(From Ashes) Chapter 11

Pride: From Ashes
            Chapter 11
            Natural Resources

The grill was complete and the assembly team had dispersed. Some to do things related to actually using said grill; others not so much. Romelle was part of that latter group. As they'd been finishing it up, she'd felt something strange… an icy chill that had rushed through her like a wave, and then in a split second it was gone.

Nobody else had seemed to notice anything. Perhaps a ghost passing through… in any case, it had put her a little on edge.

She'd gone back to the Falcon to try to calm her nerves, only to be almost immediately intercepted by a ninja who was officially over his attempt at scavenged clothing. There had to be a better option. So now they were searching for a doctor—there had to be one somewhere, Daniel hadn't had that cast appear out of thin air—that Romelle, at least, would be able to speak to.

Neither of them really knew where they were going, but it seemed like if they wandered the castle long enough they should run into an Arusian eventually.

Shouldn't they?

"Where's a local when you need one?" Romelle huffed quietly. Thinking about it, they'd only met four, hadn't they? Five, if one counted the woman Lance had mentioned. There were certainly more, but perhaps not in the bombed-out castle.

"Some of the others have visited the shelters, kir sa tye?" Pidge remembered Hunk and Sven saying something about that. "But I can't blame the Arusians for not telling us all how to get there at once."

"You do have a good point," she acknowledged.

Around a couple more corners, they finally found an Arusian: none other than Princess Allura herself. She was standing on a half-broken balcony, looking deep in thought.

Having met her exactly once before he'd run off to the forest, Pidge hesitated. He knew nothing about interacting with royalty—as Romelle could probably attest to—and it seemed wisest not to risk messing things up here. For her part, Romelle sighed and braced herself, but she supposed this was better than nothing.

"Princess."

She startled a little—just a slight twitch of her shoulders before she turned. "Oh… yes?" It was probably just as well she had a distraction; word of the Blue Lion's awakening had her mind racing with all the things she couldn't tell the other three. Though as she fully turned, she noted that Romelle was accompanied by the missing guest who had been in Green's forest.

Looking between them, Romelle considered protesting. She hadn't signed on for interpreting when they spoke the same language. But then, she also knew how Pidge was around strangers, and decided she didn't much want to deal with that. "We're… seeking help."

"What kind of help?" Hopefully not lion help. She'd be far too tempted to say yes.

It wasn't lion help. "Pidge here has… a rather bad burn."

The absurdity of this hit Pidge as she spoke. The planet was in ruins, they were talking to the actual princess, and the Arusians' adaptiveness meant they might not even have a concept of what he was looking for if he were talking to the right person… "It's a sunburn," he said sullenly. "Does that even exist on Arus?"

"It's rare, but it can be a problem for some…" Allura circled around him, trying to sense the injury, and found the cut in his suit easily enough. "Oh, my…"

"That bad?" He hadn't actually seen the burn, for obvious reasons.

"It is… very red," she confirmed, frowning. "Let me see what I can do." Bringing her hand close to him, she tried to get a sense of what could be done before actually touching the wound. Her eyes and markings glowed faintly. This had worked on Daniel, but… "There's something different about you, compared to the others." She had noticed that when the group first arrived, but not had an opportunity to ask.

"…A lot of things," he muttered, eyeing her skeptically over his shoulder.

"He's not an Earthling," Romelle offered.

Allura nodded at that. Was 'ninja' his race, perhaps? It could wait a little longer. "I believe I can do a small bit to help. But this needs better treatment. There is a plant that makes for a good salve for burns…" With one hand, she signaled to one of the mice, and heard it scurry away. The blue sparks in her eyes flickered as she touched the burn very lightly with her other hand, concentrating, hoping she would be able to disperse the pain again.

Pidge jumped as a wave of something ran along his back, and his sense of the burn faded to almost nothing. "…Komora sa kye?"

"Did it help?" Romelle asked, just beating Allura to asking the same thing.

"I… I think so." He could still feel heat, but he gave his shoulder an experimental twist and didn't feel pain rippling up his back. Definitely an improvement. "What did she just…?"

"Some mystical healing… thing." There were ancient rumors that the royal blood of Arus contained some magic… but this was twice Romelle had seen it, and even she was still coming to grips with how many old Polluxian stories were true.

Oddly, Pidge seemed to take that pretty well. "Seems logical." He hesitated, then turned back to Allura. "Um. Thanks."

"You're welcome." She smiled. "The khonoa plant isn't uncommon. That should hold you over until we can find some for you."

He nodded. It was a good start, though he should probably go ahead and ask the other question too. "Would this plant help with prevention?" SHE IS A PRINCESS. "I mean, if you know?"

Would it? Allura thought for a moment. "It may…" Her tone was skeptical. But fortunately, she'd already sent for an expert. "But Lady Larmina would know much better than I."

"…Who?"

"Ah, yes, you weren't at the dinner." That drew a small wince that she politely ignored. "My niece. She knows the forest far better than me. Indeed, probably better than anyone else here."

Pidge had opinions on that, and heard Green Lion's amused purr. "Okay."

Oh, dear. Romelle thought back to the young royal, looked at the young ninja, and considered all the ways this could go terribly wrong. "She is rather… feisty, Pidge."

"Well," he muttered reflexively in Baltan, "we're an Explorer Team." Feisty was the least of his problems. Switching back to Common, he added quietly, "I don't have a lot of choice in this."

Romelle nodded her understanding. To both comments, really—she didn't understand Baltan, but she completely agreed with his sardonic tone. "I know. That burn looks like it must be very painful."

Allura had also given him a curious look. The other language he'd spoken a couple of times now wasn't something she'd ever heard before. He noticed the look and started to ignore it, then his own advice to Romelle ran through his mind. As did another encouraging purr…

"I'm Baltan," he explained, meeting her unspoken question with a small nod. "We aren't adapted to sunlight, so if we don't have proper precautions, that happens." He pointed to the burn and immediately regretted saying anything. Why in the third hell would you tell a near stranger that?!

The lion in his head purred again. It didn't particularly improve his mood.

Perhaps mercifully, that was the moment Larmina arrived, on the heels of the mouse that had come to fetch her. She'd spent the last few hours reading a Common English dictionary while keeping an Arusian dictionary balanced on her head—the one with the heaviest bindings, obviously. Something about proper ladies needing proper posture.

Yeah, right. All it had given her was a headache.

"Thanks for the save, Auntie, Nanny got mad at me for telling her one of the Earthlings taught me a new word and—" She trailed off as she realized Allura was not alone. The not-quite-Arusian was there with someone she'd not seen before. Another offworlder?

Pidge was staring at the new arrival as blankly as she was staring at him. She couldn't be any older than he was, and while Allura was clearly royalty—if battered—this Larmina didn't give the slightest hint of it. So far as he could tell, anyway. What did he know?

Chuckling a little at the report—she could imagine what kind of word had been involved—Allura quickly got down to business. "Larmina, how easily do you think you can find some khonoa? And what can you tell us about plants that might be good for burn prevention salves?" She spoke in Arusian; Romelle leaned closer to Pidge and translated softly.

Larmina blinked, trying to shift her mind from long lists of Common nouns back to the plant identification guides she'd long ago memorized. "The khonoa is easy, it's just starting to regrow after the winter. I've scavenged the easiest spots, but it's a big forest and I'm the only one that goes in there. You could make a decent protective salve by mixing it with some zashok leaves, but if you want to avoid burns I'd suggest not standing in fire?"

Both Allura and Romelle had to fight down a small snort at that. Even Pidge, after hearing the translation, almost snickered.

"Perhaps you can show Pidge where to find the plants, and how to identify them?" Allura indicated the new stranger. "He may need it often."

