Disclaimer: I own none of the things. Sorry about the wait guys. The graphics card in my computer up and died. :P But anyway! There are references to Wyrmwick, one of my fav streamed D&D sessions. And also references to Maychorian's "The Cycle of Five Lions" series. The first story, "The Storyteller and the Thief" is out now! Go check it out! And yes, I got her permission to reference some bits in this story. See if you can pick them out!

Anyway, so this part of the chapter was already over 12 pages long so I decided to split it into two. Sorry guys, but it will help me to add more hijinks to the gameplay explored in the next chapter. Overall, consider these chapters to be "Introduction to D&D 101."

~Roleplay ~

~Part 1- Character Creation~

Keith sat on the edge of his bed. His grim refection stared back at him from his knife's polished silver surface. While Shiro was still technically with them, it was clear that he would be unable to lead Voltron in his current state. So the weighted position, had fallen upon Keith shoulders.

The Red Paladin had tried to convince Allura to take command instead. But Shiro wouldn't hear of it. He and Black argued that Allura had enough to worry about. And that if the need arose, she could plot one of the lions in a pinch. In the end though, one member of the team still needed to take command in battle.

Keith's reflection frowned back at him as he searched for whatever sign Shiro had seen. That he was meant to do this. Throughout Keith's life, he had been categorized as many things: an orphan, a hothead, a Galra. But, never a leader.

What made Shiro think that he was capable of doing this? Keith let out an exasperated sigh. He flopped back upon the bed and glared up at the ceiling. Back at the Garrison, Keith's old instructors would have burst into laughter at the mere suggestion. Being notorious for acting on his own and disobeying orders; leadership was one of the roles Keith felt he'd never been meant to play.

Nor had he ever wanted to. For the majority of his life, he'd been alone. Understanding people, connecting with them... was incredibly difficult for him. Keith barely understood himself, let alone emotional motivations of the rest of the team.

To do so meant opening up to the others, being vulnerable. But the walls he had built around himself had become so high, that it was hard to suddenly tear them down. He really did want to grow closer to his team... Because deep down, he knew they were slowly becoming more than that.

Was this what it was like to part of a family? The thought frightened him. He had already lost his family once. And Keith wasn't sure he could survive that level of loss again.

Keith brought his hands up over his face and sighed. Their fate, his new family's very lives now rested upon his shoulders. Was he strong enough to really do this?

The door to Keith's room suddenly slid open. Startled out of thought, the tense boy jumped. Then purely out of habit, Keith quickly stashed the knife under his pillow. He looked up at the empty doorway with a questioning eyebrow, as familiar yowl from the floor finally caught his attention.

The Red Paladin couldn't quite contain his smirk. "Sorry, Shiro. I wasn't expecting you to visit."

His feline friend made his displeasure known with an irradiated rumble at the back of this throat.

With a graceful leap, the black and white cat landed next to Keith on the comfy bed. Immediately, he felt his friend's critical eyes roam over him. They suspiciously narrowed, "Yeeee-ow." What's wrong?I know something's wrong.

Keith pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't have to speak feline to know what that tone meant.

"It's nothing," he assured with a sweeping pat to the cat's back. "Just been thinking about the team."

A contented purr emanated from the fluffy cat's throat as Keith began scratching behind his pointy gray and white ears.

"I just..." the Red Paladin trailed off with a depressed sigh, "don't know how to connect with them." He threw up his hands in frustration. "Heck, I don't even know where to start!"

Shiro's purr shifted in tone and became more thoughtful. It reminded Keith of his old contemplative, "Hmm..."

After a few moments of thought, the cat's ears suddenly perked up with an idea. His transformed friend glance up at Keith with shining golden eyes. "Rr-ow!" I have an idea.

He then leapt off the bed and jerked his head for Keith to follow.

"Uh... okay," he agreed with a hesitant shrug. Before following Shiro out into the blue lit hall.

The familiar joyful sounds of Hunk, Pidge, and Lance echoed from the ship's lounge as Shiro and Keith approached.

"Okay! So do you guys remember where we last left off?" asked Hunk's warm, inviting voice.

