victory_road | ANOMALY DETECTED

[It's okay, Marik, between Shiro's coffee addiction and the occasional Miltank running around, they could probably make a new latte from scratch. If Allura wasn't busy trying to get a wild Meowth to stop chasing a currently wild Minccino.]

Ah, yes. This is the Castle of Lions. [She sounds so dignified... even while trying to get the Meowth's attention with a fisher toy with a tiny plush Magikarp on the end.] Who might you be?

[She's got a similar vibe to his sister. That combined with what she calls the place, it doesn't take a genius to know this woman is someone of importance.

It doesn't look like a castle though. Then again, he supposes he's never actually seen any outside of Egypt or Japan - and those are all ancient.]

Marik. Sorry for just... barging in.

[Chenzira, the Yamask, taps the teen's shoulder and mumbles something to him. Right. She does look like she's rather busy. Well, since he's here...]

Do you... need help? I'm guessing the amount of pokémon running around isn't normal.

[It's both ancient AND futuristic. ... Honestly, pretty fitting for Scarlet/Violet, especially Violet.]

Oh! [Allura's smile lights up.] So you're Marik! Hunk has told me about you, it's nice to finally meet you. I am Allur--

AH!

[It's at this moment that the little Mincinno decides that the human's shoulder is clearly the safest place to be, making an impressive leap up before clinging for dear life.]

A-actually yes, would you mind distracting that Meowth somehow?

[Not being one to belive in coincidence, his arrival here must have been so he could meet Allura. So this is who Hunk's conspiring with. There's a bit of color to his cheeks now. Marik's quite glad he went with the friendlier approach rather than annoyed by the random warping. First impressions matter, after all.]

Oh...! Y-Yes! It's nice to meet you too, Miss Allura.

[He looks over at the Meowth. Having one himself, he knows exactly what to do to distract it.

Marik pulls a pokédollar out of his pocket and flicks it towards the Meowth. The flying shiny object successfully distracts it and it gives chase, which gives the teen enough time to walk over and grab it by the back of its neck.

At least it got the coin as it hangs like a ragdoll.]

What do you want me to do with it?

[As Marik catches the kitty, the Mincinno decides to drape itself in the curtain of Allura's curls.]

Good question. Perhaps show it to another room? [Or catch it.] I have no idea where all of these came from.

[He's weird about catching pokémon so the thought doesn't cross his mind.]

I noticed that there seems to be a lot more pokémon in places there generally isn't. Maybe it has something to do with the "anything goes" weekend?

Hmm... Hey, Chen. You think you can try and round up some of these pokémon?

[The Yamask hops off Marik's shoulder, says a bit of gibberish, and floats off to gather... whatever he can. Godspeed, Chenzira.

The teen turns back towards Allura, the cat just hanging from his hand.]

Is there... a good room to store it in for the time being?

Let's see... the bedrooms should work for now. [RIP somebody's linens that aren't hers.] Follow me.

[Hopefully the Meowth will stay put and not notice the fluffy gray chinchilla-mon still hiding in Allura's hair.]

Okay.

[Thankfully the Meowth won't be doing much, not with it hanging limply in Marik's grasp. It just looks confused as it hangs there but doesn't seem terribly bothered. It's got a coin to keep it occupied anyways.

The blonde follows after Allura, trying not to trail too far behind but still trying to study the location as they walk.]

You said... this is the Castle of Lions. What is that? ... If you don't mind me asking, that is.

Many things. It's served as the palace of Altea's royal family- my family- a spaceship, the hangar for the Lions of Voltron, and the headquarters of the Voltron Coalition.

[She gives him a nostalgic smile.]

It's been over a year since I've seen it.

[That certainly explains the scifi vibe he was getting from the design of the place. It also explains why Hunk said Allura had a lot on her plate if she's part of a royal family.]

That's the robots Hunk mentioned, right? All of them can fit in this place...?

[Marik feels bad for bombarding her with questions but his curiosity is getting the better of him and Chen isn't around to give him a nudge to control himself.]

And what is Altea?

Yes, that would be them. And it is quite a large castle. And... Altea was my home planet.

[Soooo alien princess. And very interesting use of past tense.]

[Thankfully, despite his curiosity, he does notice the past tense form she's using. Best to... not ask specifics.]

It's bigger than it looks then. Not that I saw the outside...

So you're... not from Earth?

No. I am an Altean, an alien by your standards.

Oh.

[How do you respond to something like that. Marik's brain is failing to think of a good way to further the conversation outside of asking her questions. Allura can see him chew on his lip for a moment.

How often do you meet an alien and get to just ask them things freely though?]

What... was Altea like?

[Her smile grows a little sad...]

Dangerous, ecologically... we advanced quickly in technology and diplomatic skills that we might survive. But undoubtedly beautiful.

Hmm.

Given the construction of the Castle alone, your technology is far beyond Earth's. People have only dreamed of stuff like this.

[Going off what she said earlier...]

... You said that you were part of the royal family. Should I, er, be addressing you as such?

[A shake of her head.] Only if you want to; it's not as if I have any authority in this world.

[Or that... she has a kingdom anymore in her world, but she honestly thought the circumstances were worse for the longest time.]

Still. I imagine that fact alone can be a bit discouraging at times...

[He manages to scoop up another Meowth that runs across his path. Knowing he had no reputation here before the others began showing up was both good and bad. It was nice to have a new start but not having people know his importance was a blow to his ego.]

Um. No offense or anything to you, Miss Allura... For being from a different planet, you don't look like how media makes it seem like you might be... I mean, you look like you could be a relative of mine, honestly.

[. . . Okay she'll bite.]

Aaand how did you manage someone from a different planet from you to look?

[Marik has a talent - and that's saying really stupid things without thinking first. That's what you get for being raised under a rock and running away as a teenager. Master of terrible decisions, this one.

He blinks, it slowly dawning on him that what he said wasn't exactly polite. Normally he wouldn't care but. This is Allura. She's kind of important and he needs to make a good impression with her.

His face turns very red and his voice drops to almost a whisper.]

... Grey skin and black eyes...?

[How's that foot tasting, bud? Allura just gives him a looong look before... taking a long, deep breath through her nose. She can't tell if this is better or worse than the fantasies Lance had of space being full of attractive young women who were just waiting to fawn over him?]

For the record, there are many, many different sapient species in my universe, and they all look unique.

[At least his is more out of a child-like ignorance than skeevy thoughts? That is a toughie. (The foot does not taste good.)

Marik does something he rarely ever does: apologize.]

S-Sorry. I didn't mean to insult you. My world hasn't discovered any sapient species outside of what's on Earth.. so... it's really cool to meet someone from another planet. I never would have dreamed of it ever happening, you know?

[Okay good, the exasperation eases a bit.]

Apology excepted. [The corner of her lip quirks upward.] To be fair, my world's Earth has only just recently made contact with other planets.

[Or... more like the planets made contact with them.]

[Phew. Crisis averted. Marik relaxes a little as his anxiety is replaced with curiosity.

He's still holding the Meowth who's started trying to lick his fake fur jacket clean.]

Has it? What other planets are there?

ANOMALY DETECTED

no subject

no subject

1/2

2/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)