Once Noble had passed over the wall unnoticed, she was no longer worried about being seen. If any of the other sentries spotted her, which was unlikely with her bracelets actively protecting her, then the raven-dark hair would be enough to dissuade anyone from thinking it was her.
Once she was far out of range, Noble resumed her normal appearance, calling on her armor to protect both her and the borrowed clothes. Thankfully, Teddy had chosen something that wouldn't get torn by the polished metal.
While Noble didn't sense any Nightmare creatures nearby, there was always the chance that one could evade her detection.
More than that, she didn't want to scare Rain or her protector when she drew near.
Though somehow, even with her brisk pace, she didn't seem to be making much progress.
'How can that be?'
Noble couldn't tell the exact distance with her connection, only direction. With her family never fully going out of range unless she was in another Realm, Noble couldn't use that gauge as a marker either.
However, she had a vague notion that the distance was not lessening as it should. She sped up, causing the wind to whip against her face. Only her thoughts seemed to move faster than her body.
The details of the situation were gruesome, and Noble simply couldn't make sense of the facts. Something didn't add up.
The only thing to do was to get the information straight from the source. Then Noble would be able to find the best course of action. Unfortunately, the source of information didn't immediately appear.
Eventually, the mother slowed to a stop. She rubbed her eyes, then squinted at the horizon.
'Just how far did he take her?'
If the mother kept going for too much longer, she would run the risk of not returning before Fort got off work.
That would cause a secondary problem and make the situation worse.
And things were bad enough already.
Noble was still debating the best course of action when she noted something moving below her on the ground.
She blinked. Nothing was there except the thawing ground and rolling hills.
Oh, and her shadow waving at her.
Noble lowered to the ground. She waited a moment before placing her hands on her hips.
Her mouth opened to call on the true name of light when a handsome figure suddenly emerged from her Shadow.
"There's no need for that. I am here." Sunny looked at his wrist and clicked his tongue. "Though you are very early, Saint Noble. I very nearly missed you. It is very fortunate that I was looking! How was the Awards Ceremony? They must have gone very quickly! I heard through the rumor mill that Nobody was nominated for his body of work, but…"
Noble leveled him with a withering gaze. "I'm not here to talk about the ceremony, but you know that. Clan Song is searching for Rain! Where is she? Are you keeping her from me?"
"Already? I thought we would have more time! Ugh, don't tell me, it was that dragonfly?"
Noble nodded. "Peta saw Rain but somehow missed you."
Sunny cursed.
"I thought I got her out of there in time. That Saint's eyes are too keen." The pale man pressed his lips together, finally answering the questions he had been asked. "Rain is somewhere safe. I am not keeping her as much from you as everyone right now."
"So you abandoned her to come find me?" Noble's eyes began to swirl.
"No, I'm still with her. This is a fourth incarnation of mine. This me is perhaps a little less happy but every bit as committed to keeping Rain from harm." Sunny crossed his heart.
"I won't harm her!" Noble objected. Right now, she was ready to strangle Sunny, but she only wanted to hug her darling daughter.
"But you can bring her harm and yourself too!" Sunny's words caused Noble's next objection to die on her lips.
She had been so intent on seeing her daughter that she had almost forgotten what had brought her out here in the first place.
"Right, Song is after Rain…" Noble furrowed her brow. "Tell me what happened."
"Rain's big hunt was today. She went after the huntsman." Sunny explained.
Noble's eyes widened. That particular monster had been haunting the swampy woods for a long time. It was close enough to garner a healthy bounty but not so close that Clan Song had made it a priority to deal with for themselves.
Noble herself had considered venturing out to deal with it now that she was a Saint, but hadn't gotten around to it.
Now, it seemed her daughter had set her sights on a lofty goal. No wonder she had been so excited and anxious to get on with her big hunt.
"Did she…"
Sunny allowed a small smile. "She killed it on her own."
"So, she's awakened?" Noble recalled what Rain had told her the day before.
The girl seemed quite certain that she was close to the breakthrough.
However, the shadowy Saint shook his head. "Not yet. She can circulate her essence now, though, and she was able to funnel the first grain of it into forming a core. She's actually trying to get a second grain to join the first as we speak. My sister is nothing if not ambitious."
This was news, and any other time, Noble would have been glad to hear it. She would have written down and cataloged every minute detail for future generations to study and understand.
Rain was making history!
And hopefully someday soon, Child of Promise could and would.
But right now, there was a more pressing matter with immediate consequences. While Sunny had answered her query, he had left out an important part.
"What happened after that?"
"After Rain killed the huntsman?" Sunny tapped his chin. "Well, other than collecting the soul shards, gaining control of her essence, and beginning to form a core, Rain mostly rested. She was understandably winded. In the end, I had to help her get off the island she had created with her shenanigans."
Noble felt her patience running out.
"Did she choose that area or did you?"
"Rain chose the day and the time. I was merely an observer." Sunny nodded.
"So the encounter you had with those three in the forest was just an unfortunate accident?" Noble held her breath.
Sunny scoffed. "Oh no, it was entirely intentional."
Child of Promise was caught off guard. "Why would you put your sister in the middle of that mayhem? To settle some debt?"
Her companion furrowed his brow. "What? No! I didn't put her in the middle of anything. They were hunting us, not the other way around."
Now Noble was even more confused.
"Why would emissaries who were planning to meet with Clan Song be hunting you? Surely they have better things to do than track down a mundane girl…unless it was you they were after?"
"Emissaries?" Sunny's eyes opened wider as she nodded. "I suppose they were once, yes. Those monsters were hunting us because of our pure souls." The man's expression darkened. "They weren't human anymore, though. The three that I destroyed…were Skinwalker vessels."