quintessent | Open Post

[The first few days of the trip to earth went by quickly. There was much to keep busy with, between the coalition, the Blade, and the parts of the Galra empire still sympathetic to their cause, Allura fell easily into the busywork of diplomacy. It kept her mind off of the loss of the Castle of Lions.

And off of Lotor's betrayal.

But as days stretch into weeks, meaningful busywork dries up and Allura finds herself scrambling for ways to keep occupied. Talking to Romelle is more uncomfortable than she would like to admit, and the other paladins frequently turned to word games. The bright spot in the ennui is her current “cargo”—]

Shiro? Are you awake?

[Allura hovers in the back cargo area of her Lion, where a makeshift room has been set up. Throughout the journey they've been swapping non-pilot passengers from time to time. It was a way to break up the tedium, and all of the paladins were eager to spend time with their formerly lost comrade.]

[Shiro had a lot to come to terms with now that his consciousness and his physical body were finally together in the same corporal form, free of Galra control. It was going to require a lot of patience and work to put the shattered pieces together but he had faith and, if nothing else, plenty of free time now.

Without the Castle of Lions and wormholes a-plenty, the journey back home would take much longer than any of them would like, especially now that their quarters are very cramped and the threat of attack hadn't completely vanished even with Lotor's defeat.

Shiro tries not to think much about what could happen. Instead, he works on getting used to having one less limb and having to rely on being left-handed now; on seeing a stark difference in his reflection. On awkward silences and quick glances that can mean something or nothing at all now...

He's flipping through one of Pidge's notebooks and trying to make sense of it when Allura appears at the entry to the cargo hold.]

I am. Everything okay? Need a break?

[A smile crosses her face when she sees that Shiro is up and about. It had been very touch and go for awhile on the first few days—the others had taken bets on how long they thought he would sleep at a time—but little by little the old Shiro was coming back to them.

With his acknowledgement she crosses the hold, a small data pad in her hand.]

I think I've had enough breaks.

[Then laughs a little at her own joke. With everything on Autopilot, there's not much to do in the pilots seat other than check status, and wait.]

Actually, I was hoping you would help me on a project. I've been working on it for a few quintants.

Edited 2018-06-23 13:08 (UTC)

[It's easy to get stir-crazy in the monotony of space. The secret is keeping busy, finding something new to do every day, no matter how mundane, and sticking to it before eventually moving onto the next. Shiro learned that during the Kerberos Mission, tried to apply it in the whirlwind afterwards. Even now, while still exhausted and trying to make sense of everything, he applies it.]

Trying to keep busy, I see.

[He tilts his head at the data pad. Pidge's notes can wait for translation another time.]

What've you been working on?

Let me show you—

[It’s been a long time since she’s used any of her shapeshifting abilities, and when she closes her eyes, the changes are subtle at first, a slight rounding of her ears, the fading of the Altean marks under her eyes. Then comes her hair, which changes from its normal pale white to a shade of light brown, somewhere between Pidge and Lance’s hair colors.

She opens her eyes, still the same striking teal and purple, and gives Shiro a sheepish grin,]

What do you think?

[Even after having seen her do this once before, Shiro doesn't think he'll ever get used to Allura making use of her shape-shifting abilities. It's not unsettling, mind you, just...surreal. He blinks, once, twice, before his mouth spreads into an easy grin.]

What do I think? I think you look just fine the way that you are. Let me guess: this is for fitting in on Earth?

[She nods,]

Coran and I came to the agreement that this would be for the best. At least until we know how the humans will react.

[Pidge's dad was supposedly preparing them for the reality of alien invasion, but there's no way to tell how prepared they'll be for living, breathing, aliens until they're there.]

Sounds like a good plan, from a tactical point of view.

[Looks-wise, anyway, which brings an idea right to the forefront of Shiro's mind.]

Not that I expect any problems, but are you more or less up to date with human customs? I'll be the first to admit that we're probably not the best ambassadors for that sort of thing, but if needed, I can help?

[At this, she waves the small data pad she'd brought over,]

That was part two. I had Coran assemble a comprehensive list of human customs, including slang and phrases, and I thought I might practice them on you, if that is alright?

[Ahem.]

I mean, if that would be... radical... for you?

Edited 2018-07-13 02:37 (UTC)

[Radical. Gah. It's even worse when he can't even tell if she meant it in extreme or late 1980s surfer lingo fashion. Shiro tries not to flinch or cringe--]

That's...a good way to start. Although, to be honest, we humans don't refer to things as radical that much anymore. It has several connotations that can be seen as...

[Outdated.]

...confusing and as trying too hard.

[Earth was hot.

Allura has visited hot planets before. Dry desert planets that had strayed too close to their sun and long since had their surface scorched of any sign of life. Or other planets much more similar to Earth- with a tilted axis and irregular weather patterns. But the difference here was that, unlike most rational advanced species, humans seemed to embrace their planet's eccentricities with gusto. When it was cold, humans just wore more clothes. And for the heat? Just take them off! There were entire fashion lines around clothes that were more not-there than there. Short shorts, sun dresses-

But most notoriously: the bikini.

From inside one of the small changing tents, surrounded by the cheerful noises of the waterpark around them, Allura huffs a sigh. Procrastinating. She's already been in there long enough to count as awkward, and she'll have to leave soon. It's silly to get cold feet now, for this — they've been looking forward to this date for movements and no amount of viscous space creature (nor tiny piece of human swimwear) would stop her from having a good time today.

Finally-] Lance, are you out there?

