It would take longer to reach the front than it did when the Alliance captured Catra and the others living with her. Adora didn't know whether to be happy about this, or not, as Catra had taken to only seeing her at night, and when they trained. The training had taken on a different feeling as well; before, the two of them would fight to take the other down as quick as possible, but now, Catra mostly fought on the defensive, and Adora could tell that she wasn't trying nearly as hard.
The other thing that had changed was that Catra had doubled their training time. They still fought first thing in the morning in hand-to-hand, but as soon as they passed the one hour mark, Catra would hurl the Sword of Protection at her, and attack with renewed ferocity until Adora found a chance to turn into She-ra. At that point, they would train for another hour. It was the closest thing to a compromise as they could come to, after questions started being asked about why she wasn't training with She-ra anymore.
The truth of it was that Adora had been afraid to. She was terrified that She-ra would take over again and try to hurt Catra. She could feel the golden anger always simmering just below the surface, and it became harder to control when she transformed, but Catra hadn't let her quit.
Adora had tried talking about it with Bow and Glimmer, but the both of them were less than helpful, offering encouragement and platitudes to try and make her feel better, but not seeming to grasp the pure dread Adora was feeling. It made Adora feel the same sense of helplessness she had felt when Shadow Weaver had been playing mind tricks on her in Mystacor. Catra was the only one who seemed more worried than even she was about the influence She-ra had over her. She was the only one who knew Adora well enough from before she had grabbed the Sword of Protection to even begin at drawing the line of where Adora ended and She-ra began.
With that in mind, Catra had expressly forbidden Adora from returning to the Crystal Castle and training with Light Hope, and took it upon herself to train with She-ra. "You're a great soldier, Adora, and were it up to me I'd throw that oversized butter knife in a volcano, but no sane commander would allow that kind of power to gather dust. I'm also not gonna let you get yourself or someone else killed because you hesitated to use it or lost control." And she'd had a point, as the first time Adora had transformed into She-ra, the rage the spirit inhabiting her had felt towards Catra had nearly overpowered her before she looked into Catra's eyes and a strange pressure weighed down on her, pushing She-ra back enough for Adora to regain control.
Netossa, who had joined the other soldiers in watching their training matches did still point out that she fought more fiercely, and Adora had flushed under the praise, stating that she knew Catra could take it. That was probably the biggest reassurance of all: even without transforming, Adora now had the strength to break bones if she so much as shook someone's hand without being careful - and the only one who could come close to matching her when transformed was Scorpia - but Catra had stood up to She-ra at her full power and still managed to survive, if not unscathed. Catra, even after fighting Adora for an hour, still had the strength to challenge her as She-ra for another.
Once the training was over, however, Catra would vanish. She told her that she just went exploring around Bright Moon, but the look she had sent Netossa told her there was more going on there than she knew. Even now, as they started marching through the Whispering Woods towards the front lines to the East, Netossa was watching Catra like a hawk. Adora could understand there being tension between the two of them. She, Bow, Glimmer, and Netossa were supposed to be watching in case Catra decided to make a break for it, but rather than react like Adora remembered she would, she simply ignored them and took to the treetops overhead, making the entire squadron uncomfortable. Occasionally, she threw acorns and sticks down to annoy someone, but other than that, Catra didn't really say a word the entire time they were marching.
When they stopped to break camp, Adora frowned as she realised they were moving slower. It had taken three days for two wagons, and some twenty civilians to make the same journey, but by Adora's estimate, it was looking like she and the others weren't going to make it to the front for at least a week.
"We're sure there's no faster way?" She asked, sitting around a large, hand-drawn map of the Whispering Woods and the surrounding area with Bow, Glimmer, and Netossa.
"We have over nearly all of the soldiers stationed at Bright Moon, along with their armor, supplies, wagons, and the horses pulling those wagons," Netossa explained. "If we try to move too fast, we'll be disorganized and vulnerable."
"You don't think the Horde could actually make it behind the front line, do you?" Bow asked, a noticeable quiver in his voice.
