It'd been some time since Catra and Adora had gotten inducted into Beacon's staff. Since, they've both run through several lessons regarding survival out there in the unforgiving wastes and how to kick ass using only your own body. In fact, Adora was just finishing up her lesson for the day. She had gotten the midday lesson this time, thankfully, so the students were paying attention more than in the late afternoon.
"And remember, keeping yourself warm should remain a priority. If you ever find yourself falling into cold water while hunting or fishing on an extended mission, hurry back to your camp and dry off. Your worst enemy won't be the Grimm if you don't, it'll be your own body giving up because of either suffering from hypothermia or catching a really nasty cold." She explained, stepping in front of the class. "The Survivor's Rule of Three should always be on your mind. Can anyone tell me what it is?"
Weiss raised her hand.
"Yes, Weiss. Go ahead." Adora pointed to her.
Weiss stood up, then started reciting the rule from her memory "You can survive three weeks without food, three days without water, three hours without shelter in a harsh environment and three minutes without oxygen."
"Correct." Adora nodded "So, going by importance, keep yourself breathing, have somewhere to hide if it's too hot or too cold where you're hunting, make sure you have a replenishable source of water nearby and, finally, make sure you know how to hunt or how to forage, or both." and the bell rung. Adora smiled, then said "Alright, everyone, see you tomorrow. Take care of yourselves and keep up with your work."
"Have a nice day, miss Spinner!" Everyone chanted, before strolling out of the classroom together. Adora went to the blackboard and started wiping it. However ,as the noise of chatting students died down, she felt that someone was waiting for her to turn around. She did and caught Blake waiting by the desk. Adora showed her to wait a sec, finishing up the cleanup of the board and tossing the still-wet sponge off to the table on the side.
"Hey, Blake." Adora then greeted warmly, approaching the girl. "Something I can do for you?"
"Hello, miss Spinner." The raven-haired beauty responded in kind "I had a few questions and... Well, they're not exactly tied to the lesson."
"Oh?" Adora raised a brow, then motioned toward one of the desks in the front. The two went and sat down, before Adora said "Okay, first, it's just Adora out of class. Second, ask away. What's bothering you?"
"Okay..." Blake nodded "And... It's about miss Clawdeen... Catra?"
Adora hummed, then paused for a moment and asked back "Is this about her feline traits?"
"Among other things." Blake rubbed the back of her neck "I would've asked her, but with how she acts in CQC class?"
Adora sighed, then chuckled, much to the confusion of Blake. She then explained "Blake, look... You, your team and team JNPR were our first contact to your world. IF anyone would have rights to ask about the two aliens living as Beacon teachers and teaching them, it's you guys and girls. Catra's been warming up to everyone, even to Cardin, so I'm sure she won't mind if you go to her after classes to ask."
Blake looked confused and clearly not convinced. Of course, it wouldn't really be that easy, Adora thought to herself. Catra wasn't exactly open about anything, nor was she trusting to anyone outside their already close circle of friends. And it took Catra three months to fully trust everyone she didn't know well enough in the group. Glimmer and Bow were the weird exception to that rule. Entrapta too... So she kind of saw Blake's unspoken point.
"Alright, fair..." The blonde sighed "Blake. You know we're from another world."
"I do. You never told us its name, though." She answered promptly, looking into Adora's eyes.
"I can trust you and your team, right?" Adora crossed her arms. Blake gave a firm nod of approval, to which the girl quickly turned to answer "We come from Etheria. A world somewhat far away in the galaxy, I imagine. Not sure where, exactly." adding a shrug and an awkward chuckle. "You can get your team and team JNPR and we can... Well, tell you as much as you wanna know."
"Sounds good." Blake smiled "And... Thanks... For trusting me."
"Oh, no problem, Blake." Adora smiled "You kids saved our bacon. Sure, you also mistakenly destroyed our way back home, but we're getting used to Beacon itself. And to Vale."
"It's a beautiful city, isn't it?" Blake asked.
