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video; un: youradhere

[Well, this is certainly bringing things full circle. The irony doesn't escape him, but this time Christian is actually making an effort to do his job. As much as can be expected from him, of course.

Which means the network gets a nice view of a man at a small desk, looking more like an assistant than a professional in his oversized sweater and jeans completing the look with tousled hair. He's organizing books on the surface as he addresses the network, with titles including How to Find Yourself, Practical Counseling, and The Pocket Manual for Technical Magic stacked on top of each other. He has the phone sitting on one such stack, propped up behind the others.]

So. [Wait, false start.] You ever feel like this place is just a little bit weird?

I mean, how many cities have portals that lead to other worlds and collect people? And hire Magic Counselors? Hi, I'm Christian, Magic Counselor if you ever need one. I'm not sure how many people here do the magic thing. Do you?

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[ Clary paused for a long moment as she looked off to the side. She seemed to be debating something internally. Maybe it was rude to make someone else go first, but it was equally rude to make someone wait.

She also hadn't thought that his trick had been quite so impressive, but then magic still seemed new to her. ]

I'm not sure I can. No, wait -- I can -- I'm just not sure I'm supposed to.

[ She had the strong impression that Alec and the other Shadowhunters hadn't quite specifically told people what they could do, but she might have been wrong. ]

You're probably not.

[ If her world's rules are anything remotely similar to his, trying to share magic finds trouble more often than not. Sometimes simply by antagonizing the skeptics and earning ridicule. Sometimes by attracting worse. He smiles, considers, then flips the network message to private. ]

All right. I can show you one trick, but just for you, okay? Between us.

[ Clary leaned forward as much as the space between herself and the device would allow. And without it distorting her image. She rest her chin in her hands as she nodded. ]

Mmhmm, deal. I can't really show you mine in exchange, but I could tell you about it. Assuming there's some kind of counsellor privacy thing where you don't spill secrets.

I can keep secrets.

[After all, seeing the supernatural is a life based on lies and secrets. You're never who you say you are, never where you're supposed to be, and no one wants to know or see beyond that. The smile he gives the corner off-screen says he's grown accustomed to that truth. We're all a little off, but that's okay. It's all okay.]

You can keep a secret, right?

[He asks softly, almost gently, as he looks up to Clary again. His eyes seem to grow pale, from dim to faded rain cloud with the hint of sunlight peeking from behind the irises. The room around him seems to darken, absorbing color and masking him under a blackout with only one weak unseen light source flickering beneath the device's camera. And then a shiny round head eclipses his face. It's the curved exoskeleton of some enormous insect, the front dotted with multiple round eyes that stare at Clary with hunger and malice. The creature makes a chittering noise that crackles through the speaker, snapping large mandibles together like large knives, and for just a moment, it seems like the monster whispers to her in a human voice. Then it's gone and there's only the man on the other end of the call, smiling with closed lips.]

[ Clary tried to keep the shock from her face, but failed. She didn't always have a great poker face, not in the face of things she didn't expect. And she definitely was not expecting the insect.

She didn't shrink away from the image though, nor did she let her Shadowhunter training kick in. After all, what was she going to hit? ]

That's definitely some trick you had up your sleeve.

[ She cleared her throat as she recovered from the surprise. After everything she'd seen - including those dragon things - that was certainly one of the strangest. ]

And yes, I can keep a secret. At least when it comes to this kind of stuff.

[ She shifted to move her hair out of the way and tugged down her top so that the rune was clear for him to see. There were more over her body, but she wasn't about to strip for him. ]

I'm a Shadowhunter. There's a few more of us in the city. Normally we don't try and talk about what we are because it's... well, I guess they have a sacred tradition of not being public. I didn't even know they existed until my eighteenth birthday and my mom got taken. The runes are drawn on our skin, activated to give us powers. But it all comes from the --

[ This was where she made a face, because even to her she realised how ridiculous it sounded when said aloud. ]

-- angel blood in us. I'm apparently more angelic than most. I can create runes, not just use the ones that are known.

[In the next second the image was gone like a dream and what remained was a pretty average man with an amused grin on his face, watching Clary's reaction with curiosity. She recovered quickly, which was good, and after the initial shock resumed their conversation easily. Good sign.]

