Achilles Heel

Location | The park Riverfront Gardens in North Aston
Date | 3rd of June 2022
Time | Midday
Weather | Sunny
Attire | Link
Topic for | @Kamma


Now the only reason why Quentin really was stumbling around here in the north part of Aston was because he wanted to seek out his older brother. For what reason he hadn't known, which was why he in the moment once again turned around. Now, he was sitting by a lonely bench in the park and looked around, feeling how the world once again just closed in around him. The sad truth was it didn't feel much different than hell, the loneliness was the same. Quentin therefor got up again, and headed to move out of the park, had decided that today was the day he would then seek out Julianne, his twin sister. Knowing she had been looking for him, yet Quentin hadn't been strong enough to face her, knowing it would evoke some emotion he didn't feel ready for.

He didn't know where Olivia was today, but he knew that Malcolm had called upon her a few times and it was a matter of tries before she had given in to meet with her brother. Not that he blamed her. Quentin took a deeper breath in and stopped for a moment when he felt like he saw someone so familiar that she completely took his breath away for a moment. Was that Kamma? Quentin pressed his brows a bit further together. He walked closer without realizing his legs were even moving, till he came so close that there was no doubt. "Kamma?" He called out wanting to see if she reacted, but then also realized what he was doing.

The holiday had started, or well, there were still a couple of exams left, which was why Kamma had felt like a change of scenery, and she had ended up walking by her favourite barista and ordering a cup of latte. She had walked to the Riverfront Gardens to find a bench and sit down to read through her notes, reading a little, but mostly she had just come here to enjoy the fresh air and sun that was shining today. Wearing her headphones, she didn’t really notice much around her; there were a lot of smells, but since she didn’t really expect anyone she knew to pass her, she wasn’t paying attention.
Her head bobbed as she used her highlighting pen to show in the text that she needed it for later; only when a shadow was hovering by her did she notice that someone had come closer. Her eyes left the page and looked up with a bright smile, a smile that quickly faltered as she saw how it was. Her entire body jumped up, and she ripped the headphones away from her ears as she stood there looking at him. Her heart beating insanely fast against her chest. “Quentin?” she whispered, feeling how tears welled up in her eyes. Now, she had every reason to hate him, scold or shout at him. Instead, she ran the last couple of steps towards him, and her arm folded around his neck and pulled him close to her. “How are you back?” she whispered; she didn’t even question the fact that he had been dead, because she had been to his funeral, not that many would have recognised her, but when she had found out he had died, well, she needed to say goodbye.

For a moment he wondered if it was real or not, just another fragment of his mind playing against him. He wanted for it to be real, as she whispered his name in the wind. It stung in Quentin's head, one of the only choices in his life had been the one where he had chosen to be with her - even tried to go against his father's wishes, but it had been a path that had only lead him to pain and destruction. Destruction of himself, and he had lost. All the things he had lost simply because he could never be good enough in his father's eyes. But now his father was gone, he had shattered the remains of his soul back in hell - defeated his worst demon.

The world stopped for a moment; it wasn't the moment where she walked up to him; no it was the moment her arm folded around his neck and pulled him close towards her. Stunned. He was at first stunned. When was the last time someone had simply just pulled him into an embrace, of course Olivia did every now and then, but this was different. Maybe it was because she cried? How was he back? Quentin first then moved his arms holding his arms around her, realizing how much he needed this hug. "It's a long story," he mumbled, and pulled her a big closer towards him, realizing by now he was crying himself. When was the last time he had done that? When Griffin had died? "I can't believe you are here," he mumbled against her hair.

She nodded understanding when he told her that it was a long story.  She didn’t need a long explanation, because for all she knew it would be something she would never truly understand, nor be capable to harbour the feelings that would undoubtedly be too much for her to bear. Not with that saying, she didn’t want to listen or understand, but she wasn’t going to force him if he didn’t feel ready.  
“I can’t believe you are here” she whispered back, sniffling as she pressed her head closer to his chest, turning her head around so her forehead was pressed against the middle of it. Her crying became stronger, mostly because it was so much to bear. The smell of him, the smell she thought she had lost, at that point she had been so worried that she one day would wake up and forget his name, especially when she had found out that he had died. Her nose pressed against her shirt, and almost like a cat, she made sure to take in his scent. Not caring what people would think, nor if she got tears on his shirt. The whole world could burn around her for all she cared.

He couldn't believe it either, and even so he felt as for a hot minute he was back in hell where all this pain was caused by him. Reminding him of the things he couldn't have or shouldn't have. The people he had betrayed or harmed in any way. Quentin still tried to repress the sadness that tugged him in, wanting him to crack wide open, because he was afraid of who he was if he let all of these emotions haunting his heart in. Yet, he pulled her just a bit closer towards him, keeping his chin rested on the top of her head, keeping his eyes closed almost afraid to open them and realize it was his mind playing tricks on him. "Can we just stand here a moment longer - I'm afraid you will be gone when I open my eyes," he whispered so lowly, yet knowing she would be able to hear him perfectly. But he was pained by the past, painted in so many shades of pain he couldn't even begin to sort them out. Quentin was scared and felt alone, even if him and Olivia was stuck together and he found peace in that - the moments apart from her was dreading.

