galratech | (no subject)

(no subject)

[Shiro doesn't remember falling, but it feels a little like he's been dropped off a high building and frankly, given the likelihood that he was teleported here, for whatever reason... he doubts, with his luck, that it was a gentle landing. He deeply considers lying prone for a few more minutes, but the sound of excited voices filter through to his awareness past the pain, talking about a 'beam of light'. Before he can think about how much he hurts, he's rolling into a tense, ready crouch, just in time for several large shapes to break through the foliage. Shiro can only gape at the variety of the figures that fan out to surround him, scales and vines and wings. He hasn't seen such a menagerie gathered in one place since, well... the coliseum.

It's not a comforting comparison.

Weary dread sluices through Shiro's body as they circle him, jeering. He seems weak! and King Darc will know just what to do with this one. and He'll be quite a prize, with this last line, an echo from the past again, ratcheting his pulse up until it feels like his chest will break. Though Shiro knows from their tone it won't do any good, he warns them to back off just once before lunging at the nearest one, hoping surprise will give him enough edge to run.]

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[a long day of sweaty hard work and nosy, excited Deimos later. Deimos are apparently pretty stoked for building, and turn it into a power competition pretty often. Labor is just interrupted by food and the occasional rowdy overdramatic brawl that ends in lots of enthusiastic swears for revenge, followed by acting completely normal again afterwards. And also buzz over their temporary human guest.

They're definitely interested in Shiro. Most of them just blurt out what's on their mind and refer to him as "hey, human," boisterous beasts of many MANY shapes and sizes and cultures. They all got the memo from Darc that he's off limits for any harm, even non lethal "I just want to see if he's tough gee," which translates into a lot of LETS SEE HOW WELL YOU CAN BUILD, HUMAN, DO YOUR TOOLS SHAPE UP TO CLAWS?? Some are all eager to learn about Shiro, with a lot of boisterous negging of how very human he is. There's also a lot of curiosity and friendliness. It's clear the Deimos have a lot of individuality and are in very different, very OPINIONATED places.

But it's clear everyone here is VERY loyal to Darc, and eager to gossip or do well by the city. The fact that Shiro is willing and eager to build a Deimos city is an immediate, huge plus, which baffles and impresses most of them (and one checks his work to make sure he's not SABOTAGING.) He still has Darc's scent all over him, which stops some from flirting, ENCOURAGES others, and definitely encourages gossip.

Darc spends all day trying not to daydream about fucking him and failing.]

[After a full day of gamely going along with the Deimos's challenges and endless questions, Shiro may or may not be purposefully using Darc's presence as a sort of shield as the day winds down. It doesn't really discourage most of the Deimos from chatting at him, but he's noticed that a certain amount of proximity to Darc seems to encourage a little more restraint—they want to impress him, which makes Shiro grin to see. He finds the Deimos incredibly likable (much like Darc), but atheir attention was exhausting. More than a couple arguments had been sparked about whether a lot of scars meant someone was strong or if they just got beat up a lot. The periodic physical squabbling had his heart beating hard long after the parties had stopped fighting. He was being asked about sex a lot.

All of this contributed to being fairly eager to be alone with Darc again.]

[y. Yeeas

Darc meets Shiro's look so, so many times during the day and each time causes a MOOD or FEELING or EMOTION until there is a tangible build of. Something. That he feels like, SURELY Shiro can feel it too. Didn't his father call this "empathy?" building the same feeling in each other and being aware of it

Even though he's SURE, it still takes time to work up the courage to ask. And when he does he just blurts]

Shiro! That's enough. Come with me!

[Surprised but relieved, Shiro blinks, smiles.]

Sure.

[off he Goes!!]

Do you want something to drink? Or smoke?

[Maybe he should not be getting high with aliens. It feels irresponsible, even if he's not technically on combat alert. On the other hand, he's jittery and tense from being on guard all day. That feels like manufacturing an excuse and Shiro's torn about whether he needs to manufacture excuses to do substances and maybe have sex with Darc again. Evaluating things, there's really not much he can do about contacting Voltron for at least a couple of days, until Kharg gets there.

He can relax. He can relax. If it goes well, he can call that a reliable pattern.]

That sounds nice, yeah.

Good. I demand you relax!

[laughs?!]

You do, huh?

You'll be pushed to exhaustion if this goes on further!

And besides that, the Deimos have better to offer than what you were given for pain.

[Protesting that he's fine seems kind of pointless when he is, in fact, pretty tired.]

I'm not sure I could handle much better.

[frown.]

Not stronger! Better.

Alright. I trust you.

You should! I don't like drugs that mess with my thoughts. I assume you're the same. It's just to relax.

Yeah, you're right.

... Speaking of relaxing, I wanted to ask. Do you know of any smaller pools, or any tubs we could use? Just big enough for two people.

[?]

Yeah? Most are smaller. You want a smaller one?

[he nods.]

I have an idea I want to try out.

Ah? Now? What is it?

I want to make sure it works, first. Can you show me where one is?

[??]

Very well. Not far, this way. It's new. Deimos were unsure about taking on the habit from humans, but it's been pleasant.

I'll bet. This'll take me a few minutes, if you want to meet me back here.

[Suddenly, Darc realizes with some deep, reverberating alarm that he doesn't expect Shiro is going to pull anything. Which is when it always goes bad. He should be concerned about leaving Shiro alone, shouldn't he? After everything, hasn't he learned that it's when he finally lowers his guard that gets him struck in the back?

But it's, fine. He just has to brace himself. And Darc can take some comfort in getting the feeling that if Shiro tried to kill him now, it wouldn't be anything personal. He could handle it. He doesn't want to punish Shiro after all he's done. Maybe an assassination attempt could bring them closer if he played it right.]

...Alright. I'll get what we need and come back.

[Shiro waits until Darc is gone before dipping his prosthetic into one of the pools and reaching for the memory activating his arm. It's something he's only done in a fight, mostly on instinct. He's vaguely dreading that this won't work, that the prosthetic's not under his control, that it really is just a weapon—but after a bit of concentration, the arm thrums to life, pouring out heat into the water. It shouldn't feel like such a rush, just being able to use his arm for something as simple as a hot bath, but it makes him feel lighter.]

[darc comes back with some DRUGS and stuff. also he is READY TO FIGHT IF NEEDS BE]

... Shiro?

[He is testing the water with his human hand, pleased.]

Hey. Seems to have worked.

...What worked?