"Tell me, what propaganda is being spread this time?" Fort raised his eyebrow and tilted his head at what his wife was holding.
"Not propaganda," Noble pursed her lips. "It's a note. It's an update on Rain."
Fort blinked. "From her brother? Was he here?"
Noble glanced at the window. "Yes."
"Do you think he is still around? I must meet him!" The ambassador stood and headed toward the door.
The shadow by the sill shuddered and dissolved. Sunny had been informed that Fort and the boys were aware of his existence, but it seemed that making introductions was not on the shadowy Saint's agenda just now.
The figure disappeared in barely a blink, leaving the professor to make all the explanations.
'Coward!' Noble shook her head. "I don't think you will find him, dear."
Even if Noble called upon the name of light to try and expel the man from the shadows, she was pretty sure Sunny was already halfway across Ravenheart, if not farther. Who knew? That incarnation could have instantly rejoined with one of the other ones.
One thing was for sure: Sunny had no intention of speaking to Noble face-to-face today. Reading the note a second time, Noble could see why.
Fort continued to check outside the door for anyone on the street. Eventually, he came back with a sigh. "It seems you are right."
"I often am." Noble took little joy in the statement. Many of her predictions were not happy ones. She would have loved to have been wrong and for Rain's elder brother to come strolling in, ready and willing to answer all their burning questions.
Instead, she was left with the paper in her hand.
"What does it say?" Fort tilted his head to read the page.
His wife passed over the letter. It had been neatly folded in thirds and must have been partially slipped under the door for it to have blown in at the proper moment. The edges were wet from the snow, but the text was still legible.
Noble,
I have good news and bad news. The good news is Rain is safe and has been working hard at her job and focusing on awakening.
The bad news is that she has decided to leave the main camp and join a survey team headed for the edge of Godgrave.
Tamar of Sorrow is leading the expedition with Awakened Fleur and that troublemaker.
-Sunny
"A survey team?" Fort's voice was strained. "Doesn't she know how dangerous that is?"
"Rainy has never been one to shy away from difficult jobs." Noble rubbed her forehead.
"We are so close to being able to bring her home. Do you think she might have found out about our interference in her placement on the road team? Did part of her want to prove she could do it on her own?" Fort knew how determined his daughter could be.
"I doubt it. Not even Virt knew I was asking about our daughter. Rainy did what she wanted. I hope she doesn't regret it." Noble frowned.
Rain was used to hard work. She could also defend herself well. But how would she handle being under the leadership of Tamar? The legacy was not only younger than Rain but also a bit rough around the edges when it came to warmth and friendliness.
On the bright side, Tamar was quite good with a blade, and her pride would never let anyone under her care get hurt without giving her all to prevent it. That was comforting.
Fort sighed. "I don't suppose there is much we can do about it if she does. Survey teams are largely unreachable until they return to their base of operations. That could take days, even weeks, depending on the route."
If the ambassador suddenly took an interest in a specific survey team out of the blue, it would certainly raise some eyebrows. The best thing to do would be to wait.
"She'll be fine." Noble was certain that at the very least, her daughter wouldn't die in the wilderness. Sunny wouldn't let that happen.
Perhaps this was a good thing. Out there, Rain was far away from all the political troubles. In some ways, she was safer than the rest of the world from the strife that was coming.
'It was still selfish of Sunny to avoid telling me in person.' Noble sighed and glanced once more at the empty windowsill.
Was Sunny afraid of her reaction to the news, not wanting to tell her anything about the gate encounter, or simply not ready to meet his sister's father?
All of them, Noble decided.
Those choices would catch up with him eventually, but for now, the professor would have to be content with the fact that Rain was safe and not in the hands of Clan Song's interrogators.
'Small victories...'
"I have a question, though," Fort's words pulled Noble from her wandering thoughts.
"Just one?" She teased.
"I can come up with more if you like?" The man countered with a smirk.
Noble rolled her eyes. "What's your question?"
"I have heard of Clan Sorrow, and the name Awakened Fleur makes sense. But who is this troublemaker, and should we be worried about them?" Fort frowned.
His wife, in contrast, began to chuckle. "Oh, that's Awakened Ray. Sunny is, shall we say, not a fan. Ray can make his presence undetectable, and if there is one thing that is unnerving to a powerful Saint, it's an undetectable teenage boy...especially when that boy is around his mundane sister."
Fort's frown deepened. "Should I be concerned?"
"No," Noble shook her head. "Ray only has eyes for Fleur, or at least he did last time I saw him. I don't really see that changing, though."
'And not just because I might have accidentally somehow bonded the two of them to Tamar...' Noble left the last part off. She still wasn't sure that it had happened. It was just as likely that the three were a team simply because they had become close as a result of their shared experiences.
Either way, Noble didn't see Ray as a threat like Lord Shadow had--at least not anymore.
Rain was in good hands and with good company. As long as her daughter and the legacy could find a way to get along, things should go fine.
"If Ray is a troublemaker, it is the Nightmare Creatures that come across them that should be afraid. They won't see him coming."
"That's good," Fort relaxed a little. "They will need all the help they can get out there."
"Indeed." Noble wished them well. They were all far from her reach, but she still managed to feel the subtle shift as her ability acted on her behalf.
'The rest is up to them.'
Noble took the letter from her husband, summoned her storage Memory, and tucked the extra page inside. She would dispose of the missive in the waking world away from Clan Song's eyes.
Now, like so many other days, she was running late for her trip across the Realms.
'This time it wasn't my fault!'
To be fair, it rarely was.
When she arrived at the Academy, Noble hoped that she would have a moment of peace to collect her thoughts and then go about her day.
There was no such luck.