Pidge didn't know that swinging wood all day could be so exhausting. Day in and day out, they all awoke around the second sunrise -- she was still trying to figure out all of the logistics of a system with three suns -- and trained all day, with small breaks scattered in there. Pidge had always hated physical activity, and being on Toumia had solidified that hate into something else. She wasn't quite sure what it was. Yet.
"I think it's time to move on from forming group unity, for now. Get into pairs, and start sparring with them," said Tuaste.
"What are we supposed to use as weapons?" asked Lance.
Tuaste stared at him blankly. "The trainers. Obviously."
"Well, yeah, but I kind of want to use my gun." Lance grinned, and Pidge was reminded of a sprite. She could have sworn that, for a moment, Lance had pointed ears.
"We will get to using your Bayards at a future date," said Tuaste. "However, one of you will have to sit out for this round of sparring. Any volunteers?"
Both Pidge and Hunk's arms flew into the air at the same time. Pidge rose on her tip-toes and waved her arm around, trying to get taller and Tuaste's attention.
Tuaste looked between the two of them. "Is there a common way on your world to settle disputes?"
"Rock, Paper, Scissors!" shouted Lance.
Hunk grinned at Pidge. "You're on." They turned to face each other. "Are we doing Shoot?"
"Oh, yeah," said Pidge, rubbing her hands together. "You're going down, Hunk."
"I doubt that."
"Two outta three?"
"Two outta three."
The other Paladins crowded around Pidge and Hunk as they pounded their fists atop their hands.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!"
Both were Rock.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!"
Again, both were rock.
"Ooo, this is getting intense," said Lance.
"What is the point of this?" asked Tuaste.
"Rock beats Scissors, Scissors beat Paper, and Paper beats Rock," said Shiro. "It's a common game on Earth. I think they even have competitions for it."
"I am so confused," whispered Tuaste.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!"
Both were Paper.
Pidge resisted the urge to use her Disney Villain laugh.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!"
This time, Hunk had Scissors, but Pidge's hand made a finger gun.
"I didn't know we were playing street rules," said Hunk. "I declare that unfair."
Pidge shrugged. "You gotta do what you gotta do to stay alive."
"I will admit," said Tuaste, "that I am intrigued by this game."
"Then I say that doesn't count," said Hunk.
"It counts," said Shiro.
"Says who?"
"Have you seriously never played against Pidge? She knows more about this game than anyone does."
"I got it all off of the Internet," said Pidge, feeing very smug.
"Ugh. Fine. Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!"
Pidge still used the gun symbol, but Hunk's hand looked like a really weird dog. Pidge looked at the symbol, frowning. "What's that one?"
"Dragon," Hunk said, proudly.
"Now it's getting really good!" said Lance.
"You said that last time they were tied," Keith pointed out.
"Well, now it's better."
Keith sighed, and turned away from Lance.
Pidge sighed. "I guess I'll just have to beat you, then. I hope this won't interfere with our friendship."
"Well, I know it won't when I win," said Hunk.
Pidge glared at him. "Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!"
Pidge's hand was in the shape of a fist with her thumb pointing down, and Hunk's was a fist with his pinky sticking out. Pidge stared at Hunk's hand, then up at him. "I thought you were my friend."
"Lightning beats Tree," said Hunk. "I think I win."
"What just happened," said Tuaste. "I am so confused, I don't even know where to begin."
"He cheated!" cried Pidge, pointing at Hunk.
"I'm not the one that introduced street rules, Pidge!"
Pidge groaned. "Fine."
"If it's any consolation," said Hunk, "you can take your turn sitting out next."
She said nothing, but just glared at Hunk.
"That was... interesting," said Tuaste. "Split up into pairs. I don't care with whom."
"I'll go against Keith," said Shiro.
"Oh, great," said Lance. "I'm with Pidge? This is going to be too easy."
"Don't underestimate her, Lance," said Shiro. Pidge felt a swell of pride at that.
"All right then," said Tuaste. "I'll walk around you guys, critiquing after these fights are over. Make sure," she said, turning to Pidge, "you observe what is around you. Weaknesses, strengths, things like that."
Pidge nodded, feeling that Tuaste was saying that just for her.
She turned to face Lance, who was waving his wooden sword in the air. She grabbed hers. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Shiro and Keith start fighting.
"You make the first move," said Lance.
