stripperwithaheartofgold asked you:
Hey! I love The Mortal Instruments, and I was wondering if parabati were always boy/boy or girl/girl. Like, could it be a boy and a girl? I was wondering because you’ve called them like sister or brothers, not siblings. Also, does every Shadowhunter have one, or just some? (By the way, I also love your story in the “Zombies vs. Unicorns” anthology. I have to say, it was one of my favorites. Team Zombies all the way!)

Parabatai aren’t like siblings — it’s a different sort of bond. They are partners who would lay down their life for the other. It’s an ideal of warrior comradeship that goes back a long time. The term parabatai comes from heniochoi kai parabatai, which just means “charioteers and side-men” (in Ancient Greek. I don’t know how to pronounce it either. I ran across it reading about hoplites and ancient battle formations for City of Bones.) The side-man wasn’t supposed to leave the charioteer. One drove, the other fought from the chariot. The one is useless without the other.