Ritchard and Markus were waiting for Dirin to meet up with them in the middle of Falem. They sat at a table with some plastic wrappers that had crumbs on them. They were supposed to eat together and go stand in during some classes to see where they should go and how to progress by taking some inspiration from other paths.
But Dirin was late by twenty minutes. They were getting impatient since they had already finished their food, and the classes they wanted to attend were going to start any second now. Ritchard was about to use the excuse that Dirin wasn't supposed to go to any higher classes, so they could just leave, but in the distance, he saw Dirin walking.
He was walking quickly, no doubt realizing he was late, and walked straight towards them. Ritchard sighed and started to stand to get going, but Dirin walked right past him and didn't say a word. He is late and has the audacity to ignore me?! This guy sure has some nerve! Ritchard reached over and was about to grab his sleeve. He stopped though, when he realized something was off.
There was something different about Dirin that he couldn't place his finger on. The appearances were normal, and so were his mannerisms, but there was an odd unfamiliarity to him. Looking at him felt like looking at someone completely different, and that made Ritchard tense up a bit.
"Dirin," Ritchard said it low enough for only him and Dirin to hear, but he noticed a slight delay before Dirin turned to look at him. "Aren't you ready for our plans?"
There was a flicker in his eyes that didn't go unnoticed, but Ritchard kept his face calm and waved him over in the opposite direction. He quickly figured out something was wrong when he saw the slight unease that crept into Dirin as his shoulders tensed.
Something is definitely off.
They were walking slowly. Markus didn't notice anything off, which was obvious to Ritchard. The farther they walked, the more he could sense Dirin's unease. His eyes kept glancing in the opposite direction.
It went on like this for a couple of minutes. Ritchard was sure something was wrong and started to think of everything he could of what might've happened. He texted Dirin and heard the small ding from his pocket.
Trying different things over the next couple of minutes, he became increasingly stumped. Was Dirin normal, and he was just being paranoid?
They kept walking and they started to sit in classes. He still saw the uneasiness in Dirin, but he wasn't that bothered about it anymore. He was probably just anxious about getting a trial so he could advance to Rank 1.
"Do you guys want to head to Alchemy after this?" Dirin asked out of the blue. He was starting to sweat even though the lecture hall was cool with the windows open, letting the air in.
Markus and Ritchard looked at each other and nodded. Neither of them wanted to do alchemy in the future, Ritchard especially, but since Dirin hadn't been putting in any suggestions, they figured they would let him have that class as well.
Once they figured out where Alchemy was, they started to head over. Ritchard noticed it was in the direction that Dirin was heading to previously. Was he going to come here earlier? I guess I should've known he didn't forget the plans.
The walk was quick, with it only taking a couple of minutes. He was going to suggest Dirin take off his blazer or something, as he saw him sweating even more and fanning himself discreetly.
Once they were in the building where Alchemy was being taught, they noticed students walking out of the class. It seemed like they arrived late. Ritchard felt bad since he was partially the reason for him not being able to attend.
"I'll go in and see if I can get any notes from the teacher..." Desperation almost spilled out of Dirin's voice as he practically ran inside the door. He told them to stay put as he went inside and closed the door.
Both of them waited outside in the hallway awkwardly. They didn't know what to do, but Markus looked over and said, "He's acting weird. Ever since we started to go to the classes, he has been on edge."
"It's probably him just feeling anxious about needing Anima. It might be getting to him. He probably needs something to distract him." Ritchard reasoned as he talked with Markus, who nodded in acknowledgement.
"Maybe..." He trailed off as he started to tilt his head in thought. "Those must be some long notes he's getting..."
Ritchard nodded. He never knew alchemy would take this long to get notes. After a couple of minutes, Dirin walked out with some papers and handed them over to them. He seemed much lighter now, and he wasn't sweating anymore.
"Got them..." He cleared his throat before explaining everything to them.
During his explanation, Markus cut him off. "Since when were you so into alchemy? You always complained about it." Ritchard picked up on the lie pretty quickly and was confused, but his own sparks of suspicion rekindled a bit.
Dirin gave a dismissive chuckle. "Look, I know I'm studying magic and life energy, but maybe there is a connection or a reference I can use with it." He then walked off with a newfound ease that wasn't there before.
"He doesn't know," Markus whispered as he pulled his phone out and started to message Mr. Till and Rose.
"Let's stay by him anyway. We can monitor him." Ritchard looked at Dirin's back as he started to follow. That odd, unfamiliar feeling started to grow stronger the more he looked at him.
They started to walk beside him and started to ask broad questions that anyone would be able to answer easily. Their goal was to make him think that his act was working and lead him to more confidence as they waited for Mr. Till or someone else to come.
This could be that cult that's been threatening Falem for a while now... Where is Dirin then? Is he fine?
Meanwhile, Dirin groggily woke up from the closet with only his underpants on and some clothes that wouldn't fit him beside him. The door was open, and light was streaming inside, and a figure was in the doorway. When Dirin finally figured out who it was, he groaned.
"Hey Vale..."