"Well yeah, but shouldn't we wait for- Shiro! There's my top cat!" Lance exclaimed with flung open arms. "For a second we'd thought you'd-" He stopped for a moment and blinked in confusion upon seeing Keith. "Oh. Hey, man... You want in, too?"

In all honesty, Keith hadn't a clue what his friends were doing. The Garrison trio were sitting on the floor around what appeared to be a large graphed out board. For some odd reason, the mice were dressed in tiny little outfits. And stood patiently, each within their own square. In front of Hunk, was folded piece of cardboard that kind of resembled a screen. Strewn about him were small, intricately detailed figures from fairy tales and myths. Along with a collection of oddly shaped game die.

Keith's nose scrunched up in confusion. Were they playing a game of some kind? Whatever it was sure looked complicated. It was no secret to the team that Keith had lived the majority of his life like a hermit. But he was still hesitant to show the others just how limited his knowledge base was when it came to social interactions.

Yet, this certainly was an opportunity outside of training or battle for him to better get to know them. It was just... Keith seemed to have an uncanny knack of screwing up stuff like this up.

So Keith did what he always did when he felt completely out of his element. He turned to Shiro.

"Uh..." he said uncertainly, giving his furry friend a wary glance.

The tuxedo cat let out a huff and rolled his eyes. He then padded his way over to others and sat down next to Pidge.

"Mrrow! Mee-Rrow!" He exclaimed, gesturing towards the floor with his natural paw. His message was clear: Sit down and bond!

Keith sent Shiro an irritated glare before finally relenting. "Okay, fine." The Red Paladin carefully maneuvered around all scattered game pieces; making sure not to knock anything out of place. With an annoyed huff, he sat down next to Hunk and began eyeing the layout. "What kind of game is this exactly?"

Hunk's eyes lit up like the sun as he explained, "Oh my gosh! Really? You want to play! This is going to be so awesome!" He reached down behind the screen and started pulling out sheets of paper. "I didn't think you'd want to, so I didn't roll up a character for you. But no worries! I've got some pre-made templates. So it shouldn't take too long!"

As Hunk shuffled through his various sheets, Keith turned to Pidge and Lance to clarify. "Roll up a character?"

Pidge adjusted her glasses with a sly grin. "To answer your first question, the game's called 'Dungeons and Dragons.'" Shiro happily purred in agreement and began curiously batting at one of the figures.

Keith fondly smirked at his antics, as Pidge continued, "Hunk just means that he has to map out the statistics of your character so that when the interaction and combat elements come into play, he'll know what to do."

Lance snickered, adding in, "You know: strength, agility, intelligence. All that kind of stuff. The actions you take in the game are partially determined by dice rolls. Hence the name."

The Blue Paladin then snatched up one of the die and moved it enticingly in front of Shiro. His golden eyes lighting up in excitement. "It's a role-playing game we used to play back at the Garrison. It's tons of fun," Lance finished, letting the die fly. Shiro immediately took off right after it.

"Oh..." Keith was still a little confused. But as he thought back, he kind of remembered Shiro mentioning the name before.

"But wait a sec..." he said, taking in all the scattered pieces. "Where did all these dice and game pieces come from? You didn't have these on you when we left earth..."

"Oh!" Hunk exclaimed, as he bent the upper half of his body over the screen. "I made them all on the ship with a 3D printer Coran let me use."

Keith picked up one of the pieces and inspected it. Hunk's engineering prowess never ceased to amaze him. The Red Paladin wouldn't have had a clue where to start in even making something like it. Let alone have the patience to see the project through to the end.

Keith then turned his attention to the mice waiting quietly on the board. "Wait... if you have these pieces... Why are you using the mice?"

Lance dramatically rolled his eyes. "Well, when we tried to play yesterday, someone couldn't help himself and started playing with the figures!"

An indignant, "Hiss!" and "Row!" Came from where Shiro was pawing at the crack under the couch were the die had rolled.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Lance said with a dismissive wave of this hand. "Technically, I had a hand in that, too." He then gestured toward the mice. "So we decided to bring them in to help instead."

