Event - For Sport

[apocalypsehowmods]

↬ Main Navigation

For Sport

➥ Breaking It In

(cw: mentions of apparent mutilation of/violence against animals and animal death)

The conference room on the upper floors of ADI HQ is bright, airy, perhaps unnaturally so for the grim tidings that bring people here today. Those who have recently arrived will be ushered to the meeting by ADI employees or by Bonnie. It's not just the newest arrivals, but some other people who seem to be longer-term employees. The room is rather large and arranged like a lecture hall. Bonnie takes up a seat near the back, looking somewhat uncomfortable, but smiling at anyone who greets her.

At 9 AM sharp, a person steps into the room and heads to the front. They have curly hair and are wearing a gray business suit with a dark blue bow-tie. When they address the group at large, they speak in a calm, measured tone. "Good morning. I appreciate some of you may be here more reluctantly than others, but… there are matters of import to all of us to discuss. Some of you may have seen me already. I am Reyes Amador, assistant to Ms. Lehrer, the head of ADI. Earlier this week I sent out a message regarding some unusual activity at Coffin Beach. Thank you to those who investigated."

Their eyes seem to find the people who did, in fact, go looking, whether they found something or not.

"We have determined the creatures are shape-shifters. Some sort of, em... horse thing. In lieu of a term they might give themselves, we are referring to them as kelpies. Given the locations these were found, as well as other information into disappearances and deaths and mutilations of sea mammals in the area, we believe the kelpies are coming from the Essex Bay area to the north.

"For those willing to assist, we are mounting a reconnaissance mission. This is not intended to engage kelpies, just to find out where they are and how we might best approach an attack. All supplies, transportation, and monetary compensation will be provided. We will meet at ADI HQ in main lobby at 6 PM three days from now. Essex Bay is a remote site and conservation area, accessible only by boat, and not without a scientific permit. As you may guess, we will be traveling under cover of nightfall." Reyes smiles.

"I will be accepting questions about further details. I understand this is the first mission away for many of you, and you may have concerns. I will do my best to allay them. Bonnie also has some experience in these missions, if you would like first-hand accounts. Please also feel free to discuss amongst yourselves if this is a mission you think you are ready for. You will not be required to attend, nor penalized in any way if you do not. There is additional work to be done here, both with continuing examinations of the bodies we have and other efforts unrelated."

➥ Move the Goalposts

(cw: kidnapping, violence, sadism)

It happens away from the safety of ADI HQ one evening or so early in the morning, it's still dark, away from the potential for help, maybe. One moment, you (and possibly someone you're with) are walking, and the next, you will find someone has grabbed you and slammed you into the nearest surface. For those unable to fight back, a cloth will be held to their noses and mouths--chloroform, something to knock them out. For those able to fight or even to escape thanks to not actually being corporeal, they'll find that it is a trio of people who have attacked them. They wear jagged smiles and they're all much too sharp around the edges beneath their clothes. Those who saw the kelpies at Coffin Beach may recognize these people as something like them.

"Run, rabbit, run," one of the group says, voice rolling out like a gurgling tide.

Those who run will be chased and, if caught, chloroformed. Perhaps you're lucky, though. Perhaps you can race them back to safety. Or perhaps you'll find help along the way to protect you. Either way, the kelpies are relentless in their pursuit unless one of their number is injured or their prey can make it to ADI. The kelpies seem reluctant to actually enter ADI HQ or their housing, and will break off pursuit there, slinking back to the shadows.

➥ Curveball

(cw: kidnapping, violence/violence and mutilation against apparent animals, sadism, body horror, transformation, potential for claustrophobia)

For those unlucky enough to be caught, they'll find themselves waking amongst mud and bodies. Living, breathing bodies, thankfully. You have been tied up, but not gagged, and left with a group of other captives. A nearby fire casts light over everything, showing a large group of naked people with long, scraggly hair hauling a seal up out of the water. The animal fights them with a cunning that might seem odd, but the kelpies just laugh at it. They get it up near the fire, one raises a knife, and stabs into the seal, dragging the blade down its belly.

The seal bellows and then goes limp, seeming to collapse in on itself. It isn't long before a woman is drawn from the skin, shaking, fighting, wild-eyed with terror as her captors shove her around the fire in their own game. A few others turn their attention to the captives who are just beginning to wake and move about. They approach, one grabbing the skin the woman had come out of, others grabbing more skins from a nearby pile.

"Hush, hush... you'll have your freedom soon... while you can swim." The words come just before the kelpie slices your bonds and throws the skin over you.

The skin grapples your body, twisting tight around you, encasing and restraining. Your body is different now, thick and round, ungainly in the mud. Your legs have fused together and your arms have shrunk to thin flippers. This is not your body, you can feel how foreign it is, how you're crammed into the too-small confines of it... but you have instincts to go with it. Water is freedom! Or it's an attempt at freedom. It's either swim for your lives as some mockery of a selkie or stay and see how it feels to be cut open. Luckily for you, you'll find yourself psychically linked to the other selkies around you. Maybe you can do something together? Best think fast because the kelpies are setting their sights on new prey to chase once they've finished with their latest victim.

➥ Below the Belt

(cw: violence/violence and mutilation against apparent animals, body horror, gore)

The journey to Essex Bay isn't a long one, but it's somewhat treacherous as a small group of powerboats make their way into the refuge. The mission is simple: find where the kelpies are and see if there are any strategic points of-

Was that a seal? There are, in fact, many seals that pop up once boats enter the bay. The animals might seem to have an unusual cunning about them. Will they lead you somewhere useful? Perhaps try to flop themselves into your boats? The point is, there are seals accosting you in the middle of the night, and that's weird. Perhaps they have something they want to communicate.

Or was that a horse? A crocodile? There's something that seems to have noticed you, and it's smart enough that it's going to try to tip you and anyone else in your boat into the water rather than trying to engage otherwise. Sit down, you'll rock the boat.

➥ Sticky Wicket

(cw: potential for severe burns/injury, pain)

ADI is engaged in far more than one mission at a time, and for those not dealing with Essex Bay, or even before that, there are pick-ups to handle. Artifacts, you've been told as you're paired with someone else, whether you like it or not. The mission is simple: go to the Docks, collect a package from a locker there, and return with it to ADI. You've been provided an exact location and a code for the combination lock. The section of the Docks you've entered seems to be one with a lot of empty warehouses covered in graffiti, but the locker is there, something heavily reinforced and designed to be virtually impossible to get into. There's evidence that people have tried to gain entry without success.

Your code works, though, and you have your prize! You've been given strict instructions not to open the box the artifact is in… but there's nothing technically stopping you now, and there is a strange pull toward it.

Those who can't help themselves will find they have just picked up… some piece of sports gear! It looks wholly innocuous. Touch even a finger to it, though, and a horrific, searing pain will consume your entire body as 3rd-degree burns bloom across the skin where you've touched your artifact.