"Yeah. Hey, here's an idea, how about we all meet for lunch and discuss our world?" Adora then offered, picking up her books on survival training from the desk. Blake offered a nod, arranging her bow. The blonde smiled, then said "Alright. We'll meet you girls in the mess hall at lunch." before she bid goodbye to Blake and walked off into the hallway. There, she saw Catra rubbing her right hand...
Her claws?
Her claws on that hand had been broken and were barely growing again. After two weeks... It must've been when she tried to save them. Adora smiled, then approached the girl and took her hand, dragging her along to their room. Catra started "Hey, Adora, what're you doin-" But she was shushed as they walked on down the halls. A short trip to the apartment and, upon arrival, Adora sat Catra down and looked at her hand.
Catra realized, then said "Adora, I'm fine. They're growing back."
Adora simply ignored her, looking over the scratches and wounds left over. She sighed, then said "Why didn't you show me this earlier? It must've hurt."
"It really didn't. Surprised you barely noticed this now." She said, then winced as Adora poked the most damaged claw, then looked at Catra with a smug smirk that hid concern. Catra blushed, averting her gaze and embarrassed as she felt Adora wrapping her hand in a sort of bandage. The hand was still damaged, it was just Catra who wasn't acknowledging it for some reason. The bones didn't break, but the claws did. And quite painfully, too, from the looks. Thankfully, they started growing back normally... That still didn't excuse the little bit of blood Adora drew with that one light poke.
"Hey, Adora...?" Catra started.
"Hmm?" Adora raised a brow, finishing up the bandage.
"Thanks." She offered a smile. Adora smiled back.
Melog's pit-pat sounded off too. It stopped in front of them and looked at both, before meowing. It rolled onto its back, looking expectantly at both of them, before Adora chuckled "Melog acts more like a cat as time passes." before she started giving it belly-rubs. Catra did the same, with her unbandaged hand, all the while chuckling at the space cat's acting antics. Adora then looked to Catra and said "We're gonna meet teams RWBY and JNPR for lunch... Tell them a bit about Etheria."
"Really?" Catra quirked her brows up "Ya think that's a good idea?"
Adora hummed "I figured they deserve to know about the people they basically saved from the Grimm..."
"And stranded on their planet." Catra quipped, before noticing Adora's look. She sighed "Fine, fine." Before her voice went down almost to a whisper as she went and felt for the chip on the back of her neck, the one long gone "We're... Not gonna tell them everything, though, right?" words to which Adora immediately realized what she was worried over. She took her girl's hand again, then shook her head.
"We're gonna talk broadly about Etheria. If you want, we can downright avoid the subject of the war." The blonde told her girl, taking Catra's good hand and squeezing tightly. The girl breathed in, then out, to calm herself. She nodded to Adora, a smile on her face. And afterward, the two stood up, going to prepare for their little chit-chat with team RWBY and team JNPR.
The girls had walked a long way, to find the mess hall. It was on the other side of the campus, but, thankfully, they'd made it just in time for lunch. The girls strolled inside the massive, cathedral-like building and immediately saw Ruby waving at them, a smile on her face. They exchanged one look with one-another, shrugged and walked over to the table with smiles on their faces, all the while looking around at the place... It must've housed hundreds of students, God damn.
"Hey, miss Spinner! Ma'am!" Ruby smiled. "Good to see you. Blake told us you wanted to talk."
"Yeah." Adora sat herself down. She looked to a smiling, drooling Catra whose catlike pupils had dilated, eyes glimmering in the sunlight, tail poking straight up and puffed out and mouth agape. She traced the way Catra was looking, all the way to the buffet, while stifling a laugh like the kids upon seeing the reaction. A giggle did escape her mouth as she said "Go grab some food. I'll start the chat with the kids."
Catra didn't need to be told twice, squealing with joy, dashing right to the buffet and grabbing a tray. Adora looked to the group, who were about ready to burst, minus Blake and Ren... And all of them then let loose that laugh they'd been keeping in. It wasn't a laugh at Catra. More-so, at her reaction to seeing normal food for a change. Adora had to admit, she was tempted to go herself, but right now?
