A/N: She-ra and the Princess of power were made by J. Michael Straczynski and Larry DiTillio, I only take credit for my own added character's and storylines. Similarly, any references will be attributed to their original creators when they pop up.
I post on both A03 and FanFiction, take your pick in whichever you prefer to read.~.
I hope you enjoy!
Book 2: Of Schemes & Gathering
Chapter 3 ~ The Friend With the Mask
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"Oh wow. Everything is so pristine!" Dawn says in awe, eyes almost sparkling as she looks out the window. "I mean... that's all clear water, right? They're using it for decoration! And it's everywhere! Where do they get it all from?"
"Careful," Lonnie huffs, crossing her arms impatiently, "You don't want to give them the wrong idea. Keep this up, and they might think we don't hate their guts."
"We do?"
Catra's lips twitched upwards. Her body lazily spreads across a few of the vehicle's seats as she watches them both... bicker, she supposes would be the appropriate term.
At least she feels it's an appropriate term. It's not as taunting and mocking as the one Lonnie and she tended to share, but it didn't seem to have any sense of hostility she'd seen either have towards anyone they didn't like.
Honestly, considering that her standards had been at hoping they wouldn't kill each other, this is a far better outcome even if she has no idea quite how or when it had come to pass.
Muscles twitching, Catra's thoughts turn towards her newly acquired prisoner - Acquaintance? Trainer? - not for the first time.
It was... she isn't even sure if there's a word to describe this. She doesn't like not knowing something. She never has. And Julij just-
She doesn't know. Logically, it's difficult to not think of it as an infiltration. Between surrendering and being overly friendly, it'd be monumentally foolish of her to not consider them a spy.
Only if that was the case, Julij was going so incredibly weirdly about it.
Granted, they might have been aiming for logistical information, and therefore fishing for something Catra couldn't see, but-
Well, she couldn't see it. Surrendering made some degree of sense, now that she knew they could break out with little effort. But what was the point of breaking in and out of prison repeatedly? And then just, quite literally, telling her she was going to be taught. Not asking, telling.
Honestly, she'd just kind of assumed it was a long game infiltration mission. Get information on the first new second in command in two decades, gain her trust only to then stab her in the back.
Only that, if so, the way Julij was going about it just didn't make sense. She'd expect a sycophant or something of a hindrance that slightly eroded her plan's efficiency.
And that wasn't Julij. At all. If anything, she feels they're going out of their way to be a nuisance. It's reached the point that she's tempted to point out that they're still technically a prisoner. And the law did make it clear she could have them executed.
This was where things got really confusing because Catra isn't even sure if she can. It's a coin toss whether or not she'd be able to actually win in a fight, and that was assuming Julij didn't just up and run the entire scene. Which she was fairly certain they can. Whenever they want to.
Perhaps most irritating, she feels, was that they were delivering on their word.
Because Catra was learning. And that in itself wasn't a surprise. She had known the Horde's combat instructor only taught for one specific body size - large, muscular and tough - which really wasn't her.
But it frustrated her that a stranger whose angle she couldn't begin to figure out was the one that was doing it for her.
She supposes she was irritated that she hadn't figured anything out before leaving. And confused, but mostly just annoyed, really.
"Why are we stopping?" Lonnie scowls at the driver, leaning on the chair's headrest as she looks forward.
"I don't think we can go any further, Ma'am." Fane statured apologetically.
"Stop smirking."Catra huffs, poking Lonnie's rib with her foot before rolling off her chair. "You don't need to look so happy with yourself."
"What?" Lonnie smirks, "Scared I'll replace you as the second?"
"If you want to deal with the paperwork, be my guest." Catra rolls her eyes, skipping out of the APC as she examines the overly glamourous city.
And then she smirks.
"Actually," She grins, her expression becoming just a little bit mischievous. "I think that's a great idea."
And really, the expression Lonnie makes at her comment makes the entire trip worth it.
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"Her Holiness has been expecting you." One of the knight's states. Her voice is strict if just a little wary, a clear hesitance to let them go any further.
Not that she's surprised. The guards at the city's entrance had been just as weary, and it wouldn't have been that difficult to sneak into the city.
She's surprised that the entire guard was female.
Well, not surprised as in she'd thought otherwise, but rather, she hadn't actually thought that it'd be a similar system to a princess's standard guard. Which, in retrospect, she really shouldn't have been surprised by. It hadn't taken her long to realise the majority of Etheria's social-cultural structure was matriarchal.
She really didn't understand why. It just... it felt ridiculous to claim one gender was more capable than another. Even if they used a system of claiming that one had a slight edge over another at an average, there'd be far too many outliers to make it a credible factorial system.
