Legends 34
It hadn't taken long before Dawn was able to get a hold of Paul and Leaf. They had made their way to the street of the city fending of any fodder that most of the dark army was made up of. Following instructions that May had given to them, the two would keep the the the ground and do their best to stop any problems or pests until Misty and Gary were conscious, or at the very least healed properly. Once that happens then the two separated from the rest of the group would be informed and that would allow them to head to the edge of the city. The destination for the dragon souls to re group.
With most of the fodder taken care of, Leaf and Paul decided that she would take a break and search for some food at any of the convience stores around. Paul would stay around a certain area, fighting any weak monsters. Not thirty minutes after their decisions, Leaf had returned to her current partner of war with a couple of containers of assorted nuts, a couple of electrolyte drinks, and a bag of chips. The two made their way to a small apartment building so that the had a place to sit off of the ground while they ate. "Thanks." muttered Paul upon being handed his share of the food items.
"So what's the deal with you and Dawn?" Leaf asked in a nonchalant way, causing Paul to look and her quizzically. "I'm curious to know, you two have been really chummy since going ot the dragon realm." the long haired brunette edged on.
Paul took a sip from his drink before screwing the cap back on as he swallowed. "Don't know what you're talking about." he responded to the prying as he took another handful of nuts, picking out the ones that he didn't like.
"Oh bullshit. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Before shit hit the fan, Dawn literally said she wanted a mini you." Giving a small smirk she awaited his rebuttal. He had seemed to stop chewing upon taking in her words.
Upon finishing the handful of food Paul thought his choice of words and it was clear to Leaf that he was wording things out in his head. "She was referring to the photo I showed her of myself, brother, and mom. It's one from when I was young and she thought that I looked cute as a kid. So don't go thinking too much of it." Paul looked back at Leaf as he finished his explanation. She had pushed her food to her right side and now wore a shit eating grin on her face. Taken back by the way she was looking at him, he began to look around as though he was being watch, genuinely confused by what had her so happy so suddenly. "What?" he questioned, knowing full well that she would answer him.
"Why would you show her but nobody else, huh?"
"She showed me her and her parents." quick to retort, he spoke as though it was his only line in a school play and he had been practicing for months.
Though she had gained a logical response, Leaf wasn't giving up. She knew something was up. If anything had come from binge reading the amount of romance novels she had, it was to tell when there was a super sappy cliche romance in the midst. It was like one of those skills that come in handy once in a lifetime. A skill that was so unnecessary that you subconsciously seek a use for it. This was the chance and dammit she was going to use it. "And why would she show you that? Again she didn't show anybody but you; and it was at a time in her life when she was so depressed and didn't know what to do with herself?"
Paul had gathered that she and Gary had been listening to their conversation through the door, as he had not specified exactly the time of the photo Dawn had showed to him. "You know, I am offended that you of all people would eavesdrop on a private conversation."
"Don't turn this back on me buddy!" Leaf exclaimed, standing from her seat to point at him. "I know that there is something within that cold, dark heart of yours!"
"And how would you know that missy?" He was beginning to grow very annoyed with this conversation, Leaf had picked that up through the way he was beginning to spit his words out. Playtime was over, it was time for the big guns to be brought out.
"Because I've seen the way you look at her." That sentence was all it took to make his anger disappear in an instance. His face began to feel hot, turning it away quickly to hide it from Leaf until he could pull his mask up to to continue to hide while he talked to her. "Are you actually blushing?" This next question caused his head to drop, now looking at the concrete beneath his feet. "Oh my god you are! Let me see your face!"
Leaf jumped in front of Paul, quickly pulling his mask down to reveal his reddened face. He was quick to divert his eyes away, knowing full well he would become even more flustered if he looked at the pestering girl. "So what?"
"Aww,I was right! Look at Mr. Cold-hearted all embarrassed; you look so cute!"
"Fuck off."
"And there's the Paul that we're all used to" Paul let out a small groan as he began to shut his eyes tightly. "You know, I think you should confess once this thing-" Leaf paused herself as she turned back to the plum headed boy. His hands were on either side of his head and he were groaning as if he were in pain. Head in his lap he began to get angry with the way he sounded. "Paul what's wrong?" Leaf asked quietly, dropping to her knees in front of him. Placing her hands onto his shoulders in an attempt to sooth him.
