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Sunlight streamed through the open window. The sounds of the birds and faint scent of pollen mixed together as they floated with the breeze, ghosting over his cheeks as the edges of the sheets covering him waved in the wind.
Lance shifted, stretching a little in where he lay and adjusting how the light fell on him. His eyes drifted open lazily, gazing at how the sunlight saturated the colours of their sheets. He could feel the slight dip in the bed next to him. It was too light to be a person laying next to him but he easily recognised it to be Keith in a cat form, likely curled up next to him.
He pulled his arm out from the light sheets and felt around blindly for a moment for Keith's fluffy head. Once he found it he gave a few loose strokes until he felt Keith's purrs rumbling across the bed. He grinned and withdrew his hand, flopping out of the bed (gracefully, if you asked him) and making his way to the Kitchen in the next room.
He squatted by the tinder and kindling, hand hovering over it. Keith's shirt was too big on him and easily fell onto the floor. His face scrunched up in frustration. This was supposed to be a basic fire spell. He could handle more advanced pyromancy techniques but basic things like this always tripped him up. It just didn't come as naturally to him as hydromancy.
Eventually he just sighed and pulled out a set of matches instead, sparking the kindling at the last moment with his finger. He glared at the lit fire as he shoved the matchbox back onto the shelf.
As he waited for the stove to heat up he set up the plates and pans, putting all the ingredients in the right places. The food was going steadily while Lance bustled around the kitchen, preparing some drinks for the two of them. None of the nature spirits would be joining them today. He piled the food onto the plates, dropping them off softly onto the table. He swirled a long spoon in the drinks, muttering a simple good luck charm for both of them.
As he placed the cups down on the table, a pair of arms slipped around his waist, head dropping onto his shoulder. Keith's hair was messy and flopped over his face, cat ears still popped out of his head like they usually did when Keith was too tired or sleepy to change back into human form fully. Keith hummed into his shoulder and Lance rubbed his head back against him. "Mornin', Keith."
Lance slipped into his chair and helped the shifter into his own. Keith's eyes drifted closed and he sunk into the back of his chair. The witch flicked him on the forehead (Keith groaned back at him) and held out his fork. Keith closed his mouth around the empty utensil before groggily pulling it out of his mouth to pit against his food as he ruthlessly shovelled it into his mouth.
Lance smiled, face lighting up as he watched Keith try to navigate through basic tasks with his morning brain. They joked and chatted as the shifter slowly began to wake up, talking about their plans for their days and teasing Keith about his morning brain and bed head.
They finished off their food and cleaned up after themselves quickly before getting dressed together and heading out to get on with their separate days.
He skipped across the stepping stones, feet sinking ever so slightly into the mud of the streams banks when he made it across. After admiring the foxgloves growing beside the water, he bounced past them and slid down onto his knees to gather some dandelion seeds into a jar - he's learnt not to put them into pouches after he had near ruined the one Keith had given him for his birthday. He shook them about in the jar before gently placing them back into his satchel.
Carrying on with his foraging trip, he pranced into another little trodden path. It was well covered, providing him good shade from the sun. The vibrant greens and blues of the plants down the footpath never ceased to render him breathless. He would never have gotten a sight like this if he had stayed in the cramped, dirty, walled-in cities he had lived in before. Then again, if Keith hadn't gotten him out, he likely would have been executed or worse by now. The life of a witch in these times. He sighed, forcing in a deep breath to fill his lungs.
He stopped in his tracks, gagging and coughing.
There was a foul scent in the air. Not something a human would have picked up. He could smell the pain and fear staining the air. From what he could tell, it's source was about two hundred meters off. He stumbled, stuck in a trance like state as he rushed towards the spot.
The footpath widened, branching off onto a Roman road. The scent was so strong now that it burned his eyes and caused tears to tug at them.
Scorched and snapped wooden planks littered the ground. He passed a bent wheel, bag banging against it. The roof of the wagon was titled, submerged in dirt. Lance pressed a hang to his mouth, trying hold back vomit as he stepped over a limp, severed arm. Underneath the wagon roof, he could heard smothered whimpering.
He crouched down slowly, trying to take a peak at the person inside. His eyes met those of a young woman with dark unruly hair blanketing her bloodstained face. He tried to offer her a small smile but she only looked at him blankly. He noticed her whimpering had stopped.
In a flash, was on top of him, hands wrapped around his neck and clenching. He was pushing her, trying to get her off as he choked and gasped. His vision began to fade, black spots filling in in place of the vibrant colours he loved so much. Faintly, he could make out shouting getting closer and closer but his mind felt too slow and muddled to catch up or process any of it.
Suddenly, the pressure around his neck was gone. He gasped and hacked on his side, blinking away the sickening dizziness as colours and light flashed before his eyes. The yelling was also coming back into focus but not enough for him to pick out any words just yet. It felt like it was all around him. He wanted to get away. There was too much noise. It was overwhelming. He hadn't been around anything this loud for so long.
There was a tugging on his clothes, his jacket ripped and teeth scrapped against skin. His feet left the ground, dangling uselessly as he was pulled up. The noises got louder again in alarm as whatever was holding him dragged him further away from the sounds, jolting him with every step.
When his vision started to come back, he opened his eyes to see the greens, reds and blues of his garden waving at him. The giant wolf holding him had slowed it's pace as well. He noticed that it was keeping a light and gentle hold on him in contrast to how it had initially picked him up. He was still trembling when it lowered him to the ground amongst the flowers he had so meticulously grown. He smiled shakily at it, purple eyes meeting blue, "Hey, Keith."
The wolf shrunk into the man, retaining that height that Lance was so sure was being put on with the man's shifting abilities. His hair hung shaggily to below his shoulders, covering Lance as he fell forward and pulled the witch into an embrace, "Christ, Lance. What were you thinking? You know we have to stay away from them."
Lance nodded into his shoulder sniffling, the heavy realisation falling on them both, "I'm so sorry. They saw you, didn't they? Because of me."
Keith stroked the brown locks curling at his nape, humming, "You know what this means."
Lance pulled away, wiping his face on his sleeve, "I'll get some clothes and stuff and you get the food?"
Keith smiled sadly and thinly at him, "Just necessities, okay?"
Keith had his bag strung over his shoulder, sniffing the air in a half-transformed state. Lance was still sniffling a little behind him by the gate Hunk had made for them when they first moved there. He closed it, fingers tracing over the inscriptions of all their names. It had been Pidge that had gotten everyone to do it as a shared gift. He was going to miss them. They knew it would be out of the question to ask them to come with them.
He stepped through the daisies he'd planted with Coran, eyes lingering on the pond where Allura had first started teaching him Hydromancy. There was still a few frogs hiding in the shallows.
The witch took his place at the shifter's side, slotting their hands together. Keith turned to him, giving his hand a light squeeze as they set off on their new journey together, hand in hand.