The unexpected rendezvous with Nessa had given Gina a lot to chew-on. First of all, it had become incredibly clear to the gargoyle that things were over between Nessa and Becca. On one hand, the gargoyle’s sympathies went to Nessa, who seemed to be the “broken-up-with” rather than the “breaker”. Another part of Gina, who was undeniably attracted to Nessa, was a tiny bit relieved—but the gargoyle pushed that part of herself deep, deep down. She didn’t even know if Nessa would be interested in her, given her close relationship to Becca and Agnes—and besides, she didn’t want to be some fill-the-void-left-by-Becca rebound girlfriend.

One thing did, however, become abundantly clear. She needed to talk to Agnes, and she needed to talk to Becca. Separately, probably. Ever the diplomat, Gina wanted the full scoop, though she was inclined to believe Nessa. And, should Nessa’s allegations prove true, she was going to give her sister an earful.

But she wasn’t going to go into the meet-up with the attitude of “this is a confrontation”. She was going in with the attitude of someone who wanted to listen, whether or not Agnes was aware that she was going to be someone who informed.

It began with a text.

//Hey sis. Want to grab a coffee or maybe a bite to eat, one of these days? Miss you~ ;-*

The plans were laid. It was thus that Gina found herself outside of a small café, lingering just outside of the door. Large sunglasses shaded her eyes, and today she had opted for a billowing sundress (with, of course, a pair of leggings underneath). She stood out of the way of the door, next to a shrub that towered over her. When she spotted Agnes, she waved excitedly, a grin cracking her expression. Though her mind was churning, Gina was always, always happy to see her sister.

//Hey sis. Want to grab a coffee or maybe a bite to eat, one of these days? Miss you~ ;-*

Needless to say, it wasn’t expected that she would get this message, but it was long overdue. Ever since Agnes had been to Gina’s birthday party, she had been trying to carve out time to spend with her sister, like she said that she would. She loved the little gargoyle, deeply, but with everything concerning River, her, now ongoing, affair with Rebecca, and her business with both the Philharmonic and Haven, Agnes was finding it difficult to just find time to turn around, let alone plan a day off with her sister. So when she received the text, and had one of those rare times where nothing interfered, she jumped on it.

Of course, as Agnes made her way down the sidewalk, heading for the café that Gina had sent her coordinates to, she began to have to smallest pang of regret. Was it right? Should she do this? Deep down she didn’t see why it was a problem, but as she started to walk, thoughts about what she did that night of Gina’s birthday, sending both Gina and Nessa away. Both knew the break-up between Rebecca and Nessa was eminent, but still she went back to that hotel room with Becca and didn’t look back.

Now, marching down the sidewalk, dressed casually in white jeans and a loose, sunny yellow peasant top, Agnes could feel the slight buzz in her chest from the anxiety she felt. Why was she so worried? It wasn’t as if Gina knew anything. Then again, if Nessa was that buzzed, she may have voiced what she suspected to her. She guessed she could always lie and say the brunette didn’t know what she was talking about but Agnes wasn’t about to drag Nessa through the coals over something she was clearly guilty of. All she could do was hope that her sister didn’t have such thoughts and this really was to just meet and have a sister’s day out.

That was all she wanted. As it too much to ask?

Her gold, honeybee hairpin in her air, Agnes sighed and adjusted her sunglasses over her eyes. Her shoes crunched the gravel beneath her feet as she rounded the corner. The café was coming up and she already could feel herself slowing down. There was no point in dragging her feet but still she felt like she wanted to. Why was she so worried? It was just Gina; not like she was going to be meeting with Nessa or anything. With a steady breath she planted a smile on her lips until she finally began to believe it. She would fine. This would be fine.

She came within view of the café and smiled at the beaming grin that met here. There she spied her unmistakable sister, beaming and waving enthusiastically at her. How could she ever deny that sweet and adoring face? Her pace quickened a little as she bobbed her head, grinning wide and held out her arms for her. As soon as they were close enough, Agnes wrapped her arms around her sister’s shoulders (minding the wings) and gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

”Hiya, darling! So glad you called this.” she said happily. ”I swear I’ve been trying to make time, but, jeez, just so busy.” She leaned over, pulled the door open for Gina to walk in. ”Ladies first?” she grinned.

