Catra
Out of all the things Catra had thought would happen after being expelled from the Horde, walking to a kingdom with a bunch of princesses and a talking... horse was it? was not one of them.
For a while, Catra had just stayed behind the group, following with a frown while the rest talked amongst themselves.
As she watched the group of friends chat up a storm, she noticed just how close the three had gotten. It made her angry. Adora used to have that same kind of relationship with Catra. What happened?
Suddenly Glimmer turned around to face her harshly. Catra let out an involuntary hiss.
"Whoa," Glimmer put her hands up, "sorry. But something's been bugging me."
Catra crossed her arms and smirked. "Is it that I'm from the Horde?"
"No- well... anyway it's just- why weren't the spider things in the beacon attacking you? You couldn't just have hid from them, they'd find you anywhere.
"I returned the disc I stole to its place and they left me alone. Once I realized Adora wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, I figured I'd be nice for once and give the place its stuff back."
"Then why were they attacking us ?"
"No idea. Maybe they don't like princesses ."
"Not this again! Catra, cut it out. Can't we all just be friends?" Adora cut in
"Absolutely not ." Catra confirmed. "Y'know what? I'm not even sure I want to be part of this rebellion if this is how princesses are."
Glimmer looked really mad. She started walking in Catra's direction ignoring the calls from her friends to stop. Catra couldn't care less, no princess could possibly win in a fight against her.
As soon as Catra was in arms reach of Glimmer, rather than attacking, she grabbed her arm and suddenly they were in the sky, falling at high speed. "Whoa, wait!" Catra flailed but there was nothing to stop her descent. She looked around, Glimmer wasn't falling with her, she had teleported back to the ground and from high up, she could see Adora yelling at her. Catra didn't even realize she was screaming until she reached the top of the tallest trees and her voice was echoing back to her. The ground was closing in fast and there was no way she was going to be alright when she landed.
She braced herself for impact when she felt a hand on her arm and then she was back on the ground, safe and unharmed. She put her hands on her knees and leaned forward, breathing fast.
"Insult me like that again and next time I'll let you hit the ground."
"Glimmer! What is wrong with you? Catra, are you okay?" Neither responded.
"I was the same way when we first met, remember? Why are you treating Catra so much worse than you did me?"
Catra saw a light flashing in the corner of her eye and started stepping toward it. Glimmer and Adora continued arguing.
"The last time Catra and I met, we were fighting on opposite sides. At least you didn't come specifically to attack us, you just wanted your sword."
Catra walked further away from them.
"She's different-"
"Doesn't seem all that different to me."
She was still within earshot but tuned their conversation out. In front of her was yet another ruin. She looked around for a second but it seemed no one else noticed. How? The light was really bright.
She ventured further until she couldn't hear the group anymore and saw that the door to the ruin was open and she walked inside. It didn't look all that different from the one she'd been in previously: blue crystal-like walls filled with those strange symbols, a large image of She-Ra covered a large portion of one wall, crystal pillars stretched high to the tall ceiling.
Once she reached a certain point in the room, a holographic figure appeared, just like one had for Adora. Catra didn't dare touch anything. She definitely did not want to get trapped in that hellhole again. Alone this time.
Not wanting to be in there for too long, Catra started walking toward the exit, only to find it closed shut.
"You have got to be kidding me." She said aloud and tried to find something that would open it with no success. She began banging on the door, hoping someone outside would hear her.
.
Bow
Adora and Glimmer were arguing and Bow really wished they'd stop. But nothing he said went through to them. He didn't think they even heard him at all.
"Once she sees how nice everyone is at Bright Moon rather than the Fright Zone, she'll definitely act differently."
"But you don't know that. Maybe she learned a thing or two from your Shadow Weaver or whatever and is a total bitch!"
"Glimmer! Language!" Bow said, being ignored once again.
He started giving up and looked around, only to realize that Catra had disappeared.
"Guys."
"You don't understand, she's not like that, she'll change!"
"Guys!"
Glimmer stopped mid sentence and both girls looked at him.
He gestured around him. "Catra's gone."
"What?!" Adora exclaimed, looking in all directions.
