A/N: I'm more active on AO3 and tumblr and have more things posted there (username littlewhitetie for both)!


"Lance? Will you tell me a story?"

It's a simple enough request, but Lance seems confused by it. He raises a thin eyebrow as he casts Allura a sidelong glance. "Uh, sure. What about?"

"Anything," Allura says. "I just… can't stand this silence."

The cave is too quiet, nothing but the occasional crunch of crystals beneath their feet echoing through the tunnels. Her head is too quiet, the usual presence of the Lions muted by the strange walls. Worse than all that, though, is the dead silence over the comms. No word from Keith or Shiro; no way of tracking them down. They could be anywhere in here.

"Yeah," Lance says. "I know what you mean. So, a story. How 'bout this. Once upon a time, there was a really cool space princess, who had a knight. Well, she had five knights, but one of them was especially awesome. He was brave, and strong, and smart, and popular, and really, really good-looking."

"Was her knight named Shiro?" Allura asks, with a teasing smile.

"What? No! It was Lan— …do. His name was Lando."

"What a terrible name," she says.

"Yeah, I regret it already, but too late now. So Lando and Princess… uh... Allana? Yeah, Princess Allana, along with two of her other, less attractive knights, were—"

"What were the others' names?" she interrupts.

"Uh… Keef and… Shoro."

Allura laughs aloud at that.

"Hey. It's not their fault the person who named them had to do it on the spot," he says, defensively. "So, yeah, Allana, Lando, Keef, and Shoro were chillin' in their space castle out in space, while their friends were busy on some super boring tech mission in another galaxy. Suddenly, they received a distress signal from the, uh…" he pauses, scrunching up his face as he tries to think of a name. "Screw it, they're just gonna stay the Ferexians.

"Ferexis had been hit by this really bad pandemic that had infected thousands of people in, like, a week. There was a cure, but the ingredients for the medicine were super hard to get, and the Ferexians weren't in any shape to get it. So Allana, Lando, Keef, and Shoro went to go find the ingredients for them. Allana and Lando—who was clearly her favourite knight—went to the mountains south of the capital to gather serafi roots, while Keef and Shoro went north to find the atraxeth flowers that grew in the crystal caves."

"How can you be certain Keef or Shoro were not her favourite?" she asks, her lips curving upward.

"Uh, 'cause those other guys were boring, obviously," he says. "So Allana was super happy she got to be paired up with the best knight ever, and she had an awesome time 'cause Lando was so handsome and witty and smart. It took a while, but Allana and Lando eventually found the roots they were looking for. No problem.

"But while they were out, something bad happened. There was a terrible empire that had enslaved most of the universe, and Ferexis was the empire's main supplier of one of the components needed for the ion cannon things on their ships."

"What was the empire called?" she asks.

Lance groans. "Do I have to name everything?"

She nods.

"Fine. It was the Glara Empire. Happy?"

"Very," she says.

Lance huffs. "Okay. So while our dashing heroes were off getting the ingredients, the Glara dropped by Ferexis to collect their ion cannon stuff. The Ferexians didn't have it, but they'd prepared for this day. They unleashed a really terrible nanoweapon into the atmosphere that would infect the Glara and mess with their tech all at once.

"Allana and Lando didn't find out about this until vargas later, when they came back to the city with the roots. When they got back, there were broken sentries all over. The sentries weren't just shut down, they were, like, twitching, or—or fried. And there were… there were soldiers on the ground… sick, a-and convulsing, and dying…" His breath hitches.

"That is enough detail," she says, tersely. She tries to ignore the prickling sensation behind her eyelids, wishing she could scour away the image burned into her mind. "Please move on with the story."

"Y-yeah. Right. Um, well, Keef and Shoro could've been affected by the anti-Glara weapon, too. They hadn't come back yet, so Allana and Lando went into the cave to find them. Allana and Lando couldn't hear them over the comms, though that was definitely, definitely only 'cause something in the cave was messing with their comm system. But it meant they didn't have any idea where Keef and Shoro were. Lando and Allana walked for vargas and vargas and still didn't see them."

"So what happened next?" Allura asks.

"Next, Allana had to decide which way to go, 'cause they'd reached another fork in the path," he says.

Allura's heart sinks as her eyes follow the path below their feet, finding the notch where it diverges. There are no signs of which way Keith and Shiro would have gone—if they'd even chosen this route in the first place. The odds of finding them along this route are already terrifyingly slim, and now the chances of finding them have been halved yet again.

