[ lance looks down at the water between them, ripples growing more prominent as keith draws closer. close enough now that he could reach out and touch the other boy, and he recognizes a sudden strange urge to. as if needing that piece of contact just to help ground himself, when all that's holding him up right now is strange, glowing water. ]

I don't know, I... [ he licks his lips, trying to parse through his own thoughts. ] I mean they had my mom, you know? I saw her, after so long, and...

[ he grows quiet, brow furrowing. had he been blinded? too distracted by the sight of a loved one he'd been aching for since their first mission to notice everything else that'd felt just a little bit too off?

except that wasn't right, either, was it? he'd started to see things. little things. ]

I mean... I guess I always thought it was kinda weird how so much of what we're finding here is so familiar... [ the universe is way too big, as they've been finding, for such similarities to be a coincidence, right? ]

I met one of the Orbiters, too. My first day on the station... He was, like. Studying us.

[ he makes a face, shuddering under the water. his hands come up, wrapping around his arms in a self-hug. ]

This blows...