The outer city of Underdryl reminded me of the Fright Zone. Huge metal buildings sprawled across the ground and up the edges of the cavern, each one polka dotted with brightly lit windows which shone bright against the dull purple metal of the structures.
Dwells were everywhere. They appeared to be running around doing little errands, weaving in and out of doorways as we passed by. The majority were a similar height to Dig and Dug, but it seemed the ear length was the best way to tell their age. It also seemed that there were limitless shades of green that the Dwells could be. Some were a bright green, some a murky green, some were very close to being yellow. Every so often we would also see Dwells being followed by robots that I could swear were nodding their heads in greeting. It seemed that having robot servants was normal down here.
Dig and Dug tripped each other over ahead of us as they lead the way to where the Elder said Seer lives. Somewhere towards the outskirts of the city that wasn't accessible by cart. I had never met a seer before, and my mind raced at the possibilities. A woman who could see into the future. My future? Would I actually want to know? I wasn't sure. Knowing what was coming could be useful, especially regarding the Horde ships stranded in orbit around Etheria, disappearing one by one. Maybe she'd be like Razz, old and crazy... wait, Razz! I still hadn't gone to see her after everything that happened. Once we get back to Bright Moon that would be high on my list of things to do. I hoped Swift Wind was keeping her company still, he did say he always checked up on her now and again.
A cart rattled above us on one of the suspended tracks and distracted me from my thoughts for a second as I watched it glide away.
Thinking back to Swift Wind, I realised it had been a while since I had seen him or felt his connection to me. I held onto Catra's hand and closed my eyes while we walked, focusing on making that connection. I could feel him and in turn, he could feel me. He sensed my intention and let me see what he was doing. I felt the hard impact of wood against his hoof and he kicked in the doors to a stable, proclaiming, "I am Swift Wind, and I decree that you are free!" When nothing happened, and all the horses in the stable barely reacted, I felt the despondency wash over him. I burst out laughing as the connection faded, wondering when he would learn that-
I walked straight into something hard and metal and fell backwards, landing on the floor with a thud. Catra burst out laughing. I opened my eyes to see that she was doubling over, clutching at her stomach. I leant up on one arm and looked ahead, rubbing my sore forehead. There was lamppost directly in my path. I could've sworn we were in the middle of the street moments before, out of the way of any of the lamps that lined it. I watched as Catra started to recover and wiped a tear from her eye. She wouldn't have...
'Catra, did you lead me into a lamppost?' I sat up fully and held my hand out to her, realisation hitting me that Catra may be my girlfriend now, but she was still Catra.
She grabbed my hand and pulled me up, smirking. 'Who, me? Why would I ever do such a thing, Adora?' Her tone told me all I needed to know.
I rubbed my forehead as we continued following after the mischief twins, 'Ow... Why would you do that? My head hurts.'
Catra laughed, 'Adora, you held my hand and when I looked at you your eyes were closed. I can't pass up on a chance like that. Besides, I thought your hair poof might have protected you.'
My hands automatically reached up and patted at my hair poof. I don't understand why everyone keeps making fun of it. I always thought it looked nice...
**
The place Dig and Dug led us to couldn't have looked more out of place if it tried. There was no metal surrounding the rickety wooden house, the terrain rough and uneven. There were three floors, each seemingly held up by wooden supports that stretched all the way to the ground. I swear I could see the whole thing swaying. It looked like it had been here forever but could topple any second.
Catra and I exchanged a concerned glance. I was glad to see that she was equally apprehensive about the death-trap of a building that stuck out from the rest of the city like a sore thumb. Dig and Dug were already climbing up the porch. I let out a deep breath before stepping forwards and walking up the house. One thing that became clear as I neared the front door is that this building was not built with taller creatures in mind, or at least the front door wasn't. It was only a couple heads taller than Dig, who was only slightly taller than Dug, which meant the top of the door only just reached my midsection.
'Hmm.' Catra appeared at my side, apparently unimpressed with the low doorframe. 'Wonder why all the other doors we've seen are our size, but this one isn't.'
