nysalogs | ( CLOSED )

I know someone who works at the Institute.

[ a friend, she might say, if she and peter weren't currently bitter toward one another for their opposing viewpoints. she still trusts the information in spite of any disagreements they've shared; otherwise, she wouldn't be repeating it like it holds weight. ]

He says the gas from the attack is similar to one he's seen there before. Of course it's magically missing from the inventory now that he went looking for the sample.

Maybe you were right, or at least on the right track.

[Someone from the Institute having a hand in this makes sense, doesn't it?]

Unless someone managed to sneak in and steal it.

That doesn't mean it wasn't made there. That seems like a pretty good reason for someone to blame Evras to me.

[ then again, it still brings them no closer to finding the actual culprit. anything is better than nothing, even so, but it isn't as comforting as she would have preferred. ]

Remember when you said I wasn't always right?

[ she isn't saying i told you so, but. ]

You aren't.

[He is refusing to accept that implied "I told you so"!]

Who's your friend at the Institute?

Says you.

[ but whatever, she's used to blatant lack of praise when she's right. she'll skip over it for both of their sake, even if she shoots him an odd look at the question. ]

Peter Parker. [ more importantly: ] Why the curiosity?

[ ensuring her lead is a trustworthy one, maybe, or just that: simple curiosity. clary can't decide which makes more sense in the current context. ]

Edited 2017-10-13 04:32 (UTC)

[He shrugs.]

I don't know anyone at the Institute. It might be good to.

[Not a lack of trust, then.]

There was something else. Footprints leading straight into the wall at the back of the alley. If there was a door or some sort of mechanism, I couldn't find it.

You can try. He doesn't seem like he's the best with people.

[ more precisely, he's prone to stammering and awkward fidgeting, from clary's experiences. sorry, parker. at the very least, it's a forewarning rather than warding bellamy off of that course.

as for that bit of information, footsteps leading straight into the wall trips her up for only a moment. it's nothing short of strange, but olympia seems determined to challenge her idea of what is and isn't far-fetched. ]

Not to sound insane or anything — [ yes, she's aware this suggestion is about to sound insane. ] Are you sure it wasn't just magic? Some kind of phasing ability?

[That's a good point, and one Bellamy hadn't considered. He's out of his depth there.]

I have no idea. The only experience with magic I have is what you showed me.

I don't do magic.

[ at this point, there's no amusement or exasperation to that automatic correction. she's said it so often it feels more like reciting a fact more than anything else. ]

Which alley was this again? [ or, as better phrasing: ] Do you remember what district it was?

Just outside the market. Didn't see anything else strange nearby.

[So, a dead end both literally and figuratively.]

If it did lead anywhere, they've probably already changed the location of their hideout.

[ which, of course, boils down to one (frustrating) line of thought. ]

It's been a week. I thought we would have something to show for it by now.

So did I.

[But, as usual, that doesn't seem to be their luck. He takes another swig of his water, although it's mostly for her sake.]

We'll figure it out, Clary. Are you sure you're okay?

[ she makes a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat, easy enough to mistake for an agreement when, in reality, she's becoming less and less convinced they'll stumble upon any information. more than deconstructed and limited amounts of intel, at any rate; even the most minute details have given her some hope, but it's not enough.

speaking of — ]

Yeah. I will be. [ her eyes drift from him to the window for a moment — closed and curtained — before they return. ] But I need you to stay away — at least for awhile.

[Yeah, that's reassuring. Bellamy sets the water aside and crosses his arms.]

Why?

[ if there was ever any stance that would convince her this isn't going to be an easy pitch to make to bellamy, it's that one. ]

Because. [ she would leave it at that if she were feeling more childish, but 'because' won't satisfy him. she doesn't need to own a manual on how bellamy blake behaves and functions to realize that for herself. ] It's obviously not safe for a number of reasons.

[ the infection takes priority in that regard, but her brother has never been a harmless threat. ]

Give me a list.

[He's expecting she's mostly worried about getting him sick, but he's spending enough time in the clinic with Clarke that it's a moot point.]

Or you could just listen to me instead.

[ fat chance, but it's worth pointing out in exasperation in an attempt to get him to back off the subject. ]

Clary, if you're worried about me catching whatever this is, staying away from you isn't going to keep it from happening.

That's not it.

[ in comparison, infecting him is a small worry in the grand scheme. she runs a hand through her hair, clearly frustrated, before exhaling heavily through her nose. ]

I have a target on my back. [ that's the easiest explanation, though she has her doubts that will be easily accepted and acknowledged, too. ] And I'd like for you to keep it off of yours. Is that so much to ask for?

[Clearly, Clary's already got his number, because that just gets Bellamy to lean forward, expression growing even more serious.]

What are you talking about?

[ in some circumstances, withholding information has been necessary; in others, it's been nothing but a hindrance. she understands and sympathizes that more than most after every secret she'd been fed by her mother unraveled, but that truth doesn't make it less harrowing to share what she knows.

she glowers for all of a moment (a handful of seconds, more precisely), but even conveying that disapproval and exasperation is brief. ]

I'm being followed.

[ short, sweet, and to the point. she doesn't add that she's convinced she's being followed, or that she feels like she's bound to go insane from it; even she can't handle acknowledging that much. ]

Someone from home showed up. He's — [ insane. psychotic. obsessed, to some degree. none of those feel fitting, and so she swallows them down and ignores the bitter taste in her mouth. ] Just let me handle it.

[In all honesty, if Clary was really insistent that she wanted to handle it, Bellamy would back off. He'd worry, but she's competent and smart and a hell of a lot stronger than he is, but this is an exception.]

Clary, look. I know you could throw me through that wall if you wanted, but you're sick.

[ she very much could, but she can't take pride in that fact in the current context. whatever infection that's been spreading has left her feeling remarkably listless, useless, and not even the reminder of her own strength versus that of bellamy's can lessen that frustration toward herself. ]

I don't think he wants to kill me.

[ would he, if he felt the compulsion? yes, she has very little doubt of that after knowing just what he's capable of, but want and would aren't the same thing. ]

You would be in more danger than I am, Bellamy.

[ because it's always been twisted games with johnathan. she knows that now, even if she'd wanted to believe better of him, once. ]

[She doesn't think he wants to kill her. Bellamy frowns, but it's clear concern rather than annoyance.]

Who the hell is this guy?

His name is Johnathan. [ but that isn't technically what bellamy asked, and johnathan had still been wearing sebastian's skin. it stands to reason disguising what he looks like beneath — burned, scarred and as twisted as his own mind — will continue to be hidden here, too. a long pause follows that before she adds, with just a tinge of bitterness, ] My brother.

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