Or maybe you have a will of iron and sense enough not to touch strange, supernatural objects. What should be an easy mission is quickly derailed by some young punk darting out of an alleyway to try to steal your package. Or, at the very least, knock it from your hands. The youth is not alone, either. You've found yourself on someone's 'turf,' and they want what you've got. Are you cruel enough to let them have it?

➥ Mod Notes

• BREAKING IT IN (21 July): Both Reyes and Bonnie will be available to answer questions that characters might have or listen to their complaints. Please put "NPC Requested" somewhere in your top-level response if you would like a mod response. For characters who can access their supernatural abilities and have some measure of supernatural spidey sense, both Bonnie and Reyes will register as off, but in different ways. Characters are welcome to attempt to use whatever powers they believe will work on the NPCs. There are potential IC consequences for this.
  
  
• MOVE THE GOALPOSTS (23-24 July): Characters are welcome to capture or kill the kelpies. The only information they will be capable of providing to those who capture them and attempt to compel them for information is that they consider the entirety of the Massachusetts coast as their 'hunting grounds.' Whether that's true or not, it's what they believe.
  
  
• CURVEBALL (23-24 July): Kidnapped characters will become seals! Sort of. Psychic seals who are extremely ill-fitted to the skins they're in. The only way to escape their current state is to be cut open and pulled out. As soon as they start to flee, the kelpies will chase them. Those who are captured will be cut out, toyed with, and shoved back into a skin again and again to continue the chase until they simply can't go on anymore.
  
  
• BELOW THE BELT (24 July - night): Characters may encounter their selkie-fied comrades! Unfortunately, while the selkies can communicate with each other psychically, they are incapable of human speech. They are also being actively hunted by the kelpies. Characters may kill any kelpies they come across. Capture will not be possible in this case while they're in their horse forms. If PCs do not eradicate the kelpie threat that night, NPCs who have joined the mission will do so. Unfortunately, reconnaissance has become engagement, whether they like it or not.
  
  
• STICKY WICKET (21 July - 5 August): You may select any piece of sporting gear you'd like for your character to pick up as long as it can fit in a reasonably-sized box. The pain associated with the burning will last only as long as a character is touching the object. Holding onto it for more than a minute will likely result in coming very close to death. Characters with inorganic appendages will find that the artifact will start to melt that appendage, whatever it is made of and it will still, somehow, hurt while it does it.
  ↬ Main Navigation

Comments

move the goalposts

[earthshine]

[ well. shiro has to admit: this round of abduction is considerably less restrictive. it helps when the abductors are working more as employers and thus, have bypassed the slave labor and inhumane experimentation in favor of sending them out to quote save the world. shiro doesn’t doubt adi or their mission -- not fully, at least. he’s seen enough weird shit in the past couple of years to know that normalcy is relative and that the supernatural isn’t a made up concept to sell movies or stories. a healthy level of skepticism for the organization itself is good though, at least in the first couple of weeks until they’ve proven themselves to be exactly who they’ve presented themselves as.

giving them nice living quarters, albeit strict when it comes to rules, and letting them roam the town, as well as the nearby areas is a favorable start to earning more of shiro’s trust. currently, he’s out with keith -- because of course he is -- to familiarize themselves with the kind of environment they’ll be working with for however long this is meant to take. a little ahead of keith on the trail, shiro tips his head to his laugh and glances over his shoulder.

technically, they aren’t on the mission yet. pay attention, don’t become distracted, stay vigilant -- all fall to the wayside for the time being and shiro is caught up in the more relaxed atmosphere of this round of scouting. so he quirks a smile and backtracks. ]

Getting a job is spooky to some people.

[ does that count? he pauses once he reaches keith’s side and then he’s peering down at the map, quickly scanning down that list of gps coordinates to fall on -- ]

Be clean. [ it’s such low-hanging fruit but he goes for the obvious anyway. ] You're lucky it doesn't say be clean cut. Otherwise you'd be getting the heebie jeebies right now, huh?

[marmoron]

[ and there goes keith's sense of humor, expression falling on a decidedly not-pout. ]

Not you too, Shiro.

[ do you know just how many people got on his dang case when they were clothes shopping? gosh, it's like folks here are more focused on being fashion forward than they are about y'know, preventing the apocalypse. allegedly. not that keith's been given a specific reason to think adi's invented a bunch of tall tales, but he's had more than enough experience in dealing with folks not being entirely forthcoming with all the information.

and no. he's not just talking about the galaxy garrison doing a massive cover up of first contact with the galra on kerberos with a bullshit "pilot error" smear job. his thoughts are drifting to allura and coran as well for keeping zarkon's bond to the black lion a secret. but for now that's neither here nor there.

he folds the map back up, shoving it into a pocket, still looking slightly disgruntled. ]

What's wrong with the way I look anyway. [ grump. not that this matters to him, okay. he does't huff, but you can practically hear it anyway as he starts walking into the outskirts of the long abandoned vilage settlement. ]

[earthshine]

[ listen. shiro is a big fan of keith’s chosen hairstyle. the only reason he likes to razz him about it is because of the garrison. sure, galaxy garrison isn’t run like the conservative military compounds of years past, with the uniform haircuts and strict grooming policies. shiro isn’t exactly the poster child for regulatory hair either, not with the flopped mess upfront. but he does own a comb… and uses it daily. speaking of which, he picked up a brush for keith at marshall’s, in case he forgot. he’ll need to remember to give it to keith later.

though, judging by keith’s reaction here, perhaps he should hold off on that indefinitely. the not-pout, which is actually a pout, is fine enough on its own but then keith starts referring to himself as wrong and… -- sure, it’s a throwaway comment, one that could mean nothing. however, shiro’s fairly convinced there’s a kernel of genuine uncertainty there. shiro was there, afterall. at the garrison and through these past months in the castelship. maybe shiro really ought to lay off; keith gets enough people piling on him for inconsequential shit all the time anyway.

so some light damage control it is. briefly jogging until he catches up the few strides, shiro falls into step next to keith and bumps his shoulder to his -- or more specifically, his upper arm to keith’s shoulder. ] Hey. [ sorry, is the real meaning behind the word, the gesture and the smile -- yeah, shiro is turning his head to offer up an apologetic smile. ]

This is coming from someone with mix and match hair. [ self-deprecating humor; nice. he means for it to take the attention off keith and to open himself up for some retaliatory razzing. all in all, his tone is jovial, despite more or less throwing himself under the bus. ] Clearly I have no room to talk when it comes to looks.

