Adora sat in the amphitheater, legs crossed and meditating in the silence of the place after midnight. Prof Goodwitch had noticed her, probably, a couple of times, but chose to leave her be. Ren had told her a bit about meditation and how it could help her bring back whatever powers she had, be they magic or not, so Adora had taken him up on it. She focused on the thoughts of She-Ra's powers, of her wielding those powers before. Her mind wandered to the awakenings she has had, both in terms of having the powers return and some of the situations, such as Catra's wounding after the fall aboard Prime's ship.
Her mind attuned by itself to the faintest echo she could hear. It was a silent whisper in a sea of silence to the Princess of Power. An ocean of calm, only touched by a flicker of unease. Wow, this was weird. She'd never had to focus this much, especially on past events, to recall She-Ra. It was also strange, to attune oneself with the world around them. Especially since Remnant felt like it was dead for all intents and purposes. At least at first.
As Adora focused more on that one flicker, her mind flaring with the memories of using She-Ra's form for combat, she felt the heat of a fire warming her surroundings. Unsure if it was for real or if it was just her mind, the girl pressed on. Catra was nearby and would probably pull her out of the fire, provided she needed to. As she drew closer to that flicker, the warmth grew, as did it. From a small, distant ember, it turned into a burning fire, then, into a hot flame.
"Who are you...?" A woman's voice whispered in her right ear.
Her eyes shot open and she stood up, turning to face where the voice had come from. She looked at the top of the amphitheater, near the balconies, to see a hooded figure standing in the darkness. She stood up and walked toward the stairs and right up. She saw the figure turn to face her and, from the looks of things, it was a young woman, alright. "Hello?" Adora voiced, a bit frightful as she stared at the shadow-covered girl.
"... Who are you...?" She asked again, her voice more crisp, clear. Smooth as velvet.
Adora nodded "I'm Adora... You a student here?"
"... I... Don't know." She spoke "I... Don't remember."
"You alright?" Adora went into 'mother' mode, slowly approaching the girl "Do you need a doctor or...?" to which two amber-shining eyes looked past the hood right at her, shimmering with what looked like...
"I..." The girl took a step back, trembling "She's..." And she gasped, "She's here!"
"Who?!" Adora started. She yelped as a whirlwind of fire scorched the air ahead of her, forcing her to shield her face with her hands. Still, she could have almost felt her eyebrows get singed off. She stared down at the floor with disbelief. A black mark had been left on the marble, as if someone went over it with a torch. The thump of footsteps echoed from her left and Catra appeared from the staircase.
"Adora! You alright?" The Catgirl asked, stopping right in front of the dumbfound girl. She looked down to the scorch mark and whistled "Damn... What did this?"
"... Someone who was looking at me while I was meditating." Adora hummed, more confused than before. What that girl had just used, she didn't know. But she intended to figure it out before long. She looked to Catra, then said "I'm okay. Fire was hot enough to cook on, though." and she smirked. Catra sighed in relief, then crossed her arms. She smirked, then jerked a thumb back as if asking to leave.
Adora nodded, following her out. Her eyes locked once more onto the scorch mark before they turned the corner. Something felt awry about that and Adora would figure out what the heck had just happened between her and that girl and who this 'she' was.
But, it'd have to wait until tomorrow.
Adora yawned, pouring herself a fresh cup of coffee from the Staff Room's coffee maker and turning to face the rest of the faculty members present. Miss Goodwitch, professor Oobleck and professor Peach were the only ones here, with the former having been waiting in line to grab her own cup of coffee, while prof Oobleck was already drinking his standard home-brew(and looking as giddy as ever). Peach, meanwhile, sat and enjoyed a fruit salad breakfast at her usual spot.
Adora chose to sit herself down in front of miss Peach, over the other two. Miss Goodwitch was a great woman, as Adora had found out while working with her. She cared for the kids she taught and very clearly cared for the school itself, but something felt off with some of the looks she shot Adora's way every once in a while. Prof Oobleck was prof Oobleck, too. Adora couldn't imagine how the kids kept up with his rapid rambling. And miss Peach? Adora and Catra knew miss Peach best out of the lot, but that was because she had chosen to openly introduce herself and try to befriend them.
Catra wasn't here today. She was already in class, probably berating Cardin over something. Adora chuckled at the thought, then looked at miss Peach. The woman flashed a bright smile Adora's way, before turning back to her salad and at looking over her Scroll tablet. Adora sipped from her cup peacefully, listening to the quiet hum of the air conditioning unit near the window and to the almost imperceptible sing-song hum from Prof Peach.
The woman looked up over her glasses, then smiled again and said "I like the getup."
"Thanks." Adora smiled back "It was... Uh... Weiss's idea."
"Ah, miss Schnee, of course." The woman chuckled
"Ahem." Adora and Peach heard Oobleck as he cleared his throat. They both looked to him as he arranged his tie(The only thing he'd bothered to arrange today, it seemed) and asked "Exucse me, miss Spinner, but from what little I've been told by miss Peach, you and miss Clawdeen visited the ancient ruins in the Emerald Forest, have you not?" with an air of excitement you'd rarely see a teacher show, even as he spoke with professionalism.
