Not a very dynamic chapter, but here it is nonetheless. It was supposed to have 3 different parts with 3 sets of characters, but then I couldn't think of anything interesting hahaha so it's just one section hahaha. Sorry if there are typos!

gentle thoughts and quiet nights

Naya thinks that it's nice sometimes to just sit on the porch after a long day of training, having pushed Devi into sparring with her for a few hours. Her hand stings and is slightly blistered from the weight of her sabiki, but it's an accomplished sort of feeling, as if she is happier to have evidence of her effort than to have nothing in her favour at all. She wins most of their duels, teasing him through their fights. While he's decent and quick, she's relentless and scrappier, managing to catch him off guard. It helps that he's far-sighted, misjudging the depth of his swipes by a mere centimeter, but enough for her to parry in response and jab at him. They stop before either of them get too scraped up, giving each other iratzes just to ensure they don't wake up with bruises from where they've gotten too rough in their training, having blocked the aches out with adrenaline.

It's the first time she's realized that he's taller by a noticeable amount, which annoys her inexplicably. He's all awkward height and legs, having lost the childish softness in his face as he pushes the end of adolescence. From time to time, she wishes she got to grow up like he did, even if he holed himself up in his room to become the self-proclaimed loner of his family. She's lived mostly by herself for a good portion of her life, looked after by tutors and maids hired by her parents. When she did see her family, it was for holidays or when Clave business was few and far between, resulting in a few lectures of encouragement to think about her future in Alicante. She can't see herself bound entirely to politics and meetings, and it wouldn't be fair to make her parabatai deal with a job like that. She thinks they're starting to get old enough to make their own decisions, maybe even move out when they feel too stifled, but there's still a little bit of apprehension within her.

"I'm going to have fifty mosquito bites tomorrow," Devi complains, sinking further into his hoodie with his hands tucked inside the pockets. "They think I'm tasty, honestly, and I don't know how to convince them I'm not."

She stretches her legs down the steps of the porch, laughing at his remarks. "I offered the peppermint lotion. It really works, I'm telling you."

"It's too greasy," he says as an excuse, wrinkling his nose. Though she doesn't reply, she grins at his words, finding him hard-headed at times, even if he's a pushover with his family. They're all decent and nice people who've welcomed her in, but he's less ambitious than they are, choosing to focus on his own pursuits and their friendship than on any larger, grander goal.

The weather's cool that night and they're okay with sitting in silence, having talked about most of the things concerning them throughout the day. He told her about a new crossbow scope coming from Alicante that he'd bought, excited about the prospect of using it for far-off targets. "Logically speaking," he'd said, as if feeling inclined to justify the purchase, "it would be good to be able to better scope out areas of concern before rushing in." She'd rolled her eyes in response, thinking she'd much rather just rush in and deal with the issues like that, but if he was excited, then she would encourage it.

Truth be told, she's tired and a little ready to go to bed, but she's been his friend and parabatai long enough to know that if she leaves now, he'll likely stay up far past midnight having anxiety over random things he makes up. It's gotten a little worse as he's gotten older, but it's something she's used to him talking about. It's not like she doesn't worry about things, but she still gets her sleep and pushes off her anxieties to other times. Plus, he somehow manages to encourage her in some regards, which eases her mind. He doesn't know about or understand everything, but it's still better than having no one to hash things out with. Sometimes she feels like she had to grow up too fast in some aspects, so she thinks having someone her own age around all the time is good for her.

"...Sorry you're still here," he says sleepily, drawing himself from his stupor and getting her attention again. "I know it's pretty late."

"It's okay. I like sitting out here with you," she replies, her eyes gazing into the darkness of the countryside. "I gotta stay on good terms with you and your family to get good food, anyway."

It's as if she can't say something sincere without pairing it with a remark of jest. Like it's too difficult to be entirely serious about her affection or openness just in case it's not right or welcome, even if this is Devi she's talking to. Besides, he still gives a slight smile in response, pushing himself up slowly to stand.

"I'll walk you home," he concludes, but she's faster to catch his hand to tug him back down beside her, shaking her head.

"Don't worry about it," she says easily and lets go of his hand, knowing that she doesn't want to have to go back to her large, vacant manor and fill the silence with some semblance of company. "Let's sit out here a little longer."

"M'kay." Even if he doesn't say it, he seems glad that she isn't in any rush to leave. She looks over at him and he's no longer heavy-lidded and dazed, staring out into the field instead. His hands are fidgeting, rubbing his palm with the pad of his thumb. Biting the inside of his lip. Eyebrows just slightly furrowed.

Touching his arm lightly, she angles herself towards him. "What's on your mind?"

"Not sure," he says, and sounds honest enough for her to believe it. "I guess I'm just thinking about the future..."

"As in...Shadowhunting? Getting old? Getting married?" she lists off, careful to keep the seriousness out of her voice for as long as she can. "How long it'll take for us to get the certified badass badge from the Clave?"

"That's...not a thing."

"But it should be," she argues, pushing his shoulder lightly with her own. "I think I'd get it. Maybe you'd get an honorary one too, for having such a cool parabatai."

That comment elicits a reluctant smile and a shake of his head, but he still looks a little discontent. "Nah...I guess I was more thinking about where we might be in ten or so years. It's not like we'll stay in this place forever, and it's not like...we'll have the same aspirations in the next decade. I guess it's just...scary. Not knowing the future, I mean."

"Well, it'll be with me, obviously. I should tell you that being my parabatai is the next best thing to marrying me, but that spouse spot will probably be taken by whichever third or fourth cousin my parents try to marry me off to," she remarks, unwilling to seriously contemplate what might lie ahead of her, as if she's not sure it'll add up to anything substantial enough. "Then we're going to have to run off and change our identities and live in the mountains as two spinsters."

"Pretty sure that's just the term for unmarried women," Devi quips unhelpfully, earning a gentle poke in his side.

"The point is that I'm gonna be there leading us into battle whatever the future might hold," she says, finally allowing just a hint of sincerity in her tone. "You're my family, really...And you'll be doing important paperwork for the both of us."

He frowns, glancing over at her. "Do I get a choice in this matter?"

Reaching over, she flicks an eyelash from his cheek, not wanting him to rub it into his eyes. "Do you trust me with the paperwork?"

Even if she mostly answers his worries with jest, he seems satisfied enough, leaning back on his hands and laughing at the thought. It's a conversation averted for a later time, and she's content with that for now. "No, no. I guess you're right."