Because, between the two of them, Agnes certainly didn’t feel like a “lady” any more…

The excitement was contagious—her wings gave an uncontainable flutter, and Gina bounced into the hug as her sister hurried closer. Even through the fog of heavy questions, Gina couldn’t help but feel the delight of their reunion. Agnes kissed the gargoyle’s cheek in greeting, and Gina squeezed her sister’s hand in greeting. When the sisters were together, everything was right in the world.

The happy flutters were still in her wings as Agnes expressed her delight over the gargoyle’s decision to arrange for a meet-up. Gina beamed up at her sister.

>> ”Hiya, darling! So glad you called this. I swear I’ve been trying to make time, but, jeez, just so busy.”

“I’m glad, too,” Gina confessed, “Now that the semester’s over I feel like I’m gonna go stir-crazy… and maybe stuff my roomies in a get-along shirt.”

Agnes was busy, Gina had more spare time than anyone could ever reasonably desire. Which meant vacillating between hermitage and frequent outings.

>> ”Ladies first?”

“Oooh, thank you, kind sir,” the gargoyle said in a faux-posh accent, trotting inside. The line was relatively short, which gave them time to decide on snacks and, also, make small talk.

“How’s the symphony~?” the gargoyle pried, her eyes pointed towards the menu as she spoke. It still blew her mind that her sister led such a glamorous life, playing for the philharmonic. What a classy lady.

Despite all the turmoil that was going on in her life, the one thing that Agnes could agree on when she spotted the young gargoyle was just how much she had missed her. She had tried to blanket herself in excuses, reasons as to not make this meeting work, but really, none of them held any water. She loved her sister and if she had really and truly wanted to see her, she would have made the time. But maybe there was some deep, self-conscious reason as to why she didn’t. Maybe because, every time she looked at the younger girl, she remembered what she did that night and the circumstances surrounding it. Even if Gina didn’t know what was really going on, Agnes did, and she felt crummy because of it.

However, today was the day that she was just going to suck it up and deal with her feelings. She wanted to see her sister and if that meant she needed to look at the scattered, stained image of herself that had steady been growing in the last few months, then so be it. At least through all the muck and the slime, there was the shining spot that was Gina.

All smiles as she kissed her cheek and pulled her into a tight hug, Agnes’ own wings fluttered a bit in approval of the good sensation, almost lifting her off the ground. But, Agnes calmed her wings long enough to just settle in the moment of being with her sister. She admitted that she had been busy but that she was thankful that Gina made the plans with her. She momentarily wondered just how long it would have taken for her to actually make that call?

>> “I’m glad, too…Now that the semester’s over I feel like I’m gonna go stir-crazy… and maybe stuff my roomies in a get-along shirt.”

Agnes chuckled and shook her head. ”I honestly don’t miss the roommate life,” she said, momentarily thinking back to her time in Julliard with Felicia. However that train of thought would soon lead her back to Rebecca and, not wanting to open that door, she awkwardly cleared her throat and proceeded to open the door for her sister.

>>“Oooh, thank you, kind sir.”

A curtsy in return and Agnes followed in after her. The café was pretty standard but it was also exactly Gina’s style. The loose, barely connected décor, the low key clientele, it certainly wasn’t a chain like the other franchise stores; she could tell because the roasted coffee smelled so much cleaner. She didn’t know why she hadn’t been here before but she was certainly glad she was here now.

Setting into the small line, Agnes lifted her eyes to the menu, looking over it and attempting to decide on what she wanted. Just as her eyes drifted towards the list of tarts that were offered, she chewed on her lip and slipped back to the buns. Thankfully, Gina rescued her by piping up with a question.

>>“How’s the symphony~?”

”Oh! It’s good.” she said with a kind smile, turning to her. ”We’re rehearsing for our summer series that starts next month,” the sound in her voice was tinged with eagerness. She so loved talking music. ”Going to be a mix of classic and contemporary shows. I think at some point we’re going a run based on video game theme songs set to classical instruments.” she snorted. ”That’ll be interesting.” She paused before she turned the question around. ”And you? How does it feel to be a full-fledged adult now? Married? Driving a mini van? 401k?” A grin.

