All five lions depart from the castle, heading toward the tracker's location. With the black lion in the lead, the four remaining lions follow close behind in a tight formation. "Lotor's cruiser is on the other side of the planet. At our current rate of speed, we'll be within attack range in an hour," Pidge informed the team.

"Good," Keith replied. "Hold formation."

In the distance, Lotor's ship could be seen hovering above the rings of the planet. While they were focused on the target, Allura accidentally lost control of the blue lion and rammed into the yellow lion's side. "Oh, apologies, Hunk!"

After steadying the yellow lion, Hunk groaned. "Mm, is attacking right now such a good idea? You know, since not everyone is so great with their lions?"

"Do you mean me, specifically?" Allura asked with an irked tone.

"You? No," Hunk replied swiftly before deciding to state the obvious. "No way, I didn't. I'm just simply pointing out that more than half of the team are in new lions. Maybe now's not a great time to bite off more than we can chew."

"You can blame our hotheaded leader for that one," Lance scoffs.

"First, you want me to lead and then you complain about how I do it. Prince Lotor is the heir to the galra throne. We could end his reign right now," Keith replied in irritation.

Hunk suddenly heard a strange noise from his cockpit and looked around in confusion. "Uh, did you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Pidge asked.

"A weird noise." Hunk leaned over the edge of his seat and searched his surroundings. He frowned in confusion but then shrieked loudly when he felt something brush against his feet. "What was that?!"

"Hunk, stop screaming!" Lance yelled. "You're gonna blow my eardrums out!"

"There's something in here with me!" He ignored Lance's comment as he continued to yell at the top of his lungs.

"Maybe the mice decided to join us," Allura said.

"No! No! No! No! This is much bigger than the mice! It's probably gonna eat me!"

"Just find it and get rid of it," Keith hissed in annoyance. "We need to focus on the mission."

"Okay, okay." Hunk inhaled deeply before exhaling. He built up his courage and looked around the cockpit once more. When he saw nothing, he seemed to relax. "Maybe it was my—" His eyes widen in horror when something latches onto his helmet. He screams the highest he could and tried to pry the creature off his helmet, resulting in him falling out of his chair. "Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!"

The other paladins contacted the yellow lion via video transmission to see what the creature was. Their eyes widen in bafflement as they saw what was attached to Hunk's helmet and shouted her name in unison. "Arcadia?!"

"Coran!" Allura immediately contacted her royal advisor. "You were suppose to be watching over Arcadia!"

"Oh, yes," he chuckled nervously. "I meant to contact you before you departed the castle, but it slipped my mind. Apologies, Princess."

The transmission ended and Lance groaned. "This is the second time she's stowed away! We've gotta put her in a cage or lock her in someone's room before we head out on missions."

"We're not doing either," Keith growled. "Hunk, just keep her safe."

Hunk managed to pry Arcadia off his helmet with a huff. "I'll try..." He pushed himself off the floor with the flameling in one arm and climbed back into his chair. Hunk placed her in his lap, which earned a cheerful but weak chirp from the dragon. He looked down at her and placed a hand on the back of her neck. "Well, at least you're not burning up like earlier." She maneuvered her body so his hand was on her head. She leaned into his touch, which earned a giddy smile and an adorable blush from him.

"You're so cute! Can you stay like this forever?" Hunk cooed.

"Uh, Hunk?" Pidge called out to the yellow paladin. "You do remember what's happening to her, right?"

A bell chimes in Hunk's head and he remembers her current condition. "Oh, yeah..."

Lance decided to change the subject to something that wasn't depressing, guiding his lion toward the blue one. "Allura, you doing okay in Blue?"

"I'm fine. I've been flying the castle for half my life. I just need a few ticks to adjust to the lion," the princess replied.

"Good, because we're going in," Keith spoke up.

The distance between the lions and Lotor's ship was shrinking with each passing second. The paladins were tense as they suffocated in the silence surrounding them. It was excruciating even to Arcadia, who could sense their feelings. She remained in Hunk's lap, staring at the ship in the distance. She reared up on her hind legs to get a better look and ended up losing her balance. She fell back against Hunk's stomach with a snort.

