(Fin/Open) This Is Not Foreshadowing.

[Silas Rosier]

[atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/1300666/Characters/Silas/Scripts/sigpostscript_bg.png,true][atrb=valign,top]	[rs=2][bg=ffffff][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/1300666/Characters/Silas/Scripts/sigpostscript_mainbg.png][atrb=style,background-position:top;background-repeat:no-repeat;]   Fuck it, he’d lost count again. How many drinks was this now?   Silas gave the half-empty tumbler of black vodka in front of him a glare as though it had just said something rude.   Well, fuck him. That’s what he got for constantly topping up. It had started with just one drink to clear his head, help with the headaches and stop his fucking hands shaking, but, well, one was never enough now was it? Hell, if it wasn’t for the fact the bottle was nearly empty he probably wouldn’t have stopped.   After pouring the last of the liquor into the glass, Silas finally dragged himself away and stood up to start making his usual rounds around the casino, pleased to note he was able to hold the tumbler without even so much as a hint of a tremor in any of his fingers now. He didn’t have any particular destination in mind; aside from sitting around endlessly consuming his own stock, pacing like this had become his new favourite work-avoidance tactic as of late. He was most likely walking the equivalent of Australia each day only to hash it back out again on the weights and treadmill when he got home. The fact he wasn’t eating as much as he should wasn’t helping either.   The reason? Simply put: Jac. She was taking up about eighty percent of his fucking mind lately and it was always easier to think when he was drinking or doing something physical. Yeah, okay, he liked thinking about her. Sue him. Were his methods healthy? (Or responsible for that matter?) Fuck to the no, but for once in his life he really couldn’t be made to give two shits about it.   It was the sound of one of the enchanted poker machines going off nearby that finally made Silas stop after his fourth lap around the building. Judging by the clanging, that had to be an awful lot of galleons metaphorically pouring out of his wallet and into somebody else’s lap. No matter. With the machines boasting such steep house edges he’d have it all back in less time than anyone would think was legal. Bonus points if the winner was batshit crazy enough to feed it all back into the machine hoping for another big win.   He was heading over in that direction anyway. Might as well go down to get a glance of who the hell it was. It ought to distract him for, oh, a handful of seconds. Veering course a bit, Silas made his way between the rows to the source of the sound, helping himself to a moderate sip of the alcohol in his hand as he did so. The noise quickly ended but it wasn’t long before the culprit came into view. Some brunette by the looks of it, and it took him a moment after noticing her hair looked a lot like Jac’s when she wore it out to realise that, fuck, he actually knew who it was.   Shit, that was Mick Mackenzie’s kid. What the heck was she doing here? He was a both a friend of her fathers and one of his benefactors, so he’d met the girl a few times. Never for long, but that wasn’t the point. The point was, one, her name was Finlay, two, she was a Puff (tut), and three, she was only sixteen.   Yes, sixteen. Problem.   He continued his way over at an unhurried pace, quickly trying to decide if she was worth his while to toss out. Ordinarily, no, but the fact she’d just won something meant kicking her out the door might allow him to reclaim it. Tempting, but, ah well. Looked like he’d just have to wait and see. “That must have been an absolutely incredible fake I.D,” Silas remarked flippantly as he drew up to the neighbouring machine. “I could have sworn the staff were getting good at spotting those.”	[atrb=valign,top]
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[Finlay Cassandra Mackenzie]

[atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=background,http://i51.tinypic.com/2yotog1.png,true][atrb=background,http://i56.tinypic.com/9prvw0.png][atrb=style,padding:0px 50px;background-position:top;background-repeat:no-repeat;] There hadn’t been any real reason Fin had gone to the casino that night. Part of her had grown bored of the pubs in Hogsmeade, not because they were pubs but because the element of ‘rebel’ had gone. It wasn’t hard to get served there anymore; she knew who would give her alcohol and those who wouldn’t. She wanted the rush that came with the chance of getting caught out. So, Hogsmeade was out, London was in. It wasn’t that difficult to get to London, the hardest part had been sneaking some floo powder out. However, Fin was the girl who had been able to keep her drug stash hidden from everyone, so sneaking some powder out wasn’t exactly rocket science. It had been stashed in a little bag and stuck down her bra. Sorted. Next stop was the Three Broomsticks, it was perfect. Who would really bat an eyelash at the Hufflepuff heading there? Especially if they knew of her. Bish bash bosh, powder, fire, poof, Fin found herself in magical London. Now this was where she wanted to be when she left school. Everything about the capital city was different. The speed of life, she wouldn’t have time to think about anything if she lived here. However, that wasn’t what she was here for. She was here for a challenge, something fun to sneak into. It was all about the fake ID she had on her, and if that failed, it was about the confidence, the ability to make someone doubt themselves, their gut instinct, and believe you. A few places caught her eye as she walked, but none of them really seemed to call to her. All until… Scores. She wasn’t sure why it called her name like a siren, but it did. Heading to the door, Fin was stopped by a large guy, built like a brick shit house, who dwarfed the young Hufflepuff. His gruff voice ordered her to show her ID, to which Fin flashed him a smile, nothing too obvious. So many people made that mistake, acting too cute and giving themselves away. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her purse, filled with more fake things, credit cards, platinum store cards, all things to hint she was older than her years. Fake ID, fake name, fake age, only thing real on it was her picture. “Sure thing.” She could never be too careful, but the trick was to get a good rapport with the bouncers, so she tilted her head slightly to the left, pulling exactly the same expression that matched the picture. Apparently it worked, as the bouncer grinned at her, handed the ID back and wished her a good time. Finlay Mackenzie 1, Scores Bouncers 0. Rock on. Checklist: Get to London, check. Find challenging place to get into, check. Get past bouncers/security on said challenging establishment, check. Find the bar… excellent idea. Heading inside, Fin didn’t realise but she was like a bloodhound, sniffing out the bar with unnerving precision. She couldn’t help having her chest puffed out, damn she was good. Seriously! There were kids in school, older than her, who still got kicked out of places in Hogsmeade for being caught underage, and here she was, passing to get into a casino. Fuck yeah! Ordering her drink, Fin took the glass of whiskey before calling back the bartender as they were leaving, “Actually, leave me the bottle, yeah?” Setting up a tab, Fin took the bottle and glass and headed out into the casino, changing up her money into chips. So much to choose from! Roulette, poker, blackjack… where the hell did she start! She was already in ecstasy, the sounds of the casino like music to her ears. The clanging of the machines, rhythmic dings, the sound of the croupiers, their voices calling out numbers, place your bets, the customers, their voices filled with the ends of either spectrum, happy at winning or bummed about not. It all merged into one wall of sound. Downing the contents in the glass, Fin stuck it on the tray of some girl who wandered by with a tray. With bottle in hand, she headed for the poker machines. She’d seen her dad play them in pubs when she was a kid, they had seemed like fun. She knew the likelihood of winning was slight, but this wasn’t the place to come if you wanted to win. Odds in casinos weren’t great, without the risk of the machines being charmed. Fin was here for fun though, so who cared whether she won or lost? As time went on, she won chips, but mostly lost them. The contents of the whiskey bottle reduced substantially, she was getting happily tipsy by this point. Sticking another chip in the machine she was stood in front of, her fingers tapped at the machine as her other hand lifted the bottle to her lips. She was past caring, this was her last go on this machine before she headed over to the roulette table. Slapping a couple of buttons, she waited for the sound to ring out, the one she’d grown used to hearing, letting her know she’d lost… again. However this time, it didn’t happen. Oh no, there was a different sound, a loud one, all bells ringing and clanging, causing people to turn and stare at her. This was embarrassing enough for the Hufflepuff who hated being the centre of attention, then the money started pouring out into the tray at the bottom. Fin’s eyes widened. Holy. Mary. Mother. Of. Jesus. H. Christ. Shit! That was a fucking huge amount of money right there! Fin’s hands put the bottle down, grabbed hold of a couple of buckets people used to carry their chips in, and started shovelling the chips into them. She needed to get these cashed up, call Scotty and August and take the boys on a night on the town. They could muggle it down for the night, maybe head to SoHo or Camden! That was, if they were free. Her mind boggled at what she could get up to with that money. She didn’t even notice the figure pulling up at her side, not until he spoke. That must have been an absolutely incredible fake I.D Fin’s lips curled into a smirk, a breath leaving her in a huff, I could have sworn the staff were getting good at spotting those. Her fingers grabbed at the last few chips as she spoke, “Awww now don’t be getting jealous because you’ve had a losing streak… some people just have all the l…” She was cut off when she looked up to the guy she thought was just some annoyed customer who found it unfair someone else had won. How wrong she had been. That wasn’t some random, that was someone she knew, who obviously knew her, and worse still, knew her dad… quite well. Her mouth dropped open, her eyes mimicking a deer in headlights. “Sil… Mr. Rosier… hey.” Politeness was probably her best bet right now, though her voice betrayed the fact she’d been caught out. “Having a night out too?” She tried to ignore his questions about her fake ID, she didn’t want to incriminate herself further.

