Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, settings, or intellectual property that this is based off of. All of those belong to the original creator, Madame Tamora Pierce. I make no money off of anything related to this work.
Cycles
The lithe, quick figure slid from his perch on the windowsill of his room at the inn, following the roof tiles silently into the night. Arriving at the window he was looking for as dawn broke, he rapped twice on the glass. A murmured phrase which was definitely less clean than 'go away' was uttered by the room's half-asleep inhabitant, and a ringing chirp from the glass creature flying around the room. The shady figure grinned, white teeth forming a stark contrast to the early-morning dim. He slid a lock-pick from his pocket and, within seconds, the window was open.
Briar leaped down into the room, waving a hand to ward off the affectionate glass dragon that immediately swooped down on him, and prodded the huddled figure on the bed with his toe. "Oi, Coppercurls, up and go." Tris groaned half-heartedly and sat up, her curled hair in a tangled mess. Finally awake enough to notice Briar, she immediately shrieked and lightning, seemingly out of nowhere, curled around her fingers and zapped out at Briar. "Get out, get out!" she shouted at him, and Briar shrugged, leaving through the door this time. Once he had shut the door behind him, he blushed. An unexpected complication to his idea of waking her secretly was that, well, to put it in the bluntest terms, she had been naked.
Briar stuck his hands in his pockets and walked down the stairs to the dining hall and flagged down a pretty waitress who soon was pushing food in front of him as fast as he could eat it. When he had finished eating, slid the money to pay for the meal out of his pocket, and stood, Tris entered. She was fully dressed, with her braids all tied, and seemingly refused to look Briar in the eye. Briar walked over and shoved her jokingly. "C'mon Coppercurls, get a move on. It was your idea to learn gardening. And you gotta get up early for that!"
Briar led her out the door, ignoring her protests as he led the merchant girl around the back of the inn to a small plot of land covered in little green things. Tris stared doubtfully. "Er, Briar, this is on the inn's land, right?" Briar shrugged. "They're gettin' a good garden out of this plot o' junk. They ain't complainatating." Tris raised an eyebrow, but otherwise ignored his made-up mish-mash word. Ever since he realized how much it got under Sandry's skin, Briar had been almost unconsciously messing up words. Briar grinned and crouched down into the dirt. "Alright, time for the first step of any gardening: weeding!" And with a wave of a hand he demonstrated the amount of sheer weeding that would be happening. Tris sighed, then, lowering herself to her knees, reached for the first weed.
As she pulled, Briar's hand suddenly clapped down over hers. She was about to shout at him, when his other hand came over to help her into the right position. His hand was surprisingly soft and warm for having plants and vines writhing on it, and she blushed. Briar pretended not to notice. "You gotta pull up the roots, too, 'r'else the weed'll grow back the next day." Tris sighed and returned to work, correctly this tame, as Briar leaned on a wall, enjoying acting Rosethorn for once, having another weed for him.
After about an hour in which Tris seemed to make little to no progress, Briar abruptly pushed off the wall and set off towards the front of the inn. --Where are you going?-- she sent through their bond. She sensed him grin, and felt his reply in her mind. --The cook just got up, and I smell breakfast. You, er, keep up the good work, Coppercurls.-- She stuck out her tongue, and suddenly got the distinct impression that he had seen it. Sighing, she bent down once more, reaching for the next weed, remembering Briar's advice. Pull up the roots, too. she repeated to herself, as the monotony began to settle in.
Tris lost track of time, sinking into the motion as if it was one of the pattern magics the four had used during the pirate attacks. More time passed. Suddenly, her magic blazedin her vision, wrapped by some slimy vine. She struggled, raging against it, and launched rage-powered energy at the one who held her power trapped. How dare they!
On the receiving end of her power, Briar collapsed.