A/N: And as of tomorrow, classes for this semester will be over. Now that I have this posted, I can buckle down and finish my final paper due tomorrow over not one, not two, but three different but related airplane incidents, two of which ended in crashes that killed everyone on board. Yay fpr death and destruction. Now you understand why I wrote this. I needed a little light and fluff in my life right now.

Chapter summary: In which Clary falls, Ragnor is mortified, Alaric snores, and Cape Idris is quaint.

2: A Little Fall in a Little Town

Her heart pounded in her chest when the light warmed her face and body. Her leotard and leggings clung to her like a soft second skin. The air around her was still, stirred only by her movement. This was the moment she had worked so hard for. This was the defining point of her relationship.

Clary launched herself from the platform, tucking her knees to her chin and flipping backwards twice before extending her body, hands open with finger spread. A pair of dark hands clasped her own and together both acrobats swung across the expanse of the stage. Clary used her forward motion to propel herself up onto the trapeze bar.

Her partner, Elias Dao, remained hanging upside down with his ankles securely hooked on the joints where the bar and cables met on the trapeze. He glided along gracefully with the backswing until they neared the highest point and their pendulum motion slowed right before changing directions to swing the other way. He allowed himself to ride the force of inertia, arching his back and reached behind him as far as he could so Clary could catch his hand once more.

She used her body strength anchored by the trapeze cable to remain stationary so Elias could use his grip on her to steady himself. He slipped one of his feet over the trapeze bar so one foot was on either side of the bar in a precarious balancing act. He curved his body in a smooth arch, tossing his head back at the apex of their swing.

Then the trapeze plunged the opposite direction and he spun, pulling himself upright on the bar close to Clary. They stood still, chest to chest on the moving trapeze. Clary's long ginger hair pulled back in a braided ponytail blew over his shoulder, the strands teasing his cheek. Time seemed to stand still as they rode up to the trapeze to the other side of the expanse.

Clary placed a hand on Elias chest and tilted her head back as if to kiss him. She leaned forward into what she expected was a loving embrace, a tender smile on her face. But Elias' eyes hardened and his face twisted to a mask of utter disgust. He stepped aside causing her to slip between his body and the cable of the trapeze only to fall from the trapeze towards the floor far below. She twisting her body mid-fall to stare up at Elias, reaching out to him, pleading with him to save her, fear etched on her sculpted features.

Elias' refused to look at her, dismissing her entirely. He would not save her. Her heart stuttered in despair and her breath left her. She closed her eyes embracing the darkness of the abyss...

And bounced lightly on the safety net below.

"Fabulous," Magnus cheered enthusiastically, clapping like a proud teacher. "Do that again for the show this weekend and I'll buy you a beer."

"I'm not twenty-one yet," Clary joked as she sat up on the net, untangling herself and giggling. She loved the freedom of free fall. It always gave her an adrenaline rush that left her shaking and giddy.

"No, but your eighteen. That's close enough," Magnus replied easily, winking for good measure.

Clary laughed and clamored over the net to the ladder, trying to control her shaking as her arms and legs tingled with energy. She could run a marathon right now or fly on invisible wings. Or just fly without wings. She had finally nailed the maneuver. It had taken her quite a few tries to grab Elias' hand on queue resulting in watching him fall into this very net. It had been a frustrating few weeks during the choreography stage.

"Elias!" Ragnor hollered over the noise of the hell week practice. "Try glaring at Clary when she falls next time but look away when she turns to you. Make it clear you're dismissing her. Remember, she cheated on you so your killing her. She means nothing to you anymore."

Elias nodded and waved. "Got it."

Magnus skipped up to his cute little protégé and held out his arms for Clary to hop in. He was ready for all of Clary's lightweight energetic self to launch at him and hook her legs around his waist. He hugged her tight and spun her around laughing with joy. He was so proud of her. This was what he had seen in her when she had first come to them two years ago. She had grown in skill and prowess. This would be her debut as a main character. If she passed the test, which he knew she would, then the plan was for her to co-star with him in their next performance.