The gargoyle, also inspecting the pastry case, noticed with delight that they still had two tiny soufflés bunched towards the front of the rack. The ingredients mixed-in were irrelevant—Gina loved soufflés and was definitely going to order one. Maybe that… and a, uh… mocha! This place had a tendency to put their drinks in eclectic cup-bowls, and the foam atop the mocha was always in some sort of floral, organic shape. It was worth spending a little extra money.

Agnes explained that the symphony was good, that rehearsals for the summer series were good and their shows ran the gamut of classical as well as contemporary music. Agnes snorted, but Gina gave an appreciative, “Whoooaaa.” What a cool idea!

“I bet that’ll attract a whole different crowd,” Gina said. Her idea of symphony attendees were old people in gaudy attire, or maybe rich people with nothing better to do with their money. Video games, however, catered to an entirely different spectrum of people. While the gargoyle did not play video games, she imagined going to a concert filled entirely with film scores. That would be cool.

>> “And you? How does it feel to be a full-fledged adult now? Married? Driving a minivan? 401k?”

Gina smiled and shook her head. She was hardly a “real” adult.

“Married to my sewing machine, maybe,” Gina smiled and sighed, “I’ve had a fairly steady stream of commissions, which has been really nice. Otherwise, same-old, same-old. Honestly. I feel like this is more of an adulthood practice-run.”

Gina had reached the cashier, and cheerfully placed her order, only conversing with the cashier to a polite extent before paying for her food and beverage. When she was informed that they’d call her name once finished, Gina stepped aside, lingering near the registers in order to wait for her sister.

Talking shop had become pretty common place for Agnes as the months rolled by. That wasn’t the say that she wasn’t grateful for everything that she had managed to achieve. She had indeed accomplished something great, but talking about her shows coming up, well, she did that almost all the time amongst her peers. In doing so, she lost some of that overly important feeling she got when she spoke about it when people who weren’t directly in her orchestra. It was by no means a rude thing, but it was almost like name dropping a celebrity name that you met once many, many years ago. After time, it all starts to sound the same.

>> “Whoooaaa… I bet that’ll attract a whole different crowd,”

However, Gina, with her refreshing attitude and sparkling smile, could still see the majesty in the achievement. The concern, to her, sounded absolutely amazing and the mix between contemporary and classic was something to be inspired by. This made the insect queen smile a bit, drinking in some of the awe that Gina possessed; it felt good.

She nodded her head in agreement. ”It should be a fun show,” she admitted. ”Sadly I don’t know a lot of these themes songs they are thinking about. I can play them, yeah, but they don’t have the same significance for me as for someone like Becc—“ she stopped herself. She didn’t need to say her name right now.

Quickly changing the subject, she inquired as to how Gina was being with a full-fledged adult. However it seemed that her sister was not exactly embracing her new stage in life yet…

>> “Married to my sewing machine, maybe…I’ve had a fairly steady stream of commissions, which has been really nice. Otherwise, same-old, same-old. Honestly. I feel like this is more of an adulthood practice-run.”

Agnes chuckled. She knew exactly how Gina felt. When she hit the age, she had expected to suddenly be thrown into the life. It wasn’t as easy as all that, though. It crept up, slowly, steadily, and pounced when it was least expected. Before you knew it, you wake up in bed and you have rent due your arguing with the landlord about getting your faucet fixed. Before Gina would know it, it would happen and there was no preparing for it.

She smirked, reaching over and ruffling the girls loose bun. ”Enjoy it while you can.”

Thankfully they wouldn’t waste much more time waiting as their turn in line was quickly coming up. When Gina had stepped forward, Agnes breathed the smallest sighs of relief, her eyes darting over the display case for a moment as she tried to decide what it was that she wanted for her snack. The soufflé sounded good, but she wasn’t really in the mood for one. Instead, when it came for her to turn, she ordered herself a honey and strawberry Danish, as well as a cappuccino to satisfy her caffeine cravings.

Her food ordered, Agnes sigh offered her money and slipped to the side where her sister was already waiting. The smell of coffee in the air and of freshly baked pastries already began to tickle her senses. She couldn’t wait for a nice caffeinated sip and a sugary bite. For now she would have to hope that her sister’s aura of optimism would be enough for her.

She sighed, leaning against her sister a little, smirking as she looked over to her. ”So, how you been? Besides being forced to marry an inanimate object and lashing roommates together,” she joked. ”Come on, I want all the gossip,” she beamed.