"Oh my Gods, she's adorable! How can someone so cute be a drill sergeant in CQC class?!" Nora wondered aloud.
"I know, right?" Adora wiped away a laugh-triggered tear as she watched her girlfriend pile her tray high with about every type of food she could grab, including the multitude of deserts "Anyways... Let's wait for missus to get back before I go over everything... Just a small disclaimer, everything we're about to tell you has to stay between the ten of us. Got it?"
Everyone gave approving nods. Even the ever-distant Weiss.
"Alright." Adora nodded. She watched the girl walk over with the wobbly tray full of one and a half dozen plates of assorted food and sweets, before popping a squat right next to her on the bench and putting the tray down. The catgirl rubbed her hands together, giggling excitedly at the food, before grabbing a pack that contained a plastic fork and knife and trying to open it. She was struggling... Heh.
Adora extended a hand, a smug look on her face... The Cat looked away, scowling as she shoved the plastic pack, which Adora split and opened with no problem, before handing her her utensils. A murmured 'thank you' was all that Adora got before Catra dug into her food. The blonde then looked around the table, then said "Let's begin... We've got a lot to talk about."
"And we're all ears, teach." Yang answered
"Thanks, Yang. Happy to hear." Adora answered, before sighing "Where to even start... You girls found us in a set of ruins, right? Those ruins probably belonged to an ancient civilization we call the First Ones. Very highly-advanced, very powerful, very scary bunch. They colonized the world I and Catra come from... The world of Etheria."
"Wow..." Weiss paused "Wait... Excuse me, miss Spinner, but... You're saying you're actual aliens?!"
"Uh..." Adora looked to Catra, who was eating, then simply nodded "Yep."
"That seems absolutely preposterous. No offense, miss Spinner." Weiss commented.
"I have to agree with Weiss... You two, beings from another world?" Pyrrha joined in "It's unbelievable."
"It's true, though." Catra poked her head out from behind the pile of food, specks of tomato sauce on her chin. Adora handed her a napkin, then pointed around her mouth with a smile. Catra blushed furiously, wiping the sauce off hard enough to nearly cause herself burns. She then looked to the teams and said "Listen, do we seem to know where we are? I know this sounds kind of dumb, but we didn't hit our heads on the way in here, to forget all the history of another planet, as well as its kingdoms and rules, just to remember a different planet altogether."
"I mean..." Weiss sighed, leaning her head on her hand. "I..."
"We know it's hard to wrap your head around it, Weiss. It's... Still kinda new to us as well." Adora smiled "But we're trying to take things in stride until our friends find a way to get us home."
"Heh. Actual aliens." Yang snorted "Gods damn..."
"You're awfully quick to believe us, Yang." The teaching blonde of the squad observed, leaning on the table.
Yang shrugged "I'm adding up a few things in my head, actually, so it's not exactly a blind faith-type thing. We got your names that are off..."
"Ma'am's feline traits." Jaune joined in.
"Your outfits, which don't resemble huntsman gear in the least." Yang continued, then hummed "And... That's about it."
"Weird names are not unheard-of, though." Weiss pointed out "And they're teachers, Yang. In hand-to-hand and in survival. It's not necessary that they be Huntsmen to work in our school... Right?" and she looked around for confirmation. Seeing nobody answer, she sighed "Right..." and leaned on the table, planting her forehead onto it. Adora chuckled, then looked to Catra, who grinned.
And the two turned and said simultaneously "We also have magic."
And Catra corrected "Well, Adora does. I'm more of the 'claw yer eyes out' type... Wanna test it out, kids?"
Okay. Now it was the two teams' turn to burst into laughter at the girls' expense.
"Magic! Get a load of miss Spinner!" Nora laughed heartily.
Ren stated calmly "Magic is a fairy tale, miss. I think everyone knows that.
