Fleur and Ray received much-needed food, showers, and rest that evening. The pleasant company did a lot to ease the weariness of their souls.
While it didn't fix their situation—they had no legacy to accompany, and that left their jobs in limbo—it did give them a small bit of normalcy that had been sorely lacking in recent months.
When morning came, Noble found that Ray was up even before she was.
"Good morning!" She greeted him pleasantly. "I expected to have to sneak out so I wouldn't disturb you. Did you have trouble sleeping?"
Noble floated to the kitchen to prepare a morning meal.
"Not as much trouble as I expected," Ray admitted a little sheepishly. "But my body isn't quite ready to fully let go of the adrenaline it's been running on, so I was up just before dawn."
Noble nodded. "That will pass in a day or two. Are you planning to head back to the waking world today?"
Ray nodded as he stretched and sat up on the couch. "One of us will need to go in case there is any news of Tamar and Rani."
"If you don't want to go, I can ask for you," Noble offered.
The young man considered for a moment before shaking his head. "No offense, but I would feel better if Fleur or I did it. I wouldn't feel right letting someone else take that duty."
"What will Fleur do?" Noble had noticed his wording had not included both of them.
"With Tamar gone, we are still in charge of the survey team. Fleur will go check on the wounded and provide the information we managed to preserve to the main office. She has it in a Memory but we forgot to hand it over yesterday."
"Then what?" Noble pulled a steaming kettle from over the kitchen fire. Soon she had made the young man a fragrant cup of coffee and some toasted bread. She delivered breakfast to her guest and went to retrieve her own sustenance.
Ray looked down at the tray of food.
"You mean, what will we do next? Huh, I guess we wait. I know the three of us haven't been together long, but it did feel like we would be a cohort forever. We're a team, you know. It's almost like I can feel a tangible connection between us that can't be broken."
Ray looked up as the dropped teacup was refilled with the tea that had been spilled out. He furrowed his brow.
"Are you alright?"
Noble coughed. "Uh, yes. I am fine. The tea was just, uh, hotter than I expected."
She brought a second tray of food and hovered beside the young man. "But back to the topic. This connection you spoke of. Do you really think it cannot be broken? If you wanted to leave tomorrow and never look back, you think you could, right?"
"I mean, probably… but why would I want to? Fleur is the best thing that ever could have happened to me. And Tamar?" Ray chuckled. "If you had told me before I joined the Academy that I would be close friends with a legacy that actually respected me? I would have laughed in your face. Despite everything we've been through, I'm happy, Professor. As long as Tamar comes back, I wouldn't change a thing."
Noble could not hide the relief on her face. Unless their connection had somehow fundamentally altered Ray's perception of reality, Noble hadn't irrevocably messed up his life with her accidental meddling.
That was a huge burden lifted from her conscience.
"Thank you, Ray."
"For what?" The young man raised an eyebrow at her as he ate his toast.
"Oh, uh, well, for starters, thank you for entertaining my boys last night. They aspire to be Awakened one day." Noble had been very happy with how the three boys had gotten along.
"I should be the one thanking you for your hospitality. Blaze and Brock are good ones, that's for sure. If anyone deserves to finish their first Nightmare with flying colors, it's them." Ray dabbed at his mouth. "Thank you also for all the food. I can't pay you for it now…"
"Nor will you ever need to." Noble interrupted.
Ray gave her an appreciative smile. "Then thank you even more. Uh, do you think Fleur is up by now?"
Noble felt for the girl's emotional signature. Unless she was having vivid, emotional dreams, she was awake and feeling all the joy of being back safe and guilt for not having brought Tamar with her.
"I think by the time I walk you to Sarai's house, she will be ready to see you."
"That sounds good." Ray looked down. "My armor isn't fully repaired from my trip. I don't suppose I could return these clothes to you later today?"
"You slept in those. Wouldn't you prefer to borrow a fresh set? The boys have more casual wear, or Fort has anything business-related if that is more your style." Noble wanted to make sure her guest was fully cared for.
"No, these are fine. Better than fine after what I have been wearing for days." Ray stood with his tray and headed to the kitchen.
"I've got that. You freshen up, and then we can go." Noble floated the tray out of Ray's hands and washed the dishes quickly.
Soon they were on their way through the streets of Ravenheart.
'I swear it is even more crowded than yesterday, even this early!'
Noble could feel all the emotions as soon as she woke, and now even more had roused from their slumber and entered her emotional sphere.
"So many Awakened," Ray noted as they drew nearer to Abyssal Fire and Sarai's home. "I had no idea so many lived here."
"Most of these Awakened don't." Noble shook her head slowly.
"Oh? Is there an Awakened convention or something? Do Awakened have conventions?" Ray's stream of consciousness made Noble both happy and sad.
"If they do, I've never been invited to one."
'And I certainly don't want to be invited to this one.' Noble pursed her lips.
The Queen hadn't approached her yet. Noble wondered if it was because war hadn't been formally declared, if it was because her husband was part of the government, or if her new position as the provost of the Academy protecting her daughters made her immune from military service.
If Noble had to guess, it was a combination of the three. Or the Queen simply hadn't given her any thought at all.
Would that be a relief or offensive? Noble wasn't sure.
She shook her head. 'Be glad it isn't an issue!'
Parting ways with Ray after introducing him to Sarai, Noble stopped by the Dreamer Academy to check on things there. She was not surprised to find there had been an influx of applications, and she helped sort through them before continuing with her day.
As expected, Zenkai was handling things splendidly. Noble knew that with him in charge, things in Ravenheart would continue to run smoothly.
With everything sorted in the Dream Realm, Noble floated through the busy streets to the gateway.
'So many people…can Ravenheart support so many for long?'
Noble wasn't sure, but today that wasn't her problem. She had other issues to solve.