Agnes admonished that she did not know many of the theme songs for the video game performance personally, and began to mention it would have a different significance for Becca. Well, that’s what she started to say, anyways. But she stopped. The gargoyle’s ears pricked a bit, the way one’s ears might if your name was called unexpectedly. Huh.

Gina was dislodged from her thoughts by a hair-ruffle, which earned churlish, pursed lips. The scowl didn’t linger long, however, as Gina quickly stepped aside for her sister. The orders were placed, and Agnes leaned against the gargoyle, prying with questions.

>> ”So, how you been? Besides being forced to marry an inanimate object and lashing roommates together. Come on, I want all the gossip.”

“‘The gossip’,” Gina laughed, as if she had some juicy details about her life that she was sparing her sister from. What did that even mean? Gina looped an arm through Agnes’s, leading her sister towards the quaint café tables, “I’ve been a lot better now that finals are over. Been venturing out and about a lot to get out of the house, volunteering at Xavier’s… nothing juicy and gossip-worthy, though.”

Honestly and truly. Unless you counted “randomly crossing paths with Nessa at the mall, yesterday” down as something worthy of the gossip. It’d probably come up later, anyways. They found a small table for two towards the edge of the room, one that was out-of-the-way but not wedged in the corner, which would’ve been unpleasant to navigate with wings.

Gina fanned her wings slightly so that they were behind the back of the chair, before folding them again. As she sat, her tail was brought to the side and then set upon her lap, so as to avoid accidental missteps on her tail.

“People have been coming and going at Honeycomb—the co-op I live in—lately,” the gargoyle went-on, “It’s been a struggle to keep-up with all the new faces, but it’s also been fun to see who comes and who stays…”

Gina trailed off, letting her gaze rest on Agnes, “Other than that, though, it’s been pleasantly boring. I’m gonna need new shows to stalk on Binge, soon enough.”

The gargoyle rested her head upon her hand, smiling up at her sister, “What about you? What’s the scoop?”

Agnes wanted to hear about her sister. They had spent so long apart and, really, the only time they communicated was for Gina’s birthday. And given everything that happened that night, the violinist would rather start other memories with her sister, ones that didn’t involve her scandalous affair or the fact that her relationship with her fiancé had completely imploded for everyone to see. But she wasn’t going to allow herself to do this now, she needed to remember that this wasn’t the time or place, she just wanted to have a non-complicated time with family.

So, Agnes tried to switch up the conversation. She wanted to steer discussion away from her and inquired as to what was going on in her sister’s life. How was she spending her time? What was the gossip in her home? She remembered when they were roommates at the mansion, how many times they stayed up late, just chatting and cracking wise. She wanted just a glimpse of that again so she prodded the gray gargoyle who leaned against her.

>> “‘The gossip’…I’ve been a lot better now that finals are over. Been venturing out and about a lot to get out of the house, volunteering at Xavier’s… nothing juicy and gossip-worthy, though.”

Agnes smirked. She knew that Gina wasn’t the overly scandalous type, but she still wanted to know. So far everything seemed pretty mundane, which was a good thing. Agnes would kill for mundane right now. So she smiled, happily, knowing that Gina was having just a perfectly ordinary life. Leaning down she gave her another kiss on the top of her head, minding the horns of course, and just sighed as she slipped her arm around her shoulders.

Their orders were up. Grabbing their treats and beverages, the two women went in search of a place to plant themselves for their stay. It didn’t take long, but it wasn’t fast either. When the two of them were able to settle into a spot that was both empty and allowed them to accommodate for their obvious physical mutations, Agnes slipped into her seat.

She watched as Gina gingerly aligned herself, flaring open her wings before curing them behind the chair, and pulling her up tail. Agnes had to sit forward a bit. Her wings pressed against her back, she didn’t want to lean back too hard or she’d end up hurting herself too. It was a trial being a mutant, sometimes.

>>“People have been coming and going at Honeycomb—the co-op I live in—lately… It’s been a struggle to keep-up with all the new faces, but it’s also been fun to see who comes and who stays…Other than that, though, it’s been pleasantly boring. I’m gonna need new shows to stalk on Binge, soon enough.”

