ready to run

“I can’t believe we won!” Glimmer said, punching the air.

Perfuma grinned. “That was so exhilarating!”

“Not to mention cathartic. Damn, I needed that,” Mermista said, stretching her arms above her head.

Adora couldn’t believe it either. They were the victors of the Battle of Bright Moon. They had overcome the Horde, their war machines, and Catra. If it hadn’t been for the other princesses arriving, Adora couldn’t dare to imagine what would have unfolded. To say she was grateful was an understatement.

The Horde had retreated and the princesses, plus Bow, were together celebrating. They had already conducted repairs deemed urgent around Bright Moon’s base, but there was still a lot of work needed to be done. Fortunately, the other princesses had all offered their help with that too.

Adora excused herself from the group. Glimmer shot a worried look her way so Adora gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile. Truthfully, Adora was feeling pretty beaten up, even after receiving healing potions from Queen Angella. The fight had been physically taxing, but also emotionally taxing. She just needed a moment to herself.

As she ventured further away from the other princesses and closer to the woods where the Horde had attacked from, she surveyed the destruction the battle had wreaked. The natural landscape had been trampled over (something Perfuma could probably help with), parts of destroyed war machines had been left, a few tanks She-Ra destroyed abandoned, and— hang on, was that a body Adora spotted in the distance? Surely the Horde weren’t so callous as to leave someone behind? But then again, it was the Horde. Adora wasn’t so naive anymore.

She got closer to the body and gasped. Was that who she thought it was?

It was.

It was Catra. And she was bleeding. A lot. Adora looked around helplessly — what was the correct way of doing things according to her first aid training? Put pressure on the wound? That sounded right. She dropped to her knees and placed her hands over the wound by Catra’s hip. She hoped it was helping, but she only had two hands and couldn’t remain like that forever. She needed help.

Help came in the form of sparkles. While startled by the sudden teleport, Adora had never been so relieved to see Glimmer and Bow.

“Oh, shit!” Bow said.

“We have to save her,” Adora said, her eyes pleading up at them.

“But she just tried to take us down!” Glimmer said.

Tears threatened to well up in Adora’s eyes. “Look I don’t expect you to forgive her, but she was my best friend. We grew up together. Please help me save her. Please.”

Glimmer and Bow shared a look and both nodded. Bow took off his quiver and ventured into its outside pocket (a neat feature, Adora had thought) and withdrew what looked to be one of Queen Angella’s magical mini first aid kits.

Adora couldn’t prevent the tears of relief that ran down her face. “I love you guys so much,” she said.

“We love you too. Which is why we’re helping,” Glimmer said. She got down on the ground with Adora and opened the first aid box. From it, Glimmer withdrew what appeared to be a dressing. “Move your hands. This is enchanted. It will stop the bleeding for now.” Adora moved her hands and Glimmer made quick work of placing the dressing over the wound. “She will need to take this potion when she comes to,” Glimmer said and held up a yellow potion. “It will heal her wound but she’ll need to rest for a few days.”

Adora nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”

Bow crouched on the ground and gazed at Catra’s pained expression with his head tilted. “What are you gonna do, Adora? You know things probably won’t pan out well if you keep her here.”

“I know,” Adora said. “I know somewhere I can take her and look after her. Can you cover for me? Create a distraction?”

Bow gave her a thumbs up. “Can do! But first how about a BFF squad hug!”

Adora and Glimmer simply held up their bloodied hands. Bow grimaced. “Air hug maybe?” The three of them laughed.

“Get going now,” Glimmer said. Adora nodded and whistled for Swift Wind.

“I’ll go with Swift Wind and send him back to you. He’ll be able to bring you both to me should you need me,” Adora said.

When Swift Wind arrived he was reluctant to let Catra on him, but conceded after a few bribes from Adora promising him his favourite foods. They prepared quickly and once Adora was sitting on Swift Wind she smiled to her friends. “You guys are the best.”

Glimmer shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s what best friends do,” she said, like it was no big deal. Bow nodded with a grin. Glimmer grabbed hold of Bow and they gave a quick wave before she teleported the two of them back to the other princesses.

