Catra falls asleep nestled in Adora's arms, tail twined around one of Adora's legs. Honestly, it's the best sleep she's had since Adora had left the Horde all those years ago.
Her sleep comes to an end too soon with Adora nudging her awake just as the first rays of sunlight peek into the room.
Catra grumbles but complies and the pair grab a quick breakfast. They bring food back to Catra's room for Melog. Catra apologizes profusely for leaving it alone last night. Melog forgives her easily, but comments it'll need another one of those mysterious fruits it had at dinner.
What are we doing today? Melog asks as it eats.
"We're going to Dryl," Catra sits down to be with Melog, reaching out to pet its back. "I've been there once before it's…" Catra pauses as she tries to think of a good description. "Rocky."
Adora is standing near the door watching them, and her hand, palm extended towards Catra. "Uh, is Melog coming with us?" Adora asks, her head tilting slightly to the right in confusion.
Catra nods, "Of course it is, why?"
"Well… We are going to fly on Swift Wind." Adora's head tilts even further, and her raised hand comes up to rest on her chin. "Maybe I could make a sling. Melog how tall are you?"
Catra imagines Melog dangling in a sack as they fly and 100 scenarios of it falling to its death flash through her mind instantly.
"Actually, that probably wouldn't be safe," Adora continues talking, and now she's started pacing at the front of the room. "Do you think it could cling to Swift Wind's back? I wonder if that would hurt Swift Wind…"
I could just stay home. Melog is done eating now, its gaze is following Adora as she walks back and forth. I don't mind, I'd like to explore the town.
Catra's heart sinks at the thought of leaving Melog behind. They've barely been apart since meeting, and leaving it here feels similar to her waking up alone the previous day. She moves her hand up to pet its head and then addresses Adora, "Melog says it doesn't mind staying back."
"Oh!" Adora stops mid step, "Okay! That would be great!" She kneels to be at eye level with Melog, "If you really don't mind."
Melog purrs and licks her face, which needs no translation.
With that settled, Adora and Catra wish Melog well and head outside to find Swift Wind. He's flying aimlessly around the castle and greets them warmly. Adora gives him some hay and they head to the garden to take off. Adora hops onto Swift Wind's back smoothly and reaches out to help Catra up behind her.
Butterflies flutter in Catra's stomach as she accepts the hand and is pulled into place, swinging her right leg over Swift Wind's body and wrapping her arms tightly around Adora's waist. She actually hasn't ridden on Swift Wind before. She's seen Adora ride around on him numerous times, but hasn't had the opportunity to hop on herself. Adora makes flying look easy, well she makes everything look easy, so Catra's sure they will be fine.
Maybe she's holding on too tightly, because Adora twists her head left to peer at Catra. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
A nervous chuckle escapes Catra's lips. "Yeah, just don't let me fall, okay?"
"Never," Adora promises, her voice confident, "Let's go Swift Wind."
Swift Wind takes to the sky, immediately starting to chat with Adora about some Princess in some city or something like that. Catra honestly isn't paying attention. The wind roars in her ears and she presses her cheek to Adora's back, tightening her grip even further.
A few moments later they reach the clouds and Swift Wind levels out, slowing the flap of his wings to hold them at the same altitude.
The wind doesn't slow down, but at least Catra's stomach no longer feels like it's going to fly out of her gut. She picks up her head, noticing the forest is nearly a blur beneath them. The last time she saw the forest like this was when they'd stolen a cruiser and crashed it in the woods. That feels like forever ago, Catra's changed so much since then, they both have.
"It's beautiful." She murmurs, too quiet to be heard by Adora and Swift Wind. They are still chatting away, and Catra wonders if she should be paying closer attention. She decides it doesn't matter and goes back to observing the nature around them, finally loosening her death grip on Adora's waist. Just a little bit though, she still has a good grip.
The flight only takes about 30 minutes, then the trees fade away and a tall mountain looms before the trio. Crypto Castle is nestled inside the largest peak, and Swift Wind moves to land at the front entrance.
Entrapta is waiting for them next to the front door, a giant machine towering over her to her left. It stands nearly three times her height and has a mounted satellite pointing towards the sky. She waves and shouts hello as Swift Wind touches down. "Good, glad you could make it." Entrapta turns towards her machine and fiddles with a small control panel as they dismount from Swift Wind.
