Black || Jace Wayland [1]

| 19. do your own homework

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"AGAIN."

Hodge crawled to a sitting position, chest heaving from the amount of times he and Asher sparred. It was no surprise that the female Shadowhunter won the majority of them.

"You know what I think?" Hodge tossed his broken staff to the side. "I think you should take a break. Go get something to eat, read a book, or maybe you should go to sleep."

Asher used the small hand towel she brought to the training room to wipe the beads of sweat off of her forehead. "I'm not tired." She panted and reached up to tighten her ponytail, making Hodge let out a groan.  It wasn't exactly true: Asher felt exhausted, but when she tried to sleep, the same recurring nightmare she used to have as a child plagued her dreams.

In a black sports bra and leggings, Asher stretched her arms behind her head to keep her muscles warm. "You've been here for at least two hours." Hodge grunted as he picked himself off the floor. Asher quickly bent down to help him to his feet. "Practice makes perfect." She slung her towel over her shoulder and walked over to the weapons rack.

Hodge followed her footsteps and crossed his arms. "You're already perfect." He commented as Asher examined the ten different blades on display. "You're one of the most renowned Shadowhunters of your generation."

"Honestly, sometimes I wished I wasn't." Asher mumbled quietly. She picked up the bow and slowly turned it in her hands. She was never the warrior who would choose this as a weapon going on a mission, but since Alec used it a lot, Asher figured she should at least give archery a try. Slipping the bow over her shoulder, she reached into the rack to grab a couple arrows and then walked further into the training center where the targets were.

Hodge trailed behind to make sure she didn't injure herself or someone else when handling such a traditional weapon as the bow and arrow. He was slightly shocked to see her pick it up since Asher's usual choice of defense were blades.

Asher held the bow in her hands and adjusted her foot placement in front of one of the targets. "I get so many stares wherever I go, like I'm some kind of zoo animal." She lifted the bow in front of her torso and pulled the string back tight against her cheekbone to practice her grip before slowly letting the string go. "I mean, I get it I'm good at my job, but sometimes I just wish that so many people didn't depend on me."

As the brunette notched the arrow onto the string of the bow, a hand was placed gently on her shoulder. Hodge looked down at her due to his tall stature. "You are, quite literally, the face of the Shadowhunter race." He stated, making her grumble and move away.

"Let me finish." Hodge held up his finger before continuing. "You were chosen, not just for your skill, but also because you represent what a Shadowhunter should be."

Asher lifted the bow and drew the string back before letting her index and middle fingers roll off. The arrow whizzed past Hodge and hit the outer white rim of the target. She reached down for another arrow to load onto the bowstring, sighing in defeat. "What makes me different from the thousand of other Shadowhunters out there?"