"Cocky much?"
Lance smirked. "Maybe."
Pidge wanted to make a comment about Lance flirting, but decided against it. Instead, she stood, grabbing the wooden handle tightly, and analyzed Lance's stance. He was standing with his hand on his hip, the wooden sword held limply at his side. The corners of Pidge's mouth turned upward, and she rammed into Lance's stomach. He gasped and stumbled back, ready to attack back, but Pidge was too far away. She glanced over at Shiro and Keith for a brief moment. It was intense, but she saw several weaknesses in Shiro's offense against Keith.
She yelped as Lance lunged at her, drawing her from space into reality. Lance swung his sword, but she just ducked. Over and over and over again, she ducked around Lance. It was tiring, but better than swinging sticks all over the place. She really didn't need to use her training sword.
Lance brought his sword down, and Pidge barely had time to raise hers in defense. Lance quickly moved into quick, offensive strikes, forcing Pidge backwards, almost making her trip several times. She glanced over at Shiro for a moment, and she could tell that he was very close to making is cyborg arm glow with Galra energy. He kept letting Keith get the better of him, and it really annoyed Pidge. She didn't know why.
"Finished!" Tuaste called out. Lance's blow landed on Pidge's head. Hard.
"Hey!" she said. "Tuaste called time! What were you thinking?"
"Sorry," said Lance sheepishly.
"Yeah, well, it hurts," said Pidge, disgruntled, as she rubbed her head.
"Switch partners," said Tuaste. "Pidge, you can go sit down."
"No," said Pidge. "I want Shiro."
"I'll go sit down," volunteered Keith.
Shiro walked over to Pidge as Lance walked over to Hunk. "I was impressed," said Shiro. "I don't think I would've thought of ramming into Lance like that."
Pidge shrugged. "His stance was weak."
"You barely had to raise your sword!"
Pidge grinned. "Then Lance caught on, unfortunately."
"There is that."
"Start!" called out Tuaste.
Shiro's stance was a lot more firm than Lance's had been. Pidge lowered her center of gravity and spread her legs apart to give her more stability. Her and Shiro circled each other, both analyzing the other. Shiro lunged forward, and Pidge stepped out of the way. He swung his sword up at her, and she moved hers to block his. All the while analyzing each and every move that he made, until she could fit it all together in her mind. Or most of it, at least.
Their training swords met, and Pidge pushed against Shiro as hard as she could. He pushed back, not as hard as he could, but still hard. Pidge released her hold on Shiro and ducked of of the way of his falling form. He caught himself before he crashed to the ground and looked at Pidge. Instead of glaring at her, he just smiled, and Pidge smiled back before he swept his leg under her feet, which made her fall backwards.
"Finished!" yelled Tuaste. Shiro stood and offered his hand out to Pidge.
"I guess we ended in a tie," he said, smiling softly. Pidge grabbed hold of his extended arm and let herself be hauled up. She brushed the dirt off of her pants.
"Switch partners," said Tuaste.
"I'll go and sit off on the side," said Pidge. She climbed over the stone rails separating the bleachers from the dirt in the Arena. Keith and Hunk were paired together, and Lance and Shiro were together. As the fighting began, Pidge couldn't help but giggle at Hunk's fighting style. He was good, but it was still funny. However, for some really weird reason that she couldn't fathom, she kept watching Shiro and Lance spar. They both were good, but Shiro was obviously Lance's superior.
He let me win! Pidge realized as she watched Shiro fight. That's why our fight wasn't that hard overall. She felt her face flush at the thought. I can't believe he went easy on me...
Pidge smoldered for the rest of the sparring match, and stalked over to Hunk when it was over. Shiro stood off to the side while Keith and Lance took their turn together.
"You okay, Pidge?" asked Hunk. "Are you mad about me winning?"
"No," Pidge snapped. She sighed. "Sorry, Hunk. I'm just tired."
"I know," he moaned. "And the food isn't even that good."
"I'm sure it's packed with nutrients to keep us going."
"I know, but nutrients are gross, Pidge! Absolutely disgusting! If only Tuaste would let me near a kitchen..." Hunk licked his lips, probably daydreaming about space goo or something from Earth.
"Begin!" said Tuaste.
Pidge and Hunk fell into fighting stances, and Pidge smiled. Hunk reminded her too much of a big teddy bear, so to see him ready to kick butt was slightly amusing. The band that he wore around his head seemed to make him even more soft and cuddly.
