Disclaimor: I do not own the characters or settings that belong to Tamora Pierce.

a/n: Thanks so much to my reviewers! I'm glad you enjoy it and I will try to continue quickly. Sorry that the chapters are short, I'll fix that soon. You'll meet Chime and Little Bear and find out about Keth in this chapter.

To Tesser With Mages

Chapter 3- Revelations

After both girls grudgingly promised not to attack each other, Niko let the barrier down. Alanna sat down cross-legged on the grass while Tris asked the earth to rise a little and make a seat for her. Niko glared at Tris for what she took as a 'That was not necessary'. Tris scowled. If Niko didn't teach this stranger a lesson, she would, promise or no.

"It seems to me that someone must have tessered-"

"In effect, a tesseract?" Tris asked, recognizing this as one of those times when Niko would go off in his own language and have to be asked for Common after he finished.

"Tesser? Tesseract?" Alanna asked, confused.

"To tesser, to bend space in order to eliminate matter between two, in this case our two, parallel dimensions and opening a temporary portal between the two parallel dimensions and dropping one or maybe even two living creatures-" Niko indicated Alanna, "-into the other world."

Tris sighed in relief. It was over at last. "Common, now, if you don't mind."

Niko grinned. "Someone pulled you through," Niko stated, pointing to Alanna, "and it was pretty powerful, too. I haven't felt a pull like that since-. Well, a long time."

Tris stared at Niko. "You-" she began, but was interrupted by a cascade of barking and melodic notes coming from behind her. Tris turned and saw Little Bear and Chime running (Little Bear running, Chime flying) toward her. Little Bear nearly tackled Tris and Chime went to his favorite spot around her neck. Little Bear was still wearing the collar that was magicked to Kethlun Warder (Keth had finally mastered his magic on the journey to Winding Circle and said he would return to Tris and Niko once he regained his place in his family and the Glassmaker's Guild.) Keth had offered to take Glaki with him, knowing his family would take her in to a permanent home and provide schooling for the child. After Glaki said it was ok, Tris grudgingly agreed, knowing it was better for Glaki. She waited until noone could see her before she let the tears flow.

Alanna gazed in awe at the- what was it? "What is that?" she asked Niko, pointing to the flying object by Tris. It looked like a glass dragon, but that couldn't be it. She'd seen a living skeleton, but living glass? What else did this world have?

"She's called Chime," Niko replied, "And the dog is Little Bear."

"But, what is it?" Alanna repeated.

"A glass dragon. Her student made it in a freak accident, but refused to claim responsibility over it, so Tris kept it," Niko explained. Somehow, Alanna wasn't surprised that this Tris had a student. Someone who could raise the earth to make a seat at such an age did seem likely to be pretty powerful. Alanna wondered just how powerful this girl, No, Tris, was.

Tris, finished with her reunion with Chime and Little Bear, glared at Niko. "If you think I forgot what you said about feeling a pull before, you've got another think coming. When? How?" she pressed, wanting to find out yet another secret that her teacher had kept from her.

Niko sighed. "There's no hiding something from you anymore. I did it, ok? That's all for now," Niko finished before Tris could ask more. Tris grunted in disbelief. She knew Niko still had plenty of information hid from her, and she was just beginning to find out most of it. Just recently she found out that Niko had a copy of The Wind's Path, a very valuable book that he had given to her.

"So, if anyone can do this, how come it hasn't been heard of? Or happened more often?" Alanna asked, barely understanding what happened to her and bringing the other two back to the situation at hand. The only part she was really able to grasp was that she was in another world, pulled through by somebody. Probably this girl, she thought ruefully, she must be bored. She did have a student, after all.

"No. Not everyone can do this," Niko said with surprised vehemence, "The person has to be very powerful. And," Niko held up a hand to silence whatever Tris was about to say, "And it only happens when two mages of near- equal powers are scrying at the same time."