A Trip Of Life (Shidge/Mallura/Klance AU)

Chapter 1-Starship

Katie Holt laid silently on her bunk in the sleeping quarters of a spaceship owned by her brother's wife. Currently, they were taking a trip around the galaxy as a vacation from Altean duties. She was enjoying her time away from the tech facility and the stress of her internship along with high school. A book in her hands and her mind in another realm, Katie could not ask for anything more.

The door to the quarters opened up to reveal her niece, Delphie, clad in her favorite outfit--a puffy, star-printed skirt and a simple yellow hoodie. Delphine Holt was five years old with wavy brown hair and the pearliest blue eyes. Altean markings decorated Delphie's pale cheeks--colored light blue to match her mother's--and elfish ears poked out from her thick locks. Katie knew that when the girl was grown, she'd be beautiful enough to be a model or an idol.

"Aunt Pidge! Aunt Pidge! I can't find Cain or Lemia. We were playing hide and seek, but I cannot find them," the girl cried, tears secreting from the corner of her eyes. "What if I lost them? Daddy would be so sad and Mommy would be angry..."

Katie's peace was disturbed and her book had to be left. Standing up from the bunk, she squatted to her niece's level. She took her hands, holding them reassuringly with a soft smile. "I'm sure they just found a really good hiding spot. Why not let me help you find them? Then Mommy won't be mad and Daddy won't cry," Katie suggested, gazing down into her niece's wet eyes. Delphie nodded hurriedly, pulling her aunt along with her out of the entrance.

"Base is the entertainment room--where Lance is," the brunette Altean mentioned, pointing in the direction of that area, "We made the control room and resting quarters off limits to make it easier. I've checked the kitchen, the storages, and every hallway. I even looked around the base, but they're not there. I asked Shiro if he had seen them and he said no. Mommy and Daddy haven't seen them either."

Shiro was not technically family and neither was Lance. Shiro was Matt's best friend of five years while Lance was like a family to Allura, Matt's wife. The Holt-Shirogane pair met back in their school days during a partner project. Ever since the two were like brothers. Though, it was no secret that like the Holts, Shiro did not belong to Altea. The Holts were humans, their parents hailing from a marvelous planet called Earth, while Shiro came from a planet called Voltron. He never spoke of the planet he was born to nor did he explain why he left at such a young age alone.

"Why don't we get Shiro to help so we could cover more ground? Cain and Lemia will be located in no time with the three of us!" Katie offered, smiling down at her darling niece. Delphie thought for a moment to herself, little face contorted with ponderance.

Finally, she peered up at her aunt with unsure conviction. "He won't tell Mommy and Daddy, will he?" Katie shook her head lightly in response. Delphie's face brightened. "Then let's do it! Cain and Lemia here we come," Delphie cheered, clearly happier than when she came to Katie just minutes before. At the action, Katie gave an affectionate laugh, searching ahead for any signs of Cain or Lemia.

Lemia was a girl of short stature with dark skin and straight white hair. Unlike Cain or Delphie, Lemia was not born with the sigils of the Alteans on her face, and, in turn, was often bullied by those who did back home. Of course, as the Holt she was, Lemia did not let such foolery handicap her. The young girl, age six, took after her father's affinity to technology and intelligence. Lemia was always deep in a book or tinkering on some leftover scraps from her father's inventions.

Then there was the youngest, Cain, twin to Delphie and the first boy of Katie's brother and his wife. Cain was lanky and thin with milky skin and white, wavy hair that he kept short. Cain was the opposite of his sisters. Delphie was outgoing and joyous, Lemia was smart and elegant, but Cain? Cain was meek and timid, shy around anyone he did not know too well. The three could not be more different in Katie's eyes.