Reassurance
It rang, and rang, and rang, until it picked up at her voice mail. Again.
Pyria Waerthen. Leave your name and nu--
“Dammit, Pyria!” He shouted into the phone. The news stations wouldn’t stop playing that video. Every thirty seconds it would aire again; he could quote it. He would move to turn it off if only Pyria would answer her damn pho--
“Quince? What do you want?”
“Pyria!” He jumped up off his couch. He paced along the floor of his small apartment. “You didn’t pick up! Are you alright?”
“Yeah, Quince.” He could hear her affectionate but exasperated sigh. “The NDC units have all been deployed. I’ve been a bit busy.”
“Right, right, I know,” he said, it was clear to hear the relief in his voice. “I was just making sure you weren’t on that train.” He knew that as an NDC officer, she could very well end up on that train in the near future, but he didn’t want to think about that right now.
“Quince,” she said gently. He already knew what she would say.
“I know.” He interrupted. And really, he did know. “You’ve got to do your job of saving lives and fighting crime. Just uh... dinner at mom’s on saturday right? Don’t miss it.”
“I won’t,” she replied, so surely that Quince believed her. “Stay safe, I have to go. I’ll call you when I can.”
“Okay, you too--” But she had already hung up. He wouldn’t let himself think that could be the last time he spoke to his sister. He wouldn’t. Instead he turned off the TV, and dialed his mom instead, and he let her know that everything that remained of their little family was still whole, and intact.