Cinder Fall sat on the desk in her dorm room, casually glancing at her underlings. Emerald Sustrai, on her left, leaned against the bunk bed. Her pale green hair framing a mildly disinterested face. Mercury Black was lying on the bottom bunk, his hands folded behind his head. Neopolitan, lastly, was standing in front of Cinder, her smirk aimed at whoever looked at her.

The four of them were dressed in school uniforms, as it made for hiding in plain sight that much easier. This was not a calm night for any of them, with the possible exception of Neo, who seemed nonplussed by most of life's problems. Roman Torchwick had been taken into custody only a few days ago. Even though they knew he would never sell them out, it gave a sudden gravity to their situation.

"Look, as it stands, I'm all for laying low. Anyone else?" Mercury declared, the silence in the room making him tense. "They know he didn't act alone, and they're gonna be looking at everyone extra closely."

"Mercury." Cinder purred. The rest of the team immediately focused on her. "We are not equals. I ask. You obey. While I'm open to ideas, I will never be open to cowardice." Emerald watched her stroll over and quickly gave her plenty of space. "Now, are you going to be a coward, Mercury?"

He looked up just as her yellow eyes began to glow and immediately flinched at the sight of it. "No." He muttered simply. He flinched a second time as her hand reached down to ruffle his hair.

"Good." She murmured, walking back to the desk. "That said, I think our best option is to blend in." She quickly cast a glance at Neo, her blank expression darkening. "Some of us will be better off unseen." Neo let out a silent chuckle before snapping off a salute and nod.

"How are we going to explain why we only have three people then?" Emerald finally spoke up. "If we're trying to not draw attention to ourselves, we need a full team." She nervously uncrossed and re-crossed her arms when she saw Cinder staring right at her.

"All true. All very true." Cinder said, walking over to Emerald. "However, what can you do if one of your own falls ill?" She glanced over at Neo, who made a show of raising her hand to her forehead and fainted onto one of the two single mattresses. "Poor thing can't even take notes, let alone walk around with the rest of us."

"Okay, as long as we have a cover story. I'm still concerned about long term though." Emerald conceded, glancing over at Neo, if only so she didn't have to look up at Cinder. "Mercury, think you can remember that?"

"She's sick, its not rocket science." He called out from the bed. "Still that doesn't solve our main problem. What are we doing now?"

"You'll know when I tell you." Cinder said. "Trust me."

Weiss Schnee sat at her desk furiously scribbling notes, but then most would say Weiss does most things furiously. She made sure to take the notes she wrote in class, which were essentially a very truncated shorthand, into a more detailed and thorough account of the topics discussed. This wasn't necessary for her to do, she knew her shorthand, but the act of focusing on her notes, even for transcribing long form copies helped her learn the material that much quicker. At least, it would've been quicker if her teammate and leader wasn't pestering her with questions.

"Hey Weiss, what's the answer to number 3? You're doing history, right? It's already night, why do you still have your hair up? Can I copy your notes? Do we have a test tomorrow?" Ruby asked, in an almost non-stop torrent of interruptions. "Hey Weiss?"

"What?!" Weiss finally shouted. "What do you want?!"

Her sudden outburst sent Ruby jumping back a step or two. "I was gonna see if there were any snacks left in the cafeteria. Could you spare me a few? I promise to pay you back. I promise!"

"Fine!" Weiss exclaimed. She reached into the pocket of her skirt and fished out some money for Ruby, who eagerly had her hands out. "Now, by giving you this lien, which you will pay back! I expect you to remain out of the room for no less than thirty minutes. Is that clear?" Ruby quickly nodded, snatched the money, and was a blur as she raced out the door and down the hall. For good measure Weiss glanced at the clock, just to make sure the red-headed dunce stood by her word.

With the only other person in the room, Blake Belladonna, deeply involved in a book of her own choosing, Weiss had the peace and quiet that she so desperately desired. For only a few short, precious minutes.

"Hey everyone! Did you miss me?" Yang called out as she barged into the room. "Admit it, you missed me." She teased Blake, who simply held the book closer to her face. "Aww, no fun. Hey Weiss."

"You've got to be kidding me." Weiss growled through clenched teeth. "I just got rid of your sister, and now-"

"You really need to calm down." Yang said walking up behind the frustrated heiress. She quickly and insistently placed her hands on the woman's shoulders and gently started massaging her. "You can't keep yourself wound up like this."

"Don't! Don't… make this about… me…" Weiss groaned as Yang's fingers pressed against her back, somehow melting the tension she'd built up over the week. "Yang…"

"Yeah, Princess?" Yang whispered, knowing well enough by now just how to calm down an angry Ice Queen.

"Don't… call me that…" Weiss said, leaning back into Yang's capable hands. "I need to study… and… and… I can't with you behind me like this…" As if to show her point, she slumped forward and scribbled out something illegible on a blank sheet of paper.

"C'mon Weiss, just relax." Yang teased. "You're gonna do great. You always do." She pressed a little harder, working from the girl's shoulders and towards her back. "Now take a deep breathe, and let out all of that tension."

"You can't just… can't just… God… this feels good." Weiss muttered, putting up only a token resistance. "I need to… study… please…" She let out a small whimper when the blonde granted her request. "Thank you Yang, I do appreciate the gesture. It has seemed to help."

"Hey, anything for a friend."