It had been a year and a half since the Atlas left Earth to bring the fight back to Galra Empire and Honerva/Haggar. Nearly two months since both had to confront their feelings when Zethrid tried killing them both. But even though they weren't the gushing type like Lance and Allura and more the type of couple who shared few words and still madly in love.
It was trial and error between the two of them. She didn't know or understand human courtship. It was too weak, and couldn't understand how they managed to hold off Sendak's forces when their mating was… pathetic. There was no honor, no glory, especially for those who needed the help of the swill the humans called Alcohol. Even the human/Altean courting was laughable at best. But she had to give it to Keith; he was trying.
When not officially in combat, their first date was testing 2 of the Mk-V MFE prototypes and doing mock dog fights. Dates after were tailored to their pilot and combat prowess. There were times they would go down to a local environmentally hostile planet just to have alone time with each other.
Over the recent week, Acxa had grown distant. Not just with Keith, but the few other humans she befriended. Even Zethrid and Ezor became aware of her distancing. But they had more of an understanding. However, when Keith pressed them, they would not tell him. Instead, they threw insults at him on how he was more human than Galra.
Frustrated, he contacted the Blades' flagship and requested a rendezvous with it. When he was pressed about it by Shiro, all he said was it was official Blade business. Shiro reluctantly approved and gave him leave for three days. The Coalition was set to attack and liberate an Empire stronghold still loyal to Haggar at the end of the week.
Mother and son greeted each other and filled each other in on Blades and Coalition information. But mother knew there was more than just wanting to catch up. They walked to her quarters, which was rather lavish for a Senior Member. As soon as he sat down, he was straightforward, "I need advice." She looked at her son deeply. "Troubles with a certain Ferolian woman?" Like Kolivan, she could always read him like a book; it was spooky at times, "Yeah," he leaned back. "What is the matter my son?" she had a pitcher of something that resembled a tea drink the Blades tried to recreate from Earth.
Shrugging his shoulders, she offered him a cup of the warm drink. He took a sipped it, "I don't know, thats the thing." Krolia sat down across from her son in an outfit she wore from her first time on Earth. He proceeded to unload everything they had done up to a few days ago when Acxa was cold towards everyone she knew on the Atlas. Krolia looked at him thoughtfully, "What was her appearance?"
She saw Keith til his head a little, thinking, "Almost purple-ish. Like she was constantly blushing. Sweaty, almost like she was overheating even in a cool room. The trembling started only recently."
She got a coy all-knowing motherly smile, but she waited until Keith had finished speaking. He saw the smirk on her face, "What?" She knew he was still quite ignorant of the Galra ways, "Is there a particular smell when you are around her?" He grabbed his chin, thinking, "Yes something close to spicy lavender. Why?"
She couldn't help but be ecstatic, "You see, your Jhuk' uhn' dac is entering what we call Pon-ek-chelok." Keith looked at her weird "Pon-ek-chelok?" "A stage where she is ready to be mated. Ferolians call it something else and is more secretive of it."
Keith got slightly red in the face, "What?" "She is giving you signs that she is ready for you to claim her as your mate. Like Galra, Ferolians mate once and if need be go decades until finding a desired mate." She casually took a sip of her tea, watching her son squirm. She was kind of enjoying this. "What if we are still trying to figure things out?". "That is so very human to say," she said with a chuckle. Keith interjected, "Hey!" Krolia smirked, raising her hand, "It's not a bad thing my son, just you come from warrior blood." She swirled her tea a little, "I think the issue with you two, is that you are trying to court her the human way. Warriors need to be treated as warriors."
She took another sip of tea and, matter-of-factly, "Ferolians it is a race against time, when they enter. It is as if every nerve is on fire and their blood is boiling. Prolonged exposure can do more harm to them." Keith tilted his head slightly, "Why now?" Krolia swirled her tea some more "When they are younger they are trained to supress all feelings to be the best soldier for the empire. Something recent must have triggered it."
