finalguard | Post-game CMO for camppetoskey

[ Boa has half a mind to ask what other cool things Lance is talking about, but hey... He can let him have this. And he has a point about Blue. ]

Well, duh, it's a giant spaceship!

She.

[Lance corrects him almost instantly. How the heck does he know the gender of a space mecha? Don't ask, but he feels it in his soul.]

And she's way more than just a spaceship! She can talk to me through our bond, sends me ideas, tells me what to do... heh. I dunno how any of it works, but... man, I'd give anything to hear her again.

[ There is a raised eyebrow at the connection, but Boa supposes he'd call Bahamut a 'he' too if it came down to it and Lance's further explanation erases any lingering judgement. For all he knows, Blue might have told Lance that himself. ]

Sounds like she's your pilot as much as you hers.

[ Blue has Lance whipped. ]

[Lance laughs at that assessment.]

That's what trusting each other means, right? I never have to wonder with Blue.

[But then his expression falters a little.]

...Or at least, I never had to before all of this. Maybe that's true for her, too. We used to fly together every day and now I'n not even trying to connect with her.

[He sighs.]

Maybe I should start trying again after all.

When's the last time you tried?

[ This seems relevant given all the rapid changes their situation went through within the last week. ]

[He shifts his weight from one foot to another, looking vaguely uncomfortable.]

It's been a while. Before I died.

[Stated out loud like that, it sounds an awful lot like he's given up on Blue... and maybe the truth is that he kind of has? But it's an awful kind of truth -- something that he's visibly kicking himself for at least metaphorically.]

... man, that's messed up.

[ Boa doesn't think it's particularly messed up - not more than their average experience here anyway. ]

That was all when we were still in camp then... Contained there.

[ As opposed to being contained here which is a very similar deal but with a stable internet connection this time. ]

Yeah. I never managed to get through to her back at camp. I guess it could be different here.

[It's a nice thought, even if truthfully he's really not all that hopeful about it. But it's also not like him to quit before he's started. He breathes out and cracks his knuckles loudly.]

Only one way to find out, I guess!

[So despite the fact that his hands are a little dirty because they were in the middle of food prep, Lance closes his eyes and focuses. It's not the easiest task in the world -- his attention tends to drift outside the heat of battle when there's an immediate threat to deal with, but he thinks hard about Blue.

About the way the controls for her thrusters feel in his hands, About the way she roars and somersaults in the air, the blues blending perfectly into Earth's sky, and the smooth way she glides through the water - almost like she can't decide if she's a lion or a fish. Lance smiles.

But it's not enough to simply imagine Blue from an outside point of view. He has to connect with her, become one with the lion, two bodies one mind, one purpose. That's the bond between a lion and its paladin - a psychic connection that defies barriers like language, time and space. Lance mutters under his breath.]

Come on...

[Nothing. There;s nothing but a familiar darkness behind his closed lids. Just him alone with his own stupid thought What else was he expecting? In the back of his mind, he knew that this was what would happen. It's what happened for so long that he gave up on it a long time ago and it's the reason he's so damn ashamed to call himself a paladin at this moment. What kind of paladin of Voltron gives up on the bond they have with their lion?

His hands curl into fists on the countertop. All this time, he'd thought things like... failing to save the people his friend died to save, setting a boy on fire over a misunderstanding, stabbing a boy who was every bit as scared as he was straight through the heart with his bayard and being too much of a goddamn coward to fucking admit that to everyone right away were the things that would make Blue turn away from him, all while he'd pushed Blue out of his mind as a pipe dream.

His brow furrows, as he bites the inside of his lip. No. All this time it was his basic failure to trust and believe in his bond with Blue, his own doubts and fears that he's allowed to spin so wildly out of control that he's forgotten who he is. What he's capable of. What he and Blue can accomplish together with the rest of the paladins.

All along the enemy was never someone on the outside. It was himself. A boy who, in the midst of all the trauma and death and sadness, had forgotten his destiny. That Blue had chosen him for a reason.]

[And then...

Then the world around him shifts into a swirling mass of dark blue flowing all around like a swift river current going in all directions, vast and desolate, but Lance is not alone. There aren't any words in this astral plane, just a stream of pure quintessence that form Blue's outline, and large glowing yellow eyes, inexplicably following his movements just as they did on the first day they met in that underground cave.

Lance turns to her hand outstretched as if trying to reach her. Blue rises onto all fours, and throws her head up to roar at the sky. The sound echoes in Lance's head, but he doesn't care. He's never smiled harder in his life. He closes his eyes and just for a moment, he's able to see through her eyes. It's only a flash, but it's the inside of the Castle of Lions, late at night -- he was probably already asleep at this point, he was exhausted after their fight with Zarkon. But evidently not everyone had crashed. A figure stands by Black's hangar, looking concerned.

She turns, and makes direct eye contact with Blue.]

Allura!!

[Lance yells her name, then blinks as the kitchen comes back into focus. For a moment, he's too dazed to do anything but stare at Boa in stunned silence. But as he gradually collects himself, he dabs the corners of his eyes with this shirt sleeve and smiles.]

[ Boa is not really sure what he's supposed to be doing by this point... It feels wrong to just stare at Lance but it feels even more wrong to keep chopping plantains with someone meditating literally right next to him. So he just winds up staring at his feet for a bit, hoping that however this goes it goes fast so the kitchen can be freed of this tension again.

Except that when the meditation ends, Boa knows even less what to say or do. Lance looks so touched, so fundamentally affected and he's.... just standing here, having no real idea what just happened. ]

... so.... that went well?

