Essence of Quinn Parts 3 & 4 (MxM)

Trust in the Fates

*Six months later*

Midsummer. The time of year the Clergy ghouls lived for. The warmer temperatures suited them better, and every ghoul at the Abbey relished spending time in the outdoors when the summer sun was shining.

Quinn lounged like a cat, stretched out on a blanket in a patch of sunlight, watching Amaya, Air, Calista, Rain, Water, Fire, Itzal, Sunshine and Ayla play in the waterhole in the woods. Earth, Zoe and Rin sat under the shade of a large, ancient tree. The kit could sit up on his own now, and was making moves to crawl, but he hadn't quite mastered it yet. It wouldn't be long until he became mobile, and his parents' lives became a lot more interesting.

Life had been good lately. Too good. Quinn frowned when the thought crossed his mind, mentally berating himself for tempting Fate. He'd let his thoughts drift, but drips of water on his bare chest started him out of them.

"Quinn!" It was Air. Quinn looked up at him and grinned at the sight of his mate, soaking wet, wearing only swimming shorts and dripping pond water onto him. "Amaya wants you to swim."

Quinn glanced towards the water, and Amaya smirked at him, waving. She held onto the edge with her chin resting on the rock bank, eyes trained on him. He sighed and sat up, resting his arms on his knees.

"I'm comfortable," he grumbled.

Air put his hands on his hips and cocked a brow.

"Come on. It's fun! I promise not to pull your shorts off under the water."

Quinn snorted, almost convinced, but an approaching figure drew his attention.

Ayla had climbed out, and she grabbed a towel from the pile near to the waterhole, wrapping it around herself. Quinn frowned when he noticed what he should have picked up on when she'd arrived with Amaya earlier that afternoon. She came over to them and hugged Air before sitting on the blanket next to Quinn. She was still graceful despite her obvious age now.

"Give me a minute," Quinn said to Air.

He leaned down and kissed Quinn's cheek, fingers stroking through his hair.

"Don't be long. We're getting hungry, so we'll be getting out soon."

He sauntered back over to the water and Quinn's gaze lingered on the marks he'd left on his shoulders with his fangs just that morning, feeling his eyes burn at the memory. He'd healed the wounds most of the way, but they were still visible. Air liked it that way.

Ayla sighed, and Quinn turned to her.

"What?" he said.

She laughed and shook her head.

"You two. You remind me of Typhon and I. Right up until the end, he still looked at me that way."

Quinn found himself sending her soothing magic when his nature sensed the pain behind her words. It had been a fair few months now since she'd lost her mate, and the grief had been rough on her. Ayla was probably somewhere around Quinn's true age, which meant she was nearing the end of her life now. Ghouls as a species rarely got illnesses unless they were very young or very old, and Quinn had just noticed that Ayla's heart seemed to be failing.

"I think I will always look at him that way, too," Quinn said, and Ayla smiled at him, stroking a hand along his forearm. Quinn lay back again, propping himself up on his elbows and crossing his ankles as he stretched back out. Ayla mirrored his pose, laying next to him. He frowned. "How have you been, Ayla?"

She glanced over at the pond, focusing on Air, who had just jumped back in and was scrapping with Water. Ayla sighed.

"I'm tired. I think when Ty died, he took a piece of me with him." Quinn felt her grief and when she glanced at him, he saw it. Her usual spark of life felt subdued. Ayla had always been so vibrant, but now she was a shell of herself. She put on a brave face for everyone else, but Quinn could see past that. "I don't think I have too much longer left, either." Quinn pursed his lips, but he kept quiet. "You agree with me, don't you?"