Who: Alfie and Quinn What: Meetings Where: Aubade 402 When: This Sunday Warnings: None
Quinn was hesitant still about meeting with Alfie, even after mulling it over in her head for so long. Gwen was generally okay with her searching for outside help for whatever the issue was, but it still didn't make things any easier. Asking for help was never a big part of Quinn's life, rather it was painful to have to do such a thing. Overall, though, she wanted the help more than she didn't. She wanted to be able to not struggle her way through a children's book, and wanted to seem like perhaps she was a normal person like other people.
It's why Quinn ended up in the lobby of Aubade, letting the doorman call up to Penelope Worth's home.
It was close to a miracle Quinn didn't turn around and leave, except for the persistent thought that perhaps she could relate better if they figured out the ins and outs of her ability. When the doorman gave her the go ahead, Quinn took the elevator up and made her way to Alfie's apartment door. She knocked on the front door in three quick successions before she shoved her hands back in the pockets of her new coat and waited.
The housemaid opened the door for Quinn, and she led her through the entry foyer and into the living room beyond. Alfie was sitting at the desk there, working on paperwork, and she stood when Quinn entered. "Thank you, Abigail," she told the housemaid, and she motioned to the couch in the center of the space. "Please, Quinn, have a seat," she said.
Alfie had been in contact with quite a few people since Quinn had spoken to her on the forums, using what she'd learned to see where aid could be given, what could be done, and she had made tentative arrangements with those contacts. She hadn't wanted to spring all of that on Quinn without warning, however, and so she took a seat on the loveseat and motioned to the tray with bottles of water and finger foods on the coffee table between them. "Please, help yourself," she said, "and tell me how you've been since Thanksgiving." She'd seen her at the dinner, of course, and she'd seen her departure, as well.
Quinn followed the housemaid through the apartment, glancing around and filing away all the points of entry and potential exits. She pulled off her mittens as they walked through to where Alfie was and her coat followed, gently draping it over the arm of the couch and sat down. Reaching out, Quinn took one of the water bottles and gave Alfie a hesitant ghost of a smile. Alfie still made her mostly feel scrutinized, but it was starting to not bother her anymore. "Thanks."
As Quinn took a sip of her water, it gave her a moment to try to collect her thoughts. Of course, Alfie would've saw her ditch everyone. "Been okay," she replied with a little shrug. It felt right to apologize for leaving, since it probably had been her planning. "Sorry about leaving early. Ah, missed my family. Didn't like cameras," Quinn told Alfie with a small smile. It was mostly the truth.
Alfie liked Gwen's small house-mate, she was finding, even with the looks the girl gave her, which were not precisely trusting. "No need to apologize. I've never remained at a function a moment longer than I wished to," she said honestly. "It sets bad precedence, you see, doing things you do not want to do." That was true enough. "I asked Gwen to come, but it was not precisely successful," she admitted apologetically. "And I suspect young Luke had something to do with your departure as well." That was a statement, not a question, and there was fondness for Luke in the words, even if she suspected his own departure might have made his friends feel uncomfortable in the spotlight.
"Gwen doesn't...like parties. Like me. But, I go cause Luke," Quinn said with a shrug. "But. Not comfortable. All the lights." She mimicked the flash of the cameras with her hands then shook her head. She wasn't made for the spotlight or the amount of attention the news media lavished on the family guests. Honestly, the world Luke and Alfie both worked in now was nothing Quinn could handle.
Shaking her head, Quinn turned the conversation to what she came there for. "Talk about...issues, yeah? Think it is. Um. Ability issue make things hard," she furrowed her brow as she tried to pick the words, "Better with what I do? Worse other things."
Alfie did understand, and she suspected the problem with language had quite a bit to do with Quinn's discomfort in social situations. "I have contacted a few people, and they are willing to meet with us, but I wanted to let you know about them first," she explained. "The first is a Creation who has visibility into abilities and the side effects that come with them. Her name is Alice, and she helped me with my ability when I crossed over. The second is a an older man, he goes by Gregory, though I doubt that is truly his name. He works with language issues in Creations, and he is willing to work with you here, weekly. No cost." And there would be no cost- to Quinn, but that was unimportant. "I do not know how well either of these things will work, but it is a place to begin."
Quinn took in the information silently, nodding along as Alfie spoke. Considering the options, this was the most ideal way to start. Quinn could rarely put her ability in to words, so this Alice would help define what she could actually do. This Gregory person would work with her weekly here? "Here?" She pointed at her seat, mostly trying to indicate Alfie's large home. She knew there'd be an actual cost, but Alfie didn't seem to be asking her to pay it herself. The charity was something she'd let slide for now, she'll pay Alfie back in the long run. "Thank you. This is...ah, unexpected."
"Here," Alfie assured. No one knew Quinn here, and she knew this sort of thing could be embarrassing, hard in how vulnerable it could make a person feel, and the privacy this space offered was ideal. "We can settle one of the offices for you to work in, and I shall add you to the building list," she offered. "It is, I think, a beginning."
Quinn looked gratefully at Alfie, before looking down at her hands for a moment. It tugged at her to not run away from all of this, but she was determined to get this done. It would be a struggle, she knew, but in the end it would be worth it. "That'd be good," she conceded, "Very good beginning."
Alfie sat back, and she looked at the young woman in front of her. "It seems daunting, I know, but you can do anything you set your mind to, Quinn," she reassured her. "I didn't begin like this," she said, motioning to the opulence of the space. "I clawed my way here. You'll claw your way where you need to, also. You have it in you," she said with certainty. This child was a fighter; Alfie just intended to help her fight, where she could.
It was still hard, Quinn found, to have people assure her of how she could do anything. After hearing she had no chance of doing anything, finding she'd could so something with herself beyond her fists was difficult to digest. She nodded though, trying to bite back a little smile at the thought of having something like Alfie's. She's really just aiming to not have to piggyback off of Gwen for the rest of their lives. "Baby steps first," she said with a little awkward laugh, "Read then this." As she gestured around them.
Alfie nodded, and she smiled widely. "Very well. Read, then this," she said. She knew the reading part was going to be hard, harder that what this child did with her evenings, and she hoped she had it in her to see it through, no matter how difficult. Somehow, she suspected that she did.