It got her a look of annoyance. Larmina would have been very happy to go fetch some plants on her own; being out in the forest away from everything and everyone sounded wonderful. Playing guide for some offworlder, less so, and the thought of him wandering her forest alone even less. Besides, there was a reason she was the only one who went in. "The banewolves, Auntie…"

"Banewolves?" Pidge echoed as Romelle translated. "Is that what they're called?" It sounded appropriate.

Larmina's jaw snapped shut. Is that what they're—what?!

"I think he may be able to handle himself," her aunt said with a knowing smile.

Romelle's eyes widened slightly. "The big wolves you said…"

"You've seen—you've—YOU'VE seen the—" Larmina was sputtering. It wasn't fair. The forest had been her sanctuary, even against other Arusians. She was not up for having it invaded by some… whatever this guy was. Hell no.

If Pidge had realized it was that big a deal, he might not have said anything. Were monster wolves weird even by Arusian standards?

"The Banes of the Forest have protected my den for centuries," Green Lion explained. "Very few dare to invade their territory, and most of those fail to return."

Oh. Well then. Except for her?

"There are exceptions, yes."

Wonderful.

Larmina was still glaring. "No," she finally spat. "No way." If she had to be nice to the aliens, fine. If she had to learn their language and give them a castle tour, whatever. She was not sharing her forest.

"It's a really bad burn, Larmina…"

"He needs it!"

Pidge had not understood any of that. But he, too, could read tones. He could even do so correctly on occasion, and this Lady Larmina wasn't subtle. "Whatever," he snorted. "I'll go look for the plants myself, then. I'm sure I can figure it out." Maybe the lion in his head could actually be useful for something.

She gave a small growl of protest at that, but didn't actually say no.

But his words threw Larmina into an immediate reversal. I see what he's doing. And it's totally working. If he had to go out there, he was going to do it with supervision.

"Fine," she snapped in Common. "He does what I say. We go now. Keep up." Turning on her heel, she motioned for him to follow and stormed for a side door.

Blinking, Pidge spent about half a second debating just going alone anyway. Then he thought better of it, and ran after her without a word.

Romelle sighed in relief, then looked over at Allura; they found themselves exchanging slightly awkward grins. "Thank you for your help, Princess." She fidgeted, feeling uncomfortable. An odd thought ran through her mind at that… her governess would have chastised her for the fidgeting. It was a long time since she'd thought about such concerns, but she was standing before another princess. But given the circumstances of being on Arus…

Those things no longer matter.

"Not a problem. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Aching from the sudden pang, she reflexively brushed off the question. "Not really." But then she paused. Let them reach out… "…Can you give me any answers? Why exactly did you think that my ancestors had something you needed?"

Allura bowed her head. "The Great Lions have slept so long. So much was missing." Sigh. "I had a clue of sorts, that what was needed was something not on Arus. So I imagined perhaps it had been taken to Pollux." It had been a reasonable theory, at the time.

Why had she asked? Romelle shook her head. It felt like she was grasping for a connection, but didn't know where to begin. "We didn't take anything except what was ours. We disagreed with the decision to hide Voltron and wanted nothing to do with it."

"Perhaps that's so." So much has been lost. "But I suppose in a way, your ancestors did have something. Knowledge. Do you know anything else? About why it was decided it should be hidden?"

"No. Everything I know, I told you before."

An embarrassed flush crossed Allura's cheeks. "Oh, yes." Sigh. "With all we've forgotten and lost, I've been so used to going over things more than once. Looking for anything new, any hint we may have missed. And now that our fate seems to hinge on those with no connection to this world…" She flexed her fingers and looked at Romelle, noting she wasn't looking at her, but seemed to still be listening. For a moment, she went silent. The Polluxian did not want to hear her own hidden doubts. That she was certain of.

Or… did she?

What little progress she'd made before had come when she had spoken of her own losses. Romelle had been through a great deal. And she'd spoken so scornfully of Lions and fairy tales, as though it were foolish to believe.

Perhaps…

"It is very new for me," she said quietly. "I hope. I believe. Because I trust in the Great Lions. Because I must believe. But Arus is not used to counting on outsiders. Nor does it seem fair to you and your friends to expect it… I'm sure you, personally, would rather be far from here."

Yes. Yes, she would. She just wanted to go home. But… Romelle closed her eyes a moment. She knew. Maybe she'd always known it, from the moment they fled Korrinoth. She'd just kept questioning, and wondering, and refusing to fully accept the obvious.

Arus had made her realize. This ravaged castle, this ruined world. And maybe it was Allura admitting to doubt that made her finally confront her own.

"I can't go home. Maybe not ever." So long as Pollux was allied with the Drules—and how could it escape that?—she could never return there. The Ninth would not so easily give up what it thought belonged to it. Lotor wouldn't. "At least you still have yours."

But for how long? "Do they mean to stay?" The doubt crept in. What she couldn't admit to Coran or Larmina—she already had to do enough convincing there. "The team. The Great Lions speak to them, and I know the Lions wish to help us. But your team… is that something we can even ask of them?" A note of panic entered her voice as Romelle's eyes flashed up to her. "Even if Arus has nothing to offer in return?"

Romelle moved a few steps away. Am I really able to speak for them? Am I really a part of the team? She looked back at the hopeful expression on Allura's face. They've come to your aid—without hesitation. You know they're wrestling with this same question. And at least Hunk has… a surge of indignation suddenly welled up in her. No. We've come this far. It's no time for her to start questioning! "I already can't go home." She turned and faced her fully, her eyes ablaze with determination. "Let them fight for yours."

Allura paused, then nodded slowly. She understood. "You're right." Hesitantly, she offered a small smile. "If you want… perhaps Arus can become a home for you."

Immediately the other princess shook her head. A step too far. "Let's not go there. I don't know if that's possible." Yet.

Nod. "Fair enough, but the offer will still stand. You can choose, when you are sure."

When she was sure. Romelle wondered when that would be. If it would ever be. Perhaps she felt a little bit of what the others were going through. Perhaps she really was part of their team…

"…Thank you," she said softly.

*****

The desert was as desert-y as ever. Hunk was searching for fuel for the grill; he'd have thought the forest was the place to go for that, but apparently not. Not according to Yellow Lion, anyway.

What did an ancient robotic lion know about grilling?

Technically, the question was more like 'what do a bunch of vultures know about fire sources?' and the answer was 'more than you would think'. He was following Baldy One and Baldy Two—whether they were actually the same two from the den, he had no idea, but there were two of them and they didn't have feathers on their heads so Baldy One and Two it was. As he followed them, he'd been noticing things he hadn't paid attention to during his last trek into the desert. Like the occasional batch of scorched bones sticking out of the sand.

Hunk had some concerns about his lion's friends.

Hunk also had some concerns about his lion, but that wasn't new…

His mind was wandering. He'd felt something earlier, like a ripple of icy water, and a growl of something like triumph had echoed in his mind. It was easy enough to guess at what had happened. Things were moving along, then.

Which meant, all distraction aside, he had to try to deal with those things.

Names, for starters.

Why so many names?

Earthwarder he was okay with, he thought, and could kind of wrap his head around at least. It felt like a callsign, something familiar. Not a very efficient callsign—hell, even Crusher had never made much sense to him. He already had a one syllable nickname! But at least he got the concept. It was the others that were giving him trouble.

Knight of the Earth?

Paladin of Faith?

Seriously?

"You do have your stumbling blocks, don't you, my cub?"

He jumped. "Dude! Do you ever just say hello?" It felt like he shouldn't be startled anymore. Yellow was always there, a presence he was vaguely, subconsciously aware of. But somehow when the lion's voice came barging into his mind, it was still unexpected. "Or maybe just think about not always pouncing on my thoughts when you hear somethin' you don't like? There's a thing called boundaries!"