I shrugged, watching as Dig and Dug were peering into the windows, 'Maybe Seer doesn't get many tall visitors?'
Catra rolled her eyes, 'Wow, Adora, you're really kicking the boat out with that one, huh?'
'Hey!' I jabbed an elbow toward her, but she managed to back away before it connected, 'what's that supposed to mean?'
She was about to reply but stopped as her ear twitched. We both turned our heads at the same time, only to see that Dig had opened the door and was stepping into the house with Dug close behind. There weren't any lights on inside, so I lost sight of them almost immediately.
'Is that allowed?' Catra asked, motioning toward them.
'I have no idea, let's follow them!' I moved forward quickly, bobbing down to squeeze through the doorway.
'Adora! Wait!' I heard Catra following behind, but she stopped as I disappeared inside. After a moment I saw her eyes appear under the doorframe, looking at me with a glare I couldn't quite decipher, 'Adora, this is ridiculous.'
'Fine, stay outside then.' I smiled as I heard Catra groan. I was still bobbed down, but as I looked around, I realised the ceiling inside was tall enough for me to stand. I rose to my full height and stepped carefully into the room, holding my arms out in front of me so as to not walk into anything. It was dark inside, and I had lost sight of Dig and Dug. I could vaguely see the outlines of furniture, but I couldn't tell what anything was. Was there a light somewhere?
'Adora?' I turned around to see that Catra had braved the tiny doorway and was standing just inside it, her eyes shining in the gloom.
'Finally decided to come in, did you?' I asked, but my smile dropped when I realised she was looking past me.
'What's that?' She asked, almost a whisper.
I gulped and turned around slowly, dreading whatever had caught Catra's attention. There hadn't been anything else in the room when I entered, or at least I thought there wasn't.
My eyes met with two bright yellow circles, glowing in the darkness, looking down at me. I yelped and jumped backwards but stopped and shut my eyes tight as the room was suddenly filled with light. I heard Catra hiss behind me as I struggled to open my eyes, adjusting to the sudden brightness.
'Greetings! We have been expecting you. Please don't be alarmed, Seer will be with you shortly. I hope.' The voice sounded metallic, grating, artificial. When I could finally make out fuzzy outlines without my eyes hurting, I saw that there was a robot standing tall in front of me. One of its arms was retracting from across the room where it had turned on a light fixed to the ceiling. The rest of the robot's arms and legs soon retracted too, until it stood at waist height, looking up at me.
I blinked a few times, taking it in. The robot was talking. Properly talking. Emotively. Suddenly I remembered the Elder mentioning robots being programmed with personalities, and all the nods I received on the way here had been friendly greetings. 'Uh, thanks?'
'Not a problem! I shall go inform Seer of your arrival. She does get ever so sleepy...' I watched it leave through another side door before I looked around the room. It was... cosy? It reminded me of Madame Razz's house in woods, a bit of something here, a dash of something else over there. There were various tables filled with vials of interestingly coloured liquids, various furs and cloths hanging from the ceiling, a severe lack of chairs...
Catra had wandered over and was prodding at some of the mossy-looking things that were slowly sliding up the walls. They left a sticky trail behind them, and once I noticed them, I realised there were a lot of them. Seer definitely had come kind of pest problem.
I was about to suggest not to prod the slimy green things, but I was interrupted by the sound of thundering footsteps from the floor above. They ran across the upper floor before cascading down some stairs. Then, popping her head around a doorway at the far side of the room, an extremely old, wrinkly Dwell peered out at me. She had long grey hair, much longer than the Elders, that was in dire need of a brush. It seemed to be holding itself together in the remains of a braid, but it didn't look like it would last much longer. I lifted a hand and waved nervously as she fully entered the room and looked me up and down. She appeared quite tall for a Dwell but carried herself with a hunch, so it didn't really make much of a difference to her height. I also noticed that her ears were incredibly long, so long that I had initially thought they were part of her hair, or a decoration.
'Adora!' She exclaimed, running over to me as her long green ears trailed behind her on the floor, 'You're terribly late, you know. Naughty.' Her voice was low and raspy, and her sudden outburst of energy had caught me off guard.
