Summary: After a fight between Catalina and Lance, Catalina spends some quality time with Varian.
"You are not my father!" Catalina yelled and stormed out of the room.
"Wait, he didn't mean to-" Kiera tried, but her sister was having none of it. Torn between going after her and comforting Lance she ultimately decided to stay behind. It was probably for the best.
"Well that escalated quickly," she said with a forced lightheartedness that hung awkwardly between them.
Kiera turned towards the older man. Lance sat on her bed, his head hung low and his hands covered his face. With his usual rambunctious spirit gone he seemed much smaller. He looked sad and it made her sad.
"Don't worry, she just needs to blow off some steam," Angry placed herself next to him. Not sure how to cheer him up she continued, "She'll come around." With a violent bang, the front door slammed shut, punctuating her statement in the single worst way possible. "Eventually."
Lance shook his head but took Kiera's words for what they were. He wasn't their father, maybe that was the problem.
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"How dare!" Catalina growled, rubbing her angry tears away.
Without looking back she stepped into the night and let the monster inside her awake. Up high moonlight illuminated the purple midsummer sky. The werewolf began to howl. Trashing through the thick forest she ran and ran until her footfalls became her heartbeat.
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The dawn of a new day chased the shadows away, her memories fuzzy from last night but her foul mood still lingered. Back in her human form, Catalina glared at the bright sun and the perfect blue sky. Why couldn't the weather be a little more considerate?
Suddenly the hair on her neck stood up and her muscles tensed. She wasn't alone anymore. The leaves were rustling, boots dragged over dirt, heavy breathing, and then… Varian?
She blinked in surprise. The alchemist seemed so out of place between the green plants of the forest and well nature in general. It felt strange to see him here in the open.
"Did Lance send you?" She inquired suspiciously.
"What?" Varian answered when he recognized her.
"Or Angry?"
"Uhm, no."
"Come to think of it, you're one of the princess lackeys. Don't tell me she -,"
Before the girl could finish her accusation Varian interrupted her slightly offended. "First of all rude, I'm my own man."
"Really?" Catalina teasingly raised a brow to which Varian only rolled his eyes.
"Mostly. Second, hello to you too. And third, I am here for this." He disappeared into a stand of trees and she had to follow him. In one dramatic reveal, he pulled a large branch aside.
"Isn't it beautiful? It's the last of its kind," he sounded like a lovesick puppy, gushing over his precious -
"It's a rock." Catalina deadpanned. The tiny boulder did not impress. "And it stinks."
"Well, yes, but not any rock. It's a super rare mineral, which took me ages to find and - wait you can smell it?"
"What does it do?" She changed the topic, not liking the focus on her more or less feral side. Did he even know what she truly was?
"It glows in the dark an- "
"Does it explode?" Catalina interrupted. Things finally started to get interesting.
"Also yes, however not the point," dismissively he waved his hand. "I can make basically anything explode."
He kneeled down and slowly started to unpack diverse tools from his backpack. "It has some very unique properties contributing to gravity."
"So, you wanna make things …floaty?" She asked confused.
Varian looked up and grinned. "That would be awesome!" Enthusiasm radiating in every syllable.
For a split second Catalina wondered why an alchemist would need his stuff soaring in midair and instantly a montage of Varian accidentally dropping all sorts of chemicals on the ground flashed up in her mind.
"But no," he continued a bit more somber. "I am gonna blow it up."
There was a longing in his eyes that betrayed the sheepish smile on his lips. Personally, she thought explosions were a much more fun idea.
"Can't you do both?"
"Nah, sadly I'll need all of it." Varian had turned to break up the mystery-rock into more manageable pieces.
Catalina was still watching. She didn't feel like leaving just yet, though she wasn't sure what else to say either.
Varian took mercy on her when he sensed her still hovering around. "So, um, daddy-issues I assume."
She crossed her arms over her chest. "It's nothing," the girl growled defensive, but couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes. "You just gonna laugh..."
"Try me."
Catalina was a little taken aback by the honest determination directed at her, maybe even a bit amazed. She smiled at his challenge. "Whatever," she might as well get it off her chest. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
Talking to Varian was surprisingly easy.
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"…and then he ate my cupcake. It was my cupcake and he didn't even apologize!" She went on.
Varian had listened quietly to her drama.
"You think it's silly, don't you?"
For a moment he didn't know what to say and wasn't that a rare sight. Gathering his thoughts he concluded, "Well, he should have. Apologized I mean." His task was finished and it was time to pack up. "Oh, don't get me wrong I think it's ridiculous."
Catalina glared at him.
"But," he stretched the word as long as he could, "It clearly means a lot to you. So yeah." Fiddling with the last of the stones he continued, "Sometimes it's hard not to be heard… frustrating when you feel like nobody is listening."
Catalina watched him shouldering his backpack with the heavy weight pressing down on him. He was ready to head home to old Corona and she hesitated.
"There is another one."
Varian looked confused.
She rolled her eyes in annoyance and sighed, "Another of your rocks, or minerals, or whatever. There is another one in the forest. It stinks up the whole place."
Varian's face lit up in childish joy. "You wouldn't mind, would you?"
"Follow me." Her heart was thumping loudly at the smell of adventure.
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5 minutes later they were dangling off from a cliff.
"How? How is it even possible to be that clumsy?" Catalina yelled, clinging to Varian's chest for dear life. "Were you born that way or did you practice?"
"Let's call it a character-flaw and move on!" His hands desperately clawed at the edge. They were so gonna die.
"Do you trust me?" She suddenly asked with adrenaline pumping in her veins and a wide grin spreading on her face. She must have looked beyond crazy, but it didn't matter. Wind rushed through her hair, while she could already feel the wolf pulling and pushing inside her.
"Wha-" Varian closed his mouth. "You have a plan?"
Catalina nodded, before saying, "Let go!"
And he did.