A nod of her head and Agnes took a sip of her cappuccino with a sigh. ”Sounds fun. I’m sure it keeps you busy meeting so many people.” She knew how her sister was with new faces and she would make sure she knew them all individually. ”I’m sure you’ll make them all some amazing baked good or crafty gift and win them over.” When it came to Binge, Agnes snorted. ”I wish I had time for that,” she said with a sigh, reaching back and rubbing her own shoulder to loosen the tension. ”I tried watching Chess of Crowns but I can’t get past episode two before I get buried in other things to do.”

>>”What about you? What’s the scoop?”

Eventually the topic would return to her. Gina wanted to know about her and she couldn’t blame her, it was just who she was. So, with a sigh she tore off a piece of her Danish and took a bite, wiping her fingers on a napkin.

”Nothing big, really.” she said with a shrug. ”Orchestra and so on.” She took a breath, averting her eyes a bit as she glanced down to her plate. ”River and I are…um…holding off on the wedding for a bit.” It was a lie, but only one that Agnes knew about. ”Just until we get more settled and she gets a full-time job.” Another bite. If she ate, she didn’t have to talk for too long and blurt out any truths. ”Kinda of disappointing but…I get it.”

Weak smile. Dammit. She needed to do better than this or at least get off topic…

Once Gina was settled, the gargoyle picked up her fork, using the edge of it to delicately slice the pastry. The pastries at places like these were such that, if your bites were too big, they’d be gone before you knew it. The trick to making them last was tiny bites. The gargoyle contemplatively chewed her soufflé as her sister commented on how busy the gargoyle must have been with meeting new people. Yeah, being a social butterfly was time- and energy-consuming, but knowing your neighbors had advantages. The gargoyle bobbed her head to show the accuracy of her observation.

“Ooh, baked goods,” the gargoyle echoed, “That’s a good idea. Maybe lemon bars!”

The thought honestly hadn’t occurred to her. But now that her sister had mentioned it, baked goods had a way of swaying people’s sympathies. Gina smiled as Agnes mentioned Chess of Crowns. It wasn’t really her speed, but she did offer, “Two of my brothers are really into Chess of Crowns. It feels too… gory? …for me.” Of course, all Gina knew about Chess of Crowns was that characters died routinely.

Another bite of soufflé, and Gina listened to her sister’s report of the goings-on in her life. Her eyes were politely trained on her sister, chewing slowly. She paused when Agnes mentioned that she and River were “holding-off on the wedding” until they “settled and she gets a full-time job”.

Gina swallowed her second bite of soufflé, and cradled the mug of mocha in her hands. Her sister was smiling meagerly at her, and Gina found it… curious.

“I thought River was a musician? Like you?” Gina pried. It was an innocent enough clarification. She’d only met River once, so details were foggy on what she actually did for a living. Gina thought that she’d been employed full-time as it was, anyways. The gargoyle took a swig of the mocha, and winced in instant regret. Breathing out sharply, she commented, “God, that’s strong. Way too hot.”

Gina didn’t pry into the “holding off on the wedding” bit, though it was significantly more interesting to her. If Nessa had been telling the truth… if Becca and Agnes were seeing one another… that could go to explain why the wedding was being pushed back. She would come back to the mocha, after it cooled-off a bit. Gina picked up her fork again.

“Sounds stressful, though… are you guys doing alright?” the gargoyle pressed-on, her brow’s stitching. Lord knew that things had been tense at her birthday…

Gina seemed to warm to the idea of baking stuff for her fellow tenants. Agnes knew that would charm the young woman as she was always looking for ideas to make new friends. That, certainly, would go a long way towards winning people over and she truly hoped that it would work. Gina was such a bright ray of sunshine that she could chase away the darkest of clouds. She was hard-pressed to think of anyone who didn’t like her. Well, except maybe that guy that tried to shoot her out of the sky. He could drop dead for all she cared.

But with that unfortunate side note presented, Agnes wanted to get back to the topic at hand – what were they up to? Gina had mentioned that she needed new shows to devour on Binge and Agnes helpfully brought up a few things that she had been trying to watch, one of them being Chess of Crowns. The high-fantasy, drama filled program had been on everyone’s lips at the orchestra, and while Agnes appreciated how much everyone was trying to make her watch the show so they could all discuss, really, she just didn’t have the time.

It seemed that she wasn’t the only one to miss out that the very adult-oriented program…

>> “Two of my brothers are really into Chess of Crowns. It feels too… gory? …for me.”

