The Glow You Bring
Acxa doesn’t really resonate with any of the Paladins. She finds a connection with Coran in that they are both curious about Earth and it’s cultures.
For someone who hated being alone, Acxa spent so much time isolated. Even finding herself in league with the Voltron Coalition, she felt lonelier than ever. Truth be told she missed Zethrid’s hot-headed nature and knack for destruction. She missed the quirky bounciness of Ezor when she got excited over things that held little interest to Acxa herself.
She even missed Lotor and his calculated and suave demeanor.
She longed for company. Real company.
She couldn’t seem to figure out what she was doing wrong either—why everyone seemed to avoid her. She didn’t think that she was doing anything in particular to push them away. She didn’t think that she was being stand-offish. But perhaps that was just the air she gave.
Or maybe it was because she was a Galra and that alone.
But Keith’s mother was too.
They have worked with and enjoyed the company of Galra folk before. She thought that they might have even gotten along with Lotor better than they were getting along with her. But he had been such a smooth talker and she was rather awkward in speech.
So she eventually came to the conclusion that she was lonely because she was different. She didn’t share any interests with any of the paladins nor their friends and families. She had different mannerisms and habits—ones that they probably didn’t care for.
She was a bit of a neat freak. She liked to sing in her mother tongue when she didn’t think she was being listened to—it would seem that she was mistaken most of the time. It brought her comfort to organize things and to listen to white noise every now and again.
Indeed, Acxa was a bit of an oddity, and maybe she needed to find someone else who was at least a little bit strange.
She found that oddity came from just as odd places. Coran wasn’t the type of man she expected to connect with. She was quite and stoic and he was vibrant and energetic—whimsical and fun. But he was like she. He stood out from the group; his speech and slang was so deeply Altean that it singled him out.
He was the first one to try to approach her, to make conversation. He handed her a hot drink and asked, “how are you liking Earth?”
The truth was, she didn’t know how to answer. Earth itself was well enough; it was breathtaking in terms of scenery and atmosphere. The animals and plants fascinated her, she had never seen anything like them before. But at the same time, Earth amplified her feeling of awkwardness. So she answered, “It’s alright here, I suppose.” There was more to say but she didn’t know how to say it without sharing too much. Without saying the wrong thing.
“Oh. Well I think that it is just spiffy here!” He declared. “Lots of fascinating trinkets and gizmos.” He pulled something out of his pocket. “They call this an iPod.”
Acxa cocked her head. “An iPod?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “It plays songs.” He explained. He pressed a few buttons and the device blurts a melody. It was nothing like the mechanical, robotic sound of Galran music. Instead it sounded almost primitive. Cleaner, somehow. The vocals untouched by electronics. But the next song came on and it sounded more like the music she was used to. “The Earth people have a lot of different kinds of music, it really depends where on Earth you go.” When she didn’t fill the silence he added that some regions of Earth created a vast many genres of music and that in certain places the means of creating music blended stylistically.
Knowing very little about Earth music—she didn’t quite know much about the music of her own people—Coran did most of the talking. That was fine with her because she was learning a lot. He showed her all sorts of songs that ranged in style and quality and listed band names, song names, and what style and time period each was from; often he had to refer to notes he had taken. Occasionally he would share which paladin recommended which song. Lance recommended much of the hip-hop and trap. Pidge favored EDM. Hunk liked soul and pop. Keith was into rock and metal. Shiro, he was all over the place but mostly liked folk and indie. Acxa herself, was most fond of Shiro’s selection. Coran, he was genuinely all over the place and didn’t seem to prefer any one style over another.
After hours and hours of music, to the point where she had lost track of time he began telling her about his notebook. A lot of things on Earth had gone digital—not as far advanced as their own technology, but digital no less. But some things were still, ‘paper’ as he called it. Some records were kept in notebooks with pencils and pens. Acxa had grown fond of this. Since meeting Coran, she had begun keeping a paper journal of sorts with a few drawings. Per Coran’s suggestion, she wrote down a song of the day.
She found herself endlessly fascinated by the knowledge Coran was so rapidly collecting. Each day he would show her some new facet of Earth culture. Perhaps a new item or a new term in some language she had only just discovered.
He liked to take her to places, different crevices of Earth. Forests, mountains, and oceans if she was lucky.
For this, she resonated with Coran. It would seem that he shared the same, almost childlike, curiosity. A knack for discovery. She liked exploring and learning about the Earth with him. And she realized after some time that she was no longer alone.
