Entrapta peered at the chip. "This is marvelous, well-preserved, but you said there were two?"

"Yeah," Scorpia admitted, rubbing the back of her neck with her claw, "There was another signal a little bit away, but I didn't have time to grab it."

Entrapta hummed. She had not looked at Scorpia the entire conversation, absorbed as she was in poking and prodding the chip. Scorpia was used to that, though. Entrapta had her own ways of showing love. Last week she had programmed a box to sing a little tune when opened, where Scorpia could store her jewelry. Gifts were a wonderful expression of love! Still, Scorpia liked eye contact. She liked conversations that could be about something other than technology. Like talking about emotions, doubts, fears.

Like talking with Perfuma.

Scorpia clung to the conversation she could remember. Perfuma was pretty, expressive, and social. As much as Scorpia adored Entrapta and Catra, it was refreshing to talk with someone who was able to actually keep up a conversation about something other than robots or evil plots. Someone who paid attention to her, and touched-

Scorpia could feel her face flush at the memory. She didn't advertise the fact that her tail was so sensitive. It was usually fine, since she didn't experience the same stuff if she controlled what the tail touched. Pricking people, deliberately brushing it against things, or handling it with her claws didn't affect her. Not in the same way as someone else giving it stimuli she couldn't predict. Kind of like tickling. When that happened, the experience was-

"Scorpia? Are you still there?" Entrapta's voice cut through her thoughts. Entrapta had connected the disc to one of her machines, and a rapid sequence of data and text passed on the screen, indecipherable to Scorpia.

"Whoops, yeah, sorry, I was daydreaming. What did you say?"

"Can you check out the other one? It seems like this has some sort of encryption thing going on. It's just a hunch, but maybe they kept the key somewhere nearby."

"Sure! I've got some things to do here, but after tomorrow, I'll have some time to investigate!"


Scorpia was, once again, in Plumeria. This time, she tried to tread more softly. She ended up having more work than she anticipated today, so her journey was delayed. Now darkness was fast approaching. However, she had told Entrapta she would get the tech today, so she would do her best!

Despite her best attempts, a root seemed to appear from nowhere, raising out of the ground to trip her. "Ow," Scorpia exclaimed out loud.

As if responding to her voice, dozens of other roots burst from the ground and wrapped her arms. Then legs. Then-

She braced herself for the tail. Fortunately the roots moved fast, and once they were in place they did not shift. She breathed a sigh of relief, then looked around. "Perfuma? Is this you?"

Perfuma did not respond verbally. Instead, she rolled out from the shadows of the trees, riding a wave of vines. Her arms were crossed and lips pursed, staring down at Scorpia.

Scorpia smiled at the sight. Perfuma was scary. Those vines, big and crawling, could destroy anything in its path. And she stood flawlessly on top, perfectly balanced. "How are you?" Scorpia asked with cheer.

Perfuma huffed. "How am I? You don't get to ask that after stabbing me."

"Non-lethally. Honestly, my toxins don't have any lasting effects. It's much safer than trying to knock someone out by, like, hitting them in the head."

Perfuma turned away, letting her gorgeous hair bounce. "Doesn't change the fact that you lied to me."

"Just to be clear, I didn't lie at any point in our conversation."

Perfuma turned back and narrowed her eyes. "Oh yeah? Even when you..." Perfuma paused, probably trying to think through their interaction. "What about when you said I was tough?"

"No lie," Scopria assured her.

This caused Perfuma's expression to flicker, before returning to annoyance. "What about your nose itching?"

"Honestly it did itch. I just took the opportunity to get back home."

Perfuma snorted. "You call the Horde 'Home'?"

Scorpia raised an eyebrow. "Um, yes? Where else would I call home?"

"Aren't you a princess? You have a kingdom."

"Which was given to the horde. I'm not really treated different from any Horde recruit, I had to work my way through cadet trainings to get to Force Captain, just like everyone else. The 'princess' thing is more of a weird family fact than anything else."

Perfuma looked her up and down. Scorpia wished she could have posed a bit more nicely. She then had the idle thought that maybe she should have put on lipstick. Perfuma was a pretty princess. With her long dress and elaborate hair, she seemed like she made an effort to look nice every day. Scorpia liked that, and wished she could be that way too. She had her own stash of jewelry, some cute clothes, but no opportunities to wear them. Her Horde uniform was mandatory. But she could have at least put on some lipstick. Perfuma tilted her chin up. "You're still a princess though. You can be proud."

"...Thanks?" Scorpia wasn't quite sure what Perfuma was trying to do, but the voice sounded as though it was a comfort attempt.

"But..." Perfuma shook her head, "I won't get distracted this time. You lied to me."

"I can guarantee I didn't lie to you!" Scorpia exclaimed. This was no good, Scorpia didn't mean to make Perfuma distrust her, not so early on in their friendship.

"Did you make up that tail thing too?" Perfuma quizzed her, vines wrapping tighter, "So I would loosen it enough for you to sting?"

