Even odds as to whether or not Malcolm appears mid-conversation (though oocly, of course, that's player preference). Neal isn't straying far from him, less because of his own sadness than because of Malcolm's frayed nerves. His frayed everything. Neal didn't know George the way Malcolm knew George. He liked him, he liked that Malcolm had such a close friend still left at ADI. But he didn't know him the way he should have. The way he would have liked to, if he hadn't been so caught up in his own head the past few months.

He has drinks, plural, just cheap wines without a lot of physical impact. He checks in on those who seem the worst off. At some point during the night he excuses himself to use the restroom and goes out back for a breath of very cold air, closing his eyes and breathing deeply.

He hates funerals, he hates death. And this event is starting to give him a cocktail of emotional premonitions from people that they might not want him to have. The Lonely, whispering to him, teasing him with the chance to make things worse if he just takes the reins of his own newfound, unwanted abilities.

Breathe. Wait for the unwanted sixth sense to fade.

[People who come upon Neal outside can specify whether or not they want him to be able to psychically feel their negative emotions. I'll err on the side of 'no' unless it's explicitly permitted.]