Chapter Text
Strong hands on either side of her force Adora down to her knees. The restraints holding her arms behind her back chaff and dig into her skin. Her knees dig into the rocky surface they forced her on. She grunts as she’s shoved into a bow.
“quítate la bolsa” ( take off the bag ) a scratchy female voice says. The language is foreign and unlike any Adora has heard. The cloth covering her eyes and face is ripped to the side. Adora has to squint to see through the sunlight shining on her.
“Quién eres?”( who are you? ) before Adora is a masked and furred figure. Not just covered in fur but wearing fur. The skin of a razor fin draped over their body, its head resting on top of the red mask in a permanted growl. The mask is golden accented and looks suspiciously like a cat.
“Wha-” Adora mumbles, squinting at the figure through the light.
“¿Qué estás haciendo aquí?”( what are you doing here? ) Adora shakes her head.
“I don't understand” the figure looks at the large thing beside the Adora. Another figure also covered in fur but nearly as impressive. A pooka with a stone eye draped over their shoulders.
“donde la conseguiste?”( where did you find her? ) the figure asks, gesturing to Adora with a clawed hand. The figure's shoulders and forearms are covered in thick golden armor. Little half moons trailing up the sides.
“Ella estaba en el bosque. casi caminó hacia el sol de Saz." ( she was in the forest. Almost walked into The Sun of Saz ) The figure before Adora grunts in acknowledgement and leans closer. Its mask inches from Adora 's face.
“Who are you?” Their force is slow and accented. They tilt their head to the side as Adora hesitates.
“I'm Adora” the blonde leans back as the thing reaches up towards Adora’s cheek. instead of slapping or hitting her the hand brushes her cheek and then they tug on her ear.
“los humanos realmente tienen un aspecto divertido”( humans really do look funny) it mutters, Adora winces as they tug a little too hard.
“What were you doing stomping around The Sun of Saz?” they ask, leaning away from Adora just a smidge.
“The Sun of who?” Adora asks, shifting in her uncomfortable position. The figure tilts their head again, this time the other direction. Adora flinches a little as the figure reaches up, pausing at Adora’s reaction.
They reach their mask and gently pull it off, the skin of the razor fin coming with it. A beautiful cat hybrid crouches before Adora. Brown fur with tan stripes and two pierced ears flicker on her head. Two intelligent mismatched eyes glare into Adora’s. Her lips are twisted in a snarl.
“The Sun if Saz” she repeats, the sunlight glancing off her pointed canines. “Were you planning on stealing it? Destroying it?”
Adora shakes her head quickly, breaking from her trance, “no! No, I had no idea anything was over there! I swear” the girl's eyebrows draw together as if she doesn't believe Adora. She turns back to the hulking figure beside Adora.
“Tigger, ¿qué te parece? ¿Horda?” ( Tigger, what do you think? Horde? ) she asks, gesturing to the sword the thing holds in its massive grip. The figure lifts the sharp object with ease and flips it around in its hands.
“no, la horda suele tener armas.” ( no, Horde usually have guns )The thing's voice is low and booming, slightly muffled by the purple mask covering its face. “This is just some piece of junk”
Adora scoffs, the three assailants turn to her, “piece of junk? That's the sword of protection!”
“creo que ella es linda” ( i think she’s cute) the smaller figure beside her speaks up. Her voice is cheery and young. “¿Podemos quedarnos con ella?”( can we keep her? )
“It's an old sword” the girl in front of her gestures to it. “It looks duller than a rock”
“Look, my friends and I came here looking for the Princess of Half-moon.” the first girl looks up at her companions. “Do you know where I can find her?
“You don't just find the princess of half moon” the girl scoffs. planting her hands on her hips. two dual swords rest there. Glinting in the little sun flitting through the space.
“Well you kinda do” the huling figure beside Adora laughs.
‘ciérralo” ( shut it ) the feline growls. “So, there’s more of you?”
“Uhhhh, no?” A slow smile spreads across the girl's face and she tilts her head as she looks at Adora. She had never been good liar and now is probably no better. She turns towards her companions.
