(A/N: An OC of mine, Keira, is mentioned in this chapter. Her main appearance is in Robin's Past.)
Morgan didn't like how he immediately felt his headache, and the voices came back as soon as he opened his eyes and realized no one was there. Robin must have decided against checking up on him again.
It was hard to focus. Morgan stood up and changed, but nothing went away. Nonetheless, he headed towards the library. He wasn't sure if it was to study, try to figure out who the person in his dream was, or to verify what he was told about Malin. Maybe a combination of all three, now that he thought of it. It was unlikely that anyone would let him leave the castle today anyway; he might as well try to help out or study.
Morgan tried his best to get to the library in the halls that were used more, while also trying to act like he was fine. It was a bit hard; with a headache fierce enough to kill and voices murmuring things you don't understand, pretending that nothing was wrong felt like a near-impossible task.
Once he got to the library, though, the voices subsided and it even felt like his headache turned into a gentle throb.
He found Malin sitting at a desk, writing something down in his journal as per usual.
"Hey," Morgan said.
Malin looked taken aback, for a few moments, before looking up. "I didn't expect you to be up," Malin said. "Nice to see I was wrong. How do you feel? Good, I assume?"
"I'm...okay," Morgan replied reluctantly.
"Okay?" Malin echoed, seeming a bit concerned. "Care to elaborate a bit? Maybe I can help."
"I had a weird dream last night...that, and I still have a headache," Morgan explained. "Nothing too out of the ordinary, but I'm not entirely used to it either."
"I'm pretty sure everyone here has had at least one 'weird dream,' so I don't think you'll have to worry about that too much," Malin replied. "But there's something else bothering you. Did Loralis say something before you came back here, or is it something else?"
"Something else," Morgan said. He sat down in the closest chair, which wasn't that far. He kept his voice low, since he knew that there was at least one other person in the library, "I... Someone told me a few things about you. I just wanted to ask if they were true or not."
"Go right ahead," Malin said warmly. "I'm open to answering any questions."
"It's about your time fighting alongside Mother," Morgan explained. "I was told that you shared my name, once." He looked directly at Malin, who looked either impressed, confused, or a combination of the two. "Is that true?"
It took Malin a few moments to reply. "My name...was once 'Morgan,' yes. Most official records list that as my birth name, but I would honestly prefer it to be changed to 'Malin' instead."
"Why did you change it?" Morgan asked.
"There are many reasons," Malin said. "First of all, when I left the castle, I knew I might do some shady stuff. I didn't want you or Robin to be accused of doing the same, so that was my first reason. My second reason was that I would be allowed a bit more privacy and much less attention; the war that I fought in was still news to some people, and those living in the castle also seemed more mysterious back then. The last reason didn't come up until I decided what I wanted to do; with the way I have it, Keira was once a Grimleal, so I would have to go to Plegia to figure anything out. I wasn't quite sure how people there would react to me, so that was the deal-breaker. I think the only person who's called me 'Morgan' since then was Robin when I first came back."
Morgan nodded. It made sense; or at least, it seemed to. Morgan was never allowed to look at the records concerning the campaign against Grima—mostly because Robin called it 'inaccurate'—so he was never given the opportunity to make guesses. He never really questioned anything that he was told about Malin; it wasn't something he felt like he needed to know more about.
Malin went back to writing in his journal. "It's just about breakfast time. How about you meet me there?"
"Can I...go with you?" Morgan asked, remembering the voices he hears when no one's around him. "I don't have a good explanation for it, but I don't really want to be alone right now."
"Understandable," Malin replied. "Don't worry; I just want to write a few more things down, and I'll be ready to go."
"Thank you," Morgan said.
"No problem; it's what friends do, after all."
Friends. The word didn't quite seem to fit, but he couldn't figure out why.
Nonetheless, Morgan nodded. Malin wrote down a few more things, then tucked away his journal and stood up. "Alright; let's go eat." He started walking towards the dining hall, and Morgan followed him.
Malin nor Morgan said anything until they were almost there.
"You said you had a weird dream last night," Malin began slowly. "And you're being oddly quiet, even if you're in some sort of pain. Do you want to talk about it?"
"N-no, I'm fine," Morgan replied. "And I thought you said that I shouldn't worry about it?"
"I did, but I'm curious," Malin said. "That, and you're sort of like everyone else; except, when something's really bothering you, you just stay completely silent—which actually gets unsettling sometimes."
"…it wasn't anything too notable," Morgan said. He was lying, and while Malin seemed to notice, he didn't press for details.
"Well, I guess my previous statement still stands," Malin said. "Unless you have a realistic dream about your closest friend dying, it shouldn't be anything to stress over." He paused for a few minutes. "That being said, you can always come to me or Robin with any problems you have."
"I understand," Morgan replied. Malin nodded and smiled a bit, and their continued their walk towards the dining hall.
