Let it snow!

[the_tailor]

WHO: Lance and you!
WHERE: Starduck, wintery planet
WHAT: Snowy shenanigans as an adult and kid!
WHEN: January



[A - Starduck]
[Throughout the duration of the trip, Lance isn't exactly in the highest of spirits. Maybe he's overly clingy at times, but damnit, he hates being separated from his boyfriend with no way to get to him and no concrete idea of when they'll be reunited. It sucked last time and it sucks this time.

Though he's definitely not as cheery as he usually tries to be, he's. Well. Decent enough. A lot of the time, he'll be sitting about cuddling with his pet otter, visiting his cow in the cargo hold, or aimlessly pacing through the ship. Doing some working out in any space that seems open enough.

He isn't being antisocial, however, so he'll be perfectly fine with talking to anyone who approaches him.]



[B - Village]
[To be completely honest, he's pretty surprised at how beautiful and peaceful this place is. Agra 10 isn't exactly known for its gorgeous sights or comfortable living. Coming to a world such as this reminds him of how things were back on the Fleet, and he can't help the wave of nostalgia, all too bittersweet.

Lance loves the snow. Growing up in Cuba and going to school in the southwest of the United States, a cold winter wasn't something he'd really ever experienced. Once, he'd been on a vacation with his family to New York, and he'd seen snow for the first time. It was breathtaking, but he only ever saw it again in colder planets in space.

Even if he's chilled, he's having the time of his life exploring the village. Lance goes from shop to shop, picking up candies and food that seems all too familiar to him (if not quite there). There's clothing as well that resembles some from Earth, so he picks up a warm blue sweater. He fawns over the beauty of the candles. Care to join him?]



[C - Candies]
[Lance is no stranger to having strange things happen to himself as if magic. Back on the Fleet, he'd once turned into a mermaid, for quiznak's sake. And he'd turned into a child on at least one occasion if not more.

It looks as if it's repeat time now, after scarfing down a chocolate candy. A preteen Lance now is wandering about, incredibly confused as to where he is and what's going on. His clothing is too big for him, and he's got his belt tied tight around his waist to keep his jeans on, though they drag past his feet a few inches. While he's not swimming in his coat, it's definitely oversized on his smaller body.

He tries to tell himself he's not scared, but honestly, he is. The last thing he remembers is going to sleep after a cram session for his exam the next day. Was he kidnapped from his dorm? Where's Hunk? How could he even get kidnapped in the Garrison? He thought the place was safe!

Shivering, Lance holds his jacket closed further. There has to be some way to figure out what's happening.]



[D - Forever Young]

[By now, Lance has gotten somewhat settled into being a kid again. Or rather, just his normal age, as far as his mind is concerned. He's gotten a new set of clothes that fit him, he's a tiny less lost and confused, but he's still baffled as to everything going on. Maybe it's just some weird dream. Yeah. Probably.

For now he supposes that he may as well have fun. He goes through the town, trying candies, but finds himself weirdly adverse to the chocolate ones (strange, since he loves chocolate). The candles are pretty, and the snow...

Yep, he's loving the snow. Lance is delighting in making snow angels, getting in snowball fights, and building snowmen. He'd be happy to play with someone else!]



[E - Wildcard]
[Anything else! I'm willing to do whatever with Lance, adult or child, so hit me up. You can hmu at relika if you want to plot things out.]

Comments

[tempredmental]

[Keith didn't answer as he made his way through the ship. None of it looked familiar. If anything, it looked like a hodgepodge of parts shoved together. It didn't instill much confidence in Keith over its ability to fly, that was for sure... but it was bigger than any Garrison shuttle. It was meant for long flights in space.]

This is almost like the ship they've been working on for Shiro's upcoming mission.

[Granted, in some ways, it was worse, but, in others, it was more advanced. But the idea of having a ship equipped for an extended space mission was the same.

He poked his head through the doors and into the Bridge.]

No one's here...

[the_tailor]

[He's never seen a ship like this before. Honestly, he hasn't even seen many proper ships yet in general back at the Garrison to begin with, though.

A little pang of jealousy runs through him at the mention of Shiro because oh, of course Keith would know exactly that, but--

Lance walks past him and onto the bridge, frowning as he looks about. Empty. Fine. He goes over to the controls, examining them, trying to see if anything matches up to what he's been learning in the simulations.]

[tempredmental]

[It was so different... kind of intimidating, really, but no way in Hell was Keith going to admit that in front of Lance, so he swallowed his nervousness and wandered through the bridge as well, glancing over consoles for anything that looked like something they could use.

He ended up at the flight console.]

This is weird...

