Forming Bonds -- (VLD)

Chapter 5

"Move prisoner, you're blocking your own food."

Lance hurried to drag Keith out of the way, wincing a he felt the chain rub against his already raw skin. He'd tried slipping some cloth from his shirt between it, but it had just become caked with dried blood.

The guard slipped something into the cell, a single bowl of what Lance hesitated to call food. One star at best.

Lance kept his thoughts to himself. He couldn't afford to upset the guards, not when others' lives were in the balance as well.

The guard grinned wickedly at him, his terribly unhealthy teeth allowing Lance to recognise him as the Galra that had taken his portion before.

"Good," he said "You are learning your place, Kudga."

Lance had no idea who Kudga was, but let the comment pass. It was probably an insult, akin to bastard or something. Normally, Lance would have made some sassy remark, but he merely looked down at the disgusting ground of the cell, waiting for the guard to leave.

It was only after the creak and thump indicating the door closing that Lance dared to look up again, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw no sign of anything fluffy and purple.

His stomach growled but he ignored it, instead turning to wake up Keith.

"Buddy, you've gotta get up." He said, nudging him gently.

Keith groaned, attempting to roll in the opposite direction, only causing both of them to gasp in pain as the chain pulled taught between them.

"Sorry!" Keith hissed, grimacing as he rolled back towards Lance.

Lance helped him up into a sitting position, handing him the bowl of not-quite-goo-but-not-quite-solid substance. Keith took a few bites, cringing at the taste.

"Gross, isn't it?" Lance commented. Keith nodded in agreement, but he continued eating regardless.

Lance prayed to any god out there that his stomach wouldn't growl.

Keith needed the food more than he did.

Keith swallowed his mouthful, and Lance saw that the action caused him a lot of pain. Or maybe it was the food itself that had made Keith wince.

"I know man, I know." Lance said, "But you've gotta keep eating. You need your strength! They might throw us in the arena again."

Lance had probably jinxed himself with that last statement.

A guard flanked by two drones flung the cell door open, grinning down at them.

Lance stood as the guard stepped closer, pulling Keith up beside him. He tried hard not to pull the chain, and tapped his hand against Keith's in an attempt to anchor him.

"Come, Kudga. You must fight again."

The guard was different to the last, and so Lance supposed that Kudga was supposed to be his name, or perhaps Keith's.

Now that he thought about it, it was probably for the both of them collectively.

Lance didn't mind the name. In a way it was comforting. Here, they were not Lance and Keith. They could be Kudga.

It would be Kudga that fought in the arena. It would be Kudga that took lives to save their own. It would be Kudga who would deal with whatever shit the Galra could throw at them.

It would be Kudga that protected Keith and Lance. It would be Kudga that stood between them, and the madness of captivity. It would be Kudga that keep Keith and Lance clean and unaffected by the torture of war.

He could accept being Kudga.

Lance blinked, swaying a tiny bit in place. Keith tapped his hand in much the same way as Lance did before, giving him a worrying stare.

Lance shook his head, horrified that he had accepted it so fast. Yes, they would be Kudga, but only in the arena.

Despite everything, Lance planned to come out the other end still himself.

And, he thought, staring back at his partner, with Keith alive.

Their fight today was no different to their fight yesterday.

They ran, they struggled, they almost died, and they pulled through.

However this time the guards seemed almost pleased, praising Kudga as they were lead from the arena, to a new cell.

Or at least, Lance thought it was a new cell. It didn't seem like they were heading back to their old one.

Keith accidentally tugged on the chain again, and Lance winced, reaching out to grab Keith's hand to stop him from moving it too far. It actually worked better than expected, stopping a little of the tugging sensation that caused the skin on his wrist to scream in agony.

He would do anything to stop a little of the pain, even hold hands with Keith.

The cell door was opened and Lance and Keith were shoved into the room. They fell awkwardly, their chain tangling around one of Lance's legs as they fell haphazardly to the floor. He didn't know how that was possible, but it happened.

"So graceful." mocked the guard, slamming the door shut. The heavy metal caught Keith's foot in the process, and he let out a sharp breath between his teeth.

The hiss would have been amusing in any other situation, but Lance just grimaced in sympathy.

"Do you require assistance?"

They looked to the voice, heads whipping around to peer into the darkness of the cell. An alien that looked like a cross between a caterpillar and something else (although they weren't entirely sure what) stood there, wringing several pairs of hands together.

"Umm... yes?" Lance said slowly, holding Keith's hand just a little tighter as the alien came closer.

Gentle hands manoeuvred Lance's leg as the chain was pulled out from underneath them. Lance tried not to swear as one movement sent a jolt down his arm – a sentiment that was apparently shared by Keith who had hissed again. He was beginning to wonder if Keith was part cat.

"Who are you?" Lance asked, after manoeuvring both himself and the still recovering Keith into more comfortable sitting positions.

"Jlav." The alien supplied, giving no more information as he moved back into the cell, eyes still trained on the two as he did so.

In the gloom, a small group of other aliens sat, cowering by the back wall. Jlav scampered behind two other aliens, peering out from between them back at Keith and Lance.

Lance looked to Keith, who stared back at him in a brief moment of complete clarity.

The other prisoners feared them.

That hurt more than anything the Galra could put them through.