A/N: Hahhhhhh...I am now just one finalized thesis from solving world hunger and curing all earthly diseases like I set out to do a year and a half ago ^^! Hahaha, looking back on it, I can't even remember what I was working on in the first place, but compared to doing the impossible like curing Cancer and whatnot, I doubt it had much import- HOLY CRAP I HAD A FANFIC TO WORK ON! *quickly erases years of data and research for no explainable reason and hops back onto fanfiction dot net* Oooooooh boy it's uhh... It's been awhile...
HO! HO! HO! Merrrrrry COUGH-ACK! UGH!... Worse thing to go through on Christmas- having a freaking cold that leaves you bedridden _ UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH but how's it going people! It's been quite a while hasn't it ^^! What's it been now? A few days? A couple weeks? A... Month or two... over a year... oh dear god...
Well as the above insanity has mentioned, majority of this im writing under the influence (influence being cough medicine which is the only thing getting me through this at the moment...), I just wish to say to you all that I! AM! ALIIIIIIIIIIIVE... though certainly don't feel as alive as I am shouting in wording, no Xo? God colds suck. I get freaking Bronchitis whenever I get one these days which is the worst, but besides my medical history, how about I bring you all an update on me?
For the most part, I'm-!...Well... Yeah, Im here... hi! Ok so not much of an update so I apologize for that, but I hope this at least can alleviate some fears people might be having out there. Yeah I know it's been a LOOOOONG time since I last updated- been going through some personal life issues between job hunting, pets passing away, everything that basically sucks about growing up X/ (minus the love i have for cartoons and anime though i question if that's something adults can still do or just one of my many mental issues... maybe both? Oh well...) But for the most part, I want to personally be the one to spell it out for you people who are worried endlessly about this fic like I am.
I. AM. NOT. DONE! Yesiree I guarantee you, despite the fact I have no time frame or any idea of what to expect or when the first official next chapter will be posted, that the Cat-Ra series that you all know and love (unless you're robots which would explain a lot- sorry again for the weirdness, like I said, under a LOT of cough medicines atm) is 100% NOT DEAD and more importantly NOT FINISHED! So anyone who checks in with tvtropes and whatnot or fanfic-tropes or whatever the trope for this fic is listed under, you can put away the "dead status" thing cause i guarantee you the fanfic is still alive and here XP
With that said, when will the next update come? Wellllllllllllll Idk. Honestly with work and all it's been hard to get energy to do anything (I made the stupid mistake of getting a job where I work in the evening instead of the morning- NEVER DO THIS PEOPLE! You will feel like you're just preparing for work all day long before working and it'll exhaust you- least that's how it feels with me). With that said though, I AM fortunate to comment I am looking into daytime hours and might be getting some as soon as next year with the next schedule updates and whatnot. Will that mean chapters will immediately come then? Absolutely not because i'll still be returning home after working each day- but it does fortunately mean i can devote a few hours each day TO my fanfic then so, while posts won't be as daily as they used to be, they should be somewhat more standard or average or whatever term you wanna use here and there (or at least more common than having to wait a year and a half for a freaking status update P_P). But still, I would've felt bad to everyone if I just left this with ONLY a status update, so guess what? I had the choice of either giving my viewers $1,000,000 each, or posting a sneak peak of the next chapter! And I think we all know what everyone would want ^^... So with that said, ENJOY!
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"... Huff..." Catra breathed calmly as she continued to focus.
"Concentrate." Shadow Weaver's focus directed as she circled the magicat.
"It'd be easier if a certain someone could pipe down-"
"Focus."
"Mmmh..." Catra grumbled internally as she closed her eyes again, relaxing her hands around the target as she channeled her power once more. There were a lot of ridiculous things Catra had to put up with now that Shadow Weaver had free reign of the Castle, to a certain extent.
For one thing, her and "Auntie Castaway", aka Castaspella, and their obnoxious double teaming of her in their efforts to make Catra more... "appealing" in appearance. At least, that's how Shadow Weaver described it. With the two of them together, they cornered the stray cat moments after she helped Glimmer through her coronation ceremony, and proceeded to put Catra through the most horrifying and terrible half-hour of her life.
By giving her a Bath.
