Disclaimer: Hey everyone! Back up with another chappie of this story! Hope you like it (and weren't too frustrated by the cliffie)!

A/N: Sooo…uh…I don't own Rosie or Crane or Lark or Briar or Sandry or Daja or Tris or Niko or Frostpine or…(gasp gasp) Well, you get the idea.

The mix-up above is a symbol of exactly how tired I am right now.

And now that we've been through that, on to the story!

Chapter Three: Listening

"What…?" she tried to say. Unfortunately, it is hard to talk when you're being kissed. She stumbled backwards, her arms flailing, and fell on her rear end.

Looking rather embarrassed, Crane held out his hand to help her up. She stared at it for a second, then took it and let him pull her to her feet.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I…"

"And what does it have to do with my dream?" she added angrily.

"Um…"

"Oh, never mind! If you're not going to be coherent, forget it!" she snapped, and stormed out of the greenhouse, leaving an astonished but frustrated Crane behind.

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She was using her magic to make the seeds in her packets grow into thorns. A hand on her shoulder stopped her. She spun around to see Crane standing there. What was he doing? He beckoned to her. Without speaking, he began to walk towards the edge of the wall. Briar continued to throw packets of seeds and make them grow. The thorns punched through the packets faster than the pieces of cloth fell apart. She knew that if anyone fell off the wall, they would be dead in a matter of moments. Yet here was Crane, walking right on the edge, and beckoning to her to follow.

She wouldn't! She tried to grab his habit sleeve, to stop him from falling, but he pulled away and continued his teetering walk. In a moment he would—

He lost his balance and fell into the thorns. She screamed and covered her eyes, unwilling to see any more.

Lark slipped into her room. "Did you have the dream again?" she asked the sobbing Rosethorn.

"Y-yes," Rosethorn whispered, biting her lip to try and stop the tears.

There was a long silence. Finally Lark asked, "Did you ever talk to him about it?"

"Earlier today. And…and Lark, he kissed me!"

"What did you do?"

"I—I pulled away. And then I asked him why. All he could do was stutter, and I…yelled at him and left."

"Oh."

There was a silence. Then Lark said softly, "Maybe you should try again to talk to him. Go and apologize, and then ask him for suggestions."

"I…but…"

"I know you don't like apologizing to people. But don't you think it would help?" asked Lark gently.

"I don't know," admitted Rosethorn. "I just…it doesn't…I'm afraid."

"I know." She sighed. "Like I said before…think about it," she said, standing up. "Good night."

"Okay," Rosethorn agreed. "Good night."

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After three more nights of having the dream, Rosethorn gave in and went over to the greenhouse to talk to Crane again.

He opened the door and stared at her standing there.

"Rosethorn?" he asked finally.

"Crane," she responded. "We need to talk." Déjà vu, she thought miserably.

He looked at her rather suspiciously. "What about?"

"First, I should…er…apologize. For what happened a few days ago."

At this, he smiled. "Why don't you come in?" he asked, and led her to the small room they'd been in when they had talked before. "Apology accepted," he added as he shut the door. "Now, what did you need?"

"I've been having the dreams again. And I was wondering…um…whether you had any suggestions."

"I don't know. Let me think a little."

After some minutes of quiet, he sighed. "I think…" He paused, and then continued. "Well, before I say this, you should know that as much as it may sound like it, I'm not trying to be arrogant or to…use you or anything."

"Okay," she said uncertainly.

"I think that for a few weeks, you should…try to find signs of being—being in love. Just try. And if you—if you felt comfortable, maybe it would help to let me kiss you—just once, unless…well, anyway…maybe you could just try. And whatever you decided at the end of two or three weeks, I would accept."

For a few minutes, she simply watched him. Finally, she said, "That sounds reasonable enough, I suppose."

He nodded. An awkward silence fell again.

After a while, Crane said uncomfortably, "Do you want me to…erm…to kiss you? Once? To see what…" He trailed off.

"I—do you really think that would help?" she asked.

"I think so."

She swallowed hard and said, "Okay, then."

"All right," he said, moving forward. "First of all, though…follow your impulses. If you can't stand it, stop. Okay?"

She nodded.

"Good," he said. "It…might help you to close your eyes."

Rosethorn obeyed, and in a moment, she felt his lips gently touch hers.

Follow your impulses, she heard his voice replay in her head. Before she knew it, she was kissing him back.

After a few moments, the kiss broke. She stared at him, dazed. He took her hands. "Was that so awful?" he asked her gently.

"No," she whispered.

He nodded. "Keep watching. That's all I ask," he said quietly, and then let go. "You should probably go back now. I believe it's almost midday, and I'm sure your student needs you," he told her.

Still slightly confused, she nodded, and stumbled towards the door.

A/N: By the way, people…did I mention I have carpal tunnel, and that's why I haven't been writing so much? Well, I actually found out today that it's not 'classic carpal tunnel', but it's something like it. Anywho…yeah.

Tune in soon for the next chappie! BANZAI!

hollybridgetpeppermint