A/N: People, this is what happens when you start to write a fic that does not cover already written material without drawing out a clear timeline first. This whole fic is really more a series of scenes I really wanted to write strung together with some other stuff to make an actual fic. I know this is horribly delayed (IT'S BEEN A YEAR) and short besides.

The story might feel a little choppy for a bit, but stick with me through her first year and the real fun will begin, I promise!

Also, if you want more Tris post-WotE, check out 'A Marriage of Convenience' by Crosseyedbutterfly. I happen to be her editor (and best friend). You will love not only her amazing writing but also the fact that she posts long chapters regularly. She's a planner, that one!


Tris never got the chance to rethink visiting the headmaster as she received a summons the next morning. The messenger looked anxious enough that Tris only spared a moment to drain away some of the power she had gathered the night before. As tired as her physical body had been after her ordeal by lightning, she thought it was best not to dispel all the magic at once.

Standing in the presence of the Headmaster Aegissworn once again, Tris wondered why she ever thought it was a good idea to go to him. No, this man would be no help to her.

"Back so soon, Miss Chandler."

He called her by her real name but refused to grant her any sort of title a fully accredited mage deserved. It surprised Tris how much this detail irked her, though she refused to let him see it.

"So it would seem, Headmaster Aegissworn," she replied, waiting for him to bring up the reason for her presence.

"I spoke with our resident weather mage, and he assured me that storm last night should not have come as early as it did."

Tris shrugged, playing the part of an ignorant student. "If you say so. As you know, I am without my usual power and, therefore, unable to track storms. However, weather prediction is not an easy magic, especially, for an academic mage," she took a small gamble that the school had not hired an ambient mage.

"He is one of the best at what he does." The older mage's voice sounded defensive, and Tris smirked inwardly that her guess had been right.

Ambient mages were rare enough; she had never met another weathermage, at least, not with her range of skill. Of course, scriers and academic mages could give decent estimates of weather patterns but not with the confidence that Tris could.

"I am not doubting his skill; I simply have a unique perspective on the difficulties of predicting a storm." She hoped her smile looked more pleasant than mocking.

"And what do you have to say about the reports of strange lightning strikes during the start of term party?"

"I am afraid I was not feeling well yesterday and could not attend." It was a true enough statement.

He looked doubtful but continued his fishing. "Some said the lightning looked too thick and lasted too long."

"Lightning is hardly a creature of habit." Her experience the night before lent truth to that statement. "It all depends on the strength of the storm and the earth around it. If several strikes occurred in quick succession or followed a similar path to the ground, I am sure it could appear that way. The students were probably just taken by surprise, if the storm came as suddenly as you said: besides, it is my understanding that quite a bit of alcohol consumed last night."

The headmaster just glared at her in dissatisfaction.

"Sir, am I correct in assuming that you called me here because you thought I had something to do with the storm?"

Tris was surprised not to see some sort of steam come out of his nose as he exhaled. Being a weather mage, she knew it was impossible that the temperature had dropped in a specific room, at least not without some magical aid, but she still felt a chill. The mage before her must not be accustomed to being thwarted. How had he survived this long as a headmaster? Niko would never have been so easily overwrought.

"I can understand your concern, but on my word as a mage, per our agreement, I have been draining my power." She could attest to that under a truth spell, but the next part was a little more nebulous. "If the storm came early, it is not because I used my powers to influence it."

Skepticism flashed in Aegissworn's eyes, but she had sworn on her credentials. It was not something to be taken lightly. He would need evidence before he could actually accuse her of anything, and he wouldn't find any. Andras could, perhaps, confirm that she had been out in the storm, but she really had not used her powers.

Really, it was lucky that the head of the academic mage school had so little understanding of ambient mages. Her teachers would have known right away that, even if she had not meant to use her powers, it did not mean that they had not called to the natural powers in the elements around her. Like Daja's living metal or Briar's tattooes, this had just been an unforeseen side effect of her magic seeping out in an unusual way. She would be careful from now on and worry about Andras later.

