Windmere's eastern skyline was painted gold by morning light as Mia stood outside the Alchemy Guild's spiraling tower. Professor Hootsworth fluffed his feathers with a dramatic huff, squinting at his reflection in a shiny guild window. He adjusted his bowtie for the third time and recited, "A scholar is not late, nor early. He arrives precisely when the library is unlocked."
Mia smirked. "Try not to quote yourself in the first five minutes."
"This is a professional setting," Hootsworth sniffed, puffing out his chest. "And I am a professional intellect. These feathers are quilled for greatness."
Inside, the guild doors slid open to reveal Rowan, dressed in a sleek azure robe with a glowing alchemy sigil stitched over his heart. "Good morning," he greeted, smiling. "Professor Hootsworth, your lab space is ready on the fifth floor. We've even prepared a chalkboard."
The owl visibly swooned. "Oh, be still, my scholarly heart."
Rowan turned to Mia. "I trust you'll survive the day without your winged partner-in-wit?"
"Barely," she deadpanned. "But I've got Nut with me today for training. He's been acting… twitchier than usual."
From her side pouch, a tiny brown head popped out. Nut blinked up sleepily, yawned, and then tried to chew on Mia's hair.
"Yeah," she said, pulling him free. "You're lucky you're cute."
Nut sniffed the air and made a soft chittering noise, clearly uninterested in anything but snacks. But Mia had felt it—his magic pulsing more fiercely lately, like a kettle on the edge of boiling. Something was coming. And she wanted him prepared.
Rowan tilted his head. "That little guy's near evolution, isn't he?"
Mia nodded. "It's just a gut feeling… but yeah. And I'd rather he not evolve during a taxi ride or in the middle of math class."
"Wise." Rowan grinned. "Try not to lose an eyebrow this time."
"No promises."
With a wave to Hootsworth and Rowan, Mia strapped on her harness and took to the skies. Nut clung to her shoulder, fur whipping in the wind, eyes sharp. The city shrank behind them as they headed for the cliffs just outside Windmere—one of the quieter training fields, complete with reinforced targets, spell dampeners, and emergency healer stations. Just in case.
She landed softly, setting Nut down in the mossy clearing.
"Alright, buddy," she said, rolling up her sleeves. "Today's the day. Let's start with target drills and work our way up."
Nut's tail twitched. He puffed out his chest and gave a confident little nod.
For the next hour, he launched enchanted acorns, rolled through lightning-dash maneuvers, and executed aerial flips that were 80% grace and 20% chaos. Mia cheered him on, offering pointers, treats, and very loud ducking noises when a misfire came too close to her head.
But it was after their third round of elemental combo moves that it happened.
Nut landed from a high jump—and froze.
His body stiffened. The air around him shimmered like heat waves. Magic crackled from his fur in thick sparks, golden and green. A strange wind picked up, swirling in tight spirals as the ground beneath him pulsed with light.
Mia stepped back, shielding her eyes. "Oh no. Oh no, it's happening—Nut?"
The squirrel let out a low growl—not of pain, but of power—and then…
BOOM.
The shockwave knocked over two dummies and one unfortunate boulder. Smoke billowed across the field in a thick, glittering haze.
Mia coughed, frantically waving it away.
"Nut?"
The smoke cleared.
And standing in the center of the scorched training ring was something that could only generously be called a squirrel.
He was massive—easily as tall as a kangaroo, with broad shoulders, an absurdly chiseled chest, and arms like someone had glued gym equipment to a squirrel's frame. His fur had deepened into a rich bronze with streaks of glimmering gold, and his tail now fanned out behind him like a war banner, thick and powerful.
Mia stared, slack-jawed. "What in the shredded acorn salad—?"
The beast flexed.
Literally flexed.
Muscles bulged beneath that thick fur. A breeze picked up purely from the force of his power stance.
Then he spoke—in a much deeper voice than Mia thought physically possible for a squirrel.
"Fear not, fair tamer. For I, Nutmeg the Mighty, have risen."
Mia blinked. "You evolved into a protein powder ad?"
Nutmeg flexed again, this time striking a heroic pose. "No longer shall I be the gremlin of backpacks and snack theft! I am a protector! A force of nature! A squirrel of justice!"
She tried to keep a straight face. "A squirrel of… what?"
He wagged a finger the size of a small baguette. "Do not mock the bulge of justice."
She burst into laughter, doubling over. "Nut, you're—oh gods, you're—why are you so jacked?!"
"Nutmeg," he corrected solemnly. "And the trials were… rigorous. I was chosen by the Ancient Walnut of Strength."
"You're making that up."
"Perhaps," he admitted with a grin, flexing again.
Mia walked up and gently poked his bicep. "You could punch through a tree."
"I could punch through a mountain."
"This is so ridiculous," she muttered. "I love it."
The rest of the afternoon was spent testing Nutmeg's new abilities—which included acorn grenades the size of cantaloupes, a "Thundering Tail Slam" that left small craters, and something he called "Hulk-Hop," a bounding leap that cleared forty feet easily.
Despite his new muscles, he was still Nut. Still the little chaos beast who tried to eat her socks once and got his head stuck in a peanut butter jar. But now he was… grander. Goofier. Stronger. And Mia couldn't help but feel proud.
As the sun dipped low, they lay on the field, Nutmeg sprawled out like a fluffy tank while Mia munched on trail mix.
"So," she said, tossing him a seed. "How do you feel?"
He caught it in his mouth with smug precision. "Like I could body slam the moon."
Mia snorted. "Cool. Let's aim for fewer moon slams and more controlled strength. You're a public beast now. We can't go around terrifying grandma passengers."
"I make no promises," he said solemnly.
As they flew back to the city—Nutmeg now soaring beside her with the help of a special wind-glide spell she barely remembered teaching him—Mia thought about what came next.
Her squirrel had evolved into a walking tank. Her owl was off being a literal professor. And she?
She was still just Mia. A schoolteacher with a cheat ability and a weirdly adorable beast team that now looked like it belonged in a pro wrestling league.
Summer was coming. The city-level competition was three months away. Her students were taking their exams. Life was chaotic, weird, and a little magical.
And she wouldn't have it any other way.