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[Silas Rosier]

  Fin’s smug expression quickly melded into one of surprise when she realised just who it was she was talking to. Honestly, he couldn’t really imagine why; it wasn’t like he owned the place or anything. If she wanted to keep away from anyone who might recognise her while she went out for some fun then Scores was an absolutely balls-out retarded place to pick for a night on the town. Fin wasn’t getting any sympathy here.

  “Having a night out too?”

  Or, shit. Maybe she was actually just clueless.

  “Something like that,” Silas replied vaguely, taking another quick drink of the liquor and leaning against the slot machine adjacent to Fin’s, free hand in his pocket. You could hardly call it a night out if you were just hanging around your workplace, but in the same vein it wasn’t working if you weren’t actually working either. More like ‘expert procrastinating’. He was going to have to tackle his in-tray eventually before it toppled over, but until that time he fully intended to keep ignoring it. Jac seemed to visit him more often that way, which wasn’t something he wanted to discourage.

  “Anyway,” Silas continued, “I’d say you’ve actually earned yourself a drink for that effort, but it looks like you got that covered,” he said with a glance at the nearby bottle of whiskey to see if he recognised it. The label was angled away from him but it looked a bit like a scotch or something – not a brand that he was personally familiar with or he would have recognised it.

  Besides, money was money no matter if it came from a 4, 40, or 144 year old and a drunken gambler was akin to a casinos wet dream. The more being consumed the better, especially if she wanted to upgrade to something a little more challenging than slot machines. Hopefully he could nudge her in that direction at some point – it wouldn’t hurt to have some of those chips back, because going by how full that bucket was, she’d just made off with a fair bit. It was safe to assume if Fin was lying her way into casinos to gamble she probably wasn’t the most responsible with her money to start with.

  “Coming here of all places though? Ballsy move,” he acknowledged, keeping an eye out in case someone looked to be coming over. Considering the evidence, if he had to guess he’d say Fin was here alone, but you couldn’t always be sure. If she started looking like she wanted him to piss off he didn’t particularly mind obliging. After all, the glass of black vodka he was holding was running low again. Couldn’t have that now could he?

  “Don’t worry,” Silas with an amused sort of grin before raising the tumbler again, “I won’t say anything to your Dad if you won’t.” Fuck, underage drinking and fake I.D’s were practically tradition. Bars and casinos somehow got less awesome in their own way once you were legally allowed to be there.

[Finlay Cassandra Mackenzie]

............

I'll tell you something,I am a wolf but

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I like to wear sheep's clothing
............

Fin could admire the ability to expertly procrastinate. Hell, it was one of her favourite pastimes. She wouldn’t consider herself an expert in the field though, not anymore. Her conscience always won out and she ended up revising or working on a paper for extra credit. She had to admit, though she was fubar’d, the teachers at Hogwarts were more than willing to accept her attempts to get her grades up. This, this right here though, getting caught, underage, in a casino, wasn’t going to go down well though. Hindsight was a wonderful thing… if only it came before the action. She was now realising just how stupid an idea it had been.

She only seemed to wading further and further into trouble the more the conversation went on. First, she’d been caught by someone who knew her, second, he’d noticed the large bottle by her side, which was halfway to needing a refill, and third, the state of the bottle showed just how much had disappeared down her neck since she’d arrived. If any of this, any of it, got back to the school or her dad, she wouldn’t know what hit her. A small smile, slightly embarrassed but more nervous, covered her lips for a brief moment before she cleared her throat, her eyes moving from the bottle back to his, “Uh… yeah. Guess I brought lady luck in with me huh…” Her fingers ran over the chips protectively, she really didn’t want to part with them, not after her brain had already planned what the payout was going to get her. “And it seemed easier to get the bottle… save me going to the bar or drawing attention to myself by getting the waitresses attention.”

[/b] Of course, she wasn’t expecting to get a big payout like she had, that had thrown a major spanner in the works. It wasn’t like she’d wanted to get money out of tonight; she just wanted a change of scenery.

Silas summed it up perfectly, everything she was thinking, in one comment, ~Coming here of all places though? Ballsy move.~ Fin’s mouth felt incredibly dry, so she swigged from the bottle, a good few mouthfuls. It moistened her tongue for a moment but also gave her the good Old Dutch Courage. “Uh yeah… could say that. Didn’t really think it through but it seemed a good idea at the time. I just wanted something different.” She knew of Silas, she’d seen him a few times at functions, but she had no idea how he felt about people being underage, hell she didn’t even know this was his place.