If it wasn't enough to humiliate the magicat through those barbaric means, the fact they had to follow it up with a complete wardrobe change to boot was putting icing on Catra's current misery! Okay, so maybe Catra partly accepted and agreed to it when she knew Glimmer's personal appearance among the other royals were on the line, but it was a dirty trick in her opinion. At least she managed to snag couple pieces of her old outfit for safekeeping without the either of them finding out... she hoped.
Another thing that really irritated Catra was simply crossing her path whenever the two were walking in the hallways. It didn't matter how much eye contact they avoided with each other, she didn't care to start up a conversation with the old crone who ruined a part of her life. All that mattered was that whenever the two crossed paths in the hall, they could always feel the other's unnerving glare in their direction, or at least that how Catra assumed it was. Even if the old witch never paid her much mind, Catra still scoffed silently whenever she bumped into her.
Lastly, if there was one thing that really got under the magicat's skin, no matter how much she didn't want to accept it, no matter how much she knew Shadow Weaver took silent joy over, it was the fact that Catra still needed her. Not for the sentimental reasons she once did as a child, she didn't care if Shadow Weaver praised her anymore.
Nope, not at all.
What she needed from her was training. The training required to perfect She-Ra's magical abilities, the one thing she struggled to study under Light Hope. It wasn't that Light Hope was necessarily bad as an instructor, far from it. It just didn't help when a majority of her advice on using her magic came from finding the "power within her heart", as opposed to a more direct emotion she could focus on to channel her magic. And while she was thankful for the assistance, it didn't help when it always sounded like she was criticizing Catra's abilities, even when she got it right.
So what better way to get rid of the obsessive nagging-like tone than to find another teacher, right? That line of reasoning sounded better in her head at the time, because if she knew the reality that would follow it, she would've kept her mouth shut from day one.
Work. Berate. Work. Work harder. Berate. Work even harder. Finally get something done right. Still find something to berate about before moving on to the next lesson.
That's basically the pattern that followed Catra's life over the last several weeks ever since she asked Shadow Weaver to take over as her magical instructor in all things She-Ra. From the simplest details such as how her posture should be, to simple breathing exercises, there was always something Catra needed to "improve" upon according to Shadow Weaver's teachings. It didn't matter how well Catra could swing a blade of energy at a target, it didn't matter to her if she found a way to excel at Shadow Weaver's guidance- if the witch found something to critique about, she was going to let Catra know about it immediately.
And as much as Catra REALLY wanted to lay into her (in more ways than one) about how she controlled her magic... she really couldn't. Not that she was under some threat to stop teaching or something if Catra complained once, far from it. In reality, she found herself improving upon her magical capabilities, finding new and smoother ways to channel her powers more efficiently and swiftly than the methods she's been learning from Light Hope. It wasn't much to convince the magicat that the lessons were more preferable than Light Hope's, but at the same time, she really couldn't complain.
But boy was she making it excruciatingly tempting to call it quits at a moment's notice.
Even now she did nothing but circle the magicat as she attempted to practice her magic again. What wonderful and exciting new thing was she learning this time? The wonderfully boring world of doing one of her least favorite things; Gardening. Technically, she wasn't learning to do something stupid like "learn how to plant crops the correct way", or "figure out how much fertilizer needed before watering a plant", or something else as painfully obnoxious as that, thank goodness. She was practicing her healing ability to revitalize a near-dead plant back to perfect health, a feat that would be invaluable on the battlefield.
So, at the very least, did she have to circle her like a vulture waiting for it's prey to die so she could devour it?! It was hard enough for her to concentrate on something she's barely used in the past, if ever more than once, so what part of Shadow Weaver circling her like this was supposed to be helpful? Was it even supposed to help her in the first place? Was Shadow Weaver completely unaware of a single bead of sweat dripping from Catra's forehead as her hands continued to glow around the plant? Or did she just enjoy getting on the She-Ra's nerves just to make her mess up again?
If you were to ask Catra, most likely the latter.
"Drown out all other noise, and focus solely on the task on hand." Shadow Weaver continued to instruct as she observed the healer carefully.
"I'm trying." Catra mumbled back, wincing a bit as she pushed aside the nag she heard behind the tone.
