oo1 ★ FORM VOLTRON | voice --> action;

[undeserted]

[ A raspy but strong voice comes over the intercom, speaking loudly and authoritatively. ]

Paladins! This is Keith. Sound off! Pidge, Hunk, Allura, Lance?

We should meet, and soon.

[ A moment's hesitation, then: ]

Atlas crew, come in. This is Voltron. Requesting a status report. This is our sixty-second attempt. Repeat, come in Atlas crew.

(( ooc; action prompt in comments! ))

Comments

[bitchilived]

...All right. I'm still where I said.

[He trusts Keith, implicitly. He takes a deep breath.]

It's good to hear your voice, Keith.

--> action;

[undeserted]

It's good to hear yours too, Shiro.

[ And he very reluctantly hangs up, just long enough for him to make the journey from one level to another. He calls back to get a precise lock on Shiro's location, and then he's there as fast as he can make it.

Shiro isn't exactly hard to miss, and Keith's stomach leaps when he sees him. He waves as he rushes toward him, calling out his name. ]

Shiro!

[bitchilived]

[He turns when he heard his name and - god, he's so relieved to see him. It's palpable, radiating off him. Shiro smiles and starts to meet him.]

Keith! I'm here-- It's fine. [He reaches his one arm out to him, trying to catch his arm.]

[undeserted]

[ Keith feels relief spread warm through his body, a sense that he can finally acclimate to this place now that worry over Shiro won't be taking up so much real estate in his brain. He moves in close, into Shiro's orbit, smiling warmly. ]

You're here. [ Finally. ] Shiro, I'm so glad to see you.

[bitchilived]

I am.

[He says it firmly, gripping Keith's arm to reassure that he is here. A small part of him hadn't realized how unsteady he felt given everything that happened in the last few hours? Days? He isn't sure - time in the Black Lion's space was uncertain.]

I'm glad to see you here too. [Ahem.] And you said some of the others are here too?

[undeserted]

Yeah. Pidge and Lance. They're doing fine.

[ Keith puts his hand on Shiro's arm in turn, gripping him reassuringly. He glances to Shiro's other hand, but doesn't see the Altean prosthetic anywhere. His smile turns to a worried frown. ]

Shiro, where's your arm?

[bitchilived]

[MMMMMMM THAT'S A QUESTION and sends some kind of mental alarm bell. Keith should know what happened to it, shouldn't he?]

I'm sure it's giving Hunk and Allura a hand wherever they are.

[It's fine if he jokes about it right.]

[undeserted]

[ SHIRO PLS. ]

...Damn it. [ A sigh. ] We'll get it back, okay? Let's just--walk for now. You can tell me what you last remember before getting here.

[ He leads the way back toward his place. This isn't the best part of town to hang around, or so he's heard. ]

[bitchilived]

[He nods, taking half a step back so Keith can lead the way and walks side by side.]

Last thing I remember... [Boy where to start.] Waking up after I was taken out of the Black Lion. After-- [And he gestures to what's left of the prosthetic.] All this.

[undeserted]

[ Oh. That explains a lot. ]

I know this is weird, Shiro, but I guess we came here from different times. For me, that all happened a while ago. We just fought Sendak and defeated him. You fought Sendak.

[bitchilived]

[With the memories of Keith talking about the time distortion in the Quantum Abyss, this isn't too much of a surprise if Shiro's honest. They've done and gone through enough strange new experiences so far. Why not be from different points in their timeline.

Oh but. Keith says Shiro fought Sendak. And with his question, that means he gets a new arm that's strong enough to hold up fighting the Galra general.]

I'm not sure if knowing a lot about my future is a good thing. But good to know he's defeated.

[undeserted]

I won't tell you any more if you'd rather not know.

[ He can understand that; seeing flashes of the past and future in the abyss had been beyond strange and disquieting. One more thing though: ]

But you did get a new arm. A really cool one. Allura made it.

[bitchilived]

Did she?

[It's more a statement than a question. He never once doubted Allura's abilities, whether it was technology or Altean magic. Knowing she makes him a new arm is wonderful to know; he'd let her know how grateful he is if she were here.]

But I think it'd be best if I don't know anything else. [Unless Keith thinks it's really important.]

How are things here? What should I know?

[undeserted]

[ ...Welp. Okay, best if they get this out of the way. ]

Has anyone told you about Chroma? And the...Moonblessings?

[ He blushes a little, embarrassed. The words just sound stupid coming out of his mouth. ]

[bitchilived]

A little. But I'd still like to get your take on it and what you think is important to know about it.

[Like. The natives and information he found is fine, but he trusts Keith a lot more.]

[undeserted]

Uh. Do you know...which one you are?

[bitchilived]

I think Sanguis.

So they do all respond differently, then.

[undeserted]

[ Oh god. Keith's face is so red right now that one could conceivably make an omelette on it. ]

...Uh. Yeah. When your cycle happens you just...change. Kind of.

[bitchilived]

[....

there's so much confusion in his brows. What have Keith and the others had to deal with? Surely they've worked as a team to overcome this.]

Change how.

[undeserted]

Just-- some emotional changes. And some physical. I felt...calmer? Like I didn't get as angry over stuff that would have riled me up otherwise.

[ That is. The absolute bare minimum of information he can share about the changes he went through. But it's enough for now. ]

There doesn't seem to be a way to stop it. You just kind of...ride it out.

[bitchilived]

And this happens to all of us that show up here.

[So what's the difference in the three, then? Shiro plans to ask more questions when he's a little more settled in. For now, he rests a hand on Keith's shoulder as they walk.]

Has it caused problems for you?

[undeserted]

[ Shiro's touch is always welcome and calming, but right now it's having the added effect of making him blush even more. Chroma is being generated between them, though. Maybe Keith can finally buy some decent groceries. ]

I'm fine, Shiro. Like I said, I just ride it out. We should find out more about yours, though. I don't want you getting hurt.

[bitchilived]

[He wants to say Keith shouldn't have to 'ride out' anything. Maybe he can help once he understands everything a bit more.

Man, Keith's face is red. He must be overheating.]

Then we'll figure it out. What about the others?

[undeserted]

I think Pidge is the same as me. I haven't really discussed it a lot with them, though. Or at all, really.

[bitchilived]

Then maybe we should have a team meeting and figure all of this out.

[He says it with that gentle tone he reserves for Keith. He doesn't mean it as a reprimand or instruction, just a gentle guiding hand so they can work together.]

It's better if we all know what we're working against, right?