The Kafa was isolated in the middle of the Olorin jungle and it was rare for any outsiders to go out of their way to visit the base. Outside of the jungle sat Olorin’s largest city, Cadamur, where the largest population of Eioans were born with abilities. Though the city was founded almost two thousand years ago, small pockets of Quintessence were still being discovered.

Jira sat on a boulder and looked down over the beautiful, expansive city. She had never actually lived in Cadamur, the Kafa had always been her home, but she enjoyed any chance she got to visit. Junx came and sat down next to her and began digging into his lunch.

“They’re arguing again,” he noted, looking over to Keith and Jinx who were standing off in the distance. Jinx had been egging Keith on all morning, trying to convince him to fight him. Jira had warned Keith not to give into his taunting, but she wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be able to hold off. She quickly found that while Keith was skilled and talented, he was stubborn and eager to prove himself. Jinx discovered that just as quickly and was using it to his advantage.

“Well, Keith agreed to come out on patrol with us,” Jira said. “He and Jinx are going to fight sooner or later.”

“Just one quick match,” Jinx said with a grin. “Your choice of weapon.”

“I already told you, I’m not interested,” Keith said with a frown, trying not to look at him. Jinx folded his arms and gave Keith a disinterested look. “Okay, I get it… It’s just weird that a Blade member and a former Paladin doesn’t want to try out their skills… makes me think that you really aren’t all that you’re cracked up to be.”

Keith grumbled at him and pulled his blade from his suit. “Fine, let’s go then.”

“Here we go,” Junx said, rolling his eyes. He offered Jira some food. “Hungry?”

“Thanks,” Jira said and the two siblings sat on the rock and watched as Jinx pulled out his own blade. It was shorter than Keith’s, but he swung it with confidence.

“Ready when you are,” Jinx said. Keith ran at him, but Jinx avoided his attacks with apparent ease. Keith went in for an attack again and again, but Jinx simply deflected them. As they fought, they got closer to Jira and Junx. Keith narrowly avoided Jinx, and rolled over to the rock.

“I can’t land anything,” he said to them, his breathing labored. “It’s like I can’t control my body.”

“Jinx is slower than you, so you’re not used to being that slow,” Junx said. “You may be stronger than him too, so he’s probably manipulating that as well.”

Keith glanced to Junx. “You’ve gotta be stronger than him, how do you get used to it?”

“Practice,” Junx said simply, crossing his arms.

Jira shook her head. “It’s about fighting smarter than him, not faster or stronger than him.”

Jinx leapt forward and swept down with the blade, barely missing Keith. He pushed Keith further to the edge of the jungle and Jira could see the frustration in his eyes.

“I gotta say, I’m a little disappointed,” Jinx chuckled. While he could manipulate others in a fight, he was force to be reckoned even without his ability; his attacks were precise and decisive. Jira had grown up training with both of her brothers, but when it came to refining her skills, Jinx was the one that she gleaned the most from. It was from him that she learned how to level the playing field against an opponent and overpower someone stronger and quicker than herself.

Keith dodged once more, but Jinx caught the edge of his suit, taking a small chip off of his side. He stood up and twisted his blade around him, breathing in deeply. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he moved for Jinx once again.

“He’s letting Jinx get into his head,” Junx commented. “Want me to make things fun?” Jira looked over to her brother, who was showing a rare smile.

“Please do.”

Keith had managed to close in a gap between them, but Jinx deflected his attack and sent him a few steps back.

“Whenever you wanna quit,” Jinx said, holding out his blade. His face contorted in a grimace, then he bent over as if he were in pain. Keith stood awkwardly over him and looked over at Junx and Jira.

“Um… is he okay?”

Jinx threw his head back and let out a disturbing cackle. “Junx!” he cried between his laughter. “KNOCK IT OFF.” Keith stepped further away from Jinx, looking uncomfortable.

“Only when you agree to leave Keith alone,” Junx said.

“No, I want to fight him,” Keith said stubbornly. Jinx, with his hands on his knees, composed himself.

“Ahhhh…. Fine. let’s fight,” Jinx said. “No abilities. Just two Galra hybrids testing each others skills.”

"Do you mean it?” Keith asked him skeptically.

“Try any funny business and I’ll make you cry next time,” Junx warned.

“Yes I mean it,” Jinx groaned.

