[Writers Note: First chapter takes place during season 2 episode 4 "Greening the Cube"] On another note the rating is subject to change in later chapters so be aware. This work can also be found on 'archiveofourown' under the same title and author name. I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender.

Silver and Gold: Chapter 1

"Greening the Cube"

When the Paladins first came to the Olkari's world, Kin stayed back hidden among the trees. The remaining Olkari rebels stood out in the clearing where the presumed invaders were meant to land. Kin wasn't allowed to be amongst them however. She was a half-breed; half Olkari and half Altean. While the Olkari people did not hold any animosity towards the Alteans, it was because of that fact that her immature peers would shun her out of fear of the Galra Empire. The Olkari knew of how the Alteans were wiped out of existence long ago, so some would even say she was a curse or a bad omen doomed to bring them the same fate because they sheltered her. In the past, Kin used to be bothered by this, but over time she had learned to ignore it. She never really had anywhere else to go. Kin didn't have much of a choice even if she wanted to leave, because of the risk of being found by the Galra. But now as the ships came into view, Kin gasped. They were not at all what she was expecting. The colored ships landed on the surface and Kin could feel the silence as the breaths of all the Olkari were momentarily taken away by the lions' presence.

The moment of awe was finally broken when a strong and warm voice radiated from a speaker assuring them, "We come in peace!"

Kin watched as the elder Olkari walked forward towards the lions. She began to realize that these might be the lions from the rumors she had heard of Voltron; the legendary protector of the universe. Then a small figure in green appeared atop the head of the green lion and shouted, "We found your distress signal!"

In a united moment realization, all that could be heard in response was the Olkari people cheering and eagerly gathering to greet the paladins of Voltron. Kin on the other hand decided to stay hidden behind the trees and continue to watch from afar. While she was glad for their presence she did not feel worthy enough to meet them in person herself. She watched as each of the paladins exited their lions and greeted the elder. That's when she noticed one of the paladins had a robotic arm. Kin instinctively touched her own neck at the sight of the paladin's arm. "He's… just like me…" she thought to herself. Kin had been mute from birth until her Olkari father created the neck brace she wore that allowed her to speak. She traced her fingers along the edges of the metallic ring around her neck while looking at the paladin's arm. In that instant she felt like she understood the stranger, at least a little bit. While Kin loved the neck brace her father made for her, at the same time, she felt ashamed for needing a device to speak in the first place. She often blamed herself for being born mute. Though she didn't recognize it at the time, some of the things others said to make fun of her still affected her even though she had become accustomed to the treatment. She was now even more curious about the visitors and decided to follow the paladin's through the forest while staying just out of their sight.

Kin thought the green paladin was cute. She watched as the green one gawked at their technology but supposed that she couldn't blame them since she didn't have much to compare it to herself. While the other paladins were enjoying the tour though, Kin noticed that the black paladin consistently remained focused at all times. He had gone straight to asking the important questions related to the mission at hand. She admired that. She knew few who possessed similar qualities, but at the same time, she wondered why his body language conveyed that he was also being very guarded at all times. She had studied body language and had a talent for it and the black paladin's guarded nature was very clear to her out of all the other paladins who remained laid back for the most part. She continued following the paladins while staying hidden as the elder showed them where they create their weapons. A few of the Olkari demonstrated their abilities. One of them touched one of the flowers growing nearby and in an instant the flower glowed enveloping their arm having been turned into a blaster. The elder then showcased her own ability placing her hand on the nearby tree. Light shot up the bark of the tree following the natural grooves between the bark up to the branches. There was a loud snap and a giant seed instantly turned into a one-person war machine as it crash landed to the earth in front of the group. Then the paladins were each handed an interface headband and she watched in amusement as they struggled to create their own weapons. All except for the green paladin which had figured out how to do so with ease. After that though, the paladins along with the elder had boarded their machines and speedily set off. That was the last Kin would see of them for a while.

It was later that afternoon when explosions were heard echoing through the forest coming from the occupied city. The Voltron paladins had brought back their king but only so all the Olkari to find out of his betrayal. The black paladin began to speak, "While your countrymen starved, King Lubos was well taken care of by the Galra. He willingly helped them build that cube, willingly helped to enslave his own people." Gasps could be heard from the surrounding crowd. But as the paladin spoke of the misdeeds, the message soon became hopeful. He continued, "I know you're devastated, but it's time to be strong and use your Olkari spirit to fight alongside Voltron and take back your planet!" His finishing statement echoed through the forest. Kin watched from the trees as she listened to the strength in the black paladin's voice ushering the Olkari to fight alongside them despite their king's treachery. Then with the word of the elder to back him, the black paladin's call to fight was answered in full by the cheers of the Olkari people. Kin thought to herself in that moment that she wished she could have cheered alongside them if not for her robotic sounding voice. His words inspired her and she didn't want to chance the possibility of drawing any unwanted attention away from his words with her awkward sounding voice, even a little. She held her tongue and clenched her fist to her heart.

The paladin's then set off and the Olkari people began to rally the troops towards the city. Even though Kin was not fond of fighting and had never been good at it she was moved by the Paladin's words and rushed down along with the others to arm herself for battle. Before she could do so however, the elder Olkari took notice of her and went to stop her immediately.

"Kin I've told you, you cannot fight in these battles" the elder began to say before she was interrupted by Kin.

