A/N: Sorry for the delay… Hectic life, y'know? I thought I'd let you know my general ideas for this series so far. In Violet eyes, we had three of our heroes paired up, and in silent eyes, the other three get matched. That means this fic comprises the pairings for Daja, Briar and Tris. Once Silent Eyes is finished, I will probably write a prequel to violet eyes, following Alanna's time at the convent. What do people think of that idea?

Finally, I wanted to point out that yes, I know, Daine is way too old in this fic. Deal with it.

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Daja Kisubo pulled the last nail out of the water bucket, put it in line with the others, and poured the rest of the warm water over her head. She could feel the sharp tang of the minerals where the beads of moisture lingered on her skin, and revelled in that as she dried off. She had been making nails all morning, and it was more than time to stop for lunch.

Taking off her leather apron, she strolled outside of the forge she and Frostpine had commandeered. Her mentor was off on a trip somewhere, visiting some people Numair had recommended to him. Normally Daja would have accompanied him, but since there were no smith-mages here, there was unlikely to be anybody interesting at the summit. She had spent the morning filling up her required quota of nails and clips for the palace, in return for the use of the forge, and after lunch intended to get to work on one of her own project.

Lunch was, in fact, some bread, cheese and fruit juice taken in the central courtyard around which the forges were clustered. The light stone flagstones were charmed to stay cool despite the heat of the buildings around them, and the palace was always pleasantly breezy. Settling back against the outside wall of the building, she closed her eyes, sipped her juice and ruminated on the designs for the charmed jewellery she was making.

She had slipped unconsciously into meditation, gathering her power into herself as she considered and set aside each idea for the set. Lunch long forgotten, she was blissfully unaware of her surroundings, and happy to remain that way until she settled on a plan for a necklace that incorporated all the proper signs.

Unfortunately, her rest was short-lived.

Suddenly her meditation was interrupted when she realised with a shocked start that something was licking her face. Just as she opened her eyes, a huge, shaggy dog placed its forepaws firmly on her chest and pushed her backwards, pinning her against the wall and proceeding to cover her head in drool.

Inwardly, Daja sighed. Meeting the dog's eyes, she informed it tartly, "That is not appreciated."

From the other side of the courtyard there came a cry of "Lena!" in a scandalised tone. Rather awkwardly, the dog quickly stopped licking Daja's face, removed its paws and turned around to face its owner. Daja looked up as well, smiling slightly. You couldn't help but love a dog that affectionate.

The owner turned out to be a young girl, dressed in a shirt and loose breeches that hung of her hips. She had brown hair, tanned skin, and was blushing furiously as she hurried over to catch the dog. "I'm so sorry," she apologised, "Lena gets so excited when she meets strangers, and she's just not very obedient… She doesn't mean any harm, she just like you."

"It's fine," Daja assured the other girl, her smile wider now, "She didn't bother me."

The brown-haired girl flashed her a relieved smile. "Thank you. You wouldn't believe how petty people can be about these things, Lena's got me into dozens of scrapes already with the University mages… I'm Daine, by the way." She offered her hand, which Daja shook warmly.

"Are you a mage?" Daine asked, settling down on the ground beside Daja. "Well, I know you are, Lena wouldn't have gone for you otherwise. She can sense magic, you see. That's what makes her so excitable around here, there's so much of it. You must be very powerful, for her to like you so much."

It was Daja's turn to flush. "I'm an ambient mage, actually," she said, "so she was probably just excited to meet a new type of magic. My name's Daja, I came from the south- you know, with the new princess?"

Daine's face lit up. "Really?" she exclaimed. "Oh, that explains it then- I heard Jonathon was married, I was so sorry not to be able to come to the ceremony."

Daja's eyebrows flickered slightly. So this girl was on first-name terms with the prince? "You know Jon?" She asked diplomatically. Daine waved a dismissive hand.

"Oh, we've met- at dinners and so on, you know, and when his father sends me or Numair on assignments. Funny," she giggled, "I never thought I could be so offhand about the Prince of Tortall, but there you go."

"Assignments?" Enquired Daja. "You know Numair?"

Daine laughed. "Oh, I know him alright. He's my teacher. He must have mentioned me- I'm the Wildmage. I've been on scout duty in the North lately, though."

"A wildmage?" Daja asked, confused, and trying to remember if Niko had ever mentioned such a thing.

"The Wildmage." Daine corrected her. "There are other people with Wild magic, of course, but my nickname is The Wildmage because I have more of it than anybody else around right now. " She shrugged self-deprecatingly. "It's not flashy or anything- I can't summon fire or anything like that- but it lets me speak to animals, and ride on their minds, and transform into their shapes."

The black girl was duly impressed. "You have to meet my friend Briar," she commented, "He's a plant mage. You two would get along well."

The Wildmage flashed her another beautiful smile. "I would love to meet him. What about you? You said you were an ambient mage- Numair told me about them. What does your magic run through?"

"Smithing." Said Daja, waving a hand to indicate their surroundings. "Metal and fire, and crafting things. It's a fascinating process…"