[Unfortunately for her, the more she tries to hide her feelings, the more unpleasant she tries to make herself, the more she endears herself to him. They're birds of a feather, in a way: Claude just hid his feelings behind an easy smile and a joke instead of behind a glare and an angry word, and now he sees right through it.]

Oh, that one? [He casts his mind back.] I was asking if you were safe, since it was when we got back from the tree. And I said that if you needed help, I'd be there. I guess I didn't think about it all the way through, so... sorry about that.

[He takes a few steps closer, like he's testing the waters. Even now, it feels like the tenuous connection between them hangs by a thread, and he's not keen to tug on it too hard yet.]