Starting a new Catradora fanfic, I was reading some school AUs and just felt like they lost Etheria and the wonderful land of She-ra in it. Think Hogwarts meets Shera except the school is for all supernatural beings. Be thinking of season 4 character styles.
Eternia School for the Supernatural
House Horde- Red; house of the clever and ambitious; Mascot: Bat; Mentor Hordak
House Brightmoon- Purple; house of the kind and strategic; Mascot: Winged Unicorn; Mentor Micah
House Grayskull- Green; house of the loyal and brave: Mascot: Tiger; Mentor; Light Hope
House Mystacor- Gold; house of knowledge and the resourceful; Mascot: Dragon; Mentor Castaspella
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Catra boarded the train along with many of the other Magicats who were attending Eternia. It would be her first year at ESS (Eternia School for the Supernatural). Most Etherians spent their first 18 years of life living in their born Kingdoms. They spent those 18 years learning and living in their own cultures and once they came of age they were allowed to attend the school.
A few of the houses were named after founding Kingdoms and founding families. The school served as a part of the peace treaty the Horde had signed with Etherian Kingdoms hundreds of years ago and still stands as the uniting symbol between the kingdoms and lands. Horde Prime was defeated and succeeded by his younger brother W. Hordak. Wrong had turned on Prime in an attempt to bring peace and stop the war. In return the Horde was pardoned from war crimes and established as a founding house for ESS. Now railroads connected all kingdoms and their people.
Catra looked around nervously, she was a Princess and very seldom had she been out of the palace, but her mother insisted that a good Queen must be a well rounded individual. She had to admit that she wasn't the best when it came to making friends and staying out of trouble. She half-expected that this whole school thing was to 'reform her into a proper princess'.
She looked into a passing room and saw another princess. Princess Glimmer, she recognized her from the few treaty meetings her mother had managed to drag her too. No doubt she'll be sorted into Brightmoon. A young man in an armored crop top sat next to her. Catra wondered what the point of it being armored was when so much flesh was exposed but shrugged her shoulders and continued down the train. She found a room, mostly empty besides the small women resting in it.
Catra quietly crept into the room and studied the blonde. She was quite muscular for her small frame. She noted that the white long sleeve shirt hugged the girl's body in an almost seductive way. She wore a strange gold forearm bracelet. Catra leaned in closer to inspect the blue jewel adorned in it.
"You could always take a picture…."
Catra jumped two feet back; tail erect and bushy. The blonde had an amused look on her face which served to make the feline more flustered.
"I wasn't!-"
"I'm just kidding!" The other girl put her hands up in defense while chuckling loudly. "Adora." She smiled, extending her hand out.
Catra smiled back and relaxed her tail, "Catra" She took the other girl's hand with a slight blush.
Adora's eyebrows shot up, "Wow! Would you look at those nails!?" Adora dragged the furry hands up to eye level. She squeezed Catra's palm and watched in awe as they extended back and forth.
The feline rapidly snatched away, "Do YOU mind?"
"Sorry" Adora half apologized through a goofy grin, "I've just never seen a Magicat up close before."
Catra laughed sourly, "Yeah well, I've seen plenty of idiots, but you might just take the cake." Catra watched as the blonde deflated a bit. She had to admit she felt slightly guilty but who does that? Catra let out an annoyed huff, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or whatever." Catra said dismissively while taking a seat.
Adora smiled widely, "Hmmm, it's okay. I forgive you. I make exceptions for friends."
"We are not friends."
"Mmmh, you said sorry because we're friends and you like me." Adore said teasingly
Catra shrieked, "THAT WAS NOT BECAUSE I LIKE YOU!"
Adora just laughed again.
The two spent most of the train ride bantering and learning about one another's customs. Catra had learned that Adora could shift into a much stronger and more powerful woman. She talked on and on about how her brother and her were gifted with this magical ability at birth. Only two members of the royal bloodline were gifted these powers at a time. He-man and She-ra, warriors and royalty. Adora had confessed that she couldn't transform at will yet but she was learning; Adam; however, had mastered this ability and actually taught at Eternia. His title was Professor of Magical Weapons.
