i never asked to be saved [r], mortal instruments - Seren

[Yunalesca]

When are you going to stop this...insanity?
When she's dead.
You're going to be dead long before then. And you're going to drag us down with you!
Please, I'm not part of your team. This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. Goodnight, Alec.

The conversation rolled through the mind of the blonde that currently leaned against the bar of the club, the bass of the music rattling through the glass of her drink. The red liquid was barely touched as she scanned her grey eyes across the sea of bodies, looking for someone specific. She hadn't come here for a hook up, it was strictly business, though the poor unsuspecting Downworlder wouldn't know that until she'd cornered him. He wouldn't be aware that she had in fact chosen him either. Her attire was picked specifically for attracting one type of Downworlder.(here) Through trial and error she had found the dress was particularly exciting to the vampire crowd. It had come out of the closet a lot more frequently as she felt she was getting closer to reaching her end goal. She was getting excited and becoming less cautious. She could see the concern in the eyes of the other Nephilim, but until tonight they hadn't dared get in her way.

"Why would a bite like you be all alone at the bar?" Came in her ear and her eyes lit up momentarily as she felt the first nibble at the bait. A coy smile spread over her face as she refrained from turning her attention to him just yet. Never be too eager with the vampires, they enjoyed a good game before they sunk their teeth in.

"Perhaps I was still waiting for the right predator to come along." She cooed, taking a small sip of her beverage before turning her gaze to the Downworlder, her demeanor turning seductive. As her grey eyes found that of the speaker at her side, she was assured he was indeed a vampire. She had come to know them well and had been able to hear the predator lying in wait in his voice before locking eyes with him. Her lips parted slightly as he did the same and flashed fang. It was a Mundane club they were in currently and he was insuring she was aware of what he was. She forced herself to lick her lips to tempt him further, toying with a leopard as some of the others would say. "I'm well aware of what's in store." She soothed before his hand came up to rub at her arms. Her skin crawled under his touch, but she kept the guise going and gave him a seductive look. "Shall we?' She offered, leaving her drink on the bartop before slipping her arm in his. Her eyes stayed with him as the moved across the club, her stiletto boots clicking on the floor. Her pulse began to race at what lay ahead and he mistook it for excitement.

As they exited out the back of the club he was already pressing her up against the brick wall beside the door, unable to contain himself any longer. She felt him take a strong intake of her scent before his nose was inching up under her chin before venturing to her neck. She took in a breath to steady herself as she felt the need to stake him the moment his breath hit her neck. "Don't be nervous..." He said into her ear before a knowing smile spread over her lips. In less than a second she had spun him and reversed their positions, pressing her stele to his heart as he tried to understand what had just occurred.

"Don't worry, I'm not." She hissed and she watched the connection come over the vampire's eyes. He bared his teeth and hissed at her. Using her strength, she slammed him back up against the wall and pressed her forearm to his throat, cutting off the sounds.

"Nephilim!" He growled at her and she smiled anew.

"Very good. Now, where is the witch qu...." Before she could finish her question, she heard a ruckus down the alley. Both their heads turned to see several figures fighting in the dark, an apparent gang jumping going on. She heard the telltale hissing sounds of vampires and growled herself. Without a second thought, she stabbed the vampire through and turning him to ash. Her stele quickly found its way back into her wrist cuff and a set of sais came from her boots. She vaulted over the rail of the back steps and sped toward the commotion, the adrenaline coursing through her as the satisfaction of slaying a vamp hit her.

She bore down on the first vampire, tackling him to the ground and stabbing him through before looking up to see another shadowhunter go down beneath three vampires. "Son of a bitch." She hissed before getting up and grabbing hold of one, throwing it off to reach for another. Before she could run the second through, the first had come back in force and crushed her wrist to make the sais drop to the ground. She yelled out in pain before managing to drive her weapon through the second vampire and going for the first she had pulled off. The move had been predictable and he used her momentum against her, slamming her into the brick wall of a building head first. She fell back to the muddy street and felt a weight on her chest almost instantly. The claws of the Downworld scratched across her left shoulder and severed the leather and cloth of the dress. She hissed in pain before her hands shot up to hold the vampire at bay as it sought to sink its teeth into her shoulder. She grunted in effort before the vampire became dust under her hands, falling over her in a spray. She took a breath before rolling over to see the last vampire trying to run from the shadowhunter it had been attacking. "No you don't...." She hissed as her hand reached out to one of her fallen sais. She came up to her knees and threw the weapon at the retreating form. It landed in the back of the vampire and turned it to dust.

She stayed on her knees, panting, before noticing the shadowhunter staggering to the alley ground. She forced herself to her feet amid the aches of her body and the stinging through her shoulder. She grabbed her other sais and approached the unknown Nephilim, pointing her weapon at what appeared to be a male. "Who the hell are you?" She demanded, not trusting any shadowhunter she didn't know since Valentine had invaded the Institute.

[Serendipity]

Well that had been a waste of time, he reflected quietly to himself as he weaved his leather clad figure through the dancing bodies of the club. He’d followed a lead to this particular club but it seemed it wasn’t leading him anywhere but to a dead end. His sensor buzzed in the pocket of his jeans, but he ignored it, fully aware that a place like this would be full of downworlders and quite possibly demons. Slaying a few demons whilst it would have been enjoyable wasn’t the reason he was here and if he wanted to keep a low profile then he’d keep out of their way. The Enclave in London wouldn’t have approved, if you see a demon you kill a demon, but he wasn’t in London now. No, he was in Brooklyn of all places and what the Enclave didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.

He passed a large group of vampires on his way out, but promptly ignored them and continued on his way out of the club. He’d have cloaked himself if he could so they couldn’t see him, but a few nights ago he’d gotten into a little trouble with some demons and had lost his stele. The one thing a shadowhunter should never lose and he’d lost it. Gregory Andrews, his tutor, would have been extremely disappointed in him now that was for sure. The air outside the club was a lot cleaner and he inhaled some of it in an attempt to get the stench of sweat, alcohol and stale tobacco out of his nostrils.

“Oh shit…” The words were barely out of his mouth before two figures tackled him to the ground, four more made their way over to the first two baring fangs and hissing their encouragement. Both hands slapped against the dirty alley cement as he braced himself for the impact of the fall, seconds later he pushed himself up with the two vampires on his back and flipped over. His movements were fast enough to catch the two off guard and allowed him time to roll completely off of them and spring to his boot clad feet.

He should have known that they’d follow him out here, that they’d sense he was a shadowhunter and come after him for a fight. Funnily enough, Elijah Ashdown hadn’t come for a fight tonight. He was merely at the club looking for information; he was searching for a certain shadowhunter who might be able to lead him to his brother who had been missing for several months now. Eli still hadn’t given up hope of finding him, if he was still alive Travis Ashdown was his only living relative and Eli wasn’t about to give up searching for him even if it meant all he’d find was a rotting corpse.

Eli reached over his shoulders with both arms as he backed away from the advancing four vampires, one bright blue eye on them and the other on the two remaining vampires now scrambling to their feet. He smirked at them all as his fingers curled almost tenderly around his two hibben knives[here] sheathed criss-crossed under his black leather jacket. “I wasn’t looking for a fight boys, but you’ve got one if you want it. Come and get me,” Eli quickly pulled the knives from their sheaths and twirled them in his hands, his smirk growing into a grin as one of the vampires lunged for him. He shot his leg out and his foot landed heavily into the vampire’s chest launching him backwards into two of his comrades before Eli launched himself at the next vampire who was closest.

His knife slashed at the downworlders chest as the other sunk into his ribcage directly into his heart. In a burst of ash and a painful cry the downworlder was finished. However it made the others angry, and with the two vampires now on their feet the remaining five sprang on him, Eli slashed out at the group with his knives but he was only one against four and he tumbled to the cement with the weight of all four of them on his chest. It turned out only three made it down to the ground with him, as someone else joined the fight tackling one of the other vamps to the ground before he could join his brethren. Eli cursed and grimaced as his head hit the ground, his arms coming up to cover his face from their sharp fangs. His knives knocked out of his hands rendering him completely defenceless.

At first Eli wasn’t aware that the vamps on top of him were being pulled off one by one, he just figured that two of them thought it pointless for them all to fight against each other for a taste of his flesh. It was only when he couldn’t feel the weight of the others and his hands quickly gripped the wrists of the third vampire to stop him slashing his arms apart that Eli peeked look from beneath the downworlder and saw the feisty blonde shadowhunter who had come to his aide. Great, I’m being saved by a woman, he thought before quickly refocussing his attention on the creature still on top of him.

Eli gripped the vampires wrist more tightly holding him at bay as best he could as he angled his leg just right. With a grunt he used his legs to push the lower half of the vampire up and used his grip around the vamps wrist to toss him over his head. Eli made a hasty move to reach for his knives, but then rolled back as everything spun in front of his eyes. The dark haired male groaned and tentatively touched the back of his head, feeling warm blood seeping from beneath his hair. He was aware of the fight continuing around him and heaved himself up pushing past the dizziness. He reached for his knives just as the vampire who had been on top of him came back for more, Eli lashed out at the downworlder with his knife slashing a deep cut across his thigh. At the same time the creature lashed out at him with his claws, they cut deep into the side of his arm and he hissed in pain.

Before Eli could do anything else the vampire was sprinting in the opposite direction, obviously realizing he was the last of the group left and was now up against two shadowhunters. Eli barely noticed the spray of dust as the blonde shadowhunter who had come to his aide threw her sais at the downworlder, he landed on his knees heavily, his hibben knives clattered to the ground beside him as he clutched his right arm tightly to stop the flow of blood as the ground spun around him.

Eli chuckled through his dizziness as the other shadowhunter pointed her weapon at him and demanded to know who he was. Lifting his bloodied left hand he held up one finger at her for her to pause, “Give me a minute, everything’s spinning.” He mumbled and suckled in some air. He waited half a minute before slowly the ground stopped spinning and he managed to look up at the woman through sweaty bangs of dark brown hair. “Elijah Ashdown…I’d shake your hand, but ah…” He glanced at his bloodied hands and shrugged, she’d get the point.

[Yunalesca]

As the shadowhunter faltered on his knees her expression darkened. Just by the tone of his voice she didn't like him. She gave off an exasperated sigh and slowly lowered her sais from his head, reading some of the runes she could see through the tears in his shirt. They were your usual ones, angelic power and invisibility to the Mundane. As she waited for him to gather what he needed to say, she glanced at her shoulder and saw the tatters of her dress having come off her arm completely, baring some of her own marks of the Nephilim. When she heard him take a breath to say something her eyes returned to his, the look even more pissed off than it had been moments earlier. There was no replacing the dress, it'd been one of a kind, and it had been a magnet for the vampires she sought out every night.