Adora got herself comfortable on Swift Wind. “Alright Horsey— I mean, Swift Wind. To Madame Razz’s we go!”

—

Madame Razz happily welcomed Adora, Swift Wind, and Catra into her home, no questions asked. Though she didn’t seem to quite remember Adora.

Adora transferred Catra from Swift Wind to one of the mattresses in a hidden room in Madame Razz’s dwelling — something Adora didn’t realise was in there. It looked like a child’s room, though, as it had child-like drawings stuck up on the walls, plush toys neatly on display all around, and two small beds with knitted blankets.

“Madame Razz, did children used to live here?” Adora asked after gently placing Catra on one of the beds.

Madame Razz nodded and a smile broke out on her face. “Cheeky kids they were!” she said.

“What happened to them?”

Madame Razz stroked her chin and studied the drawings. She took her big glasses off and gave them a wipe. Her eyes were a lot smaller than the glasses made them appear. When she popped them back on she pointed to one of the drawings. It was of some kind of building.

“They have their own library now,” she said.

Upon closer inspection of the drawing, Adora could see that it had been captioned with ‘Our Library!’. She smiled. They must have achieved their dreams.

“What were their names again?” Madame Razz mumbled to herself. She shook her head and wandered off.

—

Catra didn’t come to until the next morning. Adora was alerted to this by what sounded like a groan — she had been listening to Madame Razz talk about the benefits of herbal tea, something she was rather grateful to have a break from.

“Catra!” Adora said when she entered the room and found Catra sitting up, examining the dressing on her hip. She looked slightly pale, probably from blood loss and covered in bruises — those were probably from the battle. But she was conscious and for that Adora was grateful.

Catra’s eyes widened but a moment later she was glaring at Adora. “Ugh. I should’ve known,” she said. She moved to stand up from the bed but Adora rushed to her side.

“No, you need to rest,” Adora said and was about to guide Catra to lie down but the moment she placed her hand on Catra’s shoulder, Catra smacked it off.

“I don’t need to do anything,” Catra said. She went to stand but Adora could see the little colour she had left in her face being drained.

“You need to rest,” Adora said. Catra ignored her. She went to step but started to fall, Adora caught her in time and guided her back onto the bed. In all their time together, Adora had only seen Catra seriously ill twice. Each time had been scary but Catra had always made a quick recovery. Adora hoped this time was the same.

Catra didn’t oppose the help but as her eyes were threatening to drift off back to sleep, she said, “This isn’t over.”

Adora nodded. “Get some sleep.” But Catra needed no more instruction.

—

Adora was on the other bed reading one of Madame Razz’s recipe books. It was old — she had to wipe dust of — and quirky. It contained ingredient combinations that Adora would never have thought of in the Fright Zone. Bow and Glimmer had introduced her to a lot of great things, but the variety of food they’d provided her had to top the list. She wondered what Catra would think of all the food.

Adora looked across at Catra’s sleeping form. It had been about three hours since she had been awake. Adora hoped Catra would wake up again soon, even if she did look so at peace when she was sleeping. There was no crease between her eyebrows, no frown, and just no visible tension at all. When had Adora last seen Catra so relaxed? It felt like many moons ago.

As if she could read her thoughts, Catra’s eyes opened. She was staring directly at Adora.

“Hi,” Adora said.

“How long have you been there? Have you been watching me sleep? That’s kind of creepy,” Catra said.

Adora rolled her eyes but couldn’t hide her smile. “Not long,” she said. It was semi-true; she had been in the room for a while but she had only been staring at Catra for a few moments. She sat up and grabbed the yellow potion from the bedside unit. “You need to take this,” she said.

Catra frowned but didn’t move. “I don’t need to do anything you say. Besides, it’s probably poison.”

Adora gaped. “It’s not poison! I would never poison you! I can’t believe you would think that,” she said.

Catra groaned. “Really, Adora? Do I have to explain to you what being enemies means?” Catra put a finger to her temple. “Look. I’ll take the damn potion if you just leave me alone. You’re giving me a headache.”

“Really?”

Catra rolled her eyes and nodded. “Yes. Now go.”

Adora was skeptical, but ever the optimist agreed and left the room.

