A/N: Hey. Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I literally fell asleep while writing. It was awkward. I woke up at 1am with a crick in my neck so I just punted it and crashed. So I'm posting this now in apology. Whoops~

Chapter summary: In which Lance gets defensive, teases a certain paladin, and Keith may finally get to meet a cryptid up close and personal.

37: Patience

He missed him. How the frell had he missed a Breeder? He had never missed a Breeder's slimy presence before. Not even when he'd been in the ranks of the Druids assigned to the Galra battlecruisers. Breeders typically stayed close to the Central Command System which was partially why it was so difficult to find and retrieve the Vuana they had taken. The security and risk of harming non-combatants was too high.

Yet despite his natural affinity for detecting them, he had missed the Breeder's approach. Worse, it had commented on Keith's genetics and implied it knew Lance's as well. Although the chances of that were not necessarily low, anyone from Vuana knew what to look for, the implications of those comments were anything but pleasant. Just the thought of what the Breeder meant made Lance sick to his stomach.

Maybe it would be best if he went down to greet the Oceanborne when they arrived. He should probably bring Taavi too. It would be good to see the Myr. It was getting close to when Taavi would be due to get his tattoo, if he decided to embrace that side of hi-

"Ow!" he cried when Keith gave his arm a particularly vicious jerk unexpectedly to the right. "Frell, that hurts."

The red paladin didn't answer. He hadn't spoken at all since they left the highest overlook of Frey. It was beginning to make Lance uncomfortable. Well, the unnecessarily tight grip on his hand was doing that already. Keith didn't have much to speak of in the way of fingernails, but what he did have was digging into the skin of his hand and cutting off his circulation.

Did the crazy paladin have any idea where he was going anyway?

"Keith, I'm serious. You need to slow down," Lance said, trying to pry the red paladin's fingers off of him with no success. "Let go. Keith, let go."

"No!" Keith snapped, stopping without warning. He turned to grab Lance's chin and force their eyes to meet. "No. I am sick and tired of getting hints dropped here and teasing detailing there. These," he gestured to the settlement of Frey, "may be your people, but that," he pointed back to where they left the Breeder, "thing is not. It's a threat and I don't know how you deal with threats here, but where I come from? We put them down. Permanently."

"You think we haven't tried that?" Lance hissed angrily, unable to break the Human's hold on his chin. "It's been 10,000 deca-phoebs, Keith. Do you really think there weren't any uprisings or disagreements with Za-" He cut himself off when a Vuana passed too close for comfort. "With that quiznak," he said, lowering his voice, "or anyone who agrees with his disastrous methods? There have been several. Why else do you think we have peace right now?"

"I don't know," Keith groaned, rolling his eyes. "Maybe because your pacifists who would rather those things steal your own children rather than-"

Infuriated, Lance grabbed a handful of Keith's black hair and yanked the Human's head back. "Finish that sentence and I'll rip your head off," he said, ignoring the way the hand holding his head and slipped lower to his throat. "My people are an endangered species. We fight for what little we have because it's all we are allowed to have. We have protection, the few pockets of resistance movements haven't been able to find us, and we are cut off from contact with anyone other than through cleared Galra channels."

Keith coughed and somehow managed to shoot Lance a formidable glare despite his current situation. "At least the Galra didn't sneak into your system, kidnap your people who hadn't even had First Contact before, and enslaved them," Keith growled angrily.

"You're right," Lance said. "We don't. We just have systematic crowd control movements, children who go missing and who may turn up later changed for the worse, and others who are so inbred they're essentially vegetables. All to make sure we maintain 'genetic purity.' By order of Emperor Zarkon."

He yanked is hand out of Keith's hair and pushed the red paladin away. He watched Keith stumble back before jolting forward himself. Frak. Keith was still holding his hand. He teetered for a moment before losing balance and crashing into Keith's chest. The Human staggered under the unexpected weight, catching himself by flailing out with his free arm and grabbing a nearby railing a split tick before they both tumbled to the platform floor.

