Come Hope From the Past

1. Remembrance

Catra, perched on a nearby rooftop, longingly observed the scorpion children. From time to time, her eyes strayed to the blonde woman trying –and failing– to look casual as she checked on Scorpia and Perfuma's children. Too many to control up-close... Oh, but if one were to trick them into staying inside a- it was most definitely a pen, but Catra would never admit it - worked wonders.. Regardless, keeping them in an enclosed and somewhat controlled environment, and giving them the false sense of freedom from a watchful eye of an adult... just worked.

Adora had not agreed to leave them be, so she had stayed on ground level. "Just in case any situation deems my –or She-Ra's– intervention necessary," she had said. But so far that day, it had not been necessary. Catra argued she could perfectly leap and come to the rescue of any little scorpion in need, but Adora would not budge. Catra found her wife's overprotectiveness endearing though, and wondered, not for the first time, what would it be like if they had any children of their own?

"I'm definitely never having children." That had been her exact words to Adora back in the Horde. Back when they lived under Shadow Weaver's stern eye and constant abuse.

Healing from all the trauma and damage their so-called mother figure caused had been hard. Not only for Catra, but Adora as well. It hit most of the cadets in their squad to be honest, but they could all agree that the pair had been the ones to suffer the most.

To this day, years after the Horde, years after Horde Prime had almost wiped out the galaxy, both women still suffered from vivid nightmares, though thankfully not as often. Catra spent years with a heavy conscience and nightmares to match the emotional burden of her past mistakes. But as time passed, she gained a sturdy support system that helped her heal and understand that she had truly changed for the better. With time, the ties she thought forever lost to people like Kyle, Lonnie, Rogelio and other former Horde soldiers, were mended and carefully tended.

She slowly started thinking of people as plants –thanks to Perfuma's many allegories. Some people needed more time to heal, others, less. Some people enjoyed constant attention while others didn't. "But that does not mean you should neglect those plants... er... I mean people" Perfuma had reminded Catra. And the latter made sure to engrave those words in her very soul.

But now that Catra and Adora were mostly healed, with scars as reminders, but harmless scars at this point, Catra started reconsidering the whole offspring ordeal. Now that she did not think of herself as irreparably broken anymore, maybe it was not such a bad idea. She was a somewhat decent cat person now, and Adora had finally stopped pursuing her alleged destiny-imposed martyrdom. Now that they had built something great and stable together, perhaps they were ready for a child. Maybe she could right the wrongs Shadow Weaver had done when raising her and Adora but it was beyond that at this point. She wanted to have someone to love, and care for. Someone to pour her love in and watch flourish like one of Perfuma's flowers. Also, kids just had this unique view of the world, and in a way she was curious what it would be like to experience the world as a loved and cared for child, even if just as an spectator.

Of course the idea terrified Catra. Some of the self-doubt resurfaced when faced with the possibility of having to be responsible for another life. So many variables, possibilities, and choices... It overwhelmed her. She had been trying to bring the topic to Adora's attention for a while now. But despite having all the time in the world, it seemed like they did not have the time to discuss that particular topic. It's not that they completely avoided it either, it was more like they never discussed it properly. They had mostly agreed that a child would be a nice addition to the family. She-Ra's noble steed could perhaps stop droning on about needing a mate (hopefully no more than a jest) and focus on tiny Adoras and Catras running around bugging him day and night. Melog would specifically love to be a full-time babysitter, they were already great with the eight scorplings running around beneath her.