Madame Razz greeted her when she entered the kitchen. The kitchen smelled delicious. Adora didn’t know what she was cooking but her stomach rumbled.

“What are you making? Smells yum!” Adora said

Madame Razz smiled. “It’s an experiment,” she said and went back to chopping up some vegetables. In Adora’s experience, Madame Razz’s experiments were either really good or most of the time really bad. She gulped, no longer so enthusiastic to taste. Madame Razz sent a knowing smile her way but paused as she took sight of Adora’s hand. “I thought you were to give that potion to your friend?”

Adora lifted her hand — the potion was enclosed in it. She let her head roll backwards. “I am such an idiot! How did I not even realise I was still holding this!” She shook her head. “I’m losing it. I better go give it to her.”

She busted through the bedroom door, which was really just a large piece of bark,  with so much speed it startled Catra. But what Adora saw was more concerning. Catra had thrown her blanket off and on display was blood soaking through the dressing. She immediately threw her hands over the wound when she noticed Adora staring at it.

“Catra! Why didn’t you tell me it was bleeding through!” Adora said, and wasted no time rushing to her bedside, thrusting the potion into her face.

Catra swatted her hand away. “It’s nothing. I’m fine and I’m not taking your damn poison.”

“It will stop the bleeding and heal that wound!” Adora insisted, holding the potion up to Catra.

“I said no!” Catra snarled and smacked the potion straight out of Adora’s hand.

Adora watched as it went flying through the air and smashed straight onto the floor, its contents leaking everywhere. “No!” she cried.

She turned back to Catra who was investigating the bloody dressing on her hip. Adora was conflicted about what to do. She scanned the room for anything that would help — but it was pointless. Adora had no clue on how to improvise when it came to first aid. She blamed the Horde for that— they’d taught minimal first aid. If you got wounded badly, they would rather leave you than waste resources helping you. Adora reached to help put pressure on the wound but Catra slapped her hand away. She settled for shouting for Madame Razz, praying she had a magical fix.

Catra observed Adora’s distress and chuffed but it only caused her to wince in pain. Adora frowned and opened her mouth to scold her but Madame Razz chose then to join them.

Adora clutched Madame Razz by the shoulders. “Please, Madame Razz, tell me you can help,” she said and gestured to Catra who was busy peeking under the dressing of the wound.

Madame Razz put her hand to her chin. “I have something but it has a longer recovery period.”

“That’s fine. What do I need to do?”

“Let me get my medical kit,” Madame Razz said before she left the room.

Catra coughed. “Uh, hello? I never agreed to this. In fact, I think it’s about time I left.” She stood but the sudden postural movement adding onto the blood she had lost made her collapse back onto the bed.

Adora rolled her eyes. “Stubborn as ever,” she said.

Catra just stared up at the ceiling, defeated. “Shut up.”

Madame Razz re-entered the room, equipped with a fairly large red tin box. She approached Catra’s bedside and opened the box. Adora craned her neck to see past Madame Razz’s back and into the box. There was all sorts of medical equipment; what they each did, Adora had no idea, she just had to trust Madame Razz knew.

Equipped with her tools, Madame Razz went to work on Catra’s wound. She wasn’t using anything magical which must explain the longer recovery time. Adora wondered why an experienced sorceress like Madame Razz was resorting to, what many called, primitive methods; she must have had her reasons, though.

Adora avoided looking at the wound and Madame Razz’s hands and instead focused on Catra’s face. Every time Catra winced, Adora sent her a reassuring smile, not that it mattered though because Catra’s eyes hadn’t moved from the ceiling.

“You know I’m only letting you do this so I can get out of here sooner,” Catra eventually said, eyes still fixed on the ceiling.

“I know,” Adora said, even though she didn’t want to believe it. “But you’re going to have to rest here a bit longer.”

“Says who?” Catra challenged, looking at Adora for the first time since Madame Razz has started working on her wound.

“Says me!” Madame Razz said. She studied Catra’s hip and nodded. “That magical dressing sealed your wound mostly, but I’ve had to stitch up the part that re-opened. Don’t think of going anywhere for at least the next week.” She packed up her kit, putting the bloodied tools in a separate compartment and made to leave, but turned right as she got to the door. “I mean it,” she said with an air of authority Adora had never seen her have.

