Allura followed Jira further into the jungle, noticing that as it got more dense, more of the trees were damaged or crushed completely. Considering their impressive height, Allura was a little more anxious about the size of the Hauhet.

“”This is a pretty good sign,” Jira pointed out, gesturing to the trees. “It looks like the Hauhet stopped here for a bit, given the damage.”

“Just how big is it?”

Jira scratched her head. “Well… to be honest, I’m not really sure. Only a few people have seen it without its camouflage. Even when it attacked the Kafa a couple weeks ago, it mostly hid itself from us. Wunrik has seen it before though and he said it was nearly the size of the Kafa, if not larger.”

“Oh,” Allura’s eyes grew large. “That means it’s larger than the Black Lion, certainly. How tall would you guess it is?”

Jira shrugged. “Maybe we’ll track it down tonight and find out.”

“Were you there when it attacked the Kafa?”

“Not at first. I was on patrol, in the opposite direction of where it appeared. I got there just as it was leaving… it wasn’t there long, which was good because it did so much damage to the Kafa in such a short amount of time. Luckily no one was seriously hurt, but still... Jinx and my mom were there.”

“I’m glad they’re alright,” Allura smiled. “So when the Hauhet isn’t destroying things, what is it up to?”

Jira went down the path where the tree damage was the worst, holding up a small radar that blinked with a Green light; with their refined Quintessence, the Eioans were able to track the Hauhet better because it reacted to the creature. The blinking had steadily increased in speed as they got further into the jungle. “It’s created a series of tunnels all over Eioa; massive tunnels that we don’t even know the extent of them,” she said. “Usually after an attack, it will go into a tunnel and hibernate for a while, which is good because when it’s in a deep sleep, it usually takes a big disturbance with Quintessence to wake it up.”

“That’s only slightly comforting,” Allura laughed nervously. “Has anyone ever gone deep into the tunnels?”

Jira’s eyes clouded over and her mouth fell into a firm line. “It’s been explored plenty of times, but it never ends well.”

Allura regretted bringing it up and her thoughts went back to what she knew of Jira’s father. Chalna had mentioned that her husband was one of Wunrik’s most trusted soldiers and had passed away years ago, and now Allura had a sinking suspicion that she knew how he died.

“Jira, I didn’t mean-” Allura stumbled, but Jira gave her a comforting smile.

“It’s okay,” Jira assured her. “Um… I don’t know what my mom might have said to you, but my dad died while exploring the tunnels… So even though the Hauhet protects our planet, I guess I kinda have mixed feelings about it.”

“That’s completely understandable.”

Jira cast her eyes down. “I really have no room to talk though, considering what’s happened to your family and planet-”

“Don’t say that,” Allura said, laying a hand on Jira’s shoulder. “Losing anyone you love is difficult.” She sighed. “I’m sorry for bringing it up, but I’m glad you told me. It just shows how strong you and your family are.”

“Thanks,” Jira said, the hint of tears in her eyes. “... Uh, since we’re apologizing, I’m really sorry about what happened earlier today with Junx. Sometimes he takes things a little too far and doesn’t realize it. I know he didn’t mean any harm with Shiro, but it looked like it shook him up pretty bad and you seemed pretty upset. I’m sure you don’t like to see him hurt.”

Allura’s eyes bulged and she whipped her hand away from Jira. “I don’t… why would I-” she stammered. “I wasn’t worried about him, I just, uh-”

“Oh, I just thought that was a thing… that you cared about him… in that way.” Jira twisted her braid anxiously. “Maybe I just read too much into it.”

“Well, I…” Allura bit her lip. She had told no one about how she felt about Shiro. Now that Jira had a hunch, it would be kind of nice to confide in someone about it. She had so many mixed feelings, having a second opinion might be helpful. Considering Jira had already guessed, Allura figured it wouldn’t do much good to lie at this point. She was stumbling over her words as it was; there’s no way Jira would actually believe her if she told her she didn’t have feelings for Shiro.

