Noble reached up and released the bun from her hair. Chestnut tendrils slid from their confinement and draped across her shoulders in waves.
Then, dismissing the practice suit, Noble summoned Queen Bee's armor. Around her body, sparks bathed her in a brilliant light as lustrous metal wove and took form.
Her golden breastplate, greaves, and gauntlets were striped with black accents giving the Bee her iconic look. Underneath, a soft purple peeked out between the metal armor, looking as soft and malleable as it was strong.
Everything about the woman changed. The calm, collected professor was replaced by an imposing warrior. It was as if Noble had vanished before Sarai's eyes. The Awakened who was here now had an oppressive aura and a commanding presence. Only the blue eyes of her friend remained.
Then they vanished too.
Queen Bee's eyes began to shift from blue to green to purple... They were two ever-shifting kaleidoscopes of colors, never staying in the same hue long enough to be named.
"Mesmerizing." Sarai felt drawn into them with an abnormal pull.
"Not exactly." Bee raised one eyebrow, her smile hidden behind the half mask. "Keep watching."
The redhead started to question when Bee's swirling eyes lit with an otherworldly glow. The sparks which usually indicated the summoning of a memory seemed trapped within her irises.
"Oh!"
A strange sensation pressed upon Sarai's mind. It was enticing, pulling her toward a feeling of elation. Although Sarai could fight it, she found she didn't want to.
She gave in, and let the feeling of bliss wash over her. Adding her own happiness into the mix, the emotion was pure joy.
"Whoa." Sarai placed her hand on her heart, suddenly dizzy with delight. The extra endorphins flooding her system quickly subsided.
"Are you alright?" Noble's eyes cleared to blue.
"Fine," the redhead answered, still reeling. "That is one heck of an ability."
"Sorry, you got an extra strong dose because you were looking at me. I usually close my eyes when I do it to lessen the effect." Noble didn't need to see the person to affect them.
The professor merely needed to have seen them and be in relatively close proximity to the person for the emotion to be effective. The closer the person was, the more persuasive the feeling would be.
"Can you project all emotions?" Sarai had so many questions, but only two that mattered to her personally. "And can you do it so a person doesn't know it is happening?"
Sarai had felt the presence and knew it was from outside herself. Had Bee done that just so she would be aware of what was happening?
"Any emotion is fair game, yes. And I can be more subtle than that, but as far as being undetectable…I don't think so. Not that I want to mess around with people enough to find out." Bee smirked behind her mask. "So no, I have not been secretly manipulating you without your knowledge."
"Good to know." Sarai nodded and gave a small smile.
There was a weight lifted off the young woman's shoulder. The idea that Noble would actively coerce all of those around her was a far-fetched thought, but it was better to know that she couldn't do it repeatedly without someone at least growing suspicious.
"I'm glad to see you trust me again." Noble dismissed the armor and mask. Her eyes swirled slightly with amusement.
"How did you…" Sarai's mouth hung open.
"Full disclosure—the passive part of that ability allows me to sense other's moods." The professor winced.
Instead of being offended, the redhead laughed. "You are full of surprises! Now I have to know, how did Mongrel feel when you were battling him!?"
"Strange one, that Mongrel. He had no emotion at all. At least none I could read. Either he was blocking me somehow…or he feels nothing." Noble's face darkened. Both ladies shivered.
Sarai shook off her discomfort. "Fascinating. I do wonder if you will run into him again in the group competition next time."
"I'm not doing the team tournament!" The professor scoffed.
"But the article!" Sarai waved her communicator.
"Unorganized Laundry was trying to bait me, I think. He works at the library here. And I might have insinuated Queen Bee was considering going up against him. It was just to rile him up a bit. Seems Nic took the rumor to the next level…" Noble felt Sarai's mood dampen. "What's wrong?"
"It's silly," Sarai shrugged. She turned away and began to gather her things. "Thank you for trusting me with your secret."
Touching her friend's arm, Noble felt an extra wave of sadness coming off of the beautiful baker. "I don't care if it is silly or not, you can tell me."
After a moment of hesitation, Sarai let her shoulders droop. "I was kind of hoping..that is… if it were true and you were going to join the group competition. Well, now I am the only duelist who knows your secret identity."
"And you were hoping you might be part of my team," Noble put the pieces of the puzzle together. 'No wonder she was so excited.'
"Like I said, it was silly," Sarai took a sip of her water and looked away.
"It's sweet and I would have been honored." Noble rubbed the back of her neck. She could feel her friend's sadness deepen, and it was her fault. "Hm, I mean, I have never done a group battle outside of the Dream Realm. It might be good practice–fun even– to work alongside someone else."
In the Dream Realm, humans needed one another to survive. It was almost impossible to stay alive alone for any real length of time. The Dreamscape did not live by the same rules. Noble had been free to enjoy her anonymity while honing her personal skills.
Maybe some group practice was the next logical step?
"I won't promise that we will enter a competition, but perhaps we can train more often until we have a good feel for one another. Then…maybe…we can try to do a duel as a team." Noble winced at the other woman's squeal. The wave of happiness washed over Noble like a ray of sunshine.
"Oh Queen Bee, I mean Noble, thank you! You have no idea what this means to me! I have so much to learn, but I hope I can teach you a thing or two as well." Sarai gathered up Noble in a hug so suddenly that the professor bumped into the table, knocking both her bag and drink.
Just before hitting the ground, the satchel and bottle floated back up and landed on the table unharmed.
Noble embraced her friend and chuckled. "Are you kidding, you teach me something every time I see you!"
"Like what?" Sarai had no idea she was a source of wisdom.
Pulling away, Noble gave a shy smile. "Like I shouldn't make up gossip unless I want it to be published in a news article."
"I think the credit for that lesson goes to Unorganized Laundry." Sarai had not been the one to contact the reporter.
The baker had just found it while waiting for Noble to arrive. Nickel had been the unknowing teacher.
"Fair enough. But you did teach me this: A person with a communicator can be just as dangerous as one with a sword." Noble's body still stung from being pinned to the floor. Information could be just as deadly as the tip of a blade.
"You already knew that," Sarai refused to believe her friend was so naive.
"Clearly, I had forgotten." Noble pursed her lips. It was never fun to admit one's own shortcomings.
Sarai's communicator buzzed. She looked down at it and frowned.
"You need to go?" Noble knew the look.
"There is a problem at the bakery. I at least need to check in and make sure Pillow doesn't get himself in too much trouble. He's a sweet kid and I don't want anything to happen to him."
"Give Pillow my best wishes." Noble had met the young man a handful of times. He had a propensity for picking up technology quickly, so if he was having a problem, it was likely something big.
Sarai nodded and gathered her things. "If you were serious about making a team, I would like to start as soon as possible. When are you available?"
"Tomorrow afternoon? I will ask Instructor Rock to arrange a standing appointment in a room for us." Noble knew the request would be no issue.
"Thanks, Noble. You are the best! I think we will make a great team!"
"You know what? I think so too." The more Noble thought about the idea, the more she was warming to it. "But don't tell anyone until we make it official. I hope I can trust you more than a certain librarian."
"Absolutely," Sarai promised. "I will not tell a soul ever."
"I believe you." While sincerity wasn't exactly an emotion, there was a peace that came with it which Noble could perceive.
The professor watched her friend leave and heaved a sigh. One way or another, it seemed she had proved the nonsense-free reporter, Frey–and herself–correct about one thing.
Queen Bee was forming a group.