New York - 2015
After the girl had attempted to strangle Magnus with a hug and simultaneously scream at him in Indonesian, Alec found himself relegated to making tea for the impromptu gathering and allowed the two, warlock and mundane, to speak in the sitting room while he tried to hear what the two were saying - a difficult task indeed, considering the fact the girl did not seem to have much English and switched languages
"Apa sih yang kau pikirkan!"
"It's good to see you too, Vee."
"Ai fi putut fi ucis!"
"I doubt that very much."
"Máte nějakou představu, jak dlouho jsem hledal pro vás?"
A silence.
"Trieset godini!"
Another pause.
"That's a long time indeed."
"I swear to God I will kill you, Magnus Bane."
"Many better than you have tried."
The scenario that greeted Alec as he entered with the pot of tea would have been comical if he wasn't so utterly confused. The girl was pacing back and forth across the room - as best one could pace in a living room such as Magnus', where clothes and books and Angel knew what else was strewn every which way. Her anger made her skin look tight on her bones, her dark eyes cold, and she barely looked up at Alec as he entered.
Magnus, by contrast, had thrown himself on the couch and lay there casually, half-smiling. His trademark blue flames danced in the fireplace, making Vee look pale and setting Magnus' eyeshadow glittering. Vee's shadow danced crazily on the walls, as though it were alive, and Alec found himself avoiding it as best he could, no matter how irrational that may be.
The girl he had called Vee turned as Magnus sat up to help Alec.
"No calls," she said. "No nothing. You could have been dead."
"Yes," Magnus said after a moment. "I could have."
"What the hell were you thinking?"
" 'Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die'. Something like that."
Alec tried to interject without sounding like an idiot. "Ah, you two know each other?"
For the first time, the two looked at him - Magnus with an eyebrow arched, Vee with her arms folded.
Yes. He had sounded like an idiot.
"Something like that," Magnus said at the same time that Vee said, "Once upon a time."
"So. What exactly is the story here?" Alec asked.
"It's a long story," Magnus said.
"Especially when you tell it," Vee added. She sighed, accepted a mug of tea and threw herself down onto one of the nearest armchairs with a theatricality that reminded Alec of Magnus. "I guess we should start at the beginning."