Pidge held out her hand. The tiny blue mouse in the green cape took this as an invitation and scampered up her arm and onto her shoulder. "With Shiro thoroughly distracted by the pieces, the mice can rest easy knowing that he won't give chase." She glanced over at Chulatt and winked. "Besides we hardly get to spend and time with the little guys. Seemed like a fun way to include them."

"Did you make the clothes for them then?" Keith asked with a confused blink.

Pidge snorted. "Oh, hell no! That was all Lance."

"What?" He dramatically exclaimed, tossing his hands into the air. "They're acting out our parts! How are they supposed to get into character if they're not in costume?"

Both Keith and Pidge shared an exasperated look.

"Well, I think they're great!" Hunk agreed in defense as he rummaged through a stack of papers. "Lance always does great work, and the mice deserve to be pampered just as much as we do!"

"So... you mean he's made tiny clothing before?" Pidge inquired with a sly grin.

Even Keith couldn't contain his smirk as Lance furiously blushed. "I, no! What kinda question is-"

"Totally," Hunk answered without even batting an eye.

"Hunk!" he indignantly screeched, his entire face burning crimson. "That was supposed to be a secret!" The others began to snicker. It was so easy to rile Lance up.

"Huh?" Hunk glanced up in confusion. "Why? I think it's sweet that you used to make doll clothes for your sisters."

"Hunk..." Lance covered his face in embarrassment. But his friend just kept on going, "Lance has always been good at arts and crafts. Knitting, sewing, you name it."

Lance nervously played with his fingers, refusing to met anyone else's eyes. "Yeah, well, you kinda have to, when you don't have a lot of money." Both Keith and Pidge's teasing smirks immediately fell upon hearing this. They shared a forlorn glance with Shiro as he trotted back over to the group. Sadly, he stared up at Lance for a moment before walking closer and nuzzling his head against his elbow. With a sad sigh, Lance automatically reached down to scratch Shiro behind the ears.

"The little ones were always tearing through their clothes and toys," he confessed, the fact seeming to weigh upon him like a burden. "One day, I asked Mama to teach me how to sow, so I could help her out. I liked it so I learned to do more." Shiro purred warmly up at him as he climbed into Lance's lap and curled up for a nap. His actions made Lance laugh. It reminded him of how, Churro, their family cat used to act. Thinking of home lifted his spirits a little. "Besides, making things for the people you love is fun. It shows that it came from the heart."

Shiro released a yowl of agreement. "I'm with Hunk," Pidge added, adjusting her glasses. "I think that's sweet Lance." She then sharply elbowed him in the side.

"Ow!" he yelped in pain, rubbing the area exaggeratedly. "Pidge, you're mean!"

She simply gave him a coy wink. "You're just figuring this out now?" Lance stuck his tongue out and Pidge couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up inside of her. There were times he so reminded her of Matt. "I love making stuff, too. Except, mine tend involve more welding and advanced circuitry."

She then gave Keith a look. As if expecting him to add something else... But honestly, he wasn't sure what to say. Lance was clearly being defensive about it. And Keith understood what it was like to be poor. To feel like you we less because you didn't have as much as others.

Would… telling Lance that make him feel better? Maybe... But that would require Keith to open up; to share a part of himself he had learned to hide and never let people see. Was he really ready to do that? "Yeah," he added nervously. "I… think it's cool, too. I… never really had much either." When he saw Lance's eyes widen, Keith immediately turned away, still uncertain if this was the right thing to do.

But for some reason, his mouth just kept moving without him. "My hover bike was one of the few things I had, so I did my best to learn how to keep it in working order. Never really been very good at doing any delicate work though. I just don't have the patience for it," he finished with a dismissive shrug.

When he glanced up, Lance's softened smile told him it was the right thing to do.

Keith then coughed and decided to change the subject. "So yeah… still not sure-"

And then like an epiphany, it dawned on him. He remembered Shiro once having mentioned a game like this before. Something about pretending to be a character and finding inventive ways through a fantastical adventure.

Which meant talking, and improvising with others.

Oh, he was so screwed... The Red Paladin could almost feel the water rising up around him.

Keith visibly gulped, he was in far too deep to pull back now.

