okay, we're gonna try this again and hope the tags work this time.
"Well?"
Rook smiled apologetically and reached for the pitcher of cream, trying not to laugh at Lucanis's alley-cat in a puddle expression.
"It isn't bad! It's fine. I just…"
She bit her lip and poured, ignoring Neve grinning at her from further down the table. Her coffee lightened considerably before she was finished. Lucanis sighed.
"Fine," he repeated, disbelief clear in his voice. The glowering would have been intimidating, maybe, if it had been directed at her and not the cup in her hand. Or maybe if it had been a dagger he was holding. Instead, he was currently strangling a dish towel. "The coffee is fine?"
"Sorry!"
Really, she almost was a little. Poor Lucanis had been so certain that by fixing her cup the right way, he'd cure her need to dilute it. He been not just sure, but proud of the fact. Being proven wrong must have been devastating.
Neve wasn't even trying to hide her smirk. The detective pushed a few papers out of the way as Rook took the chair next to her, but her eyes stayed bright and trained on Lucanis.
"It could be worse," Neve offered, "Rook won't even try to drink my coffee."
Lucanis shifted his glare from the cup to Neve, unappeased. "That's because it isn't coffee."
"I have been poisoned enough in one life time, it's true. Besides, the whole point of this" Rook briefly tilted her lightened coffee for Neve's inspection, "is to make it taste less bitter. You can't unbitter something that's burned."
"Burned?" Neve replied, putting a palm to her chest in mock offense, "I assure you, the coffee may be cheap, but it's a Docktown staple. Rook may like her drinks on the sweet side, but —"
"There is no amount of sugar or cream that could save what you call coffee," Lucanis interrupted, narrowing his eyes in Neve's direction. "Some tastes can't be hidden."
Speaking of…
While Neve laughed again, not even trying to defend herself, Rook scanned the table, then turned back to look at the counter. She knew she had just had it in her hand. She had walked in holding it, Lucanis had offered her the mug, and then…
Lucanis saw her searching, turned twice, and then extended the dish towel out in her direction. Held gingerly inside was a tiny vial of colorless liquid, which he cradled as if it might explode unexpectedly.
"It's only corrosive if applied directly to the skin, you know," Rook teased, taking it from him, dish towel and all. This time she did laugh at the way his shoulders relaxed the minute he was relieved of the tiny flask. "And even then, only in much larger quantities... Or with the right additive, I suppose."
Neve leaned over Rook's shoulder, squinting as she angled for a closer look. "And what is 'it' exactly?"
Maker, it was like breakfasting with new Fledglings. Honestly. Still, she swirled the vial, then held it up to light of the nearest candle for Neve's inspection regardless.
Lucanis matched Neve's gaze, but instead of the detective's morbid interest, he looked more like he had when Viago had started shoving the vials at her back in the Diamond and he'd made the mistake of reading over the labels.
It was almost too bad that this particular toxin was too basic for Viago to consider it worth naming. Still…
"Up and Adder?" Rook suggested, deliberately keeping her gaze on Lucanis, even as Neve's pen stopped tapping.
"Try again," Lucanis told her flatly, "I've heard that story from Teia, many times." He turned to Neve and added, "Viago's antidote for death adder's venom is called Up and Adder." His nose scrunched.
"The Fifth Talon… names his antidotes with bad puns?" Neve asked.
"And his poisons. Unfortunately." Lucanis came closer, leaning his forearms against the back of an empty chair as he, too, looked at Rook's vial. "And if I'm not mistaken, that is definitely a poison."
Rook shrugged, and unstoppered the vial, curling one hand protectively around the rim of her cup as she poured in case of any splashing. It was old habit from sharing a table with other, more rambunctious Fledglings, and not a bad idea in mixed company. For all her assurances to Lucanis, she'd rather not risk a spill in the common area, much less any splattering on Neve.
"It is, but it's a basic mixture of death root and … well a few other things. It's not unique enough or strong enough for Viago to care about it much."
Her stomach flipped rebelliously as she let the mixture settle in her drink. Now who was acting like a Fledgling? Honestly. She raised the cup and toasted in Lucanis's direction, and when he rolled his eyes, she sipped.
Ugh.
Neve inhaled sharply, and Rook did her best to look reassuring even as she swallowed down the worst of it.
A layman would have missed the bitterness, diluted in this much coffee and cream, but Viago's maintenance dose was designed for quick immunity, not the subtlety of an actual assassination. The slight burn slid from her throat to her chest like acid, and she knew it would spread to her stomach soon enough. She cleared her throat, not that it did much good.
Neve was still looking slightly pale and wide-eyed, which, fair. She wasn't a Crow.
Rook smiled back at her carefully, but really, how did you explain House de Riva contingency planning to an outsider? Sure, Viago had only survived House Kortez 's attempted coup because his own regular ingestion of Adder's Kiss has bought him the time for Teia to administer the antivenin, but from Neve's expression, that wasn't a conversation she was prepared to have.
"I promise I'll do all my own washing up." That was Viago's rule anyway, to stop any accidental dosing… or any "accidental" doses. "And I can store this cup separately from the others if you like?"
Neve looked down at her papers rather than reply. Rook was just considering politely excusing herself when, to her surprise, Lucanis spoke up.
"Rook."
"…yes?"
Lucanis was scowling again, but somehow, this time it didn't reach his eyes. He looked once between her and Neve before saying,"The coffee is too bitter to enjoy without cream. But the death root extract…"
Somehow, this time she knew he was teasing. "The deathroot is an unpleasant necessity. Believe me, if I thought cream could dilute it, I would try! Might piss Viago off though. "
He rolled his eyes muttering something that could have been "mierda" or might have just been "de Riva." Buthis gaze stayed steady with hers.
