"Motivation, rationale, and even nature — everything matters, doesn't it? And nothing is guaranteed to mean enough or doomed to mean too little," Ishiah replies, raising his glass to take another sip, this one deeper, held for a moment in his mouth until the burn sears through, at which point it's swallowed down like so much else in their lives. "I want to talk as soon as you have a reasonable chance, which probably means after work today."

His gaze drops for a second, tracing along the line of the bar. "But you don't need to be worried about the talk, Robin. Not as much as your face suggests that you are, at least."