Shedding

Chapter 15

Catra ran full speed down the hall, past the infirmary with the skewed door, past the others as they stopped to yammer about what they should be doing. She pushed back the urge to yell at them. They didn't have time to talk! They were many and Scorpia was just one sick bug. Between all of them someone would find her – she was too big to miss.

Problem was, what state was she in? She didn't like to be alone, so maybe she was looking for them? Had she called out and no one heard her? The conference room wasn't that far, surely Catra would have heard?

Was she even in a condition to walk? It didn't seem so, not from what Catra had seen. Not far, anyway. Maybe the medicine kicked in and she was feeling better, so she went off to…do whatever Scorpia did day to day here?

Catra dropped that thought before it finished. That type of optimism was best left to Scorpia herself. Catra knew better than to think anything good was coming from this, especially given what they had just learned and what she had seen of Scorpia up until now. If she wasn't well, mentally or physically, then with those two combined she was already unlike herself. Catra couldn't expect her to do or think the way she would have before, back at the Horde before she had reached the end of her rope.

Her bright smiles, her flirting, affection, affirmations, the ease of which she offered her help, understanding, companionship – much of it overwhelming at the time and wasted on someone who couldn't stand so much of it. Scorpia really did flourish in the Rebellion, with people who could enjoy and return those gestures in a way Catra could never, even when she had missed it. It never crossed Catra's mind that Scorpia struggled with anything other than authority. Well, Scorpia struggled with that and with accepting the cat's damn apology or just telling her to go crawl in the gutter where she belonged (when Scorpia was too nice to say that even to people she genuinely hated), leaving their friendship in a limbo.

Had she been deteriorating all this time?

Catra skid to a stop as a familiar scent reached her nose. Scorpia's. It was faint, but even that gave Catra a clue as to their distance.

"Hey! I've picked up her scent!" She turned to call out to the others, and realized she saw no signs of them, or anyone. Where were they? Catra recognized the area – just past the locker rooms and training area, near where the cadets used to sleep – one bedroom for the whole group. As far as Catra knew it wasn't used anymore, as most of the army was disbanded and those who remained – Lonnie, Kyle, Rogelio, now had their own private quarters. She couldn't think of why Scorpia would go there, but the scent was unmistakable.

"Grand Dad?!"

So was her voice, even if the tone was unlike anything Catra had ever heard out of her friend's mouth. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

Who was she calling to?!

"Help me!"

Catra rushed after the voice. As she neared, her ears twitched as they suddenly picked up a painful scraping sound in the same direction – over and over again.

The cat arrived to the large, dark room – the lights were off. Catra's eyes were unhindered by the darkness and she quickly found Scorpia's tilted form sitting on the floor between two cots closest to the entrance – startlingly close to where Catra came in - her tail erect. The scraping sound was her pincers scratching against the wall as if to dig through the cement.

Her hardening pincers.

"Scorpia! STOP!" Catra yelled. Scorpia's large frame jolted, and in a blink her tail shot backwards towards the cat. Catra sprung out of the way, darting onto one of the lower bunks a few rows down as she heard an audible THUNK behind her. She looked back to see if Scorpia followed, but she instead found the former Force Captain shuddering, her tail pressed against the ground. Catra grimaced. Had Scorpia hurt herself in trying to sting her, with her tail in the same state as her pincers? Damn it…but what was Catra supposed to do, instead?

She tried to meet the other woman's gaze, but Scorpia was looking in a daze off in the direction Catra had been before. Should…should she say anything? No…no, she should let the others who knew how to talk to her better handle this.

Catra reached for her communicator, and cautiously tapped into it. She dropped the volume as Entrapta's face lit up on screen.

"Catra! Have you found-"

"I've found Scorpia!" Catra hissed between clenched teeth into the communicator. "You've got my signal, right? Get over here, now! Get the others here, too. Adora and Perfuma, especially."

"Okay!"

"Also, tell them to be careful when they come in. Scorpia's really…" she dropped her voice to barely a whisper. "…really not acting right."

Entrapta blinked, her smile fading slightly but not entirely. "Okay."

The screen darkened.

Catra let out a breath. Ok…now all they had to do was-

Her ears twitched as the scraping sound resumed, this time with more fervor. The cat jolted at the sound, the fur on her tail standing at end. She looked to see the larger woman scraping the wall with her claws again. Catra had no idea what she was doing, but the wall wasn't giving and with the state of her exoskeleton for all she knew Scorpia's pincers would give out first. Didn't it hurt?! Surely it must. Maybe the pain medicine numbed the sensation, maybe she was too frantic or otherwise unhinged to feel it, or maybe Scorpia was just impervious to pain. She seldom showed pain as it was.