Just between us, then.

[If Clary expected him to be shocked by her story, Christian was going to disappoint her. He listened, quiet but attentive, as she told him what she was. At first he thought she sounded like a typical hunter from his world, just a human that happened to discover supernatural events around her and responded the way people tended to do when terrifying truths closed in on them. But as she went on, describing her bloodline, his calm expression tightened slightly into a more serious look, examining her as if she were some new creature entirely.]

I believe you. Have you told other people about your heritage as well?

[ Clary made a motion like she was crossing her heart as a promise that it was definitely going to stay between them. She wasn't about to run around the city telling people about the bug, and she hoped he'd do the same knowing about her bloodline. ]

You were quicker to believe than I was, but I think I had more reason to deny it. Or trying to pretend my life wasn't changing. Or that I wasn't who I thought I was.

[ She leaned back finally, and huffed out a breath as she thought about her genocidal maniac of a father. ]

Here? No. Alec is kind of giving me the impression that it's not something they openly talk about. I tend to stick with telling people the rest of my family history but leaving out the angel part. The runes are too much effort to cover up, you know? So I think most people are okay believing they're weird tattoos.

I don't have any reason not to believe you. After all, what would you get out of lying to a stranger like me?

[He's also not directly involved, so there's no risk in letting himself believe anything Clary says. If it's not real, then how does it hurt him?]

So you're a new hunter. How long has it been since you found out? Did this Alec find you?

[Or maybe she was attacked. That's a common thread for those who call themselves hunters. They all have monsters to hunt.]

Do you mind, by the way? If I have a look?

I used to think that about anyone who lied, but my family seems to do it better than anyone and with complete ease.

[ But she wasn't lying. She had no reason to make this up. ]

Shadowhunter. Since I turned eighteen which really wasn't that long ago. Alec found me here. It was Jace that I crossed paths with first. My mom was a Shadowhunter. My father was a Shadowhunter. But my dad was never in my life. I thought he was dead. My mom lied to me. Then she was taken, and I guess I just got thrust into the life head first. Most Shadowhunters start as children because it's a family thing.

[ Clary's eyebrows went up a little before she moved out of shot to take her sweater off. Lucky for him she'd been wearing a tank top. When she returned more of the runes were visible and she took a moment to tie her hair back completely.

She picked up the phone to begin the awkward task of giving him close up shots. ]

I'm assuming this isn't just a pick up line, by the way. Even if I maybe did say something similar to a guy recently.

Sounds like you have an interesting family.

[ He didn't sound all that surprised by that bit of information. People with bloodlines tended to come from families that carried all sorts of history and trouble with them. The few psychics he knew came from renowned families, and Christian was well aware that what they didn't say could fill volumes.

When Clary pulled off her sweater and returned, Christian leaned in, looking at the runes as best he could through the camera's focus. He smirked slightly at her comment, raising his gaze, but not completely taking his attention away from the designs. ]

Did he have an interesting tattoo? Maybe I'd like to see it. Especially if it was something like yours.

[ He leaned back. ]

Unless that is your pickup line. And if it is, how often does it work?

I don't think I even mentioned my brother, so yeah. You could definitely say that.

[ Her father is the last one standing out of her family at this point, but she's got plans to change that as soon as she leaves this place. She's just not in a hurry to give up this break in chaos just yet.

Her laughter can be heard as she tried not to feel strange when she let the camera linger on particular runes. Being in person would have better, but there was no way yet for that not to seem like a line. ]

He said he did have tattoos. He was in a suit at the time. Kind of seemed like a good idea to play the 'I'll show you mine, if you show me yours' card. There's three others - Shadowhunters - in the city. Trust me, you'll know them when you meet them.

[ Alec and Izzy certainly had larger runes on their necks. She put the camera back at an angle that would let her sit back more comfortably again. ]

I've used it once, and so far it's worked once. Though I'm not gonna lie - the act of drawing the runes might have a particularly, ah, intimate association for me. But I can blame my -- [ she paused, stumbling over trying to find the right word - ex? boyfriend? What would could possibly fit to say 'not dating in the city but we were in love back home'? ] -- someone I know for that.

Is there something unique about your brother?

