Chapter 42- The Plan

                                    

                                          
^He's so focused


"My theory is that the red rocks can make someone see their worst fear through an illusion of some kind," Varian says as we walk down the street, Ruddiger prancing along beside us. 
I nod in agreement. "So, that must be why we both had nightmares last night. The influence of those rocks affected our subconscious." 
"I hadn't thought of that before, but I bet you're right." Varian comments, resting his chin in his hand as we walk. I study his face as he does so, watching his all too familiar 'deep in thought' expression. Something about seeing the boy so deep in thought intrigues me and gives me a sense of admiration for him. "Now we just need to figure out where they've come from." 
I think for a moment. "I bet it was Cassandra. If she has the moonstone, then she probably has all the powers that come with it."
"But then..." He trails off. Varian stops in his tracks and quickly glances around. 
I stop beside him. "What's wrong?"
Varian's breath hitches. "Ruddiger. Where is he?"
"I don't know..." I worriedly say. "Maybe he ran off to find Dandelion?"
"This is bad, this is really really bad." Varian nervously mutters. 
"I'm sure he'll come back eventually-"
The alchemist cuts me off. "But what if he's lost somewhere? Those red rocks are growing more common by the second! I don't wanna lose track of him for even a moment." 
I place my hands on his shoulders reassuringly. "Don't worry, Var. I'll help you find him." I give him a comforting smile and Varian seems to calm down for the time being.
"Okay."  
The two of us begin wandering the streets, calling Ruddiger's name, hoping to find him. After several minutes of searching, I suddenly hear a chattering noise. I hold my arm out, stopping Varian in his tracks. "What is it?" He asks.
I quickly shush him and slowly point up toward one of the rooftops, where a furry creature with a striped tail is resting. 
"Ruddiger!" Varian exclaims, trying to call his little buddy. Instead of coming to him as I expect, Ruddiger dashes away from us, running along the rooftops. "Ruddiger!! Get your bushy tail back here!!" Varian calls, quickly grabbing my hand and chasing after the raccoon. "Hey! Buddy, where are you headed?"
We chase after him as quickly as our legs can take us. "Hurry!" I cry, pointing after Ruddiger's tail. 
We turn a corner and practically crash into Feldspar and a village woman holding her baby. Varian skids to a stop, and nervously chuckles. "Oh! Sorry. Hi." He waves.
"Don't you have a kingdom to overthrow or something?" Feldspar scoffs. 
Varian looks taken aback for a moment. He laughs a bit and tries to play Fedlspar's comment off as a joke. "Heh, yeah...you haven't seen a raccoon around, have you?"
The woman 'humphs' in reply, and her baby suddenly bursts into tears. 
Varian's eyes widen, him clearly getting uncomfortable with the whole situation. "Okay...uh...n-never mind." He says, walking away. 
As Varian leaves, I angrily turn to Feldspar and the woman. "What was that all about?!"
"I prefer to not solicit with anarchists." Feldspar spits, his voice laced with venom. The shoemaker crosses his arms over his chest. 
"Varian isn't an anarchist!!" I exclaim. "He helped save this kingdom from the Saporians while you people were busy hiding!"
"He also helped them take over." The woman scoffs.