Author's note:Skip to the line break for just story stuff.

A second one shot(same time-ishline) Once more We're focusing on Catra because she's the main most in need of sorting out. Her path to health(I prefer that phrase to redemption) arc is still very much in the moment at the end of the series. I'm not one to ignore low hanging fruit while trying to find the series voice :) If I can find the character voices I might carry it into a full story arc. Critiques broadly welcome.

Design choices: I seek to keep the themes and overall tone of the original work. This means people are 'hurt' and 'gone', no profanity, and you're not ever going to get anything heavier than kissing or scene breaks you can interpret how you wish. Everything is set post series and while there wouldn't be drama without messing with characters I do not seek to subvert any choices or content in the original series. If OC show up they might take the limelight for the period of a short arc but are meant to play off and highlight FC. It's She-Ra after all, and it's their story. With that out of the way off we go.

"Hey Adora." the sleep refused to leave Catra's voice, teaming up with a languorous stretch that refused to be denied and turned the indented graceful exit from her blankets into half a flop with a last minute recovery.

"Morning' sleepyhead." Adora chimed from the doorway, a mirthful smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Catra flustered under that gaze and cast about for a way to regain momentum,"You were up early." She turned her head to hide rubbing the sleep out of one eye.

"Yeah." Adora stepped further into the room,"I met Glimmer for an early breakfast. She's got a lot going on today."

Catra stiffened,"Oh, yeah. Right."

Adora closed the rest of the distance and reached out,"Catra, sorry. I am guessing this whole thing is kind of hard for you."

Catra crossed her arms and pulled slightly away,"No, yeah, sure it's fine. Just the day Glimmer's Mom vanished forever and here I am the person who did it hanging out in the palace. No biggie."

Adora stepped in again, cornering Catra against the bed and wrapping her in a hug,"Hey. Hey, listen to me." she fought the Struggling Catra around and pressed foreheads until the latter stilled,"It's not about that. You understand? Not to me. Not to any of us." she loosened her grip,"If you want we can stay in. I'll raid the kitchen and no one has to see either of us for the rest of the day."

Catra wormed her way free, but slowly not harshly. "No adora. Thanks, but someone would probably just come looking for you." Catra turned and picked up her hair tie from the nightstand. Her hair was only just long enough to pretend to tie back but she'd missed having it. Fighting it into a nub she added,"Besides. I feel like I should do something." She glanced at herself in the mirror then let her shoulders fall,"I just have no idea what."

Adora moved beside Catra, looking at their reflections in the mirror then brightened,"Want to spar?" she slapped her fist into her palm,"Burn off some energy? I'll turn into She-Ra and let you get a couple licks in for old times sake."

"You're such a charmer." Catra smiled and leaned back against Adora,"Maybe I'll take you up on it later." she reached up, cupping her friend's cheek,"I think this is a head thing though, not a fist thing." Catra pulled back and took a slow breath,"I'm going to go for a walk. We'll see where I end up after that. Okay?"

Adora gave a supportive smile,"you got it." Then,"Catra that's not the door."

Catra grinned stepping out onto the balcony,"No. I think this is better for today." One glance up and she leapt; balcony, overhang, and her claws digging into the contoured surface of the palace walls. Catra scrambled up to an artistically curved ledge. She glanced back down to spot Adora looking up, shielding her eyes against the morning sun and laughing, then darted around a turn in the facade and continued her climb.

Catra spent the morning appreciating the fact that no one ever looks up, that and no architect in Bright Moon ever met a curved surface they didn't like. Guards, guests, and even friends walked below like ants. Catra smiled at the analogy, then with a jolt wondered if she should feel bad about thinking that. She climbed higher.

Clinging to the top of the tallest minaret she finally relaxed. She looped an arm around the tip of the spire and kept her toe claws dug into the soft stone casing for purchase. There was activity out by the runestone. A statue of Angelica had been set up and a procession of wellwishers was filing past. "Wonder if anyone will show up to remember me." Catra mused to the birds.

