1920/A Spicy Conversation

A Spicy Conversation
Date of Scene:	03 September 2024
Location:	Korma Chameleon
Synopsis:	Catra and Rashmi run into each other once again in the Korma Chameleon. And even more so than usual, Catra walks away from the conversation with food for thought.
Cast of Characters:	Catra, Rashmi Terios

---

Catra has posed:
It's another typical evening at the Korma Chameleon. The place was packed, as one would expect, but it's winding down towards the end of the evening and the population has thinned somewhat. There's some empty tables, some of them waiting to be wiped, and definitely a cluster unoccupied tables in that one corner. There's a reason for that; there's an obnoxious American tourist sitting in the corner seat, with her ragged hoodie drawn low over her face, listening to some music turned up excessively loud while she waits to be served.

...Closing in on you, closing in on you (oh-oh)
And no way out (oh-oh, oh-oh)

The American is currently staring out the window beside her, and one might be forgiven for thinking she's paying absolutely no attention to what's going on in the restaurant around her. Certainly nobody's been super interested in approaching her so far; anyone would think it's a wonder how she can hear herself think. ...Can she hear herself think?

I will persevere
I will resist you here
I will interfere
I'm not the only son
My will will be done
A dissent begun

She eventually turns away from the window and fishes out her phone -- now conspicuously marked with a big crack down the middle of the screen -- and starts fiddling with it, without bothering to adjust the volume of her music. She looks through a littany of unanswered texts -- some from people from Obsidian, the rest something else -- just so she can mark the majority of them as read. There's one from an oil change place confirming an appointment for her Honda Rebel (hers being a loose term, as she stole it) which she answers with a 'Y'.

It's closing in on you, closing in on you
Run from the fire raining down on you
It's closing in on you, closing in on you (oh-oh)
And no way out

Eventually she dumps the phone carelessly on the table in front of her -- who cares, it's cracked already anyway -- and she settles in to waiting. Alone. Which, honestly... is not the worst thing ever.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The thing about the mahou life is, *way too often* coincidences turn out to be providence in a funny hat. Just deciding to shop at a new bookstore can lead to an all-out scuffle with a handful of friends against an evil, marauding garbage can. Or deciding one feels like a melon soda, turns into the discovery of yet another vending-machine youma.

Or, one can stop in for some down-home cooking as the school year starts back up... Only to find a Catra sitting in a window booth.

Coincidence, providence wearing a funny hat.

Thus, Rashmi simply leaves her order with one of the waitresses on duty, and indicates she intends to sit at the table with the loud-music-listening American, again. And simply slides into the booth across from Catra, smiling gently. "Hey, Catra-san."

Catra has posed:
I'm gonna make it through, gonna make it through
Divide by zero like a wrecking crew
It's closing in on you, closing in on you (oh-oh)
And no way out (oh-oh, oh-oh)

One might be forgiven for thinking that Catra did not immediately notice Rashmi, as she doesn't at first react. Rashmi would know Catra well enough to understand that the disguised feline has known she was here since the moment she walked through the door.

Oh, take me higher
All the way to the sun
I will persevere
I will resist you here
I will--

The music comes to and end as she finally picks up her phone and thumbs it off, which takes two tries owing to the crack in the screen, and very nearly earns the phone a one-way trip across the restaurant, borne aloft on the wings of petulent rage.

But she still needs it, at least until she cares enough to replace it, so the phone gets stuffed into a pocket instead.

Only now does Catra look up in Rashmi's direction. Her eyes flick up and down, studying her face, her posture, her body language. It's not the first time she's been here, but it's the first time she's been here in the wake of a couple of fights, both of which had pretty high stakes... even if they varied somewhat in scope.

"Hey," she answers, at last, a single word, carefully guarded.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"You doing okay?" Rashmi begins, folding her hands on the table. "That's not just conversation, either... I've been worried, Catra-san. More than just me, but... I've been worried."

And, indeed, Rashmi *does* look worried. Not just in the face, but in the set of her shoulders, the tremors of her voice. All the things that one would have to be Double Trouble to fake, and Rashmi...

Would never be in DT's league as a liar. Probably never in *Catra's.*

So the question really *is* genuine, even if it barely needs to be asked.