Agnes smirked and bowed her head thankfully. ”At least I’m not the only one. Ah well, to each their own.” She said with a bit of lightness to her voice.

It was here that Gina brought up wanting to know about Agnes’ life. By comparison, yes, Agnes had a bit more going on than Gina did. However much of it she really didn’t want to share with her sister. She knew that she would be there for her with some of the things, but that would mean getting into other matters that Agnes, well, didn’t want to share. Maybe it was because she didn’t want her image tainted in the gargoyle’s eyes, but deep down she knew she had to talk about all this with someone. But how would she even begin?

She tested to waters, explaining that the both of them were pushing off wedding plans for the time being and that they wanted to wait until her lover had attained a full-time job. It was only a quick statement, just one to see how Gina would take the news. Maybe she could get through these waters with as minimal pain as possible after all…

>>“I thought River was a musician? Like you? God, that’s strong. Way too hot.”

Agnes smiled as Gina momentarily recoiled from her hot drink. Daintily Agnes picked up her own and sipped it as cautiously as possible. Setting it back down, she sighed as he attempted to answer the question that Gina had picked up on.

”Yeah, she is,” she said with a lamenting sigh. ”And she’s…excellent, but she can’t seem to get a full time job. She got a few side jobs and such, but nothing serious.” She said with a sigh. ”I’ve tried to put in a name for her in orchestra but no one seems to be hiring a harpist.”

It was a constant source of argument between the two of them. When they had first moved to New York, there was promise that the two of them would make it as musicians. However River keep reaching roadblock after roadblock. Her instrument wasn’t as universally accepted as Agnes’ was and the symphony had one harpist that didn’t seem to be retiring any time soon. When River had returned from being away, she had admitted that she had been jealous of Agnes, wanting her own success but was discouraged by how few opportunities she was having.

>>“Sounds stressful, though… are you guys doing alright?”

Gina’s compassion immediately lit Agnes up, causing tears to threaten to spill over. She forced them back though, with minimal effort and sighed. It was clear that she wanted to talk but, again, she didn’t want to say too much. With a slight sigh, Agnes avoided eye contact with Gina as she reached down, plucking up her pastry and taking another bite. She looked off to the side, watching people walk, sit, and sip their coffee. It was only once she felt she had collected herself that she did return her gaze to Gina.

”We’re…trying…” Agnes said with a hefty sigh.

Gina listened intently to her sister’s explanation. It made sense, but it also came as a surprise to the young gargoyle. There were even biases like that in classical music… a favor that was geared diseases towards more popular instruments, leaving more abstract or uncommon ones in the dust. It felt a little too close to home… a little too close to the “You need to pursue a major that'll lead to a career, not fashion” conversation that Gina and her mom seemed to hold on a semi-monthly basis.

“That's unfortunate,” the gargoyle murmured, “Harp music’s really lovely.”

She wondered if independently producing music was an option. Whatever options there were, they'd probably considered all of them. And as if Gina was a veritable fount of real-world advice. She was still in the throes of figuring it all out.

>> ”We’re…trying…”

The gargoyle watched her sister carefully, her brow stitching. Gina extended a reassuring hand towards Agnes, settling it upon her arm.

“I'm sure you guys will figure it out,” Gina said, in reference to the full-time job et al., “You’re smart, Aggie, and kind. You'll find a way.”

Gina didn't know River well enough to speak for her. The air around the gargoyle was pregnant with questions unspoken, but Gina couldn't find the appropriate space to voice them. Something was wrong with Agnes, Gina could tell, but she couldn't bring herself to grill her big sister. The gargoyle sheepishly took a few bites of her soufflé, an awkward grimace flickering across her face.

Oh how Agnes wanted to let her sister know exactly what was going on. She wanted to inform her, she really did, of the troubles that she was having, of the mess that she had gotten herself embroiled in. But it was difficult. It wasn’t exactly as if there was a good opening for her to jump into the topic; then again, is there ever a good opening to inform your sister-from-another-mister that you’ve been cheating on your fiancée with your ex-girlfriend in some torrid affair that shows no signs of stopping? Agnes was woefully underprepared for these kinds of matters. Clearly she needed to watch more trashy television in hopes of getting a few tips.

