Allura stood in front of the blue lion looking up at her. She felt small in the shadow of the giant machine. Allura had of course been up close to the lions countless times, but she couldn't remember a single time she'd been alone with one. She wanted to ask it why. Why was the lion acting like she didn't know Lance? Nothing like this had ever happened before. Then again, the lions had had only two paladins each so far. There wasn't a lot of history to go off of, despite their age. And as much as the others might think she understood them, she really didn't. They were her father's creation and even he didn't understand them completely. He had once told her that he was surprised when they seemed to gain sentience, that they had wills of their own. But it had improved his faith. Allura hadn't thought her father had any true faith until that day. Maybe...
Allura didn't bow her head, but she did close her eyes. She thought for a long time about what she could say. It was difficult to find words, nothing sounded right and this whole thing felt weird.
She groaned to herself and opened her eyes again. If her father were here he would instruct her to close her eyes and bow her head in submission to the prophets, but she wasn't here to show her respect or to speak to the prophets. She just wanted to speak to the lion in front of her. She decided she'd try again, but more causally.
She took a deep breath. "Hello," she greeted. After a few moments of staring, she had to avert her eyes from the blue lion's. "I wanted to understand. What is it that you need? What do you want? What desire do you have that my team cannot meet?"
She waited a long time but felt no answer coming forth. She sighed and approached Blue until she was able to rest a hand on one of her mighty legs. She rested her forehead against her hand, not realizing that she was essentially closing her eyes and bowing her head.
"We really need you right now. We're already down a paladin, I don't know what I'll do if you really shut Lance out. Please, don't fight me on this," she whispered her plea.
"Oh!"
Allura whipped around to see who had caught her in a less than dignified position. Her face turned fuchsia to the point that her Altean markings on her cheeks disappeared.
"Sorry Princess, I didn't think anyone else would be here. Were you talking to Blue?" Hunk asked with no judgement.
The Princess gathered her wits and spoke as normally as she could. "I was." She then noticed that Hunk was holding a plate piled high with food goo.
"Ah, well sorry to disturb you. Lance made me promise to check on Blue before he'd go to sleep. Not that I could really do much except talk to her and hear nothing back. I'm sure she listens though, so I brought my lunch with me." He held up his plate to show her. "Do you want me to come back later so that you can have more time with her?" Hunk pointed toward the door and turned halfway showing that he was perfectly willing to give her space.
Hunk was always so considerate. Allura was impressed that someone could honestly think about others so much.
"No," she stopped him. "Please, you can stay. I wasn't sure what else to say anyway."
Hunk let himself more fully into the room and took up a spot sitting at Blue's feet. There was an awkward silence in which Hunk began eating and Allura just stood in place looking around the room. Apparently it was only awkward for Allura because Hunk suddenly looked over at Allura like she was doing something weird.
"Aren't you going to sit?" he asked her.
She hesitated for a lingering moment before kneeling and placing her butt down to one side. She sat as gracefully as she could on the floor in a dress.
"So what do you think is up with Blue? Is something wrong with her," he asked causally.
"I really don't know."
Hunk didn't seem phased by her answer so she guessed he didn't expect her to know.
"I was thinking about the lions and Voltron a lot lately. Like, why humans? I remember you saying that the lions chose us out of everyone in the entire universe, you said that the lions hadn't chosen new paladins for thousands of years. So why all humans? There's gotta be billions if not trillions of species out there, and we weren't even involved in the war before being chosen. I just can't imagine that humans are all that special."
"Believe me, I understand the sentiment," Allura regretted saying it as soon as it left her mouth. Was that rude? Alteans would have found it rude if implied about their species. But it was true that Allura had thought the same thing. She took it as a sign from the universe that the blue lion showed back up with exactly five people, but inside she was bitter that the lions had chosen no Alteans. Granted the only Alteans left were her and Coran, but still, or perhaps even more so, she resented it.
When Hunk only smiled at her, she was astonished. If every human were like Hunk, then perhaps she'd understand, but she knew that wasn't the case.