"I'm not asking you to try, I'm telling you to do it." She purposely stressed, noticing the slightest twitch to Catra's finger. It was intriguing to watch the girl under the given circumstances that brought them to this moment in time, but it would take more than Catra's current performance to impress the horde's former second-in-command as the plant began to shine a little. "Focus on your energy pouring into it like a wave, a simple strand of string extending from each finger to your target."
"Shouldn't we practice this with actual string then first?" Catra questioned in a slight smugness as she opened her left eye a little.
"Catraaa..." The instructor grumbled internally, watching the magicat close her eye immediately as if she was being sincere.
If there was any saving grace to all of this, it's that Catra could be as coy as she desired knowing that Shadow Weaver couldn't deal with her personally like she used to in the Fright Zone. Before, the fierce warrior gave her the respect she deserved, one fitting with the authority that she had once held. Now, she'd be lucky enough to pluck a strand of hair from the girl if she felt she was getting out of line without the guards, or heavens forbid, the new "leading royalty" around here to call her out on it. If she didn't know any better, she could've sworn Catra was doing this on purpose just to spite her.
And unfortunately for her, she perfectly knew which category the teen fell under.
Still, at least she was taking the work a little more seriously than Shadow Weaver originally gave her credit for, regardless of how much or little that would've been. And she was proving to be somewhat capable as the color of the plant began to return to it's original hue,
"Steady the flow now, feel the life returning to the plant..." If her eyes weren't closed Catra would've eagerly rolled them at the comment. How was she supposed to "feel life" returning to something already near-dead to begin with? She could feel the small change of wind surrounding the plant as it rose, but that was just her sense of touching being what it was, along with her hearing picking up the sound of the shuffling dirt as the plant's roots continued to grow.
Whichever way she wanted her to feel the plant returning to life, Catra did feel a strange sense of calmness as the plant continued to grow right before her very closed eyes, one that almost filled her with a relaxation that was welcoming.
"Ok... I... I think I got something here..." She commented with a hint of pride. Compared to the rest of her lessons, this one was going surprisingly well. Besides the usual annoyances her lessons with Shadow Weaver came with, she still managed to get a sense of accomplishment coming from her actions, and it was starting to show it's merit as the once dried up petals began to blossom with a touch of pink. "It's... It's working...!" She couldn't help herself as she opened her eyes a little, marveling at the sight before her.
It wasn't so much that she was accomplishing what she did with relative ease, that was just a bonus for her. What really energized her was the fact it was happening so well on her first attempt at this! Sure, maybe her second or third given a few times she tried it in the past, most notably the day she was forced to save Shadow Weaver's own life, but besides that, for a magic she had yet to try over her more offensive capabilities, it was going verily well!
The plant continued to fill the girl with a strange glee as its steam slowly rose to a straighter standing, her nose picking up as the plant's aroma slowly wafted around her. On top of everything else that was going on, she was starting to feel a bit giddy at the prospect of this accomplishment. Soon, she was going to be able to rub one in Shadow Weaver's face about how she perfected a magic she was learning on the very first try! Oh man, she couldn't wait to show this to the rest of the group, knowing they would be just as awestruck at how wondrous her first attempt went-!
"CATRA!*
"Ack-!"
*POMF*
...And how it went down the drain.
The instant. That's all it took. The very instant that Catra was feeling a full amount of pride, right as the meter was touching the tip, she ruined it. Knowing Catra couldn't have her moment of glory, the small instances of joy she got out of these lessons, Shadow Weaver just *had* to ruin her fun by throwing all of her hard work down the drain. She could've let her have her fun or wait for her to finish gloating to herself, but that was before Catra remembered the cold hard reality about Shadow Weaver she always tried to push out of her mind.
Shadow Weaver was Shadow Weaver.
Almost as if she was sensing the sense of pride welling up inside her, and for all Catra knew she did, she startled her. Without any hesitation to her voice without care of what she was accomplishing, Shadow Weaver just had to be the one to grab her suddenly by the wrist and yelling her name right next to her. If that was all that happened, Catra would've happily let it end right there, maybe roll her eyes or stick a tongue at her when she wasn't looking. Yet, like all things, that would've been too simple for the young magicless sorceress.