Catra listened to Adora ramble with a soft smile on her face. There was something about this girl that intrigued her to no end. She was giddy to learn more about her. Her first friend in many years.
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Catra woke up to a large jarring. The train had finally come to a stop after hours of travel. She closed her eyes once more and nestled into the warm pillow underneath her. It would probably be another 30 minutes or so before they would begin boarding off.
Adora cleared her throat slightly, "Catra…"
The feline's eyes shot up and met beautiful blue staring down at her. She noticed the slight tent on the blonde's face before abruptly standing up.
"You purr in your sleep," Adora giggled, "It's cute."
Catra blushed furiously, "I. Am. Not, Cute."
Adora wiggled her eyebrows, "Sure."
Catra watched Adora carefully as they waited to leave the train. They stood in the hallway together and watched as other students got off one by one. Their outfits completely disappear to be replaced by plain dark gray robes and sweaters adorned with white ties. She heard 'crop top' protest loudly only to be subdued by Glimmer, "You can alter them once you get your house!"
Adora stepped off next and Catra watched with disappointment as her taut muscles were covered up. Adora waited as she stepped down. One of the teachers reached for her head piece only to be swatted away viciously. "It stays." The teacher grumbled but didn't protest further.
Adora led Catra through the maze of students who came in every shape and size, Occasionally, Catra would have to swat Adora's wandering hands away from unsuspecting students. "Have you ever heard the phrase, 'you can look but you can't touch?!"
Adora shrugged, "Not really. My kingdom isn't really like that. We're a bunch of warriors. Bathe and Battle together."
Catra laughed, "Battle what? Etheria has been at peace for years."
"The Whispering Woods." Adora looked at me, "Who do you think keeps all the creatures at bay? The Kingdom of Grayskull has always protected the people of Etheria." Adora's gaze softened and she lost her 'hero gusto' look. "Which you probably don't know much about since your Kingdom lives underground. Do you ever think your people will come back to the surface? The war has been over for a long time."
Catra shrugged, "The Magicats rebuilt their kingdom there hundreds of years ago. I don't see why we would. We're not exactly cut off from the rest of Etheria anymore."
Adora hummed in agreement. They boarded the boat and saw that Glimmer and her boy toy had already taken their seats. He was still grumbling about the shirt when they entered.
"Bow! Please, I cannot deal with this all day-" Glimmer stopped mid-sentence after seeing us. "Hi! I'm Princess Glimmer!" She greeted Adora excitedly, "This is Bow!"
"Hi!" He smiled widely
Catra eyed the man up and down, "What makes you special? Aren't you just a human?"
"Catra!" Adora scolded, and then smiled at the other two, "I'm Adora and this is Catra."
"Do you always keep friends like this around?" Glimmer said with a stern frown.
"Well we just met on the-"
Catra cut Adora off quickly, "We are not friends." She wouldn't have Adora sounding so distraught on her behalf, the blonde frowned but Glimmer looked relieved.
Bow spoke up once again, "Well I DO have a magical bow which corresponds with Magical Weapons but ESS has accepted non magic humanoids for years. They get to participate in almost everything thanks to magic." He was still smiling. It made Catra want to gag, she had never met someone so earnest before. It was disorienting.
She watched as the three exchanged conversation and she watched as Adora smiled and giggled deliciously. Adora had hardly talked to her the entire boat ride over and it made a pit in Catra's stomach grow. When the boat docked the trio was quick to leave. Adora stood on the dock waiting for Catra. She reached out her hand but Catra angrily swatted it away.
"What's wrong?" Adora asked, confused as to why the beautiful feline had become aggressive.
Catra's ears flattened back, "Nothing, go be with your new friends."
Adora frowned, "You have literally said 'we're not friends', like a hundred times."
"We're not." Catra said defensively.
Truth be told, Adora liked Catra. She found in the last few hours that she REALLY liked Catra. Her beautiful eyes, the way she cackled, how witty she was. She liked Catra and she wanted to get to know her more. She wanted to flirt with the brunette while the counterpart teased her. She liked the dynamic so far. Adora had never really had friends, mostly just brothers in arms. Her kingdom was very male dominated. In fact, most of the warriors never married within the kingdom walls. She knew she liked women the way her brother Adam did, but she had never had the chance to act on it. But Catra was confusing. Sweet and teasing alone and rough and rigid around others it seemed.
