Nayni's eyes were heavy with exhaustion as she made the walk back to her quarters. She'd made this walk so many times now that she barely focused on the turns she had to take any more. The days were growing colder. The seasons were shifting on Altea. The flowers in the royal courtyard would stop blooming soon and everything would fade to grey for the coming winter. The night skies would harbor a deep violet hue and the air would be bitterly cold. The Guardsmen were shuffling around as their posts ended and the next began. Servants and diplomats were flocking out of the Palace in clusters. It was a day ending as every other day had ended. It was the same routine that she'd found comfort in. It gave Nayni a reason to get up in the morning and hope to help her stave off the loneliness that came with the night.

"Nayni? Nayni Nordontu?"

A male voice was calling to her from the distance. She turned on her heel to look behind her. The Altean man was jogging across the courtyard to her. His blue hair was cut close to his head and he was clad in the uniform of an Army officer. His face seemed familiar to Nayni but she couldn't quite place him. His outfit told her enough about him. This was going to be unpleasant.

"It is you!" He said.

He skidded to a stop and his ears bounced. The gold medals on his jacket were twinkling in the fading sunlight. He extended a hand in greeting and she shook it awkwardly. Nayni just wanted to get back to her quarters. This was a conversation that she didn't want to happen. He clearly recognized her though so there was no escaping from it.

"I don't know if you remember me. I'm Sergeant Doriun, I was in the same squad as your wife," He said.

Nayni had seen him at some of the annual gatherings. Tomyko had introduced them to each other in passing but their conversations had never been very memorable. The flood of tainted memories had already started.

"I believe we've met a few times," Nayni said.

Her tone couldn't sound anymore dejected. She must be a sad sight to see up close with the bags under her eyes and the frown lines on her round face.

"I head you're Captain of the Royal Guard now," Doriun said. "That's great."

It was already getting awkward.

"Yes and I see you've been promoted," Nayni said.

Of course, he had. He'd probably been promoted as soon as his commanding officer died. He'd been at the funeral too. She could recall a blue tuft of hair hanging out in the back of the room.

"It's good to see you doing so well after all that's happened," Doriun said.

She wasn't exactly doing so well. She was in flux. She loved her job and lived for every minute of it but her personal life was a mess. She didn't really know how to respond to him. She just wanted to walk away and be done with it. Nayni didn't care for the pitty in his eyes either.

"I think Tomyko would be proud of you," Doriun added.

He had no right to say that. He couldn't possibly know what would've made Tomyko happy. The comment made her stiffen. This boy hadn't been there when she'd whispered secrets in the dark to her wife. He hadn't listened to the constant words of encouragement that Tomyko showered her with every day. He had no idea what Tomyko's hopes and fears were. All he knew was that she was tall and pretty and gave good orders. But Nayni knew Tomyko wouldn't want her yelling at the boy.

"I'm sure she'd be just as pleased with your accomplishments," Nayni said.

She was talented at being awkward. That had never changed no matter how much Tomyko had tried.

"Oh the years have been good to me," Doriun said.

Nayni wrinkled her nose as he started to prattle on about his life since being in Tomyko's squad. He was still young and cocky. He didn't seem to get the hint that she wanted to just move on. He was a living breathing reminder of the most horrible event to have ever occurred in her life. Her eyes darted around the courtyard. She just needed to find one excuse to get away from him and she'd be free. Nayni just kept nodding as he went on about some tale where he'd gotten his first real promotion. Doriun was going as far as to mimic firing a laser rifle with his hands.

Her rescuer arrived in the courtyard. Coran had rounded a corner and was staring intently at a datapad in his hand. Of course it was him. It always had to be Coran. He looked up from his pad. A smile immediately came across his face and he gave her a friendly wave. He raised an inquisitive brow when she only responded with a frown. Nayni mouthed the words 'help me' to him. He grinned. Coran was always up to dealing with an awkward situation. He took his time sauntering over to them. Why did he take such joy in torturing her? Coran stood behind the blue-haired soldier and toyed with his mustache.

"Madame Nordontu!" Coran said.

Doriun jumped and Nayni had to hold back a smile.

"Sorry to interrupt but I'm afraid we've got a situation with the Princess!" Coran lied. "I'm going to need you to come with me."

Doriun was falling for it. He looked genuinely shocked.

"I'm sorry, I should let you go," Doriun said. "It was nice seeing you."

Coran swept her away before she could get another word out. She was trying to ignore the warmth of his hand on her shoulder. She could barely keep pace with him.

"We've got to make haste," Coran whispered. "We have to keep up the illusion that there's an actual emergency and all that."

