#i think that for me it's easy to forget that to Adora and Catra's generation of child-soldier Hordies grew up essentially as a cult

[blonde-and-cat-suc]

28. three's a crowd

rating: g 

wc: 1.5k 

cw/tw: domestic violence isolation tactics (implied), past physical abuse (implied) 

desc: Glimmer, Bow, and Adora arrive in Bright Moon on a high note, excited to have She-Ra joining the Rebellion. Adora is skeptical of their welcoming attitude. Three friends is one too many to be true... 

(Canon Compliant) 

///

"Adora! Show me how you threw that punch again!"

"Well, alright", Adora agreed easily, a golden dapple of sunlight coming through the trees giving away the pinkish-red of her cheeks. She was clearly the type that liked to show off—Glimmer had been privy from the beginning. The freshly new rebel had proven herself to be an ally to them with a sort of flashy, grandiose act of solidarity...

She-Ra.

Glimmer couldn't help her giddiness.

Yes, She-Ra's defense of Thaymor was awesome—yes, Glimmer loved every second of it. Beneath her initial disbeliefs, Glimmer was beginning to understand that it didn't matter where Adora had come from. Only where she was going.

Presently, Adora was set to go to Bright Moon, sitting on top of the wayward horse they had fled Thaymor with. Adora couldn't have been much younger than Glimmer or Bow, but she had not been out much. Everything amazed Adora in one way or another.

I had no idea that we had this many moons in the sky! Adora exclaimed yesterday, staring into the violet-blue deepness enfolding various moonlight hues. And then, hours later, when the daylight moons had rotated to their positions: Where'd they all go? Why did they leave...? Adora was genuinely regretful. So certain that the moons themselves had moved on from her, specifically, and would not return intentionally, somehow. Bow had to reassure her that the moons would return, (and sometimes they wouldn't, when they got into a New Moon phase). She'd perked up instantly, relieved.

Their first few hours of retreating Thaymor had been spent explaining basic information to Adora that she may not have already known. What Bright Moon was like, the Rebellion, Queen Angella's pitiful alliances across civil Etheria... Adora had no trouble accepting these truths with only the occasional inkling of doubt.

It should have been more obvious before, but Glimmer had only caught on to Adora's true merit when she'd talk back to them with her own insights, pressing them for more information, more analogies, more new philosophies and ideas and morals... and then, more.

Adora was a truthful hero who was also eager to learn and explore the world around her. Glimmer couldn't have asked for a better gift to the Rebellion. She-Ra was going to give the Rebellion the advantage that they had needed all of those years ago when her father...

When the Horde had made their worse offense on Bright Moon to date.

It was all Glimmer could think of when she looked at Adora. Even when they had become comfortable in each other's presence, even when Adora was guiding Glimmer's hands to throw a punch that those calloused, cruel Horde soldiers used—Glimmer knew that Adora herself was ultimately the upper hand the Rebellion needed. With each other's full cooperation, they could protect Etheria from the evil that had grown in its darkest corner. They would burn the Horde back into the ground. Once and for all.

...But for now, the three of them were only lucked-out travelers escaping the Horde's latest brutality. They were all exhausted and each of them had admitted to the group that they were still sore from the day before. Regardless, they kept steady pace, and soon, Glimmer recognized the thinly trekked dirt roads cutting through the trees... They were close to the outskirts of Bright Moon's city. Bow had realized too, flashing a huge smile, "I can't wait to shower and eat and sleep!"

Adora instantly made a skeptical sort of expression. "All at once?"

"Huh? No! But, well... I could definitely try."

"Are you allowed to do that?"

"Probably not", he laughed. "How does anyone shower and eat and sleep? I understand showering and eating—and sleeping and eating. But all three? No, I'm not sure. Sorry, Adora!"

Then, she'd only frowned at him. "You're...joking?"

"Only a little bit", Bow laughed again. "I'm sorry. Really. This is the kind of joke that my dads would tell. It's funny. I haven't been home in a while..."

"Dads", Adora tested the word on her mouth. "Daaaaahds. What is a 'Dads'?"

Wide-eyed and open-minded, Adora absorbed what Bow had to tell her about his family and all of his brothers. She got around to prying him for information on the word "brothers", eventually.

"Do you have 'brothers'?" Adora looked at Glimmer expectantly.

"No, no. I'm an only child."

"Me too. Well... I assume so. I don't have a 'Dads' either."

"It's just a 'Dad'."

"Yeah, it's not such a big deal not having one." Adora smiled. "I turned out okay, I think."

Glimmer didn't bother correcting her anymore after that. The dryness of her mouth and lips was starting to get to her, now that she knew that Bright Moon was close. All she cared about was drinking water, and doing those other things Bow had listed. And of course, recruiting Adora to their cause. Giving her someplace to sleep. Making sure she knew how to take a bath when they found time for that.

When they'd broken out of the wooded trails, Adora had climbed on top of their horse just to get a better view of the sight—Bright Moon Castle, and the Moonstone, opalescent and shimmering gold hues in the daylight. "Wow", Adora sighed under her breath, fingers clutched in the horse's mane.

Glimmer beamed up at her. "Welcome home!"

"Home." Adora seemed to cringe around this word. She examined Glimmer and Bow, and even the horse beneath her. "You guys are sure that you want me to live here? With you?"

"Where else would you go?" Bow asked with an equal amount of sincerity. "I couldn't bring you home."

"Because of your 'Dads'..." Adora nodded to him in understanding. "Right."

"Well, Bright Moon has space for you", Glimmer promised.

"Um", Adora had only looked between them again, frowning. "Are you sure...?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just... Well. Um. I really do want to be friends with you guys."

"We want to be friends with you, too!" Bow reached up and touched the side of her arm, but withdrew as soon as she stiffened, knuckles white, contrasted in the hazel-brown of the horse mane caught in the pressure. If Adora noticed that she'd frightened the horse, she did nothing but gesture it to keep trotting. Bow muttered a quick apology, and Adora accepted it quietly, but it wasn't enough to get them away from the topic.

Not that Adora seemed to want to stop talking about it. She eventually managed to hold Bow's eyes, shoulders rounded, knees pressing into the horse so that it swung its head back and forced her to relax again. Delicately, Adora petted the horse's neck, voice soft but leveled, "I'm not sure that I could be your friend. I mean. Maybe it's a Horde thing. But... there's already two of you..."

"And three's better", Bow said plainly. "You're not in the Horde anymore, Adora. You can do what you want about that, now."

"Oh...? I mean. I heard that—that those kinds of friendships always end up bad. That's why it's sort of banned in the first place. Not totally banned. Just... You get flack for having too many friends... Is that true for the rest of the world?"

"Not at all. If everyone stays very good friends. And talks to each other a lot. The more, the merrier!"

"What does the Horde know about friendships, anyway?" Glimmer shook her head, ready to go into grave detail on why Adora should probably disregard whatever it was that she knew about friendship—and to prepare herself to learn some new things about it—but Glimmer stopped herself. Adora suddenly had a startlingly distant look in her eyes.

"I've only ever had one real friend", Adora told them. "And—I wasn't allowed to have other ones. I-I mean, they were friends. But not friends friends. She used to want to have me to herself all the time. It made sense. Our other friends were opposition to me as her friend. And that's no good for friendship. So, I understand if you guys don't want to be my friend and ruin a perfectly good—"

Bow had stopped the horse with an assertiveness that had Glimmer stopping in her tracks, too. He was silent for all but a moment before he went on with the same tone he had used when he was explaining his Dads to Adora. "This isn't the Horde anymore. You can have as many friends as you want now, Adora! Even if it's not with us."

Glimmer nearly butted in because they kind of needed to be friends with Adora if this was going to work between them all. Maybe not best friends but... something close to it. Maybe Adora was thinking the same way because she'd only nodded at Bow, suddenly unwilling to probe him any further than that.

"Adora, um. I'm sorry about your friend", Glimmer added into the silence.

Adora only gave an uncommitted hum, rubbing the side of her cheek as if recoiling from a strike that never hit. But when she moved her palm and the daylight reached her cheekbones, the rigid, perfect cuts were obvious. Three lines, tapered off down to her jaw. They were long scarred over but... still there. Adora didn't seem to notice it when Glimmer's mouth flattened into a neutral grimace, and she shrugged, lifting a brow, "Nothing to be sorry for. It's just... Uhm. What if we start hurting each other because of that?"

"Hurting each other?" Bow blinked. "Over what?"

"Well... Each other...?"

"We're not going to do that", Glimmer said carefully. "That's... That's a little extreme, no?"

Adora paused. "Do you think it's extreme?"

"Yes", Bow and Glimmer blurted almost together.

Another pause. Adora thumbed at her scarred cheekbone, absentmindedly. "Oh." 

[flower---dyke]

Adora's Redemption Arc

I'm rewatching she-ra to help me calm down after a meltdown, and I've seen some recent posts that I think misunderstood Catra's arc and how it parallels to Adora's.

So, I'm going to outline Adora's redemption arc.

Let's be realistic; the Horde was a fascist empire, their crimes and cruelty were put on full display. Adora was on her way to becoming a Force Captain, as far as we can tell that's similar to being a General. The only ones we see higher than Force Captains are Shadow Weaver, second in command, and Hordak, their dictator.

Adora was yet to see active duty, but we so see cadets doing active duty, she was just still in training, but she excelled so much she was going to be promoted immeadetly. With no active duty. That is not a joke. As far as we can tell by passing comments and the schedules we see around, cadets do also do "housework". Repairing weapons, meal prep, cleaning. Everything a fascist empire needs to keep running.

And to put it plainly, Adora was prejudiced against princesses. I wont be that asshole to be like "It PaRrAlLeLs RaCiSm"; but it is a prejudice nonetheless, based on propaganda and lies, meant to instill hatred into the soldiers to fuel them to fight the war. And she does take out this prejudice on Glimmer in anger, saying "You think I WANTED to be a princess?! They're MONSTERS!!!" Speaking from my own experience as a gay person, I feel like that happens a lot with me. People hating me because they were duped by some lieing snake oil salesman. Adora is not innocent.

She helped a hateful fascist empire run effectively.

And let's not forget this

This parallel should not be lost on you, especially since Catra does later take Adora's as Force Captain.

If Bow and Glimmer had not found her, it would have been Adora in that tank. Following orders, still falling for Horde lies. "Sure, innocent people who kidnapped a Horde officer!" Would have been Adoras "Oh sure, innocent people who support the violent, chaotic rebellion!"

I feel like a lot of people let Adora's crimes slide because she's She Ra and she's "nice". But she messed up too, she had to prove herself to the Rebellion and earn her place. And she did, and she deserved it.

Adora also had lots of support, love and good advice from Madame Razz, Bow and Glimmer and occasionally Swift Wind.

Catra has Hordak threatening to suffocate her and sending her to die in the Crimson Waste, an abusive Shadow Weaver, a good friend in Scorpia, yes, but one that did not understand her and breached her boundaries many times ("Scorpa, remember that talk we had about personal space?") ((This is not a bashing of Scorpia or excusing Catras later unkindness towards her. I love Scorpia but shes also a war criminal and did also help the evil fascist empire. I'm so happy she got redeemed tho ❤❤❤❤)). Not to mention Lonnie isnt much of a friend. "Easy Catra, Adora's not here to protect you anymore."

All in all, Adora also had her own redemption arc, with it's own nuances, parallels and differences to Catras, and one that was well written and deserving of love. Adora deserved her redemption and the love she got in the end.

[cruelfeline]

All right, friends and neighbors. We are going to engage in an Angry Post, because I am very, very tired of seeing people complain about and question both Catra and Hordak being “forgiven too quickly.” This may be a bit sassier than what you normally expect from me, so it shall be tagged as “discourse” and should be read at your own risk. It’s certainly not aimed at anyone in particular and is more intended towards a general attitude that I’ve seen. That said, I am having many emotions about cartoon characters that must be worked through, so it’s happening. 

So. Let’s start with Catra. Catra, and the idea that Bow and Glimmer and Adora forgave her too quickly. That they should have demanded she pay for her crimes before providing her with affection and acceptance.

I just... here. Let’s. Let’s just. Let’s even forget about all of the trauma she has been through for the entirety of her life. Let’s shelve Shadow Weaver. Let’s ignore that. Yeah? It shouldn’t really be ignored, of course, but for the sake of simplicity. Okay.

Catra just spent who-knows-how-long on Horde Prime’s ship. Catra was just put through a hellish purification ritual, mind-chipped, and used as a vessel against her will. Catra also fell off of what was essentially a cliff, unconscious and limp, and nearly died. Potentially actually died. Whatever. Point is: physical trauma, emotional trauma, mental trauma.

What, exactly, do y’all want to do to this girl that she hasn’t already suffered? Hm? What further pain and discomfort and terror do you demand that she experience before she’s been “punished enough”?

Do you want to isolate her from friendly contact until she fulfills your random Redemption List? Make her eat her meals alone, without nary a friendly face? Leave her to her nightmares without anyone to comfort her? Shall she live with Prime’s voice and Prime’s memory inside her head, unable to reach out to anyone for reassurance and relief?

And for what? Why? What would be the purpose?

Do you think that would help? Do you think that that would help Catra get better faster? Do you think it would be good for her, to be further isolated and shunned and deprived of affection and sympathy and comfort? Is demanding penance prior to providing love really in everyone’s best interest? Is it in Catra’s? 

And now: Hordak. Who apparently also doesn’t deserve any love or care or mercy until he’s paid his dues.

Hordak was born into a cult. An actual, played-totally-straight, honest to the gods cult. He was manufactured in a little tank for the sole purpose of being a body to use and abuse at his god’s whims. He was programmed and indoctrinated to be loyal and devoted to said god on a legitimately disturbing level.

And when his body started to fail, when it became too much to maintain, he was sent away to fight until battle or illness killed him.

Hordak spent decades on a strange planet, with no support system, fighting and striving in the only way he knew how to be worthy of the same god who threw him away to die. He spent those decades dealing with a chronic illness, alone, that caused him pain, shame, and legitimately threatened his life. When he finally had a brief moment of friendship, it was violently taken away from him. When he rejoined his god, he experienced only humiliation and terror before having his identity taken from him. Afterwards, his despair was so great that he subjected himself to purification agony in order to keep his painful memories at bay.

He has suffered chronic physical pain, loneliness, intense fear of failure, and a sense of self-worth so abysmally low that he thought it was a good idea to go back to his narcissistic monster of a creator in order to feel at peace with himself. He suffered all of this while blaming himself for not being strong enough to singularly overcome things no sane person would ever demand someone to overcome on their own.

Yes, he did terrible things. He waged war. He hurt people. But now? He’s done. And now, he needs support and understanding and multiple helping hands to set things right and recover from this.

Or... what? What, those of you who claim he doesn’t deserve the mercy Adora has shown him, is it that he should receive instead?

Should he be physically dealt with? Shall we withhold his life support from him, just enough to ensure he knows he’s being punished? Or, perhaps, should he be isolated again? Left alone to suffer further physical illness and self-loathing without anyone to reach out to for comfort and guidance? Should love and security be denied him until he’s... what? Rebuilt a certain number of cities? Provided a certain number of new technologies? And how should he handle his pain during this time? Should he just suffer the misery of his failures and his fear and his pain in solitude until the arbitrary Penance Quota is fulfilled?

What is the point of denying him these things? Is it actually helpful? Will it help him recover faster? Will it teach him some sort of lesson he’s apparently too stupid to learn without hurting? Will it undo the damage the war has wrought?

Or will it just satisfy some perverse vengeance fetish some people appear to have?

Look here. I don’t mean to say that Catra and Hordak shouldn’t work to help the people they’ve hurt. That’s fine. I don’t mind it. Honestly, I feel like they’ll want to.

What I mean to say is that I don’t see a point or purpose to withholding love and comfort and legitimate help from these two deeply wounded, ailing individuals until they meet some sort of personal redemption standard. I don’t see the point to it. I don’t see the advantage.

All I see is heaping more cruelty and pain onto two people who, damage though they’ve caused, have suffered so terribly and completely that they will likely be dealing with the fallout of their trauma for the rest of their lives.

