Discipline

 A/N- Thanks again to the Nerd for reviewing!

Much to her surprise, Rosethorn was awakened at dawn by bird calls. There weren't any dedicates clustered around her demanding to know what happened the night before.

She sat up and wiped as much of the mud off as she could, which wasn't much. She looked around, and not seeing anyone, stood and walked to the garden gate. Her necklace caught on a tree twig and she stared at the blue metal Mila flower.
It winked in the light, teasing her. Rosethorn felt hot fury rising her her throat again, and she ripped the necklace off and let it hang from the twig.

Let someone who wants it have it.

She stalked away with as much grace as she could muster and headed towards Froststar's office. Breaking the rules wouldn't keep her from owning up.


*****

The door was unlocked, but no one was in. Rosethorn slipped inside and sat in one of the chairs, picking the most uncomfortable one. There was no reason for her to fall asleep and be unprepared for someone walking in.

She didn't have to wait long. The door swung open again and Crane walked in. He didn't see Rosethorn in her corner, but strode to a chair near the front of the office and took a seat. He smoothed his robes, flattened the creases in his sleeves, looked up, and nearly fell off his chair when he saw Rosethorn.

"Where were you? I was worried sick- I thought... I thought a lot of things that might have happened!"

She glared at him. "I'm not stupid."

"I wasn't-"

"Yes, you were. And I'm not." She kicked her grimy feet up across the arm of another chair and closed her eyes, arms folded across her chest.

He snorted in exasperation and picked at his sleeve dismally. "It's this whole initiate thing, isn't it?"

Rosethorn gritted her teeth. Partially that, but not completely. There was something else, like your disability to care for the people in the Mire. She didn't say it out loud. It was better for him to suffer her silence.

It seemed like long hours before the door creaked open again. Rosethorn's eyes flew open and she watched Froststar, Moonstream, and middle-aged man with a dark ponytail and mustache walk in laughing. They saw her and Crane and sobered quickly.

Froststar sighed deeply. "Follow us, please." She opened the door to her inner office and everyone filed in. Froststar sat behind the desk, Moonstream and Crane in chairs before the desk, and Rosethorn leaned against the wall. The dark-haired man closed the door and propped himself against it, before glancing at Rosethorn.

Rosethorn glared at him, then fastened her gaze on Froststar. The woman really did look sick, pale and breathless. She hadn't lost a drop of composure, which Rosethorn admired.

The room was silent a moment more, then Froststar banged her fist on the desk. "I know what happened. Now I want to know why."

"It was my fault, truly-" Crane burst out.

Rosethorn snorted. "Stop taking credit for what you didn't do. It's my fault."

"I egged you on-"

"I started it-"

"No-"

"Yes-"

"Stop." The dark-haired man stepped between them and held up his hands. "The easiest way to settle this is just for you two to speak the truth. However, that method doesn't seem to be working. If Honored Froststar agrees-"

Froststar smiled mirthlessly. "Whatever you'd like to do, you may."

"-I'll perform a truth spell and we can get to the bottom of this."

"A truth spell?"

"Sir, can you do that on your own?"

"The kind using a crystal, or are you a mage?"

The man smiled a Rosethorn. "I apologize for not introducing myself. Niklaren Goldeye, truthsayer."

Crane nearly fell out of his seat.

Rosethorn coughed loudly into her elbow. "I'm at your mercy then, Master Goldeye. Please perform your spells so I can get started on my punishment."

Goldeye looked at her curiously. "Punishment, Dedicate?"

"You don't slap an Initiate and use magic on him without having to pay some price."

"Oh?"

"I was a bit tired to begin with, Dedicate Initiate Crane said something that irritated me, we disagreed, and I slapped him before using my magic against him."

"Did you injure him at all?"

"Only his pride, sir."

Goldeye smiled. "Thank you Dedicate." He turned to Froststar. "I believe you've heard the truth."

Crane frowned. "You didn't use magic."

Goldeye nodded. "I was taught to detect lies using non-magical methods and I believe I have heard the truth. That is, unless you have something to add, Dedicate Initiate?"