[It takes him another few quick swipes at his face to shake the feeling like he might be dying of relief, but he does look at Boa with more certainty as he nods.]

I wasn't able to keep the connection going for long, but....yeah. I was able to reach her. I don't know if that means she'll be able to come here... or if I can use her to send a message to the other paladins, but this is a really encouraging start to getting the heck out of here.

[ That snaps Boa out of his awkwardness a little. It's not often that they get a genuine piece of good news that can make them optimistic for a future that is better than the one they're looking forward to right now. He smiles. ]

Good job! This proves that dying isn't our only way to reach outside this world.... thank goodness.

[ Nine did go missing all day yesterday like he said he would for his date plans. There might be something a little odd because Nine heads straight for Lance's room and closes the door. Boa might be able to pick up the sound of their voices, but it seems like the older boys are mostly keeping their voices down. It's serious talk, Boa, have fear.

It's a while before Nine comes out of the room to finally go look for Boa. Nine's clothes are probably the same from when he left the day before, and he probably smells like Ren's soap products. Good news, it's confirmation which boy he had date plans with at least? :D ]

Hey, you in?

[ ~~Boa is trying to not confirm anything about Nine and Ren ever, thank you very much. It's just not working.~~

Either way, the door to Boa's room is half open and checking inside, Nine will find Boa sitting on the bed actually... reading something. Looks like he's taking studying seriously. When Nine comes in, Boa puts the book aside though.

Any degree of Nine and Lance talking in secrecy is concerning after all. ]

What's up?

[ What a good. Nine prefers skipping class or not going near any books, so he actually admires Boa for sticking with it. He comes in and plops down on the edge of the bed. Reaching over to ruffle his hair. ]

Wanted to let you know that I'm back. [ A beat ] And I still owe you a conversation, yo.

[ By now Boa has accepted that he is literally never going to escape brotherly hair ruffles, so they just make him smile. It's a good thing he has no hairstyle to speak of that this could do anything to.

For a second, he isn't sure what conversation Nine is referring to, then it clicks lightning fast and his expression goes back to being serious. ]

You talked to Lance.

[ Who is.. definitely unfortunately involved in all of this... ]

[ It's good when your hair looks no different from when ruffles happens. ]

Huh? Oh, yeah. I wanted to make sure he was still good, you know? [ Wait... he needs to back track. Thinking about it. ] That time Lance went missing? He was hanging out with Tal and things got pretty complicated.

[ Hes still... not even sure what the hell to even think about that. The talk with Lance left him with some things to churn over. ]

... I knew that.

[ What an awkward admission to make... Boa knows he really should have told Nine about this right as it happened. Nine deserved to know more than anyone. ]

I forced Lance to tell me what happened, since he looked upset. I had to promise I wouldn't tell you before I actually knew what it was...

I'm sorry.

[ Boa knows all the thing. He doesn't really seem surprised. He knew Boa would hit up Lance to get an explanation for why he was missing.

Lance looking upset gets something like guilt from Nine. Rubbing the back of his neck. ]

How upset was he? I mean, I guess he's over it now. [ So he really shouldn't worry about it. But he did back when Tal shared the news. ]

Tal told us the day after it happened. You know, he kissed Ren earlier that week. Wanted to figure out how he felt about all of us without really telling us what was going on.

[ And that's the part that actually bugs him. That Tal didn't really spill he was digging Lance hard until after that point. ]

[ Boa in turn is relieved that Nine already knew either way, but... his eyes narrow as the explanation goes on. ]

He's being awful.

[ No doubt about that. ]

And he doesn't deserve either of you.

[ Maybe he shouldn't be so forward about saying this, but he's thought about it for way too long already. ]

[ He looks up at that, and makes a face. ]

I broke up with him. [ And he does feel bad. ]

It wasn't just him, yo. I was bad for him, too.

[ ... huh?

That's... that's not really what Boa was expecting. After all this time he spent turning this situation with his brothers over in his head over and over this is... simple. And he's relieved. A smile may not be an appropriate reaction to hearing about the end of a relationship, but Boa can't quite suppress it. ]

That doesn't really matter, even if it were true. I'm glad you got out.

[ It does help him feel like it might be the right choice in the end. And at the same time... it still kind of hurts. Letting out a breath as he rubs his own hair again. ]

Yeah. Yeah, it's better this way. I mean, I couldn't really think about anyone else but Ren anyways.

[ And there was a lot of hurting each other. Hurting others too, since Lance was also in the cross fire. ]

That kiss really ended two relationships in stride...

[ Which might not actually be for the worst. Lance hadn't been happy with Floe for a long while already, too. Maybe Boa ought to be grateful to Tal for crossing boundaries like this and in the long run helping his brothers sort themselves out? No, Boa is definitely too petty for that. ]

It was a long time coming I suppose.

Yeah... [ He is now wondering about how Floe is doing, but he'll check later. ]

If I'm honest, it probably ended when he died, yo. It... [ Nine kind of tilts his head. Boa was there long enough to know how messed up Nine had been over remembering the dead and seeing Talbie after that. ] I kind of set in after the body... after all of your original bodies joined back with Sol's. I remember thinking that was it... it wouldn't be Tal coming back after that, you know?

I won’t become a tool.
UNREAD E-MAILS (04)	VOICEMAILS (01)	Alcacer. Boa: [ 1B-BBG36 ] TEXT [PitSnake]

Post-game CMO for camppetoskey

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1/2

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08/15 (Later)

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think this is good here?

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