Have a totally self indulgent... well, it's not exactly a sequel, is it? More of a prequel, if anything. Anyways, I do actually plan on writing some stuff re: Keith in space for this verse, but I really wanted to take Heath and Krolia (and baby Keith) first... first of all bc adorable baby kitten Keith, and second of all bc Lore. So this was the result!

It only focuses on Krolia's time on Earth. Using the same five + one approach as before, though I have no idea if I'll stick with that for all further updates or not.

when your loved ones are (literal) animals

(and so are you)

(1)

"There's something I've been meaning to tell you."

Krolia blinked. She hadn't exactly missed the way her host had been fidgeting throughout the day, so she had somewhat sensed there was something on his mind.

She doesn't know much about him- it's barely been a phoeb since she crashed her ship in his front yard. She had been surprised to learn that the populace of this planet- Earth- had no knowledge of alien life, amazed that there were still planets out on the fringes that were so untouched by the war.

All the more so because she knew the blue lion was here, somewhere.

But she does know that Heath Kogane is open, honest, and after a lifetime of war, of serving as a spy, it's refreshing. She had really only intended to stay here until her injuries from the crash had healed, but before she knew it, she was already making excuses to stay. She needed a base of operations somewhere, so why not here, where there was food and a warm bed?

Nevermind that she didn't really need the latter, and was more than proficient in obtaining the former.

So for him to be acting this strangely... it caught her attention, to say the least. Enough for her to put away the work she'd been burying herself in all day. The blue lion was out there somewhere in this desert landscape, and without her ship's instruments, her only hope of actually finding it was the old-fashioned way.

"Is something wrong?" Krolia inquired.

"No," Heath said quickly, holding up his hands, "-nothing's wrong. It's just... I might not have been completely honest with you."

She tensed at the statement, but not as much as she might if the words came from another. This was not the Galra Empire, where betrayal was the norm.

Instead, she narrowed her eyes. "Is this why you've been acting strangely all day?"

Heath blinked in surprise at that. "Have I?"

"You have." Krolia told him. "I have noticed that you have been unusually fidgety. Nervous."

Frowning, Heath seemed to consider her words. "The fidgeting's normal, at least, for this time of month. The nerves are new, though."

Krolia blinked. She recognized the human word for phoeb- Heath had taught her many things about Earth, but it did not make his words make any more sense.

"I just... aw heck, this is the first time I've ever told anyone about this." Heath confessed, going back to wringing his hands. "Normally, it's taboo, but... well, you're not exactly human, so I'm guessing the rules don't quite apply."

Krolia only grew more perplexed. "Taboo?"

Heath heaved a sigh, looking up towards the sky. "S'full moon tonight."

Krolia nodded. She was aware. Earth had precisely one moon, which became full every twenty nine quintants or so. It was much different from the dual moons that rose over the colony in which she had been born- a far more visually striking image.

"When you first crashed here," Heath began, "-you asked what I was. I told you I was a human."

Krolia frowned at that. While her interactions with humans had been limited to Heath, she had done a fair amount of research on his media box- dubbed as a television. Its programming was diverse, and there were no shortage of humans to be found, of all shapes and sizes. Heath looked no different from any of them.

"Are you not?" Krolia inquired.

Heath gave her a considering look. "Good question. Yes and no."

Krolia just gave him a blank look. "Is the no something I should be concerned with?"

"No!" Heath blurted out. "Least, I don't think so."

She let out a breath, a hint of tension leaving her shoulders. Perhaps it was foolish for her to take him at his word, but she felt as if she could trust him.

"I- my kind, we're called Shifters. There's other names, but that tends to be what we go by." Heath explained. "We can- nobody knows quite why, but we can change."

Krolia blinked. "Change?"

She had heard of races of shapeshifters before. The Alteans, who had built the lion she was searching for, had been one of them. But there were a scant handful of others- she just hadn't been under the impression that Earth housed any.

"The moon, it effects us." Heath told her. "We can change on our own, if we want, but the full moon brings it out of us whether we want it to or not."

Ah. Finally something clicked for her.

"So that is why you are concerned about tonight?" Krolia inquired, before frowning. "This change... will it make you a danger?"

"No." Heath stated firmly. "God no. There's people who- aw heck, nevermind, you don't need to know about all that. The point is, no. I just thought I should probably give you a little bit of warning, seeing as we're living together and all."

He coughed a little at the words living together, averting his gaze in a curious way. She wanted to ask about it, but there were far more pressing questions to pursue.

"Oh," she said instead, "-in that case, thank you for the warning."

And then, after a slight pause. "So... what do you change into?"

(2)

She got her answer that night.