[marmoron]

[ by the time there's a bump to his shoulder, the not-pout has let up, even if keith keeps his arms folded. as far as being miffed goes, it's not a mood that really holds up in light of getting to explore his very first ghost settlement. while keith's preferred branch of the paranormal leans heavier towards cryptids, ghosts and spirits still stoke some smidge of curiosity. not that he's convinced that hauntings by the deceased are an actual phenomena, but who knows -- different reality, different rules? and besides, if their own reality has room for quasi-sentient robot lions, then who is keith to go dismissing spirituality and existence on different planes anyway?

he's forcibly taken out of his head though, when shiro's commentary takes on self-deprecating notes. mix and match hair? no room to talk? though keith doesn't come to a stop, he slows enough their strides match up evenly and they're walkiing side by side. shooting shiro a quizzical side glance, he blinks up at the streak of premature white, then turns his gaze back forward.

the first abandoned house is about a hundred yards off, and it can really barely be called a house anymore. the foundations are there, along with three walls that all come up to about three feet tall along with the suggestion of a second floor that's not loonger there if the partly crumbled spiral staircase is any indication.

again though, that's not where keith's focus lands. shiro's hair had come as a bit of a surprise to him that day he rescued his best friend from the garrison, and even now they haven't really talked about it directly. stress is still the best explanation keith has for it, and... well, given the nature of that stress, can keith really be faulted for leaving it be?

but if shiro's bringing it up here and now in a context that suggests he doesn't like it about himself.... ]

I don't think it's anyone's business to comment on your hair. [ keith frowns slightly, tone firm. fuck people who're going to be rude about appearances, okay?? ] ... but do you not like it?

[earthshine]

[ is it possible to be chastised while simultaneously defended? five minutes ago, shiro would’ve thought no, the two are at odds with one another and worlds apart in intention. yet here he is all the same. it’s no one’s business to comment on his hair, huh? just as shiro commented on keith’s? thoroughly shamed despite that being -- what shiro suspects to be -- nothing more than an accidental byproduct of keith’s point, shiro weathers through the cringe without the slightest giveaway in expression. smile keeps, stride keeps, head stays level and straight ahead -- nothing is out of place in that span of breath. but then the tick runs out and keith finishes his thought with a question.

it’s thoughtful, he supposes. friends do that sort of thing; check-in and ask after each other. shiro does it on a near daily basis with the various members of team voltron, some more so than others. the thing is, shiro isn’t too accustomed to having the questions directed back at him. comes with the role as leader an’ all: keep up the strong front, give nothing away, be the rock everyone can depend on so no one ever feels the need to funnel their concern his way. everyone knows the rules of leaders and subordinates… but keith tends to operate outside the norm.

not that asking if he likes his damn hair is anything of real substance in the grand scheme of things he could actually be asking shiro to be honest about, however, it’s that point-blank, cut the crap simplicity that has shiro struggling to maintain the status quo. struggling and failing, actually, because the smile slips and he blinks hard on the beat of surprise. two seconds max and then he remembers himself, to put everything back in order with a renewed smile and a puff of breath that is meant to signal some sense of amusement. ]

It’s taken some getting used to.

[ shiro is an excellent pilot. shiro is a skilled fighter. shiro is a formidable leader. but out of everything, the thing he’s best at…? his ability to sidestep a direct question that would showcase his own vulnerability. so there will be no admitting that he’s yet to make peace with all the ways in which he’s changed. won’t confess that he’s half tempted to take a blade to his forelock and cut it off, because even now, the ends of white play on the edge of his gaze and he’s reminded of how he doesn’t match those golden boy posters anymore. it’s not just the white hair either. it’s the sheer bulk of a body forced to adapt in order to survive. it’s the scars upon scars. it’s the fucking arm that weighs both heavy in his mind and off his shoulder.

all of this is for him to process alone and instead, here, shiro thinks almost there and how putting a lighter spin on the broken pieces of him is the only acceptable option. ] Could’ve been worse. [ he marginally picks up the pace too, wanting to get to that bare-bones building that much quicker.

still, his tone is casual, like it is actually one big joke and not the horrific reminder of his captivity. ] At least all of it hasn’t gone white. [ he even smiles, though he doesn’t look at keith. ]

[marmoron]

[ that's a long winded way of answering a yes or no question, and the ever-so-slight admission that it bothers shiro enough that he's looking at silver linings is telling all on its own. or maybe that's just another joke? hard to say when shiro's attempting to lighten the mood or sneaking in subtle cries for help. either way, shiro's abduction and subsequent capture haven't exactly been subjects that keith's had much time to unpack. shiro's crashlanding back on earth had been enough to process on its own, but then getting dragged halfway across the universe to arus to go fight a space war hasn't left much time for thinking beyond what comes next. a galran fleet? an armada? another one of those robeasts that they couldn't even fucking destroy?

keith lets out a breath. for now, none of that matters. technically, they don't have all that much down time here either, if they're meant to be dealing with entities and the like trying to end this reality, but they're not constantly on edge and needing to run to the hangars on a beat's notice. maybe that's what's gotten shiro to start opening up?

though perhaps not. subtle as it is, shiro's strides have gotten a pinch faster and keith falls behind half a step. keith's gaze shifts briefly to look across at his best friend before turning back towards the dilapidated house they're approaching. ]

Hey. [ if he sounds uncertain, that's because he is. after what he said about commenting on other people's hair, the hypocrisy rings a little too loudly in keith's ears. all the same... ] Listen. If you don't like it, we can stop by a CVS or something and get you some hair dye after this. ] a beat. ] I've got some cash leftover from that clothing stipend they gave us. Everything I got from Marshalls was pretty cheap so.

[ cheap because it was all seriously discounted. almost like nobody wanted a lovely midriff bearing red jacket and showy red and white boots. the locals here clearly have no taste. ]

................ is keith wearing that particular marshall's outfit right now.

[earthshine]

[ hey. it’s funny almost -- shiro started off his roundabout apology the same way. being on this side of it though has shiro tensing up, because the fact that keith is even at this point of uncertainty, means that shiro isn’t as skilled at dodging concern as he’d thought. if you don’t like it. if. right. so keith is doing him the decency of not outright calling bullshit; that’s nice he supposes. they’re just going to do this side-step, quarter turn around the big, fat elephant here on the hike with them. fantastic.

shiro’s not mad. he’s annoyed. mostly with himself, for putting his foot in his mouth and then trying to dislodge it with an unconvincing joke. shiro really should’ve given keith more credit. sure, the other boy is a touch lost when it comes to social cues, but his aptitude to sniff out horseshit is unparalleled. pair that with keith’s habit of, unfortunately, paying attention to all things shiro, means that shiro’s diversion tactics don’t hit the mark quite as well as they do with other people.

keith’s talking about leftover cash now and the distance to that wreckage of a house is cut in half. thirty seconds more, give or take. it isn’t the beat all, save all from this conversation that shiro is building it up to be, of course. there’s nothing that says tapping the crumbled foundation will usher in the kind of distraction needed to derail this -- concern? but it’s something to focus on and so shiro does, gaze still set an’ strides still quick. the underside of his shoe catches on the next stride and he half rolls, half kicks a rock further along the path, the timing of it suspiciously in-line with a spike in his exasperation.

keith means well, he knows. but they both received the same stipend. if he wanted hair dye, he would’ve factored it into his allowance and bought some for himself. the thing is -- it’s a waste in time, money and effort. changing his hair won’t make the scars disappear or the whole of his right arm become flesh. there’s too much to fix about how he looks, with so much of it unfixable.

so he shakes his head, leveling out his voice into a neutral pitch. ] Save your money. We don’t know how long we’ll be here for. [ they will, supposedly, have a steady pay from adi for their continued cooperation and assistance, but it never hurts to be prepared. ] You might need to dig into that reserve later. Best not to waste it on frivolous things.

he sure is :D

[marmoron]

[ frivolous. yeah, okay. that's not the word keith would use to describe spending about ten bucks on hair dye if it makes shiro more comfortable in his own body, but the message underlying the pragmatism is clear: no more discussion. maybe he'd overstepped by suggesting he could give shiro the extra money? whatever the case may be, keith merely raises one eyebrow and gives a noncommittal shrug. ]

Save the money for a flight down to Phoenix when the stress from the apocalypse gets overwhelming. Got it. [ it's stated a little wryly, but it's not meant to be incendiary. unfolding his arms to shove his hands into his pockets, keith's pace gets a pinch more brisk as he files away this tidbit about shiro's state of mind. ]

Have you ever been to a ghost town before?