He waited until she took her next drink to add, "So if I understand correctly then, Viago is to blame for your lack of taste?"
She choked.
Neve was halfway up out of her seat and Lucanis almost had a hand to her back before Rook could wave them both off. Swiping the wetness from her eyes and swallowing against the worsened burn in her chest, she managed a shaky laugh.
"Please, por el amor de Andraste, I am begging you. Please say that somewhere where I can see his face. He'd be so offended."
"Careful," Neve interjected, "no getting our God-killer assassinated before he can assassinate the Gods."
Lucanis muttered something in Antivan about wanting to see Viago try, but when it wasn't accompanied by any feathers or violet light, Rook ignored him. Vi was plenty capable of defending his own honor.
She leaned towards Neve conspiratorially, eager to seize on the other woman's renewed participation. "You know, I don't think he's ever forgiven me for not liking his stupidly expensive red wine?"
The lines at the corners of Neve's eyes crinkled upwards as Rook watched. The expression suited her. "Well there is a sin."
Lucanis agreed, apparently. Although he didn't say anything, choosing instead to focus on transferring breakfast from the stove and onto plates, it didn't stop him from shaking his head meaningfully in her direction. It was Rook 's turn to roll her eyes now, although she strongly suspected he was even now going over the dinner menus in his mind, looking for the right pairing of meat to tannin to change her mind.
"White wine is fine," she conceded as Lucanis placed a plate of eggs, potato, and ham in front of Neve, "but whatever vintage Viago was so proud of celebrating with just tasted…"
"Bitter?"
"Exactly. But apparently not liking a "good Antivan red from Seleny" is unpatriotic these days."
Lucanis was at her shoulder now, but her plate was different than Neve's. Rather than eggs, he handed her some of last night's rolls and a bit of fruit. She hadn't even seen him go to reheat the bread.
"There's still a jar of the blackberry preserves you liked in the pantry," he offered, watching her carefully as he spoke, "or olive oil if you prefer. But while House Dellamorte might not be as …stringent about it as House de Riva, I remember what poison training was like. I thought this might better suit you. I can make another batch of huevos rotos when the others have eaten."
The when you're certain you won't puke it up went mercifully unsaid.
Rook's face went a little warm. Again. Was she a Fledgling?
But there was an unexpected, patient sincerity in his eyes that she couldn't quite bring herself to challenge. And it wasn't as if she had kept up with Viago's precisely calculated regimen while in exile.
"You don't have to go out of your way," Rook said. "We'll have leftover ham and a tomato somewhere, won't we? I can make myself something later and spare you the inconvenience –"
"Rook. Please. It isn't any trouble."
Viago would have her head for eating anything made by another House to begin with, even with the protection of a contract between them. But for some reason, Rook believed Lucanis meant it.
"Thanks, Lucanis."
He waved away her gratitude as he turned back finally for his own meal and then settled across from them. He'd served himself a smaller portion than what he had given Neve, skipping over the meat entirely. With what he had been through, it really wasn't a surprise if his stomach was still recovering.
Maybe he had been planning a second meal later anyway. If so, that made her feel a little better. She'd have to be careful to try and match her timing to his appetite.
Rook didn't realize she was staring until Neve made a point of kicking at her ankle.
If Lucanis noticed her flinch, he didn't show it. He was looking seriously into his own plate as if there was some answer it might reveal to him. Not the dinner plans, but something more pressing.
Was Spite talking to him again? Rook hadn't felt the slight prickling sensation of a noisy spirit, but she didn't always catch it, after so long deliberately tuning it out.
Or had the mention of his days in training brought up memories of his grandmother? Rumor had always said that Caterina Dellamorte managed her family's training personally, but that kind of thing could get… complicated for everyone.
It certainly had for her and Viago, and he wasn't really her family, or even her Talon at the time. There was a reason most of the influential Houses had come to accept the buffer of Heirs, with the exception of de Riva and Dellamorte.
Thinking of the Heir that had served House de Riva in her fledgling days (whom she admittedly didn't miss), Rook tore off a strip of bread and began eating.
When the memories drifted away, though, she found herself mainly watching the others.
Neve was trying to discreetly watch Lucanis in between glances at her papers. He was apparently more interesting than whatever work she had brought to the table. Rook couldn't blame her. Lucanis, for his part, kept his head down.
Occasionally Neve did look her way. The first time Rook made a point of moving her coffee cup to the side away from Neve, even though it placed it at her off hand. The second time she shrugged minutely, sure Lucanis was still aware of the attention on him.
It wasn't until they'd mostly finished eating that Lucanis finally spoke up again.
"Next time Rook?"
"…yes?"
"Next time if you insist on adding deathroot to your coffee…you should drink some of Neve's instead."
Neve dropped her fork.
"Okay, well now I think I might actually be offended."
Rook couldn't help it. She started laughing again. After a moment, Neve joined in, bright as a bell, and something like a smile curved across Lucanis's lips.
---
a/n: I know that Lucanis is very kind about Harding not liking coffee, but I think Rook's general coffee agnosticism gets to him more than even Neve's disaster brewing. because she likes coffee okay, but you could give her the equivalent of 7/11 coffee and gourmet coffee and either way she's going to shrug and add creamer to it while Lucanis tears his hair out. All this, even as an Antivan with access to what Lucanis prides himself on being the best coffee.
(no this is in no way based off of some of my own coffee enjoying relatives and me with my classroom keurig....)
Mainly I just wanted an opportunity for the pre-relationship OT3 to tease one another though
