Catra didn't know how long she had been wandering the dead forest of the Whispering Woods, all she could do was keep walking forward, no matter how tired she was, no matter how cold she was, no matter how much her muscles ached. She knew if she stopped she would die, and forced herself to limp forward. She looked up as she walked, searching for some sign, any sign that she was heading in the right direction. But all she could see was black sky beyond the treetops and the falling snow. She kept moving anyway because she didn't know what else to do. If she kept straight in one direction, eventually she would hit *something*.

Catra looked back to the ground and thought she saw something on the ground, a trail? She sped up in excitement. She looked down at the snow and saw a series of small indentations. Footprints? Had someone been walking this way recently? Catra was so excited almost went into a sprint and tripped and fell into the snow. She groaned in pain as she crawled on all fours, but it didn't matter. Now that she was close enough, she could see for sure that the path was clearly a set of footprints. A small animal with clawed feet, and a bloody cut on one of their soles. Catra's optimism soon evaporated as a terrifying thought had entered her mind. She looked behind her and saw a trail of the exact same footprints leading towards her. Someone had been walking this way recently. Someone by the name of Catra.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Catra gasped, her voice sore and hoarse, "THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! THERE'S NO WAY I COULD HAVE GONE IN CIRCLES! I DIDN'T EVEN TURN ONCE!"

Catra looked around to see if she recognized this part of the woods, but all these dead trees looked the same to her. Groaning in frustration, she took a sharp left turn and began walking directly away from her own footprints, hoping this new direction would prove more fruitful. After another long while walking in a straight line, Catra's ears twitched and she heard a rumbling in the distance. A predator? No, this thing was mechanical. She had heard this sound before. Catra looked behind her and up to see something flying above the trees: a skiff. Catra used what little energy remained in her to jump and wave her arms in the air.

"Over here!" she called out, "I'm down here!"

Either the skiff didn't see her, or it didn't care to. The only light Catra could see was a small red one at the front. As it passed over Catra, sailing high above the treeline, she squinted at it to see who was flying it. The skiff had been heavily modified and painted red, looking more like a two railed sled than a skiff, and Catra thought she saw nine quadrupedal creatures with antlers flying in front of it. After the skiff disappeared into the snowy night, Catra wondered if she even saw it at all, or if her time spent out in the cold winter night had finally driven her insane. Hallucination or not, Catra decided to follow after it, marching slowly through the snow. It didn't matter how cold she was, it didn't matter how tired she was, it didn't matter how hungry she was. Catra had to keep moving or else she would die. And she really was hungry. Starving, in fact. Catra couldn't remember the last time she was so hungry. She wiped the icicles from her nose and smelt a pungent odor in the air that she nonetheless found appetizing.

"Fresh fish?" Catra said to herself.

Catra followed the smell and thought she could hear singing in the distance. Her pace quickened once again and she saw the trees in the forest begin to clear. In the clearing she could see a light hanging off a sled full of freshly caught fish piled on top, pulled by a two legged figure wearing a heavy blue fur coat with white trim, black goggles, and a long colorful scarf that covered their face.

"Oooh! Cathulu lives, Cathulu lives, deep down in the seaaa!" they sang merrily as they pulled their sled by a long tow cable, "In the city of Rehlay, waiting to be freed! Hey! Cathulu lives, Cathulu lives, deep down in the seaaa! In the city of Rehlay, waiting to be freeeed!"

Catra stalked the padded figure, hiding behind the trees in the shadows.

"His servants wait belooow! Deep under the seaaa! Their numbers they will grooow! Swimming safe and free! Ho-ho-ho! They're not yet dead, but dreaaam! Til that fateful daaay! When they set the Old Ones free on mankind's final day! Oooh! Cathulu lives, Cathulu lives, deep down in the seaaa! In the city of Rehlay, waiting to be freed! Hey! Cathulu lives, Cathulu lives, deep down in the seaaa! In the city of Rehlay, way-ting-to-be-freeeed!"

The figure stopped a moment to catch their breath, just in time for Catra to step on a twig in the brief silence. The figure turned their head towards the forest, just as Catra hid behind a dead tree.

"Hello?" the figure called out, "Is someone out there? Come out so I can see you!"

Catra held her breath and closed her eyes, hoping the fisherman would simply ignore her and move on.

"As you can see I have food to spare if you are hungry," the figure called out again, "And if you are traveling to the shore, you may ride with me! I would appreciate the company! No one should be alone on a night like tonight! Come out! Come out and know me better, friend!"

Catra kept her breath held until she could hold it no more and she exhaled sharply. The rush of cold air made her dizzy and she finally collapsed into the snow.

"Good heavens!" Catra heard a concerned voice gasp, "Fear not, poor creature! Help is on the way!"

Catra heard heavy boots stomp towards her in the snow and she felt a padded mitt pat her softly on the face. Catra's eyes opened and the world was spinning around her.

"You must be freezing!" observed the figure with frantic worry, "Here, take my coat!"

Catra's eyes tried to focus on the face staring back at her as the figure took off their scarf and wrapped it around her neck. It was the face of a man with a warm, friendly smile and a twirling brown moustache that shone in the moonlight. When he took off his coat, she saw the man had a full messy head of brown hair held together with a black headband, a golden earing on his left ear, and a red hankerchief tied around his neck. The man lifted her in his arms and wrapped his coat around her, holding her close against his long sleeved white shirt.

"Not to worry, fair maiden!" the man declared, "For you are in the safe hands of Seahawke! The Hero of Salineas and Savior of Brightmoon! Now let's get you someplace warm!"

"Oh, please, no..." Catra grumbled, too tired to resist.

The man carried Catra over to his sled full of fish and laid her atop it.

"Here, you can wear my spare fishing boots!" Seahawk insisted, as he strapped a large pair of boots around Catra's feet, "Do you live nearby? Can I take you home?"

"No..." Catra groaned wearily.

"Then how in the blazes did you manage to get this far in the cold?!" Seahawke asked in shock, taking off his mittens and putting them around Catra's claws, "Why you're practically naked!"

"I'm not naked..." Catra argued, "Just an idiot..."

"Now, now, I won't hear none of that!" Seahawke ordered, giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder, "You do look familiar, however. Have I rescued you from imminent danger before?"

Seahawke stroked his chin as he looked over Catra's face with curiosity.