“Busca en el bosque más idiotas torpes” ( Search the woods for more bumbling idiots ) she glances to Adora out of the corner of her eye. “I'll take her back to Half-moon”
——
They put the bag back over Adora’s head, speaking rapid fire in their foreign language. Then Adora is alone with the feline. Well at least she thinks. The only steps she can hear are her own stumbling wanderings and the girls gracefully pads.
The silence is starting to get to her. Mostly the non silence of it. Birds Adora can identify chirp and squeal high pitched and deafeningly. The brushes and trees bristle and flutter. Wind howls between thick barked trunks and makes Adora think people are whispering.
“Uh so,” Adora starts, turning towards where she thinks her captor is. “What’s your name?”
A soft chuckles comes from her other side. She tilts her head inconspicuously to that side. “I'm not going to tell you that”
“Why not?
“Uh because you’re very likely to be a Horde spy” Adora scoffs, straightening her shoulders
“I'm not,” she slouches a little. “…Well not anymore” the girl laughs, grabbing Adora’s arm and pulling her to the side. Adora almost stumbles as her foot hits the edge of a.. log?
“What do you mean not anymore? Once a Horde soldier, always a Horde soldier.”
“I defected! I'm with the rebellion now for your information.” Adora pouts.
“Oh, I'm so sorry, I had no idea with that Horde insignia branded across your back.” The girl snarks.
“It’s a comfortable shirt! And… I'm usually wearing a jacket.” Adora tries to look over her shoulder at the mark, forgetting she’s wearing a bag over her head.
“Yeah, yeah.”
“I’ll have you know that I'm.. I'm She-ra” Adora still hasn’t gotten used to admitting that. For her whole life she’s just been regular old Adora. But now suddenly she has to introduce herself as a completely different person.
There’s a pause. An extending silence where even the birds and little critters around them hesitate.
And then the girl burst out laughing. the birds start to screech again, as if agreeing with her. She grabs onto Adora's arm and pulls her to a stop as she belly laughs like there’s no tomorrow. It's squeaky and high pitched, tiny snorts finding their places when she tries to take a breath.
“Y- your- '' hysterical giggling breaks up her sentence. Adora sighs and rolls her eyes.
“Yeah yeah, laugh it up”. Her shoulders slouch a little bit and she kicks at the dirt. “I really am She-ra. It’s like a whole thing.”
The girl seems to be half bent over in her attempt to catch her breath. Her giggling peters out. “You want me to believe- that your skinny ass is She-ra!?”
“Well I'm bigger when I transform”
“Then do it! Prove it”
“Ok, give me my sword.”
“I'm sorry- I'm not going to give, an admittedly dull weapon, to a Horde soldier. Previous or no”
“Then I can’t prove it!”
“Oh I see what this is. this is a ruse! Clever, clever” the girl grabs her arm and starts to move again.
“Why don’t you tell the Queen all about being She-ra. We’re almost there.” The words start to become echoey and instead of tramping through mossy grass, Adora’s steps begin to hollow and clop onto rock.
“She-ra” the girl mumbles, another small laugh escaping her, “that one was good, I'v never had a Horde soldier try to pull that one on me.”
“Do you get a lot of Horde here?” Adora asks, stumbling over a rock. The girl reaches out and grabs her arm. Keeping her upright.
She hesitates, as if she’s thinking about her response or if she’s going to respond at all.
“The Horde has been more present recently” she mutters. It’s muffled, as if she’s looking away. “Snooping around the ruins, using technology to scan the woods”
Scanning the woods? The only thing out here is the lost city of Half-moon. Half-moon that the rebellion has only just recently discovered still exists.
“Sounds like they’re scouting for Half-moon” Adora says, turning towards her captor. That’s bad, very bad. That means The Horde knows Half-moon still lives, and will do anything to destroy it.
“No shit” the girl mumbles, directing Adora to the right. her grip pulls Adora to a stop.
“Su Alteza Real'' ( your royal highness ) a gruff voice says. The sound of metal on metal screeches through the cave. A door opening.
“Tigger y Calico deberían estar en camino en breve.”(Tigger and Calico should be on their way shortly) Catra says, pulling Adora through.