Catra has posed:
"I'm fine," Catra replies, quickly. Too quickly. The way on responds when they're really, actually, not doing okay by any reasonable metric. When the world is coming apart at the seams and you're stretched in all directions, straining every fibre of your being to hold it together.

Catra is very good at lieing. Not as good as Double Trouble, certainly, and maybe she doesn't choose the wisest lies to tell, but in the heat of the moment if she wants to adulterate the truth she can pull it off. But that was a bad lie, and it's not only obvious to Rashmi, but it's obvious to Catra the statement was quite transparent.

Oh well, too late now.

"Actually, no, define 'alright'. Is it alright that Adora spent the entire time she was here claiming she loved me, then tried to rip my head off my shoulders before opening a portal to go home and *left me behind*? Is it alright that I had one friend in Obsidian and when they fired her someone tricked me into thinking the board was ordering me to kill her? Is it alright that I'm still stuck having to pretend to be a *human* to go anywhere?" She emphasizes the last point by pinching the skin on her wrist and pulling it far enough that it has to be painful before releasing it again.

"Why are you even talking to me? I used dark magic on you. Twice. And I *wasn't* holding back either time." She pauses, and her eyes narrow. "Which I felt like all of you were, in the hospital. I could've killed Hinoiri... at least four times."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Oh good," Rashmi says, leaning back in the face of Catra's venting. "You're being honest. Thank you, Catra-san, because, no... None of that is 'alright.' But... That *is* the first time you've told me the truth, when I asked you that question. So... Thank you for your honesty, Catra-san."

Talk trails off as the drinks come, and it's not lassi this time, but two cups of something orange, steamy, and smelling of spices and milk. When the waitress leaves, she blows gently across her cup. "Let's start with the easy ones first; Catra-san, I'm still talking to you because I *wasn't lying.* You *told* me you wouldn't hold back, and *I told you* I'd fight you like I meant it, and that I wouldn't take it personally. I was holding back, yeah... Because Hinoiri-chan was *right there,* and if I got her hurt worse, or killed, keeping you from doing the same... What even would the point have been?"

She looks down at her cup for a moment, then back up. "Also... I'm talking to you because *you told me to fight you,* Catra-san. You're going to sit there and tell me I shouldn't trust you? After *that?*"

With a heavy sigh, she shakes her head, then nods to Catra's cup. "It's different, and it's okay if you don't like it, but... It's tea and warming spices, mostly turmeric and ginger, and lots of warm milk. My Mami used to give it to me to help with my nerves, during exam time."

Catra has posed:
"You shouldn't trust me." Catra doesn't touch the tea at first, she just gives Rashmi a dark look across the table. "I'm not on your side. I'm with Obsidian. And unlike some of the other people who're with Obsidian I know what they are and I know what I am, and I will lie to people and stab them in the back to win, because that's what the villain does."

She looks down at the drink, back up to Rashmi, and the back down to the drink. After a pause so laden with tension it almost snaps, she picks it up, blows across the top to cool it, and has a sip. She lets the tea settle on her tongue so she can experience it before swallowing, and shrugs her shoulders lightly. "If you've ever tried the Gret Kind, pretty much anything is better," she mumbles. "But this is... good. Different. Weird. But good."

She takes another sip, a deeper one than just a taste test, and sets it back down again. "When we were fighting in the streets and I shot at you, it was nothing personal," she mumbles. "You were chasing Riventon and I was helping him escape. And I'd do it again." Her eyes narrow, as she sips the tea once more.

"But so far I've only fought *you*. You've got a best friend. You told me. You've got a boyfriend. What're you going to do if I ever take a sword to one of them? Everyone talks a big game about not taking it personally, and it's easy when someone is going after *you*, but just wait until they're attacking someone you care about. In my experience all the big talk goes out the window at that point."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Again, Catra-san, you *warned me about what you were gonna do,*" Rashmi says. "And that was Hinoiri-chan, I'm not sure if you were the *first* person who tried to go after her. Certainly so many people *stumbled over her by accident* and decided to let their frustrations out that she has a whole *different* mess of issues, now." Sighing, Rashmi shakes her head. "So if you went after my best friend, my boyfriend? I mean... my first thought would be 'who leaned on her to do that and what did *I* do to them,' and then I'd fight you again. But they're part of this life too, Catra-san. Odds are you're gonna end up fighting them anyway, with or without me."

