He had gone with the birthday question to avoid the obvious option of the how are you doing question. He didn't want her to feel cornered and forced to sidestep explaining that she was (probably, Magnus imagined) miserable but moving forward. But it appeared that her birthday wasn't quite the distraction that Magnus had thought it would be.

"You know I'm getting into the habit of planning quiet parties now?" he said lightly. "Like Alec's. My friend Eleanor has never had a birthday party and we're just going to have a movie night. Something more.. intimate. Relaxed. I feel some things need to be celebrated, but the form of it can be more private."