Voltron: Legacy

Chapter 7

Over the next few weeks, in spite of our looming deadline, the other paladins and I managed to settle into a routine. Breakfast and our morning check-in a little earlier than the regular cadets, combat training and flight practice with Shiro and our lions through lunchtime, then after lunch we worked on other skills, everything from speaking alien languages, to first aid, to repairing and jury-rigging essential machinery, even dismantling bombs without detonating them. In our so-called "free" time, we actually spent most of it working on academic stuff, because once we were out in space we wouldn't have time for any of that. I usually took my homework up in Black's cab and talked with the lion while I did math problems or essays or whatever. I'd decided that would probably help my connection with it.
I still had occasional visits with Mari, who would not stop pestering me about when she got to see us form Voltron. I always told her that we didn't need to do that yet, and ended the conversation there. But I was getting worried. Shiro hadn't mentioned forming Voltron very often during our training sessions, and while I definitely had a connection to Black, I hadn't felt much for the other paladins except annoyance, grudging admiration in Xaroc's case, and the occasional flash of camaraderie from a shared joke. Our impromptu movie night in Leilah's room had been the closest thing we'd ever done to normal friend activities.
What if Shiro thought we weren't capable of forming Voltron? What if he was right? What if we didn't have what it took to be real paladins?

One night, those worries got so bad that I couldn't sleep. So I went for a walk. It didn't even really count as sneaking out anymore, not since we'd gotten our own rooms separate from the cadet dormitories.
As I flopped down on the grass of our little meeting courtyard, my communicator buzzed. Keith, probably. We hadn't gotten a chance to check in regularly since I started paladin training, so I was pretty eager to see him.
"Hey!" I said as soon as his face appeared on the screen.
"Hi, Karah. How are you holding up?"
I tilted a hand from side to side. "I'm surviving. Shiro's been putting us through the wringer in training, but I get why. We've only got three more weeks, and they're already loading up the IGF Atlas."
Keith nodded. "Scared?"
"Yeah." I admitted. "Terrified. We haven't even tried forming Voltron yet, and I'm worried Shiro doesn't think we can."
He frowned. "Don't be. Shiro has more faith in you than anyone except me. We've been talking about it, and he says he's going to have you guys try to form Voltron tomorrow."
I sighed with relief. I'd been worried for nothing, after all. Well, probably.
"Do you think we can?"
"I think you can do just about anything if you put your mind to it, Karah. And I'm not just being encouraging, I mean that. The others . . . I'm honestly not as sure. If you can get them to work with you, then I think we'll pull through."
"You know I'm not a people person, Keith."
"Hey, neither am I, and I managed it."
I smiled. "That's true. Thank you."
Keith bit his lip for a moment. "I was waiting for a good time to say this, but I guess I should tell you now. I've never had any biological siblings, but you know Shiro's like family to me, and I just wanted to say, um, you are too."
Keith considered me family. I'd known he cared about me and Mari, but family? That was more than I'd dared to hope for in a long time.
I couldn't think of anything serious to say that wouldn't make me cry, so I went with something silly instead.
"So, I've achieved annoying-little-sister status now, huh? Does that mean I get to barge into your room whenever I want and pester you about random stuff?"
He snorted. "If you try, I will bodily throw you back out."
I grinned. "Whatever you say, Mr. Grumpy. I should go now. Say hi to Kosmo for me."
"His name isn't Kosmo!" Keith squawked.
"You just keep telling yourself that, Keith." I said, giving him a cheery wave as I hung up.
Then I headed back to bed, wincing as the day's bruises and aches started to announce themselves. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, we would form Voltron, and we'd be on our way to saving our Universe. Whatever it took.