Essence of Quinn Parts 3 & 4 (MxM)

Steel

Shay and Secondo agreed that Calista could visit the Abbey to try and reverse whatever spell or hex had been put on her. It took many hours to sort everything out and for Helena to prepare what she thought she would need. Boreas and Lyra had left Quinn and Air alone with her. They had moved from the bed to the furs again as Quinn thought that she might be more comfortable there.

Calista was curled up in his lap with her cheek resting on his chest and Air had his head on Quinn's shoulder. She had calmed now and she wasn't shaking anymore, thankfully. She'd seemed to accept Air's presence but he hadn't made any more moves to touch her.

Quinn heard her stomach rumble and Air must have too.

"When was the last time you ate, lovely?" Air asked gently.

Calista shrugged ever so slightly.

"We can have them bring you something before we go if you like?" Quinn said.

Air shook his head.

"Probably not the best idea when we are being summoned. It might upset her stomach. I can make her something when we get back. What would you like, Calista? Some soup maybe? That's what Quinn has when he doesn't feel like eating to keep his strength up. Human food is really good. Well, some of it. Some of it is just bizarre though..."

Quinn closed his eyes and tipped his head back, smiling as Air filled the silence with small talk. He was so much better at this kind of thing than Quinn was. Secondo and Boreas knew it which was why they'd sent for Air as well as him. Not only would he be moral support for Quinn, he would instinctively know what to do in this situation with a potentially traumatised ghuleh. He was a master at putting others at ease and by talking about mundane Earth things he was distracting Calista's mind, helping to calm her.

The Earth was completely foreign to her. Everything would be strange and she was probably worried about what would happen there on top of everything else that had gone on. She'd had zero time to decompress and they had no idea what kind of life she had come from. Quinn guessed that she probably didn't speak any of the languages well and she didn't know anyone there.

Well, except for Rain.

Quinn hadn't mentioned him to her. She had enough to deal with right now so he'd kept quiet, leaving it up to those above him to decide how to handle it. His main objective now was to keep her calm and safe and to fix this immediate problem with the barrier of communication. He hoped that he could fulfil that at least.

Another hour or so passed and Boreas came for them.

"Is she ready?" he said, looking to Calista who was still curled up in Quinn's lap.

She'd fallen asleep and he hated to disturb her but he didn't want her to suddenly wake up in a different dimension, disoriented and confused if he let her sleep through it all. Quinn gently shook her shoulder and she startled awake.

"You're safe, I've got you," he murmured against her hair. "They are ready for us. Should we go?"

She looked up at him and nodded sleepily.

"As soon as we get there I'll make you hot chocolate. I'll make it special," Air said as he climbed to his feet and stretched.

Calista turned her face towards him and gave him a shy smile. Air beamed back at her and Quinn could have kissed him right there and then for coaxing it out of her. He didn't want to scare her with sudden movements though so he used the bond he shared with Air to send his thanks as a little caress to the other ghoul's soul.

"Can you walk? Or should I carry you?" Quinn asked.

Calista frowned and he felt her determination as she extracted herself from his hold and climbed to her feet. He could feel that she was weak, mostly through the lack of food and the stress, but that didn't stop her. She was still graceful despite being unsteady. She wobbled on her feet slightly and Air was there, putting an arm gently around her waist to support her. She didn't flinch away this time and she nodded her thanks to him, snaking her hand around him to hold on.