Brelyna blinked, looking around.

Her first thought was that she really ought to sweep the floor in her room, because from her current view, lying on the floor, it was a complete mess. Her second, more coherent thought was, why am I on my floor?

It all came back in a rush. A new spell, and no one willing to be a test subject, so she had decided to play guinea pig.

Oh dear, she thought, I wonder if I literally am a guinea pig?

While she collected her wits, she tried to reach out to her magicka and undo the spell, but found nothing.

Uh-oh…

A whimper rose in the back of her throat. The sound which came forth, however, was a pitiful, adorable mewling, even to her ears.

She looked down at her tiny, black, paws.

A kitten. She had turned herself into a kitten.

Her small ears pressed back against her head. She had been going for a regal, powerful jaguar! How had she missed the mark that badly?

Scrambling to her feet, she scurried out of her room in search of help.

The world loomed above her, large and terrifying. Brelyna the kitten sniffed the air with her tiny nose, trying to decipher the new scents she was picking up. There was a subtle, familiar smell, like smoke and musk, coming from the room of her friend, and fellow student, J'zargo. The Khajiit was absent though, off adventuring with the new Altmer student, Therion.

Brelyna scampered around the room, meowing for help and finding none.

At last she heard a loud click as someone opened the door to the Hall of Attainment.

She eagerly ran over to greet her fellow wizard, tiny snowflakes and a cold breeze making her small body shiver as she ran up to them.

Tolfdir nearly stepped on her. The elderly wizard looked down at the sound of her mewling and frowned.

Brelyna jumped up and down, trying to communicate with him.

"How many times must I tell students the College is no place for pets," he grumbled. "Although… I could use a test subject for my new potion…"

Brelyna froze in her tracks, before bolting out the door and across the snowy courtyard. She spotted people walking in and out of the large doors on the other side of the college.

Savos Aren would figure it out, she reassured herself. She just needed to get into the College proper and find him. Sprinting at full speed, she just barely made it through the closing doors.

As she vigorously shook the damp from her fur, she saw Nirya and Sergius come into view from the stairs.

"How did a kitten get in here?" Nirya asked, pointing at her.

"Is it a kitten? I thought it was a drowned rat. Must have been smuggled up here by a student and forgotten."

Nirya looked at her with disdain, as Brelyna tried to stand on her hind legs and appear as intelligent as possible. The effect was lost as her kitten body wasn't very strong, and she kept falling.

"Ugh," the Altmer woman said with detest. "Well, it doesn't belong here."

Sergius scratched his chin.

"You're right. And I am running low on petty souls."

Brelyna screamed, or yowled as it turned out, and ran for the Hall of Elements, leaping between the bars of the gate, and racing to hide behind a pillar as Sergius followed her, his hand glowing purple.

What was wrong with people?! she thought frantically. This was not an appropriate way to treat stray cats! She was going to perfect this spell if it killed her and turn half the college into kittens as an exercise in empathy.

Brelyna wound up cornered against the stone focus well in the center of the room. She cursed her rotten luck, curling into a shivering ball and crying at the unfairness of it all.

"You there! Stop that at once!"

Brelyna looked up to see Ancano bearing down on Sergius.

The much shorter Imperial glared up at the Thalmor agent.

"Watch your tone, advisor," Sergius growled.

Of all people to come to her rescue, it would have to be the single most hated person in the entire college.

"Is it my tone that offends you? Or is it facing an opponent who can defend himself?" Ancano shot back, his words clipped and heated.

"Always sticking that nose where it doesn't belong," Sergius replied vehemently, lowering his voice to a threatening whisper. "You might be used to the Empire blowing the Thalmor, but you're a long way from home and no one wants you here."

"Are you quite finished? As threats go, that was terribly bland, I must say. I expected better from an instructor, though I suppose Savos Aren has little to choose from in this wasteland of second rate mages."

Sergius departed with a dark glare, and Ancano watched the Imperial and Nirya depart, leaving him alone.

Looking at the tiny, black, ball of fur, he took a knee, the leathers of his Thalmor armor softly creaking. Brelyna nervously watched him extend his hand to her, offering it for her to sniff.

"It's alright," he coaxed in a gentle whisper. Her mind reeled. She hadn't imagined the sneering, oh-so-superior mer, capable of such a gentle tone.

Ancano scooped her up in his gloved hands, and brought her level with his gold eyes. Breylna met his gaze and wondered where they went from here. What if she was a kitten forever? What if no one ever put it together? That morning she had hoped to one day impress her family by becoming a powerful mage. Now, her highest hopes may well have been reduced to finding an owner who would treat her kindly. And not put her in a soul gem, for Auriel's sake. Damn Sergius.

Her damp, kitten body shook with fear and cold, and she watched Ancano undo the snaps of his armor.

Sighing sympathetically, he tucked her into his robe, holding the tiny bundle against his chest in a cocoon of warmth.

Brelyna relaxed into his warm chest, snuggling closer to dispel the chill from her bones. Feeling tired and languid, she let out a sigh of relaxation which manifested itself as a continuous vibration as she purred contentedly.

Ancano's thin lips held the ghost of a smile as he stroked her gently, and walked back to his quarters.