"She did," Glimmer argued, jerking her thumb towards where Catra was sitting beyond their little pavillion, skinning and prepping a large boar that no one could claim to have actually seen her hunt down. Adora could tell that Catra was listening to them by the way her ears paused momentarily while swiveling back and forth, alert for any danger.
"Catra's also one of, if not the, best operative to ever come out of the Horde," Adora argued. "And she left with only a skiff and five other people."
"That's no reason not to be cautious," Netossa warned. "There are plenty of things between us and the front that present real dangers besides the Horde."
"Like the fact that Glimmer and I apparently have bounties on our heads," Adora grumbled. It irked her a little that no one had bothered to tell her that until after someone had tried to collect on it.
Netossa just chuckled and shook her head. "I wouldn't worry too much about that," she said. "Every princess worth the dirt in her kingdom winds up with a price on their heads sooner or later."
"I didn't realise the Horde relied so much on, you know, hired help." Bow cringed, clearly uncomfortable with the subject, and Netossa did too.
"I wouldn't exactly put it like that," she said carefully. It looked like she was searching to find the right words when Catra snorted and shook her head, drawing their attention. Netossa scowled and whipped around to glare at her, but Catra never took her eyes off her meal. "Is something funny, Force Captain?"
"Why not just tell 'em like it is, Hair Net?" Catra called back, still refusing to look up.
"What, exactly, are you implying?"
"The Horde only took out contracts on Adora, Sparkles, and her mom," Catra replied. "I should know, it was my idea."
"You hired people to kill my mother?!" Glimmer shrieked, but Catra simply shrugged, sticking a piece of the boar and walking over sit by a small fire she had built.
"Would rather have captured, all things remaining equal," Catra said, cocking her head and flashing them a predatory grin. "A live hostage is worth way more than a dead commander."
"Why would you do that?" Adora hissed, but she already knew the answer. She wanted to feel angry and betrayed, but, the fact of the matter was that Catra had been their enemy until not too long ago. Of course she would do something like that.
"Because," Catra explained slowly, as if she were speaking to a child. "It's like Hair Net said, every other princess has a contract out on them, who would notice two more?"
"Just when I thought you could have sunk no lower," Netossa said, shaking her head.
"Man, you really are evil, aren't you?" Bow asked, and Adora felt like she had been punched in the gut.
Catra shrugged, indifferent to the accusation. "That's not the question you should be asking."
"Oh yeah?" Glimmer challenged. "And what is?"
"Who took out the other contracts?" They all froze and it took Adora a moment to even realise that it had been her who had spoken, her voice soft. Catra straightened and stared into Adora's eyes with a strange, anylitical expression while the other three turned to face her.
"What are you talking about, Adora?" Bow asked.
"Catra just told us she only ever took out contracts me, Glimmer, and Queen Angella," Adora explained. "But Netossa, you also said that any princess worth the dirt in their kingdom had a bounty on their heads. So, who took out the other bounties?"
Netossa's expression kept changing as she looked between Catra (who had gone back to merrily roasting her dinner) and Adora. She sighed and lowered her gaze. "The Princess Alliance was formed when the Horde arrived and started to invade," she explained. "But before that, there had never been a gathering of so many rulers working towards a common goal. There's a reason the All-Princess Ball is supposed to be neutral ground: so it could act as a meeting place for rulers to sit down without the threat of execution. Before the Horde arrived, the event was famous for being the place where declarations of peace were made as often as declarations of war."
Adora felt like the world had tilted slightly. She had never really put a lot of thought into what Etheria was like before the Horde arrived. The war they were fighting now made perfect sense: the Horde was evil and was intent on conquering all of Etheria, while the Rebellion and the Princess Alliance stood for freedom and an end to the injustices. But, if what Netossa was saying was true... that implied most of those contracts they had been discussing were taken out by other rulers. What could motivate someone to go out and pay a person to kill the ruler of another kingdom?
"B-but we're going to fix that, right?" Adora stammered. "If we defeat the Horde, we can bring peace to Etheria. That's why I was chosen."