Once Madame Razz had left, Adora laid back on her own bed in the room and looked over at Catra. Catra just rolled her eyes. “I heal twice as fast as normal people. I don’t need to be here that long.”

Adora raised an eyebrow. “That lie isn’t gonna fool anyone. Especially not me.” She knew Catra well enough to know that her recovery time was, in fact, fast but not that fast.

“Whatever,” Catra said. “I’ll be out of here before you know it.”

Adora sat up. “But why? You’re returning to the Horde? They just left you for dead.”

“Ha. That’s rich, coming from you,” Catra said, making eye contact with Adora.

“What do you mean?” Adora asked, eyebrows furrowed.

Catra’s eyes widened. “Really, Adora? Do I have to spell it out for you?”

When Adora didn’t respond Catra shook her head, in disbelief or disappointment, Adora couldn’t tell — maybe both.

Catra gestured for Adora to come closer. When Adora was within her reach, Catra shoved a finger into her chest. “You left me to die! You left me to suffer Shadow Weaver’s wrath. You didn’t care that she was threatening me! You just wanted to run off and play princess without thinking about anyone but yourself.” Catra withdrew her hand and looked away. “Without thinking about me,” she added quietly.

Adora didn’t know how to react. A tidal wave of guilt swept over her. “Catra, look — I’m sorry. I never meant for any of that to happen. Truly.” She swallowed, not sure how to phrase the next part. “But what I’m doing is right —“

Catra groaned. “Shut it. I don’t want to hear your speech of righteousness. Save it for someone who cares.” Catra turned her head to the other side and grabbed the pillow and used it to muff her ears.

Adora sighed. That was the end of that conversation. How could she get through to Catra? Nothing seemed to be working. She left the room feeling frustrated.

The rest of the day Catra only left the room to go to the bathroom — Madame Razz had advised she have minimal movement, so at least she had listened to that. However, she completely ignored Adora’s attempts at conversations when Adora brought food or pain relief. It was frustrating. Catra could be really stubborn when she wanted to be.

When Adora was getting ready for bed that night, she heard Catra mumbling her sleep. She walked over to Catra’s bedside and grabbed hold of her hand. “Catra?” she said.

Catra opened her eyes a fraction. “You’re so pretty… Adora,” she said.

Adora’s cheeks lit up and she looked away from Catra, flustered. It must have been the pain relief talking. Catra didn’t mean anything by that, surely. Adora didn’t want to get her hopes up.

She looked back at Catra’s face. Her eyes were closed and her breathing had evened out — she was fast asleep. Adora studied her face. In her opinion, Catra was the pretty one. But even then pretty didn’t feel like the right word. Usually, Adora would describe her as charming, but seeing her lie there, unwell and vulnerable, it didn’t feel right either.

Adora sighed and collapsed on her own bed. While she was eager to see the return of a charming, healthy Catra, she also dreaded it. For Catra would be under no obligation to stay.

—

The next day was uneventful. Catra was barely awake for most of it. Adora hadn’t tried to engage in proper conversation with her. She had only asked simple yes or no questions like “do you want some water?” Which Catra, in her tired state, answered without a problem. Adora was relieved to see some of Catra’s light bruises were beginning to fade too.

The morning after that, though, without any notice, Bow and Glimmer appeared on the back of Swift Wind.

Adora grinned through the entrance of the dwelling as she watched them land out front. Swift Wind looked as majestic as ever. She ran outside to greet them. “Bow! Glimmer! Swift Wind!” It had only been a few days, but she couldn’t stop grinning

Bow and Glimmer dismounted from Swift Wind and pulled Adora in for a big group hug.

“Uh.. Okay.. I’ll just stand here awkwardly while you hug without me. No big deal,” Swift Wind said. It caused the three of them to laugh as they made sure to pull Swift Wind’s head into the hug.

When they seperated Bow put a hand to his chin. “So this is where you’ve been hiding… Interesting,” he said.

“How’s Catra?” Glimmer asked.

“She’s recovering. Madame Razz — the lady who lives here — stitched her up because the potion you gave me kind of… er.. smashed,” Adora said, rubbing the back of her neck.