As he spoke his name she couldn't help but smirk at him. "Nice name." She stated sarcastically before noting the amount of blood over his hand and seeping from his shoulder. "They didn't bite you, did they?" She asked with some concern, not for his safety, but for the fact of she'd have to slay one of her own 'kin' if he had. That was blood she never liked to have on her own hands, but it was something she wouldn't hesitate doing. Vampiric Nephilim were of no use to anybody but the Downworlders who made them so. Her eyes roamed over him and couldn't see any signs of punctures, but it was dark and not much of his skin was exposed, or at least skin that wasn't stained red from his own blood. He was toned like the rest of the shadowhunters she knew. He had been brought up to be a Nephilim like the others, yet he had been unable to fend off a vampire attack. He had been outnumbered, but most with training could have fared better. She was curious as to why he wasn't healing himself as she began to see his blood pooling underneath him. The way he looked up at her made her realize he was used to the look drawing a girl in. Boy was he trying it on the wrong female. It was then that she heard the telltale hissing noises coming further down the alley.

Immediately she sighed in frustration before sheathing her sais back into her boots. "Bleeding hearts of the world unite, can you walk?" She pressed, eyes reverting back to him as she noted what she had to do. The others were not going to be keen on her bringing an unknown Shadowhunter to their midst, but she couldn't heal him in the alley and, unfortunately, couldn't leave him. She could only imagine what Hodge would say if he heard she left one of their own to die at the hands of Downworlders that she most likely had attracted to the area. She didn't care much for what anyone thought of her, but leaving a fellow shadowhunter to death was something of a law breaker in their world. She didn't know where he had come from or what he was doing in Manhattan, but in his state she felt six shadowhunters could contain him should he prove to be one of Valentine's lot. "Come on, they can smell the blood." She hissed, grabbing him by the arm and yanking him up with strength that defied her size.

Without waiting for a protest, she draped his arm over her shoulder and started to walk him from the alley to the other side of the building, eyes constantly moving to see if the vampires were moving to flank them. "Why do I get the feeling you're going to cause me more trouble than you're worth?!" She hissed more to herself than anything before she stopped next to her Ducati (here).It was a bike that was good to get killed on, as Alec constantly informed her, but that was the appeal. She wasn't one to take her own life into consideration much lately. She just hoped this 'Elijah' knew how to ride. She slipped out from under his arm and got on the bike, the skirt of her dress slipping up and flashing her thighs. She was reminded in that moment how much she hated dresses and skirts. A good pair of leather leggings or pants went a long way, but they didn't attract like a dress did. "Get on...and don't get any ideas." She hissed out the last warning as her hands found the bars of her bike and she tilted it off the kickstand. This was not how she had wanted her night to go and as the sounds of vampires grew nearer she was reminded how much this rescue may have cost her. "Hurry your ass up or I'm leaving you to them." She said darkly as her mood soured further.

[Serendipity]

It was only as Elijah had looked up at the other shadowhunter that he’d noticed her attire, the dress certainly wasn’t a good choice of outfit to wear for a shadowhunter in a club like this, full of vampires and demons. He took a good look at her, from high heeled boot cover foot all the way up to her the top of her short blonde hair and then back down to the tight leather dress she was wearing which was clearly now ruined. Even amidst his dizziness and the blood dripping from his wounds he knew when to appreciate a good looking woman. But something told him she hadn’t put on that dress to attract another shadowhunter or even a mundane (if she was into that thing), there was purpose behind her choice of clothing.

“Nice dress,” He bit back, his own words dripping with a little sarcasm. Elijah shook his head, and groaned. That hadn’t been a good idea; everything began to spin again. He cursed himself silently for losing his stele, if he hadn’t have been so cocky he’d probably still have it now and be half way through healing. He looked away from her in search of his knives, finding them he leant forward a little and dragged them closer towards him before picking them up. One by one he sheathed them under his jacket just as she asked if he’d been bitten, he shot a glare at her, he knew exactly what she was implying if he had been bitten; although, he’d probably welcome death over becoming a vampiric being.

“No, they were too busy tearing my arms and chest apart with their fucking claws,” He grunted and looked down at his torn t-shirt beneath his jacket and sighed heavily. Elijah clutched his right arm again to stifle some of the bleeding and looked back up at the blonde shadowhunter as she asked if he could walk, he took could hear the sounds of more vampires approaching. “Of course I can walk!” He snapped but there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

He was already pushing himself up off his knees when he felt her arm latch onto his arm and hurl him up, he gritted his teeth through the pain he had a feeling she wouldn’t care for any whining. Elijah didn’t have any injuries to his legs it was all upper body so he was able to walk beside her, with her help of course, and they both hurried out of the alley before the downworlders could catch up. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the sight of the ducati she led him to, she had to be kidding. Clearly she wasn’t as she slipped his arm from around her shoulders and hopped on the bike. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” He muttered as she flicked the kickstand up and balanced herself on the bike.

“What no helmets?” He added humorously as he managed to lift his leg over the back of the bike and seat himself behind her. If he was going to stay on the bike without falling off he had no choice but to wrap his arms around her waist and lean into her, he had no strength left in his arms to hold on anywhere else. “Maybe I might be better off with them; you’re not very hospitable are you?” He replied curtly just as he caught glimpse of the approaching vampires, they were closer then he’d thought.

“Go!”

[Yunalesca]

“No, no helmets.” She muttered to him in annoyance as she waited for him to get on behind her. Another factor that drove the others mad. The bike topped out at 165 mph and she drove it like she was invincible. It wasn’t smart by any means but she’d been flirting with death long enough that the bike didn’t scare her. It was great for a get away and part of the reason she invested in it. She hoped it paid off as she kicked on the starter and felt the weight shift on the back of the bike. She chose to ignore his next comment as her head turned and saw the forms of the vampires coming for them. As her engine roared to life she saw them picking up speed, aware that their prey was about to escape. “Get your hands around my waist and I can!” She hissed at him, grabbing hold of one of his wrists and jerking him into her back to keep him from falling off as she hit the gas. She’d never had to share the bike with anyone and wasn’t enjoying the feeling of him pressed up behind her, but there was little choice as the vampires broke into top speed at them. “Hang on!” She yelled above the engine roar before letting go of the break and jerking the bike forward at the cluster of vamps. They instantly scattered at the site of wheels coming at them as she reared the bike up momentarily before dropping it to the ground and skidding around the corner of the building and into late night traffic.

She heard the squeal of tires and horns blaring as she zoomed down the street, not daring to look back as her bike was already hitting 60 and it took all her concentration to slide in between cars as she took the bridge and started toward the institute. The wind whipped at her bare thighs as they blurred past cars, their presence only known when they were several car lengths ahead of the ones they just passed. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest from the adrenaline, or was she feeling his against her back? She began to decelerate and made for an exit ramp, slowing the bike from 120 down to 55 as she took the curve of the off ramp as smoothly as she could without his assistance. She couldn’t wait to get him off the bike and was thankful they were only five minutes out. She could only imagine the blood stains she was going to have to scrub off the leather seat and chrome parts. She grimaced at the thought and found a renewed hatred toward the shadowhunter.

She could see the Institute in the distance as she started down the street that ran in front of it, starting to slow the bike further. She could feel Elijah’s strength diminishing via the hold that was beginning to lax against her stomach. If he falls off, I’m leaving him, she thought as she rounded the building and finally stopped. “Alright, get off.” She told him, prying his hands from her middle herself after she’d put the bike on its kickstand. She always got the willies after someone touched her. Countless years of being on your own did that. The shadowhunters of the Institute had been trying to break her down to the idea of being a ‘team’ but she had yet to buy into it. Things weren’t quite so messy when you were on your own, and they didn’t seem to share her same thoughts to the vampire clans that she did. They waited until they did something to them before they took action. She sought it out and nipped it in the bud.

As she dismounted the bike she noted the shadowhunter was about to fall off himself. “More trouble…” She groaned in reminiscent of her previous statements about him. She knew he’d lost a significant amount of blood, but caring for someone wasn’t her forte. Only the strongest survived and she was wondering whether he was worth it. Her arm was under his shoulders and across his back again to prevent him from falling outright. She felt that it’d be worse to call one of the others out to carry him in than doing so herself. “When…I get you…inside…just…shut up. Good lord you’re heavy.” She groaned as she felt she was taking more and more of his weight. She was strong, but she wasn’t built like Isabelle. Small bones and frames ran in her family and it wasn’t doing any favors currently. “Lean.” She said as she stepped up to the front gate and half deposited him against the metalwork. She produced her stele and inserted it into the new lock, put in some months ago after the invasion. She was glad she’d missed that. A debacle she didn’t particularly want to be a part of. After the locks gave way, she shouldered him again and nudged the large door open with her side.

Instantly they were bathed in the warm light of the greeting hall as she managed to stagger him inside. Having felt her job complete, she deposited him on the floor rather ungracefully before turning to make sure the locking mechanisms were going back into place. As her back was turned she heard a sharp intake of breath. She turned her head first to see Isabelle starting down the stairs to her, having not even noticed the body of Elijah on the floor yet. “Don’t worry, it’s mostly not mine.” She remarked in response to the blood she was sure was smeared across her features and dress. It was then that the other girl’s eyes drifted down to the bloody mess at Audrina’s feet.

“Who’s that?!” She said, the snake whip at her wrist already beginning to extend.

“I don’t know. Said his name was Elijah. Some vamps were kicking his ass pretty good so I thought I’d bring you home a new brother.” She smirked, finding humor in the situation somehow. Poking fun at their ‘family’ complex was never ending to her. She didn’t get it and didn’t want to. She’d had a family and wasn’t looking for a new one.

“Oh look, she’s like the cat that brings home a dead rat expecting an applause.” Came from the stairs and Audrina turned her body round this time, fully facing Jace as he leaned against a pillar. She rolled her eyes up at him as he took in her appearance and noticed it may not all be as it seemed.

“This one’s alive, I can assure you. At least he was when I dropped him there.” She stated darkly before Alec was stepping into view and making his presence known. Here we go… she thought as he started down the stairs and toward her.

“I didn’t realize you liked your boyfriends alive.” Was all that came from his mouth which sparked a new smirk from the blonde.