While she might be a stranger to this planet, she had not slacked in her research. She was familiar with many of the animals that were native to this swath of the planet- and among them was an animal known as a wolf.

That was the answer.

And not.

Heath was a wolf, of that she was certain. But he was also a fair bit larger than her research had indicated these wolves to be. His fur was pure black, causing him to almost melt into the night, save for the bright light of the full moon.

His eyes gleamed gold.

She was fascinated. In her long lifetime, she had seen much- but never a transformation as complete as this. Even the Alteans had not been able to transform so thoroughly.

Heath had gone on to explain to her that his people- the Shifters, he had said, stayed hidden, and did so for a reason. That humans speculated on, but did not know of their existence. She had not once questioned why he lived so far away from any other humans, but she supposed that explained it.

Many were like him. They became wolves. But there were still others who became other things- he had spoken of cats, foxes, and coyotes, chiefly, but he'd remarked that he'd once met a bear. But they were still few in number, and had survived for as long as they had by pretending to be one thing or another.

Heath had chosen human.

Some resented humans. Heath did not. She suspected he didn't have that kind of resentment in him. It was part of why he had taken the job he had- one that consisted of fighting fires and saving lives. Not being human meant he could take more risks, and save more people, and he never thought twice about it.

Still, he kept himself at a distance. He didn't want to be found out. And out here, in the desert, he was free.

She sat on the porch, watching as the man who had pulled her from her damaged ship raced through the desert- just not as a man. He couldn't speak to her, not like this- though she understood some of the growls that he made, and responded in turn with some of her own. He'd seemed amused by the prospect, or at least if she had observed his altered body language correctly, he was.

Humming to herself, she arched her brows slightly. The transformation itself had been rather shocking, even with the advance warning. Heath had assured her ahead of time that it wasn't actually painful, but it certainly looked that way, bones shifting and rearranging themselves.

Yes, she decided- the forewarning was very much appreciated.

(3)

Becoming intimate with Heath had somehow been even more of a surprise.

She wished she could say that she had realized she was in love with him, but it did not dawn on her until they nearly found themselves kissing. It had been Heath who had pulled away, making a hasty excuse to leave the room- and she feared that she had perhaps done something wrong.

Heath quickly came back to explain that no, she hadn't.

"It's just... there's a taboo." Heath muttered.

Krolia pursed her lips at that. "Another taboo?"

There seemed to be no shortage of those.

"There's a risk," Heath stated directly, "-that by coming in contact with certain bodily fluids, that it might spread."

"Like salvia." Krolia observed. When Heath nodded, she merely arched her brows. It wasn't hard to guess what it was. "It's possible for others to gain this ability?"

It made it sound more like it was some kind of disease, rather than a natural ability. But as far as she knew, Heath had been born with it, the same as his parents had. Perhaps genetic condition would be more accurate, but she failed to see how that could spread.

But she supposed that the semantics really didn't matter.

"Sometimes." Heath told her, then seemed to think better of it. "Like I said, it's complicated. Some don't react at all. Others do. Some change. Others just get really sick. Some... some don't make it."

Krolia simply hummed. "Did you forget that I am not human?"

She could certainly understand why he was worried, but as far as she saw it, there was no reason to be.

Heath seemed to blink at that. As if he had actually forgotten. "Oh."

"Yes," Krolia agreed, though it made her smile, "-oh. Is that the only reason you refused my...?"

Heath flushed at that, clearing his throat. "Just- just thought you should know what you were getting into. But I guess uh... guess I didn't have to worry."

"No," Krolia agreed, "-but I appreciate the thought."

Heath cracked a smile at that, and she returned it. Even if it were possible to infect her, she would have deemed it worth the risk. She had lived a long time, but she had never had anyone in her life quite like Heath before. Now that she had him, she didn't intend to give him up.

Even if she could leave, she wouldn't. The war against the Galra Empire could go on without her- her new mission was to remain here, in order to protect the blue lion.

And to do that with Heath.

(4)

If falling in love had been unexpected, then Keith had been even more unexpected.

She knew, logically, that the Galra were capable of reproducing with a vast number of alien races- it just somehow hadn't occurred that it could happen to her. It had been just as much of a shock for Heath, who spent the next few phoebs fretting over her growing belly, every bit the concerned father before they even so much as welcomed their child into the world.

There were the expected issues- neither of them knew much about pregnancy or babies, and they were about to have a child that was going to be half of both of them. What knowledge she had about normal Galra pregnancies was decidedly lacking- just enough to know what was wrong, but not enough to know if something was seriously wrong.