"The Horde is the greatest threat anyone has ever faced," Netossa conceded, smiling. "Peace takes hard work and constant effort, but I'm confident that there is no greater first step towards that goal than defeating them." Something about what she said made the golden power squirm uncomfortably, and Adora felt that same discomfort when Netossa reached out to cup her cheek. She tried to brace herself for that same bolt of unease she had felt when the Queen did something similiar, but found there was no need.
Without any of them noticing, Catra had somehow weaved her way between Adora and Netossa. She wasn't looking at either of them, her eyes and ears still scanning the forest around them, and she still had a piece of meat dangling between her lips, but, somehow, she had darted in and grabbed Netossa by the wrist before she could lay a hand on Adora's face.
Netossa's expression morphed from calm and reassuring to livid in all of a second - Bow and Glimmer not far behind as they prepared to attack. "What are you doing?" She grunted, and Adora could see the muscles in her arm struggling to fight against Catra's grip.
"She doesn't like it when you touch her face," Catra said simply, not even paying attention to them. Her tail wound out to stroke Adora's wrist, but other than, she might as well have not known any of them were there.
"Is that true, Adora?" Bow asked, slowly reaching for his weapon.
Adora flushed and nodded before Catra released Netossa, walking back to her meal as if she had done nothing more than get up and stretch her legs.
"What is her problem?" Glimmer snarled.
"She's probably just restless," Netossa said, rubbing her arm.
Adora frowned - until now, Netossa had made it pretty clear that she didn't like Catra in the slightest, but now, after Catra had almost injured her, she was defending her and giving her the benefit of the doubt. Her expression looked oddly satisfied. "What do you mean?"
"Catra fights like a beast would," Netossa explained coolly. "She seems to run more on instinct than reason. I'm guessing she used to run around the Fright Zone all the time, getting into trouble?"
Adora nodded. Netossa wasn't wrong, per se, but it hurt to hear her best friend be picked apart and analyzed like one of Entrapta's experiments.
"Adora's the only thing here she recognizes," Netossa continued. "It makes sense that she would be protective of her. Her instincts see the rest of us as threats."
"If that's the case," Adora reasoned, voice wavering, "then I should go make sure she doesn't hurt anyone else."
Netossa nodded, her voice lowering to a whisper. "It would be best if you did. If we're lucky, you might be able to keep her from trying to escape until after we've set up on the front. She may be wild, but she can fight on even ground with you - something not many can attest to. We need her strength on the battlefield."
Adora nodded, a storm of negative emotions whirling around inside her as she marched over to take a seat next to Catra.
"Can I..." she cleared her throat. "Can I join you?"
Catra nodded and shifted to make room for her in front of the fire. "So," she drawled. "I'm like a beast, eh?"
Adora flinched. "How much did you hear?"
"I know that you're here to 'make sure I don't hurt anyone else'," Catra spat. Despite the pain in her chest, Adora couldn't help being relieved that she hadn't overheard Netossa mentioning their plan. She had meant to bring up the fact that Catra had senses that far outstripped any of their own, but kept getting distracted.
"Thank you," she murmured after several seconds of silence. "I don't know why, but whenever the queen or anyone else goes to touch me like that, I just freeze up, and it's hard to breathe."
Catra's tail wound itself around her waist. "I used to freeze whenever Scorpia hugged me," she confessed. "You've seen the lady, she's got a grip like steel press. Every time she picked me and squeezed, I'd feel like I was under Shadow Weaver's control again. At least you don't lash out when you have a bad moment."
Adora was touched and honoured. Catra had always made a point of never talking about her punishments with Shadow Weaver or the way the other Horde soldiers treated her. It filled her with hope, only to have it brutally crushed when she remembered her friends' disdain for Catra and their plan to re-capture her. "I feel like I keep hurting you," she whispered miserably. "And I don't know how to stop."
"You can't lose it here, Adora," Catra said, her voice soft and comforting as she leaned against her shoulder. "If they think that I'm stringing you along or manipulating you, they'll take me away from you."