No, instead of doing things the pure and simple way, she broke her concentration. A second to realize her concentration on her magic was being haggled, and another second for her to stop her magic before it could do anything worse. But by that point, it was already too late, and the damage was done, evidenced by the small sludge of remains that had once been the flower dripping from Catra's left now-fuming cheek, the handful of it sprayed across her chest, and the final remains of it dripping from her shoulders onto her feet below.
Without any form of concentration or control over herself, much like a balloon, the once glistening flower that was starting to fill with life, overfilled with said life and in a feat that could be considered an accomplishment in some messy shape or form, exploded across the small table as the small plant failed to contain the excess energy that was being stored into it.
Simply put, as Shadow Weaver deemed the event, she failed, again.
"What was that?!" Catra stammered in disbelief at her nuisance of a mentor.
"Did you not see the explosion or are you still oblivious to what remains of it?" Shadow Weaver remarked, wiping what little sludge of the deceased plant landed on her mask.
"I'm talking about the whole shouting thing!" She clarified, growling under her breath as she clenched her fist. It was moments like these she wished she could swipe at the woman's face again, hesitating only due to the fact that said lessons would be over in an instant if she did, something both of them knew right off the bat. "I was doing just fine and you interrupted me out of nowhere!"
"Oh? Am I supposed to apologize for it like the enemy would?" The teacher nearly rolled her own eyes at what she saw as obvious as she went about collecting another plant and a pot. "What do you suppose would happen if you were to employ your magic out in the open field? Do you think the enemy is going to just 'politely wait for you' while you're healing your allies? Or performing any other feat of magic while you're at it? You need to be ready for anything and capable of adapting on the spot, and not just with your strength either."
"Give me a break..." Catra snarled as she rolled her eyes. This. This and many examples like it were one of the main reasons training under Shadow Weaver was unbearable for the poor girl. She could've simply told her to "prepare to be tested on your reactions" or something of the sort, but no. Like every lesson, there just HAD to be some underlying motive behind it. "I'm not going to stand out in the open like a moron, you know. I know the difference between finding a moment to use my magic and finding a moment to smash something first!"
"Yes, just ask the remains of your last victim how well that worked out for you." She nearly joked as she flicked off the last of the plant's substance from her fingertips as she finished procuring another wilted subject before placing it on the table. "Imagine if that was an actual person's arm, or a leg. Do you think you can afford to make mistakes when someone's life is on the line?"
"Tch..." And of course, the last thing she hated about her lessons with Shadow Weaver. At the end of whatever debate the two had about how a lessons goes, no matter how much Catra hated it, no matter how much she wished to the former, she was forced to admit, despite the bile rising up in her stomach, that on some level, Shadow Weaver had a point. Not that she would ever admit to such a thing, mind you. "Whatever. Can we just do this again already?"
"Hmph. Now concentrate..." Shadow Weaver gestured for the girl to follow as Catra began to heal the plant. At least now that she knew what to expect, she wasn't going to let Shadow Weaver get the better of her this time-
*swish*
*POMF*
"OH COME ON!" And as fate proved, it wouldn't really be necessary for Shadow Weaver to interrupt her again as she wiped the disgusting green slime off her person again. Nope, fate wouldn't give her the mercy of expecting the next "unexpected surprise", why would it? That would be too kind.
No, instead, fate decided to play its own nasty hand against her by giving her a different kind of unexpected surprise. What kind of surprise? Oh, the one that she couldn't technically get mad at given the burdens that came with being a fellow "friend" to said person. The kind of friend who just had to pick now of all times to teleport because it wasn't LIKE CATRA WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF PRACTICING HER MAGIC TO BEGIN WITH IN THE FIRST PLACE!
The kind of friend who went by the name of Glimmer, the current Queen of Bright Moon, and one who was blinking in bewilderment at the sight of her fellow friend, Catra herself, being slighty covered in a disgusting greenish mold-looking residue that appeared to be present throughout the landscape.
"Um... what exactly is going on here?" She asked curiously, wondering what sort of trouble required the destruction of several plants from her garden.
"Ugh, nothing, just-" Catra shook the irritation and the disgusting goo literally from her head with a solid shake, refusing to take her anger out on the newly appointed queen to the best of her ability. "What do you want?"