In the end, Heath had swallowed his pride, and contacted a doctor from his own kind. They would not breathe a word, bound by a code of secrecy, but from the moment the woman stepped inside their home, it was clear to Krolia that she didn't like her.

In a way, it was strangely refreshing. She was accustomed to being hated- it came part and parcel with being Galra- but for once, that wasn't what this was about. In fact, she was quite certain that the doctor would have hated her just the same had she been a normal human woman- the only reason she could not stand her was because she was not one of them.

She asked virtually no questions- the less she knew about the business of broken taboos, the better, she had heard her say. Which was fine- it suited both of their purposes. However much ill will she more her, she still carried out her duties efficiently, teaching them all that they would need to know about the coming birth.

Or as much as she could, given their child's mixed blood.

Keith was born into the world far too early for a human- or a Shifter- child, but far too late for a Galra. He was small, even by human standards, but Heath assured her that was alright.

He looked so human.

She could tell that he had inherited some of her features, even with the chubby baby fat that clung to him. But he did not look visibly Galra, save for perhaps the purple tint to his otherwise blue eyes. It was something they had both been concerned about- there were some Galra traits that they might be able to manage, but if he were to be born purple...

Thankfully, that was not the case.

It left only one question.

"Do you think he will take after you?" Krolia inquired.

"Can't say." Heath frowned. "Not until his first full moon, I guess."

Out of instinct, she gazed up towards the sky. The moon was a thin sliver in the sky, and soon it wouldn't be present at all. New moons could create just as many issues for Shifters as full moons could- although the issue then had more to do with general lethargy and the inability to transform, even if they wanted to.

Kissing her son's forehead, Krolia smiled at their child. In so far as she was concerned, he was perfect, and nothing could change that. Even if he could shift.

The first full moon came and went, and Keith did not change. Heath took this to mean that he wouldn't. She was not so sure.

She wasn't sure why. Some brewing maternal instinct, perhaps.

It was several movements before she was proven right.

She had set down Keith for a nap some vargas ago, when she caught a faint sound. Lifting her head, she frowned. It was coming from the direction of Keith's crib, but it did not sound like one of his normal cries, which were a jumbled mix between those of a normal Galra infant's and a human baby's.

Heath would be out for another varga or so, so she went to check on their son. She was not sure what she would find- she didn't catch the scent of any intruders, which was the only reason why she was leisurely walking upstairs, rather than sprinting up them.

She would admit, she wasn't quite prepared for this.

Curled up in her son's crib was not a human infant, nor was it a wolf pup- instead, she determined, it was a baby cat- a kitten. Said kitten was sleeping peacefully, having wormed its way out of the red onesie that she had dressed Keith in that morning, curled up atop it. His fur was pure black, the same as his father's.

In spite of herself, Krolia let out a snort. She and Heath had discussed any number of possibilities, but this surely had not been one of them.

One of Keith's ears twitched, the kitten letting out a tiny mew. She would not lie- hardened solider though she might be, she felt something in her heart melt at the sound.

That said, she was not without her concerns.

By the time Heath returned home, she had retrieved Keith from his crib, and brought him downstairs. He had woken briefly during the process, but showed no signs of panic, and had quickly fallen back asleep again. He was still curled up in her lap when his father returned, ears twitching at the sound of his voice.

Heath stopped short. He blinked, opened his mouth, blinked, and shut his mouth.

Krolia merely looked unperturbed. "You're home a bit late."

"Just some-" Heath began, before deciding whatever it was that had held him up, wasn't nearly as important as the fuzzy bundle in her lap, "-is that... is that Keith?"

Krolia hummed, lightly stroking the underside of Keith's chin. "Mm-hm."

Heath stared for a second longer, before shaking his head. "I'll be honest with you, that's not what I thought would happen at all."

At the continued noise, Keith's ears twitched, one eye cracking open. Letting out a tiny yawn, the black kitten sniffed the air, perhaps catching wind of his father's scent. Perking up, he stumbled to his feet, as if for a moment, he was uncertain as to how to use them. Krolia frowned, but he quickly seemed to gain mastery over his own four legs, leaping out of her lap to rub against his father's legs, purring like a engine.

"He seems to be handling it well." Krolia observed. She would have thought that waking up as a different species would have been more distressing.

"Instincts," Heath explained, crouching down, allowing his son to sniff one of his hands, "-supposed to kick in during the first transformation."

Keith all but shoved his face into his father's proffered hand, purring growing louder as he used it to lightly stroke one of his ears. She had heard that cats and dogs did not get along, but there appeared to be no such conflict between father and son.

But then again, Keith's tail was also wagging in contentment, much as a dog's would. Perhaps his instincts were not completely feline.