"You are dismissed, Miss Chandler." He was studying his papers once again. It felt like a small victory that she had required his full attention for their conversation this time. "Let's see that your name does not continue to pass my desk."

"As you say, Headmaster Aegissworn." From your lips to the gods' ears, she added internally before heading out the door.

The crisis of the day had been averted. Now, as long as Andras didn't come looking for her, she had until their classes the next day to figure out her story.


Andras did not come looking for her. In fact, despite a restless night going over all the possible questions that the curious boy might have, he had not so much as greeted her in class the next day. Or their classes two days later. On the other hand, she got the distinct feeling he was watching her even closer than before. The sensation had her on edge.

After their second group of classes, the suspense became too much. If she could have been assured of his indifference to the event, Tris could easily have let it go. Unfortunately, his behavior had changed too drastically for someone who thought nothing of finding a girl unconscious in the woods. He now came in just as each class was about to start and left as soon as it was over, so upon finding him alone in the library, she endeavored to approach him. His eyes had narrowed when he noticed her advance, and he practically fled the library. She had not managed to corner him since then.

Her roommates had been easier to handle. Tris simply began eating dinners with the odd duo. It was a heavy price to pay, but they hardly seemed to remember the strange case of her nighttime jaunt into a raging storm; at least, they had finally stopped asking questions about it. The weather mage could settle for that.

Her sole interaction, a mutual verbal greeting, with Andras had been at such a meal, when Caitlynn had pulled him over. His presence renewed the girls' curiosity about 'Meg's disappearance,' but the boy was as reserved as ever about his side of the story. He had found her passed out and brought her back to the room. She could hardly press for more information or an explanation of his actions, when she was trying to drive it from the girls' memories.

The usually decisive redhead could pick between being grateful for his tight-lipped demeanor or annoyed that even she did not know what happened between her passing out and waking up in their rooms. She had settled for not openly glowering at him. Of course, that had been early in the second week of silence.

As Caitlynn once again demanded her cousin's presence at dinner, now well into week five, Tris spared a derisive smile for the boy. The only thing that kept it from full-blown disdain was the fact that her secret was still intact.

"Andy, come on, you never sit with us anymore." The blond cousin pouted prettily.

"Fine, but I'm only doing it so you don't write to your parents again to tell them I'm ignoring you."

"I did that one time; I didn't know they would write back to you." Her coy smile did not agree with her words.

"Don't you try to lie to me."

He finally settled in the only open seat, right next to Tris. At least, this way she wouldn't have to look at him through the whole meal.

"Meghana."

"Andras."

Their greetings sounded especially cold after the comfortable exchange between cousins. Even Xiaofan seemed pleased with Andras's joining their group, though Tris only had the crinkle at the corners of the girl's eyes for confirmation.

"Did you have a fight with your savior?" Caitlynn's words caused a visible flinch from Tris, whether at the question or Andras's title was anyone's guess.

The only thing he saved me from is a nap in the rain, she thought before replying aloud. "Not that I am aware of."

"I'm hardly her savior; I would have done the same for anybody." He looked at her as he spoke. She got the feeling it was supposed to be an insult, but she wasn't quite sure how.

"Yeah, but not everyone would have been out in that." Caitlynn laughed alone at her own joke.

"I saw they are predicting another storm tomorrow." If Xiaofan meant this as a way to change the topic of conversation, she had not picked a great way to go about it.

"Planning to go out in it again, Meg?" Cait goaded.

The weathermage spared a glare at both her roommates. Xiaofan, at least, had the decency to blush for her part in the uncomfortable conversation.

"Of course not."

She felt Andras shift next to her.

"Some girls like being saved." Caitlynn winked knowingly.

"I assure you; I am not one of those girls." Tris was rather more used to being the savior than the saved, even if it was usually a team effort.

"How is your class with Professor Smokewind? I have heard he can be very tough." The usually quiet roommate's second attempt at small talk showed much more promise.