[ he figures shiro's probably more well traveled on earth than he himself ever was. consequence of being raised in a single parent home with a busy dad and then getting dumped into state custody? not a whole lot of vacationing out of state. add the fact that keith's objectively seen more of space than he's seen of earth to the ever growing list of shit he will not be unpacking any time soon.

or well -- maybe this whole ghost conversation's gonna have to be put on hold another tick? as the distance between them and the foundations of the nearest house dwindles, there's a breeze in the air that's curiously salty. weird, considering they're not by the beach or anything. keith wrinkles his brow slightly, but doesn't know what to actually make of it.

even better (or worse) is the fact that they get closer to the rundown walls, it's clear that there's someone just crouching there with her back turned to them by the staircase leading to nowhere. long dark hair that's matted in places obscures most of her appearance, but even so the following gentle breeze makes keith stammer in the middle of his sentence. ]

Was she always-- I think I just saw her ass.

.......... keith. that's not a hiking outfit.

[earthshine]

[ he’s not liking the smartassery, keith. shiro doesn’t rise to the -- unintentional -- bait though. reminding himself, instead, that they’re a few yards out from something more than rocks and trees, and exploring that is a better option than breathing further life into these ridiculous coping mechanisms. he makes a brief noise in the back of his throat to the question, mulling it over for a few moments longer -- has he? ]

I’ve driven by some.

[ there’s a number of abandoned towns and lone shacks along the i-40 back home. forget the excursions he took on his own off base; the traveling he did for the garrison alone, when he was poster boy slash recruiter at schools both in arizona and the neighboring states, shiro saw a number of dreary buildings. getting out to explore hadn’t been an option, not with him usually on a time schedule. and honestly, shiro didn’t have much desire to stomp around some relic of a person’s misfortune. shiro’s never really bought into the whole ghost story craz anyway. his brain is -- was? -- too scientific, too evidence-based -- ghosts are just a lot of he said, she said spun into these fantastical retellings that provide no solid proof. growing up, he would have rather spent his time sticking his nose in one of his many astrophysics books than chasing down the paranormal.

… though, to be fair, he did want to head over to the rocket testing facility in hancock county at one point. apparently the surrounding, rural communities had to be abandoned for nasa’s endeavor. seemed cool. he was also seven at the time of this brief, very brief fascination. of course, his parents never took him the couple of states over from florida to mississippi and perhaps that’s for the best. ]

Wasn’t a big believer in all that before. [ but then aliens and space magic and apocalyptic prevention happened. so consider him more open to the unexplainable now. he’s about to say as much but distance is crossed and they come up on the building, the woman catching his eye and derailing his thought process.

… ah, yes. shiro thinks he saw her ass too. unlike keith, he contains his surprise and after giving keith a glance that’s the slightest bit disapproving, he returns his gaze to the woman and starts up the incline of dirt that would’ve acted as a walkway up to the house. ]

Excuse me -- Miss? Is everything alright?

[ her hair is a mess. she’s missing clothes. at first glance, shiro can wager a guess that no, everything is not alright. unneeded as it may be, he’s mostly talking to alert her of their presence, as not to startle her too badly. at first, there’s no reaction on her part and he’s just beginning to wonder if she’s even heard him, when she turns her head, one eye staring at him through a break in that mess of hair.

he presses his hand to his chest. ] My name is Shiro and this is Keith. [ ah, good, she’s starting to stand up -- means she’s not hurt. and now she’s beginning to turn. ] If you need-- oh. Um. [ so she isn’t just missing her pants. ] Your… -- here, take my shirt.

[ he has the hem rucked, halfway up his torso in the next moment, only to stop when there’s a definitive: ]

No. [ she smiles and it’s somehow… awful. shiro drops the hem and pauses in his strides, rocking back on his heels to even take the slightest backward step. ] But you’re welcome to take it off and join me. It's very -- freeing.

[ and now she’s flipping those ratty tangles of hair over her shoulders to put herself on full display. okay, nice? so remember how shiro disapproved of keith making comments about her like she wasn’t within earshot? shiro glances back at keith, clearly looking for some kind of support and pitches his voice lower for all the good that'll do. ]

… Is she coming onto us?

Re: .......... keith. that's not a hiking outfit.

[marmoron]

[ the next few seconds seem to happen in slow motion. horribly slow motion as keith watches shiro actually moving closer to the house -- to do what? surely, this can't be about approaching the mystery woman and her bare ass, right? right?! keith stays rooted in place, five yards from the walkway, eyes growing rounder and wider until shiro finally breaks keith's ability to deny what he's watching by fucking calling out to her. keith doesn't actually have any idea what the hell might come out of this, but nothing good comes out of engaging with a pantsless homeless person. ]

Shiro! [ keith hisses, but not loud enough for his voice to carry over the widening berth between then. it takes a beat for keith to start side-eyeing himself. why the hell does he care if the naked lady overhears him? and what's the worst she can do to them exactly? flash more ass?

keith tromps over the rest of the way, all but ready to clap his hand down on shiro's shoulder to drag him off if he has to. god, why is shiro telling her their names has he never had to deal with jehovah's witnesses at his door --

and then keith just comes to an abrupt stop about a foot behind shiro. because great, now there are tits on display and somehow the situation has gotten even more incomprehensible. no really, give keith a second to reboot and process this whole debacle. instinctively, he grabs the back of shiro's shirt and pulls the hem down to make sure there's only one bare chest in this stupid equation, but maybe he needn't have bothered because shiro stops and one look at the woman's weird smile makes keith freeze as well.

is she coming onto us?

keith hears the question alright, but somehow he doesn't care to divine an answer. half hidden behind shiro's shoulder, and face half-way turned so he doesn't have to look at the rack on display, he manages a firm: ]

You stay where you are, lady. Don't come any closer.

[ upon hearing this, the woman's smile merely broadens, blurring the fine line between saccharine and plastic. naturally, she doesn't oblige keith's polite request and takes a deliberate step closer and closer, all the while, unblinking eyes stay raptor focused on the two boys. ]

So uptight. So tense. I can show you how to relax. Would you like that Shiro and Keith? [ her eyes lock with theirs as she says their names. she laughs then, one hand coyly covering her mouth, the other tossing long unkempt hair over one shoulder to put more of her body on display. it is, for what it's worth, what would be described as a perfect ten. ]

The water is wonderful this time of year. You'll let me show you, won't you?