Glimmer sighed. "I guess we have to go find her now."
"She could be anywhere." Adora said. "I'll go north, Glimmer you go south, Bow and Swift Wind can go east and west."
"Do you really think it's a good idea to split up in these woods? Can't we just let her find her own way?"
"No, Glimmer, I want her with us." Adora insisted and began walking away.
"Wait, Adora!" Glimmer shouted but she was already gone.
"I'll go get her." Bow offered and followed Adora into a different part of the woods. "I'll find you! I have my tracker!" He ran after Adora and left Glimmer standing with Swift Wind.
"Adora, wait up!" Bow said as he caught up with her.
She sighed. "Hey, Bow."
"Can I walk with you?"
"Sure."
They walked in silence a bit, Bow not wanting to upset her more than she already was.
Eventually Adora spoke. "I can't believe Catra just left like that."
"She didn't seem too happy to be here."
"I know, but she said she'd join the rebellion. She's not really one to change her mind."
"Why do you trust her so much?"
"We've been friends our whole lives, ever since Shadow Weaver brought us to the Horde."
"You were both raised by Shadow Weaver? Wouldn't that make you kind of sisters?"
"Not really, or, at least we never thought that way. We were just best friends. We'd do everything together and could depend on each other no matter what. It was a promise we made a long time ago. It was just us, always. Wherever she went, I went and vice versa. We were inseparable. She had her own bed but chose to sleep at the foot of mine because we couldn't stand to be apart for even a moment. She's the best person I ever knew." Adora had stopped walking and sat down on a rock. Bow sat next to her as she talked.
"I always thought it'd stay like that forever but then in the blink of an eye, we're mortal enemies. I still wish we were that close because I still really care about her, but, I don't think she feels the same. I just want to have her back."
"Sounds like you're in love." Bow said, taking in what she had said.
Adora looked confused. "What does that mean?"
Bow stood up and ran his fingers through his hair. "Are you kidding?" Her face stayed blank. "Wow, your life is so sad, how are you still alive?"
Adora stayed quiet and moved her eyes to the left, then back at Bow.
Bow helped her up and they started walking again. "Okay, so you know Spinnerella and Netossa, right?"
She nodded. "Yeah, what about them?"
"They're married."
"Yeah, Glimmer told me that." She paused. "I... don't know what that means either." She added quietly.
Bow's mind was blown and he groaned. "We need to give you life lessons when we get back, pronto. You'll find out what that stuff means then because I'm no good at explaining but! From what you said, you are definitely in love with Catra."
"I still don't know what that means." Adora whispered. "You will! Eventually." Bow replied and the two continued their search for Adora's feline friend.
.
Glimmer
Bow and Adora were long gone and Swift Wind went in his assigned direction after letting her know that if he didn't find anything, he'd go back to 'kicking down stable doors,' leaving Glimmer standing in the middle of the Whispering Woods, alone. She was still very frustrated and groaned, teleporting about five feet to her right, then began to trudge into a darker part of the forest.
"Gotta go find Adora's friend, who we have no idea if we can even trust." She spoke aloud, teleporting a couple meters apart at each point. She dragged herself through the dark woods, continuing to complain to herself.
Glimmer sighed, tired of wandering for countless minutes without finding anything of use. She groaned again and teleported about a kilometer forward. "Why do I have to-"
Standing right in front of her was another blue First One's ruin. She smirked. "I have time for a little adventure."
She stepped up to the closed door of the building and teleported inside. It looked fairly similar to the one they found Adora in that same day. As she walked, she started hearing metallic noises and grunts from a person resonating from behind a door to her left.
"Hello?" She said as she teleported through the door. What she saw was Catra fighting off the same spiders from before with only her hands and claws.
"Catra!" She looked over at the sound of the call. "What?"
"What are you doing here?"
"What do you think?" Catra said, finishing another creature. "I got locked in and they started attacking."
That sentence threw her off her focus and she was hit by a spider's leg and was launched across the room.
"Catra!" Glimmer teleported over to her and saw that she was unconscious. She grabbed her arm and teleported back out to the woods.
