Forever Fallen (Catra x OC She-Ra Fanfic)

33. Virus

"Get out of my head..." Harley grunted, digging the beds of her fingers into her hair as her head slumped and three green eyes stared at her from the flowing darkness.

There was the rush of water in her ears and she wailed, dropping heavily to her knees as she bore the weight of the sea on her shoulders.

'You could be reunited with your parents'

She screamed, throat gurgling and lungs raw as water welled up inside of her. Bullets of sweat dripped down the side of her face as the hairs along her arms stood up on edge and she shivered, rubbing her hands down her forearms to create friction and warmth.

'Meet with me and I will help you'

"No... Stop..." Harley groaned, pressing her forehead to the cold, rough sand beneath her, "I won't listen to you!"

. . .

Harley awoke in a pool of cold sweat, chest heaving and the muscles in her arms taut as she held herself up, shoulders trembling with every harsh, laboured breath. She glanced around the room, her skin slick with sweat and pale as a ghost. When she didn't find Catra, she moved to slip off the bed but her wound blazed and the gauze at her side cinched against her movements. She hissed in pain, clutching her side desperately but not aggressively.

Turning to the dressing around her waist, Harley sighed as red seeped through the thick bandages. Slinging her legs over the side of the mattress, she rose to her full height on unsteady feet and shaky limbs. Her head and shoulders seemed to be like lead weights for the rest of her.

The girl did a once-over of the small room tucked away and cordoned off with a thin, purple curtain. Hushed voices filtered in from beyond the threshold and she found a bundle of lightweight blankets, arduously bending over to snatch them up, blundering as she moved. Harley drew it over her shivering, frail shoulders and hugged it to her burning, bare torso.

Shuffling past the drawn curtains, Harley's sickly skin was cast in an orange glow from a campfire in the middle of the large loading bay (that was no longer a loading bay) and her gaze flitted from Adora pacing to Glimmer sending soothing words in her direction to Catra sat upon a tall crate, her knees tucked beneath her chin and her tail batting the metal beneath her.

The cat-girl's ears flicked and twitched before she whirled around, blinking slowly at Harley before her fluorescent topaz and turquoise eyes adjusted to the light and she gasped. Melog mewled at her side, his head propping up from behind the crate and Catra leapt forwards, hands reaching out to Harley's slumped, curled figure.

"What are you doing up? How did you sleep? Are you feeling OK? Do you need water? Do you--" Catra bombarded her with a series of questions and Harley stared blankly at her, her mind registering her words ten seconds after she spoke them.

The blonde appeared at Catra's side, placing a hand on her shoulder to silence her before her gaze flicked to Harley.

"Come on, have a seat." Adora offered, wrapping an arm over her shuddering shoulders and ushering her further towards the firelight, gently placing her against the crate Catra was draped over moments ago.

Melog's rough, wet tongue lapped at her wrist and Harley smiled thinly, red-rimmed eyes brimming with mirth as she ran her fingers over its forehead. Catra materialised beside her again, chin hooked over her shoulder and curious, bright eyes scanning her carefully. She hummed, a purr reverberating through her chest as she lifted a damp, stray lock from Harley's face and tucked it back into the loose hair behind her ear.

"How did you sleep?" Catra piped up, worried eyes darting over Harley's frail form.

"...Not so great," Harley confessed, voice raw and croaky and her throat itched at the pressure. When she spoke, it felt as though someone was raking their nails down her trachea. "I saw-- I had some bad dreams."