A large collection of capes entered and immediately headed off to find their booths and tables. One of the new arrivals stepped inside and loitered by the door. She was a woman with a slender figure and a bag over her head, for lack of a better description. The bag was cloth, with a pink animal pattern on it. The rest of her form-fitting outfit matched, including the shawl she wore.

Prancer leaned in the direction of the door, putting his mouth near Velvet’s ear. “I see Nursery. I wonder if Blindside is around.”

“I hope the kid’s okay,” Velvet said. She looked at Moose. “Were you there when we talked to ’em?”

“I was.”

“They were up to something.”

“I remember.”

A man in armor was one of the last to arrive. The armor was white, and looked like it was fashioned of strips, woven and wound around him, the ends left frayed and sticking out to the sides and behind him. There was no face to it. Only a Y-shaped set of ridges. He stood between Nursery, a man in a black outfit and heavy hood, and a heavyset man with long hair, a dense beard, and a mechanical arm that extended to the ground.

At his arrival, people across the room started applauding, from Ripcord to the people at the counter, to the white-haired girl and the woman with the mask. Even the kitchen staff. The man in armor laughed, the sound mingling with the general applause.

Moose joined in, and Velvet and Prancer offered their own light, confused applause.

“Thank you. Thank you. Is Marquis here?” the man in armor asked.

The old man at the kitchen pointed skyward. “Roof.”

The man in armor saluted, then ducked back through the door.

Velvet raised her hand to get Nursery’s attention. The woman’s group was already splitting up. The man in black joined the people in white armor. The bearded man with the mechanical arm walked over to the woman with the claws, sitting in her booth.

Nursery approached the table.

“Good to see you,” Prancer said.

“I didn’t think I would see you three all the way out here,” Nursery said.

“We’re trying to see who’s out there. The other places have been a little seedy.”

“They are. Seedy can be fun, though,” Nursery said. “Reminds me of the old days.”

“You keep updating your costume,” Velvet said.

“Silly thing, isn’t it? It’s easier to make a new one than to wash the blood and slime out. I feel ridiculous.”

“What was happening with the applause?” Prancer asked.

“Mission success,” Nursery said. “In a roundabout, unexpected way, but that’s often how these things go.”

“Congratulations,” Moose said.