“alertará a la reina de su llegada.”( i will alert the queen)
“Gracias Oscar.”
—--
The queen is beautiful. Black fur with white spots.. She isn't wearing armor like the soldiers that brought Adora in nor is she wearing a fur. On her hips she’s strapped two dual swords. Similar to the ones the soldier that brought her here wears.
Standing next to Adora that very feline bows her head. “Su majestad, este espía de la Horda fue encontrado incómodamente cerca del Sol de Saz” (Your Majesty, this Horde spy was found uncomfortably close to the Sun of Saz)
She looks up, presenting the sword to the Queen.
“She had this strapped to her back, she claims she is the legendary She-ra.” the Queen quirks a smile at that. Looking down at Adora, Not unkindly.
“What is your name?” the queen asks, standing from her throne. Adora bows her head.
“Adora of Brightmoon.” the Queen's eyebrows rise at that. A sly smile slipping onto her face.
“What would a representative of Brightmoon need from the Sun of Saz?”
“Nothing you majesty! It was a mistake, me and my friends are here looking for you!” The Queen stands from her throne and clasps her hands behind her back.
“Well now that you have me, What do you want?” when she reaches the dual eye soldier and caress her cheek with a smile. The girl relaxes her stance.
“We’re here to recruit Princess D’rulith of half-moon to the Princess Alliance.” Both the Queen and the soldier freeze.
“The Princess Alliance was disbanded nearly 20 years ago.”
The door bursts open and in stumbles the large figure from earlier. His mask is off now, showing off orange fur and white spots. one hand has a firm grip on Glimmer. Her hands are shackled in purple glowing cuffs. Unlike the rope that holds Adora.
“I do not like teleporting” is what he states upon entrance, breathing deeply and looking a little like he’s going to throw up. Glimmer smirks and raises an eyebrow,
“Some people just can’t handle it”
Bow walks in behind them, his hands aren't even bound. He chats animatedly with the smaller figure. A girl with black fur and white spots.
Adora turns back to the queen who’s smiling at the new arrivals. “I see you brought us some more guests. One of which is the Princess of Brightmoon”
The large feline freezes and looks down at Glimmer. “Princess?” he squeaks, eyeing the shackles encasing her hands. She smiles up at him. He gulps and turns towards the Queen.
“Please take off her restraints, Tigger.” he quickly does as told, refusing to look at the smirking Glimmer. The girl next to Adora bends and rips through her restraints with a claw.
Adora smiles in thanks and flexes her fingers, rubbing the feeling back into them.
“Princess Glimmer of Brightmoon, I hear you're looking for my daughter.” Glimmer stands beside Adora and bends into a bow.
“Yes, your majesty, we’re here to ask if she would join the new Rebellion and fight with us against the Horde.” The Queen turns towards the soldier that brought Adora in, an eyebrow raised. The feline scoffs and moves to stand closer to Adora. eyeing her as if she doesn't trust anything they're saying.
“What does the Rebellion bring to the table that it didn't have before?” Th Queen asks, Adora smirks cockily at the soldier that brought her in as Glimmer answers.
“She-ra, the Princess of power.” Glimmer says, the soldier winces and looks away. “Adora? If you would.”
Adora holds out her hand for the sword and the soldier begrudgingly gives it to her, grumbling in their native language.
“For the Honor of Grayskull!” Adora says, and then she’s standing there as a legendary warrior. Sword resting on her shoulder and a hand on her cocked hip, she smirks down at the soldier.
The feline has covered her face with her hand, her tail swishes back and forth behind her. She grumbles again but this time Adora can make it out.
“What the actual fuck”
“It's not often Catra is proven wrong” the Queen chuckles, throwing an arm over the soldier's shoulder. Catra, a little on the nose but adorable.
“I'm sure D’rulith will be intrigued by your offer, but you'll have to ask her yourself.” She steps away from the group and towards the door. “Now I must go find my wife, why don't these three give you a tour of Half-moon. As an apology for mistaking your identities.”
Catra looks like she’s going to murder someone. she glares at the Queen, which Adora’s pretty sure might be treason.