[ she stops and extends both hands, one for shiro and one for keith. surely they won't refuse her? ]

[earthshine]

[ okay. in hindsight -- he probably shouldn’t have given her their names. stranger danger much?? funnily enough, that’s why shiro tossed out the introductions; so that she would feel safer in some small way. makes sense, doesn’t it? because she wouldn’t be dealing with two nameless men in the middle of an unpopulated nowhere. granted, the two men involved aren’t interested in what she has going on anyway. can she not tell? keith’s horrible fashion sense does go against the stereotype…

so maybe not? to think, if keith wasn’t dressed like a thrift store gremlin, maybe what’s-her-name would catch a hint and quit the come hither look. basically: this is keith’s fault.

her tits are well and truly out now, and shiro is scared doesn’t know what his reaction is meant to be? give him a fleet of galra cruisers or a robeast emerging from hell itself, shiro can dial in the battle plan in the handful of seconds they already can’t afford. a lone, naked woman though? h e l p.

she’s reaching for them now and shiro fights down the urge to take another uneasy, backward step. ]

Uh -- we’ll pass. [ he will, however, knock back his arm, none too subtly elbowing keith hovering there behind him. start walking is the implied message; shiro knows keith’s awareness for cues is a grab-bag of success, but please tell him the message is received. ] We need to get going anyway. We’ll let you get back to… whatever it is you’re doing.

[ still trying to be, somewhat, diplomatic, shiro gives her one last moment of his attention before he turns around with the full intention of nudging keith into a speedwalk out of here. but -- ah, where the fuck did they come from? down the path a ways and advancing quickly, there’s two more. ]

Looks like she has friends. [ and ugly ones at that. the same ratty hair of tangles but the angles of their faces are sharp and the gait of their strides strange. they are, unfortunately, nude as well, albeit with a far less pleasing symmetry to their bodies. ]

If you insist on being difficult, they’ll escort you to the water. [ shiro glances over his shoulder, the homeless broad all at once dropping the sweetness from her smile in favor of curling her lip back for something with far too much teeth. ] It will not be an enjoyable experience.

[ okay fuck it. ]

We’re armed. You’re not. Stand down. We don’t want any problems.

[ three naked ladies versus two paladins of voltron. ready keith?? ]

one day i will remember to reply to subject lines every time.

[marmoron]

[ the message has been received long before shiro's elbow comes to nudge him back a step. of course, if keith's being charitable about this whole fiasco they've somehow walked into, he would have to concede that shiro probably had the right idea going -- or at least the right intentions. something something, paladin code means lending assistance to anyone who is in need of it. naked lady out by herself in an abandoned settlement, possibly homeless and probably confused, is a prime candidate for needing help.

but that was before things escalated and there are now two others fast approaching. keith's eyes linger on their oddly distorted figures, the way their unnaturally large and wide set eyes seem to bulge in sockets too small for human skulls. the way they undulate from side to side as if unused to being bipedal. and of course, the way their mouths are filled with rows and rows of jagged teeth.

whatever he's looking at, they're not fucking human and though he doesn't have a word for what the fuck they might be, this isn't the time to get all technical. the most human looking one of the bunch has made a threat, and as far as keith's concerned that's more than enough reason to act.

we don't want any problems?

oh shiro, you sweet summer child. in a flash, keith draws his bayard and grabs the "pretty" one's hand to twist behind her back, bayard raised up to her throat. ]

Tell your nudist friends to back the hell off, right now.

[ to make his point clearer, he jabs the corner of his unactivated bayard into her throat. to the kelpie's credit, she doesn't so much as bat an eye. instead, she coos: ]

That's right, Keith. Hold on tight, just like that.

[ there's no warning to indicate a coming change. it's sudden and jarring as her neck twists and elongates, features rapidly becoming more equine as shoulders broaden and twist. suddenly, it's not keith holding the kelpie's arms, it's her unnaturally powerful limbs hefting keith higher onto her back to fold him over a shoulder. her teeth snap in warning by keith's neck. ]

Come, Shiro. Don't be like your friend.

shhh you're fine. also this is kinda dark. cw: bodily harm, gore ???

[earthshine]

[ … right now is not the time to be racking his brain for a memory he’s certain won’t be there. the overwhelming feeling of déjà vu gives way soon enough and then shiro is left with the shock of the situation, standing that bit of space away to blink wide at keith. when this hiking excursion was put together this morning over bowls of cereal, shiro did not envision it including an intermission of keith taking a naked woman as a hostage. fuck, he can feel a headache coming on. though, that may have less to do with keith’s battle plan and more to do with the woman morphing right in front of him.

so -- not human. gotcha.

the tables turn quickly from there. keith’s up on a wider, bulkier shoulder and dangling, neck attracting a mouthful of savage-looking teeth. this is shiro’s cue: he’s meant to run his mind on scenario after scenario in the span of two, three seconds, to look for holes and openings, to incapacitate the enemy and save his teammate. perhaps this monster thing thinks he’ll bargain, afterall, she’s gained one from each of them thus far and now, she has the upper-hand. but that’s just it. shiro already tried appeasing to reason and now, everything is deteriorating rapidly, so quickly in fact that shiro isn’t actually thinking about this in any other way than violence.

she clips her teeth together inches from keith’s neck, says his name and all of a sudden, neutralize the threat becomes kill it, kill it. it’s instinctual in a way he wishes it wasn’t: she barely finishes saying friend and shiro’s galra arm lights up. the distance is short and shiro is quick. all it takes is a lurch forward, his left hand grabbling for a fistful of hair to force her still, to keep her away from keith and then he ramps up the heat of his other fist just before he sucker punches her gut. into her gut. his hand can melt metal when he needs it to; the force and the heat sheer through skin and… it’s sickening.

then there’s the sound. it would almost be better if she were shrieking. but what comes out of her is low and gurgling; she flinches back, leaving shiro with a a fistful of loose hair and as she throws herself back, knocking keith off her shoulder in the process, shiro has a split moment to splay his fingers wide and then draw them in tight, entrails ripping out of her as she staggers into a collapsed heap.

five seconds and it’s over, with a body bleeding out on the ground and as shiro watches that life begin to blink out, there’s one distinct moment when he thinks it’s too quiet. where’s the applause? he’s never wanted to go back. the only time he unwillingly revisits those memories is when he’s shaking awake from a nightmare. this feels familiar though. this is the arena and standing here, looming over the corpse of his opponent like some sick trophy, he’s every bit the champion he once was. shiro never pulls punches in battle and he’s efficient in neutralizing enemies, but this was… different. personal. he’d been part savage and blind on brutality with the singular purpose of ensuring she -- whatever the fuck this thing is -- wouldn’t harm either of them. distantly, he thinks he should feel remorse. or at the very least, concern for his inability to feel it. but honestly? all he can think right now?

good riddance.

