So quite a few people mentioned that they would like a follow up to this oneshot, and danzcoach24reached out about a few months ago again, asking for a second chapter. I hope you guys enjoy :)

Clary took in a deep breath as she looked around.

It was early evening, and there was a cold breeze that was hitting her cheeks, pretty much the only part of her that wasn't covered, given her scarf was pulled up over her chin, covering her lower lip and tucked into the front of the jacket she was wearing, zipped all the way up. There were gloves on her hands and they were shoved into the pockets of the jacket and she had a beanie pulled down over her head, her red hair tamed into a braid that fell down her back.

"Are you okay?" Jace's voice was low as he moved to stand beside her.

It was months later, yet everything around them was still...Dead.

Clary used to come into this forest as a kid.

Her father would bring her and Jonathan here to train when they were young, pretty much as soon as they had moved to Idris after the death of Aunt Lydia. He wanted somewhere quiet and away from the city, and while the front of the forest was a popular spot for hikers and for teenagers, deeper into the forest, away from the hiking tracks and near where the deep trench was, dividing the forest in two, it wasn't quite as busy. So they had trained there, and Valentine had made them run, and work out, building muscles and stamina.

And her mother would bring her there, when they both needed to get away from the chaos that their house would often become when the other Circle members were there. They would explore the place, starting off on one of the muddy, laid out tracks, and then adventuring off, experts at leaving small clues so that they could find their way back without anyone else knowing they had left them. She would bond with her mother a lot on days like that, talking about their family, their traditions, the Circle, people at school that Clary was friends with, the boys that she would like.

Before she had met Jace, she had come here with a few guys. It was a popular make out spot, and even though she associated this place with family, that didn't mean that others did. Anyway, they had mainly stuck to the spots that were closer to the front of the forest, by the preserve, or by the creek that ran near the left side of the forest. Those times held special memories for her as well, just like most fond memories that teenagers held with the ones they had experimented with.

Now, the whole place was almost completely burnt down.

It was a couple of months on, and there were still places where the ash was obvious, that the wind and rain hadn't gotten to. Not too many places, since it was winter, and there had been a lot of heavy rainfalls and the whole forest was so exposed now, so it was only under fallen logs and piles of rocks that the ash was still there.

Some might say that the whole place was ruined.

But as Clary tilted her head the side, surveying the landscape, she actually thought it kind of looked rather pretty.

She knew that this place was filled with pain and loss, there were a lot of memories from the town that were lost when the fire had eaten up almost the whole forest. Obviously, across the trench—the one that she had jumped across with Jace those few months ago, even though it felt as though it had been years—the forest there was still alive and thriving, but the rocky divide clearly split the forest in half. On the other side were blackened logs and dirt and mush that was clearly ash beaten down by the weather, over the rocks. One side was flourishing, years and years into it's life, and the other side was just beginning, only several months into this world.

"Clary," Jace's voice was quiet again, breaking through her thoughts. She looked up at him, tilting her head backwards to meet his eyes before she realized that he wasn't actually looking at her, he was looking past her, across the fallen trees and the rubble, beyond that and toward the car park area, which was now visible since there weren't any tall trees in the way, although Clary had to squint since she didn't have Jace's perfect vision, and also step to the side to see past the thick trunk of a burnt tree which was just a little taller than herself.

Her brother.

Clary swallowed hard as she saw that he was doing something with his Jeep, probably locking it up. He hadn't realized that they were there yet, still facing his car. Even though the forest had burnt down and they could see him, there were still plenty of half trunks around, and both Jace and Clary were dressed in dark colours clothes, so that they blended into the background.

After she had run away with Jace and his pack, Stephen had told her that she had needed to destroy anything that she had brought with her that could be used to track her. Clary could understand that, she'd spent her whole life learning how to track people down, both through physical hard work and also electronically, and she knew how easy it was to find someone if they weren't purposefully covering up their tracks, and doing it well. The only thing that she had taken with her had been the clothes on her back and her phone, given she had broken out of her home and fled, the only thing on her mind to warn Jace and his pack.

She had smashed her phone and thrown the pieces in four separate trash cans through one of the towns they passed through.