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“I’m not very convincing, am I?” Allura asked her. Jira shook her head and gave her a slight smile.

“It’s been... difficult,” Allura continued.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean when he disappeared, I realized how much I cared about him… but I was good at hiding it. To the point where I feel like I didn’t care enough. I felt like I had to be strong in front of the others, and while we all moved on, Keith still held out hope that Shiro was still out there. I can’t begin to describe how guilty I feel over that.” She paused, collecting her thoughts.

“Have you told Shiro this?”

Allura shook her head. “... When he came back, I was a bit lost as to what to do. I convinced myself that I needed to be a better leader and focus on dealing with Zarkon, but it’s getting harder to not say anything. I tried bringing it up the other night, but… I don’t know, he seems… different?” Allura looked at Jira with apprehension, unsure how to broach the subject. “Whatever happened to him changed him in some way that I can’t describe. He seems more distant, I suppose. Less… warm and approachable… it’s a bit hard to explain to someone who just met him, sorry.”

“No, I get what you mean, kinda,” Jira said, glancing away from Allura.

“Um… I’ve noticed that you don’t get very close to him,” Allura noted. Her mind raced, afraid to ask Jira the question that had been bothering her for a couple days now. “Did you… sense something about him?”

Jira tensed up and reluctantly looked up at Allura. “Well, I mean, it may have been because Lotor was there with him…” her voice trailed off and Allura’s heart sank.

“So you did.”

“It could be nothing,” Jira said hurriedly. “Meeting him with Lotor there just threw me off, is all.”

“But you still kind of avoid him.”

“I…”

“Please, Jira,” Allura said softly.

Jira sighed. “... It was just a feeling. When I saw Lotor, I got a strong, uneasy feeling, and when I met Shiro it was similar to Lotor, but not as powerful. I haven’t been close enough to him to really know what it could mean… I know how important he is to you and the others, I guess I’m afraid to be right in my suspicions.”

Allura quickly turned her head from Jira, and clenched her jaw to stop any tears from falling. “I see,” she whispered.

“I’m sorry,” Jira said miserably.

Allura shook her head, refusing to cry. “No. No, don’t be sorry… Um, this may be an odd request, but do you think you could find out more… or get a better reading on him? I just need to be sure. If I can get a better sense of what happened to him- I need to know if there’s any way I can help him.”

“Y-yeah,” Jira nodded. “I can do that... I get the best readings on people through physical touch when they’re asleep, as creepy as that sounds,” she let out a tense laugh.

“Right. I can help you with that,” Allura said firmly, though she wasn’t quite sure what to expect now. Hearing Jira confirm her fears wasn’t what she wanted, but she could at least take comfort in the fact that she wasn’t alone in her concerns for Shiro.

“So after we get back to the Kafa?”

“Yes.” Allura caught Jira by surprise and hugged her tightly. “Thank you.”

Jira returned the hug and Allura was overcome with gratitude for her. Even if Jira’s suspicions were right, Allura no longer felt quite as alone. She pulled away and composed herself.

“We should carry on. We’re supposed to be back at the campsite soon,” Allura said.

“Sure,” Jira said, smiling at her then looking down at her radar again. They took off, winding their way through thick vines and colossal trees and ferns. The radar began blinking rapidly and they hurried their pace; the sun was gone and was now replaced by a weak moon that left them with little natural light. Jira pulled out a light and guided them to the edge of the trees where they came to a clearing. Jira stopped suddenly and held out the light; before them was a massive hole in the earth, nearly twice as large as the Kafa. Cold air blew up in their faces, keeping them at bay from the haunting darkness of the tunnel entrance. A soft growl sounded from the tunnel and a strong rush of air hit them.

The radar blinked wildly and Jira shut it off. She stared at the entrance in awe and stepped backwards.

“We need to find Wunrik.”