"No..." Catra answered, "I'm pretty sure I would remember someone as annoying as you..."

"Haha!" Seahawke laughed, "Well, at least you're well enough to make jokes in a time such as this. Come! I will take you to my ship and we'll get you nice and warmed up!"

Seahawke grabbed the tow cable out of the snow and began pulling the sled with Catra aboard on her bed of fish.

"Let us sing while we travel!" Seahawke suggested, "Do you have any favorite Solstice Hymns?"

"No..." Catra replied softly, "I don't sing..."

"Oh, Poppycock!" Seahawke shot back, "Not up for a rousing round of 'Awake, All Ye Olde Ones'? Or 'Great Sultan Azathoth'? What about 'Freddie the Red Brained Mi-Go'?"

"No, thanks," Catra sighed, "I really just want to go to sleep right now..."

"I'm sure you do," Seahawke said, his tone turning far more serious, "But you have to stay awake until we can get you warmed up. If I'm not mistaken, you're suffering from severe hypothermia, and if you lose consciousness now, you could very well die."

"Then just let me die..." Catra groaned.

"Madame, I said I don't to hear none of that doom and gloom talk from you this night," Seahawke ordered, his energy quickly returning to his usual bubbly self, "You're not dying today! Not on my watch and certainly not on Christmas! Now, if you don't want to sing, then how about you tell me your story"

"My story?" Catra repeated in confusion.

"Well, you didn't just spring fully formed out of that tree now, did you?" Seahawke chuckled, "I don't even know your name."

"I'm no one important..." Catra lied, "You don't want to know anything about me."

"Oh, but, in fact, I find that all the more intriguing!" Seahawke answered, "You see, I have sailed all the seas in Etheria and had adventures in every kingdom from Salineas to the Snows and in all my travels I have never met anyone who wasn't important before. So that makes you someone very special in my books!"

"I know what you're up to," Catra sneered, "I can see through your whole hero routine..."

"You can?" Seahawke inquired innocently.

"Giving me all your clothes to show off your body, pulling me on your sled to show how strong you are, that practiced smile, your annoying attempts to feign interest in me," Catra listed, "You're trying to seduce me. You think I'm just some hapless damsel in distress who will turn to butter in your arms just because you were the first man who was nice to me. Well, pal, let me cut to the chase and tell you there is less than zero chance of that happening tonight!"

"I see... I find the fact that I am the first man to be nice to you to be more than a bit disconcerting," Seahawke quipped with a twinge of concern, "And I am sorry to disappoint you, but I *already* have a lady love to come home to. I was on my way to meet her, in fact, before I met you."

"Suuure, you were..." Catra snarked, "And you're bringing her this big pile of fish as... what? A Christmas Present?"

"Oh, my heavens no!" Seahawke laughed loudly, "This is just my solstice ritual I perform every year."

"Solstice ritual?" Catra repeated.

"You see, there's a lake, not far from here, that has just the perfect spot for fishing," Seahawke explained, "Every winter solstice I come here early in the morning before sunrise and spend all day just fishing by myself. The cold weather keeps the fish fresh, and I manage a good haul by sundown. After the sun sets, I take my catch and sail into town to give out my spoils to any who need it."

"Why go to all the trouble for something you're just going to give away anyway?" Catra asked.

"It's no trouble at all," Seahawke argued, "Actually, I find it rather relaxing, just me and the fish on the frozen water. It gives me a moment by myself to recollect about all the grand adventures I've enjoyed over the past year and helps me learn to appreciate the people I have in my life."

"So, why bother fishing?" Catra queried, "You could be alone anywhere you want."

"I could," Seahawke agreed, "But then I wouldn't have anything to bring back with me."

"But why bother bringing anything back?" Catra asked again, "I mean, is this a service you charge for? Do people pay you?"

"I am paid with the joy I bring to people who need it the most!" Seahawke announced, "And with the satisfaction of knowing I've put more good in this world than I take out!"

"So you're just a sap who lets people mooch off you to get their attention," Catra translated, crossing her arms as she laid back on the sled, "That's kinda pathetic really."

"That is a very dismal way of putting it," Seahawke commented, "I'll tell you what: Come to town with me and you can see firsthand the true warmth a friendly smile can give you in even the coldest of nights."

~*~

Catra had spent the rest of the trip covering her ears as she tried her best to ignore Seahawke singing loudly into the night.

"Harvey was devoured by the undeaaad!" he sang, "Lurking 'round an evil wizard's tooomb! You can say there's no such thing as zombieees! But that's how poor old Harvey met his doooom! Well, I waited and I waited! For some word from down belooow! When I had heard poor Harvey screaming! 'Run, for Pete's sake, Seahawke! Go, man, go!' So I stood alone in horrooor! Paralyzed with fear and dread! When a voice that wasn't humaaan! Whispered to me, 'Run, you fool! Harvey's dead!' Harvey got devoured by the undeaaad! Lurking 'round an evil wizard's tooomb! You can say there's no such thing as zombieees! But that's how poor old Harvey met his doooom! Oh, you could say there's no such thing as zombieees! But-that's-how-poor-old-Harvey-met-his-dooOOOoom!"

"Please stop..." Catra whined, "For the love of all that is good in this world, please stop singing..."

Catra closed her eyes and began to cry loudly at the torture she had been subjected to, tears streaming from her eyes.

"No need to cry, my dear," Seahawke assured her, "We're here!"

Catra looked up past the pirate and saw a gorgeous luxury yacht docked along the shoreline. It's hull was pearly white with a gold trim and it had a large green sail in the shape of a fish scale. Seahawke threw the tow cable onto the ground and held out his hand for Catra to grab.

"Are you okay to walk?" Seahawke asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Catra shrugged, brushing off Seahawke's hand as she got up off the sled.

Catra made it about five steps before she stumbled and tripped.

"Whoa there!" Seahawke called out, catching her by the shoulders and steadying her against him, "Let's just take it easy. We'll get you below deck where you can lie down on my bed."

"Yeah, I bet you'd like that wouldn't you..." Catra snarked, recoiling from his grip.

"Yes, I would," Seahawke said, holding her firmly by the shoulder and wrist, "Because you're a person in trouble and I want to take care of you."

"Whatever, pal," Catra said, "Just don't get any ideas. I've got my eye on you."

"You must have had a truly miserable life to have garnered such a mistrust of people," Seahawke commented, leading her up the plank onto the wooden deck, "I'm truly sorry for you."

