A sick feeling began to roil in Quinn's gut as Dahlia began to shiver apart, bubbling higher with each word until...

"[color=skyblue]I'm sorry.[/color]"

Then without really even realizing or processing it, she was on her feet, wrapping her sister in a big hug as her old friend Guilt began to gnaw at her sides. "[color=ffe63d]No, Deelie, no, no,[/color]" she cooed, doing her best to be a soothing as possibly even though she wasn't very good at it; this had always been Dahlia's job. "[color=ffe63d][i]I'm[/i] sorry. I shouldn't have asked, I'm so so sorry.[/color]" How dumb could she [i]be?[/i] It was a [i]pilot[/i] who had [i]died at Hovvi.[/i] Sometimes she grew so lost in her own memories of Hovvi that she forgot that it had been Dahlia's home too, much much more than it had ever been her own.

She gave a tighter squeeze, not tight enough to hurt but enough to comfort, she hoped. "[color=ffe63d]You never ever need to apologize to me about anything, Deelie, never ever.[/color]" Without exception, whenever Dahlia apologized to Quinn she felt a sharp pain in her chest. Why should she be apologized to? And [i]least of all[/i] about Hovvi! Hovvi was [i]her fault![/i] All of her sister's traumas and pains were because of [i]her.[/i] 

She'd almost let herself forget that. She wouldn't do forget it again. She felt a lump beginning to build in her throat and the guilt tore at her skin.

"[color=ffe63d]And if there's ever something you don't want to talk about, you don't need to talk about it, I shouldn't have asked, I'm [i]sorry.[/i][/color]"