...Actually, with how much bias the Rebellion had against non-humanoid, she might be onto something there.
She was just trying to make a point on how ridiculous it was to make an entire guard female because their host was female. The same truth applies if vice-versa. It just...
If she was honest, the idea that one gender had to apply to one role was just... mindboggling. Which might not have been as much the Horde being the Horde as it was Catra just being weird. She got the physical differences between male and female, obviously. She just didn't understand why they needed to be treated any differently.
Or maybe it really does come down to my... Hordechism, I suppose is as good as any other term. Catra's lip twitched slightly, walking through the door into a particularly large office. Neat decor adorning every inch of the room left her somewhat queasy at the complete lack of bareness.
"General," The holy maiden, and Catra really needs to get her name, because calling her holy maiden in her head is just silly, greets her with a polite smile, "I hope you had a pleasant trip."
"Oh, I did." Catra smiles back, somewhat bewildered by the title she'd just been given. "I don't think I've ever seen this much water in a single place."
Though, the title of general isn't wrong either. She's used to second in command, the rest of the structure ranging from private to captains with some few majors in the mix. General Catra has a weird ring to it.
Then again, it'd mean she'd have one less thing in common with Shadow Weaver... something to consider for later.
Ah, right. Shadow Weaver, badge, execution. Best not to think of that while in the middle of the biggest diplomatic gatherings to date.
"A relic from the Pearnula Empire, I believe." Her smile remains, taking a seat in one of the very fancy chairs. "I'm rather fond of it, though. So I hope you can forgive our luxurious use of it." The holy maiden's smile turns apologetic, offering her a seat at the other side of the small table.
...Catra really needs to find out her name.
Oh, oh, wait. "Just Catra's fine." She smiles back, taking her seat with as much grace as Scorpia could drill into her.
Honestly, she was kind of bothered by how... not graceful, per see, but rather how regal the other woman was capable of being. She realises the difference was practically non-existent, but it was rather disturbing with how meticulous she was being about it.
"Then just Catra." She manages to pronounce; the usual noble accent she's become accustomed to only half makes it weird. Her head tilts slightly with a curious gaze, "I'm not familiar with this name. Does the Horde have its own language?"
"Ah. No, we don't." It was mostly just a cultural and ideological difference, Catra found. There were a few phrases that, while grammatically correct, would go beyond the other's culture, but she felt that a difference in language was unlikely to happen any time soon, if only because of how often parts of the Rebellion had been added to the Horde's territory after they'd been conquered. "And you can use Katherine, or Clara if it's too weird." She offered, realising she'd otherwise be stuck correcting the woman for hours if not.
The woman nods slowly, "Clara, then. Again, it's a pleasure to meet you, General Clara. You've made quite the name for yourself in the past few months."
Catra can almost feel Lonnie's amusement from behind her. "I hope it isn't too demeaning." Her smile remains in place, wearier of what Scorpia would do if she found her lessons - read, torture - going to waste. "I'm rather new to all of this, I'm afraid."
Mostly to all these invisible rules that didn't make much sense. She was technically supposed to wear a dress to this as well, Catra realised. It wasn't a slight to not wear a dress per see, she was still wearing the appropriate wear after all. It's just that she was supposed to wear the girl's formal wear, not the boy's. Tee-Hee.
It wasn't even her doing, for once. Julij had been of actual help, dragging her to Kodiak of all people to have a wardrobe change.
Which was how she found herself wearing a sharp, black-themed suit, not unlike the ones the older man tended to wear. Honestly, she'd expected to look rather ridiculous as his look-alike, but...
She didn't mind the suit. Rather liked it, actually.
Okay, It's not like she hated dresses, per see. A little overly flowery and loose, true, but not the worst things she'd ever worn. The thing was; when visiting foreign states surrounded by kingdoms that wanted her dead? She'd take trousers over a dress any day, thank you very much.
Less likeable was the tight tie and braided hair, Catra felt. Though she was willing to compromise if only to not end up offending some fancy person. The sharp, Horde techno designed suit with her carefully decorated braid did feel completely foreign, but, again, she didn't mind wearing it.
She'd never admit it, but Catra had an inkling that she might be somewhat vain in comparison to the average person.
She didn't care that she might or might not. She just found it weird that people didn't think they should be as memorable as possible.
"Oh, I'm sure we've all been at that point at the beginning. You're not dead, so you must be doing something right."
Right. She had no idea if that was a threat or not. "I would hope so."
The woman giggles, a faint air of amusement as she turns towards her guards with a dismissive wave. "Give us some privacy, would you, Abi?"