She laid Catra down on the grass and sat on a nearby rock, impatiently waiting for her to wake up. She shot a ball of sparkle in her direction that landed a couple inches away from her head.
"I should probably stop that. Adora won't like it." She said to herself, mockingly.
Glimmer sighed and stood up, pacing back and forth until she heard Catra stir.
"Finally." She teleported over so that she was squatting next to her. She flicked her forehead. "Wake up." She said nonchalantly.
Catra inhaled deeply. "What's happening?"
"You were flung across an ancient First One's ruin by a giant spider."
"Oh."
"Yep."
Silence rang out for a few moments until Catra spoke again.
"Wait, a what's ruin?"
"A First One's ruin- Wait. Now you're gonna tell me you don't know what that is. God the Horde is useless.
"The First Ones were the first people to settle on Etheria. They have a bunch of advanced technology that I'm sure the Horde would love to get their hands on. But! It seems they don't know about it, so I think we're safe for now." She smacked her head suddenly. "Why did I tell you that? I don't trust you ."
Catra chuckled. "The feeling's mutual."
Glimmer sighed. "Come on, we gotta go meet up with the others."
Catra didn't move when Glimmer started walking. "Why? We just agreed that we don't trust each other." She crossed her arms. Man, she does that a lot.
"Because Adora's my friend and she wants you to come to Bright Moon with us." Glimmer explained reluctantly, still getting over the argument they had only minutes before.
Even though she didn't express it all that much, Glimmer could tell that Catra still cared about her and Adora's relationship and wanted to preserve it if possible. Glimmer wanted Adora to be happy and bringing Catra to the Rebellion would do just that. She was also curious of Catra's background because she knew there was a princess in the past that had similar cat-like features. Was Catra in fact a lost princess herself?
Glimmer was lost in her thoughts when she realized she didn't have the slightest idea where they had been walking. She didn't tell Catra this though. Instead, she started asking questions about Adora.
"So what's with you and Adora anyway? She never really told us much."
Catra scoffed. "Figures." She paused. "She left me. She made a promise that we'd always be there for each other and then she just... left."
"But you understand why she left, right? That the Horde is dangerous?" Glimmer was attempting to see what side Catra was truly on.
She sighed. "No comment."
Glimmer mentally facepalmed. "Well- what did they teach you about princesses?"
"That you're a dangerous threat to everyone on Etheria. That you're violent instigators who don't even know how to control your powers." Catra said harshly.
"Y'know that is exactly what Adora said; word for word. Did you guys have to memorize that or something? Like for a vocab quiz?"
Catra snorted, but didn't answer.
They continued walking through the trees until they came up to a clearing that looked very familiar. They'd passed through it several minutes ago.
"This looks awfully familiar." Catra verbalized her thoughts. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"
"Uh, yeah!" Glimmer assured, then went back to the subject from earlier. "How long have you known Adora?"
For this, Catra actually seemed glad to answer. "Since- as long as I can remember. We were both orphans and were both somewhat raised by Shadow Weaver so we were always close, though Shadow Weaver always favored Adora, possibly because she knew she was She-Ra and wanted her to stay on the side of the Horde." She laughed softly to herself. "They would absolutely love to have She-Ra for themselves."
Catra seemed happy when talking about Adora. She smiled whenever she recalled a good memory of the two and Glimmer could hardly believe this was the same person they were trying to defeat only a few days prior.
"So has Shadow Weaver ever been nice?"
"Hah, no. Not to me, at least.
"She always made it seem like Adora was so much better than I was. It did wonders for my self esteem. And then I always tried to make myself better but it just wasn't good enough."
Glimmer hummed in response. She knew the feeling all to well. All her life she wanted to impress her mother. She only recently found out that her mom felt similarly about herself because she got her husband killed. Still, all Glimmer really wanted was to help out the kingdom; she was the queen's daughter after all.
"I understand that. I've never really felt good enough for my mother either."
"Heh, really? You make it seem like your princess life is as perfect as it can be."
"It's really not. I think we might have a lot more in common than you might think." Glimmer stated. "Do you know anything about your heritage? I'm only curious because I used to know a princess that kind of looked like you."