Rosethorn watched as Crane sought to find a small detail that would soften Rosethorn's actions. Finally, he shook his head. "No, thank you."

Froststar nodded. "Thank you, Dedicate Crane. Now, if you'd excuse us, you may return to your duties." After Crane had left the room and the door had clicked closed again, she turned to Rosethorn. "What possessed you to do something so idiotic?"

 "All right, time to clean up. There's nothing more to be done tonight." Crane began to circulate through the tables, nodding approval or sighing deeply.

Rosethorn sat stiffly, hands frozen on her bottles. "Whatever do you mean, 'nothing more to be done'? There's always something we can do."

Crane came to stand by her shoulder. "We can't save everyone, my dear. We'll save more if we're rested and ready to use magic."

 "People are dying. Maybe if we worked through the night we could have save them. But we won't. Because we never do!" she screamed loudly.

"It was my own fault. I over-reacted. He told us to clean up, and I told him no." Rosethorn looked at her grimy feet. She was tired and she knew she had been defeated. Froststar would probably send her packing back to Anderran in the morning.

"Anything else?"

"No, not really."

"Rosethorn." She blinked; Goldeye was suddenly beside her, finger lifting her chin up. "There's something else."

"I told him-" I'm not stupid. I know you and the other initiates work overtime to try and figure out what's wrong with Froststar. "I said I knew why he was working overtime."

Moonstream sucked in her breath, but Froststar showed no surprise. "It was only a matter of time, I suppose. How did you guess?"

Rosethorn looked away again. "It was just a lucky guess, really."

Froststar nodded sadly. "Lucky. Well, dear, you were right earlier in saying you can't just slap someone for free. To begin with, you're removed from the Dragon Pox research team."


Can't say I'm too upset about that.

"You're also removed from the Earth dormitories."


That caught Rosethorn's attention. "What-"

"You'll live in a cottage in the temple. Until someone like-minded comes along, you'll be its sole care-taker. If you ever gain a student, he or she will live in the cottage with you. Moonstream, what houses are open now?"

The woman flipped open a file on the desk. "There are two; thirty-one and fifty-six. Thirty one is on the north side of the temple, six bedrooms, one indoor workroom, alter, front and back gardens. Fifty-six is near the forges, two bedrooms, two workrooms and a loft."

Froststar stared into the distance for a moment, then- "Thirty one." She turned her attention to Rosethorn. "Now, Master Goldeye will accompany you to your dormitory to retrieve your belongings, then he'll show you to cottage thirty-one. I believe you know the one?" she added.

"Of course."

Rosethorn stood, bowed slightly to the two other dedicates and started to open the door.

"Ah, Rosethorn, one last thing. Since you're the sole caretaker of the cottage, you get to choose its name. Each time a cottage gets a new caretaker, the caretaker may rename it." Froststar paused. "The last caretaker called it....Courage."

Rosethorn twisted the door handle open, taking the moment to think. "Discipline."

Moonstream sighed sadly. "Dear, we aren't trying to discipline you-"

"I know."


A/N- What did you think? I have my own idea about what Rosie means when she says she knows she's not being disciplined, but I'm curious to know what you think. Please review!

Intricate

A/N- I'm going to tell this one (start it anyways) more from the Living Circle dedicate's pov. Hope you enjoy! Oh, btw, I have no idea about his name, it just kinda popped into my head one day. Thanks to CrazyDyslexicNerd for reviewing!

First Dedicate Hwangwalker of the Living Circle Water Temple listened in mild annoyance and surprise when someone banged on the door. It was almost the end of his sentry shift, and now he'd have to go out and talk to people who wanted in, probably for a rather idiotic reason. He pulled a summer cloak over his uniform: loose blue breeches and a matching tunic, all trimmed in black. Much more sensible then stuffy robes and skirts like other temples. He climbed the ladder on the back of the door to the eye slot viewing platform and pulled the slot cover back with a crisp crack."Please stare your names and what you're doing here at the crack of dawn." Not the most polite inquiry, but certainly not as rude as some.

