The farm is usually peaceful this time of year. Colder too. The grass would be more yellow than green, and the last colonies of birds are flying north for warmer weather, and how she wishes that she could be like the birds to fly away too. But she can not, so she will settle for huddling by the heater she bought down to the basement and work on the assortment of projects that she has been putting off.
Well, not putting off actually. She has the time to do it at anytime, it is just more convenient to do it now, when her extended family is here. Hiding under the excuse of school work and extra curricular activities so she does not have to sit through the inevitable argument that would breck out between her mamá and grandparents. Her tío, mamá and madre are right. One day her need to avoid confrontation is going to bit her in the ass, but for now she is content to hide in the basement away from all of that.
She was so engrossed in her work that she did not hear the squeak of the basement door opening, nor the foot steps walking down the steps, nor the first five calls of her name, but she did feel the soft slap to the back of her head. She winced. "Mamá! Lovely to see you in this part of the house. What can I help you with?" The glare that her mother gave her could be felt in her soul. It could even make the sturdiest of rocks sweat buckets. She tried to offer a smile but it was met with a raised eyebrow. Oh she must had missed a couple of texts to warrant this reaction, that's for sure. Shit.
"Kimberly McClain." Oh, oh shit. "I know you did not try play this off as if you have not disappeared for six hours." Six hours. Not checking her phone, not hearing the calls of her name. Is she trying to get herself killed. "And when was the last time you ate? Do you know what the time is? Have you greeted anyone before you came down here?" Oh her mamá was ranting. Not good. "And I know for a fact that you did all your school wo-" Veronica look down to see what her daughter was fiddling with. "Di- did you cut the extension cord?! You better go upstairs because if I-" No more words needed to be said, because she knew that threat well. She scrambled to to turn off the heater and rushed up the steps, almost bumping into her madre while doing so. "¡Será mejor que limpies este desastre antes de que te vayas a la cama, jovencita!"
Veronica looked to her wife, gave her a glare and a pointed finger. "You better get the girl from her room, because if I do it..." Acxa huffed in amusement. Same argument different day. "Are you laughing at me?"
"You and I both know that the source of your irritation is not at our daughter. We both know that the extension cord has not been working for well over a year, and we both know that you will do nothing other than ground her for being rude. Talk to me amado. What is really bothering you?" Acxa asked as she stepped closer to her wife, hands reaching for her arms.
"On your mission last week, the whole coalition received a hail in a language that, according to the Olkari, has to been seen or heard of in twenty-eight millennia. They call themselves the Bawhalie. Barbaric, ruthless, smart race. The last of the first generation of species to go extinct. By the way you are nodding I am guessing you have been filled in?"
"Yes. I know they want war. Universal and dimensional domination, but there is more to this story. What am I missing?" The look in her eye was earnest, and Veronica knew she would not be able to hide this for any longer. She huffed then took a deep breath.
"The next day Shiro called. He told me he had a vision. He saw the lions and the paladins, but it was not our paladins. They were younger and he felt their aura, the energy surrounding them. It was not hard to guess were it was going after that. He wants to make sure, to cheak if he is wrong, but for now he needs her in New Altea by Friday." A sniff. "And I have been praying that he is wrong, that I do not have send my baby girl to war, that if I let her go I will never see her again, or that she will become a shadow of herself." A sob was let out, and that is when Acxa pulled her into a hug. "I saw what that war did to Lance. My baby brother grew up to quickly and for years he has been hiding his pain. He let his dreams go, his hope, his drive. His smile dimmed, the shine in his eyes gone, and I do not want that for Kim.
"And this whole thing has had me on edge, because I know Kim has disappeared in this basement for more than six hours without checking her phone, and she has gone days in her room without a peep, but now, just ten minutes and I feel like I will vibrate out of my skin if I do not see her. We moved to Santa Coloma to be away from all of that. We tried to limit the amount of time she spent in space because we know that is just a recipe for trouble, and now she has to be there indefinitely. This whole thing is just fucked."
They stood there for a while just holding each other until she felt herself clam down, and once Acxa was sure Veronica was clam, did she talk. "I am sorry you had to deal with this by yourself. I am sorry that we cannot protect her anymore, and I am truly sorry that it had to be our kid. There is no bright side and I do not know how to comfort you because I do not know how I feel other than scared. I wish this did not have to happen to us, but it did and now we have a decision to make, but most importantly Kim has a decision to make. We once promised each other that we will stand by each other no matter the choices we make, but now we have to stand by Kim as she makes a choice. As shitty as it is." A sniff and a snort was her only answer.
"We will talk to her once your family goes home tomorrow. I will do with her to New Altea, then report to base, but I will come back. I promise that." She felt a nod on her chest. She place a kiss on her head before she spoke again. "Let's go before Lance busts through the door."
"And he would, gun blazing and everything." She said as they made their way up stairs.
It was midnight the following night when the three occupants in the dining room caught a figure scarry to the kitchen. A blanket wrapped around the figure, making it look like a store bought ghost than person really. "Wa- was that Kim?" Lance asked as he looked at his sister, eyes wide in concern. He had decided to stay behind with them instead of going back to Barcelona with the rest of the family. He felt that it would be better if he sat in on this conversation.
"Yep." Was Acxa's reply before she stood up to go and retrieve her daughter from the kitchen.
"Is it a regular thing for her to scarry around like that? At midnight no less?" The concern only growing.
"Yeah, she only eats supper at this time. I do not know why, I did not ask for an explanation. It just is." Veronica said as she continued with her book, leaving her brother more and more baffled. A sigh. "Antony did the same thing. Let it go Lance."
"So this is why you cornered her at midnight?"
"Any important conversation with Kim is had at midnight. The only time her hyperactive mind can focus on one thing at a time."
And thing is, he knows that he did the same thing. Back in the early days of the new found universal peace. When nightmares turned into day dreams, and he was running on fumes, and the only time his brain quieted was in the witching hours. 'El padrenuestro y un avemaría es lo único que te ayudará,' was the only thing that his grandfather said to him. It did not help, but it was comforting and that's what matters most.
"For what it's worth..." and he couldn't finish, but his sister knows. She knows how to read the 'I'm sorry' in his posture. She knows that saying it out loud would make this whole situation all the more real.
She gives a sad smile before she snorts. "What was it that Abuelo said? 'El padrenuestro y un avemaría es lo único que te ayudará.' We can only hope that it's enough right?" She tried to laugh it off. It was more of a sob, but he wasn't going to point it out.
If only what their Abuelo said was true. If only for his sisters fate, because he knows that if it is not, no one will exempt from her rage.
If only.
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1586 words
Translations:
Tío - uncle (Spanish)
Mamá - mother (Spanish)
Madre - mother (Spanish)
¡Será mejor que limpies este desastre antes de que te vayas a la cama, jovencita! - This mess better be cleaned up before you go to bed, young lady! (Spanish)
Amado - love (Spanish)
El padrenuestro y un avemaría es lo único que te ayudará. - The lord's prayer and a Hail Mary is the only thing that will help you.
Abuelo - Grandpa
YOU ARE READING
Voltron: Next generation
Adventure' "Why did it have to be our kids? I do not wish it on any kid, but why ours?" This was the first time she heard her mother cry. It was not a nice feeling, seeing one of your biggest pillars of strength crack. It made your eyes burn with unshed tea...
