Disclaimer: -glare- I don't own The Mortal Instruments.

Funambulism

The look on his face was already beyond the most mysterious image she'd seen, and while she tried to concentrate on the task at hand, she couldn't help but nibble her lip at the gaze he was sending her. It didn't seem innocent at all. Then she backtracked, searching in the back of her head for something that made more sense . . . He was Jace. When was he ever innocent?

"Jace," she called to him, letting out a sharp breath when she wobbled on her step. "Jace, is this really training?"

"Why don't you think it is?" he yelled back, a suspicious smirk touching the corner of his mouth.

Clary frowned, and flailed her arms in panic when she leaned too far to the side. Her legs were already turning into something not unlike rubber, or mush, and she quickly crouched down slightly and bent forward. "I hate it when you answer my question with a question."

"No, you don't," Jace said, "you find it endearing." Abruptly, he crossed his arms and laid a fist to his chin. "Wait, haven't we been in this conversation before?"

"Jace, please, this is not training," Clary sighed out, exasperated. "You're just making fun of me. Can I come down?"

"What makes you think this isn't training?" Jace inquired again, another infuriating smirk on his lips. "Clary, balance can be everything."

"But-"

"Oh, dear Lord Raziel, Jace, what do you think you're doing?" Alec and Isabelle walked in, with Izzy looking like she had just saw Jace on his head on a tricycle. Alec looked rather annoyed. "I will tell Mother; this is not the way you should train someone."

"Clary's not complaining."

The red-head looked betrayed. "Jace!"

"Well, I must say this was quite the joke," Isabelle said, a silly grin on her face as her eyes twinkled up at Clary. "You can get off the rope now, Clary, I'll kick Jace's ass with you."

Ah, Izzy. I'm sure Clary would appreciate that. That is why you shouldn't let the infamous Jace Herondale be your trainer. See, this is another thing he does with her besides making out.

Anyway, like I said last chapter, I will translate what Jem said to Tessa in the teaser of Clockwork Prince.

Contrary to popular belief, "Ni hen piao liang" is not the 100% right translation for "You are very beautiful". "Piao Liang" actually means, "pretty". "Mei li" is, "beautiful". So Jem's compliment to her was, "You are very pretty". That's still very sweet of him.

Aw, shucks, Jem. You really know how to make a lady blush.

Now that we got that cleared out, I'm feeling so much better. I actually googled up what that sentence meant, and many people said "piao liang" is "beautiful". It is; pretty is quite beautiful. I'm just throwin' that out there and teaching you guys some Chinese. I DIDN'T WRITE THIS TO MAKE IT SEEM LIKE I'M THE BEST, OR SHOWING OFF. I thought you guys might like to learn some new things, right? Yay for learning stuff!

And someone asked me last chapter whose team I'm on from the Infernal Devices. So . . . Is it possible for me to say that I'm on both? I mean, I've always liked the cool, blunt, witty, quick-mouthed (is that a word?) kind of guy, but Jem is truly the perfect man . . . IF he wasn't addicted to, erm, drugs. Yet, so? Everyone has flaws. I truly love both Jem and Will equally. Although Jem currently belongs to my friend, Niry Kacille, who is also my "daughter", and Maggie, my "mom" . . . How wrong is that?

Okay! So I've actually got a couple really short teasers for the next few chapters. But I was also just wondering: Do some of you not like teasers? I'm just putting some on here because I thought you guys might like it . . . Doesn't it make you want to read the series even more?