And I’m tired of it. I’m tired of these takes complaining about Catra and Hordak “getting off easy.” They didn’t get off easy. They suffered. And extending that suffering to fulfill someone’s completely arbitrary sense of “justice” is cruel. And pointless. And entirely against the messages and themes of this show. 

All right. I’m done. I’ve had my hissy fit. Back to less sassy posts.

[i-just-love-spop]

The Coffee Paradox

My first piece for the Glimbow Week Countdown! I’m running a Glimbow Week over at @glimbow-week-2020 in a couple of weeks, check out the account for more information!

Written for the Glimbow Week Countdown Prompt “cooking”, based off of a prompt request from @amozon28 that I got a while ago. She requested the prompt “The tea tastes weird.” “Might be because that's coffee.” for Glimbow. Sorry this took so long, hope you enjoy!

Summary: Bow and Glimmer have breakfast together on a calm morning after the war.

[Takes place a bit after the show.]

Heads up, there’s one or two very minor sex references, but nothing explicit, in general the fic is completely sfw.

Also, the fact that Glimmer gets eggs for breakfast is purely coincidental and has nothing in the slightest to do with @tippenfunkaport and the fact that her fic for this prompt made me sad and I had to cope with it somehow (seriously though go read her fic it’s really good)!

—

It was a calm morning in Bright Moon. The soft morning light shone through the curtains of the private kitchen that was attached to Glimmer’s bedroom but that she’d rarely ever used for a very long time.

Glimmer stood there, in the middle of the kitchen, taking in both the breath of fresh air from the window that Bow had apparently opened before he’d left the room to do – she wasn’t sure what he was doing, exactly, but at least he wasn’t in here anymore at the moment –, and the wonderful odor of the breakfast he’d made... warm pancakes, scrambled eggs and her favorite fruit juice were all waiting on the dining table for her. The smell alone was enough to made her mouth water.

‘Moons, how did I get so lucky?’

For a bit, Glimmer just stood at the window and took in the view of the world outside the castle that was slowly waking up. People were laughing, kids were playing in the fields and at the water, some even going for a morning swim. When looking at the world from up here, you could barely tell that there had been a war going on until very recently.

Sometimes Glimmer couldn’t help but think that an entire lifetime had passed between the end of the war and this morning, when I’m reality, it had barely been a few weeks.

There had been more peaceful mornings since the war was over. It felt weird... but the good kind of weird.

Sure, there was still work to do, but almost everyone seemed to sleep easier these days, and everyone deserved a couple of lazy mornings every now and again after everything they’d went through.

Heck, even Adora managed to sleep most nights now that Catra was with her. She even managed to sleep in, which was possibly the weirdest thing about this situation. ‘Adora’ and ‘sleeping in’ were about the last two words any of them would have ever put in the same sentence up until a couple of weeks ago.

...but she did now. And it made Bow and Glimmer incredibly happy to see that their friend was doing so much better after seeing her inability to relax in action for years prior.

As for the Queen of Bright Moon and her future King... they maybe didn’t get as much sleep as they used to since their first official date, but for good reasons only.

Bow had wanted their first kiss to be special, so he’d taken his girlfriend – she was his girlfriend now, the thought still made Glimmer feel all mushy inside – out on a starlight picnic as soon as they had the time.

That evening, everything had fallen into place.

Glimmer smiled at the memory.

‘We kissed, alright.’

And they’d done much more that night, and since then, and she couldn’t remember if she’d ever felt quite as happy in her life as she was feeling right now. Things were still far from perfect, of course... her mother’s absence had left a burning hole in her heart that she didn’t think anything would ever be able to make whole again, and there was also the looming guilt of the mistake she’d made that she would never be entirely able to forget... and trying to form a normal father-daughter-relationship with Micah after loosing him at such a young age and after she’d long come to terms with his supposed death wasn’t the easiest thing either – but as long as Bow was with her, she felt like she could take on the world, or maybe even the entire galaxy.

When she’d been younger, before discovering her powers and learning to control them, she’d envied her mother’s wings, her ability to fly. She’d long worked past these feelings... but now, when she was around Bow, she felt like she finally understood what it felt like to fly. She didn’t think she’d ever grow tired of the way his hand felt in hers or the way her heart skipped a beat every time he looked at her.

Sometimes she still had nightmares... but she was slowly starting to get them under control. Talking about it got easier as time went by – even though she knew it was never going to be easy –, and even when she wasn’t alright, Bow was there to hold her and kiss her and tell her she was safe with him.

Speaking of Bow...

“Morning, Love.” He hugged her from behind and gave her a kiss on the cheek as she turned around. “I hope I didn’t wake you when I got up earlier, but I felt like doing something special for you today.”

“Don’t worry.” She grinned. “I slept pretty well after our... exercise yesterday.“

Glimmer winked and kissed her boyfriend as his cheeks heated up.

For a moment, they just stood there, happily making out in the middle of the kitchen.

“We really can’t keep our hands off each other, huh?” He asked softly with the usual sweet smile in his face when they broke apart, and all she wanted to do was immediately pull him into another kiss because nope she definitely did not want to keep her hands off him, but he’d made breakfast and it was getting cold, so making out further would have to wait, because if they continued on like that, they’d be in the bedroom rather than the kitchen in what Glimmer guessed was approximately five minutes from now.

“I’m afraid we’ll have to, or the food you put so much effort into will end up being cold.” She chuckled and winked at him. “We‘ll continue this later.”

“As you wish.” He gave her another quick peck on the cheek, then pulled back a chair and gestured for her to sit down on it. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to leave you alone with all the food, I thought you were still asleep and wanted to take the opportunity to go outside and collect some of these before I woke you up.”

He sat down next to her and held a small bowl of strawberries in her direction. Her face lit up even more.

“Oh stars, I love you so much. You’re amazing. How did I get so lucky?”

Bow felt his heart flutter in his chest at the way her eyes lit up when she looked at him. Every morning that he woke up next to her, he wondered how exactly he’d taken so long to realize what Glimmer really meant to him when it was so blatantly obvious now that nobody in the galaxy could ever compare to her.

He’d missed her every second they’d been apart, and now that he’d found her again, he was planning on holding onto her for the rest of his life – if she’d let him.

“I love you, too,” He whispered softly, still every bit as mesmerized by how she looked as he had been the first time. Her hair sparkled brightly in the soft morning light, and Bow couldn’t help but think that his girlfriend was visibly as much of an angel as her mother had been. “We’re both incredibly lucky, Glim.”

She smiled softly at him, and her heart melted from the way he smiled back at her.

“Guess we are.“

Gosh, how much she’d longed for him to look at her like this over the last couple of years, despite refusing to admit it. And now they were a couple, and she couldn’t be happier.

—

The food tasted heavenly, and they had a really nice breakfast... for the most part.

Everything was really good – except for the coffee Glimmer had made while Bow had been outside gathering strawberries.

Bow winced a bit as he took the first sip, despite his best efforts to hide it out of politeness.

“Huh. This tea tastes a bit weird.”

He put the mug down. All his politeness wasn’t enough to get him to have another sip.

“Might be because that's coffee,” Glimmer replied and chuckled a bit.

Bow raised an eyebrow.

“That’s coffee?” He stared at her blankly for a moment when she nodded. “Glimmer, honey, I love you, but we really need to work on your cooking skills.”

He gave her a polite smile, already feeling bad because he didn’t like criticizing her when it came to stuff like that. She was trying, and he found it very sweet that she was, and a lot of the time, what she made came out fine – sometimes great, even – but this wasn’t one of those times.

It was weird, actually. She’d made coffee before. It wasn’t the greatest, but it wasn’t that terrible usually...

“Come on, it can’t be that ba-” Glimmer took a sip herself and oh by Etheria’s moons did she stand corrected. She had a hard time not spitting the ‘coffee’ – honestly whatever this really was had no right to be called that – across the table. She decided to just spit it back into the mug instead, and then spent several seconds wiping her tongue with a napkin. Anything to get the taste out of her mouth. “You swallowed that? I’m so sorry.” Glimmer winced and gave her boyfriend an apologetic look. “What did I do to that? Moons, this tastes...” She grimaced. “Okay, note to self, no more making coffee when I’m too tired to function.”

Bow chuckled and smiled at his girlfriend.

“So... before you’ve had coffee?”

He really should have known it was that. Glimmer had never been a morning person, after all.

‘Her sleepiness explains it, alright.’

She shrugged and then joined in on the laughing.

“Huh, yeah, I guess. Can’t make coffee if I’m tired, and can’t stop being tired without having coffee. Eternal coffee paradox,” She joked, making her boyfriend chuckle.

Sometimes she wondered if laughing at even your friend’s dumbest jokes should have been a dead giveaway that they were in love with each other.

“How about we stick to me making coffee in the morning in that case, then? Paradox solved,” Bow added, kissing her cheek.

“That... might be a good idea.”

Glimmer had gone back to her delicious pancakes

He didn’t mind. At all. To be quite honest, he actually loved spoiling his girlfriend. The way her face lit up over little things (like him bringing her coffee in the morning) was adorable, and if it made her happy, he would gladly keep doing it for the rest of their lives.

“In all seriousness, though... if you want to, I can show you a couple tricks when it comes to cooking? Just an idea, of course. Your usual cooking when you’re not sleep deprived is fine. I just thought cooking together might be nice.“

“I mean, it does sound nice...“ She took another bite of the scrambled egg, which was the only thing left on her plate. It had been a while since they’d done stuff as normal as cooking together. “But we don’t have time for that right now. There’s more important-” Glimmer started, then stopped herself mid-sentence.

Actually... there wasn’t. Sure, there was still towns in need of rebuilding, but most Etherians were doing a pretty good job taking care of their homes themselves, and while that of course didn’t mean the princesses didn’t still help wherever they could... it did mean that occasionally, they were able to take some time to themselves and do stuff like cooking together, or going on dates, or going for a swim in Mystacor, without half of Etheria falling back apart or getting attacked while they were gone.

“Huh... actually, I guess we could do that.” She put her hand on his, fingers intertwining in the middle of the table as she sighed softly. “I��m... still not used to not going to battle constantly.”

He ran his thumb over the palm of her hand gently and smiled at her softly.

“Takes some time getting used to, doesn’t it?” Bow sighed. “I think all of our heads are still in the war half the time, despite the fact that it ended. But it will get better, eventually. I just know it will. And until then, we’ll go every step of the way together, yeah?”

She squeezed his hand a little tighter and smiled at him.

“Yeah. Every step of the way.”

—

She’d come to figure out that she loved cooking with her boyfriend very soon.

[reblogbase]

Ok, so I’ve decided to write down some post-season5 headcanons, after Hordak’s redemption has started, the whole Beast island thing has lessened down to like a monthly week-long visit or smth, and therapy is in session. This is sorta a few characters’ overall reaction to the horde clones, now that they’re going to therapy (some aren’t, it’s a choice), settling all over Etheria and are just general leading how to Person.

Adora-

I like to think, what if, through some Entrapta experiment or light hope glitch or realisation or smth, Adora and Hordak realized that, had circumstances been different, Hordak would p. much be Adora’s dad. After this (and this is some time after the BF squad have gotten used to him), they decide to test out whether they could still be friends or smth by going on a road trip across Etheria. (I headcanon visiting new kingdoms)

Bow-

He’s....sorta awkward about the whole thing. While he understands the circumstances, he’s just not ready to completely forgive and forget that easy, though he tries to be nice

Glimmer-

She’s conflicted. While she definitely hasn’t like..forgiven Hordak, she does understand how bad thing were with the intergalactic Horde

Catra-

She was chipped, but refuses to acknowledge it. Only talks to glimmer and Adora (sometimes) about it, on the rare occasion where glimmer confronted her. As such, she keeps her distance from all the clones, Hordak included.

Mermista-

She was chipped. Feels bad for the clones, but keeps her distance. Tried not to acknowledge the time she was chipped from a personal perspective. Not too fond of Hordak

Micah-

He was chipped. Won’t talk about it unless asked, very uncomfortable w the whole thing, but all in all he does feel for the clones and is nice to them whenever he interacts with them. Averse to Hordak, but when they interact, he’s stiff, hasn’t entirely forgiven him, but still doesn’t go Hordak hate-squad.

Scorpia-

Was chipped. Even if she wasn’t, her feelings about the horde clones would be the same-she’s fond of all of them, is always really nice to them all. Pretty awkward and “Yes boss!-I mean sir-I mean-“ with Hordak, but overall is ok, and definitely wants to give him a second chance

Spinnerella-

She was chipped. I feel as though this would give her empathy towards them. She understands why things happened, and is bitter about the war, but gives Hordak a second chance, and eventually becomes pretty close to a bunch of them. She get’s protective when people are mean to them and basically becomes a sorta big sister/mom. (Also, if ur upset she’d be so ok with everything and put the war behind her, let me remind you I don’t think the war much affected her or netossa’s kingdoms, or them personally [unntil it did get personal but that was Horde Prime’s fault])

Frosta-

The war killed her parents and she is not getting near anything that looks like Hordak, not anytime soon anyway.

Hope you liked my thoughts! :D

[youngjusticeslut]

Center Stage (Chapter 4)

Fandom: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Characters: Adora, Catra, Glimmer, Bow, Mermista, Sea Hawk, Kyle, Perfuma, Frosta, Angella, Micah, Shadow Weaver Ships: Catradora, Glimbow, Seamista, Kygelio, Scorptra Rating: T+ Summary: A Catradora Ballet School AU AO3

Adora wakes up long before her alarm goes off.

First day of classes. Big day. Her phone tells her it’s a little past six in the morning, and a quick glance to the side of the room tells her that Glimmer is gone, bed unkempt. Carefully, she crawls out of bed, hoping not to wake Catra. Though judging by the girl’s soft snores, there’s not much to worry about.

Six am means she has two hours to kill before her first class. Two hours is plenty of time. Enough for a quick workout, a thorough stretch session, and maybe even a bit of breakfast. If her stomach calms down enough to eat, that is.

From her bedside table, she grabs her earphones and plugs them into her phone. Quiet as can be, she starts with a series of pushups, followed by crunches, bicycle kicks, and leg lifts. Three sets, rinse and repeat. It helps Adora work her nerves out, and lucky for her, Catra sleeps through the entire thing, unaware of it all. She takes extra time to stretch out her muscles, especially her feet. They’d be put through the ringer today, the least she can do is prepare them for what’s to come.

By the time she showers and grabs a couple of muffins from the cafeteria, Catra’s just waking up. She smiles, seeing her awake when she enters the room. Glimmer is still nowhere to be found, it seems. “Hey there,” Adora greets softly, trying not to startle her roommate. “Late start?”

“Not an early riser,” the brunette responds. “What time is it?”

“Seven thirty. Still got about thirty minutes until class.”

“Shit.” As if on cue, Catra’s stomach growls. She glances away in mild embarrassment.  

“It’s okay,” Adora says, tossing her a muffin. Catra catches it without missing a bit. “I came prepared.”

Adora tries not to relish the look of surprise on Catra’s face. Score a point to her, for being the best roommate ever. As Catra nibbles on the muffin, Adora rifles through her drawers, pulling out her black leotards and pink tights. Boring, but apparently the required uniform at Bright Moon.

She keeps her back to Catra as she’s changing, humming to herself as a distraction. At the moment, she doesn’t even remember the name of the song she’s humming. It’s a Spanish one, something Mara would sing most mornings as she made breakfast. The routine quells the little bit of homesickness that she’s feeling.

Once she’s dressed, she walks over to the mirror and starts to pin up her hair. By now, Catra’s finished the muffin and has also begun to get dressed. “Want to walk to class together?” she asks, hoping to continue extending the olive branch. She’s not great at making friends, but she promised Mara and Razz that she’d make a better effort at it.

“Uh, sure. I have to brush my teeth, though.”

“That’s okay, I’ll—wait, is that what you’re wearing?”

Catra glances up from adjusting the straps on her leotard. “Yeah?” She pauses, cocks her head to the side and gives a little smirk. “Doesn’t suit your taste?” Unlike Adora, she wears red, with nude colored tights. It looks far better than it should, and Adora can’t help the blush that tints her cheeks.