“It would be my pleasure” she says, turning from the Queen and handing her cloak and fur to the throne room guard.
—---
“So.. Do you know Princess D’rulith?” Adora asks, turning towards Catra. She looks perfectly at home walking through the town square. Her armor shining in the light of the rocky ceiling.
That one had been a shock, stones that covered the expanse of the cave Half-moon resides in. The town was situated on the floor of the cave, a mineral water river flowing through the center. The town square is just after the bridge that crosses the rushing water. The far stone walls littered with tunnels and openings that could lead anywhere.
You could say that” Catra murmurs, waving to another townsperson. The girl seems to know everyone.
“What’s she like?" Adora asks, dodging to the side and pressing into Catra as a trio of children run past her. The feline doesn't say anything about their brushing arms but she does eye the place where they touch.
“I think she’s a brat” Tigger speaks up from beside Catra. A wide smile on his face as he looks right at Catra.
Said feline's hand strikes out quick as lighting. Catra digs her hand into Tigger's side hard enough for him to grunt and stop his walk, leaning over on his hands and knees.
“Ouch” he wheezes.
“She’s ok,” Catra says, walking on like nothing happened.
“Adora!” Bow slides up next to her with a smile. “Calico is going to show me and Glimmer the dam, you wanna come?” Adora glances at the excitable girl next to Bow.
The thought of roaring water and moist air makes Adora cringe, apparently it makes Catra cringe too, her tail all puffed up. She discreetly smooths it down with her hand, looking away from the group.
“Naw, I wanna see what kind of food they got” she smiles as Catra visibly relaxes. “You guys go on ahead without me”
Bow shrugs and pulls Glimmer after him as they follow Calico through the crowd of people. Tigger waves and jogs after them, one hand still on his stomach.
The sound of giggling makes Adora lift her head in front of them. The crowd of magicats in the center square is thick but thin enough that Adora can see little heads poking out behind a street vendor. They eye Catra and Adora with mischievous smiles.
Adora opens her mouth to make a comment but Catra looks at her and raises an eyebrow.
“Don't say anything.“ she says, passing the vendor the kittens were hiding behind. Adora gives it a fleeting glance, her eyes widening as she finds it empty.
Catra shrieks beside her and Adora jumps. She didn't jump as nearly as high as Catra did when the kit pounced on her.
“Oh no, you’ve got me” she moans, clutching at her heart with her hands. She dramatically staggers. “I don’t think I'll make it,” she falls to her knees and clutches the cute little girl that latched herself onto Catra. “Please, tell my mother… that... I love her”
Adora giggles but once she feels little claws digging into her shoulders she takes Catra’s lead.
“Oh my goodness,” she says, falling to her knees. “A fatal wound.” Catra holds back a smile at Adora’s poor acting. “I can't go on”
The kits giggle and pull Catra and Adora up by their hands.
“Will you play with us?” the kit that jumped onto Catra asks, her fur is gray and striped. She sticks out her bottom lip at Adora and furrows her brows. Adora's mouth drops open, her heart squeezing. Catra laughs behind her hand.
“I- “ Adora looks at Catra with puppy dog eyes. “Only if Catra says it's ok” she concedes. The little girl pops up and stands beside her with her own puppy dog eyes.
Catra smirks and crosses her arms, “you think a couple of pitiful puppy cat eyes-” she looks down as the second girl tugs on her hand. She has striped orange fur.
“Catra, there’s no one to play with at the orphanage” Adora’s heart breaks and from the looks of it Catra’s does too. She squeezes her eyes shut and crouches down to the girl, pulling her into a hug.
“It gets me everytime.” she whispers, the little girl giggles evilly and and wiggles in Catra’s arms.
“Come on” the little girl next to Adora takes her hand and drags her towards the square center.
—---
“My arms burn” Adora mumbles, rubbing at her muscles and staggering after Catra. The soldier seems unfazed by the workout those two little girls put them through. A game of tag that involves trees and the inability to touch the ground. It was the scariest half hour of Adora’s life.
Catra chuckles next to her and smiles her cheeky little smile. She’s been doing that a lot. Smiling at Adora. It's been making her heart palpitate, just a little.