it’s dark. it’s not him. he tells himself he’s better than cheap shots and sneers over the fallen but it does little to soften his regard. instead, there’s only cold detachment as shakes off the grime coating his galra hand. the effort amounts to little. see, the sizzling heat coagulates the blood caught between the joints of metal and there’s already a layer caked -- that’ll need tending to later and he grimaces as he flexes his fingers. doesn’t matter now. the only thing that matters is getting keith up and ready to deal with the other two.

he throws a glance keith’s way but abruptly turns to get eyes on the other threat. they’ve slowed in their steps, stopping altogether, as though uncertain whether to go for the offense or defense. that’s fine -- shiro will make the decision for everyone here. ]

You good? [ he doesn’t look at keith as he says it. it’s all formality though; he expects keith to be ready to throw down, which is why he just as quickly moves on with a: ] I’ve got left. [ you take right, is the implied order. ]

know that i very much wanted to use a certain icon. you know the one

[marmoron]

[ everything happens so quickly and with adrenaline spiking in his veins, keith's thoughts go faster than his ability to process them individually. one tick, he's got the bayard to the woman's throat, then next thing he knows the sound of bone twisting and grinding fills his ears and suddenly his entire view of the world flips -- literally flips -- and his face somehow winds up pressed into something oddly... soft. there's not a whole lot of comfort to be found in that when up close the woman's skin reeks of salt and animal blubber, but again the information gets jammed to the side by the much more pressing chorus of shit fuck shit

the bayard's still in his hand, but before he gets is bearings, the creature lurches, gurgles and thrashes, sending keith flying. the whole thing is deeply undignified, but keith hits the ground with a roll. the sudden stink of fish in the air is as pungent as it is putrid, making keit gag as he gets to his feet. ]

Shiroo!

[ he shouts, eyes snapping towards his friend and the collapsed kelpie now writhing in agony, hands turning to hooves as she makes a miserable, dying attempt to flee. there's a pool of green fluid saturating the ground, coating shiro's galra arm, and keith's mind shuts down on trying to process any part of that. shiro's safe and for right now, that's all he needs to know.

there are still two more of these monsters though and keith looks up just in time to see shiro go barreling left. heart racing, keith activates his bayard, keeping the blade low as he takes off on a sprint for the one on the right. whatever these things are -- the one keith has in his sight crouches low, changing shape again -- something four legged but still with that hideous facsimile of a human face. ]

You're not getting away!

[ it's yelled right as keith slashes diagonally from the shoulder down until the blade lodges on sternum. as green fluid pumps out of the wound, all keith can think is oh. and then, the thing scream a horrible hybrid scream that's neither horse nor human, but in that one second it manages to stay upright, it locks eyes with keith with an expression that's unmistakable hatred.

keith pulls back his bayard in alarm, but the light is gone from the creature's eyes in the next moment. did he imagine it? a weird trick of the light? a strange, coldness starts to set in as he whips around to see if anyone else is there, but in the periphery there's only shiro and the last of the trio. keith starts to run over, calling out: ]

Shiro, you need back up?

yes. yes i do know the one. and now i'm just imagining keith making that face now.

[earthshine]

[ despite keith’s misstep a few moments prior, shiro trusts keith to execute in a straight fight. so as soon as shiro starts running, he puts keith and the other monster out of mind. his focus is squarely on his target of choice and as the distance closes, he comes into it far too confident. he crosses the last bit of space with a jump and a yell, elbow cocked back, only to swing loose in what is meant to be another lethal, one-shot punch. but the thing that was lumbering about a moment ago, dodges with the kind of agility shiro didn’t give it credit for. he lands on awkward steps, stumbling a bit on the missed connection and as he pivots around, the creature is suddenly there, reaching for him.

he ducks out of that reach and sidesteps, thinking about jump rolling to get some distance back between them but at the last moment, he abandons that plan and turns in. it’s a mistake. he’s low and the creature is close -- its body jerks suddenly, as though recalibrating to match the change in shiro’s movements and… well, this creature is rather well endowed. unfortunately, shiro’s face is level with that particular set and…

yeah. that is a breast slapping him across the face.

the hell? no time to stop though. setting that aside for some agonizing later, shiro throws himself backward to get that distance afterall. the other monster is screaming now but only one of them makes the mistake of looking that way. keith calls out and it’s entirely unneeded, because shiro cuts right back in with that moment of distraction and slices the purple glow of his hand across the monster’s throat. fuck. green spurts out and despite his reflex to get away, he isn’t quite quick enough to escape the spray.

great. green and smelling of a fish market.

he swallows, watching the body buckle to the ground and he… doesn’t immediately turn to keith's approaching. once again, he glances down at his right hand and -- no, not his. at the galra hand. the light flickers out and there’s a beat of disquiet, where he feels out of sorts and lost on where he’s supposed to look… but then he thinks keith and finally turns to look his way. ]

You okay?

[ he asked before but here, it’s genuine in its care. he sounds concerned, looks concerned as he scans him over, looking for anything obviously out of place. ]

[marmoron]

[ that concern is reflected right back at shiro as keith trots over. there's dirt on keith's hair and face from his tumble on the ground, and a vivid green spatter on his clothes, but as uncomfortable as he may feel, it all seems to pale in comparison to shiro's dousing. keith isn't quite able to keep that thought off his face upon hearing the question. ]

You look awful.

[ candid words that are easily turned on him, but for the moment keith's ability to reflect inwardly is entirely offline. there's more than one way not to be okay, and keith's grip on his bayard is whiteknuckled as he quickly spins on his heel to give the area behind him another glance around.

again, there's nothing there that he can see, but it doesn't settle whatever's got his nerves rattling on high alert. he sucks in a deep breath, giving the dead monster on the ground another look. kick it, make sure it's really dead. it knows your name-- all flit through keith's head, brow furrowing as he glares at the gaping wound in its throat. he swallows, tearing his eyes away to look back at shiro. ]

We need to get out of here. [ and then as if finally realizing something's wrong with his priorities here, he blinks and adds: ] Are you okay?

[earthshine]

[ he looks awful? no kidding. he just went toe to toe with two abominations and got some very unwanted hosing down for his troubles. or is that not what keith is referring to? is it the asymmetric set of his body and the blood coating his fist? even with all that green, the metal shines through to showcase his unnaturalness and -- yeah, it’s awful, isn’t it? looks awful, feels awful, does awful things like burning through skin and slicing arteries, and…

that’s enough. he’s coming down from adrenaline, that’s what’s driving these spinning thoughts. breathe, calm down, and reassess. they aren’t out of the woods just yet, quite literally. so shiro shakes off the misplaced anxiety and tries not to take keith’s comment as anything mean-spirited. he knows keith better than that. inevitably, the concern is reflected back at him and he almost immediately looks away, staring down at the corpse. ]

I’m fine. [ or will be. as for what they need to do though? he shakes his head. ] We need to call ADI first. Get them out here to… handle this. [ they can’t leave the bodies strewn across the trail for some unfortunate hikers to come across. adi has been very specific: document all supernatural encounters and call headquarters if an encounter unravels beyond the scope of containment. shiro is, of course, still a rookie when it comes to this monster and ghost hunting gig, but he’s fairly certain three dead bodies qualifies for bringing in the big-wigs.

