I Will Practice My Profession With Conscience and Dignity

[Mahra Keelan]

Luna was having a late night. OK, every night was a late night, shut up, but this time it really was late. Late enough that the pale light of dusk whitened the sky's edges along dancing shadows of moonlight over treetops and utter silence descended upon the quaint little town she'd found herself passing through.

Employment these days, right? What a bitch. Even wizards weren't immune from the scourge of job hunting, it seemed.

As of late it seemed that all Luna ever did was pass through, but she had to admit something about this place drew the attention. Rows of neat houses and gently buzzing street lamps, manicured gardens and perfectly paved roads. Scenery out of a snowglobe, utterly undisturbed by industrial machines.

It was only after she paused at a muggle gas station just beyond the sprawling suburbs that she saw the first hint of another soul all night. The residents around here went to bed early (shocker) and she hadn't seen so much as a shadow for hours. Until him. Ordinarily a person out this late, in her proximity, would raise alarm bells. She'd been on the run for a long time, you sort of gained a sense for these things.

However. Right away she could tell that he wasn't a threat, although he was certainly abnormal.

He wore an oversized leather jacket, patchwork jeans and a too-big shirt with light-up sneakers on his feet. His dark hair messily sprawled over his forehead, and contained streaks of pure white underneath, while his eyes, pitch black, darted around the area thoughtfully. He crept rather than walked, on the tips of his toes, with his fingers making spindly little motions close to his chest as he approached her.

And then he waved, casual as a cucumber, rocking back on his heels. A wand poked out of his back pocket. Cedar, just like her own. Unconsciously and against her better judgment, she found herself drawn to this stranger. It was as though something outside of herself kept snapping her awareness back to him. It strengthened when she looked at his eyes. Tunnel-vision. Fading of the outside world.

In the back of her mind and briefly, she wondered if he was human at all.

[Luna Naggia]

There were days—weeks, months, years that she wished her life was a more normal one. Normal muggle, normal witch, just…normal something so that she could finally have some peace and rest. But, there wasn’t a normal waiting for her. Somehow she knew that she’d always be running because sooner or later, no matter where she was, they’d find her. Luna thought she was just fortunate that the Senate didn’t care to advertise that they let one little witch escape, otherwise she’d have a lot more than just a few vampires to worry about.

When she spotted the stranger her initial instinct was to take him as a threat. Any man out at night was a threat, and that was universal for the gentler sex. But her curiosity, and the feeling that tugged her into believing he wasn’t a threat, made her want to learn more. The waving was a response she didn’t expect either.

Still, one didn’t survive by listening to thoughts that someone was safe without evidence to that fact. Fingering her wand, she approached the general direction of the strange person. It didn’t matter what her instincts told her; Luna prided herself on keeping her head about her, keeping control, and she wasn’t about to lose it now. Not that it was particularly easy just at the moment.

Approaching him, she gripped her wand a little tighter, dismissing the strong notion that that wasn’t necessary. It was, this person clearly wasn’t…normal.

“What are you?” Straight and to the point, she wouldn’t mince words when she knew that there was something different about him.

[Mahra Keelan]

He laughed gently, raising his hands. "Mahra," he smiled. His eyes were drawn up to a street light and he blinked at it, causing it to release an effervescent display of sparkles that twisted up and harmlessly dissolved into periwinkle stars and lily orchids in the inky night sky.

Light-dust rained down on Luna, and her new friend's eyes crinkled kindly at her. With a flick of his hand, the dust hopped off of her shoulders and zoomed back into the lamp before it dimmed entirely. On his wrist was a metal bracelet with the St. Mungo's logo engraved in it. They were quite a ways away from London, which meant he'd likely floo'd or apparated here. He didn't, uh, seem entirely together.

"You look tired." He shrugged off his backpack (hot pink with yellow flowers stenciled on) and withdrew a bottle of root beer from within, holding it out to her. "Soda?"

[Luna Naggia]

Luna glanced up at the light show, but she kept her attention on the stranger—on Mahra. Part of it was because she didn’t trust him; part of it was the unusual attraction. She’d caught a glimpse of metal. A watch or bracelet? She hadn’t been able to tell, but regardless the young man seemed a little out there.

And they named her Luna.

”Uh…thanks.” Taking the soda, she looked over it. It was tempting to make sure it was okay but…no. It seemed quite unnecessary. A surge of protectiveness went through her, possibly thanks to the pink bookbag.

”I’m Luna.” She relaxed a fashion and glanced around. If he was bait Quintus was using a new, weird tactic. ”Listen, what are you doing out here? I mean out here by yourself. It is not always wise to be out at night, not even for…one of our kind.” She wasn’t sure that they were exactly the same kind of thing, but she felt sure he was magical.

[Mahra Keelan]

"Oh, I'm walking," he smiled lightly and twisted off the cap of another root beer for himself. The fluorescent lights above them fizzled and hummed. He snapped his fingers and they ceased flickering, washing a steady output of brightness across the area. Inside beyond two automatic doors a bored, black-mohawked goth kid with a studded choker and fishnets sat behind the cashier smoking a cigarette. "It's OK," he told her, tilting his head. For a moment it almost seemed as though he could see into her mind, when his eyes met hers. "It's safe here."

[Luna Naggia]

Luna gave him a thin, though not unkind, smile. “Right, safe.” Despite having been an only child, she felt like she wanted to protect him as an older sister might. Something about the innocence and draw—like he’d draw anyone in regardless of their intention.

“Uh, look, are you hungry? Do you need to go somewhere and cannot apparate? Do you need fare for the Knight Bus?” Her bag could hold pretty much everything, but she did keep a separate bag with some money in it so that it was there for quick access. She could help him get somewhere safe. No, actually safe, not a flimsy illusion of safety just because they were magical in a muggle area.

[Mahra Keelan]

"Oh, no," he laughed. "I'm OK." He grinned at her, and she felt the sensation of being drawn to him increase exponentially. As though everything in her environment had melted away. His voice was melodic, harmonious and soothing. "It is nice to meet you, Luna." He shuffled some things around and then abruptly stuck his hand out to shake, as though he'd seen people do that before.