Essence of Quinn: Parts 1&2 Secondo Era and Terzo Era (eventual MxM slow burn)

Whipped Dogs

Quinn sipped his coffee and watched the sun rise over the horizon from the edge of the gardens. He sat on the ground on the grassy hill. His feet were bare and he savoured the feel of the earth underneath them. He figured he might as well start his day off right if he was going to be forced to rest.

He felt a presence behind him and turned to see Zephyr. The old ghoul sat down next to him and gave him a brief hug.

“I love this time of the day. So peaceful.”

Quinn nodded his agreement.

He'd discovered at an early age that he enjoyed the early hours of the morning. When everyone else was still sleeping, he could find peace. There was no turmoil to balance out and no stress. It was the only time of the day that he could feel truly alone.

He didn’t mind Zephyr joining him today, though. The ghoul still carried the sadness of losing Rosie, but it wasn’t extreme anymore and Quinn didn’t begrudge him anything, anyway. He was one of the few beings that was peaceful to be around. As a quintessence ghoul, it was a rarity that he appreciated when he came across it.

“I’m sorry if I’ve been a distant lately, Zephyr. I hope you don’t think I was avoiding you on purpose.”

“Quinn, don’t apologise to me. I can see straight through you. I’ve said it before, you’re too hard on yourself. What’s been bothering you?”

He picked some blades of grass and fiddled with them absentmindedly. Although Zephyr was easy to talk to, the kinds of things they talked about were difficult to speak of. Zephyr jokingly referred to himself as Quinn’s shrink and he smiled as he thought of that.

“I’ve been feeling guilty.”

“I thought so. I could see it the last time we talked. What have you done that’s made you feel guilty?”

That was the question, wasn’t it?

“Lived, I suppose.” Zephyr frowned at him. “When I was with Andras, I was not really my own ghoul. I mean, I was, but I had a role to play and I played it. It wasn’t a life. But here? This is more like a normal life for a ghoul. All the Clergy ghouls are happy here. They worked hard to get here and they love their lives.” Zephyr nodded, but he let him continue to purge his thoughts. “I’ve found myself becoming settled. I like the other ghouls. I like Secondo. I like my duties mostly, and I’ve been doing things I enjoy.”

“That’s it, isn’t it? You feel you don’t deserve these things.”

Quinn looked down at the grass under his feet. He thought about all the things he'd done since his family was taken from him. 

He didn’t deserve this life.

“Many times after they died, I wanted to end it all. Andras said that I should live for them. That I should avenge them. And that’s what kept me going at first. The promise of ending the witches.” He shook his head and Zephyr put his arm around Quinn’s shoulders. “But then, after that was done, my life was not my own anymore. It was not mine to take anymore, as much as I wanted to. And Andras would not allow it.”

He felt the tingles of Zephyr’s magic as he tried to soothe him. The memory of his first encounter with the witches rose to the surface, and he found himself telling Zephyr what had happened.

The ghouls and ghulehs of the village, who the witches would target, had escaped to the safety of the nearby mountains by the time the night of the full moon arrived. There was a system of caves that was only known to the locals, and that is where they hid.

One of the village elders was the one that had betrayed them. They left him bound and gagged in the village square, waiting for the witches and their slave ghouls to arrive.