The two picked up where they left off, and it was apparent that Keith was much faster than Jinx. Even still, Jinx was calm and calculated, and the pair were matched well. They fell into a good sync and their sparring became more lighthearted, even to the point where Jinx was joking with him.

“Not bad, Ghost boy,” Jinx said as they agreed to stop. “You’ve got the speed, that’s for sure.”

“Thanks,” Keith said. “You’re not too bad yourself… But I don’t think I’d want to fight you again anytime soon if you’re going to be using your ability.”

Jinx beamed. “Yeah, a lot of people say that.”

“You two finally ready to eat?” Jira asked. Keith and Jinx joined them on the boulder, Keith sitting next to Jira. She noticed the chip that Jinx had taken off his suit and pointed it out to him.

“I’m sure they can fix it when we get back to the Kafa,” he said. “By the way, you still owe me a new mask.”

“Oh yeah… I’ll get right on that” Jira said slyly.

They enjoyed their lunch and the sunshine on the rock until it was time to move onto their next post on the day’s perimeter patrol. After the Hauhet had attacked the Kafa a few days ago, no one had seen any sign of it near the jungle and Cadamur had been safe from the attack. By the time evening had rolled around, they were almost done at their last post.

Jinx had brought along cards and was attempting to teach Keith a new game, which just led to more arguing between the two.

“Look it’s not that difficult,” Jinx said. “The highest card gets the lowest value only when you have the two lowest and second highest card in your hand. If you have the lowest card, it gets the highest value only when you have three of the same card, or if you’re playing on your birthday.”

Keith stared at him blankly. “That’s stupid.”

“I don’t make the rules, that’s just how it works.”

Keith groaned. “What idiot came up with this game?”

“I did, and apparently only those up to my level of intelligence can understand it!”

Keith threw the cards down and left Jinx to clean up.

“Hey come back and play me, you flarf!”

“Don’t worry, no one likes playing that game with him,” Jira said, coming up next to Keith.

“Only because you can’t handle its sophistication,” Jinx said.

“Quit arguing,” Junx said, walking back from a watch tower that they had stopped at. “I just got word from Zalko; Voltron has just arrived at the Kafa.”

Jira perked up. “Really? Do they want us back there now?”

Junx nodded and Jinx took off for the hoverbike before Junx had a chance to fight him for it. Jira looked over to Keith who’s expression seemed to cloud over.

“They’re here sooner than I thought,” Jira said, trying to gauge his emotions. “It’s great that you’ll get to see your friends again.”

“Yeah,” Keith said slowly. He looked at her and seemed to snap back into focus. “I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve seen them.”

“Well I can’t wait to meet them,” Jira smiled. She watched him closely as they mounted their bikes, noticing that his mood had shifted after Junx mentioned Voltron’s arrival.

***

Night had already fallen by the time they returned and even from a distance, Jira could see a slim white structure towering over the Kafa. Keith had told her and her brothers what to expect when they arrived, so Jira remembered from his description it was the castle of the lions. He told them about his friends, but he didn’t go into great detail. While the castle was impressive, she was a little disappointed to not see any of the lions or Voltron in its full form.

When they entered the Kafa, the scene was livelier than she anticipated. Jira could tell that most of the residents of the Kafa had come to see the paladins, but they had mostly dispersed by now. The paladins easily stood out amongst the everyone else due to their skin color and suits; they were spread out in different places around the center of the Kafa, Grangint members and Eioans trailing behind them in fascination.

“Keith!” One of them called from the center of the room. A boy with brown skin and dark brown hair with yellow on his suit quickly made his way to them; another paladin with green on her suit and pale skin noticed and followed behind the dark haired boy.

“It’s been awhile!” the boy beamed. He had kind eyes and Jira could read him easily without having to touch him; she could sense immediate trust in him.

“Hey guys,” Keith said, folding his arms and looking slightly uncomfortable at the newfound attention.

“This place is amazing!” said the girl, looking around in awe. “I met Horm- that weird guy with the tentacles- he wants to show me how all this equipment works.”

Jira laughed at the thought of Horm finally finding someone who was as interested in the monitors as he was. The girl turned her attention to Jira and her brothers and held out her hand.

“I’m Pidge,” she smiled. Jira took her hand and shook it.

“I’m Jira,” she said. The other boy introduced himself as Hunk and gave them a friendly wave rather than a handshake.

“When did you get here?” Junx asked.