"I won't let them," Adora hissed, her own possessive rage easily overwhelming the golden anger that still flickered whenever she was around Catra.
Catra sighed. "I appreciate that," she said, but the words sounded hollow. "But you don't get a choice. Not anymore."
Adora didn't know what to say, so she decided to change the subject. "Why did you act like that earlier?"
"I'd bet my tail that net-lady knows the weakness of every person she meets," Catra replied, watching as Netossa, along with Bow and Glimmer walked over to their respective tents. "You're mine." The simple, factual way she said it made Adora's heart race, and her face suddenly felt hot.
"Then why talk to me at all?" Adora asked once she had managed to calm herself down. "You hate having other people know your weaknesses."
Catra chuckled, shaking her head. "That's fair, and if it weren't you, I don't know if I would. But, then again, Tactics and Strategy was the only class I managed to do better than you in."
"So, this is all some sort of plot of yours?" Adora asked, unable to hide her annoyance.
"Don't mistake the reason I'm comfortable showing others how much I care for you with the fact that I do care for you, Adora," Catra lectured. "And don't act like there aren't plans going on involving me, as well." Adora winced and wanted nothing more than to confess, but Catra waved her off. "Don't bother. I'm not gonna make you betray these friends of yours."
"I don't know who I haven't betrayed at this point," Adora mumbled.
"If you have time to wallow in self-pity, you have time to go over your battle plan with me," Catra said, her caring tone at odds with the harshness of her words.
Adora nodded, silently grateful. "Current intelligence shows the Horde's frontline forces starting to pull back. The queen thinks is the prime opportunity to push them back and gain back some land."
"Uh-huh," Catra drawled, looking out over the vast number of tents and flickering fires spread out before them. "Any word from that fish-princess?" She asked.
"She'll be joining us there," Adora explained. "Along with Princess Frosta, why?'
Catra shrugged. "Curious. Trying to map things out in my head."
"You could just ask, you know?" Adora suggested. "You're way better at making plans than I am. We could use the help."
"None of them would follow a plan if I were the one to make it," Catra replied.
Adora narrowed her eyes, but didn't say anything. The two of them sat together quietly enjoying the warmth of the fire until eventually sleep started to take her. Adora fell asleep with Catra's arms around her, and her purring rumbling through her body as the beginnings of a plan of her own swirled about in the back of her mind.
*(OoO)*
They were almost certainly walking into a trap.
Catra had spent the last two days sneaking around and hardly saying a word as she gathered what she could about the Alliance's current battle plan, and everything about it told her they were being lured into a trap.
For the Horde to suddenly pull back from their attempts to break through the Whispering Woods after decades of trying made no sense. The fact that the water-princess and the brat-cicle were going to join them as well meant that their own kingdoms (particularly Salineas) didn't require their crazy-strong magic to defend them at the moment. That meant that the Horde was also pulling its naval forces back. On top of all that, the idiots at Bright Moon had basically left it undefended - sure they had a Runestone, but Catra had made Entrapta run dozens of tests since they had been captured on its defences and they weren't nearly as powerful as Momma Sparkles seemed to think. According to Entrapta, the amount of magic inside the Moonstone could only be drawn out so fast or it would mess with the other stones. On top of that, it also depended on how strong the person doing the drawing was.
She had tried to help Adora subtly bring the possibility forward, but could only watch as the others scoffed and shut her down. Part of it was arrogance, part of it was the over-commitment of resources, and part of it was the fact that Adora didn't have a deceitful bone in her body, so it didn't take much for the net-lady to catch on to who was actually making those suggestions. Tugging on the string Catra had left dangling for her, she had subtly threatened to separate Catra from Adora so she couldn't keep making her doubtful before such an important battle. Catra backed off, but not before getting a look at the map of Etheria inside the command tent and finalising her own counter-strategy.
