Coffee or Tea (Artskaf)

[Nora Saint-Clair]

After she settled into her seat, Nora waved off Claude’s gushing with a small wave of her hand. He’d always been the affectionate one—his warmth an endless wellspring. It was a quality she loved about him, though she teased him for it mercilessly. The memories came unbidden: a much smaller Claude, all knees and elbows, clinging to her side after some scraped knee or childhood indignity. She had been his fiercest protector then, and some part of her still was.

Now, she gave him a wry smile, her eyes softening even as her tone turned. “It is wonderful to see you also, of course.”

A server approached, setting the small porcelain cup of her cortado on the table, perched neatly on its plate. Nora wrapped her fingers around it instinctively, welcoming the heat into her cold hands. She hadn’t thought to bring gloves, and the bite of winter lingered in her knuckles. Lifting the drink, she inhaled the sharp, nutty aroma before taking a sip, the warmth blooming across her tongue and chasing away the last of the morning chill.

Claude leaned forward, eager for more of her attention, and Nora’s teasing smile deepened. “Oh yes, I found her,” she said, her voice lilting with mock exasperation. “She’s just as tiresome and grumpy as ever.” She paused, quirking a brow knowingly. “But that’s why we love Grym, isn’t it?” 

Just as she started to answer his next question, something—or rather, someone—caught her attention. 

Nora’s words faltered. Her gaze snagged on a figure nearby, recognition sparking like a lit match in her mind. The familiarity jolted her: for all the months she’d spent in Dominance I, her socializing outside the Atharim had been minimal. Faces here were mostly strangers, and that made this moment… unusual. Uncomfortable. 

“Oh…” she murmured, her sentence dissolving mid-thought. Her brows knit together briefly, then smoothed, as if she were trying to collect herself. “Sorry, I see someone I know.”

She didn’t elaborate. Couldn’t, really. Claude didn’t need to know about her visit to the Brotherhood—especially not now, over coffee and pastries. The implications of that would open doors she wasn’t ready to walk through yet.

Instead, she shifted in her seat, angling her body away from the room while lifting her cortado to her lips. The gesture seemed casual, but her shoulders tightened ever so slightly, a faint tension seeping into her normally fluid movements. She let the cup linger near her mouth, more as a shield than a drink, the steam curling up in delicate tendrils between her and the rest of the café. She could only hope the figure hadn’t noticed her.

[Calliope]

“Of course!” Despite the circumstances Cali was pleased Liam would want her to come with him for something like that. Not that she could blame him for being wary of Gideon’s kindness, it was usually double-edged – there was very little their cousin actually took seriously.

“There’s more?” She laughed a little, and this time did wrap her fingers around her tea. Normally she’d be more than happy to just prompt him on – her life at the Brotherhood was interesting to her, but she understood that faith was personal. But...

“Actually, something strange happened – at one of the rituals. There were some new Seekers, one even signed the book afterwards.” She paused a moment then, tripping over the uncomfortable memory of Sámiel. That was something she didn’t know how to explain, and anything which sent small ripples of conflicting disquiet within her wasn’t something she wanted to burden on her little brother. Cali leaned closer. She really wished then that she was able to simply show Liam what she was about to confide, but though she had been practising what Seraphis taught her it didn’t come easily yet.

The flicker of her frown disappeared. It was replaced by warmth – the sort of obsession all members of the Haart family knew well. “My prayers were finally answered,” she whispered. “I can actually do it Liam. I can channel.”

[Claude Saint-Clair]

Claude smiled at Nora's teasing demeanor.  Their childhood had been much like this, and in many ways, they had remained the same as adults.  Back then, Claude had looked up to Nora.  He had always found her adventurous spirit intriguing, and she had always been a solid rock on which he had relied.  As a child, Nora had always been protective of her younger brother.  As they had grown older, that hadn't diminished even though she knew that despite his quiet and polite demeanor, he was very capable of violence.

Claude had always been the quiet, more affectionate one.  This didn't mean Nora was cold, merely that she showed her affection for him in different ways, such as a protective nature and teasing.  Her beverage arrived and she spoke of Grym, causing Claude to give a light chuckle. What she said was a joke, but it wasn't incorrect either.  Claude had always been a little jealous that Nora had gotten to train with the older woman.  Claude hoped that he could catch up with her as well.

