Sarai sprinted from the bakery, leaving a trail of smoke in her wake. She tackled Noble with her hug, careful not to let the other woman hit the chair or the ground under the force of her affection.
Claire blinked, waving her hand in front of her face. "When you said good friend, you meant, willing to burn the house down kind of friend!"
"She'd give up a kingdom for me, that's for sure. I'd do the same for her." Noble hugged her former Dreamscape teammate tightly. "It's good to see you, too, Sarai." She noticed everyone staring at them. "But did you have to make such a spectacular entrance? With enthusiasm like that, people will think I came back from the dead!"
Sarai let her go. "How could you waltz in and not come straight to me?"
Noble winced.
"I was coming, but then I ran into…"
Both chairs on either side of her scraped as they pushed away from the table.
"We were just heading out," Nezha shrugged on his trench coat and plunked his payment down on the table. "My compliments to you on your establishment, ma'am. We will be back another day, won't we, Claire?"
His friend nodded her head as she counted out her part of the bill. "Absolutely! Thank you."
"I'll see you at the Academy, Professor Noble." Nezha waved a modified salute.
"Goodbye!" Noble barely got her words out before Sarai pulled on her hand, yanking her toward the bakery.
The place might have gotten a new kitchen for food, but Sarai wouldn't let Abyss touch her beloved bakery.
In her eyes, the key to good bread lay in the environment in which it was made, and her cozy furnace was just the way she wanted it.
"Come on! I refuse to share your attention while we catch up!"
The pair hurried down the hall that connected the two buildings. The heat of the bakery was overwhelmingly warm. Fire burst from the furnaces, heating the ovens and threatening to burn the bakery to the ground.
Pans were on the floor, and baked goods were scattered.
"Fire!"
"Yes?" Sarai tilted her head.
"No, I mean there's too much fire, Fire!" Noble tried to remember which of her Memories would best control the flame.
You would think that with a best friend who is so fiery, she would have been prepared for this eventuality. Yet her inventory came up empty.
"Oh, that. I was fueling the fires when Abyss told me you were out there. I got a little excited and might have overdone it with my flames." Sarai shrugged.
"What about your ovens? They'll melt! Soon the walls will catch the flame!" Noble was confused by her friend's calmness.
Sarai smiled shyly.
"Oh, I may not have let Abyss renovate, but I did have Awakened Sethos come and reinforce my bakery to make it more fireproof. Now it would take a dragon to cause this building any trouble."
Her friend wiped her brow. "I hope there aren't any of those around. I've had enough dragons lately."
"Is that what you've been doing?!" The redhead squealed. "I knew you weren't the saabatical type. Ah, I'm a little envious, I must admit. I'm glad Fort is not the jealous type."
"What do you mean?" Noble began to wonder about her friend's sanity. "Why would Fort be jealous of a dragon?"
"Any man might be jealous of his beloved spending so much time away in the company of Saint Kai, even if it was to help humanity. But Fort is far too secure in your relationship for that." The fiery woman nodded.
"Why would I have…oh!" Although the room was beginning to cool, Noble felt her ears burn. "I didn't mean Saint Kai or his Transcendent form. I meant an actual dragon!"
Sarai's excitement faded. "Oh, that sounds way less fun. Although seeing how its flame worked would have been cool, metaphorically speaking. I am assuming the creature is dead now?"
"It is," Noble confirmed.
"Did you at least get an echo of it?" The baker held on to one last glimmer of hope. Imagine how popular and delicious her pastries would be when baked by real dragon breath!
"I didn't get the final blow, sadly. And I don't think an echo was given anyway." Noble was sure on this point.
Aether had gotten his aspect legacy from his heroic actions. Beyond that, he was too polite not to use such a valuable asset to help them conquer the nightmare if he had one. The Spell had given Aether the ability to heal, which was far more crucial in their time of need.
"Such a shame. I would have loved to have tasted dragon-baked scones." Sarai smiled winsomely. "No matter! You are back, and that is much better. You were gone for an eternity! Did you at least have a little fun on your dragon-hunting 'sabbatical'?"
"Fun?" Noble was caught off guard by the question. "It was enlightening, but I wouldn't do it again. I am much happier at home with Fort and the kids."
"That's good. They love you, too. I am sure they would rather have you here." Sarai squeezed her friend's hand.
"It's wonderful to be here. What's been going on since I've been gone?" Noble had only gotten news about her family and not the rest of the world. "I see you finished your renovations with the shop. It looks phenomenal!"
"We finished last week. Construction everywhere has seen a sudden boom. Supplies used to be so scarce, and now we've gotten a huge influx from the waking world. Lord Anvil himself announced that road building is ramping up like never before. The last couple of weeks in particular have brought so many new people from the outskirts. I would be shocked if there was anyone left." Sarai explained as she and Noble began cleaning up the pans and ruined pastries.
Noble listened intently to the words. The sudden progression concerned her, especially the road building. Something had changed, and Noble had a sinking suspicion what it was. She would follow up with Fort later.
"Isn't it wonderful?" The baker continued. "There are so many people now that Abyss is thinking of branching out to open a second place. We would have to hire a manager for that one, of course, but I see no reason why it couldn't be done."
"I'm happy for you!" Noble's subdued smile was not lost on her friend.
"What's wrong? If it's about the pastries, it's fine. You can help me make some new ones if you like." Sarai didn't want her friend to feel bad about the ruined food. Although not sellable, most of it was still on the trays and edible, so it could be donated.
Noble waved her hand.
"It's not about the bread. Nothing's wrong with me. I am great, in fact. I'm just thinking."
"Penny for your thoughts?" Sarai saw six of her pans lift from the ground and float to her wash basin.
Using her Ability, she brought a sponge from her pocket dimension and rolled up her sleeves to start scrubbing.
"My thoughts are not worth your money, but I did have a question about something I overheard," Noble quickly changed the subject. "Claire and Nehza mentioned something happening at the gate. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
Sarai looked over her shoulder and nodded. "Indeed, I would. The Skinwalker was here."
Noble's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "WHAT?!"
Just then, the back door opened.