Second Installment! I still do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender. Yes, there is a Steven Universe reference, because I'm trash for more than just Voltron.
Shay placed her palm against the ceiling and asked the Balmera to give her a status report on Allura. After a few ticks, vague images flowed into her mind. Allura lay on the floor of the cell, asleep. Shay's senses heightened when she realized Allura's appearance had changed. She looked smaller, almost dainty, and her skin had darkened from pale green to a rich brown. Concerned, she rushed to the holding cell, pushing past Rax and hurriedly asking the Balmera to lower the wall. Shay stepped cautiously into the cell, prepared to block Allura if she attempted to escape. When Allura didn't move, Shay rushed to her side and knelt. Allura's eyes opened, and she blinked in confusion.
"Allura, are you well? You seem to have shrunk, and your skin has taken on a strange hue."
Allura smiled. "Shay, I appreciate your concern, but there is no need. Altaeans are a chameleon-like race who can shape-shift to imitate other species. I shifted to match you Balmerans when I encountered you, but I transformed back when I fell asleep." Allura rose to her full height. "This is my natural form. My species is also able to instantly translate languages, that is why we can communicate."
Shay's eyes widened, and she stood, instantly towering over Allura, who stepped back, alarmed. Embarrassed, Shay rubbed her neck and gestured reassuringly. "I mean no harm, sky-dweller."
"Why do you call me that?" Allura frowned. She'd overheard other Balmerans calling her 'sky-dweller' and was curious about the title's meaning.
"Instead of dwelling within a Balmera, your people reside on the surface, under the sky," Shay explained. Allura caught the wistfulness in her tone and realized Shay had probably never seen the sky or the infinite stretch of space before.
"Shay," Allura asked, voice gentle, "Have you ever seen the sky?" Shay shook her head and made sure no one was eavesdropping before she replied.
"I have not, Allura, but it has been a dear desire of mine since I was a child."
Allura's stoic demeanor softened into something like pity, humiliating Shay. She didn't need empathy; the tunnels of the Balmera had been home to her family for generations. As much as she longed to see the sky, the steady movement of the Balmera beneath her feet was familiar and comforting. As a Balmeran, it was her destiny to live out her life working to preserve the Balmera, and Shay had accepted her fate long ago. "Would you tell me about it?" she asked timidly, "The sky, I mean?"
Allura nodded and began to describe the sky- its great expanse, its broad range of color, from grays and oranges to a shade Shay had never heard of, blue. According to Allura, the crystals were a shade of blue, a beautiful one, but the sky looked different than the crystals. She beseeched Allura to show her, to which Allura responded by scanning the cell. Finding only drab colors, Allura had nearly given up when she realized her own irises were sky blue. She communicated this fact to Shay, who gazed at her, entranced. She had noticed Allura's eyes when she first brought her food, but she had never dreamed that Allura's face held the sky. Allura stared back at Shay, fascinated by her pupil-less eyes and the way they seemed to glow in the darkness of the cell. Allura then regaled Shay with tales of her exploits as an archaeologist and the potential good that could come from her research on the Balmera and across the system. Shay listened raptly, amazed at the scope of the universe and that Allura had seen so much of it already. A steadily growing part of her longed to join Allura and travel with her.
Rapping from outside jolted Shay back to reality. Knowing it was Rax, being impatient as always, she wanted to ignore it, but she knew that choice would be unwise. Begging Allura's pardon and promising to return later with rations, Shay left the prison.
Even as she arrived at her humble crevice of a home, Allura occupied Shay's thoughts. Even though Shay's brother had captured her, Allura had treated Shay with kindness and respect. Surely someone so noble must be royalty, a princess. Yes, thought Shay, she must be a princess.
With that revelation, Shay's resolve clicked into place. No being as wise and compassionate as Allura deserved to be kept under guard. Allura was a sky-dweller; she belonged aboveground, helping her people with the fruits yielded by her research. When the time came to feed the captives, Shay volunteered to deliver Allura's food, praying to the Balmera that Rax did not suspect her plan. Shay's bonding session with 'Prisoner Facet 2F5L Cut 5XG' had not escaped her brother's notice, so she would have to proceed with caution.
Shay trembled as she entered Allura's cell, hushing any questions Allura had with desperate gestures. "You do not deserve to be held here for the rest of your life, Allura. It is not right. As such," Shay inhaled deeply, "I will help you escape."
Allura opened her mouth to protest, knowing that if Shay helped her, she would be disgraced and thrown in prison herself as a traitor. Shay raised a hand to silence her. "I know the dangers of this decision and I have made up my mind. My only request is that you allow me to accompany you. As you know, I will be unable to remain free on the Balmera once I aid you, and you have whetted my appetite for the sky, so I ask permission to join your expedition." Allura nodded, tears pricking her eyes as she realized the sacrifice Shay was making to help her.
"It is settled. We must make haste." Shay produced a garment from inside her tunic and instructed Allura to put it on and shift to match her. Once she had, Shay placed a hand on the cell wall and prayed to the Balmera to protect them as they worked to escape.
Hand in hand, the pair exited the prison and attempted to look inconspicuous.