Space
It was prettier then Catra remembered, she never really took the time to sit and appreciate it's beauty and it's comfort. She was so different the last time she was here it was almost like this was a dream. A long, vivid dream. She made the excuse up in her head, that she didn't sleep because she was afraid this was all a long desire in her mind and she would wake up on Horde Primes twisted maze again. Alone.
"Catra, hey. We're unloading stuff in the back, I could use a hand."
She jumped a bit when she heard Bow offer her some time consuming work, she reluctantly agreed and went to the back of the ship.
"So, exciting to be back in Space huh?"
Catra knew what he was trying. Or at least she thought she did, she could never tell anymore if people were genuine about making conversation with her or if they were playing some mind trick to get her to vomit her feelings.
"My first go around wasn't all that peachy."
Catra replied with a bit of sass. She saw a small smirk appear on Bows face from the corner of her eye but didn't say anything.
"I know that, but I'm just saying that it's a nice change from being in Brightmoon. It takes some getting used to."
"Yeah, pastel colors aren't really my cup of tea."
They spoke for awhile about different tea flavors after that, unpacking boxes of foods and drinks into the designated containment slots Entrapta installed for better preservation. After about an hour of work They decided to part ways and head to bed. For the first time in a long time she was feeling exhausted, like the universe had slowed down and eventually paused for her. For her to catch up and take a deep breath.
Adora was already asleep by the time Catra made her way to some random room Adora had chosen on her behalf. Thankful for the time of silence, she sighed and laid down at the foot of the bed, staring at the ceiling. That's when Catra learned the true difference of being tired and being exhausted. She had been laying there for at least an hour, by that time her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. She looked over at Adora, who of course was in deep sleep. Her sleeping habits had gotten much better the past week or so, Catra had observed. She finally decided to try and get at least some sleep, after realizing her eyes had been slowing closing everytime she kept them open for too long. She got comfortable and fell asleep.
She was dreaming, she knew she was. It was dark, Catra reached her hand out to touch something, to know where she was. But after she took a few steps forward she fell into a deep abyss. It felt like she was falling for hours, seeing the images and pictures of things she couldn't understand but somehow felt connected to. Her curiosity began to kick in, but in that instant, she saw she was quickly approaching the bright reflective floor. In that instant, she woke up. Sweaty, uncomfortable, and out of breath. The dream felt too vivid, too real. Catra looked around, both Melog and Adora were gone. That was to be expected, she had probably been sleeping for awhile. She sat up and groaned, feeling as though her few hours of sleep did more harm then good. She stepped down from the bed and sighed, running her fingers through her hair, forgetting it had been chopped short. It almost shocked her that the hair didn't run as long as it used to. Catra ended up being the last one up and, of course, got crap for it. She let it slide, it didn't bother her as much as it would have about a year ago.
"How was your cat nap?"
She heard Glimmer tease. Catra sighed heavily through her nose, representing her rising morning frustration.
"It wasn't a-!"
She began.
'Re-evaluate yourself, take a deep breath, count to ten, think before you speak.'
"It was fine, thanks for asking."
She had been taking a few lessons with Perfuma. It was surprisingly, more relaxing then she thought it would be and, to be honest, it helped. She heard Glimmer laugh to herself, which only made her narrow her eyes in frustration. She sat down on the floor near the door, occasionally petting Melog and speaking with his briefly.
"Hey, I didn't see you head to bed. Did you get any sleep?"
She looked up and saw Adora sit next to her, and avoided the question.
"I went to bed, how about you? Sleep well?"
Catra heard Adora chuckle a bit before answering
"Surprisingly yeah, I was probably just exhausted though."
Catra laughed time herself, looking up at the ceiling. She stared for a minute before seeing a large shadow with the same bright blue eyes as yesterday. She shrieked and jumped from the floor immediately. When she looked back down to where she was sitting, but nothing was there. Her breathing was heavy and she felt hot and cold at the same time.
"Catra what's wrong?"
She looked around, realizing everyone was staring at her. She scowled to herself silently.
"Nothing! It's nothing...I thought I saw something, but it's fine."
She represented a sigh of relief when everyone dropped the situation. Well, almost everyone. Catra looked up and saw Adora continued to stare with a faraway look in her eyes. Catra looked back down and began to walk away, before feeling Adora grab her hand and stop her from going any further.
"Catra I'm worried about you. What's going on? Really?"
Catra averted her gaze, searching for an excuse. A reason.
"Nothing, nothing wrong I'm just-"
She paused, inhaling and exhaling deeply.
"I'm just a bit on edge, space doesn't really bring me the best memories."
Catra hopes Adora would buy it, she hoped that she wouldn't say anything more on the matter.
To Catras relief, Adora sighed, pulling Catra into a warm embrace.
"I just- I worry about you sometimes."
She laughed. Catra returned the hug and the chuckle.
"Don't be, I'm fine."
Liar.
Adora smiled and nodded, walking over to Glimmer and Bow. She looked back at the three of them. Catra had missed out on a lot. She'd inflicted a lot of damage on the three of them in the past. She felt Meloc rub against her leg, almost as if reminding her she wasn't in the past anymore. She was different. Catra walked over to the windowsill and sat, her tail curled over her feet and her knees pulled to her chest.
"Uh, guys-"
She heard Glimmer address the group, Catras ears pricked towards her voice before she got up from her soon to be favorite spots in the whole ship.
"What's wrong?"
Bow asked leaning over Glimmers shoulder, Adora joined them shortly after.
"It's making noise!"
Catra resisted the urge to snicker at this group's stupidity. She really began listening when Bow said,
"It's a message!"
"A message? From where? Who's sending it?"
Adora asked, leaning over Glimmers other shoulder, causing Glimmer to growl in frustration under her breath.
"I-I'm working on it.."
Bow responded, after a few minutes Bow spoke again.
"Darla will need to debunk it, it's in a different language and needs to be deciphered because there are a few codes in there as well."
Catra listened intently and looked at the message.
"Lost, found, moons."
She said to herself louder than she anticipated.
"Hm?"
Adora looked over at her, everyone, including Meloc had looked at her.
"Those are the only words I could read."
Catra shrugged, feeling smarter than the rest of the group.
"Catra, you can read this?"
Bow asked, sounding a bit concerned. This caused Catra to second guess her intelligence.
"Only a few words. The rest is fuzzy. Why?"
Glimmer, Bow, and Adora exchanged a few looks before replying.
"We've never seen this language before. None of us can read it."
She blinked a few times before laughing.
"You're messing with me."
Nobody said anything. They only looked at Catra with looks of confusion and curiosity. And for a few moments, Catra saw fear.
"You're, not. Messing with me."
She finally came to the conclusion, thinking to herself. Adora finally spoke, placing a hand on Catras shoulder, causing her to shiver.
"Catra, I think this message is for you."