Allura sat anxiously in a conference room in the Kafa, waiting for President Drundlo to arrive. She eyed Lotor skeptically as he sat across from her. He had kept his head down since they had arrived in Olorin, but Coran and Shiro had gone above and beyond in keeping an eye on him; she was grateful that the two of them were with her now. Though she had spoken with countless leaders about joining the coalition, Eioa was a special case. The Eioans ties with Lotor and her distrust of him complicated things. It did comfort her to know that not all the Eioans trusted him. Many, like Horm and Chalna who were also present at the meeting, were quick to express their dislike for the prince. Allura looked over to Chalna who gave her a comforting smile. She shared a striking resemblance to Jira with her long black hair and golden eyes, though Chalna’s presence was more more intimidating and commanding.

Drundlo quickly entered the room, flanked by General Wunrik and Zalko.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said, taking his seat.

“It’s quite alright,” Allura said.

“I don’t want to waste any time here with you, Princess,” he continued. “Olorin is grateful to have the paladins of Voltron, but I know that you have many other duties to attend to. So that being said, I want to accept your invitation to join the Voltron coalition.”

Allura looked at him in surprise; that was easier than she expected. “I see,” she said. “We do feel that it would benefit your planet if you joined us.”

“There is one concern however,” Drundlo said, his expression hard. “I’m only over one district, so my influence is limited, even if Olorin is the largest district on Eioa. I will have to consult with the presidents of the other 20 districts to see where they stand on the matter. By now, all of them know about the Blade and the Galra arriving.”

“How did they take the news?” Kolivan asked roughly.

“Olorin is the only district that the Galra have come to, so many other districts are not very trusting towards them,” Wunrik said. “While an empire ship coming confirmed our suspicions that the Galra were closer than we had anticipated, the Blade’s arrival actually inspired some hope among the districts.”

Shiro leaned forward. “When will it be made public that Voltron is here?”

“Once the other districts have made their decision,” Drundlo said. “For now, only those at the Kafa know.”

“But we can count on Olorin to join the coalition?” Allura asked.

“Of course. Olorin is at the greatest risk because of the Kafa and amount of Quintessence here. It would be in our best interest to join.”

Allura smiled. “That’s good to hear. And if I may, I would love to join you when meeting with the other district presidents.”

“Absolutely,” Drundlo nodded. “Your presence there should greatly influence them. Hopefully they can all meet soon so that we don’t waste anymore time. In the meantime, we need to discuss the threat of the Galra attacking again.”

“It would be foolish to think that they wouldn’t send another ship here,” Lotor said, sitting back in his chair with a perpetual smug grin on his face. “Word has probably already gotten back to my father. It’s just a matter of time before they send a larger battleship this way.”

“That’s why were sending some of my troops to the Kafa,” Wunrik responded, unphased by Lotor’s sneer.

“We’ll have some of the best soldiers will here. Some of those soldiers being ones that you wanted in your own ranks,,” Zalko said, narrowing his eyes. Lotor shot him a harsh look, but said nothing.

“And for the time being, you will have us here,” Shiro interjected.

“It’s good that you have planned for this,” Lotor said, his sharp gaze still on Zalko. “But eventually you will have to take the fight to the empire.”

“When we make that decision, it will be on our own terms, in our own ships, with our own army” Wunrik said.

Allura looked nervously from Lotor to Wunrik and Zalko. Drundlo raised a hand, and smiled. “We have kept our alliance and truce with you for over fifty years, Lotor, let’s not let the threat of Galra put a strain on it now.”

Lotor smirked at Drundlo, but he held malicious fire in his eyes. “I wish nothing more than to maintain this alliance, Drundlo. I just want us to be realistic about this threat. Sending some of your strongest troops out under someone with the best experience is an effective way to fight against the empire.”

“Do you not think we can’t lead them ourselves?” Zalko spat.

“Well seeing as Eioans rarely partake in space travel and battle, no I don’t.”

Zalko clenched his fists and Drundlo laid a hand on his arm to stop him from outbursting. Allura glanced at Shiro and Coran who seemed equally startled at the turn the discussion had taken. She snuck a glance at Horm and Chalna who regarded Lotor with disgusted looks. If so many Eioans hated Lotor, she wondered why Drundlo formed an alliance with him in the first place.

“Our first concern is keeping the Kafa safe from the Galra right now,” Drundlo said firmly. “I know you came here all those years ago to offer your protection in an alliance, but you’ve lost a lot of leverage recently. It’s our decision in how we will prepare for the Galra, and right now that does not include sending my people into your ranks.”

