@edgeofgreatness​

So much for the surprise attack. So much for getting the upper hand.         It was supposed to be an isolated colony, barely within the boundaries of any of the ruling princesses; small change that would go right under the radar.

And yet here She-Ra was, making scrap out of their tanks, pushing the promise of victory further from reach with each passing second until the losses greatly outdid the promised prize. Inevitably, while in the midst of barking orders to the lieutenants to fall back and staring in fascination at the golden warrior ripping steel apart with her bare hands, Scorpia found she was asking herself one key question:                                             “What would Catra do?”

         Apparently, the answer to that question was “side-tackle the demigoddess wielding the giant sword.” Predictably, it felt like trying to tackle a tree, but with a well-placed heave She-Ra was thrown off her balance and sent tumbling down the forested canyon below.

On the downside, the struggle had caused Scorpia to fall as well. Lost in the brush and the tangled roots she covered her head, allowing her claws to take the brunt of the blows until friction slowed her to a stop and she landed with a shallow splash in open swamp.

☕ - reassuring touch, such as holding their hand, gripping their shoulder, guiding them by the arm or by a hand on the small of their back, etc

Adora doesn’t know what’s happening to her. It’s in the middle of a FIGHT, no less. One moment, she’s giving battle orders as She-Ra, directing members of the Alliance on certain attacks and strategies, clutching her sword in one hand, and in the middle of the mission, she picks up on a faint whisper, shadows dancing at the edge of her vision. “Shadow Weaver,” She whispers under her breath, her heart dropping as she loses her confident leader demeanor, instead whipping her head around to try and find her previous guardian. “WHERE ARE YOU?! I’M NOT FALLING FOR YOUR MIND GAMES AGAIN!”Little does she know, it really is all in her head this time. None of it is real, but the sense of dread continues to creep up on her, and she doesn’t know what to do. Chest constricts and lungs tighten, and all of a sudden it feels as if she can hardly breathe. She has to get out of here.

She hardly makes it away from the battlefield before She-Ra fades away, andAdora is on her hands and knees on the ground, breathing heavily as she adjusts herself on the ground, sitting instead, but not making an effort to get up just yet. She can still hear the fight in the distance, and they’re no doubt wondering where SHE-RA has gone, but she doesn’t know what’s reality and what isn’t. She can fight, she would resist Shadow Weaver, but the thought of her playing her tricks again is enough to send her spiraling.

Hands grip the fabric of her pants, knuckles a bright white, eyes brimming with overwhelmed tears, before there’s a sudden pressure on her side, and she lifts her head, watery blue eyes locking with…Catra’s. She knows her former best friend had to be here somewhere, but why is she here, tail around Adora’s body like they used to do as little kids? It doesn’t make any sense.

                                                      “Catra-”

She had only barely touched Adora and already Catra was wondering if it had been a bad idea. There was no way Catra was going to get away with this without Adora being weird about it, let alone Scorpia or Entrapta if either of them saw. She was gonna have to put up with the platitudes, the speeches about how she didn’t belong in the Horde, about how she should join the rebellion with Adora; she’d have to deal with Scorpia smirking everytime she saw Catra, with the not-so-innocent questions Scorpia would pose about Catra and Adora; worst of all, she might have to deal with endless interrogation from Entrapta, all recorded or written down so she could never escape the ramifications of it for the rest of her life.

But Catra couldn’t bring herself to leave Adora there.

It wouldn’t be hard to lie. There was nobody who would question her about it if she fed them the right lines. Even Hordak himself would fall silent if she had a good enough excuse. She was just using Adora for information-- what better time to get it out of her than when Adora was so vulnerable? She was learning about her enemies, how to put an end to them. She was just doing her job, and nobody had the right to accuse her of anything else, even if they were right.

Bear’s senses are keener than his own. The dog getting to his feet prompts Ezra to do the same and on reflex one hand goes to the knife handle tucked into the waistband of his jeans. He doesn’t expect the newcomer who had Bear looking on guard to be a teenage girl. But his hand stays where it is, grip even tightening just in case he has to pull it out on her.

Adora doesn’t know how to feel about all of this. She’ll admit, exploring Etheria as She-Ra, praised by the people as their SAVIOR, fighting for the sake of doing good– it feels nice. No longer bound to the strict constraints of the Horde, even as the golden child, she feels almostfree. But there’s also the pressure that weighs down on her shoulders. If she’s some destined hero, then she can’t afford to make mistakes. And so far, she’s made more than she can possibly count. She has to strive to do better.

The world might know She-Ra’s name– not Adora’s.

                                                                                      It’s better off that way, right?  

A smile on her face, and Adora nods, pushing away every thought that just scattered around her brain. “I’m pretty sure all of Etheria already knows my name. From all the myths?” A shrug of her shoulders as she grips her sword in one hand. “But your tech will really help out the rebellion.”

     entrapta looks over at adora for a moment, not quite meeting adora’s gaze as entrapta instead chooses to look adora up && down, before looking back at her current project, fiddling around with some of the wiring on the inside.

     “ no.  YOUR NAME.  not she-ra’s name.  the world’s gonna know your name. ”  entrapta clarifies, before she gestures for adora to hold out her arms.  “ here.  i want you to try this one on.  i’ve got the other one one.  it’s a bracer that allows for long-distance communication between two people. ”

        she nearly turns to huff at adora for telling her to ‘shh’. but then, she tilts her head, listening to their surroundings carefully for a few quieter moments.

            “ uhh— no ? why ? what did you hear ?  ”

Nothing really bad can happen as long as we have each other.

        A promise Adora had made a long, long time ago. It feels like a lifetime since the two of them were little kids, sitting together on their shared bed, wrapped in blankets with Adora’s tiny arm around Catra’s tiny form, swearing that they’ll stick together until the very end. It’s true.WHO would have thought it would all turn out like this?

She hadn’t known the Horde’s true intentions, never aware of what they werereally doing, that they were the ones causing harm. And once they learned that, she c o u l d n ‘ t stay. But Catra remains in her thoughts, a connection that refuses to break no matter how many times they clash, or fight. No matter all of her failed attempts to get Catra to come with her. She simply CAN’T let go.

Grip tightens against the hilt of her sword, breath catching in her throat. “I told you, it doesn’t have to be like this. I never m e a n t to make you feel inadequate, and now…there’s no going back.”

                   But even now, she still can’t h a t e Catra.

Without desiring it, without any conscious effort on her part, a hiss tore its way out of her throat as soon as Adora’s words reached her ears. Did she really think Catra was that stupid? Did she really think that Catra didn’t understand how things worked? Did she really think she could fool and manipulate Catra that easily?

Or was Adora just stupid? No-- Adora wasn’t stupid. Adora was many things, but she wasn’t stupid. She might not be the quickest to figure things out sometimes, but that didn’t make her dumb. Catra would know if Adora were stupid; after all, they’d spent their whole lives together. Nobody knew Adora better than Catra did, and that was why Catra hated Adora.