On the train home, Noble scrolled through the news on her communicator to see who else had picked up the news story which Frey had broken. A few other places seemed to have copied an excerpt from the original piece, but mostly things were relatively quiet. 'Whew, that's a relief.'
Out of curiosity, the professor decided to check out what else was happening in the world.
It appeared one of the darlings of Clan Song had supposedly been seen having a lover's quarrel with an unnamed man from a 'rival' clan. The society pages were always filled with this kind of gossip, but Noble rarely paid attention. A secret tryst here, a date with a movie star there: it was mostly a ploy to keep people distracted from whatever was really going on.
Why should she care about who was having a love child with whom? Noble had been to the Dream Realm and fought the horrors there.
Whether it was short skirts or shirts that would be the next big thing did not interest her in the slightest. Noble continued to scroll.
Another page talked about some band which her daughter liked, reminding her that she should probably get tickets for their next concert as a surprise. Even though Noble despised loud music, some girl-bonding time would do her and Honey a world of good.
That was until Noble saw the price for the tickets. 'That's insane! Can't I just buy her some ice cream instead? That cost is a hard pass...' As the train lowered from yet another great height into her station, Noble mulled over just how expensive kids were. Surely, her money was better spent on a poster of Nightingale for Honey's bedroom. 'Probably…I'll have to talk to Fort.'
Shaking off her thoughts, Noble hurried home just in time to welcome the PTV which Fort had hired to bring her younger children home. Once Noble opened the door, the twins tumbled out of the vehicle in all their nine-year-old enthusiasm.
"Hi, Mom! You'll never guess what happened." Brock chirped, throwing his arms around his mother. Noble eagerly hugged him back. "I did a backflip with my eyes closed."
"That's most impressive," Noble had many questions, but also probably didn't want to know the answers. Her little daredevil never did manage to keep his feet on the ground. Not unlike his mother.
Behind his younger twin, Blaze held up the report he turned in the day before. "Look at this, Mom! My teacher says it is the best she's ever seen!"
"I have no doubt. It looks like I have two geniuses before me. You must both take after your father," Noble doted on her children, "How about we scurry inside and you can tell me all about it!"
The boys ran ahead as Noble thanked the driver and shut the door. While the PTV pulled away, Noble glanced reflexively down the street to look for her little girl.
Of course, Honey was not coming home just yet. Her school would be getting out right around now and she still had combat training to complete.
Noble wondered idly if her daughter's training would look anything like her own had today. Hopefully, Honey wouldn't get distracted so easily.
One of these days Noble was determined to try to watch her daughter's skills in action. Surely it would help relieve some of the deep fear in the professor if she knew Honey could at least hold her own in her fight.
Unless she couldn't. That would bring a whole new wave of fear. Noble shivered. 'She isn't Seb, and Honey is still just fourteen. I don't need to worry about the Spell for over a year and a half.'
Scanning the row of houses to find something else to occupy her mind, Noble caught sight of her next-door neighbor. Or so she thought. When she focused, there was no one on the front porch.
'Very odd.' The professor shrugged and headed inside.
By the time Honey and Fort came into the house together, the smell of the chicken with potato substitute was reaching its peak. Blaze was clearing his homework from the kitchen while Brock was balancing the dinner plates on his head while bringing them to the waiting table.
Noble gave the newcomers a huge smile. "Did your dad walk you home?" She asked with a wink.
"Haha, very funny," Honey flushed remembering how she had been rude to her mother that morning. "We happened to meet out front. Dinner smells amazing!"
"Your father might be a phenomenal cook, but my mother taught me a thing or two as well!" Noble tossed her head dramatically.
What she said was true though. Her mother had taught her some recipes from former North American cuisine, and when possible, Noble tried to recreate them with what she could find in the NQSC. This meal was one of those attempts.
"What's the special occasion?" Fort walked over and kissed his wife.
"Nothing in particular, I just felt like celebrating." Noble felt the happiness drifting off of her husband. He seemed to be in a good mood as well. "How was work?"
"Same as ever. Stressful. But my new assistant seems to be settling in well. It has been weeks since I missed a meeting, and everything is finally very organized." Fort acted like this was quite a feat. For the government, perhaps it was.
"I am glad things are improving! How about you, dear? Did training go well?" Noble felt another pang of guilt radiate from her daughter.
The professor belatedly realized this had been a point of contention earlier that morning.
"It was fine," Honey answered. "Better than fine, actually. I really do have the best tutor in the world. Thank you so much for letting me learn from him."
Noble decided to let the matter rest. "I am glad things are going well, sweetheart. I hope you are hungry. Food's ready!" The last comment brought hoots from the boys as they eagerly took their seats.
Noble carried the chicken and potato-like pieces in the big pot over to the table. The chunks of food floated in a golden gravy that was terrible for the arteries but good for the soul.
Behind the Awakened a pot of green vegetables, a bowl of fruit and a loaf of buttery bread hovered dutifully until they reached the table a moment after their chef. Plates began to fill as the eager diners sought to fill their bellies as quickly as possible.
Noble felt particularly famished after her bout with the famed Fireshing. The contact with the ground had been unbearably long, and it would take a day or two for the pain to fully leave. The comfort food went a long way to healing her soul.
After the initial silence while everyone enjoyed the meal, each got their turn to tell about their day. It was customary to tell one funny, serious or sad thing over dinner, but most of the time funny was what got the best reaction from the rest of the group.
It made sense. Everyone liked being entertained. The twins collectively told a story of how during physical education, the teacher accidentally broke a student's nose while pitching a ball. While not exactly a joke, it had all of the wild and whimsy that boyish humor demanded. Blood, screaming, and a trip to the nurse.
Fort, who couldn't talk about the bulk of his work due to his security clearance, retold a charming joke that he had heard from one of his colleagues. "Why shouldn't you write with a broken datapad stylus?..... It's pointless!"
Honey gave her obligatory groan, as all teens must do when their fathers try to be funny, before relaying some tidbits about her day. The girl didn't often mention friends at school, but she did talk about her history class and what she had learned.
Noble was always amazed by what a smart daughter she was raising. Honey was sweet and intelligent–every mother's dream. The fact that Noble had the honor of watching her grow and change was nothing short of awe-inspiring. It was moments like this that the professor truly loved being a parent.
Honey paused and blushed under her mother's gaze. "What?"
"Nothing! I was just listening," Noble did not want to embarrass the girl with her doting. "Is it my turn?" The woman smiled as all eyes turned on her. She knew exactly what to tell them. "Brock, you know how you said orange is your favorite color? Well, I think I found someone who likes it even better than you, and you'll never guess his name…"