"I am not purposely 'pouncing on your thoughts', Earthwarder. Usually."

"That ain't one bit encouraging."

"You will adjust to my presence in time. The Earth is patient."

"So you've mentioned." Hunk was pretty certain he got less patient every time he heard it. Admittedly, it had only been a day, but…

One of the vultures shrieked, and he realized he'd fallen behind a little while focused on the voice in his head. Which now that he thought about it in those terms, probably should worry him more than it did.

"You see? You are already learning."

"Sure, I guess." He made a face. It seemed like Yellow should be able to do better than dropping 'told you so' on him. "You could be more helpful if you're gonna show up, yeah? You did this to me."

"Did what to you?"

Hunk's eyes glowed, and he almost said something about that… but ultimately didn't bother, because they both knew it had little to do with his real complaint. Though exactly how to phrase that complaint remained a question.

Did what to me?

Yellow was right. He hadn't done anything but force him to confront things he already knew. And maybe placed a duty on his shoulders, but he'd agreed to that. Then again, he hadn't been told exactly what he was agreeing to, because faith. Could he really be blamed for struggling with it?

The thought went through his mind again that all of this would be so much easier if he knew where the mask ended and he began. And his eyes widened as he realized the answer was right there.

"Look, dude." He shook his head slowly. "Just how much of me do you think is the mask?"

It felt like Yellow took a long time to respond. Probably only a few seconds, but compared to how quickly he usually had answers—or, more often, non-answers—it was practically forever. Finally he growled in understanding. "What I think matters little."

Hunk stopped dead; the vultures squawked a protest and circled back. "Dude, what the hell do you mean by that? You just ripped it off for giggles?" That didn't even track. The lion had challenged him to be who he was…

"Yes. I challenged the existence of your mask, not its form." Yellow purred in his mind, unusually gentle. "I have not asked you to shed what you believe you are, my Earthwarder. Only what you know you are not."

It took a minute for him to sort through that, and it almost made sense… which felt like progress, because it sure as hell wouldn't have a week ago. "So what's that mean? No more Big Dumb Hunk, but I can still yell vroom-vroom if it makes me happy?"

Yellow chuckled. "Yes. I am encouraging your scrap metal project, am I not?"

Hunk blinked. He was, at that. But it brought them back to the beginning. "There's some things I'm real sure I'm not, though. I know you don't think the pilot thing is a problem, but I'm damn sure not a knight or a paladin." He exhaled slowly. "For someone who says you aren't tellin' me to change who I am, you're tryin' to make something awful pretentious outta the bomb guy, yeah?"

The lion growled contemplatively. "Tell me, cub. What is a knight? What is a paladin?"

He made a face. "Heroes in shining armor?"

"Are they?"

"Okay, listen, dude…"

"You do not think yourself heroic."

Hunk blinked. Well, no. It sounded pretty ridiculous, really. He hadn't signed on for this because he had some delusions of being a hero. But saying that would probably just get him lectured on faith again, and it wasn't the main point of contention. "It's more the 'shining armor' part, yeah? Not my gig. I blow stuff up."

"Ah, I see."

There was another very long pause, long enough that he started to follow the vultures again. May as well multitask. But he was starting to wonder if he was going to get an answer at all. "Okay, and…?"

"We have never spoken your language before… the words were closest, but perhaps imperfect. Understand, cub. Those titles are not something you must become, something you must mold yourself to. You are my Bonded, the champion I have chosen. If you did not already fit those names, I would not have charged you with them."

…And they were right back to things not making sense. Again. He was getting used to that. "I'm not sure if that makes me feel better, or just makes me really confused." Definitely leaning towards confused. "So what, I was already earth-y? How? And didn't you keep tellin' me I didn't have any faith?"

"You will understand in time."

"…Yeah, I know." They'd been bound to wind up here eventually. "Because the Earth is patient, right?"

Yellow chuckled. "Yes."

Hunk rolled his eyes, but decided he could go with it for now. Maybe he could figure out what it meant to be himself… and maybe, if he could, the rest of this might start coming together.

Nodding quietly to himself, he followed the vultures down a steep slope, and blinked. The sand beyond the ridgeline was dotted with cacti, thick with wispy red flower pods of some sort. Baldy Two fluttered forward and plucked one up in its talons, then dropped it about twenty feet in front of him.

The pod burst into a shower of burning embers, scattering across the sand.

Hunk stared. "…What. The fuzzmuffins. Was that?!"

"Indigenous plant life. My feathery associates have long made use of it. Is it to your liking, Earthwarder?"

"Oh hell yeah!"

"You see?" Yellow sounded a little smug, but more than that. Proud? Excited? If Hunk hadn't known better, he'd have said his lion was pleased to have shown him something cool… and maybe, he decided as the lion purred in his mind, he didn't know better. "I am not all so disagreeable as you think."

"Maybe you're not, Yella Fella," he agreed quietly. "Maybe you're not…"

With a grin, he moved forward to check out the suddenly very interesting desert plant life.

*****

Keith was trying to do something to ease his nerves. Specifically, he was trying to focus on doing katas. But the sword wasn't his own and it had a different feel, and he was still adjusting. Maybe that was part of why his mind kept drifting. To his own sword, now lost. To the people he'd lost, and he pushed it away before their names could form in his mind.

"Katas," he murmured in frustration, and refocused.

Lance was done being patient. He needed to find Daniel. The kid was clearly avoiding him, and at first giving him space had felt like the right answer. But now he felt like there'd been enough time and space. As distracted as he was about the Lion in his head, and the bonding—was he really as all in on this as he sounded?—Daniel was his main priority. Looking around as he walked down the Falcon's boarding ramp, he noted immediately that there was no Daniel.

But there was Keith, being Keithy.

For a moment Lance stared at the definitely-not-Drule sword in confusion before remembering the boss mentioning Coran giving one to him. He flinched at memories of other swords, from the arena, but he shoved that aside. Focus.

"Hey, boss. Have you seen Daniel?" he called out as he walked closer. "He's avoiding me."

"Not for a while, no." Keith had managed to be relaxed enough to hear Lance's approaching footsteps, and had already been lowering his sword. "He's upset…" Moving up to sit on the ramp, he trailed off and wondered about the rest of the team. Given what Hunk had said, what Hunk had done. Weren't they all off balance?

Lance frowned at Keith's words, then sat down next to him. "So, he told you something?" He sighed at that, at the fact Daniel would even tell Keith anything at all; maybe it was worse than he thought. As it ran through his head he looked in the direction of the volcano. He felt the Lion of Flame there, not speaking, but he was close—if that was even the word for it?

Keith nodded. "Yeah. I don't think he wanted me to tell you, but… the two of you? I can't do that. He's afraid, Lance."

Lance nodded, his mind putting things together better from Keith's words, the way Daniel had bolted after Hunk told them he bonded to his lion. "I have an inkling why…" Sigh. Because we disagree. Again. About being here.

That sounded about right. "He's afraid of being left behind."

Ouch. Lance was stung by that, but it made sense. He knew, even if he wasn't quite sure he understood. He remembered. "Yeah, that was my inkling," he muttered, then took a deep breath. "Just gonna have to tell him he's wrong." But he wished he was as confident as that sounded. Daniel would want proof, and he couldn't…

You can't say you'll leave Arus.

You can't just leave Arus.

"I tried…" Keith sighed and shook his head. "I'm not sure I got it through to him." I'm sure it didn't get through to him. "But on the… upside? he did tell me that he doesn't like me—in as many words—but he respects me. That feels like a breakthrough, right?"