It was a solid plan but her legs were much shorter than his so it was pretty difficult to keep up with his long strides. They were making a break for his office. He kept glancing over his shoulder as if they were being followed. It was completely unnecessary and stupid but it made her giggle. They put a good bit of distance between the courtyard and themselves before they came to a stop. Nayni leaned against a wall and shook her head. Coran went rigid and saluted her with that devilish grin plastered on his face.

"Mission accomplished, Madame Nordontu," Coran said.

She actually saluted him in response. His stupidity was rubbing off on her.

"Thank you, Mister Smythe," Nayni said. "I wasn't sure I was going to get out of that tight spot."

They both chuckled over that.

"Who was that anyway?" Coran pried. "An unwanted suitor?"

Now that was hilarious. Only one person had approached her in such a manner since Tomyko passed away and that insipid young Sergeant wasn't one of them. It was rather flattering that he would think that such a thing would happen to her. Her smile faded before she responded to him.

"No, he was from Tomyko's squad back in the day," Nayni said. "He recognized me."

Even though they'd run away from Doriun she was still left with the unwanted emotions he'd stirred up. Coran was taken aback. His shoulders fell and he looked concerned.

"You don't sound too happy about that," Coran said.

He knew her well enough to know that was still a sore topic for her. She just shook her head.

"Seeing his face-" Nayni said. "It just brought me right back to all of that."

She'd never really spoken to Coran about this. She hadn't spoken to anyone about it. It'd been easy to avoid the conversation in the Royal Guard. Most of the guardsmen didn't know Tomyko and she didn't have to deal with any of their old friends.

"I remember when I found out," Nayni said. "I felt so calm. I just went cold. I should've been crying or shouting or something but I just couldn't."

She couldn't believe she was telling this to him. Nayni had literally just run away from someone so she didn't have to relive that moment. He just stood there listening. He wasn't prying. He wasn't asking the questions that had come up shortly after. Everyone had wanted to know what had happened. They had swarmed around her like flies to a corpse but they'd been gone so quickly. And she had been left alone.

"All they handed me was this little pink urn," Nayni went on. "I didn't even get to see her. There'd been nothing left. One day I had her in my arms and the next day she was ashes."

Coran wrapped his arms around her. She found herself shaking. His hands rubbed her back. She let herself slip just a little bit. She let herself melt in the warmth of his arms.

"I'm so sorry," Coran murmured.

The tears were already streaming down Nayni's face.

"I just wanted to know why. Why was it that out of all the shuttles in the fleet, that it had to be hers? How is it that one little mechanical error could take her away from me? I didn't get to say goodbye. I didn't get to kiss her one last time," Nayni sobbed.

She was smearing her tears all over his crisp, clean shirt but neither of them seemed to care. She pulled away from him. She wiped her wet nose on her sleeve. Night had taken hold of the palace. Nayni could barely make out the shape of Coran's face in the din. Her outburst felt good but it wouldn't stop the pain. It was always there but it had slowly been fading away ever since she'd met him.

"My apologies, Mister Smythe," Nayni said. "This was most unexpected."

She tried to walk away but he seized her by the arm. His violet eyes were like a shining beacon in the darkness.

"You shouldn't be alone right now," Coran said.

She didn't want to be alone. She hated being alone but she could not allow herself to fall back into his arms. Nayni had to walk away. She didn't turn around even after he called to her. Nayni couldn't allow that to happen ever again. It didn't matter that the universe was at peace. It didn't matter that there hadn't been any wars in years. Tragedies still happened. At any moment something awful and unpredictable could happen, stripping away everything they held dear. It had happened to her and she didn't want that to happen to him. Nayni never wanted Coran to ever experience something that ugly. She never wanted him to feel the way that she had even if that meant pushing him away.

Coran's snoring had kept Nayni from sleeping most of the night but she was content to lay in his arms as the last few dobashes till dawn ticked by. He still had a habit of drooling and had smeared quite a good portion of his slobber in her hair. She didn't want to forget this night. She wanted to carry it with her for the rest of her days. Coran mumbled some gibberish and pulled her closer to him. They may have been in the autumnal days of their life but he still could put the moves on her like a young man.

She finally felt like Tomyko would be proud of her. That she'd find peace in whatever realm her quintessence had ascended to. Nayni traced her fingertips along the surface of his knuckles. She used to be so afraid of him experiencing the pain of loss but he had already. She hadn't been here to see it but Coran had faced the downfall of Altea and he endured. She wished she could've been there with him and Allura but a late arrival was better than no arrival at all.

She rolled over, the sheets of his bed felt incredible against her skin. It was only the best for him. Or the best he could do given the circumstances. She wiped the drool away from the corner of his mouth with her thumb. Coran was so put together while he was conscious and he was a mess when he was asleep. It was rather adorable. Nayni gently patted the side of his face to try and wake him. He only snored even louder. How had she forgotten that waking him up was nearly impossible?

