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

[Serendipity]

Eli felt the tension build in his shoulders as he unpacked his bag of clothes, Clary would be telling them all now where they had been and what they had been up to. He was waiting for the explosion of outrage from one particular shadowhunter of the group, he knew it was coming, but he had no idea how he was going to deal with a furious Audrina at the moment. He hadn’t been around for a few days; some of the brunt of their argument in the greenhouse would have faded by now; Audrina no doubt thought he’d left for good. But he had a feeling what Clary told them would bring all of that back and a hundred times more.

He stripped off his jacket and shirt, unbuckled his belt and had just started to unzip his jeans so he could throw everything in the wash basket by his wardrobe and hop in the shower when someone burst through his bedroom door. He’d hoped he would have time for a quick wash under some hot water, which Luke’s house had lacked, before he had to face the blonde shadowhunter. Apparently Clary had beaten around the bush and had found them all to tell them where they’d been all at once.

Eli didn’t bat an eyelash at the sight of Audrina standing in his doorway, not even when she started shouting at him. Although he did grimace inwardly at the look of utter fury on her face. “No, Audrina. I don’t kill vampires unless I have to.” He responded in a deathly calm voice, which he knew would infuriate her more. Why did he always feel the need to add more fuel to her fire? Despite whatever reason it came down too, he always seemed to do just that. “Unlike you, I abide by the Accords.” He continued still standing in the middle of his room, half undressed and crossed his arms over his chest, looking pointedly at her.

What she said next however stirred something deep inside Eli, something he thought he had pushed far, far back inside after their last little argument. Before he’d left the Institute to help Clary he had decided that he wasn’t going pursue her in any way shape or form, he was going to keep out of her way. But it appeared she was the one who couldn’t keep out of his way this time. He came at her, a burst of anger, stopping just in front of her. His height had him staring down at her, his eyes dark with matching rage. But all he wanted to do in the second’s hesitation he had before yelling at her was kiss her. “What line? Please tell me, because I have no idea what I did to affect you so much!” He shouted.

“I don’t care if you hate me for it, I wasn’t about to kill Clary’s best friend.” He went on, “You might not care about anyone else’s feelings, but I do! Simon isn’t one of the vampire clan that’s obviously pissed you off, he couldn’t help what happened to him any more then we can change being shadowhunters!” He was breathing heavy by the time he finished, his face darkened by the blood boiling away angrily in his veins. He felt like grabbing her shoulders and shaking her until all the walls she had built up came crumbling down. If it wouldn’t take him a few centuries to do it, maybe he would have

[Yunalesca]

Audrina flushed as Eli brought up the Accords, something she never liked to hear about. Nobody had cared about the accords when they'd come for her mother, when she'd been changed right before the shadowhunters young eyes. "The Accords protect them, they do nothing to protect us!" She yelled back before Eli was stopping just before her, looking down at her and making her aware of just how big of a person he really was. SHe didn't flinch as he did so. She'd handled bigger and badder. She wouldn't back away from him. She would never let him think for a moment he could use his size to bully her around or make her submit to him. If he thought it would work he clearly hadn't learned a thing about her in the time they'd been under the same roof.

The moment he started on about Simon being unable to help what happened to him and compared it to shadowhunters, she felt something inside her snap. Somehow, with strength she wasn't even sure she knew she'd possessed, she grabbed hold of the larger shadowhunter and pushed him back hard against one of the bedroom walls. "Do not tell me what can and can't be helped!" She hissed as she looked up at him. He didn't even have the slightest clue as to how much she really did hate who she was, what she was, and he had nearly made her tell him out loud. Being unable to help the fact she'd been born a shadowhunter had always been something that had haunted her since she could remember. Thinking of it made a flash of pain cross her eyes before it was quickly wiped away. He had no clue about her and he thought he did. It was her own fault for it being that way, but she wasn't going to correct him. She'd never corrected anyone's opinion of her. She'd never cared...until recently. With immense effort she managed to let him go, her fingers removing their grip on him as she forced a small step between them. She was too enraged and even hurt to notice he was shirtless, something that irked her.

"Best friend or not, it would be better for everyone if he hadn't survived. You just effectively put a strain on the one friendship you might have made while you were here. You never thought about that did you? Who's going to be your ally now?" She hissed as she recalled Jace's reaction. It hadn't been unpleasant like hers, but it had certainly been somewhat painful for him to hear Clary had gone to someone else for help and it had been for Simon. It had been a double blow to his pride and she could only imagine how he would think of Eli after the revelation. She thought of the shadowhunters actions as rash and it had probably been a spur of the moment decision for him. She wondered if maybe he would leave for good now and mildly wondered how she would feel about that. At the moment it seemed like the best action for him to take, but she was furious with what he'd done as well as what he'd just said to her. He didn't know her, didn't know her past, and he still managed to get under her skin with things. It was almost like he sensed what would piss her off the most even though she knew that to be impossible. She just let him get a rise out of her was the issue.

"To answer your last question," she started somewhat more calmly, although her voice held a dark tone. "Your mere existence is what 'affects' me so much. Don't think you'll ever get past the walls I built around myself. Nobodies done it before and nobody will, especially not you. Don't make me ever have to tell you not to say something to me again. Twice is enough. Third time and I might just kill you instead." She warned, half bringing up the night he didn't remember. He didn't remember her warning him that night to never say anything provocative to her again, but she managed to forget the fact that he indeed forgotten he'd said or done any of those things with her. It was a conversation she didn't want to have with him and she may have just accidentally brought it up once more. She'd rather he be in the dark on that night. She'd rather let it lie where it was, that he had gotten in a fight over a mundane girl and not over her.

[Serendipity]

He was aware that some shadowhunters felt the same way as Audrina did about the Accords, that there only use was to protect downworlders from shadowhunters. Eli didn’t believe this was the case, he saw it differently than Audrina and they could argue all day about it and still get nowhere. Which was something he didn’t want to do, arguing with her wasn’t staying out of her way. He should have just let her yell at him and tell him how much she hated him instead of giving into his frustration with her and yelling back. But Eli often didn’t do things he should do, something that he was realising in this particular situation was causing major waves both with Audrina and he suspected Jace too.

He hadn’t expected his statement about Simon not being able to help what he had become anymore then they could help being shadowhunters to cause Audrina’s sudden snap, if it was possible she’d become even more furious. He grunted angrily as she pushed him up against the nearest wall, her size no indication of her strength, and pinned him there. And in her angry stare he saw it, the flash of pain that came into her eyes, but it was gone just as quickly. But it was enough, he’d seen it and suddenly felt his anger deflate and he didn’t try and get out of her grasp.

Something in that pain he’d seen reminded him that he didn’t know Audrina at all, because if he did he would have known what that pain was. Her past was a mystery to him, kept close to her heart beneath all those protective walls keeping everyone out. But something must have happened, something horrible, to make her this angry and cold person who’d rather kill vampires then make friends. When she let go of him, dropping her arms that held him against the wall and stepped back, Eli sighed and shook his head almost sadly. She would never let anyone in, and he would have to come to terms with that and let whatever he’d thought he felt for her or could feel for her go.

“Jace is a big boy, if he has an issue with me helping Clary he can come tell me himself. If that friendships gone because of it then so be it.” Eli said, though the anger in his voice had dissipated almost completely now. It was exhausting trying to get through to Audrina and he’d just had three nights of restless sleep on a lumpy couch, which should have been punishment enough for his and Clary’s secretive behaviour. Eli straightened as Audrina moved back further, almost back towards the door, and ran his fingers through his hair as he thought about Jace being upset with him. He felt bad about not telling Jace about Simon, he’d thought they’d had potential for a budding friendship despite Jace’s age but if what Audrina said was true, that there was no a strain on that friendship then he would just have to live with that.

As Audrina started speaking again he almost rolled his eyes, hadn’t she said enough already? He got it, what he did wasn’t going to sit well with her or many of the others, but she didn’t have to keep going at it with him. His brows shot up somewhat surprised as her words had nothing to do with helping Clary or his and Jace’s friendship. He hadn’t expected her to answer his earlier question; he’d thought it had fallen to deaf ears, but apparently not. “I can see now that’s never going to happen. Don’t worry; I won’t make the mistake of trying again.” Eli frowned as she went on, telling him not to make her tell him as much again because the third time she might just kill him. When had there been a second time?

It clicked as though a light switch had been turned on in his mind and he remembered that he didn’t remember what had really happened the night they had gone out to the club together. Obviously he’d done something to upset her, possibly in his intoxicated state he might have been tried something on with her. But Audrina had only told him that he’d gotten into a fight over a mundane girl, and then they’d come home and that was it.

“There won’t be a third time. Whatever happened the night at the club –whatever it is I must have done to upset you so much- won’t[/] happen again. Now I’d appreciate it if you got out of my room now, I was in the middle of something,” He explained although he couldn’t be a hundred per cent sure that whatever he had done wouldn’t happen again because he had no idea what it was! He started to unzip his jeans so that he could strip out of them but paused before he dropped them at his feet. With Audrina so furious at him he thought it better if he kept his pants on, and instead waited for her to leave before he undressed completely.

[Yunalesca]

"You're damn right it won't happen again." She managed to hiss before he was urging her out of his room. She stood her ground momentarily as she had no intentions of this being finished yet, but as his hand went to the zipper of his jeans her cheeks nearly flushed scarlet from something between embarrassment and anger. He won this round as she wasn't going to stand around and watch him strip. That'd been half the problem before, his wanting to get her out of her clothes. She shied away from nakedness as it was a form of intimacy to her. She noticed then that he was already shirtless and felt her fingers curl into her palm, her nails biting into the skin. He'd found a way to put an end to the conversation quite easily. "I'd keep those on or I might relieve you of your friend." She managed to breathe, turning even more red at the thought of having to actually do as she said. She turned her back on him them and stepped out the door, pulling his door closed tightly. She didn't even know what more she had wanted to say to him, her mind thoroughly blanked at the thought of him stripping down. She wasn't attracted to him, she assured herself, even as the memory of his rune marks stretched across his toned middle was etched into her brain. The image made a heat rise up under her collar and she felt herself turn more red.

"Enough." She said quietly to herself before starting for her own room. There was another matter she had to attend to. Before she even reached her door Jace was there, his face hiding the emotion his eyes could not. He was hurt and angry. "What are you doing?" He asked simply as she bypassed him and slipped into her room. She didn't offer an answer as she reached into her wardrobe and pulled free her favorite weapons and hid them in her boots and strapped them on about her waist. "People usually can't ignore me. What are you doing?" He pressed once more, leaning against her doorframe and looking like one of those conflicted models in those editorial shoots. "Taking care of the issue." She said as she stood up, satisfied with her choices and trying to slip past him. His hand shot out and pressed to the other side of the frame in prevention of her going past. "No." He said simply, almost painfully. She turned her eyes to him then, her intent quite clear. He was severely conflicted and wasn't thinking straight, or so she reasoned. She shook her head at him and slipped under his arm before stalking down the hall with intent. The others had begun to file into the hall then, standing back from the apparent scene that was about to take place.

As she started past Eli's door, she felt a firm grip on her wrist and it made her wheel back and try to strike out at Jace. His other hand was lightning quick in catching her hand before it could hit him. "I've killed things for laying less hands on me. Let me go." She hissed as a new rage started coursing through her. He held her there, one arm up in an attempt to strike and the other pinned at her side. "You...can't." He said simply and she scoffed at him before leaning in closer to his ear. "That's why you don't love, don't let anyone get close Jace. It clouds you from reason. If you didn't care about her you would have no issues with what I'm about to do. I'll say it again, let go." She said loudly so everyone else could hear as well. She watched the range of emotions cross Jace's face as the others stiffened, Alec more so as what she said both hit home for him and reflected on things he had said to the rather beautiful blonde male in the past.