Staring at him for what felt like a long moment, Lance finally gave a low whistle. "He admitted that? That's fucking high praise from him." He laughed, but also felt on edge. Why do you find that worrisome?

Because it was weird, that was why. It always came down to weird.

"He has his moments."

"Kid has a lot of moments," Lance said, more to himself than to Keith. There was a bit of pride in his voice that he decided not to dwell too much on. "Anyway, I need to find him, been letting him avoid me since the meeting. I mean I couldn't really stop him from walking out with what Hunk was telling us."

Keith nodded, smiling a little at first, but growing more solemn as Lance went on. "Yeah, speaking of that. What do you think about all of this?"

Well that was a loaded question. Lance shook his head. "Me? Fuck, I don't what to think of it. Being bonded? What the fuck does that mean? Not even sure how I feel about badass glowy fire eyes…" He sighed and looked around him. The castle, the Falcon. Arus's blue sky. All his instincts were screaming that this was where he belonged. "But I want to find out the answers."

Keith nodded wordlessly. Answers would be nice. He heard, felt, a soft crackle of lightning in response.

Well, he's as stoic as ever. Lance gave him a mildly reproachful look for the silence. "And you? What's your take, boss?"

"I… I'm not sure. I mean…" Sighing, he leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "I'm kind of in Hunk's shoes. I don't have anything back on Earth. But there is the Alliance. We have a duty, a mission." He looked ahead. "But these people need help."

"Yeah, I have nothing there either." He decided not to say out loud how much being here felt like home. Still weird. "But the kid wants to go back. Not sure why, he doesn't seem fond of his home, maybe it's just all the stress and he wants familiar ground? I mean, I get why people might want to leave."

"Especially the ones who aren't dealing with lions in their heads," Keith agreed. "I haven't had a chance to talk to Vince or Romelle." He remembered what they'd said at the meeting; they had seemed more receptive to staying, at least for a time, but he should know more. They were still a part of the team. Their points of view mattered.

That crackle of lightning intensified into a soft purr.

Lance considered that. Thinking about the others in Daniel's position, what home might mean to them. "Vince probably misses his moms, right? I don't know about Romelle, or what her situation is with her home. I mean, I know she's got some hangups being here." And who could blame her? "It's a mess all around, boss."

Keith kept staring into the distance, knowing it was in the direction of the lurking presence inside his head. "I feel especially bad for Vince. He's a good kid…" He was responsible for him, for all of them. For bringing them home. But could he? He'd already failed one of the kids, and…

"Yeah, he is." Lance cracked a grin. "Bit well behaved for me."

Keith laughed. "Well, we've still got Daniel and an unpredictable ninja. I think we need Vince just for balance."

"That could be fucking true…" Lance took a breath. He couldn't dodge the real question. "Truth is, I want to stay here. I like it here. I want to help them, I know what it's like to have your world ripped up like this…" A pause. "And I like the lion."

A curl of warmth and a low purr ran through him.

"Yeah." Keith wondered if he liked the lion—he thought he heard it chuckle as he considered it. One thing he knew for sure, at least. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious to see what they look like. Pidge and Hunk have seen them…" As he spoke he remembered something else important. "Did you ever settle that altercation with Pidge, by the way?"

Fuck, awkward. Lance scratched the back of his neck. "Um, I think so." Keith studied him silently with his Command Face, and he sighed. "We both apologized, we talked, I'm not sure if I understood him, or him me, but it ended on good terms…" He was really just babbling now, but it had kind of felt like it then too.

Keith just nodded. That was probably the best anyone could do with Pidge. "Good to hear." They fell quiet for a minute, neither ready to leave things there. "I wonder what Sven thinks," he finally mused. He'd hardly even talked to his second—but to be fair, the Viking had been busy lately.

"Last I heard he was grumbling about water. I'm fucking jealous of water the being the problem."

"You and he do have difficult ones to get to." Keith thought of his own. The other path. What would await him when the time came?

"Yeah… anyone ever told me before that I'd want to get inside a volcano, I'd have died laughing." He shook his head. "But anyway, I've not seen Sven today…" He looked up and blinked. "Well, until just now."

Sure enough, Sven was walking toward them at a pretty good pace. His mind was still reeling with everything that had just happened to him. Weird wasn't even beginning to cover it. All he could really focus on right now was the immediate worry that he was about to do more swimming. He was so focused, in fact, that he didn't even notice Keith and Lance until he heard his name.

"Hey, Sven."

"Are you damp?"

Am I damp. He couldn't help a snort. And before he could answer properly, his whole vision was suddenly blue.

Keith jumped to his feet as the navigator's eyes glowed, and Lance yelped. "Whoa!"

Well, that worked too. "I've found my lion."

"No shit, Glowstick… wait? HOW?"

Keith shot Lance a glare for his language, but really he was thinking the same thing. Sven, as was his new custom, did not object to the language. In fact he did Lance one better.

"There are fucking tunnels!"

Lance stared at the Viking, feeling his thoughts briefly short-circuit. He blinked. He looked at Keith. He poked the lion in his head, receiving an answering growl and that was it. And finally he managed to wrap his brain around those words.

There are… there are… "There are fucking tunnels?"

Next to him, Keith winced. At the bottom of the ramp, Sven just looked at him, knowing exactly how he felt. Exactly.

"THERE ARE FUCKING TUNNELS?!" Lance shouted again.

"I swam and swam and swam. And she didn't tell me! Apparently my lion needed to be 'won'." Sven felt an amused purr vibrating in his mind, and had some thoughts about what Blue could do with her amusement but kept them to himself. If he could actually keep thoughts to himself anymore, which was in some doubt. "Yes, there are tunnels."

"Won?" Keith asked, feeling guilty, but reminding himself that he was told in no uncertain terms not to tell. The Lion of Storms gave a grumble of acknowledgment.

"Tunnels. TUNNELS." Lance couldn't get past it. Sighing, he looked at Sven, having a pretty good idea where else this would go. "Do I get to ask directions?" Then he added irritably for the lion, or do you wanna be won like a teddy bear at a fair?

"Teddy bear?" The lion sounded confused. "But yes, you must find your way to me."

The navigator frowned. He had gotten help eventually, yes, but that still hadn't been directions. "I'm honestly not sure. I'm sure your lion has their own version."

"Yeah, I'm being told that… but thanks for the information. Fucking tunnels."

Keith just stared at Sven as his eyes glowed blue again, and decided he wanted off that particular subject. "So, I take it this means you're okay with whatever it is we have to do here?"

"I am now," he answered after a moment's hesitation. That had only played so much into his reasoning, but he had accepted it. "Anyway, other than there being tunnels I have no new information… EXCEPT."

"Except?"

"What?"

"That I must now go swimming again, to some flooded underground temple no less, for a key to a lion I have no idea how to pilot!" His rant was punctuated by his eyes glowing blue.

"You will do fine."

"When we crash," he muttered, "I want to hear no complaining."

Though he heard that last comment, Lance opted to ignore it. It clearly wasn't directed at them—and the previous statement was more concerning. "A temple?" So there was at least one of those somewhere after all. Great. "Fuck, be fucking careful. We have bad temple-fu."

"I remember." All too well.

Keith shivered, remembering it all too well himself. "Hunk and I fell in the actual water room there. Just be sure to check before you jump in, alright? I still get cold thinking about it."

"Ice cold water sounds far better than being electrocuted again," Sven countered, though he appreciated the thought.

Lance made a face, absently stroking his arm where it was scarred. "Killer vines, people. Killer poisonous vines."

The thought of the temple inevitably took Keith's thoughts back to others. For a moment he found himself wondering how different it might be, if… no. He shook it off. They had to deal with what they had. "Well… good luck."