"Oh, please," Catra groaned, "Spare me the pity party. The only reason I'm still here is there's nowhere else for me to go."

"I know," Seahawke assured her, "The cabin is this way. You can get changed while I start loading up the ship. My clothes probably won't fit you comfortably, but they'll keep you warm while we leave yours out to dry."

Catra saw the golden canopy at the rear of the ship and let Seahawke open the door for her. He motioned towards the steep wooden staircase down below and Catra limped down the steps carefully, gripping the handrails tightly as she went down. When Catra reached the bottom her mouth dropped open in surprise to see the cabin was far more roomier than she could have expected given the ship's size. From her left to the bow of the ship was a fancy wooden bookshelf next to a comfy looking seat by a flickering lantern, a desk set up against a wall facing a sealed porthole and a queen sized bed in the corner. On her right was a small refrigerator and cooking stove with a dining bar, a doorway to a much smaller room, which she guessed was the washroom, and a large set of red velvet curtains that almost took up the entire wall. At the front of the cabin was a golden statue of a mermaid holding up the ceiling.

"I'll give you the tour," Seahawke offered, leaping down from the top of the staircase behind Catra, "We have the bed, library, kitchen, my writing desk, bathroom with shower here, secret escape hatch behind the stairs, and behind these curtains..."

Seahawke pulled apart the curtains to reveal another surprisingly large room with clothes hung along the walls, with drawers and mirrors surrounding a plush red pedestal.

"My wardrobe..." Seahawke finished, searching through the clothing hangers along the side and pulling out another heavy winter coat and scarf, "Make yourself at home."

"Okay, maybe I was a little too hasty in saying there was *no* chance of us getting together..." Catra admitted, taking off her mittens to feel the luxurious fabrics on display, "A girl could get used to this."

"Well, I'm glad *someone* appreciates the work I put into decorating this place," Seahawke scoffed, quickly donning the coat over his arms with a flourish, "Did you know my darling Mermista hasn't even bothered to come down here since she gave me this ship?"

"Mermista?" Catra repeated, her tone growing dour as she froze wide-eyed with fear, "Your girlfriend is a princess?"

"Why, but of course!" Seahawke said proudly, "I have fought by her side against the evil forces of the Horde ever since they attacked the Great Wall of Salineas this past year."

Catra's eyes darted towards the mirror to look at Seahawke indirectly and thought about where she could have seen his face before. In her mind, she was standing on the deck of a Horde battlecruiser, watching a much smaller ship charge towards her at ramming speed. The entire vessel was bathed in flame and she saw the ship's captain staring back at her without even a hint of fear as his doomed ship smashed against hers into a fiery explosion of metal and wood. Catra didn't remember how she survived, but she remembered those eyes. Those same eyes that glared at her with the intense passion that would give even the most terrifying of monsters pause, which were now staring back at her with a simple, almost childlike, friendly warmth.

"I am trapped on board a princess ship alone with the ghost of a suicidal psychopath," Catra whispered softly, her body trembling in fear.

"What was that?" Seahawke called out.

"I said, can you give me some privacy, you perverted psychopath?!" Catra shouted at him, "I'm trying to change here!"

"Oh, yes, of course!" Seahawke stuttered, his cheeks turning red with embarrassment, "I'll be back in a few minutes with some Cocoa and a couple Hot Water bottles for you. Just let me know if you need anything else."

Seahawke quickly closed the curtains and left Catra alone to change. Catra quickly threw off Seahawke's coat and boots and took off her shirt, the fabric getting stuck to her damp fur which was soaked in sweat and melted snow. With some effort, she pulled it over her head and wiped off the snow on the back, revealing the bright red symbol of an inverted teardrop with large batlike wings extending outward, the insignia of Hordak's Evil Horde.

"Crap..." Catra cursed, "I need to get rid of this thing..."

Catra poked her head out of the curtains to make sure Seahawke was good and gone, then she quietly snuck towards the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Standing in front of the toilet she began quickly tearing the shirt to shreds with her claws, letting each tiny scrap of fabric fall into the toilet bowl like the snowflakes outside. After the shirt was completely shredded, she reached for the handle and pulled, flushing the remains down the hole.

"Come on..." Catra pleaded, as the toilet struggled to dispose of the evidence, "Go down..."

It took several flushes, but eventually there was nothing in the toilet bowl but clear water. Catra breathed a sigh of relief and washed her hands in the sink before poking her head out the door once again to check that the coast was clear. Satisfied that no one was there, Catra ran back to the wardrobe as fast as she could and closed the curtains behind her. She took off her pants and wiped off her fur with a towel. She quickly went through Seahawke's drawers and took out a pair of blue sweatpants and a white long sleeved shirt that was a couple sizes bigger than she was used to. It took no time at all to finish changing, and she finally exited the wardrobe to curl up under the covers of the large bed. As scared as she was about her current situation, Catra was far too exhausted and far too comfortable to stay awake any longer and quickly fell asleep.

~*~

Catra woke up to the smell of cooked fish. She did not know how long she had been asleep, but she had noticed two hot water bottles had been placed under her covers and a thermos of piping hot cocoa on her bedside table. She sat up and swept her feet out of the covers to open the thermos, inhaling the steam escaping from it for a moment before taking a sip of the sweet chocolate drink. The room creaked and rocked, and Catra could tell the ship was in motion over the waves.

"The fish smells done..." Catra commented towards the kitchen, only to notice there was no one there, "Huh?"

Catra stood up quickly, stumbling a bit as she adjusted to the floor moving under her. She sniffed again in the air in confusion and noticed another smell in addition to the smell of fish.

"Wood..." Catra realized, her eyes growing wide with fear as she looked at the ceiling above her, "Oh, no..."

Catra dropped the thermos, spilling the hot chocolate on the floor and bolted up the stairs as fast as she could. She opened the door to the cabin and stepped outside into the cold sea air. She turned around to see smoke billowing from the middle of the ship. She looked around the deck for something to use and grabbed a bucket off the ground. She ran over to the side of the ship and dipped the bucket in the water. After pulling it back up, Catra ran over towards the smoke and threw the bucket of water over the burning fire on the deck.

"Woah! Careful there!" Seahawke shouted as he pulled away his frying pan out of the way in the last second, "Do you want us to get Salmonella?! Because this is how you get Salmonella!"

