They stood before a cabin, plant life decorating the front yard. A small little gravel pathway lead to the door. Small oval sized windows were on either side of the building, including two in front and back. It was lovely shade of beige, and it gave off soothing vibes, making the pair feel much more at ease.
Pidge huffed, smiling over at the guests. Hunk stood to her right, keeping silent and watching.
"Welcome to our humble abode!" She chirped, arms behind back.
Keith and Slav glanced at one another, before the mamoran came up to them, a hand outstretched.
"I'm Keith, and this guy here is Slav, thank you again for letting us stay for the night."
'Keith and Slav huh?' Pidge hummed thoughtfully, and shook his hand.
"The silent guy's Hunk, I'm Pidge." She accepted the hand and gave it a firm shake. "So what's your story? It's not everyday you see a galran and yupper as traveling buddies."
"I'm trying to get my property back from this Lord Sendak. And no one really knew the way except for Slav. Even though he's not the best companion I'm grateful for his help."
The female raised a curious brow. "To get your property back ay?"
"Whatever you're thinking about, stop right there." Hunk spoke up, hands clasped together as it touched his face.
"But—"
"Stop."
"Hunk—"
"No."
"Uh, I don't mean to intrude, but is something the matter?" Slav asked, looking between the pair.
"No." Came the curt reply from the balmeran.
"Yes, actually." The olkari interjected. "You see, me and my brother here, have been bored as of late..."
"No I haven't."
"And I was wondering, how about we make a bargain?"
Groan.
Keith who strayed off to the side perked up at this, ears twitching; eyes narrowing in suspicion. "What kind of bargain?"
"You see, in return for the you guys crashing at our place, we tag along with you to confront this Sendak guy." Pidge chirped, pushing up her glasses once more.
"Ok, time-out. I'm going to borrow my sister for a bit." Hunk butted in, grabbing ahold of her tiny shoulders and dragging her off to the nearby corner. He turned to face her, frowning. "You know I love you Katie, but are you insane?? We don't even know if these guys are in sketchy business!"
Light brown hues shifted past his shoulder skeptically. She could see Keith and Slav deep in conversation. They didn't seem fishy, if anything, they seemed rather harmless. "Hunk, you're overthinking things. They look fine to me."
"Well yeah that's because you lack the capacity to sense danger."
"Ok, first of all. Out. And second, when have my instinct ever stayed us wrong?"
Her brother's face was deadpan as he lifted a hand, and raised a finger. "Well lets see, how about the time you dragged me into a stupid idea of yours, that involved storing bombs inside Yorak's house because your instincts screamed out he was a secret galran spy? Or the time where mom and dad nearly skinned us alive because we were doing illegal experimentation on the local wildlife so you pass you're biology class because your gut told you nothing could wrong. Let's not forget—"
"Ok look, I admit, some were bad. But trust me bro, this time, I'm sure of it."
He didn't look convinced.
"Besides, aren't you getting bored too? I mean we've been researching the same darn useless junk for decades now."
A soft sigh escaped his lips. "Yeah, it gets old pretty fast."
"Then trust me on this. We're going on an adventure of a lifetime."
Casting one last worrisome glance towards the other two, Hunk conceded. "Alright fine. If everything goes to hell, I'm putting this on you."
Pidge beamed, saluting. "Yes sir!"
The pair of siblings headed back to the duo, actually smiling this time. "So what do you say? Deal?"
Keith's eyes shifted over to Slav for a brief moment, before returning his gaze to the girl. "Deal."
They shook hands once more.
///
Inside the castle walls of Dabizaal
"Mirror, play it again."
It rolled his eyeball less sockets, and reminded the video of Prince Lance, whom was wistfully looking off into the distance through his window, his cheek resting on his palm.
"He's so perfect." He cooed, golden hues sparkling.