"I'm sorry, what I mean is, it's not the human species that is special, it is you five specifically," she conceded.
Hunk continued to smile good-naturedly. "Maybe. I just think it's extraordinary."
She could agree with that as well.
"Those traits you gave the lions, the ones you said we matched, for humans those are so broad almost anyone could fit into any and all of them. I don't think you even scratched the surface of what they really are."
Allura wanted to be offended but it was a little difficult when Hunk didn't sound accusatory nor was he wrong in what he'd said. She didn't really know the lions, she only really knew the paladins of old.
"The blue lion is supposed to be open and flexible, able to adapt to any situation. I don't understand why she's being like this right now! She's closing herself off!" Allura let some of her anger and bitterness slip.
Hunk's brows furrowed and he looked surprised at her. "Why do you think she's closed herself off? We don't know that for sure. Lance was just too tired to fly her," he reasoned.
Allura drew her knees up and hugged them. "In all the years the old paladins flew the lions, no matter how tired or how hurt they were, none of the lions ever stopped listening to their paladins. If their paladins were unable to fly them, they would fly themselves to safety as long as their paladin was still inside. I don't know why but she's acting like she doesn't recognize Lance."
Hunk dropped his fork. When it clattered on the floor he picked it up and put it neatly over his empty plate. "Alright. Tell me what you know about the blue lion."
Allura was a little taken aback. "You want to know about the blue lion?" Hunk nodded. "Why?"
"Because, if I tell Lance this, he'll just freak out and he won't be able to do anything. I know Lance though, so if this has something to do his connection to her, I might be able to help."
"Oh." Allura unfurled herself. "But I don't know anything about the blue lion. I only knew her previous paladin. The paladins of old said that their personalities matched their respective lions."
"Okay, so tell me about the first blue paladin," Hunk asked patiently.
The memories that Allura would have to access were painful to think about now that everyone she once knew was gone. This wasn't something she had thought deeply about since she had woken up from forced sleep months ago. She looked at his face and his eyes were imploring.
She sighed, "Fine, I'll tell you about him. ...Blaytz was the type of person who always wanted to help others. He was always busy cheering people up, he was so open. I think he could do that so easily because he knew exactly who he was. He was confident in himself and his solid presence made others blossom. He could become whatever the team needed in that moment because he always had the foundation of knowing himself to fall back on. He knew what he could do and what he could not. He was truly inspiring." Allura curled back in on herself again. "I'd never known anyone with more confidence."
"Wow, he sounds like quite a guy," Hunk sounded almost as awed as she had been the first time she'd met Blaytz.
"He was," she said softly.
"I'd say Lance has those traits sometimes. He's not as stable. Sometimes he seems confident and sure of himself, but then something will happen and he calls those things into question. He doesn't get shaken up easily, but when something big happens, it throws him off to the point where he doesn't seem like himself," Hunk explained.
"Knowing yourself completely, even in the vastness of the cosmos, surely is a rare trait to have," she contemplated in a forlorn manner.
"Shiro has been missing. Lance looked up to him like a hero back on Earth even though he had never met him. Maybe Lance has just lost his foundation out here. We've all felt uprooted."
"Maybe," Allura agreed.
There was another long silence between them. It seemed like Hunk wanted Allura to say more, but she refused. She stayed silent for as long as it took.
"You know, it would be nice if you started joining the rest of us for meals again," Hunk gave in. "There's a saying back on Earth, 'families that eat together, stay together.' If you and Keith joined us, I think it would make all of us feel better, including Lance."
Allura thought on this for a while. "That is a nice saying," she admitted.
"So you'll join us for dinner?" he asked hopefully.
Allura felt something tense in her heart relax itself. "I shall consider it," she said with warmth and anxiety chasing each other in her chest.
"That's great!" Hunk beamed at her.
Allura's mouth opened in awe. Truly there was none like this one anywhere else in the universe.
