[C][AU] No Harm In Camping

Amr waved his hand, unworried.

"He is wearing combat boots while I'm just wearing simple converse. Of course his feet are going to look big."

Lucas' lips upturned into a smirk.

"Well, when you consider height to feet ratio I think it is pretty clear who the looser is."

Amr narrowed his eyes at Lucas.

"You know, I preferred you when you were yelling nonsense and brooding."

Ah, he'd created a monster.

His digging at Amr had just prompted Lucas to start digging at him, too. Oops.

Oh well.

"Just lead the way, shortie."

The amused smile didn't leave Lucas' lips as he led them along the corridors until the reached the control room.

"Tik, look! I'm not dead!". He hopped over a seat to greet his brother, as if the conversation they just had didn't bother him at all.

Lucas glanced around, cocking an eyebrow. It seemed that it was just Tik in here. No sign of the two Alteans. What was he doing this whole time?

"Yes, wonderful. Just what I wanted." Tik didn't even look up from picking at his nails as he spoke.

"Ask him where the others are," Fleck said.

He sort of expected the Alteans to be there when they returned. So where are they?

He didn't get the answer he wanted, but the doors opened and in walked two aliens. Anna was talking to a tall orange-skinned woman. Both were loud and excited, talking to each other in an alien language.

Amr ruffled his brothers hair in a way he knew that would irritate him.

"Where did the sleeping beauty aliens go? Oh Anna! You found them!"

He was on his knees on the couch, hands on the back rest. Brown eyes looked the green paladin over. He didn't expect her to be so... Orange. And tall, only an inch shorter then him by the looks of it. By the irritated frown on Lucas' face, he could tell he was not too pleased about being the second shortest paladin.

Tik kicked out, more than happy to land a bruise on his brothers leg. He was bored and a little lonely. He was going to let Amr know how unhappy he was.

"Yes. This beast is Belen." Anna jumped, wrapping Belen in a headlock and trying to initiate a play fight.

Belen just held onto Anna to stop her from choking her.

It was like watching a scrappy terrier try and fight a sleepy great dane.

"Youre the other Paladins. It's wonderful to meet you all." Belen let Anna down and swept forwards to hug each paladin in order, then bent to hug Tik. "Anna's told me a lot about you. Im excited to defend the universe with you all!"

Amr kicked his brother back, grinning at the playful fight between Anna and Belen. They were close, that was easy to see. It will hopefully make team building easier.

Lucas stiffened as she hugged him while Amr embraced her like an old friend. He had a feeling he was going to like her.

"Great to meet you too," he chirped. "I hope it was good things, Anna. Like how great of a pilot I am."

He knew how the others felt about his flying. In his defence, he barely knows how to drive - let alone fly an alien aircraft.

Belen laughed and patter Amrs back affectionately. "You cant be any worse of a pilot than I am."

Clearly Anna hadnt been telling her goof things about his pilotting skills. Not that it mattered. Belen was laughing with Amr rather than at him on this one. "Ive pretty much been banned from flying pods now. Anna has me on communications. Work to my strengths and all that."

"Her strengths being talking up a storm in any language she can learn," Anna leered.

"Maybe we should have a bad-pilot off."

Amr couldn't help the side ways glance to Tik at th mention of her strengths. Any language, huh?

"Did you find the green lion as well then? How was it flying them?" He asked, resting his jaw on his propped up hands.

"I don't think that's fair on the people around us," Belen laughed. She wouldn't torture people like that.

She'd certainly have to get better at piloting, but that would come with time and practise.

"Yes we found her quickly. She was good to ride, though I think I damaged that poor tree a lot when I pulled out of the temple. I don't think it'll ever forgive me. I think the lion still has splinters on it." Belen grinned a sheepish grin. "But I think I can be forgiven one tree to retrieve a lion that'll help me defend the universe, don't you?"

Amr nodded along as she chatted.

"Hmm, I don't know." Amr tapped the tips of his fingers on his cheeks. "With save the trees and all that, I don't think the universe will forgive you."

It only just occurred after he said it the the save the trees joke may be lost on the aliens. He was going to have to stop doing that."

