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Lotor was often lonely. There weren’t any other six-year-olds—or cubs, period—on the main fleet, leaving him with nobody for company except for the Druids who were in charge of his care. And they never let him have any kind of fun. He was always caught—usually by the back of his shirt—before he could try to play with something in the lab or run off to explore other parts of the ship that were otherwise off limits. However, even if the Druids were normally observant, Lotor had gotten rather good at sneaking off to explore on his own. He now thought of it as a game—the longer he avoided being caught, the better the escapade had gone.
He happened upon Kova by chance.
As he was hurrying down one of the many halls of the command ship, laughing because this was the most fun he had had in the last couple of quintants, he heard a meow from above him. He paused, ears perking and eyes widening as he turned his head in the direction of an opened vent. It was just a little bit too high for him to see into.
“Kova?” he asked, standing up on his toes as he tried to peer into the vent.
A soft mew came from further inside the vent, and Lotor caught sight of the flash of Kova’s eyes in the dim light. The cat stared back at him, tilting his head to the side as he meowed again. However, he didn’t appear to have any intentions of moving from his spot, even if he had perked up at the sight of Lotor.
“What are you doing in there?” Lotor asked, even though he didn’t expect an answer. He was rather relieved that Kova had finally turned up, though. For the last couple of quintants, the cat had disappeared and couldn’t be found anywhere—the first night he had been gone, Lotor had been inconsolable and far more fussy than was befitting of his station as the Prince of the Galra Empire. One of the ‘nicer’ Druids in charge of his care had simply told him that Kova would turn up eventually… it was just something that cats did.
Even though he was eager to see his friend again, Lotor was careful when he reached into the vent, so that Kova could sniff his hand. He had hoped that in doing so Kova would coaxed into coming out, but Kova only moved forward enough that he could rub his cheek against Lotor’s hand.
Lotor sighed as he pouted in irritation. He didn’t want to leave Kova alone in the duct—especially not after he had finally found his friend… but one of the Druids was sure to be looking for him by now, after having noticed his absence from the lab. He still had so much he wanted to try exploring before he was caught. And the adventure would be far more fun if Kova was accompanying him.
“I don’t blame you for wanting to stay in there…” Lotor said, scratching Kova behind his ear. “Sometimes I wish I could hide too…”
A low purr left the cat’s throat as he leaned into the touch, and Lotor smiled, stifling a laugh. However, his frown returned a tick later, as his ears perked. He listened for the shuffling of robes across the floor of the ship, but upon hearing nothing, he returned his attention to Kova.
It did not seem like Kova wanted to leave his hiding place, and Lotor knew better than to try and grab him and force him out—he also had too much respect for the small cat to do that to him.
“If you come out…” Lotor began, ears twitching as he tried to think of some kind of bargain. “I’ll get you a snack… we can go down to the kitchens and I’ll find that fish you like!”
Kova paused in nudging Lotor’s hand—a silent demand for more pets—as he seemed to consider. The bargain was satisfactory, though, as Kova slunk out of the vent, carefully climbing along Lotor’s arm. He settled comfortably on Lotor’s shoulder, purring as he rubbed his cheek on the top of Lotor’s head.
Lotor’s smile was more genuine this time, as he tried to stifle his laughter. He reached up to scratch Kova behind his ear, and then set off for the kitchens. He had made a promise to his friend, after all.