The question leaves Adora flustered, more than it probably should. It’s too early for this. “What? No. No, it’s fine. Cool actually, super— I mean…” She stops rambling and collects herself with a deep breath. “What you’re wearing is nice, but Bright Moon has a uniform.”

“Uniform?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you read the orientation packet?”

Catra’s face says that she very much hadn’t, but the girl shrugs it off and takes off the hair tie from around her wrist. “Whatever. It’ll make me stand out.”

“I don’t think it works like that. What if you get in trouble?”

The brunette pauses from tying up her hair, shooting a quick look at Adora. “Worried about me?”

Adora scoffs and crosses her arms. “I’m trying to save you from getting your ass kicked out on the first day.”

“They won’t throw me out. Trust me, once they see me dance, they’ll forget all about what I’m wearing.” Her words are strong, but something in Catra’s eyes doesn’t exactly convince Adora. It comes off more like a front, a facade to protect her. Part of her wants to call Catra out on it, but something stops her. Truthfully, it’s none of her business. Who is Adora to stop Catra from doing what she wants?

“Hey, it’s your funeral,” Adora ends up saying.

Catra finishes to tie up her hair, leaving it in a sloppy bun with bangs framing her face. It’s a stark contrast to Adora’s sleek, neat do. “I appreciate the concern,” she says with a wink.

While Catra scoots past her into their shared bathroom to brush her teeth, Adora checks the time on her phone. Class starts in fifteen minutes. She pulls at her fingers for something to do, resisting the urge to chew on her lip. They’re cutting it awfully close. What if all the good spots are taken by the time they get there? She really wants to show up early, scope out the other girls, make a good impression on the teachers.

“Almost ready?” It comes with a bit of a whine, and Adora mentally kicks herself. Now Catra probably thinks she’s such a goody-goody. It doesn’t matter, though. There’s no answer. “Catra?”

“Nearly done. If it’s getting close, go on ahead.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll catch up.”

Permission granted, Adora grabs her already-packed ballet bag and slings it over her shoulder. She barely remembers to grab her room keys on her way out the door. Part of her feels guilty for leaving Catra behind, but she really doesn’t want to be late. Especially not on the first day.

Thanks to her strategic mapping technique from the day before, Adora is able to make it to class in less than five minutes. The dorms aren’t too far from this particular studio, and for that Adora is eternally grateful. As expected, several girls are already there in various points of preparing their pointe shoes. Glimmer stands off to the side, testing out a shiny pair of shoes. In comparison, Adora’s faded ones look abysmal. She really needs a new pair.

Adora takes her place in the center of the room, close to the barre. When class begins, she’ll be front and center; perfect for watching the teacher, and right up front to get her noticed. Easy. Almost too easy. Her pointe shoes are already broken-in, so she takes the time to prep her feet properly before slipping them on. No distractions today. She has to be at the top of her game.

Her nerves aren’t nearly as bad as they were on the day of her audition. Maybe it’s because she’s already in and the hard part is over. Or maybe it has something to do with being inside the gorgeous dance studio again. Last time she was in here, it felt like a dream. Today, it’s her reality.

“Adora!” Perfuma waves at her, grinning from ear to ear. “It’s your first day, how are you feeling? Did you eat breakfast?”

Any other morning, this amount of energy so early in the morning would have turned Adora off. She doesn’t mind it so much today. “Yeah, I got something to eat. And I’m fine. Excited for it to start, really.”

Perfuma places a hand on Adora’s shoulder and gives it a soft squeeze. “Glad to hear it. No stress?”

“Not really.”

“That’s great! I’m sure you’re going to be amazing.” For some reason, Perfuma’s encouragement actually helps Adora feel better. She knows that she’s only met the girl a day ago, but there’s something really calming about her general demeanor.

Adora’s about to respond when the doors to the dance studio open. A flock of boys enter the room, and the excitement increases tenfold. Returning students hug and squeal and group together. Off to the side, Adora finally locates Glimmer. She throws her arm around a boy, who cheers and spins her around in delight. Following right after the boys are a group of adults. Teachers, she assumes, judging by their higher air and the way they watch the students interact. Adora recognizes Angella, Spinerella and Netossa from the audition. Angella holds herself at the front of the room, standing beside a dark-haired man.

“Good morning,” she announces, bright and chipper. The energy in the room immediately simmers down, and many echo the words back to her. “We are so pleased to welcome everyone to the first day of what I am sure will be a wonderful year.”

As she welcomes the new students, Adora scans the crowd for Catra. She doesn’t find her. Biting her lip, she attempts to  focus back on Angella. Why is her roommate like this?

“You are our senior class, which means that this will be your last year attending Bright Moon Academy,” the man beside Angella continues. “At the end of the year, we will be picking the top dancers to join our company.” He scans the crowd, and offers a kind smile. “While I’m sure that all of you are incredible, this year we will only have room to add six students to the company.”

Six students? Adora clenches her fist in determination. She’s faced worse odds.

“Throughout the year, we will be observing you and your talents as ballet dancers. However, we will not make any final decisions until we see how you dance in the final workshop performance. With that said, we wish you all the best of luck, and advise you to make this your year.”

When Angella finishes speaking, the group claps. The door opens again, and Catra walks in, completely neutral, not a hint of shame on her face. The man beside Angella raises a brow. “So nice of you to fit us into your schedule, Miss…?”

“Catra.” She grins right back at him. “And no sweat.”

The class snickers at her response, but if Catra cares, she doesn’t show it. Adora sucks in her teeth. Late, again? Really. Is Catra actively trying to get herself kicked out, or does she just not care?

“One more thing before we dismiss you for classes. As you may have heard, the company gala is taking place this weekend. We always invite our senior students to attend the performance and help out at the party afterwards, so please plan accordingly. We do expect you all to attend,” Angella says. “Thank you all!”

That said, the teachers trickle out of the room and the boys bid their goodbyes before leaving for their own class. A dark-haired teacher remains at the front, hands clasped tightly. Catra catches Adora’s eye and gives her a wink, but her expression changes completely once she sees the teacher. That’s weird.

“You may call me Madame Weaver,” the woman continues. “In this class, we will be working on technique, sequences and formations three times a week. At the barre,”  she instructs, giving no pleasantries. Needless to say, the girls toss their bags to the side and scurry to their positions at the barre. Adora already has her spot, and Catra manages to grab the spot on the opposing end. Their hands are inches away from the other. Adora’s not sure why, but it makes her nervous.

“Let’s start with our pliés. First position, demi, and stretch. Full grand plié and return. Port de bras forward. Full port de bras back. The same in second, third, and fifth positions, and then rise and take a balance in fifth.” She speaks a little too quickly for Adora to fully understand what she’s asking, but since she’s good at following along, she’s not too worried.

Madame Weaver nods to the pianist in the room, who begins the opening transition. To no one’s surprise, the girls move through the pliés seamlessly. Thanks to her rigorous stretch earlier, Adora feels nice and limber.

The teacher walks around the room with something to say about everyone. Mermista needs to relax her fingers. Perfuma needs to work on feeling the support from her center. Glimmer is complimented on her technique. Adora glides through the movements, feeling confident and waiting for Madame Weaver to no doubtedly comment on how wonderful her technique is.

When she gets to her, she pauses. “Your name?” Madame Weaver asks.

“Adora.”

“You need to work on your turnout. Without it, your dancing suffers.”

It’s not the advice Adora expected to hear. She looks down at her feet and adjusts her turnout, feeling less comfortable. “Better,” Madame Weaver says before moving on. As Adora continues her plies, she watches from her peripheral as Madame Weaver approaches Catra.

“You will be on time to my class and wearing appropriate attire. You would do well to remember that your place here is subject to my approval. Do I make myself clear, Catra?”

Adora doesn’t hear a response, but she assumes that Catra agrees, for Madame Weaver moves away and proceeds onto the next student. Something about her interaction with Catra unsettles her. It’s almost like they know each other. With a slight huff, she forces the thought out of her mind. She can’t think about that right now.  

The class continues. They spend an hour on barre work alone. From there, they move on to floor work and practicing routines across the room. As much as Adora would like to admit otherwise, she struggles. She comes out of turns too slow and stumbles one time too many for her liking. Madame Weaver works quickly and she isn’t always able to catch everything she says. On the whole, she feels like she has much to improve on.

When class ends, Adora sinks down to the floor and yanks open the laces of her pointe shoes. Her feet throb and she just wants to be out of them. Lunch sounds good, too. The lonely muffin she had for breakfast is long gone, and she needs more than just a salad today.

“Hey.” Adora looks up to see Glimmer, offering her an apologetic smile. “Don’t let it get you down. The first day is always rough.”

It’s hard not to take her words personally, especially not after an entire class where Glimmer was the model student. She swallows any bitterness and smiles back. “I guess you’d know, huh?”

“Trust me, there are days I mess up too. Do you want to go have lunch?”

Adora slips into a pair of slippers and stuffs her pointe shoes in her bag before standing up. “Lunch sounds great. I don’t think I’m in the mood for salad though.”

Glimmer laughs and interlocks arms with her. The action is unexpected, but welcome. They head in the direction of the cafeteria, arm in arm. “Hard same. What are you thinking?”

“I could go for a sandwich. Grilled cheese?”

“Deal.”

In less than ten minutes, the two are in line at the cafeteria waiting to pay for their food. Adora steals a fry off her plate, nibbling at it to quell her hunger. “So, it gets better, right?”

“So much better. Weaver never gets easier though.” Glimmer chews on the inside of her cheek before looking off to the side. “She’s just very… particular.”

Adora remembers the short conversation she overheard between Madame Weaver and Catra. Note to self, stay on Weaver’s good side. Couldn’t be that hard, right? Glimmer seems to have figured it out. “She likes you, though.”

“I wish she didn’t. Believe it or not, I kind of hate being the teacher’s pet.”

“What? No way.” When it’s her turn, Adora sets down her tray and pulls out her student ID to pay for the meal. She’s so lucky that she qualified for Bright Moon’s scholarship program. Mara and Razz were more than willing to chip in, but Adora’s never been comfortable with putting more financial burden on them.

“Way.” Glimmer pulls out her card to pay for her food when she looks up and her eyes widen. “I am so sorry.”

“For what?”

“Glimmer!” Angella meets them at the cash register, a stack of papers in her hand. “You haven’t answered my texts. How was your first class?”

Glimmer flushes in embarrassment and grits her teeth. “Mom, you’re holding up the line.”

“Oh, you’re right. Here, let me pay, Dear,” she says, handing the cashier her credit card before Glimmer can argue. Once they’re all settled, Angella walks with them toward a less crowded spot.

“Adora, this is my mom,” Glimmer introduces reluctantly. “Mom, Adora.”

“Yes, Adora. I remember you, from the audition.” Angella takes her hand and gives it a squeeze. “It’s so nice to meet more of Glimmer’s friends.”

“Mom.”

Angella clears her throat, smiling bashfully and letting go of Adora’s hands. “Right, sorry. How was the first class?”

“It was good. Nothing to worry about. Right, Adora?”

Adora nods, quickly trying to swallow her mouth full of a couple more fries. “Yep! Just fine,” she says, hoping that Madame Weaver hasn’t already soiled her reputation to Angella.

“Good. I’m so glad to hear that. I won’t pry any more, you girls go on and enjoy your lunch, I just wanted to say hello.” Angella takes note of her daughter’s tray and rests a soft hand on Glimmer’s shoulder. “I thought we agreed on salads for lunch. We spoke about this, Glimmer.”

Glimmer turns as red as the ketchup on her plate. It clashes horribly with her hair. “Mom, I know. I promise, salad for dinner,” she mutters, unable to look at Adora.

The answer pleases Angella, for she pecks her forehead and lets go of her. “Good. Keep an eye on your phone, and call me tonight?”

“Yeah, Mom. Say hi to Dad for me.”

“I will. Bye girls.”

Adora watches after her as she leaves before following Glimmer to where she’d hunkered down at a nearby table. Glimmer angrily stabs a fry in some ketchup before tossing it to the side of her plate. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she warns before taking a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

“Fair enough. My family can be a lot too,” Adora says, trying to make Glimmer feel better. “Was your dad the guy standing next to Angella this morning.”

“Yeah. I may have mentioned it yesterday, but they run the school and the company. My dad takes a bigger role in the company, and my mom the school. It works out.”

“Must have been cool to grow up around all these ballet dancers. You must have been able to learn so much from them.”

Glimmer nods, swirling a fry around in some ketchup before popping it in her mouth. “Something like that.”

As Adora digs into her grilled cheese, she notices Catra sitting at a table not too far from them. She talks to a girl with platinum hair and she looks… upset. The tall girl attempts to comfort her but Catra moves away. It seems that Madame Weaver’s words really got to her. “Kind of serves her right,” Glimmer notes after following Adora’s gaze.

“What do you mean?”

“Who does she think she is, showing up late on the first day? And breaking the dress code at that! Catra’s just asking to be kicked out,” Glimmer scoffs, taking a bite of her grilled cheese. She chews, mulls it over, and smirks. “Or maybe she just likes attention.”

Glimmer’s words don’t sit well with her. Adora crosses her arms and takes a shaky breath. “Look, I know you and Catra don’t get along. But you didn’t hear what Weaver said to her. It was… way harsh. Harsher than it should be.”

“That’s just how Weaver is.”

“I don’t think so. I’m not saying what Catra did was right, and I’m not going to sit here and make excuses for her. But I’m also not going to sit here and badmouth her.” Adora looks down at her plate. “That’s not who I am. Okay?”

Glimmer reaches for her hand. “I’m sorry, you’re right. Let’s just talk about something else?”

“Yeah.” Adora looks back in Catra’s direction, but the brunette is no longer there. Maybe she’ll talk to her later, see what’s going on. “So, about the Gala thing this weekend… Can you wear jeans to that?”

[catrasredemption-moved]

Zuko doesn't get worse before he gets better like with Catra, and maybe that's what throws people off with how Catra's story goes. Zuko's moment of change (freeing Appa) is one of a truly noble act that conks him out and causes him to slowly grow from there, with a setback or two. Catra's is her reaching an absolute nadir and having that collapse her to her base elements over the course of a season until her true feelings about Adora are the only things left.

Not to be snarky or anything, but Zuko is already at his worst before the show even starts. He spends all of season one trying to kidnap Aang, holds Katara hostage briefly, burns down villages, and is just a generally terrible person. The difference is that we don’t see his mental spiral as clearly as we do Catra’s.

I also think we see Zuko’s redemption through nostalgia filters. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good! And it set the example going forward of how to do and improve upon good redemption arcs. He doesn’t just have a setback or two, he has a couple huge fuck ups - i.e. turning on Iroh, Katara, and Aang in the cave and hiring an assassin to kill Aang. (and then forgetting to call him off - really, Zuko? Really?) 

And, probably most significant of all, he has the luxury of time. He and Iroh hide behind their tea shop while he figures his shit out. Catra hits bottom when Double Trouble calls her out, and is almost immediately abducted by Horde Prime and thrown into another situation where she needs to make the the big bad like her to stay alive - because she knows, unlike Glimmer, that Horde Prime doesn’t need her. At best, she’s bait for Adora. And she doesn’t even get to keep any of her bodily autonomy or agency through that - Prime mindwipes her and puts a chip in her neck and uses her as a puppet to taunt Adora when she gets there. And when she starts fighting back, he kills her (or tries to. I firmly believe she died, but there’s room for debate). From beginning to end she’s been informed over and over that her life is forfeit, to the point where she truly believes it and when she makes the choice to get Glimmer off the ship, she follows through without hesitation. No trying to manipulate Glimmer into wanting to rescue her. No messing with Adora when they talk. She finally accepts what she’s been told for years - she’s worthless, her life is forfeit, she’s beyond any redemption or forgiveness. It’s a very extreme difference from Zuko, who not only learns to accept himself and acknowledge his worth, but sets out to prove it by helping the gaang defeat Ozai.