Stunned violet eyes met his own blue, before flashing in fiery anger. Lance just had a tick to brace himself before he was pushed backwards, landing hard on his bottom on the floor with a thud. His aching hand tingled as the blood rushed back into it as he shook it out. Looking up, he glared at Keith who still managed to stay on his feet.

"I believe you," Keith said fiercely. "But you haven't explained any of that to me. None of it. I don't know what a Breeder actually is or does. I don't know what happens to the people who are 'removed,'" he said, holding up air quotes. "And I don't know what you mean by 'crowd control movements.'"

He paused, breathing hard in an obvious effort to rein his temper back in. Closing his eyes, Keith took a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth. "Patience yields focus," he muttered under his breath like a mantra.

"Alright," he said in a calmer tone. "Let's start with the first part. What the holy hell is that-" he pointed upwards where they left the Breeder behind, "thing? And don't just say something like 'he's a Breeder,'" he added quickly before Lance could speak. "I know he's a Breeder. What I want to know is what a Breeder is."

Lance climbed to his feet, rubbing his bottom when it twinged. Frell, he'd landed hard. "This isn't the best place to talk about that sort of thing," he said carefully. When Keith looked on the verge of losing his temper again, Lance quickly added, "Let's get a skimmer to help the Oceanborne and talk there, where no one can hear us and report to the wrong person."

That seemed to sooth the red paladin's ruffled feathers. Keith rolled his shoulders and huffed, crossing his arms. "Fine," he said, shaking his head. "But once we're alone, I want straight answers. No beating around the bush. Just cut to the chase. Got it?"

Lance blinked hesitantly. "I… think so," he said. "I'm guessing what those turns of phrase mean, so I could be wrong-"

Keith groaned, letting his head loll back in annoyance. "It means don't talk around the issue. Give me straight answers. If I ask a 'yes' or 'no' question, I want a 'yes' or 'no' answer. No filler shit."

"Ah. Alright. I can do that," Lance said nodding. "But if you want those answers, then let's take care of the important stuff first. Like getting a skimmer out onto the ocean."

Keith nodded and waited for Lance to lead the way. After a tick or two of looking around to orient himself, Lance started off down one path. Then stopped. He would get to the harbor this way, no problem. But he wouldn't get there very fast. It would be faster if he just…

Oh. This could be fun. Besides, he wanted payback for his sore ass. With a blank face, he turned around and faced Keith.

"What? Did you get lost already?" Keith teased.

Lance stepped forward and Keith began to back up so he could let Lance pass. But there was no way Lance was going to let that happen. When Keith stepped to the side, Lance mirrored him. Thick black eyebrows furrowed in a faint frown as Keith stepped to the other side of the path and Lance mirrored him again. Blotches of color appeared on the red paladin's cheeks and he opened his mouth to speak.

Now how could Lance possibly turn down such a blatant opportunity?

With a sly grin, Lance leaned forward, placed on hand on Keith's shoulder-

"What-?" Keith stuttered, the blotchy red slowly spreading to his ears. "H-hey! What are you-"

-leaned forward so he could feel Keith's breath on his lips-

Incoherent sounds sputtered from Keith's lips, his face burning a red debatably brighter than the Red Lion's paint.

-smirked, and teleported.

They reappeared on the platform overlooking the piers at the ocean's surface below. Waves crashed against Yggdrasil's roots, sending frigid spray soaring through the air onto the tree bark. The wind whipped their cloths, blowing Lance's hood off and tugging Keith's hair into a mess of tangles.

Keith staggered back, slipping on the damp wood and metal of the platform and flailing out with his arms to catch his balance. His cheeks were vibrant red and his violet eyes were wide and stunned. Like this, Keith was adorable and so much like a young Myr trying to sit properly on a rock above the ocean for the first time. Lance couldn't help himself.

