Ivory glared at the man, crossing her arms in front of her chest. His gaze was making her uncomfortable. She glanced at Quinn, not sure what was happening. Throughout most of the exchange, she’d had the facial expression of a deer caught in headlights.
Quinn growled. "Get out." He snarled.
The man snorted, and left. "Fine."
“Um, what was that about?” Ivory asked, once the man was out of sight. She was still clearly a bit shaken up from the encounter, and jumpy as ever.
"It's called he wanted to take you home with him and take you to bed." Quinn replied. "Now come on." He started walking again.
Ivory blinked. “Oh…” She followed him, spurting back to walking. “Thanks for not letting him, I guess. Being sheltered doesn’t exactly teach you how to defend yourself. I’m just as bad as my dad, except I don’t know anything apparently.”
Quinn nodded sharply. "You're welcome. And this is the exact reason you shouldn't come to this area, and shouldn't come to bars. You're going to get hurt, Ivory."
She sighed. “I guess you’re right,” she agreed reluctantly. “I guess I just wanted to do something exciting and now I’ve done it, I suppose. Now I can go back to playing croquet and reading books. Safe. Just like I’ve always been.” The villain part of town was coming to an end. “This is where we’re going our separate ways then. Good night, and thanks.”
Quinn nodded, tipping his hat slightly. "Yes. Stay in your safe area, Ivory." He said, without a hint of irony or scorn. Hesitating for a moment, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek, winking as he pulled away, then spun on his heel to walk away.
For a moment she just stood there, her face bright red, and then she turned and walked back to her house, feeling glad to be in the part of town where the “good guys” lived. Once she got there, she climbed in the window the same way she had earlier and collapsed right into her bed, only stopping to take off her sneakers.
Quinn went to his own home, not bothering to change before flopping into bed.
As the sun came up, Hank Hatter stumbled around a corner. the soles of his shoes were worn to almost nothing.
It happened again.
I have to warn them. He thought. He's growing stronger
Hank dusted himself off, but he could feel his mind slipping. His eyesight dimmed.
"NO!" He screamed. "No!" Hank stomped on his own foot, and the sudden pain seemed to wake him up.
"You have to warn the king." He told himself.
"But which king?…" A voice behind him sneered.
Hank jumped and spun around, but saw nothing. He was alone.
"…No one will believe a man like you…"
Hank plugged his ears, but the voice only grew louder.
"…What king would even take the time to see you?…"
Hank's eyes grew foggy.
"…Can you even stay conscious long enough to find a king…?"
Hank bit his tongue. He tasted blood. "I don't need a king," He whispered. "I need a prince."
Quinn was wandering around aimlessly. He was dressed very similarly to yesterday, minus the best. He wore a white button up with the sleeves rolled back to his elbows, and dark slacks. Tucked into his hat was a playing card. The King of Hearts. Just for kicks and grins, of course. He was no king. Never would be, either. He just liked to pay homage to his roots.
Eris had absolutely no idea where she was. So far, seven people had asked her if she was drunk. What was that about? She decided to find the bar she was at yesterday. Where that was, she had no clue whatsoever, so she just decided to keep walking.
Ivory was reading a book in the park, enjoying the sunlight. Still, unbidden thoughts from the previous day kept coming back to her. She felt so pathetic. She tried to brush it off instead of attempting to read the same paragraph over and over again, not being quite able to concentrate.
Quinn kept walking, starting to whistle as he walked. For whatever reason, the tune he was whistling sounded a lot like "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri.
(I am literally basing this whole character around "hearts" XD)
Eris looked around in confusion, hearing whistling. Looking across the street, she saw someone who looked mildly familiar. Maybe they were cousins? After several seconds, she shrugged and kept walking.
"Quinn!" Hank seemed to appear out of nowhere. His face was terror-stricken. "I need your help!" He ran up next to Quinn, panting heavily.
Revan walked down the street looking down at his phone. He was bored and felt studying would kill him. So he was just walking.
Quinn jumped, looking at Hank. "Huh? What do you need help with?" He asked, looking at the other male. "Are you okay?"
"I need you to deliver a message to…" His eyes glazed over. "To… To…"
Hanks hand drifted toward his pocket. "To…"
Quinn caught the glint of metal. Hank held the sewing needle in between his fingers and drew it across his skin. Blood trickled out.
"ANYONE!" Hank shouted, startling Quinn. "Tell anyone, everyone! Tell them Cher…" Hank started laughing, though there was the slightest trace of fear still trapped in his eyes. "Ohh the Quinn of Hearts! How are you today?" He chuckled and fell over.
Eris jumped, hearing someone shout, and turned back to the two people on the sidewalk. "Are - are you alright?" She asked tentatively.
Quinn knelt beside Hank. "Hank! Hank what message? What's wrong?" He exclaimed, putting a hand on Hank's shoulder.
The Hatter brushed his hand aside. "Oh you don't have to worry about me…" Hank laughed. "You've got bigger things coming."
To emphasize his point, he promptly fell on his face.
Eris yelped in shock. "What's he - is he drunk or - " she shook her head and closed her eyes. She'd had quite enough of riddles in her lifetime.
Revan happened to walk by and noticed the flamboyant hatter dude. So he walked over. "Is he talking riddles and nonsense again?"