"So," he said, finally setting her back on the ground and stepping back to look at her. There was a flush in her pale cheeks and her moss eyes glowed with joy. "How do you feel? This is your first main part since you joined out little family. And first death, I might add. So dramatic."

"Dying is a glorious thing indeed," Clary sang with a theatrical sigh. "I don't think I've ever died with such elegance before."

"Believe me," Magnus said, leaning close as if to share a secret but not bothering to lower his voice, "it's not as hyped up as every makes it out to be. You die once, you've died once. I'll make sure to resurrect you each time. Wouldn't do to stay dead. Burial is a pain in the butt."

"Not to mention expensive," Ragnor chimed in. He ignored Magnus' eye roll in favor of smiling at Clary. "Well done. Just remember your queue to fall and you'll land perfectly in the net below stage." Clary nodded. "Don't want our newest member to break a leg on her first big performance as a main, now do we?" he teased.

Clary pretended to think it over. "I don't know," she said. "I'd be more memorable."

Ragnor's eyes widened in horror. "I won't have any memorable incidents like that in this troupe," he declared. "Not on my watch." He turned back to the other acrobats on the set. "Alright everyone, take a break," he called. "We'll meet back here at two sharp to run the forty thieves segment once more straight through. Then we'll do the whole show from the top. Hopefully, we'll get through this before ten tonight so you can all go home and get a good night's sleep."

"I don't remember the last time I had a good night's sleep," a voice said from behind Ragnor, startling him so badly he hopped and squealed pathetically. Magnus threw his head and howled with laughter while the culprit responsible for the hubbub merely smirked. "Really Rags?" the dark skinned woman said. "You still can't hear me coming? Even after all these years?" She sighed loudly as Ragnor attempted to recover his dignity. "I'm so disappointed."

She turned to Clary and pulled her into a hug. "Well done, Clarissa," she said. "I'm so proud of you sweetie."

"Thanks Cat," Clary said. "Magnus and I were just discussing the pros and cons of dying. You have an opinion? Yay or nay?"

"Really?" Catarina said glancing at her still cackling friend. She huffed. "Well, I suppose a pro would be that it only happens once. Usually," she added as an afterthought. "Hopefully."

"Catarina Loss, do not encourage them," Ragnor begged. "Be the adult here, please."

"A con would be that it's a bit permanent," Catarina continued, pretending Ragnor wasn't there. She flipped her long black braids over her shoulder. Well aware that doing so meant they smacked Ragnor squarely in the face. "Also," she added over her companions' giggling, ,"no more trampolines." Her face collapsed in a mask of despair. "Now that would be a tragedy indeed."

"Yes, yes, tragedy my ass," Ragnor drawled, scratching his nose to remove the sensation of hair and hair oils from it. "Would you lot care to continue this morbid and no doubt fascinating conversation somewhere else?"

"I believe the word you meant was 'mortis,' dear Rags," Magnus said, fighting hard to maintain a straight face.

Ragnor did not dignify that particular interjection with a response, aside from a rather patronizing glare. "I may have been worded that a suggestion, but I think you all know an order when you hear one," he said. "As much as I love you all, I have better things to do then discuss death. Particularly when the subject is so...meh."

"Meh?" Clary mimicked, sticking out her tongue to emphasize her point.

"Yes," Ragnor replied haughtily. "Meh. Honestly, don't you young people ever talk about something more enjoyable?"

"Like what?" Clary demanded, crossing her arms and leaning her weight on her hip. Magnus copied her pose so they were mirror reflections of each other. Catarina snorted and stuck her face between her friends' and rested her chin on their touching shoulder making it difficult for the three of them not to devolve into laughter.

"Like, well, you know, um." Ragnor shifted awkwardly, struggling for words. "Cat videos?" he offered weakly.

Magnus quickly covered his mouth with his hand and hurried away but not before his laughter was heard ringing through the stage. Ragnor's face turned thunderous. "Magnus Bane!" he hollered. "Control yourself or I will drag you to my office and spank the living daylights out of you."