"I can't do that. He is Clary's friend and I can't let you take that from her." He said as his fingers dug a little deeper into her wrists in warning as she bit her lip and tried against his bonds. It was apparent he wasn't going to let her go and most definitely wasn't going to let her get out the front doors. She weighed her options then, knowing the odds were extremely against her. Alec would do as Jace did even if it went against what he felt, Clary would stand with Simon until the end and she had her suspicions Isabelle would stand with her brother and the red headed shadowhunter. She would never stand a chance against the three experienced shadowhunters and Clary. She shook her head at him and the pulse in her neck thrummed before she leaned in next to Jace's ear. "You can't protect him forever, Jace. Let me know when the real you comes back from her empty embrace." She whispered before his grip loosened on her. She lowered her arm then and glanced over at the trio standing off to the side, their shoulder visibly relaxing as the tension of the moment seemed to pass. She brushed past Jace and went back to her room, closing her bedroom door with some of a bang that made almost made Jace shudder. He began to wonder if maybe she was right, if he'd lost some part of himself in his pursuit of Clary. He looked over at the girl and felt his heart crushing.

[Serendipity]

He’d had a feeling that she hadn’t finished yelling at him, telling him how much she hated him, which was why he’d done the only thing he suspected would get her out of his room. Hearing the loathing in her voice, every word she spoke dripped with it, had stung more then he cared to admit. So, because he knew she wouldn’t stay in his room if he stripped, he’d begun unzipping his jeans. The flush that came over her face, almost taking over the angry look in her eyes completely, had him smirking inwardly. Though it left him a little confused; if she shied away from only semi naked men why was it she stared at him that way? It had only been a few seconds of staring, but from Audrina that was long enough for him to notice.

But then she was threatening him again and it was as if whatever had been hidden in those smoky grey eyes of hers as she’d looked at his bare chest and lower had never been there at all and he wondered if he’d imagined it because he wanted to. He almost laughed at her threat of relieving him of his friend if he didn’t keep his pants on, if she couldn’t stand him without a shirt on how would she cope if he was stripped completely naked in front of her? He had a feeling, from seeing the way she reddened even more at even the mention of it; she’d bolt before getting close enough to him to carry through with her threat.

She was retreating from his room before he could say anything further; he’d wanted her to leave not stay, which was why he’d kept quiet because if he said anything it would delay her departure. Once she was out the door he removed his hand from his zipper and stepped back towards his bed, he sunk down onto the mattress and lowered his head into his hands sighing heavily. He’d supposed that some part of Audrina would be mad at him for helping Clary’s friend Simon transition into becoming a vampire, but if he’d known she would react that badly to it -as if it had affected her personally somehow- he might have thought twice about what he was doing instead of making such a hasty decision to help Clary.

Eli glanced up as he heard a voice coming from just outside his door, he recognised it voice immediately; it was Audrina. He wondered if she’d come back for another shouting match, but then he heard another voice speak after hers. It was Jace’s voice and it sounded like he was trying to reason with her, although Eli couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying from his perch on his bed. So he stood up and moved over to the door, curious as to what they were discussing just outside his room. Eli tensed as he heard Jace say that he couldn’t let Audrina take Clary’s friend from her and he knew straight away that Audrina must have been planning to go out and kill Simon.

But it sounded like Jace had the situation somewhat under control – at least for now-and he wouldn’t let Audrina do what she had planned. He relaxed a little as the voices faded and he heard a door slam, most likely Audrina retreating back to her room, she liked slamming doors. His hand hovered over the door handle of his own room for a moment, Jace would still be out there and he wanted to clear the air between them, but he snatched his hand back and stepped away from the door. It was probably better if he sought the boy out tomorrow and explained why he hadn’t told him he was helping Clary, wait until the dust settled a little more.

Eli turned away from the door, feeling like the biggest asshole in the entire world at the moment, and stripped out of his jeans finally, heading towards the bathroom. He let the spray of the shower turn hot and stepped under the scalding water, letting it run over his head, lifting his face towards it. It was hotter then he usually took his showers, but the almost unbearable heat was a welcome distraction from his guilty conscious. Eli stood under the hot water for a few more minutes, before he added some more cold to the mix and washed up quickly.

He grabbed the towel just outside the shower door as he turned the water off and scrubbed it through his dark hair so it was half dry before he wrapped the towel around his waist and tucked it in at the side. He was halfway through the door and into his room when he noticed a figure sitting on his bed. Eli cleared his throat and his brows furrowed as Jace looked up at him. “Jace,” Eli said in greeting, his voice low, cautious and not as cheery as it usually would be towards the shadowhunter.

Eli moved towards his wardrobe as he waited for Jace to respond, perhaps shout at him like Audrina had, but as he opened the wardrobe and pulled out clean clothes there was still silence. He pulled on his tracksuit pants, which he’d picked out instead of jean, under his towel and then slung it over his shoulder as he slowly turned to face the other male. “I take it Clary hasn’t spoken to you yet…” He sighed.

[Yunalesca]

After he had been assured that Audrina wasn't going to be emerging from her room anytime soon to slay Simon in his infancy, Jace had moved hesitantly to Eli's door. He didn't really want to discuss the matter with Alec or Isabelle yet, much less Clary, so he made for another route offered to him. He was hurt that Clary had gone to the new shadowhunter for help and wasn't entirely happy about it, but he managed to keep his temper a bit more under control in comparison with the vampire slaying shadowhunter he had just talked down. Many of his decisions were rather rash and not thought out, compulsory as Alec would state it, but he was aware that he had to handle this situation with care. Hodge wanted the elder shadowhunter here and wouldn't appreciate Jace running him out of the Institute, further alienating CLary along the way. There would be no winning if he went in with a head of steam. Luckily, as he opened the door to Eli's room, he noticed the male had gone to take a shower and allowed for more time to think about what exactly the blonde shadowhunter would say to him.

When he finally did emerge from behind the bathroom door, Jace found he couldn't come out with any words yet. He felt almost raw, like he'd been run over a gravel road, and didn't know where to or how to delicately start the conversation with Eli. He sighed when the shadowhunter finally spoke. "She told us about Simon if that's what you're referring to. I don't think a whole lot of discussion will be happening between us for some time however." He started, still not having moved from Eli's bed as he was unsure of his own stability at the moment. Jace Wayland had never been a broken person, but the culmination of Clary possibly being his sister topped with her best friend now turning vampire was a lot for him to handle. Keeping Audrina from going after Simon took willpower the shadowhunter hadn't known he had. He'd never liked the mundane, but would obviously do anything for Clary.

"You definitely didn't make a friend out of Audrina for doing this. I'm not entirely sure where that leaves my opinion of you either." He informed the older male, his inability to tell a lie coming through. He was out of snarky comments to make about the situation. He didn't find it all that humorous and so wasn't about to make one of his usual sly comments about it either. He was almost wishing it could go back to when they were just going around slaying demons. No Valentine to worry about. No worries that Clary might indeed be his sister. At the thought he stood up and leaned himself against one of the walls of the bedroom. "You're not stupid like Alec and Audrina might think, you're well aware that something is going on between Clary and I whether you know the details of it. Why risk helping her when you know that?" He asked almost to himself in contemplation.

*

The knives and other assorted weapons found themselves back in her wardrobe after her door had slammed shut. Her boots lay on the floor at the foot of the bed where she'd kicked them off as she'd flopped onto her bed. She was back to wanting to just kill something, or throw something even, but her body was tired from the stress she'd just put it through with her emotions fluctuating from one end of the spectrum to the other. She was fully healed from falling down the stairs and twisting her ankle, but her body still didn't work the way it had before. There was too much on her mind. She sighed heavily and buried her head in the pillows as her arms snaked up under them. Much of it had to do with lack of sleep. She'd been having nightmares about vampires, memories resurfacing that she'd never really been afraid of before. The trail on her mother's whereabouts had grown cold in the absence of her not picking up any more hints from bloodsuckers she prayed on at the clubs. She had to get back out there, but she had become distracted with Simon and her general annoyance with Eli. He was still an enigma and so was the reasoning behind her hatred of him and every other emotion that flared up when he was around. Maybe if she got back out in the pursuit of her mother it would all just fall into place...

[Serendipity]

Eli could see the conflicted emotions on the blonde shadowhunters face as he mentioned Clary, he knew there was something going on between the two, something painful and confusing but he would never have guessed in his wildest dreams what was really going on. Perhaps if he’d known he would have taken more care in his decision to help the red head with her friend. Maybe he wouldn’t have helped her or at least convinced her to let Jace in on what was happening. But he’d helped Clary with Simon and kept it to himself because at the time he’d wanted something – anything- to distract him from Audrina after their argument up in the greenhouse and Clary had offered one to him and he’d accepted without thinking it through rationally.

How could have he gauged that his decision to help Simon would have had such an effect on not only Jace but Audrina too? It just went to show that he didn’t know these shadowhunters very well, if at all even and now he’d quite possibly ruined any and all chance of ever getting to know them. Audrina hated him, Alec probably did just as much but for different reasons, Isabelle had hardly spoken to him since his arrival, and Jace was now upset with him for keeping Simon a secret. Clary and Hodge were probably his only allies, but even then he didn’t know them much either.

He soon discovered as Jace finally spoke, that Clary had talked to him yet, at least not one on one which had been the deal he’d struck with the girl for helping her. Perhaps some part of him deep down had known that Jace would be upset about what he’d done, and he’d already begun trying to fix it by getting Clary to talk to him. The first day he had come to the institute he’d witnessed Jace try and talk to the girl, but she had dismissed him and walked off. He saw that Jace had wanted to talk to her, but not just wanted to talk to her but needed to talk to her.

He wanted to tell the other shadowhunter that Clary would talk to him, reassure him somehow that he’d get his chance to say what he needed to her. But he stayed quiet, not sure how to explain that Clary would talk to him without it sounding like Eli had forced her to do it. “Clary told me Simon was her best friend, and if you found out about him turning you might have suggested the very thing she feared Audrina would do if she found out.” Eli tried to explain a little of Clary’s reasoning for not telling him, but it probably wouldn’t go to much use. He wondered if he told Jace that he found Simon very irritating if that would help at all…probably not though.

At the mention of Audrina’s name, Eli’s eyes dropped to his feet and grimaced. He was well aware that he hadn’t made a friend out of Audrina not from the beginning and especially not now. He looked up quickly as Jace said he wasn’t sure where that left his own opinion of Eli and frowned, but he didn’t say anything. Although he saw what Audrina didn’t see in anyone, that the young shadowhunter cared for her to some degree despite how she blocked them all out. “I didn’t do it because it would aggravate Audrina,” He felt the need to quickly point out but added silently for his own benefit, I used it as a distraction from her.

Eli quirked a brow as Jace stated that he wasn’t as stupid as Alec and Audrina seemed to think and surprisingly wasn’t offended by the comment, he was aware of what they thought of him. “Gee, thanks.” He chuckled despite the humourless situation and watched as Jace stood up from the bed to lean against the wall instead, possibly growing as restless as Eli was starting to feel about this whole thing. “I do, and you’re right I don’t know the details.” Eli sighed and ran his fingers over his hair as he contemplated how to answer Jace’s next question.

“Honestly, I don’t know.” Eli shrugged, but that wasn’t exactly the truth. He did know why he felt the need to risk his and Jace’s budding friendship, because he’d had to distract himself from Audrina. A completely selfish reason. “I needed a distraction, I didn’t think of what the consequences might be. And I didn’t do it to hurt anyone,” Eli suddenly decided that lying and saying he ‘didn’t know’ wouldn’t cut it with anyone, not if he wanted to continue being friends with them.

[Yunalesca]

He took a breath and sported a half smile as Eli pressed why he had helped Clary, or rather, why Clary had gone to him. "Clary is always saving Simon, that is one thing you'll have to know. She's quite willing to put her own life, and our lives for that matter, on the line for him. Don't think for a second this is over. He'll manage to get himself in more trouble if it will keep her close to him." He offered, his voice sounding somewhat jovial, laughing, and ending with something more dark. Jace had never been jealous of anything in his life, he never had to be, but he found that recently he was jealous of Simon. A mundane and yet he seemed to have Clary's heart more than Jace did, and that was bothersome. Especially for a man that had never been turned down and had been quite in love with himself before the flame haired shadowhunter had come along. His life had seemed so hazy before she came along. As he had told her, he had never been more awake than when he was in her presence.

