Always Forever (Catradora)

Chapter Eighteen

Catra

"Home—? What... what are you talking about?" Catra could feel her fur beginning to bristle as she glared at Xeva. "If this is some kind of prank, it's not funny!" She hissed, her lip curling upwards as if to prove a point.

Xeva's blue eyes set onto her, holding her gaze evenly as anxiety began to crawl through Catra's head. The silence in the air meant nothing to her mind that was racing faster than she could comprehend; she couldn't collect a coherent thought. Catra gritted her teeth.

"Stop just standing there, say something!!" She spat, a bit of spittle following as she felt her fur prickle with an anxious rage. There... was no answer... Catra wished there was. She wished that there was some reply to her endless cries and exclamations that simply dissipated into a meaningless nothing.

Xeva held her gaze, his eyes voided and deep, their depths swimming with different ideas and thoughts that would only be available to him. That would only be understood by him. Tears of frustration were beginning to well up at the edges of Catra's eyes; so much to the point where they began to overflow and dribble down her cheeks. She was... so upset. She couldn't understand why. Because she was in a strange place? Because Xeva was standing in front of her with less emotions or reactions than a statue at that point? She didn't know.

Finally, a sigh left Xeva's dark-toned lips and brought Catra's breakdown to a temporary halt. "I told you already... we are home," his eyes flickered slightly as the words fell from his lips. They seemed... forced... empty? Catra was unsure.

Home? What... it still... didn't process within Catra's mind as she placed her gaze temporarily upon Xeva's own. He carefully avoided her gaze, his posture shifting as he turned away from Catra, gesturing for her to follow him. Rage crawled beneath Catra's skin.

"I'm not going anywhere with you until you explain what's going on," Catra growled lowly, her gaze darkening as Xeva glanced back her, his eyes sunken and tired as they glazed over absently.

"...Catrina, I am not allowed to talk to you about that. That is not my job," Xeva's voice hitched with a bit of warning, as if he were placing his final answer. Perhaps he was.

About to argue once more, Catra parted her lips, allowing her upper one to twitch upwards until she caught Xeva's eyes. There was a short pleading within their depths... a fear of something that Catra couldn't understand or comprehend. Her mouth immediately clamped shut.

The two of them stood motionless; the gentle glow of the city outside leaking in and outlining Xeva's figure in an ominous shroud of green highlights. The other side of him was dipped in the sea of purple and blue that drowned the room in an inescapable tomb. For a moment, silence filled the room with its anxious message. Silence.

Xeva turned slowly from Catra once more, before taking a slow, almost hesitant step forward.

Click. 

His claws echoed along the empty walls of the crystal-like material that coated the building. Their endless journey was only continued by the ever-lasting cycle of ricocheting repetition. 

Click.

Catra's own claws sounded against the floor, echoing out in a pleading manner. A manner that was going to be ignored by both members of the party. Though... the views of the building she was walking through were more lovely and intricate than anything she'd seen before, all coated in similar materials to the ones in her room, Catra didn't notice them. She couldn't.