“This one’s not for me. You looked pretty lonely.” She returned. It wasn’t even a second before he was starting for her, the steam almost coming out of his ears as she poked at him as she had with the others. She knew how to get under their skin and couldn’t help that she did so often.

“Enough!” Came from the side and Alec stopped in his tracks as Audrina braced herself for his assault. Both shadowhunters held their defensive stances as they all looked to the owner of the thunderous voice, Hodge. “Get him to treatment.”

“We don’t know who…” Isabelle started, but was cut off.

“He is not one of Valentine’s. He’s already lost a lot of blood. Alec, Jace, take him. Isabelle.” He nodded to them, gesturing for her to follow them. Audrina slowly relaxed her stance and inched her hand away from the sais tucked in her boot. “You need healing as well.” He observed and she shrugged it off.

“I can do it myself.”

“Go with them.” He ordered and she stared him down for a second as she considered her options and sighed irritably. As Jace and Alec started up toward the healing wing she fell into step shortly behind, keeping her distance from Alec as she could still see him tensing.

[Serendipity]

Eli was feeling himself grow weaker by the minute; he didn’t even have to strength to continue the banter that had started between them, none of it nice. He’d thought he’d placed his arms around her waist efficiently enough but obviously not as she grabbed both his arms and pulled them around her more tightly. He was aware of the engine roar to life, and knew he had to hold on so he focused on that. Hopefully he could hold on long enough to get to wherever it was they were going, he had a feeling if he fell off she wouldn’t come back for him.


The last thing he remembered before she was dragging him off the bike (or maybe he fell off) was them both speeding off into the night as fast as the bike could take them, and all he could remember thinking was just hold on. His chin rolled forwards into his chest, he couldn’t even hold it upright at the moment, and he tried to keep his eyes open at least. He had no idea where she’d taken him; they might both be shadowhunters but not every shadowhunter these days were fighting for the same cause. If she were one of Valentine’s lot then he was done for, she may have well left him for the vamps to eat.


He felt his shoulder lean against metal as she let go of him, he barely registered her words but smirked a little as she grunted about how heavy he was. He did as he was instructed and leant against the metal fence as she took out her stele to unlock the door of wherever they were. “Where are we?” He heard himself ask before the door was opening and she was dragging him off the fence; they staggered into the building together. The last thing he expected was for her to simply let him drop to the ground. He landed with a thud and groan, but had managed to land without causing further damage to himself.


Eli rested his throbbing head on his arm as he turned on his side in hopes of getting a better look at where they were. But he couldn’t concentrate on much as he felt himself about to pass out completely. That was when he heard another voice, and then more soon followed. He tried to distinguish where they were coming from, and what they were saying but they all sounded the same to his ears at the moment. He did however manage to lift an arm up in order to get their attention, whatever they were talking about it wasn’t helping him. “Ah…bleeding here…” He groaned, but none of them paid attention.


It felt like a lifetime before he was being lifted to his feet again, this time by two males, he could tell because the blonde shadowhunter had been much smaller. He passed out shortly after the two males helped him down the passageway hopefully to somewhere he could heal.

--x--x--


When he woke up, he had to squint through the bright light for a minute before his eyes adjusted to the light. He had no idea how long he’d been out for, but it had been enough time for them to remove his boots, torn shirt, jacket and….his knives. Shit.


Eli grunted a little as he pushed himself up against the pillows of what could only be described as a hospital bed and looked down at his chest and arms, he was no longer bleeding, in fact he was almost completely healed. Someone cleared there throat from across the room and his head snapped up in their direction, his blue eyes meeting another set of bright blue orbs. Eli narrowed his eyes on the brunette male as he twirled his knives in his hands. “These are nice,” The male drawled, twirled them once more and then set them aside on top of what looked like his jacket.


“A gift,” Eli replied cautiously and glanced around the room assessing his options, he didn’t know these people, clearly they were shadowhunters like him but if they were working for Valentine they weren’t the kind of shadowhunters Eli wanted to be associated with. He tensed a little as the shadowhunter walked towards him; the male stopped at the end of his bed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Your stele is missing, did you know that? Probably explains why you almost bled to death,”


“Yeah well…I’ve had worse. Where’s blondie?” Eli answered quickly changing the subject to the shadowhunter who had brought him here.


“Around…if you ask me she should have left you for the downworlders, what kind of shadowhunter doesn’t keep their stele on them?” The brunette questioned further, he really wasn’t going to let up on the stele thing Eli realised.


“No one’s asking you buddy so back off,” Eli retorted and swung his legs from beneath the covers and off of the bed. “I’d like my stuff back please. I’ll get out of your hair then,” He stated and pushed himself to his feet, thankful that he no longer felt dizzy and felt more like himself again. He hated that he’d had to rely on a woman to help him out.


The male, whose name he still did not know, stepped in front of him before he could move anywhere. “You can’t leave yet, as much as I’m counting the seconds until you –“


“I can leave when I damn please, move out of my way,” Eli growled, stepped closer to the male until they were chest to chest, Eli was just a little taller than the other but he didn’t back down. “Move,”

[Yunalesca]

“Get his boots and shirt off so we can see the damage.” Isabelle instructed as Audrina fell to a bed nearby to where they’d lain the now passed out shadowhunter. She was aware of a set of eyes on her and she rotated her head to look over and see Alec giving her a none too pleased glare. “Alec, get me the bandages.” His sister ordered as she noted the tension between the two shadowhunters and stepped in to stop it before it began again. “Alec.” She pressed again as she started cutting off Eli’s shredded shirt and removed the jacket.

“Why isn’t she doing anything?” He hissed in response as Eli’s boots thudded to the ground and Jace rolled his eyes. Audrina cut in long before the other blonde could make the situation any worse than what it was already.

“Because I could care less about what happens to him.” She sighed which earned a chuckle from what she could only assume was Jace. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to take care of myself…” She started, but instantly grew quiet as she felt Alec pressing her back to the bed with one hand and leaning dangerously close to her face. She hadn’t even heard him move which meant she had really pissed him off this time. “I’d prefer Jace do the healing, I haven’t pissed him off as much tonight.” She said before hissing as she felt his stele going into her shoulder to seal the wounds from the vampires.

“If you ever bring up…”

“Get over yourself, nobody…cares!” She yelled out the last part as he pressed down harder. “I’m not scared of you, Alec. Go do something useful.” She managed after he’d removed his stele, but still had her pinned down.

“Alec! I said get the bandages!” Isabelle yelled this time and he reluctantly let her go. She knew it would never be finished with him. He was the one she enjoyed tormenting the most because of the kinds of reactions she could get out of him.

*

"I'd not recommend going up against Alec, Elijah. Audrina has done a good job at riling him up this evening and he'll be looking for an outlet for the steam." Came from behind the brunette as he refused to move from the new shadowhunters path. His muscles tensed at the mention of her name and at the possibility of beating this one into the ground. Saving his life had been a waste of their time and he hadn't been lying when he said it'd have been better off if she had dumped him along the way. She was more than enough to handle and this one seemed to be of the same attitude. He felt a hand at his shoulder and glanced down to see Hodge silently telling him to stand down. This shadowhunter would be nothing against him, and would never stand a chance against the best that had ever lived. Alec's arms lowered and he stepped back so Hodge could step forward and let the shadowhunter see him.

"It's alright, Alec." He assured and with a reluctant nod, the brunette left the wing. "Now, Elijah, I have come to understand you're missing your stele and Audrina saved you from a vampire attack. You're lucky. We thought we were going to have to use Sangliers and transfer blood to you, not something any of them were particularly looking forward to." He informed as he recalled nearly having to make the diagnoses. None of them were keen on the idea of performing a dangerous rune for a shadowhunter they did not know. Hodge himself had never met this one and felt the need to know his business. He could not sense the mark of Valentine on him, but after the ordeal he had only just redeemed himself from, he had to be a little more cautious.

"As protector of this Institute I must ask what it is you want in the city and more importantly, what happened to your stele. That is a very important thing to lose. In the wrong hands it could be disasterous for you, and possibly many others." He informed, though he was sure the youth understood that a shadowhunters stele was a part of his or her soul. He was aware of the fact he didn't know every rogue shadowhunter in the city, but he was -aware- of them. This one had been under the radar and he may have never known of him if Audrina hadn't brought him for healing. That in itself was something of a surprise. It showed there was some semblance of humanity still in her somewhere if she chose to help when normally she may turn a blind eye. He felt he would have to ask her about it after he talked with Elijah. He hoped it was a sign she was going to become more of one of them and less of one of herself.

[Serendipity]

The voice came from somewhere behind the brunette shadowhunter Eli was up against, the warning in the second male’s voice was also evident and reminded Eli again that he didn’t know this clan of shadowhunters. And without his stele he was weaker then he should have been, ever since he’d lost it was as if he’d lost part of himself too. His tutor had warned him of the importance of his stele, he’d have to get it back, one way or another. But Eli wasn’t about to back down first, he was stubborn and cocky and would have taken this shadowhunter – Alec- on even if he knew he’d lose.


He didn’t relax his stance until the male in front of him moved away, and even then it was only a little. He watched Alec leave the wing through narrowed eyes before he turned his gaze to the older shadowhunter who had taken his place. Why did everyone know his name and he didn’t know theirs? It was rather frustrating. But he could sense that the shadowhunter now standing in front of him was one of authority and needed to be treated with respect.


“Audrina did you say?” He caught her name and felt a little better that he know at least knew someone else’s name around here. Eli nodded and figured he wasn’t going anywhere soon so sat back down on the edge of the bed. He ran his fingers through his dark brown locks and shrugged, “She…agh…helped,” He replied and frowned at the mention of his missing stele, his frown deepening at the mention of a blood transfusion. He was lucky then.


Eli was aware that the next question was coming; of course they’d want to know what he was doing in the city. Eli sighed, there was no use lying, he’d be caught out within seconds and it wasn’t like he had anything to hide. “I’m chasing down some leads, someone I know is missing – my brother and Manhattan apparently was the last place he was seen before his disappearance.” Eli explained, rubbing a hand over his chest nervously as he thought about how to answer the question of his stele’s whereabouts.


“I guess I’m not having much luck around here…” He sighed before continuing, “Two nights ago, I got into a scuffle with some low level demons, managed to kill a few but my stele was lost amongst the chaos. Without it I’m not strong enough to go back there and retrieve it, ironic huh.” He chuckled at the irony. Eli looked back up at the older shadowhunter and tried for a polite smile but it probably came off a little strained. “I apologise if I’ve caused any inconvenience to anyone here, it was not my intention. So as I mentioned to Alec before, I’ll get out of your hair and go.”

