Mel peeked at the bar; her only saviour, the merciful, kind-looking bartender, had scurried to nowhere.
"Hic..."
Whimper hitched in her throat as she shuddered, as Lila's lips pressed closely to her ear.
"So," she murmured, facing Maria on the other side. "How exactly did your... 'favourability' system work?"
Maria smiled, her lips barely kissing Mel's ear as her gaze briefly lingered on the missing bartender.
"It depended entirely on observation, Envy."
"And that observation was...? You aren't a mind-reader or bender like Mel."
"I agree, but my political experience was more than enough to distinguish your emotions."
She chuckled as Mel's face flushed; her fingers dancing on Mel's thigh like a piano.
"It didn't matter; affection, arousal, even pure joy could increase the favourability; the opposite also was true."
Frustrated, Lila's palm smoothed over Mel, eliciting a slight shiver.
