finalguard | Post-game CMO for camppetoskey

[ Boa feels like there is a difference between what he told Lance and what Lance is telling him now. Lance needed to be selfish and let the suffering of others be their business... Boa meanwhile is being selfish when he clings to those he loves. But... maybe this is how those goody-two-shoes people feel about everyone. Maybe it really is comparable. Boa's never looked at it that way before. ]

You never really told me about your team, beyond that they exist. I know Shiro, but the others... what are those people like?

[ Who are the people who might swoop in and safe them, in some unrealistic future? ]

Oh, you wanna know about the other paladins?

[The salt and pepper go back down on the counter top as Lance considers this. Normally he'd love talking about his friends and the people he loves, but it's harder than usual not to be stuck with some bittersweet nostalgia.]

Let's see... well Hunk's the paladin of the Yellow lion. Hunk and I go waaaay back. We were cadets together at the Garrison before the whole Voltron thing ever happened. He's a total engineering nerd and a bit of a scaredy cat but he's really kind. Oh! And a great cook. He's always trying his best to look out for everyone.

Then there's Pidge. She flies Green. Pidge was also at the Garrison with me and Hunk, but she joined the team later as our technician. She's super smart and is kind of a wizard with anything tech related. Some of her family members were kidnapped by the Galra and even though they've been missing for a really long time, she's never given up hope on finding them.

Keith's the last paladin. He pilots Red. Keith was also at the Garrison, but he got kicked out for being a total hot head. He kinda rushes into things all guns blazing. Act first, ask questions never, that whole deal. Heh. He's kinda dumb, but he does have a point now and then. But even though he's like that, you know he has your back and will do whatever it takes to get the job done.

[He breathes out and smiles. That wasn't as bad as he thought it would be, actually. His friends are determined and resilient -- good reminders that if he has to trust anyone in the universe with their fates, it'd be the members of Team Voltron.]

That's the team.

Edited 2018-08-06 01:57 (UTC)

[ Boa wonders if he would sound similar should he ever get into the situation to describe his group from camp to someone unfamiliar. Would there be the same fond familiarity notable in his voice and wording? Odd thoughts.

It is nice to listen to Lance though, which is also strange. There really are friendships founded in something tangible and useful out there. ]

So is Hunk the one who taught you to cook?

Pfff, Hunk? Nah, he's a total bully in the kitchen. He won't let you do anything unless it's done perfectly to his standards. It's easier to stay out of the way and just let him do his thing.

[...Which realistically may be more of a statement on how lax Lance is in the kitchen than anything else. He just prefers to go with the flow of what feels right, rather than treating cooking like a precise science.]

I learned from my parents mostly. There are four of us kids, so my mom usually appreciated having a helping hand around.

[ .... so many step-siblings. Well, not that Boa would accept them as siblings simply for being blood-related to his brother. Boa's new concept of family doesn't work that way. But still, what an odd thing to imagine... ]

Well, good that you aren't alike to that Hunk then.

[ Because else, Lance might have already murdered Boa for his shitty peel-job. He's trying hard though. ]

Oh?

[Which gets him to look down at Boa's handiwork and finally notice the wonderful job he's doing with the plantains.]

... Boa, I said chop not shred.

[But he's laughing as he says it.]

[ ... yeah he had a feeling this isn't going correctly. Boa grimaces. ]

Explain the difference.

Here, gimme.

[He grabs another plantain and holds out his hand for the knife.]

Show and tell time.

[ The knife hilt is placed in his hand and Boa moves a bit so Lance can access the cutting board better. GO AHEAD AND DEMONSTRATE, KITCHEN MASTER. ]

[With a bit of a flourish, Lance turns the knife in his hands and shuffles a half step over to demonstrate.]

Now pay real close attention, young apprentice. See this? First things first. Slice off the top and bottom like you're deadly ninja executioner, swift and silent.

[The two cuts actually get schwing!! sound effects timed to match.]

It might disappoint you, but I know even less about being a ninja executioner than I do about cooking.

[ Though there is clear amusement in his voice as he gives this comment. Lance's enthusiasm is, as always, wildly misplaced but still nice to watch. ]

What? Get on it already, what else are you using the internet for?!

[Lance shakes his head at Boa's priorities then continues his demonstration.]

So after you're done with this part, you gotta make a couple of cuts at the top in the peel so you can just tear those off with your fingers.

[Like so! He makes about six cuts to create three flaps and pulls off the peel and...]

Ta-dah! One beautifully prepped plantain ready for dicing!

[ Okay this...? This is actually revolutionary? Boa just stares at the finished plantain for a second, then nods slowly. ]

I had no idea this is how you do it...

[ SO EFFICIENT?!?! ]

Of all the cool things I can do, this is what gets you to be stunned? Seriously?

[Lance can't help laughing at that.]

Man... if Blue ever shows up here, your jaw's gonna drop.

[ 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.

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finalguard - 2018-08-22 22:16 (UTC) - Expand

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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