"I may not have much use for the little rat..." he paused and laughed a little to himself at the joke. "I may not like him, but I wouldn't do anything that would harm Clary and that, that would greatly harm her and make her more than a little cross with me." He stated. She would blame him if Audrina ever got near the boy as well. They all looked to him as their leader behind Hodge and it would be his responsibility to keep an eye on the semi rogue shadowhunter. If she didn't become distracted with something else soon she would go in search of Simon. His attention was brought back as Eli pressed forward in his attempt at answering Jace's questions. "Maybe you'll get clued in on our little situation sometime in the future." Was all he offered about himself and Clary. It wasn't something he entirely wanted to discuss at the moment as this was supposed to be about what occurred with Simon.

As Eli finished, Jace found himself smirking. He caught on to what was going on, having seen it a million times before, and it was a source of mirth for him. He shook his head at the shadowhunter as he pushed himself off the wall finally. "There is no distraction big enough from her, Elijah." He started to laugh as he thought of how Audrina had dumped him on the Institiute floor a few days ago and walked off as though it weren't her business any longer. Isabelle was a cat that liked to toy with her food, Audrina was a tiger that put it out of its misery quickly. "You might have been better off with Isabelle in your venture, if you didn't eat what she fed you. Your hands are more than full when it comes to her, but considering she hasn't managed to run you off just yet I'd say you've got something going for you. Best of luck playing with fire." He said as he laughed, not needing to say her name. If he'd found humor in the unrequited love between Simon and Clary to be funny, he should by all means die from laughter with this predicament. He started for the door then, finding himself more jovial than when he'd entered the shadowhunters room.

He stopped right at the door and laughed once more before turning halfway to Eli. "Careful, she goes right for the jugular. At least Isabelle would have played along for until she got bored." He said before turning back with another laugh.

[Serendipity]

Jace might be younger then Eli, but that didn’t mean he was any less inexperienced at shadowhunting and Eli hadn’t thought as much. He’d seen Jace in action, the boy had been impressive, even Alec to an extent as well. He respected Jace more then he thought he would even over the short time he’d been staying in the Institute and he should have respected the fact that Jace would want to know about Simon and Clary. Especially as the male continued on to say that if he had known what was going on he wouldn’t have done anything to hurt the mundane, despite his dislike for him. He wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating the young shadowhunter again.

The conversation they’d been having hadn’t gone the way he’d thought it would, although disapproving of the way Eli had gone about it, Jace seemed to understand why Eli had helped the red head. Eli wasn’t sure if he liked the idea of Jace cluing on to what was going on between he and Audrina, not that anything had really gone on, but it appeared his pursuit of her hadn’t gone unnoticed. Well they wouldn’t have to worry about that any longer, he was done with trying to win over Audrina and break through her walls. So when Jace told him that there was no distraction big enough from Audrina, Eli pursed his lips and considered what the male said.

His brows scrunched as he went on to say he’d be better off trying something with Isabelle. He’d never really considered her as an option, not to say that she wasn’t attractive, but he’d known girls like Isabelle before but none like Audrina. And even with Audrina it hadn’t been like he’d instantly decided that he was going to pursue her, he hadn’t even really known held been doing it until it was too late and then he hadn’t wanted to stop because there was something hidden beneath all those defensive layers of hers and he wanted to be the one to discover what it was. But it was more than just that now, but he hadn’t distinguished what that was yet either.

“Maybe Isabelle might have been the better choice…if you get a choice in these type of things,” Eli answered and shook his head as a grin spread across his lips. Audrina was definitely a handful, more than a handful and Jace was right, he was playing with fire. But he’d never shied away from a flame before, however perhaps this was one flame he should have shied away from. “Thanks for the advice. But after today I think enough is enough, you’ve got to learn to take a hint sometime…” He was a little disappointed to be saying that out loud, but once he said it he realised that he really did need to take a hint and give up the game.

Eli watched the other shadowhunter go, Jace had appeared to go back to his normal self again, all laughs and smirks and Eli was glad that one of them had found amusement in his and Adurina’s situation, because he certainly didn’t and he was sure she didn’t either. Once his door was shut Eli walked back towards his bed and lay down with his back against the mattress, one arm lifted up under his head as he stared at the roof he was in no mood to leave this private space just yet.

--

The next morning when Eli woke, he was starving but he wasn’t about to risk running into Audrina just yet or even Alec’s for that matter. So he dressed into his shadowhunter gear and left the Institute. He wasn’t exactly sure where he would go and what he would do for the day, but he felt that at least for another twenty-four hours he should keep a low profile. The others were all probably still sleeping anyway; he hadn’t yet adjusted his body clock correctly to stay asleep until mid-afternoon so he could stay up all night.

He headed for a nearby diner where he ordered breakfast and a hot cup of coffee, and then two more after that. He took the opportunity whilst he wasn’t under the roof of the Institute and away from as much distraction as he could be, to contemplate on where to start next when it came to looking for his brother. He really needed to get stuck back into searching for leads, they had all run dry and he wasn’t quite sure where to pick them back up again.

He didn’t return to the Institute until the sun had set and the moon was starting to rise, he couldn’t stay away from the place for too long, mainly because he had nothing else to do with himself. And as a way to try and make up for helping Clary with Simon without telling any of them, he bought back three bags full of three different types of take away: Chinese, Indian and Thai. They had all been lined up down the same street as each other so it had made his decision easy and since he didn’t know what the others preferred he’d bought a mixture to try and accommodate everybody.

He was in no doubt that bringing dinner home was a satisfactory apology for everybody, especially not Audrina, but it was a starting point and he thought they could all use a break from Isabelle’s cooking since they always mentioned it was so bad.

[Yunalesca]

"You're not thinking when you move, that's why I keep taking you down!" Alec scolded before offering his hand to Audrina who was flat on her back on the floor of the weapons room. She hadn't had any intentions of sparring with anyone today, but Alec had already been down there when she'd gone to train herself. She'd had several days break to fully heal from her soreness and wounds, but it didn't take long for that healing to turn into laziness. She had to be on top of her game if she was ever going to come up against the vampires who would be surrounding her mother when she finally found the end of the trail. She and Alec had never been close by any means, almost always at odds, but the events since Eli's arrival seemed to have brought them on some sort of closer terms. Enough so that Alec had offered to spar with her and she had agreed. That had been over an hour ago. She never thought it would've lasted this long. She thought she'd have to continually pick him up off the ground, but it seemed her adrenaline got away with her in the fight and made her an easy target for him to pick off. She'd lost count how many times he had taken her feet out from under her. Sighing, she took hold of his gloved hand and let him pull her up. She stood there for a moment, panting from exertion. Her toned abdomen shrunk in with every breath, visible beneath her sports bra. Her bottom half was covered by cropped spandex running pants and she wore the simplest of gym shoes. It was boring in comparison to what she usually wore, but she didn't wear it to look good.

"You shouldn't be able to take me down. You're younger than me." She grumbled before turning away and taking a drink from her water bottle. Alec crossed his arms over his chest, the black shirt barely containing the bulky muscle it his underneath. "I'm more experienced and I use my brain when I work. You don't." He offered once more and she rolled her eyes at him before capping the water bottle. She was going to keep going until she got him down. It was embarrassing for her to have gone this long without an upper hand playing into her favor. She was aware that he had been training for this practically since birth and she hadn't, but it wasn't how it should've been. She was capable of handling a pack of bloodthirsty vampires, Alec shouldn't be that far out of her reach. She supposed with all the time he put into protecting Jace and his sister he did a lot more observing and knew every move in the book. It was his job to have their back and it made everyone underestimate him. It was a mistake Audrina had made and was paying for it. He was just as capable as Jace, he just didn't flaunt it like the other did. "Alright. Again." She said and took a boxers stance across from him. The prospect of showing her up again made a small grin pull at the corner of his lips. Just as they were about to square off, the door to the training room opened and they both jumped into a normal pose.

"Hey, Eli brought food back. Let's eat." Came from Jace as he poked his head in the door. Alec was hesitant almost immediately, but his want to be close to Jace was the ultimate thing that won out. "Audrina?" The blonde questioned and she shook her head. She didn't want anything from Eli and didn't want him seeing her accepting his form of a peace offering. She was prideful and wasn't about to forget the things he had said to her. The mere thought of him made her jaw tighten in irritation. "Your loss." Jace shrugged before stepping out of the training room with Alec at his side. She would have pitied Alec if she were anyone else, but she knew the male didn't want anyone's pity and would be pissed to hear an inkling of it coming from anyone. He tried hard and it was unrequited, unnoticed. He'd almost died protecting Jace. That was one triangle she wanted to steer very clear of. Her own life was enough of a mess without that becoming a part of it. She sighed and turned her attention away, pulling the band from the small braid she'd woven in her hair and running her fingers through it before re-doing it it again.

"Looks like it's just you and me." She said quietly as she picked up one of the random shadowhunter swords sheathed on the wall. "Nothing I'm not used to." She added as she pulled the weapon free of its scabbard and ran her fingers over the runes on the blade. She was still relatively unversed in runes, her own choice, but she could make several of them out. It was not one of the blessed Nephilim swords, but it was definitely gifted still. It was meant to deal damage regardless of whether it could actually kill a demon or not. It would at least injure one severely enough for an escape. Or so she assumed. She spent her time tracking vampires and had had few run ins with the shadowhunters sword enemy. her body was not as protected from the spawn like her fellow shadowhunters. She forsook runes and chose to not put them on herself. They reminded her of what she was and what she couldn't run away from anymore. She hated them because it was all she could blame anymore.

[Serendipity]

Eli found Jace rummaging through the cupboards of the kitchen as he bought dinner in and lined the three bags along the counter. Jace instantly looked over, sniffing the air and he smiled in delight when he saw the food Eli had laid out. "Peace offering?" Jace questioned as he moved over to help the older shadowhunter unpack the three bags. Eli glanced over at the blonde boy, "Something like that," He shrugged and scrunched up the now empty bag the Indian dishes had been in, tossing it in the nearby trash can. "I doubt it'll mean anything to some, but I thought if I'm staying for a while I should pull my weight a bit."

Jace excused himself a moment later saying that he was going to let the others know dinner had arrived for them all if they wanted some and Eli was left standing in the kitchen alone. He busied himself by getting bowls, plates and cutlery out setting all of it to one side. He then went to the fridge and poked his head inside, of course there was no beer just Audrina's white wine. He should have remembered that apart from Audrina, Hodge and himself the others were all underage and he didn't take Hodge for a beer drinker. Swearing a little under his breath in disappointment, Eli pulled out a bottle of water instead, favoring that over the other sugary drinks available.

He was dishing up some food for himself - a bit of Indian, a bit of Thai and a couple of spring rolls from the Chinese selection - when Jace came back into the kitchen. For a moment Eli thought no one else was coming; that they'd rather starve then eat something he'd bought. Then Alec came in a few seconds later, his sister following right behind him. He should have guessed that Audrina wouldn't be amongst them, she'd rather starve then be in the same room as him.

The three younger shadowhunters all dug into the food as Eli left the kitchen, he wasn't much of a sit down and eat as a group kind of guy, although he had done so in the past when Audrina had cooked. So he ate while he walked, considering going into the library to see if Jace had let Hodge know there was food. But his feet instead took him straight past the library and towards the weapons room. He'd only had a quick glance inside when he'd first arrived at the Institute and hadn't been back since. He wasn't planning on training now though, not with a bowl of food in his hands, but it would be good to take a second look and see what was available for his use.

Once inside the weapons room Eli paused near the door as he became aware that the room hadn't been empty as he'd assumed it might be. Audrina was standing in the middle of the room on a large padded mat with her back to him. He'd told himself he was going to avoid her, but perhaps that was harder to do then he first thought. He probably should have walked straight back out of the room, but instead found himself standing by the door watching her intently as she moved with a sword. Her movements were fluid and in some instance even graceful.

In that moment as he watched her, and she was unaware of his presence, he realised he probably wasn't going to be very good at avoiding her. Despite all the arguments, something kept drawing him back to her, and he wondered, even against his better judgement, if it might be too early to give up on her. "Do you have something against take-away?" He asked lightly, making his presence known to her. He took another mouthful of food and grinned at her as she turned towards him, "It's good." He encouraged and indicated to the bowl in his hand.