[His voice might have sounded a little shaky though he was trying not to.]

I've never seen this before, but I feel like I know what to do.

[the_tailor]

[There's something to Keith's voice, a little less angry and cocksure, and honestly, that relieves Lance. He joins him by the flight console, frowning as he looks down at it.]

It looks...familiar in a weird way. Like, I'm sure I've never seen this at the Garrison, and I wouldn't have seen any flight consoles outside of there, but something about it...

[tempredmental]

Yeah.

[Keith got into the seat at the console, his hands hovering over it for a moment before he tapped out a familiar sequence. The ship powered up, but didn't respond to any commands that might make it take off.]

It's not responding...

[the_tailor]

Well, is there any information you can get from it?

[He continues to look at the buttons. Vague familiarity isn't helping him much, and he wouldn't even know where to begin with buttons to press. He'd just hit them randomly, but he has a feeling Keith would just get pissy and that's not something he feels like dealing with right now.]

[tempredmental]

[Honestly, Keith was pretty on edge, so Lance wasn't terribly wrong about what his response would be to someone just poking at random buttons. He frowned darkly, his jaw clenching in frustration as he stared at the readouts.]

Everything looks fine? [He wasn't sure how he knew that.] It should just be taking off, but it's like someone locked it somewhere. I can't tell where. [There was a definite note of stress in his voice.]

I don't see a communcations button anywhere, though.

[He didn't know it, but the data point information in his head was only for piloting... not communicating.]

I don't know how get a call out.

[That sent an involuntary chill up his spine. They couldn't send a distress call back to the Garrison. They were stranded with no way to communicate. A tiny flame of panic ignited in his chest, and Keith felt his anxiety start to rise. He balled his hands up into fists, trying not to let his temper flare next.

Getting angry at Lance would do nothing... and just possibly get Shiro in more trouble with Iverson and Sanda. He didn't want to be the reason Shiro lost his job...]

[the_tailor]

...Hey.

[He can see the tension rising up in Keith, feel it in the room. And while he's kind of terrified himself as to the whole situation, Lance wants to be strong for them.]

Look, we'll figure something out. For all we know, someone's already on their way to find us. It's not like they're going to just sit back and let two students go missing and not do a thing about it, y'know? Until then, we'll keep trying to see if we can get anything from this ship. Or maybe the people here know something. It's gonna be okay. We'll be okay.

[This is the point where he would put a hand comfortingly on Keith's shoulder. But he doesn't want to risk Keith snapping and punching him for touching him or anything.]

[tempredmental]

[THEY'RE GONNA LET SHIRO AND THE HOLTS GO MISSING AND THEN LIE, SOOOOO....

Keith took a deep breath, trying to school his nerves. He did not need Lance of all people telling him that it was going to be okay.

No, actually, he did, but he wasn't willing to accept that. This Keith wanted Shiro. He wanted to go home. He didn't want to be stuck on some weird snow planet with a ship that didn't work trying to work with some rival-wannabe who was more annoying than an actual rival.

Still... he bit his tongue, forcing himself not to lash out. It wasn't going to do them any good. He'd spent enough time in detention already. Keith stared at the console like it offended him, but then nodded. It was a tight movement, tense, but it was there.]

Yeah.

[Sure... ask an adult. The last thing he wanted to do, honestly. Abducted orphans never fared well. Lance had a better shot at getting home. Even if Shiro promised to never give up on him, Keith didn't have a family to claim him. Lance did. They'd be looking for Lance.]

Alright... we'll try it your way.

[He shoved away from the console and stood up, crossing his arms tightly over his chest before looking at Lance expectantly. Lead away...]

[the_tailor]

How 'bout we get some food? I'm kind of hungry. We can probably think better on full stomachs, anyway. I'm sure we can find people here to give us something to eat if they know our situation.

[A nod, and he motions for Keith to follow him out of the ship. Sure, his mama had given him the don't talk to strangers spiel a lot, but this was kind of an extreme situation.]

[tempredmental]

[Oof. Another thing Keith was wary about, but... he nodded again. He said he'd do it Lance's way. He wasn't going to back out of it now. So, he followed quietly, that closed off posture very prevalent in his hunched shoulders and crossed arms as he tried not to glare too much.

It was definitely an extreme situation, and Keith was scared. He hated feeling scared, though, and Lance was the only familiar face around. But he figured, if they stuck together, then whoever finally came to rescue them would have to bring home both of them... not just the kid with the family... Keith was better off staying by Lance's side.]

I am kinda hungry, I guess...

[His voice was quiet.]

[the_tailor]

Hey. Keith.

[He'll continue when Keith looks up. And once he does, he'll give him a small smile.]