Belen's face was blank for all of three seconds. Clearly she didn't get the reference, but that wasn't going to stop her from speaking.

"Huh, Anna did say you come out with strange things. She was right. Must be because you come form a planet that's so far removed. It must be strange coming into the standard circle after being so ignorant for so long. Does your planet have any interplanetary communications at all?"

Amr cocked his head to the side.

"I guess?"

Amr didn't know whether or not to be insulted that his planet was "ignorant." Lucas certainly took offence by that glare to Belen.

Amr threw his hands up into the air and shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't know! Back home all this would all be a conspiracy theory. Although, the governments might know. They like hiding things."

"You're upset. I'm sorry. I didn't mean ignorant as an insult. I think if I could, I'd prefer to be ignorant of all of this. Especially with the war going on. I'd have loved to live in a little planet in an untouched system with no idea about the war."

Belen's words just picked up speed and grew faster and faster as she tried to explain herself.

"Really, I would-"

"You would shut up for one second. Yes, that's perfect." Anna spoke over Belen, and that comment had Belen going quiet. "This one doesn't know when to be quiet, and she's good at putting her foot in her mouth without meaning to. Just tell her to shut up if you're tired of listening to her."

Anna smirked and gave a blasé little shrug. "Or send her to me. I know how to keep her quiet...ish."

Amr was waving his hands as she apologised. Insisting that no, it was fine. Lucas just crossed his arms over his chest. looking neither pleased or displeased with her grovelling. Amr wondered is he was capable of any other facial expression other then frowning or smirking.

His attention was snapped back to Anna as she quietened Belen down. Ah. A grin was back on Amr's face. So they were that type of friends.

"Will do!"

"You're all back a lot earlier than we expected."

Amr turned around, spotting the prince by the door. For someone who had just slept ten-thousand years, he looked tired. Eyes red and puffy.

"You could have given us a tougher mission," Anna commented, arching a brow at the prince.

"The toughest time I had was trying to keep Belen quiet while we were piloting." She couldn't use her usual methods when they weren't in the same ship.

Which was a shame.

Dick narrowed his eyes at Anna.

"It was a compliment. I didn't think you had the competence for a simple retrieval mission."

He wasn't lying about the first bit, he was glad that they were back early. It meant there were no hiccups.

"And what information did you base that assumption on? The fact that you've known me all my life, or that I spilled my entire history to you in the greatest confession of all time just minutes after we met?"

Her brow arched, and she looked ready to spit fire.

"Anna, Anna. He couldn't have known you're one of the resistance's greatest captains," Belen soothed, placing a hand on Anna's shoulder. "You know it's better to be safe than sorry with the possibility of risking your crew's lives."

Anna just huffed quietly.

Dick's lips were a thin line. Blue eyes coolly looking Anna up and down.

He was tired and angry. He knew he should hold his tongue. It wasn't right to take it out on Anna.

It was just irritating to try and compliment them when all he wanted to do was curl up in his room. Only to then have its slapped back in his face.

Dick arched a brow and opened his mouth to speak.

"You know what we all need?" Amr leaped up from the couch, looking around the room. "Food and sleep! Because I don't know about you guys," he looked towards Fleck and Lucas, "but I have been up since ten in the morning, Earth time! So that was, what?" He fished out his phone, quickly glancing at it. "Almost nine-teen hours ago! I think a nice bed would really, really be appreciated."

He gave the room a nervous smile.

"Ten? I wish," Fleck groaned. He didn't sleep all that great in his tent. He'd been up since five, and only gotten a few hours sleep before that anyway.

He was tired and his own nerves were fraying quiet quickly.

A bed sounded heavenly.

"Yes, some sleep would be good," Anna agreed after a long moment of tense silence.

She knew she was in a rough mood. Some sleep would do her the world of good.

The tense silence stretched on some more.

"I will show you to your rooms then," said Dick.

It was why he was here in the first place. Make sure they were okay after coming back early then show them their rooms.

He turned on his heel and began walking back the way he came from, expecting the others to follow.

Amr leaned down and tugged at his brothers arm.

"Come on, he is going to show us to our rooms."