One Last Adventure (Catradora)

The First Spark

*15 Years Ago...*

I bound through the Horde facility on all fours, panting furiously, tears in my eyes. Oh God, she can't catch me!

"Come out, Cadet!" Shadow Weaver enunciates her words with anger, several meters behind me, sending chills up my spine. Those chills almost make me collide with the wall, but I recover soon after. "You can't hide from me!"

I pass a girl my age with her blonde hair tied back, and with blue eyes. She must see the look on my face, because she stops walking and stares as I hop past.

At last, I find a doorway in the hall, and I squeeze through it, hoping to find sanctuary. The lights are off, and nobody is here. I press my small body against the wall, hoping the danger will come to pass.

But I hear the whispers all too soon. The whispers of the tall, scary woman's dark magic. And a voice soon after.

"Come out, little one, so you can serve your punishment!" Shadow Weaver's voice gets louder as she speaks. I can't hear any footsteps, but that would be because she doesn't walk, but floats, mere inches off the ground. So, I replace her footsteps with the whispers of magic, and use those to calculate how close she is.

She's about to open the door.

I can feel it, the whispers, the quiet chuckles in her throat, the small beep of the automatic door preparing to open. She's about to get me when--

"Excuse me, Shadow Weaver?"

I don't recognize the voice, but it sounds like a little girl, maybe my age.

Shadow Weaver answers her in the softest voice I've ever heard her use. "Yes, my sweet Adora?"

Adora... Pfft, that's a funny name!

"Are you looking for that cat girl?"

I freeze. Oh no, she's gonna tell Shadow Weaver, I'm going to be punished in horrible ways and--

"As a matter of fact, yes! I am." She says her yes as if she's overcome with joy, which is barely anything.

"I saw her run down the hall and make a left."

I blink. Did she just... Save me?

After a moment of hesitation, Shadow Weaver pats Adora's head, though I can only hear the faint noise. "Thank you, Adora, dear."

The next moment, the whispers are gone. I feel the darkness leave the vicinity, and I don't realize I'm holding my breath until I exhale loudly, panting.

"You can come out now!" She speaks in a whisper, and the door opens slightly, showing her face. It's the same girl that I passed earlier, the one with blonde hair in a ponytail and blue eyes.

I blink and inch my way out of the room into the hall, my adrenaline from the chase dying down.

The girl, Adora, apparently, looks at me curiously. "What are you running for?"

My tears come before I know it, and the next second, I'm a crying, sniffling mess. "I--I punched a b-boy in the f-face because he wouldn't stop *sniffle* bullying me!"

"Hey, it's okay!" Adora hugs me. "That boy deserved it!"

I sniffle and look up. "You mean it??"

Adora pulls away and looks me in the eyes, smiling. "Yeah! I don't know what Shadow Weaver's problem with you is, but I'll help you!"

"Help... me?" I stare at her, tears still welling up.

"Yeah, that's what friends are for!" She smiles and hugs me.

Friends...? I've never had a friend before... I bury my face in her shoulder, and for some strange reason, my emotions fade away.

"Thank you for saving me..." I mumble into her shoulder.

"Anytime. What's your name?"

"Catra. I'm Catra."

*Present Day...*

"And, here's your room!" Glimmer opens the door to my room on the First One's ship, Darla apparently.

We defeated Horde Prime yesterday. We got a full night of rest in Bright Moon, and prepared to leave to restore magic to the galaxy for most of today. Now, we're on our way to Krytis to find a way to do that. Melog, my new pet magic cat, seems to go wherever I go. I have no idea if they are a boy or a girl, so I just use the pronouns they and them. They rub against my leg as I raise an eyebrow.

"Um... This is literally the exact same room I stayed in after you rescued me from Horde Prime."

Glimmer blinks and looks at the room with a single bed and mattress. "Oh yeah. Sorry!"

I rub the back of my neck absentmindedly as I look up. "It's fine."

A moment of awkwardness passes between us, and she claps her hands together. "Well! You and Melog should go get some rest, and I am going to check on Bow!"

I chuckle quietly right before she leaves the room. "Right. Don't want to keep lover-boy waiting."

Glimmer halts before she leaves the room. Then she walks forward as if nothing happened.

When she's out of earshot, I sigh and scratch Melog, who rubs against my leg some more, whimpering slightly. "They really hate me, don't they?" They whimper loudly in agreement.

For the past while, I thought that maybe Bow and Glimmer were over me being the one bane of their existence for over two years. But I think they've had a lot of time in the past twenty four hours and decided that they still can't trust me.

I close the door and crawl on top of the bed, with Melog not far behind me. I lay on my side and Melog sits right in front of me, laying down and closing their eyes.

Seconds pass, then minutes. I just can't seem to get to sleep tonight.

After maybe an hour, I hear the door slide open. I sit up and look to see Adora with her pillow.

She's about to say something, but I hush her and gesture to Melog's sleeping body. Adora gets what I mean and nods.

I quickly and quietly get out of bed and tip-toe out of the room, closing the door behind me. I sigh a sigh of relief and turn to Adora.

"What is it?"

Adora blushes. "Nothing, I um... I can't seem to get to sleep."

I look down and nod. "Same here."

"Catra." Adora grabs my hand, and I look up in shock.

She smiles emotionally. "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

I blink. "Um. Do you mean--"

"No, not like that!" She scoffs and rubs the back of her neck nervously. "But, like... You know what I mean, right??"

I nod slowly, but I can feel my ears flatten as I look away. "Are you sure... after everything I've done?"

"Don't be an idiot, Catra." She lifts my hand to her cheek. "I think I've made it clear that I love you."

I blush.

After many long moments, I close my eyes and lift her hand to my own cheek. "Okay."

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Hey y'all! I hope you all like the story so far. Obviously, I ship Catradora VERY hard.

I'm planning on publishing a part of this every week, maybe every Friday or Saturday. And please, feel free to leave comments and suggestions below! I'm not new to being a writer, but I still have a long way to go before I can be regarded as a professional. Not everyone makes their debut at fifteen, am I right?

And on a higher note, please stay safe and wear a mask!! Goodbye!