Glimmer just rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “Typical.”

Adora led them inside. Madame Razz was sorting through a basket of berries. She looked up upon their arrival. “Oh hello. You must be Mara’s friends.”

Bow and Glimmer looked to Adora in confusion. Glimmer said, “Uh.. we’re—”

“Yes. They’re my friends,” Adora interrupted. She turned to Glimmer and Bow and mouthed, “Just go with it.”

Glimmer stepped forward. “I’m Glimmer and this,” she gestured at Bow, “Is Bow.” Bow greeted her with a nod. “I like your place,” Glimmer said.

Madame Razz smiled. “Thank you. Would you like a berry? Picked them myself.” Adora refrained from correcting her; technically it had been the two of them picking them.

“No thank you. I just had breakfast,” Glimmer said.

“Me too. But thanks,” Bow said. Madame Razz nodded and resumed sorting through her berries.

“This way,” Adora said, ushering them to follow. She opened the door to the bedroom she and Catra shared.

Catra was awake when they entered, as made obvious by her dramatic groan at their entry. “Nope,” she said and twisted her legs off the bed. “Not listening to you and your friends lecturing me.” She went to stand but was gently pushed back down on the bed by Adora.

“We’re not gonna lecture you. Just thought you might like some company,” Adora said.

“No. Why would I want yours or their company?” Catra said. The tension in the room was palpable. Adora could practically feel Glimmer’s irritated twitch. After a silent ten seconds, when Glimmer didn’t act on her irritation, Adora let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.

“Adora, can you leave us with Catra for a little while, please?” Glimmer said.

Adora’s eyes widened and she whipped her head around to look at Glimmer. Maybe she hadn’t waited long enough to let out that breath. “Uh, no. I don’t think that’s the best idea right now.”

“Actually, yes. That’s a great idea,” Catra said.

“Well I don’t think it is,” Adora said. She had no idea why Catra was suddenly onboard with Glimmer’s plans. She was rightfully concerned.

“Well, who made you boss?” Glimmer said.

Catra laughed. “Yeah. Who did make you boss?”

Adora gulped. She didn’t like where this was heading. Individually she could handle Glimmer and Catra. Together, though, she had no chance.

Adora scrambled for words. “I —” But Bow pulled her towards the door.

“I’ll make sure nothing happens,” he said. “I promise.” Adora nodded before she was gently pushed out of the room, the bark door closing behind her. She stuck her ear to the door, trying to eavesdrop, but she couldn’t hear anything clearly. It was just muffled voices. She sincerely hoped Bow would make sure nothing escalated. As much as she trusted Glimmer, she was certain Catra wouldn’t make things easy. There was always that sliver of doubt when people were put into emotional or confrontational situations. Bow was there, though. He was usually rational and level-headed.

Adora sat down on the old worn couch in the living room, it was the comfiest in the dwelling, and waited. She was shortly joined by Madame Razz. She had two mugs in her hands and passed one of them to Adora. Adora recognised it by its smell. It was one of Madame Razz’s original recipe teas; Madame Razz had told her this the first time she had tasted it many moons ago. It was a mixture of flavours, the berries they picked among them, yet it wasn’t overly sweet. She took a sip.

“Mara used to hate my tea,” Madame Razz said. She was watching Adora over the top of her mug.

“Well I enjoy it,” Adora said, gazing into her mug.

“It’s not as good as it used to be. Some of the original ingredients are no longer within reach.”

Adora tilted her head. “Can I help source them?”

Madame Razz just shook her head. “No. I’ve learnt to make do with what I have. Sometimes you have to let things go and trust them to come back when the time’s right.”

Adora couldn’t help but get a sense that they were no longer talking about just the ingredients. She looked down into her tea. “When will the time be right, though?”

“Who knows!” Madame Razz said. “Could be tomorrow. Could be one hundred years!”

Adora frowned as she looked towards the bedroom door. Was she meant to just let Catra walk out of her life? And trust that she would come back when she was ready? But what if she was never ready? It just didn’t make sense. Everything was wrong. With a sigh, Adora walked over to the dwelling’s entrance and watched outside. Swift Wind was eating grass but perked his head up upon seeing Adora.