One of the knights blinks, startled. "Lydia?"
Oh, so that's her name.
"I'll be fine."
Lonnie meets her gaze, a frown forming on her questioning expression. Catra shrugs, realising that she really isn't in much of a position to refuse, even if the thought leaves her slightly uncomfortable.
Perhaps waiting for the room to be emptied, Lydia leans back into her chair, eyes never leaving Catra even if her expression is more curious than hostile.
Well then, Catra almost sighs as the door close.
"I think I'll give it a seven," Lydia remarks, crossing her legs. "Out of ten, I mean. I was hoping you'd put up a bit of a fight against the privacy, Clara."
Catra raised an eyebrow, careful to not correct her posture as she wondered what's she'd done this time. "Oh? Do tell."
"Well..." Lydia trailed off, offering a shrug even as she seemed to take some amusement. "You're already in a sensitive spot as is. If anything went wrong, I don't really see you have another chance, I mean."
"Hmm," Catra isn't quite sure if she's supposed to smile at that. Scorpia's socialising statutes didn't go over hypothetical discussed disasters. Maybe the placating trick? "You're not wrong. But I do have to start somewhere - or in this case, somehow."
"True," She smiles, just a little wry, "But I don't think you realise how much the Rebellion hates the Horde. Even before the war started. If they or their allies could have their way, it shouldn't be a surprise that they do anything drastic."
"I mean, we have been at war for decades," Catra offers, stopping her tail from swaying with far too much required effort. "I don't really see what could be more drastic than that." Which was a can of worms in itself, Catra mused just a little frustratedly. The Horde was on its last legs at this point. If Catra didn't find a solution soon... well, there was no if's, the Horde would crumble, obviously, but not before Catra got thrown out of her office with extreme prejudice.
"Well, say, for example, that I was a rebellion sympathiser really wanted to see you fail." Her smile sharpens, showing all teeth in a very unregal manner. "To the point that I'd stage my death just to frame you as someone that couldn't be trusted. You'd be screwed in terms of international diplomacy. Just a little bit. Oops."
Ah.
Well. Okay. Catra's... a good ninety per cent certain that was- "That's hypothetical, obviously. I don't much care for the Rebellion, so..." Good. That was-
Catra huffs, giving up on etiquette as she takes her shoes off, crisscrossing her legs as she nods pointedly.
Lydia blinks, seemingly blindsided by the gesture. Which really, if she's going to talk about her hypothetically self-arranged murder then Catra doesn't see why she should have to follow ridiculous etiquette rules - like wearing shoes.
She doubted Scorpia would catch wind of this. With Lonnie outside, Catra's a complete charismatic cypher... something. She'd ask Entrapta for the words, but Catra was doing this her way. Period.
"That's two of us, then. Where does a seven rate, anyway?"
"Oh," She smiles, reaching for one of the table's drawers, "Fond entertainment, I'm sure." She places a small box on the table, a little bigger than her hand as she starts to unbox it. "Ever played blackjack?"
"...Once or twice." Catra replies, staring wearily as the other set's up the table.
"Oh good!" She places two cards each, happily waiting as Catra took a glance.
She moved two coins. "Hit."
"So," She passes another card, expression amused, "I'm sure you wondering why I asked for this meeting."
"The thought crossed my mind," Catra offers wearily, "Hit."
A card crossed the table. "There was this rather important meeting some few days ago. About whether or not we should get involved with the war. And if so, perhaps who to join."
"I see." Catra hums, a slight frown on her expression as she places her cards down. "Stand."
"Oh good," She turns her cards around. "Twenty-one."
"Nineteen."
"Thank you very much." She grins, grabbing the offered coins before moving another set of cards. "But either way; it was decided will be offering our entire support into the war. To the rebellion, that is."
Catra carefully continued glancing at her cards, hiding the sudden spike of dread of having yet another fraction after their throats. "Hit."
"You could have at least offered some reaction," Lydia pouted.
A card crossed the table. "I'm assuming you didn't call me here just to brag of my impending death." She frowned, staring at her cards unhappily. "Stand."
"Good, good. You catch on fast." She turns her cards with a nod. "Twenty-one.
"Seventeen." She passes her three coins.
"And no," The game was repeated, cards distributed as she met Catra's gaze. "Though you should at least be wary of possible accidents. Especially since I was the one who called you here."
"Well," Catra's lip twitched, placing a coin down onto the table. "You do have quite the way with words, don't you? One would think you don't quite get along with your co-workers." Her eyes flickered towards her cards. "Hit."
"Want to guess why I'm going behind their back?" She asked with a crooked grin as a card crossed the table.