"Me? A princess ? Never." She scoffed.
"I'm not saying you're a princess." Glimmer defended. "I'm just wondering: do you know your real parents at all?"
"Nope, the first memories I have are at the Horde and no one ever mentioned my family that I may or may not have had. It's only ever been Shadow Weaver, Hordak, and Adora." Catra explained.
"Well, if it relates, my father died when I was still a baby so I didn't really have a father figure in my life."
Catra mhm'ed but didn't reply.
"So was Adora like a sister to you?"
"Not really." She answered after a moment. "It's- well, we never really thought of it like that. We were just... friends."
"So you were really close then."
"Not close enough for her to not leave us for a bunch of princesses." She snapped.
Glimmer awkwardly stepped away from Catra. "But she left for a good reason, the same reason you're here now."
"You see, the thing is, I didn't want to leave. I planned on staying there for the rest of my life." She looked uncomfortable. "I- uh..." She sighed and continued to walk in silence.
Glimmer also stopped talking to try and examine her surroundings to see if she had a single clue where they had ended up. Catra noticed.
"Do you have any idea where we are?" She demanded.
"Nope!" Glimmer honestly announced. "But, it's okay! Bow will find us. I just need to do a bunch of short-range teleporting so that we show up on Bow's tracker pad. And we should stay in one place instead of wandering."
Catra took this opportunity to hop onto a nearby rock, squatting and waving her tail while licking the top of her hand.
Wow, she really is a cat. Glimmer thought as she watched her, then teleported herself a few feet at a time all in the same general area.
"Y'know you're not so bad." Catra noted, distracting Glimmer from her concentration, causing her to disappear and reappear a few feet in the air, falling on her butt.
"Huh?"
Catra readjusted her position so that she was facing her. "I can see why Adora likes you so much." Catra looked at the ground. "Kind of." She added.
Glimmer half-smiled and continued using her magic to alert Bow of their location.
.
Adora
"Soooooo, you ever gonna explain what you said earlier?" Adora asked Bow after several minutes of unsuccessful Catra hunting.
Before he could respond, his tracker pad started making a lot of noise, startling both of them.
Bow came back to his senses and pulled it out, seeing two red dots blinking not too far from where they were.
"That must be Glimmer!" He exclaimed. "Either she's in trouble, or she found Catra."
He pointed to another red dot far away on the opposite side of the screen. "That must be Swift Wind so that," he pointed to the dot right next to Glimmer, "must be Catra.
"But this detects magic. Why is she on it?"
"Well she's not exactly human." Adora pointed out. Being part cat would be a reason to have magic, right?
"True." Bow stated. "Let's go!" They started in the direction of the blinking red dots on the pad.
It only took them about 5 minutes to start hearing their voices.
"Why don't you give Adora another chance?" Glimmer was saying.
A sigh. "You wouldn't understand. It's- Would you forgive Bow if he left you for the Horde for whatever reason?"
Glimmer hesitated. "I... would." She said. "Eventually. And so should you. I get if it takes a bit of time but don't completely shove the idea out of your head."
Catra didn't say anything for a few moments. Bow and Adora came up to a collection of trees that Glimmer and Catra were behind in a clearing. Bow moved to interrupt them but Adora put a hand up to stop him. Bow looked at her questioningly to which she whispered that she wanted to listen.
"Maybe, but... I don't know." Catra finally replied, her tail swung up to her waist and she grabbed onto it with both hands and looked down.
"I trust Adora, and, I think you do too so I think you need to give her another chance." Glimmer said as she walked up to Catra and put a hand on her shoulder.
That's when Adora stomped into the clearing. Bow followed her and tried to make it seem like they hadn't been eavesdropping on their conversation. "Uh- Glimmer! We found you!"
"Adora! Bow!" Glimmer exclaimed and ran over and gave the two a hug. Catra dropped her tail and crossed her arms, looking away.
Adora ignored Glimmer and looked over at Catra. "Catra! Why did you run off like that?"
"Because you wouldn't shut up." She responded.
