An: I should mention this is a slight AU in which shapeshifters exist. And Quinn is one of them.
True to his word, Kanan returned when he got off the coms with Vizago. "Let's go to Tarkintown first and then we can meet up with him." He glanced where Quin sat in the corner, sketching designs for clothing. She was fond of fashioning disguises, from outfits to the complete make-up look. "Ready to talk yet, Q?"
She paused with her pen over the holopad and put it to the side before sighing. "He hates me." She spoke softly. "He's so angry. And I don't need the Force to know it. He's in danger if he stays here. I do not know why you insist he must." They had spoken of it already, that Ezra had something only Kanan could teach him.
Kanan sighed heavily. "It isn't hate. It's hurt. As soon as you can I think it would be good for the repairing of the relationship to explain to him about...the incident. And shouldn't we make this decision about Ezra's placement together?"
Quinn felt her stomach bubble some more. "I'm a murderer, Kanan." She turned her head toward Hera before she could speak. "Before you say it Hera...This is different than the kills we've all made to defend the innocent. I killed an innocent. I'm...I'm a damned monster."
Kanan closed his eyes in grief she saw herself like this. "You aren't going to hurt Ezra. We wouldn't let you." He cocked his head. "You can stop eavesdropping now, Ezra."
The door opened to reveal her brother and Quinn stood, leaving her sketchbook on the floor when she did. "So you're not going to take me home?" He looked mad.
"We can't yet." Said Hera, glancing at Quinn. "We have to finish the job first."
Ezra turned his gaze on Quinn, a little less cold and a bit more curious. "What was that about?"
Quinn shot her lovers a look and held up her hands in surrender. "Fine. If you want him to stay, do as you will. You know where to find me when you're done talking to him."
She pushed past Ezra giving him a sad look and scurried back to the bedroom she shared.
x
Kanan sighed and locked eyes with Hera."You know Ezra, she didn't plan on staying away permanently. At first she was just running a few ops with us to make enough money to bring your family back from the edge."
"Then the incident happened and she...felt she could no longer return to you without endangering her family. She...spoke of you all quite often, Ezra."
"Well it didn't work." He said, tears coming to his eyes. "The Imperials...whoever she killed it only made them angrier. They tried harder than ever to find my parents and finally succeeded. They beat them to within an inch of their lives while I cowered just feet away in hiding. Looking for the sister none of us had seen for months at that point. Then they shot them."
"It was...all my fault? I...I did this?" Kanan flicked his eyes to the doorway Ezra had left open, dread that wasn't his coming upon him. Quinn stood there trembling and sad. Her sketchbook. She came back for her sketchbook.
"Quinn, love-" Hera tried, but Quinn had already bolted. Hera turned to the ship controls, trying to pull up the gangway ramp just in time to see Quinn go flying down it and back onto the the ground of Tarkintown. She blew past Sabine and Zeb, who barely had enough time to make one swipe when Kanan appeared on the ramp, yelling for him to get her.
The hungry, displaced locals got out of her way, perhaps scared by her urgency and then Quinn was gone into the tall wheat grass. Kanan sighed and turned back around to talk strategy for finding Quinn with Hera. He bumped into Ezra who looked lost. "I didn't want-"
"Well it happened and now we have to find her. She's troubled so who knows what might happen to her if we don't." Kanan went back up the ramp, leaving Ezra to deal with the glare from the still-angry lasat.
x
Quinn heard the whispering she'd been hearing since that night. The whispering in her own head that Kanan told her wasn't true. It felt true enough, now though. Monster. Murdering monster. Remember how that guy tasted when you ate him? You liked it. You don't the warmth or softness of their hands. And they deserve better. Quinn ran, away from Tarkintown and back in the direction of the city. It was going to be a trek and a half, but she had already resolved not to hurt anyone else. She stopped mid-stride, feeling absolutely dumb. "I can't turn myself in. They'll interrogate me for information about the other Spectres. And... I'm no Kanan. So then how do I keep from..."
Hearing the familiar sound of their ship approaching, Quinn struggled furiously to remember anything at all Kanan had told her about Force users. Mainly how to hide from them, in case he wasn't there. Quinn was feeling trapped. Beyond trapped, and with this her stress began to grow out of control. She watched her nails lengthening into claws and could feel her mouth stretching and widening to accommodate the many sharp teeth. She fought it back down, and ducked under the swaying grass, willing her mind to close. Then she started crawling through the grass. She had to get somewhere. Somewhere... anywhere but here. Home. Hungry...blood...Hunt...
x
Kanan frowned. "She is hiding. Resisting. She truly doesn't want to be found, Hera."
Hera looked ready to cry. "We have to find her." She left unsaid what she meant, which was that they had to find Quinn before anyone else did.
Zeb grabbed Ezra and shook him. "You're her brother! Where would she go in a time like this?"
He thought a moment. "I'd go somewhere important to me, emotionally." He startled. "Our old home!" He ran over to Hera's map. "Here. Take us here." The ship lurched as Hera did a sheer turn mid-air, taking off across Lothal airspace at top speed.
"Hang on, love."