Seriously? The kids with soul shields thought Magic was fairy tales?
The two Etherians sighed, then Adora looked to them and offered "Take us to the amphitheater and I'll show you."
And so, with Adora's offer on the table, the teams went out after lunch right to the amphitheater. There was still time to spare between classes, so they walked into the massive training area that it was. Wide arches, a tall ceiling with a skylight and a central stage with raised bleachers surrounding it, almost like a Colosseum. Adora stepped up to the center, with the kids and Catra standing on the edges.
Adora looked at herself, then looked to the kids and gave a nod, then breathed in, closing her eyes. She put her hand forward as anticipation filled the air. Catra grinned... And Adora spoke "For the Honor..." as a faint golden light flickered ahead of her open right had. Opening her eyes, she raised the hand and cried out "of Grayskull!" feeling the power course through her for a moment. The light flickered, almost... And it died. Nothing happened.
And Adora gasped, looking at her hand and starting "No... No, no, no, no..." before she roared again "For the Honor of Grayskull!" and once again, nothing. Adora looked with disbelief at her own hand. She looked to Catra, who was just as shocked as her. The catgirl ran toward Adora on all fours, before skidding to a halt just in front of her and looking at her.
"... Adora..." She started, taking her hand into hers to try and comfort her "Are you okay?"
"I... I..." She stared on, almost broken by the realization... Her powers were not working. Her powers were not working!
"Uh... Is that it?" Weiss asked, approaching with crossed arms. She approached the two.
"Give us a minute, Snow-White." Catra returned, before looking Adora in the eyes and saying "Listen, Adora... Focus, like you did before. You can do this."
Adora gritted her teeth, then said "Catra, I think... It doesn't feel right. My powers, they're..."
"We'll get them back, Adora. You hear me?" The concerned cat girlfriend responded. She sighed, then looked back and said "I know how this looks, kids, but..." catching a glimpse of Ruby's eyes as they stared curiously at them. The color was weird. A tad too weird for Catra's liking. The eyes were a bright, powerful silver that stared at the duo of Etherian girls. Adora was too freaked out to notice, so the catgirl memorized the detail for later, because it felt important.
Yang stepped up to the two, then said "Hey, the tiny lightshow was interesting, but I dunno... Could just be Aura."
"We don't have ours unlocked." Catra returned, trying to snap Adora out of her trance while the others looked stunned. She sighed, then said "I'll get her home. Be seeing you kids around."
"See you, ma'am... Miss..." Ruby waved sadly, watching the girls walk away. Ruby Rose had felt something when Adora was trying to do... Whatever she was. She looked to the others around her, then said "I believe them. They wouldn't be trying this hard to prove it if they were lying." with all the innocence of a child. Yang hummed, looking to her sister, then turning to the two teachers as they walked out.
"... Yeah, you know, Ruby's right. I don't think they're lying. They are trying a bit too hard for it." Jaune joined in.
Weiss huffed "You're just going to believe the fact that two of our teachers are Aliens that the headmaster took in? Really?"
"Weiss, c'mon." Yang shrugged "Have a bit of faith in them. They've been kind to us so far and they came to us to say it, because they saw we had questions but didn't wanna ask them."
"Especially ma'am, who probably saw us all wondering about her whole deal." Sighed Ruby "I mean, c'mon."
"They were trying to be honest." Pyrrha nodded "And we promised them this would stay between us."
"It's best to stay silent anyways." Ren offered "If they are telling the truth, we will be abiding to their wishes to not tell any other fellow student or any of the teachers. If not, then what will we have to lose?"
Ruby smiled, seeing the support. She turned to Blake, who looked curiously at the duo as they left. Blake tapped her chin, then sighed. She'd gotten the answers she wanted and they weren't what she expected, going by the look in her eyes. For now, though, the team still had other classes to attend to. They left the amphitheater together, exchanging small-talk along the way.
The Halls of Beacon were weird at sunset. Catra found them calming, though. Huh, she found something calming for a change.
