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[earthshine]

« Shiro » TEXT ✧ AUDIO ✧ VIDEO ✧ ACTION Takashi Shirogane ✦ Voltron: Legendary Defender
RESIDENCE ✦ Emerald District Apartment #51
JOB ✦ Gembond Guardian
GEMBOND ✦ Sapphire

Hi, this is Shiro. Sorry I'm unavailable at the moment, but leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

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[earthshine]

[ when this whole plan began, shiro hadn’t thought beyond his role. realistically, manhandling a hoverbike off some branches should require more than one person. that is, if that one person isn’t keith. is shiro impressed? yeah. amused too. watching keith work at the hoverbike with that same stubborn determination that sees him through all challenges has shiro smiling a small, private thing to himself.

soon enough -- sooner than shiro would have given keith credit for -- hoverbike and boy are on the ice. already, shiro is calling the magic back to the forefront of his focus, so when the question comes, he’s already nodding. ]

Yeah. Just… careful. It might be an unsteady ride.

[ nevermind the fact that he’s new to these powers and working out the kinks of controlling every facet. beyond that, he’s already fatigued, which makes the range more volatile and the flow shakier. here, it’s not as simple as merely cranking up the temperature and eating away at the ice. he has to keep the main platform intact while melting the bottom layers. the meticulous attention burns more manna and by the end of it all, when he has the ice block mostly disposed of, he doesn’t even bother with finishing off the last two inches of the top shelf. they can drive the hoverbike off that easy.

once he cuts the feed of magic, he buckles over on the initial sense of exhaustion. hands to his knees, he breathes in deep and then exhales heavy, tilting his head up to smile reassuringly. he’s fine. it’s nothing too awful. promise. but -- ]

I might need a hand. [ and that smile goes a little lopsided, boyish an’ amused as he extends his left hand out. fingers wiggle and -- come on, keith. juice him up. ]

[marmoron]

Shiro!

[ well if there's ever a need to get keith to drop all levity in about half a second, this is certainly one way of doing it. shiro buckles and keith practically leaps off the ice block to try and stabilize him. the smile is reassuring, but it doesn't put a dent in keith's concern as he grabs that outstretched hand in both of his. of course he shouldn't have pushed shiro to use so much mana or waste all that energy from before carrying him around. stupid. ]

Yeah, of course, I... [ he swallows, biting back some irrelevant commentary. ] We should sit. [ which he does, gently tugging on shiro's hand so that they're both seated on the forest floor. keith lets out a quiet exhale, expression subdued as he mentally looks shiro over. there's just the briefest pause and then he gives shiro's fingers a squeeze: ] Sorry.

[ a deep breath and then he loosens his grip on shiro's hand just a little. settling more comfortably, he pushes the guilt aside to try and focus on synchrony instead. it never takes too much effort for the connection to establish, but the warmth it brings is muted somehow, tinged with worry. ]

[earthshine]

[ … just like clockwork. shiro shows the slightest weakness and keith is already at his side. there’s amusement to be found in that, but mostly, shiro’s unsettled by how easy it is to worry him. it pricks at his disdain for hovering and briefly, shiro wonders what part of their history has damaged shiro’s vigor so badly that keith fears a little exhaustion.

dying.
purple monsters.
abduction.
disease.

ah. annoyance ebbs in the face of all that and with defenses down, it’s easy then to let himself be pulled to the ground. synching comes naturally and in the initial, it settles his nerves, eases his aches and gives him a jolt of energy before settling into a calmer, steadier feed of vitality. there’s something out of place though. he can feel it in the bond. it takes him a moment to peel back the more saturated feelings of comfort but when he does separate the outlier, it comes as no surprise. especially with that sorry. ]

Hey, none of that.

[ whereas keith loosened his grip, shiro tightens it here. cross-legged, he taps their joined hands against his knee and makes sure to smile when he looks to keith. ]

I’m fine. I’m still learning is all. I’ll get better at managing my magic with time and practice.

[ whitegrave helped, but a few trial runs and a couple weeks in-between don’t amount to much for a magic novice. overexerting himself and bleeding manna on overcompensation are his biggest hurdles. patience yields focus? he supposes he should start repeating his mantra again. he’ll master this someday.

… assuming they’re here long enough for him to do that. ]

But thanks. [ his voice warms, the gratitude genuine. but the sweetness turns and he goes for the joke instead, again knocking his knee an’ squeezing. ] You make a great battery charger in the meantime.

[marmoron]

[ it's weird. shiro isn't fragile and keith knows that. all the same, even in moments like these he doesn't see how his reaction might be sending the opposite message. one day the paradox might be more apparent to him, but for now he settles more comfortably, one leg folded, the other bent up for him to drape his free arm over.a little bit of exhaustion's hardly the worst thing shiro's ever been through and the hoverbike makes going back home much easier, so overall no harm done.... right? right.

the joke makes him laugh in earnestness though -- something that's reflected in the way their connection seems to warm around the sound as well. [ there's something distinctly unamusing about people being used as power sources. lotor has put a permanently sour taste in keith's mouth over the issue, but when synchrony comes down to being a way to help shiro, it doesn't seem so nefarious. ]

Glad to be a cathode to your anode. [ questionble joke gets punctuated with a quick squeeze of shiro's hand. ] For what it's worth, you looked pretty cool doing that magic. Just gotta nail the ending.