This fight felt shorter than the other ones, probably because Pidge felt as if she was trying to prove herself to Shiro, to prove that he didn't have to go easy on her. Also, Hunk was kind of an easy opponent. He was great with guns and smashing things, but not swords.
Tuaste called the fight, and Pidge wiped the sweat from her brow. Lance walked off of the field, and Pidge walked over to Keith. Shiro smiled at her as she walked by, towards Hunk, but she didn't smile back.
"You ready?" asked Keith.
Pidge raised an eyebrow. "You know I hate physical activity."
"But you're good at it."
"I can still hate it."
"Fair point."
"Begin!" Tuaste called out.
Keith was far too good for Pidge to even form a good defense. If she had a shield, she would probably hide behind it and try to figure out the best plan of attack from there. It's what she usually did when the Galra attacked. The thing was, Pidge wasn't a fighter. She was the Guy in a Chair, the tech support. The best that she could hope to do was to keep herself from getting too banged up while sparring with Keith. She exhaled a sigh of relief when Tuaste called the fights.
"Line up in front of me, Paladins," said Tuaste. They all lined up in the order that they usually did. "I thank you for humoring me this afternoon. It allowed me to see some more of your strengths and weaknesses. Now, because I don't want to potentially embarrass any of you, I'll be pulling each of you aside. Starting tomorrow, after the first noon, we will all be taking time separately to train with your Bayards, one-on-one." She looked at all of the Paladins. "Lance, you first." She turned to the rest of them. "Feel free to spread out throughout the Arena, but don't leave it."
She left with Lance, and exited the Arena. Pidge moved over to a secluded spot far away from the rest of her team on the bleachers. As soon as she sat down, Shiro sat down next to her, looking at her, his head cocked to one side.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
Pidge huffed, and turned away from him.
"You know you can tell me, right?"
Pidge closed her eyes and exhaled, then turned to Shiro. "You went easy on me," she said. "During our fight."
Shiro's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I saw how you and Lance fought. You were really good, and y'know, I could tell that you were going easy on me."
"Pidge --"
"I don't want to be treated any differently from the rest of the team, okay? I get that you have some sort of need to be a brotherly sort of figure to me, because you feel some sort of responsibility to my family. It's just... I'm a member of this team, and you don't have to treat me like I'm fragile glass."
"You think I went easy on you? Pidge, I do know that you're a member of this team. A valuable member. Without you, I don't think any of us would be alive today. Scratch that, I know none of us would be alive. And if you think I went easy on you, think again. You're smart, Pidge. Smarter than me, that's for sure." He smiled at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. "And never, for one second, do I ever consider you fragile glass. Sometimes, I think you're the strongest out of all of us."
Pidge nodded. "You're right. I'm sorry for giving you the cold shoulder."
"Well, it was rightly deserved. I did kind of go easy on you."
Pidge smacked Shiro's shoulder. He laughed, which in turn made her laugh.
"Though I find it kind of funny," said Shiro once they had both stopped laughing, "that you were actually watching Lance and me spar that closely..." he trailed off.
"Shut your quiznak," said Pidge, grinning.
Tuaste came in, followed by lance, and called out, "Keith!" Keith followed her outside of the Arena, and Lance came over by Pidge and Shiro. Hunk soon followed.
"Hey, guys," said Lance. "Space Dad giving you advice, Pidge?"
"The best advice," said Pidge.
"Hey, Lance," said Hunk. "What did Tuaste tell you?"
Lance shrugged. "Mostly to watch what's around me, to pay attention. She went through each and every fight in detail. Pidge, she was really praising you out there"
Pidge flushed. "Yeah, well, she told me to pay attention, so..."
"Well, you clearly did. Then she talked about how I'm really quick and good on my feet, but when it comes to brute strength, I am 'very lacking.' Then she gave me some tips on how to defeat more skilled opponents, then told me not to let my emotions get the better of me. As if!"
They all laughed at that, and Pidge remembered several times when Lance let his feelings get the better of him. "When it comes to emotions," said Pidge, "a certain moon comes to mind..."
"I remember that one!" cried Hunk. "What was her name... Neema? Narma?"
"Nyma," grumbled Lance.
"I can't believe you still remember her name," said Shiro, chuckling.
