Book 1: The White Paladin

Chapter 6: Cohesion and Friction

I thought our torturous teamwork exercises were done for the day when Coran announced that he had made us dinner. Well, only once we all stumbled to our feet after getting absolutely pummeled by the Gladiator. My stomach grumbles immediately, and I rest a hand on my middle to quell the noise as we follow Coran to the dining room.

We collapse into the closest chairs to the doorway as soon as we arrive, I don't even care to do anything other than breathe for the moment. Coran whirls around, a rather mischievous look on his face as sets down several bowls of the typical green goo, the only source of sustenance on the ship, it seems. I had tried to avoid it for as long as possible, but I'm pretty sure that it's been at least a full day since I last ate. Or at least, that's what I tell myself, so I wouldn't think too hard about how appetizing the green goo looks, for once.

"Ahoy, young Paladins!" Coran grins dramatically, standing at the end of the table with his hands clasped behind his back, "I've whipped up a big batch of focusing food! After this meal, you'll be forming Voltron six times a movement, and twice on the astral conflux!" I blink as I try to figure out what "a movement" is, and what exactly is an astral conflux?

Shiro looks up at Coran with a polite smile from his seat at the table, "Smells great, Coran. Thanks." He picks up his spoon and digs into the goo, as did the others at the table. Starving, and unable to restrain myself, I do the same, tentatively scooping up the goop onto my spoon with a frown. This is gonna wreck my intestines.

Before I even have a chance to try it, with a dramatic flourish, Coran whips his arms out in front of him with an 'Aha!', producing a small handheld device which he clicks, once again, dramatically. I blink as my wrists are immediately enveloped in handcuffs that were hidden in the armchairs at the table, yanking my hands away to the side where they conjoin to Hunk and Lance's wrists beside me, they're similarly bound. My spoon to go flying out of reach as I glance over at Hunk's wrist, his cuff is attached to mine by a bolt of sapphiric energy, and as I look down the line I see that all of our wrists are now tied together like one long chain.

"Hold the phone!" Lance shouts at Coran, shooting him an accusatory look.

Coran grins confidently, one hand on his hip, "I saw a lot of solid individual performances today, but you're still struggling to work as a team." Coran's eyes flash wildly for a moment, a crazed grin on his face, "So welcome to your final bonding exercise of the day!"

Hunk pulls on his wrists, causing our hands to fly together with an electronic snap, before he tries the same with Shiro on his other side. He then fixes Coran with a surprisingly dark gaze, "Coran, I want you to think about what you're doing."

I feel Hunk's rage immediately on a spiritual level and I face Coran with a half lidded, tired gaze,"I'm about two seconds away from whooping your ass, Coran." Beside me I'm shocked to see Lance nodding enthusiastically, more than ready to join me in beating up Coran.

Coran interrupts us before we have any more chances to complain or threaten violence, merely grinning wildly, "This one's a classic!" Coran's pointed ears are twitching in excitement, "You get to fed each other, like a pack of yalmors!"

Allura enters the room then, raising an eyebrow at us in amusement as she beheld the situation. The others grumble as she sits down at the head of the table with a silent, secret grin, I can't help but glare at her as she starts eating without any encumberments.

I sigh, looking over at both Hunk and Lance and releasing the tension in my shoulders, "Alright, you guys eat first, I'll just move my hands along with what y'all do to make this easier for everyone."

"Thank you, finally, I think that's the first time you've said something smart." Lance quips, and I shoot him a glare as our conjoined wrists move towards his plate. I can't help myself, not after that remark, so I fake a sneeze and smack him in the face with his spoon.