[Yunalesca]

As the young shadowhunter took a seat and offered explanation, Hodge smirked slightly as he voiced Audrina’s name aloud, trying it out with his own voice. He wasn’t entirely surprised she hadn’t given her name. She’d been reluctant to do so when they’d first come across her and brought her to the Institute after she traveled into the midst of a clan of vampires. Alec had been reluctant to help even then and her incessant taunting and prodding at them didn’t help, but he wasn’t in a way to be telling her what to do. Besides, Jace seemed to rather enjoy the mockery, humor that he understood. Alec didn’t quite see it that way and she picked at him for it.

As he came forward with the reasons for his being in Manhattan, the elder shadowhunter took a breath and considered what he said. His story was starting to sound rather familiar and given his demeanor, it seemed very much like history repeating itself. He wasn’t about to tell him this as it was Audrina’s private matter to deal with and speak of, but he continued to roll the similarities over in his mind. It occurred to him that they could help eachother, but both were headstrong on being independent and he wondered if they would mesh well together. Similar personalities could destroy eachother.

The shadowhunter was moving forward and providing himself with an exit to which Hodge wasn’t so sure he should give just yet. He couldn’t keep the youth, but he felt the need to offer him something since he clearly was not from the area. “I wouldn’t excuse yourself just yet, Elijah. You are here on a just cause and I feel it only necessary to offer you a place of…sanctuary and a bed to help along the way. We do not get many guests here and there are many rooms open in this Institute that used to be a grand teaching hall and sanctuary to many shadowhunters like yourself.” He offered before the door behind him was creaking open and a newly dressed Audrina was backing into the healing wing with a platter in her hands, teacups and a teapot sitting atop. She paused as she turned around, seeing that the shadowhunter was awake and apparently immersed in some conversation with Hodge.

“So you survived.” She said flatly as she pulled the platter a little closer to herself as she shifted in her combat boots. The leather of her pants creaked as she did so and her jaw set, eyes averting as she could almost feel Elijah’s eyes roaming over her. She had thrown a racerback tank (here) on after cleaning the blood off, it revealing the still raw rune at her shoulder from where Alec had forcefully healed her. It would fade, but the way he had done it would make it last longer than the others she’d had before. “Chai, Jace’s suggestion. I think he was hoping for a confrontation between me and Alec.” She offered simply before setting the tray on a bedside table and stepping back to cross her arms around her middle. “Am I going to have to drop him off now? He so enjoyed the last bike ride.” She stated sarcastically, notably keeping her eyes away from him.

“No, I think an escort to one of the open rooms would be –nice- of you, however.” He pressed and instantly her demeanor turned cold and she bit on the inside of her lip.

“That’s more Isabelle’s forte.” She started in an attempt to get out of having to spend another moment with this Elijah. She hadn’t liked him when they first met and now that he was healthy and alert, she didn’t particularly care for him anymore than before.

“I think you’ll do just fine.” Hodge said with finality. If it hadn’t been so juvenile she probably would have stamped her foot at him. Instead her jaw set in irritation and she turned her dark gaze on Elijah.

“Come on, -Elijah-.” She dragged out his name in mockery as Hodge moved to hand the shadowhunters things off to him. He hadn’t necessarily given him the chance to say ‘no’ to the offer, but he felt the younger Nephilim was aware of his need for a real bed and shower as Isabelle had only cleansed the blood from his chest. He could read that Audrina was none too enthused about his appointing her as his ‘escort’, but it would be the least of her frustrations in the coming times if things began to play out like he anticipated. He was playing a dangerous game in trying to pair the two together as comrades, but sometimes he could see the need that lay deeper.

[Serendipity]

Eli considered the older shadowhunters offer, a place to stay, a clean bed, no more moving from motel to motel trying to stay undetected. He hadn’t slept in the same place for more than one night for the past few months on his quest to find his brother, some nights he hadn’t slept at all. The idea of staying in one place, and a place like the institute, was definitely appealing. Although he doubted that anyone other than the shadowhunter in front of him would be welcome to the idea of a stranger staying under their roof. But Elijah had never gone out of his way to appease anyone, at least not for a long time now.


Before he could answer the man, with either a yes or a no, the door to the infirmary creaked open and a newly dressed Audrina entered. Eli’s head turned the moment he heard the door open, he’d been expecting Alec to return or perhaps someone else, but Audrina certainly was a pleasant surprise. He hadn’t yet thanked her for her help, he was well aware without it he wouldn’t be sitting here right now having a conversation with the head of the Institute. Once he’s gaze locked on her it was hard to look away, she looked good in leather and those pants…


It was a shame she was so disagreeable and bossy. He recalled her bossiness, what had happened with the vampires was all coming back to him in bits and pieces. She might have helped him fight off the downworlders, but she hadn’t been pleasant about it and quite rough if he recalled correctly. His brows shot up as she asked if she had to drop him off somewhere now, her words dripping once again with sarcasm. Sarcasm wasn’t a new thing for him, but usually he wasn’t on this end of it. “Yes, it was oh so enjoyable.” He bit back, deciding to keep it at that in the presence of the other shadowhunter.


Eli smirked as the older shadowhunter cut in and asked her to escort him to an empty room. He was enjoying the look of astonishment on her face far too much to realise he’s decision about staying or going had just been made for him. He stood up as she told him to follow her, and grabbed the items that were being passed to him, slipping on his jacket over his bare chest. His knives clutched between one hand as he followed her out of the infirmary. He paused in the doorway to look back at the older shadowhunter, “Thank you…for the hospitality, at least someone’s friendly around here.” Eli said pausing between his words; he still didn’t know the man’s name.


“Hodge Starkweather,” The shadowhunter said, revealing his name, and nodded.


He walked beside Audrina in silence for a moment, but a smirk was stretching across his lips, he’d seen her t-shirt and he just couldn’t help himself. “Do what I want? That’s an open invitation if I’ve ever seen one,” He knew it was extremely cocky of him, but her reaction would quite possibly be worth it. He held back his laughter and stepped away from her just in case she reacted with psychical violence. “I saw you checking me out…did you wear that shirt and those pants specially for me?”

[Yunalesca]

As Audrina was opening the door and stepping out, she felt Elijah give pause in the doorway. His remark to Hodge made her roll her eyes. For once she was agreeing with Alec, she probably should have left him in the alley to fend for himself. If she had she wouldn’t have endured a painful healing and would still have her prize winning dress. The mere thought of it made her grimace. It was burning in her fireplace now. It had been ravaged beyond repair and she didn’t keep bloodied things around. Best to burn it so it wouldn’t come back to bite her somehow. Ever since the invasion she had been a little more cautious about that. She huffed loudly as he finally stepped out of the infirmary and allowed her to aggressively close the door, showing both her distaste for him and frustration with Hodge.

She walked in silence beside him, forcibly making space and each time he closed the distance. He was doing everything to irk her and it was taking a lot of energy to contain herself from lashing out. She was aware of this sort of game, having been playing it often with her current ‘housemates’ and refused to rise to the bait. He was a frustrating individual and seemed to know that. She had to remember how he would feed off her anger with him and only gain the upper hand if she reacted. She took a deep breath as she could feel her eyes beginning to seep into the Nephilim gold, a telltale sign of her frustrations, emotions taking over her mind.

As the silence was broken her jaw tensed anew and her fist came out to connect with his jaw. She had risen to it like he hoped and he had planned for it as her hand whipped through the air and hit nothing. A very low and frustrated growl emitted from her throat as she dug her heels in and stopped her progression down the hall of bedrooms. She turned to him then, gold that had been dissipating renewing in her eyes. The color quickly progressed through her iris, the normal stormy grey of her eyes becoming lost. "I checked you out?! Please!" She hissed at him as the audacity of his statement made her angry for some reason or other. She had never looked at anyone that way, why the hell would she start now? "I have far better things to be concerned with than...checking the likes of you out!" She half yelled before turning and starting down the hall again.

She stopped before one of the doors in the hall and turned the handle sharply before kicking it open. Her gesture stating this was his room was not any kinder as she found herself slowly coming back under control. "Your room, you self obsessed prig." She said before turning away from him only to run right into Jace who was not even trying to hide the mirth in his face. He stood there before her with his arms crossed, only glancing at Elijah once before turning his attention back to her.

"Self obsessed prig? I'll have to remember that one." He said and her eyes narrowed, shooting a look over her shoulder at Elijah before turning back to the blonde shadowhunter.

"You. Are all. Insane." She said pointedly before shoving past him which only made him laugh even more.

[Serendipity]

He could feel the anger radiating off of her and it didn’t bother him, in fact it fuelled him further, there was just something about this woman that had set him on the course of wanting to piss her off. He wasn’t sure what he thought he’d gain from doing such a thing; he certainly wasn’t doing himself any favors in her eyes. It may have been the fact that she had only met him tonight and already felt deep resentment towards him, what had he done? If she was pissed off about the dress then she’d just have to get over it or get another one.

He’d been smart enough to move away from her after his words about her checking him out had left his lips, and a good thing too because if he’d stayed anywhere near her he was sure that fist of hers would hurt. He chuckled and grinned from ear to ear, but stopped when she did to shout at him, watching her smoky grey orbs turn a golden yellow with her ever rising anger towards him. “I believe you were. It’s okay your secrets safe with me,” He continued to chuckle even whilst she yelled at him again. “Oh yeah?” He stopped laughing for a moment and quirked a brow. “Like what to wear in order to attract more vamps?”

“A little risqué isn’t it?” He asked but he wasn’t expecting an answer as they stopped in front of what he could only assume was the bedroom he would be sleeping in for the remainder of his stay, however long that would be. “Jeeze don’t break the door down; wear whatever you want it’s none of my business. Like your shirt says ‘Do what you want’,” Eli rolled his eyes at her overdramatic use of opening a door. “I’ll just appreciate the view,” He smirked and continued to smirk even as she called him a ‘self obsessed prig’, he’d heard worse.

Eli’s eyes moved from Audrina to the other figure that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and he pursed his lips a little as he watched the other male or only spared him a quick glance. Eli stifled a laugh at Audrina’s exasperated statement before she pushed past the other male and disappeared down the hall. “Is she always like that then?” Eli turned his attention to the male shadowhunter.

