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.