“You look like you need a ride,” he said.

Adora smiled. “You’re right.”

—

When Adora got back from flying around with Swift Wind, Bow and Glimmer were waiting out the front of Madame Razz’s dwelling for her. Adora was relieved to see their physical appearances hadn’t changed and they were both smiling — a good sign that no fighting had unfolded. Not that Catra was in any fit state to be fighting, anyway, she reasoned.

“Wanna go for a walk?” Glimmer asked as Adora was dismounting.

“Sure,” Adora said.

The three of them didn’t stray too far from Madame Razz’s dwelling. They found a little inlet and sat on nearby rocks. It was really pretty — a vivid green colour scheme, but Adora had come to learn not to fall for the Whispering Woods’ picturesque landscape. She had been chased by some gigantic hungry creatures one too many times.

Adora kicked a rock. “So… How did speaking with Catra go?” she asked.

Bow and Glimmer shared a glance and then turned to Adora and grinned. “It went really well!” Bow said.

Adora’s eyes widened. That hadn’t been the response she was expecting. “Huh?”

“Catra’s surprisingly nice and really funny when she’s not trying to fight or kidnap us,” Glimmer said.

“What did she say?”

“She said a few things.. Mostly ranting about your terrible nursing skills,” Glimmer said with a chuckle. “She tries to hide it but I can tell she really adores you. I can see why you two were such good friends.”

Adora blushed and looked to the ground. “Yeah, that’s in the past, though. Were good friends. Now I just can’t get through to her,” Adora said.

There was a pause.

“To be honest, Adora, as much as it would be great to have her on our side, I don’t think that’s what she needs right now,” Glimmer said.

Adora looked up, frown on her face. “What do you mean?”

Drumming his fingers along his biceps, Bow said, “Maybe she just needs her best friend. Minus all the politics and war.” Glimmer nodded in agreement.

“But that’s who I am now. I am She-Ra and She-Ra has responsibilities and duties to uphold.”

Glimmer just looked down, fidgeting with the end of her tunic while Bow shrugged.

“You’re Adora first, though,” he said.

Adora opened her mouth to respond but then shut it, instead she focused on a rock on the ground. She wasn’t sure what to say. Obviously she knew she was Adora first, but had she lost sight of that? Maybe?

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Bow and Glimmer were looking down at her.

“Come on, let’s go back,” Bow said with a smile.

Bow and Glimmer left on Swift Wind shortly after they got back to Madame Razz’s dwelling. It was for the best. Adora needed space; she was stuck inside her head, hung up over her purpose and identity. Hung up over Catra. She needed time to process her thoughts.

She went to bed that night without saying anything to said roommate, though it didn’t seem to faze Catra.

—

The following morning, Adora couldn’t stop yawning. She had stayed up late thinking, but it had worked and she had a plan of action in mind. She would apologise to Catra. Genuinely, this time.

She was enjoying a mug of Madame Razz’s tea when Catra came through. It was the first time since they arrived that Adora had seen her walk somewhere that wasn’t the bathroom. While she still had a lot of recovering to do, she looked a lot better than she had when Adora had found her unconscious at Bright Moon. Adora was relieved to see a bit more colour in her cheeks.

“Morning,” Adora said.

“Where’s Madame Razz?” Catra asked before carefully dropping onto the adjacent couch to Adora, putting her legs up and taking up the whole thing.

“Gathering more ingredients probably,” Adora said. “How are you feeling?”

Catra made eye contact with Adora, her cheeks lit up. “Fine, actually. Not that it’s any of your business.”

Adora resisted the urge to scowl.

“Oh but your friends — they’re not as bad as I thought,” Catra said. “Glimmer loved hearing about all your embarrassing stories.”

Adora almost choked on her tea. “What did you tell them?” she asked, dreading the answer. Anything but the tree incident.

“This and that… maybe the tree incident.”

Adora threw her head back and groaned. “Why! I was drunk!” Unfortunately it was a memory solidified in her memory… and Catra’s evidently. Catra liked to remind her of it all the time. Remind her of the time she got so intoxicated that she thought a tree was an enemy and launched an attack at it.