"Hey Entrapta, I brought Catra, I hope that's okay?" Adora reaches into the bag on Swift Wind's back and pulls out an apple to give him. Catra watches her, eyes flicking over to where Entrapta is still typing away.
"Catra? Oh yeah sure, no problem." She replies without looking up. "Just give me one second and then I'll be ready for She-ra."
"Right." Adora holds up her hand and curls her fingers as if holding a sword. "For the honor of Grayskull!"
Adora lights up and begins her transformation, starting at her shoes and moving its way up towards her head. Catra watches from start to finish, she's always loved watching Adora turn into She-ra, always happy to see her own headpiece form on Adora's head.
The costume change is done in a brief few seconds, then Adora stands as She-ra, a couple feet taller and twice as majestic. No matter how she appears, Catra knows she's still the same Adora on the inside.
"Okay," Adora gives her sword a couple warm up swings. "I'm ready, what're we doing?" Adora steps over to where Entrapta is still fiddling on her device. "Is that going to summon Horde soldiers?" Her voice escalates, "Do you need me to fight?" She peeks over Entrapta's shoulder to squint at the screen and keyboard. "I'm ready," she repeats, possibly to make sure Entrapta heard her the first time.
Catra leans against the rock wall, flicking her tail as she watches Entrapta continue to work, amused at Adora's eagerness. Entrapta's typing intensifies, Catra's seen her do this hundreds of times, she's about to be done. In three, two, one.
Entrapta's hands lift off the keyboard. "Alright." She swivels and points at the castle, her finger tilting up to point towards the roof. "It needs to go up there."
Adora follows her finger, her bravado quickly fading, "Huh? You want me to put it on the roof?"
"You can jump real high, can't you?" Entrapta dead-pans at Adora, blinking twice.
Adora replies slowly, her confidence wavering, "Well, yeah." She looks from the roof back to the machine.
"Then it should be no problem!" Entrapta moves out of the way as if it's settled, making room for Adora to get closer to the machine.
Adora still looks confused, "Is it going to summon Horde soldiers?"
Entrapta replies without pausing, "Nope!"
The two of them fall silent, Entrapta staring at Adora who has bunched her eyebrows up, one hand coming up to scratch the back of her neck. "Uh…"
Catra decides to help her perplexed girlfriend. "What does the machine do, Entrapta?"
"Oh, glad you asked." Entrapta's expression lights up from excitement. "It's a radiofrequency transmitter. It can send radio waves up to 10 miles in any direction, which is 9 miles further than I can send radio waves right now." Entrapta pauses and scrunches up her face, "Umm... It sends a signal to my robots. They can go further away from the castle now."
Adora nods slowly, "That makes sense! Okay, I got this." Adora turns towards the castle. She swings her sword with wide strokes back and forth multiple times, summoning brightly glowing platforms ascending the side of the castle like a staircase.
Adora returns to the machine and squats down to pick it up by the base. She hoists it with ease, She-ra's strength aiding her. She hugs it to her chest and walks into the castle's shadow, taking the first jump onto the lowest platform. "This isn't too bad!" She shouts over to where Entrapta, Swift Wind, and Catra are watching. "Hey Swift Wind! Do you mind spotting me?"
Swift Wind revels at the opportunity and flies over to hover next to Adora as she hops from platform to platform. Her climb is slow but consistent, and Catra is once again impressed with Adora's patience. This method is slow, and the Adora that Catra grew up with surely would have gone for a more aggressive strategy. Now, she's clearly learned that the quickest way isn't always the best and taking a little more time is best if it means you get better results.
Catra does wish she could help in some way, but she doesn't have super strength, and she can't fly. Too bad those aren't things you can learn. At least cats always land on their feet; she thinks dryly.
Meanwhile, Entrapta has scurried over to Adora's lowest manmade platform and is prodding it with her hair, Catra can hear her say, "Iiiinteresting" as she pulls a small drill out of her back pocket and starts attempting to chip off part of it.
Catra wonders if she should tell her the platforms will disappear when Adora turns back to normal; but decides to leave her with the temporary joy.