'Uh... I... Um... are you Seer?' I managed to ask.
'They call me "Seer" because they think I see into the future! That would be crazy! I just speak to Time.'
'Huh. Yeah that makes... loads of sense.' I glanced back at Catra, but she just shrugged and leant against the wall.
I yelped as Seer was suddenly right next to me, apparently trying to gauge how tall I was, 'Why is it you are always too tall or too small, hm?'
'I don't think-'
'Then you shouldn't talk.'
'Wha-?'
'People who don't think shouldn't talk. Come, come, follow me!' She grabbed my hand and led me back towards the door she had entered from. I caught sight of Catra as I was led away but she just watched, smug.
'Have fun, princess,' she called after me as I was dragged away.
The stairs were thin, winding, and steep. I struggled to fit round one of the bends in it as Seer sped off ahead, floating effortlessly up the death-trap of a staircase. Once I pulled myself free, I stumbled into the room beyond. It was filled with candles, patterned draperies, and sticks of incense burned on a table in the corner. Seer sat down on a cushion atop a circular carpet in the middle of the room, also surrounded by candles.
'Well this is... dramatic.' I remarked as I steadily stepped into the room, being careful not to knock over any of the candles.
'Yes...' said Seer, 'it would be boring otherwise. Come, sit before me, before Loo-Kee takes your spot.' She shook her fist towards the window. I glanced at it, but there was nothing there. Where had I heard that name before?
Gingerly, I stepped into the circle and sat cross-legged in front of the wily old Dwell. She had her eyes closed and appeared to be concentrating, humming softly and slowly swaying forwards and back.
'Uhh... should I be doing something?' I asked, looking around nervously. I didn't know how these things worked but part of me was impatient to know more about my future.
'Shushhh!'
'Okay!' I sat up straight, focusing on not making any noise or distracting her in any way.
A few seconds passed before Seer suddenly gasped, yelling, 'come! Time is here, closer!' and reaching out a hand toward me.
Tentatively, I leant forwards and she placed her small wrinkly green hand on my forehead. Her touch was cold at first, but it seemed to grow warmer incredibly quickly.
'Close your eyes, hush and don't think. I speak to Time now...'
I did as she said and closed my eyes.
Not thinking.
Trying not to think.
Thinking about not thinking.
Wait, does that count as not thinking?
Oh no. Now I'm thinking about that.
Stop it!
'Shushh!' Seer hissed again.
Sorry! Ah! Stop thinking!
Then she spoke, her voice was suddenly calm, measured, 'Ahhh... Adora. I have met with Time and he has spoken to me. He speaks of happiness ahead. Yes... much happiness. A question asked, a question answered... Promises and sacrifices... But also sadness, pain...
'Time spins his wheel against you, Adora. Events unfold, even now, further than you can see. Eternia calls for you, for She-Ra... oh, my poor dear. You have so much left ahead... so much you have to do... Soon, you will have to-'
I opened my eyes and looked up at Seer, her hand falling away as she gasped, 'Wait, what? Eternia? That's just a password. But what question is asked? Did I ask it? Do I ask Catra?! What's the answer? What does she say!?'
Seer pulled her hand back and sighed. 'The connection is broken... Tell me, why is a raven like a writing-desk?'
I blinked, 'Uh... I don't know, why?'
She jumped up from her seated position, her voice no longer calm or measured like it had been when her hand was warm against my forehead, 'I have no idea!'
I sighed wearily, raising a hand to cover my face. 'I really hope this wasn't a waste of time...'
'If you knew Time as well as I do,' Seer said, apparently unconcerned with my presence anymore, 'you wouldn't talk about wasting it. It's him.'
'I don't know what you mean,' I replied, quietly, almost a whisper.
'Of course you don't!' said the old Dwell, starting to blow out some of the candles. 'I dare say you never even spoke to Time!'
'Speak to time...' I cautiously replied, 'how would I have spoken to time?'
'If you only kept on good terms with him, he'd do almost anything you liked with the clock. Suppose it were morning, time for breakfast. You'd only have to whisper a hint to Time, and round goes the clock in a twinkling! Haha! Mid-day, time for dinner!'