"WHY ARE YOU LIGHTING A FIRE ON A WOODEN SHIP, YOU IDIOT?!" Catra screamed, "ARE YOU TRYING TO GET US ALL KILLED, YOU DUMB MORON?!"

"I was *trying* to cook us dinner, thank you very much!" Seahawke scoffed smugly, showing off his frying pan with two large fish fillets inside to Catra, " And it was almost ready before you came to ruin it..."

"Why here?!" Catra demanded in amazement, "There's a perfectly good stove downstairs!"

"It was right next to the bed and you were asleep!" Seahawke explained meekly, carefully dropping the pan on the deck as he got up, "I didn't want to wake you... also I needed to be up here to steer the ship, in case something happened."

"Well, thanks for that!" Catra sneered sarcastically, throwing the empty bucket behind her, "But I'm fine now, so you can pull this ship over so I can get off!"

"Get off?" Seahawke repeated in condescending shock, "In the middle of nowhere? After you had already nearly frozen to death? Not a chance!"

"It would be safer than spending ONE MORE MINUTE WITH YOU ON THIS DEATHTRAP!" Catra shrieked, stomping her foot on the deck, "Let me off, RIGHT NOW!"

"Well, I am the captain of this 'deathtrap' and I'm not stopping it just so you can go pointlessly risk your life again!" Seahawke pouted, closing his eyes and tilting his head up and to the right flamboyantly as he folded his arms, "If you are truly intent on killing yourself so badly, then simply jump off the side and go drown yourself in the freezing water!"

"Maybe I will..." Catra said, walking over to the edge of the deck.

"Well, then go right ahead!" Seahawke called out behind her, throwing up his arms in exasperation, "I'll go back down and see if I can fix what's left of this meal."

Catra leaned over the railing and looked over into the rushing water, judging how far she would have to swim to get to shore. She couldn't even see the shoreline through the dark, snow and fog and she remembered had clawed an eye out of her swimming instructor before she actually learned how to swim. She clenched her fists and let out a feral scream into the night.

"Yeaaaggggg!" she howled, "Fine! I'm going back inside!"

"Good!" Seahawke cheered, his tone switching almost immediately to his usual bright bubbly self, "I'll get dinner ready shortly!"

Catra grumbled incoherently under her breath as she meekly followed the pirate back down into the cabin.

~*~

The rest of the trip continued with a thick tension in the air as Catra slowly ate her meal in total silence, despite all of Seahawke's many attempts to engage her. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how good the food tasted. When they had finished, Seahawke had retreated to the wardrobe to freshen up his makeup and pick out his clothes for his visit to Castle Brightmoon, while Catra curled up on his bed.

"What do you think?" Seahawke asked as he quickly popped out of the wardrobe, "Too much?"

Seahawke was dressed in a long green fur coat with white fur trim and the top open to expose his hairy chest, as well as a wreath of holly that sat on his head like a crown. Catra looked him over slightly, then turned herself to her side away from him without saying a word. Seahawke made an annoyed grunt as he wrinkled his nose and returned to the wardrobe to continue working on his look. When he was finally ready, Seahawke went up on deck to bring the ship into dock. Despite the harsh weather, the trip went as smoothly as could be expected and, before long, Seahawke quickly returned below deck to fetch Catra.

"We are here," Seahawke reported, "I could use an extra hand to unload our cargo, but you are free to leave the ship."

Catra said nothing as she simply strapped on her boots and grabbed her coat and scarf, making sure to cover as much of her face as possible as she wrapped it around her.

"I'll take that as a 'no'," Seahawke said, with a twinge of disappointment.

"Let's just get this over with..." Catra moaned as she climbed up the stairway and out of the cabin.

~*~

Catra helped Seahawke handle the fish onto a cart he had rented from the dockyard and walked behind the cart as he pulled it behind him. When they made it into the village, the people came out to promptly greet them and formed an orderly line to receive their fish.

"Thank you so much for doing this, young man!" an elderly woman with a lisp greeted, pinching Seahawke's cheek as she took a sleeve of fish, "The harvest has been so poor since the Horde attack on Brightmoon. We've had to ration out our food so much this winter, we wouldn't have had enough for a proper Christmas dinner this year were it not for you."

"Oh, well now, we couldn't have that!" Seahawke laughed, "Give my best to the young master William. Merry Christmas to you!"

"Merry Christmas!" the woman responded.

Catra placed another fish in a paper sleeve and shoved it into the next person in line with a wet slap.

"Here..." she grunted, "Next!"

"Thank you for the food, Lady!" a little boy in line said as he came up, "Merry Christmas!"

"Don't talk to me," Catra grumbled, throwing another sleeve of fish at him, "Next!"

"Now, my dear, it's not a race," Seahawke chided her, "We have all night and plenty of fish for everyone! Ah, Archibald, how are your two girls doing?"

"Sorry, did you or did you not want my help tonight?" Catra shot back at him sarcastically, "Cause I can leave anytime you want!"

"I'm just saying that you might enjoy yourself more if you took the time to really engage with the people you're helping," Seahawke suggested, "I think might be surprised how much you can connect with someone with a simple act of kindness. My dear Samantha, you are looking smashing this evening! Who's the lucky girl this time?"

"And I think it might be kinder to not waste the time of people I'm never going to meet again, especially when there a bunch more people waiting behind them in the freezing cold," Catra argued, mindlessly grabbing another fish from the cart to hand out, "Next!"

Catra and Seahawke continued handing out fish for no more than a few minutes until finally the last person in line was served and the crowd began to disperse.

"Merry Christmas everyone!" Seahawke called out with a wave, "And may good tidings bring you all happiness and comfort into the new year!"

"Yeah..." Catra said much quieter, "What he said..."

"Here, lad!" Seahawke told a young boy passing by, "Take this cart over to the dockyard! Here's a shilling for you!"

A loud gurgling noise erupted as Seahawke paid the young boy, who quickly took the cart back the way they came.

"Good heavens," Seahawke exclaimed, "Was that your stomach?"

"Maybe..." Catra was loathed to admit, folding her arms and looking away in shame, "It's just... handling the fish... The smell was making me hungry."

"Well, then let us go for some more meat and drink!" Seahawke declared, pointing his finger in the air, "The Princesses are holding a grand feast at the castle tonight! This way!"

