A/N Another collection from the Goldenlake drabble mania called SMACKDOWN. This one features different oneshots and drabbles focusing on Lark and Rosethorn and their lives together in Discipline Cottage.
News: Summer 2011 Ficship Competitions begin on June 1st! Check out my profile for links and more information, or PM or ask in a review because I would be glad to discuss my baby with you. :) Nominations are the first stage, so take a look through your favourites and get ready to start nominating the TP stories you love!
When Rosethorn first announced that she would be spending her Sunsday in the Mire handing out medicine and healing the sick, Lark had simply stared at her, surprised, until Rosethorn's eyebrows had lowered into her semi-permanent expression of annoyance.
"What?" she had demanded. Lark had soothed her ruffled feelings, assuring her that it was simply a surprise and, no, she didn't think Rosethorn was making a mistake and, yes, of course she would be good at whatever she decided to do.
Lark had just never considered that Rosethorn – who liked most people about as much as she liked the parasites currently infecting her lettuce – had even considered the poverty and suffering in the Mire, much less that she was driven to do something about it.
It was months before Lark put together Rosethorn's project with their whispered conversation. They had been lying in the dark of Rosethorn's garden, the summer's stars bright above them as they shared their lives with each other. They hadn't spoken of the conversation again – the magic of the night beneath the stars faded with morning until they were awkward almost-strangers again. But, Lark had described how living in the Mire had been for her, how she had very nearly not made it, and the fact that Rosethorn responded the way she had told Lark something that she didn't want to examine too closely lest it crumble like ash.
So weeks passed and Rosethorn continued to dedicate herself to easing the pains of those who could have been Lark.