[Yunalesca]

The shadowhunter had so fully immersed herself in her mind that she hadn't noticed the shift in the air as the door to the weapons room opened and closed. She had been imaging targets to respond to and had her back to the door and was still unaware of Eli until she heard his voice come from behind her. She turned about at the sound and the intense expression on her face barely fell as she looked at the shadowhunter, still trying to comprehend what he had said. She got her breathing under control rather quickly and shoved the sword back into its scabbard that lay near her feet. "Not hungry." She said once she recalled what he'd asked, wiping the sweat from her brow with her forearm before moving to put the sword back on the wall from where she'd brought it down. She was going to exit the room to keep that distance between them, but something echoed in her mind. Don't let him run you from your purpose.

Her eyes were brought back to the bowl in his hand and she felt herself grow a little hungry at the thought of food. It was another of those days where she couldn't remember when she'd eaten. She hadn't cooked for any of the others today and so hadn't made anything for herself. She couldn't even remember if she'd eaten yesterday. Maybe that was why Alec had gotten the upper hand so easily, but she wasn't about to take the food offered by Elijah. Her pride wouldn't let her and she would loathe the smirk that would come over his face as she did so. She didn't like that he could get under her skin and she liked even less when he found mirth in something she did. The grin he currently held on his face made her want to smack it off and she didn't know why. Something about him was just infuriating and she couldn't explain it. If she hadn't gotten involved with his affairs she wouldn't be in this predicament, but even she couldn't deny help to a needful shadowhunter. So much for an ice cold heart.

"Buying peace doesn't work on me like it does them. Are you just going to stand around up there or what? I have work to do." She said in irritation as she thought of how she'd gone somewhat soft over the last few days of resting. She hadn't lost any of her muscle mass, but it meant she didn't gain any either. She was getting the feeling he wasn't about to go anywhere, however. She didn't feel like practicing in front of him, constantly being under his eyes, feeling like everything she did was judged. But then he had been standing there for who knew how long and didn't say anything about it. She sighed in irritation before moving back to the wall and pulling down one of battling rods, more for practice than actual use in the field. It was almost as tall as her as she pulled it down before balancing it in her hands. "Put your damn food down and grab a rod. If I get your back on that mat, you have to leave me alone for the rest of the day." She said, not giving it as a question but as a statement. She wasn't going to give him the chance to say 'no'. She was assertive and straightforward and wasn't about to ask if he would comply.

She moved back toward the center of the mat before turning back to look at him expectantly. He could either get down there and try to challenge her or leave. She knew she could handle him, she had been the one to save his ass the first time. She didn't know him as well as she knew Alec, but she was more confident that she could put him down easily. Odds were he'd never used a battling rod before and she had trained with them often. It was becoming more clear to her that she'd have him out of the room quickly if he'd come down and rise to her challenge.

[Serendipity]

Elijah's grinning face didn't change even as Audrina turned at the sound of his voice, her expression one of clear annoyance at being interrupted and she had lowered the sword to her side. If it had been anyone else interrupting her he was sure she would have continued what she was doing regardless; but his presence apparently distracted her from her concentration. That was his guess anyway, whether it was just an arrogant thought or he really did distract her had yet to be established. Instead she bent to pick up the scabbard at her feet and put away the sword she held. She announced that she wasn't hungry in a firm voice; but for some reason Eli didn't believe her; although he hadn’t seen her all day to be sure of it.

Eli plucked his last spring roll from his bowl and bit into it as she stated that buying food as a peace offering didn’t work on her like it did the others; Eli shrugged at that as he chewed and then swallowed. “I thought as much,” He proclaimed and shoved the other half of his spring roll into his mouth. He rolled his eyes, but made a point of stepping aside from the door and waving towards it with his free hand when she asked if he was going to continue to stand in the doorway blocking her exit. “Don’t let me stop you,” He said. He really should have left, it would have been the polite thing to do since she had already been occupying the room but his stubbornness took over and he had as much right to be there as she did – Hodge had said as much, although she wouldn’t see it like that.

“Now you don’t want me to leave?” He quirked a brow but he had already set his bowl aside on a nearby shelf and was slowly making his way down the few steps towards the wall of weapons. This should be interesting, he thought as he glanced sidelong at her now standing back on the mat in the middle of the room. He considered her ultimatum as he ran his fingers along one of the battle rods on the wall. She hadn’t said forever, just for the rest of the day. A smile pulled at the edges of his lips as the decision was made inside his head; he couldn’t turn down a challenge after all.

Eli removed the battling rod from the wall and did as Audrina had and weighed it up in his hands, getting a feel for the rod. He’d probably only used one of these in these rods a few times in the past, preferring to train with swords and knives, and even an axe. He knew that the rods were mainly used for training purposes, but he’d always figured it better to train with actual weapons that would be used in battle. He still hadn’t answered her challenge he realised as he turned back towards her and tossed the rod from one hand to the other. “Best two out of three? And if I win, I get to chose what you have to do for me.” Eli upped the anti, though he had specifically not told her what it was he’d want from her; because he wanted to think on it a little longer.

“But I’ll make it a little more worth your while…” He announced as he made his way onto the mat and stood in front of her, about half a rods length away. “If you managed to get me on my back twice, I’ll leave you alone for the next two days. If you do it three times, I’ll leave you alone for the rest of the week, plus one extra day.” He told her, keeping his expression light. He was confident that she wouldn’t put him on his back three times; he even doubted she’d do it more than once but he hadn’t trained against her before so he couldn’t be too cocky.

He took another step back as he waited for her to consider what he’d said and shrugged off his jacket. He tossed the garment off to the side and looked at the blonde shadowhunter expectantly, waiting for her to agree to his terms. He tried not to look anywhere else but her face now that he was this close to her, but his gaze might have strayed a little, especially with her heavy breathing – it drew his attention to her toned abdomen.

[Yunalesca]

Her eyes narrowed slightly as Eli presented his own demands, suddenly making this possibly go in his favor as well. She couldn't fathom what he would possibly want from her and didn't like the thought of having to do anything for him if she failed. She was confident she could get him down once, but twice she wasn't so sure about. He was bigger than Alec and she'd already been at it for over an hour. Her body would be fatigued in little time if she weren't careful. She wondered if the shadowhunter had picked up on that and that was why he had agreed to do as she presented. She bit her lip in contemplation before he was on the mat and adding onto his original statement. A whole week without him following her around and pestering her was too good to pass up. She forgot the tired state of her muscles as the thought of having peace for 8 days flowed into her mind. "Done." She said aloud without a second thought. Were she not so eager to be rid of him for that duration she may have thought better of it, checked into her odds a little more, but she was cocky and wanted nothing more than some peace and quiet. It coming around to bite her in the ass had never entered her mind.

She took a step back to give space before they would fight for their respective wants. "I'll try not to hurt you too bad. On three." She said as a somewhat evil smile pulled at the corners of her mouth before she started to slowly count up to the mark number. "Three." She said and was after him by the time she'd hit the last e in three. Her quickness seemed to surprise him as he almost staggered off his feet as her rod crashed down to meet his and try to force him down. He recovered quickly however and was throwing her off him within moments, using brute strength to send her back a few steps before she felt her adrenaline kick in and her focus hone in on him. She went after him aggressively, trying to power through his defenses and continually being thrown back due to his sheer size and strength she would never possess. Not once did she let it get to her and continually went back for more, growing more aggressive with each slam of her rod down on his. The wood vibrated in her hands and threatened to fall away to leave her defenseless, but she held tight and spun away as he came at her, practically pirouetting around him before her rod came down and slammed into his ankles. She saw her opening and took it, spinning around him once more to confuse him before sweeping toward his ankles and taking his feet out from under him. She watched him fall hard on his back before the end of her rod stopped at his throat and she was looking down on him. "One." She said aloud before pulling the rod away from him and stepping back so he could gain his feet. Her chest was heaving from the fast paced movements and adrenaline lighting her blood on fire and she fought to bring it back under control, to not over exert herself simply from breathing. Moving as she did had taken more out of her than she'd wanted and was going to make it hard to bring him down twice more.

She felt a boost in her confidence, however, at gaining the first fall, and circled him like a predator before they started again. He was attuned to her movements it seemed as he was blocking his lower body this time and she couldn't manage to trip him up like she had previously. It was going to make her attempts at throwing him down more complicated as he had size over her and she could tell she was already starting to grow fatigued. Her arms moved quickly in blocking maneuvers as his confidence grew and he was becoming the aggressor, trying to force her down with his strength. Several times she just managed to slip out from under his rod, the last time she managed to sneak around and lad a good thwack across his back in an attempt to throw him down in surprise. He did not falter enough to go down, however and she was back to square one. As she spun away from him she let her guard down for a fraction of a second and was looking up at the ceiling before she even knew what had happened. "You've got to be kidding me." She breathed as her pulse hammered in her head and her chest heaved, trying to keep up with her previous movements. She saw Eli grinning over her and growled, rolling away from him and gaining her feet in lightning quick speed and swinging the rod around to try and connect with his shoulder in a surprise attack, not even waiting to reset. They each needed one more down before one had to comply to the winners wishes. She was shooting for three, but would settle for one more fall just to prevent him from making her do something. She felt he could have a devious mind and was certain she wouldn't like whatever it was he'd come up with to make her do if he won.

She caught Eli making a sweeping motion out of the corner of her eye and did a flip over the rod at the last second before wheeling her own about in an attempt to catch him with his back turned. It almost seemed like a set up. As her rod came around to hit him in the shoulder, his arm seemed to wrap around it and prevent the hit from making full contact as well as having control over her. She pulled the rod back with immense effort and barely felt it budge, his strength shining through once more as the grip he had on the rod was unwavering. She growled loudly before pulling again and getting the rod free. Just as she did so she felt a hard hit in the stomach that sent her sprawling on the mat. She felt herself coughing from the hit as she tried blinking away the fog, not fully realizing just yet what had happened. Her ears were ringing from her head bouncing off the mat as she fell and she couldn't make out any of the sounds going on around her. What just happened? she wondered in her mind before she rolled her head to the side and saw her arm flat against the mat. She was down...for the second time. She felt anger at herself rise up coupled with fear of what Eli could possibly want from her. How had she let him trick her? You're not thinking when you move... echoed Alec's voice and she closed her eyes to focus on her breathing and make the train whistles in her ears go away. She opened her eyes once more as her hearing returned and she was looking up at Eli, pure satisfaction rolling off him as he looked down at her. This sucks she thought before he was bending down to seemingly help her up.

[Serendipity]

He had to admit he was a little surprised that she agreed to his terms so quickly, but she obviously thought she could take him down at least twice. As he had never fought against her before he had to wonder briefly if she would take him down twice, she seemed pretty confident she could. He saw the fire in her eyes, the determination not to lose. But he was just as determined, for starters being taken down twice by a woman would put a serious dent in his pride; if his back met with the mat three times he might not be able to live it down. Audrina stepped back, preparing herself for the fight, battling rod gripped firmly in her hands and there was no time for mucking around as announced she'd count to three before they begun.

She was already counting as Eli took another half step back and balanced almost eagerly on his heels, his blue eyes narrowing in concentration on the blonde shadowhunter in front of him. She moved with lighting speed and her quickness surprised him, but he blocked her first blow and then her second. Where she had speed on her side, he had strength and even with the heavy blows she dealt to his rod his balance didn't falter as he put his weight into the rod every time she hit it with her own. This wasn't going to be an easy feat he realised as he came at her with his battling rod and she danced around him with ease, knocking his feet from underneath him. He grunted as his back hit the mat for the first time and the end of Audrina's battling rod hovered at his throat. He looked up at her, his eyes shining with mirth, she looked very satisfied with herself for taking him down first.

Eli got to his feet and back into position in the middle of the mat facing off with the blonde once again. A sheen of sweat had formed at his brow and he wiped it off quickly. His breathing was controlled and not as heavy as hers, he wasn't tiring yet and if she was she didn't show it. Round one was over, and he now had a better knowledge of her skill and favoured maneuvers which he could use to his advantage. This time he advanced on her more aggressively, following her around the mat as their battling rods smacked together and he didn't let her lip past his defences this time blocking her attempts to trip him up again.

Eli only chuckled as her battling rod his him hard across his back and as she spun around to get away from him, he to spun around, sweeping the bottom of his rod under her feet. Audrina landed with her back against the mat and looked surprised to be there. Eli leaned over her, "One, one." He said with a grin and stepped back quickly as she rolled away and shot back to her feet. He only had a split second to block one of her quick blows as she advanced on him immediately, not even giving pause to take a breath. He spun away from her, at the same time he crouched and tried to smack the back of her ankles to trip her up, but she was quick and jumped over the rod.