"Welp," Hunk stood and gathered his plate. "Pidge is probably already back to work with Slav. If I don't show up to help her soon, she might kill him!" he chuckled with affection. He turned to Blue and patted her leg. "Hey Blue! No matter how confused about himself Lance may get, he'll always love you. You remember that, okay?" he smiled up at her.
How could this be? He knew exactly what to say to her without any hesitation. Was it because he had a relationship with his own lion? But the blue lion was different from the yellow lion. Was it because he was close to Lance? Hunk began to leave.
"Wait," she stopped him. "Could I ask you something?"
"Sure, anything," he said simply.
"What exactly does the yellow lion want?"
Hunk thought for a moment scratching his head. "It's not so simple to explain, but, to summarize, he wants to protect people even when it's scary."
"Does that sound generic to you?" Allura turned his previous sentiment on him.
He grinned, "Yes. I'll tell you more about him later if you want. In fact, I'll tell the whole dinner table if you come. I won't start without you though, so don't worry if you can't make it."
Hunk left her alone, still sitting on the floor. The floor wasn't so bad once she got used to it. She turned to Blue.
"Should I go to dinner with the others?" She felt nothing but she knew the answer anyway.
Knock, knock, knock. "Keith?" Allura called gently. She waited in front of the door to his room playing with a lock of her long silver hair. When she didn't get an answer she tried again a little louder. Knock, knock, knock. "Keith!" Still no answer. Unsatisfied with this, she opened the door for herself.
The vanishing door revealed only a person sprawled out on the middle of the floor. The room was bare of any personal effects aside from a red and white jacket folded neatly at the foot of the bed. Keith was in his T-shirt, jeans and boots, and of course his finger-less gloves grace his hands, but without his jacket on, he somehow looked younger. Perhaps his jacket made his shoulders look wider, or perhaps Allura had gotten used to seeing him in armor. Keith's forearm had been resting over his eyes but at her entrance he sat up on his elbows.
"How did you get into my room?"
"Why are you lying in the middle of the floor?"
"You're in my room, you answer my question first," he insisted.
Allura entered fully so that the door slid shut behind her. "I'm the Princess. I can get into any room I want." She fixed an imaginary wrinkle in the skirt of her dress.
"You mean you have the security codes. Of course you do," he turned away from her on his side and used his arm as a pillow.
"Now answer my question. You have a bed, do you ever use it?" She neared him until her body casted a shadow over his face.
"I do when I'm sleeping."
"Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?"
"Aren't you supposed to be leaving me alone so that I can sleep?" Keith threw back at her.
Allura thought about getting angry, she was certainly annoyed, but she came here with good intentions so she decided to sit on the floor for the second time today, except this time, next to Keith.
"I knew you might be awake anyway so I came with an offer. Hu—"
"I know what you're going to say and I don't want to hear it. Just get out!" Keith spoke over her.
Allura puffed up and was so offended that she made several inarticulate sounds before she managed to say, "You do not know what I was about to say!"
"Yes I do! And I won't listen to it!" Keith covered both of his ears with his hands.
Allura angrily tried to pulled the closest one off. "Hunk said that we were the only two who have been missing meals with the others! He wanted me to join them so I came to see if you'd come as well!" she screamed at him.
Keith kept fighting to pull his arm back but her superior Altean strength won out and she held his arm in a leg lock between all the folds of her dress.
Keith struggled to try and pry her legs apart using one of his legs and his free arm. "I see! So you'll get us all together and then you'll tells us we need to give up on Shiro!"
"Wha?! I was not going to say that!" Allura let go of his arm with her legs but still held on tightly to his wrist with her hand only to spring on him and pin his arms and legs to the floor, but not before he got her in the chin with his palm. "Ah!" she reacted and then geared up to yell directly in his face.
"How dare you assume that of me!"
Keith continued to make things hard for Allura by squirming and trying to hit her.
"I only want us to eat together so that we can feel like a family again!"
If they had been listening closely, they would have heard some stumbling before there was urgent banging on Keith's door.