Paling in fear, he looked down at his feline friend. "Hey, Shiro?"

"Rrow?" he said, head picking up from his resting place in Lance's lap.

"I-is this the game you used to play with Matt?" he nervously asked, the memories of what Shiro had told him assaulting his mind.

Pidge snorted in remembrance. "Oh, man. I remember the stories Matt told me about that."

The muffled snickers coming from behind Shiro's paw was answer enough for him.

"Oh, no... Shiro!" Keith practically screeched in betrayal. "You know I suck at stuff like this!"

Shiro climbed out of Lance's lap and padded over to Keith. He sat back on his hind legs and batted the Red Paladin affectionately on the nose. "Mow! Mere -row!" All the more reason to do it!

He was so doomed. Lance and Pidge were never going to let him live this down.

Hunk then reached out and placed a supportive hand on Keith's shoulder. "Hey, if you don't want to do it man, I understand," he softly offered. "At first glance the game can be quite intimidating." An embarrassed blush stretched across the bridge of his nose as Hunk shyly added, "A-Actually the reason I got into it in the first place was because my parents thought it would help with my verbal skills."

Keith blinked back at him in surprise. He hadn't been expecting his friend to say that."I... oh, really?"

"Oh, yeah," he said in reply, nervously scratching at the back of his head. "I used to be a really shy kid. Mom and Dad knew I liked math and numbers, so they thought that D&D would be a good way to meld a world I understood with one I didn't."

"Actually, that's how Matt got into it, too," Pidge interjected, nostalgic moments dancing in her warm eyes. "Dad said it had helped him to learn how to better interact with people when he was young. And he thought it would work for both Matt and I."

"Makes sense," Lance said in a thoughtful tone he rarely used. "Fifty percent of the game is very analytical, while the rest is essentially acting and improvisation. My brother got me into it hoping that it would help improve my math skills." He shrugged his arms. "Unfortunately, that didn't work out too well, but I still grew to love the game. The role-playing aspect was what always kept me interested."

Plachu then scurried over to Lance and ran up his arm to rest on his shoulder.

"Role... playing?" Keith asked, the uncertain term weighing heavily upon his tongue.

Lance reached out and adjusted the mouse's tiny feathered hat as he replied, "Essentially, it's like acting without a script." After helping out his tiny shoulder occupant, he turned back to Keith.

"That's the other reason for the character sheet," Lance helpfully explained. "It gives you a backstory and a name so that you can pretend to be that character."

A concerned frown stretched across Keith's lips. "I'm... not sure I entirely follow."

Hunk perked up and excitedly picked up where Lance left off, "Okay, so it's like this. I'm what's called the DM, or Dudgeon Master of the game. Think of me as the lovable, but malevolent god of this world. I essentially oversee the adventure. I chose how the characters and monsters you don't control respond to your actions."

The Yellow Paladin reached out and grabbed a 20 sided die into his hand. "Some of the actions are based on dice rolls while the rest rely on creativity." He handed the multi-sided die to Keith with a cheeky wink. "I'm also going to play a party character to help you out through the quests."

"Party?" Keith once again gave Hunk a lost blink.

"It's what we call the main group of adventurers," Hunk enthusiastically explained. "We are each going to play a character within the party and work together to fight the monsters and uncover the story's plot as a team!" With bright, warm eyes, Hunk glanced around the room. "Platt! That's your cue!"

A squeak of interest rang out as the yellow mouse calmly waddled out from behind Pidge where he'd been napping. The large mouse was wearing what appeared to be a white and yellow robe.

"Platt is going to be representing my possession on the game board," he said gesturing to the tired-eyed rodent. "My character's name is Smithton. He's a dwarven cleric from the underground city of-"

"Hunk," Lance groaned, already knowing where this was heading. "If you explain to Keith your entire backstory we'll be here all day."

"Oh, right. Sorry," he apologized, bashfully. "Pretty much the important thing is that my role on the team is healer. So anyway-"

"Hold up..." Keith cut in. He needed something important clarified, "So I have to call you Smithton? Like through the entire game?"

"Oh, don't worry," Hunk assured him, with pacifying hands. "We can use our real names to make it less confusing."