The roots sliding against Scopria's tail were… a lot. They enveloped most of her tail, giving full contact and stimulation. Scorpia's heart sped up, and a tightness began to build below her stomach. "N-no," Scorpia was surprised to hear her own stutter, "I swear it's sensitive."

"How do I know that's the truth?"

Scorpia opened her mouth to counter Perfuma's point, but a sudden sliding of the roots caused her to gasp instead. They were repositioning around her tail, continuously stroking it, causing a tingle to run up her whole spine. Scorpia looked up at Perfuma, and saw Perfuma staring down in concentration, judging Scorpia's every expression. That gaze was enough to send a flush up Scorpia's neck, she could feel the heat rise all the way up to her ears. The roots shifted again, leaving Scorpia breathing heavily. Her blood was pumping so hard she could hear her own heartbeat.

Suddenly, the roots released, leaving only two or three to tightly hug her tail without moving. Scorpia focused back on Perfuma, and was surprised to see Perfuma sported a blush of her own.

Perfuma turned away, hiding her face.

"That… was a convincing reaction. I'm going to believe even you can't act well enough to have faked that." Perfuma still did not look at Scorpia.

"So maybe I wasn't lying about the other things either?" Scorpia offered.

This cause Perfuma to look back with furrowed eyebrows. "Maybe you didn't explicitly lie, but I have plenty of questions."

"Does this mean going back to your grove again?" Scorpia asked, her pitch raising in excitement.

"...Yes."


Perfuma mentally slapped herself. Don't think a Horde soldier is hot when she's restrained and at your mercy. Don't take pleasure in seeing her gasp at your touch. Don't even think about what you could do if-

"Weren't those flowers open a few days ago?" Scorpia asked, tilting her chin at some crocuses.

Perfuma shrugged, "Well, it's nighttime, so they're closed."

Scorpia gaped. "Flowers close at night?"

Perfuma stared at her. "Did you not know this? It's not every flower, but a lot of them do. What do they teach you in the Horde?"

"Fighting. Tactics. Defense. There's not much nature in the Fright Zone. I've made my own flowers though! Out of paper, based on some earrings my parents left me."

"Earrings?" Perfuma asked. Every time she heard about Scorpia's origins, it was surprising how cheerfully Scorpia could describe her background.

"Yeah, some nice rose earrings. I've never seen one in person though."

Perfuma could barely wrap her head around the thought. Never having seen a rose? No wonder Horde soldiers were so heartless. Maybe, if Perfuma could show Scorpia the beauty of the world she was ordered to destroy… Did Perfuma dare to hope? That she could persuade Scorpia to reconsider her allegiances? Scorpia was a princess, even if the Horde tried to take that away from her too. She could become part of the princess alliance, if Perfuma could just… "Do you want to see one?"

"A rose?" Scorpia's eyes lit up, "Do you have one?"

Perfuma opened her palm and created a red rose. She held it up from Scorpia to see.

Scorpia gaped at the flower, eyes wide in childlike wonder. "It's gorgeous." Then she giggled, an adorable sound. "Bigger than I thought it would be."

Perfuma laughed at that. "How big did you think it would be?"

"I dunno, like the size of my pinkie nail? My earrings are pretty small."

"Do you want to take it home?" Perfuma asked.

"Are you letting me go?" Scorpia stared at her.

Perfuma hated the stare. How could someone so evil have such pretty eyes? It felt wrong to be hostile to someone who seemed so genuine. "Only if you promise not to stab me again."

"With you letting me free, I have no reason to."

Perfuma slowly loosened the roots, staying several feet away from Scorpia just in case. She carefully analyzed Scorpia's movements for any sign of attack.

Scorpia called her out, "Are you making sure I don't attack?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"I know better. You could have me trussed up again in a heartbeat, or worse. Anybody with an ounce of sense wouldn't have the guts."

Perfuma loved the praise, and hated that she loved it. She tried to tell herself it was no more than flattery, a technique to make Perfuma let down her guard. But Scorpia was not making any moves, aside from outstretching a claw to accept the rose. Perfuma stretched her own arm out, still tense in case of any hostile movement from Scorpia. But all she did was gently take the rose stem. "Careful of the thorns," Perfuma warned her.

"Aww it has spikes, just like me."

"It's big and beautiful like you too." The words came out of Perfuma's mouth as a natural extension of comparison. Why shouldn't she point out the similarities that existed if Scorpia was pointing them out already?

After seeing Scorpia freeze, though, she realized that might have been a bit much to say.

Perfuma forced out a laugh and changed the subject. "Anyway, shouldn't you get home?"

Scorpia smiled at her. Perfuma decided that Scorpia had good harmony. "Yes, thank you. For letting me go, and for the rose, and for the compliment. I'll treasure it." Scorpia started to go, then turned back to say one last thing, "See you later."

Before Perfuma could come up with some defense for her careless compliments, Scorpia scurried out into the woods. Leaving Perfuma a blushing mess in her grove.

The 'See you later' struck Perfuma. Scorpia was planning to come back.

And Perfuma wanted her to.