Much to his embarrassment, the boy's beauty was so intense, it sent blood rushing down south. It seemed he had gotten a bit excited. H couldn't help but daze off, thinking all sorts of things he'd do to his future husband, his king. They'd be whirlpool of passion; lustful kisses and sweet whispers.
"Oh Lance..." Sendak purred, practically envisioning the altean prince.
The mirror just paled, groaning silently; someone please—help him! Just then, Haxus came bursting in, panting heavily.
"M'Lord!!"
The male who was so deep in his fantasy shrieked, and snarled at the intruder. "HAXUS!! This better be important."
Said man shrunk a few sizes, tugging at the metal collar of his armor. "Uh my deepest apologies, but we've received news that our prisoner has escaped!"
"HE WHAT!!"
The galran gulped, bowing his head. "Well when the guards that were watching Shiro went to check up on him, the found his cell empty and the metal bars of the window were broken..."
Sendak groaned, sitting up as he dismissed his commander and the galran left without so much of a squeak. "You can never trust these incompetent fools for anything."
Grumbling, he got dressed and longing glance up at the paused video. Lance was looking beautiful as always, slipping on his gloves, he walked over and his fingertips touched the surface of the mirror.
"Be patient love, I'll be back."
A silence ensued. He sighed, and with a flap of his cape, the male left the room; much to the mirror's joy. Finally he'd be at peace. Sendak walked through the dimly lit narrow hallway, arms behind his back. He walked gracefully, giving air of authority. Many of his servants went weak to the knees, some in fear while others in admiration. Ask anyone in his kingdom, and they'd all repeat the same thing, he was a wonderful ruler. Most of the galrans were in his debt, he given them a home when no one else would, with powerful steps he entered the dungeon, eyes skimming through the multiple jail cells present before him. Of course, all were accounted except one; Shiro. He gave an irritated groan, pinching the bridge of his nose. Great, he could feel a migraine coming on. Sendak didn't have time for such idiocy this late at night.
Maybe he should get better staff...Anyways, that was besides the point. He needed the details, so he turned to the one in charge of the prisoner. It was their newest recruit. And as always, it was the newbies. Fools, all of them. He kept his anger in check, not wanting to ruin his perfect reputation among his people. "Mind explaining what happened?"
"I went to check on the other prisoners, when I head noises coming from his cell. Curious, I headed towards it and next thing I know, I'm knocked out and when I awoke. He was gone."
Sendak practically seethed on the inside. 'I'm surrounded by idiots.'
"Is that so? Well, it seems we've got a runaway. Haxus spare a few of your men for the job. This search will not stop until he is found. Go! If you need me, I'm going to retire to my bedroom for the night. Wake me up if it's absolutely necessary. Am I clear?"
"Crystal." His soldiers firmly answered.
"Excellent, now if you'll excuse me."
And with that, he left, and stalked back to his quarters, hoping to get some sleep and some more quality time with Lance.
///
Heavy panting softly echoed in his ears, vision blurry. Grey hues darting back and fourth, keeping in tune with his surroundings. He barely had managed to escape that horrible prison cell a few hours prior. He was lucky the guy had an intelligence of a peanut. Poor sucker didn't know what was coming, at the thought, he couldn't help but snicker just a bit. His ears twitched, reacting to the slightest hint of noise among forest. One can never be too careful with the galra. Bastards were smart and sneaky. Certain that there was no one following him, Shiro skidded a stop, gulping mouthfuls of sweet, crisp summer air. A hand placed against the rough tree bark to keep himself steady. A small frown tugged at his facial features. It had been several weeks since he last saw his family. God, how he missed them so. He could remember the day of his kidnapping and their deaths so clearly. He had just returned from grocery shopping that evening, and returned to a messy, empty house.