[Yunalesca]

Jace's eyes followed after Audrina momentarily before he brought them back to the new shadowhunter, a smirk still firmly spread over his face. "No, this is pleasant for her." He informed as he heard a door slam down the hall. "Congratulations, you've gotten under her skin of nails." He said before extending his hand to the male, generally humored by the fact he had done so in such a short time. "Jace Wayland, the -other- self obsessed prig." He introduced, not holding the reservations that Alec and Audrina had possessed about him. He wasn't aware of why exactly this shadowhunter was here, but it felt nice to see a new face around that didn't belong to one of Valentine's lot. If he got under Audrina's skin at the same time, all the better. He needed the distraction and watching the blonde shadowhunter stalk down the hall and attempt to contain her fury was a most entertaining distraction.

*

The moment the door of her room had slammed closed her shirt was coming off and being thrown at the head of the bed, it hitting hard and crumpling down to the pillows as she took a seat at the foot and pulled her stele from her waistband. She examined her range of runes, her skin still relatively bare in comparison to those she was currently living with. She spent more time staking vampires than slaying demons and didn't feel the need to burn more powerful runes into her body. Most would argue it was dangerous for her to not be equipping herself to the best of her ability with powers of the Nephilim, but she had never wanted this life for herself to begin with. The danger aspect of being less equipped than her brethren was exciting in a way it shouldn't be.

She rolled her right wrist so it was resting on her knee and the inside was facing up at her. Impulsively she ran a finger down the scar stretching from her elbow region to her wrist, it tracing a perfect line over the major vein in her arm. She flashed back to the moment she had gained the scar, the amount of blood that had spilled across her kitchen floor, her own blood. Come with me, Dree! Blood for blood... echoed the angelic voice in her ears before she brought herself back from the memory. Her stele stabbed through the center of the scar, the burning sensation raw in her mind as she traced over the faded rune she had originally placed there. The 'mourning' rune (here) began to flare up at her, the black ink beginning to shine through the burns she inflicted upon herself. I'm sorry, Aurelie! screamed her own voice in her head as she was transported back to the memory and she dug deeper into her own arm, the pain causing her to hiss before she pulled away almost violently and sat there panting.

She looked down at the refreshed rune, watching the steam dance over her arm as it continued to turn black. She pulled her eyes away and reached for her glass sais tucked into her boots, laying one across her lap and starting to slowly etch over the faded runes, spent from the slayings of the night. It was then that a knock came at her door. She ignored it the first time and continued to etch into the glass with her stele, but the knock came a second time and a feminine voice was on the other side. Sighing, she put the sais aside and answered the door, only half pulling it open. Isabelle stood on the other side and her eyes lowered from the blonde's face down her washboard stomach. "Burning?" She asked, noting the fact Audrina was standing in the doorway in her bra and leather pants.

"What do you want, Isabelle." She stated with some attitude. The other female seemed to not take notice of the tone in her voice, or at least chose to ignore it.

"Alec wanted to talk to you." She responded and Audrina leaned against the doorframe, a mirthless laugh coming from her throat.

"I'm sure. Not interested." She responded before turning her head and seeing the figures of Jace and Elijah at his door. She looked back to Isabelle and stepped back further into her room and sighed irritably as she seemed to not want to give up on the pursuit.

"I can help you with those. Yours are pretty basic..." Isabelle started, gesturing to the few runes across the blonde's abdomen

"I don't need your help, Isabelle." She stated darkly before slamming the door in her face. The brunette noticeably stepped back as the door closed abruptly before her. She looked down at Jace and raised her brow inquisitively.

[Serendipity]

Eli felt his brow raise just a little more in curiosity as the male shadowhunter explained that Audrina’s reaction to the both of them were actually pleasant for her. “Pleasant?” Eli laughed a little and shook his head, “I’d hate to be on her unpleasant side then.” If that had been Audrina’s pleasant side he was curious to see her unpleasant side, he wasn’t sure why he wanted to though, and it would probably be a good idea not to push over to that point. He heard the door slam a little further down the hall as Audrina found her room and went inside, this only made him chuckle some more.

Eli extended his own hand as the male shadowhunter introduced himself as Jace Wayland and gripped his hand in a firm shake and a smirk. “Elijah Ashdown, Eli for short.” Eli said, he was happy that at least Jace seemed like the kind of shadowhunter he could get along with. “Nice to meet you,” Eli smiled. He wanted to ask the male what Audrina’s deal was, but thought better of it. He’d only just arrived and it probably wasn’t the best idea to go around asking questions about her, although it he had a feeling it would irritate her more if she knew he was.

The one thing he mostly wanted to ask was why she’d been dressed the way she had been at the club, it had just been asking for the wrong kind of attention. Sure she’d proven she could handle herself, more then he’d been able to which he wasn’t too proud of at the moment, but there might be a time she wasn’t so lucky. He told himself he wasn’t concerned about it, only curious. His only concern was himself and finding out what had happened to his brother and if he was still alive, he didn’t have time to be concerned with anyone else.

Eli’s attention turned back down the hall as he sensed another presence approach, but they stopped outside the door Audrina had disappeared through, paying no attention to the two males. Another brunette, this one much better looking than the first one he’d met in the infirmary. Eli felt his lips curl slightly at the edges, he might just enjoy his stay here more then he’d originally thought. “Who’s that? I haven’t been introduced to everyone yet. But I believe I met Alec in the infirmary, pleasant chap.” He said a little sarcastically.

His blue eyes remained on the brunette outside Audrina’s door as he waited for Jace to supply a name. The door opened and he saw Audrina standing in the doorway, however the door hid her a little from his view. “I’m surprised most of the doors here are still on their hinges,” Eli winched a little as Audrina once more slammed her door again.

[Yunalesca]

Jace's head turned as Isabelle stopped in front of Audrina's door and Elijah took notice of her. A small smile spread over his face as he could already tell what the shadowhunter was getting at. "That's Isabelle. The 'unpleasant chaps' sister. Just stay out of his way and he can be pleasant enough. There's some sort of tiff always going on between him and Audrina, so you should mostly be in the clear." He explained as he heard the door slam once more and turned his head to look down the hall. Based on the look he received from Isabelle she hadn't a clue as to what she did. He half shrugged to her in response. By now they'd all grown pretty accustomed to Audrina's fits of anger. It was quite amazing how quiet the Institute had become in her extended absence.

He turned his attention back to Elijah and laughed softly in agreement. He almost mentioned Clary at that point so he would know everyone who would be found around the Institute, but he found himself withholding her instead. The pain of what Valentine had told them stabbed through his chest and he lowered his gaze to hide it. He still couldn't believe it himself, but Clary had been more absent from their group lately. Her time was more consumed with Simon these days and for the first time, Jace was jealous. "Well, I'd say we've all had our share of excitement for the night. I'll see you tomorrow, maybe see how you are with those fancy weapons Alec was telling me about." He said before making his exit down the hall and joining up with Isabelle before they started for the 'library' and Hodge's office.

*

Don't be nervous... the voice called in her ear before the cold breath washed over her exposed neck. She could feel the excitement coursing off him as his hands held firmly on her arms and his teeth grazed her flesh. Her heart rate accelerated as she tried to move her arms. Nothing responded as she heard the vampire's jaw widen and panic began to take over. Stop him, don't let him bite! her mind screamed but she was frozen against the wall under his hands. His fangs sunk into her neck and she let out an anguished scream as fire raced through her in response to the venom seeping into the bloodstream.

Audrina shot out of the dream, bathed in sweat and heart pounding as reality set in that she had indeed been dreaming. She tried calming her fast paced breathing as she looked around to ensure she was in her own room before her hands shot to her neck to feel for bite marks. Nothing. Her hands dropped away and she sighed heavily. It had only been a dream, but one so terrifying she felt as though it were real. Never had she dreamed of the vampires she killed coming for her and it was an unnerving sign. She managed to roll out from under the scarlet bedspread and rifle through her clothing to find a new tank (here) and leather leggings, donning them quickly as she peeked out the curtains to see the sun hadn't quite risen yet. How much sleep had she gotten? Better yet, had she screamed out loud? She sincerely hoped not. Considering nobody was pounding down her door she assumed 'no'.

She pulled on a pair of boots (here) and poked her head out of her room to see nobody in the hall. She slipped out silently then and closed her door quietly behind her before starting for the kitchen. Once there she began bubbling the water for her black tea, forsaking her traditional French heritage of coffee for something more soothing. She didn't need to be more hyped up after the nightmare she'd just had. She was pouring the hot water over the tea leaves when she heard someone behind her clearing their throat. She nearly dropped the teapot of hot water in surprise before turning and sighing heavily. "Good god don't you ever sleep? What do you want." She said flatly before turning back to her tea, turning away from Alec.

"It was incredibly stupid what you did last night."

"Everything I do is stupid to you, luckily I don't care what you think." She said and could feel the tension level rising already. She finally turned back to him and saw his thick, muscled arms crossed over his barrel chest that fought against the black fabric of his shirt.

"You need to stop with this vampire crap. We're going to have to come in and save your ass one of these days, and one of us will get hurt. I do not look forward to waking up in the infirmary again." He warned, his blue eyes beginning to burn.

"I told you. Not your concern. You don't have to worry about 'rescuing' me. I'm not one of your little 'family'. Go back to bed, Alec." She said and started to leave with her teacup. As she passed by him his hand shot out and held her firmly on the arm.

"Wipe your memory. You can stop this nonsense if you don't remember." He pressed and she started laughing at him mirthlessly.

"If you ever try to get Magnus Bane to wipe my memory, I will kill you, Alec. It won't be easy, but I will kill you. Leave me the hell alone." She said and pulled away from him and stepped back out into the hall.

Alec stayed where he was and flexed his hands into fists in frustration.

[Serendipity]

Eli bid farewell to Jace and stepped into his room, he shut the door behind him and sighed heavily. Mulling over the events that had unfolded tonight; he could admit (to himself at least) that going into a club like that without the power of his stele at his side had been pretty stupid. As he reflected back on what had happened he slipped off his jacket and tossed it on the end of the bed before he sank down on the mattress to remove his boots. He should have been more prepared for the attack, and then perhaps he wouldn’t have had to rely on Audrina’s help, not that he’d asked for it she’d just jumped into the fight herself. But now he felt like he owed her for helping him. She didn’t just help you, she saved your life, a voice in his head quickly reminded him. He had yet to thank her for that, but the way she was acting towards him he was a little reluctant to give her the satisfaction.

Eli kept his jeans on and wondered around the room he’d been given, it was pretty basic, but he supposed if one were to stay longer they could make it their own, it had potential. He shook his head; he wasn’t planning on staying that long, just until the leads in Manhattan dried up and he moved onto the next city. Eli found the wardrobe and opened it curiously; he wasn’t expecting to find anything inside and so wasn’t surprised when he found it empty. He might have a bed and a place to stay, but he didn’t have any clothes. He’d have to ask someone about that, perhaps borrow at least a shirt for now until he bought some new clothes.

