Who: Dora and Quinn (and Evie) Where: Unknown (later found to be an island called Howl) When: Waaaay backdated to 10th October What: On an island that wasn’t theirs Rating: TBD Open: No
Quinn wasn’t sure how he and Evie had got separated from Cleo but trying to find her again had proved difficult. And painful. Thank god for Dora or they would have been in even more trouble.
He didn’t know a lot about the Nevernever - aside from the few things Harry had mentioned, which wasn’t a great deal - but he did know it hurt. In more ways than one. That, and nothing seemed to like him. Quinn was barely aware of a lot of what was happening, trying to stay close to Dora and make sure Evie was safe, despite the fact he felt awful. They needed to get out of here and find the others.
Dora was still uncomfortable. Taking on the form of one of the natives had felt strange to her, because it wasn’t just about the look. It was about the movements. The vibe. The danger. The sensuality. She was not good at sensual, and being this beautiful and inhuman felt ridiculously out of kilter. Plus after she’d ‘claimed’ Quinn and Evie after she’d found them, she’d had to keep it up, to keep them safe, which had involved not invoking any spells.
She’d felt weird about it, reacting to Quinn in the sexualised way and Evie in the possessive way that reflected how those around her behaved. With no chance of leaving from what they had found so far, the creepy way of being had to stick for a while, to keep the others safe.
A chill had seeped into Quinn, if he wasn’t so sure he hadn’t died he would think he was suffering blurred lines.
“Does anything look familiar?” he asked Dora in a whisper. They needed to find one of the points they arrived here, if they had any chance of leaving. And hopefully Cleo would be there too.
“Nothing, doesn’t even feel the same,” Dora murmured. “No Archie, no Cleo,” she looked around, resisting the urge to reach for her wand, or stretch out her hand to call a spell. “Do you think they’re alright?”
“I hope so,” Quinn said, checking to see that Evie was still holding tight to him. It was always unnerving not being able to feel properly. “They’re probably worrying about us.”
“Archie and me, we’re apart a lot, so it probably won’t matter so much. I hope I don’t have to hold this up for much longer though, it’s making me feel strange,” Dora replied
“This whole place is making me feel strange,” Quinn shivered before giving a short shake of his head. “Things have changed though, haven’t they? Between you two, since arriving on the island?”
“Yes, but it’s hardly been that long,” Dora replied. “And this form...it’s more than just me.”
“What do you mean?”
“It feels like this form, seems not to be completely me, like it’s figuring out how to beat me and just be here forever,” Dora replied. “Vocal shaping takes time, but not with this form, straight away.”
Quinn frowned, that didn’t sound good. “Then we better find a way back.”
“At least out of here, so I can be me again.”
He nodded and glanced around, trying to see if anything looked or felt familiar.
“There’s something here, maybe Harry left something open?” Dora asked. She’d ghosted between Summer and Winter, before settling on Summer as things had started to claw at her, picking someone who felt more comfortable to wear.
Quinn couldn’t feel anything, or maybe it was more he could feel too much but he nodded again. “If you can feel something, then lead the way.” He shivered again and drew Evie closer. “Sorry, Dora. I’m pretty useless right now.”
“Could you not? I think some of these trees can hear us,” Dora replied. “Where in the seasons is Dresden when we need him? OK, that was not me, follow, now,” Dora headed left into the trees.
Quinn’s gaze flicked around warily but he followed Dora, keeping close and making sure Evie was between them.
Dora slipped between the trees, which worried her, she could inhabit a role easily, but this felt different like she was being inhabited by the role, her natural clumsiness disappearing beneath fluid and alien fae movements. She glanced back to make sure the humans were following, before shaking the thought away and heading for the hole in reality she could feel.
She stepped through the space she could feel rather than see, blinking at the change in the light
Quinn stumbled behind her, squinting. He still felt out of it and drained as if he had overtaxed his abilities, or worse, but a familiar sound and feeling hit him at that moment. Water. He blinked and glanced down at the sand beneath his feet and then raised his head again to look out at the waves lapping up on the shore.