“Not too long ago,” Hunk said. “Long enough to meet some guy named Zalko? And then we met Horm and Chalna and they kinda showed us around and kinda gave us the low down of this place.”

“Chalna?” Jinx said. “Mom’s back?”

“Wait- She’s your mom?” Hunk said. “She did mention her children were Elites… so you’re all siblings.”

“Triplets,” Jinx said proudly, earning a wide eye response from Hunk and Pidge.

“You guys!” Another boy came from outside and walked towards them.”Have you seen the plants on this planet? They’re insane!” He approached the group and gave Jira an impish grin.

“Hello,” he said, his voice suddenly lower. “They didn’t tell me that Zalko’s Elites had such attractive soldiers… The name’s Lance.” He leaned towards her, his bright blue eyes twinkling. Jinx promptly pressed himself between them and grabbed Lance’s head.

“Your eyes are blue,” he said in awe. Junx pushed Jinx away and did the same.

“This is unexpected,” Lance mumbled, his cheeks squished by Junx’s large hands.

“They have a thing about touching faces,” Keith said. Lance pushed Junx away from him with some effort.

“Sorry,” Jira apologized for her embarrassing brothers. “Everyone on this planet has dark or golden eyes… you’re the first person we’ve seen with light eyes.”

“Oh,” Lance suddenly looked flattered. “Then by all means, gawk away.”

“You remind me of someone…” Jira said, trying to place a finger on it. As if her mind was read, the main door opened again and her friend Viltri walked through. “Ah nevermind, I remember.”

Viltri stood taller than Jira and though she was also half Galra, she took after her father, President Drundlo, with gray skin, small horns, and dark eyes. She had a palpable confidence about her that only emphasized by her striking beauty. While she was still wearing her white Elite suit and had just returned from outside of Cadamur, her lilac hair fell perfectly around her shoulders. She spotted Jira and the others and made her way over to them.

As she walked towards them, Jira watched her closely as she took in the new company. Viltri’s eyes lingered on Keith, then she looked at Jira and gave her a smirk. Jira frowned at her friend, knowing exactly what she was up to. She then looked to Lance, and her smile grew.

“Hope I didn’t miss anything too exciting… I’m Viltri,” she said to the Paladins, though her gaze kept coming deliberately back to Lance.

“Not really,” Pidge said. “I’m Pidge, this is Hunk, that’s Keith. The guy staring at you like an idiot is Lance.”

Viltri seemed amused and came up closer to him. “Well since you’re new to Eioa, I’m sure you’ll be needing a guide to show you around. There’s a hot springs not too far from here that I can take you to.” Lance blinked slowly at her, trying to process what she was saying.

“That sounds great,” Hunk said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve been really tense lately, a hot springs should do the trick.”

Viltri expertly disguised her annoyance and nodded. “Definitely. We can all go tomorrow, if that works.”

“Ooh, let’s go in the evening,” Jinx said. “That way the light from the Quintessence is even stronger.”

“Just how common is Quintessence around here?” Pidge asked.

“There’s small pockets of it all over the planet, but it’s untouched,” Junx said.

“Right, the Hauhet…”

“The hot springs has a good amount, so it would be kinda cool to take you guys up there,” Jinx said.

“Sounds good to me,” Hunk said.

Viltri looked back at Lance who still hadn’t found his voice. “It’s a date then,” she winked at him before walking away. After a moment, Lance turned around and watched her leave.

“I didn’t say anything stupid, right?” He asked, his voice cracking.

“You didn’t say anything,” Pidge said flatly. “You just stood there... gawking at her.”

Jinx patted lance on the shoulder. “Don’t worry too much about it. Viltri finds people’s inability to flirt attractive.”

Lance scowled. “I can flirt.”

“Not from what I saw.”

“They’re going to get along great,” Jira mused. She turned to Pidge. “Would it be okay if you introduced us to the other paladins?”

“Sure. They’re around here somewhere with Lotor and Drundlo.”

Jira hesitated and shared a worried look with her brothers. “The Blade did tell us that he was coming as well…”

“Don’t worry, we don’t like him anymore than you do,” Hunk said, noticing their expressions. Pidge led them around the side of the Kafa where a beautiful woman was standing next to Drundlo. Her white hair flowed down her back and she carried herself with importance and dignity. Beside her was another man with orange hair and a mustache that curled at the ends. When they noticed the group come up to her, the two excused themselves from Drundlo.