“Let’s get something to eat,” she says, taking Adora’s hand and pulling her towards a group of street vendors. Catra’s hand is warm and firm. Muscles rip under the fur of her forearm. Adora smiles and follows after her.
Catra stops in front of a vendor that smells so good that Adora's knees almost buckle.
“dos brochetas por favor”( two sticks please ) she says, to the man behind the counter, the language rolling off her tongue. The man smiles when he sees her and quickly pulls to stick packed with meat from his stand,
“su alteza, sería un placer” he says, handing them over. Catra pulls a handful of coins from her side bag but the man starts to furiously refuse. Catra rolls her eyes and takes his hand placing the money in his palm.
“Have a nice day, Tim” she winks at him and pulls Adora away from the crowd. She sees the man look down at the money with wide eyes and a smile.
Catra pulls her in between two vendors and leans against the wall of one. Adora leans against the other.
“Here” Catra says, handing one of the sticks to Adora. She takes it with furrowed eyebrows.
“What is it?” she asks, giving the meat and vegetables a sniff. Her eyes water and she lets out a cough at the spice filling her nose.
“What? The almighty She-ra can't handle the heat?” Catra asks, taking a bite from hers no problem. Adora scoffs and straightens.
“Can't handle the heat? I can handle anything..” she mutters, looking at the kabab. She winces and takes a bite.
Flavor and heat explodes across her tongue and she closes her eyes to the tears trying to break free. She nods with a genuinely pleased hum. But it comes out a little watery. Catra chuckles as Adora turns away.
She outright laughs as Adora starts to cough, her face going bright red.
“It tastes so good but hurts so bad,” Adora says, looking up at the soldier. Catra smiles and turns to the vendor she’s leaning against, exchanging a few coins for a steaming cup. She turns and hands it to Adora.
“Take it slow, this is a little hot.” Adora nods and blows out the steam before taking a hesitant sip. She hums appreciatively as the heat from the kabab cools. The drink is delicious, bursting with flavor.
“What is this?” she asks, nodding to the cup.
“Caldo,” Catra says, finishing off her kabab. “It's a kind of broth” Adora closes her eyes and takes a bite of meat, quickly taking a sip after to cool the heat. It's exceptional.
“It's amazing,” she says, smiling at the soldier. Catra smiles back, her canines glinting. She’s looking at Adora like she’s a little surprised.
Adora whips her head around to the sound of cracking. Her eyes widen as a vendor across the street tries to stop their shop from falling over. Catra hurries over to them. Adora hot on her heels, setting the drink and food down on the counter of the vendor next to her and pulling out her sword.
Catra looks up in surprise as the side of the tent she was holding up as high as she could is suddenly taken from her. She-ra smiles and winks. Catra’s tail whips from side to side.
“Thank you! Thank you” the shopkeeper says, handing Adora a support to set underneath the corner of the tent. She secures it to the ground and then the tent before letting go.
She smiles as the shopkeeper grabs her hands, her eyes widening as she’s pulled down by their surprisingly strong grip. The lady is very old, covered in graying orange fur. She gasps when she sees Adora's eyes and turns towards Catra.
“Su Alteza! tu novia es muy bonita'' ( your majesty! Your girlfriend is very pretty ) Catra straightens, her fur puffing up and her tail going back and forth quickly.
“Yo- ella- Ella no es mi novia.” ( I- she-she is not my girlfriend ) the shopkeeper nods knowingly and pats Adora’s hands with a wink.
“Mantén a este fuera de problemas, ¿sí?”( keep this one out of trouble, yeah? ) Adora nods even though she has no idea what the lady just said. Catra rolls her eyes and takes Adora’s hand from the shopkeeper, pulling her away.
Adora smiles down at the soldier, shrinking down to her normal height. “She was nice”
“Yes, very nice,” Catra says sarcastically. Adora can’t seem to pull her eyes away from the soldier. Her iris’s glint in the rock light, her fur and maine look so soft to the touch.
Adora shakes her head and looks away. Right into a circle of dancers.
“Catra!” she says, nudging the soldier and pointing to the party. “Can we do that?” she asks, pulling out her best puppy dog eyes. Catra glances over and grimaces.