Heath noticed it, letting out a snort in spite of himself. "Looks like we're going to have to find you some actual cats to hang out with, buddy."

Now more at ease, Krolia smiled. She assumed that Keith could transform back should he wish to, since Heath hadn't said anything to the contrary.

"Still, what I don't get," Heath frowned, scooping Keith up, who promptly buried himself in his father's chest, "-is why the full moon didn't affect him. If he's a Shifter, it should have."

That, she'd given some thought. Scooting over so that Heath could take a seat next to her on the couch, she smiled as Keith wiggled out of his father's arms, curling up in his lap. "Perhaps it's not the right moon?"

Looking up at her, Heath frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Clearly there's some form of genetic memory involved with all this," Krolia observed, idly stroking Keith's head, marveling in how soft his fur was, "-so perhaps he's attuned to a different moon."

Heath arched his brows at that. "You saying he might be attuned to yours?"

"It's possible." Krolia said. "Though I suppose we have no way to tell."

"Fair enough." Heath said.

Keith, for his part, made a faint yowl, and promptly went back to sleep.

(5)

She thought it had felt a bit warm.

Letting out a faint huff, Krolia adjusted her arm, pointedly ignore Heath's grumble of protest. It was more like a growl anyways, the massive black wolf curled up at her side, using her for every ounce of heat that she had. Peeking underneath the blanket, her lips twitched in a smile, confirming the weight on her chest as belonging to Keith, transformed into a cat, fast asleep.

Resting her head back down on her pillow, Krolia stared up at the ceiling. It could get fairly cold during the winter at night, even in the desert. Today had been unusually cold- they were in the middle of a cold snap. Even worse, the heater had broken, and Heath wouldn't be able to get the parts to fix it until tomorrow.

The cold didn't bother her. Her partner and son, however... that was a different story. Keith, of course, had only known the warm desert for his few short phoebs of life, and Heath had been born and bred here, and beyond that, positively hated the cold.

Suffice to say, this reaction didn't surprise her.

Chuckling, Krolia closed her eyes. She had already spent a full deca-phoeb on Earth with Heath prior to Keith's conception, so she was pretty much used to this. Choosing to be human didn't mean that he was always that way, even when the moon wasn't full.

Keith shifted constantly, now that he knew he could- which was supposedly normal.

Right now, she guessed it was warmer for the both of them to have fur, rather than not. Apparently that wasn't nearly enough, so they had both sought out her warmth.

Honestly, it was pretty cozy.

Letting out a long breath, she listened to the sound of their hearts. No matter what form they took, the sound didn't change. She found it to be comforting.

Here, she felt secure, safe. Before she had crashed on Earth, the feeling was such a rare, fleeting thing- and now it was her new everyday. While she never lost her edge, continuing her training, she also relished in the feeling.

She didn't want it to end. She wouldn't let it end.

She could only pray that the universe gave her that choice.

(+1)

In all the fuss over Keith, there was one issue that they had completely forgotten.

Her earlier theory had proven true- she had zero risk of any infection from Heath. They might have been able to produce offspring together, but it would appear that she was at no risk of suffering from any Earth diseases- of human origin or otherwise.

Unfortunately, they had forgotten one critical detail.

Keith was a hybrid.

Once again, she found herself wishing that it had occurred to her earlier. She was a highly trained Blade of Marmora operative, whose powers of observation had been trained until they were razor sharp, nearly infallible.

Unfortunately, it turned out they didn't apply half as much as she thought they would outside of the battlefield. She was counting motherhood as a battlefield of it's own, which proved to be very apt- as soon as Keith realized he was able to get down from his crib on his own in cat form, he didn't hesitate to abuse it. Raising Keith was like taking care of a human infant and a kitten simultaneously, only she never knew which one she would end up with on any given day.

(The answer was usually both.)

Thankfully, on the day it happened, Keith was fast asleep, having exhausted himself earlier in the day. It came first as a wave of dizziness. She ended up dropping her plate, using one hand to grip the side of the table. Heath sprung to his feet, by her side in a second.

She remembered groaning, feeling like something was rippling under the surface of her skin. Biting down on her lip, she tried to hold it back- only to realize that wasn't helping.

Instead, she opted to let it take her.

She didn't know why. She had seen both Heath and Keith transform before, many times. She knew it didn't hurt. And yet, when she realized exactly what was happening to her, for some reason, she had expected pain. Perhaps because it was one thing to watch someone else's bones rearrange themselves, and another thing to have it happen to you.

Heath, damn him, when he recovered from his shock, let out a huge snort.

She'd wanted to use some choice words, but all that came out was a growl. Fine. That felt just as appropriate, and it quickly quieted Heath's laughter.

