Tris threw her messages at Briar frantically, trying to tell him not to take the job.

"You're supposed to be this all great mage now! It's right in front of your eyes, literally! He's just taking you magic!" She thought to herself, and tried to force it into Briar's mind, but he had blocked her out. "Probably with Sandry" she thought grimly, still trying to warn him. Unlike the other 3 mages, she was able to 'see' magic more than any of them, and while she hadn't seen it with her eyes, she was close enough to Briar mind-wise, that she sense another power tugging his out, and had thought to herself, "As if we havn't seen enough of this already!" and had groaned.

She HAD to do something...he was right before, she couldnt' have possibly helped him if she was that angry. And she knew what had fueled her, it was that love and desire she had for him. Sure, she had been mad for him, but right now all she feared was for his life, she couldn't just let him go off expecting a dream, but walk into his worst nightmare. It killed her to think so, so she decided to do something about it, she HAD to warn him. Slowly, she lifted her weary body out of her bed, "You better thank me for this later Briar" she muttered.

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Briar was trying to block out all sounds from his head, to prevent a headache, when suddenly a gust of wind blew his door open, and there between the frame of the door stood a very pale Tris.

"TRIS!!" he yelped, "Why didn't you KNOCK?".

"Why didn't you answer my mind-calls Briar" she said, voice bold, and as loud as she could make it. the healer who was seeing to Briar seeing that she should leave, made a quick exit, while Tris cornered Briar. "Briar, i may have been mad at you, but i know when you're in danger, i know what you nee-"

"Don't even try to say you know what i need!" he said, voice growing louder by the second.

"Oh ya? Your all great-and wonderful mage Gabriel is trying to kill you Briar! Is that what you need? Is it? He just wants your power, he doesn't want YOU, he doesn't NEED you Briar, he was hand-picked by the GODS, but for the life of me i don't know WHY they picked him, if he ended up doing things this evil! Briar, i'm just trying to HELP!" Startled by her own words, and their harshness, she stepped back a few feet, so that Briar could walk past her and sit on the bed. He buried his head in his hands, and shook it slowly, side to side.

"I'm..I'm..sorry" Tris said, mumbling.

"No...You're right. Damn it! Why didn't i see it sooner?!" he said, while pounding his fist on the bed. On instinct, by just being his friend over the years, and forgetting what had just happened, Tris rushed to his side, putting an arm around him, and sighed.

"How did we get like this? How did we get in this mess?" she asked, not really to him, but to no one in particular. But he answered it anyways.

"I think all things happen for a reason..." he said, while turning his head to look at his Shakkan Tree, which was now on a shelf above his bed. "I talked to Sandry tonight"

"Surprise, Surprise!" Tris snorted.

"No...Tris, we're moving on. As much as I love her, of course in a sisterly way now, I don't think she's right for me. I think...I think I need...well actually..." he said smiling wickedly, "Since you think you know what I need, try figuring this one out."

Tris didn't even look at him, she just started talking. "I think you need someone who can control you, who can watch out for that little bit of thief left in you, who can appreciate the way you are, who understands more than anything how you feel. You need someone who can comfort you, someone who can go on adventures with you, someone who would love to cook with you, someone who os willing to stay up half the night to cut up aloe leaves for one of your healing potions. What you NEED Briar Moss, is some one like M-"

"Shhh"

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TO BE CONTINUED...