Niko called Tris up to the top of the large wall surrounding Winding Circle.
"I'm coming," Tris grumbled, pulling herself up the steep stairs.
"Tris, hurry up. I told you I'd teach you how to read the wind today, and we'll have no time... Hurry up!" Niko urged.
Tris scowled walked the rest of the way up the stairs as slowly as possible.
"See? That wasn't so hard," said Niko. Tris glared. "Okay Tris. Are you ready?"
"Yes," answered Tris, leaning against the wall and looking out at the agitated sea. She tried to calm down, guessing her winds might be the thing disturbing the sea.
"Okay. Draw your protective circle," Niko said.
Tris took out her vial of oil and drew the circle.
"Now clear your mind. Start to meditate. Good... Now grab the wind. Pinch it between your two fingers like this. Right. When I say, open your eyes and stretch the wind so it's large enough to see a picture on. Okay. Now the first time we'll do something you probably already know. This will show you your heart's deepest desire. It won't always be the same, but there's chance that it may never change. Do you mind if I watch?" Niko asked.
Tris shook her head, "No. It's fine," she answered.
"Thank you. Now, stretch the air and open your eyes."
Tris did so and saw a swirl of colors, like the Aurora Borealis, play across the surface she had made. The colors started to fade and pull away to show a garden. Tris looked puzzled, and glanced over at Niko.
"It's not done yet. Wait."
The plants in the garden began to stir, pulling towards the figure walking towards them. The familiar, unruly dark hair and cocky grin came into view.
"Tris...?" Niko wondered aloud.
"It must be a fluke," Tris lied lamely, knowing Niko didn't believe a word she was saying. "I need to go to the bathroom..."
"Tris, it won't show a human unless you two have... have been... together. Have you...?" Niko stuttered out.
"Of course not," protested Tris, "Not technically, at least..." she thought to herself. "Why don't we stop for today," said Niko, "Go on..."
So Tris did, leaving Niko to think about what he had seen. She was surprised that she was not worried about Niko having seen what he did. She actually felt that a weight had been lifted off of her chest. Tris wandered idly, at ease to go wherever her feet carried her. It started raining, though, and not in the mood to get wet, Tris set her path for Discipline Cottage, planning to walk through the back field instead of having to walk all the way around to the front of the house.
She set off through the damp field, watching the rain sheet off the protective shield she had made. She knew, though, that it wouldn't last the whole way back to discipline House after the morning's experiment had tired her out.
Tris had begun to near the shed when she began to notice she shouldn't—and couldn't—hold her shield any longer. She started to sprint towards the small wooden structure hoping she wouldn't get wet. About fifteen feet from the shed her shield flickered and began to fade, letting the rain beat down on the person it had been protecting.
"D'arvit..." she swore in tradertalk, feeling the rain speckle her modest green dress with darker spots as she tried to open the door that appeared to be locked.
I'm sorry these chapters are so short. I write them out by hand, so when I type them, they're a lot shorter... Also no romance but I'm going to start the next chapter as soon as I post this one. And then you'll get your romance, no worries. Keep reviewing to tell me what you think! -Emma