"Well, at least some of us can..." Lance interjected with wicked grin, before turning to address Pidge. "Right, Cassandra?"

The Green Paladin shivered for a moment, then rolled her eyes. "Wrong again, Little Boy Blue."

It had become a game between the two as of late, for Lance to try and guess Katie's real name.

Honestly, Keith wasn't a 100% sure Lance didn't already know it and was simply using this as an excuse to call Pidge every horrendous female name he could think of.

Though, even he had to admit; it was kind of fun watching her cringe intensify with every new attempt.

Oddly enough, despite her physical reaction, Pidge also seemed to enjoy it, but he was absolutely clueless as to why...

Keith just didn't understand.

Lance exaggeratedly pouted at her for a moment before returning to the character explanation.

"So anyway, I'm playing a half-elven bard." At this, Plachu ran in front of Lance and struck a pose. The mouse was clad in a feathered cap with a blue cape. In his tiny paws he held what appeared to be a miniature lute.

"A... bard..." Keith said skeptically, raising an eyebrow in question. "You mean someone that sings and performs? How's that going to help in battle?"

"Hey!" Lance snapped back."Bard is a totally legit and important class," he defended. As Plachu began strumming the lute and pretending to flirt with Chuchule. "Bards have high charisma. Meaning that they can talk their way out of battles and other sticky situations without having to resort to violence." He stuck his tongue out at Keith at the end.

The Red Paladin simply released a long laboring sigh. "I wasn't implying that it wasn't important," he stressed with a slight shrug. Getting the strangest feeling that he'd hit a nerve. "I'm just trying to understand where someone like that fits in with the team."

Lance froze for a moment upon hearing this. His energetic eyes suddenly dulled as he adverted his gaze. Keith felt something in his gut painfully tighten. What had that been about?

But whatever was going through Lance's head, only seemed to take a second to subside before he focused. "A-Anyway, whenever diplomacy fails, a bard can still actively fight."

With a nod at Plachu, the mouse stared playing a tune on the miniature lute. "They can use songs in order to raise certain statistics within the party." The other mice began dancing around Plachu as he sang, what Keith could only assume, was the song of his people. "And when all else fails..."

With a dramatic flourish, Plachu whipped out a tiny crossbow from beneath his cape and launched the blunt bolt at Shiro's butt.

"Yeow!" the tuxedo cat exclaimed, his golden eyes narrowing dangerously at the mouse.

"Plachu!" Lance chided. "What did I tell you about picking a fight with Shiro? Apologize!"

Plachu's ears drooped as he turned away in a huff. Begrudgingly, the greenish-blue mouse toddled over to Shiro and took off his tiny hat. He then bowed to the cat on one knee, keeping his crimson gaze trained on the tuxedo cat.

With a toothy grin, Shiro ducked down and place an exaggeratedly long lick atop the mouse's head. Plachu sputtered and indignantly squeaked while trying to pat down his fur with his tiny paw. While the small, furry mammal's dignity was clearly bruised; the rest of the group merrily laughed at his silly antics.

"Anyway," Lance said, once again returning to the subject at hand. "Pidge cast a spell on my crossbow bolts so that they have frost magic like Blue." He smiled fondly as he mentioned his lion. "I also have a bit of illusion magic that I can use to help get us out of tough situations."

"Okay..." Keith said with an unconvinced tone. He then turned to Pidge. "So you're like a mage or sorceress, I take it?"

Pidge adjusted her glasses with a wicked flash. "Hohoho! Oh no. Though, my arcane magic stat is maxed; the character I'm playing is an elven thief!" Popping up from within the folds of Pidge's wild hair, Chulatt made her entrance. The tiny blue mouse was dressed in a simple green cape. She pulled the hood up over her ears and made a swooshing noises. Chulatt then covered her face with her arm and tried to look sneaky and mysterious.

Keith couldn't restraint the audible gulp he made, staring at Pidge's evil grin.

Lance leaned over and loudly side-whispered to him, "I still say she should have been a halfling. It would have been perfect for her seeing how she's so-"

"Finish that sentence and die, McClain!" she threatened, already inching towards her bayard.

