Following the bread crumbs back to Bastion brought a smile to Noble's face.
Flint had felt so smug about challenging her sense of direction. It was nice to prove to him that she knew exactly where she was going–even if it was only due to one of her favorite Memories.
She was humming a happy tune as she raced along through the air.
"Blondie?" Her companion came up beside her. "Are you married?"
Noble suddenly stopped singing as a feeling of dread took hold of her.
'Not again...'
Why was it that her kindness was so often taken the wrong way?
"Look, Master Flint." Child of Promise took on a formal tone. "I know we had a moment back there, but..."
Flint looked at her, confused for a moment, and then a genuine smile spread across his face. He laughed loudly, his shoulders heaving.
"You thought I was...ha! I didn't take you for a comedian, Blondie. That's the funniest joke I have ever heard."
Noble felt her ears burn. "It's not that funny..."
The surly Master wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. "I wouldn't dare to ask you your age–we are a little too high off the ground for me to risk a sudden fall–but I would venture to guess I am far too old for you. And looks-wise, I am way out of your league. Nothing was ever going to happen."
"That's good to know." The lady pursed her lips. "I would never want you to settle."
Flint ran his fingers through his hair. "I won't. The lady I marry will be a well-bred legacy and have looks that could kill–figuratively speaking, of course."
"Of course." Noble wasn't about to crush the man's fantasy.
When he became a Saint, there would be plenty of people who would want to marry him for the power. Who knew? He might get exactly what he wanted.
Child of Promise looked at the man flying beside her.
"Why did you care if I was married then?"
Flint shrugged. "I was just thinking that someone good at emotions was either married happily or not at all. Because either you are completely in tune with your spouse's emotions, or you can't stand anyone getting that close and letting them affect you."
"That is...a strangely astute observation." Noble felt her mouth drop open a bit.
"I have my moments. I don't like emotions, but that doesn't mean I can't think about them. So? Which is it?" The older Master pressed.
"I am married. I have been for many years."
The little bit of information could hardly be useful to him, and it was nice to see Flint taking an interest in someone other than himself.
"Kids?"
"Yes." Noble felt her thoughts grow wistful. She had been gone for so long now. Not quite a month since her journey first began, but that mark would pass in a couple of days. What were Brock, Blaze, and Rain doing while waiting for her to return from her important mission? She wished with all her being that they were well.
"Ha, you have progeny. I knew it! Those poor kids. I bet you make them talk out their emotions every chance you get." The man wrinkled his nose as if he smelled something bad.
"Only when the situation calls for it. I have been known on occasion to duke it out with them as well." Child of Promise chuckled as she remembered the day her children found out that she was Queen Bee. That fight had been extra memorable.
"Good. Otherwise, you'll make those kids too soft. Steel wouldn't let that happen to me." Flint puffed out his chest.
"It sounds like your older brother put you through a lot."
Pretending to scan for trouble on the ground, Noble turned away.
Over her years at the Academy, she had seen how hard Legacies could be when bringing up their youth.
While most of it could be somewhat justified as trying to prepare them for the horrors of the Dream Realm, she had also heard some alarming stories about the "training" some children went through. Though older than her, Flint seemed to have a rougher upbringing than most.
And all at the hands of his older brother.
Flint shrugged. "Eh, Steel is just rough around the edges. But he is very charismatic and outgoing. His big personality is how I became a shrinking violet."
"You became a...what?" Noble lost a bit of height in her flying.
"Have you not heard the term before?" Flint squinted at her.
"No, it's not that. It's just…"
Did the man seriously think he was shy and reserved? Yes, he did!
'Nope, I'm not going to tell him.'
As she resumed her flying, something flashed out of the corner of her eye. She slowed down.
"You alright, Blondie?" The man watched her descent with a bit of confusion. "Did you see something?"
"Maybe. It was like a flash." Happy for the change in topic, Child of Promise latched onto the question. "Might have just been my imagination though..."
"Imagination takes on a different meaning around here," the surly Master shot her a sidelong glance. "It's not something we should ignore. Do you want to check it out?"
Flint flew closer to the tree line, slowing down to survey the spots between the trees.
"Maybe? I'm not sure." Noble tried to discern if what she had seen was worth investigating. The sight of whatever it was nagged at her consciousness, but she was determined not to let her curiosity get the better of her. Her cloak seemed to subtly pull toward the ground, but she dismissed the thought as wishful thinking.
After a short pause, Child of Promise shook her head.
"No, it could have been the sun glinting off the river over there. We don't have to..."
"There! I think I saw it too. It wasn't from the river either. It's in the middle of that outcropping of rocks." Flint pointed to a break in the trees.
Noble saw it too, the same flash of silver as before. It was familiar, but Child of Promise couldn't quite pinpoint why. Her intuition screamed that something special lay down below.
Scanning for danger and finding none, she motioned for them to land.
Flint landed with a soft thud on the thick grass. The world looked lush and prettier than any picture.
While the older Master bent down and started spreading the grass to find the object, his blonde counterpart studied the earth with her eyes.
Her feet hovered above the ground as she waited anxiously.
"Aren't you going to help me? Are you afraid of getting dirty again?"
"Not afraid, exactly. It's just not in our best interest for me to do so," Noble pursed her lips.
The man had told her his flaw, and she didn't want him to think poorly of her now that they had finally found some peace.
"You mean..." Flint's wheels began to turn, and Noble thought the better of her admission.
Turning away, Child of promise scoured the ground for the object that they both had seen from the sky.
Her cloak fluttered lightly.
'Hmm.'
It wasn't her wishful thinking; the fabric was moving when there was no breeze. She followed its subtle guidance. On top of a small mound of dirt, the answer to their search sat proudly.
"I found it!" Noble lifted the item into the air with her powers. Her eyes went wide.
Now she knew why it looked familiar.