It was odd. Beacon was odd, Vale was odd and Remnant as a whole was odd as all hell. The fact that Adora couldn't wield her powers was even worse. How were they gonna do anything to fight the Grimm when the time came? Aside from Catra's claws, Adora couldn't really do much without a sword and she didn't know if she could rely on teams RWBY or JNPR.
She'd left Melog to tend to the still-stunned Adora while she figured her own things out. An exit to a balcony emerged on the left and she took the turn, walking out into a place which had benches that circled its entire, rail-surrounded perimeter. She went and sat down by one of the benches, leaning back and breathing in as she felt for the chip instinctively. She wasn't ever going to kick this habit, was she? Ugh, she hated it.
She closed her eyes, listening to the beating wind high up and feeling the faint heat of the setting sun falling on her face.
She probably couldn't help Adora aside from being there, right beside her. She scoffed at herself, leaning her head forward and looking at her bandaged hand. She hated remembering the Horde. Everything that happened there was her descent into an ever deeper pit of despair. She'd pushed away everyone there and almost killed Adora too many times too count. How could the girl forgive her after everything that occurred between them?
... Dumb question. This was Adora. The Adora that had been Catra's friend for as long as Catra remembered herself on Etheria. No matter what she did to her, even while they fought one another, Adora had always tried to bring her home. Even when Catra was at her worst, even when she'd pushed away everyone from Entrapta to Scorpia, she saw Adora trying to bring her back from the darkness and into the light. And near the end, when she had hit rock bottom, there she was again... Throwing herself into hell for her.
She knew why she loved Adora. She didn't know why she'd just run away now, away from her side when it was clear she was needed.
"Stupid... I'm stupid, that's why..." She murmured to herself, wiping away a tear "Can't even stay beside her when she..."
Catra gritted her teeth, then stood up "No, fuck this, I'm not moping, I'm going..." And she turned to leave, before she saw Blake sat there, wide amber eyes staring into her own. She paused, then sidestepped past the bench she had just been sitting on, then said "Hello, Belladonna... Need anything?"
"I was just coming here to read, ma'am..." Blake returned "It's too noisy in our room... Are you okay, ma'am?"
"I'm..." She felt her cheeks, to finally feel the warmth of the tears that had begun to flow. She wiped them away quickly, then said "I'm okay. Just gonna go back to Adora."
"Is she okay? She seemed... Distraught." Blake asked, showing clear signs of worry for Adora. She was the liked teacher, after all.
"She'll be okay, she's just..." Catra sighed "Having a moment. Her powers aren't working."
"Her magic, you mean?" Blake asked.
"Yeah... Walk with me, will you, Blake?" She asked and Blake seemed surprised, to be referenced by first name basis. The girl nodded, walking side-by-side with Catra down the halls of Beacon, toward the dorms. The two girls stayed in silent for a few minutes, before Catra started "Blake, you ever been so close to someone, you thought you know everything about them?"
"I..." Blake pursed her lips, then she sighed sadly as she remembered "Yes..."
"Heh... So I'm not alone." She chuckled "What's your story then, Blake?"
"It's fairly personal, ma'am." She noted. Catra nodded. Yeah, her whole ordeal set with Adora was fairly similar and she wouldn't give it away easily, but she figured it was worth a shot. Blake sighed, then said "I'm sure miss Spinner will be fine. Pretty much everyone but Weiss unanimously agreed we can trust you both. We're not sure you'd have any reason to lie to us."
Catra hummed, looking to Blake, then chuckled "Thanks. At least we got that going for us."
"Is there any reason in particular she froze when her powers failed to work?" Blake inquired calmly. Catra nodded.
"She relies a lot on her powers, Blake. She's always fought using them and... They saved her life in a really big pinch. And made sure she came back to me in one piece." If Catra could call literally absorbing the magic of the Heart of Etheria and surviving a 'pinch', she could really make anything sound small in consideration. "I know they're not supposed to define her, but they are a part of her. And they're important to her, so, by extension..." She sighed, then murmured awkwardly, a blush on her face "They're important to me..."
