As Dahlia spoke, voice halting, Quinn's shaky breaths began to settle.
"I miss you. I need you to stay safe. Please. I know it’s selfish, I wish there was more I could do for you from here but…but there’s not. I love you, me and Besca both love you."
"I love you too," she murmured. She took a long, deep breath. A second. A third. Her racing thoughts slowed, leaving her feeling raw and exposed, yet so much more controlled. Just like always, she thought. Dahlia was absurdly good at calming her down, no matter how on fire her head was. She could cut through the static during Quinn's first phase; so she could cut through just about anything. A memory from...months ago now, thought it felt like both less and more--jostled free in her head and took shape in her mind:
It’s okay to be scared. Being strong doesn’t mean you’re never afraid of anything, sometimes it means...
"...sometimes it means being afraid of something and doing it anyway," she finished softly. The hitch in her breathing was still there. It wouldn't go away, not as long as she was in Cantimine, she thought. But she found that the idea had lost some of its dread, and...she could face this now. Nothing was too much as long as she was still alive. She stood again, but this time instead of pacing bordering on panicked, her stance was almost steady. She was still trembling slightly, could feel her legs quaking beneath her. But she could do it. She had to do it.
"...Thanks, Deelie," she said, blinking back what remained of the threat of tears. "Really. Thank you so much." She paused for a moment, then pulled the phone from her ear, brought it in front of her, and turned on the camera, staring into the reflection of a watery smile. She paused a moment, then brought her hand up in a halfhearted wave.
"Oh," she let out an actual honest to god giggle, quiet and unsteady though it was, "And could you get Besca to send me some of the chocolate pilot shakes? It's not the same without them."