Life Beyond The Horde

In The Dark Of Night

"ADORA!".

Adora stopped dead in her tracks, her body instinctually responding with a salute when the voice of Shadow Weaver echoed behind her.

"Yes, Ma'am!" She said, standing stock still as the shadowed woman hovered over to her, a trembling figure following suit, a harsh, ugly red aura surrounding them. The blonde tried not to heed them any mind, used to seeing Shadow Weaver hauling around a disobedient cadet, paralyzed by her magic, in order to teach them a lesson.

But this cadet... looked all too familiar.

Adora stiffening up at the sight of her friend being held against her will, seeing the pain and utter fear trapped in her different colored eyes. "Catra?" she said, holding back the overwhelming urge to reach out and grab her.

The other girl didn't say anything, wincing when the woman yelled again.

"Where have you been!".

The blonde snapped back into position and saluted again.

"I was training, Ma'am, with the other cadets".

She was indeed training, albeit distracted while waiting for Catra to arrive for their lesson. That was what she had been doing before Shadow Weaver stopped her, looking for her friend before she got into even more trouble... but it was too late for that.

"Then why wasn't she with you!" the woman screeched, even causing Adora to flinch momentarily. She basically threw the other girl forward, still trapped by magic, anger seething from each word, "You're supposed to look after her!".

Adora watched as Catra's ears folded back, knowing how much she hated it when Shadow Weaver referred to her as if she were a pet or a plaything, but it wasn't like the blonde could defend her friend and speak up against their superior... no one dared talk back to Shadow Weaver.

No matter how much she wanted to.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. It won't happen again, Ma'am," she said, trying to get Catra to look at her, show that she was sorry there wasn't anything she could do. But the girl refused to look at her, shooting her a look of utter disdain.

"I should hope not," Shadow Weaver said, "I expect more from you, Adora. You need to do better,".

And with that, the woman unceremoniously released her magic on the girl, watching as she fell to her knees with a heavy thud. The blonde immediately fell by her side, wanting to help Catra as she struggled to get to her feet. But the other girl wouldn't have it, shouldering Adora away as she stood up on her own, eyes cast down word away from everyone's gaze.

"Now, I expect both of you to return to the training barracks and make up for the time you lost," Shadow Weaver said, her voice returning to the eerily calm tone, "And this time be sure she stays in your sights, Adora. Or I might have a word with Hordak about her disobedience,".

Bringing Hordak into any matter was serious business, and while none of the cadets had seen the leader of the Fright Zone, everyone knew the power he held. Cadets would disappear in the middle of the night after failing to complete a task to satisfactory levels, only to return in an almost blank, catatonic state.

No one knew what happened, and no one was willing to find out.

"Yes, Ma'am. Right away, Ma'am," Adora said, grabbing Catra by the arm with the intent of dragging her back to the training barracks. It didn't matter if she had to go through all the exercises again, it just meant more experience. "Come on, Catra. Let's go...".