Allura Does Arus

The night sky on Arus was mostly clear, though a few groups of clouds were scattered here and there. The full moon shone brightly, illuminating the ground with incredible brilliance. Coran had designated five separate towns that were near the robeast’s last attack and each member of the Voltron Force had been assigned to protect that town. Keith doubted that any of the lions would be able to hold off the robeast, but at least this way they would have ample warning and time to regroup.

Keith, stationed in the city closest to the last attack, sat in Black Lion and constantly switched his monitor from one camera view to another. With satellites and remote cameras, he had a full three-sixty degree view of the city.

Hunk, who was stationed to the North of Keith, sat cross legged on top of Yellow Lion. Taking a meditative approach, Hunk preferred to “listen” to his surroundings. Incase the robeast attacked; he would still have time to enter his lion via the hatch atop the lion’s head.

Lance and Pidge had each taken cities to the South-East. Not one to sit around and wait, Lance took the air approach, flying patterns across the night sky over the city and using infrared sensors to locate any heat signature that the robeast might give off.

Pidge located himself atop a cliff overlooking the town he was guarding. Instead of using infrared, he used Green Lion’s night vision as well as motion sensors to try to find the mysterious attacker.

Allura volunteered to guard the town to the West. Allura decided that instead of relying on her lion’s mechanical devices, she would do things more old fashioned. Parking her lion in the center of town, Allura grabbed a flashlight and proceed to patrol on foot.

The town was small enough for Allura to patrol the perimeter of the town relatively quickly. It was getting late and most of the town’s people had retired to their homes. News of the previous attacks and fear that they may be next had everyone on edge. Seeing their princess patrolling their town made them feel both safe and wary.

Allura had made her third trip around the town when she heard footsteps in an alley behind her. With a heightened sense of awareness and caution she continued to walk down the desolate street, keeping her eyes and ears open for anything unusual.

Allura traversed about fifty feet when she heard the noise again. There was no doubt in Allura’s mind that she was being followed. “Who or what could it be?” she mentally asked herself. Her heart began to beat faster as her body pumped adrenaline throughout. Allura carefully made her way down the street and switched off her flashlight. As discreetly as she could she slipped into a darkened alley, and waited for her pursuer.

Lance was getting bored. He had lost count of the amount of passes he had made over the town and surrounding woods but nothing seemed out of place. Needing someone to talk to, he opened a comm. channel to Pidge.

“Hey Pidge, anything exciting going on over there?”

“Nothing here but a couple of stray dogs that are getting to know each other…very well,” Pidge replied.

“Tell me about it. I didn’t know how much heat the human body gave off until tonight,” Lance said as he turned his infra-red scanner off. “Have you heard anything from the others?”

“No,” Pidge replied. “I wonder if they’re as bored as us.”

“Shouldn’t you two be concentrating on the ground instead of your boredom?” Keith asked over the intercom.

“Sorry, Chief,” Pidge answered.

“I know how you feel, guys, but Arus is counting on us. We can’t let our guard down, no matter how boring this mission may be.”

“You’re right,” Lance replied.

“It could be worse, Lance,” Keith said.

“How?”

“You could be at home watching late night reruns of that horrible elevator show.”

“Tell me about it. That’s one show that really needs to be taken off the air.” With that, the comm. line went silent and everyone went back to their duties.

Allura didn’t have long to wait. Her heart was beating in rhythm to the footsteps as they neared. The sound of boot heels clapping against the sidewalk echoed down the street and through the alley that hid Allura. She pulled her blaster out of the holster and gripped it tightly. Sweat began to form on her forehead. Allura closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try to calm her mind. As she opened her eyes, a shadowy figure passed by the entrance of the alley. Moving with lightning speed, Allura stepped out of the alley pressed the muzzle of her blaster against the figure’s back.

“Don’t make any sudden moves,” she ordered. “And put your hands where I can see them.”

The figure slow raised their hands. Being extremely cautious, Allura stepped back and raised her flashlight, illuminating the person before her. “Slowly turn around.”

The figure complied with Allura’s order. Allura could see that the figure before her was a young woman about her own age and she seemed frightened. Allura lowered her weapon and flashlight.

The young woman had to blink her eyes several times before she could see properly again. She breathed a little easier as she saw that Allura was no longer pointing a weapon at her.

“Who are you?” the princess asked her.

“My name is Tabitha,” the young woman replied.

“Why were you following me?”

“You’re Princess Allura, are you not? I’m an admirer of yours and when I saw you walking around the town, I just had to meet you.”

Allura felt herself relaxing and holstered her weapon completely, though she remained cautious. “Why didn’t you just come up and introduce yourself?”

The young woman shuffled her feet and looked towards the ground, unable to look Allura in the eyes. “I’m a bit on the shy side,” she replied.

“I understand,” Allura told her. “But you should know it’s not polite to follow people around in the dark. You could have gotten hurt.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Allura felt guilty for being so impersonal with the young woman. As she looked her over in the flashlight’s beam, she could see that the girl was rather attractive. Her brown hair fell down to her shoulders, which were bare. The white, flimsy shirt she wore, with the sleeves off the shoulders and semi-transparent fabric, barely covered her well developed breasts. Even in the small amount of light provided by her flashlight, Allura could tell the girl wasn’t wearing anything underneath her shirt. Her tan shorts barely covered anything. Staring at the young woman, Allura felt a sudden urge to find out what her lips might taste like.

“It’s not safe for you out here,” Allura told her. “You should go home.”

The young girl nodded in agreement. “Would you walk home with me?”

Allura was hesitant. The strange physical attraction she had towards this woman had her confused. She knew that if she remained beside her for too long she would be tempted but Allura knew she couldn’t just send the poor girl home in the dark.

