Coffee or Tea (Artskaf)

[Nora Saint-Clair]

The moment Claude reminded her of her own words, something shifted in her expression. The anger faded first, chased quickly by shame, and then—reluctantly—by something softer. Concession. He was right. She knew it. But that didn’t settle the nerves coiling in her gut like smoke that refused to clear.

Claude might understand. He always tried to understand. But their family? That was a different story.

Everyone had heard the whispers—Atharim bloodlines tainted by gods. Some families disowned their own. Some chose silence that turned inward, cutting themselves off in every sense of the word. Others fled entirely, vanishing into exile rather than face the fallout. Nora couldn’t imagine forcing that kind of choice on their parents. It would destroy them. It might destroy her.

The tremor from earlier had already faded by the time they left Artskaf, but it still lingered in her thoughts. A shadow that wouldn’t quite dissolve.

“I don’t know if it was me or not,” she muttered, shaking her head. “Maybe? I’m not... very good at it.”

She hated admitting that. Hated how small it sounded.

“Just—swear you won’t tell anyone,” she added quickly, tugging on his arm like she used to when they were kids and her little brother had somehow grown taller than her overnight. It was instinctual, a gesture rooted in a thousand memories and unspoken pleas.

[Claude Saint-Clair]

The tug on his arm elicited a slight chuckle and brought a grin to his lips. So many times had he felt that pull from Nora. Times from catching her coming in late after curfew or times when she had been out going on her adventures around the estate. It was always a silent plea for him to not speak of it. Of course when they were even younger, it had been him making that pull. It was a simple thing that reminded him of simpler times.

”No one will hear it from me,” he said in response. His word was gold, and he hoped that Nora trusted it. There was no ask of a favor in it for him. As long as it was her secret, he would keep it.

He could see though that his sister was still greatly troubled by it. That he could understand. It was hard to accept yourself when you had been told that what you are is something that shouldn’t exist. In some ways, Claude had come to terms with what he was. He had no doubt Nora would come to the same conclusion.

Claude let some silence linger between them for a moment before speaking further. ”What do you need now. Space from your dorky kid brother to contemplate. A shopping trip to distract. An actual meal. A drink a little stronger than coffee?” the suggestions were said with a lighthearted smile. It gave her a chance to say what she needed now. They would have to talk about their parents eventually. They would have to be told something to get them off of Nora’s back, but Claude sensed now wasn’t the time to push it.