"Actually... I'm just going to find someplace to stay for the night..." Catra told him, "Thank you... for well... everything..."

"Where will you go?" Seahawke asked.

"I don't know," Catra replied, "There's probably an Inn or something I can stay at, right?"

"And how will you be paying for the room and board?" Seahawke continued, "Last I checked, you didn't have any money with you."

"Can't you loan me something?" Catra sighed, "I can pay you back after I get back home."

"Or you could come with me and spend a night in a real life Castle?" suggested Seahawke, "I'm certain the princesses will be willing to let you stay with them for one night."

"I don't think that's a good idea," said Catra, being careful not to say too much, "I don't think the princesses are going to like having me around at all."

"Oh, what nonsense!" Seahawke scoffed, brushing off her concerns, "They are a merry band of brave heroes with kind, loving hearts. Come to the castle with me and I'll show you!"

Seahawke began walking towards the Castle and Catra looked around hesitantly before slowly following after him.

~*~

The pink runestone that adorned the top of Castle Brightmoon shone brightly in the night like a star in the sky, illuminating Seahawke and Catra's way to the beautiful and intricate architecture of the palace. A large number of people had gathered outside the castle gates and were slowly being let in by stern looking guards with long curved spears and heavy metal armor.

"It looks like a big crowd tonight," Seahawke commented, "Why it's as if almost everyone in Etheria is here!"

Catra looked over the huge crowd of people shuffling over the drawbridge and the intimidating looking soldiers watching over them.

"I can't..." Catra stuttered, stopping in her tracks, "I can't go in there."

"What?" Seahawke said, turning around to face her, "Why not?"

Catra couldn't say anything and just looked at Seahawke with pleading eyes.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Seahawke assured her, "They're my friends, you'll like them."

"I can't let them see me," Catra told Seahawke, "They can't know I was here."

Seahawke looked Catra over with a confused expression and then lowered his head with a sigh.

"Alright," said Seahawke, "We don't have to go inside, if you don't want to. But come over here and I'll show you something."

Seahawke held his hand out to Catra, who hesitantly walked over to take it. Seahawke led her through the trees off the beaten path and they disappeared into the forest.

~*~

Seahawke led Catra out of the forest into a clearing. They stood on top of a cliff face high above the castle's moat and a stone's throw away from a large pink banner with the insignia for Brightmoon draped over the castle wall.

"Alright," Catra said, nervously looking over the edge of the cliff, "What was it you want to show me?"

"Do you trust me?" asked Seahawke.

"What?" Catra exclaimed, "I don't know... Maybe?"

"It's important," Seahawke insisted, squeezing Catra's hand tightly, "Do you trust me?"

"Sure..." Catra grumbled, "Why not?"

"Good enough," Seahawke said before running and taking a flying leap off the cliff, dragging Catra along with him, "ADVENTUUURE!"

"AAAHHHH!" screamed Catra as she fell behind him.

Catra closed her eyes and continued to scream as the air rushed through her fur. Then, she felt her arm jolt upwards with a snap, pulling her whole body with it. Her oversized boots jostled and fell off her feet, exposing them to the cold winter air. Catra opened her eyes to see them fall down to the moat below with a splash, her bare feet dangling under her.

"It's okay!" Seahawke called out, "I got you!"

Catra looked up to see Seahawke holding onto her hand with his own as he clutched onto the pink banner with the other.

"Come on!" Seahawke encouraged, "We can climb up this way!"

Seahawke pulled Catra up to him and she leapt onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders and coiling her legs around his waist. Catra held on as tightly as she could, shivering in fear.

"Or you could just hold onto me while I do all the climbing..." Seahawke shrugged, his chipper attitude unfazed by their current situation.

Catra just closed her eyes and tried to imagine herself anywhere other than her current situation as the pirate she was holding onto gripped onto the banner tightly and began scaling up the tall castle wall, singing the entire way up.

~*~

"See the blazing gods before us," sang Seahawke, "Fa la la la la la la la la! Join us in our morbid chorus! Fa la la la la la la la la! Follow him in mindless prayer! Fa la la la la la la la la! Great Cathulu in his lair! Fa la la la la la la la la!"

Seahawke continued to effortlessly climb the castle wall with his passenger in tow. Catra shrieked in terror as he began swinging on the large flag and leapt off of it. Seahawke landed gracefully onto a nearby stone balcony and posed proudly with his fists held beside his waist. Catra continued to hold onto him as hard as possible.

"Ha ha!" Seahawke laughed, "Nothing like a little bit of sensible danger to bring some excitement to the winter holidays... Umm... You can let go now... We're here..."

Catra poked open a single eye and looked around to make sure there was solid ground underneath her before quickly leaping off of Seahawke's back, brushing off her coat as she landed.

"Why did you do that?!" Catra shouted, "We could have died!"

"But we didn't!" Seahawke argued, "And now we can discreetly observe the festivities below, with no one else to disturb us."

"I told you I didn't want to be here!" Catra yelled in anger, "You said I didn't have to come in."

"Yes, I did," Seahawke agreed, "And we're not in! We're out here!"

"That's not the point! I mean... Yerg!" Catra grunted in frustration, before pointing at a strange object that caught her eye, "Wait... what is that doing here?"

Seahawke followed Catra's finger toward a small skiff parked on the balcony with them. It had a bench for two in the front with a large cargo bed in the back and looked hastily painted red with two metal bars crudely attached to the bottom to look like rails. A long pipe jutted from the front of it, onto which were attached the taxidermied remains of nine different quadrupedal animals of various species. Each had similar jagged piece of metal jutting out of their head that twisted and split into several ends, giving it the clumsy appearance of antlers. The beast on the front of this monstrosity had a large red lightbulb attached to its nose powered by a thick cable that wrapped around the animal and the long pipe behind it leading all the way back to the skiff's front control panel.

"Must be some new holiday decoration they just put up..." Seahawke guessed, stroking his chin in confusion, "Can't say I care for it. But anyways... look over here!"

Seahawke went over to a stained glass window and breathed on it before wiping the fog off with his sleeve. He looked inside briefly before taking a step back. He gave Catra a wink and gestured towards the window for her to look. Catra cautiously walked up and looked down through the window.