I sighed and stood up, walking back toward the staircase. 'You're madder than Razz. I just have more questions...'
'Just because I'm mad doesn't mean I'm not right.'
Pausing in the doorway, I remembered what the Elder had said. Almost everything Seer says comes true. I mentally kicked myself for interrupting her - she may have had more to say. Looking back, I watched as she started collecting the candles scattered around the room. 'You remind me of Razz actually... do you know her? Have you met?'
'Who? Razz? Who am I?' A candle dropped from her hands and rolled away as she looked up at me questioningly.
'You're... Seer.' I frowned, had she gone crazier than before?
'Am I?' Seer seemed to think deeply, apparently trying to remember her own name. 'I knew who I was this morning, but I've changed a few times since then.'
'Greetings!' The small robot with extending limbs had appeared ahead of me, standing at the entrance to the stairs and cautiously watching the old woman as the hair on her ears was singed by the remaining candles as she aimlessly pottered around the room. 'Apologies, Seer goes loopy after she reads possible futures. It may be best if you leave before she gets too attached.'
'Attached?' I looked back as Seer locked eyes with me. I did not like the look in her eye. At all. 'Okay! Thanks, Seer! Bye!' I turned tail and sped past the robot back down the stairs as quickly as I dared without falling down them.
Emerging into the main room once again, I found Catra being wrestled by Dig and Dug on the ground of the room below. She seemed to be struggling, apparently overwhelmed by the two small creatures jumping around her. 'Catra? What's going on?'
'Victory!' Dig shouted, clinging onto Catra's waist.
'They challenged me! Then they chucked water on me and jumped me!' She growled as she tried to throw them off. 'Don't just watch! Help me! Get them off!'
I clapped my hands and Dig and Dug stopped, looking up at me. 'She-Ra?' gasped Dug.
'I'm done. It's time to go.' I couldn't hide the disappointment in my voice. Not only had I interrupted Seer when she clearly had more to say, I also snapped at her out of desperation for a hint at how Catra might respond if I asked her that question. Seer hadn't even said what kind of question was asked, so it was entirely a moment of weakness on my part.
The Dwells jumped up off of Catra and made for the door. Dig opened it and tripped Dug as they walked through before laughing and launching themselves forwards, causing them both to roll off of the porch in a heap.
As I walked forwards Catra got to her feet and stopped me, holding my arm, 'Adora? How'd it go? Is everything okay?' She was always good at spotting when I wasn't completely myself and must have picked up on my downturned gaze.
I sighed and looked at her, meeting her concerned eyes. 'I just... I have so many questions now. I'll tell you about it later, I promise. But we have to get back to the Elder.'
Worry flashed through Catra's eyes, but she nodded, respecting my promise to tell her more. 'Okay. I trust you. Let's do this thing.'
She took my hand in hers and squeezed reassuringly as we started back towards the Forge, passing more Dwells and robots on the way. The visit to Seer had been much shorter than I expected, the journey there had been far longer than I thought it would be. I sighed, remembering how far we would have to walk back. Our guides were apparently still full of energy, running between lampposts and weaving between other Dwells and the gangly legs of startled robots. Eventually, Dug caught up to Dig and tripped them, beginning a small brawl in the middle of the street.
'You got wrestled to the ground by them?' I asked incredulously, watching Dig and Dug playfought ahead of us.
'Shut up! I didn't want to hurt them...' Catra's ears pinned back as she looked away, avoiding my prying eyes.
'You've so gone soft.' I observed, just a hint of a smirk showing at the edge of my mouth.
Catra huffed, 'I have not gone soft.' Her tail flicked behind her wildly.
'You have. I'll have to double check just how soft when we get out of here.' I whispered, watching as her fur bristled and her tail stopped flicking angrily behind her, instead wrapping around my waist.
'Whatever.'
We continued in almost complete silence. The short conversation had only distracted me for so long before I began recounting Seer's words in my head.
A question asked, a question answered...
Eternia calls for me, for She-Ra...
So much left ahead, so much I have to do...
What did it mean?