Quinn opened her mouth to say...something. She didn't know [i]what[/i] she'd say to that, what she [i]could[/i] even possibly say to such a horrible thing. Her mouth went dry as she realized that she really, truly had nothing to give.

Luckily, Roaki saved her from that with another question. Quinn almost smiled; that snapping voice, one she'd been so afraid of just days before, was almost comforting somehow. She sounded a little bit more like [i]Roaki[/i] now. 

But any chance of that smile was lost with what she'd [i]actually[/i] said. And a grim and foreboding question it was. It truly seemed like she just...didn't understand how...no, it wasn't even not understanding how 'love' worked, or friendship. It was more that she just didn't understand relationships as a whole. A strange mixture of dread and anxiety began to bubble up within her, along with a tiny seed of anger that was slowly germinating, despite her best intentions

"[color=ffe63d]I wouldn't say,[/color]" she began carefully, "[color=ffe63d]that she's afraid of me, or that I did anything to them. Deelie—[/color]" Should she say this? Was it a violation of Dahlia's privacy? She didn't know, but she had no way of stopping now that she'd committed. Only way to go was forward. "[color=ffe63d]—well, Hovvi was Dahlia's home. When it burned down,[/color]" a shard of guilt dug into her, edging into her voice, "[color=ffe63d]she lost [i]everyone.[/i] She lost her dad, she lost her home, and she lost her best friend, [i]all[/i] her friends.[/color]" The guilt was joined by a low note of grief, forming a horrible harmony which spat out, "[color=ffe63d]And all she got in return was [i]me,[/i][/color]" with no small amount of [i]spite.[/i]

"[color=ffe63d]...When I made it out of Hovvi, I was...[/color]" She swallowed heavily, anxiously running a hand down her braid. "[color=ffe63d]I was destroyed, both physically and mentally. I spent a week comatose. By the time I woke up I had the implants, because it was the only way I wouldn't be—[/color]" 

She nearly choked. No. Dragging up all the memories of Hovvi and the immediate aftermath was already crushing her enough as it was. She wouldn't be able to hold it together if she...no. She wouldn't acknowledge it. She couldn't. Not right now. A few seconds passed before she felt like she could properly speak. "[color=ffe63d]—I could barely walk. It was weeks before I stopped waking up screaming.[/color]"

"[color=ffe63d]So we started to lean on each other. And Besca took care of us, so we both leaned on her.[/color]"

A deep breath. She tried to dig out those fragments from her heart, and was met with...minimal success. They would be there for a long time now, she knew. Her voice was starting to thicken, just a little. She knew that she was going to cry today. She was going to cry for a long time. She just hoped it was after she'd left Roaki's room.

She shrugged helplessly. "[color=ffe63d]We're a family now, that's all.[/color]"