Inside was an elaborate throne room decorated with green wreaths and red ribbons and silver bells. A vast number of people were gathered around long white tables filled with a buffet of fancy hors d'oeuvres and cooked meats and colorful desserts. Most were dressed as fancy as they could muster with more than few looking like they could only afford dirty rags. A punch bowl full of brownish white liquid sat on one of the tables near the center of the room, where a green skinned lizard creature with long lime blonde hair and a big white fur coat was pouring the contents of a small metal flask into. At the far back of the room stood a immensely tall and slender woman with bright pink skin and long purple hair wearing a long blue and pink dress and white gloves who was smiling and shaking hands with a small group of visitors. Beside her stood a short and stout little girl in a purple dress with short pink hair in a tomboy cut that Catra recognized immediately.

"Uggh," Catra groaned, rolling her eyes, "And there's Glimmer, I figured she'd want to be the center of attention."

"Now don't you think you would rather be down there having fun than up here in the cold?" asked Seahawke.

"No, I would not," Catra grumbled dourly.

"But why?" inquired Seahawke aghast, "Everyone down there seems to be having a merry old time!"

"I told you," Catra explained, "The princesses don't want me there."

"What nonsense!" Seahawke pouted, "It's the annual Christmas feast, all are welcome in the castle tonight."

"Not everyone..." Catra groused under her breath, "What are they going to do if someone from the Horde shows up? Hypothetically speaking. The Queen and the Princess are totally exposed for even a mediocre sniper to pick off."

"Don't you think that's just the teensiest bit paranoid?" Seahawke questioned cautiously, "The Horde has been stuck behind their battlelines all winter. And even if they did send an assassin, the princesses are more than capable of protecting themselves."

"Where are the princesses anyway?" asked Catra, "I just see the big queen and Sparkles."

"Hmm?" Seahawke mused, "That is a good question. Let's take a quick look around."

Seahawke quickly ran off the balcony towards the hanging banner and once again grabbed on.

"Coming?" asked Seahawke, looking behind him at Catra.

"Yeah, yeah... give me a second," Catra grumbled, taking off her mittens and putting them in her pockets so she could extend her claws.

Catra followed after Seahawke and leapt onto the banner, hindered only slightly by her oversized and ill fitting clothing. But with the full use of all of her limbs, Catra was able to scurry up towards Seahawke almost as easily as a spider could.

"Alright," said Catra, her mood brightening slightly, "Where to now?"

"Ha ha!" laughed Seahawke, "To Adventure!"

As with that, Seahawke relaxed his grip slightly and slid down banner, Catra slowly following after him.

~*~

Seahawke and Catra leapt off the wall and onto another windowed balcony below. Catra snuck up to the stained glass window with her back against the stone wall and poked her head around the corner to look inside.

"Oh no..." Catra cursed, quickly snapping back against the wall, "There's a princess in that room..."

"Oh, really?" Seahawke said loudly, "Let me see."

Seahawke went up to the window and looked inside.

"Oh, there's my little sushi roll!" Seahawke cooed in joy as he waved inside, "Hello, my sweet sea scallop!"

Catra grabbed Seahawke by his neckerchief and pulled him back behind the wall.

"Are you nuts?!" Catra whispered harshly, "What part of 'I don't want the princesses to see me' do you not understand?!"

"And I have been telling you all night that you have nothing to worry about," Seahawke hissed back, "I know you are intimidated by their unfathomable power, but, take it from someone who knows them personally, there is nothing to be afraid of."

"Intimidated?" Catra repeated, "I'm not intimidated! Especially not by the likes of them!"

"Oh, peshaw!" Seahawke scoffed, "You have been acting like a scared little kitten ever since I first told you about them on the ship. You keep acting like they're all some evil cosmic force out to hurt you specifically. But they're just ordinary people like you and me! Just look inside and you'll see!"

"I'm not-" Catra began, stopping herself before she said something she would regret, "It's just-"

Seahawke stared back at her silently with an eyebrow raised to challenge her to continue.

"Grr... Fine..." growled Catra, poking her head out once more to look inside the room, "Just keep quiet, okay?"

The room looked cozy and warm from outside, with stockings hung over a blazing fireplace and a five foot tall, brightly decorated Christmas tree made out of aluminum with many colorfully wrapped gifts underneath. Sitting next to a small coffee table was a tall, lanky woman with long frizzy red hair and freckles dressed in a long green dress made out of hemp, who was wrapping red ribbons around a decorative wreath. Leaning against the wall on the far side of the window was a woman with dark skin and blue hair in a ponytail, dressed in another long dress made out of blue scales and holding a clear glass of brownish white liquid, looking outside and showing no notice of the two people standing directly outside on the balcony.

"Are you okay, Mermista?" the woman in green called out, "You've been staring outside for quite a while."

"Huh?" the woman in blue answered, "Yeah, Perfuma, I'm fine. I just hope my ride back home didn't get lost on the way here. It's really not looking good out there."

Mermista turned her head when she thought she heard a tiny squeal and saw something blue duck behind the window on the far side of the room.

"Awww," Perfuma cooed, recapturing the woman's attention, "You're worried about Seahawke. I'm sure he's fine, he always struck me as the person who liked to arrive fashionably late."

"I'm not... worried about him... I just... nevermind..." Mermista grumbled, taking a sip from her drink, "So... Not to alarm anyone... but I think someone's been spiking the eggnog."

Mermista took another sip.

"Or several people," she added, downing the drink with a loud gulp.

"It's okay to be worried," Perfuma assured her, "It's been a rough year for all of us. It's important to acknowledge the people who are important to us. Because you never know when..."

Perfuma's voice trailed off as Mermista placed an empty glass on the table and sat on the chair beside her to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. Perfuma's lip trembled as she looked down at the table.

"I know you feel guilty about Entrapta," Mermista said softly, "But what happened to her wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault."

"I don't blame myself for what happened," Perfuma said with a sniffle, "I blame myself for the way I treated her before she..."

Once again the princesses fell silent and snuggled close to comfort one another, while Catra and Seahawke continued to look in on them from outside.

"I don't get it," Catra whispered to Seahawke, "What are they crying about?"

"Just something that happened this past year," Seahawke explained, "We went on a mission to the Fright Zone to rescue Princess Glimmer after she was kidnapped at the Princess Prom. Entrapta was one of the princesses who came to help and she was... killed as we were making our escape."

