Forever Fallen (Catra x OC She-Ra Fanfic)

10. You're a Bad Friend

The cat-girl stared at Harley, her eyes the size of the moon and her agape mouth formed into little 'o' shape as she looked up at her, stupefied.

"Y-you care about me?" She asked her, claws carving artworks into the metallic ledge and Harley nodded, a tiny smile on her lips.

"Hell yeah, why would I not?" Harley chuckled, the corner of her lip quirking up into a goofy smirk.

She raised her hand, her eyes on Catra, and her fingers hesitated. Harley gulped down her fear and gently rested her palm on the force-captain's hand, meeting Catra's two-toned eyes, glowing in front of her like glinting tourmaline and topaz gems.

A smile split through Catra's lips and she opened her mouth as if to say something but was cut off by a ping from the tablet at her side. She sighed and checked it.

"I've got to take this, it's Hordak," Catra groaned, tugging her hand out from under Harley's as she slung her legs away from the edge and hopped to her feet gracefully.

The girl watched her as she walked to the other end of the ledge, accepting the call. She sprung down onto the ground below the ledge and Harley looked out over the glorious view of The Fright Zone when she disappeared out of her view.

"Hey, Hordak", she'd heard Catra's muffled voice speak up from the distance between them.

"Catra, have you found the recordings?" Hordak's voice rung from beyond, gravelly and guttural and coated in a thick layer of venom.

"Not yet, Lord Hordak, but I'm on it. I had to deal with some other matters real quick but--" Catra started but she was cut off again by Hordak.

"I asked you to do one thing, Force Captain. One simple thing! How can you possibly be this useless? The only thing you've ever done is get in my way, Catra, now get me those recordings or else!" Hordak growled at her over the speaker and Harley winced at his words, her head whipping back in the direction of Catra.

"Yes, Lord Hordak," Catra told him, her voice level and calm but Harley could hear the agitated and rattled tone in her voice as her tablet clicked and Hordak was gone.

The force captain howled and Harley jumped at a cacophonous, strident crash that sounded like glass smashing into smithereens. The girl leapt to her feet and rushed to the end of the ledge, jumping down to Catra's level as fast as she could, her knees hitting solid concrete but she bit through the burning pain.

Harley rose to her feet and stared at Catra before her. Her back was turned to Harley, her shoulders rigid and tense, her fists clenched tightly-- so tight that her hands trembled and her knuckles grew white-- and Harley was concerned her claws were digging trenches in her palms.

As she watched Catra seethe with rage, standing in the discarded shards of her wrecked tablet, Harley realised just how quickly Catra could go from smiling softly to ready to tear someone's head off.

"Catra?" Harley called out, her voice slightly faltering as she took a step towards the cat-girl, who whirled around to face Harley, eyes blazing with a smouldering fury set to rival the heat of a thousand suns, "It's okay. Want to take a seat and keep talking? Or I can walk with you back to the commands centre--?"

Harley offered the force captain her outstretched hand and Catra looked at it vacantly, her eyes glazed over.

"I've got to look for Scorpia. I'll find you later, Princess," she told her coolly, turning on her heel and disappearing down the staircase that led back towards the heart of The Fright Zone.

Harley was left standing on the roof, her hand hesitating in the air and her eyes gazing at the spot she'd last seen Catra.

She was so close to finally making a breakthrough but Hordak had to interrupt and get in the way. He spoke to Catra as if she was nothing; a nuisance, when all Catra had done was slave away for him and work the front lines whilst he hid himself away in his 'sanctum' like some hermit, barking out orders and it grated on Harley nerves.