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+--- Thread: Coffee or Tea (Artskaf) (/thread-1732.html)
RE: Coffee or Tea (Artskaf) - Claude Saint-Clair - 04-05-2025
Nora looked around, her anxiety palpable. Something was wrong - very wrong. Claude was glad he had shown up, if for no other reason that to be there for her. She just needed to trust him. She always had just as he had always trusted her, but for her to be this anxious, she had to be in trouble, and he couldn’t let her face that alone - at least not without trying to do something about it; he couldn’t let her face it alone without knowing he was there for her.
Nora shot down her still hot drink and moved to go. Her words were odd and she didn’t even say good bye, only reinforcing Claude’s belief that something was wrong. She stood, putting on her coat, ready to leave. He couldn’t sit idly. He stood too, hurried, but not confrontational. Claude took her hand gently and lightly. It was meant only to grab her attention. She could easily pull from his grasp.
”Nora,” he said, his eyes showing deep compassion and his voice soft. His own anxiety sprang up within him, feeling like a molten torrent in his gut. ”What’s wrong?”
His words were accentuated by a tremor that ran through the building. He took Nora’s hand tighter to keep her stable. A few cups on the shelf fell to the ground and shattered. The feeling within him was gone, and he felt strangely calm. He looked around - it hadn’t been huge or anything, but the slight tremor in the earth had been odd. He cared little for it, his focus on Nora still.
”Are you alright?” he asked his question not only referring to the tremor.
RE: Coffee or Tea (Artskaf) - Liam H - 04-06-2025
Liam gave his sister a sideways look that she had to be joking. He knew what he saw. "It explains a lot." He said quickly. "He's too fast. There is no way someone can type as fast as he does, and do the things he does. The brain is a super computer, if it were connected directly to a computer with the internet, it could do powerful things. I'm going to look into it. I know Paragon could help."
RE: Coffee or Tea (Artskaf) - Calliope - 04-11-2025
Liam gave her a look that made her laugh. So he was serious, and in that case the things he said concerned her, but she knew better than anyone the natural stubbornness in the Haart genes. Cali would hear him out. She had no doubt Paragon would be interested, but she wasn’t sure she wanted her little brother at the centre of any experiments. Especially not ones that messed with the brain. Fusing tech into someone in such a way frankly made her shiver. But ultimately she’d support him anything, so long as it was safe.
She was about to say as much when the room did a shiver of its own, rattling the crockery and even her own teacup on its saucer. The strangeness of it broke her attention – she glanced first at Liam, eyes wide with surprise, and then up at the rest of the cafe, to see who else had noticed it. And then saw, “Nora?”
RE: Coffee or Tea (Artskaf) - Nora Saint-Clair - 04-12-2025
Nora needed to leave. Badly. She could feel the cracks forming: her carefully constructed walls starting to give way under Claude’s gaze. One more moment of that genuine, knowing look and she’d spill everything, all of it, and she wasn’t ready for that. Not here. Not now. But then his hand closed over hers.
She froze. Her lips parted, a protest rising, but nothing came out. Just air and the weight of things unsaid.
Then the floor trembled.
A low rumble vibrated up through her shoes, subtle at first, then sharp enough to still every conversation in the café. Chairs scraped. Coffee sloshed. Heads turned, hers among them. That wasn’t a natural quake. She was sure of it. She scanned the room, heart rate ticking up, not out of fear, but calculation. Whatever that was, it hadn’t come from below, but it came from somewhere. The question of where hooked into her like a fishhook behind the ribs.
But before she could do anything, she heard her name called out.
Nora turned, fixing a smile to her face like war paint. If she had to play this game, she’d play it flawlessly.
“Well hi there!” she said, stepping into the role like slipping into heels. “Can’t believe I didn’t see you earlier. What a surprise!” Her tone was bubbly, warm, even if her eyes flicked with the edge of calculation. “We definitely need to catch up soon. But I’ve got to run. Take care, okay?”
She pivoted on her heel before the girl could get a word in. Every second counted.
She felt Claude’s attention burning into her back, but didn’t look. Instead, she gave him a look over her shoulder—brief, sharp, and unmistakable. Follow me. I’ll explain everything.
Maybe.