"Oh Ragnor," Magnus said, pausing in his flight to lean on a nearby support pole suggestively. He glanced over his shoulder with a sultry grin. "I had no idea you were interested in me that way." He looped a leg around the pole and winked. "All you ever had to do was ask."

Ragnor's face burned bright red as he sputtered and stuttered in annoyed amusement. His companions were nowhere near as subtle. Clary was beside herself with laughter. She actually ended up clutching her now cramping side and leaning on Catarina heavily who was herself guffawing loudly. Even the usually morose Elias had a smile on his face as he climbed down the ladder from the trapeze platform far above and joined them.

"You walked right into that one, you know," Elias said with a sympathetic look to his director.

Ragnor huffed, straightened his shirt collar and marched off to his office, muttering under his breath the whole way.

"Well, the old man got one thing right," Catarina said. "I need a good cup of coffee or I swear I'm going to collapse. Care to join me?"

Clary's smile drooped. "I can't actually," she said. "I'm going to take a nap instead. I have the closing shift again tonight."

Catarina clucked and shook her head. "As much as I understand the need for money, they sure work you like a dog over there," she said. "You take care then. I'll send Magnus to come wake you when we're ready to start back."

"Thanks," Clary said and hurried off to the lounge in the girl's locker room.

"She's improved," Elias said, watching his young costar leave. "Faster than I thought she would."

"She does have a habit of being an overachiever," Catarina agreed. Her dark almond shaped eyes watched with a sigh Clary's long ginger ponytail bounced gaily as she moved. "How's the financial situation?" she asked softly.

Elias pressed his lips together in a thin line. "Magnus is handling it," he said, glancing around furtively for potential eavesdroppers.

"Elias," Catarina said. Her gaze was gentle but stern.

The young acrobat sighed in defeat. "The sales have dropped drastically," he said slowly. "We'll barely break even."

Catarina's gaze softened and she nodded sadly. "Does Magnus know?" she asked.

Elias nodded. "Yeah. At this rate, another performance after this may not be financially feasible. We're already being paid minimum wage. Most of us have side jobs, like Clary, but if we still aren't able to make ends meet I..." He shrugged. "I think people will start leaving."

Catarina nodded. She understood but it still broke her heart. Magnus didn't deserve this. He had poured his heart and soul into the Company. It was his home, his family. If he lost it, Catarina wasn't sure he would survive the shock.

There were a couple futons set up for the exhausted performers and techies to snag a quick snap or two on. Two of the four were already occupied when Clary arrived. She untied and kicked off her shoes and rolled up her leggings, sighing in relief when the cooler air finally touched her skin. Then she collapsed limply on the nearest empty futon so her face buried itself in the cushion with a grunt. A soft chuckle echoed from one of the two occupied which she ignored in favor of sinking comfortably into the cushion.

Something cold and wet clonked solidly on her back, startling her. She bolted up knocking whatever it was onto the cushion next to her. A tired laugh escaped her when she recognized the item as a water bottle. She unscrewed the top and gulped down the blessed liquid in relief. It tasted amazing and it was almost empty when she finally felt satisfied.

"Thirsty much?"

Clary flushed from more then exertion and tossed the mostly empty back over to the other person's waiting hand. "Sorry 'bout that," she said, settling back down on the futon so her head rested on her folded arms.

"No worries," the guy Clary now recognized as Alaric said with a grin. He yawned and shifted to a more comfortable position. "Taking advantage of downtime when you get it. Sounds good to me."

She smiled and allowed her eyes to close. She had to get enough sleep to be ready for rehearsal this afternoon, pull her shift at the campus library until one in the morning, then crash hard. Hell week was always horrid on her sleep schedule. Not that she actually had a sleep schedule but that was beside the point. It was hard juggling a college, her acrobatics, and her job.

