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Cecily didn’t know what to expect when she joined her brother Will among the ranks of the Nephilim.
She certainly didn’t expect Sophie.
Sophie Collins catches Cecily entirely by surprise… probably because they have so much in common. Sophie has the Sight, but she wasn’t born and raised a Shadowhunter like the others in the Institute. She knows more than Cecily, but as far as the Nephilim are concerned the two of them are almost entirely equal. In fact, Cecily has more of a claim to becoming a shadowhunter than Sophie simply because of her Herondale bloodline.
It’s absurd because Sophie is everything Cecily aspires to be in her personal life and her shadowhunter training. Sophie is everything Cecily admires in a person: she’s helpful no matter the inconvenience to herself, and most of all, she’s kind. Sophie is a good person through and through and Cecily feels herself becoming a better person the longer she spends around the other girl. When it comes to their training and studies Sophie doesn’t give up, not when it’s something she wants and not when it’s something she believes in - and what Sophie believes in is keeping her friends and loved ones safe.
Cecily doesn’t know what she did to earn a spot as one of those coveted loved ones, but she’s thankful for it.
“They’re never going to let us go out on our own are they?” Cecily complains, walking side-by-side with Sophie down a dark London alleyway. She can hear Gideon and Gabriel behind them, probably no more than two yards back judging by the sound of their close footsteps.
“Of course they are. They have to,” Sophie reassures her. “We just have to show them we’re ready.”
“You two have the lead tonight,” Gideon reminds her, clearly listening in to their hushed conversation. Yeah, definitely too close, Cecily thinks to herself.
“Just like we had the lead last patrol?” Cecily snaps back.
“I was instructed to let you take point, not to stand back and watch you die,” Gabriel says. “I may dislike your brother, but I’m not about to let you get hurt and suffer that wrath for the rest of my life.”
Cecily can feel her frustration rising, and Sophie must sense it as well because a moment later a gentle touch on the top of her hand is calming her down, a second hand on the small of her back grounding Cecily enough to silence the angry words on her lips.
“We’ll show them,” Sophie repeats, soft and steady.
The chance to do just that comes almost immediately, in the form of a shax demon skittering across their path. The demon lunges toward them and before either Gideon or Gabriel can react Cecily has her seraph blade out and meets the demon halfway. She gives no warning before she moves, a potentially reckless decision without knowing if any of the others even saw what she did.
Cecily goes high and a bit to the right while Sophie, in a move they practiced a number of times in their countless hours of training, goes low and to the left, ensuring they cover any direction the demon might go to escape. It works, with Cecily being the one to get the first hit, catching the demon with her blade just as the demon gets in a lucky swipe with its pincer. Sophie isn’t far behind, swinging back around to slice the creature down its back.
Together they make short work of the demon, and the second the danger is over Sophie is by Cecily’s side, placing an iratze over the cut on her arm.
“I didn’t even hear it,” Gabriel mumbles, clearly displeased.
“Good thing we had it covered, right Soph?” Cecily says, laughing despite the sting of pain her healing wound shoots through her arm. She turns back to face Sophie, placing a hand on Sophie’s cheek and pulling her in so that their foreheads touch. “Thanks for having my back.”
“We’re in this together, Cecy,” Sophie smiles. “I’m just glad you’re alright.”
They lean in ever so slightly, sneaking in a quick kiss, barely more than a gentle brush of lips, while the boys are distracted by examining the demon’s remains.
“As long as you’re by my side,” Cecily smiles back. “I’ll be just fine.”