Allura snuck through the castle's halls, wandering without purpose. It had been four days since the fight with Zarkon, and there were no leads on where Shiro could be. The team's morale was at an all-time low without their leader there to rally their spirits, and the princess found herself unable to sleep. Her concern for the black paladin kept her from dozing off for even a second. It was like a persistent, formidable itch she couldn't scratch.

Ever since the incident with her father's AI, the flickering lights of the castle when no one was bustling around had made her nervous, but she paid them no mind as she winded through the ship's coridors. It was as if she were lost in her own world.

I hope Coran doesn't catch me out here, Allura thought. Though Coran meant well, she wasn't in the mood to be mother-henned by him.

So, she unhurriedly meandered through the castle, uncaring of the destination. She was lost in her thoughts of how to find Shiro. She simply could not think him dead, despite the lack of evidence that he was alive. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Without conscious decision on her part, Allura came to a halt outside of the hangar's doors. She raised a hand and opened the doors, and was greeted by the smell of oil and hum of machinery. The lions sat in their customary places, eyes dimmed as they were not activated.

Allura walked over to the black lion and sat in front of it, furrowing her brow. It towered over her and she was filled with awe at the majesty of the head of Voltron. At the same time, she was filled with a deep, aching sadness.

"Keith's lion is able to sense when he is in danger, and locate him as well. If Shiro's bond with you had strengthened so much, to the point it was stronger than Zarkon's, why can't you do the same? Why can't you help up find him?"

The lion offered no response, but when Allura's, clear, commanding voice rang through the hangar, she heard a loud crash and an "Ow…"

Allura quickly stood up and headed in the direction of the noise. Once she wormed past the yellow and blue lions, and was able to clearly see the green, she saw a hatch was opened on its back, and its paladin was lying in a heap on the ground.

"Pidge!"

The young girl stirred, groaning. "Wha…?"

Allura crouched beside her. "What are you doing in here so late at night?"

"I was making some modifications" Pidge replied, blearily rubbing at her eyes. "Must've fallen asleep up there…You must've startled me awake."

Allura took in the girl's disheveled hair, rumpled clothing, and the painfully dark circles under her eyes. "Pidge, when was the last time you got a proper night's rest?"

The other girl picked at her shorts. "I've been sleeping fine. Just got carried away working."

"Pidge, I'm serious," Allura pressed. "You look awful. As a paladin of Voltron, we need you alert and fit to face anything, now more than ever."

Pidge nodded noncommittally and sighed. "I'll try to get some rest princess. Right after I finish my modifications."

Allura watched in disbelief as Pidge gathered her tiny frame off the ground and moved to get back on her lion. The girl's mouth was set in a determined line, but the look in her eyes was as if she'd shatter at any moment.

"Is this about Shiro?" Pidge's movements stilled and she looked back at Allura.

"What?"

The princess took a step towards her. "Your lack of sleep, your modifications, is it because of Shiro? Have you even been eating?"

Pidge looked down. "Everyone's frustrated by Shiro being gone. I'm just doing my part," she gestured to her lion. "I've been working on a way to try and find him. The castle can only locate lions, not the suits of paladins, but I've been trying to see if I could somehow rig a tracking device to find him. It…hasn't been going great."

Allura placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I know you miss him Pidge, but you need to take care of yourself. You know Shiro would want us to keep our guard up and keep fighting the Galra, not exhaust ourselves trying to find him."

Pidge sighed deeply and sat down on the hangar floor, Allura following. "I know that, but…there has to be a way to find him. If I just work hard enough-"

"You'll end up passed out on your lion's back because you pushed yourself too hard." Allura's voice was calm and steady, but she could feel the girl trembling underneath her comforting hand. "It's going to be alright, Pidge. We'll find him, and you'll help us find him, but not by running yourself into the ground."

Pidge nodded and buried her head in her hands. "It's just…It feels like losing my family all over again." Her voice broke and Allura rubbed the girl's back silently. "Shiro was like a second brother to me, and he was always so confident that we'd find my dad and Matt alive, but now that he's gone too…It's like all the hope and assurance he gave me has disappeared."

Allura swallowed around the lump building in her throat. "Pidge, just because Shiro's not here with us physically right now doesn't mean he's not with us. He is a great man that inspires everyone in this castle, and we will do our best to act as he would want in his absence. He believes we'll find your family, and I believe it too. I believe in you. And I believe that we will find Shiro, alive."

Pidge looked up at Allura, wet tracks staining her cheeks. She then placed her head on the princess's shoulder while the other girl continued to rub her back. "Thank you…" she whispered quietly. Allura nodded in response.

They sat there for what seemed like a long time, with only the soft hum of the ship breaking the silence. It could have been only minutes, or maybe hours, but after a while Pidge's breathing evened out and eventually turned into soft snoring. Allura herself found her eyes getting heavier and heavier. She let them slip shut, her arm falling from Pidge's shoulders, while her head tipped and rested itself on top of the smaller girl's head. The shared warmth and sense of companionship in the act reassured her own, unvoiced worries. The team would get through this, and they'd get through it together.