The place is a maze. The winding cave is made all the more confusing by its reflective surfaces and too many light sources; crystals upon crystals in pink and blue and violet surround them, shiny and glowing. A 'funhouse', Lance had called it when they'd first entered, but this is hardly fun.

"She chose to go right," she says, with a sigh. "Please tell me Lando and Allana found Keef and Shoro in time."

"Oh, yeah, yeah, totally," Lance says. "It didn't take much longer, and they found them, and Keef and Shoro were a hundred percent fine. They didn't actually need rescuing; they were completely safe. They were just, like, caught up in finding the flowers, or taking a long nap, or playing patty-cake, or something. They were happy to see Lando and Allana anyway, and they were all—" Lance raises his voice an octave, "Oh, Lando, you're so amazing and talented! If only we could be as cool as you are!"

Her lips turn up. "Did they really sound like that?"

"Yes. So Allana, Lando, Shoro, and Keef got back to the city no problem. They got the ingredients to the Ferexians and saved everyone. The Ferexians were super grateful and threw the heroes a parade—"

"A parade? Would they not still be recovering?"

"It was a small parade. Everyone had a good time, and then they all went back to the castle and took a nap. The end."

She gives him a smile. "Thank you for the story. It was perhaps not particularly imaginative, but I did enjoy the ending."

"Yeah. …Maybe I should've changed up the plot. It would've been better if Lando had just gone with Keef, like he was supposed to in the first place."

"Well, Allana did not object to the proposed change in plans," she says. Far from it. Allura loved Shiro and Keith dearly, but Lance… Lance knew how to make her smile.

A low, throaty roar echoes through the cave. She stiffens and grabs Lance's wrist, yanking him backward.

He furrows his brow in confusion. "What is it?"

"Did you not hear that?"

"No, but my hideous human ears are inferior to yours," he says.

"They are… charming," she offers. "It sounded like some sort of creature. I think it may be behind us—we must proceed with caution. I can guard the rear."

"Alright."

Several tense doboshes pass, the heavy plod of footsteps and occasional growls getting progressively louder.

Finally, a large, blue creature comes into sight. It looks like a monstrous crossbreed between a crocodile and a xznly sqiwl. It's armoured in thick, shiny scales. Its fangs are visible from the outside, too many sharp teeth hanging out of its broad mouth.

She pushes Lance out of the way, and then she rushes at it.

"What—what are you doing?" he gapes.

"Distracting it for you," she calls, veering away from him. She has to get its attention; she can't let it get to Lance.

The beast kicks up loose crystals on the ground with its forefoot, stomping, and then it charges at her.

For such an enormous creature, it's surprisingly fast. She manages to leap out of the way when it comes at her, tucking into a roll. But the blasts from Lance's gun have no effect, unable to get past its plated hide. Dodging won't be enough on her end.

She runs forward and, getting close enough, strikes it with her whip. It doesn't hurt it, but it does make it very, very angry. It snaps its teeth at her. She nearly gags at the rank odour emanating from its fleshy mouth.

"Get back!" Lance yells.

"No! This is your chance," she calls. "If I remain close enough, it will keep trying to bite me. Shoot it in the mouth when its jaws are open."

"You're out of your mind," he says, but he doesn't object.

She lashes the monster with her whip again, this time aiming for its face. It rears on its hind legs before lurching forward, mouth gaping open, rows and rows of pointed teeth exposed. "Now!"

Lance takes several shots in rapid succession. He hits his mark, the blasts aimed perfectly between its sets of teeth to find the back of its vulnerable throat.

With a hideous screech, the beast collapses. The smell of burnt, putrid flesh penetrates her nostrils.

"Ew," he says. "So. Gross."

"It is rather disgusting," she says, wrinkling her nose. When she's certain it won't get back up, she turns to Lance and gives him a grin. "Great job. I knew you could do it."

The smile he returns isn't the usual beam he wears when he receives praise. "Thanks. But… Keith and Shiro. Would—would they have been able to…" He trails off. It would have been difficult for the two of them to defeat it even in top form, given their close range weapons and the beast's natural armour and teeth. As they are now…

"We have been in here for several vargas, and this is the first we've seen of these," she says. "There can't be many in here. They may not have encountered any at all."

"Okay, but still," he says, "we've seen, like, ten of those giant snake things."

"Eight at most," she says. "And those would not be so difficult for Keith to take care of with his sword."

"If he can use his sword. If he can even move," he says. "You saw those Galra soldiers."

"Keith is only half Galra," she says. "I am certain his symptoms are not nearly as bad." She reaches for Lance's arm and begins walking again, pulling him along. "Keith and Shiro are strong. They always manage to pull through. We will find them, and we will bring them home, safe and sound."