"Okay, that's dark. Could you maybe bring it up a notch if you're going to hang out?"

Catra scrambled in surprise, losing her grip momentarily before recovering. "Bow?" She looked down then craned her neck to look behind her. Bow waved up from just a few feet down, head and shoulders leaning out of an opening Catra was quite sure she hadn't seen climbing up.

"One second." He disappeared back inside and a disguised door closed into place, leaving only the barest of seams anyone would mistake for normal cut stone. Catra had to squirm out of the way as another opened on the side facing the runestone, followed by Bow's grin returning,"Ta-dah!"

"What the heck?" Catra peered into the darkness behind him.

"I think it was for looking at the stars, or the sun. No one comes up here now." Bow shifted slightly to the side and Catra's eyes adjusted to take in the cramped space. Little more than standing room and a bare staircase circling down.

"Well, you're here." Catra didn't bother to the irritation in her voice.

Bow either missed it or ignored it. He folded his arms on the 'window' ledge,"So're you, and everyone else is down there. You want to come in? It's normally no girls allowed, but I won't tell." Bow's impossible smile never faltered.

"You're the worst." Catra groused, but she slipped around, sliding sleekly down into the narrow gap beside him. It was a close fit and she ended up wedged between the framing and Bow's shoulder. Not that she was going to give an inch.

"Now you're starting to sound like Glimmer."

"Okay are you just trying to upset me now?" Catra shoved sideways, digging her shoulder into Bow.

Instead of a rebuke that drew another laugh. "Nah. I was up here doing some meditation exercises Perfuma showed me. I could hear someone outside and there's not a lot of people that could be up here. One peek later and here we are, two peas in a pod." Bow nudged her back with his shoulder in turn.

Catra's eyes followed another small line of people heading up to the Runestone. She could squint to make out the statue of Angella that had been set up there. Something stung her eyes and she ducked back inside, bumping into the far wall in the cramped space.

Bow turned,"Rough day for you huh?" he hunkered down as he asked.

Catra crouched herself, wrapping arms around her knees,"How do you do that?"

Bow's look was innocent confusion,"Do what?"

"That." Catra gestured vaguely to all of him,"You were making friends the first time you captured me." Catra tasted the next words on her tongue. Instinct was to swallow them, she pushed past that to let them out,"It almost worked you know." she mumbled.

Bow let his weight roll back and sat. There was barely any floor space between the two of them. "It's always just been easier to make friends than enemies." he began, his tone more even than normal. It perked right up as he continued,"Enemies are exhausting!" Bow gestured expansively as he talked,"fighting, planning, waiting, stressing, ugh. Friends might be work but at least you get to hang out and have fun right?"

Catra grunted,"And what about when you've been both?"

Bow stuck out a boot and tapped Catra's shin with his toes."Then it's a good thing you're worth all the trouble."

Catra darted her eyes away, color rising in her cheeks. She reached down to swat his foot away,"You know, you're corny enough that when you say it I might just believe you mean it." She looked back,"But I still don't get it."

Bow held his hands up in a big shrug,"Does getting it matter? We're glad you're with us either way."

"We?" Catra's expression collapsed again,"I'm not sure everyone is thrilled, least not today." her tail joined her arms curled around her knees.

"Oh." Bow chewed on his words a moment then said, his tone more gentle and less effusive,"Today's different. It's not that Glimmer hates you suddenly, it's just a day the pain gets real." He looked up at the still open window,"I can't really imagine it myself; losing either of my dads." he returned his gaze to Catra,"I think she just needs space today?" he offered,"Some stuff takes time, and we're always going and doing. It doesn't leave a lot of room to process."

"Tell me about it." Catra murmured. She reached down to drag a claw along a fault in one of the fitted stones in the floor.

Silence filled the small room until Bow broke it,"You and Adora have plans while we're back on Etheria?"

Catra retracted her claw and narrowed her eyes at Bow,"Is this a lame effort to try and change the subject?"

Bow offered one of his impossible grins,"Is it working?"