"I'm detecting movement," Keith informed the team.

"So much for the element of surprise," Lance sarcastically replied.

"It's just a single fighter," Hunk stated, analyzing the only motion his lion detected. "Where's the rest of them?"

"Probably scrambling as we speak," Keith said. "Let's take it out."

The small ship piloted around the planet and sped toward them. Lance went to maneuver out of its path, but he wasn't used to the red lion's speed and rammed into the black lion. Keith grunts in annoyance with a glare. "Lance, what are you doing?"

"Sorry! Red here is a lot faster than I'm used to," Lance confesses. He manages to get the red lion under control and looks around when he couldn't find the ship. "Uh, where'd that fighter go?"

Out of the blue, the five lions were fired upon. The fighter's main target was the black lion, focusing its firepower on Keith. He tried to maneuver his lion, but he was still used to the high speeds of the red lion and was becoming frustrated with the controls. "Come on, move!" The fighter manages to hit the black lion, earning a grunt from its pilot. "I can't shake him! Someone get this guy off my tail!"

"Coming in on your six," Pidge announced as she and the others came to Keith's aid. They fired at the fighter, but it easily dodged their lasers and a few ended up striking the black lion.

"Allura!" Keith snarled after her laser hit the black lion.

"I'm sorry, Keith!" Allura apologizes.

Then, the red lion soars right past the black lion. "Seriously, does this thing have brakes?!" Lance wailed.

The fighter nimbly dodged all their attacks, which made the paladins even more frustrated. Allura flew the blue lion toward the small ship, firing lasers at it. It skillfully avoided her longe-range attacks and caused her lion to head straight for the yellow one. Hunk's eyes widen as he shouts her name repeatedly. "Allura! Allura!"

They both yell when they collide, resulting in Arcadia to fly out of Hunk's lap. The two lions nearly smashed into Red, but they were fortunate enough to not make it a three-way collision. Lance was stunned at the fighter's maneuvers. "Whoa! What's up with this guy? He's playing us against ourselves."

"It's gotta be Lotor," Keith grumbled.

"Ow..." Hunk whimpered after he was able to steady the yellow lion. He looked over at the blue lion and contacted the princess. "Allura, you okay over there?"

"I'm fine, but these controls are not responding, not like the castle. What's wrong with you, Lion? Do as I command! Move!" Allura commanded Blue sternly.

"Maybe someone should suggest to Allura that flying the lion is different than flying the castle," Pidge muttered.

"Hey," Lance started. "I already told her yelling at her lion wouldn't work. Didn't go over well. She yelled at me, too."

"Yeah, count me out," Hunk spoke up. "She scares me when she's under pressure."

"I can hear you," Allura announces, clearly annoyed by their comments.

After a symphony of screams from the three paladins, Pidge contacted their leader. "Keith, what should we do?"

"How about this? Everyone stay out of my way!" Keith bellowed.

"Great," Lance sarcastically responds to Keith's demands. "Great leadership."

The others watch as Keith flies the black lion toward the fighter. He fired lasers at the small spacecraft, but he wasn't able to land a single shot. With each failed attempt, Keith's anger skyrocketed. Regardless of its size, the fighter was winning the battle.

While watching the fight, an alarm goes off inside the yellow lion and startles Hunk. He glances down at the dash and saw the cargo bay hatch located on the lion's underbelly was open. He gasped, looking around the cockpit for Arcadia. "Mini, where are you?!"

"What's wrong, Hunk?" Lance asked, tearing his eyes away from the black lion and the fighter.

Hunk didn't answer as the hatch closed. He saw a small white object fly past his lion and shrieked. "Dragon overboard!"

"What?!" Pidge's and Allura's shrill cry filled the comms.

"You let Arcadia out of your lion?!" Lance added.

"I didn't let her out! She got out on her own!" Hunk yelled in defense.

"Her bond with the lions allows her to interact with them. It's possible she convinced the yellow lion to open its hatch and let her out," Allura said.

"What do we do?!" Hunk hyperventilated.

