"Mom, I'm home!" Rain's happy cry was made just as Noble had finished braiding her hair and putting on a fresh set of clothes. Her work at the Academy had finished just in time for her to fly home and prepare for the imminent arrival.
The mother tucked a small package into her bag and hurried down the stairs to the dark-haired woman waiting for her.
"Oh, it feels so great to be able to call out your name when I walk in the door." Rain's face was beaming.
"It feels nice to hear it. I missed you all terribly while I was away. I have been looking forward to this moment ever since I got home." Noble hugged her daughter.
Rain grunted at the fervor of the embrace but did not complain. "Are you ready to go?"
Running her hand along her satchel, Noble nodded. "I am!"
The ladies headed out the door and faced the frozen street. Their breath came out in puffs of visible steam.
"So where would you like to go?" Noble wasn't sure which way to turn.
"Well, you mentioned waffles the other day. Did you find a place?" Rain tilted her head.
Noble could almost sense Rain's shadow wanting to slap its forehead. Of course, Noble had only made that suggestion to get the attention of Sunny. She couldn't admit that to Rain, though.
"Ah, that was just a passing fancy. I am open to any suggestion you may have," Noble wanted this time to be special, and Rain being comfortable was an important part of that.
"I think we should go to Auntie Sarai's then. I hear their newest menu items are gone before dinner every night. I would be interested in giving it a try."
"Then to Abyssal Fire we shall go. Whatever you want, you can get!" Noble linked arms with her daughter and pointed toward the establishment in question.
"That sounds nice. Thank you, Mom." Rain tucked her hair behind her ear, securing it under her woolen cap. The fingers of her glove came back covered in ash.
Noble pointed to the glove even as Rain tried to thrust it into her coat pocket. "What's this about? What have you been up to today?"
"Don't worry, Mom. I'm fine," Rain began.
"I can see that, dear." Noble tried to calm the girl's nerves. The mother rubbed her forehead. "I was just curious, that's all. I wasn't trying to grill you or anything."
"Oh," Rain relaxed. "I was out hunting today. I guess when I went to wash, I missed a spot."
"Out hunting in the ash fields? An interesting choice. At least it's warm, I suppose." Noble smiled.
"Warmer than right here, that's for sure." Rain laughed out a cloud of steam.
"Still, that's a pretty remote area. What do you do when you get into trouble?" Noble was genuinely curious what the young woman would say. Sunny had been training Rain for years now. What skills had he taught her about staying alive?
"I manage. Most of it is studying and planning ahead of time. The best way for me to keep myself safe is to go in with eyes wide open and to prepare properly for what might come."
Noble was impressed by the answer.
"Tell me, did all your planning pay off? Was your hunt successful?"
Rain looked over her shoulder. "Are you sure you want to talk shop?"
The mother smiled. She understood her daughter's concern. Rain often tried to spare her parents the worry that they felt when her safety was involved.
"You are here with me right now, and I want to know about your life. If it helps, we can swap stories. I had a few encounters during my time away that I did not share before."
Noble offered.
"Really?" Rain chewed her lip.
The pair had spoken loosely of hunts and battles before, but not terribly in depth unless there was a lesson involved. Noble was proposing a different type of conversation. Not one between a teacher and student, but between fellow warriors.
"Really," the mother confirmed, squeezing Rain's elbow gently.
Noble had known from Sunny's periodic reports that her daughter was a superior fighter, but seeing the results of a hunt made all the stories real. The only way to show her pride was to have Rain share that part of her life.
Looking at the thin, muscular girl who had just taken down two stone worms, Noble finally felt ready to hear it all.
"I would be honored to talk about your hunts with you, but only if you want."
The girl's shoulders relaxed. "I would like that very much."
"Sooo?" Noble leaned toward Rain as she walked.
The younger warrior shut her eyes as she grinned. "Yes, my hunt was successful. More successful than I could have hoped. I harvested enough today to make a full set of armor for some Awakened who needs it."
"How exactly did you manage that?" Noble rubbed the back of her neck.
Rain felt suddenly shy. "I…killed two stone worms."
"All by yourself? Wait, at the same time?!" This was what Noble had wanted to know when she came on the scene earlier.
"Yes. And sort of?" Rain gathered her thoughts. "I did it all myself, one after the other. I knew about the first, but the second was a surprise. Fortunately, I had dug a pit to stall the second until I had killed the first. It got a little dicey for a moment."
"I am sure it did." Noble had been in enough close calls to imagine the adrenaline Rain must have felt at that moment.
Well, technically, she didn't have to imagine; she had felt Rain's fear like it was her own.
The valiant huntress proceeded to describe her preparation and study of the stone worm and her eventual confrontation. The dormant beast not only had the mundane human coming after it, but another monster was stalking it as well.
The tale of the clash was told with such intensity that Noble almost wished she hadn't opted for this level of honesty. Rain had come too near to death for Noble's comfort, and while she didn't think Sunny would have let his sister die, he seemed quite comfortable letting her get as close to the Shadow Realm as possible without setting foot on its doorstep.
Noble wasn't in a position to judge. She had nearly been erased from existence barely two days before.
Thankfully, in the end, both women had lived to have this stroll through the snow to one of their favorite places: Abyssal Fire.
"And then I dug out the soul shards, crushed them, and took the scales back to my place in the lower city…"
Rain finished her tale as they reached the establishment.
"That's impressive. I'm proud of you." Noble's admiration was genuine. She knew there was no way she could have done that before Awakening. She was a skilled fighter now, but she hadn't always been.
"Thanks, Mom, that means a lot," Rain heaved a happy sigh.
Noble tapped her chin.
"I may know a couple of Awakened from the last Solstice who would be interested in those scales if you don't already have a buyer."
"I will go to my usual customers first; if not, I will take you up on that offer." Rain opened the door, and when she did, a new wave of emotions hit Noble squarely in the chest.