He sensed rather then saw her rod coming for him and instead of jumping out of the way he grabbed it under his arm and wound the rest of his arm around it, holding it tight so she could tug it away. The longer he held it the more frustrated she became, but he didn't let go or loosen his grip. When he was sure she had become more focussed on pulling the rod from his grip then what he was doing with his own rod, Eli whirled around on her, letting go of her rod in the last second so he could use his own and landed a blow to her stomach. He grinned in satisfaction as she landed heavily on the mat, even more shocked then before that she was down. She'd gone down for a second time, which meant she had to do something for him.

He waited for her to recover from her fall for a bit before he extended his hand down to her, trying to keep the smirk from his lips as he waited for her to take his outstretched hand. His breathing was a little rugged by this stage; she had certainly put him through his paces and she'd be a good partner to train with. It would have made more sense for him to tell her that he wanted her to be his training partner from now on; it would mean more interaction between them and she wouldn't be able to avoid him all the time. Instead another idea was already forming in his mind, a fairly devious idea; he might have been pushing his luck though.

Before she could take his hand, and probably because he had a feeling she wouldn't, Eli dropped to his knees beside her. He let go of his battle rod and let it roll away from him, he no longer needed it. "Two, one." Eli said and continued to look down at Audrina who had yet to make an attempt to stand up, perhaps because she was still a little stunned at finding herself on her back for a second time. Eli tilted his head to one side as he considered the idea he'd had a little more, and then quickly decided it was what he wanted. This way he'd know for sure if there was anything there between them worth pursuing.

"Kiss me." Was all he said, his expression one of the up most seriousness.

[Yunalesca]

She noted him extending his hand to help her up and chose to ignore it, not wanting to be helped to her feet by him. He had yet to say what it was he wanted from her and she wasn't about to move until he did. Her head was still throbbing which also made her want to stay where she was until she stopped. She didn't want him to know how badly it'd hurt when she hit the mat, her pride getting in the way once more. It was bad enough he'd brought her down twice without an added concern for her. She didn't want his pity or to have him carry her to the ward again because he might have hurt her in their training. That would be ever more embarassing and she wouldn't let it happen. Alec would never let her forget it and she had a feeling that he training with the new shadowhunter would raise more than a few eyebrows. They were already curious of him, she didn't want them to be curious that something was going on between them when it clearly was not.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as he dropped to his knees beside her and vocalized the fact that she had lost. "I'm aware of the results." She grumbled as he sat there looking down at her, contemplating it seemed. He was thinking over what he wanted of her and seemed to be wondering what her reaction would be to his request. She wasn't particularly fond of how he was looking at her now and felt like she should leave before he came out with whatever it was that he wanted from her. She wasn't going to like it in the least bit she sensed, but she couldn't run from it forever. She would have to do as he asked regardless, having made a deal with him when she probably shouldn't have. She may not be fond of being a shadowhunter, but she did respect their laws and one of them was that they could not go back on their word.

She was watching him when he finally voiced what it was he wanted and felt her mind unable to comprehend exactly what he'd just said. Kiss me echoed in her mind, his request having been made. Her expression turned dark as she couldn't look away from him while an ice cold fear slid through her like she had just been stabbed in the gut with a cold weapon. She recalled the night she'd brought him home from the club and how he'd looked at her then, wanting to press his lips to her but choosing to be inappropriate instead. This was one of those things she would have never asked him to say to her again, the intimacy of the request making her both angry and striking a fear inside. She wanted nothing more than to roll away from him then, get away before she came back to herself and followed up on a promise to kill him if he ever said anything like that to her again. But she found she couldn't as that fear took hold of her limbs and the remembrance of having given her word to him echoing in her mind. She couldn't turn away and she felt like a rabbit as it looked on at its attacker, knowing it had nowhere to hide or couldn't run fast enough.

She took a pained breath before forcing expression from her face, turning it to a cold mask, before finally answering him. "If that is what will convince you I feel nothing then so be it." She said quietly before he was over her, his body heat washing through the cold that emanated from her middle, the fear still firmly gripping her at her core. He took his time as though he was thoughtfully observing her, waiting for her to hit him, before she felt him draw near and gently press his lips on hers. At first she refused him, not letting him make it more than a chaste kiss, but as his hand gently delved into her hair she felt an electric shock run through her and remembered he wouldn't stop until he got what he asked for. Her eyes closed and her mouth opened for him, instantly tasting his breath. She remembered how she had wondered what he'd tasted like in the back of her mind that night, her curiosity trying to win out over her cold exterior as he flirted with her and considered doing as he was doing now. The memory triggered more electricity as she felt him turn his head a little to the side and kiss her how he wanted.

Without a thought her own hand was in his hair and she was kissing him back, a need coming from somewhere inside her and making her want him. She had never wanted anyone in her life and yet she felt it for him in that moment. She felt him press closer as she grew warm from returning his gestures, her hand gripping at his hair as she flooded with emotion. This was exactly what she had hoped for when she'd wondered what he would be like if she kissed him. He was controlled and yet underneath she could feel that bit of desire that wanted to move into the drivers seat. It was like playing with fire and she almost wanted to let it out as she felt his hand at her side, pressing firmly to her bare skin as a faint groan came from her. She was fighting with herself now, every wall she had ever built trying to stagger back into place as she felt her own desire for him coming up from inside, something she was deathly afraid of. She remembered what happened the last time she had allowed herself to care, to love anyone, and how she'd been left alone in the world before she could fully understand the world itself. That memory made her hand drop away from his hair and her kisses stop. She couldn't do it, couldn't allow this indulgence to go on any further.

She felt him break from her, both their breathing somewhat ragged as her head found the mat once more and he provided enough space between them to look at her. She took a breath to steady herself before that familiar mask fell into place once more. "See. Nothing." She said before she was sliding out from under him and making hastily for the door. She had wanted him in that moment, he'd made her want him by expressing intimacy and she couldn't handle it. She could still feel the heat radiating over her body from the electricity his lips had ignited, her cheeks a warm pink that physically showed she lied to him. She couldn't play the color off as one of anger no matter how she tried. She'd kissed him back, hadn't shied from his touch, indulged in him. He wouldn't forget it no matter what she said.

[Serendipity]

Eli watched her expression closely after he spoke those two little words, seeing her blank face turn dark as what he'd said registered in her mind. Nothing good had ever come from a look like that from her, but he didn't back away; he didn't regret telling her to kiss him. That's what he wanted; needed even and if she hit him for it then so be it. Audrina had agreed to his terms without knowing what he would want from her in return, at the time Eli hadn't known, but he could guess that she'd never expected him to say he wanted a kiss from her. This was the first time Eli could recall asking her to do anything intimate with him, he didn't remember the night they'd gone to the club, didn't remember the threat she'd made if he ever said anything to her like that again.

Behind her smoky grey eyes he could see her mind ticking away, contemplating what he'd just said, weighing up her options and more importantly resisting the urge to slap him. Instead she agreed to it, because if that was what he needed to be convinced there wasn't anything there between them then she would do it to prove it to him. Audrina's expression turned cold and he was aware that the last thing she wanted to be doing with him was kissing him. He almost backed off -almost- as a voice in his head told him he was forcing this from her and she wasn't doing it willingly. She needed forcing though; the only way to break down some of those walls she had put up was to perhaps make her do things she wasn't comfortable with - force some emotion in her, even if it was just a little. Sometimes tiny flames left unattended could turn into an inferno.

Eli leant forward before she could change her mind, slowly though, taking hims time. One of his arms came to rest at the side of her head as his descent towards her was over and he was gently pressing his mouth to Audrina's lips. She hadn't smacked him yet so that was a good sign, but her mouth was a hard thin line and he could sense her tension - or was it fear radiating from her that he could sense? If he was only allowed a fleeting kiss with her then that would be enough. He had only said a kiss not what type of kiss after all. There was no response from the blonde lying beneath him, but had he really been expecting one? He wasn't about to give up that easily and slipped his fingers into her hair; he probably wouldn't have another chance to be this close to her again and he would take what he could while it lasted.

He wondered how much longer he should stay like this though, with his fingers in her hair and his lips on unresponsive mouth. He should pull away soon, even if it would be disappointing to do so. He would have to accept that maybe there wasn't anything there between them and leave her be. He was about to pull away from Audrina when she suddenly seemed to give into the kiss. His heart did a little flutter in his chest as he felt her lips soften against his and saw her eyes close and her mouth opened to him. He turned her head lightly to the side so he could have more control over the kiss. Their breath mingled and he could taste hers as she allowed him access to her mouth.

As his other hand came to press into her side, as though to hold her still, he could feel the warmth of her skin tingle his fingers. It took every ounce of control he had to not deepen the kiss too hastily, especially when he felt Audrina's fingers sink into his hair, curling around his dark locks. He felt that at any moment if he let go of that control and gave into the desire growing deep from within that Audrina would break the kiss and it would be over. Eli didn't want it to end, this was more then he ever thought she'd offer him. He could feel her need; it matched his, a burning desire threatening to break loose and consume them both. So much for her not feeling anything, he thought fleetingly as he shifted and curled his arm underneath her back to draw her in closer.

Eli was vaguely aware of her hand dropping away from his hair, but aware all the same and reluctantly pulled back as she stopped responding and he felt her tense. He would be lying if he said he wasn't disappointed though. He saw the cold exterior taking over her expression once more as he gazed down at her drawing his head back so they could both catch a breath. His heart hammered in his chest now, his breathing ragged and not so controlled. He removed his hand from her hair and her side and moved back so he was no longer caging her in.

Eli could still taste her on his lips and still feel the ghost of their kisses as Audrina turned her stony gaze to him. He frowned as she announced that she felt nothing and he was about to protest but she was already rolling away from him and getting to her feet to make a hasty retreat. Audrina... He sighed in his head as he watched her go, feeling almost empty now that she was no longer near him. But he knew she hadn't felt nothing, you didn't kiss someone like that, didn't let yourself get lost in it, if you didn't feel anything.

As the door slammed at Audrina's prompt exit Eli flopped onto his back with a heavy sigh and scrubbed a hand over his face. "That wasn't nothing," He said to himself, and what he should have said to her, made her admit that she felt something instead of just letting her walk out. Eli stayed with his back to the mat for the next few minutes, his blue eyes glued to the ceiling and wondered what he would do now. She wasn't going to allow him to be alone in the same room as her any more, and she'd probably avoid him like the plague.

He wasn't about to give up though; he wanted that kiss again, but more importantly he wanted her to admit that she'd felt something in that kiss. But maybe he could allow her a few days to get her thoughts and possibly feelings under control. The dark haired male sat up and got to his feet, collecting the two battling rods from the mat so he could replace them back on the wall before he left the weapons room, absently collecting his bowl on the way out.

He wasn't hungry, at least not for food, but made his way back to the kitchen so he could wash his dish.

[Yunalesca]

She hadn't waited for him to say anything, the door to the weapons room closing with purpose behind her as she stalked down the hall and toward her room. Her cheeks were burning brighter as the heat refused to leave her body, leftover from the kiss she'd shared with the shadowhunter. She hadn't thought for a moment that she felt anything for him, but that changed as her body responded to him. He'd made her pulse race, had made her think of doing more than just kissing him. Nobody had ever managed that. She'd never let anyone get close enough to do so. Part of her wondered if it was him or just because he was the first person to snake his way through her walls and get her feel something other than pain and hatred. She quickly slipped through her bedroom door and closed it softly behind her, pressing her back to the door and looking to the ceiling before closing her eyes. She could still taste him on her lips which triggered a memory of his scent, a masculine smell unlike Alec or Jace. It was raw power, sex, and undertones of leather. She took a pained breath as her eyes clenched tighter while wiping away the memory of him. She could feel that want of him coming back in steady waves and was suddenly thankful she'd managed to throw up a wall when she did. She could still be lying on that mat with him over her, pressing her to him in an intimate embrace. Is that such a bad thing? her mind purred, forcing her eyes open.

