Blood and Healing

A/N: This is part of the rpg Blood and Healing located at bah-rpg on lj. All post will be posted there first, then here a day later. The RPG is DH compliant and runs in real time.

Lux Lisbon- Magic vs. Machines

One good thing about this being a new year means more technology. Ever year, I find another program or new piece of technology to explore. Some of it I get even before it is on the market, or sometimes it never gets there. How I end up with it, that's something no one else has to know. I have it though. It's amazing how much faith people put in their computers. They seem to think using a password will protect them, just like the people that think a lock on the door will keep their house safe from burglars.

Technology is something I've always found easy, especially compared to other things like magic.

My parents were both muggles living in Las Vegas when I was born. My dad taught me a lot about life there, especially how to gamble. He did well playing poker and I soon learned to count cards. I also learned to watch people and pick up on signs that they could be lying. Dad liked this. He wanted a son, but at least if I had this talent, I wasn't a complete failure. Mom worked on computers and taught me about them. With a little help from her, I built my first computer when I was ten.

When I was twelve, everything changed. I got an odd letter delivered by an owl. I apparently had magical abilities. Who knew? I was invited to go to a school in Salem to learn about magic. They said that we were legal adults when we were eighteen, so they started teaching people when they were eighteen. I wasn't going to go, but my dad was afraid of some legal troubles, so I was shipped off to Salem to learn how to be a witch. He put some of his winnings into a bank so I could afford to go.

I didn't like Salem, especially after Las Vegas. Also, the others I went to school with were childish. One of my girls I shared a dorm with cried for two weeks after she got there, saying she was homesick. I never was. My parents taught me to be independent. They also said they would contact me when they could. At first, I waited for a letter, but after spending Christmas there, I had a feeling that letter was never coming. I was right.

Summer came and I had no choice but to go back to Vegas. My parents weren't there and no one knew where they were. One day they were there and the next, they weren't.

I was too young to get a job. However, my parents knew some people and they took me in. They didn't expect much of me, but I knew their patience would eventually end. I learned more, especially about computers. They made a lot more sense than transfiguring a lemon into a lime. Yet, I had nowhere else to go, so I went back to school.

The following summer went just like the first. Then, I reached the end of my third year. I couldn't go back to Las Vegas. I knew I would no longer be welcome, probably because I was winning poker games against the people I was staying with.

So, I took to the streets of Salem. I used fake IDs I had made to get a job as a waitress. It wasn't my ideal job, but it was a job. One of the girls there was looking for a roommate during that time, so I stayed with her. It still was more than what I was making on tips though.

I looked around and found another job at a computer repair shop. They doubted I could do anything, but when I showed them what I was capable of, I was given a job. It took a week until they trusted me enough to leave me alone in the store. That was when I started to have a bit of fun. I fixed computers and started to use various programs I found on them. They were easy though. I started to want more. Something more challenging. I made some inquires and met Ace.

Ace's teachings were like nothing I had ever experienced. He offered to teach me, if I helped him with some jobs that were necessary for two computers to be used at the same time. By the time summer ended, I was able to go into company records and helped Ace make a large amount of cash, some of which he shared.

For the summer between my fourth and fifth year and between my fifth and sixth year, I continued this way, rooming with girls who took out ads for roommates. Ace taught me more. Yet, when August came, I was already surpassing some of what Ace could do and he wasn't very happy with that.

The summer between my sixth and seventh year, I was able to do almost anything I wanted, so I packed my bag and traveled. I used another fake ID to get into casinos. I sometimes would play blackjack and roulette, but my focus was poker. I never stayed in one place long, but I loved that time of my life. I loved the thrill of the win.

My grades at school were decent. I could do magic, but I didn't excel in any classes, nor did I make lasting friendships like most others. Friendships could only lead to problems, to attachments. It was safer to stay free of those and do what I do best. Survive.

What I did after school is nobody's business but my own. Let's just say I learned how good a hacker I was. I've only gotten better. I also did well gambling, which allowed me to buy what I wanted when I wanted. And, if that didn't work, magic turned out to be good for more than turning water in rum. Yet, the American law enforcement officials didn't agree and in two thousand two, I arrived in London with my laptop, a deck of cards and only a change of clothes.

Life was going well until the end of two thousand five. I had moved onto small cons by then, and I don't mean just card counting. It turned out the person I was conning was a witch. A very unstable one. Lesandra.

After recovering from a concussion, a broken rib, a sprained ankle and fractured wrist, thanks to her 'friends', I was offered a deal. They would let me live if I could play 'babysitter' to a young woman, Nina Finnigan.

It didn't take long stage saving her life. I was injured in the process, but not enough to stop the two of us from going on the run.

That is how I ended up playing babysitter for Alessandra. We move from place to place. France, Germany, Denmark.

I let her contact her family once a month, though usually that is followed by a few days of tears. I really don't understand it. She's safe and alive, her family is safe and alive. Why Alessandra wants it like this, I don't know. All I know is, once this job is done, I'm free to go about my way without worrying that the insane witch will reappear in my life.

Until then, I will keep watching out for Nina, moving from place to place. While I promised not to get involved, I rather like the girl. She's growing on me. It was hard to constantly be around another person, but it's easier now.

However, I hope it will end soon and we can go our separate ways. Until then, I'll keep up with the current lie I am living and play the hand I'm dealt.