"Yup." Adora nodded, "I take it it's spread pretty quick among the ranks?"
"Oh, quite, miss Spinner." The man smiled, "I feel I should ask, why would you want to visit them? Especially after your... Recovery... From there?'
"I and Catra figured the complex could give us some answer. I presume it ain't a secret that me and Catra ain't from around the bend. The only ones who really don't and shouldn't know, probably, are the students." Adora leaned on one hand "Why, what's up, prof?"
"Doctor." he corrected, pushing his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose, "And... I do believe you know what I teach, yes?"
"Yeah. History." Adora responded, "Why?"
The man smiled again "Well, I may or may not know of certain other areas of possible interest to you, similar to the Emerald Forest complex, provided you do still want your answers. I know you were so brutally interrupted by the Chryssalids, but I assure you, most of these ruins are safe to visit. I've been there several times myself and there were few Grimm around them... For some reason I cannot explain."
Adora perked up at that "Really?"
... More First Ones ruins? They'd need to bring team RWBY in to verify this. She hummed, scratching her chin, before smirking "But lemme guess... We may need a guide there anyways, so, perhaps, you would not mind joining us."
Oobleck chuckled playfully "Quite clever. Yes, I'd be more than glad to assist you in your travels! We can start any time you wish."
"Well... We'd also need team RWBY around." Adora explained, garnering a look of confusion from Oobleck. She explained "It's both for protection and it could probably help train them in combat and survival."
"Aha. That is fair." The professor nodded "I will clear this with Ozpin, if it's okay with you."
"Sure." Adora nodded "How about we take the first trip out this Friday. You got history with them, right?"
Oobleck nodded, but a click of the tongue from miss Peach took their attention. She chuckled, then said "Sorry, Adora and sorry to you as well, Bartholomew... I asked prof Goodwitch to guide the children out this Friday, to the Forever Falls. I need samples of the red tree sap from there for a study I'm undertaking. It's a First Years-only trip, but I'm sure miss Goodwitch can sneak you girls in as supervisors..."
Adora sighed, then said "Nah, it's fine... I and Catra will probably be out in town anyways, or maybe going back to the Emerald Forest to test out our kit. Depends on what Catra feels like doing that day."
"Ah. Alright." Peach nodded "So, Bartholomew, care to join us?"
"I'd love to, Violet, but I do have the rest of my course to prepare for now." He smiled. The two gave each-other curt nods and stepped off, with Adora shooting a glance to Peach and grinning. The Dust and Biology teacher raised a brow at Adora. The blonde chuckled, taking another sip of her coffee, before standing up and going to the fridge. Peach had to wonder what'd gotten into Adora, but she'd rather not question.
Catra stretched a bit, yawning as she and Blake walked. The girl had asked Catra to follow her for a bit, so they could talk. About what, the kitten had no idea, but it paid off to not have to head straight for the Staff Room. Adora was probably catching up with miss Peach for all Catra knew. That or talking to miss Goodwitch about something or other. She looked to Blake, then asked "So, why did'ya wanna have someone walk with you, Blake? Figured you'd like some time off to read your smut."
She grinned as she saw Blake stagger, face burning red at the quip... Her bow also twitched, so that confirmed Catra wasn't imagining things. She chuckled, gazing at the other students around them. A few of the First Years stared back, before quickly averting their gazes. A couple of girls shied away from Catra's mesmerizing gaze, chuckling and whispering to one-another, while the boys grinned and whispered to one-another. Some of them were checking out Blake, too.
Blake spoke, finally having gathered her wits, "Just wanted to hang out with a teacher and ask a few questions."
"Oh?" The kitten smirked "Please, go ahead. But you gotta answer a few of my own. We do one you, one me."
"Sure." Blake gave an awkward smile, then started "So... To start off... What can miss Spi-... Adora, actually do? What were those powers that she lost?"
Catra's smirk seemed to vanish at that question. She sighed, then started "It's a lot to explain. Her magic is different from anyone else's, at least from our world. You see, she has the ability to transform into a stronger variation of herself... She gets some major boosts in speed, agility and strength and also a damn cool sword. She also grows in height and such. Plus, her powers allow her to heal, to fire projectiles from her sword... Stuff like that."
"Huh. Sounds supremely useful." Blake noted "I'm going to speak for my entire team and say we can't wait to see her get her powers back."
Catra smirked "You and me both, girls. Now..." Then she spoke with her trademark grin "My turn. Blake, I've been noticing a few things as of late about posture and the likes with you. You're agile as can be, you're flexible..." And she chuckled as she saw her blush "Don't worry, kiddo. I'm not one of your suitors or some shit like that... No, but there's one more thing I noticed."