"Yeah, good fucking luck." Lance snorted. "You'd think they might have wanted to leave these keys in better places."

"You would think," Sven agreed, and felt a low growl from Blue. She'd seemed annoyed when she mentioned the key; maybe even she agreed? "Alright. I was just stopping in to let someone know what happened. I'm off to drown."

"No drowning," Keith objected. "We promised Daniel, remember?"

"Yeah, do not make me go back on a promise to Daniel." Lance was having enough trouble there as it was.

"I'll try." Sven wasn't wholly confident he had much say in the matter. But it wasn't like actually drowning was high on his to-do list.

Before the Viking disappeared, Lance decided to check in one more time with his lion. Just to be sure. You sure I don't get to ask for tunnel details? All he got was a purr, and he shrugged. Figures.

"I think Hunk was right," Keith said as Sven headed out.

"About which thing?" Lance asked.

"The mission being shot. And I don't think the brass will like that."

"Yeah, the mission is fucking shot," Lance agreed, shrugging off the bit about the brass. Wasn't like he'd made an Explorer Team by making the brass happy. He had more important things to focus on now, anyway… "Fucking tunnels," he muttered.

Keith chuckled. "Well, happy hunting on your lion and Daniel."

"Thanks, boss," Lance said with a laugh, and shook his head slowly as the boss returned to his katas. It was time to do some serious consideration.

Tunnels!

*****

Despite being given rooms there, the team pretty much only came and went from the castle as needed. Which meant Vince had been planning on giving the place a wide berth for awhile. But if they were going to be staying on Arus long-term, something that seemed very likely now, it felt like he'd better get used to braving the possibility of ghosts. So he found himself heading for the doors, staring up at the castle's facade, distracted not by ghosts but the scope and fallen grandeur of the place…

His foot hit something as he came near the doors, probably some debris from the broken lion statue. Not that the what mattered, particularly; he went down flat on his face either way. "ARGH."

Why did this always happen to him? Hopefully there hadn't been any Arusians around to hear.

There'd been two.

Nanny had been coming up from the shelter, still in a huff over Larmina. In truth, being in a huff over Larmina felt like a nice bit of long-lost normality, but it was not comforting enough for her to not be grumbling about it. As she stepped out into the entryway, she heard a crash and a yell, and her eyes narrowed.

What are those hooligans doing now?

Following the noise, she found an Earthling she hadn't seen before; he was just outside the main doors, covered in dirt and grass and frantically trying to brush himself off. She slowly raised an eyebrow. "Ah! Cleaning yourself off before crossing the threshold!" Nodding approvingly as he jumped, she decided this was behavior to be encouraged, and quickly. "At least one of you has some manners."

Vince looked up and blinked. That was the last thing he'd expected to hear around here. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I'm a mess, I fell." I'm a mess. What an understatement. Falling was really the least of his worries there, but he was trying to clean himself up.

"Hmph. Of course one might fall in this…" She looked around at the debris surrounding the door. "We should apologize, it is shameful how we aren't even in a state to entertain… Earthlings."

Huh? That seemed kind of harsh. "No, we're very grateful for you entertaining us," he said quickly, and picked a few last blades of grass from his shirt. Oy.

Right about then, Coran arrived, having followed the noise from where he'd been walking the grounds. What he found was a disheveled Vince and… Nanny. Oh heavens. "Vince, are you alright?"

Inwardly sighing—you never did learn his title—Vince turned to him and nodded. "Sorry, Mr. Coran. I'm alright, I fall all the time."

"Ah, I see." After all the shenanigans with Hunk, Coran was not ruling out Vince being a soldier too, but he really didn't seem like it. But what was he doing here with soldiers, if not? "Please, just call me Coran."

Nanny had approached Vince to pluck some grass out of his hair; now she looked scandalized. "Lord Coran…!" One of the visitors finally seemed to care about propriety, this should be encouraged!

"Oh. Lord? Is that what I should be saying?" That definitely seemed a step or two above mister, and he flushed a little. But at least it was an answer. "Thank you."

"Indeed!" The woman smiled brightly, then curtsied. "In these dark times, we surely cannot abandon ourselves to barbarity. I am Lady Hys."

Exasperated, Coran shook his head. "Lady Hys… no." He turned back to Vince. A title, never mind courtly formality, would only make it harder to coax information from the newcomers. "I would prefer for you and your friends to simply call me Coran."

So this is that lady Lance mentioned, Vince mused. I think. No wonder they didn't get along. She did seem like the kind of person who would use the word 'hooligan'.

Well, if being on an Explorer Team had taught him anything, it was to just go with it when stuff like this happened. "Hello, Lady Hys. I'm Vince Hayes." He bowed his head a little then looked back at Coran. "And I can call you what you wish, Coran."

Nanny huffed in disapproval, but that was really all she could do. Unlike her royal charges, who she certainly could insist on using their titles, she had no authority over the old knight commander.

He was perfectly happy about that fact. "Thank you, Vince."

Despite her disapproval, Nanny had come up from the tunnels for a reason. She probably shouldn't stay here to be annoyed by Coran's permissiveness. "Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hayes. I'm glad to know at least one of you offworlders might have hope." She shook her head.

"It was nice to meet you too, Lady Hys." Was he the only one with hope? Clearly she hadn't met Sven yet.

She nodded. "I must be off, I've been sent to fetch some things for the onpira farming."

Onpira. That word tugged at Vince's memory—oh, right. "I quite enjoyed those… mushrooms," he said sullenly. Maybe if he admitted it out loud, it would be easier to accept.

It wasn't.

"They are quite nice," Coran agreed, noting Vince's sullenness but unclear on its source. "And easy to grow."

Nanny departed with a grumble; such things as cave vegetables, never mind fungi, would not have been fit for consumption by the Court under normal circumstances. But these were not, and if she didn't leave she might say something improper.

Watching her go, Vince shrugged helplessly. "They're the first mushrooms I've ever liked, so… congratulations?" That wasn't quite the word he'd been going for. You are a dork.

"I'll have to relay your compliment," Coran said with a small chuckle, and eyed Vince more closely. He seemed younger than most of his compatriots, and not particularly good at hiding his thoughts… perhaps the direct approach would serve him best here. "Vince, may I ask you a question?"

Uh oh. He gulped, but it wasn't like he could say no. "Sure, Mist… uh, Coran."

"Are you a soldier?"

WELP. Fuzzmuffins. Eyes widening, he scrambled to try to figure out how to answer. Keith had never said to outright lie. And he didn't like lying, and wasn't particularly good at it… "Well, uh. Technically?" That wasn't wrong.

The advisor's eyebrows shot up. He was quite certain 'technically' was not a valid answer. Either he is or he isn't. Perhaps employed by a military, a mercenary of sorts? Or only partially trained? He wished he knew more about the Alliance's structure. Or really anything about it. "Hmm. What do you mean?"

I mean I'm not all that soldier-y, no matter what the title says. He couldn't say that out loud. "Well, um. I graduated from a military academy before I joined this crew." Also not a lie. "I wasn't much good at combat though, my specialty is really electronics." And sparking.

"Ah, I see." He didn't really see. The idea of going to a military school to study electronics was wholly alien to Coran… but then, these were also actually aliens. He opted not to ask, for the moment. The answer felt honest enough, and asking for elaboration was only likely to get him an evasion, or an explanation of the Earthling educational system. Neither of those served his purposes right now. "You must be very intelligent. Electronics sounds like a difficult specialty." He had noticed the young Earthling taking a particular interest in Hunk's blueprint as they put the grill together.