[There was no chance he had taken longer than she did to get changed. ~~But then again, this is Lance.~~]

[ This is easily Lance's greatest show of patience and if a certain bit belonged to them, he would have made Shiro a proud man. No phone to distract him, not a single gawking eye at the girls that pass by, at worst twiddling with the loose threads in the pockets of his swim trunks.

He didn't want to bother her, but he couldn't help the curiosity that teased hi as well. How different is this from how they do it on Altea? Is she too uncomfortable to come out? Does she need help? Despite his wonderings, he keeps himself still and quiet, at most stealing a glance back now and then to hear if Allura needs him. She seems fine, whatever the case, barring the humming and hawing that whisper through the tent's fabric.

Lance turns, his voice betraying a hint of worry. ] Yeah? What's up, you feeling alright?

[There was a lot about earth that was different from Allura’s upbringing (and it could be argued that she had extra cultural hurdles, being raised as royalty). Pages could be written on the subject of Altean sensibilities, with their high collars and long sleeves, but the short of it is: she’s simply not used to this.

(Ironically, these sort of micro cultural issues always gave her more trouble than the big ones. She could go toe-to-toe with any of earth’s political leaders with no problem, finding comfort in the chaos of a diplomatic meeting, but when it came to fashion and cuisine and music? That is where she felt the most like she was trying to fit into a role she had no place in.)

Lance answers and she can’t help but wince at the concern in his voice, and all at once she’s annoyed at her own hang-ups. And, well, annoyance is a great substitute for confidence.]

Everything is fine! [Loudly,] I’m ready to come out now!

[It’s with renewed determination that she finally turns and yanks back the curtain, letting the light poor in and out of the corner of her eye she catches sight of herself in the full length mirror standing to the side: She looked warm – not just because of the heat of the changing room, but the summer sun reflected in radiant warm hues on her skin, of which there was plenty to be seen. There was no hiding behind her hair- although even pulled into a ponytail, her long curls spilled down to her back. And her swimsuit- a strapless thing the same color as her markings, with a top that went down to the bottom of her rib cage, and a bottom that started a good inch below the dip of her naval. Tied around her hips was a sheer scrap of fabric that draped down over one leg (a “cover up”. Humans have the strangest naming conventions considering it did practically nothing of the sort)

And there she pauses, just a touch of heat rising to her cheeks as she asks,]

…How do I look?

[ Lance might be a dumbass, but even he has reason to suspect a statement like "Everything is fine" after waiting this long. He's a heartbeat away from offering to sneak in and help her, but the curtain is thrown back and he lifts his brows.

He can't help the sort of selfish way his gaze immediately drops down her figure and shoot right back up. Unsurprising but no less delightful, Allura looks fantastic. His heart skips a beat and flutters nervously, his eyes meeting hers at the question. He's normally rather good with flirtatious words, but seeing Allura's blush, the words are knocked right out of him.

A smile pulls at his lips and he sets a hand on her lower back, his voice low and assuring. ] You look good, Allura.

[ He looks in the mirror with her, admiring her and then admiring them together, he leans toward her and mutters. ] You know, princess, we might actually make a cute couple.

[Logically, she suspects that there's little chance Lance would disapprove of anything she decided to wear (he's been there for her when she's dirty and bloodied and at the end of her rope, and through her less successful adventures in human fashion) but she can't help the swell of satisfaction when Lance's eyes dip down, then back up again. Nor the curl of heat in her stomach when his hand settles on her back- the skin-to-skin contact intimate in a way she's not used to in public.

Her eyes drift over the image in the mirror, and she watches her posture relax as she leans into him. So they can both better fit into her view of the tall mirror, but also because it feels nice to be close. The blush on her cheeks settles into a warm glow that curls in her stomach and around her heart. She meets eyes with Lance through his reflection and smiles.

When he comments, her next breath comes out in a laugh, and she nudges him with her elbow,] Don't pretend like this is the first you've thought of that.

[ Feigned bashfulness covers genuine bashfulness as Lance purses his lips and rolls his eyes coyly upward. Allura has thoroughly called him out: he may as well own it. ] I mean, maybe once or twice.

[ Truthfully, a weaker version of him finds it a little hard to see himself in the mirror with her. She's so beautiful and he's, well, beautiful isn't the word he'd ever use for himself. Handsome never wanted to stick. But a better part of him has learned to see past the gray film. He can't imagine Allura dating someone not worth her time and if they're dating, he's clearly got something going for him.

Keenly he looks back at her and leans in to steal a kiss. He teases: ] I'll be counting how many heads turn. [ He pinches his nose and grins. Stealing her hand, he moves to lead them out. ] C'mon. I wanna hit the popular rides before the rides get long!

[If he ever voiced those insecurities, she'd kiss him silly and remind him of all of the wonderful things that he's done. That he made her happy in ways she forgot how to be since she lost Altea. He was her best friend and confidant- had been for way longer than she'd even realized.

He doesn't voice it, but she'll kiss him anyway, smiling hard when he leans in, although she wrinkles her nose in an exaggerated pout when he teases her. She turns her nose up.] You can keep that count to yourself, I don't care about anyone else looking at me.

[Hand in hand, she catches up to his long strides at a trot, her ponytail bouncing behind her as she turns her head this way and that, looking around with wide, curious eyes at the tall slides, already she can see people sliding down a few of them, making great splashes at the bottom.] What about that one?

[She points- a modestly sized slide and the people going down are riding down in pairs, seated on the large inflatable inner tubes.]

Open Post

For Headlion

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when you think you've already replied oof

It's ok I definitely just accidentally deleted the notif without responding too.

blows dust off of this

For ladiesloveme

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Uses my own art I'm shameless

no shame necessary :eyes:

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oof sorry this took a bit!