#RITZELL {Little light in the night}

[astralburned]

There is a voice coming from your vents... "Why do you keep this room so damn cold? I'm freezing in here!" it calls.

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Sometimes, Ritzell overheard conversations in the vents. Apparently, Keith was once very grumpy and gloomy but, looking at him now, she didn't understand half the things people said about him. He did not seem grumpy nor gloomy, even though he had seemed tired when she asked him to come on this expedition in the first place. She wondered why, but she kept it to herself. Best not look a gift horse in the mouth (whatever a horse was.) There were a lot of shops, and some shopkeepers even had free samples she could try. As she munched on the space equivalent of a candy apple slice, she looked around. "Somethin' pretty and sweet for 'Llura, something savory for Hunk and Lance, something easy to eat while working for Pidgey, and something with kick for Shiro... And something fruity for me," she said. As much as she had a sweet tooth, like any other kid, her real love was fruits. "Hunk made me try freeze-dried strawberries recently, they were nummy."

Keith took her hand, smiling down at her. "Let's get those sweets!" He seemed to be full of energy today, and happy for once. His moods had improved since taking on the responsibilities of looking after Ritzell, and the whole team was starting to notice.

He mulled over the possible meanings of his middle name while they shopped, he'd have to ask Krolia the next time he saw her, if it even had a meaning at all. Slipping a few things into the basket on his arm for her, Keith stared, bewildered at the prices. They were so low. He'd have to make a note of this place in the Castle's computer systems.

"Looking for anything in particular, Ritz?"

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{ Continued with @palidinus } Clambering out of the vent and landing gracefully in front of him, the child smiles at Shiro and hands him a bouquet of flowers. They are all of various different sizes and shapes, but have one thing in common- they're all either a vibrant red, or a midnight black. "Flower delivery from one Keith Kogane, delivered by yours truly!" she grins widely.

[astralburned]

؟ for keith and ritzell

Send me a ؟ for a random thought my muse has about yours.

"Keith talked about an Earth movie he really liked, I wonder if Shiro would like to watch it with us... We could make a pillow fort in the big room!"

" What kinds of nice, romantic things can I do for Shiro... does he have a favorite flower? How can I get an Earth flower here in space?!"

[astralburned]

😴 keith or ritzell!

Send 😴 for a dream my muse has had about yours

If you can't see the symbol send 'dream' instead

Ritzell's dreams of Shiro: Kids have the weirdest of dreams. She dreams that she's older, somewhere far from everyone, and there's a brown haired human standing with a robot boy in front of her, and they are fighting. She's sitting on the rocks of a burned-up planet while they blurrily bicker about something, and all she can think of is how she wants all the arguing to stop. What are they even arguing about? She's bleeding pretty badly, and her hands burn- that same burn when she's set something on fire. Had she done this? were they arguing about what to do with her? "Ritzell," says a soft voice, and she turns to see Shiro, with a gentle hand on her shoulder. "No, you shouldn't be here," she says, but it's not panicked, just confused. He doesn't reply, just calls her name again. Until the smoke vanishes and she's back on the ship, sleeping at Shiro and Keith's sides. Huh. She must have fallen asleep during the movie.

Keith's dreams of Shiro.

[astralburned]

"Did the wall just move?" (For whichever muse feels like replying)

"Damn it." Says the wall. And then the wall isn't a wall anymore, but it shifts and fades and is instead a little girl with long brown hair, braided bangs, and a little ponytail. She grins up at him. "Well, guess ya found me. Name's Ritzell, but most people just call me Rhysie. Or... actually, most people call me the ghost that lives in the vents, but I'd like it if they called me Rhysie. You know?"