It hit Keith harder than one of Macidus' energy blasts, "Baltuf…." Krolia, having read the report and still miffed with him, raised an eyebrow "Indeed" rather indignantly. "The potential loss of you most likely set it off." Keith grabbed the bridge of his nose. Krolia continued. "She is lucky that she is also half Galra. But I suspect it won't be long before it triggers her Galra side."
Keith looked at his mother, embarrassed and worried, "What must I do?" She set down her cup and sighed, telling him exactly what to do. He brought up concerns that the Voltron-Force was ready to attack a stronghold by the end of the week. To which Krolia mentioned that Kolivan would pull some strings to delay it.
True to his mother's words, Kolivan sent some operatives to infiltrate a hostile planet. He then got ahold of the Coalition, speaking to the main bridge crew. Although his image appeared on the primary monitor, he had a "worried" look for him on his face. "Kolivan, what is the matter?" asked Shiro. "Do you need assistance?" Kolivan looked at the bridge crew, seeing a man who was named Iverson, a woman looking like that high-shrilled annoying Blue Paladin, Coran, and Shiro, "I need you to delay the assault by 2 quintents."
Slightly puzzled, "Might I ask why?" Kolivan brought up a display on his end "I have operatives on mission to extract a high priority target. The other reason, affects the Red Paladin and his chosen." Alerted by the mentions of Keith, "What's wrong with Keith?" Sighing, remembering these humans were so emotional, "The Red Paladin has entered a personal matter what we call Pon-ek-chelok." Kolivan looked to Coran, who had a thoughtful look on his face mouthing the words and sudden realization of what they meant.
Still looking at Coran, "Something I presume that besides my Blade members four current occupants on your ship know and understand." Kolivan looked back at Shiro while the rest of the bridge crew looked to Coran, "Right now both are compromised. Both struggling to gain control. This is something they must do to regain their peak effectiveness." Shiro looked at Coran, "What's your location? We can rendezvous with you…." Kolivan shook his head, "This is something that must be done by them alone in a place of their choosing."
Shiro begrudgingly nodded, "What must we do in the meantime?" Kolivan, still stoic as ever, and looking back at Coran, "Inform his chosen that it has been initiated. She will know what to do. Once three quintents have passed you may rendezvous with them. Kolivan, out." Before Shiro could respond, the viewscreen went black, "Understood." Shiro looked at Coran with a "Well?" look, but all the Altean Elder could say, "It wasn't his place to talk about it to outsiders."
She was found on the shooting range getting aggravated that she couldn't land a single shot on the bullseye. Her skin was almost wholly flushed purple, her body trembling. When she sensed someone was with her, she trained it on the person. She growled softly, seeing Coran, "What?!" Coran had known of the intense temperament of Galra women when in this stage, but it seemed enhanced with her Ferolian temper.
Coran bowed his head and placed his right open hand over his left peck and shoulder, "Madam Acxa. Your shuttle awaits." Slightly agitated, glaring at him, "What shuttle? I have done nothing wrong here recently. Nor did I request one" Coran looked up at her, "That is not my reasoning for disturbing you during your personal time." Acxa's glare softened slightly, "Then why are you here?" Coran stood at ease, not bothered by the trembling of her hand wrapped around a blaster, "Because of my knowledge of Galra Culture, I was tasked to inform you, Pon-ek-chelok has been initiated."
Just the mere mention of Pon-Ek-chelok brought so many things to the surface. Her excitement, arousal, fear, everything. She dropped her blaster and hurried past Coran. She turned to him reassuringly, "None of this gets mentioned…." He could tell it was more of a question, "To my dying day my dear, now go."
Everything was a blur as she went to her quarters and grabbed a satchel. She was trying to hold it together, her vision blurry as she walked into the main hangar of the ship. The MFE pilots and remaining Paladins returning from Drills noticed her from afar. She was not acting or moving as she usually did, heading to an Atlas shuttle. The Paladins looked to the MFE pilots, who merely shrugged their shoulders.
On the shuttle having enough coherent thought, she typed in coordinates and let the shuttle do the flying. She knew they would track her, probably. She had yet to make amends for her previous life truly. But that didn't matter now…
A day later, the Black-Lion appeared in orbit above a planetoid that appeared to have two planetoids falling into it. He looked at his monitors playing what his mother had told him. Like all women, Galra-females want to know whether their mates can care for and protect them and any children they may have.