Now he blushed, giving a nervous little laugh. "Oh. Well… I do seem to cause a lot of fried wires." Don't tell him that! "But I do okay I guess? Thanks."

Modest and unassuming… in a completely different way than Hunk seemed to mask his intelligence, but the general premise seemed similar. Coran wondered about what kind of unit this might be, if they were all indeed soldiers. Espionage? But one would think, if so, they'd be a bit better at not being identified as military.

Nodding, he decided he'd learned what he could here. "I suppose I'll leave you to your exploring; I need to go and check in with the shelter. Please don't hurt yourself falling."

"I'll try not to, though if I run into a ghost all bets are off." Lame, you are lame. Probably shouldn't have said that either, actually…

Fortunately, Coran either didn't take the comment seriously or just didn't find it strange. Around here it could go either way. "Good luck to you then," he chuckled, and headed inside.

Good luck. Vince laughed weakly. That would be a nice change, wouldn't it?

*****

With some effort, Daniel resisted concussing himself on the tree he was sitting against. Emptying his brain was usually so much easier, but annoying thoughts were still torturing him. Even Toast being on his head was not having its standard calming effect. He kept expecting Lance to pop out and accuse him of avoiding him… which he was, but he didn't need that. Because Lance would want to have a conversation, and by the end of that conversation he would have Daniel thinking distancing himself from the team was a bad idea.

Fighting down a groan, he threw his hands in the air. Why had he spilled his guts to Keith? There was no way Kogane hadn't told Lance everything.

The movement did draw attention, but it wasn't from Lance. Sarial and Allendar were on the move. Initially the plan had been to go hunting; this grill needed something to be grilled, after all. But as the captain had returned to the shelter, she'd been informed of something much more urgent: one of the remaining orbital reception beacons was on the fritz.

They were on their way to check that out instead. Only a handful of their orbital surveillance tools were still in functioning order; they couldn't afford to have malfunctions. Worse, it could be lingering Drule troops interfering. They knew there were small garrisons elsewhere on the planet, and it wouldn't be the first time one of them had been sighted near the castle.

She would have been more comfortable with the standard set of three soldiers that the militia was accustomed to deploying. But most of her scouts were already assigned elsewhere. Of her own usual team, Larmina was doing something for the Princess, and Hanso was still stuck in bed, so they made do. Except…

"…Is that an Earthling? With a salamander?" Allendar asked as Daniel came into full view.

"He has a name. It's Daniel."

"The Earthling or the salamander?"

Sarial supposed she'd deserved that. But she veered off to where he was sitting, regardless. "We can work with this."

"We can?" Shrugging, Allendar followed.

Daniel had still been berating himself for being stupid. He'd known better. Telling authority anything always came back to bite you in the ass. Hearing unknown voices quickly stopped the berating, and had him reflexively putting a hand on his gun. Then he looked up.

Sarial stopped calmly as Daniel jumped. "Dare I ask what you're doing? Other than going easy on the arm?" She smiled.

The salalizard had miraculously stayed on his head when he jumped, but hissed at being jostled. He pulled his hand back from his gun. "Just hangin with Toast."

"Toast?" Sarial looked at the salamander and considered that. It fit. Though for just 'hanging out' the salamander seemed quite agitated.

Daniel pointed to the salalizard and shrugged. "He needed a name."

"Why is there a salamander on his head?" Allendar asked. It seemed like the obvious question, and the Captain seemed to be taking this way too much in stride.

Sure enough, she just shrugged. "If the salamander wants to be on his head, I don't think we ought to argue with it." They did have their quirks. Looking towards the Earthlings' ship in the distance, she switched back to Common. "Are you your crew's lookout, then?"

"I'm not my crew's anything right now." He didn't have weird things happening to him that needed to be investigated, after all.

Sarial caught the bitterness in his tone, and was not getting in the middle of that. Except to offer a solution, perhaps. "Well if you're looking for something to do, Allendar," she gestured towards him, "and I were heading up to the foothills to check on one of our scouting beacons. We'd welcome some backup."

"Can Toast come?"

She raised an eyebrow, and looked at Allendar—who had no idea what was being said and suspected he didn't want to—before giving a small smile. "Well he hasn't set that tree on fire, so he seems well trained enough."

"He's pretty chill. As long as you don't drop him." Daniel stood up. "Lead the way, Captain."

Sarial nodded and motioned for both boys to follow her, then quietly informed Allendar, "The salamander's name is Toast."

"Why wouldn't it be?" Allendar shrugged. Maybe he should just stop asking about weird wildlife; Larmina had an actual banewolf when they retook the castle. After that nothing should surprise him. "Why are we recruiting an Earthling, again?"

"Because he's there." Recruiting? She eyed Daniel and considered that more carefully. It wasn't a half bad idea.

Of course, the salamander chose that moment to burp up some embers, and he groaned. "Come on, man! We talked about this. Not while you're on my head. It's called having manners, Toast."

Allendar yelped and looked at his captain, who just seemed amused. "Good luck. Salamanders are known for needing a good deal of coaxing when you want fire, but when you don't? Only too willing to provide."

"We're working on it. He's gotten a lot better." Daniel smiled. He'd only had them since yesterday, sure, but the salalizards seemed to listen to him pretty well. They were very in tune with what he was feeling. Which… was weird, but he wasn't thinking too much about it.

Sarial chuckled, then studied him for a moment. "A long term project then? The Princess has been a bit… vague about why she's extending your crew such allowances. Not that I mind, we can use all the help we can get. But I'm very curious to know your crew's position on all of this…" She raised an eyebrow. "If you're allowed to say, of course." Definitely not baiting him. Of course not.

Well, maybe a little.

Daniel immediately felt bitter again. "I honestly couldn't even tell you if I wanted to. None of it makes any sense to me, and I'm not really a part of it. Pretty sure we're going to be here a while though, if that's what you mean."

Even without understanding Common, Allendar noted the Earthling's expression and frowned. "What did you say his name was? Angry Lizard Child?"

Sarial gave Allendar a look, though she had to bite back a laugh. She’d already recruited Angry Noble Banewolf Child to the militia, apparently, what was another? "We can sympathize about things not making sense." She looked to the sky and sighed. "Very little here has made sense since the sinycka came. Not unlike your situation, yes?"

"Yeah… I'm so over weird." Weird was taking away his team.

It got him a nod of agreement. "None of us ever imagined anything like this. Perhaps the rest of your crew is as lost as we were in the aftermath."

The suggestion didn't give as much comfort as she'd hoped. Daniel shook his head. They weren't lost, they had paths to follow. Confusing paths, but paths. He just didn't have one at all.

She noted his doubtful look and considered her next step. Certainly she shouldn't be encouraging any bitterness he held towards his own team, but she also knew that understanding usually helped. It was a thin line to walk, but they were on the same side. "If they could spare you for a bit of more focused work for a time, I know someone who could provide it."

"My current orders are to…" Daniel thought for a moment. "I don't actually have any, hence the tree sitting. Think this 'someone' has anything remotely more entertaining than watching grass grow?" Honestly, he'd take anything that wasn't watching his bitter flame of resentment grow larger.

Sarial led them to a hidden path in the underbrush, moving into the foothills. She drew her bow, and Allendar seemed to become more alert as well. "Depends how you feel about hunting, reconnaissance, and the unlikely but lingering suspicion that there might be a sinycka straggler around every corner."

Noting their state of alertness, Daniel put his hand on his own weapon in response. "Well, that's only slightly more entertaining than watching grass grow, but I guess I don't have anything else to do."

"It might grow on you," she said, lowering her voice. A wind blew past them and she got back to business. "This beacon we're looking for sent several false positives yesterday. It's not likely that some Drule insurgent has tampered with it, but we can't be too careful."