Seahawke closed his eyes and hung his head low in silent mourning. Catra couldn't say anything. Part of her wanted to tell him, to tell all of them, that everything was fine. Entrapta was safe and sound in the Fright Zone, building weapons of war to use against the princesses because she thought they had abandoned her. But that would mean telling them how she knew about her and why she believed that. Her internal struggle was interrupted by a small princess, no older than twelve, with short dark hair and dressed in a white and blue fur coat that came rushing in.

"Guys, you're not gonna believe it!" she called out, "Santa is here! He's here in the castle!"

"Aw, that's cute, Frosta," Mermista chuckled, "You still believe in Santa Claus?"

"Believe nothing! He's here and I've met him!" the little girl shouted in excitement, "He has the beard, the clothes, the flying sleigh, everything! I asked him if he brought me my new sled and he said I'll find out tomorrow morning! He's just outside! Come see!"

Princess Frosta quickly back out the room nearly knocking into the young boy with dark skin and short black hair coming inside. The man wore a red and gold breastplate over his chest with green leggings, strangely leaving his stomach exposed.

"Woah, careful there," the boy said, carefully dodging around the frost princess, "What are you guys doing in here? Why aren't you all at the party in the throne room?"

"Uh, we're taking a break?" Mermista answered sarcastically, "What does it look like? Have you seen how many people are out there?"

"Yes!" the boy shouted emphatically, "And Glimmer is there all by herself greeting everyone! Why aren't you guys out there?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Bow," Perfuma apologized, quickly getting up and walking out the doorway, "I just needed to take a moment to recharge my chi. I'll be out there right away."

"So why aren't you and She-Ra out there?" asked Mermista, "Aren't you three like, Besties, or something?"

"I haven't been able to find Adora all evening," the boy explained, "Have you seen her anywhere?"

"No," Mermista answered flatly, "Have you checked her room?"

"Why would she be in her room?" the boy asked, "It's Brightmoon's Annual Christmas Feast! And this is her first one here, so it's really important she makes a good impression for everyone!"

The boy went silent for a moment as he mentally replayed the sentence he just said out loud. He was shaken out of his thoughts by something moving quickly on the balcony outside.

"I've been a bad friend," the boy realized, "Excuse me..."

The boy quickly left through the same door, once again nearly bumping into Princess Frosta as she was coming back into the room to grab the aluminum tree off it's stand.

"Frosta?" Mermista asked, "What are you doing?"

"I need to bring the tree to Santa!" Frosta explained, as she began to grab the gifts and all the Christmas decorations in the room, "He says there's a light that won't light right on one side and he's going to fix it in his workshop. Also there was a mix-up with the Christmas Gifts so they all need to go back and get sorted properly. And he also needs the stockings because there is a data flux distortion from the main deflector dish that is reversing the polarity of the neutron flow."

"What?" Mermista exclaimed in confusion, "None of that garbage made any sense whatsoever..."

"It doesn't matter!" Frosta shouted in a panic as she struggled to carry everything in her arms, "Santa needs my help to save Christmas! And you do not say 'No' to Santa on Christmas!"

Mermista just continued to watch in stunned silence as Frosta carefully carried all of the Christmas decorations out of the room.

"Whatever..." Mermista grumbled to no one in particular, "I'm gonna go see if there's any more eggnog."

Mermista slowly got up and walked towards the doorway, still unaware of her voyeur closely observing her.

"Now that is puzzling," Seahawke observed, stroking his chin in thought, "Why would Santa Claus need all of our Christmas decorations? What do you think, my ferocious feline companion?"

Seahawke looked beside him, and saw nothing but empty space and a trail of footprints leading off the balcony.

"Huh..." Seahawke slowly blurted out, his eyebrow raised in intrigue.

~*~

Catra stood outside another balcony, looking inside another window, with her claw pressed up against the glass. Inside she saw a young woman with blonde hair done up in a ponytail, wearing a white shirt and grey pants. She was sitting alone on a bed with her arms wrapped around her legs, her face pushed against her knees. Even though she was hiding her face and making no noise, Catra could tell the woman was crying. She was silent and alone because she didn't want anyone to know she was crying. And she was crying because she didn't how to stop. Catra hid behind the wall when she heard loud knocking coming from the door.

"Adora?" a familiar voice called out from outside, "It's Bow. Are you in there?"

Catra peeked her head out towards the window to see the woman wipe her eyes and quickly straighten her hair.

"Come in..." she squeaked with her voice cracking sharply, she cleared her throat so she could try again with more confidence, "I mean, come in!"

The door slowly opened and the young man from before with the exposed stomach walked in.

"There you are, Adora," Bow exclaimed, "Are you okay? I've been looking everywhere for you."

"I'm fine," Adora lied, "I was just getting ready to go out there."

"You're not fine..." Bow said empathetically, "You've been crying. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," Adora sniffled, "I'm just being stupid."

"You're not stupid," argued Bow, "I'm here for you and I want to help you, but I can't do that unless you open up to me. Okay?"

Adora opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a flash of pink and purple and suddenly a short, stocky princess with pink hair appeared before them in a puff of pink sparkles.

"Where have you guys been?" the newcomer shouted loudly in annoyance, "I haven't seen either of you all night. Do you know how many people are down there waiting to see She-Ra? I had to wait for Perfuma to cover for me to go find you. And now I come here to see you're not even dressed?!"

"Glimmer!" Bow gritted disapprovingly through his teeth, nodding his head in Adora's direction behind her back.

"What?" Glimmer asked, "What's going on between you two?"

"Nothing," Adora said firmly, "I'm sorry, Glimmer. I'll just get my sword and I'll be right out."

While Adora turned around to search her drawers, Bow and Glimmer began mouthing an argument silently behind her back. The two were gesturing more and more frantically at each other until Bow finally blurted out.

"BECAUSE IT'S HER FIRST CHRISTMAS AWAY FROM HOME, YOU INSENSITIVE DOLT!"

Glimmer was completely taken aback by the outburst. Bow immediately covered his mouth with both hands, his eyes wide in shock as he slowly turned around to see if Adora heard him. Adora stood staring at him with her hands on her hips and an unimpressed expression as she tapped her foot in irritation.

"I told you it's nothing," Adora growled, gathering her things and walking past Bow, "I was just being stupid."

"It's not nothing!" Bow argued, grabbing Adora by the arm to stop her, "The Horde was a part of your life for a long time, so it's natural you're going to have a bunch complex feelings about not being a part of them anymore. And you can't keep whatever you're feeling bottled up inside you. It's not healthy."