"Oh, well, if you're prepared, it's about time for our next war council." She informed. "We're ready to discuss operations for our ambush in the valley."
"Finally, something I can look forward to." The warrior remarked with a smidge of relief as she sighed.
"If it can be put on hold," the former spellcaster reserved, "we were in the middle of practice, which we should be returning to before-"
"Actually, now's a good time for a break, don't you think?" Catra shot back, paying little mind or concern for the mentor's words.
"Catra, I forbid you from-"
"From what? Doing my job?" As if to emphasize her point, the two onlookers watched as the magicat returned to her original form, transforming and placing the collar where it used to be before her daily lesson began. "Let's get one thing straight: you don't get to boss me around anymore. The fact you're even out as much as you are should be considered a privilege given your history. My duties as She-Ra come first, lessons come second. Got it?" There were no words to describe how good she felt in the present situation.
Shadow Weaver had little to no control over the ordeal, save for if she wanted to teach Catra or not, and even then there were limitations to what she could do. Her scolding attempts were practically passive to the young feline, with her "warnings" being occasionally met with the roll of the eyes. It wasn't so much that she seemed to be toying with the older woman, it's more so that she lacked the sense of fear she once instilled in her and everything that came with it. Control. Respect. A reason to continue caring for whatever either of them were going through. It was nothing more than a "teacher and student" scenario from here, nothing more, nothing less, and given the present circumstances, it felt like a lot less at times.
This in itself wouldn't have been an issue if Catra took more concern or care over her current lessons. With the amount of potential She-Ra had within her sword, there could be virtually no limit to the amount of power Catra could unleash. Now if the magicat only cared enough to put that kind of power into progress, they would be going somewhere to Shadow Weaver's satisfaction.
Such wasn't the case, however. This was all to Catra's satisfaction, more likely than not.
Not Shadow Weaver's.
Something Catra took glee over as Shadow Weaver was forced to relent. "Very well..." She waved off, gathering herself as she went about cleaning the mess from the previous two plants. "Just don't forget what I taught you today."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, sheesh." Catra barely paid attention to half of whatever she was muttering as she passed it off, walking back towards the castle without a care in the world at the time, something Glimmer couldn't help but notice as she passed her. "I'll get back to the stuff after we get back from the next mission."
"Even if I'm preoccupied with something else?" The witch almost said in a joking tone, something the warrior almost smirked at given how it sounded.
"Pffft, like what? It's not like you have any other students around here, you know." That line was enough to cause a brief pause in the young woman as Catra left, watching briefly as Glimmer gave a look back to the fellow teacher before joining along Catra. There were so many things the Queen wanted to say between the two, just something to get their relationship under control, to a mere point where she could go about her day without worrying about either of the two stabbing each other in the back or blowing up a part of the castle. Yet it was the strained history that made her reserve her tongue to herself, knowing there was something behind their time that Glimmer wasn't privy to, no matter how much Catra revealed about herself.
And yet, it was there. Hidden behind the mask. A small sneer hidden within Shadow Weaver's visage as she gathered the remains of the broken pot and the withered sprout that the warrior attempted to grow. With a small wave of her hand, a small, barely noticeable hue of black phased around Shadow Weaver's right hand as she raised it to the fallen sprout. It was only for an instant, but more than enough time given to achieve what was done.
"Oh, Catra... Catra..." She grinned, watching as what little of the plant could blossomed into a small, purple, bud. It was no bigger than the palm of her hand, and it was unnecessary to grow any further. It would grow in its own time, one way, or another. "There's plenty of flowers to work with~"
And all she had to do, was wait...
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A/N: ...What do you mean you wanted the million dollars?! This is why you people need to reply before I finish posting, not after! God X(!
Lol, joking aside, all seriousness, with this all said, I hope each and every one of you enjoyed the sneak peek into what i hope/pray will be my eventual return. I can't give a deadline, heck I don't even know if I'll get my morning hours starting next month or not or how long I'll have them for, but regardless, I hope each and every one of you enjoyed this little gift from me to you as my personal little Christmas Gift to the Fans. As always...
Hope you all enjoyed! Leave a like, fav, follow, and review if you enjoyed, and I hope to see you all soon, and hope you all have a very Merry Christmas ^^!