I've had a few questions about how far I'm taking Balancing Act in Clary's life, so I thought I'd let you all know that I'm going to take it right through to the end of Bloodhound. Well, that's the plan at the moment, anyway, I'll see if Mastiff gives me anything which inspires me to take it further. :)

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Tom grinned when he saw the figure sitting by the riverbank. "I thought I might find you here. Your da said he thought you'd gone out."

Clary gave a half-hearted smile as he sat down beside her. "I finally escaped."

"What do you mean?"

Clary fiddled with a blade of grass. "It's Mother. She seems to think that by making me do enough sarden boring things around the house, she can cure me of wanting to be a Dog."

"Did she actually say that? Maybe she just genuinely needs help?"

"She pretty much said so. And she doesn't make Rosalind do any of it, because sarden Rosalind's already perfect at all of it and Mother says I should know how to do stupid things like embroidery for when I give up the nonsense of being a Dog and I'm ready to become a proper wife like her." She crossed her arms and scowled. "I told her I'm not getting married and she makes me do it all anyway."

Tom lay back on the grass. "Maybe you'll find some of it helpful anyway," he suggested. "And you might get married, you never know."

"I won't find it helpful and I'm not getting married," Clary insisted.

"How do you know? What if you fall in love?"

Clary snorted. "Don't be ridiculous, I'm going to be a Dog. Nobody's going to want to marry me and I don't care."

Tom shrugged. "You never know. There's no harm in keeping an open mind."

Clary only muttered something under her breath and plucked at the grass.

Tom watched her for several long minutes as she sat frowning in silence. "What's wrong?" he asked. "You're brooding about something other than your mother. Otherwise you'd just be angry at her, not…gloomy like this."

"I'm fine."

"Honestly? You don't seem like it."

She let out a loud huff. "It's just Rosalind, there's no need to get yourself all worked up and poking your nose in. Just mind your own sarden business," she snapped.

Tom waited quietly for a few moments before speaking. "You seem pretty upset," he pointed out. "You usually don't mind what she says at all. What's she done?"

"Nothing."

"People don't get upset over nothing. Especially not you."

Clary hesitated, then tucked her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Rosalind said I was annoying and ugly, and he laughed."

Tom frowned in confusion. "Who's 'he'?"

"It doesn't matter," she snapped.

"Klee?"

"No, you big looby." She sighed. "Joss Tanner."

"Oh." Tom had heard his name before; in fact, he'd heard Clary and Leena giggling about him before. Well, he'd heard Leena giggling to Clary about him…Clary wasn't the giggly type at all. But just because Clary hadn't been giggling too didn't mean she didn't fancy this Joss Tanner. Tom frowned. "Do you…you know, like him?" he asked cautiously.

"Pox rot you, I told you to mind your own sarden business!" Clary's face had gone bright red, which answered Tom's question for him. "I wish I'd never told you anything."

"You want to know what I think?"

"No, just keep your gob shut."

Tom rolled out of her reach and grinned at her. "I think he's not worth your time. I think he's a gormless scummernob and he doesn't even deserve one moment of your brooding over him."

Clary fiddled with the hem of her dress. "I know."

"Well then why are you so gloomy about it?"

She turned to glare at him. "Because it's not that easy to just stop."

"Poor Clary." Tom sat up and scooted over to her, and wrapped a big arm around her shoulders. She didn't shrug him off or push him away, so Tom took that as a good sign. "It's all very well finding a boy who looks handsome," he told her, "but you have to find somebody who's a nice person as well as looking handsome."

She did shove him away now. "I'm not a looby." She managed to stop herself from making a nasty comment about Hanna.

"I know, I'm just checking. I'd say the same to Leena, you know, if she was in the same situation."

Clary stayed silent, thinking. "I wish I had a big brother like you," she said finally.

Tom stared at her before grinning broadly. "I think that's about the best compliment you've ever given me." He wrapped his arm around her again. "So do I, but I think we're doing pretty well as friends too though, aren't we?"

Clary nodded. "I wish you were my brother instead of Rosalind though."

"Has she been especially bad since the betrothal was broken off?"

Clary turned to stare at him. "What?"

"Oh," he said. "Mama told me that she'd heard that Rosalind's betrothed ran off with another girl, but that must be wrong."

"It's probably true, it's just that nobody bothers telling me anything," Clary replied. "Rosalind only really causes arguments in our family…especially with me. I don't care about all the poxy details of her betrothal anyway."

"Well, I bet this betrothal mess makes you glad you're not getting married."

Clary grinned. "Definitely."