But how the males must prove it got him a little worried. To officially claim her as his, he had to defeat her in combat. It was the Galra way, the warrior way. And with her being half Ferolian, she will be aggressive, more than any other person he has fought. He turned his chair and looked at something wrapped in Blade of Marmora colors.
A soft but stern voice "This will be the most dangerous thing you have ever done, and done alone." Keith leaned forward, a little worried, "Okay?" "You must first find a location suitable for initiating the rite. Make it somewhere that is of meaning to you two. She will be thinking the same. Once she knows that you are ready, she will automatically head to that location." He hadn't had a chance to take off his Paladin armor, "How do I know I am ready?" She smirked at her son, "When you get the chance, take a look at yourself. Find a location suitable and wait for her. She will come to you."
He landed the Black Lion exactly where he last landed it, under different circumstances. He grabbed the wrapped item, which turned out to be traditional Galra leather armor. A left-arm gauntlet that just covered his forearm and a right arm leather gauntlet that ran from his knuckles to the elbow. Left shoulder and peck protector showed off his Trials scar and other scars he had acquired as a Voltron Paladin and Blades operative. In addition, he had leather pants with thicker leather padding around the vital areas for humans and belt loops for his blade belt. There was, however, a lack of footwear. He also had a bone bead choker, a silver armband, and a traditional hair-tie.
He quickly stripped out of his Paladin armor and finally noticed his skin was flushed a light purple. He went to the head of the Lion and looked at the mirror. He saw his sclera was a light yellow, and his teeth were more pointed. But, damn, was all that ran through his head. The last time he saw his skin with a slight purple coloration was his first encounter with Macidus. He looked down at his hand; in this state, some of the scaring remained and was more prevalent than in his normal skin tone.
He walked back to the cockpit and put on the armor he was given. He grabbed a small bag he tossed on his cot and disembarked from the Lion. He looked up at the Lion, who instinctively crouched down to him. His small bare hand touched the muzzle of the massive robot lion.
He closed his eyes, thinking, "No matter what happens, I need you to stay here. I have to go through this alone." The Lion released a purr-like growl in his mind causing him to smirk. He opened his eyes just in time to see the massive lion shift into a sitting position, "But I guess I don't need to tell you that, being I'm not the first one to sit in you."
He jumped down from the ledge the Lion was on and started his three-hour trek to the desired spot he had in mind. First, he set up the area as instructed. Then, grabbing his blade and knelt back, facing the path he came. He lay his blade on a ceremonial velvet purple cloth. Then, looking at the orange mid-day sky, he closed his eyes, waiting, meditating on what comes next.
4 hours later:
She saw the Lion just sitting there as she landed her shuttle. She sat here a couple of seconds to see if he was in the Lion of the cave she lived. Nothing. She got up; thinking might as well get out there, and disembarked from the shuttle after grabbing her bag.
When she left the shuttle's safety, she heard a whirling to see the Black-Lion looking at her. Even though Keith was her Grek unhDac, it was still intimidating being alone in its presence. It nudged his head in the direction its Paladin went. As if it was telling her it approves of her. She caught herself saying "Thank you" before going into the cave she had lived.
She threw her jacket onto her old bed and started disconnecting the armor from her bodysuit. She unzipped the back of her suit and let it drop to the ground. She stood there looking at a traditional Ferolian xuil-astfeifar outfit.
It took her nearly two hours to reach the location, the Black Lion gestured. Having lived on the planet for so long gave her an advantage. She knew where and how to progress in areas.
She came to the clearing in which they spent their first night together. She first saw Keith's back to her. She took in the sight of what he was wearing briefly before looking at the area.
He had set up his little area where he was kneeling, apparently not registering her presence. She saw a small spot for her; she looked at it and knelt, having her back to him. There she did some last-minute checks of her outfit before she said a silent chant to herself. She looked up to the sky, saying a prayer in her thoughts.
