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"Quintessence Sensitive Keith"
Keith sighed, purring softly, and was happy when he heard to responding purrs coming from all around him. He was napping in the nest the Paladins kept in the lounge, surrounded by the real, furry versions of all five lions. Even though he had the strongest bonds with Red and Black, that didn't mean he didn't have bonds with the other three as well.
In fact, Blue was the lion he had a bond with first. He hadn't realized it at first, but he learned through the Quantum Abyss that his mom had brought him to see Blue a couple weeks after he was born. His bond with Blue probably started back then, but it definitely strengthened once he was expelled from the Garrison and started exploring the cave system near his Dad's shack. His bond never diminished, even when Lance became her Paladin.
Red was the next lion he bonded with. Throwing himself out the airlock hadn't been the plan, but in the end, it worked as she rescued him and valued him as her Paladin.
Truthfully, Keith didn't realize he had a bond with Green until he had ridden in the lion when they went to the universal station and he had been showered by the yellow quintessence. He had heard roaring in his head but had thought it was only Red (and possibly Blue), but it was Green as well.
His bond with Yellow had taken longer than any of the other lions. He hadn't even heard Yellow until he and Hunk had gone to gather scaultrite from the stomach of a Weblum. Once the mission was over, he could hear Yellow in his head, asking if he was okay.
His bond with Black had started when the lions had been separated by the corrupted wormhole, but it didn't grow until he had first picked up (albeit reluctantly) the mantle of the Black Paladin.
When he had decided to leave for the Blade of Marmora, the lions were the ones who put up the biggest argument. However, he still left and thought it was the best move in his opinion. He actually met his mom, who along with the rest of his pack (Kolivan, Antok, Thace, and Ulaz) taught him about his heritage in between missions.
During the most recent downtime, Keith mentioned his bonds with all five of the robot lions, and it was his pack that brought up a possible reason for his connection. Keith had a sensitivity to quintessence, especially the special quintessence the lions contained.
Due to this possibility, the pack decided that Keith shouldn't be away from the lions but didn't want to be separated from Keith either, so Kolivan asked Allura if he could set up a base on the castle ship. Allura was slightly reluctant until Keith popped up next to Kolivan. (He had to stand on a chair to be seen). Once Keith pleaded with Allura to allow his pack to come with him, the Altean princess knew she couldn't deny a member of her found family.
Once the lions realized that Keith was back, they assumed their real, furry lioness forms more often and spent time around him. They didn't neglect their Paladins but made sure Keith knew they were there for him as well.
Fin