[There was a time in which Jade would have been more likely to slap someone's hand away than to accept it, even one that was simply intending to help. But she knows better, and if there's ever been any reason to doubt Dimitri's intentions, he hasn't given her one yet. So she allows it, at least for now, welcoming the feeling of something real reaching out to her, and not just old or unfamiliar ghosts.

[She doesn't respond right away. It isn't until they start walking again, after listening to him, that she speaks:]

I believe you.

[The words have more weight than most would probably realize right away -- he's not just giving her platitudes and empty words to make her shut up about her problems. Nothing like "it gets better" or "everything's gonna be okay"; false promises no one can ever guarantee. But actual fucking empathy.]

I've... always carried the dead at my back. Even before the Fever was a factor, before the whole "Prophetess" bullshit -- when I was just some runaway nobody, with an unoriginal story many other sad orphan kids had.

[She seems like she's about to say more, but stifles her own words, opting to wait until they're at his place before saying any more than she feels is necessary. It just seemed more necessary to inform Dimitri that she's struggling to differentiate reality from delusion, more so than usual.]

...Thanks.