Maya smiled at her mother, “Mum! These are my friends from the Academy!”

Her mother smiled back at her sarcastically, “Then why are you serving them incomplete meals?” She chuckled.

Maya’s eyebrow twitched. “Mum... She said that my pancakes were better than yours.” She smirked.

Maya’s mother waved away the supposed loss, “A meal is not just a single dish. A meal is defined by how all the dishes combine to form something that eclipses the sum of their individual values. It’s all about Balance.”

A switch flipped on in Rai’s mind. She’s definitely got something to do with Jin.

Maya was stunned. Her mother had never used such large words before. What does eclipse even mean?

Rai was, all of a sudden, in front of the blue haired elven mother. “Hi. What’s your name?”

Sin checked where he was previously sitting. Low and behold, he wasn’t there anymore. She sighed. This can’t possibly end poorly now, can it?

Maya’s mother was stunned for a second. Then she laughed. “Why couldn’t I sense you moving? You a little Daemon or something?” She laughed harder. “I’m Tiana. Nice to meet you, blue-eyes.” She was about to walk around the counter, but she saw someone she recognised. Tiana looked over at Sin, “Hey! You’re that redhead from a month or so ago right? We have unfinished business. Let’s talk about it later, after you’ve eaten!”

Sin had forgotten. She’d alluded to her knowledge of the Sword Dancer when she first came to this café, but she never thought those hints would be followed up on. They were just passing comments.

Tiana walked into the back. Sounds of her footsteps on stairs echoed in the quiet café.

There were currently no other customers. This time of day was typical for slow traffic.

Rai got lost in his own thoughts. Sin must know this lady from when she first came to the café. She must’ve made Sin’s meal last time. If they have unfinished business, then did Sin mention Jin to her? Those scars are eerily similar to the ones on Jin’s body, and then she mentions Balance like that... Who is this Tiana lady? I’ll find out more when I can.

While rai was in thought, Sin kept trying to alleviate Maya’s frustration. “I really liked your pancakes! They’re beautiful and tasty and awesome.”

Maya’s fury was unbridled, “I’ll show her. I’ll make the best meal she’s ever had!”

Tullian’s fear was growing. The feeling that kept gnawing at his insides was yelling at him. There were currently four monsters in his immediate vicinity, and one of them was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Was it truly fear he was feeling? Tullian wasn’t the most well versed in emotions, but the main emotion that hindered him was one that was both positive and negative in nature. He was anxious.

Amy prodded him, “She’s super cool right? Those abs and those scars, how awesome was that?!” She was excited.

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Tullian nervously chuckled, “Y-yeah. She was... quite something.”

Maya heard him. She yelled over from the kitchen, “Hey! You ogling my mum?”

Tullian wildly shook his head, “No ma’am.”

Maya was somewhat confused at the earnest reaction, but accepted it nonetheless, “Good.”

Tiana came back down the stairs.

She was now wearing the same uniform as Maya. A white shirt and an apron, alongside casual trousers. “Since you’re all Maya’s friends, how about I make a meal for you?”

Rai, Amy, and Tullian’s stomachs simultaneously growled loud enough for everyone to hear. Tiana laughed, “I suppose that’s a yes!”

Maya scolded her, “We don’t have enough meat so don’t try anything fancy. Just do something simple, don’t try to show off.”

Tiana completely ignored her daughter. “Do we have any chicken anywhere?” She was whispering to herself.

Maya’s eyebrow twitched again. “HEY! Are you deaf?!” She stomped over to the kitchen to sort out her mother.

Sin sat next to Rai. He let out a sigh, “What a day.”

Sin pulled him close, then whispered in his ear, “I think she has something to do with Jin.” She sounded genuinely concerned.

Rai agreed, he whispered in reply, “Agreed. She has similar scars, and she talked about Balance just like Jin would. I think they have some kind of link, but I can’t safely ask about it without revealing my connection to him. Did you mention something to her the last time you came here?”

Sin nodded, then answered his question, “She wants to talk to me because I referenced Jin’s appearance the last time we spoke. But... I don’t know.” Sin was frustrated. She whispered even quieter, “This is so hard... How do we work this out?”

Rai frowned, “Maybe we don’t? Maybe we don’t actually have to figure this out right now. We can just say that she’s got the wrong people, and play it safe.”

Sin sighed, “If you think that’s the right call, then I’ll follow your lead. He’s your grandad after all.”

Rai nodded, “I think that’s the best way to play it. Just don’t mention Jin to her at all. We’ll just have to avoid talking about him. That’ll be the safest for both him and mum.” He pondered for a second. Their whispers were drowned out by the others on the table talking about some of the up-and-coming students in their year.

Rai solidified the plan in his head. “Yeah, that’s the best way to do it.”

Sin nodded. “Alright, I’m right there with you.”

Rai smiled. “Thank you.”

Tullian’s voice popped their shared bubble. “What you two whispering about?”

Sin shook her head softly, “Nothing interesting. Rai’s just telling me about the farm since I never went when we were younger.”

Amy bounced into the conversation, “You two knew each other since childhood right? But you’ve never been to each other’s houses?”

Rai and Sin glanced at each other. Sin frowned somewhat, “I guess not...”

Rai thought about it for a second and found it to be true. Neither of them had been to the other’s home. Though, it wasn’t like he was expecting to be invited to the Castle in the Underworld. “I think we just never got the chance to.” He spoke honestly in response to Amy.

Amy frowned, “That... sucks. I loved going over to friends’ houses when we were kids. Maya used to live with her aunt on the Isle of Chimes, so we got to see each other a lot.” Lina smiled, and blushed a little.

Maya’s voice echoed from the kitchen, “NO! NOT LIKE THAT!”

It was followed by hearty laughter from her mother.

Tullian grinned, “The Huntsmen clan made sure that we thought of each other as brothers and sisters growing up. Even our town, which wasn’t very big, was homely. All of the people in the area were like family.”

Rai and Sin sat, quietly. Neither of them had a particularly social childhood. All they had was each other and their families. Well, Rai had Bort, Dorothy, and Ms. Talvier... Sin had Lilly, her father, and her tutors...

Their daze was broken.

Maya zoomed between the kitchen and the table, perfectly placing plates of food and dessert in front of each person.

Everyone was blown away at how efficient and effective she was. Rai wasn’t all that surprised though. In fact, he felt like this showing off had something to do with Maya wanting to prove that her footwork had improved since the last time he saw it. He smiled. In a way, he was helping his colleagues grow, and he was happy for that.

Tiana walked out of the kitchen. “Please. Enjoy!”

“Thank you for the food!” They collectively responded.