"Please elder; I know I haven't been allowed to fight but just this once…"

"No" the elder retorted sternly before settling for a calmer tone. "Kin, I know you want to fight. We all do… but you… you are not like the rest of us. I've raised you as my own since I found you in the cryopod deep in the forest and… if it were just because of that I'd let you go anyway but… you may very well be the last Altean in existence."

"Half Altean…" Kin muttered with some acid in her tone.

Even though the Olkari people were knowledgeable, there was only so much information that could reach them in a galaxy mostly occupied by the Galra. As far as the Olkari knew the Alteans had been wiped out of existence and remained otherwise silent for 10,000 years. Even though stories of Voltron had made itself known through the cracks of filtered information, to them, it was still unlikely that any Alteans were involved. With that in mind, the elder continued despite Kin's retort "Even though I didn't know your parents I made a promise that their sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. So please Kin… you may watch but please do not participate in this fight. You're too important to lose in times like this." Even though Kin didn't agree, she took pity on the woman that had done so much for her and nodded anyways. As the rest of the Olkari set off for battle Kin went to the edge of the forest and created stairs for herself up to the highest part of the tree. As explosions took over the sunset landscape the most eye catching feature was Voltron forming in front of her eyes and confronting the cube weapon as it mirrored its opponent.

As the smoke began to clear at the end of the battle Kin quickly made her way towards the center of the city when she heard the cheers. The green lion had won the day along with the Olkari and she could see the lions beginning to land to speak with the elder. The air whipped through her hair as she pushed through the crowd to get to the city center. Just then she heard the elder begin to thank the paladins for all they had done for them. She was running out of time. It was then she made a decision, and she had to make it quick. As the paladins said their goodbyes and began walking back towards their lions a slightly robotic girl's voice could be heard shouting "Wait!" from the crowd. Recognizing that the black paladin was their leader, she made her way towards him until at the last moment she tripped in her desperation to reach them in time and grabbed the closest thing out of instinct. However what she ended up grabbing was the robotic hand of the black paladin before she plummeted to the ground.

The black paladin withheld a flinch from the touch becoming stiff for a moment. He wasn't used to people willingly going to shake his robotic hand let alone someone full heartedly grabbing onto it to stop their fall. But quickly he turned his attention to the girl struggling to stand back on her feet.

"Whoa there, are you okay?" the black paladin asked concerned.

The girl tried to catch her breath, and realizing this, the paladin helped her to stand before waiting for her reply.

"Ah- I- I'm sorry for- well I didn't mean to trip but- I… I want to go with you Paladin. Please let me travel with your team. I can create things just like the other Olkari can, I can be useful in your missions" she stuttered frantically.

The other paladins began walking over to make sure everything was okay as they overheard her say that. At the same time the elder Olkari was just getting over the shock of the situation. For once the black paladin was at a loss for what to say. But before he could even attempt a response the elder Olkari had already cut him off.

"Kin what are you doing? What do you mean you want to travel with them?"

"Please elder…" Kin replied "this is something… I have to do…"

"No it is not. You are the last Altean, the last remnants of your kind-"

"Actually," the blue paladin interjected suddenly "She's not the last Altean; we have two Alteans on our ship right now."

"That's right" the green paladin added "Princess Allura and Coran are both Alteans and I'm sure they would be happy at the discovery of another member!"

"Hold up guys," the yellow paladin intervened as he went up to observe Kin closer "She looks a little different from Allura and Coran though."

"Huh, you're right Hunk" the blue paladin acknowledged as he walked over to observe Kin as well.

"I'm actually half Altean" Kin explained with a smile.

Both the blue and yellow paladin were now even more interested at this new piece of intel. The green paladin leaned in and quizzically adjusted her glasses, "Interesting. Well she does have the ears of an Altean."

The group was getting a little too close for Kin's comfort.

"Knock it off guys" The black paladin finally warned.

As this conversation went on, the elder Olkari was soon realizing that with others out there like Kin, it might be best for her to go with them after all. The elder sighed.

"Kin… If you really think you must go then… I won't stop you this time. Voltron has already proved its trust to me and all Olkari. If the Paladins say you can go, then you should go with them."

Kin's eyes widened in surprise at first but her expression slowly turned into one of joy at the realization. She ran toward the elder to give her a hug.

"Thank you. This really does mean a lot to me. Thank you so much…"

Once she broke from the elder's embrace, Kin turned toward the black paladin looking for permission to join them. He could see the desperation and passion in her eyes. There was a moment of pause as it seemed the paladin was listening to a device in his helmet. But then the black paladin turned back to smile at her.

"Well if you're going to be traveling with us then we should get to know each other. I'm Shiro, over there is Keith, and this is Lance, Pidge, and Hunk. Allura and Coran are on the ship but we can introduce you once you're on board."

The girl smiled warmly back at the group, her heart feeling light.

"I'm Kin, nice to meet you all."

Authors Note: Hey there! This is my first fanfic so if you have time I would appreciate any feedback. I decided to dedicate the first chapter to my OC Kin so that you guys could get a better feel for who she is before we get into more interactions in later chapters. Also I'm trying to follow the storyline of the actual show with each chapter focusing on one episode. Only difference is my own twist and the addition of my OC's perspective. Thanks for reading!