“You're probably right,” Tapendra admitted, with the slightest sense of defeat. He didn't know how to feel about that – didn't want to think about it too much, really. It was a mix of emotions and loss and wishing Judy had lived long enough to be conflicted alongside him...

“Gigi.” He drank a bit deeper at that, draining the glass and setting it back down on the bar just a bit harder than he had intended, letting himself slide forward until he rested his face on an upturned palm, slumping against the bar. “I don't even know, Aileen,” he breathed, watching her face.

He let his eyes close, but continued, trying to figure out exactly what he should say. Georgiana's issues were...complex ones, ones he didn't understand or really share. And they'd seemed to come on so quickly...

“She doesn't date at all, as far as I know. Never seemed to develop an interest in any boys. Or...girls, either,” he added, having to admit to himself that was in the realm of possibility. “She was a sweet girl up until a few years ago, she really was.” She'd spent most of gradeschool in pigtails and skirts, wearing pink and pouting – rather like Cyhirae still did, to some extent. She certainly hadn't been quite so snappy all the bloody time.

“Now she just seems angry at everything.” He flicked his empty beer with a finger; the ice inside went clink as it slid away from him on the bar's smooth glass surface. “Especially at me.”