The whole world drifted away as Quinn spoke, even her voice, in a way. Besca was listening, intently, but at the same time, [i]what[/i] she was saying suddenly became so much less important than the fact that she was saying anything at all. Of course, she was glad to hear that the other pilots—or at least some of them—were treating her kindly, and that she enjoyed the amenities the Ange offered; but when it came down to it, Besca would have listened to her read the dictionary for hours without complaining. 

Suddenly, she seemed to remember something, and hurried away, leaving Besca with a view of a rather lofty ceiling. Eventually Quinn did return, whisking her away hand-in-screen to a luxurious bathroom that peered back out in the room proper. 

Despite the anticipation, Besca couldn’t help but feel relieved again. That was a lot of space, but she was glad Quinn had it. She deserved nice things, things beyond what the Board determined she should have. It was nice to know her time spent there seemed to be, if nothing else, comfortable. 

But all of that fled her mind the instant Quinn came back into view. 

Besca let out a loud gasp, rocketing up out of her seat so fast it almost toppled over. “[color=gray][i]Oh my god![/i][/color]” she cried, her voice a thin rasp that still managed to peak the phone’s microphone. 

That was a dress. A [i]dress[/i]. A [i]really, really nice dress[/i]—where had she gotten a dress like that? She supposed there was no shortage of high-end shops on the Ange, but, even considering that, had [i]Quinn[/i] really bought it for herself? Besca couldn’t recall her spending money on anything before, she’d always seemed content with whatever the Aerie provided for free. Dahlia was much the same, and it had always rubbed her the wrong way. They were kids, kids were supposed to want things, and she could count on one hand the times either of them had expressed a desire for [i]anything[/i].

It took her a few long moments to realize she was staring, and that she should probably stop doing that.

“[color=gray]Quinn, oh my god,[/color]” she said, settling back down in her seat, almost like she was bracing herself. Her heart had nearly burst in her chest when Quinn twirled around, smiling wide as she’d ever seen. “[color=gray]It’s [i]amazing[/i], I can’t believe it. You look [i]beautiful[/i]! I don’t—I didn’t think…where did you even get that? It looks like it was made for you. Oh my god, you look perfect.[/color]”