Okay, cool cats. It's time for an update on this thing; it has been too long and I want to pick this back up.

Umm, not sure where this will lead, but we shall see (:

Hope you enjoy~!

ooo

Alec sat at the table with other Downworlders and felt very out of place, despite the man he grew to feel more at home with than with his real family being right across the table. There were two vampires, another warlock other than his boyfriend, and a couple fair folk. He looked toward Magnus's "date." She was beautiful but there was something not quite natural about her. Not her beauty - that was as natural as anything Alec had ever seen. She had blue skin and the purest white hair for a stunning combination - it was just the way she was. Perhaps, the way she held herself. She, also, was a child of Lilith but there was something different about her than others Alec had met that hadn't gone rouge. Apparently, her and Magnus had known each other long before Alec had ever met him; they were close friends.

This was an underground event meant for only Downworlders, and Alec knew they didn't accept Nephilim, but they really didn't have a choice in the matter: Downworlders have been going missing after playing cards here, and it apparently wasn't the doing of the ones running it. The Clave wasn't involved, and as far as the owner knew, the Shadowhunters that were involved were helping because of a debt to Magnus. Just a meaningless favor. The report was from a vampire who had lost their companion. Something like she went missing after losing a high-steaks game and didn't return. Ever. It had seemed that this has been going on for quite awhile but no Downworlder had wanted to report it to the Clave, not wanting to get involved with them. But who could blame them? The Clave wasn't exactly kind to Downworlders nor was it like the Clave would lift a finger to help Downworlders without some kind of benefit for them. They had caught wind of this through Magnus and his connections throughout Downworld.

"How's the High Warlock of Brooklyn doing with his fine lady?" Some guy Alec remembered from somewhere passed by.

"Fine, fine." Magnus smirked toward him, following him with his eyes.

His fine lady. Is that what she was called in Downworlder gossip? Magnus was with a woman… Alec still questioned how him and Magnus could be together, despite all they had been through. He mentally shook his head. He was just being paranoid.

The dealer passed out the cards and gave Alec what nearly looked like a death look. They hated Shadowhunters here. Jace, Clary, and Izzy were somewhere else, being more eyes for their cause around the 'closed' casino. There was glamour hiding this place from mundanes making it look like scrapes of a building that had burned down. Izzy was actually there as his "date." Meaning, they were there together as brother and sister, of course. The more allies around the better. Is what Alec couldn't understand is why Magnus had to bring a "date" of his own and why Alec couldn't be his date. Or companion. Or whatever Magnus would want to call him.

'Cuz I'm a Shadowhunter. The back of his mind whispered. His date could have been Izzy's companion just as easily as I could have been his. Alec thought bitterly. He knew he shouldn't be feeling like this towards Magnus; he couldn't help it.

Glancing at Magnus, seeing his yellow cat eyes looking tired and already drained even though they just arrived. When they walked in there was a sign saying that any magic use or anything similar, was strictly prohibited, and there was precautions to avoid it. What they were, Alec didn't know. But they seemed to affecting Magnus. There may have been some sort of wards that drained magical beings for all Alec knew.

"Shadowhunter," the dealer said, addressing him, "hit or pass?" He was a stereotypical tall, dark, and handsome vampire. And he pulled it off well. His teeth showed as if he were hungry. Or he could just keep them out to intimidate others.

"Hit." Dealer passed him a card that resulted in a bust. Magnus tried to make eye contact with him but Alec avoided. Alec thought of his boyfriend's chest. The immense scar that would surely linger after the wound finishes healing from his neck down to his abdomen made Alec shivered. It was scary, to say the least. Magnus always seemed untouchable when he fought, being a one of the, if not the most powerful warlock he had ever met.

The game went on as any other game. Meaning there might be a well-defined winner and clear loser. The plan was that a member of the group would be that loser and pretty much improvise from there. The Clave really didn't like this idea, but they had such little information that they had to. Find out what exactly has been happening to the loser. Magnus had decided that he would be the loser since he was a Downworlder himself, and that he would fit the pattern better than any of the Shadowhunters would; he thought that if any of the Shadowhunters lost, they may let them go, trying to avoid getting the Clave's attention. That's why Magnus was trying to give him a look to tell him to do better, but Alec avoided Magnus the best he could.

The game continued as usual, and Alec focused on losing, which wasn't hard, and let his mind wander to the few days before.

ooo

Well? Write a review! Thanks for reading (:

Update: Also. I remembered how much I hate needless OCs thrown in stories, so I'm going to replace and edit out what I had as an OC and replace that character with an actual character from the series that was never given much detail that I'm aware of (Catarina Loss) and we shall never speak of this again.