Day 7: Mirror

Genre: Urban Fantasy 
Universe: QuickSilver
Rating: PG / TW: None

     Quill Cambert was used to stress. The circumstances of his youth - chronic anxiety, family pressures, his own expectations - had led him to become a connoisseur of all things mental wellness. He was well versed in meditation, supplements, a full catalog of deep breathing exercises, and practiced a humble daily intake of cannabis. It was a delicate balance Quill prided himself on maintaining and it was how he generally found life's chaos somewhat manageable.

     But the thing they don't tell you about achieving inner peace is that outer chaos becomes more attracted to you. Quill was an excellent example of this concept. Even with his anxiety, when compared to his group of friends, Quill Cambert was absolutely the eye of a very eclectic hurricane.

     And that is how he found himself running from the police.

     “Wait, wait, what are we--” Quill tried to snatch at William’s arm as they ran down a side street and away from the literal scene of a crime.

     “We’re getting ourselves out of a predicament,” William answered. His tone would have been nonchalant if it wasn’t for the fact he had to catch his breath as he rounded a corner and was forced to come to a stop at a very inconvenient wall. “Ah, bloody hell.”

     Quill paused behind William, his hands grasping to his knees. He was a biomedical engineering student - not exactly a major that prided in its turnout of stellar athletes. “What happened back there?”

     “Nothing we should be connected to,” William said as he searched for a viable escape route. None of the normal sort were presenting themselves, but perhaps he could find a surface reflective enough to get them both into the Veil and away from anyone pursuing them. His search led to grey concrete, brick walls and one very dubious, reflective rain puddle he didn’t quite trust to be worth the risk. “Quill, you have a mirror on you?”

     “I don’t really think this is the time to be checking your hair,” Quill kidded before the look William gave him told him this was not a joking time. Quill’s eyes widened. “Oh man, you’re serious, you want to jump in the Veil?”

     William stretched out a hand towards him. “Yes, quickly now.”

     “Do we have to?”

     “It's either the Veil or you take your chances with the boys in blue.”

     “I’ve, um,” Even though Quill was hesitant, he pulled his shoulder bag forward to rummage through it and pulled out a small compact mirror. “I’ve never actually been in the Veil.”

     A look of surprise crossed William’s features. He had thought Quill, being a Mage, would have entered at least once. “Well, today’s your lucky day, innit?” He plucked the mirror from Quill’s fingers and grasped his friend’s shoulder.

     “I wouldn’t say--”

     William didn’t give him a chance to finish, instead flipping the compact open and pressing his fingertips to it. Quill felt a strange pull in his stomach, then the strangest sensation of falling backwards even as he was being pulled by the shoulder forwards. He was used to improbable things, but the strange shift in physics as he somehow moved through the mirror that was much smaller than himself was hard enough to comprehend, nevertheless try to describe. So he decided to not even try and closed his eyes in protest.

     When he opened them again, he was standing beside William, who still held his shoulder tight. The alley was similar to the one they had just previously run into, yet, something was… off. The lighting had shifted and the texture of the brick walls around them were notably more smooth with some strange fungus growing through the cracks. Quill subconsciously stepped closer to William, finishing his statement. “--lucky.”

     “See? Isn’t so bad.” William snapped the compact mirror closed and handed it back to Quill. “Thanks.” He looked Quill up and down, a smile spreading over his lips. “I am wholly unsurprised that you’re blue.”

     Quill glanced down at himself, remembering that in the Veil all Mages produced a glowing, aura effect around their bodies. It was a strange sort of comfort to see that his own was a very nice shade of pale blue that matched his shoulder bag. He tried to chuckle through his nervousness. “Do you think Cole would be proud of how I’m color coordinated?”

     William laughed.