STAR KID.

          “ Nevermind, it’s not important. — What is … Trail - mix ? Strange that they’d formulate peanut - tasting foods but not surprising: Even the countryside has run dry of them. ”

         “ A merchant in Isfaphan was selling kuḥl, but I’ve more than I need. Are you offering anything in exchange ? ”

           “Isfa-who? 

“Galra? The hell are you on about?” Takumi is riled up as it is, and pushing him further proves to be an easy feat for anyone in this situation. He’s huffing and puffing, having exerted a lot of his energy already through ( what he feels to be ) necessary shouts and warnings, holding up a bow for defense and intending offense if they are Nohrian. He stands corrected apparently, but it’ll take a little more to persuade Takumi to think differently.

           “I think there’s been some sort of misunderstanding.”

Faulty intelligence is one thing, but something doesn’t seem quite right: the expectation of another faction attacking the base meeting the well-timed invasion of theirs? The soldier before them quivers under the strain of his own anger, a perpetuating hate practically radiates from the guy (with good reason, as much as Pidge hates to admit it— they did just slip through every single defense this outpost had without so much as a scratch to their armor). Pidge’s right hand still clutches the green bayard, but they begin to lower it to their side —slowly, to show they pose no threat. This guy doesn’t need to trust them, but hopefully he’ll have the sense to hear them out. 

There was an excitement that came with exploring new planets that would never disappear for Pidge, a fluttering promise new knowledge like a paper airplane drifting on the wind just thinly out of grasp. Growing up on science fiction stories had always prepared them for these moments; they have fond memories of watching films with Matt and picking out all of the inconsistencies of space travel theory and alien worlds—a test of knowledge that seems so redundant now that they’ve had a taste for the real thing. Though, between accelerated flight travel and Coran’s ‘supernatural meets science’ explanation of the castle it’s not as though Pidge had much of a choice but to accept that the appearance of new things are deceptive, and that there’s an entire universe’s worth of new things to learn.

All in all, Coran’s verdict is that this planet is safe—well, safe enough to allow them to scamper off like unchaperoned children let loose at chuck e cheese. The green paladin wanders a little along the pristine docks, their thumbs hooked under their backpack straps as they stare, mouth gaped in awe and starry-eyed at the city.  The planet itself sits on the fringes of a ‘neutral’ zone which Zarkon has yet to conquer, a safe spot to resupply before they begin their journey deeper into Galra territory to free those trapped beneath his tyrannical thumb.

Under the violet-hued skies, greenery and vegetation stretched on as far as Pidge could see; colossal trees towered over them as the central support pillars to buildings, a harmony of nature and machine coexisting in fantastic equilibrium. Tendrils of thick vines wrapped around the skyscrapers, spouting thousands upon thousands of beautiful plants, diverse in size, colour, and fragrance. It was pretty awesome to see an advanced planet that seemingly hadn’t been mined and plundered half to death. It made them curious as to how the host race had ethically managed to sustain such a balance.

Tearing their eyes from the view, Pidge watches as the others group off and start planning what they want to do with their ‘downtime’. Their leader was alone, which wasn’t unusual nor uncharacteristic, but Pidge interprets his expression as one of confusion and walks over, giving a brief wave to attract his attention.

❛                                                                           do you wanna talk about it ?   ❜   //   starprodigy.

         “ What’s there to talk about? You saw what happened. I failed Coran’s stupid test again. ”  

            Escaping the training room only did so much to alleviate their accumulating frustration, the rest is cultivated into sharp words and a standoffish attitude that they imminently regret. True, Keith wears his skin thicker than the others, but he’s still undeserving to bear the brunt of Pidge’s irritation brought forth by their own shortcomings. The paladin’s gilded body falls to rest on the palace steps, tuckered out by the repertoire of failures taking its toll on their physical and mental strength. Anger simmers into an empty sadness, and all their usual gusto is sapped alongside their energy.