Her eyes remained on Silas as he raised his tumbler. Just as he was checking to see if she was alone, she was worried he would call someone over, ruin her night. However, what left his lips were the last thing she expected. Her eyebrows pulled in together as she stared at him in disbelief. Okay, he was now cool in her books, forcing a smile to her lips. She liked people who didn’t judge, who let her do what she wanted. “That would be really appreciated…” She wasn’t stupid though, she knew better than to push her luck, “Sooo… I guess I should go, right? I’ll just go cash my chips and get out of here… have a good night, yeah?” She went to move from the stool, making sure her chips were safely in their container. Get out before he wanted payment for his silence, damn it this was her money.
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[Silas Rosier]

  “Didn’t really think it through but it seemed a good idea at the time,” Finn admitted a little sheepishly.

  Hah, he liked this kid. Silas swallowed his drink quickly and continued speaking. “Take my word for it,” he said with a grin, “if you can’t see yourself attaching the words ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time’ onto the end of something, it’s not worth doing.”

  Well, within reason of course, but he trusted that she knew what he meant. If Finn took that as an excuse to jump in front of the Knight-Bus then the gene-pool would probably be better off without her. Darwinism at its finest. It wasn’t exactly the most responsible piece of advice in the world, but it certainly made his life interesting. Really, that was all that mattered. As if anyone wanted to be well-behaved their whole lives: he’d rather blow his own brains out, or someone else’s.

  Finlay appeared sufficiently unsettled enough by the encounter to try and make a break for it. He supposed self-preservation would probably do that, but the words ‘cash my chips and get out of here’ weren’t exactly music to his ears.

  “Oh, don’t leave on my account,” he laughed, eyeing her bucket of chips briefly. “Or at least not without giving me a shot at winning my money back.” He checked his watch. “Roulettes still open, a craps game pops up in six, and poker a little later. You made it this far, so you might as well cash in what you came in with plus a little extra and consider your winnings ‘house money’. That way even if you bomb out at the end of the night you’ve still won something. Unless you got plans for that of course,” he proposed, gesturing at the bucket she almost seemed to be guarding.

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  Whoot for shorties?

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[Finlay Cassandra Mackenzie]

[atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=background,http://i51.tinypic.com/2yotog1.png,true][atrb=background,http://i56.tinypic.com/9prvw0.png][atrb=style,padding:0px 50px;background-position:top;background-repeat:no-repeat;] As Silas made his comment, Fin couldn't help but smile. He was right to a degree, things weren't fun without the element of danger. Would the casino be as fun, as gratifying, if she hadn't had to sneak her way in, if she was legally allowed to enter the establishment? Her drinking and drug taking. Would they be as appealing if they were legal and didn't have that element of danger to them? The answer was no. She wasn't as literal to take his meaning to the level of jumping in front of a bus on the way home, that was just stupid. There was a difference between the element of danger and suicide. Still, what he had said made her relax a bit, he was more on her level than she had thought. It seemed like he could understand her way of thinking, that life was for living, not for wasting. Sure, some people thought she was wasting her life with the amount of alcohol she downed or how much she smoked, pilled or injected but it was what she wanted to do, so they could butt out. She was a teenager, wasn't it in the job description to rebel? And who was she hurting? Only herself, so why did people take such an interest? Stupid adults with their rules and expectations, stupid teenagers who were trying to be grown ups too fast. She had seven years of being a teenager, from the age of 21 she'd be classed as an adult... then the rest of her life she'd be controlled by the adult laws. What was wrong with being a teen for those short years? Still, she wasn't stupid, she knew a good thing when she had it. Her winnings were a damn good thing, so his offer to cash what she came with and a little extra didn't exactly thrill her. It was just that one word 'little'. Still, the idea that he wouldn't throw her out was well accepted, and the promise of maybe winning more at the poker table was something Fin was really taken with. With a sly smile, she looked from the bucket of chips to Silas' face. "Me and this money do have some plans, yeah. It involves my two best mates, a night out in Muggle London, copious amounts of drink, dancing and debauchery... but that being said, I do love poker."