As Nora began to continue she got distracted by a person in the group that she knew.  Her demeanor changed.  Her body shifted to turn from the crowd and her shoulders showed more tension.  Nora was good, but Claude knew her.  He saw the differences.  His eyes moved in the direction that Nora had been looking, spying a few others, but the table that really drew his eyes were the young lady and even younger man having a quiet conversation.

Claude evaluated what he knew.  If it was a friend, Nora likely wouldn't be behaving like this.  She might not offer an introduction, but she wouldn't have been trying to move on this way or completely avoid it.  This was the type of behavior that had worried Claude and had ultimately led to his parents' mandate for him to check on her.

Still Claude could see that at the very least, Nora was physically well.  His posture shifted, showing slightly more tension, and his eyes became more attentive to the crowd, something he was certain his sister would notice. He wouldn’t push if she wasn't ready to talk yet, but he would make note of it.

"I'm glad Grym is well, I hope to see her soon."

[Liam H]

Liam grinned at her question about more and he nodded emphatically. She might not be excited about it but he was. But he'd let her go first. He didn't understand her new found religion but he was excited for her.

Liam took her hands in his and his voice raised. "Oh my god." He looked around realizing it wasn't a secret he should share and giggled softly "I'm sorry." he whispered. "That is so awesome. What can you do?" He said excitedly. "At the party I saw this guy make lights and throw people away from him. But I kinda got distracted by a pair of lips."

[Nora Saint-Clair]

Between the two of them, Claude had always been the polished one. He carried himself with the kind of understated grace that made everyone always comment on his charm and old ladies want to pinch his cheeks. He perfected the art of gentlemanly conversation, polite and genuine.

For Nora, subtlety wasn’t her style, and everyone knew it, Claude especially. He had a knack for catching her in her vagaries, and she could see it in the way his head tilted slightly, his eyes narrowing just enough to tell her he was already peeling through her every word. 

She loved her brother, truly. But sometimes, the way he seemed to know things, things she didn’t say, made her wonder just how much he guessed at.

“So long as you promise not to tell Mom and Dad,” she said, her tone light but not joking either. Claude would never rat her out, but it was still worth saying.

Grym flashed through her mind, always reclusive but now practically a ghost. The thought made her smile. “It’d be fun to sneak you out and surprise her,” she said, her voice brightening with the thought. Nora could already picture the look on Grym’s face. Grym wouldn’t be happy about the ambush, not one bit, but oh, how satisfying it would be to watch her sputter through the indignity. 

“How long are they keeping you here?”

She leaned back in her chair, cradling her cup in her hands. Her expression stayed light, almost lazy, but her foot bounced beneath the table—a restless tell she couldn’t quite suppress.

[Claude Saint-Clair]

Claude allowed Nora to move the conversation forward. This was neither the time nor the place for a confrontation. Truth be told, Claude didn't want to confront her at all. As far as he was concerned, his 'mission' for his parents was done. Nora was alive and well. He'd even let Nora decide what to tell them so they'd get off her back. They had always been too protective of their daughter. The fact that Grym had been banished and Nora hadn't been allowed to continue hunting was proof enough of that. Considering they hadn't held her brother to the same standard probably attributed to that too. Claude had always felt that holding Nora back had been a travesty.

It didn't change the fact that something was wrong. Nora was nervous, and she was never nervous around Claude. Above the table, she adopted a calm facade, but Claude was quite aware of the bouncing foot underneath. It made Claude wonder if it was his presence that uneased her, something that saddened him greatly. There was no reason why she should be nervous around him, but if she felt there was - well that was a riddle indeed.

One of the nearby neighbors raised his voice, causing Claude to briefly look over. Claude gave the kid a smile, showing that his outburst had not been a problem and shifted, relaxing his posture, turning back to Nora, and giving her a disarming grin. "No one knows you were looking for her. That will not change," His word was gold. "Let's be careful with the surprise though - don't want her reaction to be dangerous to my health," he said with a laugh, indicating that he was joking.

Claude took another sip of tea, finishing the cup, and set it down on its saucer. "As of now, my length of stay here is undetermined." Given her message telling him to leave, he doubted she would like this. It was essentially Atharim code for 'permanent', and with things the way they were in Moscow, he likely wouldn't be leaving.