"Coran!" Nayni shouted.

His violet eyes flew open and he sat up so quickly that he nearly knocked her out of the bed. It didn't take him long to get his bearings again. His red hair was sticking up in every direction. Coran looked at her and a smirk spread across his face.

"I half expected you to be gone by the time I woke up," Coran teased.

She took no offense. She had run away from him more times than either of them could count. She wrapped her arms around Coran and nestled her face against his neck.

"There won't be any more running away," Nayni said. "Besides your bed is far more comfortable than mine."

Coran gave her a tight squeeze and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. His mustache still felt damp from the substantial amount of drool that he'd expelled. He threw off the blankets and hopped out of bed. He stretched out his limbs and let out a yawn. Nayni flushed as she took in the sight of his exposed body. At some point, she'd have to stop getting so flustered around him. She could hear his bones popping as he continued to stretch. Coran climbed into the sanitary shower in the corner of his quarters. It was abysmally tiny. There was no way the two of them would fit in there, she'd have to wait her turn.

She watched him dip his head under the spray of hot water. The stream of water ran down the curve of his muscles as the steam fogged up the glass door. Coran was torturing her again and he wasn't even aware of it. He started belting out an Altean pop song that had been popular when they were adolescents. She could see the blurred outline of his body as he scrubbed himself down. He stepped out of the shower. His hair was still damp and clinging to his face.

Nayni got to her feet. Her legs were still quivering and sore from the previous night. She was met with that devilish smirk again.

"What's the matter? What happened to your legs?" Coran goaded.

Nayni tried to look seductive as she stepped into the sanitary shower but she slipped on the wet tile and had to catch herself on the door. She gripped onto the edge of the wall and chuckled awkwardly. She was never destined to be as graceful as he was.

"This is all your fault," Nayni said.

"I believe it was a combined effort," Coran said slyly.

He started spraying some awful smelling product in his hair. She retreated into the shower. She could hear him shuffling about the room as he readied himself for the day. The hot water felt amazing on her sore muscles. Nayni wasn't as fit as she used to be. She'd put on a layer of chub as she aged. She wasn't proud of it but it hadn't stopped Coran from running his hands all over her.

"What's this in your pocket?" Coran called.

Instinct made her heart skip a beat. There wasn't a point to have that fear anymore. She didn't need to hide from him anymore.

"Well well well," Coran said. "What a handsome devil."

Nayni chuckled as she ran her fingers through her wet brown hair. He fell silent. He must've opened the pamphlet. Nayni stepped out of the shower. She reached for the soft fluffy towel that he'd laid out for her. He was already dressed, fresh and ready to face the day. He was stooped on the unkempt bed. Nayni's uniform was lying next to him and the open pamphlet cradled in his hands.

"I'd never seen a picture of her," Coran said. "She was stunning."

Nayni sat next to him. She toweled off her hair as she looked at the worn out photo. Tomyko had been a tall woman with fawn, light yellow-brown skin. A cascade of orange, curly hair fell about her shoulders. They were so young and so happy back when that photo was taken.

"You two would've gotten along," Nayni said. "She was a tough but very adventurous and glamorous woman."

Nayni started to slip her clothes back on. They were in need of a good washing but what she really needed was another set. Coran gingerly set the photo on his shelf. He propped it up against a picture of King Alfor. He propped up the old pamphlet too for good measure.

"Well she certainly had good taste," Coran said with a wink.

That made her smile. Nayni finished buttoning up her uniform and pulled her mass of hair back into a bun. Coran had a complicated process of getting ready for the day and it took her less than five dobashes. She finally felt like Tomyko would be happy with her and it was a great feeling to have.

"Well as much as I would enjoy laying around with you all day catching up, there's work to be done," Nayni said.

He hopped to his feet and gave her a peck on the cheek. It seemed he was still bent on getting her flustered to the point of death.

"-and you don't want anyone catching us leaving my quarters together," Coran mused.

He knew her too well. She wasn't really keen on the young Paladins finding out about them but in such close quarters, she knew it was going to come up at some point.

"Perceptive as always, Coran," Nayni sighed. "Shall we?"

Coran waved his hand over the control panel and the door to his quarters slid open. Lance had stopped mid-stride in the middle of the hallway and stared at them wide-eyed. Of course it had to be him. Of all of the Paladins to run into it had to be the Blue one. His eyes darted between the two of them and a smile crept across the boy's face. Nayni was already scowling.

"Aw, nice!" Lance exclaimed. "Coran, you still got game!"