Lotor stared at Drundlo for a moment and Allura half expected him to attack the president, but he plastered on another fake smile and relaxed his shoulders. “You’re right, Drundlo. I trust your judgement in this seeing as I haven’t been to Olorin in several years.”

“Good.” Drundlo focused back to Allura. “Tonight, I will reach out to the other districts and set up a conference with them. For now, please make yourself at home,” he said with finality. He stood up, gave Lotor one last hard glance, and left the room with Wunrik. Zalko lingered before walking out with them, giving Lotor a look of disdain.

“Well that went better than I expected,” Horm said brightly. “No one threatened to kill you, so I’d say it was a success,” he said to Lotor. Lotor glared at the Eioan as a response. “I’m going to check the monitors one last time before turning in for the evening.”

Coran stood up. “Do you mind if I join you?” He asked, visibly uncomfortable at the tense atmosphere. He and Horm quickly left the room, leaving Shiro and Allura alone with Lotor and Chalna.

Chalna turned to Allura and asked, “Allura, would you mind having a word with me?”

“Oh… “ She paused, looking at Shiro, not wanting to leave him alone to watch Lotor.

“It’s okay,” Shiro encouraged her, but she could tell he wasn’t too happy about the situation.

“Sure,” Allura said to Chalna, giving Shiro a grateful smile before following her out of the room.

*****

The hot springs, more simply known as the Fountain, were a popular spot for residences of the Kafa and Cadamur so Jira was surprised to see it empty when they arrived that evening. The sun was beginning to set, causing the multiple pools to glimmer intensely against the dying light. The Fountain was made up of one large pool surrounded by a few smaller ones of various sizes; they were all left to nature in fear that the disturbance of the Quintessence would bring the wrath of the Hauhet. Because the Quintessence came up through the ground itself rather than in the loose rocks or the water itself, it was safe for people to visit as long as they didn’t go out of their way to disturb the foundation of the springs.

Jira had always enjoyed going to the springs, but for a reason she couldn’t quite pin down, she felt a bit hesitant to go now; maybe it was just her embarrassing brothers… or that she had new friends that she wanted to impress. Either way, she was slow to get into the water once they had arrived. Jinx and Hunk wasted no time in splashing loudly into the largest pool while Junx made his way to the smallest and hottest one.

“This is so cool!” Pidge cried, looking around her. “There’s almost as much Quintessence here as there is in the Kafa, why don’t they study this?” She asked Jira.

“They didn’t want to disturb the natural flow of the springs by building over it. This way, anyone can come and visit the fountain.”

“That makes sense,” Pidge said. “I like it. It’s peaceful.” She dipped a toe into the water and promptly pulled it out. “Whoa, that’s warm.”

“Have you never been to a hot springs before?” Lance asked, sneaking up beside her.

“No…” Pidge stepped away from him, noticing his sly grin. “And don’t even think about pushing me in,” she warned.

“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Lance said, just as Jinx grabbed her hands and pulled her in.

“You guys!” she roared, splashing water at them. Lance crackled triumphantly and moved on to his next victim. Viltri was standing near the water as if she were waiting for Lance to approach her. Jira noticed that Lance seemed less nervous around her, so their time spent together today must have gone well. She quickly figured out that that Lance was flirty like Viltri was, but Viltri wasn’t afraid to really chase after what she wanted. Lance seemed to be taking things well, but Jira wasn’t surprised that he was a bit thrown off by her at first.

Lance quickly grabbed Viltri around the waist and went to pull her into the water with him, but she didn’t budge from where she was standing.

“What the Quiznak, how are you not moving?! Your body’s hard as a rock!” He pulled her by both her arms and Viltri just laughed at him.

“Maybe if you try hard enough, you’ll get it,” she teased, folding her arms.

Lance stood up straight and frowned down at her. “Alright, what’s your ability? I’ve waited all day for you to tell me.”

“Telling you takes all the fun out of it,” Viltri beamed at him.

“Fine,” Lance huffed and he tried pulling on her arms again, but his hands passed through her and he fell with little grace into the water. “What just happened?” he asked once his head popped out of the water. Viltri sat down on the edge and slid into the water and joined him.

“You haven’t told him yet?” Jinx asked between fits of laughter.

“Okay, it’s not that funny,” Lance glared at him.

“Viltri can manipulate her body’s density,” Jinx said.

Viltri hit jinx in the shoulder. “Blabbermouth.”

Pidge and Hunk swam up next to her excitedly. “That awesome!” Hunk said. “So you can like make your body intangible, or really hard and well… dense?”

“Yeah,” Viltri smiled.