[/b] She shrugged her shoulders, taking another swig from the bottle, "So... how about this. I'll cash what I came with, three quarters of the rest... and then I'll play poker, try and get some more money but, if I lose, I'll have had a good time and still go away with a nice amount."[/color] She was her father's daughter through and through, always willing to have some fun but never risking too much. Standing up, she chewed on her lip, "You gonna play? Don't wanna get caught out, you know."[/color] Her eyes moved to the bottle in her hand, getting dangerously low.[/justify][/size][/color][/font][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[Silas Rosier]

[atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/1300666/Characters/Silas/Scripts/sigpostscript_bg.png,true][atrb=valign,top]	[rs=2][bg=ffffff][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/1300666/Characters/Silas/Scripts/sigpostscript_mainbg.png][atrb=style,background-position:top;background-repeat:no-repeat;]   Out of everyone, Silas was the last person on the planet qualified to chew someone else out for drinking. He probably drank enough himself per annum to keep a distillery running, and being underage at one stage hadn’t stopped him either. As for drugs? Not so much lack of interest as lack of availability. They weren’t nearly as prolific in the magic world, and even then their distribution was more centred around muggle-borns. Really? Better he be kept away from narcotics entirely – he had enough problems already without making things worse for himself.   For a moment it looked like Fin was going to slip away with all her winnings. A loss, yes, but while she left a happy customer there was always a good shot she’d come back again in the future. Given enough time anything a gambler won would filter back into the casino in the long term.   At Fin’s description of her planned spending Silas couldn’t help but give a little amused smile. The random throwaway noun ‘debauchery’ made it sound a lot like she was going to take her friends to an underground brothel or an orgy or something. That was one way to celebrate...   Then, surprise: Finlay agreed to stick around on the provision she cash in most of her money first. M’kay, so he had to give the girl some credit, she wasn’t a total idiot. Yet. Give her a bit longer with that whiskey and then maybe. There was a very good reason casinos were quick to pour on the alcohol to its gamblers.  ... And speaking of alcohol it seemed as though both of them were running unacceptably low.   “Sounds like a plan Captain. I might just take you up on that,” Silas replied cheerily, giving Fin a lazy salute as she stood up before slipping the hand into his pocket. Any distraction sounded like a brilliant idea right now. Every time Jac went home from work he was left uncharacteristically wound up and fidgety – maybe this ought to stop him counting down every minute until he saw her again for a while.   “What’s your game of choice? Texas Holdem starts first and either way there’s enough time to cash your earnings then duck to the bar quickly,” Silas explained, swilling what was left of the alcohol in his glass before sculling the remains. “You might as well take me up on that free drink offer too while I seem to be out of my mind,” he proposed dryly. It wasn’t as though Finlay didn’t have way more than enough to pay for whatever she needed on her own now, no thanks to that damn slot machine. “The bar’s on the way – I need to refuel,” he added, standing up straight again and politely waiting for Fin to start leading the way.	[atrb=valign,top]
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[Finlay Cassandra Mackenzie]

[atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=background,http://i51.tinypic.com/2yotog1.png,true][atrb=background,http://i56.tinypic.com/9prvw0.png][atrb=style,padding:0px 50px;background-position:top;background-repeat:no-repeat;] Brothel, not so much, but Fin would have happily have followed Silas' train of thought where Scott was concerned. He wouldn't have had to pay her at least. That was useless though, Scott didn't see her that way and she had come to terms with that. She would just be the best friend, the unrequited love she despised so much in films. She had always got angry at those girls, moaning that they should just suck it up and move on... but now she knew just how hard that was. Damn feelings. Damn them to whatever Hell they came from. Standing up, Fin downed the last of the whiskey from the bottle. Of course she was going to take Silas up on the free alcohol, he could afford it and her turning it down would be like a monkey not taking a banana. It was wrong in all senses of the word. "Texas Holdem is a good game, so I'll cash up, head to the bar for your crazy, but appreciated, offer and we can head to the table." Although Fin was a bit of a social mole, not really liking to speak to people unless it was Auggie, Scott or someone she was taking her angst out on, she was liking Silas' company. He wasn't lecturing her about her age, he was just letting her live. He was, for that, a cool guy. Moving from her chair, Fin moved over to the cashier, handing over the bucket, full to spilling, so it could be counted and converted to oh so lovely moola. Keeping the right amount back, enough for a game or two if she was careful, she pocketed the money. Done. Now to the alcohol. Meeting Silas at the bar, she glanced across the bar. She was still her father's daughter and she had been raised with manners. Also, knowing that he was linked to her father's business, Fin didn't want to do anything that would look bad on him... though she decided to ignore the sneaking into a casino with fake ID and drinking. For that reason, she wouldn't order the most expensive drink available, she went for something she loved, "I guess I'll have a whiskey, please." Waiting for the drink to be placed before her, she smiled, "I think we should toast, I think this is going to be a good night."

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