Five weeks ago, just after Isabelle's birthday, actually, she had checked one of her old email accounts. It had been one that her and her brother used to communicate on when one of them was off on a training mission with their father and the rest of the Circle. Life had just been so busy and crazy since she had run away with the pack of werewolves, she hadn't really had time to settle and think, and it was only about a week after they had settled into a home that had been in the Herondale family for centuries, in Dumort, and after Isabelle's birthday that she had thought of the email account. She had logged in on the new phone that Celine had brought for her shortly after she had destroyed her own, and her eyes widened as she saw there were three emails waiting.

All from her brother.

Her and Jonathan had always been close, they had to be, as the only children of their family in this supernatural, scary world that they had grown up in.

He had been the one to shield and comfort her after the werewolf attack when she was a child.

He had been the one to make her smile after a horrible day of training where her father made her feel like she wasn't good enough.

He was the one that she had never lied to, never kept things from...Until Jace.

She didn't regret what happened, she knew that she had made the right choice. She loved Jace, and she had been questioning the way her parents and their friends had lived ever since finding out the truth after the werewolf attack when she was younger. She had been in a relationship with him for several years now, and the family that she had found with his pack—now her pack—that was something that she had been willing to die to protect, and she was proud to be a part of it.

But she missed her brother.

She also missed her mother, and sometimes—very occasionally—her father.

But mainly, she missed her brother.

So when she had seen the emails, her heart had jumped into her throat. There was no way that she could hide the happy scent that surrounded her from the werewolves that she lived with. Even Max commented on it, nuzzling into her shoulder and telling her that she smelt good. Celine had told her that if she wanted to share what it was making her so happy, then she was there to listen, although she was sure that Jace would be happy to be the first one that she talked to.

Clary had told Jace about the emails, and she wasn't sure how she thought he was going to react, or his father and mother, when he spoke with them about.

She really hadn't expected them to tell her to go and see him, but then, she should have. Werewolves put one another above everything else, their pack was everything, and pack was family, and so they understood wanting to be with family.

The condition was that it was brief.

Very brief.

And that she take Jace with her. She didn't need a babysitter, and she muttered that under her breath, that was of course heard by the werewolves in the room, and Stephen had come over to her, putting his hand on her shoulder, thumb pressing gently against her neck. He had told her that it wasn't that they didn't trust her, it was that she was part of the pack now, and they needed to know that she was safe.

There wasn't any way Clary could say no to that.

And it wasn't as though she hadn't planned to take Jace anyway.

Clary took in a deep breath and began walking forward, her footsteps light and barely making a sound, even with the broken branches and crackling foliage on the ground. Jace even quieter, completely silent, and he made sure to give her some space, staying a little further back even though Clary knew that he wanted to be right at her side. But he respected her wishes, and they had been together for long enough now that he knew that she could look after herself.

Jonathan noticed them just a few minutes later.

Jace could smell the nervousness and worry wafting across the land that stretched between them, coming off Clary's brother. But there was also joy as he spotted his sister and began walking quickly toward them. He was very aware that Jace was right behind Clary, and he knew that he was a werewolf, but Jace wasn't smelling any fear coming off the human. It could have been because he was a hunter, and like Clary, they had been brought up to face supernatural creatures and kill them, and there wasn't much room for fear when it came to that.

Clary's stomach was in knots as she slowed down, a few feet away from Jonathan. She knew that Jace had stopped a few metres back, giving her space, and Jonathan's eyes flicked over her shoulder once, at her boyfriend, before looking back at her. He came to a stop and and took in a shaky breath, giving her a smile.

"Clare Bear," he murmured and Clary's eyes filled with tears as she threw herself at her brother, her arms going around his neck and squeezing him tightly. Jonathan's arms went around her waist, picking her up easily and giving her a hug. Jace watched the pair of them together, and he wondered what it was that they had been talking about in their emails to each other. She couldn't send them frequently, they had to be careful to mask the IP address when she sent them just in case they were found by her parents on Jonathan's side, but Jace knew that when she did send them, they were so long they were practically novels.

"Fuck, I've missed you," Clary whispered as he finally rested her back on her feet.

"I've missed you, too—we all have," Jonathan replied. "Are you.." he pursed his lips together and his eyes went to Jace again, and it was clear that while there wasn't fear, there was some anger. Which Jace could understand, because pack—or family, for humans—was everything, and if one of his closest family members was lost to him, then he would feel that pain as well, and anger toward the person who caused it.

