09-20-2026, 12:43 AM
Quinn wasn’t watching the wrestling. Not really. It wasn’t why she was here. She was here because she wanted to celebrate and she wanted to celebrate with someone. The problem was she didn’t really know many people. She had some writing colleagues - people she talked to on message boards and what not, but Quinn had always struggled to fit in. Even at Rivington Folly, she felt alone in how much the rest of the kids favored their father. She had heavily favored her mother - whoever she was.
That was why Quinn had latched on to Lucien. They both had been special. They each had a supernatural ability of sort. Quinn had latched on to that, and Lucien had been fantastic brother. He’d been great at helping her understand what she could do and later, as she pursued writing, she had found more help.
Friends were hard to come by though, so Quinn was here. She wasn’t a fool. She knew this wasn’t real. She was buying an illusion. She just happened to be okay with the illusion. She snuggled in deeper and her companion, an Asian man named Kai, tightened his arms around her.
Quinn finished her drink. ”Would you like another,” Kai asked her, a hand tracing up and down her arm.
Quinn thought quietly before she responded. ”Yeah - just not sure what I want. Let’s go to the bar.”
He released Quinn long enough so she could get to her feet. They walked together to the bar where two women were. One was blonde and the other small and slight and had Asian features. Like everyone, they had candles by them. Quinn was used to them and usually could ignore them, unless one of them stood out. The Asian woman’s did. It was low and sputtering.
Quinn had once tried to explain to Lucien how she used her ability. She had told him that most people’s candles were somewhere in the middle. Both blindingly bright candles and candles that were completely rare. How she changed it was different depending on how the candle looked. For example if the wick was short and drowning in wax, you could heat the wax nearby or scrape some away. This woman’s candle had a different problem.
Her wick was frayed and the flame stuttered, searching for a purchase in which to burn. Quinn had seen it before. Hope was there, flickering, close to dying. This was supposed to be a place to have fun. She didn’t look like she wanted to be here and hope as waning. Quinn didn’t say anything. She decided to try and did so without showing her hand. The wick was frayed - so she fixed it by trimming the wick. Quinn saw her candle change, the wick became a single strand and the sputtering evened out. It wasn’t much, but it was enough.
Quinn approached the bar on the other side of the blonde woman. Kai, thin and lithe, wrapped his arms around her and pressed himself against her as she studied the drink menu. Her eyes kept going to the blonde woman’s drink. ”That looks delish. What is it?” she asked. Her voice was audible, but seemed reserved as if someone didn’t speak much.
That was why Quinn had latched on to Lucien. They both had been special. They each had a supernatural ability of sort. Quinn had latched on to that, and Lucien had been fantastic brother. He’d been great at helping her understand what she could do and later, as she pursued writing, she had found more help.
Friends were hard to come by though, so Quinn was here. She wasn’t a fool. She knew this wasn’t real. She was buying an illusion. She just happened to be okay with the illusion. She snuggled in deeper and her companion, an Asian man named Kai, tightened his arms around her.
Quinn finished her drink. ”Would you like another,” Kai asked her, a hand tracing up and down her arm.
Quinn thought quietly before she responded. ”Yeah - just not sure what I want. Let’s go to the bar.”
He released Quinn long enough so she could get to her feet. They walked together to the bar where two women were. One was blonde and the other small and slight and had Asian features. Like everyone, they had candles by them. Quinn was used to them and usually could ignore them, unless one of them stood out. The Asian woman’s did. It was low and sputtering.
Quinn had once tried to explain to Lucien how she used her ability. She had told him that most people’s candles were somewhere in the middle. Both blindingly bright candles and candles that were completely rare. How she changed it was different depending on how the candle looked. For example if the wick was short and drowning in wax, you could heat the wax nearby or scrape some away. This woman’s candle had a different problem.
Her wick was frayed and the flame stuttered, searching for a purchase in which to burn. Quinn had seen it before. Hope was there, flickering, close to dying. This was supposed to be a place to have fun. She didn’t look like she wanted to be here and hope as waning. Quinn didn’t say anything. She decided to try and did so without showing her hand. The wick was frayed - so she fixed it by trimming the wick. Quinn saw her candle change, the wick became a single strand and the sputtering evened out. It wasn’t much, but it was enough.
Quinn approached the bar on the other side of the blonde woman. Kai, thin and lithe, wrapped his arms around her and pressed himself against her as she studied the drink menu. Her eyes kept going to the blonde woman’s drink. ”That looks delish. What is it?” she asked. Her voice was audible, but seemed reserved as if someone didn’t speak much.