And that difference, I think, is why I like Catra’s arc more. Don’t get me wrong! It’s admirable that Zuko found a way to break free from his cycle of abuse on his own and realized his life was worth more than what his father ever let him believe. Catra, on the other hand, is basically dragged kicking and screaming back to life by Adora and is left in this weird position of “okay well I didn’t plan on living this long, now what.” And I am not at all glorifying Catra more or less trying to kill herself. It’s just, to me, far easier to relate to and understand, which is why she sticks in my mind more than Zuko does, if that makes sense. And when she realizes she actually has to live and deal with things, she does the one thing that feels right - she reaches out to Adora.

I saw a really good comment somewhere about how Catra’s season five story isn’t a redemption arc - it’s the start of one. Zuko’s story, as far as we see in the show, ends with him getting everything he wanted - not just being the Fire Lord, but finally having a family (the gaang) that understands him and loves him for who he is. He still has shit to deal with, but even before LoK, it was easy to assume he went on and lived a full, happy life with his friend and Mai and was probably a great Fire Lord (there are all kinds of metas about how he’s the polar opposite of Ozai and they’re all excellent).

Catra’s story, meanwhile, ends with her standing at the beginning of a lot of work, and she starts with what’s probably the hardest but most important one - Scorpia. And yes, she did get to tell Adora she loves and that world-saving kiss (gay saves the world), but there’s still a lot of work to do (and yes, I know people are all about “aw they’re dating they’re girlfriends now” and I get wanting them to just have a happy ending, but that’s not really how I see things going. You can acknowledge you love someone without immediately jumping into a relationship. I have so many post-series Catradora headcanons...)

Sorry, this got long and I’m not sure I really addressed your point tbh ^_^; I just have a lot of feelings about this. At the end of the day, I feel like Zuko was meant to be the character who proves you can grow up being abused and still be a good person. Catra, on the other hand, is the character who’s abused and becomes bitter and angry because of it, and has to find her way out of that hole. She isn’t quite there yet by the end of the show, but she’s working on it.

(and this is why I’d love a movie or another season. Come on Noelle, I know you’ve got it in you)

[horde-princess]

okay like........ i guess it’s easy for me to forget that the target audience of this show is children. to them, and to a general audience (basically people who don’t analyze the show like we do on tumblr), catra and adora have an insanely toxic relationship right now. like WE understand all the reasons behind it and that there’s a future where they’re going to make up, but most people probably don’t.... so the question is how much of the show is actually going to be centered around adora and catra’s relationship slowly improving? i feel like it’s going to be A LOT. the writers are gonna want to make it very obvious that these characters have learned how to love each other before they get together. so when noelle says season 3 will bring their paths back together i’m actually really hopeful that it will be the start of their relationship changing. i mean lets keep in mind it’s only 6 episodes so im not saying something big will happen but i think it will END in a spot for catradora to start working through their shit in season 4 and anyway im rambling but yeah. this is really gonna be a slow burn huh.

this is all based on my (very confident) assumption that catradora is endgame so to me it’s just like... a matter of how early in the show their relationship will change. catradora was the core conflict in seasons 1 and 2 so i just kinda thought it would stay that way until like the last season, but now im thinking there’s going to be a shift where they team up against the horde or possibly some bigger threat. anyway season 3 is gonna be ANGST CENTRAL possibly the most angsty season of the show.... catra is out for blood and i’m so freaking ready for it. it’s always darkest before the dawn 

[hellofromthe-otter-slide]

The Edge of Greatness

Alright, everyone. Here is the third part to my Beast Island series (Part 1: The Trials of Beast Island, Part 2: Where Do I Go From Here?). It took me a little longer to write this than the other two, but I hope you all enjoy it.

Also, I didn’t put all of my ideas into this fic (because it ended up being really long), so if there are any scenes you’re dying to see, send me an ask and I’ll probably end up writing it.

Summary:

Being back at Bright Moon as an ally rather than an enemy feels strange to Catra. She always thought that if she were ever in Bright Moon again, it would either be as its conqueror or its prisoner. She never expected to be back as a princess joining the Alliance.

Read on AO3.

~

Being back at Bright Moon as an ally rather than an enemy feels strange to Catra. She remembers the Battle of Bright Moon, remembers how easy it was to push any misgivings aside and shoot cannon after cannon at the runestone with the hopes of destroying it and Queen Angella along with it. She remembers the satisfaction of besting She-Ra, the easy way her claws cut into She-Ra’s back, and the disappointment of being beat by the Princess Alliance.

She always thought that if she were ever in Bright Moon again, it would either be as its conqueror or its prisoner.

So, when the guards move aside to allow Scorpia, Adora, and her inside the castle’s gates, it feels strange. The guards look at her with barely concealed disdain, and that’s what Catra expects, but they let her in without complaint.

One does glare at her, and Catra just smirks at him.

Whether she's part of the Rebellion now or not, she's still Catra, and she will show that pastel-wearing soldier she doesn't care what he thinks.

The inside of the castle is just as pink as the outside, and Catra starts to wonder if the color black is forbidden in this part of Etheria. Adora and Scorpia show Catra around, starting with the training grounds and ending in a bedroom that will apparently be Catra’s for the duration of her stay at Bright Moon.

After listening to Scorpia’s well-meaning ramble about how she’s just next door if she needs anything, and Adora mentioning that Catra can come to her with anything, Catra is left alone in her new room.

She flops on the bed and sinks in, and it’s soft, softer than any cot in the Fright Zone or her bed on Beast Island, and even though it’s pink and frilly, even though she’s in a place surrounded by people who hate her, she starts to drift off to the noise of waterfall in the corner.

~*~

Reintroducing herself to the princesses as Princess Catra of Half Moon goes exactly as Catra expects. Even with Adora, Scorpia, and Entrapta vehemently arguing her case, with Bow's support, and with Glimmer begrudgingly ensuring Catra isn’t there to do them any harm, the other princesses are rightfully suspicious of her.

“Are we forgetting that the last time she was in Bright Moon, she was here to destroy the runestone and send Etheria into chaos?” Netossa asks the group, openly glaring at Catra.

“How do we even know she’s even a princess?” Frosta points at Catra sharply, “She could be lying.”

Catra snorts, and she has multiple glares shot her direction.

“Why is that so funny?” Frosta asks angrily, and Catra would feel threatened if Frosta wasn’t a kid.

“I was raised to hate princesses, short stack,” Catra says, and she sees Adora drop her head into her hand in exasperation, “Do you really think I would be pretending to be one just to infiltrate what is obviously a well-run war room meeting?”

Frosta looks like she wants to encase Catra’s head in ice, and Catra just smirks at her, building the tension in the room.

“It’s not a lie,” Scorpia says, placing a claw on Catra’s shoulder, “Catra told me when we went to Beast Island to save her, and she asked me to keep it a secret because she didn't know how to feel since she was raised to hate what she apparently is.”

Catra feels uncomfortable with other people, especially the princesses she spent so long fighting, knowing that small, fragile fact about her, but she knows Scorpia is just trying to get the princesses to realize Catra is here to help. She can’t stop her tail, though, and it flicks angrily behind her.

“We can’t just forget everything she’s done,” Perfuma says, “The attack on Bright Moon aside, her assault on the castle and funneling power to the Black Garnet almost destroyed the Whispering Woods.” A few other princesses add to Perfuma’s list.

Kidnapping Bow and Glimmer.

Infecting She-Ra.

Helping the Horde gain land and take villages.

Catra is sure they could spend the next hour listing, but when Adora stands, everyone immediately stops talking and looks at her.

Everyone besides Catra, who looks down at her lap.

“I don’t expect you all to forget what she’s done in the past,” Adora’s says, voice authoritative but understanding, ever the leader, “You don’t have to forgive her either, but the Princess Alliance is stronger with her than without her, and if we’re going to defeat the Horde, we’re going to need her.”

Adora doesn’t get a response from them, so she looks to Angella, “Now, can we please discuss taking back some of the villages the Horde has acquired along the outer edge of the kingdom?”

Angella nods, “I think that would be best. Thank you, Adora.”

Adora sits as the general beside Angella starts talking about the Horde’s occupation of the villages.

Catra takes a chance and looks up and sees Adora smiling at her from her spot in between Bow and Glimmer. Catra smiles back, and it feels like someone throws a log on the embers, her feelings that were easily forgettable making themselves known again.

Her mind is flooded with the memory of her kissing Adora as princesses start proposing ideas for driving Horde soldiers back, and Catra should be helping, is the best person here to explain Horde strategy and successful tactics, but Catra can’t stop thinking about whether she should even bring up the kiss.

She’s been at Bright Moon for a week now. She’s seen Adora almost every day, and they fell back into their friendship easily now that Catra has worked through a fair amount of her resentment and feelings of being second best.

They’ve sparred and lost themselves in the castle, but neither one of them has brought up that one kiss amongst the trees.

Catra wonders if she should be the one to bring it up, but she initiated the kiss, so isn’t it Adora’s turn to take the chance?

She’s thinking so deeply that she doesn’t realize she’s been asked a direct question until Scorpia nudges her, and she finds herself absentmindedly explaining Horde soldier formations and weaponry after asking for the general to repeat herself.

She pays attention throughout the rest of the meeting, but every time she looks over at Adora, those barely-dormant thoughts resurface.

~*~

The trees in the Whispering Woods aren’t nearly as tall as the trees on Beast Island, but Catra still feels content up on the highest branch, laid out with her eyes closed against the bright sunlight.

The woods are quiet, save for the buzzing sounds of insects and the rustling of different creatures, and if Catra keeps her eyes shut, she’s back on Beast Island with her people, away from the drama of princesses and wars and an entire kingdom of people who despise her.

The smells aren’t quite right, though. Catra’s nose is filled with the floral scent of flowers and the soft smell of dew, and it’s just wrong enough that it feels wrong.

Catra opens her eyes and sits up, pulling herself up to see past the leaves and over the entire forest. This high up, she can see the start of the smog that covers the Fright Zone, the orange barely marring Bright Moon’s pale blue sky.

She starts wondering what it would be like if she left.

Would she be put into a prison cell, or would Hordak forgive her and allow her back into the ranks?

Would she be able to go back to being second-in-command?

God, even being a cadet sounds better than kissing up to princesses every day, Catra finds herself thinking, and even though she shouldn’t, it’s true. Being a cadet is easy. You wake up, you train, you take classes about Horde history and battle strategy, you eat lunch, you train some more, you eat dinner, and then you fall exhausted into bed. It’s an easy routine, meant to get soldiers used to the routine of being out on the battlefield.

Catra starts to miss the power that she felt as second-in-command too. It was only for a short time, and it was incredibly stressful, but it was everything she had worked towards.

Everything she never would have achieved if Adora had stayed.

She defied every thought people had about her. She rose through the ranks quicker than anyone else.

And the first moment she messed up, Hordak almost killed her before banishing her.

Catra sighs.

I really don’t belong anywhere, do I?

Catra never belonged with the Horde. She was a Magicat stolen from her people and used as collateral. No matter what she did, she was never good enough.

She doesn’t belong in Bright Moon either. Compared to the other princesses, Catra sticks out like a sore thumb. She never seems to say the right thing, and even giving them information about the Horde just reminds everyone where she came from, and she doesn’t have the mythical She-Ra to gain instant approval.

The only place she felt like she kind of belonged was Beast Island, and she can’t go back yet. She needs to take back Half Moon first. She needs to do this one thing for her people before she can face them again.

Catra slumps, leaves rustling around her.

Why do I even try?

Deep in her wallowing, Catra doesn’t hear the footsteps until they’re almost right underneath her tree.

“Wildcat?” a voice calls.

Catra smiles, and she’s happy Scorpia can’t see her, because she would never hear the end of it.

“Wildcat, are you here?”

Catra goes down a few branches until she can see the red of Scorpia’s outfit. The rustling draws Scorpia’s attention upwards, and she smiles at the sight of her best friend.

“There you are! I saw you leave the castle earlier, and I figured I’d give you some time, but it’s been a while now.”

Catra stretches out lazily along the branch, her tail flicking ever so slightly with the feigned indifference she put on around other people. “Yeah, well,” she says, sounding bored, “One more moment around those princesses and I might end up clawing my eyes out.”

“Oh, they’re not that bad,” Scorpia sits on the forest floor and leans back on her hands so she doesn’t have to crane her neck up so much, “I’ve become friends with almost all of them!” Scorpia then looks down for a second, and Catra finds it amusing how Scorpia’s face can go from sunshine-like happiness to pondering in two seconds flat. “Well, almost all of them,” she amends, “Mermista doesn’t seem like she’s a fan of anyone.”

“I don’t really have your personality, Scorpia.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have to,” Scorpia insists, “They should like you for you.”

Catra snorts, “I think most of them just think I’m intolerable.”

“That’s because they don’t know you like I do,” then Scorpia raises her brows a few times, “Or how Adora knows you.”

Catra cannot believe Scorpia just made that joke, and she finds her cheeks warming at the thought of Adora.

“What exactly are you insinuating?”

Scorpia pretends to inspect her claw, but Catra knows she isn’t going to find any blemishes or dents. Scorpia just buffed them a few days ago, so her claws are perfectly smooth and blemish-free.

“Oh nothing,” Scorpia says breezily, far more breezily than Catra has ever heard her, “Just, you know, I’ve noticed that Adora tends to watch you during meetings, and she was adamant that she come along to pick you up from Beast Island even though I assured her Sea Hawk and I would be fine.” Scorpia looks up at Catra then with her usual wide smile. “She’s also always smiling when she’s around you.”

“Well, yeah, she’s my friend,” Catra mutters, “And with the whole me-hating-her-after-she-left thing, and then the whole me-getting-revenge-on-her-since-she-left-me thing, and, well, six months of me living on Beast Island, we’re just making up for lost time.”

“Whatever you say, Wildcat.”

Catra curls up on the branch, starting to feel a little insecure, and she hears Scorpia start to hum some tune to herself below.

She knows what Scorpia’s doing, and apparently it doesn’t need reassurances and a scratchy blue blanket to work.

“We kissed,” Catra spits out, “When you guys left Beast Island. I took her into the forest and told her I was a princess and then I kissed her, okay?”

Scorpia just smiles, and Catra’s tail flicks a few times in annoyance.

“What?”

“I knew it.”

“What?” Catra starts wondering if Scorpia saw them, or if she somehow let it slip some other time without realizing it, but the forest was completely silent around them, and there’s no way Catra would let that slip, even accidentally.

“Well yeah,” Scorpia says, “You’re not exactly subtle with your show of emotions. Now come down here so I can give you a hug!”

“I’m never coming down.”

“I could climb up there.”

“Scorpia, no.”

Scorpia stands and comes over to the trunk of the tree.

Catra glares at her, “You wouldn’t dare.”

“There’s an easy way and a hard way out of this, Wildcat,” Scorpia says, “It’s your choice.”

After a few moments, Catra decides to climb down and gets pulled into a bone crushing hug, and even though Catra will claim she hates it, really, she likes the blatantly obvious show of affection.

All of her thoughts from earlier, ridiculous thoughts about running back to the Fright Zone and rejoining the Horde, vanish as they walk back to Bright Moon castle, Scorpia telling Catra all about her morning.

Because everyone here may despise her, but she’s got a few great people on her side.

~*~

The library in Bright Moon’s castle is almost triple the size of Beast Island’s small collection, and Catra finds herself there whenever she has a free moment.

She finds that the quiet there just isn’t the same. There’s no Felix to find a book for her, or Magicat scholars walking quietly through the stacks, but it’s the closest she gets to feeling that same contentment.

She’s looking through the collection on previous Etherian wars when a voice spoke behind her.

“Adora mentioned I might find you here.”

Catra turns, and none other than Queen Angella herself stood watching Catra, her arms crossed and her translucent wings pulled close to her body.

Catra grips the book she’s holding close to her chest, feeling slightly nervous, but she can’t hold back the snarky comment of, “Are you going to throw me in a cell for perusing the stacks?”

She isn’t sure, but she swears she sees the corner of Angella’s lips twitch up in the attempt of a smile. “The library is open to all members of the Rebellion. Also,” Angella does smile this time, “Taking a book without asking is not punishable by jail time.”

“There’s probably some sort of fine, though.”