Damn it…damn it… what could she do?! Scorpia lashed out, before, and possibly injured herself in the process. Catra could feel her muscles tighten with fear. Even in this state Scorpia was powerful, dangerous. She need only sting her, or get one good strike in, or use her lightning, and it would be over. How Perfuma never showed a modicum of fear when Scorpia had been chipped was astounding. Astoundingly brave or astoundingly foolish, Catra hadn't figured out yet. Surely the plant princess would know what to say or do here.

Or maybe Scorpia would lash out at her just as she did to Catra, perhaps sting or injure her and show Perfuma why she /should've/ been afraid.

The thought made Catra's stomach churn. She didn't want to see that outcome. Scorpia loved that girl, and she loved Scorpia. As much as it hurt when their friendship crumbled, and as much as Perfuma's unending protectiveness and gentleness with Scorpia served as a constant reminder of how awful Catra had been as a friend by comparison…Catra didn't want to see their bond potentially damaged if Scorpia did lash out.

If she was going to hurt anyone, then…by all accounts it should be the person who hurt her, first. The person with whom the relationship was already fractured. The person who may have contributed to this spiral to begin with.

Also…Catra knew for sure that if the tables were turned, Scorpia would risk life and limb to do the same for her. She had done so, back then, and knowing her she'd probably still do the same now.

Catra grit her teeth as the scraping hurt her ears. She also…she also just couldn't let this happen. She had no idea what damage this could be doing.

"Scorpia!" Catra called out again, this time softer. She winced as the other woman jumped, startled, her tail poised to strike. She put the communicator away and held her hands up. "I…I'm sorry for yelling at you. For…for a lot of things."

Scorpia looked back in her general direction over her shoulder, her one visible eye wide. Sweat glinted off her face. Catra blinked as she realized just how sweaty the other woman was, her hair dampened. Was that…from the molting? Or the medicine? Or from panic?

The other woman's silence was equally unsettling. As irritating as her constant rambling could sometimes be, Catra would give anything to hear it now.

As Catra slowly climbed off of the bottom bunk, she could feel the dangerous energy in the room. Growing up in the Horde, Catra could pick up danger as if it were a scent, and it was a stench in here. The urge to run right out the door was palpable, and perhaps the only thing that kept her from doing so was realizing that she'd have to run past Scorpia to do it.

The other woman's claws both laid pressed into the wall, still from where she had been scraping. Catra tried to gauge the damage from where she stood but she couldn't tell.

Maybe…maybe apologizing wasn't the right thing to do right now. If Scorpia could understand her, she might not be in the mind to handle it.

"Hang in there," Catra murmured, feeling her hackles raise as she watched the other woman's tail swish rapidly side to side. She didn't know what that meant coming from a scorpion, but given her alarmingly tense posture she could venture a guess.

Her friend didn't look comforted by her words. If anything, that dangerous energy grew more palpable. Was Catra's voice instigating her?

Should…should she leave? Was she making things worse by being here?

No, she couldn't leave. If she left, Scorpia would resume whatever she was doing, wouldn't she? She couldn't be left to continue. But she felt seconds away from springing into an attack as it was, and if she did she could hurt herself further (or Catra).

What… what would Scorpia try to do here, if it were her in Catra's position?

Her two-toned eyes glanced towards the blanket and pillow on the bottom bunk. She lowered one hand to reach out for the blanket.

She struggled to think of what to say. Mention the "Grand Dad" she had called out to? Ask if she was okay? Both sounded stupid. She doubted Scorpia had meant for her to hear it, or was in any state to explain so what good would come of Catra bringing someone up she'd never heard of? She didn't know their relationship. And ask if she was okay? How stupid would that be! Clearly, she wasn't.

Should she say something at all?

"Help's on the way," Catra said quietly as her fingers gripped the blanket.

The other woman remained motionless, watching her with a wide-eyed intensity that left the cat feeling unsettled. She both did and didn't see recognition in those dark eyes. For a second, Catra considered maintaining this stand off until the others arrived, but as Scorpia began to scrape again she knew she had to act now.

Catra pulled the blanket off the bed, bringing the pillow with it. Scorpia jolted at the movement and pushed off the wall onto her feet. Catra caught the pillow and rushed forward. Scorpia's tail shot towards Catra, but Catra blocked with the pillow. She grimaced as she felt the impact push her against the beams of the bunk bed, but while the tip of the stinger just barely peeked through the pillow, the pillow managed to absorb the impact without being shred in half.

