"What?" Jem's face had gone white, his hand frozen against his bloodied head.
"Be my parabatai." Will repeated, his blue eyes blazing with anticipation.
"I can't Will, I should not...I couldn't." Each word was painful, pulled reluctantly out of Jem. He wanted nothing more than to say yes, but with his illness, it would not be fair. Still, Will's gaze was still strong, determination in every word.
"James. I never thought I would find someone to be my friend, much less my parabatai."
"William." Jem whispered, looking down at the floor. "I am honored, but I wish for more for you. I cannot be there like parabatai should, I will not live for much longer than 2 years, 3 if I'm lucky. If you have any heart, any hope for yourself, do not make such a commitment with someone like me."
"Someone like you? That's why I want you to be my parabatai. I don't care about your illness." Will sighed before glancing slyly in Jem's direction. "I challenge you."
"To what?" Jem looked up, his eyes gleaming.
"To a longsword fight. If I win, you become my parabatai. If I lose, which I sincerely doubt, you are free from my wrath."
"Your wrath? I really do despise your ways, Will." Jem smiled crookedly, his arms crossed. What could possibly go wrong? "I'll do it."
~~ooo~~
"You really could have gone easier on me." Jem groaned, rubbing his arm. "I didn't know you were going to be that wild."
Will just looked at Jem triumphantly, his black hair pasted to his forehead with sweat. He tossed his longsword to the side with a loud clang. Jem, limping and dirty, opened the training room door, gasping at the fresh, cool air. Jem was disappointed he didn't win, but mostly, he was scared. Scared that he would have to desert Will, and scared that he couldn't support him.
As Jem turned his head to look behind him, a stinging pain shot up Jem's head. The cut above his ear had opened again, probably because of his short, but intense battle with Will. Small beads of blood dripped down his face, staining the white cotton of his shirt.
"In Raziel's name, what happened to you, James?" Charlotte asked as they neared the living room. Her eyes were worried, her fingers tentatively sliding the matted hair from off Jem's cut. A tall man stood behind her, his hair like a flame, wild and unruly. Fiddling self consciously with his shirtsleeves, the man just stood in silence.
"Go away Charlotte. You're interrupting me and my future parabatai." Will snapped, glaring at Charlotte.
"Parabatai?" Charlotte echoed, drawing back. Her expression was mutely excited, glad that Will had finally found a friend...or a training target. She glanced in confusion from the large cut above Jem's ear, to the exasperated look on Will's face.
"Yes. What's so startling about that?" Will pulled Jem back, still scowling.
"You want to become parabatai?"
"That's what I just said. By the Angel, Charlotte. It's not like we are engaged or anything." Will scoffed, stalking towards his room with Jem's wrist gripped in his hand.
"Oh, I sure hope we are not engaged. I don't think you would be the best looking in a dress." Jem ducked down, hiding a grin that spread across his face. Will just rolled his eyes, shoving a damp cloth in Jem's hand. Drawing a stele from his pocket, Will pressed it into Jem's wrist.
"Hold still." Will gritted through his teeth as he drew an iratze. By then, he had become quite adept at drawing iratzes, mainly because he used them often.
"Who was that in the room?" Jem inquired with curiosity, pulling his arm back from Will's grasp.
"Charlottes fiancé, Henry. He's useless...And he set me on fire once." Will hissed. His face was sour with disgust as he crossed his arms.
"Do you like anyone here...Besides me?" Jem sat down on the edge of a chair, looking around at Will's room. He had scarcely been in Will's room since he came to the institute, and each time it seemed to get messier. Books were scattered across the floor, dirty weapons thrown carelessly across the floor, and old clothes draped over the end of his bed.
"Thomas is okay." Will shrugged placidly. "But he's a Mundie."
"Why do you hate Charlotte so much?"
"She worries too much. She acts like I'm a little kid and I'm not a child anymore-"
"Only kids say that." Jem interrupted, wiping the side of his head with the towel. He picked up a piece of paper off the ground, squinting to make out the scribbled handwriting. "This is awful. Still practicing your poetry?"
"Not practicing, perfecting." Will snatched the paper from Jem's hand, throwing it behind him. "I found it quite ethereal."
"You rhymed malicious with malicious 3 times and duck with duck 4 times. I think that hardly counts as poetry. You know I've never been one for poetry anyway."
"That's because you are busy with your musical things."
"William, if you haven't noticed, I have a great deal of admiration and respect for the violin. In fact, many people do...some more than me."
"That's not admiration, that's obsession." Will remarked, flicking a clod of dirt off his knee. Jem rolled his eyes. The corner of Jem's mouth twitched, a quirk Will quickly learned was his way of expressing amusement.
"Why did you ask me to be your parabatai?" Jem asked suddenly. Will looked at him in surprise.
"I don't know. I feel like I can trust you more than anyone else." Shrugging slightly, Will looked down at his hands, tapping them on the floor. "You understand me, though I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not...But you don't mind my impetuousness and my constant display of words of wisdom."
"Words of wisdom? I didn't know that such a thing existed in your vocabulary. If you have wisdom, that would be quite a surprise to me."
"Who do you think invented wisdom?" Will countered, flashing Jem a mischievous smile. "I always have words of wisdom at the ready."
"Oh really? Like what?"
"Never!" Will announced, smirking in the pale light. "Trust a duck."