Lance gives her a slight smile. "How do you do that? Manage to sound so confident, when things get bad. Know how to inspire hope, and stuff."

"Surely you know the answer," she says. "After all, you do the same for me."

He brightens at that. "Well, I guess it's a good thing we've got each other, then."

She smiles. "Absolutely."

As they continue walking, Lance fills the silence with commentary on their surroundings. Apparently, there are no caves like this on Earth. They're way more boring; the rock is always drab brown or grey, and they're really dark. Sometimes, though, there are things that glow in the caves, like mushrooms or weird worm things that hang from the ceiling—at least, according to a documentary he saw. He's never actually seen them in person.

There are a lot of things on Earth he hasn't seen. Most humans, it seems, haven't explored everything their planet has to offer. Allura can barely fathom the notion, but for a race that had never even travelled outside their own solar system before, it's not all that unexpected.

When they reach a small pool of water, Lance runs to it. He cups the water in his hands, slurping loudly.

While Lance is busy quenching his thirst, another large snake-like creature noiselessly slithers toward her. It glitters pink, shiny spikes running down its spine. Its diamond eyes flash.

As quietly as she can, Allura slaughters the creature before Lance notices. It only takes a few well-aimed strikes. Immediately, she drags its carcass out of sight, hiding it behind a wide crystal pillar. There is no need to worry Lance further.

Lance has many fears, and he's not quiet about them. He doesn't have quite as many as Hunk, but it's toward that end of the spectrum. He's often frightened, so it makes it all the more commendable that he's able to overcome that to protect others. He really is someone she's grown to admire.

As they continue onward, Lance keeps talking. It's idle chatter, but it's nice all the same. He tells her about a wide array of animals on Earth. It's strange that there would be so many of the same animals as on Altea, completely different planets with galaxies between them. At the same time, though, it's not all that surprising, considering how many uncanny similarities already exist between them. It's not exactly random chance—the Blue Lion went to Earth for a reason.

The animals on Earth sound quite boring, generally drab in colour and not nearly as intelligent as their Altean equivalents. All the same, many people own pets. While not particularly smart, they're supposedly nice to cuddle and play with.

Pidge is one such pet-owner. She has a dog at home that she misses. She had found great comfort in her dog when her father and brother went missing. Allura feels a pang of guilt for taking Pidge away from that, recruiting her in this war so far from home, but Lance assures her she's not just here out of obligation; she's chosen to stay of her own volition. She's found a home out here, too.

Allura wishes she could have heard this from Pidge directly. She wishes they were closer. Her hopes for a sisterly bond between them had been quickly quashed, and they don't talk all that much outside of missions. It's not just Pidge, either; she wishes she were closer to all of the paladins. Allura had distanced herself when the paladins had first come to the Castle, too afraid to gain more loved ones to lose. The paladins found their way into her heart all the same, but by then, the paladins had grown so close to one another, she didn't feel she could join them in activities outside of battle without intruding.

"Are you kidding?" Lance says, after she tells him—he has a way of getting her to open up in a way she never would with others. "We'd love to have you join us! We kinda always just assumed you wouldn't want to, or would be busy hanging out with Coran, or playing with the space mice, or something. Seriously, you're always welcome to hang out with us. We'd like that a lot."

"…Are you certain?" she asks.

"C'mon," he says, with an easy smile. "If Keith's invited, there's no way you're not."

She laughs. "What even started your rivalry with Keith in the first place? He told me before that he had no idea; he didn't even know who you were at the time."

"That's exactly it!" Lance says. "He didn't seem to care about anyone other than Shiro. He wouldn't give anyone else the time of day. I know better now, but at the time, I assumed it was 'cause he thought he was better than everyone else. The worst part about it was he was better than everyone else, and he didn't even have to try."

She cocks her head to the side. "Why would that matter?"

He gives her a wry smile. "You've always been amazing at everything you do too, so you wouldn't really understand."

She's not really sure how to respond to that. "…Tell me more about animals."

He laughs. "Okay, maybe you don't always win gold for subtlety. But yeah, sure. Ostriches. Did you guys have ostriches on Altea?"

...

Many conversations, six snakes, and two crocodile-xznly squiwl creatures later, Allura interrupts Lance's explanation of 'bowling' when she hears the slightest noise from around the corner. It doesn't sound like any of the beasts they've encountered. No, it sounds like… a groan.

Allura grabs Lance's hand and breaks into a run.