"I see..." Blake hummed "You two must be very close."
"Oh, you have no idea..." Catra returned absentmindedly "Friends since childhood and all that."
"Heh. Sounds nice. And now you're both working in Beacon... Considering you're from a different planet, that must' be quite the change of pace."
"Yup. Beacon's a weird place, what with kids wielding soulstuff powers and the likes." Catra answered, getting a chuckle out of Blake. She added "But it's kind of nice, not having to worry about our missions and the likes here. Just hanging out and teaching."
"I'll bet..." Blake sighed, then added "You've visited Vale, right?"
"Yeah. First day after school, we dropped into town for a visit." Catra grinned "The city's a bit too big for my tastes, but I can get used to the sights. Oh, and most definitely the food." Her eyes glimmering like back at lunch as she remembered the whole twenty-course meal she'd eaten. Blake smiled, remembering the moment they saw her coming with the massive tray filled with food. Almost like something out of a Cartoon.
"Yeah, they make sure you have a proper, varied diet here at Beacon." Blake answered "Say... Miss, can I ask?"
"About?" Catra raised a brow
"Your... Traits?" She mumbled the last part. Catra noticed her bow twitch again. She wasn't seeing things this time. She was too close for it... So she hummed, faking a thinker's pose for a moment
Then she answered "Sure. Go ahead."
Blake smiled, then asked "Where'd you... How did you get so many traits?"
"I was born with'em, Blake." Catra shrugged "I don't know their origins, but I've been like this since I was a baby... Okay, no, I was probably way weirder when I was a baby. Adora can attest to it."
Blake seemed both in disbelief and in awe, her bow twitching yet again. Catra's joy got the better of her at the realization that Blake may be hiding something and she cracked a smile. She'd ask Blake about it at a later date, though... Right now... "I got my own questions, if you don't mind me asking them, Blake." and the two stopped next to a pillar, against which Catra leaned "It's about your team lead."
"Oh?" The black-haired girl raised a brow "Ruby's okay, just had an argument with Weiss, though... But she's doing decently in your class, right?"
"She's alright, but could definitely do better, unlike her sister, who's shaping up to be one of the best punchers I've ever met." Catra smirked "But no, it's not about her classwork, Blake. It's about her eyes. Also... Tell Snow-White to ease off on her. Poor girl's too nice for her own sake."
"Fair and... They're silver." Blake shrugged "Something wrong with that?"
Catra tried to pinpoint in her memory where she remembered the detail about Silver Eyes, but she'd only just noticed it. Maybe if they'd noticed it when they first arrived through the... Portal. Catra snapped her fingers as her mind finally remembered the poem that activated the damn portal! She looked to Blake, smiling a broad, catty smile so trademarked by her, at this point it was standard. She then said "Yeah, Silver Eyes, Blake."
"That detail... Important?" Blake asked, confused.
"It is. For me and Adora, at least..." She smirked "Heh, this may get her out of her bummer phase. Been nice talking to you, Blake, but right now, I gotta get back to Adora. We'll catch up after classes, that good with you?"
"Yes, ma'am..." Blake nodded, all the more befuddled by her teacher not making sense.
And before Catra ran off, she stopped and turned "Oh, right... By the way, Blake. It's 'Catra' out of class. Call me up any time you feel you need someone to talk to."
Blake looked surprised yet again. She smiled, then nodded to her and said "Thanks, Catra. Take care of miss Spi... Of Adora."
"Right on that." The Catgirl responded proudly, before dashing off on all fours and with the agility of an actual feline. Blake smiled, dumbfound, as she watched their drill sergeant of a teacher run off. Catra dashed speedily through the halls of the dorm, running on all fours and bouncing off of walls, before reaching their dorm's door. She slammed it open, then called out "Adora! I GOT A LEAD!"
