She poked the cat's head. "Get in there, you!" Evvy chided in Imperial. "They have been cooped up for a long time," she said to Sandry.
"Ah," she replied.
"Hey, Sandry, when're we going to see Daja and Tris-the-novice?" Briar asked, lugging their cases, which he had picked up.
She hesitated. "Daja's in town with the Discipline children. She won't be back for a while. But I cooked a dinner for you," she added.
They went to the cottage. Dinner was a thick mutton stew, full of vegetables, warm, fluffy bread with butter, and other food. Evvy stared at it happily. Mutton stew was one of her favorites.
"More stew?" Sandry offered.
Briar elbowed his student. She looked up in a snap. "Huh? Oh, yes, please," she said. She had been lost in her thoughts. She liked the older girl well enough, she supposed, but something about her . . . it just made her uncomfortable.
Later, they went to bed. Evvy was on the bottom floor, sleeping in a room with a shelf built on its window. She wondered why it was there. I can ask Pahan Briar later, she decided, and went to sleep.
The next day, Evvy woke at dawn and went to help Rosethorn in the garden. She wasn't the only one. Briar beat her to it. Instead, she went inside to help Sandry make the morning meal.
"Good morning, Evvy," she said. "Did you sleep well?"
"Yes," she said slowly. "Need help?"
"That would be wonderful." She mixed a bowl. "Today is Glaki's birthday," she explained. "She turns five, so I decided to bake her a cake. Could you make the bread?"
"Of course." They talked in the kitchen for a while. Sandry told her a lot of things about her teacher that she had been curious about.
When Rosethorn and Briar came back in, the kitchen smelled of baking bread and sugary icing. Sandry was putting the finishing touches on the cake, while Evvy sliced bread and pulled butter from the box. A small, brown-haired girl sat at the table, swinging her legs and dressed in a nice blue dress that Briar would know for Sandry's work anywhere.
"Hello there," he said softly.
She stared at him, legs still swinging. "Hello sir," she replied in an odd accent.
"I'm Briar. He held out his hand.
"My name is Glaki," she said shyly.
"Tris's charge," Sandry mouthed. "Mine now."
"Where do you live, Glaki?" Briar asked.
"I live in Discipline with Sandry and Daja and Pasco and Dillon," she said.
A pair of boys came into the kitchen. One was quiet looking, thin, and pale, while the other was darker, lean, wiry, and talking loudly while the other listened intently to him. "Pasco, Dillon," Sandry said, "This is Briar and Rosethorn, the dedicate and my friend that I told you about."
The taller and darker of the pair bowed. "Pasco Acalon, at your service."
Sandry laughed. "He's my student," she explained, "And he is quite prone to silly mannerisms. He has dance magic."
"Odd," said Briar.
"My name is Dillon," said the other in an unexpectedly deep voice. "I'm studying to be a thread mage."
"Like you, Sandry," Briar said, grinning.
"Yes, of course."
Evvy observed this. Dillon looked all right, but Pasco had a suspicious air about him, something that made her distrust him. "Pahan," she said softly to Sandry, "Did Pasco come from the streets, like me?"
"No," she said, equally softly. "Pasco is the son of harriers in Summersea."
"Harriers?"
"Well, they are a police force, of sorts. They deal with criminals, and get thieves off the streets. Why do you ask?"
No wonder I didn't trust him. "I was just wondering, is all."
Sandry mumbled something about a novice, then left.
"Something smells good in here," a voice with a slight lilt proclaimed. A tall girl, black-skinned, strode in. "Briar!" She exclaimed. "Rosethorn!" She hugged them both.
"Hello to you too," said Briar, grinning. "Evvy, this is Daja, one of my other sisters. She has magic with the forge, metalworking and such," he explained. "Daja, meet my student, Evumeimei Dingzai."
She smiled widely. "Nice to meet you, Evumeimei."
"Just Evvy, please," she said. Her Imperial was choppy, although she seemed to understand it well. "You are pahan as well?"
"Uhm," Daja said uncertainly. "I suppose so."
Briar yakked at Evvy in a language she did not recognize for a moment, then said to Daja, "The word pahan is Chammuri for mage."
"I see. So, Evvy, what type of magic do you have?"
"My magic is with the stones. I can hear them, and know what they think, and sometimes I can make them warm or light up, if I wish. Can you hear the metal thoughts?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you know if they are wanting polish or heat? Or perhaps if they want to be held or made into a box or wire or anything?" she asked excitedly.
Daja pondered a moment. "Well," she said slowly, "I can tell what kind of metal it is without looking, if that's what you're asking." She flexed her left hand. It itched.
Evvy stared at the metal encasing her hand. "Your hand . . . It is saying something, but I don't understand."
Daja waited uncomfortably, then said, "I don't know –"
"Evvy," said Briar gently, "Her hand is covered in metal. You don't have any connection to metal, your magic is with stones."
"I know, pahan, but still . . ." She trailed off.
Sandry reappeared. "Tris is in the Hub," she said. "Let's go visit."
----
A/n: Well, there's part 2. I hope it's all right. I've been having a bit of writer's block lately, and I've been coming up with one-shot fics instead of more chappies. I feel so guilty! I also had no clue about how I was going to get Glaki in the story. Thankfully, I was reminded that she had to be older than four.
Much thanks to my reviewers!
This story will definitely last until Evvy meets Crane in part 4, but I'm not sure if she'll meet many other people. She'll end up doing something special in the end, though, so keep reading!
Oh, yes, and let me explain a little. In Street Magic, Evvy was about nine or ten, so eleven is perfectly reasonable in my mind at least. The thing about Sandry making her uncomfortable . . . . Well, you'll know if you're on the Wave Circle Temple message board.
Happy reading!