Adora didn't care to continue arguing. She just sighed and said, "Let's go."
"Adora, is something wrong?" Glimmer asked, noticing Adora's odd behaviour.
"No. I'm fine." She answered a bit too quickly and before anyone could say anything else, she started to walk in the direction of Bright Moon.
"Okaaaay." Glimmer followed her, Catra at her side while Bow hurried to catch up to Adora.
He nudged her arm. "You're jealous, aren't you?" He asked, smiling.
Adora turned to him immediately. "Huh? No. Jealous? Of what?" She whispered back. Bow gestured behind them. "Catra? Why'd I be jealous of Catra?"
"Not Catra."
"Glimmer? No. Absolutely not."
Bow laughed. "I think you are. You're jealous that she's closer to Catra than you are at this moment, or at least, that's what it seems like."
Meanwhile, Catra and Glimmer were having a quiet conversation of their own behind them. Bow heard something about how everyone in Bright Moon is a princess. Catra responded with a observation that Bow is not a princess and he decided to tune into their exchange.
"That's true." He said and both girls looked up at him. He smiled. "But, I used to be a princess."
"What does that mean?" Catra asked.
"I didn't like being a princess so I decided to be a master archer ! And also a dude."
Catra looked impressed. "That's a thing you can just do? Geez, you princesses really are a phenomenon."
"It's not just a princess thing. You can be a guy if you wanted to." Glimmer explained.
"Nah, I'm good." Catra said and Adora spoke up.
"Wait, you used to be a girl ? Why didn't I know this?"
"You never asked. Plus I don't like to be defined by my past."
"Oh, okay." Adora dropped the topic and continued walking in silence. She seemed upset.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Bow asked.
"Yeah, 'm fine." And with that she sped up and started walking ahead of them on her own.
.
Catra
She's upset because of me.
I want to care, but I can't.
Instead of following her first instinct that she'd learned after years of being as close as can be at the Horde, Catra stayed behind Adora and the rest of the group as they made their way through the woods.
*Time Skip*
After about half an hour of walking, a bright light was seen through the dark forest and they rounded a corner to see a brilliant castle. It was golden and surrounded by tall cliffs on one side and clear blue water on the other. A bridge trailed from the castle entrance that lead to a large egg-shaped glowing crystal. Further along the bridge was a path down to the water and across to the land they were currently standing on. There was a view of several moons hiding behind pink clouds on the horizon.
This must be Bright Moon.
Adora was already halfway across the bridge as the rest of the group started walking.
Glimmer sighed at this. "I gotta go talk to her." She said quietly and teleported up to where she was walking.
Any normal person wouldn't be able to hear their conversation but Catra's ears were conditioned to hear further away because she was feline.
"Adora, what's wrong?" Glimmer said.
Adora sighed. "Honestly, I don't know."
Glimmer touched her arm. "You'll get through it, whatever it is. Bow and I are always here for you."
"But Catra's not."
"Listen, I know this will completely contradict everything that I was saying earlier but I think Catra will warm up to you again. I talked to her after finding her in the woods-"
"I know." Adora hissed then calmed herself down. "Sorry... Thanks Glimmer."
She changed the topic. "So what's gonna happen with Catra?"
Glimmer contemplated this. "I think my mom is going to do some kind of questioning- nothing bad though- and then do some background checks or something."
Adora nodded and they stopped talking. Catra continued to walk behind Bow until they reached the entrance of the castle. Adora and Glimmer were waiting for them and invited them in. Glimmer didn't seem as suspicious of Catra as she was at the start.
"Adora, you can go hang out in your room if you want. Bow, too. I don't think my mom will let you guys sit in for this, but I don't know."
Adora didn't say anything and walked in the direction of her room, Catra assumed. Bow gave Glimmer a thumbs up and then a peace sign and ran after her.
Glimmer led Catra through a bright and grand hallway that opened up to a throne room where the Queen of Bright Moon sat. Around the room were various guards and when they entered the Queen stood up.
"Commander Glimmer." She said with an accent
"Your Majesty." Glimmer replied and bowed.