Catra shook her head and let out an exasperated sigh,"Sure. Why not?"

They talked the afternoon away. The sun's rays cast changing shadows into the room through the open window. Finally in the middle of a discussion on where the better parties were, Thaymor or the Crimson waste, Bow's stomach let out a demanding rumble.

"I… should probably do something about that." he blushed self-consciously. With an effort he hauled himself to his feet, paying the price for sitting in cramped quarters on stone for so long. "You want to come down to the kitchens and scrounge something up?"

Catra actually considered it, but something nagged at her,"No." she leaned forward into a long arching stretch that brought her up to her feet. She caught a quickly hidden look of Envy from Bow as she added,"If you see Adora tell her sorry I've been a shadow today. I'll be back tonight, just not quite yet."

"Sure thing!" Bow gave a thumbs up, then without warning turned it into a very brief one armed hug. He let go and stepped back just in time to avoid a swipe. They both shared a laugh at that as he headed down the narrow stairway back into the palace proper.

Catra waited, watching the window then cursed under her breath. She had no idea how to close it from the outside. Resigned, she pushed the thing shut. She stood in the pitch black and let the minutes drag on before descending the stairs herself.

The evening drifted on into night. Catra had figured out what was nagging her and just had to bide her time. She kept to herself and away from the various well wishers and dignitaries. Not even the other princesses when they came and went brought her out of hiding. Finally as the lights receded and serene quiet fell upon Bright Moon did she come out of hiding and make her way up to the Runestone spire.

The glow from the stone itself had been dimmed. Catra had no idea how they'd managed that, princess magic was still equal parts mystifying and terrifying for her. Her already light step became a ghost upon the floor as she emerged up onto the platform. The statue to Angella was larger than life. Expertly carved from clearstone it gathered and refracted what little light bloomed from the runestone and encircling candles. Catra caught her breath. The eyes flashed; only a trick of the light but to Catra's racing heart there was a glare of accusation carried in that gaze. The smell of incense was overpowering. Each scent light and heady but so many overlapping and lingering in the night air turned the whole into an oppressive musk.

Catra took a step back down the stairway, shielding herself from the statue's gaze long enough for sudden nerves to pass. She took a renewing breath and forced herself to rise again. Surprised, she also relaxed her hands, claws leaving wet reminders in her paws. "So, umm hi." she began, suddenly sheepish,"You don't know me. We've never met, but I-" Catra slowly circled the statue as she spoke, looking up she searched for what she felt must be here in that beautific upturned face. "I came to say I'm sorry." Nothing. The statue held no answers for her. The only thing worse than a last minute apology was one that came too late. She dropped her gaze and froze as she locked gazes with another.

Glimmer was leaning around the statue's base, her expression was confused. That face was even shorter than, oh she must be sitting. Wait- Glimmer! Catra's tail poofed in panic and her ears shot back.

"Catra? Is that you?" Glimmer was squinting, the luminous statue and candles baffling her normal vision.

"Glimmer! Hey I was just- sorry I didn't know you'd still be here. I'll go!" Catra shrank back.

"Wait, Catra. You don't have to leave." There was a serenity in Glimmer's voice, or was it exhaustion? "Here, there's still a few unburned candles if you want."

Indecision left Catra rooted in place. While she was still considering her options for retreat Glimmer added,"Oh. You don't know how, Adora didn't either. Come here I'll show you."

Catra was a dead cat walking. Her tail drooped and her ears remained resolutely stuffed against her hair as she walked around to where Glimmer sat upon a pillow. "Sit here." Glimmer gestured to another beside her. Catra sank and fought every instinct to curl up on herself, forcing herself to adopt the cross-legged posture Glimmer was using.

With recently practiced hands Glimmer lifted a thick red candle from a small stack beside herself and lit it from one burning in front of her. She set the candle before Catra on the short raised step encircling the statue,"You have until the candle burns down to talk to the departed. You don't have to stay the whole time, most people don't." Glimmer drew her fingers through the air over the candle before her,"The smoke carries your words to their ears." Glimmer settled back and Catra was sure now, it was exhaustion.