"Now, now," Lance said scooting back away from the dangerous woman. "Let's not be hasty. You've no idea how I was going to finish that sentence!"

"Roll for a bluff check," Hunk interjected with a snicker, his friend's eyes going dramatically wide.

"Hunk!" Lance gasped, placing a hand over his wounded heart. "You'd really risk my life in such a cruel manner?"

"My insight's pretty darn high Lance..." Pidge warned, spinning her bayard around the grip by her finger. "Do you want to chance it?"

"Uh..." Keith murmured forlornly looking to Hunk. "I'm lost again."

The Yellow Paladin released a laboring sigh. "They're commonly used terms within the game."

As Pidge launched herself at Lance and the pair began an impromptu pillow fight, Hunk simply continued, "A 'bluff' is a type of dice roll players can use in order to trick or distract another character. Once again, its effectiveness is based on your character's core stats. I'll explain it better as we go along."

"Oh, okay..." Beside them, both Lance and Pidge lay sprawled on the ground. Neither having won, but just tiredly calling a truce.

"So we have a healer, a rogue, and a bard..." Keith counted off on his fingers before, suspiciously eyeing Shiro. His feline friend was once again up and pawing at one of the 3D printed figures. "What's Shiro playing as?"

Keith's friends grinned as one and said, "Human Paladin."

Shiro turned to Keith, puffing out his chest proudly. "Yeee-ow!" Of course, was there ever a doubt?

Even the Red Paladin couldn't stop from face palming. "You guys... are the biggest dorks in the universe."

"Oh, yeah. This coming from the cryptid fanatic," Lance sarcastically tossed back. "Seriously, let he without a nerdy hobby cast the first stone. So you ready to make a character or not?"

"I... guess so," Keith answered as he nervously turned to face Hunk. "Though, I'm still uncertain where to start..."

"That's what I'm here for!" The Yellow Paladin crowed as he pulled a pencil from out of no where, and leaned forward in anticipation. Creating new characters was one of the best parts of the game to him. "Let's start with 'class.'"

"Uh... knight?" Keith tried, offering out the only medieval class he could think of. "Or a warrior of some kind?"

Both Lance and Pidge scrunched up their noses in distaste, while Shiro shook his head.

"Yeah, no," The Blue Paladin rejected with a shake of his head and picked up one of Hunk's discarded class sheets. "Knight's okay, but straight up warrior doesn't seem like the right match for you."

"Remember, we're trying to make this character a lot like you," Hunk gently reminded. "So it'll be easier for you to pretend to be him."

Keith once again looked to Shiro for help. The tuxedo cat padded over to Lance and stared at the sheet he was holding. "What do you think, Shiro?"

"Roow," he answered, reaching up his paw towards a single word written on the page. "Ranger? Oooh! Yeah! Perfect match, dude! That totally works for our lovable mullet!"

Keith sent him an irritated glare. "Heard that."

"And I know it!" he returned with a cheeky, sing-song note in his voice.

Pidge gripped her chin in thought. "It does make a great deal of sense. Rangers traditionally prefer solitude and to be out in the wild."

"Yup, good old wasteland," he teased Keith with a playful wink. "He'll feel right at home." Lance's sharp grin eased slightly as he added, "And best part... the class can learn to dual wield."

Now this grabbed Keith's interest. "Say that again?" He leaned forward, giving Lance his full, undivided attention.

"I said you can use two weapons at once," he repeated with a smug wiggle of his brows. "You know, one for each hand."

Keith had just started training with both his bayard and Galran blade. The thought of doing so within a game intrigued him. The structure of the rules seemed malleable enough for Keith to experiment with different fighting styles in a controlled environment. While he still preferred the physical exertion that came with normal training, Keith was willing to give it a try. "Okay, I'm in."

"Woot! All right!" Hunk exclaimed, fist pumping into the air. The Yellow Paladin stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth as he quickly jotted it down. "And... done! Next order of business, what 'race?'"

Keith just blinked at that. "Uhhh... human I guess?"

"You can't be serious!" Lance immediately scoffed, "This is a game, Keith. We're all hum-"

Keith's narrow stare stopped him, and he quickly corrected, "Okay, mostly human. It's boring." Lance released a laboring sigh, and glanced imploringly to the heavens.

