Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Princess and the Lioness. Enjoy the 1300-word chapter. I don't own She-Ra, Mattel and a few others do.
(Fright Zone, 2 days before The Price of Power.)
"We're let the drones go in first… No sense wasting lives. Lonnie, your go with one squad, Sergeant, I'll give another to you… We need to cover ground and do it fast, I don't want the princesses to…" Brennus started to say.
"HEY!" He turned to see Catra before he turned to Lonnie.
"We're go over the plan on the ship." Brennus said and the soldiers scattered while he turned.
"Why did you do it? I keep thinking why, you keep reaching out. You either want something from me and your clawing your way, cutting into my skin… Or your planning something." She said before she poked a claw into Brennus's chest.
"Spill. You keep trying to get to me and stop me from going to Shadow Weaver, you lie EVERY time Hordak goes to give you a lot of praise to heap it onto me." Catra stated before Brennus stared into her eyes. He raised his palm as a flame began to burn.
Catra watched the flames dance in his hand while Brennus stared at her, Catra blinked at his control of the embers.
"You're a genius at military work, but you can't appreciate when I try to help you? I'm not trying to get anything out of you but that venom you keep digging into you… That venom will burn you to nothing…" He said and then held up his palm.
"That fire will eat you if you don't control it." He said and clenched his fist, smothering the flames.
"What venom? Your saying I got stung?" Catra asked and Brennus sighed in annoyance.
"Catra, all of the blasted times I have helped you is because you cannot help yourself." He said and went to speak up again.
"Are you saying I'm wea-…." She started to say before Brennus grabbed her arm.
"I'M SAYING YOU ARE SO MAD, YOUR NOT THINKING STRAIGHT! YOU ARE SO EAGER TO FIGHT, AND SCHEME AND CONQUER, BUT YOUR FIGHTING EVERYONE WHO TRIES TO HELP YOU!" Brennus roared, Catra shrank, not used to hearing him yell as fire's burned form the lenses of his eyes and his armors burned before he let go.
Catra looked at her arm and made sure it wasn't burned.
"You are smart, but arrogant, you are cunning, but you are blind. You are friendly, but cold. You are the antithesis of what you want to be. You literally act like every act of kindness I offer you is a power move, an olive branch with a poison dagger aimed at your heart. I grew up like that, I know people, Catra. I know people and I survived because of that. Your scared and hurt." Brennus said before Catra slammed him into the law.
"HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH?!" she hissed and Brennus grabbed his wrists as she clung to his chest. She felt tears start to form in her eyes.
"BECAUSE I WAS YOU!" Brennus bellowed before he used another hand to grab his helmet and pull it off.
"I have been betrayed by people I cared about, you were abandoned by Adora, I don't know how. I know you were. I know you trust only yourself, like I did when I was in the desert, the only tools I had were my brains and my words. I know you were hurt by Shadow, you always felt inferior. You act like you understand praise but you don't get that every move I'm making is to stop you from destroying yourself… The seed is there, I'm cutting the branches before that tree grows." Brennus said before he pointed at his scar.
"I have been through pain, this armor, my skill, my brains! They are why I still live, I have betrayed, backstabbed, had everything I love destroyed. You really want to keep hiding that pain? You think nobody in the entire Horde understands you? I get that you hate Adora, I have 2 people in my life I want to destroy, want to put them through the fires they burned me with. You want to keep hiding that from me? You tell me what I have to do to get you to tell me what's bothering you and I'll do it." Brennus said as Catra flipped back, slamming into the wall and slinking to the ground.
"Why do you care? You keep…." Catra said, her voice meek before Brennus walked to her and kneeled down.
"Because I was hurt by others, and I refuse to let someone hurt you…. You keep bottling those feelings up, they will erupt one day and shatter you like glass. You can either tell me, or I can keep heaping praise on you till I'm a footnote to you… But I'm not going to let you keep hurting yourself. You're not hiding anything from me." He said and wiped a tear from her eye.
Catra was silent a second before she flung herself into his arms, Brennus sighed.
"Let it go. I'm not going to judge you." Brennus said while he patted her on the back.
"IT'S ADORA, IT'S ALWAYS HER! SHE ALWAYS HAS TO GET WHAT SHE WANTS! SHE RAN OFF FOR WHAT?! BECAUSE THOSE STUPID PRINCESSES CALL HER A HERO?! SHE ABANDONED ME, SHADOW WEAVER DOES NOTHING BUT PRAISE HER WHILE I BREAK MY BACK TRYING TO PLEASE HER!" Catra screamed as tears streamed from her eyes.
Brennus knew that she would only admit her pain slowly, but it was a start.
"Shadow Weaver doesn't care about you, Catra. You want to deny it? You do that, but she doesn't care, you're not worth her time. She doesn't even care about Adora sometimes. I've seen that smug soul. Adora might keep reaching out to you, but she doesn't understand what leaving you did. My friend abandoned me when it saved his skin, not because he was unable to win alone." Brennus said before he let go of Catra.
"I get it. You want to be the tough, 'I'll rip your guts out if you screw with me' woman. You are, Hordak might not like your problems, but from what I hear, and I will double down on asking again? You are already where you want to be. Your running the war effort, Hordak trusts you enough to run the military effort. You go to the Crimson Wastes, you will find Adora again and you will fight her." Brennus said and Catra looked down.
"How do you think she will be there besides what you said?" Catra asked and Brennus sighed.
"The Crimson Wastes are a desert; I was literally raised on a world with a massive desert. They want First One technology and She-Ra from what I hear is their best warrior, just like how YOU are the smartest commander. Adora will go for the technology to gain an edge… You want to swap missions? I'm going to lead soldiers on a scavenger hunt for a rock that's buried in a dead kingdom, there's nothing there to conquer, Catra. " Brennus said before they heard sirens.
"The Prisoners are gone! Someone alert Lord Hordak!" A Horde soldier said before Catra grinded her teeth.
Shadow Weaver did betray them… And she would pay.
Author notes
Phew, another chapter done! I know Catra doesn't let herself cry and all that, I want to show her crack under Brennus's words. I do want to point out the portal scene might be different and Catra will still be cold and such, but she won't push the Horde away all the time. Next chapter will be on tomorrow or so and show Brennus and the Horde heading to the Fire Kingdom for the relic and talking to Catra over com. Until then, Lighting Wolf out!