“Did you even know any Half-moon dances?” she asks, turning towards Adora with a raised eyebrow. Adora shrugs.
“How hard could it be?”
It turns out, very hard. Adora steps on Catra’s feet multiple times, accidentally knocking into people and making Catra stumble even more times. The Soldier takes it in stride. Only hissing silently as Adora steps on her toes and smiling and apologizing when they bump into people.
It's fun. A lot of fun. Catra is a good lead, placing her hands on Adora’s hips and directing her around the circle. She gets pretty good at maneuvering Adora around other people. The dance seems to consist of quick steps and movements as they shift around the circle.
Catra quietly whispers to Adora which one is next and then laughs as the blond tries to perform it. Adora stumbles almost taking Catra down with her but the soldier laughs and spins them around and out of the dance circle.
Catra securly places her hands on Adora’s hips to keep her upright. The blonde giggles right along with her. She looks down into Catra’s mismatched eyes. There is a little scar just above her brow and another on her chin.
Catra smiles and tilts her head at the blond.
Adora’s head whips to the side at the sounds of bells. The rocks on the ceiling seem to have dimmed, turning into deep purples and pinks.
“Looks like they're rafting” Catra murmurs and Adora follows her eyes to the lake. People climb onto boats and rafts, setting onto the water. Adora gasps.
“Catra can we-”
“Absolutely not,” Catra says, pulling away from Adora. The blonde didn't even realize they were still embracing. Her arms feel cold without Catra’s warm fur.
“But-”
“No, I am not getting on a rickety old boat” Catra crosses her arms and turns away from the water. Her fur puffing up a little and her eyes shifting. Adora’s eyes widen.
“You're scared of water?”
“I'm not scared” Catra growls, her fur puffing even worse. Adora smiles and takes her hand.
“I wouldn't let you drown” she says, Catra rolls her eyes at that and looks away.
“I'm not scared of water,” she says, glancing down at the lake.
“You're not scared, I'm just saying that if you perhaps happened to fall in, which won't happen! I would probably ‘fall’ in after you.” Catra chuckles and gently pulls her hand from Adora’s grip.
“ok, ok fine. But only for 20 minutes. And your rowing”
“30”
“25” Catra raises an eyebrow and Adora smiles. The soldier rolls her eyes.
She rents a little wooden boat from a vendor, heckling in rapid fire and winning from the looks of it. Though it seemed the shopkeeper was surprised that Catra was going out and relented.
Adora gets in first and holds out her hand to help Catra in. The girl stands on the dock rubbing the fur on her other arm.
“I won't let you fall,” Adora says, holding her hand out further. Catra takes a deep breath and cringes as she takes Adora’s hand, stepping into the boat. She lets out a little squeak as it rocks but keeps her balance and the death grip on Adora’s hand.
Adora smiles and sits down with her, her back to the tip of the boat. Catra grips the side of the boat with her other hand and hesitantly looks over the side and into the clear blue water.
“Stars, how did I let you talk me into this?" she says, quickly looking away and into Adora’s eyes. Adora smiles and looks down at her hand.
“I kinda need my hand to row.” The resulting ‘brrt” Catra lets out before quickly ripping her hand away makes Adora chuckle. Catra lets out a warning growl and grips the side of the boat.
She squeezes her eyes shut as Adora starts to row. Pushing them off from the dock. Adora makes sure to keep her strokes slow and steady. The reflection of the water ripples and dissipates.
Catra slowly opens her eyes as the boat floats to a stop. The reflection in the water slowly comes back, creating a mirror image of the rocks on the ceiling.
“Woah” Adora says, her eyes fixed where the crystals bleed from blue to purple to pink and back again. Catra turns her head to look two, her eyes widening at the sight.
Adora looks over at an intake of breath. The light reflects off the water and illuminates Catra in the colors. Her fur glows a soft purple. her eyes reflecting a vibrant pink. Her lips are parted slightly, showing off her sharp canines. She’s beautiful.
Catra’s eyes glint to hers and she furrowed her eyebrows, “what?”
