The Wells of Eioa (Keith x OC) (Shallura)(Lance x OC)

Chapter 14

A shower was the best reward after a day of intense training. As soon as she got back from the scouting mission, Jira was sent to train with Rixel, giving her no time to relax. Now that the day was nearly gone, she trudged her way back to the barracks to wash up. Her mind went over the plan with Allura, over and over; she hoped that she was wrong about Shiro, but as the time grew closer for her to go to the castle, she had difficulty fighting back her nerves. She had never been wrong about someone's intentions before, and she doubted tonight would be any different.  

On her way to the barracks, Jira spotted Keith speaking with Omek outside. As she neared them, Keith turned and gave her a timid smile once he noticed her. Jira played with the end of her braid and gave them a small wave. She hadn't seen him in over a day, but she wasn't expecting to be nervous around him. Yesterday before she left, they had spent some time together, but she didn't think too much about beyond enjoying his company.

"We heard about your mission," Omek said. "Glad everything went well."

"It was a pretty standard one," Jira smiled. "But it's good to be back." Her thoughts went back to the tunnels for a moment and she fought off a shiver that crept up her back.

"Where have you been since you got back? Keith asked.

"Training... I'm just gonna hit the showers," she said, now self aware of how tired she must have looked and she didn't want to dwell on how much she probably smelled too; she stepped away from Keith and Omek and awkwardly cleared her throat. "Goodnight."

Keith raised an eyebrow at her. "... Goodnight."

She picked up her pace and raced up the stairs once she was upstairs. "Why am I like this?" she muttered to herself as she got ready to shower. She took her time washing her hair and recounted her conversation with Allura. She was even more anxious about things than Jira was, and with good reason. Jira didn't want to let her down, but she knew it was something that she needed to do. If she were in the same position as Allura, she would want to know too.

After her shower, Jira changed and plopped down on her bed. She'd have some time to at least take a nap before having to leave, so she bundled up in a blanket and happily closed her heavy eyelids.

Soon after Jira had gotten comfortable, she heard a soft knock on her door. She suppressed a groan and opened her eyes.

"It's open."

The door opened and Chalna popped her head in.

Jira sat up, a little surprised to see her there. "Hey, mom."

Chalna sat on the edge of the bed and leaned back on her hands. "I talked to Allura tonight," she said. Jira glanced away, fearing what they had spoken about. She didn't think Allura would say anything about what they were planning on doing tonight, though she did know why having her mom find out would bother her.

"About what?" Jira asked hesitantly.

"She told me about the details of the mission. It's great that you're able to use your ability to help, but it sounded like you guys ran into a little trouble at one point."

Jira's heart sank. "It was nothing, really." Chalna frequently expressed her concern when it came to her children being invited on scouting missions and this time was no exception. Now that the triplets were officially Elites and no longer children, they had their own choice as to whether or not to join Wunrik. Jira had always wanted to join Wunrik's troop of Elites, but she knew that her mom would disapprove and she didn't want to fight her about it. Even still, Chalna knew that Jira wanted to follow in her father's footsteps, so it was usually a touchy subject between them.