"No need." Catra reassured, "Eyes like yours are rather familiar to me. For a Horde soldier, at least." She amended, turning her cards before passing her the coin. "Bust."
"I had wondered," Lydia admits as she turns her own cards. "The Horde is so organised, I wasn't sure whether you'd get it or not. Wanting revenge, I mean." Another twenty-one laid on the table.
The cards were returned, another two being distributed to each of the two.
"So why me?" Catra asks, placing a coin down as she glances at her cards. "Your guards were hardly lacking, removing a few people would hardly be a challenge." She pointed out, leaning back into her chair with a frown. "That's a hit, by the way."
"It isn't removing them that I'm worried about." She waves away; a card crossing the table. "It's them removing me that I'm worried about. Before or after."
Catra blinks, something clicking inside her brain. "That explains why you want us." She nods slowly, her mind examining her options as she indicates another card. "But what do we get out of that? As a kingdom that advocates technological advancement, I don't see how you'd make it work." Her cards are turned, a confused expression on her features. "Twenty-one."
"Twenty-one." She nodded in agreement. "Your support will be smaller than what I have right now, obviously. There's still one very creepy piece I'm working to get my hands on. But that's the thing about an idiot feeling personal betrayals," There's a trace of amusement there. Her eyes sparkle darkly as she places two cards for each one of the two. "They'll do the exact opposite just to feel validated. And you'll find quite a few people have grown to hate the royals over the past decades."
Catra raised an eyebrow as she placed a coin down. "I don't see how people hating princesses will associate with an organisation that's completely separated from said princesses. Hit."
"Ever heard of the princess civil war?" A card crossed the table.
Catra pauses, eyes flickering towards her with curiosity. "I have, actually. What's annoying is that it makes me into the minority."
"Not surprised." She grimaces, lazily leaning back into her chair. "See, eight or so centuries ago Etheria was engulfed in civil war. Not too dissimilar from our own, actually. The kicker, tho? There were no neutrals. One side against the other, and it was brutal. But nobody knows why."
"... I'll make a guess, and say everyone apart from you."
"... This is a lot less fun when you're guessing it." She nodded, seemingly somewhat annoyed with Catra for her guess. "But yes. The entire reason our Iglesia was formed was to maintain the status quo. Which I thought meant balancing the powers of all the different kingdoms. Mediators, so to speak.
"...Conflicts happen all the time. Even before the Horde became a semi-recognised kingdom."
"They did." She nodded, grimly. "So I did some digging. Some few files in the old archives, a half-forgotten library with more rot than books. And it got me thinking, what if the status quo wasn't in terms of balancing powers?" She trailed off.
Catra frowned, cards entirely forgotten. Because she understood it, the one thing the Iglesia had cemented even after its influence had started to dwindle. "Technology."
"And perhaps more importantly, knowledge. There's no script, no description. We have our oaths and ideals, but it's just that, ideals that formed after we became an institution."
"It's more than just revenge, then." Catra frowned, rattling her brain. "You want to curb the princess's influence."
"And what better way?" She grinned. "Than to turn their system into your own?"
Catra sighed, wondering if there was something about her that made people think 'oh hey, free labour force'. "What do you want, then?" She picked her cards up, placing a coin down with a pensive expression. "Hit"
"The moment I try removing those old-timers, I'm going to be in a rather vulnerable position." A card crossed the table. "See, it's not so much protection as it is symbolism." She makes a vague hand motion towards her used deck of cards. "If I do this alone, the princess will simply reshuffle the deck and I'll be back to zero. Worse, people will wonder why I'm not dead. And I don't want them thinking at all." She grinned, pointing towards her with far too much amusement. "But if you're there, people will think 'now why would the Horde's general herself protect the holy maiden?'. And where else will they thought's go but towards your enemies?"
Her grin turned smug, a clear thrill in what Catra could coincide was a well thought out chess board. "...Was there even any point in bringing me into a meeting?"
"A chance to talk to someone that isn't a stuffy old man." She shrugged, an annoyed expression flickering on her features. "Honestly! It's like they think I'm a part of their boy band! I'm nowhere near that old."
Catra ignores the last comment, contemplating her cards with a rather annoyed expression herself.
And she can see it. How having the Inglesia would do a lot more than gain her an ally. It throws suspicion towards the Rebellion. Not directly, obviously. But it'd flicker at the back of everyone's mind, wondering if maybe the Rebellion wasn't quite as pristine as they liked to claim.
...She was enjoying this type of game far more than she'd ever like to admit.
"This seems to be far more beneficial to me than you."