After a few minutes, Paul finally opened his eyes, something for which the brunette was thankful for. "Call the others, get them outside the city." Was all he said before turning into a shadow and vanishing.
"What the fuck Paul!" Leaf cried looking in the direction the shadow disappeared to, now desperately trying to get a hold of Dawn.
"Gah," Dawn sounded as a tingling in her head began to form. "Hate when you guys do this." She said before completing the telepathic call. "Hey Leaf."
"No time for small talk. Get out of the city, Paul's orders. He just took off after getting some serious head pain." Leaf said, she seemed to be running as she was panting for air.
"Okay, we'll leave in a minute, just meet us at the city entrance, the one we came through."
"Okay, see you soon."
"Be safe," the call dropped and Dawn informed the others of what she was told. Though Gary and Misty were healed fairly well they were still unconscious and would need to be transported.
Once everything was decided, Dawn was going to carry Misty and Drew would take Gary. They would take them through the air and Ash would strike his way to meet at the location right away to make sure it was clear of any soldiers. May would run behind Drew and Dawn making sure they would be safe from any attacks from below.
By the time that everyone had arrived, there were no difficulties which was surprising to them at this point in time. Leaf explained the details of what happened, leaving out the details of the conversation that had occurred before the incident. With the new information, no one knew what to think of it. Paul hadn't contacted the to let the team know what was happening and now it seemed as though he was pushing them away like when they had first come together as a group over half a year ago.
"Do you have any idea where he could've gone?" Ash asked as Dawn tried desperately to get a hold of the death soul. He hadn't acted out this much in the time of them knowing him and it had everyone worried.
"I told you, I have no fucking clue. He just vanished and headed east. That's what it looked like anyways." Leaf explained for what seemed the millionth time. She honestly wished that she had any clue to what was going on with Paul, but she had nothing. Sure, she had pissed him off a bit with her need to know things but that wouldn't have caused the head pain. The pain was what caused him to book it so suddenly, but she didn't know what caused it, it just seemed to disappear so suddenly.
"Was that my Leafy's voice I hear?" a groggy voice tone came from the center of the group where Gary and Misty laid on the ground.
"Gary you're finally awake!" Dawn chimed, soon asking him if he was in any massive pain or if he needed anything. This only caused him to chuckle. He stated that he was just a little stiff but wanted to see that Leaf was okay since she had ran off before his fight earlier had taken place.
Once Gary had seen Leaf, he was content enough to fall back asleep, now with Leaf's hand atop his head, stroking it to ease his nerves.
"God dammit," Dawn cursed under her breath. "My head is fucking killing me. Asshole is ignoring my trying to get in touch with him." She continued to pace back and forth rubbing her temples as she continually tried to reach out to their missing team member.
Her pacing came to a stop as Drew grabbed her by the shoulders. "Take a break from it. You can't strain yourself too much Dee." rubbing his hands up and down on her arms trying to relax the light soul.
"How am I supposed to when he won't answer me after he ran off to god knows where after some sort of problem with his head? And just to add to it, he's by himself, what if something happens?" Dawn sat down in a small defeat, Drew now petting her on the top of her head to help ease her mind.
"Dawn take a break. That's an order as your friend, not as the leader of this team." May smiled at Dawn, knowing that she hurt not knowing what was happening with a vital member of their team. "He'll let you contact him when he's ready. He trusts you more than anyone else here, but something is seriously up if he won't respond. Drew," said man turned his head too look at May. Her face had a serious look, one that he remembered from their fight against Eclipse. "You go fly around, head east for a few miles. See if you can spot him or any traces of him at the very least, if you do report back. It'll give Dawn some time to rest and we can continue to search for him." May's orders had begun to seem so natural to everyone. Though they had their own ideas, May always seemed to have the perfect plan for the mission at hand.
Following orders, Drew said he'd be back in a few hours and took off towards the dawn's sky. "Ash, I want you to strike over to the north east. We had come from the south here so it would seem wrong for Paul to head towards an area we've already cleared." Ash followed orders as well, telling the remaining group to take care of Gary and Misty.
"We'll find you Paul. We're not a team you can hide from and you know damn well it's true."