She stood up, slowly picking up her desired weapon. It was an s-shaped sword. The blade was a mixture of blue and black waves and splotches with a curved ivory-like color. Besides the few ice-like gems embedded in the hilt, a small curved point was going in the opposite direction. She looked to Keith, waiting for him.
She observed him making a reaching motion to something in front of him. He stood slowly, squaring his shoulders, making slight movements with his neck, which Acxa could hear the cartilage popping. Something she could never understand about humans is why damaged parts of their bodies too "loosen up?" She also noticed the faint purple pigment to his skin and slight discoloration to his hair resembling Senior Blade member Krolia. She watched as he turned around and dropped his mouth a little.
She had a mixture of both Galra and Ferolian pieces for her outfit. She had a leather band for one collar and a wavy piece of metal starting above her breasts and behind her neck. Her top looked like one of those one-strap swimsuits back on Earth but made of leather and intricate engravings. A decorative leather strap with o-ring connectors on her ribs and a patterned metallic cloth covering her abdomen was underneath her breasts. On her arms, she had a leather band on her and a padded three strapped leather gauntlet with some decorative fur on it. A strap with a small metallic trinket on her right arm is similar to the metal collar. On her wrist was a small metal support band with another wristband held in place with an o-ring.
The last piece of her outfit looked like a cross between a loincloth and a leather shirt. It was connected at where the waistband would have been with a massive o-shape in the sides revealing her thighs and reconnected a few inches above her knees. On her right leg was a black and icy blue garter that looked like it could hold a small blade. She was barefoot like him revealing her almost human feet with four toes. She lastly hard the same Ferolian wavy shapes on her anklets.
Seeing her in her outfit was one of the most beautiful sights he had seen. But he still had to keep his wits about him. Ferolians females always used sex appeal to their advantage, and if it didn't work, they used their secret weapon, pheromones, during xuil-astfeifar. And she was ripe with them. They stood twenty meters apart, but it was almost like they were standing next to one another.
As a sign of respect to each other, they put their weapon points down in their less dominant hands, Keith his right and Acxa her left. They put the hilt butts to their foreheads and then held the blades in front of their hearts. Both were trembling from their hormones, tension between them, and the nerves of the pending fight.
Acxa watched as his Marmora blade expanded into a sword and stabbed the ground. He proceeded to put his hair in a ponytail with what looked like a feather attached to a various colored circle and two leather straps, "naq ech'uk herqulcha tiHoy What are your intentions traveler?" Keith looked at her, smiled, then turned serious "daq gha weh Jhuk' uhnDak To claim you as my life mate." Acxa smiled and went to her deadpan face, "Doq'uta weh Grek unhDac choaq haqgdah ponek Chelok To be my life mate you must beat me in Pon'ek Chelok." Then, looking into her eyes, "gu'cho jeh tereh vay Then it shall be a well earned victory."
She passes her bladed weapon into her right hand "loqwa'aj choy,je'guv many have tried, and died." He picks up his sword and places it in his left hand "chah guvEc ceyIjatog,echVl ogabe They dishonored their houses in their failure, I will not." Acxa readied her sword "tereh je'gagh Victory or Death..." Keith spun his sword from his right hand, catching it in his left "tereh je'gagh..."
They both lunged at each other and thrust their swords at each other. Keith expertly blocked and felt her pushing against his blade and felt the full fury of her pheromones, "bok'cha machk ta I can smell the burning of your blood. Acxa continued to push against his sword "feqh zahk ek'toBah The fire is of your making!"
Keith started pushing her blade back "bok'rotah mgeJ I shall remedy that." Feeling the push back "decHta bo'koh As I for you.
She jumped back, and he lunged, swinging his sword, but she thrust hers to block his. Both would continue to fight one another. They were swinging their weapons, blocking, dodging, using tricks they picked up to buy themselves a little time. If one were to watch from afar, it would look like they weren't fighting each other, but more like dancing. The clanging of their blades striking each other along with their grunts and pants was the only music allowed.