He peered at the people curiously. A girl and an older boy, both who looked local except for the odd choice of clothes. Chammuran perhaps, with that headscarf, her thought. An older woman stood between them. She was the most curious. To young to be their mother, but too old to be a sister. An aunt? She didn't look related though. Straight brown eyes and paler skin and dark hair with a coppery glimmer. Maybe just a friend.

They glanced at each other, and the woman stepped forwards. "Are you a dedicate?" she called in accented Chammuran.

"Yes. Dedicate Hwangwalker." First Dedicate had seemed too formal since the day Hwang had received the title.

The woman nodded. "Dedicate Rosethorn of Winding Circle Temple, Emelan, across the Pebbled Sea. These are my companions, Briar and Evumeimei."

Hwang frowned. Emelan? That's.... I don't even know how far away. What would a dedicate of Emelan be doing here? Her name does sound familiar though... "I'm going to need proof of that, please." He quickly drew a spell in the air before himself to shield the glow of any magic.

The woman pulled out a silver disk on a cord from around her neck and touched it. It flashed white, illuminating the walls in stark relief.

It's definately an original medallion. Hwang paused and made a quick decision. "If you'll give me a moment, I'll be right down to open the sally port for you." He slammed the eye-slot shut and clambered down the ladder. The sally port was a small door built into the right side of the main gate. Hwang took a large silver key from his belt and unbolted the door. Another, smaller key unlocked the door. He swung it open a crack and held out his hand to the travellers. "If you don't mind ma'am, I'd appreciate another look at your medallion."

The woman glanced at the boy curiously, but handed her necklace over withhout comment. It glowed softly in Hwang's hand, and he examined it carefully. On one side, it was imprinted with a large spiral. "Rosethorn", "Snowpaw", and "Winding Circle" bordered the spiral. The student's name, teacher, and temple, Hwang remembered. He flipped it over. A large tree ringed by birds and roses dominated the face of the disk. Some vague memory clicked into place in Hwang's head and he gasped. Dedicate Initiate Rosethorn, the herbalist! All the strange stories of her.... ablities to grow anything, incredible herbs, and didn't she help create the human essences? There were endless stories about her, tales of earthquakes, pirates, fire, and plague. And not just about her, but about- "Can I see your medallion, too, sir?"

The boy handed his over as silently as his teacher had. Without any surprise, Hwang found another spiral on the back, inscribed with "Briar Moss", "Rosethorn", and "Winding Circle." On the front, there was another large tree, this one bordered with ribbons, lightning, and flames. Hwang took a deep breath and handed the medallions back. I've just met people of legend! "If you'd follow me please. I believe Dedicate Sandstorm would like to meet you. She's our head."

The three mages slipped through the door and Hwang relocked and bolted the sally port behind them. They were coated in dust and grime and all three looked exhausted. Hwang sighed. It wouldn't really matter if Sandstorm met them an hour later, would it? No, not much. Besides, she'd probably appreciate another bit of sleep. And this lot looks like they'd like a bath. "Actually, I think we can visit the bathhouse first." He began to lead them across the temple, trying not to fall over his feet in his amazement at meeting some of the most powerful mages to have lived.

Rosethorn looked around amazement. The temple was slightly smaller than Winding Circle, and built differently. A large central building seemed to contain housing. A square structure in a corner was the kitchen and dining hall, judging by the steam and smells wafting around it. Large cloisters and groves were scattered across the grounds, mingling with offices, workrooms, and tiny cottages.

Evvy tugged Rosethorn's sleeve. "What's that? It's newer than everything else, by loads." She was pointing at crisp-looking, cubical stone buildings that were set half underground.

Hwang heard her and explained quickly. "Those are our new storage cellars. Supposedly, being partially belowground will help everything stay cooler." He led them to yet another small granite building. "This is the bathhouse." He ducked inside and the others followed him down a few steps to a steamy pool. "It's geothermal, so it's always warm in here. Best place to be in the winter," he added nervously. "Soap is on the shelf there and towels are in the cupboard. We don't have a night attendant, so if you need anything...."

Rosethorn smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Dedicate-"

"Hwangwalker! Just Hwang, though, please." He nodded."Um, if you need anything else, well, I think everything you'd need is in here. I'll find you some clean clothes, if you don't mind. I'll be back in a bit." With that he rushed out the door.