He threw back his head and laughed. He laughed so hard he could barely breathe. Tears pricked his eyes, spilling over his cheeks and his sides began to cramp. Just when he finally thought he gotten a semblance of control, he glanced at Keith and lost it again.

The red paladin was flustered and visibly shaking with humiliation and anger. His white teeth were gritted in fury but his eyes were still wide from the shock. There was also the faintest hint of a sickly pallor working its way into Keith's cheeks, forcing away the dark blush. Keith looked like a sopping wet pygmy puma and not enjoying it in the least. It was hilarious.

Oh it hurt. It hurt so wonderfully bad.

"What the fuck was that?" Keith cried, shaking himself.

He lurched forward to stomp across the platform and threaten Lance, but it just looked too much like a pygmy puma trying to recover its lost dignity that it sent Lance tumbling into another fit of laughter. Oh dear 'Verse, he couldn't breathe. It was too funny.

His knees gave out and he fell to the platform still laughing. His sides hurt so bad. He needed to control himself. He needed to breathe.

"Where the hell are we?" Keith demanded, looming over Lance. "Where are- You know what, fuck this. I'll find out myself."

Stalking off to the railed edge of the platform, Keith stared out to the surf and piers below. He was probably doing his best not to look put out, but it wasn't very successful. He was too adorable when ruffled like that. But Keith no longer being immediately visible gave Lance the much needed the reprieve to recover his self-control.

His cackling eased off to breathless hiccups as he rolled over and tried to push himself up to all fours. His limbs wobbled weakly and it took a few false starts before he finally managed to make it to his feet. He tilted slightly before catching himself and walking over to join Keith's side.

He cleared his throat to hide another breathless chuckle. "Sorry," he said, not sorry in the least. "That was just…" He shook his head. "You are too funny."

Violet eyes glared at him and he met them with a proud smile. When the glare just hardened, he scoffed.

"Oh, come on," he groaned. "You have to admit you enjoyed my teasing just a bit." Keith flinched, blinking quickly. "You did." Lance tapped Keith's nose before pushing himself off the railing and walking towards the steps leading down to the skimmer hangars below them. "Come on, Keithy boy," he teased, beckoning the red paladin to follow with a backwards wave. "Let's go grab us a skimmer and have some much needed private time."

He would bet every GAC piece he had that the blush was back in the red paladin's cheeks. Lance was swiftly becoming addicted to that helplessly stunned expression. It really was adorable. It did things to Lance's heart that he wasn't ready to handle.

With a sigh, blue eyes scanned the platforms below for the hangar warden, narrowing against the light from the daystar. It really was much brighter down here without the comforting shade of the leaves and branches to hold back the intense light. At least it would soon be sunset. Not that they would see the sunset past those storm clouds.

Forcing his mind to focus on the issue at hand and not the fucking tease that was Lance, Keith followed the Druid down the steps to a platform near the water where a lone woman with long dark hair tied up in a messy bun stood.

"Ho Warden!" Lance shouted to her loudly enough be heard over the crashing waves.

The Vuana woman looked up with startlingly green eyes and nodded in response. She wore loose fitting clothes with her arms and most of her legs and feet bare to the elements. Compared to the Vuana up in Yggdrasil's arbor -Treebound, Lance had called them- who wore lightweight clothing that was typically loose and lined with fur or feathers against the brisk cool of the upper air, this woman wore much less clothing.

A sash of dark blue covered her chest and wrapped up around her neck, latching in front between her breasts in a series of complicated knots. Her skirt was a lighter shade of blue that faded to white at the bottom. What looked like leggings hugged her legs down to just above her knees leaving the rest of her legs bare.

How was she not bothered by the constant wind? At least it was a bit warmer down hear at the surface. More humid too. Keith was already feeling the damp heat work its way into his clothes. It was amazing what a few thousand feet of height could change the temperature.

But her clothes weren't the only thing that set her apart. She sported numerous tattoos on her arms and legs with one on her chest in deep blue-green ink. Normally, this wouldn't make Keith bat an eye. But some of those tattoos were similar to Lance's arm tattoo, and that one glowed.