"Okay then. It was nice meeting you." She watched as Catra went rigid once again, but she couldn't find the words to express her new feelings. She knew if Catra didn't want to be friends that she'd honor her wishes.
Catra watched with a grimace as Adora went to catch up with the other two. "Fuck." She growled. She never was good at making friends.
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Catra entered the grand dining hall with all the other first year students. Four long tables stretched throughout the large space. Red Banners encrusted with bats laid on one of the tables and banners hung overhead. House Horde. The next one was adorned with purple and a winged unicorn. House Brightmoon. The third was House Grayskull. The house shared the same name as Adora's kingdom. It was adorned in green, with a large green tiger crest. Adora had mentioned the cat before, He-man's right hand. The final house had a dazzling gold banner with a dragon etched into it. House Mystacor.
She watched as students went to the pedestal stationed at the front of the room. One by one the first year students were sorted into houses. Cheers erupted as students were placed with their new houses.
"Catra M." Head Master Mara called.
Catra walked to the podium, her legs wanted to shake slightly at all the attention but she held strong. She stood to face the crowd as Mara placed her hand over Catra's chest. The heart of Etheria began to glow from Mara and onto Catra's chest. "Welcome, friend of Mara, Catra. You are descended from Magicat Royalty. Cunning, resourceful, ambitious. You would make a great addition to the…. HORDE!"
Catra watched in awe as her cloak trim changed to red along with her tie. A large Scorpion-like lady waited for her down at the bottom. "Hiya! I'm Scorpia. House Leader for the Horde." She crushed Catra in a hug, "Welcome to the family!."
Scorpia moved her between two other students. "Lonnie."
"Catra,"
"I know Scorpia doesn't seem like she'd be placed in Horde, much less a captain, but she's actually very smart and cunning." Lonnie said dismissively.
Catra shrugged a bit, "Why would I care, she seems nice enough."
Lonnie's eyes widened a bit, "Well, house Horde is known to house- well not very pleasant people. When the war ended a lot of Horde members and even some Etherians still agreed with Horde Prime's message for "One Kingdom, One Ruler" and most of those people came from this house."
"That was a long time ago."
"Yes, but some still agree with that message. There are some Etherians who live in slums with little to eat while the Royals live lavish." Lonnie rolled her eyes a bit, "Like good ole Princess Glimmer over there. She's never had to work for a thing in her life."
Catra noted Lonnie's distaste and couldn't help but to think that there were many more who probably shared her opinion. It might be a good idea to keep this whole princess thing to herself. It wasn't like Glimmer or anyone else had picked up on it yet. Glimmer was probably too self-absorbed to notice the cat in their meeting beforehand.
"Glimmer B." Catra eyed the princess as she took to the podium,
"House Brightmoon!" Of course, Catra rolled her eyes a little bit. A founding family member going to her founding house.
Bow walked up and was announced to House Brightmoon as well.
Catra's interest peaked as she watched Adora take the stand. Adora looked a little nervous as well when the heart started to speak. "Welcome, friend of Mara, Adora. You are a Legacy of House Grayskull, but you do not wish to be placed there. Intriguing, do you not wish to reside in the house of your ancestors? Your heart pulls to House Horde. Interesting, you do have qualities that match."
Catra's heart skipped a beat, why Horde? Did she want to join for her?
"No, I don't want to be in Horde." Adora spat out abruptly and the heart turned blue instead of its natural pink.
"If not the Horde or Grayskull, then…. HOUSE BRIGHTMOON!" The crowd erupted in loud cheers as Adora made her way over to Glimmer and Bow. Adora's sudden outburst had upset her slightly. She sighed loudly, this would be a challenging first year.
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Let me know what you think so far! I plan on having a lot of different interactions for the girls. Seems like Adora already knows what she wants, but Catra is stubborn as ever, she's quite literally the cause of her own problems.