“Oh thank… Are we back?” he breathed out, unable not to talk in a whisper after doing it for the past however long.
“No, smells wrong, like cars,” Dora replied
“Cars?” Actually, if Quinn focussed a little more the vibe he was getting wasn’t exactly right. However, focussing on anything was proving difficult right now.
“Well, it does, and the light’s wrong,” Dora glanced around before almost shivering, the beautiful fae form dropping away to show her real self.
“It feels different… but it’s better than there.” Quinn walked a few more steps away from where they had come through before he dropped down on the sand. Shit, he was knackered. “Evie? You alright?” he asked quietly. His daughter nodded, “where’s Mum?” She glanced at Dora, watching the other woman carefully, at least more comfortable with her in her original form.
“I don’t know, sweetie.” Quinn held his arms out to her, hugging her close. “But we’ll find her. We always do.” He glanced up at Dora. “How are you?”
“I’m just tired, it’s fine. Stay put, we need to try and find us somewhere safe to get some rest,” if Dora was honest she felt like absolute shit. She felt dislocated from herself, and that scared her, but she also knew that wouldn’t help Quinn keep his shit together.
Quinn gave a short nod and closed his eyes, trying to pull something from the nearby water but it wasn’t helping. His head hurt. Hell, his whole body hurt but at the same time felt numb. Next time he saw Harry he’d have to ask him what the bloody deal was with the Nevernever, because everything in that place had seemed to actively hate him.
“Dad, you can’t sleep, no one else is here,” Evie prodded him.
Quinn suppressed a groan. “I’m just resting my eyes,” he murmured.
“There’s still no one here, Dora’s gone,”
He forced his eyes open. “Which way did she go?” The little girl pointed away from the beach. “Think we should go after her?” he asked.
“She said she was finding somewhere safe.”
If there was somewhere safe. Quinn closed his eyes again and took a deep breath. “Let’s go after her,” he said before attempting to get back to his feet.
“But what if she loses us, like we lost mum?”
Quinn looked at his daughter. “We’ll find mum but I don’t think waiting here is a good idea,” he said softly. He wasn’t sure if the rift between this world and the Nevernever was still open, and whether anything would follow them through. Also, he wasn’t exactly great right now but he wasn’t sure Dora was either, letting her out of their sight seemed like a bad idea and they had no idea what this new place was like. “She can’t have gone far. I think it’s best if we stay together.” He held out his hand to Evie. “And you can keep me from falling asleep, right?”
“But if you go to the glowy place when you sleep, you can find mum right?” She took his hand. She knew a lot, they were honest with her, but she was pretty sure they kept some bits back. She was most content in the family unit, and she missed her mother.
“I… Maybe, sweetie but, I’m not going to be going there,” Quinn replied. At least, he hoped he wasn’t. He felt like but he definitely hadn’t died, he’d been injured, yes, but the injury was still there. Unless the Nevernever had messed with things more than he thought and had somehow pushed him between realms, he wasn’t going to ‘go to the glowy place’ as Evie put it.
Evie sighed, but trailed after him looking for Dora, who reappeared quickly. “I’ve found a hotel, but this place seems pretty empty, which is never good.”
“Empty like ours was when we first arrived, or empty as in no-one’s around?” Quinn asked.
“It feels like it’s sleeping, not sure what time it is,” Dora replied
Quinn shrugged, he had no idea. “Do the phones work?”
Dora shook her head, and ran her fingers through her hair. “There are other ways than phones, but you two need to rest.”
“You do too, Dora.”
“I can last longer than some,” Dora replied
Quinn sighed and ran his free hand through his hair. “How about we go to this hotel you found and at least rest for a bit?” he suggested.
Dora nodded and led the way. “I convinced them I had a... credit card is it?”
“Yeah. That’s right.” Quinn frowned. “I don’t know if I have mine on me. Obviously haven’t needed it in a while.”
“I may have done a witch thing,” Dora grinned
Quinn’s lips twitched. “Oh?”
