Long Time, No See (Catradora)

Chapter Three- Old Strangers

Catra brushed her hands through her tangled mane of hair, she had arrived at Adora's house three hours ago and she had to say she was surprised how lavishly she was living in the middle of the woods. The house alone was a good three story and filled to the brim with shiny, miscellaneous objects and furniture. She stared down at her cup of tea as Adora talked, her ears flicking when she asked "So how about you? How's life?" Catra swallowed down the lump in her throat, muffling her words by bringing up the cup of tea, which caused Adora to tilt her head "What?" She asked, Catra's tail lashed to the side and she brought the cup down "You saw my little hut, you see the way I'm dressed, what do you think?" She didn't mean to sound rude but it just came out that way. Adora chuckled and set down her cup "I get it, it's hard, but you could've come to me if you were having so much trouble." She said, her hand sliding across the table to meet Catra's, which she jerked away from "Adora, you don't need to look out for me. I can take care of myself." She said, her gaze lowering. Adora sighed heavily and moved her hand back "I can tell." Catra's face scrunched at that last remark, and turned to face Adora.

"You don't think I can?" She hissed, Adora looking at her and waving her hands about to defuse the situation "No! Of course not! I just..." She stopped mid sentence, trying to find the words to say, which only furthered Catra's frustration. Catra, taking Adora's silence negatively, walked out of the house and into the woods, sitting down at a random tree, in a random spot, in the middle of a completely random forest. 

She sat in beside the tree for a while, before her hear flicked at the sound of a bush rustling. Catra tensed as the bush rustled more, and she braced herself for attack...When the least expected creature popped out of the bushes. A creature eerily similar to Catra. He was a child, tanned skin and pitch black hair, which also mimicked the color of his tail and ears. He stared up at Catra with odd eyes, there was something off about the child's eyes. He wore a rumpled and torn light-blue Tee, black shorts, and a royal blue infinity scarf around his neck, that he pressed his face into nervously. 

Of course, it wasn't the fact that the kitten was Catra's species that disturbed her most, it was the fact that the half of the kitten was missing an arm, and the left side face was mangled beyond recovery. Both scars had obviously been healed a long time ago, but she couldn't bring herself not to study the boy's face. She then discovered the reason why his eyes were so odd, his left eye was, while most of the eye was normal, there was a small patch of white scar tissue and red vein that covered a quarter of his iris and pupil. 

'Flash burn,' Catra thought. She noted that the horrible scarring across his face were healed burns. Catra swallowed something down, but didn't know what it was. Guilt? 'Why would I feel guilty about this kitten's burns?' She reasoned with herself. The kitten still looked at her, and she bent down "Hey there...I won't hurt you." She said softly, before the kitten lifted his head from his scarf, only to reveal something more horrible.

His left nostril was completely gone and exposed the inside of his nose, and on the far left side of his mouth, lip arched up in a cleft, revealing his small fangs. Catra held back a gasp of shock as the boy spoke in a quiet tone "My name is Blue." He said simply. Catra forced a smile and said "My name is Catra, and why are you out here?" She asked, her curiosity peeking. The boy pointed towards Adora's house "I'm here to visit my friend." 

Catra couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Why did she befriend this kitten? And how?