“Keith, it’s good to see that you’re safe,” said the woman said with a warm smile.

“I’m glad you got our signal,” he said. “Otherwise we’d still be waiting on you guys to show up.”

“It really was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time that we were able to catch it so quickly.” She looked at the triplets and gave them the same genuine smile. “Zalko told me that his Elites have been taking great care of the Blade. Thank you for being so welcoming to us. I’m Princess Allura, but please just call me Allura.” They exchanged introductions and Jira was able to discern that she had pure intentions to get to know the Eioans better.

“I’m Coran!” The man with the fun mustache beamed at them. “Thank you for having us.”

“Of course. How long will you be on Eioa?” Jira asked them.

“I’m not quite sure yet,” Allura said. “But we spoke with President Drundlo about the possibility of Eioa joining the Voltron Coalition. Tomorrow we’ll meet with other leaders to discuss things.”

“With Lotor there as well, I’d assume,” Junx glowered.

“Well yes,” Allura’s smile fell. “Naturally he’d need to be there. It will help us better understand what he wants out of an alliance with Voltron and Eioa.”

“Don’t act as if you’re not eager to work with me,” a voice said behind Allura. Jira peered around her to see Lotor approaching them with the last paladin; a handsome man with a tuft of white hair to contrast the black and a scar that ran across the bridge of his nose. As they approached, an overwhelming sense of unease came over Jira. She felt it before whenever Lotor visited the Kafa, though she was just a child then. This time it was stronger, more sinister and secretive. Because of her ability, Lotor always kept his distance from her to protect his secrets, but ten years was a long time; he might not recognize her anymore.

Lotor eyed her suspiciously and stopped. “You’re Chalna’s children, correct?”

“Yes,” Junx said through a clenched jaw.

Lotor laughed softly. “You’ve grown up quite a bit. I’m sure your abilities have only improved since the last time I saw you.”

“They have,” Jira said, challenging him. Keith gave her a subtle look of concern and she relaxed her fists that were curled in tight fists.

“Interesting,” Lotor said simply, but he came no closer to her or her brothers. The last Paladin, however, stepped around him and greeted Keith.

“Your suit and face look a little banged up, but I’m glad you’re okay,” He said, laying a hand on Keith’s shoulder.

Keith let slip a smile and touched his black eye. “Yeah that was just a misunderstanding.”

“But you’re making friends, so that’s good,” Pidge said smugly and Keith frowned at her.

“I’m Shiro,” the paladin said, turning to Jira and her brothers.

“You pilot the Black Lion,” Jinx said respectfully. “That’s awesome. Will we get to see the lions anytime soon?”

“Ah, maybe?”

“Well I’ll keep my fingers crossed. I’m Jinx by the way. Keith told me you’re great in combat. I’d like to challenge you to a fight.”

Shiro’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “What?”

“You heard me.”

Junx shoved his brother aside. “Just ignore him, he thinks his ability is untouchable. I’m Junx.”

“And I’m Jira.” Jira tried to smile at Shiro, but her eyes fell to his bionic right arm. The same feeling of unease swept over again as she looked at it. She caught herself from stepping away from Shiro, but the nagging feeling wouldn’t leave her alone. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice her odd behavior.

“Zalko wanted me to tell you that we’ll be having dinner soon in the dining hall,” Shiro said. Hunk, Jinx and Lance cheered and took off with Pidge and Junx following closely behind. Shiro left with Lotor, much to Lotor’s chagrin.

“Thanks again,” Coran said to Jira, before he left with Allura. Jira nodded, but her mind felt a bit hazy.

“Hey, are you okay?” Keith said, giving her an odd look. Jira jumped slightly, forgetting that he was still beside her.

“It’s just…” she didn’t know how to best say it. “I got an uneasy feeling when Shiro and Lotor approached us.”

“Have you ever read Lotor? He acted kinda weird around you.”

“He knows my ability, so he keeps his distance… He’s also just hard to read to begin with.... But I’ve never felt that uneasy around him before.” She looked at him and could detect worry in his expression. It wasn’t just Lotor that she felt uneasy with… but Keith seemed close with Shiro. How could she explain what she felt. “But I’m fine,” she lied. “Are you good? You’ve been kinda quiet since we got back.”

Keith nodded and started to walk to the dining hall. “All good.”

Jira raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Now we’re both lying,” she mumbled before following him.