He had some bizarre quirks, some things that she did not understand. But he was sweet to her, her seemed to care for her. He took just as much curiosity in her as he did Earth and its mysteries. It was rather nice to talk about her interests and things that comforted her. It felt just as well to hear him talk about what pleased him and made him laugh. More than that she liked swapping stories; especially ones where they spoke of the same event but from opposite sides of the battle.
.oOo.
Coran wasn’t the one she expected to hold and care for her.
He didn’t seem, at first, like the type of person she would normally gravitate towards.
But it somehow made sense. It felt right to lay her head on his chest and listen to what he stated were crickets. It was a summer night, she had only seen spring and summer on Earth, but so far summer was her favorite. It was teeming with life and there was something laying above the covers with the window open and the curtains fluttering—brining in the scents of the season—that struck her in all the right ways.
Most of all she liked seeing the little yellow flashes rising up from the field amid the night noise. That night Coran decided that a walk was in order. With the sun no longer blazing, the night was pleasantly warm.
“I think that we should try to catch some of those glowing insects.” He declared.
She didn’t know how she felt about chasing after bugs, it just seemed so mundane after all that the coalition had been through. But she ought to get used to it because they were a few months past their victory. Things had slowed down considerably.
She and Coran had all the time in the universe to make the best of Earth. “Where are we going to go first.” She mused aloud. There were so many places with their own cultures and allures. She had looked at the maps time and time again and had come no closer to picking a first destination. They were working on a master plan together; they going to have an adventure. But she couldn’t seem to put the pieces in the right order.
“Wherever we feel like going at the time.” He declared. “For instance, I’m getting the sense that we should go this way.” He pointed towards the tree line. “Lots of glow bugs, that way.”
“But…” She began. “But we need to know what we’re doing. We have to work on our plan.”
Coran rolled his eyes. “Just let things happen. Forget about the plan…”
She cut him off, “I can’t forget about the plan.”
“At least for now?” He asked. “Just help me catch some glowing things.” It was his way of telling her to lighten up. And perhaps she needed to. Maybe she could use some spontaneity as much as he could use a touch of organization.
“Alright, for now.” She agreed. Yes, it probably would do her well to not think too much about things and to allow herself to have a relaxing night. Catching the glowing bugs seemed relaxing enough.
“Delightful.” He beamed, pulling her into a very long and very tight hug. That time she returned it. Displays of affection were still very foreign to her. Easing her way into them was a tricky task. But Coran was patient with her and accepted her more awkward displays for what they were.
He broke off the hug and, with a salute like gesture, began scoping the area for the optimal glowing bug to catch. He set his eyes on one and took off but it lazily drifted out of his grasp so he went for another. But it blinked out before he could gauge precisely where it was.
Acxa decided to give it a try of her own, carefully reaching for the nearest one. It landed on her finger and she smiled softly to herself. “Coran, I—”
“I won’t let you get away this time!” She heard him loudly declare as he crashed through the thickets. And so her first bought of spontaneity began. Not wanting to be left behind in the dark of the forest, she watched her own glowing bug take flight and she darted after him, calling for him to wait. She was somewhat out of breath by the time she found him. The man had gotten himself well and tangled in the branches.
“See, Coran.” She sighed. “This is why we plan ahead.” She carefuly picked a twig or two out of his hair and a bur from his moustache.
He grinned smugly, “but look.” He opened his cupped palm to reveal the bug that he had been chasing. “It would seem that they don’t always glow. Imagine that.”
That time she rolled her eyes as she tried to detangle him. “You saw them blinking.”
“I thought that they were teleporting from place to place like the Altean wispwhizzer!”
She had him free and brushed the dirt off of his shoulders. “Be careful next time.” She gave him a gentle kiss on the forehead, she thought that she had timed that gesture correctly. “Imagine if you ran into one of the thorny ones.” She went to take his hand but he insisted on not unclasping them, lest he lose the bug he had worked so hard to catch. Instead she hooked her arm around his. She was thankful for his clumsy thrashing, it was the only thing that helped her find the path they had strayed so far from.
But he looked her in the eye and requested that they wander even further. He wanted to find the source of the running water. Reluctantly she gave in, it was clearly already a spur-of-the-moment kind of night. What was one more adventure?
She wanted to explore the world with Coran, she might as well start with the places closest to her new home.
