Sweet Creature ▹ Alec Lightwood [2] ( SLOW UPDATES )

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO
OUT OF PRACTICE

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     Adrian had always found training comforting. The clash of practice weapons, the mats on the floor, the fans in the corners, everything was just so familiar. He had spent most of his childhood inside the training room, up on the balance beams. He'd fallen so many times from the balance beams that falling didn't terrify him anymore. He was nothing but nostalgic as he watched Clary fight now, a wooden staff in her hands. Jace was a blur around her. Sometimes Clary managed to land a hit, but it was always uncoordinated, clumsy and born from desperation rather than grace or finesse. Jace landed more blows on her, using the opportunity to remind her that she was leaving spots open in her desperation to hit him back.

Adrian watched from the sidelines, using his own wooden staff to put his weight on, his cheek resting against the wood. Isabelle was prowling around the entire practice mat, taking in Clary and Jace's mock fight with sharp eyes, her long hair pulled back in a braid. Alec was on the other side of the room, firing arrows into targets in quick succession just because he could. None of them had really trained in a while, and demons had been lying low, which meant fewer missions. Fighting was in their bones, but it was always good to work their bodies through the process every two weeks or so.

"You're overwhelming her," Adrian said eventually, when Jace got a hit on Clary again, on the side of her thigh. Her gasp rang out loud and clear, making Alec turn away from the targets across the large room. Isabelle stopped her prowling to cross her arms over her chest, arching a single eyebrow as Jace slowed in his movements. He and Clary were both panting, but it was Clary who looked the worst. Her hair was falling into her eyes, her shirt was damp with sweat, and her arms were shaking from the strain of holding the wooden staff up for so long. Adrian clicked his tongue in disapproval and straightened, twirling his own staff once through the air as he walked forward.

"Well, battle is overwhelming," Jace grumbled in an attempt to defend himself. Adrian put his staff on the mat and raised his eyebrows. It was clear to him that something was bothering Jace. He usually went easy on Clary during sparring sessions, since she was so tiny and still building up her muscle mass. She was good at balancing, good at stealth, even good with a bow and arrow—but it was hand-to-hand combat that she was struggling with. Her body simply wasn't used to it. The fact that none of them were as small as she was didn't really help, because fighting was different for them. They never had to compensate for lack of height, for shorter arms and legs. Aline would have been a good sparring partner for her, but she was in Rome for her travel year. Helen had gone to Rome, too. Adrian idly wondered if they had run into each other.

"She's not being sent into battle yet, is she?" Adrian asked rhetorically, already reaching for the staff Clary was currently struggling to hold up. It was bigger than she was comfortable with, but she had grabbed it as soon as she had seen both Jace and Adrian pick up theirs. All of them had a weapon of choice, one they preferred. Alec had his bow-and-arrows. Jace had his longsword. Adrian had his angelic staff given to him by Luke tucked safely away in his room, and Isabelle had her whip, currently curled around her wrist where it normally stayed. It was clear that Clary was trying to find her own. The staff clearly wasn't it, though, and Adrian could see the relief on her face once he took it from her. Tossing it over to Isabelle, Adrian let his own fall to the mat and pulled out his stele.

"You comfortable with a real blade, Clary?" Isabelle asked in the following silence, as Adrian carefully drew a healing rune on Clary's inner arm. He knew bruises were blooming across her skin as they stood there, and training was far from over. He cut Jace a dark look once he was done, arching a single eyebrow when Jace saw it and glanced guiltily away. He made a mental note to corner Jace and demand to know what was wrong with him later, patting at Clary's arm with a gentle smile. Clary smiled back, then looked uncertainly over his shoulder at Isabelle.