The sadness in his voice threw her off guard. She had never seen him like this, never heard him like this before.  Of course, she hadn’t been blind to his troubles when she had been together with him, back when they had found a small slice of paradise in New York when they had first met. But he had always hidden it away, never really let her under the surface, and for someone that was so full of expression, an open book, as some would say. But she liked it like that; she couldn’t stand people not speaking their minds. Herself included.
Rather scare people away with who you really are than luring them in under false pretences, which had also been why she had made an exception when she had met Quentin. Knowing that he would never really let her in, always hiding away that side of himself that she so desperately wanted to get to know.
“We can stand here for as long as you like”, she whispered; she didn’t mind the quietness nor just standing here with his arms around her and hers around him. Yes, she could stand here to the end of time, as long as he just kept embracing her.  

We can stand here for as long as you like. The words echoed in his mind, travelling down the hollow road to his heart, trying to escape from the mind telling him it was a trap, it wasn't real. Quentin could feel his jaw starting to tighten a little, then slowly letting go after a minute or so, looking into her eyes. "How - when did you get here?" He wondered. He hadn't spoken to her in years, making it seem rather unreal for her to even be in Athena. Even if he had wanted to keep an eye on her, his father had never let him go after the shapeshifter. He just knew a few things from the times he had been staying with the Blanchard's and had seen Kamma's sister Nessa around.

When he finally let go, she moved out of the embrace, letting one arm fold over her chest and grabbing the other arm, so she had some comfort in front of her. She shrugged, giving him a small smile “well, my mother and father lived here, so I moved back home”, she explained; after he had walked out on her the way he had done, she hadn’t really felt like staying behind in New York, the city reminded her of him, which had only made it so much harder to move on.
Here she had at least something to do with her life, like working at the animal shelter and sometimes at the new opened Florist, where she had gotten to know Elena and Georgia. Both were really lovely girls; even though Aleks had told her plenty about Georgia, he was quite the gossip girl when he first started to open up about himself.
“I’m on my second year at the academy, so”, she explained, letting out a small sigh; her eyes followed a couple walking hand in hand before she tore the gaze away to look back at Quentin. “Why are you here?” she wondered; last she had heard, he wasn’t that good of terms with his family, and they were all here—but maybe things had changed?

The academy. He had never thought if starting there himself, even if his father had had plans to just him started there, just to slowly kill the students. But well that part of the plan had never been put into works, right now he was thankful for that. Then the question was returned back to him. Why was he here? Quentin held his breath for a moment trying to think of an answer. "I don't know," he confessed. "I don't really ... know," he pressed his brows a bit together. He had no home. The closest thing he had to home was near Olivia, and he had no idea truly where they stood. Quentin licked his lips a little bit, "not to bore you with the petty little details, family drama - we are currently not speaking," he exhaled a little bit. At least when he had known Kamma they were speaking, now, he was alone.

She saw how something changed in his eyes, and it took her breath away because she wasn’t stupid—far from it, really. And she knew what that look was; it hadn’t only been the hospital they had been planning to hit. Would he have done it, had he still lived then, and he had found out she had attended the school too? Something told her that she didn’t want an answer to that—which already told her all she needed to know.
“I know”, she let out a small sigh “, not that I really know, but I know enough—ehm, Nessa is married to William, William Blanchard and, well”, her tongue glided over her lips, she had a destructive instinct to make sure to listen when she had been over at Nessa’s and William had Theo and his father visiting. “So, I might know more than what is good for me”, she giggled with a half smile over her lips.

He nodded. He knew Nessa was involved with William, she had been for what nine years or so, and now had tried to get out of it. A nasty mess to try get out of now,  especially with children involved, "I know - not that I really know but I know," Quentin exhaled a little bit, quoting her. He would be foolish not to know a bit about who the different Blanchard's were involved with, also the people outside the family. The more people you knew the connections of, the more resources you had in use. "You always did know more than what's good for you," he pointed out with a smaller chuckle. A dangerous truth. "My father is dead, my brothers alive. My sisters pissed at me - the world is pissed at me, not that I blame them I guess. I'm not really the best person," he clicked his tongue a little bit, realizing he said those words out loud. "But you should stay out of William and the other's way, they aren't really anything but bad news," he remembered still just who had killed him after all.

It hurt her to see him like this, but she wasn’t about to argue against the fact that he was a good person. Because even though he had done some horrible things, one of them being that he had broken her heart. She also knew that he had been misguided and never had the proper care to make sure that he could grow into the person that most people would call good. But even then, he had done the things he had done, and there was no running from the horrible things he had made happen, even if it had been by his father's orders.
“I know”, she exhaled, narrowing his eyes a little “, they are twisting your death; they are starting to win over Jules, making her start hunting again, turning her against Elenora and Nigel”, she whispered; she hadn’t known what to do with the information for such a long time. But maybe Quentin would know what to do. “It’s bad; they are using some sort of drug to keep those in line that start to question what they are doing here”, she whispered, looking over her shoulder, suddenly feeling paranoid that someone would overhear what she had just said.

He pressed his brows a little together, going after Julianne. Smart enough choice, he had tried himself in his worst state of mind. Quentin however hadn't had much luck, he didn't know how to feel about it. "I'm familiar with it," he mumbled a little bit, "its an old family drink," Quentin exhaled a little shaking his head. A dangerous thought hit him; maybe the drug could fix what was wrong with him. Just a few sips and he would be back away from this hollow feeling in his chest. Quentin as well, knew where to find it. "I will see if I can do something to help get Nessa out of there, before she does something that will get her in danger," Quentin didn't know if there was anything he could do. Elenora knew he was alive, therefor he was sure everyone else did. He could search out his beloved twin sister and see if she could do something from the inside, then again, he was in doubt that his siblings would even help him.