There was a mirror on the inside of the wardrobe and as he looked at himself he frowned, there were slash marks over his chest, thin scars now that he knew would fade by morning but it bought his attention to the rune on the right side of his chest, the healing rune which had also begun to fade. He lifted a hand and gently rubbed at it as his eyes roamed over the rest of his chest, his lower abdomen held a faded outline for the strength rune, half sticking out of his jeans over his hipbone another rune for precision. Up one side of his left arm along his bicep were two more rune’s; courage in combat, and stamina, but like the strength rune the stamina symbol had faded to just an outline. The back of his right shoulder sat the mourning rune (for his parents and brother), again just a faded outline, it would colour in all black ink whenever he placed his stele to the mark which he hadn’t done in a while.

Looking at the runes on his chest and arms he realised there was still smeared blood on his skin, which wasn’t the best look. He tore his gaze away from the image of himself in the mirror and decided to go in search of a shower before bed. He could explore the rest of the Institute in the morning. Eli found the bathroom easily, it was located conveniently in the very room he was saying it and he guessed it was the same for all the other rooms.

--x—x—x—

It was hard to guess if anyone else was up yet or not, from what he’d gathered last night and from what Hodge had said there weren’t many shadowhunters presently staying here. The halls were silent as Eli peeked out of his room, his hair ruffled everywhere from a restless sleep but his skin was clean of blood and grime after a much needed shower last night before he’d tumbled into bed and forced himself to sleep as much as he could.

He was barefoot and in his jeans with his jacket zipped to the middle of his bare chest underneath. He wondered if Jace would lend him some clothes, the blonde shadowhunter was slightly slimmer looking then he was but he might have had a shirt that’d fit. So he left his room, his bare feet slapping softly against the hardwood floor as he went in search for the only shadowhunter so far that he thought he could get along with. Eli paused outside Audrina’s room and wondered briefly if she was up yet, maybe after sleeping on it she might not be so hostile towards him. He doubted it though, and with a shake of his head continued walking past.

He was glad that he generally had a good sense of direction and found the kitchen where he assumed would be the place he might find Jace and more than likely a few of the other shadowhunters here. He wasn’t looking forward to another run in with Alec but he wasn’t about to walk on tiptoes around the place either. Alec would just have to accept that Eli was staying here for a while and keep out of each other’s way.

Eli paused outside the kitchen as he heard voices coming from the other side of the door, he recognised the female voice almost straight away but the second voice that spoke took him a bit longer. Though after he’d spoken a few more times he realised it was Alec. His brows scrunched in a frown as he overheard the male telling Audrina to wipe her memory after lecturing her about her recklessness with the vampires. It probably wouldn’t be a good thing to interrupt at this point, but he almost felt as though he should because clearly it wasn’t a topic Audrina wanted to discuss.

He pushed the door open just in time to see Audrina exit through another door in the opposite direction leaving him standing in a room alone with Alec. Eli glanced at the other shadowhunter but didn’t say a word as he made his way over to the counter where he’d spotted a steaming kettle. Coffee was in order, and if he could find some, maybe some slightly burnt toast with jam. But Eli wouldn’t be Eli if he didn’t say something, and he smirked a little to himself with his back turned to the shadowhunter as he found what he needed to make his hot beverage.

“I don’t think that was any idle threat, mate. Apparently she doesn’t like being told what to do.” Eli pointed out, which also let the other shadowhunter know he’d overheard the conversation between Audrina and him. "If I can gather that in the short time I've known her I'd imagine you'd have figured that out by now,"

[Yunalesca]

Alec half turned as he heard the door behind him swing open and the last person he wanted to see stepping into the kitchen. Correction, the second to last person he wanted to see. The only thing that could make it worse was if Clary decided to come back. She may have been pivotal in the protection of the Cup and restoration of the Institute, but he still wasn’t on good terms with her. She had seen right through him and had made it known that she did. He had never come so close to snuffing out someone’s life as he had in that moment when he’d had her pinned up against that wall. He’d meant what he said.

Alec’s arms dropped away from his chest and he turned to make for an exit, not wanting to be in the room with the shadowhunter, but Elijah’s voice filled the room and he stopped mid stride. He turned his head back toward the shadowhunter as he took a breath to steady his voice. “You don’t know a thing about her and it’s none of your business. It’d be best for all involved if you just did what you had to do and left.” He managed to say simply before finishing his movements toward the exit. If they didn’t want him to kill the Nephilim he felt it best to not be alone with him in a room at the moment.

*

Audrina had managed to reach the study without more conflict, much to her own surprise. She knew her threats hadn’t sounded idle to Alec, but she had half expected him to come after her and an all out battle going down. Block my memory… was all she could think as she set her teacup down on the table and pulled the book of runes closer to her. She hated the fact she was going searching for a rune to put on herself, but the nightmare had been too real. She couldn’t risk freezing in the middle of an information extraction. She felt a chill go over her as she easily recalled the sensation of the vampire’s teeth sinking into her skin. She didn’t know exactly what she was looking for, but felt she had to find something to ensure her dream wouldn’t happen. As much as she flirted with vampires, they were her worst fear.

“Strength, clairvoyance…” she whispered as she turned the pages and read off the runes titles. She only had Mendelin across her stomach, Angelic power at the base of her neck, and Equilibrium on her right hip. The one at her arm wasn’t one of power and simply signified her loss, and her motivation. She wasn’t keen on the idea of adding a mark of power, but the fear she had felt under the arms of the vampire was not something she could handle in real life. Her hand paused before she flipped another page, reading ‘Fortitude’ and looking over the rune. “Unshakable resolve, will, and inner strength…” she whispered aloud and leaned in closer over the book, finger tracing the lines of the rune. It wasn’t an ugly mark and she had plenty of skin in which to place it, but she still felt apprehensive.

She heard the door to the library come open and she instantly stood straight and slammed the book closed, pushing it away and mingling it with the other books that were there. She grabbed one absently to make it appear she had been doing something else. The last thing she needed was a reason for any of the others to ask why she was looking to add runes when she had never wanted to before.

[Serendipity]

Eli kept his back turned to the other male as he mixed his drink just the way he liked it, strong coffee and lots of milk. He should have kept quiet, but he had a tendency to speak his mind as did Alec it seemed. He hesitated a moment as he stirred the contents in the cup, but began stirring it again as Alec finished his retort. The other male was right, he didn’t know a thing about Audrina except that she was bossy, rude; she had violent urges (she’d had no problem attempting to punch him and would have if he hadn’t stepped away at the right time) and didn’t like being told what to do. There was also one other thing…she didn’t like him one little bit.


It might just turn out that he would have been better off to decline Hodge’s offer to remain in the Institute and if that turned out to be the case it would be no one’s fault but his own. Eli didn’t respond to Alec and only turned around once he heard the other male leave, mulling over his words. ‘You don’t know a thing about her’…maybe he’d like to, but it would be tough to get under that near impenetrable shield she had around herself, protecting her from anyone who tried to get close.


Eli sipped at his drink a couple of times as he leant against the counter still considering his options, then pushed himself off and left the kitchen in the same direction he’d Audrina leave. A shirt could wait, he was sure he’d run into Jace sometime soon anyway, perhaps he might even help him come up with a plan to get his stele back.


He wandered the halls for a bit, opening every door and peeking inside to see what the room beyond held. He was also looking for a certain someone and his coffee was half finished and lukewarm before he opened a door that appeared to hold a study behind it and that’s when he spotted her. She was hastily pushing a book aside and picking up another one at the sound of his arrival, although she hadn’t looked to see who it was.


Eli didn’t say a word as he silently closed the door behind him and made his way over to the table she was sitting at. He eyed the book she’d quickly pushed aside and recognised as he sat down opposite her at the table cradling his drink between his hands. Eli continued sitting there in silence sipping at his drink every now and then, but he’s gaze kept going back to the book she’d obviously been reading before he’d entered the study and his curiosity got the better of him. “Which rune were you thinking of adding to your collection?” He asked. There was no sarcasm in his words this time. She probably wouldn’t appreciate his prying though.

[Yunalesca]

Her eyes were firmly pressed to the text of…what was it she was reading exactly? She glanced up to the top of the page and it read ‘Raziel and His First Angels’ and nearly grimaced. It was a historical text of the shadowhunters forefathers and their creator. Not a text she would ever read intentionally and she found she could barely bring her eyes to read the text as a chair scuffed against the floor and someone took a seat across from her. Her grey eyes slowly rose over the top of the book to see Elijah and his wandering eyes undoubtedly falling to the very book she had actually been reading. Her eyes rolled as she felt this morning couldn’t possibly get any worse. She should’ve never gotten out of bed, or better yet, she should’ve left last night and gone back out for a hunt. Alec could step in her way all he wanted to, they both knew he couldn’t and wouldn’t really stop her. There was no bond he could pull on to do it.

She heard Elijah finally speak and felt her heart hammer at the sound. He wasn’t stupid and had made the observation she’d hoped he wouldn’t. “I’m not. Somebody left it there, probably Clary.” She said simply, fully avoiding the topic altogether. She didn’t like the idea of adding a rune and it had come across in her voice. She’d never particularly cared for the heritage that had been forced upon her and so the thought of adding marks to her skin for the cause was also somewhat infuriating. Her eyes glanced to her shoulder subconsciously and saw Alec’s healing rune hadn’t even begun to show signs of fading. The force he’d put into it was making it stay and was a reminder of who exactly had healed her. It was going to be an annoying thing to carry around on herself for at least a week and she was sure he had intended it that way.

Since Elijah was making it quite clear he wasn’t going to be leaving, she dropped the book to the table and sighed heavily. “Don’t you have anyone else to bother? Isabelle is wonderful with conversation and appreciates company. I on the other hand don’t.” Her voice carried roughly over the space between them as she forced her eyes to his own set of blues. They were a color to rival even those of Alec’s and she found herself mildly surprised with herself for noticing the color of either men’s eyes. She had no use for either of them and yet she had subconsciously noticed what color their eyes were. Maybe it was time for her to get away again. Their incessant quest in breaking her down or making her stop flirting with death was starting to wear on her psyche.