Andras was eating fast enough to put Little Bear to shame, so Tris answered the question directed at her side of the table.

"He's certainly not the most amiable of instructors, but he knows his stuff."

"I am dreading it." Caitlynn announced all too loudly.

"Can't you take it with someone else?" The girl was probably just being overdramatic.

Andras paused between bites. "No one else is allowed to teach the fundamentals class."

"What?" Tris's brown braid bobbed as she stopped herself from turning towards Andras. "Why?"

Xiaofan responded first. "It is part of his contract."

"He says it's the only way to ensure that every student, at least, has a basic education before they leave this university."

Tris couldn't help but smile at that. Even as Andras spoke the words, she heard them as if Smokewind himself had spoken them. Actually, she knew few mages who could rival that level of arrogance. Crane studied at Lightsbridge like Niko; had the dedicate modeled himself after the infamous professor?

"You should smile more; you're not as intimidating when you smile." Caitlynn offered.

Andras choked on the bite he had just taken. Xiaofan and Caitlynn looked ready to leap across the table, but Tris didn't so much as turn to smack him on the back. Luckily, he recovered quickly enough that the weather mage didn't have to spare a thought as to saving him.

"On that note, I am headed to the library." She wasn't offended; it certainly wasn't the first time something similar had been suggested. She just wanted to be done with the whole interaction.

"See you back in the rooms!"

She heard Andras move before he spoke. "I am finished as well."

Tris did not wait for him to say his goodbyes or gather his tray. They were not friends, to go romping down the hall together. As far as she could tell, he enjoyed these meals as little as she did, but that hardly made them kindred spirits.

"Meghana," she stopped in the hallway when Andras called her name. It wasn't his voice that was recognizable so much as the way he always said her name, as if it were somehow silly to even speak it. Did he know that wasn't her name somehow? "I'd have a word with you."

"And I'd continue to ignore you, but you seem determined that one of us be disappointed." Her own voice lacked any civility when he caught up to her. An easy feat given the difference in their strides.

"I won't be there to save you this time."

"Excuse me?" She had heard him quite clearly, but considering the earlier conversation, he couldn't possibly mean what it sounded like he meant.

"When you go out into the storm tomorrow, I won't be there to come to your rescue." Tris wasn't sure what disturbed her more: how sure he seemed sure she would go or the way words felt like a test, like her responses told him more than intended.

"I'm sorry, you must not have been listening when I said I wasn't going out into the storm."

"Oh, I was listening; I just don't believe you."

"Well, believe me when I say this, Andras Cadell." She stepped up closer to him, keeping her voice down in the busy hallway. "I have no intention of ever repeating that experience, and I definitely do not need you to save me from any storms past, present, or future."

"What are you?"

She didn't like the question or the way that he was watching at her. It looked too reminiscent of the people in Tharios who learned what she could do; it set her on edge here, where all of that was supposed to go away. "I'm just another student trying to earn my academic credentials."

Her blond companion considered this answer for a moment before his face turned very serious.

"Are you dangerous?"

"Only when provoked…"

The lenses that completed her disguise also disrupted her usual stormy grey glare, but the boy took a step back from her in genuine fear. She actually gave a triumphant smile before remembering this was the exact opposite of what she should have said. How did he have this effect on her?

"Stay away from Caitlynn." Andras said when he had gathered his wits.

"That would be difficult. We live together… Besides, she is the one that wants to be friends, not me, so talk to your cousin."

"Meghana?" Tris closed her eyes in resignation as Caitlynn's hurt voice sounded from right behind her.

The weather mage didn't even turn around; it was better this way. She had been silly to think she could maintain any semblance of a normal student life. At least this way, no one was left to try and get close to her, no one to discover her secret and then truly run for the hills.

She left them all to hear Andras's story.


