"I said I don't want to talk about it," the teen answered her mother's question with an accusation.
"Must have been quite a day! What?" Brock cocked his head at his mother's warning glare. "You asked how her day was first!"
"I asked how everyone's was. I did not mean Honey in particular…" Noble tried.
"My day was fine, ok?!" Honey answered a little too forcefully. She passed the potatoes from her brother on one side to her father on the other, drawing a look of suspicion from her mother in response. The girl dropped her gaze to skewer a morsel of the meat on her plate. "How was your day, Mother?"
Noble ignored her daughter's attitude as she pondered her answer. The professor could talk about her morning class or mention her meal with Sarai, but the biggest event in her day had not been either of those. She sent a furtive glance to her husband, who seemed to understand.
"Your mom came and visited me at the office today," Fort announced.
"Is that unusual?" Dimi could see by the kids' sudden interest that it must be so.
"Very," Noble answered.
"She has been asked to collaborate on a project," the deputy director took on a conspiratorial tone. The twins' eyes opened wide until Dimi laughed.
"You make it sound like it's some big government secret when it is probably just a tricky Memory where they need Noble's expert advice." The former duelist lifted his glass before taking a drink.
Fort matched the toast with his own cup. "My wife is quite talented. The government was wise to want to make use of her ability."
Fort winked at his wife before bringing the drink to his lips.
Dimi turned his attention to the floating Awakened. "So, Noble, did you see the Chancellor while you were there?"
The deputy director nearly spit out his drink all over the table. "What would make you ask a question like that!?" Fort eyed his friend warily.
"I figured if he knew Noble was there, he would want to drop by. He did, didn't he?" Dimi grinned, quite confident in his assertion. "I wonder if he would remember me?"
"Why in the world would he remember you?" Fort set down his drink and stared blankly at his friend.
Dimi shook his head at his friend. "I sat next to him at your wedding, of course!"
"Chancellor Gui was at my wedding?!" The man looked like he was going to pass out.
"That is kind of an important thing to miss, Dad," Brock clicked his tongue judgmentally.
"Try having over a thousand people you don't know at your wedding and see how many of them you remember, son," Fort retorted as he processed the news.
That day had been a blur, especially since most of the guests had been friends or colleagues of Noble's deceased father.
"To be fair to your dad, Gui wasn't the chancellor yet. Nice guy, if a bit mysterious. Maybe you should call him up to deal with your… other situation." Dimi covertly tilted his head toward Honey.
Noble gave her guest a stern look. "That will not be necessary. And although Chancellor Gui would be unlikely to remember you from our wedding, I do think he would know your name. I believe he is an avid watcher of the Dreamscape and its tournaments."
"Really? Maybe I will give him a shoutout next time I am announcing," Dimi seemed quite pleased with the idea.
"Tell us about the last tournament, Uncle Dimi!" Blaze perked up at the mention of the Dreamscape. He had been begging for the mundane version of a duelist's pod, but of course, it was far too expensive.
"Who was your favorite duelist?" Brock chimed in right after his brother.
"Oh, that is a tough one. My favorite person to watch this tournament was Mongrel. He was quite dynamic and a crowd favorite." Dimi recalled all of the insane things he had seen the masked warrior do. Part of him wanted to try his luck with the enigmatic figure even though he would likely lose like the rest.
"Did you get to meet him? Mongrel, I mean." Honey tried to act disinterested, but the fascination in her eyes betrayed her.
"I did not get to speak to him, no. I was there for his conversation and battle with Lady Morgan. That man has a lot of guts."
Noble was a little disappointed that Dimi had not even mentioned her duel in the finale. 'Don't be vain. At least this way, you don't have to pretend like you weren't there!'
It was much easier to be genuine in response to Dimi's retelling of the showdown with Mongrel and Morgan. She had been watching the brief fight with her family, so there was no reason to fake her interest.
"Short as it was, that battle was riveting. They were moving in blurs. The whole thing was above my pay grade. Syclus and I just watched in stunned silence as quasi-master Mongrel got his heart ripped out by the foremost Lady of Valor. It was nearly impossible to follow, but also impossible to look away!"
A talented storyteller, Dimi went on to describe other epic battles, including many that Noble had not seen.
The meal, which had started off incredibly rocky, took on a much more relaxed tone. By the time Dimi was done regaling them with his observations, dessert had been served and finished.
"All in all, it was a good tournament. I hope that the House of Night is able to put on just as good of a show next year as Valor did. Water has so many applications; surely they will pull out all the stops to put on something spectacular."
Noble hadn't really considered that if she joined the group tournament, she would be performing before the illustrious House of Night. Those who carried the lineage of the Storm God were the least known of the three major clans, and in Noble's opinion, the most underestimated.
'I doubt they will let Valor make them look bad.'
Dimi sat back in his chair and patted his stomach. "You make some good food, Fort. You should invite me over more often to enjoy it."
"You are welcome anytime," Noble smiled at their guest. He really had been a breath of fresh air after a trying day.
"Don't be too nice to me. I might never leave." In contradiction to his words, Dimi stood. "Better get going before I get tackled again. Wouldn't want to break my rule about after-dinner combat. Not after the last time…"
The others were not sure what the man was talking about and he thankfully did not elaborate. Instead, he pulled out his communicator and showed Noble his screen.
"I got these tickets as a thank you for doing the commentary at the tournament. I've no interest in going to see some pretty boys sing at screaming teenagers. The event is two nights from now. Do you and Honey want them?"
Noble looked at the tickets in disbelief. Front row seats! Hadn't she been wanting a chance to spend time with her daughter?
The ticket prices these days were insane, but Dimi was offering them for free! This was an offer too good to refuse.
"Thank you, Dimi! We would love to take them off your hands," Noble smiled.
"Great. I'll get ownership transferred and send them on to you." The former duelist's fingers went to work.
"Where are we going?" Honey peeked at Dimi's communicator.
Her face paled. "A Nightingale concert?!"
"Isn't that wonderful! I know you have been wanting to go!" Noble beamed.
"Oh!" Honey brought her hands to her face, completely overcome. "May…may I be excused?"
"Don't you have anything to say to Dimi?" Fort tried to correct his daughter's manners.
"Thank you, Uncle Dimi." The words were barely out of the girl's mouth before her chair scraped against the floor, and she fled the room.
A muffled scream emanated from Honey's room as soon as she shut the door. The spike of emotion hit Noble like a freight train even through the walls.
"Thank you, Dimi! She's excited…I think," Fort shot his wife a confused glance.
"She's a teenager," Dimi responded. "Don't try to understand them. Just keep them locked up until they are thirty."
"It's not the craziest idea you've had," the deputy director chuckled.
Noble's mouth hung open. "Fort!"
"What? You should hear his other ideas."
Dimi frowned. "If you mean my mushroom farm, it isn't crazy. It's genius!"
Noble rolled her eyes. 'Here we go again!'