Rosethorn raised her eyebrows at Briar. He grinned and shrugged, stripping down to his undergarments, and sliding into the hot water.

"Need any help, girl?" Rosethorn asked Evvy.

"No thanks."

Evvy pulled her headscarf off, dropped it on the floor and let her breeches and tunic puddle next to it. She checked to make sure nothing could slide off underwater, then leaped in.

Rosethorn sighed and picked at the intricate folds and knots holding her dress together. "Evvy! How do I get this blasted thing off?"

The girl giggled, floating in the water. "The tie, by your right hip, get that undone and it should come apart."

Rosethorn grumbled and pulled at the knot, eventually letting the dress spill across the floor. She kicked off her shoes and walked over to the cupboards Hwang had pointed out. Soap, brushes, and shampoo. "Boy! Catch!" She tossed two bars of soap and a pair of brushes at the two in the water, before sliding in herself.

"I can finally get all this dye off," she muttered.

*****

Hwang had gathered the clothes and was sitting on a bench outside the bathhouse. He could hear the mages talking among themselves, and he didn't want to interrupt. He leaned back, trying to relax. A moment later, his bench shivered as someone else sat down. Hwang didn't have to look to know who. The scent of grapefruit told him what he needed to know.

"Alyssa."

"Hey. What's up? Nya was wondering when you let those people in and didn't come back," his sister said. She was a few years younger, training to be an Air dedicate.

"Aly," he sat up and looked at her. "Can you not tell anyone this until Sandstorm hears of it?"

She frowned, completely serious now. "Yes."

"Aly, those mages are..." he leaned closer and lowered his voice. "It's Dedicate Initiate Rosethorn from Emelan and her student-"

"Briar Moss."

"And his student, a girl from Chammur, I think. I don't know her name."

"Hwang, do you want me to tell Sandstorm, so you don't have to wait when you take them to her office?"

"That would be nice, thanks."

Alyssa grinned. "You'll owe me. A slice of your incredible cherry pie, perhaps?"

Hwang smiled back, glad that someone else knew now. "A whole pie, if you want."

His sister's teeth flashed white in the dawn. "A whole pie. It's a deal!" She gave him a quick hug, turned, and began jogging towards the head dedicate's office.

Hwang stood before the door to the bathhouse, took a deep breath, and entered, determined to keep his calm.

Battle for Living Circle- Dawn

 A/N- I can't actually remember if Evvy can see magic, I don't think so, but it makes the story funner and fanfics are all about being partly non-canon. If you think of anything that you want to have happen or correction, let me know. Thanks!

Briar rolled his eyes and tried not to smile. Evvy giggled, then straight out laughed. Rosethorn grinned smugly at Briar and with a flick of her fingers, the vines released Briar and he crashed into the creek. He popped up sputtering loudly and waded to dry land.

"You look like a wet cat!"

"Thanks ever so much Evvy." Briar ran his hands over his clothes, brushing water away. His face turned serious again as he glanced up at the Yanjingi prisoners. "So what do we do with them?"

Rosethorn stared at them thoughtfully. "I suppose the best thing is just to truss them up as solidly as we can, and then-" she drew the others close, "get to the Circle Temple as fast as we can. At my guess, we could make it there tonight, if we hurry."

Briar's mouth dropped open. "Why didn't you say it was so close?"

"I didn't want you to know and be anxious about it at the gate."

Briar sighed, then shrugged. "I suppose." He turned to the hedax and the scouts. "Let's get it done. I'd like a decent meal tonight."

Evvy squinched her eyes and watched Briar's magic tumble through the vines. The soldiers' vines re-wrapped themselves tightly and stopped moving. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rosethorn shoot Briar a look. He caught his teacher's eyes and the vines loosened slightly. "Alright. The vines will release them sometime tomorrow." He looked hard at Rosethorn. "Stupid bleaters won't starve or nothin'."

She nodded and swung her pack onto her shoulders with a sigh. Briar and Evvy followed suit and walked back to the main road.


