Understanding - Repkyle

seventeen

Song: Mama's gun
by Glass Animals
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Kyle's POV

It wasn't long before my stomach start growling again. The thought of her never feeding us again played around my head until I had no choice but to sing to distract myself. I haven't sang since my Horde days, and I only did it then when my day was really bad.

Catra or Lonnie would usually tell me to be quiet if I was too loud, so it felt strange letting the soft song escape my lips without somebody getting annoyed.

Rogelio actually complimented me on it, which made me feel a bit better. But now I'm just lying on the floor with my feet up on the wall, begging for something interesting to happen.

'Why did you stop singing?'

Rogelio asks. I turn my head so that I'm looking up at him.

"I can't think of anything else to sing."

I grumble. He nods and looks away as if to think about it, and then looks back to me with a smile.

'What about...'

I can't catch the last few words.

"I didn't catch that, sorry."

I say guiltily. He nods and taps out a beat on the bedframe next to him.

"Oh! Our song!"

I sit up and he smiles at me.

There's a song that we used to sing, well, I used to sing, in the Horde. It was usually when the both of us were stationed together somewhere on our own, and we had nothing to do but wait it out.

I close my eyes and let the words flow out, hoping that I don't sound like some kind of dying bird.

"When we're out
Doing our jobs,
I feel empty.

But when you're there
I can feel it,
Something risky.

If they knew
About us,
Would they care?

Would we be gone
Kicked from the Horde,
Banned from there?"

I stop my singing and open my eyes slowly, not realising there's tears filling them. I think there's more lyrics, but I can't bring myself to utter them. The pain that used to own us when I made that song up was something unimaginable now, and it feels weird to let it resurface.

Rogelio is smiling at me, which makes my cheeks flare up.

"It wasn't that bad, right?"

He laughs a little and shakes his head. After a couple of seconds my stomach starts to churn again.

"I wonder if she heard me, on cameras or something."

I say, biting my bottom lip. Rogelio shrugs and opens his arms to me, so I naturally crawl over and let him hold me.

'She's lucky if she did.'

He growls. I smile and stare at the wall where she came through earlier, and almost like magic, the door starts to slide open to reveal a crystal person standing there, it's glowing eyes conveying little to no emotion. Rogelio stiffens and I move closer to him.

"Please, follow me!"

It sings. The voice is that woman's, but it sounds muffled and strange. Rogelio and I share a look before standing up to follow it. What other choice do we have? 

Stepping out into the corridor feels almost illegal, the pink and orange lights on the walls seem too bright and happy to belong here and the extra guard behind us making sure we don't try to run doesn't feel like much of a threat.

Without saying a word my fingers interlock with Rogelio's and we follow the guard, or whatever it's supposed to be, hand in hand. It's glass feet make tiny clicking sounds against the smooth white floor as we walk through different hallways and doorways, eventually leading us into the giant hall we first visited for the 'dance'.

There's a long table in the centre of it now, however, full of hot food and colourful sweets and lined with over a dozen chairs, as if they were supposed to be filled. I look up at Rogelio in disbelief and he frowns at me, obviously confused.

The clicking of heels announces the arrival of the blue skinned woman, who sashays from the double doors opposite us and waves an arm adorned with jewelry towards the large table.

"Oh, don't be shy! Sit, sit!"

Her voice is shrill and almost painful to listen to. Rogelio and I sit at one end, opposite each other and as far away from her as possible. She sits a couple of seats down and smiles at us.

Under the table, our feet are linked together like we used to link them in meetings or classes. A glass waiter sets an empty plate before us all and I get an uneasy feeling in my stomach. She's being too nice.

"My name is Astra. I know the strapping young man with blonde hair is Kyle, correct? But what about you?"

My insides squirm when she makes this comment, but I try my best not to be rude.

"His name's Rogelio."

I mumble. She hears me and smiles.

"Kyle and Rogelio. What lovely names."

I look over her head and see she-ra's sword mounted on the wall.  She catches me and laughs.

"Oh, that old thing? That's mine."

I open my mouth to argue but Rogelio gives me a small kick under the table so I shut up and glare at him. Astra starts filling her plate.

"Eat up! You must be starving."

She says, no longer looking at us. Rogelio and I share a look, but there's nothing much to discuss. We're starving and weak, and there's plates full of hot food ready for us, so why shouldn't we eat it? Astra seems to be eating it, so surely it isn't laced, right? My anxiety bounces around my brain and my breaths quicken but I load my plate and start to eat silently.

"I have to say, I admire your relationship."

Astra says, still focusing on her food. I look to Rogelio and we both frown. Astra continues to speak.

"Like brothers!"

I snort halfway through a spoon of mashed potatoes and wince when the stuff gets wedged in my throat, the burning nearly as bad as Rogelio being referred to as my brother. Rogelio himself is glancing at her with an embarrassed expression, Astra simply smiling at us.

"I've never thought of it like that... ever..."

I mumble. Rogelio smirks and the lady at the other end of the table nods.

"Ah, so it's not brotherly love then?"

Why is this woman so nosy? My face must be as red as a tomato but it doesn't make a difference since she's still looking at her plate. Rogelio is holding in laughter with every mouthful.

Despite the awkward conversation, the meal is delicious. Much nicer than our usual carrot and potato stew back home, and much more filling, too. After eating it all I'm sort of confused as to why she didn't give us bread again. Is she trying to win our trust?

"I'm terribly sorry we didn't have a meal like this sooner. I was just so busy trying to contact my family back home that I forgot."

Astra says. Her voice echoes like song around the hall. Family? Home?

"It's okay."

I say quietly. It would be great if she could just let us go, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. At least not until the others show up.
Rogelio wriggles his feet in closer to mine and I give him a reassuring pat with the toe of my shoe.

Astra stands up and walks over to the huge double doors where she first took Catra and Adora.

"Well, aren't you going to follow me? I suppose you would like to know why I'm here."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Sorry for the short chapter! I'm not well at the minute.

-Rose 💗