Adora shrugs and looks back out at the water. “Nothing?” Adora says, folding her hands in her lap. Catra raises an eyebrow at her.
“Why the fear- aversion to water?” Adora asks, Catra shrinks a little in her seat, lifting her legs onto the bench next to her and folding her arms atop them.
Adora tilts her head and waits. It doesn't take Catra long to glance over to her and sigh.
“You see the rapids?” she asks, pointedly to where the water leads into the lake, Adora nods.
“It goes all the way out of the cave and.. Well… let's just say it runs right past an old Horde compound.” She rests her chin on her folded arms and looks away from the water.
“When I was a kitten, I went in the water, up there. Alone and without a boat or raft or really the ability to swim. Almost drowned trying to stay afloat through the rapids. ended up here in the lake, I was fished out by the boat vendor.”
Adora winces and gazes at the river. The rapids are large enough to crash into each other and over the sides of the bank. It causes white bubbles to feed into the lake.
“I can swim now though,” Catra admits, raising a brow at the lake. “Best swimmer in Half-moon.”
‘Yeah? Think you could beat me?” Adora asks, smirking at the soldier.
“There is no way in hell you getting me in that water” Catra deadpans. Adora leans back on her hands with a smile.
“So, how’d you get the She-ra gig” she asks, gesturing to the sword strapped to Adora’s back.
“Wasn't really a choice” Adora says, the sword on her back feels heavier. “More like I found it in the woods and then poof, I was in a tiara” Catra smiles and leans forward.
Neither of them seem to want to stop talking after that. Catra’s threat of only twenty five minutes melts into thirty, and then an hour, then two. Before they know it, they're the only two on the lake, laughing their hearts out.
It's not until Adora is helping Catra back out of the boat that she realizes how hungry she is. Her stomach growls loud and unhinged. It makes Catra chuckle.
“Hungry?” she asks, tying the boat back to the dock. Adora nods, breathing in deep the smell of the vendors down the road.
“I know the perfect thing,'' Catra says. They get it from a little shop near the corner of town, two bowls of something that smells so good, Adora almost drowns in her own drool. Catra doesnt let Adora even see it until they’ve found a perfect spot to eat.
They sit down on top of a building on the edge of town. It's old and crumbling. Something tells Adora it's an old watch tower, but maybe that’s just the crossbow sitting on the edge of it talking.
They sit with their legs hanging through the gaps in the railing. The view overlooks the entirety of Half-moon. The castle on one end with the lake on the other, the river flowing right through the center.
Adora all but cries as Catra pops open the bowls and hands one to Adora. Its meat and veggies covered in a mouth watering sauce, Adora is grateful that it's not as hot as the kabab.
Catra chuckles at Adora's pleased hum.
“How’d you become a soldier?” Adora asks, between massive bites of the food. Catra rolls her eyes and hands the blonde a napkin.
“I wanted to protect my people, like my mother did, like my mother's mother did.” Catra leans her chin on her knee and looks at the dark crystals. Some of them slowly glow white for a second before fading. Almost like that myth, stars.
“Half-moon used to be above ground, before the Horde attacked.” she says, her eyes distant. “I was just a kit when it happened but I can still remember the carnage. I don't want to be helpess when something like that happens again.”
Adora eyes the feline with a soft smile. They’re sitting close enough to touch. If Adora wanted to, if she was brave enough, she could brush her thigh against Catra’s. Lean in, kiss her. But that would be weird right? Kiss a girl you just met.
Adora looks up at the sound of bells.
“It's almost midnight,” Catra says, pointing to the belltower. A large clock sits at the top and Adora almost drops her food.
“Holy Hordak, Is that the time? I hope Glimmer had a chase to speak to the princess," Catra turns towards Adora in surprise.
“You didn't figure it out??”
Adora tilts her head, confused. “Figure what out?”
Catra laughs and shakes her head. “Maybe I should reintroduce myself.” Catra stands and brushes off her armor.
“Hello” she sticks out her hand, ”Princess D’rulith of Halfmoon at your service,”
Adora freezes. Looking up into Catra- D’rulith’s mismatched eyes.
“Y-your-?”
“Everyone just calls me Catra.”