"I assume you're here for the Oceanborne," the woman called back to them, watching Lance and Keith finish descending the stairs to join her. "They're still some distance away."

"I know," Lance said, moving to her side and turning his gaze to the water. "I saw them from further up. What do you think of the storm?" he asked in a low tone.

The warden frowned, crossing her arms over her chest and sighing. "It's larger than most storms I've seen," she said. "And early."

Lance nodded and Keith felt slightly out of place.

"I assume you've spread the word to those above," the Druid said.

The woman nodded. "The wardens we could spare are in the process of alerting the shield operators and Earthbound," she said. "Since the Oceanborne are too far away, we decided to wait until they were closer before turning out attention to them."

"Unless something happens," Lance murmured.

"Unless something happens," the woman agreed.

Keith was definitely missing something here.

For a minute, no one spoke, the roar of the waves filling the silence.

"Do you have a skimmer my charge and I could borrow?" Lance asked, tilting his head to the woman. "We could help the other wardens move the Earthbound willing to come to Yggdrasil."

The woman shook her head. "I don't," she said simply.

Lance frowned but nodded reluctantly. Then he stiffened, his eyes locking on something in the water closer to the platform they stood on than the still distant Oceanborne. Curious, Keith moved closer and scanned the waves for anything unusual. He was about to ask what had drawn the Druid's attention when a high pitched shriek scoured his ears like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Clapping his hands over his ears, Keith winced in pain. His ears would be ringing for a good while after this. What even was that? When the horrendous sound didn't come again, Keith hesitantly removed his hands from his ears. Squinting through the pain, he stared down at the waves and his jaw dropped.

A mermaid with pale blue skin with teal markings and dark blue tail broke through the surf. She tilted her head and made a softer screeching sound that was almost like a chirp before dipping back below the water. When she surfaced again, she was close enough to the pier to reach up and haul herself onto the wood and metal surface.

She shook her head and Keith realized what he's originally assumed to be hair was actually two, long appendages dangling from the back of her head. After a moment to situate herself, she lifted her head and her pupilless, sea-green eyes locked on Keith, Lance, and the woman next to them. She opened her mouth and Keith winced in preparation for yet another loud screech.

But what came out was low and melodic, beckoning. He barely caught himself from leaning too far over the edge of the platform he stood on and falling into the ocean. He blinked and shook his head, deliberately ignoring the amused chuckle from Lance.

The mermaid made another sound that warbled and gurgled like a river before tilting her head and falling silent. Keith briefly wondered what she was waiting for when two answering warbles came from right next to him. One was a deeper, richer baritone and the other was a lilting alto. Stunned, Keith whirled and stared at Lance and the Vuana woman. They both had their handles folded in against their lips as they blew sound through them, changing the tones as they moved their hands and fingers.

The mermaid called back a long, descending tone and flopped her tail, splashing the water. The Vuana woman chirped twice before lowering her hands and striding over to the stairs leading to the pier the mermaid sat on.

"Move slowly," Lance murmured, his blue eyes catching Keith's violet. "Speak slowly, move slowly, and stay behind us."

Keith felt his mouth grow dry in understanding. "We're going down there?" he asked, feeling a smile grow on his face. "We're going to meet her?"

Lance blinked, then smiled. "We are," he said. The Myr are picky about who they talk to." He began moving to the stairs with Keith keeping pace next to him. "They prefer to only speak to the Oceanborne, but they don't mind the Waterbound. They tolerate the Treebound and aren't very fond of the Earthbound."

"Will she like me?" Keith asked.

Blue eyes flickered to Keith briefly before darting back to the mermaid. "Maybe," he said.

Keith felt his heart leap in his chest with excitement. He was going to meet a real life mermaid. Holy shit. If he ever got back to Earth, his followers on the deep web would never believe this. He was so excited, he missed the odd expression on Lance's face, or the shadow falling over the Druid's mood.