Catra looked from Glimmer to the flame. She hunched her shoulders. The flame danced and began to lap inexorably at the red wax. In front of Glimmer a graveyard encircled her still lit candle. Glimmer's silvery cape had been replaced with a darkened cloth that mimicked the strange starfields above. Catra's thoughts skittered from one thing to the next, refusing to order themselves.

"What do I say?" she asked finally.

"Anything you want to. You'd already started I think. You don't need to say it out loud. It's between you and them." The flickering candlelight hollowed out the lines of sadness on Glimmer's face, no matter how well she controlled her tone.

Catra looked back at the candle. What did she really have to say? She had questions. So many questions. Who were you? Why did you do what you did? Why did I? They dug at her. She stuffed them down. "Why are you still here?" she asked instead, looking back to Glimmer.

Glimmer raised her downcast gaze,"I just wanted some time with her. Some time as her daughter, instead of as the Queen." Those words carried on the barest of whispers caused a spiral of darkness to tear through Catra's chest and coil in her belly.

"I should go."

"Catra you don't have to." there was a pleading in Glimmer's tone,"You've got as much right here as anyone."

Catra looked back to the statue of Angella, to the candle, to her own hands for help. None was forthcoming. The darkness twisted and writhed. It played along her limbs and stole her breath. "I didn't know your mother. Tell me about her." Catra looked back up at the statue; the darkness fed on her weakness.

"Mom? Angella, the eternal queen of Bright Moon. She- liked strawberries and cream with sugar. She would fly her baby girl to sleep at night when bad dreams woke me. She had a scar on her right knee from the only time she ever tried to ride a horse. She was over protective, she was often scared." Glimmer made a sound between a hiccup and a sigh,"You couldn't beat her in a game of tag. I still say the wings were cheating. She usually smelled like a soap she washed her hands with made from lilac and cinnamon. I learned to read in her lap; messages and court documents instead of storybooks. She never stopped missing father. She used to miss him even on his visits back to Mystacor." Glimmer trailed off.

The darkness clung and snapped. Envy and longing poured into the spaces left inside of Catra, feeding it, pouring up until there was no room left for herself. She couldn't breathe, couldn't move but to turn pleading eyes down from Angella to Glimmer. Glimmer's own face was hidden in her hands.

The darkness surged and snapped it's unreal jaws at Catra's neck from within, the strangled cry that was torn from her was real though. Glimmer startled and raised red-rimmed eyes.

That was the moment. "Glimmer I'm sorry!" Catra howled,"I'm not the person who did this. I'm not! But I'm still wearing her skin." Catra spread her hands, her own horrified gaze taking them in. She dug at her arms, shaking,"How do I stop her? She hurt you so bad. I did. I'm still her. I can't stop." Catra blubbered and gagged on her tears,"Please, tell me."

Glimmer leaned forward and yanked Catra into a hard hug. Catra weakly fought,"No I- Don't. I"

Glimmer squeezed harder,"Just shut up and cry with me."

They did.

No one was here to tell them everything would be okay. No one was here to offer a joke or a smile. No one was here to stem the tide and put a limit on sadness. They cried loudly. They cried softly. They cried in turns as each ore out and resumed at their own pace or as memory pricked. At some point Glimmer wrapped her cape around herself and Catra. At another point Catra found herself petting Glimmer's hair. They weren't crying for the same reasons, but they were crying together and somehow that seemed to work. Eventually they settled into sitting together as a wobbly bipod. There wasn't enough left in either of them to feed any more tears.

Glimmer's voice was hoarse,"I've got a secret. You can't tell anyone, not even Adora."

"Mmm?" Catra battled sleep and a body that was absolutely wrecked from emotion.

"It's not bad, I just don't want to jinx it. Sort of like, somehow the more people know the more chances there are for something to go wrong. I know it's stupid but promise me?"

"I promise."

"She's gone, but there's a tiny bit of hope. Right now there's a machine whirring away in the Fright Zone. Entrapa built it."