"What's this?" The Queen asked, gesturing at Catra.
"This is Adora's friend, Catra."
"Friend from the Horde ?"
"Yes." Glimmer said. Catra stayed silent.
The Queen groaned and walked up to Glimmer, putting her hands on her shoulders. "You need to stop bringing random Horde soldiers here without containing them."
"Oh, c'mon Mom," Mom? "She's nice, like Adora, I'm sure of it."
Wait, the Queen is Glimmer's mother?
"I'll have to see. Catra, I'd like to ask you some questions. Is that okay?" Glimmer's mom turned her attention to Catra.
"Uh, sure." Catra responded, preparing for the worst, but it never came. For the next hour or so, simple questions were asked of her and finally, "Alright, you can stay."
Catra tried to smile and Glimmer dragged her out after thanking her mom. "Let's go on a tour!"
.
Glimmer
It hadn't been that long since she last had to give a tour of the castle to someone. Only recently, Adora had to be shown around and Glimmer had been reminded how big the place actually was.
When she was younger, the castle had seemed infinite and she was often surprised how they had ended up at certain rooms or doors. Getting to her mom's room was the only route she truly had memorized since it used to be only a couple doors down from hers. When Glimmer was just a little girl and was just beginning to befriend Bow, who was called Aura at the time, she was very impressed by his ability to navigate the woods and the castle so easily. Even still, to just walk around instead of teleporting made the palace seem a lot bigger than usual.
As they left the throne room, Glimmer led Catra to the most important places like the dining and lounge areas and other specific rooms that might be useful. After about an hour of just walking around, Glimmer attempting to explain the princess lifestyle to Catra, she finally made it to the bedrooms. They approached one of the empty guest rooms that Glimmer had told someone to set up some things suited for someone like Catra or Adora.
"So this is where all the bedrooms are. Mine is down there, Adora's is there..." She pointed out a couple of tall doors in the hallway they stood in. Glimmer came to a stop behind the room meant for Catra.
"And this," the door opened to reveal a boring bedroom with the same bed Glimmer had given to Adora after learning she was used to sleeping on such an uncomfortable mattress. She figured since Catra was also raised in the Horde, she wouldn't want a huge fluffy bed the people of Bright Moon were used to. "This can be your room!"
Catra swept her eyes across the room and pursed her lips. "Uh, I've never had... a room to myself before." She murmured. "I used to sleep with Adora back at the Fright Zone."
"You did what ?!"
"I slept with her?... In the same bed? Is that frowned upon here or something?" She took a step back.
"Sleep? Is that all you did?"
Catra blinked. "Yeah, what else would we do?"
Oh, of course. Catra and Adora don't know what 'sleeping with someone' means. Adora didn't even know what an aunt was for Christ sake!
"Oh, okay, that's fine then." Glimmer smiled and dropped it. "Adora never really got used to having her own room either. I'll set this bed up in hers."
Catra's ears folded down a bit. "Is there anywhere else I can go?"
"Nope!" Glimmer said, which was a lie. She wanted Adora and Catra to make up and putting them in the same room together for hours seemed like the best idea. "It's here or Adora's."
"What about your room?"
"No space." Lies.
Catra hesitated. "...Fine." She muttered as the end of her tail waved slightly and her ears fell again.
"Awesome!" Glimmer grabbed Catra's arm and teleported over to the outside of Adora's room and prepared to tell her the news. She hoped she wasn't as depressed as earlier and that the fact that Catra was gonna stay in her room would make her feel like Catra wasn't lost from her. Glimmer could tell that Catra still didn't trust any of them the way Adora had when they had first met which was understandable. In any other situation they'd be fighting to the death. Again.
.
Adora
It had gotten dark and Adora was sitting in her room, lost in thought when there was a knock on her door.
"Come in."
The door opened and Glimmer walked inside.
"Glimmer! You know you can just teleport in here. I don't mind."
"I respect people's privacy." She said and curtseyed. "Anyways." She disappeared for a second and reappeared with a bed identical to Adora's.
"What's that?"
"Catra's bed!" Glimmer giggled.