“Whoa, show us again.”

Viltri entertained Hunk and Pidge, but Jira could spot the jealousy on Lance’s face that they had swooped in and taken her attention away from him.

“Jira, aren’t you gonna get in?” Jinx called to her.

“Yeah,” she called back, but she stopped before pulling her shirt off. Keith was on the far side of the large pool, sitting along the edge. She hadn’t really talked to him today, and he still looked a little off, as if he was trying not to bring attention to himself. Jira had never felt self conscious in a swimming suit, but for the first time, she was nervous about being in one.

“Holy Hauhet,” she muttered. “This is ridiculous.” she threw her shirt off and made her way over to him, but the closer she got, the more she wished that she had just kept the shirt on.

Keith looked up when he saw her approach and quickly averted his attention back to the water. Jira ran her hand over her braid and forced herself to keep going and sit next to him.

“So what do you think of the Fountain compared to the tree?” Jira asked, sitting next to him. She made it a conscious effort to not stare at him, but she could easily discern that he was fit despite being lean.

“You were right,” he said, glancing at her. “This is pretty, but I like the tree better.”

“Is that why you’re sitting here by yourself?” Jira teased and she felt herself relax a little.

Keith laughed softly. “No-”

“Cuz I mean we can always sneak away and go there since you seemed so bummed about being here.”

“I’m not bummed about being here,” he said defensively.

Jira slid into the water and grabbed his wrist. “Coulda fooled me,” she said, pulling him towards her.

“Hey-” Keith fell into the water, lightly bumping his head into Jira’s.

“Sorry,” he said, rubbing his forehead. Jira laughed, then realized she was still holding onto his wrist. She quickly let go of him, but also noticed how close he was to her.

“It’s okay,” she laughed nervously, pushing herself away from him, then cringing when she realized she touched his bare chest. “Aha…” she stepped further away from Keith, garnering a confused look from him.

“Umm… you okay?” he looked about as uncomfortable as Jira felt.

“Yes?”

“It’s about time you got in,” Lance smirked at them. “Let’s make a bet, Keith. Let’s see who can last the longest in the hottest pool… unless you don’t think you can handle it.”

Keith scowled at him. “Fine, you’re on.”

Junx, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, glared at both of them. “I don’t think so,” he said, mostly to Lance.

“Come on, big guy!” Lance grinned.

“Ahh, I wouldn’t test him,” Viltri said, putting her hands on Lance’s shoulders and leading him away from Junx.

“No biggie,” Lance said. “I brought a ball. Why don’t we play volleyball or something?”

Viltri’s face lit up. “What’s volleyball?”

“I’ll show you. Who’s in?”

“Ooh, count me in!” Jinx said and Hunk offered to play as well. Pidge came over to Jira and Keith and Jira was actually grateful for the distraction from feeling like she had made a fool of herself.

“So what did you end up doing all day today?” Pidge asked Keith.

“After some training, I helped out Omek with ship repairs.”

“Oh, I’m surprised you didn’t go on patrol with Jira again. I’d love to see more of the jungle.” She looked to Jira. “Do you ever go down into Cadamur?”

“Zalko’s jurisdiction is only the Kafa and the surrounding jungle. Everything else in Olorin is divided up and overseen by a number of Wunrik’s officers. They, including Zalko, report to him.”

Pidge frowned. “Quiznak… I was hoping to get a better look at things around here. I don’t Wunrik would take the time to show us around, huh?”

“Probably not, but a scouting mission is going out to look for the Hauhet in a couple of days. I’m sure Wunrik would be okay if the paladins tagged along.”

“Do you ever go on scouting missions?” Keith asked her.

“When I get Zalko’s permission, yeah. They like having me around because I can sense whether or not the Hauhet is going to attack. It allows them a window of safety to work in, though I’ve never actually come close to it before.”

“That’s so cool,” Pidge said. “I’d love to go if we can.”

“I’ll talk to my mom about it. She’d be a good one to convince Wunrik.”

“Thanks! Say, Keith, you wanna come too? It’s been awhile since we’ve done something all together. Not since Naxzela.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Keith said with a noncommittal tone.

“That was a while ago, wasn’t it?” Jira asked Pidge. She wanted to know why Keith put up walls when it came to the other paladins. He had been pretty open with her up until they showed up. “What have you been up to since the Blade left for Eioa?”

“Mostly just traveling around to different planets in the coalition. Believe it or not, but not everyone is happy to see Lotor hanging around us.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Jira smirked. “But I guess right now, he’s kind of a necessary evil. He has good insight into the inner workings of the empire.”

