I don't know if this is entirely correct with the plotline, but I felt like writing it anyway. Similar-ish to my other drabble, Our Birthday, because TrisNiko friendship is one of my favorite relationships in the Circles series. I hope you enjoy! Please leave a review!
Words: 778
Characters: Tris, Niko
Time: Between Shatterglass and The Will of the Empress
Genre: Friendship/Family
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to Tamora Pierce. Not me.
"Trisana, please. Don't be ridiculous. Not today."
"I'm not being ridiculous."
Tris stood resolutely with her arms crossed, her back to her teacher. Niko let out a long sigh of frustration, rubbing his temples wearily. At his feet, Little Bear gave a pleading kind of whimper. But not even that swayed the stubborn girl. She didn't move an inch, and Niko was at a complete loss. Chime chattered angrily at him from the girl's shoulder.
"What is it, Tris?" he exclaimed. "You know that things always change. You, too, will have to leave Winding Circle, in just a few months' time. It's just bad luck that I have to go before you do. And now you won't speak to me."
"I am too speaking to you," she retorted. "See? I just spoke."
"But you're not saying goodbye, Tris. You're not even letting me see your face again before I go."
"I refuse to say goodbye," Tris stated, "until you promise to come back."
Niko sighed. He had told her. He didn't know. He had given her the truth – that after he left, there was no guarantee that they would see each other again. And she'd been furious with him since. Indeed, he had promised to get her into Lightsbridge – but that didn't mean they would be face-to-face again. He had taught her all he could. And now all that was left was for them to part, she a full-fledged mage in her own right. Teacher and student did not stay that way forever.
But could he really walk out the door on such a disagreeable note with her?
"Please, Tris?" he asked again.
"No."
Even after years of his teaching, she was still the same. Niko didn't know whether that was a comfort or a disappointment. The day was wearing on; through Tris's window Niko saw that the sun was significantly past its noonday mark. Little Bear nudged his leg, and Niko relented.
"All right. I promise."
Tris whipped around, her sharp gaze skeptical. "You swear? You promise that I'll see you again?"
"By all the gods," said Niko solemnly. "Some time, some where. I figured that if I didn't agree, you would have simply set thunderstorms to follow me wherever I went. So this works out better for both of us."
A familiar grin broke out across her face. She rushed over to him, flung her arms around his shoulders, and hugged him tightly. "I probably would have," she said smartly. "I'm glad you're the type to keep promises."
She let him go, straightened his robe, and took a step back. "Bye, then, Niko," she said. "You're already running late."
Niko blinked, surprised. "Goodbye, Tris," he said, kissing her cheek. He picked up his bag and rubbed Little Bear behind the ears. "Goodbye to you as well. I never thought I'd actually be disappointed to be leaving you behind." Turning back to Tris, he waved and smiled. "Give my farewell to Glaki when she returns from her day-trip. Tell her that I am sorry I didn't see her before I left."
"I will," promised Tris.
He turned and left the room in a swish of long robes. Tris stared at the door for a moment after he'd left, frowning. She walked over to her bed and sat down so she could see out of her window. After a while, she saw Niko walking out of Discipline Cottage and towards Winding Circle's main gates, his fancy bag slung over his fancily-robed shoulder.
Tris smiled and patted Little Bear's floppy ears. Chime whistled soothingly on her shoulder. Some things would never change.
The next morning, after she had eaten breakfast, spoken with Glaki, and fed Little Bear and Chime, Tris walked back up to her room and found a book lying on her bed. It was one that she had never seen before. Gold and silver glittered on its bindings, and the words on the cover were drawn in dark brushstrokes so ornate that she could barely read them. Flipping it open, she could feel magic pouring onto her hands from its pages. She could feel rain and thunder and wind inside it, all the things that she loved. It was a beautiful, rare piece, one only available to advanced mages and scholars, she was sure.
She didn't know who had left it in her room. There was no note or message with it. But all the same, she knew who it was from. Tris smiled and laid back, running her hands over smooth pages as she read.