Their dance would continue for nearly two whole hours. Then, moving from the clearing to a small wooded area, the exhausted dancers used the trees for support. They each had a few slashes on their body, slightly bleeding. But neither willing to yield as after they got a few seconds of rest before they went back to "dancing."
Eventually, it got to a point in which they got to a stalemate. Both threw their weapons aside and started 'dancing" with their hands and feet. Using some of the combined styles of Kolivan, Krolia, and Syrila, another Ferolian halfbreed. Their muscles ached and burned, their joints stiff, but the lust to be whole was too great for them to stop.
Eventually, exhaustion started to set in for both, dancers in which they staggered after each thrown kick and swayed after each punch. Unlike traditional purebloods, in which one had to be superior to their potential mate, they were equal. They made one final attack but fell into each other. On their knees, foreheads pressed together, panting, looking at each other. Keith smirked and pushed her over gently. She yelped, not expecting it. He straddled her holding her arms down, panting "tereh." She gave him an exhausted smile, "gejh'la tok I yield."
He smiled started to get up, but she swept his legs, causing him to fall over. She then proceeded to sit on his chest, pinning his arms under her legs, "tereh weh'Dac." Then, surprised by her burst of energy, "gejh'la tok weh Dak. I yield my mate"
She leaned down close to him, his nostrils flaring from her pheromones. He rolled them over so she was on her back and leaned in to kiss her, giving her a love bite on her neck. She rolled them over again, straddling his waist this time. She placed her hands on his chest and returned the kiss longer, digging her nails into his skin. Finally, she arched her back upwards, proceeding to take off her leather top and tossing it to the side before making out with her chosen again.
The two exhausted half-breeds would spend hours mating each other under Verolgah-IV's night sky. Eventually making it back to the cave she lived in for a time, continuing their aggressive lovemaking there. Their outfits were strung across the floor; their weapons leaned against the crate that acted as a headboard. When they were finally tired, they fell asleep with Keith closest to the entrance.
She snapped her eyes open, feeling a presence with her. She sat right up and looked at the still hazy form in her bed. Before the haze cleared, his scent filled her nose. She relaxed as her vision fed her what her nose told her. Smiling, she lay back down, placing her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. She looked at the cloth that acted as a door when they were last here, slightly more tattered from the last time she saw it. She closed her eyes, seeing the beginnings of a sunrise.
He woke up a few hours and stirred a little, causing her to churr softly. Then, feeling it from their intimacy, he gingerly put his leather pants on, limping outside the cave. He took a few deep breaths in the glow of the rising suns.
As the Suns started rising, he started going through his daily motions that were part of his Blades training the best he could. Despite his fractured bones, torn and strained tendons and ligaments, bruises, contusions, scratches, bite marks, and a shoulder that dislocated a fourth time, he felt great.
He noticed his skin was back to its usual tone. This time with Acxa had been the best time he had in a long time. But he knew he had to report back, just like she did. His body needed to be ready for anything regardless. He winced from a sudden movement closing his eyes, and started the motions again.
With the wind blowing his messy hair all over, he failed to notice that Acxa, holding the blanket to her naked chest, was watching him for a few seconds before returning to her bed. She knew as he did, they needed to report back to the Atlas. She looked down at her skin, seeing her normal tone like his as she slowly got dressed.
She gathered their stuff and exited the cave. Except for the hair tie and his blade, she put both outfits on her shuttle. She walked back to him; she had a relatively sad look on her face, "We must return." Keith nodded slightly, "Yes." Acxa knew they would face questions upon returning to the Atlas, especially from that annoying Paladin's sister, MFE pilots, and the paladins. He saw her scrunch her face, thinking, "How do you wish to proceed?"
Acxa looked at him, "Among the humans, I don't know." Keith understood her point. Allura and Lance were practically in each other's arms all the time or showing PDAs in front of everyone. But both of them were outgoing people. Keith and Acxa were not, "How about one day at a time?" he asked, unsure. "We don't show our affection like Allura or Lance, only when alone or until we are comfortable."
Acxa's face showed she approved of his suggested course of action, "That is a doable plan. But according to Galra tradition, we must be what your people call married before the 12th movement after our... dance." Keith understood what she meant, "Even though it goes against tradition, I would rather we wait til the war is over to take the uc-jagh." Acxa smiled warmly, "As would I my love."
