It had just been three days since I left Adrian's apartment after he… I shook my head. I needed to stop thinking about him. About all of them back in Palm Springs. It would just be easier that way.

It had been three days since I reached out to Stanton to explain why I believed my presence was no longer needed in Palm Springs. I had sent her an email in the evening and she surprised me the next morning with a call about a new assignment. Apparently, they had already been considering not having an alchemist stationed in Palm Springs anymore. Their plan was now to simply have the alchemist from Los Angeles travel east to Palm Springs on a monthly basis, to check in.

I left Palm Springs the day after I received the call from Stanton. I had a chance to say a brief goodbye to Jill and Eddie since we were all together at Amberwood, and I asked them to say goodbye to Clarence and Dorothy for me. They were understandably upset and Eddie was confused, but Jill knew why I was leaving. She didn't agree, but I had made my decision. I needed to put as much distance as possible between Adrian and myself. I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

"It tends to be pretty quiet and calm. I think you'll enjoy it here."

I focused back on Ian and mustered a smile. "I would definitely enjoy quiet and calm."

"Yeah, it sounds like you were quite busy in Palm Springs." He leaned forward towards me across the table, and lowered his voice. "I heard about what happened with Keith Darnell."

I took a sip of my water to distract from the fact that I was unsure how to respond. Talking about Keith made me uncomfortable for many reasons. Mainly, I couldn't shake the thought that I would have been the next one sent to re-education if they ever found out about-

"Don't worry, you don't need to talk about it if you don't want to. I understand. It must have been hard," he said in a sympathetic tone. "Just know that we are all inspired by your dedication and bravery."

I nodded, again not knowing what to say. I was spared having to come up with an answer when the waitress arrived with our food.

"I wish we had more time together but I was just told that my new assignment begins in two days. So, the next thirty six hours are going to be crucial for me to teach you everything I know about this post."

"Two days? That's very quick." I was surprised that he was being moved out of his current assignment on such short notice. The alchemists tend to like to plan everything out weeks in advance, at minimum.

Ian shifted in his seat. "Yeah, it came as a surprise to me as well. It's not like I'm the only person stationed in Sioux Falls but I guess they really needed someone for the St. Louis office." He took a sip of his wine. "Okay, then. Let me tell you everything I know about this post…"

For the next hour and a half, Ian spoke almost non-stop about everything he thought I would need to know for my new role. I would be taking over the north side of the city, while another alchemist covered the south side. According to Ian, all interactions with the other alchemist happened electronically and not in person- for efficiency. He said the city was so calm that he even had time to start taking weekly archery lessons.

As the night went on I became increasingly tired. I had flown into Sioux Falls that afternoon, checked into my hotel and then met up with Ian for a working dinner. It was now almost 8 o'clock and I was looking forward to going back to the hotel room for a warm shower and some much-needed sleep.

It was not lost on me, however, the irony of my new post being in South Dakota. Which is where my 'family' from Palm Springs was supposed to be from.

I wondered if this was the alchemists version of a joke. Probably not.