"She can stay?!" Adora jumped to her feet and tackled Glimmer with a hug.
"Yep, you seem to be feeling better." She said and Adora smiled. "My mom agreed after confirming that she had actually been kicked out of the Horde and asking a couple of questions."
A couple of questions took two hours?
"How do you confirm something like that?"
"My mom has her ways." Glimmer laughed. "Catra, you can come in now!" She sang.
Catra stepped into the room hesitantly only to be immediately hug attacked by Adora. Catra shoved her away.
"Get off !" She yelled and took a step back. "We are not friends."
Adora was hurt again. "Then what are we?"
"We're just sharing a room." She grumbled. "It's late, I'm going to sleep." Catra pushed her bed as far away from Adora's as possible and layed down, facing the wall.
"I guess this is my cue to leave. G'night guys." Glimmer muttered and disappeared, leaving Adora standing in the middle of the room, in the dark, staring at nothing.
.
Catra
As much as she hated having to fight with Adora, her mind was conditioned to it. After all that time being on opposing sides, Catra had taught herself to dislike the girl she had been so close to her entire life. She knew she didn't have to keep acting this way but something was holding her back. She didn't know how to let Adora know that she did miss her and she did like her.
It was probably around two o'clock in the morning when Catra finally fell asleep.
"Force Captain Catra!" Shadow Weaver's voice echoed and Catra bolted upright but she was nowhere to be seen. "You have failed your mission. Again." All the light in the room replaced itself with shadow. "Insolent child." Catra turned around and saw Shadow Weaver raising darkness around her. "I should've gotten rid of you a long time ago." Catra glance towards Adora's bed but she couldn't make out anything in the pitch-blackness. She directed her eyes back to Shadow Weaver was and Adora stood next to her smirking. "I never liked you Catra. I only felt pity. I am the only one who deserves the position of Force Captain. I am special, you are not." Catra backed away from the two until she was trapped against the wall behind her. "Look, you finally got what you wanted. You went to Bright Moon so I had to leave. I can't stand being around you. And now I'm back at the Fright Zone, where I'm supposed to be. I will destroy you. She-Ra belongs to the Horde now." She pulled her sword out. "It's over, Catra. Catra. Catra? Catra!"
Catra's eyes flew open and Adora's face was about two inches away from hers. Catra mewed in surprise and inched backwards, hissing softly.
"Catra, it's okay, it was just a nightmare." Catra tucked her knees to her chest and wrapped her tail around her ankles. She dropped her head between her knees and breathed heavily.
Just a nightmare? I don't get those often.
Adora petted Catra's hair while mumbling soothingly. What happened the evening before was forgotten. It felt like home. "Can I sleep in your bed tonight?" She asked quietly, not lifting her head.
"'Course, Kitten. C'mon." Adora held her hand and led her to her bed, Catra avoiding looking directly at her. Once Adora had gotten herself situated, Catra curled herself up at the foot of the bed and felt Adora's legs resting against her back. She was home. She fell asleep within minutes.
.
Bow
"Bow! Wake up!!" Glimmer shouted, pulling Bow out of his dreams. He jumped out of bed, fists up.
"What happened? Who do I needa fight?" Glimmer yelped and jumped back, putting her hands up to stop him.
"Nothing!" She yelled. "But, I just saw the cutest thing ever !!!" Bow hadn't seen her so happy since the Princess Alliance was still together. What could possibly make her like this?
"What is it?" Bow asked and Glimme snatched his hand and teleported both of them to the outside of Adora's room. She smiled wide and slowly pushed the door open.
"Awwwww." Bow's eyes brightened. "How adora ble." (a/n: sorry) Adora was sleeping in her bed curled in a fetal position while Catra had managed to roll herself into an even smaller ball and was resting between Adora's chest and knees. One of Adora's hands was outside the blankets and wrapped around Catra's frame. He could hear her purring slightly as she slept.
Bow had just stood there smiling like an idiot for like five minutes when suddenly Catra stirred and seemed to wake up. Bow shut the door so that Catra wouldn't see him but he could still peek inside. He wanted to see her reaction based on how she was acting before. Would the habits she'd only recently made affect the way she felt, or would all the things Adora had said about her show through?
