[ having left team voltron before lotor ingratiated himself with the princess and the others, there's little familiarity keith has with the former emperor's fighting. he'd briefly watched the ranged skirmish between lotor and sendak at the kral zera, but beyond the basic knowledge that the man prefers to fight with a sword, keith has no intel on what his hand-to-hand combat skills are.
and even if he did? who's to say the quintessence poisoning hadn't simply eroded his mind to the point of becoming a brainwashed brute like zarkon before him? the questions exist at the periphery of keith's thoughts, but never coalesce into proper suspicion over the nature of what precisely he's even fighting.
there's not much room to think about anything at all, really. hands still wrung tight around his neck, keith gets his chin pushed up and if the situation weren't fucking dire, it might've had some disturbingly intimate undertones. teeth rake along the underside of his jaw and renewed horror over the impending possibility of getting his throat ripped out makes keith thrash.
letting go of his bayard is counterintuitive, but with the sword practically useless to him at such close range, keith tries to grab for the knife handle at his back.
but something happens. there's clattering and slamming going on close by and while keith hasn't fully tuned that out because shiro is a part of that skirmish, keith had mentally put that on pause. reality, of course, keeps on chugging.
for no discernable reason, lotor lets out a rattling shriek, releasing keith's throat and falling off to the side where he curls into the fetal position. eyes round and uncomprehending, keith takes the opportunity to sit up and grab his knife, chest heaving as he watches lotor twitch and spasm, his form twisting and shifting into something wholly unrecognizable before going completely still. ]
Whuh...[ the question is barely out of his mouth before keith decides that's not important. he swivels, unsteadily getting to his feet to answer his name with: ]
Shiro!
[ heart in his throat, keith pauses mid-crouch as he locks eyes with his best friend rising froing from the ground where another unrecognizable mass lies broken at his feet. despite everything, relief floods his system as keith looks his best friend over for an y sign of injuries and finds none. ]
You're okay....
[ it's stated almost in a daze, keith's expression turning soft despite the fact that that this situation could flip at any second should more of these things show up. ]
lol in some au, they were each others first word.
and even if he did? who's to say the quintessence poisoning hadn't simply eroded his mind to the point of becoming a brainwashed brute like zarkon before him? the questions exist at the periphery of keith's thoughts, but never coalesce into proper suspicion over the nature of what precisely he's even fighting.
there's not much room to think about anything at all, really. hands still wrung tight around his neck, keith gets his chin pushed up and if the situation weren't fucking dire, it might've had some disturbingly intimate undertones. teeth rake along the underside of his jaw and renewed horror over the impending possibility of getting his throat ripped out makes keith thrash.
letting go of his bayard is counterintuitive, but with the sword practically useless to him at such close range, keith tries to grab for the knife handle at his back.
but something happens. there's clattering and slamming going on close by and while keith hasn't fully tuned that out because shiro is a part of that skirmish, keith had mentally put that on pause. reality, of course, keeps on chugging.
for no discernable reason, lotor lets out a rattling shriek, releasing keith's throat and falling off to the side where he curls into the fetal position. eyes round and uncomprehending, keith takes the opportunity to sit up and grab his knife, chest heaving as he watches lotor twitch and spasm, his form twisting and shifting into something wholly unrecognizable before going completely still. ]
Whuh...[ the question is barely out of his mouth before keith decides that's not important. he swivels, unsteadily getting to his feet to answer his name with: ]
Shiro!
[ heart in his throat, keith pauses mid-crouch as he locks eyes with his best friend rising froing from the ground where another unrecognizable mass lies broken at his feet. despite everything, relief floods his system as keith looks his best friend over for an y sign of injuries and finds none. ]
You're okay....
[ it's stated almost in a daze, keith's expression turning soft despite the fact that that this situation could flip at any second should more of these things show up. ]
I-I think you saved me somehow. Thank you.