“Well, of course there is a fine.” Angella rolls her eyes, but it’s affectionate in the same way she would around Glimmer or Adora, and Catra doesn’t know how to take that.

“Did you come find me to talk about book fines?”

“No,” Angella’s smile dropped into a sincere look, “I wanted to ask how you were adjusting to being here in Bright Moon.”

“Why do you care?” Catra doesn’t mean for it to come out hostile, but she doesn’t feel like she should be getting this sincere worry about her wellbeing from the woman she once fired cannons at.

“Because I know Adora had trouble adjusting when she first got here,” Angella says, ignoring Catra’s hostility, “And I just wanted to make sure you got the same support she did.”

“I’m fine.”

Angella doesn’t look like she believes Catra, but she doesn’t say otherwise. “Okay. Please let me or someone else know if there’s anything you need.”

Catra nods, and before she can turn back to the shelf behind her, Angella says, “And Catra?”

“Yeah?”

That same smile from earlier is back. “Whether it seems like it or not, we’re happy to have you here. At the very least, I know Adora is happy you’re here.”

Angella leaves the library, and Catra turns back around, feeling her own small smile pulling at her lips.

~*~

Shadows fill Catra’s dream, and she tries running, but red magic seeps around her before she has the chance. She’s frozen to the spot, and Shadow Weaver appears out of the darkness.

“Catra,” Shadow Weaver says with disgust in her voice, “I will not tolerate disrespect, is that clear?”

The magic releases Catra just for Shadow Weaver to grab her face roughly, making Catra look up at her emotionless mask. “I said, is that clear?”

Catra nods, and she barely has time to think before Shadow Weaver throws Catra away from her. Catra’s back hits the wall with a loud crack, and she crumbles to the floor, her lungs trying desperately to take in air after the blow.

“Leave,” Shadow Weaver says, and when Catra can’t get up, Shadow Weaver throws her from the room.

Catra shoots up in bed, and without thinking, without even realizing what she’s doing, she gets out of bed and goes down the hall.

“I’m just right here if you need me,” Adora’s voice echoes in her head from her first day in Bright Moon, and Catra promised herself she wouldn’t bother Adora, but that nightmare felt so real, and Catra feels herself drawn to old comforts.

Adora is sound asleep in her bed, and Catra remembers laughing at Adora when Adora showed Catra her room.

“Really?” Catra said, “You leave the Fright Zone and specifically ask for a horribly uncomfortable bed?”

Adora shoved Catra playfully, “I couldn’t sleep, okay? After seventeen years of sleeping in the bunks, Bright Moon’s beds were too comfortable.”

Catra shakes Adora’s shoulder, and she’s happy that the nightmare heightened her anxiety, because Adora quickly draws a dagger from underneath her pillow, and Catra barely has enough time to jump out of its range.

“What the hell?” Catra hisses, pulling into a fighting stance on instinct.

“Catra?” Adora asks, dropping the dagger back to the bed and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“You sleep with a dagger under your pillow?” Catra asks incredulously, “You literally sleep with She-Ra’s sword within grabbing distance!”

“She-Ra’s sword is too big to grab quickly,” Adora says around a yawn, “And it makes the pillow lumpy.”

Catra rolls her eyes and falls out of her stance, “How many people have you almost stabbed?”

“Glimmer on a few occasions,” Adora moves so that she’s sitting on the edge of the bed, “Bow refuses to be the one to wake me up anymore. There was also this one time that Mermista thought it would be funny to mess with me, and she didn’t talk to me for a week after that.” Adora looks up and sees that while Catra isn’t in a fighting stance anymore, she still seems tense, her tail flicking anxiously. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, it’s just—” Catra doesn’t know how to say why she’s standing in Adora’s room.

I had a nightmare, and we’re back around each other, and my body moved before I could even think, and now here I am, almost getting stabbed by the dagger you keep under your pillow because I want you to comfort me just like you would do when we were still in the Fright Zone.

No, that won’t do, Catra thinks.

Adora seems to understand without Catra explaining, and she lays back down again, holding the blanket up for Catra in a silent invitation.

Catra lays down beside her.

Adora gives Catra as much space as she can and slips the dagger back under her pillow.

“I thought we’re safe here,” Catra says, scooting closer and hoping that if she gets closer, Adora will do what they used to do when they were kids.

“We are,” Adora’s fingers start running over Catra’s ear, drawing small, barely-there purrs from Catra’s chest, “I guess I’m just paranoid, and it’s not like Bright Moon is impenetrable.”

“That’s comforting,” Catra murmurs, her eyes closing and the anxiety melting away with Adora’s voice and her fingers running along Catra’s fur.

“It’s just realistic,” Adora whispers, and her fingers stop running over Catra’s ear and tangles in her hair, her nails running gently over Catra’s scalp, “Shadow Weaver was able to get in undetected.”

Catra goes stiff, the mention of their previous mentor reminding her of her nightmare.

The nightmare probably spurred by Adora telling Catra earlier that Shadow Weaver was being held in Bright Moon’s prison.

“Sorry,” Adora’s hand pulls away, “That probably didn’t help.”

Catra catches Adora’s wrist and pulls it back, silently asking Adora to keep running her fingers through Catra’s hair, and Adora listening, her fingers going back to the same spot they pulled away from.

“I promise you’re safe,” Adora assures Catra, “She can’t get to you.”

Theoretically, Catra knows that. Adora explained how the sorcerers from Mystacor were holding her, how there was no chance for Shadow Weaver to escape, but Catra can only focus on how close she is, how she’s just a few stories beneath her, the closest she’s been since she used Catra to escape.

“I need to see her.”

Adora pulls away, her eyes wide in shock, “Catra, are you—”

“I need to see that she can’t hurt me,” Catra cuts Adora off, “I need to see that she’s stuck down there.”

Adora doesn’t say anything for a moment, then, softly, she says, “Okay. We’ll ask Queen Angella tomorrow.”

~*~

Catra stands outside the door down to the prison and kicks herself for hesitating. Adora watches her nervously.

“I can go down there with you,” Adora says softly, a hand coming up to rest on Catra’s shoulder, “You don’t need to do this alone.”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve visited Shadow Weaver in a cell.”

Adora’s hand runs up and down Catra’s arm, and Catra can see what’s going through Adora’s mind.

It’s the first time she’s seeing Shadow Weaver since Shadow Weaver used her to escape.

The only time Shadow Weaver laid a hand on her without violence.

The first time she thought she was finally good enough in the eyes of the woman who raised her.

Catra thinks of her parents, her real parents, still back on Beast Island. She thinks of Felix picking books out for her and C’yra’s easy teasing. She thinks of quiet days spent drawing while Felix flipped through pages beside her and mornings out on the training grounds with C’yra, trying so hard to win their sparring match.

Shadow Weaver may have raised her, but C’yra and Felix are her parents, and they spent the six months she spent of Beast Island helping her see that everything Shadow Weaver did to her wasn’t love.

It was abuse and manipulation, the only things Shadow Weaver knows how to do. Catra wraps her tail around Adora’s wrist, “Did you do it alone?”

“I did,” Adora says, smiling down at her wrist for just a second, “Bow and Glimmer stayed upstairs in case I needed them.”

“So, stay up here for me,” Catra says, “I’ll call if I need you.”

Adora nods, and Catra pushes the door open without any hesitation.

Shadow Weaver’s cell isn’t hard to find. It’s the cell surrounded by a ball of magic with sorcerers on either side as guards. They watch Catra carefully, and she hands them an order from Queen Angella that Catra is to be left alone while talking to Shadow Weaver.

They leave without much argument, though one throws Catra a worried look that could rival Adora’s.

“I was wondering just how long it would take for you to come down and see me,” a voice, the same voice Catra hears in her worst nightmares, drawls from the cell, “I had heard whispers that you defected. I do have to say, I’m disappointed.”

Catra surprises herself by not freezing when she sees Shadow Weaver curled up in her cell. Adora told her that they don’t expect her to stay alive very long without any magic to feed off of, and it shows. Shadow Weaver looks like a slight breeze could carry her away, and Catra can barely fathom that the woman who felt so imposing and terrifying growing up could be the same woman in front of her.

It makes her sad and angry. Sad because there’s still a part of her, a low, hidden spot, that still wants to help Shadow Weaver, and angry because she shouldn’t feel that way about the woman who threw her into the isolation chamber without a second thought.

“You know I enjoy seeing you in a cell,” Catra says, sitting down in front of the bars.

“Oh yes, but sadly this time, it’s not you who put me here.”

Catra flicks her tail against the ball of magic, and she expects it to zap her like the Black Garnet did, but she just felt a pleasant warmth against her fur.

“You’re right,” Catra says, trying to sound disinterested, “Adora did this time.”

“Just like always, Adora has to correct your mistakes.”

Catra can’t help the spiral at first. Thoughts of Adora fixing her messes in the Fright Zone come to mind, and the anger that she’s spent so long trying to understand and rectify flares up.

“Insolent child…”

“Adora, you must do a better job of keeping her under control.”

“You’re just Adora’s little pet.”

Catra shakes her head and finds herself again. She’s not mad at Adora, and she’s not mad at herself. Adora was manipulated just as much as I was,Catra thinks, just because one abuse is different than the other doesn’t make it more or less destructive.

“Do you try manipulating the sorcerers who guard you like this, or do you keep this pent up until Adora or I come down here?”

Shadow Weaver laughs, and it sends a chill down Catra’s spine.

“Has the Rebellion realized just how useless you are to them yet?” Shadow Weaver asks, “They’re only keeping you around, letting you pretend to be one of them, because Adora never really let go of that soft spot she has for you.”

She’s wrong, Catra chants to herself, I’m not just here because of Adora. I’m here because I have worth.

Catra starts to falter on that, though. She knows Shadow Weaver is messing with her head. She knows she shouldn’t listen, but she doesn’t know how to block out all the insecurities Shadow Weaver drags up.

“You’re wrong,” Catra says out loud this time, her eyes clamping shut, hoping that if she can’t see Shadow Weaver, it’ll be easier to fend off her manipulation. Her voice falters though, and she knows that Shadow Weaver has gotten into her head.

Maybe she should’ve waited longer.

Maybe she should’ve never come down here at all.

“Whenever they’re done with you, they’ll throw you in a cell and leave you to rot, just like me.”

Catra doesn’t respond. She feels helplessness build up inside of her, just like when she came back to Shadow Weaver’s cell and found it empty, and she wants to lash out, but there’s nothing to lash out at, nowhere to direct her anger, so she runs. She runs away from Shadow Weaver and her taunts and back up the stairs, past the two sorcerers and Adora, who shouts Catra’s name after her.

~*~

There are no trees to climb in Bright Moon castle, so Catra climbs the bricks up to the roof. The climb is easy, like the architects knew that one day Catra would need somewhere to escape. Her claws catch the lip of the bricks perfectly, and it isn’t like climbing the trees on Beast Island, but it’s something.

She collapses against the shingles of the roof and looks up at Bright Moon’s perfect pastel sky with white, fluffy clouds drifting past.

I don’t belong here, Catra thinks, closing her eyes against the sunlight, Why did I even come here?

She knows the answer. She isn’t dumb, even though some people might think so. Catra knows that she came to Bright Moon for her people, to take back the city that was taken from them all those years ago when the Horde took her as well, but that’s not the only reason.

She thinks about how it was so easy to figure out her feelings on Beast Island, so far away from the Horde and the Rebellion and a need to choose to be good or evil. Now, surrounded by princesses who still don’t fully trust her and people who look at her like they’re waiting for her to mess up, Catra just feels so unsure.

About herself.

About coming to Bright Moon.

About Adora.

And she thought she had it all figured out. Everything felt so easy when she kissed Adora on Beast Island all those months ago. For such a short amount of time, they were just Catra and Adora again, no betrayal, not She-Ra or Princess of Half Moon. They were just two girls hidden in the trees sharing something that always seemed to simmer beneath all of their interactions.

They still haven’t talked about it. It’s been weeks since Catra came to Bright Moon, and neither of them have brought it up. Catra doesn’t even know how to bring it up.

“Hey, remember that one time I kissed you on Beast Island? Want to do it again?”

That doesn’t even cover a fraction of it. It doesn’t cover how, whenever Catra finds herself daydreaming, she’s thinking of kissing Adora in different places around the castle. It doesn’t cover the fact that in the few kisses Catra had stolen in her life, that kiss was better than all of them combined.

It doesn’t cover the feelings she has for Adora, the ones she recently realized were probably there since they were kids.

Catra wants to go back to that moment. She wants to forget all of her responsibilities to the Princess Alliance and the Rebellion and escape back to the short time when she didn’t feel like the world was against her.

Catra hears the sound of metal hitting the roof and hooking in, and she smiles to herself, remembering a time that felt like it happened centuries ago.

Adora could never climb buildings like she could, Catra’s claws giving her an advantage, so she always used her grappling hook to find Catra at the tallest points of the Fright Zone.

She sits up just as Adora pulls herself onto the roof.

Catra remembers poking fun at Adora when they were younger about how long it took Adora to climb after her, jeering, “How does it feel to be the world’s slowest person?” as Adora tried swinging her way through the rafters too.

“You know,” Adora says, “There are better, more accessible places to run to that aren’t the roof of the castle.”

Catra unsheathes her claws with a smirk, “Climbing has never really been an issue for me.”

Adora comes over to Catra and collapses beside her with a groan. “I know, but it would really make it so much easier for me to follow you if you chose your room or someplace reachable by stairs.”

“I’ll keep your preferences in mind next time.”

“That’s all I ask.”

They’re silent for a few moments, Catra watching Adora, before Adora sits up and scoots just a fraction closer. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Catra pulls her knees to her chest and wraps her tails around herself. “I don’t know what I expected. She’s always going to be a horrible, manipulative bitch, isn’t she?”

“I don’t see her changing anytime soon,” Adora admits, “Right after I left the Horde, she used her shadows to follow me to Mystacor and told me about how I could never be great without her. She said the princesses would never accept me, that they would cast me aside just like they did to her,” Adora rests back on her hands and looks up at the sky, “She told me I was nothing without her.”

Catra sighs, “She really did a number on us, huh?”

Adora breathes out a laugh, “One time, Glimmer pushed some hair out of my face, and all I could see was Shadow Weaver doing the same thing that day she caught us in her room. I completely panicked and ran.”

Catra looks over and sees Adora still looking up at the sky, the sunlight making her hair almost glow. “C’yra tried comforting me once, and she put her hand on the side of my face. It’s what Shadow Weaver did the time she—” Catra cuts herself off, unable to say anything else. Adora already knows anyway. “It was such a nice moment until then, and I lashed out and cut her before running away.”

Adora grabs Catra’s hand and catches her gaze, holding it as she says, “We have people now who are willing to help us.”

“I don’t want her to have this power over me anymore,” Catra whispers, closing her eyes and hoping that tears don’t fall.

“She doesn’t,” Adora insists, “She’s going to rot in that cell.”

“And we’re still going to be messed up,” Catra says angrily, “We’re still going to have nightmares and flashes and all of these things that we have to deal with, and knowing she’s going to die in that cell doesn’t make it any better. It doesn’t make me feel any safer, and it doesn’t stop my mind from taking me back to those moments whether I want to or not.”

Adora hugs her, and Catra wants to fight it. She wants to lash out and hiss and get away, but Adora holding her tightly makes her feel the most secure that she’s felt all day. She melts into Adora’s hold and the anger calms back to a simmer.

“You’re right,” Adora says against Catra’s hair, “Nothing can take away what she did to us. We may never really feel safe and secure, even when she’s dead, but I refuse to let you handle this on your own, okay?”

Catra nuzzles into Adora’s neck and whispers, “I’m here for you too.”

“Good,” Catra can almost feel Adora smile, “We can be messed up together then.”

Catra smiles too, just barely, but she doesn’t respond. They fall back into a comfortable silence, Adora still holding Catra close, and they stay up there until the blue sky fades into the pink, purples, and oranges of sunset.

~*~

Catra decides to wait before bringing up her plan to take Half Moon back from the Horde. She waits until more of the princesses warm up to her, waits for the Rebellion to gain a significant advantage, before bringing it up.

The perfect moment presents itself in a war room meeting one day.