As he watched through a small crack in the door, her saw Catra's multi-colored eyes open and she glanced over at Adora and smiled. Bow mentally fist pumped and saw her adjust her position by stepping in a small circle and lying down again curled up in a small ball; a true cat-like action. She seemed to be glad to be next to Adora again.
To be completely honest, Bow highkey shipped it and he was pretty sure that Glimmer did too. If only he could figure out how to properly explain love to Adora. He could only imagine what it would be like for Adora to fight against an enemy not led by her best friend. Those two fighting alongside each other would definitely be an advantage to team rebellion because they had trust between them and their teamwork would probably be very strong.
Bow hadn't even realized Glimmer wasn't by his side until she whisper-called his name from around a corner.
"Bow! What are you still doing there?"
"Huh? Oh, Glimmer. Sorry, I'm trying to prove a point."
"And what point is that?"
"When we were in the woods, Adora talked to me about Catra and from what she was saying, I was sure she was totally head over heels for her, based on, like, my dads and stuff, but then I find out she doesn't know what love is. At all! And me being totally ace, I had no idea how to explain it!"
"Hmm," Glimmer paused, thinking. "That's totally understandable for Adora. I was talking with Catra last night and she told me she slept with Adora and my mind immediately went... there, and she had no idea what I was talking about."
"I thought I could talk to Spinnerella and Netossa about it? Unless you know anything..." Bow suggested.
"Well my last relationship was kinda a mess so don't ask me." Glimmer laughed. "C'mon let's get breakfast." They started in the direction of the kitchen.
.
Adora
That night after being woken up by Catra having a rough nightmare was pretty peaceful. Adora fell asleep with Catra at her feet and it almost felt like she was back at the Fright Zone. It did freak her out a little bit when she woke up because her instinctive fear was that her leaving the Horde and meeting Bow and Glimmer and the other princesses and fighting against the Horde and being She-Ra in general, was all a really crazy elaborate dream.
But when she opened her eyes and saw pink and sunshine instead of grey, monotonous bed sheets she knew that it wasn't. Soon all the memories from the past 24 hours came rushing into her head: Glimmer's glitch, the beacon, meeting up with Catra, falling off a cliff, Light Hope's information about She-Ra. Adora still knew she had to consider actually going back there to train but now with Catra back, that didn't seem like the best idea.
She let herself back into reality and saw Catra had moved up the bed and was curled up right next to her. She was fast asleep and Adora wanted breakfast, so she carefully and quietly escaped from the bed and tip-toed out of her bedroom.
Once she met up with Glimmer and Bow, she was immediately suspicious. They seemed to be scheming something but Adora didn't bother to ask. When Glimmer saw Adora near the table, she leaned away and smiled at her innocently. 'Innocently.' Adora ignored it.
"Good morning, Adora." Bow said brightly. "Sleep well?" He and Glimmer batted their eyes at her.
"Okay, what's this about?"
"Oh, nothing." Glimmer said, making it obvious that it wasn't nothing. "Where's Catra?"
"Still sleeping... why? What's up with you two?" Adora didn't have a single clue why they'd be acting like this.
"Oh, come on. You and Catra sleeping together is so cute!"
Adora was confused. "...Why? That's how it always is?" She said. "Wait, you were watching me sleep? That's- that's kinda creepy, not gonna lie."
Glimmer sighed. "You know what, never mind. I didn't say anything." She looked at Bow who only shrugged.
"You guys are weird." Adora observed and sat down across from them, munching into the breakfast that was prepared for her.
a/n:
I've been wanting to write this ever since I watched the 11th episode of the first season so here we are. I just want to let ppl know that the ideas that Glimmer and Catra bond over not being good enough for their mother figures and that Catra may be a lost princess are not mine. I'm just adding them in. Also, Bow is canonically trans and has two dads, those have been confirmed (I think) and I also made him ace just cause I cant really see him in a proper relationship. I'm basing Glimmers character on me about a year ago because I feel we're kinda similar, soooooo yeah. Enjoy!
~A