Naturally, the worry had settled deep within his bones as he ventured inside. He called out to them, but no one answered. So steering into the kitchen, that's where he found them; laying on their own pool of above and standing before the pair was Haxus. The son of bitch committed murder. In his anger and sorrow, the teen had attacked without mercy. Well, he tried at least right before the man had easily overpowered him. It turns out the galran were severely anti-human it seemed. Shiro just let the furious liquid pearls slide down his face, as he weakly struggled against his captor. He awaited his incoming doom like a warrior, only to be spared and taken hostage to Lord Sendak. Apparently, he had potential, that and he knew exactly the location of the rest; the aliens who had successfully avoided being evicted from their homes, and shipped off to the forest a few towns over. One would be surprise how many forests inhabit Arus.
He was taken against his will, and endured days upon days of torture and inhuman experimentation. It had costed him majority of his entire right arm, which was replaced by a cybernetic prosthetic. He sighed, instinctively flexing the fingers on his right hand. His demeanor soured quickly, and growled in frustration, punching a hole into the ground. How could this happen? Why him? Why did his family pay the price? Questions built upon questions piled up in his mind. Shaking his head, he let out a determined huff. There's no time for wallowing in self-pity, he's got to get to shelter. Or something, he needed a place to keep low. There's no way he'd return to his village now, it'd be too risky. So he settled for the town a few miles back.
Nodding, he headed towards the direction of the town, limping a bit. The adrenaline rush had long since worn off, he was left with the backlash, wincing in pain he continued forward.
'Here goes nothing.'
///
Birds were singing and chirping as Keith awoke the next morning, yawning. His ears twitched for a brief moment, before he escaped the warmth of his blankets. He kicked his roommate with his foot whom was peacefully sleeping on the wooden floor.
"Wake. Up."
Slav let out a painful whine, proceeding to rub the back of his head. "May I ask why you couldn't just wake me up like a normal person??"
"Sorry, my foot slipped."
This only earned a glower from the yupper, but he paid no mind as he got ready. Time for the adventure to continue, hooray. He slipped inside the bathroom that resided in the guest bedroom. He slipped out from the pajamas he borrowed from Pidge, she assured him that her brother had no use for them. What was his name? Matt. Yeah. Ever since his mysterious disappearance. It tuns out he was one of the lucky guys to have gotten chose by the king and queen themselves to rescue their son, the prince. He inwardly frowned, his royal highness was such a pain in the ass. Having the subjects of his kingdom do the rescuing. It turns out he was being impatient and urged his parents to send someone, anybody at this rate to his rescue. What a drag. And this was the same altean who he wanted to marry as a child. The prince was nothing but a spoiled brat who couldn't wait for his prince charming.
Well, that wasn't his problem. He had other things to worry about. Once he was in his usual wear-black shirt, with some dark grey jeans-he headed downstairs followed by Slav. Once the two took the final steps downstairs, a wonderful aroma overwhelmed their senses. They turn to see Pidge deeply engrossed in her breakfast, which seemed to be an assortment of berries and some sort of pastry. Hunk was by the stove, and just in time came by the table and placed two plates.
"Eat up guys we have a long road ahead of us." the balmeran chirped. "I hope you enjoy, I wasn't sure exactly what yuppers ate so I gave you the same as my sister, I hope you don't mind."
Slav shook his head. "Nope, not at all. Thank you, Hunk."
"Anytime, and for you Keith, I whipped up a little something. It's a dish I learned that galrans enjoy." He said as he pointed at the male's plate that held some sort of meat, but it smelled heavenly.
"Oh...uh...thanks." Keith stammered, as he took his seat and dug in.
Not long after, the young balmeran joined in as well, eating a type of soup. After eating their breakfast, they washed their respectively dishes and headed outside. Hunk was the one who made sure the house was locked as they were going to be far away from home for a while. He gave a small thumbs up to Pidge, who returned the gesture, He made his way to his sister, and smiled. Pidge carried a backpack, which she said held all sorts of important junk for their little trip. Keith turned to Slav and the siblings.
"So, are we ready to go?"
He received simultaneous nodding of heads, shifting his attention to the skyline, he spoke. "Let's go get my shack back."