"We should—!" Lance was interrupted by a blinding light. He, along with the others, covered their eyes. When they lowered their hands to see what caused such a radiant glow, they gasped. "Holy crow!"

"Space dragon's back," Hunk cried tears of joy, clamping his hands together as he watched the large creature fly toward the fighter.

Keith had tuned out the entire conversation as he was solely focused on the fighter. He gritted his teeth as the black lion was blasted back by the small spacecraft. As the fighter closed in on him, a large silhouette came out of nowhere and tackled it. When he recognized the large beast latched onto the fighter, he stared with wide eyes as his body became paralyzed with emotions.

Arcadia dug her claws into the fighter, flapping her wings rapidly. She growled, but it went unheard by everyone. Her golden eyes glinted dangerously as she stared through the glass of the fighter. She was able to make out the unease in Lotor's expression before releasing the fighter and batting it away from Keith with her tail. It went soaring a good distance away from the paladins.

"Everyone," Arcadia said over the comms. "As much as I would love to hug each one of you, you need to form Voltron! I've bought you some time, but make it snappy!"

Keith seemed to be able to relax after hearing her voice. It had only been nearly three days since he's heard her melodic voice, but it felt like years to him. He nodded and addressed his team. "Everyone, you heard her! In formation!"

The five lions flew in 'V' formation, but nothing was happening. Arcadia watched in confusion as the paladins weren't able to form Voltron.

Hunk spoke up after coming to the same conclusion and expressed his worry. "Uh, guys? Guys, I'm not really feeling that Voltron feeling!"

"Keep going!" Keith bellowed.

"It's not happening!" Pidge yelled.

Keith growls, his frustration returning. "What is going on?"

"Guys! Fighter!" Lance shouted.

The fighter flies straight toward the lions at high-speed, firing relentlessly at them. The lasers forced the paladins to break formation, earning a low and menacing growl from Arcadia. Her chest glowed with a bright red before she exhaled a powerful blast of fire. The fighter dodged the incoming fire, but it was unable to dodge the lightning she hurled right after. It hit its mark, forcing the spacecraft to retreat.

"Well..." Lance mumbled as he watched the ship grow smaller in the distance. "That was embarrassing."

"So should we call it quits? Maybe go back, regroup, get a meal?" Hunk suggests, hoping Keith would call for their own retreat.

Unfortunately, he didn't. "No! I know everyone is struggling, but we can't let Lotor slip away."

The paladins and Arcadia pursued Lotor. They followed the fighter into the strange planet's atmosphere. The atmosphere of the planet was composed of a thick gas, preventing the paladins and Arcadia from seeing what was only a few feet from them, which didn't bode well with Pidge. "We may not want to follow him. We don't know what's in there."

Keith ignores Pidge's warning and headed deeper into the yellow and orange gas covering the entirety of the planet. Arcadia snorted in disbelief, following after the black lion. She tried to contact him, but her comms were brimming with static. She shook her head, the scratchy noise bothering her sensitive hearing. Distracted by the static, she collided with one of the many stony pillars on the planet's surface. She growled deeply, a few shards of stone raining down on her body from the impact.

"Guys... have a... Sensors are going crazy," Pidge's transmission was chopped up due to the immense amount of static. "I think it's... this planet's atmosphere and... be strange magnetic poles."

"I'm only receiving bits and pieces of your transmission, Pidge," Arcadia mentally sighed.

"We can't worry about that now. I'm not letting this guy get away," Keith said, his words clear as he was the closest one to Arcadia. Assembling the puzzle pieces, she flew closer to the others to clear up the static.

"Keith, without accurate sensors or working equipment, we're not gonna be able to tell what's up or down, where we are, or how to get out," Pidge exclaimed. "I say we fall back."

"No, keep going," Keith demanded.

Hunk, who hadn't heard the entire transmission due to the static, was confused as to what their plan was. "What? All I heard was "going." Are we going back? Is anyone else getting this static?"

"I'm losing visuals on you all," Allura stated in a worried tone. "I need you to slow down!"

Arcadia fell behind to fly beside the blue lion. She contacted the princess to calm her. "I'm right here, Allura."