Her only saving grace was that her job was an on-campus job that was well aware of her student status so they could work around her schedule, within reason of course. She usually worked the night shifts at the library because no one else wanted them. Most people who came to the library that late were there to sleep or study anyway so they didn't make a ruckus. Clary would simply sit at one of the three employee computers scattered across the first floor of the library waiting for someone to come up and ask for help with one of the public use computers, the printer, where to find a book, or to rent some dry erase markers for the white boards.

The library had become her haven lately. It was open twenty-four hours early Monday morning through late Friday evening then only staying open from nine to nine on Saturday and ten to six on Sunday. When it came time for Final Exams, the library was open twenty-four hours straight through the week. Students used the first floor for group study session in the cubicles made of dry erase boards and chairs, use one of the several rows of computers, or grab a cup of coffee from the mini Java Script café right by the entrance and chill. The second floor was the study floor. Study rooms filled the majority of the floor leaving the rest of the space to the scattered tables and chairs. Only whispering was allowed on that floor.

The third floor was a blessing Clary would never cease to enjoy. It was the quiet floor; not talking or whispering whatsoever unless you wanted to be glared into oblivion by the other studious occupants in the vicinity. There were study rooms on that floor too but they were mostly used by the hardcore studiers who all but lived in the library. Study groups tended to stick to the second floor where the bigger rooms were while the study rooms on the third floor were typically occupied by individuals or duos.

The third floor had become Clary's escape. She did almost everything there including sleep. She used the study room as a quiet place to meditate, study, and sleep. She had originally opted to live off campus with the Downworlders Company but they all lived in a little community of tiny homes by the stage and with so many people in such close proximity, it was quite simply too loud.

Also the wifi there sucked and homework these days required a good wifi connection so she had to find an alternative. It was too late to sign up for student housing, either on campus or off, and she refused to live at her mother's. She loved her mom to pieces but quite frankly she wanted to be independent. So she had all but taken up residence at the campus library.

She knew she wasn't the only student to do so. There were at least three other students who had picked up the same habit for various reasons. They were all aware of each other and kept their secret.

On the weekends when the library was closed or if she was sick and tired of the place, which happened sometimes, she would crash at Magnus's flat near the center of their little waterfront town. It was only a block or two from her mom's quaint little place near the edge of town. Magnus' place owned the whole building he lived in from his aunt's will or something like that but stuck to the top floor. He had the first floor converted to a café so a small, local start-up business could attempt to get a foothold in the community. He waved their rent until they were on their feet and now only charged the minimum.

That little café was now the thriving Java Script which now enjoyed its newest café location in the college campus. Thus, the circle went round. The community supported the school and the acrobats of the Imaginarium stage, the Imaginarium supported the community by provided internships and experience to the students of the college and entertainment to the attendees, and the college brought people from farther out into their community and encouraged an open exchange of learning and talent. Cape Idris thrived on this circle.

Cape Idris was Clary's home. It was the Downworlds' home. It was the Cape Idris Institute of Arts and Science's home. This little town had always been their home. It was nowhere near perfect. No New England town was. But it was certainly close. Clary's loved it all the same. Too bad it wouldn't last.

"Wake up lazy bones!" Raphael's voice hollered into the room, jolting her and Alaric awake. The other sleeper must have woken up and left before Raphael's loud arrival.

Clary was too surprised to laugh at Alaric who flailed and flopped onto the floor in his surprise. She pushed herself up to see Raphael smiling at Alaric's mishap without shame. He grinned at her and said, "Get up sleeping beauty." Clary gave him an unimpressed look which he disregarded like water off a duck's back. "We're doing another run through. Sleep later work now. All of you," he added specifically at poor Alaric who was now glaring at him.

"You're evil," Alaric grumbled.

Raphael winked. "At least I don't snore like a wolf's growl," he jabbed.

"Vampire," Alaric sniped.

"Puppy," Raphael shot back before vanishing out the door and down the hall back to the stage.

Clary gave Alaric a sympathetic smile. "Come on," she said. "Let's head out before they send Cat."

Alaric groaned but stood and stretched. "I'm up," he muttered, yawning and scratching his head as he followed Clary out of the room. "I'm up."