Codependency

Part 10 // We deserve eachother

"It's not supposed to work without the sword." Catra broke the silence, her voice strained and weak. She looked at Glimmer, as though the enemy could answer Catra's unspoken question. Glimmer was still looking at Adora with hopeful eyes.

"She-ra..." Bow breathed. "She's here, and without the sword! Go Adora!"

Adora took another few moments to check herself over, before her resolve settled. She took a threatening pace towards Catra, who had been held down by Glimmer and Bow. Perfuma and the fish-princess stood by, ready to help, and Scorpia leaned worriedly by the same doorway they'd left through. She looked to still be in pain.

"No." Catra's voice cracked. "Stay- stay back."

Adora kept walking towards them, feeling that something was missing from her hands. She ignored the emptiness in her grip and strode with purpose towards the rebels who held down Catra. The smaller girl squirmed away from her captors, but Adora scooped her up by her waist and kicked the boy, closest to her, in the leg until he backed off. Catra hissed in terror and clawed at Adora's arms, but she hardly felt it. She looked around the broken circle, taking in each rebel's face before she spoke.

"Get out of here. I won't be this weak next time. I'll finish you all off if you come back." Adora informed them simply, pulling Catra close to her torso. The girl was awkwardly flailing her limbs against Adora's grasp.

Adora, carrying the struggling Catra, headed back into the compound. She stopped to look disdainfully at Scorpia. "You should go with them. Or just go get lost in the Whispering Woods. You would have never made a good friend to Catra."

Scorpia's eyes shimmered with hurt. She took a step back, looking anxiously at her newly found allies, who could only stare in despair as their She-ra walked away. Adora stepped inside the threshold and slammed the closing button, before setting Catra on her feet. When the clank of the door shut, Adora fell over, feeling her power drain from her. She shrank instantly in height and mass. She gasped in a shuddering breath and forced herself to stand and lean against the door. Catra was avoiding looking at her directly.

"Why didn't you let me finish off Shadow Weaver?" Catra finally muttered, yet she still looked afraid.

Adora took a trembling step towards her.
"Catra... We didn't need to kill any of them." Some sappy part of her nagged at her heart.

Catra huffed.
"Whatever. I..." she looked at Adora finally. "You... stayed."

Adora met Catra's eyes, her own dull and sunken in. That transformation had apparently taken a tremendous amount of energy from her.
"I told you... I should never have left you. If I have to spend the rest of my life making it up to you..." she grasped the end of Catra's sleeve.
"I'll die for your forgiveness."

Catra tugged her arm, but Adora didn't let her go.
"You're still a princess." Catra growled.

"I did it you help you. I did it to stay with you. I hate her, too." Adora pleaded. "I don't want to be She-ra."

Catra narrowed her eyes and stepped up to Adora, pressing against her body and backing her up against the door.
"You let that other princess get away." Catra's voice was dripping with anger suddenly. "Do you know how much trouble I might be in now?"

Adora had forgotted about Perfuma.
"But... you don't need her. I'm She-ra, I felt the power that came with it... if y- the Horde has me, why bother with anyone else?" Adora pulled Catra's arm close to her face and leaned her head against it. Catra's eyes softened for several heartbeats, before looking genuinely worried.
"Scorpia!" She gasped.

Adora nestled her face into Catra's hand.
"She betrayed you. I stayed. Okay?"

Catra let her eyes rest on Adora for a long while before she backed off.
"Hordak says that you're my problem, since I 'wanted to catch you so badly'." She informed Adora. "So... We're stuck with one another for the time being."

Adora felt her face flush a tad.
"You wanted...?"

Catra's features formed into a grimace.
"Don't flatter yourself. I wanted to use your power... eventually."

Adora hadn't seemed to hear the latter, only the former. Catra wanted her. Catra seemed irritated at Adora's goofy smile. She shoved Adora against the door with a frustrated growl and turned away. Her flustered expression was better than any magical false freedoms.
"Shut up!" Catra spat.
"I mean... I didn't say anything." Adora murmured, a hint of teasing in her words.

Likely wanting to move on from the topic, Catra took hold of Adora's wrist and pulled her out of the small room.
"If I get demoted because you made me lose the flower girl, I'm going to kill you." Catra muttered while she stomped along the hall.
Adora followed her step for step, though her legs were tired.
"I'd like to see you try."

Adora noticed the slight tremble that ran once through Catra's tail, up her spine, and settled in her bristling hair.

She does respond to my violence.

She's scared of it, but she misses our spars; she said so.

This is how I'll get through to her.