“What they don’t remember won’t hurt them, and we need to sleep,” Dora replied. “Two rooms, I’m your sister.”
Quinn nodded. “We better go then.” He felt like he was already asleep, detached from the world but worry gnawed at him. Where was Cleo? Was she OK?
“Order some food, on my credit thingy, we need to eat too.”
Another nod. “Evie, are you alright to walk some more?” Quinn asked the four-year-old.
The child nodded. “Can we have chips?”
He huffed a laugh. “If they have any, sure. But if your mum asks, you had proper food as well.”
“I’ll have sauce, it’s got tomatoes,” Evie replied
Quinn chuckled. “Yes, it does. Come on then, let’s go with Dora.”
“I can carry her if you’d like?” Dora offered
“Am I that obvious?” Quinn asked. He had a feeling he wasn’t exactly walking in a straight line right now. .
“Yup,” Dora replied, laughing as Evie nodded
Quinn quirked a smile, glad to hear his daughter laughing. “If you don’t mind.”
Dora gathered Evie to her, smiling sadly.
Quinn blinked slowly, feeling himself zoning as he stood waiting to move.
“You definitely need rest, then we’ll try and find a way back to the other Island,” Dora tried to pull him back, she couldn’t handle a fainting man and Evie.
Quinn shook his head to break the zone. “I’ll be fine. That place just… I don’t know.”
“I know, but it seems safe enough at the moment,” Dora replied. “Plus we can both protect Evie once we’ve had some rest.”
He nodded. “We better get going then. Don’t worry about me, I’ll keep up.”
“You better,” Dora pondered. “Should I change form, so it would be appear we’re a family better. I won’t change into Cleo, I promise.”
Quinn shook his head. “I don’t think so. We don’t know how long we’ll be here or how people are live here. I think, maybe be as honest as we can be for now?” He rubbed his temple. “I don’t know. I can’t think straight.”
“OK, whatever you think works,” Dora strode off. She could blag and twist anything she needed too if Quinn’s policy dropped them in it. The joy of being a pretty good spy.
Quinn sighed and kneaded his head with his index and middle fingers before he walked after them.
Dora led the way into the hotel, ‘I already got us two rooms, witch stuff, not crime.”
Quinn blinked, frowning slightly at the last words. “OK. How did it seem? I mean, could you tell what kind of world or year we could be in?”
“It’s 2020, I spotted a newspaper, can’t tell much else because it was a glance.”
Quinn nodded, but at least 2020 meant that it wasn’t too far from what they were used to. They just had no idea what kind of world this was. It might not have magic or might consider it evil for all they knew. “Well, food and rest seem like the best idea for now,” he said as he followed her down a street. He tried to take in their surroundings but he wasn’t sure if he could retain much of anything at the moment.
“What about...who we left?”
Quinn closed his eyes and ducked his head. “I… I’d straight back in there but…” He raised his head and looked at Evie, who had dozed off in Dora’s arms. “Cleo would kill me if I didn’t keep her safe.”
“And if you don’t get back? Arch’ll be fine without me,” Dora responded
Quinn didn’t want to think about that. His chest tightened at the idea, worry for Cleo hitting. Shit. He frowned at Dora. “You really think that?”
“I know that,” Dora replied
“I think, maybe you need to talk to Archie when we get back,” Quinn said.
“I think...depending on time, he’ll have moved on,” Dora replied “I’m a spy, I have to leave, he moves on.”
“Has that happened before then?” Quinn asked. “Sorry, not really my business. Just ignore me.”
“Yes it has, we just sort of drift back. If it was up to me, we’d have committed when we were teenagers and no one would have tried to kill me,” Dora replied
“Sorry. Maybe things will be different this time?”
“How long did it take you to know with Cleo?”
“I don’t really know. I would say not long after we actually got together but, it might have been later and I like to think that it was that early on,” Quinn said, trying to think. “Why do you ask?”
“I was fourteen when I met Arch, stupid teen love at first sight,” Dora replied. “Not him.”