A majority of the meeting talked about how the Rebellion gained back villages along the Fright Zone’s eastern border, partly thanks to Catra’s knowledge of Force Captain placements and Entrapta’s ability to hack into the Horde’s technology.

Everyone is in a good mood, and Catra even gets a few approving glances, so she figures now is as good of a time as any.

“I want to take back Half Moon,” Catra spits out, and everyone turns to her. She chooses to continue before anyone can state their opinions.

“According to all of the maps in Bright Moon, it sits along the Fright Zone’s eastern border as well, and if we took it back, that means the Magicats would be able to return. They could aid in the war, and the Rebellion would have one more stronghold.”

Nobody says anything. Everyone just keeps staring. Most of them look surprised, but she sees a small smile on Adora’s lips, and Scorpia is looking at her with something like pride.

It’s Queen Angella who breaks the silence. “How do you propose we do that?”

“It would be easy,” Catra responds, laying out the plan she’s spent hours formulating in Bright Moon’s library, “Nobody in the Rebellion has been to Half Moon since its siege, so I’ll take a small group. We’ll observe at first. I assume there won’t be any soldiers there, because Half Moon was never an outpost I heard of when I was second-in-command, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. From there, it’s all about keeping Half Moon under Rebellion control until the Magicats can return from Beast Island to take back their land.”

Queen Angella nods, “And what’s stopping the Horde from retaking the land once the Magicats resettle?”

Catra looks around the room, at the princesses she’s come to understand and respect.

Mermista smirks and nods, like she knows what Catra is thinking and is showing her support.

Perfuma nods too, followed by Spinerella and Netossa.

Bow gives her a thumbs up, his smile wide.

Entrapta doesn’t look up from the tablet she’s messing with, but her hair brushes Catra’s shoulder, and Scorpia nudges her gently.

Frosta shrugs and turns to Glimmer for an answer, and Glimmer says, “Princess Catra is a part of the Princess Alliance. If the Horde threatens Half Moon again, the Rebellion will provide support.”

“We won’t allow Half Moon to fall under Horde control again,” Adora promises, and she looks right at Catra as she says it, her smile reassuring.

Catra feels a blush rise to her cheeks, and she’s happy that her fur covers it.

“Very well,” Queen Angella smiles at her daughter and Adora, pride obvious on her features, before turning to Catra, “The Rebellion is taking back Half Moon.”

~*~

“Are you sure you don’t need me?” Adora asks for the third time, and Catra rolls her eyes as she throws some clothes into a bag.

“You’re needed here,” Catra says, “Scorpia, Entrapta, and I can handle it.”

“What if you run into trouble?” Worry starts seeping into Adora’s voice, “What if there are Horde soldiers there?”

“Then we’ll send a letter asking for backup,” Catra sets her bag in her desk chair, ready to grab before she leaves in the morning, and walks over to sit on her bed next to Adora, “Why are you freaking out so much? This isn’t the first time I’ve been on a mission.”

“I know,” Adora looks down at her hands wringing themselves in her lap, “I’m just worried.”

Catra wraps her tail around Adora’s wrist, still her hands, and Adora looks up at Catra looking at her with a smirk.

“Aw, it’s like you care about me,” Catra jokes, “Keep talking like that and I might let it get to my head.”

Adora tackles Catra to the bed, and Catra flips them easily, pinning Adora into the soft cushions.

“I think you’ve gotten slower since coming to Bright Moon,” Catra teases, “I mean, at least try and fight back.”

Adora swats at Catra’s hands on her shoulders, throwing her off-balance just long enough that Adora can flip them and pin Catra down.

Adora smirks, “Who’s not trying now?”

Catra scoffs, “I let you do that. Wouldn’t want to hurt She-Ra’s precious feelings, now would we?”

“Whatever you say, Catra.”

Catra tries to get the advantage again, but it’s no use. She’s never been stronger than Adora.

Then, almost at the same time, they both realize the position they’re in.

Adora is straddling Catra, her hands holding Catra’s wrists to the bed, and she’s so close that Catra can hear Adora’s breath hitch just slightly.

They’re closer than they’ve been since Catra came to Bright Moon, and everything seems to freeze. Neither one of them pull back, but they don’t move forward either. They’re suspended, each of them waiting for the other to act first.

And Adora does. Adora releases Catra’s wrists, cups her face, and pulls her up.

Catra doesn’t have a moment to think before Adora is kissing her, and Catra’s arms go around Adora’s waist, pulling her against Catra and back down into the bed.

This kiss is so much different than the one they shared on Beast Island. It isn’t rushed. There’s no threat of anyone coming to find them.

It’s just the two of them in the quiet of Catra’s room.

They should talk about this, about their first kiss, about this one, about what they mean, but Catra isn’t sure she can pull away. Adora’s lips move against hers like they’ve done this a thousand times, and Adora is so warm, so inviting, so soft.

Nothing, not even a full-blown battle outside, can pull Catra away from Adora right now.

Adora sinks her teeth into Catra’s bottom lip and pulls, and Catra gasps, fisting her fingers into Adora’s jacket. Catra can practically feel Adora smirk against her short fur as Adora starts trailing kisses down Catra’s jaw to her neck.

“Shut up,” Catra breathes out.

“I didn’t say anything,” Adora says between a few small kisses against Catra’s throat.

“You were thinking it,” Catra starts purring softly as Adora finds a particularly sensitive spot.

Adora pulls away and smiles down at a definitely-flustered Catra. “You can read minds now?”

“Duh,” Catra rolls her eyes and smiles.

Adora laughs and runs a finger lightly along the column of Catra’s neck.

And just like that, they fall out of their moment, and unlike their last kiss, there’s no Bow and Glimmer to pull Adora away. There’s nothing calling their attention.

There’s nothing to distract them from what just happened.

“So,” Adora draws out, “We have a habit of kissing before one of us has to leave.”

Catra snorts, “If I knew leaving would make you kiss me, I would’ve brought up taking back Half Moon ages ago.”

Adora’s eyes go wide. “Really?”

“Of course, dummy.” Despite the teasing in her voice, Catra smiles. “I’ve been thinking about kissing you since I got here.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I kissed you the first time,” Catra brings her hand up to run her thumb along Adora’s bottom lip, “I thought it was only fair that you be the one to bring it up.”

“Is there some rule that states that?”

Catra shrugs, “I don’t know.”

“Then how was I supposed to know?” Adora asks incredulously.

“Hasn’t living in Bright Moon taught you anything?”

“I mean, I’ve read a few books.”

Catra starts to snicker, and Adora rolls her eyes.

“You can’t laugh at me for reading books when you spend all of your free time in the library.”

“I read about history and strategy, not romance.” Catra sticks out her tongue on the last word.

Adora raises her eyebrows, “You’re lying.”

“Am not.”

“Are too!”

They start wrestling again, and Catra finds that it’s hard to try and gain any sort of advantage from her impossibly soft and cushy bed. It makes pushing up against Adora more difficult when she keeps sinking further in, and even though she tries squirming under Adora to throw her off, it doesn’t work.

“Maybe living in Bright Moon has made you slower,” Adora teases, “You’re usually better than this, Catra.”

“It’s this damn bed!” Catra stops fighting it and just sinks down. She grabs Adora and pulls her down too, because if she’s going to be stuck in her bed, she’s going to bring Adora down with her.

Adora puts up a fight though. “Admit you read romances.”

“No.”

“Admit it, Catra!”

“Never!”

With one strong tug, Adora falls against Catra, and the two start laughing.

I think this is the happiest I’ve ever been, Catra thinks as Adora pressing her face into Catra’s neck, her laughter dissolving into giggles.

Their laughter and giggles die down, but Adora doesn’t move. She stays lying on top of Catra, and they fall into a comfortable silence, Adora’s fingers coming to play with the hair at the base of Catra’s head and Catra’s hand running over Adora’s back. Catra starts purring again, the soft rumble the only noise besides the waterfall in the corner.

“I missed you,” Adora whispers, barely breaking the silence.

“I missed you too,” Catra responds, “I tried to pretend like I didn’t for so long, but I did.”

“I’m so sorry for leaving you.”

Catra pulls Adora closer, “I’m sorry for not coming along with you.”

“We should have left a lot sooner.”

“It might’ve saved us a lot of heartache.”

Adora pulls herself up just enough so that she can kiss Catra again, and it’s soft and slow and sweet. They both melt into it, and Catra makes a little displeased noise when Adora pulls away.

“Are you totally sure you don’t need me to go to Half Moon with you?” Adora asks again, and Catra breathes out a laugh.

“I promise.”

Adora pouts slightly, and Catra is convinced it’s the cutest thing she’s ever seen.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” Catra reassures Adora, “And when I get back, we can talk about all this.”

“Can we keep kissing now, though?”

“Definitely,” Catra starts pulling a smiling Adora down again, “We can certainly keep kissing now.”

~*~

Half Moon is eerily quiet when Catra, Scorpia, and Entrapta find their way into the city, Emily clanking softly as she follows them. Just like Catra thought, there aren’t any patrols or Horde soldiers lurking about.

There’s no sign of life anywhere.

“Stay close,” Catra whispers, “There doesn’t seem to be any enemies, but they could be hiding.”

They stop in front of a statue right in front of the castle, and Catra recognizes the Magicat as Queen Hecate, the founder of Half Moon after years of living as nomads. She holds her sword up to the sky, her shield in a defensive position and her stance like she’s ready to attack.

“She is very impressive,” Entrapta says, already raising herself up on her hair to get a better look, “A warrior, obviously.”

“All Magicats are warriors,” Catra tells her, “They begin training at a young age.”

Entrapta’s eyes light up. “Oh, that’s fascinating. I would like to learn more about your species.”

Catra rolls her eyes, “Maybe another time, Brainiac.”

“I will wait for this other time. I would also like to take samples.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.”

They split up to look around the town square, Scorpia going over to look at abandoned stalls while Entrapta tries to look for any technology left behind, either by the Magicats or the Horde after the invasion.

Catra makes sure they’re both in her periphery as she moved up to the castle. On either side of the stairs that lead up to the main entrance, there are piles of wood blackened by fire.

Funeral pyres.

She’s so focused on them, so focused on the amount of Magicats that lost their lives at the Battle of Half Moon, that Catra doesn’t hear Scorpia come up beside her.

“Everything okay?”

“What?” Catra pulls her eyes from the pyres and looks up at Scorpia before shaking her head a bit to clear it. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Want to grab Entrapta and go into the castle?”

Their footsteps echo throughout the empty castle, and they stop in a few random rooms before they find the throne room.

Catra smiles slightly.

“I always hated the throne room,” C’yra had told her, “but it’s where you took your first steps, actually.”

Catra tries imagining her younger self in here, so small and curious, pulling herself up and taking her first steps to her mother.

“Emily has finished her scan of the area,” Entrapta informs them, looking down at her tablet, “It would appear that we are the only living things here.”

Scorpia turns to Catra and pulls her into a hug, “That means the Magicats can come back!”

Catra pushes away halfheartedly, but she’s smiling as she says, “Yeah, they can.”

~*~

Determining Half Moon’s safety was easy. Trying to move all of the Magicats from Beast Island without the Horde noticing? Not so much.

Catra finds herself constantly writing letter back and forth with Queen Angella and the rest of the Alliance concerning logistics.

She writes a letter personally to Mermista asking to use Salineas’ fleet of ships to help with transport, and the response she receives is a bored and disaffected, “Fine, I guess,” and an order that Sea Hawk is not allowed to be left in charge with the explanation of, "I would like it if my ships came back fully intact."

“Dust would be best,” Catra suggests to Queen Angella, “Or nighttime. If the Horde is even watching the island, their technology probably won’t have night vision. It would allow the Rebellion to get in and out undetected.”

Catra suggests dropping the Magicats in Bright Moon to Adora, since Bright Moon is the closest, and they would be able to make the walk in a day or two, depending on how weighed down they are. Adora’s response is incredible formal, stating that Swift Wind would also be able to take those who are older who wouldn’t be able to make the trip as easily, but there’s a little bit at the bottom, a small P.S. that reads, “I miss you.”

The best letter Catra gets to write is to C’yra and Felix, and she tries to keep it mostly formal. She tells them about the plans the Rebellion are making to help the Magicats return, all of the logistics, and the promise from the Rebellion to help the Magicats if the Horde ever decides to invade again.

She ends the letter by saying, “You’ll get back a little of what the Horde has taken from you,” before signing her name and sending it off.

The rest of her time is spent exploring more of Half Moon with Scorpia and Entrapta and cleaning up as much as they can from the battle. Entrapta talks about helping the Magicats install technology as soon as they arrive, and Scorpia rambles on happily about seeing everyone she met again.

Catra just feels happy, because for once, she’s righting something the Horde did. The Horde tore the Magicats away from their land, and Catra gets to be the one who returns it.

~*~

The Magicats arrive at Half Moon without any issue, and C’yra and Felix pull Catra into a tight hug that Catra doesn’t even know she needs.

“Aw, did you miss us, kitten?” C’yra teases, pulling away from the hug just enough to ruffle Catra’s already messy hair.

Catra scoffs. “As if. I just didn’t want to help all of the Magicats back to Half Moon all on my own.”

“We’re proud of you, Catra,” Felix says, ignoring their banter and teasing to say something heartfelt and sincere.

“Unbelievably so,” C’yra adds on with one of her rare genuine smiles, “You gave the Magicats something they lost.”

“Well, I’m their princess,” Catra says, feeling uncharacteristically shy, “Isn’t that what princesses are supposed to do?”

“It doesn’t mean we’re any less proud,” Felix says with a smile, before his eyes go wide and he says, “Oh my gods, the library. I have to go make sure everything is still there.”

Before Catra can assure him that she already checked it and it seemed untouched, Felix pressed a quick kiss to his wife’s lips and one to Catra’s cheek before running off, saying something to some of the scholars carrying boxes before rushing into the castle.

“We’re not going to see him for a week,” C’yra jokes.

“Probably a month,” Catra adds.

“He’s going to catalogue everything on his own.”

“Why did you marry him again?”

C’yra smirks, “He’s good looking.”

“Ew. Mom,” Catra sticks out her tongue, “Gross.”

“You asked, kitten.”

“I already regret it.”

A container is put in front of Catra and she turns around to see Pisica offering her something that smells delicious.

“Oh, I’ve missed these,” Catra takes a few empanadas and stuffs them in her mouth. “Bright Moon has something similar, but it’s just not the same,” she says around a full mouth, the words coming out muffled and barely intelligible, and Pisica laughs.

“Careful, Princess,” Pisica warns, “Wouldn’t want you choking. The queen would have my head.”

C’yra rolls her eyes, “If she chokes, it’s all her fault for not knowing how to pace herself.”

“So,” Felicity pops up behind C’yra and points across the way, “Is that her?”

Catra follows where she’s pointing and sees She-Ra helping people unload the carts.

“Yup,” Catra says, taking another empanada, “That’s She-Ra, the princess of power and warrior of legend.”

Felicity smiles, “And Catra’s crush.”

“Well, it was wonderful seeing you all,” Catra starts backing away, hoping she finds someone else who needs her help so that she can get as far away from this conversation as possible, “So happy you’re all here, but it looks like the, uh,” she looks around and sees one of the older scholars struggling with his box of books, “It looks like Bastet is really struggling with those books, and what kind of princess would I be if I didn’t help?”

She runs off, but not before she hears C’yra jokingly say, “Apparently the only way to get her to do work on her own is by bringing up Adora,” and she blushes.

Even still, she glances at She-Ra helping a few of the kittens unpack a cart, smiling as one hangs off her arm. That anger and hatred that Catra used to feel whenever she saw She-Ra isn’t there anymore.

Now all she can see are the little parts of Adora in She-Ra’s form, like Adora’s clear blue eyes and her cute smile.

Bastet almost drops the box he’s holding, and Catra pulls her gaze away from She-Ra so that she can help.

~*~

The move back to Half Moon goes smoothly, for the most part, and everyone has a bed by the time night falls, even the princesses who came along to help.

Everything ran so smoothly that something was bound to go wrong.