But at the end of the day, it wasn't his fault.

It had been Clary's choice.

Today wasn't about that, though.

"Are you coming back?" Jonathan asked quietly, even though they all knew Jace could hear. Clary hesitated, but only for a moment.

"No," she responded gently. "You know I'm not, I already told you that. I just wanted...I wanted to see you, rather than just email you." Jonathan looked as though he didn't understand her decision and had more questions, but he didn't push it any further, probably because he knew that they had limited time. "I can't stay long. I know dad has people hacked into all the security feed around town."

"It's only because he wants to be the first one to know if you come back," Jonathon told her in defense of their father.

"And the first one to know if the my pack comes back," Clary replied and Jace couldn't help the pulse of happiness in his chest. It wasn't the first time she had called the Herondale pack her pack, but every time she said it, Jace couldn't help but think back less than a year ago—less that six months ago—when he hadn't been certain that this was possible.

"Your...Pack?" Jonathan said the word as though it was strange in his mouth.

"Yes," Clary nodded her head firmly. "My pack." Jonathan was quiet for a long time, staring at Clary, thinking over her words and his reply very carefully. Finally, he stepped to the side, around her, and took a few steps until he was right in front of Jace. Clary turned around to watch them, and the concern was etched in her face. Jace stared at Jonathan, an inch or so taller than him, his broad shoulders pushed back and his lips pulled into a thin line. Jonathan swallowed hard, and for the first time, Jace could smell fear coming off him, but then he thrust his hand forward.

"Thank you for looking after my sister," he said to Jace, and Jace knew that it took a lot from him to thank a werewolf. Jace nodded, letting his expression slightly soften, and reached out his own hand. They shook once and then Jonathan's hand dropped back to his side. It looked as though he was going to say something else when Jace's head jerked back up, his eyes alert, and looked toward the car park. Clary and Jonathan followed his gaze and saw a car coming off the road and toward the car park. It was a little yellow thing, and there was loud music coming, and Jace didn't look as though he was worried, so it wasn't anyone bad, but they still didn't want to be seen by someone who had the chance of recognizing them, and given Clary had lived in Idris for a long time, there was the chance that a lot of people could.

"We should go," Jace murmured and Clary nodded. Jonathan looked upset that their visit was being cut short, but his face showed he understood. A couple of girls got out of the car, laughing and talking loudly, and Clary moved so that she was standing right beside Jace, and his arm went around her instinctively.

"Keep me in the loop, okay?" Jonathan asked Clary and she smiled, feeling her throat getting choked up for the second time in just a few minutes, now that she had to leave her brother. "I just need to know that you're okay."

"I know...And I am," she assured him. Jonathan glanced up at Jace and he took in a deep breath.

"Okay," Jonathan murmured and he leaned forward, giving his little sister another tight hug. When he pulled back, he gave her shoulder a squeeze. "I love you, Clare Bear."

"I love you too," Clary returned and she gave him a watery smile before Jace was tugging on her arm and they were quickly walking away. They were heading straight to the trench, which they had climbed up to get here. Hardly any humans went down there, given how dangerous it was, especially in the evening, but with Jace helping her, Clary had managed fine. They had parked on the other side of the preserve, but they had made sure to take a longer path to get back to their car, just in case anyone was following them. Clary looked over her shoulder once more before they got to a particularly big pile of tree trunks that they were able to duck over the side of the trench behind, and Jonathan was watching them go.

She waved at him before they disappeared behind the pile of fallen trees.

Her chest was tight and her stomach was twisting, this time with sadness rather than nervousness, like when they had been on their way here.

But as Jace jumped down into the trench, easily bracing his legs on a rock that was several metres down, Clary saw a few sprouts of green on one of the fallen trees. She brushed away the debris that surrounded it, taking a moment to look at the few, bright green leaves that were determinedly stretching upwards.

Just like her, new life was growing in this forest, a new beginning from the mess that had occurred. And even though the way that it had happened hadn't been in the best of ways, it didn't mean that the new part of their lives had to suffer from that.

Beginnings weren't always bad.

Beginnings meant hope.

And hope was beautiful.

Let me know what you think x