Mercury returns to the table.

Neo was idly stacking some packets of sugar, keeping herself entertained. It had been a week or so since she had seen Roman, and she was beginning to miss him. Normally, they'd be working together, either planning an enactment or enacting a plan. Whatever they did, she never found it boring. She never found him boring, at least. He always had this innate ability to be interesting.

The same could not go for Cinder, who was as bland as paste and, ironically, cold to everyone and anything.

While Neo knew that she would have some parts to play in her _nefarious plan _eventually, she was really only there to give the illusion of a fourth member. Outside of that, she was just expected to be on call and stay out of trouble, which the petite girl was particularly disgruntled by.

Not that she would voice that, even if she could. She and Roman were well aware of what threat she posed, despite her secrecy.

"There's something really weird going on," she heard Mercury's voice emanate, followed by the sound of two trays being placed onto the table.

Cinder and Emerald had been looking around the room too, unlike Neo, but weren't really aware of what Mercury meant.

"What do you mean?" Emerald said, looking to Cinder and promptly silencing herself when she saw her send a threatening eye to the girl.

"What did you see, Mercury?" Cinder asks instead.

"I don't know but the girls in this place are really happy about... like, everything. I cut the line just now and they loved me for it."

Neither Cinder nor Emerald looked impressed with that.

"Sure, they did," Emerald offered, bemused.

Cinder was less amused, saying, "Mercury. I told you to stay out of trouble. If we draw attention to ourselves-"

"Not just that," Mercury interrupted, "I knocked over the combat teacher and she wasn't angry at all."

"So, what? She probably knew it was an accident... It was an accident, right?" said Emerald.

"Well, yeah."

"Fine, then."

"No wait. Come on. Look, that Winchester guy is messing with the faunus there and none of the girls are batting an eye."

Cinder and Emerald did look to see the two figures in question. However, at this point, Cardin was sitting down on the bench with the faunus on his lap. He seemed to be patting her head, as she was leaning back into him. Her simple expression of apathy that Mercury had noticed was replaced by a giddy, bashful one.

Mercury heard Emerald groan.

"Yeah. There not batting an eye because there's nothing going on. They're just a couple showing affection. Not that you'd know what real affection was. Right, Cinder?"

"Shut up, Emerald," Cinder said.

"Oh, okay."

Neo smirked at that but hid it and continued to stack sugar. She was a little interested in this, but Mercury wasn't really explaining it well.

He seemed to suggest that girls were unusually forgiving of bad behavior. Even pleased. That was just silly. Maybe she'll text Roman later and tell him about this.