On your own (Catradora)

Whos there?

After gathering their bags of food and other gear, the three teens began walking down the slope, heading towards a river they had spotted at the bottom of the Trench they were in. "Following this river is our best bet at finding a settlement or village. We'll follow it down stream" Adora spoke as they arrived to the river bank. They each knelt down, Splashing the cool water against their faces to try and combat the heat. "Good plan.. it'll probably be a month before we reach Bright Moon. Maybe they'll have something that actually works" Glimmer sighed in agreement with her Friend. Bow was still fussing with his tracker pad using his Arrow head tools to try and spark a signal so he could send out a message to the princess alliance but nothing he did worked. "This black out zone is no joke. I can't get anything." He says in slight annoyance before sighing in defeat. Adora glanced around at the trench they were in, following the flowing river into the distance with her eyes until spotting what looked like a forest. "There." She pointed with an eager relieved smile. "Shade and Hopefully some people" she says catching her friends attention. Glimmer stood up dusting herself off "Great. Let's go. This heat is killing me. I'm melting" she groaned dramatically.

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On the other side of the Trench forest, Catra was emerging from the Ship with her arms stretched above her head, her mouth opened showing off her sharp teeth as she yawned. As her eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight something caught the felines eye off in the distance. "Well that's new.." she spoke out loud to herself. Her gaze going off into the distance towards the Glowing Forest, where a cloud of dust could be seen rising from the other side of the forest. "I know what I'm doing today" A smile appeared on the felines lips as she went back inside grabbing her cloak and satchel. She had made them using some extra fabrics she had found on the ship. They were once old flags but she repurposed them for her own survival and ease. Once ready she set out to investigate the source of the cloud of dust.

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Two hours had passed as the best Friend Squad approached the tree line of the Trench Forest. They all stood there staring up at the large twisting trees. "Ok. Stay close....There's no telling what's in there" Adora said as glimmer took hold of her hand. Bow looked to Adora with a slight skittish tremble. "I-I got a bad feeling about this" he says in a shaky voice, his feet seeming to be glued to the sand covered ground. "Bow! Let's go!" Glimmer called as they walked ahead into the Forest. Reluctantly bow followed the two girls now being sure to stay close to them as they walked. The Forest was in fact cooler than the open areas of the trench but what was most interesting was the sight of luminescent foliage the trio came across as they walked. "Guys check this out. It glows when I touch it! I gotta get a sample for perfuma. I wonder if she knows what kind of trees these are. They're amazing!" Bow said in awe as he took out his tracker pad but pouts upon remembering that it didn't work in the Black Out Zone. "It's so pretty" glimmer comments as she walks up to the tree with bow and placed her hand on the trunk of the tree, watching in wonder as the bark beneath her finger tips began to glow. "It's so colorful" glimmer smiled tracing her finger over the bark making a picture of a smiley face, giggling as bow added a tongue and goofy looking eyebrows. The three laughed and watched amazed as the picture faded. "Wow~" Adora smiled as she pressed her hand against the tree. The bark glowing under her palm. It was beautiful and for some reason she felt this strange energy within herself as she touched the tree. Biting her lip, Adora pulled her hand away holding it with her other as she addressed her friends "We need to keep going. Maybe we can come back for samples" Adora said as she glanced down at her feet only now noticing that the grass was also glowing under her boots. It was beautiful but Adora had to keep her mind on the task at hand. Getting home and keeping her friends safe. Soon they began walking again keeping close to the river so they wouldn't get lost. They walked for another hour before they heard what sounded like a low grown. All three stopped dead in their tracks, standing there quietly as they looked around for the source of the sound, glimmer had her glowing fists up preparing for a fight while bow pulled his arrow out of its quill readying to fire it. It was in this moment that Adora realized that she felt defenseless, She was without her sword.. without protection. Then she remembered that she had her pocket knife. Not nearly as big as her sword but it would have to do if they were attacked. If all else fails she would sacrifice herself so that her friends might have a chance to get away from whatever made that growl. "I don't see anything..." glimmer spoke glancing around before she heard the growl again. This time much closer. Turning on her heels glimmer cane face to face with the source of the sound and saw the familiar face of a rather embarrassed bow as he held his hand on his stomach. "Heh.. soooo, There's no monster after all. Except a stomach monster and it is really hungry" the archer laughed sheepishly. Both Glimmer and Adora sighed in relief. Putting away her knife Adora took her pack off her back and knelt down, opening it. "This is a good place to stop for now." She says pulling out some sandwiches and handing them out to her two friends. The three sat close to each other as they ate under one of the glowing trees. Glimmer traced her finger over the grass making swirled in the glowing greenery. Smiling to herself. Adora watched her with a fond smile before taking a bite of her sandwich. Meanwhile a set of glowing eyes watched the the trio within the coverage of the trees. Slowly stalking closer and closer. Examining their every movement and action.