She sighed in relief, knowing her best friend was close by. "Thank you, Arcadia. It puts my mind at ease to know you're here by my side."

"He's getting away!" Keith suddenly shouted, which came through clearly on the girls' comms.

"Guys, I think this gas is messing with our radios," Hunk said. "We gotta stay close if we want to be able to communicate."

"Keith!" Arcadia shouts desperately, hoping her boyfriend would acknowledge her and the team's distress. "You must think about the others! You're being careless!"

Silence.

Arcadia growled, flying ahead to reach the black lion.  She flew ahead of it and immediately stopped, blocking its path. She placed her claws on the mechanical feline's outer shell and forced it to a complete stop with her strength. She stared into the lion's yellow eyes, knowing exactly where Keith was sitting. "Listen to me. Listen to your team."

All of a sudden, lasers pierce the gas and target the lions and Arcadia. A few lasers meant for the black lion hit the alchemist directly in the back, causing her to roar out in pain and release the lion. She lost altitude due to the pain, but she quickly healed and recovered.

Suddenly, Allura cries out as the blue lion was hit. "No! No!"

"Allura took a hit," Hunk said. "I'm going after her."

"Hunk!" Keith shouts. He groans when both the yellow and blue lions signals disappeared off the radar. Caring more about catching Lotor, the newly appointed black paladin disregarded Hunk and Allura. "The rest of you, stay on me!"

"Keith, we have to go back for Allura!" Lance protested against his leader's orders. He growls when the black lion only continued its fast pace toward the fighter. "Keith, you're splitting up the team!" Once again, the boy was ignored. "Keith, don't do this!"

Finally, Keith breaks. He yells and pulls the black lion back, regrouping with the red lion, the green lion, and Arcadia. The dragon glared daggers at the black lion, angry at how its pilot had been recklessly putting his teammates in danger. She held her tongue, deciding to lash out at him once they were safely back in the castle. The four turned around, heading in the direction the yellow and blue lions vanished.

When the two missing lions came into view, Pidge quickly contacted them. "Is everyone okay?"

"I'm sorry that I slowed us down, but the blue lion isn't listening to me," Allura confesses with a heavy sigh.

"It's okay. We're a team," Lance reassures the princess. "We stick together. Isn't that right, Keith?"

Arcadia glanced at the black lion, eagerly awaiting Keith's response. When she heard what he had to say, she couldn't believe her ears. "It's not about the team. We have a mission that's more important than any one of us. We need to find Lotor and stop him, and I plan on doing that right now."

Unable to hold her anger at bay, Arcadia bore her sharp teeth with a threatening growl. "Keith..."

"It's fine, Arcadia," Lance sarcastically responds with a sigh. "He's not gonna listen to any of us, even his own girlfriend who just recovered from something life-threatening. Come on, guys. We'd better stick together."

Inside the black lion's cockpit, Keith gripped the controls tightly. He gritted his teeth, wanting to argue with Lance for what he said. Instead, he kept silent and turned his lion around and continued forward without his comrades. Begrudgingly, the remaining paladins and Arcadia followed after the black lion.

Once they caught up with their leader, Hunk whimpered. "This is crazy! We can't see a thing."

"Stay together. He's around here somewhere. I know it," Keith said. His eyes scanned the thick gas and spotted movement. "There!" Just as soon as he spotted the fighter, it disappeared.

Allura glanced around frantically. "Where did he go?"

"No clue," Pidge responded. "Our radars are worthless in here."

"Hey, is it just me or does anyone else get the feeling this guy is just toying with us?" Hunk questioned.

"I'm with you, big guy," Lance comments. "I'm getting a case of the heebie-jeebies."

"He must have lured us here on purpose," Pidge stated.

Arcadia heard the faint buzzing of an engine and knew it was the fighter. She opted to refrain from using alchemy and flew in the direction of the spacecraft. Allura gasped when she saw the dragon flying away. "Arcadia, wait!" She looked to where she was heading and saw the outline of Lotor's ship.

Lance also spotted the shape and turned his lion's head in that direction. "Up there!"