But as she settled into her chair, she told Gina was much as she could stomach telling her. She let her know, of course, about River and her difficulties finding a job. It wasn’t that a harpist wasn’t wanted in the city, it was more that it was so specialized. You couldn’t easily lug one of those things around so most places that had hired fulltime musicians to play them, tended to stay rooted in place. River just came to New York at a bad time and those bad time really sunk in and got to her. Agnes wished that there was more she could do for the young woman – maybe if she had things wouldn’t have progressed to the level in which they did.

>>“That's unfortunate…Harp music’s really lovely.”

Agnes smiled at her younger sister’s ability to show such compassion. River really didn’t make the best of impressions on the young gargoyle when they were out for her birthday. If anything Agnes thought that the Sioux made a damn fool of herself. Granted Agnes maybe have prodded her in that direction, but there were better ways to handle it. Before River even left she was throwing her inappropriate snark around. Bash against the violinist all you wanted, but don’t do it in front of her sibling.

”You really do have a heart of gold,” Agnes said sweetly. Gina was sometimes just too much to understand. How could she be so…nice all the time? How was it possible that she was sunshine incarnate?

Focusing on her pastry, Agnes took another careful bite. She needed to keep distracting herself otherwise she was going to break down and just blurt out what was happening. Truth was that she wanted someone to talk to about it. Not necessary to get their approval but just to get it off her chest. She wasn’t close enough to any of the girls in the orchestra and, really, River and Becca weren’t the best candidates for this discussion. Oh, but she was terrified. What if Gina disliked her for what she had done?

Gina seemed somewhat at a loss for what to say. She wanted to comfort, that much was clear, but something else seemed to be distracting the young woman. Still, her message was clear in wishing that the both of them would find their way.

>>“I'm sure you guys will figure it out…You’re smart, Aggie, and kind. You'll find a way.”

Gaaaaaaaaawd. Each compliment stung Agnes deep in her heart. She didn’t feel smart or kind in anyway. She was stupid, she was having an affair with her ex, and she was couldn’t give herself a single convincing reason to stop. Instead she kept telling herself that they would be together, that when River was better, she would sit her down and tell her exactly what was going on. But every day, knowing what River suffered, Agnes felt more and more like she was digging herself deeper into a hole she couldn’t escape from. No, she certainly wasn’t kind by any means.

The corners of her eyes felt hot. She was certain that tears would fall at any moment so she hastily muttered a ”Thank you,” to Gina for her compassion and choked down the sadness. She wouldn’t. She would not break in front of her sister. Instead she would look for a different topic, something else to take her mind off of Gina’s sweetness. Absent-mindedly, and without thinking, she came up with the only thing that would leave her lips. ”I hope the ride home with Nessa was good? You two seemed pretty drunk…”

…wait, what?

Gina finished-off her soufflé, remorseful over having eaten it too quickly. The plate and fork were set aside, and the coffee was pulled front and center. Hopefully it’d cooled off enough by now… the gargoyle was blowing on her drink when Agnes chose the least expected topic of conversation.

>> ”I hope the ride home with Nessa was good? You two seemed pretty drunk…”

Gina couldn't stop the look of confusion and alarm that flickered through her auburn eyes.

“From what I remember of it, yeah,” the gargoyle cracked a smile, ”We were both pretty tired, so it was a pretty quiet ride. I think I might have nodded off?” She vaguely recalled jolting awake when they got back to Honeycomb. Gina have a self-deprecating chuckle. “But we made it back alright. Slept like logs.”

A knot tightened in the gargoyle's throat. She sipped her mocha, gaze flicking sideways. The cup was carefully lowered, but she kept her hands lightly clasped around it.

“I actually ran into her at the mall yesterday,” Gina confessed, “Apparently her and Becca broke-up, like, the day after my party…”

The gargoyle rolled her lips together, taking another sip of her drink before breathing a sigh. What else was there to say?

“It was so crazy to hear that…” the gargoyle murmured, “Like, that kind of thing doesn't come out of the blue… and they seemed alright?”

At least before the party—Nessa’s breakdown had been more telling, but the gargoyle wasn’t about to divulge that tender moment to get sister. It was for Gina to hold onto. If anyone had shown signs of tension at the party, it had been River. River, with her cryptic pass-aggressive jabs at Agnes and her oh-so timely departure.

