A free-for-all method would result in Adia worrying that she was taking too many bites, or making a mess of the dessert. Better to split it up at the beginning.

Adia grins. Dessert brings out the child in everyone. She takes a clean knife to the piece of pie and slices it in two. The flaky crust breaks slightly unevenly, but she has a surprisingly steady hand. Must be all those hours spent preparing slides in the lab. "Here you go," she says, after taking her slice of pie and giving Paladin a share of the cheesecake.