Adora reaches the castle roof and Swift Wind flies down to let Entrapta know. She hops on to Swift Wind's back and hollers, "Let's go Bird-horse!" while motioning for him to take to the sky. He flies her up to the roof to join Adora, quipping something back that Catra can't quite make out.
Catra watches as Entrapta joins Adora on the roof, directing where she wants the radio wave device to be placed. She also procures nails and small rope out of her pocket, Catra wonders what else she has in there. Once the machine is where Entrapta wants, they tie three ropes around the base and nail the ends into the roof. It looks like a solid way to hold it in place.
The group flies down a few moments later, their mission complete. Adora transforms back to her normal self and Entrapta sighs in disappointment when the glowing platforms dissolve into dust before their eyes. She slides off of Swift Wind with a quiet, "Thank you Bird-horse," And moves so Catra can hop on behind Adora. Entrapta looks up at them, balancing on her hair, "Thank you both, now it's off to do more science!" Entrapta spins and runs into her castle, cackling the whole way.
"Well, that was fun." Adora comments as they watch the castle doors shut firmly behind the Princess. "Let's see how Glimmer is doing." Adora reaches into the ruck sack they brought and pulls out her tablet sized electronic device that Catra can't remember the name of. She taps on the screen a couple times, clicking to call Glimmer.
The device rings three times, then lights up with Glimmer's face. Her lips turn up in a large grin when she recognizes Adora on the other end, "Hey! Are you already done in Dryl? That was quick!"
Adora beams back at her, "Yeah we just finished. We have the afternoon free, is there anywhere that needs help?"
"Uhh…" Glimmer hesitates, "One sec, lemme check." The background behind Glimmer starts to blur and change as she moves through the castle. "I think someone did call earlier, okay I'm at the war table now." Glimmer falls silent and Catra can hear her press a few buttons off screen. "Yes! Elderon called us about an hour ago. They asked if you were free, but I let them know that you weren't available today. It could be a nice surprise if you don't mind going?"
"Say no more!" Adora pats Swift Wind on the neck with her left hand and flourishes with her right, "to Elderon!"
Glimmer wishes them well and they hang up to set off on the second leg of their journey, Catra once again securing herself to Adora's back.
Adora fiddles in her ruck sack while they fly, offering Swift Wind an apple and also pulling out a sandwich wrapped in paper. She opens it and offers half to Catra, touching the cat girl's right hand so she'll loosen her grip and accept it. "It's okay," Adora assures her with a smile over her shoulder, "I've got you."
Catra feels re-assured and takes the sandwich with her right hand, moving her left hand to Adora's shoulder so she can lean back a little and make room to eat. The sandwich appears to have some jam in the middle, and when Catra bites down it's sweet on her tongue. She quickly devours it, not wanting to spend too long with her loosened grip. Once gone, she licks her fingers clean and re-wraps her arms around Adora. "Thank you, did you make that?"
"I did!" Adora confirms, "Did you like it?"
Catra nods, then realizes Adora won't be able to see her action, "Yes, you're an amazing chef, please teach me your ways."
"Are you sure that's what you want?" Adora laughs loudly, her whole body shaking from the exertion. "You know, I think Glimmer and Bow want to be on their own tonight. I could show you my epic cooking skills firsthand, if you want."
"That actually sounds super fun, you better not disappoint." Catra leans her head against Adora's back, smiling from the warmth and ease of their conversation. They fall into a comfortable silence for the remainder of the flight. It takes a few more minutes for them to reach Elderon.
As they reach the perimeter of the city Adora goes on high alert, just in case there's a fight waiting for them. The village appears to be perfectly normal, with citizens walking showing no clear signs of danger.
The mayor of Elderon is standing in the middle of town, directing a few other villagers that are dragging a large piece of wood across the clearing. The wood is at least the length a Horde ship and about half a ship wide and one foot thick.
Catra looks down the stretching field where four walls have been constructed, missing a roof. She instantly realizes why they wanted She-ra's help.
Adora is looking that way as well, and she greets the mayor warmly when they land.
Catra was right, the town wants She-ra's help putting their wooden roof onto their new building. Adora agrees, transforming into She-ra and hoisting the roof with relative ease. She summons a few more floating platforms, and a mere minute later plants the roof on top of its walls.