"It is." She whispered to herself before sliding to her bed and curling up on her side. She forcefully locked the thoughts of him away and tried to pull her walls tightly about her in protection. She couldn't afford to feel anything other than the pain and anger she always kept so close. It was all that would keep her alive. Feeling for him, or anyone else for that matter, would get her killed. She hadn't come all the way to New York to fall short of her goal, to end up as some shadowhunters 'girl'. She didn't deserve it nor did she want it. She had come to this city to find her mother and take care of the matter once and for all. She'd been on the path for more than 8 years and could feel she was closing in. She was confident the woman was in the city somewhere, hiding out in some lair and feasting on mundane's, maybe even shadowhunters. She couldn't risk all she'd worked for on a whim, on emotions that Eli had somehow managed to stir in her. She'd locked them away so tight and yet he had still managed to get into that box and release them. It'd only taken him days! He was dangerous and she couldn't be alone with him anymore. He would try to bring her away from the certain death that waited for her at the bottom of a vampire lair and she would lose her mother once and for all. She'd only have one shot when she stepped into whatever building the female was haunting, she couldn't afford to waste it.

She felt pains in her chest from the emotions that'd been locked away trying to break free again. She was -feeling-, something she hadn't done in so long. It was almost like someone had just inserted a new heart into her chest and her body was rejecting the organ. Her breaths came in quick succession as she felt stinging in her eyes, a sure sign that she was about to cry. She didn't cry, ever, and Eli had managed to make her do it a second time. He made her feel things and they made her cry, made her hurt in ways that she normally didn't hurt. She should have never taken his bet, should have known she wouldn't have been able to best him after already being strained from working with Alec. She'd been a fool and was paying for it now. Her mind skimmed over the memories of Eli and turned to something much darker, the days of her childhood when things had really started to go bad. It'd started when her father was killed when she was twelve and gone down hill from there. That was when her training had intensified as well as that of her sisters. Her life changed for the first time the day Adrean DuPage was burned and his family fell into mourning. Her life changed forever when her mother and sister were taken from the shadowhunter world. Her sister's face came to her then and she cringed before opening her eyes.

On impulse, her hand slipped under the bedskirt and grabbed hold of the old wooden box hidden beneath. She sat up slowly as the mahogany box sat in front of her on the bed, runes and the family symbol etched into the wood. With almost shaky hands she lifted the lid and looked down to the only things that remained of her old life. There was only one picture inside, pressed firmly to the lid of the box so it would not be damaged in the rustling of the few other things inside. She ignored the photograph and instead reached for the blessed dagger hidden at the bottom. She pulled it free and could only stare at the glass weapon as it rested on her hands, shining in the bedroom light. Years dried blood still smeared over the blade, reminding Audrina of what it had last been used for. It also reminded her of who she was and what she was supposed to do. She blinked and felt a few drops of wet tears hit her wrists before she hid the weapon back in the bottom of the box and closed the lid. It was all she needed to see to dispel the feelings that had taken hold of her from Eli's kiss. Her purpose wasn't to fall in love and abandon what she'd spent eight plus years searching for. She would never get a happy ending like that. Shadowhunters in general did not get happy endings like that. "I won't forget again." She whispered before putting the box back under the bed. Her hunt would resume tonight.

[Serendipity]

No one was in the kitchen when Eli entered, dishes were piled in the sink but the benches were cleared of food. He welcomed the privacy though as he set aside his bowl on the counter near the skin and inadvertently started filling the sink with a mixture of hot and cold water. He added soap to the mixture and began scrubbing the various plates and bowls clean. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts as he continued to scrub each dish --he wasn’t really concentrating on what he was doing and spent a little too much time on some dishes then others-- but they all seemed to centre of one thing. Audrina. Well two things actually; Audrina and the kiss they’d shared. The way she’d succumbed to his lips on hers, almost melted into him. The way she’d made him feel, hot desire and intense emotion; it had nearly overwhelmed him completely and he’d never felt anything like it before. She had been the only thing that had mattered in that moment; if the world started to crumble around them he wouldn’t have noticed.

Eli knew Audrina had felt something; there was no way it had been one sided; you couldn’t fake that kind of intensity, he certainly couldn’t. If she had then she was a damn actress. He recalled the tension he’d felt from her at the beginning and his thoughts drifted to that. She hadn’t wanted to kiss him, had only been doing it out of some kind of obligation to the agreement she’d made. He didn’t know how he felt about that, now that he thought back on it. But there wasn’t anything he could do about it now, it was done and he realised that they both had probably got more than they’d bargained for since he hadn’t expected her to continue the kiss on her own merit and he doubted she had gone into the kiss thinking she would.

Before he knew it he’d scrubbed all the dishes clean and was standing in front of the sink with his hands in the soapy water. He blinked out of his thoughts and pulled his hands free, wiping them dry on his jeans. When he turned around he almost jumped at the sight of Isabelle and Jace standing behind him, both smirking and looking highly amused at him. “How long have you both been standing there?” Eli growled, although he wasn’t angry at them, mostly annoyed that he hadn’t heard them come in because his mind was clearly elsewhere. He watched the two young shadowhunters exchange glances before Isabelle moved over to one side of the kitchen propping herself up on the counter.

“Long enough for you not to hear Isabelle call you a domestic god. I didn’t take you for the domesticated type, Eli.” Jace snickered and Isabelle’s smirk grew a little wider, her legs swinging back and forth lightly. Eli forced a grin to his lips and shrugged at Jace’s comment before answering, “I’m not. But they won’t clean themselves,”

“That’s what the dishwashers for,” Jace said and pointed towards the machine tucked under the counter just by Isabelle’s swinging legs. Eli scowled a little, he hadn’t noticed that before, if he had then he wouldn’t have wasted his time scrubbing other peoples plates. Then again he’d needed a distraction, not that it had worked, his thoughts had immediately gone to Audrina. “Someone could have mentioned it,” He muttered under his breath, moving away from the sink and over to the fridge. He opened it and then shut it immediately, there was still no beer inside it.

“I just did.” Jace’s jovial tone pointed out and he grinned brightly at the older shadowhunter. Eli rolled his eyes, shaking his head, and then looking over at the boy his own grin started to form. “Feel like killing some demons?” He asked as the thought occurred to him and would probably prove to be a good distraction.

“I always feel like killing demons,” Jace nodded and they both looked over at Isabelle, quirking a brow in her direction. She jumped down from the counter and matched both their grins. “Let me get my whip,” Isabelle said and left the kitchen.

[Yunalesca]

It wasn't long after the box had been placed back under the bed that a knock came to her door. Sighing, she patted her face dry and finished pulling free the braid from her hair as she left the bathroom and made for the door, still having not changed. She opened the door, expecting Eli, but it turned out to be Alec. She looked him over expectantly and with some surprise as she waited for why exactly he was rapping at her door just before sunset. "Yes?" She said solemnly, her mind distracted with where she was going to start her search again tonight. She watched as Alec's blue eyes looked her over, trying to read what she was about. He'd get in her way if he thought for a second she was going out with the vampires again tonight and so she didn't let on she had anything planned for the evening. "We're going for some demons tonight. Jace thought you'd like to come." He said a little stiffly which made the blonde shadowhunter laugh. He was a horrible liar and he knew it, but he tried anyway. "No, you want to keep me out of trouble and it would be easier to keep an eye on me if I'm there. No, I don't do demons. Vampires are my specialty." She said and started to close the door, but his hand slammed firmly against the wood and held it at bay.

"You're going to get somebody other than yourself killed..." He started and she stepped up to him, standing almost nose to nose. "I'm not going anywhere, Alec. I'm tired and just want to sleep through a night for once. I have no intentions of getting man handled by some downworlder or demon tonight. Relax." She said to him, their eyes locked as she spoke. She wasn't really lying to him. She was tired and she wasn't going to have the shit beat out of her tonight. She would've been fine the night she'd met Eli if he hadn't riled up a group of vampires and needed her help. She was savvy with handling the pointy teeth downworlders. They wouldn't have a chance to hurt her before she relieved them of their life. They were so lost in their bloodlust they never knew what she was about. It was almost too easy most of the time, to sap them of information then kill them. She felt some sort of sick satisfaction everytime one of them turned to dust under her hands. She wasn't breaking any of the accords, they were preying on mundane's which was forbidden. She was doing the Clave a service even if they didn't know it. "Just as well. Eli's coming, one more body I have to look out for." The brunette grumbled as his shoulders relaxed, having fully believed her statement. She visibly tensed at the mention of the other shadowhunter and averted her gaze. "Good luck with that. Don't get yourself killed for his sake." She said before stepping back and closing the door quietly on him before he could say anything more. As she heard his footfalls recede a few moments later she turned away from the door and started rummaging through her wardrobe. She wasn't particularly fond of dresses or skirts, but it was what attracted downworlders to her when she was looking for them. She found one dress (here) in the back of the wardrobe that would be suitable with a pair of elbow length gloves to cover her scars and mark of mourning. She sat back on the bed as she pulled her boots (here) on and began lacing them before strapping in her hidden weapons and her stele.

She spent more time in the bathroom applying cosmetics she usually never did, a smoky eye and red lipstick to make her more visible among the crowd of gothic mundanes the unsuspecting vampire would be stalking. Once it was done to perfection she went back to her room and sat on her bed, waiting silently, lost in thought as the time ticked by. She wanted to be sure the others were well away before she left, not wanting to get caught just outside the institute. Alec would be irate if he found out she'd lied to him. He still greatly confused her. His concern was more than for the fact Jace could get hurt in coming to her aid when she got in over her head. She wondered if he had begun to genuinely worry for her, but dismissed it. She couldn't afford to think of hurting his feelings. He had no reason to think of her anyhow, she'd never been particularly warm to him or any of the others. It sounded as though they wanted her to be a part of them, but it was continually discussed at how much of a nuisance she could be. She shook her head and stood from her bed, feeling enough time had passed. She poked her head out the door to see nobody in the hall nor hear anybody present in the Institute. Hodge would be in the library and would never hear her leave. The coast seemed to be clear.

*

Actually baiting a vampire had taken much longer than she'd imagine and she wondered if she'd picked the wrong club. She didn't recall the name of the place she'd picked, only knowing it was in the north side and not far from a lair of vampires who didn't quite follow the Accords all the time. She had finished a whole Sangria before her eyes found what she'd been looking for. The black eyes had been the first notation, it encouraging as it meant the downworlder was hungry and was likely searching for prey. She slipped away from the bar table and started slowly across the dance floor, eyes locked on the vampire. It took little time before the downworlder noticed her across the room, steadily making her way for him. A small grin was tugging at the corner of his lips before he started up the stairs off the dance floor and continually glanced back to see if she was still coming. A seductive side she had created in her mind slowly took over as she ever so slowly started up the stairs after him, appearing both eager and reserved to keep his appetite for her alive. When they finally met near the back, close to the VIP section, his hand slid around her waist and gently yet possessively pulled her into him. "You're not like the others." He whispered as he dipped his head to smell her neck, tensing as he hovered over a major vein and took in the scent of the blood running just under her skin. She felt relaxed as she let him run his nose up her neck and to her ear, probably from the alcohol she'd consumed to do just that. She'd almost panicked the last time a vampire had come close to her neck and couldn't afford to do so now. In her mind she was working and felt nothing for him as she was pressed to his chest in a possessive gesture. It was nothing like how Eli had held her, made her pulse race....She felt it the moment she thought of him, her heart pick up the pace and her blood light aflame at the memory of his embrace and his kiss. The vampire sensed this and became more eager, thinking it was for him. "...somewhere more private..." She heard in her ear and realized he had been saying something to her as she'd fought to get her heart rate under control.

She managed a coy smile and nod to him before he was ushering her away. He pulled back a curtain and opened a siding glass door, ushering her out to the balcony that wrapped from overtop the entrance of the club to the side alley. She glanced at her surroundings before placing herself around the corner to the alley side so the scene that was about to take place wouldn't be witnessed from the streets. She looked down and noticed the floor was a sort of plexiglass and grimaced. Anyone could look up into a girls skirt from down there and she was sure that was what it was meant for. Mundane's were a peculiar people. "Do you know what it is I want from you?" The vampire said as he stealthily approached and had his hands around her again, pulling her against his cold body once more and purring against her skin. "The question is what I want from you," she purred back and was sure if he had a pulse, it would have just jumped. He thought she wanted sex and was about to be sadly mistaken. She felt one of his fingers brush at the zipper of the dress as his nose pressed to her neck once more. She'd had enough. With a flash she had him pressed against the wall of the club with a blade in her hand. He still thought she was into him, that was until he noticed the dagger being held just over where his unbeating heart lay. "I must say this is not a ritual I have taken place in before..." He started and she started to press the blade into his skin. His eyes widened and he took in a sharp breath as the reality of what was happening hit him. "Nephilim." Was all he hissed as she flashed a rather evil grin at him.