“Yeah… but it’s been a little hard to get some people on board with things. We’ve been doing a lot of public appearances and putting on a good face, but it’s difficult when Allura and shiro mistrust him so much. I mean, we all do, but some days are better than others.” Pidge then smiled. “But I’m making it sound like it’s way worse than it is. It really hasn’t been too bad. We’ve been to a lot of exciting places, and the empire has kept off our tail for the most part.”

“That still sounds pretty fun,” Jira smiled. She stole a quick glance at Keith and could see the same far off, distracted look. She wondered if something had happened between him and the other paladins from the way he acted around them. They didn’t act that way around him though, and Hunk had mentioned something about him being in a loner emo phase… whatever that meant. Jira looked back to Pidge as to not make it evident that she was caught up in her thoughts. “I’d give anything to explore different planets and systems like you have.”

“Well, you’re half Galra, right? Have you ever thought about the Blade?” Pidge asked and Keith’s eyes grew wide at the suggestion.

“Ah,” Jira’s face felt hot. “No, not really… It’s a little more complicated than that, I’m afraid.”

“Hmm, just throwin’ that out there,” Pidge grinned. “Well, I’m gonna go hide Lance and Jinx’s clothes.”

“Have fun,” Jira laughed nervously, but she could feel Keith’s eyes on her. Pidge swam away, and Jira stood uncomfortably with her back facing him.

“Have you really thought about joining the Blade?” He asked her. Jira turned to face him and folded her arms defensively.

“I mean…” She looked away from him, afraid of what his expression would be. “It’s just wishful thinking of me to join.”

“Why?”

“It’s...” She wasn’t sure if now was the best time to talk to him about her hesitations. She had entertained the thought of joining the Blade only briefly, but didn’t want to dwell on it too much.

“You’ve mentioned wanting to explore outside of Eioa before,” Keith pressed.

“I know-”

“Watch out!” Hunk hollered behind them. He collided into Jira, pushing her forward and into Keith. He grabbed her around the shoulders and stumbled backwards.

“Sorry!” Hunk said, coming up to them. “That was totally an accident.”

“It’s okay,” Keith said. His hands lingered on Jira’s shoulders for a moment before he briskly removed them. Jira’s face burned with heat again and she turned to Hunk.

“Uh, do you think I could play with you guys?” She asked him.

“Sure! Sorry again about running into you. I’m not the best at volleyball,” Hunk said as he led her to the others.

“Well I don’t think I’ll be much better since I’ve never played before,” she assured him.

Viltri slid up next to Jira and gave her a smarmy grin.

“What were you two talking about?” She asked Jira quietly.

“Who, Hunk? Just volleyball.”

Viltri narrowed her eyes at her. “You know who I mean.”

Jira looked back at Keith who had pulled himself out of the water and moved into a smaller pool. “Oh… nothing important, really.”

“Okay, I’ll just ask again when you’re ready to tell me the truth,” Viltri said, swimming away to join Lance again.

Jira learned the rules of the game quickly and even enjoyed herself, but she couldn’t help but be a bit distracted. She promised herself that she was going to talk to Keith about what was bothering him about the paladins being there, but Pidge’s bringing up the Blade and Keith questioning her about it threw her off.

After a couple of matches of volleyball, they decided to call it a night and head back. Jinx and Lance spent a good amount of time looking for their clothes and threatening to throw Pidge into the water, but Junx protected her, seeing as he got to watch in satisfaction as they struggled. Viltri opted to stay behind and help them look while the rest of them returned to the Kafa. Jira felt like she and Keith were avoiding each other as they made their way back and headed for the barracks; that felt even worse than being questioned by him and she made a new resolution to talk to him tomorrow. She only hoped that if she was honest with him, he’d return the favor.

*******

Chalna led Allura around the outside of the Kafa and Allura was grateful to be out of the stuffy conference room. The night air was refreshing and she could sense rain was on its way in. Chalna walked with a calm purpose, but Allura felt at ease around her.

“What did you want to talk about?” Allura asked her.

Chalna looked over to her, her golden eyes glowing against the dark of the night. “Sorry, I wanted to be far away from Lotor before I speaking. I’m sure it’s not surprise to you that I’m just one of many that don’t trust Lotor and I get the sense that you don’t either.”

“I don’t,” Allura said.

“I’ve heard about what the Zarkon did to your home planet,” Chalna said softly. “I am so sorry… You probably have more reason than most to despise the Galra.”

“Perhaps, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that a few bad people don’t account for an entire race. I distrust Lotor because I worry that he may follow more closely in his father’s footsteps then he’d lead us to believe… why do the Eioans distrust him?”

