Nico P0l0 Art

@opaldelight Sorry this is so late, I pretty much had a lot of hospital issues and university deadlines which delayed it but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! :) Merry Late Christmas and Happy Late Year! :> --- Cherry Trees

The Black Paladin walked leisurely down the small walkway, each step as slow and nonchalant as the next, allowing himself time to take in the candylike beauty around him. He wasn’t allowed to walk on the opulent looking grass, the elders had forbid it, saying it would dirty himself to walk on the same ground as the servants. He knew this wasn’t true, as he spoke to them as often as he could, even if they spoke with their heads bowed.

There was one though, one which would come close, one who would look him in the eye. There was a hint of rebellion that shone in those eyes, which pulled him in, wanting to know more. They had begun to speak frequently, creating a bond that was deeper than that of comrades, they had both tasted the forbitten fruit and savoured it thoroughly as they did.

The one time they’d been caught chatting, he had taken the blame, allowing himself to be punished. He didn’t want the servant to be harmed, he could hide his injuries in the shadows of night, but someone so openly wounded in the daylight would be an easy target for the others in his house who were open to publicly displaying their power.

The Black Paladin was a warrior of the night, and the servant was a defiant caretaker of the day, they both knew the consequences that their actions would bring; but their curiosity was too enticing. They had both taken to scheduling their free time around one another, to guarantee they’d have an opportunity to at least be in the presence of one another if they couldn’t talk.

He lightly touched the scar on his face, a remnant of the last punishment he served; If I could stay with him in the sun a bit longer, then perhaps these scars would fade He thought, then perhaps…

He paused momentarily, bringing his bruised right arm down from his face to examine it as he continued to walk. He had gotten off lightly this time, but next time there would be blood to pay. He was a soldier, a damn good soldier, however that didn’t allow him to break what the elders had built, no matter how absurd their rules were.

Suddenly, almost as if he’d been shot, he let out a small spurt of stifled laughter. We don’t even know each other’s names! He mused, how long had they known each other by this point? This revelation was far beyond awkward, and bordered the absurd.

‘Your burst of insanity made me jump!’ The servant chimed, not turning from his work.

Unbeknownst to the paladin, he had unconsciously stopped right next to the servant in question. His skin flushed a deep pink, as he stared blankly at his cherished partner.

 ‘Shiro’ he announced, trying to hide the embarrassment in his voice, cupping his throat in an attempt to help it not waver.

 The servant paused abruptly, and gradually lifted his head up from his work. Time seemed to have stopped for the pair, but the wind continued to blow as defiantly as the servant, scattering the cherry blossom petals around them softly.

The freshly dubbed Shiro felt his throat knot and his stomach tighten whilst waiting for a response. Did I go too far? Did he not want to know? Did he not want this!? He debated, as panic began setting in at the thought of him potentially ruining everything with his revelation.

The retainer twitched his head a little, causing Shiro to tense and refocus. A noticeable sigh was heard, as the servant leant back against the small walkway.

 ‘It’s Keith’, he stated proudly, dipping his head slightly contrasting his almost regal declaration.

 Shiro’s eyes glistened as he bit his lip slightly, trying to hold back a smile he thought he couldn’t possess.

 ‘Thank-you…’ he uttered, forcing the words through his overwhelmed throat, as his entire being was overcome with joy.

Keith stood at the edge of the cliff, looking out across the fiery hostile planet he’d just defended. He breathed in slowly, calming himself down- despite the noxious sulfur smell the planet gave off.

The paladins had arrived not too long ago to aid in the rebellion from a city that had taken place against the Galra occupying it. They had used this planet and its reptilian inhabitants to mine for the red stone that the locals used for energy. Galran tech was powerful, however it couldn’t withstand the heat as well as these red stones could.

Keith looked down, closing his eyes, his now long hair fell either side of his face.

He reached up and gently placed his hand on his own shoulder, trying to imitate the way Shiro used to do it to reassure or encourage him.

He had heard that the leader of the Galra on this planet had been one of the Witch’s experiments, so he had hoped… and feared it was the one he wanted to see the most.

Keith bit his lip tight, gripping his shoulder more rigidly.  Everyone had been there for each other to get through the pain of losing Shiro: but this was the second time for Keith, and his fear for him was growing more and more intense as time passed. He had accepted his Galran side, he was no longer afraid of losing himself, however rejecting the fear he held for Shiro was something he could never do no matter how much he tried.

His watery yellow-gold eyes glistened softly against the flames down below as he opened them, the stiff hand on his shoulder was no longer comforting. He swiftly removed his hand and wiped his face clean of soot, and began patting the rest of his armour down.

He sighed to try and relax his pained face. ‘I should get back’ he thought, smearing the blood on his chin. 

After each Shiro-less battle with the Galra he had always gone to calm himself down away from the group, so that they could handle cleaning up whilst he worked out his frustration. He thought Lance would get annoyed because he kept leaving, yet to Keith’s surprise, he was openly letting him know when they could handle the rest: He would take his helmet, give him a fist bump and say ‘I say Vol, and you say:’ every time, it had sort-of become their thing.

Everyone was sensitive to his pain, and he was grateful for it. He was thankful for his team, and for the victories that they had.

 But…

 Something was wrong, the battle hadn’t felt won.

 His heightened senses were still prickling from the hostile static in the air.

 That’s when it hit him.

 His ears jerked forward sharply as he turned to look back at the city he had just helped to save.

 Something was heading into the atmosphere.

