.

Lie Ren liked to think he was a fairly calm, rational, and laid back person. He would practice the idea of doing unto others and living whilst letting live if he could. After all, one had to be understanding and calm when they dealt with Nora Valkyrie on a regular basis. Certainly he had nothing against his childhood friend, but she could be a handful even on good days.

Because of that, for one day he had decided to take a break from her, at least while she was busy and distracted by events going on. She knew where he was, and he expected she would show up eventually. But until then he was trying to enjoy what peace and quiet could be garnered for himself and his mental state.

A sudden noise drew his attention though, and he found himself responding to it, walking over to see what was going on, given the sounds he was hearing. It didn't sound good, and if something was happening then he wanted to know what it was, in case someone was in trouble.

His gaze narrowed then as he found a familiar, yet sad sight. Specifically, Cardin and his team bullying another faunus. And it was Velvet again, as if the fact that it was an upperclassman didn't make it any worse. They did this a lot, and yet no one ever seemed to stop them.

Well, he might as well intervene. So he stepped forward, approaching them as he took in a deep breath to prepare himself ahead of time. "Leave her alone," he said as he made his presence known. If they wanted to pick on someone, they could pick on him.

.

Ren stood undaunted as Team CRDL responded to his presence, shifting to face him while insulting him at the same time. Frankly he was a bit surprised, if only because Cardin had to know that Nora would break his legs if he did anything to Ren. Not that the quiet boy would get her involved without cause, but it was a real possibility at the end of the day.

Mentally he prepared himself to go for Stormflower if Cardin should choose to make it violent, which was likely, but he would try to prevent that if at all possible. Pointless violence was not something he indulged in, as opposed to Nora. Though in her case there was always a point, but that was neither here nor there.

"Speak when you have something worth saying," he replied calmly, scanning the area and those possible opponents present, planning ahead. He'd seen Cardin spar, knew that he could be a tough opponent, and that meant he would have to be ready.

An eyebrow rose then in careful consideration as he reflected on his next words. "No," he admitted calmly. "Would you prefer that I go get her?" Nora cleaning their clocks would be a foregone conclusion, but for the moment he chose to wait and see what CRDL would do. One way or another, he was ready.

.

Ren, prepared for anything, found himself taken by surprise at Velvet's outburst, much as CRDL had been. He wouldn't consider it his fault though, since Velvet had never shown any sign of being this firm or resistant, especially when CRDL was involved. But he wouldn't complain though, as it sent them to flight, leaving him alone with the girl.

He watched then as she dropped to her knees, practically shaking in the aftermath, which he could understand. It had probably taken all of her nerve and courage to do that. But doing it was a good thing, though there was the concern that Cardin and his team would merely escalate things now that they had been rebuffed once.

"It's fine," he replied calmly, glancing towards the cafeteria as he stood in place, watching her in the process. "I don't like bullies."

It was true enough, and after what they had done to Jaune, he would admit that the entirety of JNPR had something of a grudge. Nora hadn't broken their legs yet, but there was no love lost between the two groups, simmering in resentment and anger.

That said, he kept his gaze on Velvet, watching calmly and analytically. "You know they're probably going to treat you even worse after this," he pointed out. ANd he was wondering how she planned to handle it, besides simply letting them do what they wanted to her. That would render this whole thing pointless, if even worse for Velvet at the end of the day. And he didn't want to see that.