They all screamed as the fighter approached, but it was knocked out of its trajectory by a tail before it could tear through their formation. The paladins were relieved and thankful for Arcadia's quick reaction to keep the fighter from separating them, but they knew she wouldn't be able to protect them for long with poor visibility. "We need to get out of here," Hunk advised. "Space dragon won't be able to help us for long. We've been led into a trap. The tables have turned. He's flipped the script. The hunters have become the hunted."

"Hunk, shouting taglines is getting us nowhere!" Lance shouted at the yellow paladin.

"Lance is right," Keith said in agreement, which shocked the team slightly. "Remain calm and get ready. He's gonna attack again. We can't let Arcadia keep protecting us. Everyone, circle up." The others guided their lions and did as he commanded. "We need to be prepared for anything. As soon as you see him, fire with everything you've got."

Arcadia emerged from the thick gas and dove under the lions, the fighter on her tail. She went to inform the others about Lotor's suspicious behavior, but Keith yelled out a command as soon as he and the others saw the small spacecraft. "Now! Fire!" The black lion was the first to fire its laser. Keith immediately regretted his decision when the laser resulted in a powerful explosion, causing his lion to propel backward.

It was too late for the other paladins. They fired their lions' lasers and created a chain reaction of explosions. The five screamed as they lost control of their lions and flew in different directions. Arcadia was safe from the explosions, but she watched helplessly as the team was split apart. Seeing the blue lion ram into a couple of stone pillars and falling, she flew after it. Unfortunately, she was unable to catch up before Allura disappeared into the thick gas.

Arcadia tried to contact Allura, but all she received was static. She kept her comms on and called out to the princess every few seconds as a way to locate the blue lion. She flew through the gas and noticed the fighter from the corner of her eye. She growled, which grabbed Lotor's attention. He flew toward her, but she dodged and scraped her claws against the ship's exterior. This caused Lotor to lose momentary control, buying Arcadia time. She flew away from the spacecraft and used the gas as cover. She waited for the prince to fly by her before resuming her search for Allura.

After what felt like hours, Arcadia located the blue lion when she heard Allura's distress call faintly through the comms. "Hello? Paladins, Arcadia, help!" She flew around and waited for the princess to contact her and the others in hopes the signal would be more clear. Fortunately, it was. "Hello? Can anyone hear me?"

Arcadia searched the area, avoiding the path Lotor was patrolling. She knew he was trying to locate the blue lion as well. She saw a faint outline located in an alcove in one of the stone pillars and flew over to it. "Allura, is that you?" Her golden eyes were narrowed as she tried to see through the thick gas.

"Arcadia!" Allura cheered. "I'm so glad you found me! I was afraid I was all alone."

The dragon landed in front of the blue lion, staring into its eyes. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she sighs. "But how're we supposed to regroup with the others? Lotor is searching for us."

"This gas is thick, but I might be able to help. I could distract Lotor while you try to find a way to the others."

"How will I be able to see through suck thick gas? It's impossible!"

Arcadia heard the blue lion growl, which went unheard by Allura. "You must bond with your lion."

"I don't think now is the time, Arcadia," the princess retorts.

"Now might not be the best time, but it's the only way we're gonna be able to get out of here. Trust in your lion, Allura. Remain calm and feel what Blue feels. She'll show you when she trusts you enough."

"Okay," Allura said. She inhaled then exhales deeply. "Stay calm. Think. What would Lance do?"

Arcadia turned her back to the blue lion, deciding to be Allura's eyes while she tried to connect with her lion.

The princess exhaled once again after an idea struck her. She decided to act like Lance. "Hey there, Blue Lion. You know, you're really activating my particle barrier right now." Arcadia overheard her attempt to flirt with the blue lion and chuckled mentally. Allura heard and glared weakly at the dragon. "Don't laugh at me!"

"Don't be Lance, be Allura," Arcadia said, her back still turned to the lion.

"What else can I try?! Nothing works! I've tried asking her nicely, and I've tried commanding her. What does she want from me? I can't do this."

"Don't you dare give up now, Allura. Keep trying," the alchemist encourages.

"Everyone depends on me. The universe depends on me, but I can't control everything," Allura mutters sadly.

