As Shiro flies your lion, you sit silently on the floor. You don't talk; it takes too much effort. You take this time to go over everything that's happened to you recently.
You ponder why the lion showed up outside your house, but eventually your mind settles on the crown. And as you piece together how it ended up there, dread settles in your stomach.
Your eyes drift over to cloth around your shoulder. It takes a second to register, but as soon as you realize, you rip it off. It hurt a lot but you couldn't use it.
Not when it had your mother's blood on it.
It's part of the same shirt she was wearing when your father found her body. The crown, the blood.
Your mother was in the lion when she died.
Your heart drops. Eyes wide, they dart around the room, subconsciously looking for any trace of her. But she wasn't there, she isn't going to just appear.
Sometimes you forget that.
Did your father find her in the lion and he never told you? Or did the lion just drop her off when it was done with her?!
Did you? Did you, you dumb machine! You shout at the lion in your head.
*i cared for your mother very much. She was my paladin for a time*
You didn't answer the question!
*no, I brought her back to earth. That's where she wanted me to bring her when she-*
You imagined your mother, fear pounding through her veins. "Take me back home." She whispered, eyes wide with the terror of her impending doom.
"You okay?" Shiro asked, glancing back at you. You hadn't noticed the tears dripping down your cheeks. You wipe them away quickly.
"Just hurts a bit," you utter, "I'll be fine though. Don't worry about it."
From the look he gives you, Shiro doesn't push it. He turns back towards the dash. "How long did the Galra have you?"
"Not long, little less than a week, I guess."
"They took me prisoner too,"
"God, I'm sorry-"
"I can't remember most of it. But I imagine it's still fresh in your mind?"
"Yeah," your voice comes out as a whisper, though you intend it to be stronger.
"If you don't want to talk about it, I get that. But remember I was there too. So if you want to talk about what happened there, I know how scary and awful it is- even if I can't really remember it."
You don't respond; you're too tired.
God you were really tired.