"Is it?" Lydia echoes. "For you, it might seem like that. But from my point of view, I get a semi-reasonable ally power that won't stab me in the back to further her own. Getting my hands a little dirty seems reasonable just for that." Her smile turned just a little wishful. "And I gain more than just that." She placed her cards down, offering a hand as her expression turned serious. "I've always thought that the best deals are the ones where everyone benefits, don't you think so too, Clara?"
Catra stared for a moment, eyes sharp as she studied the other's expression with care. "That," She says, firmly grasping the other woman's hand. "Sounds like a deal I can live with."
"Great!" She smiles cheerfully, "Want to finish it with this round?" She tilts her head towards the cards. "I've always liked watching my money grow."
"Right," Catra drawled, amused. Moving her hand as she returned her stack of coins. "Because your game has been an entirely clean one, hasn't it?"
"Of course!" She offered the last card, a grin on her expression as she turned her own two. "Why, would you look at that! A twenty-one!" She stood, a skip in her step as she walked around the table.
"I suppose this is better than a princess," Catra conceded, standing herself as she lazily stretched.
"Don't worry. Unlike many of my co-workers, I don't cheat my allies. Seems a rather good way to have them stab me in the back, actually."
"Well," Catra said dryly, barely hiding her amusement as she placed her cards down. "Next time, remember to not make the cheating too obvious. Someone might do more than just recognize it and panic."
Catra walked towards the door. Hand reached for the knob before she met her eyes and winked.
A set of five cards were carelessly placed on the table, the royal flush almost teasing as it dwarfed the set of two's twenty-one.
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"I can't believe you're making me work with those-, these-!"
"Beige Brainless Blistering Balderdash, I think was your best insult, Lonnie." Dawn offered, an almost nostalgic expression on her features as she played around with the APC's screen.
"Exactly!" Lonnie nodded, pacing inside the vehicle around the centre seats.
Huh. Catra was surprised Lonnie even knew what those words meant. "...Which is to say that you approve?" Catra half-asked, amused.
"Barely. The security was satisfactory, I suppose."
"But...?" Catra offered, taking a bite of her food.
"Not quite that good," Lonnie smirked, ruffling Dawn's hair in actual pride.
Catra shifted the screen, slightly, taking a discrete picture with far too much amusement. "So it's safe to say you had fun?"
"She did more than just some fun. This one managed to convince the locals she was an agent of the rebellion. Had them all practically spilling their secrets."
"You might want to be careful there," Catra warned, taking the last bite of her dinner. "The rebellion is less liked than we originally-"
"-considered. I realised" Dawn smiled sheepishly. "Got slapped the first time for that. Had to move around a little bit before trying again, but that was the only difficulty."
"Well," Catra smirked, "If you're still up to it, then as soon as we get back you can talk with Kyle."
Lonnie muttered something under her breath.
Catra snorted, ignoring her as she gently punched Dawn's shoulder. "But you did well. Be proud." Catra smiled, rather used to Dawn's embarrassment at this point.
A knock echoed on the door, catching her off guard. The last rays shine through the front, small window as she carefully opens the door.
"Hello?" A man asked, thin and tall with a smile almost splitting his face. "Oh! You must be our charming Clara! It's wonderful to meet you!" His smile, somehow, grows even wider, "I hope you don't mind. I think we have a mutual friend that could help us benefit from each other."
"Oh?" Catra masks with a smile. "I'm not one for many friends, you understand. I'm not quite sure who you'd be talking of."
"You're and dear Ly-Ly's game, of course!" He offered a hand, eerily similar to the action Lydia had made just some hours ago. "I could not help but overhear, and I thought;" His eyes sharpen, teeth just a little pointer as they eyes meet. "Oh, how fun! I want to take part!"
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Thank you Hubris+ for reading through this, I realise my writing can be bad at best of times, so reading through it means a lot to me!
Fealt the need to point out that Catra isn't aware of gender and sex not actually being the same thing. So even though she calls the guarded female, it'd be more accurate to call it a woman exclusive guard. And while most positions of power do go-to women, it's nowhere near as bad as it looks from Catra's point of view. Remember, they decades-old warring states. Even if she isn't aware of it, Catra is slightly biased against the Rebellion and its culture.
I think I said this before, but the social-cultural world of Etheria is very different from that of Earth. So some things we either idealise or dread might be completly normal for them. Similarly, some things that we consider completly basic and essential might be completely bewildering in Etheria.
Nonetheless, if you felt I should have written something differently, be it personality and/or displays of different states of mentality, please leave a comment! Any advice is welcome and appreciated!
Anyways, I'll See you next time! Ciao!
~ Sapphire and Emeralds