"No one expects you to carry every burden. Trust in others, trust in your lion."

Allura slumped forward in her seat, hands grasping the blue lion's controls. "I... I need your help," she whispers to her lion. Blue responds with a deep growl, which caused the princess to gasp. "I can hear you."

Arcadia spotted Lotor, who had discovered their hiding spot. She quickly flew at him before he could react, buying Allura more time to connect with the blue lion. She latched onto the fighter, face inches from the glass. She released a thunderous roar, which was heard by all. She pinned Lotor's ship against a stone pillar, clawing at the exterior. She saw the blue lion soar past her, which was her signal to depart. She release her hold on the spacecraft and followed after Allura.

"What did Blue show you?" The draconian asked as she followed closely behind the blue lion.

"A sonar map. I can see all our surroundings!" Allura chanted. "It was only possible because of you, Arcadia."

"No," she said. "I did nothing. It was all you, Allura. Now, let's go find the others before Lotor catches up."

<———————<<<<<<<

Allura and Arcadia were able to find Keith and Lance with ease due to the blue lion's sonar mapping. Now, only two paladins were missing. However, the princess was able to locate them just as easy. "Hailing Pidge and Hunk," Allura contacted the two paladins as she, Arcadia, Keith, and Lance pierced through the gas. "Are you paladins looking for an exit?"

"No way! You guys found us!" Hunk cheerfully shouted.

"You should be thanking Allura," Arcadia stated.

"Yeah," Keith said. "She found you. She found all of us. She was able to connect with her lion."

"Wow!" Pidge gasped in amazement. "How did you do it?"

"I just had to get into a Lance-like mindset and stop thinking so much," the princess answered.

"Yeah, think like Lance!" Then Lance realized what she said. "Wait a minute! Are you calling me dumb?"

"Maybe..." Arcadia whispered through the comms.

Allura quickly spoke up to hide Arcadia's teasing tone. "No, I'm calling you a natural."

"Naturally dumb," Hunk remarked.

"Yeah, he was born with it," Pidge snickered.

"Look, I'm glad we're all making fun of Lance, but we still have to find a way out of here," Keith chimed in.

"Lead the way, Allura," the alchemist said.

The princess nodded. "Follow me. I know a way out." Before she could guide her friends to safety, she spotted something in the distance on the sonar. "Wait a tick. Everyone, we have company."

Several ships appeared on the lions' radars, which alerted the paladins. Arcadia was confused as to why they fell silent until she heard the multiple engines in the distance.

"It looks like Lotor called for backup," Hunk whimpered. "Oh, man. It's always something."

Keith made a call. "We have to form Voltron."

"But we were not able to form Voltron the last time we tried," Allura said worryingly.

"We have to keep trying. We may have come here fragmented and disorganized, but the only way we're getting out of here is if we work together," Keith said in an attempt to enlighten the spirits of his fellow comrades. "This is our team. Shiro believed in us.
We have to believe in ourselves."

Arcadia smiled at hearing Keith's speech. She hovered a few feet from the blue lion and glanced around at the paladins. "He'd be proud of all of you. Let's make him even prouder."

Keith glances at Arcadia with a faint smile. He turned his gaze back to the lions. "Who's with us?"

"Yeah!" The four paladins shouted harmoniously.

Keith grinned at their energetic response. "Now, form Voltron!"

Arcadia flew a safe distance from the lions as she watched the five become one. Her smile widened as each lion locked into place and formed Voltron successfully. "I knew you five could do it. You need to put more faith in yourselves," she muttered in a whisper.

"Hunk, I'm a leg!" Allura shouted in excitement.

"Pretty cool, right?" Hunk smiled at her reaction.

Voltron and Arcadia flew side by side as they decided to bring the fight to the galra. They flew out of the planet's atmosphere and headed straight for the enemy spacecraft. The ships fired their ion cannons, but the powerful lasers were blocked by Voltron's shield thanks to pidge's quick thinking. The lasers were deflected and redirected back at the ships, resulting in a chain of explosions as they hit their marks.