"She was a hot alien lady!"
"The question is: do you still think she's hot?" asked Hunk.
"Shut up!" said Lance, turning bright red.
"Shiro!" Tuaste called out, walking behind Keith. Shiro stood up and climbed over the rail. Keith came over and sat a fair distance away from the rest of the group.
"What'd she tell you?" asked Lance.
"I don't see why it's any of your business," said Keith.
"Come on, I told them what she told me. It's only fair."
Keith looked confused. "How is that fair? You chose to tell everyone what Tuaste told you, fine. I'm not going to."
"Don't pressure him, Lance," said Pidge.
Lance stuck his tongue out at Pidge. The group fell into an awkward silence. Hunk started inspecting his nails, occasionally biting them, Pidge dug in her ear for earwax -- the buildup was starting to get uncomfortable -- and Lance started digging dirt out from underneath his fingernails. Keith sat there, twirling with his thumbs. After what seemed like an eternity, Tuaste came in and called for Pidge. As she walked over to the exit, Shiro smiled at her, and she smiled back.
Tuaste led her to a spot that they had never been before. "Sit," she said, sitting down. Pidge did the same. "You did well out there today," Tuaste started off. "I'm glad you took my advice to watch. You're very good at evading your enemy's blows, but when you must attack, you're fumbling for something to do."
Pidge nodded. She almost said that she'd have been better if allowed to use her Bayard, but bit the comment back.
"I can see you want to say something, Paladin. Say it."
"Well, it's just that my Bayard takes the form of a type of close-range knife-thingy, with a grappling hook... thingy. I'm not good with swords."
"Yes, I realize that. The reason that I'm having you all train with the sword is, as of now, the only weapon that Voltron really uses is a sword. I want you all to be familiar with the weapon so that you can properly use it in battle."
"Yeah, I kind of guessed that was true, but the only reason that Voltron has a sword is because that's the form that Keith's Bayard takes. What if it was... a flail, or something?"
"Then you all would be training with flails."
Pidge opened her mouth to speak, but closed it. Tuaste was right. "Sorry," she apologized.
"What is there to apologize for? I asked you to say what was on your mind. You said it. None of it offended me in the slightest, so I don't see why you're worrying about it."
Pidge nodded. "Right. Um... anything else you want to tell me?"
Tuaste smiled, and for a moment, Pidge ached for her mom back on Earth. "You are very clever, Paladin. That is a very good characteristic in both a warrior and an engineer." She held up her hand. "I've observed only. You are very good with technology. Sometimes I think you would get along better with our Engineers, the Ar Yehr, but then I remember that Voltron landed on the Field of the Fallen -- our Field of the Fallen. Fate lead you all here, Green Paladin. I will not toy with fate any less then I will toy with your training."
"You're saying that it's fate that made us land here?" asked Pidge.
Tuaste nodded. "I don't know what you believe in, Paladin, and I really don't care. But I believe in fate. The cosmos sets our journey before us, and all we have to do is choose."
"That doesn't make much sense."
"Do you believe in a greater Being that controls this universe? Do you believe in worlds without end?"
"Kind of," said Pidge. "I mean, I know a lot of people who believe in God, but I'm not really sure for myself. And about the worlds without end, I've seen plenty of worlds, so yeah, I believe that."
"Do you think that it was mere coincidence that the universe formed at the just right moment in just the right way to create life? It it happenstance that the history of the universe happened just the way that it did, so that you are now the Paladin of the Green Lion? That you are a part of this team, at this time?"
"So... you're saying that everything that we do is pure fate and chance?"
"No, and that's the majesty of it. Fate molds to our choices. Have you ever thought that a single choice that you make could affect the rest of the universe?"
"Like choosing to sneak into the Garrison to find my family," said Pidge.
Tuaste grinned. "Exactly, young Paladin. That simple choice that you made has lead you here, to this moment, to this battle against Zarkon."
"I think I understand," said Pidge, "though I'm still really confused."
"You will understand in time, young Paladin. That is all that I have to teach to you at this moment. We will begin training with your Bayard tomorrow. I will see you then."
Tuaste stood up and lead Pidge back to the Arena. She called for Hunk, and Pidge walked back to where Shiro, Kieth,and Lance sat.
"What'd she say to you?" asked Shiro.
"I'll tell you guys later," she said. "Right now I have to think about fate."