Agnes still couldn’t believe she asked what she asked. She didn’t want to know about Nessa. It was bad enough that she played a part in break up Rebecca’s relationship with the brunette but she was already feeling tons of guilt lying dead center on her chest as of late. She was actively carrying on an affair with Rebecca while she was with River and bring up Nessa, and the fact that she knew about the break-up that followed soon after that night, meant she was asking for a world of trouble.

But maybe she could get away from it? After all, what could Gina really reveal about the trip home with Nessa. At most they shared a brief cab ride before Gina was dropped off, followed by Nessa being taken to her own home. There was nothing she had to worry about. Nope. Not at all.

However, as stated before, fate, destiny, whatever the unnatural force in the universe that dictated her life absolutely loved to screw with her.

>> “From what I remember of it, yeah…We were both pretty tired, so it was a pretty quiet ride. I think I might have nodded off? But we made it back alright. Slept like logs.”

She had just started taking a sip of her coffee when Gina had revealed that she had spent the night with Nessa. She sputtered, briefly, feeling the warm liquid momentarily gag her. However she didn’t sputter too loud and still managed to swallow the brew before choking to death. Excusing herself, she grabbed a napkin and dabbed at her lips.

”OH…um…y-you two slept…at your place? Together?” she cautioned to ask. This was rather unexpected. Of course she didn’t imagine any kind of shenanigans went on between the two of them, but they spent far more time together than she had originally imagined. Vaguely she wondered what the two of them could have discussed, if anything. Gina did say that they were pretty drunk so maybe they didn’t get to actually converse. What could really be revealed in one night, right?

>>“I actually ran into her at the mall yesterday…Apparently her and Becca broke-up, like, the day after my party…”

And the hole just kept being dug deeper. So Gina met up with Nessa again. It seemed like it was more of a chance meeting but the fact that they ran into one another, and that certain facts were revealed started to make the violinist just a little nervous. Gina knew that Becca and Nessa were broken up and had known when it occurred. She gulped as she turned to finish her pastry, her cheeks blushing a little at what her sister could know.

>>“It was so crazy to hear that…Like, that kind of thing doesn't come out of the blue… and they seemed alright?”

”Oh…yeah…of course,” Agnes added with a little shrug of her shoulders. She needed to get off this topic. She could feel the guilt weighing heavily upon her with every passing moment. She needed to not be thinking about the turmoil her life had become so she took a steadying breath before continuing. ”I guess you never know,” she added. It was clear she was actively avoiding eye contact with her sister now. She just couldn’t face her. ”These things…I-I…I guess they just…happen, you know?”

A sigh. She reached for another piece of her pastry but found it was gone. So much with stuffing her fae to keep from saying another more prized gems.

>> ”OH…um…y-you two slept…at your place? Together?”

“Mhmm,” the gargoyle intoned, “I wasn't about to send her home alone, as drunk as we were.” No offense to the driver, of course, but there were all sorts of stories floating around the internet, modern-day cautionary tales about unusually passengers and licentious drivers. The kind of stories mom's told daughters to discourage partying, or at the very least, encourage traveling in packs.

Gina took another sip of her mocha, glancing at her sister over the top of her mug. Agnes bumbled around the confession of Gina having reconnected with Nessa, commenting on the circumstances of the breakup without saying much of anything. Gina signed, her stomach knotting. Agnes wouldn't even look at her.

“Aggs,” Gina breathed patiently, lowering her mug. Her sister was flushed and avoiding her eyes and, hell, she didn't even have to confess aloud. It was written on her face.

“Were you and Becca seeing each other?” the gargoyle pressed quietly, “Like… beforehand?” Before the breakup, that is. Her tone was gentle and unaccusatory. There was no reason to say that Nessa was the one pointing fingers, and what's done was done. What really ate at Gina was that her sister was avoiding her. And, if Nessa was lying, that would also be a problem.

Gina crossed her hands at the wrists, betraying no sign of anxiousness. No fidgeting with the mug, no adjusting the spoon. The only betraying factor was the twitch at the tip of her tail. She wasn't sure what was worse-- that her two best friends might be cheaters, that her newly-acquired friend might be a liar or, worst of all, that she was on the outside of all of it. Gina. Agnes's sister and confidante. On the outside.