He nodded. "Understood."

The Captain was a little surprised at how businesslike he seemed, salamander on his head and all. Once again it had her thinking about Coran's suspicions that they were soldiers.

Allendar moved to take the lead around a hundred yards in. He was a decent knife-fighter; Captain Sarial was better with a bow, and he didn't know what Daniel could do but there was a cast on his arm. Daniel responded by pulling his gun and flanking his left. He was the only one with a real firearm, and wanted to make sure he could get a clear line of sight on anything that popped out at them.

He knows what he's doing. Sarial nodded slowly. The Earthlings did survive the Drule arena, after all…

As they started up the rather steep hill to where the beacon was, something large crashed in a bush next to Allendar. All three reacted immediately. Daniel whipped around towards it, ready to fire. Allendar leveled his slingbow and dropped back half a step. Sarial dropped to one knee and pulled back her bow, sighting between the two.

Making eye contact for a moment, Daniel and Allendar nodded and focused on the movement. A second later, a huge bear-like creature poked its head out of the undergrowth and snuffled at them.

If it had been a bird it would already be dead, but given what it was, Daniel wasn't sure if he should shoot it or not. He raised an eyebrow in Allendar's direction, hoping he'd understand what he was asking.

"Serhect," Allendar whispered; a lower slopes brushbear, one of the very few that didn't call for shooting on sight. Their mountain-dwelling cousins were notably cranky. He knew the name wouldn't mean anything to the Earthling, so he lowered his slingbow slightly. Not enough that he couldn't open fire immediately if need be, but enough to get the point across.

Don't shoot it, but don't not shoot it. Got it.

The bear snuffled at them again, but they weren't fruit, so it disappeared back into the underbrush. Daniel lowered his weapon; he did not put it away, and quickly scanned the rest of their surroundings. Just to make sure there weren't any more large mammals with large teeth.

Allendar exhaled, not putting his weapon away either, and gave Daniel a small grin. He wasn't a bad wingmate, for an Earthling with a salamander on his head… Daniel shot him a small smile back, and patted Toast for being so well behaved.

"The serhect are awake early, good to know," Sarial murmured in Arusian. It had been a few months since they'd had to worry about that. She nodded at Daniel and switched to Common. "Your entertainment may vary, but our work is certainly more exciting?"

"Definitely." Daniel paused for a moment. The thought occurred to him that he should probably run this by Keith, or at least Lance. But he'd already run too much by Keith, and avoiding Lance was still number one on his priority list.

They reached the beacon with no more interruptions. It looked undisturbed. Sarial nodded for Allendar to check it out; he was one of the militia's best engineers. As he worked on doing whatever he was doing, Daniel kept watch, and the captain looked over at him. "I am quite serious about that invitation, you know."

"Figured. I'd like to. Got nothing better to do." And joining a militia sounded kind of fun, he had to admit. Would this maybe even be considered responsible behavior? Daniel nodded, it felt responsible-ish.

Sarial smiled and looked back to Allendar. "You'll need to learn the basics of Arusian, but I can help you with that." A sly smile graced her face. "And before you let that change your mind… if you learn our language, you'd be able to read some of the books I managed to preserve from the village library. Including the guide to identification and handling of native reptiles?"

Allendar, much like Hanso, recognized Sarial's 'I'm just giving you better ideas' tone, and stifled a chuckle as he checked through the wiring.

Protests had been forming in Daniel's mind, because school and books were not his thing, but learning more about alien reptiles sounded okay. And learning the language sounded like something he should do either way, the way things were shaping up.

Just in case…

"I guess… Fair warning, I hate school." He would have used a stronger word than 'hate' but he didn't want to discourage her too much. Not enough to talk her out of this. "And I'm not good at it." But a little discouragement was fine.

She was not discouraged. "I promise not to hold any excessive expectations." The key word there was excessive.

Daniel caught the word but just sighed. It was no use, Lance's stupid expectations disease had already infected her, he should have known. "Great." Sarial held out her hand and he stared in confusion. Huh? "Are we going to hold hands now?"

The Arusian tilted her head and lowered her hand. "Are handshakes obsolete in Alliance culture now? I'll need to update my books."

"Oh!" Daniel burst out laughing. "I haven't been around Alliance people in so long…" The team didn't count, they worked more in friendly punches than handshakes. He held out his hand, and Sarial shook it while giving a little laugh herself.

"It was an attempt, at least. Welcome aboard."

*****

Sven shook his head as he looked over the river. And more to the point, the structure beneath the river—built into a large basin beneath a waterfall that looked like it may have once been dammed. But the dam wasn't there anymore. Just water.

She can't be serious.

Blue had informed him that her key was in an underwater temple, sure… but for whatever reason, he hadn't been expecting this. The temple seemed massive, the river even more so, did this planet not do small bodies of water? The water was clear enough to give him a good view of the temple, at least. For all the good that did.

It was impressive, and not just because of its size. The swirling blue designs on the walls were distorted from the water, not to mention covered in algae, but still beautiful. The only parts of the temple not submerged were a couple of tall towers on either side of the building. Which had windows, but they were so far above the surface of the water he'd have no way to climb inside—the stone was smooth, sheer, and slick with more algae near the water level. His only other option was the actual entrance to the temple, which was very much underwater.

"Are we sure that this key is actually here?" With his luck, he'd swim all the way down there and she'd suddenly remember it was elsewhere.

"Yes, cub. In the very center of the temple."

Sven's eyebrows nearly hit the skyline. "The center of the… you remember that this thing is underwater, correct?"

"Yes, cub." She sounded a little exasperated, but that wasn't Sven's problem. Swimming in an underwater temple, without knowing the layout and without equipment, was a fabulous way to die.

"You also remember how drowning works for us non-robotic beings?"

"Yes, cub."

"Just checking." Sven took off his shirt and sighed. He'd trusted her this far… no time to stop now. "If I die I'm going to be highly agitated."

"I'd expect nothing less." She seemed amused.

He dove into the water and began to scout the outside of the temple. Even submerged, it seemed much more friendly than the one on Sorthal. Hopefully, this one wouldn't try and electrocute him, being underwater and all. As he studied it, he vaguely wondered how something like this wound up flooded and forgotten. It was even more remarkable without the surface distortion… would have looked even better without the algae.

Letting the questions slip through his mind—not the point right now—Sven swam up for one last deep breath before diving towards the entrance.

It was equally impressive. A wide open arch, etched with watery patterns and complex glyphs. It darkened quickly as he swam through, but enough light was sneaking through so he wasn't completely blind… if he weren't so worried about air conservation, he'd have stopped to study the carvings and runes on the walls. But the key was his main priority; not drowning was a close second. That didn't leave much room for admiring the artwork.

What was this place? He hadn't exactly been asking Blue, but he knew if she'd wanted to—or could—answer, she would have. But she was silent.

Through the archway, he found himself in a very tall room with three staircases. Two identical sets of very steep stairs on either side, and one wide set in the very middle. He had a strong feeling leading him towards the middle staircase, and if the past few days had taught him anything it was to trust his feelings.

Swimming up stairs was far easier than walking up them. He'd have said it was preferable, except he couldn't say anything just now, seeing as he couldn't breathe without dying. The stairs lead to a hallway that was considerably harder to see in. Did he go right or left? Going the wrong way was not an option.

Once again, a gut feeling told him left. He was running out of breath, but he could feel Blue's presence. She wasn't worried. He had to believe she knew something, he had to trust his lion. So he held onto his calm and kept swimming… maybe a little faster.

The farther down the hallway he got, the darker and darker it became. He only even knew the hallway had ended when he swam right into another set of stairs. Thankfully there didn't seem to be as many as on the first staircase, and as he swam up, light started filtering back in.