Blake raised a brow and Catra wiggled her own cat ears, an ear-to-ear grin on her face. She pointed at the top of Blake's head, then said "That thing jiggles too much for it to be normal... Do you have a-" She felt her mouth covered by Blake. The girl pulled Catra into cover after making sure nobody was around, then looked to her, almost pleading... Catra licked her hand.
"... Ewww... I wonder if you did this to Adora before..." Blake's face morphed to slight disgust as she wiped Catra's saliva off her palm. She looked to the teacher, to notice a raised brow. The girl sighed, then started to beg. Catra could swear she saw tears in the corners of Blake's eyes as she pleaded with her "Promise... Promise you'll keep this a secret, please."
"Blake..." Catra sighed... She nodded, her face serious. Blake nodded back, murmuring a silent 'thank you', before taking a step back, further, into the darkness and pulling her bow off. Two black cat ears, once hidden behind the piece of cloth. They drooped, Blake averting her gaze from Catra's. The teacher shook her head, then stepped up to Blake and said "Kid... You should not hide who you are." and looking her right in the eyes.
"You... You don't get it..." Blake's voice cracked. Catra crossed her arms.
The Etherian cat spoke "Then tell me, Blake. I'm not sure how the hell your own class hasn't noticed this."
"I try to keep them from moving. With a lot of focus and training, I..." The girl sighed "I managed to keep a hold of them. It's hard to do so when I get embarrassed or excited, so... What you saw today isn't the only bit, I imagine."
"Nope." Catra quipped, "Belladonna, you're a Faunus. What's wrong with that? Sure, some asshats are gonna be asshats, but that doesn't mean you need to hide who you are," and she took Blake's left hand, the one holding the bow, in hers. With eyes like those of a mother and a voice just as stern, yet warm, she continued "You don't need to hide the real Blake... Does your team know?"
"No... I... Can't tell them." Blake sighed
"Schnee?" Catra raised a brow. Blake nodded... That brat of a girl was a pain in the behind, wasn't she? The teacher shook her head, then said "Look, if you talked to her, I'm sure she'd get it. You're teammates after all... Plus, I'm pretty sure that, even though she's a slight pain in the ass, you can get along with her if you want to... But it's not just the Faunus thing, is it?"
"No... Catra... Do you know about the White Fang?" Blake finally met Catra's gaze.
Catra nodded "I read up a bit on them... They're some kind of Faunus organization meant to provide equality, but turned terrorist, aren't they?"
"They're not what I'd call terrorists... Misguided at most." Blake said, bowing her head. Catra hummed as the picture finally drew itself in her head. What could Blake have had to do with-Oh...
Oh...
"You were one of them, aren't you?" She asked. Blake nodded, to which Catra hummed "Did they do anything to the Schnees? Raids and the likes, I assume? 'Cuz I also read up on the SDC a bit. Whole slave labor thing, the collapsed mines, I know. And I don't imagine they're big fans of it..." she'd slowly been getting the bigger picture. Ah, Weiss, right. Heiress and... "She ever say anything about that?"
"Not openly..." Blake shook her head "Nobody in my team knows I'm White Fang. I left... It's not me anymore. Not since we started becoming more violent."
"Your people were peaceful once. What happened?" Catra raised a brow. While she was for more powerful acts, she wasn't sure she liked where this was going.
Blake's shoulders sagged "Our new leader, Sienna Khan. She turned us to more violent means of protest. From attacking shops that refused to serve us, to armed protests, to even outright raids, as you said. It... Got worse."
"People dying, property damage and other... Less pleasant things?" Catra raised a brow. Blake nodded. The Etherian Cat spoke again "... Doesn't mean Schnee couldn't forgive you, Blake. You were there when things were peaceful and you left when shit hit the fan. You can probably explain it to them and they'll forgive you." and she knew how that felt. Adora and the others forgave her after everything. How was Blake's story any different here?
"No... I'm sorry, Catra, but..." She shook her head "I ran away to escape any of the judgement that may come from it. I hid myself because of it. I'm... I'm not going to reveal it, even if the chances of it ruining everything I built up with my team so far. For anything." And she wrapped her ears back into the bow. Catra sighed, crossing her arms, then looked back out at the halls.
"Alright... You'll come out of your shell when you feel like it." She nodded, then turned to Blake "But do me a favor, Blake."
"Huh?"
Catra smirked "If you do feel the need to talk to someone, to vent... Hit me up, as usual, alright? And if something bad happens with your team, I'm pretty sure we can figure it out with them..."
Blake was taken aback, weakly nodding at Catra. She'd... Why would Catra throw herself in the line like that, for her?
"Consider it a teacher-student, thing... And from one cat to another." Catra winked confidently "Now, c'mon. I gotta find Adora and get myself some food." And she led the way out. Blake could do little else but smile at the antics of her teacher, before following her out of the little dark corner. Catra turned out to be fairly friendly, contrary to their first meeting. It made Blake feel... Safe, for lack of a better term. Safe enough to talk to someone.