The snappy reply didn't come as a surprise, but it did manage to make Magnus laugh. "Fair point. You can take care of yourself." That didn't mean Magnus felt any less protective of him, though he didn't think he needed to explain that it was out of deep love rather than any concern about Alec being a liability of any kind. "But something strange is going on and it's probably magical. That makes me the expert in this area."
Sadly, Magnus hadn't been able to locate any chai nearby, and with his power weakened he'd resorted to borrowing what he could manage. The fact that Alec took the cup was a good sign, though, and not intended to do anything other than calm the Shadowhunter—for even if he wasn't Alec, the runes covering his body definitely marked him for what he was. Magnus was relieved when the man followed without too much fuss, not only because he wanted more privacy but also because being out in the open with his demon mark on display made him nervous. He could have managed a glamour, but he didn't know for how long and he had more immediate uses for his limited magic that took priority.
"Taller than you?" he said, stopping suddenly once they were inside a small alcove in a quieter section of the main hall. Turning around, he looked up at Alec like he'd gone mad. He was having increasing difficulty believing that this was Alec, despite the fact that he looked exactly the same. "You're not remembering correctly. Maybe it's an effect of this spell." It was the only option he could imagine; if this man was an imposter using a rune to disguise himself in order to be close to Magnus, there wouldn't have been any point for him to act like he didn't trust him.
Rolling his eyes, he took a careful step closer to Alec. "I don't have any brothers. That I know of, at least," he added, frowning at the thought but pushing it aside for now. Rubbing the pad of each thumb over its neighboring fingertips, he spread them in the air and held both hands towards Alec. "I can prove it. I'll show you the memories," he offered, though he wasn't about to try laying a hand on Alec again while he was still jumpy, especially when he had to conserve his magic.
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Sadly, Magnus hadn't been able to locate any chai nearby, and with his power weakened he'd resorted to borrowing what he could manage. The fact that Alec took the cup was a good sign, though, and not intended to do anything other than calm the Shadowhunter—for even if he wasn't Alec, the runes covering his body definitely marked him for what he was. Magnus was relieved when the man followed without too much fuss, not only because he wanted more privacy but also because being out in the open with his demon mark on display made him nervous. He could have managed a glamour, but he didn't know for how long and he had more immediate uses for his limited magic that took priority.
"Taller than you?" he said, stopping suddenly once they were inside a small alcove in a quieter section of the main hall. Turning around, he looked up at Alec like he'd gone mad. He was having increasing difficulty believing that this was Alec, despite the fact that he looked exactly the same. "You're not remembering correctly. Maybe it's an effect of this spell." It was the only option he could imagine; if this man was an imposter using a rune to disguise himself in order to be close to Magnus, there wouldn't have been any point for him to act like he didn't trust him.
Rolling his eyes, he took a careful step closer to Alec. "I don't have any brothers. That I know of, at least," he added, frowning at the thought but pushing it aside for now. Rubbing the pad of each thumb over its neighboring fingertips, he spread them in the air and held both hands towards Alec. "I can prove it. I'll show you the memories," he offered, though he wasn't about to try laying a hand on Alec again while he was still jumpy, especially when he had to conserve his magic.