She wanted to be tossed out of the airlock and slowly suffocate in the vacuum of space.

They had gathered on the bridge again. The rest of the Paladins were not in as high spirits as Lance was. Nayni was still rather grouchy from the unexpected encounter with him. At least the others would be oblivious for now. Keith had arrived with a gigantic and intimidating Galra with a jagged scar across his face. He was hooded and was adorned with the same set of armor as Keith. It was a tad unsettling to see a Galra in the Castle even if they were on the same side of the fight. There was another new face on the bridge. He could've been Pidge's twin if he wasn't so much taller than her. There was no doubt that they were related. It had to have been her brother Matt.

"Well I tried haling Lotor," Pidge said.

She turned in the seat of her station to face them. She didn't seem particularly hopeful about the situation.

"He still hasn't responded and I can't find his ship with my tracking program," Pidge explained.

They hadn't awoken to a fleet of Galra ships either so the situation was safe for now. Pidge climbed out of her station and joined them around the main console. Shiro sighed.

"Well unless he shows up soon we might have to leave the system empty-handed," Shiro said. "Do we have any other options, Coran?"

Her lover came forward and started typing into the main console. He brought up all of the Castle's archived information on the Terrapin again. The screen filled with images of pink deserts, dotted with mud huts and heavily armored tanks and fighters. Coran toyed with the end of his mustache as he thought it over.

"There might be a way to get them talking," Coran said. "But as far as I know no one's tried it before."

"If there's still a chance to solidify this alliance we have to take it," Allura said.

After surviving that battle yesterday Nayni was determined to do anything she could to make this plan manifest into reality. If Allura thought the Terrapin were valuable than she couldn't disagree with her.

"There's an old tradition on Terrapin," Coran explained. "It became a bit irrelevant once they became a planetary society but earlier in their history, they would test potential new tribesman with a gauntlet. If they allow us to be tested they might accept that as an example of our strength."

The Paladins could handle anything, Nayni was confident of that.

"I doubt you'd have trouble convincing them to give us a shot," Nayni said.

Her compliment made Lance snicker and she shot him a dirty look.

"Do you have any idea what we'd be up against?" Shiro asked.

Coran shrugged.

"An alien species has never attempted it," Coran said. "And there aren't a lot of records on exactly what happens."

They'd be going in blind.

"The Princess would have to be the one to issue the challenge," Coran added. "Since technically she is our leader."

It didn't matter how capable Allura was of taking care of herself now, Nayni couldn't allow her to charge blindly into a fight like that. The Princess seemed to know how Nayni was going to react before she even spoke. Allura held Nayni back before she could protest.

"If that's what it's going to take then I'll do it," Allura said.

Nayni wriggled her way past Allura.

"If you think I'm letting you run in there by yourself, you're insane," Nayni growled.

Coran was the concerned one now but he wasn't going to stop her. Nothing would stop her from accompanying the Princess.

"I'm going too," Lance said.

Lance volunteering for this endeavor didn't surprise Nayni. He looked as serious about this situation as she was.

"I don't think all the Paladins can go running in with her. I don't like it either but the whole point of it is to prove how strong of a leader she is," Coran said.

"Then it'll just be the three of us," Lance said. "That way if something happens we can get Allura out of there."

Allura crossed her arms. She was frustrated. Nayni didn't care if the Princess didn't approve. She'd feel better if Allura had some kind of backup.

"I'm perfectly capable of getting myself out of there," Allura said.

She could do it. Allura was a warrior just like her father.

"I know you could," Nayni said. "But I'm not staying behind in the Castle while you go into battle by yourself. My place has always been right by your side, Lurie."

"Hell yeah, Nanny!" Lance cheered. "Let's do this!"

The Blue Paladin still didn't have the right to call her that but she refrained from scolding him. Nayni would have to get a particle shield and a blaster from the armory but that's all she'd need. The combination had gotten her out of plenty of sticky situations in her youth. Coran didn't seem very keen on the two of them jumping into the fray though.

"Are you sure about this Princess? We could always wait for Lotor to return," Coran pressed.

Allura shook her head and her purple earrings bounced.

"We can't wait for Lotor when a Galra fleet could be on top of us at any moment," Allura said. "The sooner we do this, the better."

Coran went rigid and simply nodded. Nayni recognized that look in his eye. She'd seen it before. He was afraid of losing them. She wouldn't make false promises to him. Nayni could never do that. Anything could happen in that gauntlet and giving him shallow comforts would do little to alleviate his fears. She knew that from her own experience. She used to constantly worry about him ever having to feel this way but she'd come to realize there was no stopping it.

"Lance, Nanny, prepare yourself," Allura ordered. "In half a varga, we issue the challenge."