With that done, she split her time between hanging out and sparring with Adora, and doing everything she could think of to annoy everyone else. While marching, she would hop through the treetops, raining sticks and nuts on the soldiers below. Other times, she would growl while near one of the horses, startling it and causing chaos as it tried to bolt away. Her favourite way to annoy them, though, still featured Adora. Playing along with the idea that Adora was the only one that could tame her like some sort of attack animal, she allowed herself to act in ways she would have been too scared to in the Fright Zone.
Adora may not have cared for Catra to the same world-burning, heart-crushing extent as Catra did for her, but she had experienced enough since becoming a Force Captain to at least recognise the attraction in the way Adora looked at her. It was particularly entertaining during their sparring matches, where all she had to do was lean into her, or stroke her tail across a section of skin, and Adora would lose almost all composure. It didn't work as well when she sparred against She-ra, as it seemed that the magic-spirit-thing living inside of Adora was still pretty annoyed at the way their last real fight had ended and had more control when Adora was transformed.
They were still working on cementing Adora's control over She-ra. Whenever she transformed, she no longer moved with the reckless confidence she used to. Instead, she would alternate between Adora's methodical style of fighting - which she had yet to properly adapt to accommodate for her increased size and strength - and She-ra's beserker offence. She also now had problems following through on her attacks, waiting to make sure that Catra wasn't seriously injured instead of committing (though that might just be in Catra's case). Either way, this provided Catra with the perfect opening to execute her plan, and had the added bonus of not hurting Adora...
She just wished it didn't involve her being thrown through a tree.
"Oh my gosh! Catra! Are you okay?" Adora called, transforming back and running towards where she had landed in a heap on the ground. The net-lady was still watching them spar, and Catra made sure she was within earshot as she grunted.
"This isn't working."
"W-what do you mean?" Adora asked, and Catra could smell the anxiety rolling off of her.
"You've been off-balance since Gren," Catra explained. "If you go out into the front lines like this... it won't end well."
"I-I know," Adora mumbled. "But I'll fix it, I promise."
Catra smiled and looked around, pretending to be on the lookout for eavesdroppers. "I know you will, but we don't have the time."
"We don't have a choice," Adora argued. "If I don't fight, people will get hurt."
Catra swallowed her rage, focusing on not burning the ground at her feet before answering. "What if... I could help you... you know, magically?"
"You mean that weird fire power you had?"
Catra nodded. "I don't really care what happens at the battle, but if doing that can keep you safe and, you know, maybe get a good a word in for Scorpia and Entrapta, then I guess I'd be willing to do it."
Adora's smile could have lit up the night as she rushed forward and wrapped Catra in her arms. Catra's ears twitched as she listened to their eavesdropper sneak away. Before Catra could even respond, Adora was dragging her through the camp, past soldiers who were just finishing packing up, and towards the command tent where Sparkles and Crop Top were lounging around.
"Guys! Guys!" Adora called, her unrestrained joy filling the air.
"Woah, Adora, what's the rush?" Crop Top asked as she nearly toppled him off the cushion he was sitting in, while Catra waited just outside.
"Get your things!" Adora shouted. "Catra's agreed to help us!"
"Uh, yeah," Sparkles drawled, a lazy smirk on her face. "She did a while ago... though I don't know if I'd really call it helping."
Catra could see Adora blush with embarrassment, while Sparkles and Crop Top snickered. Something about the way Adora's shoulders hunched made her have to work extra hard not to set them on fire, but she didn't know why. She teased Adora all the time, and was far meaner than those two, but Adora always just rolled her eyes or laughed along with her. Either way, she could smell that Adora's good mood had dipped slightly before surging back.
"No, I mean that she agreed to take us to that magic rock she mentioned when we found her."
"You mean the one that she says was responsible for those weird fire powers?" Sparkles asked.
"Yeah. She wants to help us in the fight."
"Is that so?" Catra had watched the net-lady approach but the other three jumped. Adora's grin widened and she nodded vigorously. Catra was touched by her unwavering belief that, deep down, she was just as good a person as her. The four of them looked towards where she was leaning against a tree, out of human earshot. "Quite the sudden change of heart, don't you think?"