“I don’t think it’s often the same for everyone at the same time. Cleo may well reply differently to your question than I did.” Quinn pressed the heel of his hand into his temple. “How much further is it?”
“Mmm but do you love her now? If we never get out of here, will you just move on? Arch will, with enough time,” Dora replied.
“I don’t even want to think about it. I can’t. I…” Quinn shook his head, the idea for never being with Cleo again hurt too much. It also made him worry about how she was or how she would be if that happened. None of it bared thinking of.
“Complete love, so very muggle, perhaps Arch will find it, my beautiful half blood,”
“How do you know he hasn’t already?” Quinn asked.
“Wizarding world, we don’t mess, we breed,” Dora hitched Evie up, “Over there, come on baby.”
Quinn blinked. “Wait, what?” He was still frowning even as he followed her.
“You find the right person, you crack on,” Dora replied
“Right… But you said he’s half blood?”
“Mmm, his mother was one of us, his father is a muggle,” Dora replied
“Oh. So, kind of like me then. Except with different magic.” “Far stronger than me, even as a pure blood,” Dora sighed. She walked into the hotel, yelling a couple of room numbers at reception.
Quinn wasn’t sure if she meant him or Archie but decided not to ask. He stepped inside behind her, squinting against the bright lights that increased the pain in his head.
Dora handed him his daughter and went to reception, returning with two electronic keycards, “you two are in room 104.”
Quinn pressed a kiss to the top of Evie’s head, readjusting his hold as the witch returned. “Thanks, Dora. Sorry I’m not that helpful right now.”
“There’s not much to help with Quinn,” Dora replied
He sighed. “I wasn’t helpful in the Nevernever either.” He shook his head. “Ignore me. I’ll be less… this, when I’ve had rest.”
“Are you going to be able to?” Dora asked. “And you’d just lost your wife while we were in the Nevernever, it can’t have been easy to focus.”
“I don’t know,” Quinn admitted. “No. It wasn’t. Isn’t. I’m worried about her.”
“Well, you two are pretty solid right? I never knew you outside of everything obviously, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard you guys fight?”
“We have our occasional one. Especially on the other island. Which way’s the rooms?” Quinn asked before continuing as they walked. “That place almost split us up. I ended up with a god in my head… like Anders? He messed with my head and kept me away from where I really wanted to be… with Cleo.”
“Whereas now it’s just splits in reality,” Dora quirked a smile.
“And the occasional other thing,” Quinn said. “We’ll go back to the beach in the morning, see if the rift is still open?”
“Settle yourselves, I can go,” Dora replied
Quinn shook his head. “Just knock on the door in the morning.”
“I meant I was going to go back now,” Dora replied. “You can’t walk now.”
Quinn frowned. “You need to rest as well, Dora.”
“I’ll live a while longer, and I don’t want to miss it if it closes.”
Quinn pressed his lips together. “Let me get Evie settled, then I want to check if our phones at least work with each other’s,” he said. “Do you mind opening the door? I’m not coordinated enough at the moment to juggle kid and key.”
Dora clicked open the door and held it for him.
“Thanks.” Quinn moved inside, carrying a now heavy, sleeping four-year-old inside and heading for a bed to get her settled into. At the same time he was trying to ignore his own pain - physical and emotional - and tiredness. He gently placed his daughter down and began to tuck her in, brushing his fingers through her hair, so like her mother’s. Fuck, he needed to find Cleo.
“OK, let’s test the phones, then I’m back out. Order some food,” Dora replied
Quinn nodded and reached into his jacket pocket for his phone. He thumbed through the contacts, finding Dora’s and hitting call to see if it worked.
Dora’s phone buzzed and she jumped in spite of expecting it, “I still prefer owls.”
Quinn chuckled softly. “And I’m glad we have phones, because owls still seem weird to me.”
“Mmm, but your phone can’t care about you,” Dora replied
“True.” Quinn blinked tiredly. “Let me know what you find, yeah?”