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“Tell Me” from Keith to Ritzell

Send “Tell Me” for my muse to confess their feelings for your muse.}

"You remind me of Orinae, my big brother! Someone who's dependable and kind, who cares a lot about the people around him... Even though he'd likely never admit it to some of them. Being with you feels like the safest I have felt since I left the Blades. I guess it kind of helps that you're actively seeking out the fight, not trying to hide from them, so I don't have to worry about the Amber for the first time in a long time... But also, there's a part of me that's pretty jealous. You have a purpose that guides you. And friends. And a mom. I'm just a rat that lives in the vents." she sighs, shaking her head.

[astralburned]

🤝 keef and ritzell

Send '🤝' for a pro and a con to befriending my muse!

Pro: This one's super obvious. Is there anyone more loyal that Keith?

Con: He might not laugh at your jokes. They might just go over his head.

Pro: Wow, you actually got this little rascal to trust you? Good job! You're now friends with a psychic, who can predict your future. Isn't that neat? Con: Can... Can you find Ritzell? At all? Like, she's in the vents, sure, but is she in this ship's vents, or somewhere lightyears away? Who knows?

[astralburned]

{ I drew Ritzell. I love her to bits. }

[astralburned]

🎁 for Ritzell (it's a picture of the three of them, Keith, Ritzell, and Shiro)

Send a symbol to give my muse:

🎁 a gift

"When did this get taken?" Ritzell asked, looking at the photo Shiro had just given her. She didn't recognize it, but everyone seemed very happy in it. She hugged it to her chest and grinned at him. This is going on my wall! Oh, I should collect more photos, like that little girl from the movie with the aliens... Lilo and Stitch?"

[astralburned]

📁 pick a muse, any muse

☠ ― Send '📁' for a fun fact about my muse's canon! Can be about my muse, their universe, behind-the-scenes facts, anything goes!

Ritzell's parents were both Blades of Marmora, and her own Blade belonged to her father before his passing. It's from a matching set with her mother's, with the word "Eternally" engraved in them from when the two were married. Ritzell is torn between keeping her father's blade with her, or putting it next to her mother's in the wall where all the fallen blades lie. (Her father would say that she should keep it, have it protect the thing that CAME from that eternal vow. But she doesn't know that.)

[astralburned]

"I don't want to put anyone in danger. Staying anywhere too long is dangerous..." she said softly. Or maybe it wasn't and they didn't care one way or another. But it was better to be safe than sorry. She couldn't imagine how guilty she would feel if the Galra came and hurt people harboring her... if anyone got hurt because of her. "B-but don't get me wrong, I'm totes grateful and stuff! I just... Can't trust you? Oh boy that sounds mean..." she backpedaled, grimacing.

"And why's that?" Keith asked, looking over his shoulder with a concerned expression. His brows knitted together. He hoped he'd made the right decision in saving this kid - hell, how could he have made the wrong one, she was a kid.

"You know, I'm sure there's plenty of room in the Castle for one more. I'm sure everyone will love you. And you won't have to hide, I promise."

He tucked his legs up to his chest as they flew, relaxing if only for a moment.

[astralburned]

@ofhope​ } (This is late, don’t mind me.)

“So like... You’ve got little aliens that burn stuff in your world? I’m a little alien who burns stuff, we should be besties!”

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🌀

Send "🌀" to find my muse, injured and alone after being beaten up}

"Go away! I said I'm sorry!" Through her tears, she could not see that the person who's shadow was cast upon her was not, in fact, the person who'd attacked her and sent her running like a wounded cat. And Ritzell did not want to look at them, anyways. She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut and hide away from any lights. Her head hurt.

[astralburned]

“D’ya think Sendak’s mom was trying to say ‘send me a better child’, but he strangled her and so it only came out “Send-ACK!!”??” She asks, seeming serious for a whole six seconds before bursting out in laughter at her own joke.

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@thekavseklabs​ ]

Little yellow eyes peered out from the grate of a ventilation shaft. A throat was cleared and a small voice squeaked out, trembling. “Excuse me? You got any idea how I can get outta here?” She chanced to ask, hoping whoever heard her was friendly.