Adora blushed and scratched the back of her head. "I dunno, she did say that she was only doing it to keep me safe and help her friends back in Bright Moon, but, I think deep down she really does want to help people."
"Or she's looking for an excuse to get you alone," Sparkles countered. "Do we really want Catra of all people having that kind of power again?"
"She's the only one who knows where whatever it is that gave her those powers is," Crop Top argued. "If we want to improve our chances, we need her to show us where it is."
"That's a good point, Bow," Hair Net said, she and Catra locked eyes, and Catra raised an eyebrow. The fire in her flared, and Catra received another vision of the wasteland around Mount Candila spreading to cover more and more of Etheria. Voices in the back of her mind cried out in fear, and Catra imagined prisoners cowering before a warden. Suddenly she was back in the present, staring into Hair Net's eyes and pretending to be unable to hear them. "She is the only one who can lead us to wherever the source of that power she had is hidden, but that doesn't mean she has to be the one to use it again."
"Oh, yeah!" Sparkles cheered, catching on. "We can get her to lead us there, and once she does, bam! We knock her out. Then we let someone else take that power."
"I don't know," Adora muttered.
Hair Net smiled reassuringly and reached out to touch Adora's shoulder. "Adora, I know you want to see the best in people, but we can't risk our strongest fighter going alone with her. Let us come with you."
Adora looked conflicted, and Catra turned away before their eyes had a chance to meet. It would make things much easier if those three joined them, so, when Adora reluctantly agreed, the relief Catra felt was a balm against the hurt and anger that came from Adora thinking she would hurt her now that they weren't on opposing sides.
The four of them gathered their individual supplies and walked over to join her. Catra looked at each of them with suspicion, but didn't say anything as she turned around and started walking further South through the trees.
They walked in blessed silence for several hours before breaking for lunch. Catra had already caught a rabbit the night before and tethered it to her belt before they left, so she dug into that while the others looked mildly disgusted.
"So, Catra," Crop Top said, false cheerfulness making his voice creak. "Where exactly are you taking us?"
"Woulda thought Adora had already told you, Crop Top," Catra mumbled through a mouthful of rabbit flesh.
"I think Bow was asking about the general area you're leading us to," Hair Net said. "It helps to know what we're going to be walking into."
Catra rolled her eyes and groaned. "Fine. We're headed to the valley between Mount Candila and Talon Mountain. Happy now?"
Hair Net's eyes narrowed just slightly before she schooled her expression. "Quite." Catra could already see she was making battle plans, probably thinking that they would have the advantage with the lack of higher ground and the canyons criss-crossing the entire valley. Catra, on the other hand, was willing to bet that those canyons, and the massive rivers way down at the bottom, were the perfect hiding spots for the Horde Naval forces as they waited for the frontline infantry to draw the Alliance away.
"It's a three-day walk," Catra announced, quickly burying the remains of her lunch. She licked the blood off her claws, hoping to cover as much of the rabbit's scent as she could so as not to attract any Beasts. "If you want to make it there and back to the others in time, we need to get moving." Crop Top and Sparkles groaned as they pushed themselves to their feet, but Catra just went on ignoring them. She was entirely focused on her next goal should she be right and they find the Horde waiting for them:
Survival.
A/N: So, Adora's faith in the Alliance is starting to erode. She was operating under the assumption that this was the war to end all wars; defeat the Horde, go home, live happily ever after. I wanted to show that there was conflict in Etheria before the Horde arrived, and there will be conflict afterwards as well. The reality of that makes her supposed destiny as She-ra that much heavier. Her black and white understanding of the world is slowly changing, while Catra is starting to understand the lengths she would go to for Adora. I described the way she feels about Adora as world-burning, because that's exactly what it is. It's not healthy, or rational, but as Catra mentioned to She-ra, she's driven by the oldest and deadliest of powers. Adora might be some kind of savior and a paragon of all that is right, but Catra is the one with the greatest potential for both good and evil.
Anyway, hope you guys liked this one! Tell me what you think in the reviews, and as always
TTFN