"Of course I can!" Adora shot back, "Letting people see your emotions allows your enemies to exploit your weaknesses! It's how you survived in the Horde."

"Adora, we're not you're enemies!" Bow told her, "You're not in the Horde anymore!"

"I know..." Adora sighed, closing her eyes and relaxing, "I'm sorry."

"Let's all sit down," Bow suggested, "We're you're friends, Adora, you can talk to us. Right?"

Bow glared at Glimmer as he led Adora over to the bed.

"Right!" Glimmer agreed, rubbing her arm as she hung her head in shame, "I'm sorry, Adora. I didn't think about how you must be feeling right now. I didn't even know the Horde celebrated Christmas."

"Of course, we did!" Adora shouted, sitting down on the bed, "Making requisition requests to Santa in exchange for ration bars and nutrient paste... Singing carols on our nightly patrols through the barracks... Setting up our anti-air defenses in case we had to shoot down the Krampus... All the usual Christmas stuff..."

Adora sighed as she lowered her head.

"It was my favorite time of year," Adora admitted, "It was the only time that was just... fun. When we didn't have to worry about drills or training or fighting anyone. It was the only time when we didn't have to be soldiers and we could just be... kids..."

Adora closed her eyes, and thought she heard the sound of claws scratching the wall behind her.

"We can still do all those things here, Adora," Glimmer suggested, "It won't be exactly the same, and we're definitely not gonna do the Krampus thing, but I think you'll like it just as much."

"I know," Adora said, "Thank you. It's just... Catra and I used to spend every Christmas together... And I can't help, but think how she must be feeling right now... now that I'm not there."

"Catra?!" Glimmer repeated in shock, "After everything that happened to us this year, you're worried about Catra of all people?!"

"Glimmer..." Bow cautioned.

"Right..." Glimmer corrected herself, "Sorry."

Adora took a deep breath before continuing.

"I know she made her choice to stay with the Horde," Adora said, "And I know she's done some terrible things since I've left. But I still miss having her around. We used to do everything together."

"But you do agree she's done really awful things, right?" asked Glimmer, "Like kidnapping me and trying to destroy Frosta's kingdom, or trying to destroy Mermista's Kingdom, or trying to destroy Brightmoon? And hasn't she tried to kill you, like, a bunch of times?"

"Twice..." Adora corrected, "She's tried to kill me two times. And I can't defend the things she's done for the Horde. But at the same time, I can't forget how bad things were in the Fright Zone. I managed to escape that life. Catra didn't. I don't think she's really aware that's even a possibility right now. She does what she does because that's the only way you can survive in a place like that. I keep wondering if I did something different or said the right thing, she would have left with me and I would have had my friend right here with me. I can't help but think I didn't try hard enough with her."

"Don't say that, Adora!" Bow ordered, "You gave Catra *every* chance to be better. You didn't leave Catra behind. She chose to go back. Nothing Catra has done for the Horde is on you."

"Part of me knows that, Bow," Adora explained, "But at the same time, I still feel responsible for her. It's not rational or logical. It's just a feeling I have."

"I know," Bow told her, grabbing her hand with his own, "You don't have to go out tonight. We can have just as great a Christmas evening right here, if you want. It doesn't matter as long as we spend it together."

"Right!" Glimmer added, giving her friend a hug, "We're here for you Adora."

"Thanks, Guys," Adora said, pulling the two of them close to her body, "I still want to go out tonight, but it's really nice just being here with you. Let's stay here for just a few minutes."

"Of course, Adora," Bow told her, "Take as long as you need."

The three best friends held onto one another, unaware that their intimate moment was being spied on by a Horde soldier outside.

"She really misses her friend, doesn't she?" Catra heard a sombre voice call out behind her.

Catra wiped her face, unaware she had been crying silently from behind the window. She didn't bother turning around to know Seahawke was standing right behind her.

"Whatever," Catra scoffed, half halfheartedly, "Who cares about all that lovey dovey friendship crap? They're probably gonna all make out on her bed like creeps. Disgusting."

"Just because Adora has new friends in her life doesn't mean there isn't a place for you, too," Seahawke said calmly, "You don't have to spend Christmas alone."

Catra tensed up as she heard Seahawke speak and began to hyperventilate, her eyes growing wide and her hair standing on end in fear as she realized she had been finally found out.

"Come inside, Catra," Seahawke offered, "Adora clearly misses you. You don't have to go back. You can just stay here."

When Catra felt Seahawke's warm hand on her shoulder, her feral instincts and years of combat training kicked in instantly. She elbowed the pirate in the stomach and spun around to slash at his coat, tearing a large gash in the padded fur. Before Seahawke could even react, Catra charged towards him and struck him in the chest with her shoulder, the surprised sailor floundering backwards in recoil.

"Woah!" Seahawke gasped in shock as he stumbled into the railing and tumbled off the edge of the balcony, "WAAAaaaaaahhh!"

When Catra realized what was happening, she reached to grab him. But Seahawke was already gone. She rushed over to look down from the balcony to see his screaming body fall into the frozen moat, hitting the ice with a crash and disappearing into the water below. Catra stared down at the impact site in horror at what she had done.

"I killed him..." she whispered, "He was just an idiot trying to be nice to me and I killed him..."

"That sounded like a scream!" Catra heard Adora call out from the room behind her.

"It came from outside!" shouted Glimmer.

"I'll go check!" announced Bow.

"I need to get out of here!" Catra gasped as she leapt onto the nearest banner and quickly slid down it, hiding underneath the balcony.

"Someone fell into the moat!" she heard Bow's voice call out behind her, "Someone go get Mermista!"

"On it!" Glimmer acknowledged, disappearing into a cloud of sparkles.

Catra jumped onto one of the lower balconies and made a running leap towards the nearby cliff, landing gracefully with a roll into the snow and sprinting on all fours deep into the frozen forest.

"Over there!" Adora pointed out, "There's something moving towards the Whispering Woods!"

"Let it go, Adora!" Bow ordered, "We need to focus on saving whoever fell down there!"

"Right, of course!" Adora acknowledged.

Catra continued running into the forest, not stopping for a moment in case someone came after her. She just wanted to put as much distance as she could between herself and Brightmoon as possible.

"I... hate..." Catra wheezed between breaths, "Princesses..."