The Elderon citizens cheer from everywhere around town and rush to gather by the building, their hoots and hollers growing louder by the minute. Adora jumps down to land in front of them, waving and smiling at the crowd.
The mayor invites them into their mess hall for a party, which Swift Wind insists they accept. The group enters and is immediately swarmed by curious villagers. Adora introduces Catra to every party goer, and Catra nods along as she hears outlandish after outlandish stories of Adora's triumphs from them.
The group sneaks out about an hour later, it's time to head home.
The three of them arrive in Brightmoon and split up for the night, Adora dragging Catra to the kitchen for "The unforgettable meal she was promised."
Adora makes Catra cover her eyes while she cooks, the only sounds being the occasional smash from her dropping a plate or cooking utensil. Once she's done, she leads Catra through the castle, still with her eyes shut, guiding her up a long flight of stairs and bringing them to the walkway between the moonstone and the castle.
Catra is finally allowed to open her eyes, which brings her immediate amusement.
She doesn't hesitate to give Adora a hard time. "Epic chef my ass, is this all you know how to make?" Catra leans over to pick up yet another jelly sandwich off a small stack of them.
Adora grabs a sandwich off the plate for herself and retorts, "I'd like to see you do better."
Catra digs into the sandwich, surprised when it's a different type of jam than the one she had that afternoon. "I take it back, this is genius. How many flavors of jelly do they have in Etheria?"
"At least one more type," Adora jokes, finishing off her sandwich and picking up a second. "I'll make sure to use it next time."
"Maybe next time I'll try cooking." Catra offers, "This is great though, thank you for making it."
Adora smiles widely at the thanks, her true happiness shining through. "Of course! Oh, what did you think of today? I know you didn't get to help that much, but it was fun, right?"
Catra ponders the question for a moment, staring down at her half-eaten sandwiches. "I do appreciate you taking me along." Catra turns so she can lean her back against the walls lining the walkway. "Uhh… How do I put this…"
Adora watches her patiently, waiting while she works through her thoughts.
Catra takes a deep breath in and exhales, "I think I need to find my own path, separate from She-ra." She flinches at her own words, "I hope that's okay?" Catra's ears flick nervously and she looks down at the ground, waiting for Adora's reaction. Surely, she'll be upset at Catra moving to abandon her so close to their recent reunion.
A second ticks by, and then another. Adora is still silent. Catra glances back up, her eyes immediately catching Adora's. Much to her shock, Adora's got stars in her eyes, her lips turned up in a wide grin. She apparently was waiting for Catra to focus on her again and immediately throws her arms around Catra's shoulders, letting out a shout of glee. "I'm so proud of you!" Adora smushes her cheek against Catra's. "I'm sure you will find something, you deserve to be happy too." She leans back. "I will help you!"
Catra smiles from the overwhelming support and warmth sent her way, "Yeah yeah, of course I'll need your help."
Adora releases Catra from the hug, her expression turning thoughtful. "Where should we start?"
"I've been thinking about it a little actually," Catra admits, "Is there any way I can help out Etheria? I did a lot to trash it, I should probably do my part fixing it now."
"You want to help Etheria, that is amazing. Did I already say how proud I am?" Adora looks like she wants another hug, but after a moment settles for a third sandwich instead.
Catra affirms, "Yes you did already say that."
"Good!" Adora nods firmly, nibble on her sandwich thoughtfully. "I might have an idea. I've got frie… I mean we! Weeeee've got friends all over Etheria." Adora blinks, "Anyway, I'm sure they could have you help with their Kingdoms! You can start here in Brightmoon, I'm sure Glimmer has something you can help with."
Adora steps away from Catra and starts her usual pacing, walking four steps away from Catra. "I can make calls tomorrow and chart out a travel route, this'll be great!" She spins around, tapping her right fist against her palm. Her excitement has settled into a more serious expression, "I want to go with you, but I think you should go alone."
The thought of being away from Adora for what sounds like at least a week long journey causes Catra's heart to fall, but she thinks that Adora's right. She needs to do this on her own. "I agree." Catra pushes off the wall and walks over to Adora to take her hands in her own. "Thank you Adora."
Adora smiles warmly, her positivity infectious, "You got this."