Catra is woken up by the rumble of tanks, and when she looks outside her window, she sees Horde soldiers filing in from the trees surrounding the city.

Catra rushes outside to see Magicat warriors with their weapons out already ready to fight, and the princesses file out after her, pushing forward to be the first line of defense.

“Well, well,” Octavia pushes to the front, and Catra hisses, “It looks like the mangey cat somehow survived. Hordak will be so disappointed.”

“Get out of here,” Catra hisses angrily.

Octavia smiles, and it’s filled with malice and sick joy. “The Magicats will be so easy to conquer again,” she says, “And I’ll enjoy being the one to kill you.”

Before Catra can retort, She-Ra sweeps down on Swift Wind and destroys the few tanks the Horde brought with, effectively killing their major firepower.

Catra smirks. “Maybe not as easy as you think.”

Then the fighting starts in full force, princesses and Magicats working together to take down Horde soldiers.

Catra finds herself facing off against Octavia, and Octavia starts the fight offensive, throwing punches and kicks that Catra just barely evades, even with her speed. One tentacle manages to wrap around Catra’s ankle and throw her off balance, and Catra only has a split second to dodge before Octavia comes down with a powerful kick.

“Come on,” Octavia goads, “Surely Hordak’s previous second-in-command can do better than this.”

Catra swipes her claws as another tentacle comes at her, and Octavia growls as her claws sink into soft flesh.

Octavia’s other tentacles wrap around Catra quickly and throw her against a tree a few feet away, her head hitting the trunk with a loud crack.

“Pathetic,” Octavia spits, “Hordak should’ve killed you himself when he had the chance.”

“Yeah, probably,” Catra says, wiping a bit of blood from her lip.

Octavia picks Catra up by her shirt and shoves her back against the tree roughly. “You’re nothing.”

Catra smirks through the pain and the fuzziness that she’s sure is a concussion, “And you’re still a dumb-face.”

Catra brings her claws up and scratches Octavia’s good eye, and she screams, letting Catra go.

The fight from that point is easy, and Catra has Octavia knocked out within a few minutes. As she straightens up from her fighting stance, she notices that the Horde soldiers start to retreat with the defeat of their commanding officer.

Catra grabs one foot soldier as he hurries past her. “Never return to Half Moon,” she hisses at him and shoves him away. He trips and falls onto the forest floor, and Catra can’t see his face through the helmet, but she hopes that he’s scared as he pulls himself up and starts running.

She tries walking back to the warriors and princesses, but the adrenaline wears out and Catra starts to feel the effects of Octavia slamming her into that tree. Her vision starts to go blurry, and she feels dizzy, and she ends up tripping over a root.

The last thing she remembers before loses consciousness is someone yelling her name.

~*~

Catra’s head feels heavy, and it’s like there’s cotton stuffed into her ears, muffling everything around her. She doesn’t even try and open her eyes, the light making her throbbing headache worse, even through her closed lids.

“C’yra, could you please stop pacing,” Catra hears beside her, the voice sounding like Felix, “You’re going to dig a groove into the floor.”

“I need to do something, Felix,” Catra hears from further away, “I watched that woman throw Catra into a tree, and there was nothing I could do.”

“She’s fine,” Felix says softly, “It could’ve been a lot worse.”

Catra realizes that someone is holding her hand as they start running their thumb along Catra’s knuckles.

“Oh yes, she could’ve lost a limb or been eviscerated,” C’yra says sarcastically.

“Now that’s being a little dramatic, don’t you think?”

Catra groans, “You two are being too loud.”

“Sorry, love,” Felix says softly, and Catra feels him start running his fingers through her hair, “We didn’t realize you were awake.”

Catra opens her eyes just a crack and then immediately shuts them with a hiss.

“Too bright?” Felix asks.

Catra nods.

She hears someone move around the room, the sound of curtains being drawn, and then it’s pleasantly dark.

Catra tries opening her eyes again, and her eyes adjust quickly.

Felix is sitting beside her bed, C’yra just behind him, and, when she lets her head roll to the other side of the room, she sees Adora smiling at her.

“Hey, Adora,” Catra tries to say it like she always does, but it comes out a bit slurred.

“Hey, Catra,” Adora says quietly, “How are you feeling?”

“My head hurts,” Catra mumbles.

“The healer should be coming around soon,” C’yra says, “She’ll have something to help.”

Catra nods and lets her eyes fall shut again, but she quickly opens them and turns to Adora.

“I called Octavia a dumb-face.”

Catra doesn’t notice C’yra and Felix look at each other worried and confused, or C’yra mouthing, “Brain damage?” to Felix, who responds with a shrug. All she sees is Adora breathing out a laugh.

“Well,” Adora responds, “She has a dumb face.”

Catra smiles.

“You should get some rest, though,” Adora tells her, “We don’t want your concussion getting worse.”

Catra stays up just long enough to drink the potion the healer brings to help with the headache before she falls asleep again.

~*~

It takes a few days before the major effects of Catra’s concussion start to subside. For the most part, she sleeps, but when she’s awake, Adora is always there holding her hand and offering to get Catra whatever she needs.

Felix and C’yra are there too, taking turns sitting at her bedside so that the other can do the work required of the king and queen. Sometimes Catra wakes up but keeps her eyes closed so that she can listen to her parents talk with Adora.

Whenever it’s C’yra, they always seem to be talking about a younger Catra and Adora getting up into mischief around the Horde. Catra can hear the fondness in Adora’s tone as she talks about sneaking out of the barracks at night and climbing up to the highest points of the Fright Zone.

Felix loves talking about She-Ra and the depths of history Adora has access to. He asks her about First Ones writing and She-Ra’s lineage, and Adora tries her hardest to answer, even if some of the things she still can’t quite explain.

When Catra wakes up this time, though, the room is silent. She opens her eyes to see Adora curled up in the chair she hasn’t moved from since Catra was brought to the infirmary, a book open against her knees and her hand still holding Catra’s.

“Do you ever leave?” Catra asks, moving in the bed so that she’s on her side facing Adora.

“I’ve showered,” Adora says by way of explanation, bookmarking her book and setting it aside.

Catra takes a deep breath and pulls the hand Adora is holding up to her chest.

“How’s your head?”

“It doesn’t hurt,” Catra says, then adds an exasperated, “Finally.”

Adora laughs, “It was a pretty bad hit. You’re lucky it wasn’t worse.”

“I’ll be sure to thank Octavia,” Catra says sarcastically.

“I’m sure she would appreciate it,” Adora jokes.

Adora starts running her fingers through Catra’s hair, and Catra nuzzles into the contact, too tired to even care that she’s doing it. She doesn’t see the barely there smile it pulls from Adora. She just closes her eyes and holds Adora’s hand closer to her chest.

“You don’t have to stay here, you know,” Catra whispers.

“I know,” Adora responds, “I didn’t stay because I had to. I stayed because I wanted to.”

Catra smiles.

“Also,” Adora starts, “Felix and C’yra have been nice company whenever you’re asleep.”

“So I’ve heard.”

Adora’s thumb runs over the short fur of Catra’s ear, “I knew you weren’t always sleeping.”

“It’s interesting,” Catra says through a sigh.

Adora hums, and then, like she forgot to mention, she says, “Oh! Scorpia has been coming to see you around trying to help with cleaning and restoration, but she always seems to come right after the healer gives you the medicine that knocks you out.” Then Adora breathes out a laugh, “She’s convinced she has bad luck now.”

Catra thinks for a moment about how Scorpia’s exuberant voice wouldn’t have mixed well with her throbbing headache, but she finds herself missing her best friend.

“Will you go get her in a bit?” Catra asks, “After I wake up some more.” After just a few more moments alone with you, Catra doesn’t say.

“Of course. Do you want me to get Entrapta too?”

“Has she been by?”

Adora snorts, “She stopped in once, commented that waiting by someone who wouldn’t be up for another few hours seemed boring, and left.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Entrapta.”

“Apparently she and Emily have been helping the Magicats modernize.”

“Of course, she is.”

“I’m sure she’ll happily come see you now that you’re awake and able to hold her attention.”

Catra opens her eyes to see Adora smiling at her own joke.

“You’re a nerd.”

“We both know that’s just your concussion speaking,” Adora pats Catra’s head.

Catra flops onto her back, letting go of Adora’s hand held to her chest. “No, I’m feeling much better. Well enough to know you’re a nerd.”

“Says the girl who spends her days in libraries.”

“You were reading when I woke up,” Catra points to the book taking up space on Adora’s chair, “Probably about something super boring like She-Ra.”

“She-Ra isn’t boring,” Adora argues, “I turn into an eight-foot tall, super strong princess. How is that boring?”

“Because the book probably isn’t about anything cool,” Catra says, making sure she sounds as bored as possible, “It’s probably about mythologyand lineage.”

Adora’s cheeks go pink.

“Ha!” Catra sits up, “I was right.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“Years of practice.”

Adora rolls her eyes, but she gets out of her chair and sits on the edge of Catra’s bed. She seems a bit shy until Catra tugs her closer.

“We haven’t talked,” Adora says, but she still leans in, her hands coming up to pull Catra in.

“We will soon,” Catra promises, her hands going to Adora’s hips. She can’t think about talking right now when Adora is so close, and they haven’t actually seen each other since Catra left for Half Moon.

She knows they should talk, but then Adora kisses her, and she doesn’t care as much.

As Catra pulls Adora closer, she thinks, Yeah, we’ll talk later.

~*~

Later

starts getting pushed more and more. After Catra is cleared to leave the infirmary, her days are filled with helping Magicats adjust to being back at Half Moon. She helps C’yra with logistics and she stacks books in the library with Felix, returning everything they took to Beast Island. She helps her people rebuild their homes and reopen businesses, and by the time the sun sets, she goes back to her room and crashes.

Adora isn’t any less busy. After the Horde’s failed attempt at trying to retake Half Moon, they start targeting villages along their western border, and She-Ra is called away to defend them.

Anytime they’re able to see each other, talking about what they are or what they might be seems unimportant. Instead, they talk about all of the different things they’re doing. Adora lays on Catra in Catra’s bed in Half Moon and tells her about whatever mission she just got back from. Catra complains as she settles herself at the foot of Adora’s bed in Bright Moon after telling her about training the kittens all day.

More often than not, their stories are broken up by kisses.

But they don’t talk about it.

~*~

Catra walks into the throne room to see C’yra facing the throne with her arms crossed.

“You know,” Catra says sarcastically, “I know I wasn’t raised here, but from what I understand, generally the queen sits on the throne instead of looking at it angrily.”

“I was thinking of getting rid of it.”

Catra’s eyes go wide, “Seriously?”

“Well,” C’yra turns around, “You’re the next queen. What do you think?”

“Honestly?”

C’yra nods.

“Get rid of it,” Catra says, “It’s an unnecessary show of power, and every Magicat royal has lived amongst the people. Unlike Queen Angella, you don’t rule from a throne, so why should we have one?”

C’yra smirks, “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

“Give it to someone to melt it down and make it into something actually useful.”

“I’ll be sure to tell Nyx to come get it later. He can make it into some new weapons.” C’yra looks over her shoulder at the throne she’s always hated before looking back at Catra. “I doubt you came here because you knew I needed a second opinion on the fate of our throne.”

Catra crosses her arms, her tail swaying uncomfortably.

“I guess I need some advice.”

C’yra smirks, “Oh really?”

“If you’re going to respond like that, I’ll go find Dad.”

“Fine, fine,” C’yra’s hands go up in surrender, but Catra still sees her tail flick in amusement, “What’s going on, kitten?”

“It’s just—” Catra doesn’t know how to say this out loud. It’s been well over a year now since she lived in the Fright Zone. Her nightmares only come back whenever she’s stressed, and the small triggers that make her shut down aren’t completely better, but she’s able to work through them more easily.

Feelings, though? Catra still struggles with those.

She probably always will.

“I don’t even know where to start.”

C’yra smiles, “Well, would you like to come with me while you try to figure it out?”

Catra shrugs, “I guess.”

They walk through the front entrance out into the main market square, and it’s boomed since the Magicats returned. All of the stalls are filled with Magicats selling food, clothes, and little trinkets, and it seems like the rest of the Magicats are milling about, bartering and debating prices.

Catra loves it. She imagines this is what everything was like before the Horde attacked and seeing all of the Magicats so content makes Catra feel unbelievably content herself.

C’yra takes them over to Pisica’s stall.

“Well, if it isn’t her majesty and her highness,” Pisica says in a fake formal voice, “So happy you two are gracing us with your presence today.”

“Maybe you have something that’ll make Catra spit out whatever she wants to talk about,” C’yra jokes, and she and Pisica laugh when Catra glares at C’yra.

“Something on your mind?” Pisica asks, handing Catra one of her apple empanadas without needing to ask which Catra would want.

“I’m not talking about it in the middle of the market,” Catra mumbles, biting into the fried pastry.

“Oh, come on,” C’yra nudges her, “Don’t you want the advice of every Magicat who might happen to overhear?”

“That’s exactly what I want,” Catra drawls sarcastically.

“It’s probably about Adora,” Pisica says, dropping more pastries into the hot oil.

Catra’s eyes go wide and a blush burns red across her cheeks.

C’yra laughs, “You’ve figured her out.”

“Alright, well,” Catra turns away to leave, “Nice talking to you all. I’m going to go throw myself into a volcano.”

Catra goes to walk away, but she feels a tug on her tail, and when she turns around, she sees C’yra holding onto it.

“There’s not even a volcano anywhere near Half Moon,” C’yra informs her.

“I’ll find one.”

Pisica laughs. “Just let us help you, kitten,” she says, “I’ll even offer you a second empanada free of charge.”

Catra groans and pulls her tail from C’yra’s grip. “Fine.” She takes the offered food from Pisica, and it’s warm, like it’s straight from the oil.

“So, what is it, love?” C’yra asks, leaning back against Pisica’s stall.

“I just,” Catra lets out a frustrated growl, “Gods, I don’t even know what to say.”

“Just spit it out,” C’yra says, “Isn’t that what you usually do?”

“Well, Scorpia usually makes me, but she’s in Bright Moon and I don’t feel like walking all day to be swaddled in a blanket.”

C’yra snorts, “I’m obviously doing well as your second choice.”

Catra grips the plate and decides that C’yra is right. Spitting it out is the only way she’s ever going to talk about it.

“I really like Adora,” she says quickly, “And I think she likes me too, and we keep meaning to talk about it, but anytime we’re together now, it doesn’t seem as important when we actually get to spend time together.” Then, quieter, she says, “I’m afraid that we’re not talking about it because she doesn’t actually like me.”

She looks up and sees C’yra and Pisica both smiling at her softly.

“Adora might be afraid of the same thing,” Pisica says.

“But if we’re both afraid, how are we supposed to get out of this limbo?”

“That’s easy, kitten,” C’yra says gently, “One of you has to be the first to take the plunge.”

Catra nods and shoves the rest of the empanada in her mouth, and conversation thankfully moves away from her and her love life as C’yra moves from stall to stall to ask the different merchants about their sales.

~*~

As soon as they make it into Catra’s room at Half Moon, Adora is pulling Catra to her and kissing her, and Catra pulls her back until they fall onto her bed.

Adora ends up one top, but Catra flips them quickly, and Adora breathes out a laugh against Catra’s lips.

Catra pulls back just enough to say, “You’re always on top.”

“I didn’t say I minded.”

And then they’re kissing again. Catra’s fingers go to Adora’s hair and pull it out of her pristine ponytail so she can actually run her fingers through it, and Adora’s hands run over Catra’s back, scratching her nails over a certain spot that she knows will make Catra purr.

It’s the first time they have been able to see each other in a few weeks, so when Catra got the message from Adora asking if she could come to Half Moon, Catra couldn’t say yes faster.

She missed Adora so much, and she promised herself they were definitely going to talk.

But they got back to the room and here they are, kissing and not talking.

Now Catra is thinking about it even though she’s trailing kisses up to Adora’s ear.

She pushes up, and Adora opens her eyes, and Catra thinks that Adora has never looked so cute. Her hair is the messiest Catra has ever seen it, and her cheeks are flushed pink.