*****

The night was cool and quiet. The trio had walked along the road for hours and hardly seen anyone. When people had come, the mages had taken care to hide in the shrubbery at the roadside. As they waited behind a tree for the most recent person to pass by, Evvy's eyes began to drift shut. She slid sideways into Rosethorn. The older woman nudged her upright. "Don't sleep yet, girl. We're almost there."

"That's what Briar said last time," Evvy mumbled.

"Yes, but Briar doesn't know where we're going does he?"

"Mmm..." Evvy was almost asleep again.

It seemed a moment later and Rosethorn pulled her up again. "Come on. Just a little longer." She glanced at the sky where the first streaks of dawn were whiskering the sky. "Do you think you can run? It'll be faster and you'd wake up." The woman didn't wait for an answer, but broke into a jog, her pack thumping her back. Briar grabbed Evvy's hand and pulled her along, stumbling through the half-darkness. Later she realized she couldn't have been fully awake, as it seemed only a few blurry minutes passed before she could see a large grey stone wall looming closer and closer.

Evvy blinked herself awake and let a tendril of magic swirl out to investigate. It was old granite, its sparkle dimmed by hundreds of years of weathering and protective charms. The stone didn't clamor at the girl's magical touch, much to her surprise. It was calm and greeted her cautiously, like a new cat. "Is that it?"

Rosethorn smiled tiredly. "Yes. This is the original Circle Temple. Living Circle Temple, Briar. All my life, I've dreamed.... Never thought I'd see it like this." She snorted. "Things are never as we expect though, are they?" She slowed to a walk and they approached the great stone heights carefully.

A huge oaken door, heavily reinforced with iron and bronze sealed the wall. The wood had scorches, dents, and all manner of repairs and charms set into it. Rosethorn's fingers traced the wood wondrously.

"Mila...."

Briar's hands explored the other side of the door and Evvy set her cheek against the stone, letting its power refresh her. Briar grasped a large bronze ring set into the door.

"Rosethorn?" He didn't lift it, but waited for his teacher. "Should I-" he waved at the door with his free hand.

"How else are we going to get in, boy?" Nonetheless, she paused for a long moment before "Yes."

Briar swung the ring back and let it drop.It boomed loudly against the door and they flinched away at the sound. Rosethorn squared her shoulders. "I doubt once is enough. I'll try once again, then Evvy, you bang it once too. It's a once in a lifetime occurrence."

Thunk. 

Thunk.

They stepped back and stared at the door. After a moment, Evvy stepped up to it again. "It's not going to open itself, pahan-door or not." She had just grasped the ring, when a small slot, high up the door opened with a loud crack.

Brown, almond-shaped eyes peered out. "Please state your names, and what you're doing here at the crack of dawn."

Last Night Part: I don't Even Know

Broken

Eight Years Later

Rosethorn sat at the counter of an Air workroom, a tray of human essence before her, watching as the rain turned everything outside to mud. She sighed and looked back down at her tray. She was helping several other Air and Water dedicates create a cure for the dragon pox that ravaged the Mire each spring. It was incredibly boring. All they did was add a drip of this and a spoonful of that to the little wells of essence. There was no excitement.

She added marshmallow and valerian to the last row of wells, then corked her bottles and carried the tray to the cabinet where it was stored overnight. There wasn't really enough time to start another tray, but Rosethorn picked up a new set of wells anyways. People were dying and the least she could do was spend some time trying to help. She set the tray on her table and began unstoppering little vials of oils and herbs.

This should be exciting. I mean, no one's ever done this before and it's going to save hundreds of people. Rosethorn sighed. But this is going to drive me insane. Locked up in a little room. I'd be more useful with my plants, doing something...else. Like tea.

The door banged open and Crane strode in, hands hanging elegantly out of his sleeves, the black stripe along the bottom of his yellow habit perfectly clean. "All right, time to clean up. There's nothing more to be done tonight." He began to circulate through the tables, nodding approval or sighing deeply.

Rosethorn sat stiffly, hands frozen on her bottles. "Whatever do you mean, 'nothing more to be done'? There's always something we can do."

Crane came to stand by her shoulder. "We can't save everyone, my dear. We'll save more if we're rested and ready to use magic."