"Where is the Reine vampire Gabrielle?" She hissed the title in traditional french, knowing it to be the title the woman that had been her mother had chosen. She had become quite theatrical in the years since her death and rebirth as the undead. The vampire under her dagger hissed, baring his teeth at her for even saying the name. She pressed a little deeper, almost touching the dead flesh of his heart and it made him stop. "She will not fall by your hand. You will die by hers." He hissed before laughing at her before she pressed the dagger a fraction closer to his heart. "Reine Gabrielle, now!" She ordered before raising her knee roughly into the vampires groin and inflicting more pain. He held firm in his stance to not speak for a moment before her knee pressed harder into him and he cried out. "I do not know! I am not of her clan! Phael! Phael of Dumort knows!" He cried out as Audrina slowly lowered her knee from his groin, relieving the pressure. The vampire panted under her and clearly expected to be released now. "Send my regards to the underworld." She hissed in his ear before she drove the dagger home before quickly pulling it free and throwing him over the balcony. He yelled as he turned to ash in the air and the flecks fell to the alley below. She continued to look over the balcony without really seeing, a look of determination and evil intent plastered over her face before she finally turned away and sheathed her dagger in her boot.

[Serendipity]

The two male shadowhunters followed Isabelle out of the kitchen a few moments later, Jace muttered something about the brunette always taking so long to get ready as they headed down the corridor towards the weapons room. Eli stopped just before they reached the door, something about going back into that room so soon after he and Audrina had been in there together made Eli’s heart do a little flip in his chest. The memory of their embrace was still so fresh in his mind if he went back into the room he'd want nothing more than to seek the girl out again and...kiss her. He sighed at his own stupid emotions trying to take control over him again and didn’t follow Jace into the room. The blonde shadowhunter paused in the doorway throwing him an ‘are you coming?’ look. “I’ve left my knives in my room. Grab me some seraph blades!” Eli explained feebly and was already turning around to head back to his room, he didn’t see Jace’s frown or the question in his eyes.

Once in his room Eli made straight for the bathroom and splashed cold water over his face, and scrubbed his towel over his face telling himself to get a grip. If he couldn’t gain control over his own thoughts and more importantly over his emotions he’d be no use in a fight. He had to stop thinking about her, stop wondering what she was doing, what was she thinking? He tossed the aside, not bothering to hang it up, and exited the bathroom. His shirt was pulled off over his head and also tossed aside carelessly, it smelled like sweat and Audrina - a sweet soapy smell and sweat, that was tantalising to the senses- and he couldn’t think of her whilst on a demon hunt.

Never before had a female threatened to prove such a liability to his concentration and he realised that was possibly the reason why he’d never put himself in a serious relationship with anyone. You two don’t have a relationship, a voice whispered in his head, reminding him that if anything his feelings for her were one sided. Eli growled softly at the thought as he rummaged through his wardrobe of new clothes in search of a clean shirt that didn’t smell like Audrina. He slipped the sleeveless shirt on, leaving his arms bare, and reached for his hibben knives, strapping them onto his back. He’d just tightened the straps, making sure his knives would be secure on his back, when there was a knock on his door. He knew who it would be, because it certainly wouldn’t be Audrina, and walked over to open the door.

Seeing Jace on the other side holding up two seraph blades for him and something else behind his back. “Thanks,” Eli said as he took the angel blades and tucked them into his belt alongside his stele. Jace then removed the item he’d been holding behind his back and bought it to Eli’s attention by holding in up in front of him like he had the two seraph blades. Eli recognized the jacket immediately as his and snatched it from the boys hands, scowling darkly at the jacket he’d forgotten in the weapons room. “I thought it was yours, what was it doing in the middle of the weapons room? Don’t tell me you’ve found a sparring partner and it’s not me?” The boy said and Eli thought he heard a little disappointment in Jace’s voice. Surely he had enough sparring partners in Alec and Isabelle.

“I hadn’t a chance to properly see the weapons room yet, so I paid it a visit this afternoon. I wasn’t sparring with anyone,” said Eli defensively. He’d lied to Jace about not having sparred with anyone but he knew all sorts of questions would be thrown at him if he mentioned Audrina’s name. A little white lie never hurt anyone. “Come on, let’s go then. Is Isabelle ready?” Eli hung his jacket on the door handle inside his room before stepping out and shutting it behind him. He didn’t feel like getting demon goo all over his favorite jacket, it was a lot harder to clean off then vampire ash.

“She’s waiting for us with Alec in the entrance,” Jace answered and missed the frown on Eli’s face at the mention of Alec’s name as he turned to make his way down the hall. He supposed he would just have to get used to hunting demons with these shadowhunters as a group, but he wasn’t sure if he was in the mood for Alec tonight. He sighed and followed after Jace anyway.

--

Eli felt better after slaying a few demons, they were a good way to get rid of some of his frustration and he hadn’t thought about Audrina once since they’d found their first demon. He was able to keep his own, not needing the protection Alec offered the other two, which he suspected Alec was pleased with. Eli wasn’t used to group hunting, he’d only ever hunted demons as a pair and that had been with his father. The sting of thinking of his father only fueled his hatred for demons now as the man was no longer with the living. It had been years until he’d felt comfortable enough fighting alongside someone else, after his father was killed on one of their hunts he’d never forgiven himself for not protecting the man enough. He couldn’t bring himself to find a new partner to hunt with in case the same thing happened again. So he’d never made one partner stick, always changing to a different shadowhunter and never letting himself bond with them.

Eli was distracted from his train of thought when Alec said he could hear yelling, they’d been scouring another alley for signs of demons. Eli stopped behind the group of shadowhunters, standing just behind Isabelle. He looked up as Alec hissed that the yelling was coming from above them and they all looked up at once to see a body flung over the balcony above. It burst into a flaming ash before it hit the ground and Eli didn’t need to search the balcony for the person who had killed the vampire he already knew who it was. Audrina. He felt a burning anger in his chest as he saw her, though she didn’t appear to see them. She was at it again, going out on her own to relentlessly killing vampires.

He was aware that she could handle herself very well and it would almost be safe to say that she’d come out of her hunt tonight without a scratch on her. But still it angered him that she threw herself into danger like that, with no one to back her up if something went wrong. You did the same thing for a long time remember, A voice scoffed in his head and Eli shook it away averting his gaze from the balcony to glare down at his feet. He couldn’t help wondering if the anger he felt at knowing she was out on her own slaying downworlders was actually more concern than anything else.

He didn’t want to dissect that thought and looked at the others as they discussed whether they should go in and get the blonde. “Isabelle’s right, leave her be. She’s a big girl, she can handle herself.” Eli said and was already turning to walk out of the alley, sensing the others doing the same a few moments later.

[Yunalesca]

It was nearly an hour before dawn when the blonde shadowhunter staggered into the institute, barely noting the lack of activity as her heels scuffed down the hall from her exhaustion. There was vampire ash in her hair, a good slit running down one of her gloves, and a nice stinging scratch running from her cheekbone to her ear. She had thought she would come out unscathed in her last run in, but the vampire had been too eager and nearly overwhelmed her when she'd managed to get him alone. He'd tried to kiss her, threatening to bite into the soft flesh of her lip as he did so. She hadn't had time to pry information from him as her anger tipped and she fought back against the rather powerful downworlder. He hadn't much appreciated her denial of him and had raked his nails across her face in an attempt to get her under control. A short scuffle later and he had exploded into ash beneath her dagger. That was when she knew it was time to be going. She was tired and had nearly been bitten, not to mention the sun would be up shortly.

Her feet took her away from her room, however, and toward the library instead. Her body may be tired but her mind was still wide awake and wanted to look into something before she abandoned the night for sleep. She nearly stumbled as she moved along the railing of the upper level, searching for the book she would need to look through. She found it somewhat quickly, the green leatherbound book sticking out at her with the word 'vampire' etched in gothic gold handwriting on the side. Her gloved finger pulled the book free before she staggered down the steps and to the table at the center of the room. Before flopping down in the chair she tugged at her boots, wriggling her feet forcibly from the red and black heels before unceremoniously dropping them to the floor with a thud. "Better." She breathed before falling into one of the chairs and flipping to the books index to find what she was looking for. She looked for anything that had to do with shadowhunters turning into vampires and could only find a section of myth on the subject. Shrugging, she flipped 3/4 of the way through the book before finding the mythology section.

She began to read the lines, it mostly registering with her until the letters started to grow blurry. She rubbed at her eyes and blinked several times to keep the sleepiness at bay to continue with her research. She tried to read aloud next, but it didn't help her predicament either. She sighed heavily before resting her head down on the book and wrapping her arms around her head. She would just close her eyes for a moment to recharge before trying to read again. That 'moment' however came and went quickly, turning into something much longer. Her eyelids were too heavy to raise as she tried to fight back against the abyss of blackness that was taking over her mind. Wake...up... her mind sighed before she fully drifted off as the sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. The first faint gold rays began to illuminate the library as the dreams began in Audrina's mind.

The French countryside would have been beautiful on any other day, the sun cresting and bathing the hilly terrain in golden light. It would have been beautiful if it weren't for the ceremony being held in honor of Adrean DuPage who gave his life to protect what he believed in. A young Audrina looked on with a straight face as the ceremony began and her little sister Aurelie clung to her, still not really understanding what was occurring before her green eyes. Their golden hair stretched down to their waists on any other day, but today their locks had been wound into braids and coiled on their heads, almost resembling a crown.

Only once did Audrina feel her mother quiver beside her, making the young girl stand taller and hold her sister tighter as the little girl sobbed. She had to be strong for Aurelie as their mother was being strong for them now. "Pere...pere..." the small girl cried which made Audrina's own heart break and hot tears stream silently down her face as she felt her sisters own beginning to soak her dress. "It's alright, Rel. I'll always be here. I'll always be here." She whispered to the girl in the most steady voice she could muster.

As the sun's rays hit Audrina's face she still found herself deeply immersed in the memory of her father's death, though she could actually feel herself quietly mumbling Aurelie's name against the book she had fallen asleep on. She wanted to escape the dream, as she had wanted every night since they'd began, but she found she couldn't escape its grip on her. It held her fast in the dream world and all she could do was say her sister's name.

[Serendipity]

Eli was the first to emerge from the alley after witnessing Audrina turning yet another vampire to ash, his long strides putting more of a distant between he and the others and Jace had to jog to catch up with him. “I thought you’d want to go in there and save the day?” Jace said as he appeared by Eli’s side and he scowled darkly at the space in front of him, not turning his head to look at the other shadowhunter, “What are you talking about?” He demanded. If he’d listened more closely, he would have heard the humour in the other male’s voice. Save the day? He wasn’t some knight in shining armor set out to save Audrina from herself; for starters he’d look ridiculous in metal armor and the only time he’d ridden a horse was when he was ten years old. If she wanted to go out every night and get herself in sticky situations with vampires then that wasn’t his problem -- and he should start telling himself that more often.

“Audrina. I thought you would want to go in there and help her kick some vampire butt,” Jace explained and looked sidelong at Eli for a moment before shrugging a little when he didn’t get an answer. They were halfway down the street and Eli was turning a corner when he finally gave Jace an answer, almost as if he’d had to think on it for a while. “Vampire’s aren’t my problem,” Eli muttered and there must have been something in his tone that kept Jace from saying anything further on the matter because he only shrugged again and fell back to walk alongside Alec leaving Eli to take the lead.

Eli was aware that Jace already suspected that something was going on between he and Audrina, the boy had said as much in his room the other day, but he wasn’t sure if Jace simply thought it was all one sided on his part. Wouldn’t he get a kick out of knowing Audrina had kissed him with just as much desire as he had kissed her, Eli thought drearily as he glanced up at the street signs. They still had enough night left to scope another club for demons, one that Audrina currently wasn’t attending, and he still had one seraph blade left on his belt and his knives, so he could kill a few more demons before the nights end.