“Well, most do for that same reason. Drundlo is well aware that Lotor may turn his back on this alliance if he takes Zarkon’s place. He’s taking a very calculated risk right now, and many worry that it may not pay off in the end, but at the time, Drundlo considered it to be better than to do nothing and have to face the empire alone.”

“I can’t blame Drundlo for doing what he feels is right. Unfortunately, we’re in the same position with him, but what was that talk about Lotor wanting Eioan troops?”

Chalna sighed. “That’s mostly why I distrust him. Lotor has always taken an interest in those with mixed Galra heritage- and the assimilation of the Galra here with the Eioans worked out perfectly; they accepted us into their society and as an added bonus, many children between the two races were born with an ability. Last time he came to Olorin, he made it clear that he wanted Eioans to help him in his campaign against his father, but I fear it’s just for his own selfish reasons. Drundlo wouldn’t hear of it, and that’s when they had a bit of a falling out, leading to him not coming back until now. For a few years, we worried that we’d be attacked, but I always underestimate Lotor’s patience.”

Allura furrowed her brow. “If you don’t trust Lotor, why did you agree to come to Eioa?”

“It was a much better option than staying in the empire under the rule of Zarkon… I’ve never regretted coming here. I made a home here, found satisfaction in my work, married and had amazing children…”

“Has Lotor taken a special interest to the triplets due to their heritage and abilities?”

“Jinx and Junx, definitely,” Chalna said, then she laughed. “Not Jira though. She’d see through his lies eventually.”

“Are there any Eioans that wish to join Lotor?” Allura asked, worried.

“In the past there were some, but that has kind of died down over the years. Since only the Kafa residence knows about him being here, it helps keep things calm, but Drundlo is worried that with everyone here and the threat of the Galra, there will be those who wish to join him. At the end of the day, there’s not a lot that can be done, I just worry that I’ll be right in my suspicions about Lotor and he will have sacrificed good Eioans for his own personal gain.”

Allura stopped she was suddenly overcome with exhaustion. Chalna put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I didn’t want to discourage you, princess,” she said. “I want you to know that you’re not alone in this fight.”

Allura looked up and smiled at her. Chalna continued. “Whatever happens, just know that the people of Olorin will always stand by you and Voltron… For now, we just need to be careful.”

“Thank you,” Allura said, gratitude welling up inside her. Chalna gave Allura a hug, which took her by surprise, but she eagerly accepted it.

“I should go,” Chalna smiled. “It looks like someone else here wants to speak with you.” Allura looked to see Shiro making his way towards them. Chalna gave Allura a comforting pat on her arm before walking away.

“Where’s Lotor?” She asked him, suddenly on edge.

Shiro put up a reassuring hand. “Zalko sent Rixel to keep an eye on him. How do you feel about things after that meeting?”

Allura looked back at Chalna and smiled. “Honestly, I feel a little better about the situation. We can trust these people, even if we can’t fully trust Lotor.”

Shiro followed her gaze. “Did speaking with Chalna help you come to that conclusion?”

“In a way, yes… I’m glad that we came here, despite the uncertainty.”

“I’m glad you’re not letting Lotor get to you,” Shiro smiled.

“You say that like he’s not getting to you.”

“Well he is, but… We’re supposed to look out for each other. You don’t need to feel like you have to handle this on your own.”

Allura’s chest tightened. “I know… If I’m pushing anyone away, I don’t mean to.”

“You just expect a lot out of yourself.”

Allura took a inhaled deeply and looked away from him. She knew he was right; she pushed herself too much at times. She was glad that Shiro was there to be the voice of reason, but she had never expressed that to him. In fact, whenever she did want to be open with him lately, she felt as if the opportunity never allowed for the occasion. She wasn’t even sure how to go about expressing how grateful she was for him; or even how much she cared for him. Since they had a moment of peace, she figured now was as good a time as any.

She looked back at him. “Shiro, there’s something…” she paused. “... I’m grateful that you’re back,” she said weakly. “Well, it’s not just that, I just- I’m glad you’re here, and safe.” She bit her lip; telling him how she felt was harder than she expected.

Shiro put his hand on her shoulder, but she didn’t feel any comfort in his touch. “I’m glad to be back,” he said. “... It’s been a long day, princess. Are you heading back to the castle soon?”

Allura pulled away from him. “Yes, in a bit.”

“Alright,” he said, his expression difficult to read. “... Goodnight.”

She slumped against the Kafa once he left, wishing she hadn’t said anything to him in the first place.