his chin. "That would pay for it. And a small stipend left over, I think. But why not wait until your experiment is done? What is the manner of this experiment?"

Daisy waved over herself. "Elina wants to study me, a brood mouse. I'm allowing it, but I want to study magic while I'm here. I'm already here, why not make the most of my time? I have the funds to pay you. I'm an adventurer. I'm a warrior. And I'd like to add mage to that list."

The old wolf looked her up and down. He was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke, "You have an interesting story. It is not unheard of for non-mages to become mages, though it is very rare. But you have an interesting story. We could use more adventurers and warriors." He flashed a smile. "Know that this is no easy task. You already learned one set of skills. To be sent back to the start and asked to learn a new one can be daunting. If you are ready for that, I won't stop you."

Daisy's ear folded back. "It's that hard?"

He nodded. "It is." He then slid a form to her, and a quill. "Decide, then either sign that, or turn and walk away, and I will think none the less for either choice."

She studied the form. The words were clear. It was a contract to pay a certain amount of gold every two weeks, and to follow the rules and guidelines set out by the university. There was no mention of her being a non-mage, which might be a good thing. She signed it. "I'm not going to turn back now. I'll be the first warrior mage this school has seen since the last one."

"Confidence is good." He chuckled softly. "Since the last one. A fine way of putting that. Since you've asked indirectly, there have been two others. Rare, but not unheard of, much like a brood mouse. Now," he rolled the scroll, and sealed it with wax. "You will be in a class with other students. You will be expected to attend classes, and to do the work assigned to you." He tucked the scroll away. "I will discuss your payment with Miss Elina, so that her payment to you is reduced, and the funds reach the school. You need do nothing further."

Daisy bowed a little. "Thank you, sir. I'm looking forward to my studies."

He nodded. "Welcome to the school." He then handed her a slip of paper. "Your schedule."

Daisy blinked at it. "That fast?! You don't even know what kind of magic I want to learn."

"Nor do I care." He brought his hands together, folding his fingers. "As a starting student, you will be taking entirely rudimentary, and mandatory, courses. You will be learning the basics of magic, the history, and the laws and regulations of magical use. Once you pass those classes, you can begin to specialize. Perhaps by then you will know what kind of magic you want to learn."

Daisy gave an eager little clap. "As usual, start with the boring stuff. Got it." She turned to leave, then stopped in the door, pointing back at the old wolf. "And I will be the best student this school has ever seen."

"Students always think that. Few live up to that." He tipped his quill at Daisy. "Good luck living up to the challenge you have set for yourself."