Drapetomania | Shadowhunters [Jace Wayland]

33; Idris

A gentle glow from the bright sky above had made itself present in the waters of Idris, the waves lightly lapping over each other. Despite the waters moving in a calm manner, silent and serene, the brown haired girl was thrashing underwater, her eyes opening to look up at the light. When she had jumped into the portal, drowning wasn't the first thing she expected. She tried to calm herself and brought up her arms, swimming towards the surface of the water, kicking her legs lightly behind her. 

Getting closer and closer, she swam faster and gasped loudly, reaching the surface. Her vision was blinded by her wet hair, which she quickly pushed it back, blinking her eyes and looking around. She grunted as her wet clothes were pulling her back into the water. Hearing the splash of water, she looked near her to find Jace helping Clary onto land, the redhead sputtering and coughing.

With a concerned look, Jace let go of her as she sat on land and looked around for Tris. Relief was evident in his face as he found her, swimming towards him already. When the duo got on land, he glanced at her. "You okay?"

Tris only nodded, meeting his gaze. He quickly understood what she wanted to say: Are you okay? He smiled, nodding back at her. That reassured her and she gathered herself as Jace asked Clary if she was all right, which she said that she was. The trio looked around, finding themselves to be in a forest as they had just begun comprehending their surroundings.

The brunette squinted her eyes as she looked up, sunrays parting as they shone through the leaves of the trees. Tall mountains surrounded them and if they looked ahead hard enough, they could see the city. Jace puffed his cheeks, cringing slightly when he wiped his hands on his wet jeans. "Welcome to Idris."

The group had begun walking now, dried up leaves that previously fell from the trees crunching beneath their feet. Jace glanced to Clary, shaking his head. "I still can't believe you made a Portal rune."

"You've said that already," Clary pointed out.

The blonde sighed. "You don't understand. It took warlocks thousands of years to learn how to use Portals. And you just improvised one." He shrugged, looking to Tris. She seemed to not be listening, in her own thoughts. He frowned. "I wanna get out of here before dark. These woods are home to several packs of notoriously feral werewolves."

"Valentine certainly has interesting ideas about what's kid-friendly," the red head quipped, her eyes rolling at the mention of her evil father.

Jace scoffed and shook his head. "Yeah, well, even he wouldn't let me go near the lake."

Clary gasped loudly, snapping Tris out of the previous state she was in. Jace noticed, but decided not to say anything as he watched the red headed girl leaning against a tree. Tris' brows furrowed, confusion etched onto her face. "You okay?"

She only nodded, pushing herself back up to her feet. "Yeah, I'm fine."

As they continued walking, Jace turned to Clary. "You know, an iratze might be able to help you out with that," he advised.

Clary checked her pockets and looked up, disappointed. "I don't have my stele. I must have dropped it when I hit the water." She looked at him, eyes hopeful.

Jace raised his hands in defense, rolling his eyes. "Don't look at me. I left mine in New York. Someone pulled me through the Portal before I had time to get it."

The girl looked to Tris and the brunette slightly scowled. "Are you slowly losing braincells, carrot? I haven't touched a stele in my entire life."

Jace snorted a laugh, making Tris smile a little as well. Clary scoffed, shaking her head. "You know what? It's okay. I mean, we don't even need a stele. You can activate runes without them, right?"

Jace winced, slightly tilting his head. "Yeah, I mean, you know, theoretically..."

Clary squinted at him. "And you were giving me crap about my Portal."

"I didn't say I couldn't do it." 

Tris looked to Clary, who held her forehead, seemingly dizzy. The redhead gathered herself, stopping her footsteps and blinking her eyes a few times. Clearing her throat, she avoided the gaze of the pair. "Yeah, on second thought, my stele might actually come in handy. We should head back to the lake and see if we can find it."

Promptly, they turn around, Clary in front of the duo that were walking side by side. Jace glanced to Tris. "Something been bothering you?"

The question caught her off-guard, as she stuttered a little. "Uh, no. I'm fine."

He shook his head, his voice small and quiet. "You know you can tell me, right? You don't have to but if you did, maybe I could help?"

"I'm fine, Jace," Tris let out a strained laugh. "I'm just a little worried."

"Why?"

"Because of Simon." Tris looked to him, watching his face contort in confusion. "He made a promise that he would call me in the morning. It's noon, and I still have no phone call." She puffed her cheeks, breathing out. "It's probably nothing, maybe I'm worrying for no reason, I don't know."

Jace opened his mouth to speak but Tris beat him to it, her voice full of worry. "Jace, where's Clary?"

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