"But Shiro gets to be human," Keith pointed out, as Shiro turned to him and contently purred.

Lance dramatically gestured at their feline companion. "That's because he's currently stuck as a cat!"

Shiro's purr became a rumble as his annoyed golden eyes shifted to the Blue Paladin. Keith and the others could feel their lions growling along in their heads asking, And just what's wrong with that?

"Oh, come on! You all know what I mean," Lance defended before addressing Keith. "Anyway, a major point of this game is to either explore an aspect of yourself that you normally shy away from, or to put yourself into another person's shoes."

"Huh, nicely put, Lance." Pidge complimented with a playful punch to his arm.

"Why, thank you... Prudence," he slyly tried, rubbing at the contact point. As Pidge physically gagged. "Holy crow, Lance! No! Just, no!"

This sent Hunk into a fit of giggles as Shrio rolled his eyes and face palmed (pawed).

Keith simply snorted and offered a compromise, "Well, what do you guys think I should play?"

Both Lance and Pidge grabbed their chins in thought and began to eye him critically.

"Hmmm..." they murmured in unison before Pidge finally said, "Half-breed."

"Drow," Lance added immediately afterward, the pair nodding in perfect sync. Keith and Shiro shared a look of surprise. They'd never seen them quite act like that before. There had been times in the past when the pair worked together as one. But let's just say that during those times either shit royally blew up or they returned with an unusable game console and a cow...

Pidge scrunched up her nose and looked at Lance. "Drow's a little harsh though, don't you think?"

Lance folded his arms across his chest as he pondered this. "Yeah, you got a point... what about a half-elf, Ssri-Tel'Quessir?"

"Ooooo..." Pidge practically cooed, evilly tapping her fingers together. "I like..."

Nervously, Keith glanced at Hunk, hoping he would explain. The Yellow Paladin's face lit up with joy at this suggestion. "That's perfect for Keith!" he exclaimed. "Okay so abridged version, Drow were considered 'evil' elves and were banished to the Underdark by their goddess. They are the only elves that are considered to be inherently evil."

Keith stiffen a bit at that, trying not to feel hurt by the implication. Did Lance and Pidge think that fit because of his Galra side? Did they feel all Galra were naturally evil? That... the evil in him would one day take hold and he'd become like that too?

"Keith?" asked Lance, almost hesitantly. "You okay?" Both he and Pidge were staring at him with worried expressions. "I... well..." It was then that Keith felt the weight of Shiro's paws on his arm. "So.. all Drow are evil?"

"M-Reoow!" Shiro refuted, butting his head up against Keith's chin, trying to calm him. Hold on, let Hunk finish.

"Oh, no no! Especially, not Ssri-Tel'Quessir! You see, they were 'cleansed' if you will," Hunk illustrated with air quotes. "They were once on the side of evil, but chose to be good. In the world of D&D they pretty much represent hope."

Keith's gaze instantly soften hearing that. A person who was part of a race that could be redeemed? He had to admit, it did sorta fit him. Even with all the evil the Galra Empire had done, he had hope that one day they would see the error of their ways. There was still good in his mother's people. Keith had seen that in the Blade of Marmora. After 10,000 years many had probably lost hope that anything could change. But he and the Paladins of Voltron would see that it would.

Shiro purred as he nuzzled his head against Keith's chin, as if to say, "See?"

A soft grin stretched across Keith's face. He reached out and fondly and scratched Shiro behind the ears. "Okay, we'll go with that."

The others released combined sighs of relief. Glad Keith finally understood the meaning behind their choice.

"And now, last but not least!" Hunk declared with a flourish of his pencil. "Your god."

"Yeah, haven't a clue on that either," Keith admitted, relieved that at least this part of the game was over. "Do I have to chose one?"

Lance tilled his head to the side in thought. "Well, gods are kind of important. They give you advantages during certain points of the game like races do. So it's good to have one." He then pointed to himself. "Take me for example, my god is Leviathan."

"And... what does it do?"

