quiznak × klance

iv. -- ii.

SIDE NOTE: YOU MIGHT WANT TO REREAD THE LAST FEW PARAGRAPHS OF THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER TO GET A RECAP. =)

iv.—ii."Beryl seems nice," I say, looking at my feet as we walk away from the Ink House. "Are there more symbol distributors?"

"Yes. There are two more. Although they each specialize in one set of tribal symbols, they are trained to know all of them," Prince Micah tells me. "The other two are Shale and Juneau."

"So who did yours?"

"See, the royal family annually selects one of the three symbol distributors to do their children's symbols, and it is a great honor to be chosen," he explains. That makes sense. "Beryl did mine as well as my brother's, though he is currently scouting Scoria. That's a village equally as far from Iron Dune as Onyx Parture is."

"And Iron Dune is the central village," I catch on. Micah nods his head. "That's pretty cool. Hey, tell me more about the ceremony tonight."

"Ah, yes! The Sundown Ceremony!" He seems to get very excited for a minute, then resurfaces to explain all the wonders of the ceremony.

In a few short minutes, Micah tells me about the sacrifices he and his people make to no one in particular; his father always told him that he should give to anyone in need, not just one well-respected person. Then he got all creepy when he said there is a limit on how long anyone can flourish, so he and his family plan to make a major change among everybody very soon.

"Are these your people?" Prince Micah asks as soon as we're back at Iron Dune. He holds his hand out at a cluster of people, who I soon recognize as Keith, Pidge, Hunk, and even Shiro. I nod at Micah and wave at the Paladins.

"Hey, Lance," Pidge waves. A2-100 is still circling his legs; I guess they've become friends. "Who's this?"

"This is Prince Micah," I introduce proudly, showing Micah to my friends. "Prince Micah, this is Pidge, Hunk, Shiro, and Keith. We came with two more, but I guess they're busy."

"Hello, all," Micah smiles, stretching his hand out to shake everyone's. "Will you be attending the Sundown Ceremony this evening?"

"We heard about that," Keith says, his eyes narrowed and his arms folded. "I don't know if—"

"Of course we'll be there," Shiro interrupts. Keith looks at him with his mouth hanging open in disbelief or something, and I can't help but wonder what it's about. I guess they've been talking.

"Fantastic!" Prince Micah grins. He excuses himself to go do something related to the infirmary.

"Speaking of the infirmary," Keith retorts, swinging his head dramatically from the place Micah was standing now to where Shiro towers. "You can't tell me that's natural."

"What is it?" I interject, walking toward them.

"Do the honors," Shiro groans to Keith.

Keith looks at me again and speaks with his voice raised and firm. "I don't think we can trust these people! Allura and Coran are still out 'identifying the soils,' so they're the only ones who I have yet to tell..."

"Did you see something?" I frown.

"I was in the infirmary. I walked past an open tent and saw an anatomy poster for whatever these creatures are, and get this: they're made entirely of metal," Keith rants. "They can't be killed, and they're going to use it to our advantage at the Sundown Ceremony tonight. They know we're weaker than they are, and we don't stand a chance!"

"Relax, Red. I watched a little kid get his skin lasered off today, and he didn't even whine. It's a bright, neon sign that says 'We don't feel pain, so we don't want you to, either,'" I say. "You said it yourself; they're a pretty defenseless people. Besides, I don't know about you guys, but everyone has been treating me so nicely!" I look around the squad, and everyone unanimously nods their heads. I notice Pidge is peering at the small robot as he agrees with me.