Quinn smiled and Besca felt like the Aerie’s gravity had lapsed. Seeing her, seeing that she was okay brought more relief than a full night’s sleep and breakfast in bed. It had only been a few hours but to her Quinn looked…different. Not [i]better[/i] but, not worse either. Tired, absolutely, but surprisingly clear.

It still hurt that she was gone, and that she was obviously struggling. Casoban and Runa had been allies for so long now, their identities were similar in so many ways, but there was no avoiding the lethal combination of homesickness and culture shock. It wouldn’t go away any time soon, Besca knew that much first-hand. Every morning would be weird, and every moment could turn alien without warning. This was only the start, and it would only get tougher. 

But, she was smiling.

That was good enough for now. 

With a rattled laugh, she leaned back in her chair. “[color=gray]Happy to see you too, hun’. So happy. How are you? How was…well, [i]everything[/i]? Are you okay? Did you eat? Did anyone give you trouble?[/color]”

God, she should have written a list. She had things to run by Toussaint but for some reason, she hadn’t prepared for the calls that [i]she herself[/i] had requested. Oh well, all that really mattered was that she could see her, hear her, and talk to her. At least for a little while.