He knew that what she wanted was for him to let his guard down.
But he wouldn't give her the satisfaction. Dick doesn't let his guard down around Tina as he keeps an eye out and pays close attention top every single move that she makes. He doesn't want to be caught off guard by her. Whenever Tina cooks he makes sure that her tests the food to make sure that it didn't have any poison in it.
He didn't know why Tina seemed to always insist that she would be the one who cooked the meals for everyone. but as part of him told him that it had to do with whatever it was that she had planned that it wasn't just some mere coincidence.
However Gloria continued to tell him that everything was going to be fine in the end and that nothing would happen. He tried to convince himself that she was right but after everything that he experiences with Tina it was hard for him to believe and fall for that.
A few days into their travels something strange happened. Usually Mr. ken stayed in the shadows but would still find reason to come back and check on them at least once a day.
However a few days had gone by and Dick hadn't caught sight of him. He was starting to get worried and although he told himself that there was a perfectly decent explanation as to why it was hard to believe. Especially with whenever he looked at Tina.
He couldn't entirely put his finger on it but each time his gaze flickered towards her own he could see the faint smirk playing on her features as though there was something that she knew and they didn't.
He couldn't prove it much like he couldn't prove that she was a bad person. But he couldn't put it past her for her being the reason behind Mr. ken going missing for several days.
It had been nearly five days since Mr. ken had gone and it seemed as though the others were okay with it and only few of them seemed to be bothered by the fact.
Dick was done sitting around and waiting for someone to come and give him as decent explanation. He decided that it was time for him to take a stand and get the answers that he wanted for himself.
He approached Gloria as she was helping one of the girls reset up their tent that had been blown down by the wind of the storm. Dick tapped her shoulder as she turned towards him.
"What is it?" she asked him.
He gestured for her to come with him and although she was hesitant she let out a sigh and decided to follow him.
They made their way towards the shade of one of the trees before he decided to speak to her about the matters that bothered him. "Do you know what happened to Mr. ken and why he isn't here?" he asked her as she decided to cut straight to the point.
Gloria furrowed her brows at him as though she too was only then coming to the realization. She shrugged her shoulders at him as she seemed to think his words over.
"Come to think about it I haven't seen him in a few days. But I am sure that it is nothing and that he will most likely pop up eventually." She said to him but her words didn't hold any certainty in them.
"Are you not the least bit worried? This isn't normal behavior what if something happened to him." He said to her his tone was slightly raised as for a moment his gaze flickered towards Tina.
She was sat beneath one of the trees as she was enjoying a handful of berries and humming a tune.
"What do you mean if something happened to him? You know that he is a powerful mage and I know for a fact that he is strong and that he is more that capable of taking care of himself. Probably something came up and he couldn't get here. Or he saw that we were. Capable of taking care of ourselves and so he decided that it was easier for him to simply watch us from the shadows." She said to him.
He hummed at her in response but he wasn't entirely on board with her words. Something told him that something happened.
"who do you think would do something to him anyway." she asked and he gestured behind her as he looked towards Tina who was lounging quietly.
She noticed that they were looking towards her as she gave them as bright smile and a slight wave.
"Surely she wouldn't do something to him. I know that she wants to take us down but she wouldn't want to rid him so that she can dso so. There has to be something else." Gloria said as she shook her head at him.
"You may think that it is nothing but I can't and I won't put anything past her. I know how cunning and calculative she can be. I am, sure this is all part of her plan." He said to her.
He watched as Gloria sighed as she quirked brow at him and crossed her hands over her chest, "well if that is truly so then how about you show us some proof. It isn't that I don't believe you. It is simply that you know that it would be much easier for me to believe if there was some proof." She said to him.
They both knew that for a fact he didn't have any proof and so the conversation was futile and there wasn't much that they could do right now about what was going on.
Instead he let out a sigh ss he slumped his shoulders, "I don't have proof as of right now but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't watch out also you have to be careful." He said to her in a warning tone.
She sighed as she nodded her head at him in response. "So what do you think we should do?" Gloria asked him.
"What do you mean?" Dick asked her in a questioning tone.
"Well like you said we are in danger and Tina plans on killing us. So we have to get out of here before she can do so. And if Mr. ken leaving id part of her plan that means that her plan is already in motion and so we have to keep our heads up." She explained to him
Dick thought over her words for a moment and he knew that she was right and that Tina already had her plan set. They had to act now before it was too late for them to go. "I think that it will be best for us to escape now." He said to Gloria.
"What if they stop us?" Gloria asked him hesitantly.
"The person that would have been able to stop us was Mr. Ken and he isn't here at the moment. As for Tina she is just a student like us and so she hasn't got the power or the authority to stop us." He explained to her.