Catra released the pillow and, briefly noting how it remained stuck to the other woman's tail, rushed at Scorpia with the blanket in hand. Scorpia reeled back as if losing balance, bumping her back against the wall. Catra raised a brow. Was she dizzy?

There was no time to think on it. Scorpia pushed her pincers against the wall and lurched forward. Catra ducked down to avoid a swing of her claw, then skid to a stop behind. Scorpia stumbled a step, but before she could turn Catra threw the blanket around her chest and shoulders, catching her pincers inside.

This was never going to work. Scorpia's claws could cut through anything once she's got a grip on it…! But burritoing her was all Catra could think of to do – and all she could think of Scorpia doing, having been on the receiving end once before. It was so much harder to do it with someone larger and stronger and sharper than she was. She felt the blanket pull in her hands as Scorpia struggled, yanking Catra against her back as she held on.

The magicat could feel Scorpia's tail shift against the side of her thigh, and she looked back to see the stinger poised right above her, the pillow still attached. Could Scorpia sting her from here? Would the pillow protect her a second time, already pierced as it was? If Catra evaded, would she sting herself? Was that even a thing with scorpions?

It didn't matter. She couldn't risk letting go!

What should she say?! She wasn't Perfuma, or Bow or Adora or even Scorpia, with their words of kindness, affirmation, comfort or friendship. For all she could tell, her voice alone had agitated her with the weight of all the trauma and abuse that came before it. Even if she had the right words to say, it wouldn't matter coming from her, would it?

Scorpia stumbled forward, dragging the cat with her. She briefly worried that Scorpia would throw herself back against the wall, squashing Catra between her and it, but she didn't. Maybe Scorpia didn't think to. Instead, she stood struggling, and it was all Catra could do to dig her fingers – nails retracted – into the fabric and hold on. She wouldn't last much longer. Catra was barely holding on as it was.

What could she do?!

Catra grit her teeth, pressed against Scorpia's back, and purred.

Purring was something she seldom did, and quite possibly only Adora knew she could do it at all. Usually, she did it to self soothe, or to soothe Adora during nightmares, difficult moments or just to entice her to relax. Here, she couldn't do the things Scorpia had done for her – she wasn't large enough to lift her, kind enough to find the right words to say, the blanket was just barely large enough to restrain her and likely not even for long. This was all she could think of to do.

She could feel Scorpia's heart pounding against her back, but the struggling stopped. The only sound was Catra's purring and Scorpia's labored breaths. The larger woman teetered on her feet and Catra slowly crouched down, pulling the blanket with her and urging Scorpia to sit down on the floor with her. The cat glanced back at the other bunks. She probably should have tried to urge Scorpia to sit or lay on one of the beds, but she didn't want to risk agitating her. As she sat, Scorpia tilted and leaned sideways against the wall. Her tail dropped down. Catra nearly jumped as she felt the tail move around her, and she looked back to notice it curl loosely along the ground around her.

The sense of danger was beginning to subside, but Catra didn't risk releasing her or stop the purring. For all she knew, it was the only thing keeping her friend together.

Catra caught her breath, her fur smoothing as she realized that she…did it? It was working? She managed, at least for this moment, de-escalate her friend. She knew if anything would work, it would be the tactile approach. She looked up to see Scorpia resting her head against the wall, her large form slumped.

Should she say something?

No…this was working. Just keep at it.

Catra leaned her forehead against Scorpia's back, feeling the fabric of the blanket against her fur and the rapid beat of Scorpia's heart. It still felt too fast (unless Scorpions had a fast heartrate? Catra couldn't recall) but she wasn't struggling anymore so she'd take whatever win she could get.

She continued to purr against the other woman's back quietly, a small spark of hope finding its way through.

Things are going to change between them.

Scorpia wanted to make this friendship work. Had been trying to, in whatever way she could. And this moment gave hope that Catra could do more than just ruin her friend. Catra did understand her, at least in parts. They can find common ground and get through their issues together. They will.

Catra exhaled between clenched teeth. Ugh. She'd been hanging around the 'Best Friends Squad' too long. Their nonsense was getting to her.

Notes: So I've had the burrito idea for a long time (in fact back when Scorpia was chipped in the show I had wondered if they'd try something like that on her – though with her electric powers that might not have worked out). I kept debating whether to have Catra do this by herself or combine with another character (like Adora/She-Ra) since this would be so much harder if not impossible for Catra to do it alone. But I really wanted this to be the moment Catra got to shine and find a way to reach Scorpia in a way that was unique to her/something only she'd think of based on their history together, and I think she would have been less likely to act on the idea if anyone else was there to try or suggest anything different. There's still a lot of work to do to repair their relationship but at least now Catra has a little hope that it's not a lost cause.