“Ok, I’ll walk you home.”

The young woman smiled and instinctively took Allura’s hand as she led the way home. Allura was surprised at how strong, yet gentle the girl’s grip was. Her skin was warm and soft and Allura found herself not wanting to let go.

Hunk had remained motionless for quite some time. At first glance, one might think that he fell asleep, but the exact opposite was true. His senses were fully alert. He could feel the slight breeze blowing across the land. He could hear the constant stream of noise created by the native insects. The sound reminded him of cicadas back on Earth. All night Hunk could smell the sweet aroma of the Arusian rose. Similar to the rose on Earth, this particular plant gave off a much sweeter smell, due to a paste-like liquid that the flower produced. The liquid acted in a role similar to pollen. Specific insects would land in the flower and drink the thick liquid. In doing so, some of the paste would stick to their bodies and would get transferred to the next flower the insect visited. The paste also provided the rose with a unique flavor when properly processed as an herb.

On this particular night the sweet aroma was strong, almost intoxicating. It helped Hunk to relax and focus on his meditation. Every so often Hunk would take a big whiff, letting the aroma fill him.

Crack!

Hunk turned his attention to the direction of the noise. He strained for several long moments but couldn’t hear anything. He listened again, still nothing. Then Hunk realized that he didn’t hear any noise. The sound of the insects had stopped. Hunk sniffed the air again but this time there was something mixed in with the aroma of the flowers. It smelled foul and rancid. The breeze blew again and Hunk looked up to see a large, dark cloud float in front of the moon. The land grew dark and it took Hunk’s eyes several moments to adjust.

Crack! Crack!

The sound of snapping twigs and dead branches was becoming more regular. Hunk stood up. From his vantage point on to of Yellow Lion’s head he had a clear view of the surround land. His attention was focused on the forest just a hundred yards away. He stared at the trees and for a brief moment, he thought he saw a pair of yellow eyes staring at him.

The moon was completely hidden behind the large black cloud but the young woman leading Allura didn’t need any light. She grew up on these streets and had memorized their layout. It only took them a few short minutes to reach her house.

Tabitha was so excited that she practically yanked Allura into her house. “Mom, I’m home!”

“I’m in the kitchen, dear,” came an answer.

“Come on, I want you to meet my mother.” Tabitha guided Allura across the spacious living room and through an arched doorway that lead into the dining room. After maneuvering around the modest dining table, Tabitha pulled Allura through another archway to the left.

Standing at the kitchen sink was Tabitha’s mother. She was in her mid-forties but still very beautiful. Allura admired the way the woman looked in a knee-length brown skirt and matching blouse. The woman’s brown hair was tied up in a bun and her sleeves were rolled up. As the woman turned, Allura could see where water had splashed up on her white apron.

“I brought someone home with me, mom.”

The woman was struck back when she saw Allura. Of all the possible people her daughter could have brought home, she didn’t expect the Princess of Arus.

“Mom, this is Princess Allura. Princess Allura, this is my mother.”

The older woman quickly dried her hands on her apron and approached Allura, bowing respectively. “My humblest apologizes, your highness. If I knew you were coming I would have made preparations.”

“Non-sense,” Allura stated. “Please rise, there is no need for formalities here.”

A bit surprised, the woman stood at nodded at Allura. “As you wish; your highness.”

“And please, just call me Allura.”

“Isn’t she sweet, mom?”

“My name is Samantha. I’m sorry if my daughter has given you any trouble. She seems to act before she thinks sometimes.”

“I quite understand. I’ve been told that I do the same thing.”

“Really?” Tabitha said with a surprise.

“Oh yes,” Allura said with a smile. “Coran and Nanny like to remind of it almost every day.”

“Would you care to have a seat, your highness?” asked Samantha.

“Thank you, but I can’t. I really have to get back to my patrol.”

“Please stay for a little while longer,” Tabitha pleaded as she took Allura’s hand. She moved in close, so close that Allura became intoxicated with the smell of the girl’s perfume. “I really want to hear about life in the castle and what it’s like being a princess.”

Allura could barely focus. Her eyes kept falling down to the girl’s neck. Oh how she desired to nuzzle up against her, to kiss Tabitha’s soft, creamy skin. From their close proximity, Allura could look down inside the girl’s loose shirt and Allura could see the dark rings of her areolas. Tabitha’s breasts were so close that Allura wanted to reach up and squeeze them. Allura licked her lips then lifted her eyes back up to Tabitha’s.

“I guess I could stay for a little bit.”

Tabitha’s face lit up like a Christmas tree.

“I’ll get us something to drink,” Samantha said.

Tabitha led Allura over to the dining table and pulled out a chair. Allura removed her helmet and shook out her hair before taking a seat. Tabitha sat down next her, scooting in close. It didn’t take long for Samantha to return with three cups of what looked like hot chocolate.

From the safety of the forest the creature sat and watched Hunk. Its strange yellow eyes acted like night vision goggles, allowing it to see in varying shades of green. It had awakened after the sun had gone down and very slowly it had crept to the edge of the forest. It had been watching the space explorer for quite some time. To test the strange human the creature had deliberately snapped a twig in half. The human had moved, trying to find out what caused the noise. Again, then creature broke a twig, then another. The human didn’t move, it just looked towards the forest. The creature stared at it and it stared at the creature.

Its master had told it to injure the human, but not to kill it. But it had to wait for the sign before attacking. The creature had waited until the moon had been completely hidden behind the clouds. The time had come. The creature moved swiftly, bursting forth from the forest with such incredible speed. It only took a matter of seconds for it to traverse the distance between the forest edge and the parked yellow lion. With amazing agility it leaped into the air and collided with the strange human. The attack was over in a matter of minutes.