[ This time, Alec is anticipating a reaction. He doesn't flinch when Dan falls. He doesn't step in to try to help, either. If he wanted Alec's help, he'd have said something, wouldn't he?

Besides. Alec is preoccupied by a memory that swims up to the surface cleanly and painlessly, a memory that's nestled into his grasp of his own special set of tricks. ]

Fuck. [ He says, very sincerely, eyes wide and huge. ] Fuck.

Yeah. You're right. And we shouldn't go into that town just yet.

Do the words 'master-stranger protocols' mean anything to you?