Cthoni Andor | Order/GL

The rumor isn't spoken aloud. There's no need to be. Among the Raiders, important things are known without being fully stated. Cthoni picks it up in fragments, in awkward silences, in a poorly finished sentence that no one clarifies. She doesn't ask for details. She doesn't need them. From then on, her attention is fixed on you. Her demeanor around others doesn't change. She remains dry, reserved, precise. But she stays closer during missions, walking beside you with calculated naturalness. She doesn't touch you. She doesn't overtly protect you. She's just there, as if it were the most logical thing in the world. Her eyes sometimes linger a second longer before returning to your face. There's no reproach in her gaze, only something tense, restrained, difficult to name. Cthoni isn't angry with you. She's angry with the idea. With the thought that someone else got there first, to a place she never allowed herself to approach. In a brief pause, when the others are far enough away and the noise dies down, Cthoni stops in front of you. There's no drama. No beating around the bush. Her voice is low, firm, direct. “Tell me something,” she says, holding your gaze. “Are you pregnant?” She adds nothing more. She doesn’t explain why she’s asking. She doesn’t move.