Of course, Adora had fallen over with a yelp, off the couch where she was curled up in a blanket... Eating ice cream and watching TV? She poked her head up, over the couch, then said "Dammit, Catra, you scared me... What do you mean, a 'lead'?" in a murmur, plopping herself back down onto the couch and taking the bucket she was eating from in her hands. Wow... This was actually sad.
Well. It was up to Chatty Catty to get Adora back in the groove. She saw Melog occupied one of the pillows on Catra's right, curled up next to the girl to provide its warmth to her. So, she took to the left, running behind the couch, vaulting over it and sitting herself down, legs crossed as she wrapped her arm around Adora's shoulder. She gave her sad girlfriend a toothy grin, then asked "Hey, Adora. Guess what..."
"What?" She looked actually distraught to Catra. Hell, she even had her hair let down from her ponytail and that standard tuft.
"You know, I'm starting to like you more with loose hair." Catra quipped, poking her on the nose. Adora rolled her eyes, before leaning absentmindedly into Catra's shoulder as she ate ice cream. Catra chuckled, patting her on the shoulder, before saying "So... You know Ruby? Like... Utter munchkin, cinnamon roll that doesn't seem to be able to do any harm to anything close to her Ruby? Our student."
"Mhm?" The girl nodded, mouth full of ice cream.
"Ever look her right in the eyes, Adora? And I mean really look?" The girl asked. Adora didn't know if she was serious or not.
"Nu-huh." Adora shook her head, confused. "Why?"
Catra leaned toward her girlfriend and whispered in her ear "Silver eyes."
... And that got gears spinning in Adora's head. The girl set the tub of ice cream on the table, spoon included, pushed the blanket off her shoulders and looked right to Catra. The poem. The second verse of the Poem that activated the portal in the First Ones outpost. Adora went silent for a moment, remembering clearly the last line that activated that weird portal, then she said "Catra... Did... You notice anything about team RWBY?"
"Uh...?" Catra raised a brow.
"The Poem again... The colors in the first verse. Red, the Petals where we first met..." Ruby Rose? And their first meeting, Adora remembered. Ruby's emblem.
"White, the snow that day would never melt..." Catra remembered... Weiss Schnee. Snow-White? And the way Weiss acted, so cold on the outside.
"Black, the night we wished would never end..." Adora added, eyes wide. Blake Belladonna... Somewhat shady, but still kind.
"Yellow, the sun never burned as bright as you, dear friend..." Catra swallowed. Yang Xiao-Long, the burning sun of the team... She looked to Adora, then asked "What does this mean?"
"How would the First Ones know about them?" Adora asked "It... It must be some kind of cosmic coincidence at this point, but..."
"It never is with the First Ones..." Catra hummed "Adora, this planet must've been visited by First Ones... If they have a portal leading right to it."
"There must be other tech. Outposts even." Adora gasped "Something that can tell us why they were mentioned..."
Catra hummed, thoughtful as she gazed out the window at the Emerald Forest, far away past Beacon "We need to go to the place where we first landed here, Adora... Maybe there's some hint left in the ruins."
"We've got classes..." Adora sighed "And I need to announce class trips for training at least a week beforehand. Maybe we can go alone on Saturday."
Catra looked to her now-sad beloved blonde babe again, then placed a hand on her shoulder and said "I ain't good with pep talks, Adora, but listen... Your powers are fine. They're still there. You learned how to use them before and you saved our asses with them... So let's hope we can get them back this time around too." And she offered a comforting smile to Adora. The girl smiled back, then nodded.
"I know, it's just... It's happened again and..." She then sighed "It's scary. Especially since we're out on a world filled with monsters and I can't defend us."
"So, I got our backs this time around." Catra smirked, brandishing her good set of claws "Now, c'mon. Let's get some sleep. We can talk more tomorrow."
"Yeah..." Adora nodded, then smiled "Hey, Catra?"
"Yeah?" Catra looked Adora in the eyes, smiling back.
"Thanks." She brought the Catgirl in for a hug, before also pulling Melog in. Catra laughed...
Oh, how glad she was that she was with Adora...