"Entrapta?"

"Hush." Glimmer had caught the murky incredulity in Catra's tone,"When the portal closed Mom was trapped inside a sort of tunnel, but Entrapta thinks she's still there, wherever it is. She says closing the doors doesn't make it vanish." Glimmer began toying with the edge of her cape,"you just need to open it back up, but you need *both* ends to be opened right. If you get one wrong then it's not the same tunnel."

Catra perked as much as possible as the possibility filtered through her tired brain. Glimmer put a hand over both of Catra's to still her,"We know where one end is. Hordak's lab, but in Despandos. The problem is they weren't picky where the other end was as long as it was out in the wider universe. So you have to find out where it is in all of this." Glimmer raised both hands slowly, sweeping the starlight sky,"That machine is working, Entrapta assures me. It's testing spots one after another, trying to find the right one to free my mother. It could happen tomorrow. It could take a million years."

"Oh."

"Yeah." Glimmer shifted,"It's not that I think I'll get to see her again, but it makes me happier to think mom might be free one day." some of the weariness lifted from her voice.

"Glimmer I'm s-"

"If you say you're sorry one more time I'll teleport you into a river."

"I don't know what comes next."

Glimmer squeezed Catra,"This. That. Lots of stuff. I think about it whenever I remember the heart. It isn't about balancing things out. It's just about being the kind of person who doesn't make those choices anymore," another squeeze,"No matter whose skin you're wearing."

Catra laughed wearily,"If I had a better example I'd probably say you sound like a mother right now."

There was a long moment of silence in response then,"Good."

Quiet settled again, minus the dread anticipation. The world melted out into the background noise of night and trickled back in restoring stillness and energy to Catra's limbs,"I should probably get back. Are you staying?"

"A bit longer." Glimmer drew back and settled her cape behind herself once more,"Tell Adora we'll sort out travel plans tomorrow after I catch up with dad on my official duties."

Catra levered herself to her feet unsteadily,"Ooohh paperwork, I hate paperwork."

Glimmer laughed,"Yeah. Well, having a Dowager dad helps."

Catra deadpanned,"I have no idea what that is, but good luck." before turning to head down.

"Oh Catra," Glimmer called after her,"Thanks."

Catra glanced back over her shoulder,"For what?"

Glimmer smirked,"Figure that out yourself." then turned back to Angella's statue ending the conversation.

Adora murmured sleepily when Catra burrowed in under the blankets. Catra pushed her head up under Adora's hand and was rewarded immediately by instinctive petting. "Hey Adora." she whispered.

"-tra. Hi." More petting. Catra's ears splayed slightly. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Catra tipped Adora's chin with her head and settled,"Today was good."

Adora gave her a squeeze, but sleep was rapidly reclaiming the hero of Etheria. "Good."

Catra listened to Adora's breathing even out and the slowed beating of her heart until she too drifted off.

Author's post Script: Just a spot for some self-thoughts and analysis of my own writing process. Feel free to skip it or read as you like. The thoughts here might not be complete or entirely coherent.

Character thoughts, general guidelines not hard rules.

Adora is physical. Not violent but physical. Her responses to any situation are concrete. Fight, protect, go, stay. Her presence and force are the tools she offers to others.

Glimmer is aggressive. In a fight, a discussion, even in planning. She stakes out a forward position and advances full pace. A lot of Ready, Fire, Aim.

Bow is bedrock. The only person in the series with a full happy family. He joined the Rebellion on his own initiative. He gets to use his abilities on his own terms in the ways he wants. This makes him a lighthouse to the other characters at times. If reaching for a flaw he might be too solution focused at times just because he tends to have to fall into that role often.

Catra is sharp. She'll cut others or herself. Life is pain. Your pain, someone else's pain, it's only a matter of vectors. Most in flux of the characters. Keep this core in mind even as she grows past it. This is still the root of everything else. Currently inward pain is the most in bloom. Doesn't want to hurt her friends but by the laws of life *someone* has to be hurting.