he pulls out his phone with his clean hand, thumbing the screen to life. ]

I’ll do it. [ he doesn’t start the call though. first, he glances back to keith and he stares at him for an extended beat, clearly assessing something. shiro’s been in charge of a small team for months now. keith, hunk, lance, pidge, and by extension, allura and coran too; he’s seen time after time, how each react in stressful, sometimes brutal situations. he’s not quite so perceptive to deduce what is going on with keith, but something feels off about the way he holds himself in the wake of this skirmish.

so shiro turns further and nods to a fallen log a few paces off the main path. ] You go take a break. I’ll be there in a tick. [ sit down, pull yourself together, you’re dismissed soldier -- and then he turns back to his phone, not even waiting for a reply before he connects the call. ]

[marmoron]

[ the phrasing is kind, but keith recognizes that he's being dismissed. for whatever reason, it immediately makes him want to argue. he's fine. he's absolutely fucking fine, he handled this whole debacle as well as he possibly could have?

another beat though, and the cramping pain from his grip on the bayard makes him look down. the altean weapon is still activated, and keith doesn't exactly have a good reason as to why when the fight is over. he takes a centering breath, and again almost gags on the pungent odor of putrefying fish. alright. so maybe he's not fine. maybe having a human head on a horse body screaming bloody hell at him, glaring like it was going to find a way to come back for him personally hasn't exactly been great for his mental state.

he bites the inside of his lip, half wanting to say something, but shiro's alreadu on the phone with adi and so.... keith gingerly pinches his nose, finally deactivates the bayard and numbly walks over to the log and takes a seat. the ringing in his ears doesn't fade though, and his heart rate still insists on going a mile a minute.
when something rustles in the trees behind him, keith leaps right back up onto his feet, twisting around to hold the bayard up menacingly. it is, however, just a squirrel. a cute fuzzy thing that blinks and scurries off to the safety of the nearest tree.

keith doesn't sit back down again though. his eyes follow the critter from branch to branch until it disappears higher up in the foliage. is he jittery? sure. but that's normal after a fight where invoolving guts and blood everywhere, right? again, he bites his lip, trying not to fidget as shiro finally ends the call and comes back over.

right. adi. focus on adi and not the squirrel and not whatever else might be lurking around. ]

Did they give you an ETA?

[earthshine]

[ shiro doesn’t get a direct line to the warden at adi hq, but getting reyes on the phone is the next best thing. shiro’s thorough with details of their locations -- hiking the babson boulder trail, came off old rockport road, haven’t reached get a job marker yet, been hiking ten, fifteen minutes -- but it’s likely unneeded. reyes never says, but shiro assumes there’s a way for them to track his smartphone. the rest goes quickly, with an overview of what the monsters looked like, how many there were, how they’re dead and their blood is all over keith and him. for all that happened, the phone call is relatively short -- five minutes, tops.

all the while, shiro is watching keith. he turned back to keep him in his periphery as soon as keith gained a yard on him and even as he’s running through details, he logs away the distracted gait of his walk, the trigger happy nervousness that has him jumping at the slightest sound, and how he can’t bring himself to sit back down to relax. granted, they were just attacked, so shiro doesn’t expect keith to let his guard down until they know without a shadow of a doubt that the threat has passed. but this is different. this isn’t keith keeping surveillance; this is keith… scared? no, not that far. nervous? hm.

they’re down quite a few members of their team, but shiro still considers himself leader here and as such, that makes keith his responsibility. hell, keith’s been his responsibility long before voltron was even in their vocabulary. so of course he wants to be mindful of keith. coming down from a fight is… well, not pleasant. keith’s got experience, sure, but sentries don’t bleed and destroying ships from a lion seems to minimize the lives being snuffed out. not everyone is used to bloodbaths like shiro is.

disconnecting the call with he brief we’ll be here, he sighs and pockets his phone. walking over to keith then, he keeps his expression as close to neutral as he can or at the very least, not broadcasting the concern being stoked to life. ]

Ten minutes. [ likely less. he comes to a stop and crosses his arms over his chest, just barely keeping himself from grimacing. right. blood everywhere; way to smear it around more. ] We’ll have to wait here until then. Give them a more thorough rundown of what happened but that should be all we’ll be needed for. They’ll do clean up and we’ll be on our way.

[ sounds easy enough. a beat and then a more encouraging: ] They said they’re bringing us clothes. That should make hiking out of here less -- unpleasant.

[marmoron]

[ keith directs his attention to shiro as he speaks. unsurprisingly, shiro's doing a remarkable job of staying calm, tone level and grounding throughout. but something about it makes keith drop eye contact after a beat or two, gaze focusing on a spot slightly to the left of shiro instead. it had all happened so fast that keith hasn't really had time to process any of it. one beat ,he thought he had the situation under control, the next he was being hauled up and there were rows upoon rows of sharp teeth snapping centimeters from his face?

granted proximity to danger doesn't mean much when you're used to enemies being able to blast you out of the sky from miles away, but there's something particularly unsettling about being close enough to feel hot breath on your neck. but if keith's being absolutely honest with himself, the blur of motion afterwards as suddenly wet, burning entrails hit the ground with a horrible squelch had come as just as much of a surprise. swift, decisive and brutal -- it's a side of shiro that keith hasn't seen much. or at least, not with front row seats like this.

frankly, he doesn't know what the hell he's even fixating on this for. if shiro hadn't acted, maybe it'd be him lying there on the ground with his throat torn open. unable to repress a shudder, he looks back at shiro and nods. ]

...Yeah. [ ...is 'yeah' even an appropriate response to what's been said? fuck.
he tries again. ] Guess we'd scare everyone if we tried to ride the bus back.

[ feeble attempt at a joke made, keith attemps a forced half smile. ]

Thanks, by the way.

[earthshine]

[ keith’s got that faraway look in his eyes, only made worse by the fact that keith won’t meet his gaze. it’s just another detail to take note of as shiro tries to, subtly, gauge keith’s state of mind. shiro isn’t much of a psychiatrist; half the time he can’t make sense of his own headspace, especially when it flatlines for triggers he didn’t even know he had. so shiro understands the sometimes irrational rise of anxiety or the inability to process horrific sights. shiro’s only adapted due to survival instincts and -- honestly -- a lack of time. even in his cell, in between fights or visits to the druids, there was enough to focus on to keep his mind looking forward, rather than reflecting back. since then, he’s kept up that same momentum and it’s made enduring the past, almost two years easier.

for all keith’s been through and the kind of responsibility he now carries, sometimes shiro forgets that he’s still so young. the abduction lasted a year, not ten, even though sometimes it feels like that. so keith is, what, eighteen now? eighteen and killing naked monsters set on ambushing them; no wonder he’s shaken up.

the attempt at a joke is encouraging though. the thanks more so. momentarily setting his concern aside, or at the very least, easing it from front and center, shiro answers keith’s smile in kind. ]

I’ve always got your back. [ the half-smile doesn’t last however and the following beat hangs heavy with the tell-tale sign of a but coming. perhaps now isn’t the time. keith’s distracted to some degree and they’re not even ten minutes post the fight; shiro can stand to wait on a debrief turned lecture.

but]

That was reckless of you though. [ it comes after a sigh, his voice taking on that vaguely disappointed tone. ] Jumping in like that -- we didn’t know who we were dealing with. She -- it could’ve gone for your throat the first time.

