Paul led the way, his expression eerily calm, his hands behind his back, though he was walking quickly. Patryk stared at him, keeping up. Paul was /just/ worried about Tord. So why's he so calm now? Was it just to tell Patryk, and then just... quickly dismiss it? Patryk stared at the second in command, narrowing his eyes, looking over at the wall. "Paul." He murmured, his voice a low rumble. Paul didn't even turn his head, just exhaled slowly. "Hmm?" "..." Patryk stared at him for a few seconds, going quiet. Paul hesitated, before turning his head towards the soldier. "What? What do you want?" He demanded, an annoyed tone in his voice, keeping his hands behind his back. "Don't go quiet on me now, soldier." Patryk just stared at Paul for a moment longer, before sighing quietly, cursing under his breath. "Look-- Paul..you were /just/ worried about Tord." "Yeah? Where are you going with this? I'm still worried about him." "It doesn't seem like it." Patryk muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes, though kept himself from saying it louder. "I heard that." Paul snapped, but turned his attention back forward, continuing to walk. "He's been acting /weirdly/, lately, Paul!-" Patryk said, trying to hide the stress in his tone. "OFF." Paul corrected, raising his voice slightly, which made Patryk flinch slightly. "He's been acting off." "What's the difference? He's been acting off only when he's around YOU." Patryk snapped, speeding up to walk beside Paul. Paul stopped dead in his tracks, and Patryk quickly stopped himself. "Excuse me?" Paul’s voice dropped, losing its annoyed edge and replacing it with something quiet, sharp, and incredibly dangerous. "You heard me," Patryk said. He refused to back down this time, squaring his shoulders, even as his heart hammered against his ribs. "Think about it, Paul. When it's just the army, when it's the regular briefings, he’s the Red Leader. Despotic. Calculated. But the second you walk into the room, the second you two are left alone to discuss strategy? He shifts. He gets defensive. He gets...distracted. Almost like he gets scared. And it's been months now, and it just got worse. He's jumpy, he's-- he'd stop talking to us about the things he should've been. He's stopped looking at /you/ normally. He'd stopped talking to me-- though--" Patryk stopped, lowering his tone to just a quiet mumble, looking towards the ground. "That's my fault." Paul stared at him, raising a brow, seeing a chance to change the subject. "So how about we talk about that? What could you have possibly said to him?" He said, a smile tugging at his lips. Patryk caught it, and his gaze turned cold. "This isn't about me!" He snapped, raising his voice. "He's scared of something, and I'm thinking it's you- he wouldn't be in his office bIeeding right now! And the only reason you told /me/, is because you're not mature enough to deal with it alone!" Patryk growled, getting closer to the second-in-command. Paul stared at Patryk. "I'm more mature than you!" He growled, poking a finger at Patryk's chest, narrowing his eyes, and smiling more. "That's the whole reason he made me the second-in-command." He hummed with a shrug. "It's--" "You've been dragging him off for months like he's a damn dog." Patryk cut the soldier off, glaring at him. "Taking him to dark places, coming back with a smile on your face-- what are you DOING with him?!" "Work." Paul growled, the smile vanishing. "What kind of work can be /that/ interesting that you come back with a smile?" Patryk demanded, continuing to glare the second in command down. Paul stood there, before exhaling slowly. "Listen, we can't just stand here bickering." He said, changing the subject again. "How about we just go ahead and get down to Tord's office and just deal with it before we start getting stared at?" Patryk's breathing hitched, but he swallowed back down a sentence. 'Right..' He thought. 'Check on Tord now, worry later.' "Fine.." He exhaled. Paul grinned, patting Patryk's shoulder. "There you go." he hummed, before turning, walking off, leading the way. Patryk stood there, adjusting his stance, before following, staring at Paul. Soldiers glanced over at the two, glancing at each other, before just staring at Paul, looking for answers from the second-in-command, not even seeming to notice Paul. "So how did you even notice it?" Patryk asked, lowering his voice, picking up the pace. "You seemed so glad to just leave when me and Yuu were talking, but you came back so worried, and now you're more...calm." Paul glanced at Patryk. "Does it hurt you to shut up?" He asked calmly. Patryk stared at him for a moment, opening his mouth, before shutting it, looking towards the ground for a few minutes, before exhaling. "Paul--" Paul groaned dramatically. Patryk went quiet again, looking at the second-in-command. "Right. Nevermind." He mumbled under his breath, looking towards the ceiling. He didn't like the silence. He never did. It was never....loud, anymore.
(continued) Soldiers kept to themselves, especially if they weren't the higher ups. Which is why when Yuu talks, it's like a small victory. Of course, Yuu stays outside the base, for the most part. He doesn't find coming inside the base a good idea. Patryk doesn't know why, but Yuu usually keeps his eye on Paul, takes his leave when Paul gets to a point where it's...concerning, to say the least. ... Just like Tord gets uncomfortable around Paul. But when Patryk's around Tord and Paul? Paul leads him away. Maybe the answers are right in front of him. Maybe he's waiting on Paul to answer it, maybe he's waiting on Tord to answer it. He should be digging deeper. Finding the answer himself. ... Once they got to Tord's office, Paul pushed the door open, smiling to himself. Patryk stared at him, before his gaze went to the floor. How could Tord look so...calm...? So relaxed, like he had- Patryk's breathing hitched with the realization. Oh. Oh God. 'Tord... what did you do to yourself...?'
