Cara rolls her eyes. "And what do you think women talk about? Shoes?" She pulls up another stool, close enough to Leo that their thighs are touching. He rests his hand along the inside of her forearm, stroking it slowly.
"So, I've been thinking, Four," she says seriously, "that we need to develop a new assessment tool for you."
"What do you mean?"
"A test that will help you identify Divergence more easily. Maybe even something you and Tris can carry with you."
I raise my eyebrows. "You think that can be done?"
She nods vigorously. "There are genetic markers I can isolate," she explains, "and I think we can give you a way to see them with a drop of blood."
"Markers?" I ask.
"Genetic markers – you remember your school biology classes, right? Genes, the 'building blocks of life'?" she continues, so lost in her ideas that she's hardly even looking at me anymore. "We developed some ways to identify certain sequences – and Linus actually isolated the genetic code for Divergence a long time ago." She explains that she and Linus had been working on test fluid that would change colors in the presence of certain genetic markers in a drop of blood. We agree to experiment with some concoctions in the morning.
"Speaking of experiments, do you think you develop a serum that could help augment the training?" Leo breaks in with interest. "Because we have so little time, and we may have a pretty steep learning curve for some of these people. Combining the physical training with a challenge serum could be one way to speed things up."
Cara looks thoughtful for a moment, and then the two of them break into a rapid fire exchange about what the serum would do and how it might work. I add in a few words here and there, but they are able to communicate with each other in shorthand, a staccato pace that pretty much shuts me out.
"So, you and Tris don't have sex, huh?" Cara says suddenly, and I just stare at her, mouth open stupidly at the abrupt shift in the conversation. Leo snorts beer out his nose.
"Ow, ow, ow," he says, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Cara smirks at him. "Sex and war, sweetheart," she says innocently.
"So?" she says again, watching me with a light in her eyes that somehow manages to be mischievous and sympathetic all at the same time.
I just continue looking at her, speechless.
"Very Abnegation," she comments, sipping at the dark red drink in her hands. I wonder if she's had too much to drink maybe.
Almost on cue, warm, moist hands press to my shoulders, and a hiccup echoes in my ear. "What's Abnegation?" Tris says, slurring her S a little.
Cara looks at Tris for a moment, tilting her head and taking in the fact that Tris is obviously drunk. Cara smiles, with that same evil-kind look in her eyes.
"Discomfort about desire," Cara says. "It's very Abnegation to feel guilty about sex," she elaborates matter of factly. "I never understood why that was necessary."
"Oh, look at the time!" Leo says hastily, rising from his stool and faking a yawn. "If I remember right, someone wants us up and in the meeting room by 7:00." I just smile at him uneasily.
"But I'm having way too much fun," Cara complains, as he takes her elbow and starts steering her out of the room. Leo squeezes my shoulder on his way past, shooting me an apologetic look.
"See you in the morning, Tris," he says warmly.
"G'night, Leo," she responds, brow furrowed.
Cara pulls her elbow out of Leo's grasp and hugs Tris fiercely, whispering something in her ear. Leo looks at me a little desperately and grabs Cara around the waist, dragging her from the bar.
Tris looks at me, the crease between her eyes deepening. "What did she mean?" she says, shaking her head. "About forgetting the seventh fear? What did you tell her!" Tris is starting to flush angrily.
I groan inwardly. "Um, can we talk about it back in the apartment?"
Tris stalks out of the bar.