“Just because I saved your ass doesn’t mean we have a bond. I don’t like people who want companionship from me and I like people who follow me around even less.” She informed in a further attempt to get him to leave. She had come here first and wasn’t about to let him make her move to another room. She needed to have a look at the rune again and couldn’t do so as he was sitting across from her. She wasn’t even entirely sure she wanted to add it to herself, but she couldn’t make the decision without the book in front of her. She wasn’t about to let him see that she was indeed looking to add a rune, either. She didn’t want to answer the questions that would come and certainly didn’t want to humor the fact he knew what she’d really been looking at.

[Serendipity]

His brow rose at the mention of another name, another shadowhunter he hadn’t met yet, but he didn’t ask who this Clary was he was sure he’d find out soon enough if he hung around. “Right,” He nodded, he sensed that this was a touchy subject – runes, although he wasn’t sure why but for now he would steer clear of it. Eli had decided in the kitchen, and in his search for her through the Institute that he would tread lightly with Audrina, at least for now.

Despite the arguments he’d witnessed so far between Audrina and Alec, and he could assume they may be the same between the others, he could see that they cared for her in their own way and he was curious to find out why she wouldn’t let anyone in. Also he wasn’t used to such cold receptions from people and that just annoyed the hell out of him.

His eyes followed Audrina’s as she glanced towards her shoulder where a healing rune had been burned into her skin, with some considerable force by the looks of it, and he felt a slight pang of guilt that he had been the reason why she’d needed healing in the first place. Then again he hadn’t asked for her help, she’d chosen to jump into the fight. However he should have been able to defend himself better, if he’d had his stele then there probably wouldn’t have been any need for healing.

His presence was clearly frustrating her, but he chose not to notice and simply slouched back into his seat and got more comfortable. Paying little attention when she dropped the book she’d been pretending to read. “No not really,” Eli shrugged nonchalantly before he sat forward and placed his cup on the table, his eyes holding hers intently. “And why is that exactly?" He pried, not really expecting an answer but asking anyway. It probably too soon for them to have heart to hearts, way too soon.

“Who said anything about a bond?” Eli scoffed and sat back again, folding his arms over his chest. “I don’t do bonds,” He pointed out so she could take that little piece of information on board. It was the truth; he didn’t have friends, merely acquaintances who thought they were his friends. Eli had learned long ago that forming friendships was just a good way to get hurt and he’d mourned enough in this lifetime already.

“Whilst I appreciate the help last night, it doesn’t mean that suddenly we’re friends, so don’t worry your ‘I have no friends and want no friends’ reputation won’t be marred.” Eli continued and then he stood up, he had a feeling she was waiting for him to leave so she could get back to whatever it was she was doing. “But I’m sticking around for a while, so get used to it.” He said before he left the room, her comment about him following her around like a puppy or something had irked him a little and he didn’t appreciate the insinuation.

Eli found his way back to the kitchen, deciding he did want something other than just coffee in his stomach. This time when he entered the room Jace was there hovering by the fridge. “Just the shadowhunter I was looking for. You don’t happen to have some spare clothes do you?”

[Yunalesca]

AS he pressed for an answer to the reasoning behind her being so distant from everyone and anything she pointedly ignored him and his question. She wasn't going to delve into her history with him, something she hadn't even remotely shared with any of the others even in the time she had been staying at the Institute. They were aware of why she hated vampires so much, but little else had been elaborated on. It was hard enough giving them the explanation behind her staking obsession after they had stumbled on her half dead fending off a barrage of vampires. They didn't need to know the rest and never would if things went her way. Although things going her way had been stalled significantly between not getting anywhere with the vampires she seduced in and having to save Elijah.

"I'm glad that's been cleared up." She snarkily commented before he was standing up and pressing forward with a reminder that Hodge had given him a room. It was true and it got under her skin. It was hard enough keeping 5 shadowhunters at bay and she didn't need another nosy one added to the mix. She watched him go with a less than enthused look on her face as he did so. Once the door closed she aggressively grabbed at the rune book and flipped through to find the one she had been debating on adding to herself. She had little practice in the way of adding power runes to herself and likely should be asking for help with one such as this, but there was no chance she would be doing so. If she'd been able to add the two she had, she could do this as well.

She traced the rune with her eyes before closing them and ensuring she could recall it in memory, each curve and line forming perfectly on her closed lids. Sighing she looked down at the rune one last time before closing the book and putting it back with the pile she had extricated it from. The memory of vampire teeth raking across her skin sent shivers over her and she knew she would have to add the rune. She quickly drained her tea and left it sitting on the table before turning away, starting for her room.

*
Why does everything in this kitchen need to be prepared? Jace was thinking as he hovered over the open door of the refrigerator and stared over its contents.If he didn't figure something out soon, Isabelle would be in and make him the food, the outcome likely being death. They had learned quickly to not eat anything she prepared and they had tried telling her she wasn't meant to cook, but she had never listened and still insisted on trying. The few times Audrina had cooked for them had been different, however. Apparently the French took their cuisine seriously and it turned out like they did. He wondered if he could sucker her into making breakfast for them, but after what he'd seen of Alec already this morning he didn't think it would be a plausible solution. His attitude directed toward he had tried to tell the girl to forget it, again, and had been told what to do with his suggestion, yet again. He wondered how colorful the conversation had gotten and snickered at the thoughts before he heard a voice behind him.

He pulled an apple from the fridge and turned to Elijah whilst taking a bite. "So she hasn't scared you away yet, this is some sort of record." He started before finishing his chewing and swallowing the pieces down. As the shadowhunter asked a slight favor of him he leaned against the counter and looked him over quickly in assessment of his size. He was more likely to fit into the clothes of Alec, but he wasn't even going to attempt to travel that road. Tensions were high enough as it was without the new guy donning the clothes of the Nephilim who already had a distaste for him. "I might have something that fits. Self conscious are we?" He joked before pushing off the counter and tossing his head in gesture for him to follow. "You want to irritate her more, walk around without a shirt. She hates it more than anything, which is why I do it on occasion." He informed as he recalled the last time she had gotten overly fumed about his actions. It was a confusing thing for her to be angry about, but he didn't do it because he knew why, he did it to prod back at her in make up for all she did to him.

He stopped before his own room and turned the knob before gently pushing the door inward. He stepped inside first and made for his wardrobe, rifling through the various shirts to find one that would actually fit the more bulky Elijah. "Eh, this maybe." He said, pulling out a button down he hadn't worn in some time and tossed it toward the shadowhunter. "Try it, s'the largest shirt I have in here." He said before pausing and taking in a breath. "Clary..." He said quietly to himself as he could feel her enter the Institute, his senses so astute to her power. Their relationship was severely strained by the revelation Valentine had pressed upon them, but he couldn't ignore what he felt. He was drawn to her and it hurt every step she took away from him. He moved away from his wardrobe and was at the door in few strides, looking out to see her walking up the hall. "Clary." He said louder, relief coming into his voice at just seeing her again.

[Serendipity]

“Not yet,” Eli chuckled in reply to Jace’s observation, but it had him again wondering why Audrina felt the need to chase people away. He shook the thought away, still irritated with comments in the study; he had more pressing matters to think about at the moment. Like some fresh clothes and someone to help him infiltrate the demon lair he’d lost his stele in. Though he was probably asking too much of the shadowhunters he’d just met so his stele would just have to wait a little longer until he could pin point which of the group would be more prone to helping him. Alec was certainly out of the question, Audrina probably too, so that just left Jace, Isabelle (who he hadn’t actually spoken to yet) and Hodge.

Eli smirked at the blonde’s comment and shook his head, “No, I couldn’t be more comfortable in the nude, in fact I prefer it.” Eli replied, “But you know…it’s not very convenient sometimes, nowhere to store my weapons and…it’s a bit chilly.” He finished with a shrug, as though they were the obvious reasons why he didn’t walk around starkers everywhere he went. He followed Jace out of the kitchen, glad that he was willing to help him out with some clothes, although from the looks of it they might be tight on him.

“I might just do that you know, and it’ll be your fault for putting the idea in my head.” Eli responded through a grin as he followed the shadowhunter down the hall towards their rooms. He entered the room behind the male and waited near the doorway as he rifled through his wardrobe in search of something that would fit. “I appreciate it; I kind of didn’t have a chance to pack anything.” Eli nodded his thanks and took the button down shirt from the male.

Eli unzipped his jacket and shrugged it off before trying on the shirt, it just fit, but it was pretty tight around the arms and his upper chest. But it would do he supposed until he could purchase some more clothes that fit. He almost asked Jace what he’d said, lifting his head in the direction of the male, he still stood in front of the wardrobe, but quickly realised Jace wasn’t talking to him.

Eli’s eyebrows furrowed a little but he didn’t ask the male to repeat his words and picked up his jacket. Jace moved towards his bedroom door before Eli could thank him again for the shirt and possibly suggest sparing session; he needed to let out some frustration. Clary? He’d heard Audrina mention the girls name before but hadn’t asked who she was. Eli moved over to Jace and glanced out of the room over his head and saw who he was referring to walking up the hall.

He was about to ask Jace if she were his girlfriend, from the tone in his voice she obviously meant something to him, but he stopped himself. A voice in the back of his mind told him not to say anything it, that whoever this Clary was she was a touchy subject for Jace.


“Thanks for the shirt, it’ll do, but it probably won’t fit you again.” Eli said from behind the blonde in an attempt to get his attention. “If you’re not too busy would you mind showing me the training room?” He asked.


(i have no idea if they call it the training room or sparring room or something completely different >.<)

[Yunalesca]

Jace had stepped out into the hall to see Clary walking toward him as he remotely heard Elijah's voice. He almost didn't compute what the other male said and had to take his eyes away from the red head coming down the hall to think over what had been asked of him. "Sure, one minute..." He said before stepping away and into the girl's path. She pulled up short in front of him as though she had intended to walk right past him. "Clary..." He started but she was cutting him off already.

"I'm not here for you, Jace. I need to talk to Audrina..." She started and his brows furrowed in confusion. He hadn't been aware that the girl had been around the Institute enough lately to know the testy blonde had come back. She'd been pointedly staying away ever since the Valentine incident.

"You're here...to talk to Audrina. Clary..." He started but she was shaking her head at him, eyes averting to see Elijah in the doorway of his room.

"We can't talk about this right now, Jace." She said and stepped around him to start for the girl's room again. He backpedaled briefly before taking up stride beside her.

"When -can- we talk about it, then? You know it doesn't feel right. It was a lie, Clary..." He was practically pleading before she stopped and looked him in the eye.

"I can't talk about it right now. It's about Simon and I know you're not particularly interested in helping him." She said and instantly the demeanor in Jace shifted and he squared off against her. He had learned to loathe her friend even more as of late as he felt the Mundane was trying to move in on her again.