It's gonna be okay. We'll be alright, as long as we stick together.

[tempredmental]

[He did look up at his name, and his brows scrunched together a bit in mild concern, but he nodded again.]

Yeah.

[He wasn't going to let himself get left behind, that was for sure.

He didn't relax completely, but a little, anyway. There was still a nagging voice in the back of his mind that was telling him that he might never get back because he had no one who cared enough to want him back...]

[the_tailor]

[If Lance knew what was going through Keith's mind, he'd assure him that it was a silly thought, that Shiro's probably fighting tooth and claw for him... But he has no idea. Never could figure out what was going through Keith's head.]

Right... Hm...

[He spots a building that looks to be busy, people come in and out of it.]

Let's check in there.

[tempredmental]

[Keith looked worried, but nodded. He was terrible at expressing himself, having been holding things in for a very long time. He definitely wasn't expecting anyone, let alone Lance, to be comforting towards him anyway. He followed along towards the building in question, constantly taking in his surroundings as they walked. Once inside, Keith did his best not to freak out and freeze in place by focusing on looking for a place that might look like it had food.]

What about over there?

[He nodded his head towards the back where it looks like people are finding things to eat.]

[the_tailor]

[It's a place to gather their bearings, at least. And not freeze outside, too. As soon as Keith motions to the back of the building, the scent of food starts to hit Lance's nose, and his stomach growls.

Loudly.]

Uh. Yeah. That... That's definitely a start. Let's head over.

[tempredmental]

[Keith quirked an eyebrow at the growly stomach, but nodded and headed that way.

There were foods that were familiar, but... somehow not... at the same time. Keith wasn't sure what to think. Like, sure, apple pie, but it didn't really completely look like apple pie. He frowned a little at everything, but then grabbed a tray to start picking what looked at least semi-decent. The last few years in a group home followed by dealing with the cadet cafeteria at the Garrison had really made Keith a less picky eater.]

[the_tailor]

[Lance does the same. He's not picky at all right now, just eager to get some food in his stomach to give him more energy and maybe pick up his mood. It's difficult to sort through his thoughts and figure out what exactly to do at this point, and he feels...well, not responsible, but like he needs to somehow fix this situation. Even if he didn't cause it.]

Alright, this looks edible enough...

[tempredmental]

[Keith nodded, taking a fairly decent plate of food. No one was stopping him, so he was going to stock up on what he could get that looked okay. He didn't have to fight with other kids to get things, so that was fine. He waited for Lance to finish picking what he wanted and then went to look for a table.]

So... [Okay... he was going to try this...] Where do you think we are?

[the_tailor]

[Lance follows along, sitting down once they find an empty table. Before he answers, he shoves what looks like a bread roll in his mouth. Tastes...decent enough, and he chews and swallows.]

Don't got enough information to do more than guess, but... I'm 50/50 on some top secret military base in Antarctica, or Mars. And I don't mean that as a joke, before you get mad at me. Things just seem...weird.

[tempredmental]

[At this point, Keith wasn't even taking that as a joke.]

Do they have snow like this on Mars? I mean, last I checked, we wouldn't have been able to walk around outside if we were on Mars.

[Yes... he was taking that seriously, Lance.]

[the_tailor]

Unless that's what they want us to think.

[He shoves another bread roll into his mouth. At this point, he'd be willing to believe conspiracy theories.]

[tempredmental]

[Okay... now Lance was starting to sound worse than Keith, and Keith definitely was impressed that someone could.]

You really think it's a conspiracy? That we're stuck in like some secret military thing?

[Yeah... Keith was right on board with that.]

[the_tailor]

I mean, maybe? I'm throwing out whatever idea I can think of. Like, um... I mean, this is so weird, so we might as well throw out totally logic thinking. Okay, no, that sounds wrong... Uh...

[He frowns as he tries to figure out a way to explain the jumble in his mind.]

We can still be kinda logical, but in a way that isn't just about all the facts we know. Or that we've learned. Like, being on Mars sounds crazy, but this whole situation is crazy! So why not add more crazy to it? Maybe crazy and crazy together end up being the answer.

[tempredmental]

[A dizzying intellect... Keith let that process for a moment and then sighed.]

Maybe.

[Conspiracies and craziness and weird happenings... Hm. It didn't make him feel any better than just being randomly kidnapped, but there wasn't much they could do about that right now.]

How long do you think it'll take for someone to find us? Why haven't we met the people who took us, yet? Do you think they want something from the Garrison?

[He was honestly loaded with a lot more questions, and the crazy theories weren't helping much, but he was trying to ride this out without completely flipping his lid.]