Always Forever (Catradora)

Chapter Eight

Shadow Weaver

Light seeped its way into the room, finding an almost direct path into Shadow Weaver's clamped shut eyes. Hissing, Shadow Weaver raised her arm to cover her face from the harsh rays of light. A warm sensation twisted its way around Shadow Weaver's body, allowing her to feel a sense of safety for the first time in awhile. A sense of calmness. That's when it hit her... she was in some kind of bed? But why? What had happened?

Grunting, Shadow Weaver heaved herself up to a sitting position, allowing her arm to fall to her side as she examined her surroundings. From what she could see, she seemed to be in one of the medical offices of the horde. A burst of pain racked itself against Shadow Weaver's skull as she let out a surprised shriek of pain and held her forehead in her hands. Whatever had sent her here had really done a number on her. As she was holding her face, Shadow Weaver noticed the culprit of her awakening to her left. A window with shades that had been pulled back to allow the sunlight to leak into the room and disturb Shadow Weaver's rest.

"Ugh... why do I feel so weak?" Shadow Weaver mumbled, shaking her head as her hair spilled over her shoulders like a messy black ocean. She sat in silence for a few moments, before she allowed herself to throw the blankets off of herself. Shadow Weaver swung her legs over the side of the bed as she sat quietly for a moment, attempting to recall what had happened. A flash of a memory forced itself into her mind of a male standing protectively in front of Catra, his features looking much like the girl's. Too much so. Shadow Weaver's hands clenched onto the bed sheets as she let out a hiss.

Shadow Weaver stood up, only to stagger the moment her feet hit the floor. It seemed as if her body hadn't quite recovered from that male's attacks. Despite struggling a bit, Shadow Weaver was able to get herself to stand up and begin to tread out of the room. As she made her way to the exit of the room, Shadow Weaver's attention was drawn to a mirror that nestled itself against the wall. She placed her hand absently against the wall next to it as she approached, a hesitance easing its way into her other hand as it stayed motionless hovering by her mask.

Pushing her doubts aside, Shadow Weaver removed her mask and stared sadly at her reflection. Silently, she raised her hand to her face and began to trace her fingers along the scars that raked across her flesh; a grim reminder of everything that had went wrong. Of Adi. Her own green eyes stared back at her, sulken and tired, devoid of the light that once shone within them.

"Pathetic," she whispered, lowering her gaze as she closed her eyes. Her thoughts were slowly becoming her biggest enemy. They were the only enemy she truly feared.

The door to her right swung open gently and a man dressed entirely in white poked his head in, giving her a gentle smile. "Ah, Miss Shadow Weaver, I'm glad to see you're doing better..." he told her, his tone soft and caring. His smile faltered when he noticed that her mask was off and a grim expression was painted on her face. "Oh, I apologize, I didn't mean to intrude..." he bowed, closing his eyes as Shadow Weaver stared at him quietly.

She put the mask back on her face as she walked past him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It is alright, you were only doing your job..." she assured him.

"I'll be taking my leave now."

The doctor looked as if he were going to argue with her, but promptly thought better of it and clamped his jaw set. He gave her a short bow and wished her good luck as she began her way down the halls. It was rather odd for her to have to use her legs, with her usually floating everywhere she went. Now, when she needed them, her legs were wobbly and threatened to collapse beneath her at any moment. Nonetheless, despite her troubles, Shadow Weaver eventually made it to her destination: Hordak's lab.