 Keith squinted, it looked like the same pods they’d used to send down those huge monsters to attack the group before, like the one Shiro had once fought when he was called Champion.

 Panic and hope twisted and swam across Keith’s face.

 This pod was human sized.

---

I’m very sorry this took so long to come out, I’ve been incredibly sick for the last two weeks which has delayed pretty much everything >~>

This is my interpretation of Galra Keith - since he’s only half Galra I thought of it as more of a form he can turn off and on, so he keeps some of his more human features. Also long hair, that’s a thing.

I hope you enjoyed it :) I’ve split this one into two parts since I can’t say/show everything in one. 

This is part 1 of Day 6, so I hope you look forward to part 2! :>

“Faster...Faster...”

Keith repeated this under his breath every time he trained, his muscles echoing almost as if in response to the mantra.

By this point, Shiro had been gone for months now. The remnants of his physical existence on board the castle were nearly gone, however, mentally everyone still remembered.

“Faster...Faster...”

A hole had been torn, and the hole would not heal until he was back; Keith wasn’t going to let him disappear and die... 

Not again...

He refused to go through that again, he knew deep down he would lose it if he found out -again- that Shiro had died.

“Faster...Faster...”

Again he sung, swinging and thrusting his blade at imaginary foes. On some days he faced training bots, on others Galran Soldiers, and occasionally... even Zarkon himself.

Their fight had been good for one thing, Keith could now prepare. He had had a taste of the emperor himself, and his hunger would not be satiated until he pierced him with his bayard and let his blood flow endlessly.

“Faster...Faster...”

Keith knew his bloodthirst would lead him nowhere, however at this point in time, that was his drive, the thing that kept him going.

It was time he stopped fearing the past and the future.

It was time he stopped fearing the part of him that was different.

It was time he stopped fearing the monster he may become.

“Faster...Faster...”

As if by response to his wishes, his eyes turned golden, his skin began to change hue, and his hair grew lighter.

It was time to stop his fear.

“Faster...Faster...”

 -

Have a colored picture - it represents Keith's change in perspective and also I wanted to do a pretty *u* also there’s a reason i don’t do backgrounds but it just didn’t look right without one ;u;

I know Sheith week ended but i’m having too much fun XD And Shiro may not be in the picture but he sure is in the description and the rest of the story so it counts (I hope ಥuಥ).

Silence hung over the pair as Shiro continued to smile at a stunned Keith. It wasn’t until Shiro shifted his leg slightly did Keith finally say something.

“Shiro...I- “he uttered, however his words were cut short as Shiro’s smile twisted into a pained grimace.

And then, the tears Shiro had been desperately trying to hold back finally flowed out.

Shiro forcefully buried his head into Keith’s chest, attempting to hug him as tightly as he could, but the strength had left his arms. He wanted to hide his pain, but he could no longer do so.

Shiro wept hard into Keith’s chest, breaking through the sobs to wheeze “I don’t want to leave...” over and over again. Keith sat there more frozen than before, staring at the top of his head. Keith had tried to ignore the reality of the situation by focusing on his own pain, but in doing so, he had caused more; more pain in the one person he never wanted to hurt.

He was scared. And Keith finally realised how much so.

Shiro’s anguish and fear washed over him like a blanket of torment that he had caused. Shiro needed him more than ever, but all he had been greeted with was anger and his own selfish rage – which needed to change before it was too late.

Slowly,

 carefully,

 gently,

Keith reached up and held his trembling head, quietly reassuring him.

He had intended to help, but the comforting only made Shiro more distraught.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll find you again...”

 Keith said in a soft voice, pulling Shiro’s head close.

-

I’m sorry this is so late D: I’ve been really sick over the last couple of days and have been struggling to get it done in time :( sheith week is gonna end up going on longer for me I feel XD

These descriptions are getting longer and longer and sadder and sadder, BUT ON THE PLUS SIDE I GOT TO DRAW SOMETHING THAT WASN’T ANGST IT’S JUST HAPPY SAD YAY (ノಥ,_ಥ)ノ彡┻━┻

Day 4: Flashback/Reality

“I won’t let you...”

Keith gasped, panting heavily in the doorway.

Shiro stood silently still, staring calmly into Keith’s face, carefully eyeing his bayard in his limp hand. He knew Keith wasn’t going to let him go without a fight, but he knew... He knew from the get-go that this was how it was going to go down.

He’d have preferred to of left without a fuss, but that was never going to be an option with the reality of what him leaving meant.

Shiro smiled.

“Why... Why are you smiling??”

Keith cried, pushing Shiro effortlessly down, raising his bayard to activate it.

Shiro didn’t resist, he wanted Keith to get the hurt out of his system.

Keith, breathing heavily, nearly in tears, couldn’t bring himself to activate his bayard; He just sat there, fist raised, shaking, not knowing what to do next.

They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity.

A hand raised.

A smile showed.

“At least now I can say goodbye this time”

-

Ty again, ;u;

I hope you look forward to part 4.

I’ve kinda accepted the fact i’m always gonna be a day late at this point X’D

“I know you don’t want more of your crew members to be captured... but I don’t want you to leave again...”

“Keith..I-”

“How could you even say that to me..?”

-

Stems from the first line of the season 2 trailer (;U;),I thought about what if Shiro decides to give himself up to the Galra (because it turns out he’s the reason the Galra have been finding them) and how Keith would react.

This is for Sheith week, I’m a day late but i couldn’t find a proper scanner P:

Rakao, my demon hunter in WOW