[ shiro doesn’t know what he would’ve done. ripped the beast to shreds, yes, of course, that’s not the part in question. but if that had been keith bleeding out on the ground… -- he swallows thick and tightens the cross of his arms, only to think better of it a moment later and swing them back to his sides. he’s immensely aware of the weight of his right arm then, again caught feeling misaligned in his own body, but he does his best to shake off that disquiet. ]

Patience, remember? [ there’s an embedded sense of kindness to his words, but despite his efforts, a lecture is a lecture, and it’s clear shiro is less than impressed. ] Don’t give into impulse and put yourself in a position like that again.

[marmoron]

[ shiro is being fairly gentle about it, but there's really no getting around a lecture being a lecture. a reflexive defensiveness should be kicking in right about now, but in the aftermath of the quick but vicious fight, ambient fog has rolled into keith's head making everything seem.. quieter than it really is. the disappointment comes through loud and clear though, and keith merely looks at the ground by shiro's feet instead. ]

I just thought it would be the quickest way to settle this.

[ best defense is a strong offense? or something to that effect. his tone is pensive though, not really meant as a nidus for argument. he still thinks he could've handled it -- not like the monster knew what his bayard can do, after all.

still. it's not really the thrust of the point shiro is making. he's being told to be patient and less impulsive. on some level though, keith has to wonder if he'd even be a paladin if he wasn't the way he is. the red lion is temperamental. fast and agile, but more unstable. its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instinct than skill alone. isn't that more or less what the princess had said?

maybe it doesn't matter right now. red isn't here to come blast whatever's causing trouble for keith out of the way and certainly isn't here to have a weakened bond with. at present, there's just shiro and the need for the both of them to stay alive. keith swallows, forcing eye contact. ]

Sorry. I'll be more careful going forward. [ but with that said, keith sighs. ] Didn't mean to force your hand like that.

[earthshine]

[ … that’s almost funny. forcing his hand -- get it? forget the idiom, there’s a literal interpretation of this that shiro’s pun-friendly brain appreciates. or would rather, if the play on words wasn’t directed solely on a piece of shiro that he doesn’t particularly like drawing attention to. can he even call it a piece of himself? consent never given, shiro woke up to find this thing attached to him and despite the usefulness it’s served in daily tasks, in voltron, here, it doesn’t quite feel like his own. two separate entities: shiro and the arm, that’s what it’s felt like since the beginning.

he’s rambling. he thought he was past these moments of loathing; now isn’t the time to get caught up on his jigsaw puzzle of a body. and frankly, he doesn’t much want to hear keith's thoughts on seeing him punch through some monster’s abdomen. knowing himself to be ex-champion is daunting enough. having keith privy to how much shiro’s changed from the garrison’s golden boy is… not something he wants to face right now. ever, if he’s honest.

so breezing over this? yes. that seems like a solid plan. ]

I have a feeling it would have come to that either way. [ briefly, his gaze skirts up toward the building remnants, eyeing that heap on the ground. ] They didn’t seem like the type to take no for an answer.

[ us or them. we did what we had to in order to survive. we did nothing wrong. even as he thinks all this, the justifications of going absolutely brutal hold some hollowness to them. he doesn’t regret killing these things, but he doesn’t necessarily enjoy it either. sighing now, he returns his gaze to keith and again, finds himself wondering where keith’s head is in all of this. might as well nip that in the bud, huh? ]

You did well in taking down the other one. [ in the following beat, he sets his expression into something closer to sympathetic and steps closer, setting his left hand on keith’s shoulder. ] It’s different though, from what we're usually fighting… -- it can be a lot to stomach.

[ another beat and a more careful: ] Are you holding up okay?

[marmoron]

[ .... great. so keith is doing such a piss poor job of looking "normal" that shiro's had to ask him twice if he's okay? if nothing else, that's the last bit of motivation keith needed to really try and pull himself together. so he does -- a little literally at first, by standing up straighter and finally tucking his bayard away. ]

Yeah, I'm fine. Just some guts and blood. No worse than that time I had to kill a mountain lion.

[ if mountain lions could talk and scream and glare angrily until their eyes go blank. keith is going to gloss right over this and continue: ]

But you're... [ a beat. ] You're pretty calm about it.

[ it's not an accusation -- far from, actually. just the tiniest of prods to see if shiro wants to talk about this iron stomach he's apparently developed for gore. if their fight with myzax -- or what used to be myzax -- had been any clue, it had to be fairly brutal. shiro hasn't said anytiing about it though, and keith suspects that it'll be much the same now. all the same, he tries for a bit of levity. ]

So... I guess it's just a matter of time?

[earthshine]

[ … that time he killed a mountain lion. shiro mentally repeats the statement to himself, slow and disbelieving. huh. they haven’t talked much at all about what keith got up to during that year and a half that shiro was up in space. only a glossing over of the big events: booted from the garrison, living in the cabin, building a conspiracy map to the blue lion. shiro’s been meaning to get keith alone from the other paladins and ask him how he’s doing now, after surviving on his own for so long. but… shiro’s a bit of a coward. he can say he’s been busy leading voltron all he likes: there are moments of downtime, ones he could be putting toward checking up on his, supposed, best friend. that’s the thing though, shiro doesn’t feel all that deserving of the title, not when he’s chickening out due to a fear of turnabout. see, if he asks keith about the past year or so, doesn’t that give keith license to turn the question back on him?

and shiro doesn’t want to talk about it.

first off, he doesn’t have a clear recollection of everything anyway. second, the things he does remember are, unfortunately, clear and intense and worse of all, monstrous. the less keith knows of the details, the better. so that comment about him being pretty calm about it almost has him reflexively smiling on an upwelling of dark humor. killing aliens, some even so horrid that shiro can only call them monsters, to the heckling of hundreds, thousands…? yeah. shiro learned to muzzle his panic early on.

he can’t say he wants keith to ever reach that same kind of detachment though. ]

Time’s part of it. [ mostly just repetition and a fostered need to appear strong. he gives keith’s shoulder a squeeze and then returns his hand to his side. ] We’ll likely find ourselves in similar situations moving forward, now that we’re working with ADI. [ he can only assume supernatural threats and a possible apocalypse will lead to some stressful situations, to put it mildly.

there’s a beat, in which shiro is seemingly assessing again, but then he twists his lips on a frown and shifts his gaze to look beyond keith’s shoulder. ]

I’m not anything to strive for. You don’t have to be like me. [ what he means is: ] It’s okay not to be calm. [ likely more normal too. here, he sighs and returns his gaze to keith’s. ] I need you focused… so if you aren’t okay -- now or later, you can always talk to me about it.