“Is everything okay?” Adora cups Catra’s face and runs her thumbs over Catra’s cheeks.

“Yeah,” Catra breathes out, and all she can hear is her mom saying, “One of you has to be the first to take the plunge.”

So Catra does.

She takes the plunge.

“Do you want to be my girlfriend?”

Adora smiles, “Of course.”

Catra lets out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding in, and she smiles. “Was it seriously that easy?”

“Apparently.”

“I asked my mom and Pisica advice for that.”

Adora giggles, “Really?”

“I didn’t know what to do,” Catra drops her face into Adora’s neck so Adora can’t see her blush, “We kept saying we were going to talk about it, and then we just kept kissing and going on as usual.”

“I was afraid that that was all you wanted.”

Catra breathes out a laugh, “Me too.”

“We’re really bad at this.”

“I think the Fright Zone stunted our emotions.”

Adora laughs, “You think?”

Catra nuzzles her nose against Adora’s neck, and she giggles, the feeling of Catra’s short fur brushing up against sensitive skin feeling ticklish.

“I really like you, Catra,” Adora whispers, her fingers starting to run through Catra’s hair, “I think I’ve liked you ever since we were kids.”

“I really like you too.”

“It really took a long time to get here, didn’t it?”

Catra laughs, “It only took some betrayal and finally realizing what emotions are.”

“Glimmer will be happy that we’re finally together.”

Catra scrunches her nose.

It’s been a while now since Catra joined the Rebellion, and her and Glimmer still do not get along.

“Why?”

Adora’s fingers stilled in Catra’s hair for just a moment. “I might’ve gone to her for advice,” then, after a pause, “A lot.”

Catra snorts, “We are so bad at this.”

“I know,” Adora places a few kisses against Catra’s head, “You know what we’re really good at though?”

Catra pushes herself up so Adora could see her curious look. “What?”

Adora smirks, and Catra’s brain short circuits.

“We are really good at kissing.”

“Oh my gods,” Catra laughs, “You’re such a dork.”

“You could keep teasing me, or you can go back to kissing me.”

Catra smiles, “My girlfriend is so demanding.”

Adora smiles too, “Your girlfriend would really like to be kissing you now.”

Catra rolls her eyes, “I guess, if I must.”

Adora pulls her down, “You’re insufferable.”

“Yeah,” Catra says against Adora’s lips, “But I’m your insufferable girlfriend.”

And as they start kissing again, Catra remembers a moment after their second kiss where she thought that being there, kissing Adora, was the happiest she's ever been, but she was wrong.

Right here, in her room at Half Moon among her people, kissing her girlfriend?

This is the happiest Catra's ever been.

[wombathos]

here’s some more of that She Ra role reversal AU, this time with a conversation between Glimmer and an imprisoned Catra. POV Glimmer, 2,2k words

“You ready to talk?”

All Glimmer gets in response is a baleful look from the huddled figure in the corner. She balls her fists. It’s ridiculous, the way the nameless stranger is behaving: she has a perfectly nice bed with fluffy blankets and pillows and all sorts of comforts. Instead, she’s lurking in the corner, knees tucked close and head propped on folded arms. If her eyes didn’t shine so brightly, Glimmer wouldn’t be sure whether she were paying attention at all.

“Look, we didn’t attack you,” she says in what she hopes is a reasonable tone, but probably comes out a bit irritable. She takes a deep breath, ignoring the voice in the back of her head telling her she should’ve taken Bow with her. No. She can do this. “They did. Bow and I protected you from them.”

No response.

“And you helped us.”

“No, I didn’t.” The voice is muffled but unmistakeable and the tail that has been furled around her figure loosens to languidly slap against the carpet of the cell, allowing their guest to shift and look properly at Glimmer. “I was protecting myself.”

“You stopped them from hurting the villagers.”

“They just got in the way.”

Glimmer is about to snap that of course that’s what an evil Horde soldier would say, then stops herself. “It doesn’t matter,” she says, more to herself than anything else, but this gets their nameless guest’s attention.

“What does that mean?”

“It means,” says Glimmer, “that I don’t care what you were before. What matters is that you’re here now.”

A low chuckle. Glimmer tries to be encouraged by this hint of humour, but it’s not particularly encouraging. “How generous of you.”

“I’m trying,” she responds, and she knows there’s an edge to her voice now. Keep it together, Glimmer. Keep it together. “I don’t think you’re our enemy.”

“I’m from the Horde. You’re a princess. Of course we’re enemies.”

“But you’re not with the Horde any more, are you?”

No response. Again.

Glimmer thinks back to the confrontation with their dreck in the Whispering Woods, that horrible moment when her heart had nearly stopped, when their prisoner had run towards the Horde soldiers. When they started firing… Glimmer doesn’t think she’ll ever forget her prisoner’s face before she had pulled her aside. Hurt, yes. But not surprised.

“You know you can’t go back to them,” says Glimmer. She doesn’t know that, not really, but she suspects well enough to think their guest has come to the same conclusion. Maybe it was the soldiers seeing her as She Ra that had done it, or perhaps it was just guilt by association or… or who knows how those people justify anything.

“I’ll find a way,” says their guest and it’s obvious to both of them that she doesn’t believe it. Maybe she’s just going through the motions, clinging on to this pretence.

“The Horde is evil,” says Glimmer. “You’re better off without them.”

The guest responds with a snarl. “Don’t pretend to know what’s better for me, princess. You and your precious friends will be overrun soon by the Horde. You’re no match for them.”

Glimmer knows she’s being provoked. Gets provoked anyway. “At least my friends don’t try to kill me!”

“Adora wasn’t there,” says their guest in an entirely different tone, like she’s not really answering Glimmer’s barb but has just remembered something. “Maybe she will…” She trails off and something in the mingled hope and hurt in her voice can’t help but tug at Glimmer’s heart.

What did they do to you? “Who’s Adora?”

No answer.

“Your friend?”

Still nothing.

“Do you think she can save you?” It doesn’t feel great, prodding at the guest like this, but she told her mother she could get through to her and she can’t leave before she does. “Do you think you could go back? With her help?” And, in all honesty, she’s genuinely curious.

There’s a pause, there, but a weighty one that Glimmer thinks might be better not to interrupt. She can’t tell what her guest is thinking, but she thinks that there is some thinking going on, intuits it more than anything else. The stranger will have to come to her own conclusions eventually. All Glimmer can do is show the way.

The figure in the corner turns even further, so that a ray of light from the barred window finally makes it to her face, shimmering where it meets her right eye. She’s considering Glimmer, all suspicion and wariness and with an assessing gaze that makes her think she’s being judged - in what way she does not know. It’s odd, just how closed off this stranger is. Glimmer is used to saying how she feels - not in public, perhaps, but behind closed doors. She’s not used to having to pry quite this far, except perhaps when talking to her mother, when asking about her father.

“What do you want?”

Well, they were always going to come to that eventually. Glimmer hesitates, biting at her lower lip. She’s standing in the centre of the room, the cell, but she takes another step towards their guest. There’s no real reaction, but Glimmer imagines she spots a slight tensing in their visitor. “I want to help you.”

“No you don’t,” immediately comes the sneering response, and Glimmer knows her answer was a mistake.

Still, she protests. “I do! You’ve escaped from the Horde and -”

“I’m your enemy. You were willing to beat me down and interrogate me. You’ve locked me in a cell.”

She clenches her fists even tighter. “We’re only keeping you here until you agree to help us!”

“You said it, princess. You need my help. So don’t pretend to be here for my sake.”

Glimmer’s next words get caught in her throat because the stranger has outmanoeuvred her with embarrassing ease. She clamps her lips together before she can say anything else and silently seethes at the guest. It’s hard to tell from here, but she seems amused.

A surge of hopelessness briefly threatens to overwhelm her and she wants to start screaming at their horribly uncooperative prisoner. She wants to leave. She’s not getting anywhere, is she? It’s sheer stubbornness that is keeping her here now, because she doesn’t want to admit to Bow or her mother or anyone else that she was wrong. And she still doesn’t think she is.

Right then. Change of tactics.

“You’re right,” says Glimmer, firmly enough to get the stranger’s attention, lingering just a moment before continuing. “We do need your help. And the Horde is coming. They’re advancing further and further and one day they’ll attack Bright Moon. I know that, which is why I was in the Whispering Woods in the first place. I know that if we don’t do something, we’ll lose everything.” It’s easy to let passion creep into her voice because it’s entirely honest. She takes a breath. “But I also know that the Horde is evil. I want to protect people from it. And… that includes people who live in their horrible base. People who used to live there.” The stranger is watching her closely now - and she’s sneering and her eyes are narrowed but she is listening. So it’s time to take a gamble. “I think you hate the Horde too. And I think you know you’re not going back. So what I’m offering you is a chance. The chance to defeat them. You can’t do that without us and we can’t do it without you. We need you, yes, but… you need us too.”

She’s taken another half-step forward and she’s tempted to cross the rest of the distance between them, but she pauses there, having said her bit. The silence that follows is tense and it’s hard not to shiver, or fold her arms in an attempt to stay warm. It’s not cold in here but…

Come on, she silently wills her prisoner. You want this too. I can tell.

Who wouldn’t? That’s where she struggles - with the horrific nature of the Horde so abundantly obvious to her, it’s hard to imagine how anyone wouldn’t want to fight it. It’s why she was so angry at her prisoner at first, why her seeming disregard made Glimmer rage at her. But now, with the veneer a little cracked, now that she can sense a little better just what the Horde might be like for its soldiers, she thinks maybe her prisoner isn’t so unaffected as she appears. Selfish, yes. But if that’s what she has to rely on, then so be it.

“Nice speech,” says her prisoner dryly. “You’re smarter than you look, princess.” It’s an obvious provocation and for once, Glimmer doesn’t let herself fall for it. Instead, she waits, and surely enough the prisoner continues. “I don’t care about your rebellion.”

“I know.”

“Then how could you trust me?”

It’s hard not to smirk, because this is the first sign she’s gotten that her appeal may be working. For now, Glimmer controls herself. “I don’t have to. Not yet.”

That gets a laugh. “Not much of a fighting force if there isn’t any trust.”

“Was there a lot of trust in the Horde?”

A pause. The bright eyes twinkle at Glimmer. “Don’t talk of things you don’t know about.”

“I know that they were prepared to shoot at you.”

“Because they think I’m some kind of princess hero. That I’m… She Ra.”

“You are She Ra. And maybe you’ll be a princess hero too.”

“Not gonna happen, glitter.”

“Glimmer.”

“Whatever. If you wanted a hero, you should’ve gotten someone else to be She Ra.”

“Not like I got a choice in the matter,” says Glimmer and it’s way too harsh. Why is this prisoner so good at getting to her?

“Wish you’d been chosen, sparkles?”

“I told you, the name’s -” She bites her tongue and takes a moment to glare at her prisoner. She’s just drawing you out. This is a waste of time. “I don’t want to fight this war without you, but I will if I have to. You can stay here and rot, or you can help us fight and destroy them.”

“And why would I do that?”

“Revenge.”

A moment of silence is followed by a burst of laughter that sounds very nearly genuine. “You’re not what I expected from a princess.”

Well, it’s not like Glimmer feels particularly comfortable with this. But she’s gotten this far and she thinks she may be getting through and she really doesn’t want to admit defeat. “I told you I want to defeat the Horde. If you want to do that too, then I don’t care why.”

“You don’t.”

“Obviously I’d prefer it if you were doing it out of the goodness of your heart,” says Glimmer before she can stop herself. Her temper’s getting the better of her even now.

“You’re right,” says the figure, surprising Glimmer in turn. “I do want revenge on the Horde. I want to destroy them.”

“Great!” The word bursts out of Glimmer too fast and she immediately clamps her lips shut - her prisoner hasn’t agreed to help yet and she doesn’t want to scare her off. She waits.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, princess. You think everyone will be as convinced as you by my motivation?”

“It’ll take time. But we’ll get there. If you help.”

A pause. “I have one condition.”

Glimmer pauses in turn, trepidation rising quickly in her. “What’s that?”

“There’s one person in the Horde I won’t allow you to harm.”

She hesitates. “Your friend? Adora?”

“Adora,” repeats the figure. “None of you touch her. Don’t even go near her.”

“Is she dangerous?”

“She’s the best.”

“Then…”

“She’s mine,” hisses her prisoner. The venom in her voice startles Glimmer. It makes her wonder whether this is really a good idea, but she firmly dismisses the thought, clamps down on the trust. They need this.

“So you’re prepared to help us?”

Her prisoner lets the silence drags and Glimmer wonders whether she can hear her heartbeat. It should be loud enough. Practically booming in her chest.

The cat-like shape unfurls and straightens up and proceeds to approach Glimmer with languid steps. Her eyes don’t leave Glimmer’s all the while, still shining brightly even as they are increasingly lit up by the light from the window.

When her prisoner reaches Glimmer, she still doesn’t stop, instead opting to prowl around her in a circle, examining her closely. It’s hard for Glimmer not to bolt, hard for her to subject herself to this examination while keeping her breathing steady and calm. Is it going to be this difficult all the time?

“I’ll give it a try,” says her prisoner - and she’s right behind Glimmer, whispering into her ear. Even though it’s creepy and she has to shiver, she’s exhaling with relief and excitement at the same time and almost wants to sprint away right then and there to tell her mother.

Glimmer nods, turning so that she can face those bright eyes head-on, watching her ever so keenly. She lets herself smile, trying to be encouraging, hoping this won’t remain an alliance of convenience. “I’m pleased to hear it,” she says, going for a kind of gentle authoritativeness. Her guest snorts. “I’ll go tell the others, then we can discuss our next steps.”

“Right,” drawls her guest, withdrawing smoothly. She’s slinking back off to her corner when Glimmer calls after her.

“Can you tell me your name?” She tries not to let on that she considers this courtesy long overdue.

Her new ally looks back at her, giving her a mischievous half-smile. “Catra. Look forward to working with you, sparkles.”

[parts-of-spop]

A moment in which Catra wakes to future!Adora forgetting boundaries...

Part 1 (the wake up), Part 2 (the interrogation), Part 3 (the wake up)

[These are in chronological order but may include gaps to the story due to it existing in unfinished parts, largely only the important ones. Feel free to ask for clarification as to how/when etc things happen]

Catra wakes the next morning to a weight over her, warm and all-encompassing and she nearly dozes off again before a familiar scent hits her nose and her eyes snap open.

With an admittedly undignified yowl, Catra throws herself out of bed and sends the woman who was snuggling with her flying off the other side.

She hits the ground with a cry and a painful sounding thud.

Catra growls across at her.

“What the hell was that, you weirdo?!” She snarls, watching Adora sit up and rub her head as she blinks through sleepy eyes.

“My bad. Reflex. I don’t sleep alone, Catra,” Adora replies and her wedding ring gleams on her finger.

Catra sneers but only because Adora isn’t looking.

“Sure, well if you ever try spooning me again, I’ll rip your face off!”

“Man, you’re violent. Isn’t it too early to be this defensive?” Adora asks as she stands, brushing herself off.

“I’m not ‘defensive’, I’m pissed and-… what the fuck happened to your arm?”

Catra derails, eyes locked on Adora’s left forearm that’s mottled and scarred, the skin dipping and raising like a…

“Burn,” Adora says quietly and yet, despite her tone, she’s smiling a tad. “Acid burn to be more precise. It er… doesn’t look too pretty but it’s fine,” She continues as she inspects it.

“And how’d that happen? It looks like it chewed up half your arm,” Catra presses, something impatient and agitated in her.

“It did. I’d have lost it if not for Glimmer,” Adora replies before letting the limb drop back to her side. “And how it happened… I don’t think I should say.”

Catra snorts.

“Spoiler?”

“Big spoiler. Very dramatic,” Adora agrees with an easy grin and Catra rolls her eyes.

“You’re still insufferable and annoying,” She grouches. Adora beams at her.

“Always!” She declares.

“And seriously, if I ever wake up again like I did today, then an acid burn is gonna feel like a cakewalk,” Catra warns.

Adora’s smile doesn’t falter and she salutes playfully.

“Yes, General!”

Catra groans and fights the urge to slap her own forehead... Barely.