Wait… is that the surface?

Reaching the top of the stairs, Sven popped his head out of the water. It wasn't the surface, but the room he was in was filled with air. A lot like Blue's den, the pressure and elevation must have kept the water out. And thank Odin for that, because he'd been cutting it close.

There was still water filling the room, but it was only ankle deep. The walls were untouched by algae and absolutely gorgeous; light poured in through translucent blue stone in the walls. It did remind him a little of the crystal room in the Sorthal temple, wide open and intricately decorated, except instead of five different colors it was filled with blues and grays.

There was a stand in the center of the room, but whatever it was meant to be holding was gone. Was the key supposed to be there? "Am I in the right place?"

"Yes."

Alright, that was good, at least. A little more information would've been nice, but he was used to that… he looked around the stand, hoping the key had just fallen off and was nearby. He spent a good ten minutes scouring the shallow water for it before he realized that he was trying to use logic. Logic only worked about half the time with this lion bullshit.

He could hear Blue laughing at him for that, but he wasn't wrong.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Sven let feeling wash over him, and he instinctively looked over into the far right corner. Of course. Why hadn't he just tried that when he first got there? The water was a little deeper in the corner, but not too much so. No key was immediately apparent… but there was a large crack between the wall and the floor that he couldn't see into.

Was he really about to stick his hand into a dark crevice that could have who-knew-what lurking within?

Yes, yes he was.

Sticking his hand in, he felt around for a moment before he brushed up against something smooth and round. He felt a momentary flicker of ice, and his eyes flashed blue. That's it. It took a couple of attempts to actually grasp the key, and then it was free of the crevice and in his hands. A blue and white disc with the lion's sigil etched into it, free of rust or algae despite how long it must have been submerged.

Sven allowed himself a smile as he looked it over. That hadn't been so bad, really. He felt accomplished. Now he just had to swim back… without getting lost.

Oh dear.

Blue was laughing at him again.

*****

"So. You Pidge?"

They'd walked to the forest in awkward silence, and by the time they entered the protection of the trees, Pidge's burn had started to ache just a little again. He stopped in the shade and closed his eyes, letting the shadows calm him, then nodded. "Yes."

"Heard of you." Larmina remembered wondering if he might be better than the others. Didn't she feel silly now. "From lizard hunters. Don't like anyone?" She was actually pretty sure Vince had called her 'the Arusian Pidge', and that thought annoyed her all over again. If he'd actually seen the banewolves without getting eaten by them, there might even be something to that comparison. And that would just be infuriating.

He looked at her and grimaced. Of course they said that. "I don't really… get along with people," he finally muttered.

"Me either." She nodded. It wasn't exactly sympathetic, but she could relate. "We find plants, never speak again. Yes?"

"I'd be okay with that. Doubt we'll be so lucky." He'd doubted it even before Green Lion gave an odd, knowing laugh in the back of his mind. Then he doubted it extra.

"Probably," she agreed with a snort. Fine, then. She could at least ask him the burning question on her mind… literally. "Why stand in fire?"

Scowl. "Hard to avoid, when it's up there." As he spoke, he veered around a shaft of sunlight pouring in through a gap in the trees.

Larmina stopped, looking between him and the patch of sun. "Burned by… light?"

"Yes." He kept his tone even with some effort. If he sounded like he was challenging her, he was pretty sure she'd accept, and he really did not want to deal with it. So far Arusians were not any easier to deal with than humans.

Despite herself, Larmina grinned. Stories about the sun burning those the Golden Gods disfavored were bedtime stories for unruly children—she'd heard them many times, obviously—not something that actually happened. "So can't do this?" She stepped into the patch of light.

He rolled his eyes. "It would be unhealthy." Watching her skin darken, he muttered, "I'd change color like an Arusian, except it would be bright red and wouldn't change back in the dark."

By way of response, she stepped out of the light, then back in, and repeated the process a couple more times just to show off. "Can't do this!" It was amusing her entirely too much, but it was the first time in days she'd felt any faint sliver of control over anything and she was going to take it, damn it.

Pidge hissed some very colorful Baltan profanity. "It would be rude to stab you," he said icily, drawing his knife, "but if you don't stop that something unfortunate might happen." He was not in the damned mood to have his failings shoved in his face even more.

Blinking, Larmina stepped back from the light—from his expression, she completely believed he would actually try to stab her. And it certainly would be rude if she had to kick his ass for doing so. "Fine. Plants. No speaking." She started walking again, heading to a part of the forest she didn't usually visit. She could at least take the offworlder somewhere that they wouldn't be likely to run into each other again.

For his part, Pidge recognized the surroundings, though he'd only been here once before. It was a nice walk still, even if he was pretty sure he'd have preferred the company of a monster wolf. Though he supposed Larmina was okay when she wasn't talking. Most people were.

The silence held until Larmina realized where they were. A soft growl echoed on the breeze, almost like a warning. A familiar growl…

Something huge and dark loomed beyond the trees. Something she'd seen once before. And an instant too late, she stopped—her cheeks burned—pain shot through her skull and down her spine, and the strength fled her muscles as the winds howled in something close to panic.

"Larmina?" Pidge whirled to face her as she gave a strangled cry and dropped to her knees. It was like she'd crossed a tripwire, or stepped over the threshold of some toxic containment. One moment there'd been nothing. The next… it looked, from the way her hair and cloak were whipping around, like she'd been assaulted by some gale, but he couldn't feel a thing.

Wait, what…?

For about half a second, Pidge was sorely tempted to just walk past her. Maybe walk back and forth a couple of times, the way she'd taunted him in the sunlight. That first, petty instinct vanished almost immediately. He really wasn't that much of an asshole. He tried not to be one at all, he just wasn't very good at it, but really—

You don't even need Flynn's theoretical disapproval to know what to do here, varetya!

He was moving before the split-second calculation had even finished running through his head, dragging her back from the slicing winds until her eyes fluttered open with a gasp. The golden marks on her cheeks were glowing, but it faded as her senses seemed to return…

"What…?" She looked at him, looked around, and her expression became sullen as she realized what had just happened. Again. "…Thanks," she muttered grudgingly, and he nodded.

What the hells was that for? he demanded of the lion in his mind, once he was sure Larmina was basically intact. I know I threatened to stab her, but I'm varetya and you're an ancient magical robot!

"It was not my doing." Green Lion sounded… not chastened, exactly. Frustrated. "Something is…" Another long pause. "Something is wrong."

Hunk's report flashed through the back of Pidge's mind. Something went wrong. Did the lions actually harm the Arusians somehow? Just by being there? Seemed like an odd trait for their guardians, but then, Romelle had said Voltron didn't belong here…

"We are not yet ready."

It echoed through both of them—though neither knew that. They exchanged nervous looks, each writing the other off to confusion… and then both fought down their nervousness too late. It wasn't like they were going to admit it to each other.

Not really.

"Plants somewhere else," Larmina said quietly, rising shakily to her feet and looking back towards the darkness. "Somewhere far."

"Yeah," he agreed, nodding slowly. "Definitely somewhere far." His eyes flickered to the distant outline of the lion's den; he didn't really want to go. Uncomfortable as he was with the voice in his head, it felt like he should be here. But he'd been sent along with Larmina, so he should probably stay with Larmina…

"Go on, cub. Tend to your wounds. You will need your strength soon enough."

Oh, well that wasn't ominous. He snorted and got a small scowl from the Arusian; for some reason, it made him feel better. There was something much more familiar about being glared at than… getting cryptic warnings from mythical cat spacecraft? Yes. Yes, of course. Why not.

They forged back the way they'd come in silence, and the winds whistled softly behind them.