Chapter Text
Keith wasn’t one to step out of his comfort zone often. He was comfortable in his routines, and any change in that routine was extremely off putting for him. But, he supposed it was also a good thing in a way; most changes in his routine helped him learn about his Galran heritage, which was always exciting for him.
Today, Krolia was taking him to introduce him to other kits around his maturity. She would say age, although kits his age were typically small and still learning about the world around them. They would be attending school for the first time at his age, if he had been fully Galra. The kits closer to Keith’s maturity were closer to the age of maturity and more likely to get along well with Keith.
Keith was resistant to waking up that day, rolling over and burying his face in Kolivan’s shoulder when Krolia tried to wake him up.
“Kit, I have breakfast for you. Oatmeal with some fruit, doesn’t that sound good?” She said. Oatmeal was a favorite food of Keith’s, because it was easy to prepare and came in plenty of different flavors, so it never got boring for him. Keith cracked his eyes open and smiled, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes. He stood up, stretching his arms over his head and shuffling over to the dining table. Krolia set the bowl of food in front of him, ruffling his hair.
“What are you and Kolivan having?” Keith asked curiously. Krolia smiled.
“We are having a meat platter. Full Galra need quite a bit more protein than humans do, you see. You need more nutrients than we do, as well, in different amounts. A meat platter is actually a very typical breakfast meal.” Krolia said. “You are welcome to have some if you’d like.” She said, setting the platter down just as Kolivan sat down at the table, eyes drooping tiredly.
“Good morning, kit.” Kolivan greeted with a smile. Keith grinned at him.
“Good morning.” He said, digging into his bowl of oatmeal. Krolia had included fruit like strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, but she had also added a few Galran fruits that were rich in nutrients Keith was severely lacking because of being raised among humans, who had different dietary needs. Krolia grabbed a small plate and put a few pieces of each kind of meat on it, passing it to Keith with a smile.
“After you are done, get dressed please. We will have to leave soon.” Krolia said, starting to eat her food. Kolivan smiled.
“Are you excited, kit?” He asked curiously. Keith shrugged.
“It’ll be fun, but I’m not good with people in general.” Keith said. He finished his food rather quickly - he’d always been a quick eater - and got up, rinsing off his dish and hugging Krolia. “Thanks for making breakfast, mama.” He said.
“You’re very welcome, kit.” Krolia said. Keith smiled and went to his room, getting dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans and a red hoodie, humming quietly as he slipped into his sneakers and joining Krolia by the door. By waking up earlier to prepare breakfast for everyone, Krolia had had the time to get ready before waking her two pack members.
“Ready to go?” Krolia asked brightly. Keith smiled and nodded. “Alright, come along now. Its a bit of walk.” She said. Keit bid Kolivan goodbye and followed Krolia out of the door and down the hallway.
-
Their destination ended up being in a separate building of the Garrison. The garrison had been extremely accommodating to the needs of the various alien races that were living in the area now, working with them to create what they needed.
For Galra, it was an area to allow their kits to be social. It was separate from classes, which the children from all races, human and other, took together in the Garrison. The rooms were spacious and sprawled with pillows and blankets, with projectors on the wall playing movies and shows appropriate for the age range. They were rooms for the kits to be social after classes and other activities.
“Have a nice day, alright kit?” Krolia said once they were outside the room. “Since you are familiar with this space, I have no issues with you leaving early if you want to or feel too drained to be social.” She said. Keith nodded and smiled.
“Okay. I love you, mom.” He said quietly.
“I love you too, kit.” Krolia said, ushering Keith into the room with a smile before starting the walk back to their apartment.
-
When Keith stepped inside, all eyes turned onto him. It was quiet for a moment before one of the Galra, the one closest to the door, grinned.
“Hello! You must be Krolia’s kit!” They said brightly. Keith nodded shyly, looking confused as another teenager grabbed his hands and pulled him into the room.
“I’m Keith.” He said quietly.
“Hi Keith! I’m Valduz, and these people over here are Zongumm, Joktez, and Alliz.” Valduz said brightly. “We’re watching a human show! The Office, I believe its called? We also have snacks!”
“I love The Office!” Keith said brightly. “I watched it all the time when I was a student at the Garrison with my roommate.”
“That’s good! We have just started, no spoilers!” Zongumm said brightly. Zongumm was on the tinier side for a Galra of his age range, although he was still much taller than Keith. He pulled Keith to sit down with the group, each eager to welcome him. Kits of any age range were rare on Earth, so they were excited to have a new addition to their friend group.
“No spoil…? Huh, I didn’t know Galra used that term as well.” Keith said with a shrug, leaning back against the wall of pillows that had been built for laying on. The other three argued over who got to lay next to Keith, and in the end, Alliz ended up winning the argument. Alliz seemed to be the only female in the group; not necessarily a surprising fact considering that Keith recalled seeing far more male Galra than female over time. He supposed females were a bit less common than males were. She still stood over Keith by quite a bit, as Keith had found there wasn’t an obvious height difference, on average, between male and female Galra.
“Of course we do! We do not want others to spoil things for us!” Joktez said with a smile, passing around a bag of sweets for each person to take a handful to snack on.
-
Once the episode was over, the protector was paused before they all got up. Joktez, being the tallest, reached to the top of a shelving unit and grabbed a board game, setting it on the table.
“Alright, everyone pick a player!” He said brightly, setting out the selection of board game pieces on the table. Keith selected what looked like a small metal replica of the space caterpillars Pidge had started keeping as pets. This one was painted yellow with blue marks, and it was adorable. Joktez selected a yalmor, Alliz selected a green horse-like animal of some sort, Valduz selected a weblum, while Zongumm selected a cat-like creature.
“Okay, so, we have been told this game works almost identical to that of a human game by the name of monopoly. Have you ever played that, Keith?” Alliz asked.
“Yeah, its a classic. Its really fun.” Keith said with a smile.
“Wonderful! Its exactly like that. You start out with 200 GAC, and then you go around buying businesses that earn you money, and others have to pay you money.” Alliz explained. Zongumm distributed 200 GAC to each person in the form of plastic coins in the likeness of the currency.
Just like monopoly, the game dragged on for hours, each person competing to rule the board with their businesses. They were having fun, though, and that was all that mattered to Keith.
“Why do I always land on your businesses, Zongumm?” Alliz exclaimed as she passed a few coins over to Zongumm as she, once again, landed on one of his spaces and was forced to pay him.
“You just have bad rolls.” Zongumm said, gleefully adding to his small pile of coins that Alliz had been forced to pay him. At this point, he was the clear winner at that point, and the day was winding down, so they decided to declare him the winner.
“I hope we see you soon, Keith!” Joktez said brightly. “Have a nice day!” He alled to everyone, gathering his belongings and starting the trek back to his pack room. The others echoed him, each gathering their own belongings and leaving.
-
“Did you have a nice day, kit?” Kolivan asked when Keith stepped into the apartment.
“Yeah, I had a lot of fun. We played a board game and watched The Office.” He said brightly. He was tired, though, and a rest was far overdue for him. He crawled into the nest, curling up under the blankets. Krolia wrapped her arms around her kit, smiling.
“I’m glad you had a nice day. Go ahead and take a nap.” She encouraged. Keith nodded and settled down, drifting off to a peaceful sleep.