Catra just shrugged, looking smug.

Adora just sighed and put her empty mug down. Time to initiate her plan. “Look, can we talk?”

“We are talking,” Catra said, inspecting her nails.

“Catra. I just. I’m sorry. I wanted to apologise to you,” Adora said, hands in her lap as she twiddled her thumbs.

Catra hummed in acknowledgment but said nothing and remained focused on her nails.

“I’m sorry for letting you down and leaving you to suffer the consequences of my actions. That was a really shitty thing to do.” Adora stopped twiddling her thumbs and looked towards Catra. “But what I’m most sorry for is being a terrible best friend and dismissing over a decade of friendship to pursue what I think is morally right without considering you.”

She had Catra’s full attention. “Yeah, you should have considered me. All you had to do was talk to me,” Catra said as she sat up. “We were gonna rule the world together. Just me and you.” She scuffed her toe along the rug. “But your friends made me realise something, too. I should’ve been more understanding through your moral dilemma. There’s always two sides to every story, but I wasn’t open to hearing yours or the princesses’.” Catra met Adora’s eyes. “I know the Horde is guilty of a lot of stuff, but I remained with them out of familiarity and comfort. I don’t know anywhere else and it’s hard to admit but I‘m not sure anywhere else would have me.”

Adora joined Catra on her couch and clasped their hands together. “You know you’re always welcome to join me and the princesses but that’s your decision to make. Not mine,” Adora said. “What are you thinking of doing?”

Catra squeezed Adora’s hand. “I’m not sure. But I’ll let you know when I decide.”

Adora nodded and gave a reassuring squeeze back.

—

Later that afternoon, Adora introduced Catra to Swift Wind. Their previous interaction with one another had been one-sided, given Catra’s unconscious state at the time. Catra wasn’t as mesmerised by him as Adora had been on their first encounter many moons ago, but she was still entertained by the thought of a talking horse.

“I can’t believe it. An actual talking horse!” Catra said, laughing.

Swift Wind wasn’t as amused. “I am She-Ra’s noble steed and I would ask you to respect that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Catra said before turning to Adora. “Can we go for a ride tomorrow?”

Adora bit her lip. “I think you need more time to recover.”

Catra waved her hand. “Pffft. I’ll be fine. I’m almost fully healed,” she said and gestured down her body for emphasis.

Swift Wind snorted. “You’re still covered in bruises and stitches.”

“Hey! No one asked for your input, Horsey,” Catra said, turning to Swift Wind.

Adora laughed. Catra would fit in just fine. “But he makes a valid point,” she said.

“Mara, I need you to fetch me some more of these herbs,” came Madame Razz’s voice as she approached them.

Adora accepted the herb handed to her. She didn’t recognise it but it looked somewhat similar to mint leaves. Her nose scrunched in repulsion as she sniffed them. They certainly didn’t smell like mint leaves.

“Sure. Where will I find it?” Adora said.

Madame Razz just pointed up into the trees. “Up!” she said. She turned to Catra. “And I need to check your stitches, dear.” She gestured for Catra to follow her back into her dwelling.

“Ugh,” Catra groaned but followed anyway. Adora shot her a smile and thumbs up. Catra just rolled her eyes.

It didn’t take Swift Wind and Adora too long to locate the herb. It had been troublesome up until Swift Wind suggested he sniff the sample Madame Razz had provided them. After that Swift Wind had been able to detect its scent. Unfortunately, Adora had the unpleasant job of picking it out from underneath prickly vines. When she retracted her arm it was covered in red scratches.

“You better get some ointment or something on that,” Swift Wind said.

“Yeah, yeah. Do you think we have enough?” Adora asked. They had sourced it in 15 different locations and had a fairly generous amount, though she could never tell the quantities Madame Razz needed for her concoctions.

Swift Winded nodded. “Yep. We should head back anyway. It’s getting dark.”

Adora hummed in agreement. As nice as the Whispering Woods was, in the darkness it was just eery. You didn’t know who or what was watching you.

After Adora left Swift Wind to his own devices, he was considering staying the night at Bright Moon, and Adora entered the little dwelling but couldn’t spot Catra or Madame Razz. She placed the collection of herbs she had gathered on Madame Razz’s bench and was about to call out when she heard voices from their bedroom.