He smiled intensely at her raising his right arm, the same arm that had a fractured radius in two different spots. She raised her hand to match his. Their glares of hot love for each other were all that needed to be said. Their hands touched, and quickly, their fingers interlocked. They both looked at each other's hands briefly before looking back at each other—both taking in the other's scent.
Just as it started, it was over when they opened their hands. Acxa slid her hand slightly down his arm before walking towards her shuttle. She boarded the shuttle and took off. Not long after he lost sight of her shuttle, he approached the Black-Lion and boarded. He could feel Lion's approval for her. He got dressed in his paladin armor and proceeded to take off in the same direction.
As soon as they reached the Atlas, they were ordered to the briefing room. Lance had greeted Keith in the Hanger-bay and filled him in on the situation as he changed out of his Paladin armor and into his Galaxy Garrison uniform. However, while talking to Keith, he couldn't help but notice the bruises, scratches, and bite marks, "Galra don't do things delicately do they?" Keith had a huge grin on his face, "Nope." While struggling to put his uniform jacket on, Keith's shoulder crunched as it dislocated.
A slightly pale Lance saw him wince in pain, "Do you need help?" Keith looked at his shoulder, "I'm fine, just a dislocated shoulder." He grabbed his arm thrust it back in place, groaning in a mixture of pain and ecstasy. Lance retched into his mouth and winced, looking away. Then, swallowing the bile in his mouth paler than when he heard the shoulder dislocate, "Just?!" He looked away as if the sight of his uniformed shoulder was making him sick "God, I can't even look at it!"
Lance cautiously touched his other shoulder, "You should go get checked out at the med-bay." Keith looked at his second command as he finished dressing up in his uniform, "I'm fine." The two of them walked out of the Paladin locker room, which nearly mirrored the Castle of Lions. Lance, still concerned, "Dude, you have bruises, scratches, and bites. I am pretty sure you got some broken bones too."
Keith smiled kindly at his second in command and friend, "I'll take your advice under consideration," they saw Allura, Hunk, Pidge, the MFE pilots, and Acxa walk into the briefing room. Keith stopped, which caused Lance to stop. He proceeded to place a hand on his friend's shoulder, "But my friend, someone wise beyond their years once told me 'Warriors love each other far differently than non-warriors."
With that, the head and right arm of Voltron walked into the briefing room. The MFE Pilots looked at a battered jovial Keith as he walked in with shocked looks. The one known as Veronica, who he learned through Lance had a thing for him, had a scowl. Iverson looked indifferent, while Allura had a shocked look on her face, figuring out what had happened based on his and Acxa's appearance.
Pidge had a thoughtful look on her face like she had hundreds of scientific questions she wanted to ask them. Hunk was clueless as to what happened. But, surprisingly, both Shiro and Coran had pleasant looks on their faces. Coran, knowing exactly what they did, whereas Shiro eventually found out by deduction and a conversation with Krolia.
Coran went back to compiling his intel with a holo-display of what looked like various star systems. First, there was a dark-skinned person who sat across from Pidge, who he had never seen before, who looked at Keith indifferent. Then there was Commander Holt, who sat to Acxa's left seemed a little worried about Keith and Acxa's condition, which caused both of them to blush slightly.
Over the interruptions, Shiro cleared his throat, "Lets begin, Coran?" Coran snapped to attention before relaxing. He typed a few more buttons on the console before him, projecting various points in the quadrant. It had locations of Coalition forces, Blade of Marmora locations, Imperial Locations, and Rebel locations.
It also had locations of Pirate activity. But there were also positons of recent Robeast attacks. The setting of the briefing was consolidating resources to attack Oriande. Many in the room were many were surprised that Keith and Acxa were keeping things professional. No stealing looks from each other or blushing at each other, just professionalism. They did give each other soft looks when they spoke during the briefing, but that was the extent of it until after the briefing. In which the two agreed to meet up and discuss plans for training regiments, possible maneuvers.