It was a good thing that Tris had been planning her storm excursion ever since the last disaster because she was still in a terrible mood the next day. Had she left it to the last minute, who knows what kind of plan she would have concocted. With her steps already in place, she could focus on taking care of the problem at hand, rather than the colossal mess she had created the night before.

With small rains, she could ignore them completely or greet them from the window in her room. Today's storm was too big for that. Step one was easy. For the last week, she had not drained away as much power. She was nowhere near full capacity, but enough to have some control over the storm.

Step two required a little more finesse. The school kept a number of observation towers along the campus, and students could sign up for these decks in case of an assignment or for research purposes. Otherwise, they were left locked due to the student body, who, apparently, abused them for stargazing or other… activities.

Unfortunately, the entire procedure for securing a platform required more scrutiny than Tris wanted to elicit, and the majority of the towers were closed during storms for safety reasons. This concern hardly applied to her, but she could not tell that to the administrative clerk who kept the schedule.

So she found out the location of the highest tower and, armed with a set of picks from Briar, she set off towards it. Being unable to use her winds hampered her progress as any high tower requires a lot of steps to access (it was one thing to come up with a lame excuse as to her presence in this area; there was no coming back from someone seeing you float), but she had planned this to take the better part of the day, even telling Xiaofan she felt unwell that morning and wished to be left alone. Caitlynn had avoided eye contact the two times they had seen each other. It looked like Andras got his wish.

The tower lay on the west side of the campus, near the classrooms rather than the residences. It was a trek just to get over there, and then the stairs began. There were three flights to get to the top of the building, then the spiral staircase that led up to the platform. The edifice was built up much higher than the surrounding buildings to allow for the best view. It was not, however, a climb for the faint of heart. The rumbling of thunder kept her going.

By the time she finally made it to the platform, she was sweating profusely and making vows to work on her physical health. If she planned to do this for the next three years, it could not take her this long each time or leave her so exhausted. For now, she took solace that a storm awaited her just outside this locked door. The entry to the deck was actually through the roof, so the tower could have an unobstructed view of the sky above and city below. It was perfect.

The lock required a little more attention than she had hoped. Apparently, the institution was not as trusting as she might have hoped because their were wards not only for magical interference but even some for mundane lockpicks. Still, they were assuming students would be the only ones trying, not a thief trained mage. For the thousandth time, she silently thanked Briar for sharing his skills. Sure, she could have melted the hinges or done some other damage the lock spell did not cover but had hoped not to raise any suspicion. This way no one would ever know someone had been up there.

Her picks slid into the shoes (clothes she could dry with relative ease; shoes were too dense for regular winds) she left at the foot of the ladder before she climbed up and out into the driving rain. A clever spell over the doorway kept the elements from falling through to soak the stone below. She would have to study that later. Of course, she could have done the same thing, but it was always interesting to see how an academic mage accomplished her magic.

There would be time to wonder about that later. For now, it felt amazing to be part of a storm once again; this time on her own terms. The best part was that she could relax. This was the tallest tower, so no one could look down and see her dancing in the rain. As long as she stayed towards the middle, no one could see her from their windows below either. If there was unusual lightning activity, no one would know where it actually ended since the tower blocked every angle.

She did not call to the lightning, but some came to her all the same. Now that she was in full control of her powers, she could welcome it without fear of reprisal. The bit that stayed with her acted like an overexcited puppy frolicking along her limbs. After a few minutes of enjoying the tickling sensation, she rolled up the errant shafts and pushed them back towards an incoming strike, then laid against the flagstone floor and let the rain pelt her.

Closing her eyes and imagining thatching below her, she might just be back at the cottage enjoying a storm with her siblings just below. Only the cottage had never been this cold… or hard. She opened her eyes again, not wanting to think about home and family just then. If a few tears fell alongside the rain, no one was there to witness it.


A/N:I swear, I have already started on the next chapter, so it should only have 6 months to post it this time... Just kidding!

Reviews remind writers that we shouldn't be doing our actual wage earning jobs but writing fan fics instead, so please help me get fired and review!