The bark door was slightly ajar, allowing some of the conversation to escape into the rest of the dwelling. Adora approached the door and was about to push it open all the way until she heard Madame Razz’s voice. It lacked its usual cheerful inflection. It was rather sombre, if Adora had to describe it.

“I saw what the Horde did that day. How they destroyed that town, those people. It’s something I’ll never forget. I’ll never forgive myself for not doing more,” Madame Razz said.

There was no verbal response, Adora assumed that Madame Razz was talking to herself, which would not be surprising, or that Catra was just listening and nodding along.

“The damage they’ve caused is unforgivable.” There was a pause. “Fortunately we have your friend on our side.” Madame Razz’s tone perked up. “She’s a good egg. Stay with her and she won’t lead you astray.”

Adora smiled. Even if Madame Razz couldn’t quite remember her name, at least she had her support. Adora heard movement coming from the room and quickly jumped back, trying to look as natural as possible and not like that of an eavesdropper.

Only Madame Razz came out of the room though and her eyebrows shot up upon seeing Adora. Her eyes fell onto her working bench where Adora had placed the herbs.

“Oh, lovely! Thank you,” Madame Razz said. “That should last me quite a while.”

Adora grinned. “No worries. It’s the least I can do for all your help.” Madame Razz just smiled. “I’m going to head to bed now, unless you need me for something else?” Adora said.

Madame Razz started to shake her head but stopped when she caught sight of Adora’s arm. “Your arm! Let me put some ointment on that before you head to bed.”

By the time Madame Razz was done it was pitch black outside. Adora wished her a good night and entered the bedroom. Catra’s soft snores could be heard.

It was the first night Adora in a long time that Adora went to sleep with her mind at ease. Her dreams were filled with images of her and Catra running through the Fright Zone, like old times, only different. Now they were adults and with that came intent. When Catra reached out for Adora’s hand, it wasn’t to guide her but to pull her in close, with foreheads touching and the same breath shared. It meant more. It felt right.

—

Adora woke up to an empty bedroom and the feeling that something was off. When she entered the main living area Madame Razz looked up from her mug of tea and greeted her. “Good morning!”

Adora smiled. “Morning. Where’s Catra?”

“You missed her. She left a little while ago,” Madame Razz said.

Adora frowned. “Left? Did she say where she was going? Whether she was coming back?”

Madame Razz just shook her head.

Panic started to set in. Where was she? Was this the decision she had made? Leaving Adora? Adora clenched her jaw. Catra wasn’t physically ready to leave and Adora certainly wasn’t emotionally ready for her to leave either. She couldn’t just let Catra walk out of her life now that she knew they had a chance to be together. She was and always had been her best friend, the one she grew up with and wanted to grow old with. Tears started to well up in the corner of her eyes.

Adora took a deep breath and wiped away her tears. She could catch up to her, surely. She had Swift Wind’s help after all. Catra may reject her, but she had to try at least or else she’d regret it forever.

“Hey,” came a familiar voice.

Adora turned on the spot. In the dwelling’s entrance stood Catra, equipped with a basket of fruits. Adora lunged at her, pulling her into a tight embrace.

“I’m so glad you’re still here,” Adora said, sniffling.

Catra pulled back and smiled at her. “Duh, you still owe me a riding lesson on Horsey.” Adora laughed.

“I heard that!” came Swift Wind’s voice from outside.

Everyone started to laugh. Adora wiped her tears away.

Catra wiped away a tear Adora missed and proceeded to tuck a loose strand of Adora’s hair behind her ear. She smiled at her. “I’m with you, dummy,” Catra said.

Adora clutched Catra’s hand in her own and squeezed; Catra squeezed back. That was all the reassurance she needed. In that moment Catra was still by her side. Something she thought she had lost for good. After everything they had been through, Adora should’ve been protective of this rekindled yet new bond — but she had grown, they both had. What had once been weakened had turned into a weapon she could wield, something that gave her strength; something that gave her hope.

It would take time to master this new weapon, but now there was another pair of hands helping her along the way. Hands she would never let go of again.