"Keith?! Are you okay?! What's going on?!" Lance sounded disoriented.
"Great! You woke Lance up!" Keith whisper-yelled at his captor.
"I did not! You started this!" Allura whispered back.
"Keith! Are you okay?!" Lance sounded more alert this time.
"I'm fine, Lance! You can go back to bed!" Keith called out to the door.
Allura kept quiet above him and they both listened to see if he'd leave.
"Uh, okay..." Lance said in a much quieter and unsure tone. It took a few seconds before they heard him walk away and the door next to Keith's open and close. Of course they would wake Lance up when they were screaming at each other! Keith and Lance shared a wall!
Keith looked up at Allura. "Nice going," he remarked quietly.
Allura sprung off of him and turned herself away but did not get up from by his side. "Like I said, it wasn't my fault," she continued in a hushed tone.
Keith slowly sat up. "And you're still here why?"
Allura thought about it and turned back to face him. "Because I had an offer and seeing as you are awake, what could eating with other people hurt?"
Keith just stared at her with a harsh frown, knowing that wasn't the only reason anymore.
"And..." she began. "Since you brought the topic up, we do need to start looking for someone to pilot the black lion."
"I knew it!" Keith exploded again.
Allura grabbed one of Keith's arms again to keep him from running away and put a finger to her mouth, something she had learned from Pidge. "Shhhh!" She didn't quite do it naturally.
They both listened to see if they had bothered Lance again. When Allura was satisfied she relaxed a little.
"This is not the same as giving up on Shiro."
"Yes it is," Keith insisted. "That's exactly what it is. It's as close to the definition as you can get."
"No, it isn't." Allura gripped his wrist harder.
Keith gave a slight wince.
"The truth is, Shiro isn't with us right now. We still need Voltron though. In the time we've been looking for Shiro and working hard to keep up with protecting the people we can, the Galra have been regrouping and assessing us. They know that the black lion hasn't been out of the Castle and they think the same of the red lion. If we don't do anything soon, they could organise a larger attack and without Voltron, we'll be helpless to stop them. We have yet to confirm what happened to Zarkon. They have more information about our state than we do of theirs. We need someone piloting each of the lions, even if it's just temporary," she explained in earnest.
"How is replacing Shiro any different from giving up on him? You want someone to take his place? Well that's impossible!" he said angrily, just managing to keep his voice down.
"Agh! Keith, are you listening to me at all? I said it would be temporary! What are we supposed to do, huh? Let countless people die while we're down a paladin and wait until we're in range of Shiro's suit? We can't do that! Shiro would never let us do that if he knew this!" she went back to whisper-shouting.
"You don't know what Shiro would do! You barely knew him!"
"I knew him a lot better than you think I did! Unlike you, he was open to actually talking to people! He asked my opinions on things and he listened to me! He respected me more than any of you do!"
"Oh, really?" Keith's tone changed. "If you think you knew him, can you tell me any details about his past?"
"Of course! He was captured by the Galra and held for a year before he escaped back to Earth!"
"I mean personal details. Has he ever told you about his childhood? Or what happened to him on his first team survival test at the Garrison? Even just how he feels about something?"
Allura looked to the floor and bit her lip trying to think of a time.
"Shiro's really good at making people feel close to him because he's good at listening and giving advice, but he doesn't say things that reveal anything meaningful about himself to just anyone."
Allura growled at Keith. "This conversation is pointless! It doesn't change the fact that we need someone in the black lion!"
Keith's expression grew very dark and he banged his fist against the floor. "Allura, the reason I haven't been able to sleep is because I've been having nightmares about Shiro being tortured."
Her anger dulled and her expression faded.
"Every time I wake up I can't remember the details. I don't remember who was torturing him or where he was but it feels real, even after waking up!"
"It might not be real," Allura tried to reassure him.
"And if it is?!"
She had no answer to give.
"Shiro could be suffering all over again! What if the Galra have him again? Are we just going to leave him? We didn't leave you when you were captured!"