Arcadia flew ahead of Voltron, deciding to take out the ion cannons with a few incantations. Voltron kept deflecting and redirecting lasers back at the ships as the dragon took out the ion cannons one by one. Eventually, the fleet's number diminished. One of the smaller ships amongst the fleet realized the downfall of their allies and retreated.

"Lotor's getting away," Pidge stated. "Should we go after him?"

"No," Keith replied, learning from his earlier mistakes. "Pushing the team too hard is what got us in this mess in the first place. We'll face him again when we're ready."

The paladins and Arcadia smiled at his response, happy to know he was finally listening to them. "Roger that, team leader," Lance responds.

<———————<<<<<<<

Arcadia landed beside the black lion inside its hangar before transforming to her normal shelf. Before Keith could even exit his lion, she darted out of the hangar and to her room. She passed Coran and waved at him. "Oh, hey, Coran!"

He casually waves back before his eyes widen in realization and he turns in the direction the girl was running. "Arcadia?!"

"Talk later, shower now!" She shouted back.

The alchemist reached her room and headed into the bathroom attached to it. She immediately cleaned herself, feeling how dirty she was due to not being able to take a proper shower while she was a flameling. She scrubbed her skin and hair for a good twenty minutes before hopping out and changing into her casual attire. She left the bathroom, still drying her snowy locks.

The door to Arcadia's room slid open, but she was too occupied with drying her hair to acknowledge who entered. "Give me a few minutes and I'll—ah!"

Two arms wrap around her in a tight hug. She dropped the towel as her back made contact with someone's chest. Then, she gasped when she felt the person's warm breath caress the side of her neck. Only one person would hug her like this—Keith.

The young girl smiled fondly as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. She placed her hands on the arms that were wound around her body. "Y'know, you hugged me a lot when I was a flameling."

"Yeah, but hugging you like this is what I've been wanting to do for the past three days," Keith confesses. "Not hug a lizard."

Hey!" Arcadia pouted childishly. "I'll have you know lizards have nothing on dragons! I should know because there were so many back on Earth and they liked crawling on me. What frightened me the most was when I picked one up by the tail and it fell off. That nearly gave me a heart attack."

"They grow back, y'know," he chuckled.

"What?" She gasped. "They do?! That creature book I read didn't say that! I thought I had doomed it for life. I'll give them a point for regeneration powers, but dragon's are still better than lizards."

"Whatever you say, Arcadia," Keith muttered with a grin.

They both fell silent. Arcadia managed to break free from Keith's embrace and climbed onto the bed. She sat on her knees, staring at him with a smirk. He raised a brow in confusion, knowing she was plotting something. Suddenly, she lunged forward and grabbed the front of his shirt. Using her weight, she fell back on the bed while tugging Keith along. He fell on top of her, but he managed to land on his hands and straddle her hips with his knees before his body could crush hers. He stared down at Arcadia with wide eyes from his sudden fall.

Arcadia released her grip on Keith's shirt with a snort of laughter. "Remember what you told me in the control tower?"

"Uh..." Keith thought for a few seconds and nodded. "Yeah."

"You want that kiss now or would you rather have another lick on the cheek?"

Keith's brows furrowed. "Don't you dare lick my cheek."

"Aw," she grinned. "You're no fun. Guess I'll do it the boring way, then." She placed both hands on his cheeks, pulling his face down and pressing her lips against his in a passionate and much-needed kiss.

Keith lowered himself to his elbows, deepening the kiss in the process. The kiss turned into a make-out session, which only lasted a few minutes before the two separated. He pushed himself back onto his hands, staring down into Arcadia's golden eyes. He didn't realize how lost or how long he was staring in her eyes until she knocked him over on his side. She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him, snuggling into his warmth. "Hope you didn't plan on sleeping in your room because you're staying with me tonight. And by the bags under your eyes, I can tell you need a good night's rest."

"Yeah, well, it's your fault I haven't been able to sleep properly these past few days. I was going to make you pay by sleeping in your bed because it's more comfortable," Keith remarks.

"I don't think it's payback if the person willingly gives you what you want."

Keith moves one arm around her waist while the other rested on the back of her head, his fingers combing through her snowy locks. "Just shut up and go to sleep."