Of the two boys offered a job by Abyss, Blaze had been the one to jump at the chance. Brock was too busy taking as many classes as he could at the Dreamer Academy, even to the exclusion of his regular studies.
But Blaze had looked at the opportunity as a chance to expand his understanding of the inner workings of a business as well as line his pockets with some of the Song coins that the ladies had just been discussing.
Having seen the shiny shard in front of his elder sister and the note beside it, Blaze's curiosity overcame the young waiter's attempt to remain professional.
Rain held out the glistening object. "It's a gift."
"Mom got you a soul shard for a gift? The boy's blue eyes turned on his mother. "It isn't her birthday. Is this from your trip? Did you get me one, too?"
"It's not from me," Noble answered quickly.
"Then who's it from?" Blaze tucked the piece of writing stone behind his ear.
"I don't know," Rain began, but her brother scooped up the note before she could snatch it away.
"A friend?" The boy frowned. "Like an admirer?"
Rain flushed. "Of course not!"
"It's unlikely," Noble held up her hand.
If that had been the case, the shard would have been returned directly to Rain and not through such odd means.
"Uh, waiter?" A man from another table waved for attention.
"Be with you in a moment!" Blaze turned back to his sister. "So this friend, do you think he can get me a shard?"
"What? No! What do you need a shard for anyway?" Rain retrieved the note and pulled the shard closer to herself. Noble could feel the young woman was beginning to lose her temper. Rain's frustration and Blaze's enthusiasm crashed against each other like cymbals in their mother's head. Noble rubbed her temple.
"Could you both calm down for a moment?"
"I need a shard for research," Blaze insisted. "Maybe I could borrow that one?"
"Buy your own with the money you are earning from here." Rain waved her hand dismissively.
"Waiter! I need more water, please!" A woman two tables over held up her glass for Blaze to see.
"One moment!" Blaze smiled and held up his pad of synthetic paper, pretending to write with his empty hand. "For your information, I am using this money to make a scale model of a geothermal generator that I think will revolutionize Ravenheart and bring us electricity."
Rain refused to be impressed. "Good, then you have a project and don't need my shard!"
"I need it to power my model. I won't hurt it! Can I at least look at it for a moment? It might not even be what I need." Blaze tried to get a better look.
"Now you are insulting my shard?" Rain furrowed her brow.
Two more hands were in the air. The patrons were growing restless. Noble could feel their impatience pressing against her emotional wall. Her agitation mirrored theirs.
"Blaze, you really should get back to work." Noble gritted her teeth.
The boy grunted. "Rain gets free shards that she won't let me examine while I have to work for what I need."
Rain rolled her eyes. "Need? No one needs a personal geothermal generator!"
"It's not for me; it's for all of Ravenheart. You'll be thanking me when you can flip a light switch again very soon!"
Noble's head pounded. "Both of you, stop it."
Rain pursed her lips. "He started it!"
"All I wanted was to see it!" The boy pouted.
"Waiter!"
The elder sister held it out for a split second before snatching it away. "There you saw it!"
"That doesn't count. Mom!"
"Waiter!"
"ENOUGH!"
The invisible wall crumbled, bursting in all directions. The glasses in front of Noble broke, and the extra chair at the table was knocked over. The candles hanging from the ceiling went out as the fixtures holding them swayed. The door blew open on its own, expelling the extra energy with a fantastic whoosh.
The bustling dining room went silent.
"M-mom?" Blaze looked in shock at his mother.
Abyss seemed to recover first. "Pesky door," he cried loudly. "Guess I should have invested in a sturdy doorknob instead of going for the filigree!"
He smiled at Noble as he passed, and she graced him with a grateful, tired smile.
As Abyss secured the door and the conversation returned to normal, Noble took a deep breath.
"Let me settle this once and for all. As soon as you get enough money to make your model, I will buy you a soul shard myself, Blaze. But if I hear of you neglecting customers again, I will tell Abyss and Sarai to fire you on the spot. Do you hear me?"
Realizing what he had done, the young man hung his head. "Yes. I won't let you down again." He pulled the writing utensil from his ear. "I will get a cloth to clean up the water and glasses right away. What would you like to order, ma'am?"
"Two specials." Noble pointed to the item on the menu.
"Coming up right away, ladies. You will not be disappointed." Blaze nodded and scurried away. After he cleaned up the water, he dutifully tended to the other patrons with the utmost care.
He was young still, and his excitement sometimes trumped his reason and stole his focus, but just like his siblings, he was a good kid at heart.
Rain wasn't focused on the qualities of her youngest brother, though. She was concentrating on her mother across from her.
"Mom? Are you alright?"
Noble settled her eyes into a deep blue and forced a smile and nodded. "I am fine, dear."
Her head pounded, and her essence was depleted. Keeping up the wall to resist emotions had proved to drain her reserves at record speed, but that was not necessarily a bad thing in this case. If not for the lack of power, she might have seriously injured some people instead of causing a minor inconvenience. The candles would need to be relit, but the daylight was more than enough to view the room at this time of day.
Rain waited as the table was reset and new glasses of water were supplied. She leaned forward over her cup.
"That was new…"
"What?" Noble took a sip of her drink.
"I have seen you have emotional outbursts, but nothing like that. Is something bothering you? I mean more than just Blaze and my bickering…"
Rain's honest question deserved an honest answer.
"Many things are bothering me. My emotional sensitivity is acting up and causing me to lose my cool." Noble sighed.
The girl furrowed her brow.
"Did something happen on your trip to cause it?"
Noble's eyes swirled, betraying her hesitation. She nodded. While she wouldn't admit she had entered a Nightmare, it was clear something had happened, and denying it would hurt the relationship they were building.
Thankfully, the girl didn't ask her to elaborate.
Instead, Rain's sympathy flooded Noble's soul. The Saint didn't have the strength to resist it. At least that emotion was a pleasant one. There was no reason to fight it.
Rain laid her hand across the table.
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
Right then, the girl seemed willing to do just about anything.
Noble thought for a moment.
"There is one worry you can take off my mind."
"Name it." Rain nodded.
"Tell me everything you know about Matilda."