She bolted up. "If we use every drop of magic we have, every day, we'll save more. There are people dying right now!"

Her words echoed through the silent room. The other dedicates stared at her in surprise. Disagreeing silently was one thing. Talking back to a dedicate initiate was another.

The remembrance of the black stripe sent hot anger through Rosethorn's veins. "People are dying. Maybe if we worked through the night we could have save them. But we won't. Because we never do!" She screamed loudly.

"We do what we can." Crane's voice was ice cold.

"'What we can' seems to be different depending on who's being helped." She lowered her voice and made a guess. "I'm not stupid. I know you and the other initiates work overtime to try and figure out what's wrong with Froststar."

Crane went stiff. "Where did you hear that?"

Rosethorn glared at him and lied. "Isn't it obvious? Everyone knows. She's sick, and Mila strike me if any of you know what's wrong." It wasn't that obvious. Froststar didn't walk through the temple like she used to and she didn't do flashy magic, but she was old, and busy training a successor. Crane and most of the initiates were late to breakfast and left dinner early, but that could mean any number of things. But Rosethorn wasn't about to admit that.

Crane was pale, with fear or fury Rosethorn couldn't tell. "I'd appreciate if you would keep this to yourself, whether or not it's 'obvious,' as you put it," he hissed. "We are doing everything we can for everyone, the people in the... Mire... included."

Rosethorn glared at him. They weren't doing enough. And Crane didn't care.

She didn't even think as she reached out and slapped Crane across the face with a tremendous crack. An emotion (Fear? Surprise? Hurt?) flitted across his eyes before cold steel settled on his face. Rosethorn gritted her teeth and lunged at Crane, knocking him to the floor. She swung at him with everything Lars, Evan, and Dai taught her before he managed to shove her away. She fell backwards into her chair, which crashed down upon the two of them. Then the other dedicates were there, trying to pull her away. A tall man wrapped his arms about her, and she tried to kick his shins. He didn't let go, so she released a flood of magic into the floor.

Crane froze as long-thorned roses broke out of the floorboards and began to wrap around him. They snaked up his body and stopped at his shoulders. One threw a fine tendril around his neck. The vines blossomed suddenly, the buds along their lengths opening up into plate-sized, pale pink flowers.

The tall dedicate was distracted just long enough for Rosethorn to break away. She turned and ran, throwing open the door and bursting into the pounding rain. Someone called after her, but she ran faster, mud sucking her feet and splashing her habit. She had just passed the last Air workroom when she stepped into a deep puddle. She lost her balance and fell, face first into the mud. It soaked her habit and caked her bare skin.

Rosethorn swore and ripped her sandals from her feet. She could run better barefoot. The habit was dropped into the mud next to the sandals. Skirts were useless.

Voices began to clamor behind her, and she could her slapping feet. Suddenly, she had an idea. Rosethorn lay back in the mud and smeared grime across her gleaming white underrobe and ivory skin. When she was thoroughly brown, she rolled to her feet and dodged behind the nearest tree.

The tall dedicate who had held her was at the lead, and he paused to look at her habit and shoes. He rose and scanned the ground for footprints. Rosethorn swore silently, turned and scrambled over the fence behind her. She landed in someone's backyard when the dedicates realized where she had gone. She ran across the yard, climbed the next fence and began tearing across the temple. She followed the roads when she met them and ran through yards when the roads stopped. The dedicates' calls began to fade away, but Rosethorn kept running.  It was one thing to yell at a dedicate initiate, it was another matter entirely to hit one and then use magic against him. She winced at the memory and tripped, falling face-down in someone's garden.

Breathe...breathe

Rosethorn gasped in a deep breath and tried to pull herself back up, but her legs refused to hold her. She sat down.


It's not too bad, just sitting in someone's garden. Whoever lives here isn't about to come out in this rain. I can just stay here until...she paused. Until I feel like leaving. 

She dug a shallow hole in the bare ground and curled up into it, letting the rain wash cool mud back around her. She had no idea what time it was, but she ached with exhaustion and her eyes kept closing.

"Just for a moment..."