Dark love from the shadows of Etheria

1. || That day, sad day

Catra wakes up at the foot of an empty bed. Adora's scent still lingers in the duvet, but the mattress has been cold for hours. Catra blinks sleepily. Catra then jumps up quickly. Everyone in the dorm is still asleep, but Adora is nowhere to be seen.

The door to the hallway is slightly open. Catra climbs out of the bed and sneaks to the door. It is pitch dark in the hallway. Catra narrows her eyes. When she opens her eyes again, she sees a lot more. The hallway is empty. On either side of the walls are a set of doors. It's a maze, but Catra knows every corner of the huge building.

Two white eyes light up from the dark. Catra backs away. A faded smell of corpse enters Catra's nostrils. "Shadow Weaver..." she stammers.

"Where's Adora?" Want to know Shadow Weaver. She floats like a ghost just above the ground. Catra is disgusted by the air of black magic. The combination of mushrooms and corpses makes her dizzy. Red misty tentacles squirm around Catra and when she is surrounded by them they contract and squeeze around her, pressing her arms against her body. Shadow Weaver's face is just in front of Catra's. "Where's Adora? Where's my darling?" she growls.

"I don't know. She was suddenly gone," Catra replies. It's the truth. Adora was still there in the evening, but when Catra woke up she was gone. She had left nothing. No note or anything like that. She hadn't said anything to her. "She was still there last night, but when I woke up..."

The tentacles around Catra's waist tighten, making it nearly impossible for her to continue breathing. "You are responsible for her. If anything happened to her, it's your fault!"

Catra nods. Adora was old enough to make her own decisions, and Catra knew she was too stubborn to listen to her. Adora always did what she wanted, but most of the time she involved Catra. Now she had gone out all alone. Catra had an idea where she might be. The forest on the border, where their vehicle crashed yesterday. She may have gone there. She talked about seeing something strange in the trees, but when Catra got there it was gone. Perhaps she had gone out on her own to find out what the object was.

But if that were the case... That part is still protected by the Rebellion. The Horde hadn't had a chance to destroy everything there yet. But that could mean Adora had been captured. "I might know where she is," Catra tells Shadow Weaver. "I will take my responsibility and I will go find her. Only..."

"Alone?" Shadow Weaver frowns. The tentacles twist a lot tighter around Catra's waist and her breathing becomes heavier. "Where do you think she went then?"

If Catra said where her best friend had gone, Shadow Weaver would be mad, but she can't lie either. If Shadow Weaver sent an army to look for her "darling", she would find out that Adora had never been there. "I'm not sure. And I think it's best if I go alone. A whole army stands out. I'll send a signal if I find out she's in a dangerous situation, but until then, it's best if I go on my own."

Shadow Weaver lowers Catra to the ground. She gasps voraciously as her lungs open again. "So there's a chance she's in a dangerous situation?" She wants to know.

Catra knows she has to answer this honestly, but if she's honest, Shadow Weaver will kill her. That's for sure. "Well, there's always that chance..." Catra says quickly as if it's the most normal thing in the world, but her heart is beating like a raging rage. "I assume not, but if it is, then..."

"Do you think she's in danger? Right now?" Shadow Weaver moves menacingly towards Catra. "If she's in danger, you've got a terrible problem. As long as you know that!"

Catra nods. "I'll make sure she gets home in one piece. I promise." Before Shadow Weaver can answer, she runs out of the hallway as fast as she can. Away from Shadow Weaver and the filthy corpse air. She doesn't understand why she made that promise. What is the chance that she can stick to it, compared to the chance that she ruins it all? What if she finds Adora, but she's acting as cocky as ever? Then she has a problem. But on the other hand, it is her best friend and when she tells Shadow Weaver wants to hurt her, she has to listen.