“We haven’t been down this way,” He pointed across the street but waited for the others to catch up before they crossed the street.

--

“We should head back to the Insitute, I’m out of seraph blades and I smell like death,” Isabelle sighed as she sniffed the sleeve of her jacket and grimaced. Jace and Alec were wiping demon blood from their weapons onto their pants and both nodded at the idea of going home, enough was enough for one night. Eli too was ready to go back to the Institute and clean up, blood smeared his right arm, some of it his own, some of it demon blood and there a gash along his side that probably needed attending too. “Good idea, Iz” Alec agreed quickly.

The Institute was only two blocks away from their current location so it didn’t take long before they were walking up the cracked path and through the iron gates. Jace let them all in and they each filed away one by one to their rooms so they could clean themselves up. Eli rested his back against his bedroom door once inside and winched a little in pain as he lifted the edge of his shirt up and peered down at the gash at his side. Reaching for his stele the shadowhunter pulled his shirt up a little higher finding a clear spot on his skin to place the izrate rune just under his ribcage; Immediately he felt the pain slipping away as the wound began to heal itself.

He didn’t bother with a shower, only stripped himself of his clothes, wiping away and blood and ichor from his skin with the inside of his dirty shirt before he flopped down onto his bed. Because he was still dirty he didn’t slip under the covers, though he’d still have to put a clean top sheet on the bed later. He was asleep within minutes, he must have been tired because his mind was empty of thoughts and his sleep dreamless. But he woke a few hours later as the morning sun had just finished setting, his body stiff and still a little sore in some places but the izrate rune had helped heal the majority of his injuries. A hot shower and a change of clothes later he felt much better, and headed out of his room, his feet taking him towards the library. There were books in there that he hadn’t read yet, and he thought there may just be something in their pages that could help him. He wasn’t very good at tracking, but there’d have to something in the library that could help, if he knew what to look for exactly then he;d been able to find his brother faster.

At first Eli didn’t notice the figure slumped over a table in the middle of the room; the library was so quiet he’d thought he was the only one there, it was only as he looked around, wondering where he should start in his search for the right book that his eyes fell on the sleeping figure of Audrina, her blonde head resting on a green leather bound book as though she were using it as a pillow. He didn’t move towards her straight away as he thought of leaving her there and even started up the steps to the second level of the library. But he stopped halfway up the stairs and sighed, silently cursing himself; he couldn’t leave her there, it wouldn’t be very comfortable.

As he walked back down the stairs and over towards the blonde shadowhunter, he saw she’d kicked her boots off under the table, and there was a scratch on the side of her face which was half hidden by the fact that her arms were around her head. Eli placed an arm around Audrina’s back and gently moved the chair she was sitting on away from the table with his foot before scooping her up in his arms careful not to wake her. Her arms dropped gently to her side and her head fell against his chest and there wasn’t so much as a stir from her. Until he reached the door and he heard a whisper from her, he tensed thinking she had woken up and was about to start shouting at him to put her down; but as he looked down at her he saw her eyes were still closed.

He hadn’t heard what she’d said and thought maybe she had just sighed in her sleep, but her eyelids began to flutter rapidly and he realised her face was contorted with pain. She must have been having a bad dream, he realised. Eli managed to get the door open and exited the library, thinking it best to get her back to her room, but something about her expression had him frowning. He had suspected that there was something in her past that had caused her to block out any emotion and put walls up to keep people out, and now he was sure there was. She murmured something in her dream again, almost fitfully, and Eli lowered his ear to her lips curious as to whose name she was speaking. Aurellie? And she repeated the name again as if to clarify what he’d thought he’d heard.

Who ever she was dreaming about it must have been someone she’d been close with, family even, and it was a painful dream - painful memory, he corrected. Audrina was recalling something in her past in a dream and almost instinctively Eli hugged her closer to his chest, and he felt a pang of empathy for her. He knew what those type of dreams were like, although he didn’t have them often now, he’d had them in the past and he remembered the cold sweats he’d woken with during one. A strong protectiveness washed over him for the woman in his arms and he wished he could somehow rid her of her nightmares. He sighed, because he knew nothing ever could; they might not come as often if she chose to accept whatever loss was haunting her, but they’d always find a way to creep back in again.

Eli stopped outside of Audrina’s room and pushed her door open, walking through it before shutting it closed with the back of his heel. He moved straight over to her bed, not bothering to turn a light on, there was enough light shining through her curtains for him to see where he was going. Eli lowered her onto the bed and arranged her arms and legs into a comfortable position. She murmured the name again under her breath, but this time it was followed by more words, ‘I’ll always be here’ over and over again. Eli knelt by her bed, wiping her hair gently from her forehead, his gaze attentively watching her. That was when he noticed the cut along her jaw again and rose to his feet, making for her bathroom. He found a cloth and wet it under the tap, ringing any excess water from the material before he went back into her room, kneeling by her bed once more.

Carefully he attended to her injury and once the dried blood was wiped away he realised it wasn’t as deep as he’d thought and wouldn’t need stitches. He thought about using an izrate rune on her but then thought better of it, she probably wouldn’t appreciate other people putting runes on her body since she seemed against marking herself unlike other shadowhunters would. Eli placed the cloth back in the bathroom after rinsing it out and stood in the doorway watching her silently. He moved towards her bedroom door as if to leave the room, but found himself dragging a chair from a corner, closer to her bed. He didn’t want to wake her, but he also didn’t feel comfortable leaving her in case her dream got worse. Although he should leave before she woke up, he supposed, knowing that he would be the last person she’d want to see in her room.

[Yunalesca]

At some point in her dreaming she felt a warmth encapsulating her, wrapping its arms around her and holding her close. Her brows furrowed as she tried to make sense of what was happening, but found she couldn't. The nightmare of a dream continued and she felt herself wanting to cling to this new-found comfort, imaginatively pressing herself as close to it as she could. It escaped her at one point, however, and she found herself wanting it back. It even had a smell that lingered into her dream. Soap, leather, a masculinity. The moment she defined it, it was gone and she was rocked into a new dream, a memory she was most repulsed by. She knew how it would end and yet she could not stop it no matter how she tried.

"Audrina, I need you to go hide, hide where I can never find you."
"Mom?" She questioned, her young grey eyes welling up with concern. This wasn't a game she sensed. Something was terribly wrong. "Aurelie..." She started, but her mother grabbed her hard by the arms.
"Hide. Aurelie is safe right now. Go!"She hissed and pushed her daughter away before turning her back on her and pulling a seraph blade hidden behind the coats by the front door. Audrina ran, running straight for the one spot her mother and sister had never been able to find her. She pulled the cupboards under the sink open in the kitchen and stuffed herself inside, managing to fit her tall frame into the cramped space and pulling the doors closed. She could still see through a small crack and tried to quiet her rapid breaths.
"You're not welcome here." She heard her mother say before her feet were backing into the kitchen.
"You will be coming with us in payment for your husbands mistakes." She heard someone hiss as her mother stopped backing up and stood firm in the center of the kitchen.
"Adrean was on your side. He fought against the Circle and died for it!" She heard her mother yell, making Audrina's brows furrow. What was going on? Who was the Circle?
"It's too bad he's not here to protect you now!" Another voice hissed before two sets of boots flashed at her mothers side and the figures held her arms, hands empty of a defensive weapon. She almost felt herself whisper 'mother', but couldn't find her voice.
"Don't do this." She heard her mother plea before she was dropped to her knees and another figure approached. The man leaned down and whispered something in her ear before razor sharp teeth pierced her mother's soft flesh at her neck and her scream was quickly silenced. Audrina felt white hot tears sliding down her cheeks as her mothers head lolled back and she dropped from the grips of the other two holding her.
"It's taking. Open her mouth." The one who bit her ordered before taking a blade and slitting his wrist. She watched as he pressed his bleeding wrist to her mothers mouth and the blood flowed over her lips. This occurred for several minuted before the leader withdrew his arm and ordered the others to lift her from the floor. Audrina trembled as she saw her mothers wide, empty eyes stare back at her. Their color was fading, being overwhelmed with a brilliant electric blue.

The color of her eyes were imprinted on her mind as she sat shaking in the cupboard underneath the sink in the kitchen as her mother's body was hauled out, a mess of blood on the floor in the kitchen. She didn't know how long she sat cramped up in the hiding spot before she finally burst out from the doors and fell to the floor crying. Her hand reached out and touched the pool of blood, her mother's blood, shaking as she lifted her fingers and looked at the red substance. Her mother was gone. Dead...or worse. She was still shaking when she heard the front door open and expected the trio had returned for her. She slowly brought her head up, eyes red from crying as a small form stood in the doorway. "Audrina?" Came the child's voice of her sister. "Audrina?" She questioned again upon seeing the blood. The elder sister rose to her feet and rushed to her sister, pulling her into her and trying not to cry. "Aurelie." She sobbed in relief, mind still not comprehending all that had just happened.

"Where's mom?" Came from the little girl and her sister held her tighter. She couldn't say anything for some time as her body shook. "Gone. Mom's gone, Aurelie." She sobbed and felt her sister do the same. "But I'm here." She whispered into her hair, white hot tears streaming down her face once more at the realization of the responsibility she now held. Both her parents were dead and she would have to raise her sister. Everything she had worked for to be normal would be over.

Audrina had turned on her side in her sleep, facing Eli as her dream played over in her mind. Faint whisperings of her dream escaped her lips, somewhat broken from the dialogue that occurred over the course of the nightmare. Her eyes shifted rapidly as the vampires took her mother and forced her to the floor in the dream, body shivering in response to the strength of the memory as it played out before her again. Inklings of tears were seeping out under her lids as the trauma of the vampire biting into her mother's neck hit her and she was trapped in her own mind. She had been trying to escape the sleep since the dream began but was unsuccessful. If the events continued to play out in order, the worst of her dreams would start and she was not eager to be reliving it. There were worse memories for her besides the death of her parents.

[Serendipity]

Eli sat uncomfortably in the chair he’d pulled closer to Audrina’s bed, not because he couldn’t get comfortable in it if he tried; he’d never seen someone look so vulnerable as Audrina did now, and she wouldn’t like him seeing her like this, he was sure of it. He was torn between leaving her in the privacy of her own bad dream, because he knew they were private things, and staying to make sure her dream didn’t get any worse, watching over her until her dreams faded and she slept peacefully. He found himself wanting to comfort her, lay with her and smooth down her hair, murmuring soothing words into her ear like his mother had done for him as a child whenever he’d had a bad dream or was upset. He’d always felt better when his mother had done that for him as a child, but upon growing up she’d stopped, telling him he was old enough now to deal with the demons in his nightmares on his own -- he was a shadowhunter after all.

After his father had been killed it hadn’t been the demons in his dreams he’d had to fight off, it had been his own guilty concious and a grief that had almost consumed him. He’d woken from those dreams, pale, shaken and drenched in sweat, and sometimes even gasping for breath, tears streaming down his face; it wasn’t a good feeling and too private to share with anyone, not even his brother. So as Eli continued to watch over Audrina he felt like he was intruding on her privacy, her deepest darkest secrets, even if he couldn’t see what she was seeing inside her head and didn’t feel good about it. She looked so small lying there, her face strained with pain, and his heart-ached for her.

As her body turned on her side towards him, Eli was on his feet before he realised what he was doing and sank down lightly on the edge of her bed. He saw her tears then, starting to seep from under her fluttering eyelids and decided enough was enough, he wasn’t going to let her experience such painful memories any longer, even if they were hers to remember. But shaking her awake wasn’t an option either. He remembered back on how his mother had always woken him from his nightmares, she’d never shaken him awake; it was her soft voice, speaking to him gently, coaxing him awake.

Eli hesitated a little before he reached out with his hand and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, “Audrina…” He murmured softly, his hand started gently smoothing her hair back before cupping the side of her face for a moment; he could feel her clammy skin beneath his touch. “...it’s alright…” his thumb wiping away a single tear that was sliding down her soft cheek, “...it’s just a dream.” He soothed, his voice growing a little louder every time he spoke so she could hear him, hopefully over whatever horrific scenes that might be playing out in her mind.

He wiped away another tear, and then another, repeating his words gently but audibly several times trying to coax her out of her dream.