Clary sat in her dark room, now feeling chilly. Sweat ran down the side of her face, falling on the hard, wooden floor. She opened her eyes to find that she had been dreaming, and then opened the tinted window to get some fresh air. She had broken out in a sweat for no apparent reason; her dream had been sweet and everything she dreamed of, but she didn't know just how much of it had been a dream, or how much was real.

Scrambling to her shaking feet, she padded, barefooted, to the living room. And to her surprise, Ash lay there on the sofa, his chest heaving up and down slowly, his breathing steady and calm, as if he had no care in the world. She trotted to the sofa, leaning on the edge, and stared at his silver hair. It seemed to glow in the dim light, and she let herself smile softly. Finally comforted that he was there, Clary got up and went back to her room, and slept the rest of the night in ease.

The next morning, Clary woke up to the familiar scent of bacon and eggs, and yawned and stretched her arms. Sitting up to stare blankly at the walls, she got up and changed into her everyday clothes and went to the kitchen. As expected, Ash was seated on one of the tall wooden chairs, his face hidden behind a book.

Chuckling to herself, Clary went to his shoulder and shouted:

"Boo!" And Ash, startled, almost dropped his book. After steadying himself, he turned around to glare at her playfully.

"Very funny, princess," was his response, setting down the blue covered book on the table. Clary rolled her eyes at the nickname, and sat down facing his pale face. He seemed to have read her expression, and asked, "Are you okay? Did you sleep badly last night?" She gave him a nervous chuckle, and glanced around.

"Yeah." Ash, seeming unimpressed, tapped his fingernails on the wooden table impatiently.

"And?"

"Nothing!" Clary answered quickly, and Ash narrowed his blue eyes so tightly that she had to avert her eyes in nervousness. She then hung her head, considering whether or not to tell him. She finally decided to, and looked up at his anxious blue eyes that seemed to pierce through hers.

She started to tell him all about her dream, that she had seen him as a werewolf, that she had been afraid of him, and then he had come back and told her all about himself (of course, leaving out the part where Stella had teased them). When she finished, Ash proceeded to chuckle.

"What wild dreams this young lady has!" He patted her head affectionately and sighed, his eyes suddenly cold and distant. "You know, the story is true. Werewolves did kill my parents. But I didn't become one. I became a Hunter." Clary almost spat out her scrambled eggs, but swallowed them clumsily.

"Oh. Does that include Healers?" Ash grinned at her for a moment, and she thought he was going to say yes, but instead, he shook his head, chuckling with warm eyes once more.

Clary let out a sigh of relief, and proceeded to finish her breakfast in silence. But Ash interrupted:

"So, is that some kind of power that Healers have? Seeing the past, or the future?" He stared at her curiously, silver bangs hiding his alarmingly bright, blue eyes.

"Well..." Clary let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, then inhaled, starting to speak shakily. "Only Lunars are able to do that. It takes powerful magic, and besides, the future keeps changing. You can't exactly "see" it.

"But then, I saw the past, and maybe an alternate universe where the werewolf bit you and you became one. It is confusing, even for me." Ash nodded, considering this, and then let out a sigh.

Ash then told her about the things he had killed to lighten the mood, and about the times he had almost lost his life to a werewolf or a vampire. The vampire that always chased him had the same name as his: Ashton.

All of his stories were more funny than frightful, and she even laughed at some of them, which was his prime goal. By the time he was done, Clary was wiping her wet eyes with her sleeves in laughter.

He chuckled and patted her head again, and then went out the door after asking her to keep it a secret from Stella. Clary, of course, didn't hide anything from her best friend, and told her everything that Ash had told her, and Stella had scoffed all the way to the end.

"Yeah right, and I am a Lunar." She chuckled, waving it away as if it meant nothing. Clary rolled her eyes and sighed, smiling gently at her friend, and then went to her room. But before she sat down, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it!" Stella shouted, followed by silent footsteps and the creak of the wooden door as it swung open. And then silence.

"Uh, Clary, I think it's for you." Clary raised an eyebrow, and rushed to the door beside Stella. There was a note in her hand, which read:

Come to the forest, we have your friend. You have until sunset. Else he dies.