"You're right, but fat chance she'll help you. Her and Alec have already been at it this morning, but go on, go ahead. Run away from what's the real issue here." He said darkly before turning away and tensely walking back toward Elijah. "Come on." Was all he said as he roughly pulled his door closed and started leading the shadowhunter toward their training room, footfalls heavy on the floor.

*

You need this rune... she said to herself as her purple stele hovered over her abdomen where she had planned to put it. She had been trying to force her hand to press to her flesh for several minutes now and it had yet to do so. She took a breath and inched her hand closer to her flesh. Just as it was about to touch, a pounding at the door shook her resolve and she dropped the stele, it clattering to the floor. "Shit..." She hissed before rolling off the bed and grabbing the purple glowing stele. She grabbed her tank from the bed beside her and slipped it on. Before she could open the door, a fist was banging on the wood again. "Your impatience is annoying, Isabelle!" She yelled as she opened the door and stepped back slightly in surprise. "Oh." Was all she could say as Clary stood before her.

"Can I come in?" She asked.

"No. What do you want?" Audrina responded, slipping the stele in the waistband of her leggings and dropping the shirt back into place over it. An exasperated sigh came from the shadowhunter before she was shoving her way into the room and closing the door behind her. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" The blonde hissed as the red head threw the bolt into place.

"It's Simon. Something's wrong..." She started as the blonde glared at the closed door, offended the girl had barged her way into the room. Nobody else had ever dared such a thing and Audrina was at a loss for what to do about it.

"And you came to me? I don't care. Now get out." She said, pulling back the latch with force and opening the door, gesturing aggressively for her to leave. She stayed in place, however, and the blonde sighed irritably, pulling the door closed with a slam as she realized there was no getting rid of her.

"He's been acting weird..." She started as Audrina moved away from the door and reached for one of her glass sais, stuffing it into a boot. "Ever since the vampires took him..." She added and Audrina paused in her examining of the other blade. "I didn't tell anybody...but he had bite marks..." She never finished.

"Kill him now and save him from his own misery. Now get out." She said, feeling that cutting this off now was the best thing to do.

"But, he can go out in the sun still..."

"Then don't kill him. Just do yourselves a favor and don't come to me about this again. They may have bleeding hearts for eachother and you, but I could care less. I see him, I will kill him. Now get out." She said, opening the door anew and gesturing for her to exit with her weapon.

"He's not one..."

"Maybe not, but there's venom in his veins. I kill vampires, pure or no."

"No, you hunt demons. That's what shadowhunters do!"

She turned her golden eyes on the girl then, frustrations mounting. "I'm not like them. I won't say it again, get out." She warned, watching the girl wrestle with disbelief before giving up and stepping out of the room. Before she could say anything further, Audrina slammed the door in her face and threw the bolt into place. Her fingers ran over the runes etched into her blade as she felt the fire beginning to light inside her. She needed to kill something. Her sais dropped to the bed and she began pulling her boots off, reaching under the bed for a more suitable pair (here) and throwing them on over a pair of tight leather pants. Her sais slid into the boots before she began pulling daggers out of her wardrobe and arming herself. The last thing she grabbed was a new red jacket (here) she had yet to break out. She briefly looked herself over in the mirror before tossing the jacket over her shoulder and exiting her room.

Her boots pounded down the hallway past the bedrooms and it wasn't until she reached the main doors that she heard a voice behind her. "Where are you going?" Came Isabelle's voice. A coy smile spread over her lips as she half turned and started to slip into the jacket.

"Don't worry about me." Was all she said before she was out the doors and getting on her bike.

"Shit. Alec!" Isabelle yelled as she turned and ran down the hallway to where she'd last seen Jace going with Elijah.

[Serendipity]

"Okay..." Eli as he shrugged on his jacket and Jace stepped out of the room in the path of brunette girl walking through the hall. Clearly Jace wanted to speak to her about something and Eli wasn't about to stop him and it wasn't like they were in the middle of something important either. From the sounds of it however Clary didn't want to speak with Jace and she looked rather agitated over something.

Eli lifted a hand to wave a polite hello in her direction as she looked over at him still standing in Jace's room, but she started off again down the hall past the blonde shadowhunter without a response. Eli merely shrugged to himself and stepped out of the room to wait by the door for Jace's return as he took off after the girl.

Whatever it was that Jace had wanted to talk about with the brunette and she didn't had now put the other shadowhunter in a bad mood Eli noticed as Jace stalked back towards his room. He followed the blonde as he gestured to do so and kept silent as they walked away in the opposite direction as the girl and Jace showed him to the sparring room.

The room was equipped with everything a shadowhunter could need or want in order to train alone or spar with a partner and Eli grinned in satisfaction as he glanced around the room. "Nice." He voiced his approval and stepped further into the room. However Jace lingered by the door as someone shouted his name from down the corridor.

"Jace! It's Audrina...again. Have you seen Alec?" Isabelle with bated-breath. Eli turned at the mention of Audrina's name, the last time he'd seen her had been in the study and that hadn't been very long ago. He walked back over towards Jace just as the female shadowhunter stopped in front of him "He was in the kitchen about an hour ago," Eli pointed out if that would help.

Isabelle only looked at him with a frown on her face and seemed to get more frustrated with the lack of help, at least on Eli's part. Jace smirked at the look Isabelle had given him, but shook his head in answer to her question. "I haven't, not this morning. My guess is he's brooding in his room." He shrugged, but he quirked brow questioningly. "What's she done now?"

"It's what she's going to do. By the angel that girl is truly impossible!" Isabelle said with an exasperated sigh before she turned another look at Eli, narrowing her eyes on him. "What?" Eli asked, offended by the dark look she was giving him.

"Help me find Alec," Isabelle pleaded with Jace who nodded and the two of them raced off down the hall leaving Eli in the sparring room. Whatever was up, he wanted in, he was alwys up for a bit of action stele or no stele. He quickly left the sparring room and found his way back to his room, promptly shoving his feet into his books and lacing them tight before slipping his holster with his knives in it over his back.

He waited for the others by the entrance to the Institute, at least he assumed it was the entrance and where Audrina had bought him in last night.

[Yunalesca]

“Hey, what’s going on?” Came Clary’s voice as she noticed Jace and Isabelle storming down the hall toward Alec’s room. As she neared them, they walked right past her and Jace started pounding on Alec’s bedroom door, his jaw set as his frustration with her from earlier rose up once more. Seeing she was getting nowhere with him, she turned to the female shadowhunter. “Isabelle?” She asked and the girl sighed, half turning to the red head.

“Audrina took off.” Was all she said before she rapped on Alec’s door herself, calling his name in hopes he would answer for her. “Maybe she just wanted to get out…” Clary started and a smirk came from Jace, his head cocking in her direction as he still found her naivety amusing despite being upset with her.

“Armed to the teeth. Yeah, I’m sure she just went for a walk.” He stated sarcastically before the door of Alec’s room finally opened and he stood there gripping the wood and leaning against it slightly. His expression was thoroughly unamused and upon seeing Clary, he almost shut the door on them. Whatever was going on, he didn’t want to be a part of it. The last time he’d gone with them to aid Clary he had almost died. Upon reading the expression crossing his face, Isabelle put her foot beside the door to stop him from closing it. “Audrina just left with half the armory on her.” She informed and the irritation flashed across Alec’s face once more.

“Let her get hurt. Maybe she’ll learn a lesson.” He started before his sister was stepping up to him, un-intimidated by the hostility he was putting off. “Whether you’re pissed at her or not, she’s a shadowhunter and we can’t let her just die. Nobody stands a chance in a lair alone and you know it. We can’t go in there without you. We almost didn’t make it out alive the last time.” She pressed and he smirked mirthlessly.

“I remember. For her little boyfriend.” He said, gesturing to Clary who muttered ‘not my boyfriend’ under her breath. He looked back at Isabelle and saw the determination in her eyes. He was going to have to go one way or another. Realizing this, he sighed heavily and strapped on his weapons quickly before stepping out of the room and closing the door tight. “Where would she go? There’s hundreds of lairs in the city. She took her bike…” Isabelle was saying hurriedly as they jogged down the stairs and toward the waiting Elijah. At the bottom, Alec grabbed her by the arm.

“Wait, I can find her.” He said and they all looked at him, confused at the sudden desire to help. “And how exactly are –you- going to find her amongst the hundreds of vampires she probably just pissed off?” Jace questioned and the brunette pulled out his stele. “I healed her, I can trace the mark. Something somebody taught me.” He said simply, not elaborating as he began pressing his stele to the inside of his wrist and drawing a rune. He had never done this before and was going to be very upset if it somehow tied him to her. The rune was supposed to fade once he found her, but if it didn’t…

He didn’t finish the thought as he concluded the rune’s shape and instantly felt a pull in his chest. He closed his eyes and kept his forearm extended as he tried to feel where in the city the rune on her shoulder was pulsating from. His blue eyes opened shortly thereafter. “Five blocks north, the old nightclub.” He informed and they all began to move at once.

*

It wasn’t long before the group of shadowhunters were skidding to a halt before the old building that Audrina was supposedly in. “It looks quiet. Maybe she didn’t go in…” Clary said before Jace was grabbing her by the arm and pulling her back. “Watch out!” He yelled as a window smashed upstairs and a burning body landed where the girl had been. Their heads went up in unison as they saw the blonde shadowhunter where the window had once been. “I think she’s doing just fine.” Alec commented before a vampire came up behind her and grabbed her around the middle. In response she kicked off the ground and was trying to wrestle out of his grip.

“You were saying?” Jace said before starting for the front door and kicking it in.

*

“Get…Off…Me…Bloodsucker!” Audrina yelled as she bounced herself off the ground once more and finally got the momentum to send them both crashing to the floor. The vampire’s grip loosened enough for her to grab a dagger from her waist and stab him through the heart, turning him to ash instantly. Just as she got up and started to look for one of her sais, another vampire came out of nowhere and barreled into her, sending them flying back to the staircase. Audrina tried to correct their path, but responded too slowly and they both tumbled down the flight of stairs head over heels. She hit the bottom with a loud thud and found she couldn’t move as her body was fatigued and she was disoriented with double vision. Get up… she said to herself and managed to find herself on all fours before the vampire that had taken her down the stairs was back on her, making her roll to her back and lock onto his forearms so he wouldn’t scratch at her. The vampire hissed at her as she managed to hold him at bay, still seeing double while trying to hold onto the strength she still had.