They parted without incident, and Cobra's walk back to camp was also uneventful.
When the rest of them got back in the evening hours no one batted an eye at the fact that he was already there. Sawyer did throw him a mocking salute–which was definitely worrying–but he just flipped him off. By the other man's laughter, he judged this to be the right response.
Macbeth also returned and looked in his direction. He raised an eyebrow at him and Cobra made a gagging noise, which made the reflector mage break out into a nasty smirk. Other than those interactions, everyone seemed tired from the rowdy guild once again and went to bed early.
As he was lying in bed, attempting to block out Macbeth's snore, he sorted through the events of the day in his head. The woman Minerva and the terrible things she'd done, contrasted with the sincerity of wanting to be forgiven in her voice. Lucy's attitude towards her, and the way she sometimes coldly, unflinchingly rebuffed any attempt by him–conscious or otherwise–to understand what she was going through. Mirajane's potentially blackmail blocking secret and her friend's possible connection to the strange man from yesterday. That guy…the more he thought about him the less sure Cobra was on anything he'd picked up personality-wise that day. Just who was that guy? If he was a threat to them, he'd…
The dragonslayer blinked, then pinched the bridge of his nose. He sure was making a habit of getting worked up over things these days. Half of that crap shouldn't have even mattered to him. Minerva, he'd probably never see again, Mirajane's secret might not even be worth all that much in the long run, and Lucy…Lucy wasn't going to open up to him. Just like he wasn't going to open up to her. Neither of them had any obligation to each other's baggage after all. It never paid to keep things on the brain that he couldn't do anything about. That was one lesson in being a Neo Oracion Seis member that still resided in him.
The rest of the night was spent tossing and turning, half-asleep, half-awake. Ultimately indecisive.
A/N: That's a wrap on Day 3! Time once again for some interludes. Let me know how you're enjoying everything so far!