Whatever magical enchantment Abyss had used to keep the heat inside the cosy building had also served as a general dampener as well. Noble had noted this when she visited two days prior. It was like magical insulation. That was nice for those trying to keep out of the frigid air. Those people were many.
In fact, the place was filled with people ending their lunch hour, having consumed a delicious meal from the most popular kitchen in Ravenheart. Through the doorway, Noble could see that there wasn't an open table in sight, but that wasn't what concerned her.
What bothered her was the sudden influx of emotion. It wasn't like passing people in the street, where the feelings grew gradually as they neared and then receded as they passed.
In contrast, this was like being suddenly plunged into cold water when Noble was already struggling to keep her head above the sea all around her.
'Ah!' The Saint grabbed her head.
Her clarity made things too clear, and her quick study seemed to study everyone in the room almost instantly. Coupled with the sudden intensity of emotions around her at her entrance, her mind felt on the precipice of breaking.
"Mom? Are you alright?" Rain shut the door and held her mother's shoulders.
Noble forced a smile. "I am developing a bit of a headache."
The girl furrowed her brow.
"I didn't think Awakened could get sick like that? Did you have an accident at the academy?"
"I'm fine, really." Noble waved the worry aside.
She recalled Sunny's advice to compartmentalize her thinking. Steeling her nerves, the new Saint circulated her essence and pushed back all the other emotions, feelings and observations, creating an invisible bubble around herself and Rain. It was a Herculean effort, but the strain on her strength was worth it to have mental and emotional peace.
'It will get easier with time.' Noble assured herself.
Her smile became more genuine. "What are we waiting for? Let's go in!"
This time, when the door opened, Noble felt the wave, but she was able to resist its pressure. They walked in among the bustling crowd.
Rain frowned.
"We may have to wait a moment for a table to clear. Unless you want to go somewhere else?"
"No, you wanted to try the new dish here. I am willing to wait if you are. I have nowhere else to be, do you?" Noble saw her daughter shake her head.
"How long do you think it will be?"
Noble scanned the room, carefully trying to pick out specific information in the crowd of people that might give her the answer she sought.
She had marginal success. The pieces of information she sought came, but so did other things, too. It was like a trickle from a leaking dam, and Noble plugged before it grew.
"That table to the right of the counter against the wall. They are about to pay their check, and the woman is trying to find a graceful way to take off before her lunch date offers to walk her out."
Rain focused on the table in question. Sure enough, the lady scraped her chair across the floor as the fresh-faced waiter brought the bill. She pushed coins into his hand, shrugged on her coat, and hurried out before the man with her could pay his portion.
He dug in his pocket, fished out a few coins and pushed them at the young man with the bill. Then he hurried off after the young woman, leaving the table unoccupied and the waiter pleasantly surprised by his tip.
Noble watched the man pass by, his misery poking holes in Noble's mental defenses.
'Poor guy, but you aren't ruining my day.' She put up a new wall in place of the one before. 'I can do this.' Noble assured herself. She was determined to face this problem and succeed.
The table was cleared, and the two ladies sifted through the tables to claim the abandoned seats. Having not sat properly all day, Rain plopped into the seat with a happy sigh. Unable to sit properly almost ever, Noble hovered over hers.
The staff were all occupied, so Noble began perusing the menu that had been printed on synthetic paper and placed at the edge of the table.
Sarai had gone all out by bringing such nice menus to the Dream Realm. It was only too bad that Noble couldn't tell her how nice they were.
Even though the Saint had put up a barrier between herself and the world, she was still able to tell that her best friend's emotional signature was missing from the bakery attached to the dining hall. Having finished her work in the Dream Realm that morning, Sarai must have gone to check on her other businesses in the waking world.
Rain moved her foot, and a sharp metallic sound slid across the ground. Bending down, she picked up a coin that one member of the awkward couple must have dropped.
She held it in her hand. Ki Song's face was pressed into the coin, looking as beautiful as it did deadly.
"When we first came to the Dream Realm, they didn't have money like this. I remember when I first saw one. I thought it was a joke when they said it was minted from essence. It's both the same and also very different from the credits we had in the waking world."
Moving to the Dream Realm had been quite the adjustment, but the biggest hurdle for stabilizing the economy had been providing a sensible form of currency.
Now there were many kinds of coins, but around here, the Song coin was the one most widely accepted and used.
"Would you prefer we still barter for what we need around here?" Noble remembered early on having to trade foodstuffs a few times to complete an in-progress dinner. Trying to find an even exchange often left both parties confused, and the meal overcooked.
"No, this is much easier and straightforward. Besides, I have other uses for soul shards," Rain winked.
"Oh! That reminds me," Noble reached into her bag and fished out the small package she had been saving. "I meant to give this to you yesterday, but I forgot."
"A gift? For me? Is it from your trip?" Rain tilted her head.
'I really should have brought them something,' Noble lamented.
"This isn't from me. Someone delivered it to me for you. I was hoping you could give me more information."
The girl's confusion deepened as she pulled the parcel across the table to open it. Lifting back the edges, she studied what was before her. Her eyes opened wide.
"What? Who? How?" Rain stuttered through a string of questions, trying to decide which one she wanted answered first.
Just then, the waiter came to the table with two cups of water in glasses quarried from the far reaches of the Song Domain. He set them down with a wide smile.
Clearing his throat, he began his well-rehearsed lines.
"Good Afternoon. Welcome to Abyssal Fire. I'll be taking your order today. Our special is braised monster meat in an herbaceous gravy with a side of locally grown vegetables."
The boy's formal tone ceased as he looked at the younger woman and the object in her hand.
"What's that?"