"If he is with the Galra, then what better way to get him back then with Voltron?"
There was a tentative knock on the door. "Uh, Keith? I heard you yelling. And I think I heard something else as well but I'm not exactly sure what it was. Listen... if you need something I..."
Keith let Lance go on while he looked to Allura. "Let go of my arm," he demanded with a sense of authority that she could not figure out where it had come from.
She let him go and saw a red ring where she'd been holding him. He stood up and pointed to a corner of the room.
"Go stand over there."
She glared slightly at him. "Why?"
"Because if Lance sees you in here, he'll freak out and start to assume things neither of us want him to."
She didn't know exactly what Keith was saying. It was difficult for her to infer things that were being implied when she didn't have the same cultural context to draw from. Nevertheless, she obeyed and stood against the wall with the door, in the furthest corner so that as long as Lance didn't enter the room, he was unlikely to spot her. She gathered her dress in bunches behind her so that it wouldn't drape out in front of her.
Lance was still talking as Keith approached the door. "...it's not that you have to tell me anything. I just, you know, felt... if I could... Well," the door slid open. "Keith!" Lance sounded like he was startled.
"I'm okay," Keith told him, softer than Allura had ever heard him speak to Lance.
"Oh. I heard..."
"Me yelling?"
"Yeah. And..."
"Me punching things?"
"Oh, so that's what that was." Lance sounded really awkward now.
"Why do you look more tired than the last time I saw you?" Keith asked.
"Oh! Well... something did happen, but it's not that big of a deal, I just need sleep."
"What happened?" Keith insisted.
"I went on a mission."
"After you went to get me? When?"
Allura could hear Lance shrug. "Maybe four hours ago."
Allura was surprised when Keith didn't say anything in response.
"So, I guess you can't sleep."
Keith shook his head.
"I could get you a hot drink if you want?"
"No, but thanks."
There was a silence between the two of them.
"Hey, uh... If you need someone to, to talk to, I mean, you'd usually talk to Shiro when something's wrong but since..." he trailed off then tried to start again. "I didn't mean to say that. I mean! The second part! I meant the first part. If you wanted to—"
Keith decided to have mercy on him. "Maybe later," he said with sincerity.
Lance seemed to take him as sincere as well. "Okay. Later."
Keith nodded again.
"Okay," Lance still sounded hesitant to leave but Allura heard him pivot on his foot and slowly walk to his room. What was going on between the two boys was beyond Allura at this point. Maybe if she could see their faces, but still she doubted she'd understand. It must have been a human thing.
Keith didn't step back from the door until after Lance's door had closed. When he stepped back, he looked directly at her with something usual on his face. She couldn't make sense of it.
"Okay," he said.
When Allura only gave him a confused look he explained further.
"We'll look for someone to pilot the black lion."
Allura felt relief wash through her. She hadn't realized how tense her shoulders had been. She let her dress splay back out around her feet and began to reapproach Keith.
"Don't think for a second that this will be easy," Keith warned.
Seriousness pulled her features back in. "I know you will not submit to just any authority. Neither will I. I promise I will never let anyone undeserving of our respect near the black lion," she swore.
Keith examined her for several moments before conceding. "Good."
Allura eyed the door. "Well. The others must have started dinner a while ago now."
"Did you want to join them?"
"Not in the middle of things. But, if you give me a moment to change, I would be glad to meet you on the training deck."
Keith looked perplexed. "I thought training more was my solution to everything."
"Yes, well, I thought we could work on hand-to-hand. You could stand to learn how to grapple an opponent with greater strength than your own."
The expected rise from Keith never came. He simply said, "Sure." Allura was positive that if Lance had said the same thing to him, it would have drawn out his competitive side. Why did she get such a different reaction?
All the same, she left in a hurry to change into her battle gear.
A/N: Sometimes Hunk and Lance are just the best. That's all I have to say for this chapter :)
(Also, since I can't respond to Shiranai Atsune directly, thank you for your reviews! I really appreciate them!)