Lance held up his hands and wiggled his fingers. "It has super crazy magical powers that also have the tendency to drive its worshipers insane."

Keith stared at him in confusion. "Why would you worship something like that?"

"Because it sounded fun! And rolling the dice of fate is kinda my jam," he answered with a shrug. "Go big or go home, I always say." Lance reached out and fed one of his snacks to Platt. "Besides, it's a game. If something happens to my character it doesn't actually hurt me. I can always roll up a new one if it goes crazy or dies."

Of course, that's just when Slav creepily popped up out nowhere and draped himself over Lance back from behind. "I wouldn't be too sure, Blue Paladin!"

"GAHHH! Slav! I've told you a million times! Stop doing that!"

As Lance tried to shove him off, Slav eerily cautioned, "By choosing to take on a role such as this, even in a fictional sense, you could cause an imbalance in the quintessential plane." His eyes grew wide as he gripped Lance's face. "Thereby, resulting in the creation of a parallel dimension where you and you friends exist in a world incredibly similar to this one. "

Lance visibly began to sweat as Slav pushed in closer. "Anything you do here could have immense consequences to your parallel self. Thus creating a time paradox that could destroy the entire universe!

"What?" Hunk squeaked, starting to look freaked out. "Uh, guys. I don't think I want to play anymore!"

"YEOW!" Shiro exclaimed, leaping at Slav as he scrambled away.

"AHHH! Keep that hell beast away from me!" he cried, jumping from Lance to the protection of the couch.

"Hell beast?" Pidge asked, her snort turning into a snicker, "Shiro? Naw... he's a good kitty."

Shiro puffed his chest proudly at her words.

"I awoke this morning to find that furball lying on my face!" Slav accused. "He tried to suffocate me in my sleep!"

Keith glanced at Shiro as he stared back at Slav as innocently as possible. His eyes were so big he'd give "Puss in Boots" a run for his money. Oh, he so did it on purpose!

"Champion, yes. Nighttime assassin, no," Keith concluded with a toss of his hair. "That's just Shiro being... friendly."

"Well tell him to do so somewhere else!" Slav exclaimed heading towards the door. "Remember what I told you, that game could be a death toll to fathomless dimensions!" And with that, he quickly left room.

"Yeah... uh-huh. I'll take my chances," Lance muttered under his breath. "Sometimes that guy truly is apples and bananas."

"Anyway," Pidge said, trying to get everyone back on track. "We still need a god that can represent a grumpy, battle hungry loner."

"I- Hey!"

"She got you there, dude," Lance teased.

"Hmmm... it needs to represent both war and protection," Pidge mused. And then her honey colored eyes lit up with an idea. "What about the wolf god, Aruman?"

"Perfect!" Lance crowed, eagerly reaching for the dice. "Now finish up mullet's sheet and let's get started!" He flashed the others a smile. "I have fictitious women to woo."

The others all groaned as Hunk nervously finished filling in Keith's stats. "Guys, I don't know... I'm still a little freaked about what Slav said..."

"Hunk, come on," Lance pleaded with a dismissive wave. "We've played this game a thousand times and nothing bad's happened. It's pretend. Everything will be fine."

"Okay," Hunk said as he took a bracing breath. "Since Keith is new, we'll start with him meeting the party. Keith, you enter the bar...

To be continued...

Author's Notes: Okay! Part one done! As you can see, this part grew to be so long that I finally decided to split it into two chapters. So much research went into this part of the fic. Let me know if I got the general rules right. I'm also not going with any single addition either. Most DM s nowadays seem to pick and chose whatever parts they want from which ever version they like anyways.

But let me know if I got something glaringly wrong, like I said, I've never been a Dungeon Master, but my husband has. So I asked him about some of the details. Also, feel free to offer suggestions of silly stuff you'd like to see happen in the game. Like I said, I'm going to stick in a bunch of funny references from all over the place. So add more to the pile! I might use it, you never know. LOL!

Anyway, hope you liked the chapter! Shouldn't be as huge a wait on the next one. Easter and my birthday threw everything out of whack. That and my graphics card dying! :P It's been some kind of a month people.

So send me your comments of love! And as always, please remember to read, fav, and review!