User blog comment:RaijinRising/RWBY's Visual Evolution/@comment-1216896-20190814203906/@comment-24032889-20190816051507

The way I interpreted the Neo/Cinder fight, the entire time they were in the tavern was an illusion. Mostly because once the fight leaves, Neo appears with Roman's hat and tattered clothes. So Neo was showing Cinder a version of herself Cinder would remember (aka no hat and clean clothes) in the Spiderhouse.