"Right, okay," Heath swallowed it back, "-this is a serious matter. I'm sorry."

He wasn't sorry, not in the least. She couldn't tell him that, not in any words he would understand, so she just narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'll just... I'll get you a mirror." Heath told her, getting to his feet. "Just wait right here."

Huffing, Krolia felt something twitch behind her, which she concluded rapidly to be a tail. As shocked as she was, she was already starting to understand what Heath had meant by instincts- she might not fully understand yet what shape she had taken, but she was already starting to adjust to the numerous differences.

For that, she was grateful. She did not wish to teach herself how to walk on four legs. She enjoyed a challenge, but this just seemed like an unnecessary one.

By the time Heath had returned with the mirror- the big one, from their bathroom- she had more or less gotten used to it. The feeling that she was wearing the skin of a beast abated, and instead, she simply felt like herself, simply... different.

"You know," Heath began, a faint smile hovering at the edge of his lips, "-it's kinda funny. You look kind of like a lion."

He wasn't wrong. She had seen Earth depictions of lions before, and the creature that she had transformed into was quite similar. That said, they generally did not come in purple, and she was decidedly such.

Her markings had remained, though they now extended down the length of her back, running to the very tip of her tail. Flicking said tail so that she could get a better look at it, she noticed the sharp spines attached to the end of it- another flick of her tail caused them to protrude more prominently- and cause Heath to flinch, she didn't miss.

"...our lions can't do that."

She snorted, causing the spines to retreat with another flick of her tail. Staring up at him with an expectant look, Heath just shrugged his shoulders.

"Look, I don't know what to tell you." Heath told her. "It wasn't me."

She simply hummed, which instead came out as a low rumble. Heath arched his brows at it, but opted to say nothing. "You seem pretty calm."

As far as she saw it, there was simply no cause to freak out. Such a form could even prove useful, she determined, though she certainly wouldn't be able to blend in with it.

Heath stared down at her, leaning on the mirror. "You gonna be okay?"

She made a noise that she hoped conveyed affirmation. Given the way Heath shrugged his shoulders, she could only assume that he had taken it as such.

"Way I figure it," Heath began, "-since you didn't know you could do it, you held it in too long. Can't stay in just one form forever, the other'll want to come out eventually."

That made sense, she thought. It had certainly felt that way.

"You should be able to figure out how to transform back, but I don't recommend doing it just yet." Heath advised. "Give it some time."

She found herself agreeing, in spite of herself. She did feel like she could return to normal if she wished it, but as if it were an itch that hadn't been properly scratched yet, she didn't feel the urge to just yet.

Speaking of urges, Heath reached out a hand, burying it in her fur. She allowed him- she often did much the same to him, and it was not an unpleasant sensation. He made a low hum as he did so, testing it with his fingers. "Huh. Kinda coarse. Thought it'd be soft."

The remark did not bother her. She merely lifted one of her own paws, attempting to verify it for herself- but of course, her sense of touch had been altered, and the attempt proved futile. Instead, she studied the paw itself, retracting her claws.

"I'm guessing this has something to do with Keith." Heath observed.

She huffed in agreement. Perhaps it had been her mistake, allowing Keith to teethe by using her fingers. It had just seemed the most practical option at the time. She had been careless.

"Guess we should have considered this." Heath said, drawing his hand away and leaning the mirror against the wall, likely intending to put it back later. "Kinda feel like a damn idiot for not realizing it sooner."

As did she. Perhaps it was for the best that she had no way of contacting Kolivan. This would be difficult to explain. Should she ever return, she would have to exercise caution.

Thankfully, she did not make a habit of biting people.

A faint mew caught her ears, which perked up. Turning her head, she felt something in her instinctively relax at the sight of Keith. He tilted his head, staring at her for a long moment, before he sniffed the air, ears perking straight up- at which point he wasted no time in racing over towards her, pressing himself up against her.

She'd smile fondly, were she capable. Instead, she lowered her head, licking the top of her son's, ignoring the fur she picked up as she did so. He mewed again in response, at which point she took to lying on the floor, allowing Keith to curl up against her, purring with contentment.

Glancing up towards Heath, she gave him an expectant look.

He just arched a brow. "I've got work in an hour."

She just continued to stare at him. Keith joined her.

"Aw heck," Heath heaved a sigh, already taking off his jacket, "-fine. Why not?"

It was doubtlessly an odd sight to be sure. A black wolf and a purple lion curled protectively around a tiny black kitten, one that slept soundly between the two. If she allowed herself to think about it, it was odd- the oddest experience she had ever gone through in her long, long life.

And she wouldn't trade it for the world.