[Considering how just hearing about her mother already sounds like a dramatic history, Christian can only guess that Clary has led a pretty bizarre life with her powers. He almost asks her if she ever suspected something strange before she was thrust into the Shadowhunters life, but that seems too personal for the moment.]

Do I have to ask them to take their clothes off?

[Humor is clearly better, right? Although the more Clary tells him, the more Christian wonders what angels are like. He suppresses a smile as she relates her experience with runes.]

Is that so? Well, I'm not going to ask you to draw any for me, then. What about using them? Do you and the others have practice sessions or classes? Or is it just an intuitive thing?

We thought he was dead. My father spent years experimenting on him. Filling him with demon blood. He was supposed to have died in a fire, but my family excels at secrets apparently.

[ And she almost wants to get into the real issue, but doesn't. It's enough for now to admit this much out loud. At least she knows that it hopefully won't go beyond the two of them.

At his question she had to laugh, and tucked some stray hair behind her ear. ]

Good luck with Alec. Jace may or may not still take off his shirt whenever he feels like it. Izzy might... if you ask her nicely enough. But probably not without making you work for it.

[ After grinning for a bit she gave a shake of her head and then showed him her arms again. ]

Like me they have some in less awkward places. [ But the boys could obviously use their chests. Though Isabelle had made good use of her cleavage. ]

On paper it'll be fine, if that's really what you want. You're not of angel blood, so I wouldn't actually be able to draw a rune on you. Which is where things might get a little... heated. If the chemistry's there. For me it was both. I didn't get raised as a Shadowhunter. For them it's a long tradition, and there is always training.

Wait, wait, wait. Your- what now?

[He is pretty good with the magic and being descended from angels or whatever creatures Clary's world treats as angels. Taking power from spirits is common enough. But even he is taken aback by having that personal bombshell dropped on him. Her father was experimenting on her brother? What kind of family is she from?]

I... You got me. I don't know what to say.

[At least she doesn't seem horribly traumatized as she relates the story? He almost laughs, but he's too stunned. In fact, he almost misses the part where she continues, slowly realizing that Clary is giving him more details about how her magic works. He shakes off his surprise, leaning in a bit.]

Why would I need to have angel blood? [He has an idea, but he's still asking.] You mean only Shadowhunters can make them work?

Yeah, that was maybe too much of an overshare. Even when I was shooting for vague.

[ Clary pulled her ponytail through her hand as she looked away from the camera for a moment. Maybe she was just seeming better at dealing with it - accepting it - if she just blurted it out without thinking too much.

Finally she just shrugged and fought the urge to pull her knees up to her chest and hug them. ]

Maybe I should have just left it at my father and brother are psychotic. Gotta love finding those family members you thought were forever gone. I didn't really know what to say either. Other than a few choice words.

[ She huffed out a laugh, but this one didn't quite reach her eyes. ]

That's what I was dealing with before I came here. Back there... home, the moment I'm from? My father's just killed my boyfriend in front of me. My brother just tried to kill me and my friends, but I'm assuming Izzy killed him. It's why I'm not really in a rush to go back. You know?

[ Another huff, but this one just after taking in a deep breath as she pushed away the mental images that came with thinking of that moment. She tapped her nose to indicate he was right. ]

Got it in one, counselor.

[ Christian's experience with humans that have magic in their bloodlines is limited to psychics, those who have power because of some distant ancestor (or so they claim), and as an outsider, he's generally not as educated on their ways. Getting this sort of insight is new for him, and he's both excited and nervous, because he's not someone with gifted blood the way Clary would be in his world. A child of angels. Apparently with all the family complications that sort of history would suggest. ]

Yeah, I, uh, think you might have glossed over that part. They aren't here, are they? Your father and brother? --No offense. I'm just asking.

[ But the more they talk, the more Christian does feel for her. The problems that come with association with magic are things that other people seem to miss. He never went into the supernatural investigations to solve their problems, but here he is, seriously thinking it over again. ]

And if you aren't against it, I think I'd still like to have a try. Can't hurt, right?

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video; un: youradhere

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when i don't read my writing properly and accidentally insult his magic... whoops UNimpressive

to be fair, he's totally unimpressive

you say as you leave this tag

but it's just a bug!

but it's not everyday you see something like that

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