That vague veneer of mingling was enough to keep Casey from noticing. They weren't really paying attention, after all, just trying to soak in the atmosphere and try to uncoil the mess of unresponsive emotions and muscles all tied into knots. Having someone suddenly so close inspired an instinctual reaction. Casey jumped, legs knocking the chair and causing them to end up in a real battle to not topple over and bring the furniture down with them.

It only took a second, but by the time their mind caught up, Casey's heart was beating way faster than that should have caused. All that flailing around probably made the white mark on their hand obvious even if the shape itself wasn't easy to make out. They stared at the person for a long moment before slowly shaking their head. "Even if that's true," they said, suddenly swallowing back a wave of unfamiliarity that made them want to choke, "this isn't right. None of this is right."