Voltron: Legendary Defender // Keith Kogane

Chapter 08.

It was in the middle of the night and Cira was in the Training Deck, training. It had been so long since she had fought anything, she almost forgot what it felt like. She did not wear her princess dress or her space suit, she simply wore Altean armor that was fit for battle. It was black and covered her neck and went all the way down to her arms. Dark purple accented the outfit in the breast portion, in the legs, and a skirt that only went halfway. The skirt came from her gold belt that was secured around her waist. And from that belt, a sword, much like her father's, hung. "Start training level seven." She announces and suddenly, the Gladiator appears before her. She pulls out her sword and begins to fight with the Gladiator. Cira didn't even notice the presence of another person as she was too focused on beating the Gladiator. She kept up with it well. Only a few more ticks of fighting it, she beat it, sticking her sword through the machine. She pulls it out and smirks as she watches it fall to the ground. When hand claps begin to sound, she turns around slowly only to see Keith. He stops clapping and crosses his arms as he leans against the wall, "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

She catches her breath and lowers her sword, "Oh, sleep is for the weak. What about you?"

"Sleep is for the weak."

Cira chuckles slightly at his response, then watches as he gestures to the destroyed Gladiator sparking on the ground in front of her, "That was impressive. I didn't know you could—"

"—fight?" She finishes for him, "And why's that?"

He shrugs, "You're a princess."

Cira scoffs and sheathes her sword, "Well, this princess can fight better than you."

Keith leans off the wall, "Oh, really?"

"Yeah." She nods.

He pulls out his bayard, "You willing to test that theory?"

Cira chuckles softly and then pulls out her sword, "You're on."

The two lift their swords, letting them touch, and then pull them back. Cira watches him carefully and then he swings his sword at her. She blocks it and every other attack against her, but is caught off guard when Keith spins to get around her. She turns quickly and blocks his attack from behind her. They keep their swords together, both battling for strength, Cira winning. She pants and smirks at him, "Nice move."

He grunts and breaks their swords apart, going on the defensive. Their swords hit again, Keith only barely being able to keep up with her. He swings for her head when he sees an opening, but she ducks and kicks his feet, making him fall. He lands on his back harshly and stands, dodging a swing coming from Cira. They fight again, but when Cira swings her sword at him, Keith dodges and attempts to knock her sword out of her hands, but to no avail. She swings again and he ducks under it and gets behind her again. He swings at her from behind again, only to be blocked. She pushes against his sword, making him stumble back. The two begin a ferocious sword fight, with Cira on the offensive and Keith on the defensive. Eventually, his sword flies out of his hands and he backs up and lifts his hands when Cira points her sword at him. She smirks, "Gotcha."

Sheathing her sword, Cira takes a breath and begins to move towards the door, "I'm going to go eat." She looks behind her to Keith, who had just picked up his bayard from the ground, "You coming?" He smirks and catches up to her.

Arriving in the Dining Hall, she finds food goo already sitting on the table for her, from Coran. She sits and begins to eat. It was only a few seconds later when Keith sat beside her with his bowl of food goo. The two ate in silence. Keith was the first to talk, "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

Cira glances at him, but then her eyes sadden, "My father." She takes a breath, "He told me that I was a born warrior. I practiced for days, because I wanted to make him proud, but still, he never let me on the battlefield." She shakes her head, "I never understood why." She turns back to her food, "I still don't."

"Maybe he was protecting you." Keith suggests and then takes a bite.

"Maybe." She takes another bite with a small shrug. She turns to him, "We're always talking about my father. What about your's? I've never heard you speak about him. You must miss him."

Keith looks down at the goo and begins to play with it at the mention of his father. Cira looks at him confused when he doesn't answer, "Keith?"

Keith pauses, "He died when I was young."

Cira's eyes sadden and she looks down, "I'm sorry."

"He was a firefighter." Keith explains, "He was killed in action."

Cira looks at him, confusion planted all over her face, "If you don't mind me asking, what's a firefighter?"

A smile forms on Keith face when he turns to her, "He stops fires." She nods. Silence began to consume them again, but Cira looked at Keith again, "And your mother?"

Keith's hand hardens around his spoon. He grinds his teeth together and looks down, glaring into his bowl of food goo. "I never knew her." He looks at Cira, "I have no memory of my mother. As far as I know, she didn't want me."

Cira looks down, feeling a bit guilty, "I'm sorry, I-I shouldn't have asked."

Keith sighs, "Stop."

"What?"

He looks at her, "If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't have said anything. You don't need to beat yourself up about it." He turns back to his food and begins to eat again. Cira watches him for a few seconds before doing the same. After Cira finishes eating, she leans back in her seat, "I should head to my room. It's really late." Keith nods and she stands and leaves.