Sipping at her tea again, she looks to the kitchen. "You *know* what it would take to get me mad. And you know what else you'd be giving up when you do it. So, really... What do I have to worry about, other than you?"

Catra has posed:
Catra follows Rashmi's gaze towards the kitchen, and meets her eyes when they return to the hidden feline. "I gave you my word," she mumbles. "And I'll keep it. I think you're an idiot for trusting me, except for that."

She shrugs her shoulders lightly. "I ordered curry when I came in. You might want to order something, or... I dunno, you'll be watching me eat." And that's about as close to being apologetic as it seems Catra is likely to come, as she hides her face not just behind an illusion, but a mug of tea as well. "So... last time your best friend came up, I told you to make sure she never betrays you. Clearly she hasn't."

Catra sips the tea again and puts it down. (It is hot afterall.) "What's she like?" She leans back in her seat, and finally gets around to putting her phone with the cracked screen away. "I had a best friend once. She made me a promise. Then she broke that promise. ...I want to know what a best friend who doesn't do that is like."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Already ordered," Rashmi says gently, smiling. "Should get here a little after yours does."

But then Catra asks about her best friend, and Rashmi looks down for a moment. "...So I was lonely for... well, most of my life. Never really had much in the way of friends, y'know? But then I transferred schools, and... She was also new and lonely, y'know? She wasn't from a place that was *anything* like Tokyo, so we just sort of... stumbled over each other one lunchtime."

Turning the cup in her hands, Rashmi smiles down at the liquid. "She's... way stronger than she thinks she is, Catra-san. And she's exactly the kind of person you'd probably think wouldn't have a chance at surviving, but... She's gonna be something *amazing* one day."

Lifting her head, she rolls a shoulder in a casual shrug. "But she might break promises in the future. *I* might. No one can ever really know, but the important question I have is this; is it a break that can't ever be fixed? Or is it something you can learn how to forgive and try to heal?"

Sipping at her tea, she sets the cup down. "I'm never gonna tell you what to do, Catra-san. But these are question that *deserve* thought. And the Adora here, now, *is* a different one. Younger. From closer to the time when you came here, which... probably helps a lot. There's no 'should be,' just 'could be,' which is... better? Easier on both of you, at least."

Catra has posed:
"You have never been anything more than a nuisance to me. I've kept you around this long because Adora was fond of you, but if you ever do anything to jeopardize her future, I will dispose of you myself."

Catra mumbles the words, looking down into her tea. She taps her fingertips -- clawtips, if she wasn't wearing her illusion -- against the side of the cup. "Shadow Weaver said that to me once. She said things like that to me a lot. I was never expected to do anything but slow people down. So maybe your friend has a chance and you should tell her that."

About that moment, Catra's food does arrive -- a fish curry with some naan bread, something Catra has, so far as Rashmi's seen, never had in front of her before. But she doesn't touch it right at first.

"Adora and I were six. We'd stumbled into Shadow Weaver's sanctum and I was the one who got punished. Adora promised..."

She trails off, and turns her head to stare out the window. Does she really want to delve this far into things?

"Anyway, it was the only promise someone ever made me and she broke it," she mutters. Despite her muted town of voice, the iron in her voice is unmistakable. She. Broke. Her. Promise. "She was here the other day," she adds. "We talked. If we'd been anywhere else we probably would have fought." She sighs, and shakes her head. "Whatever."

She looks down at her food, steaming up at her. Is it rude to not wait? Does that even concern her? After thinking it through for a moment she digs in, getting a morsel of food and popping it in her mouth. Might as well have it when it's hot.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...You know Shadow Weaver *lied,* right?" Rashmi says, then falls silent again, as a bowl is placed in front of her, with ehr own stack of naan. Inside are chunks of lamb and vegetables in a rich, oil-slick stew of tomatoes and much, much more.

"When the server moves away, Rashmi tucks into her own food for a moment. "Like... in your *heart.* You know she was just trying to control you, right? That none of what she said *has* to be true?"

Sighing, she tears a chunk of naan away, folds it, and starts spooning stew onto it. "Sorry, just... I don't see how anyone could *possibly* think you're a liability. To *anything.*"

"Anyway," she says, after the huge bite is chewed and swallowed, "people mess up. Sometimes people mess up big. But... And I'm going to stress that this is just me, but... Some things are fixable. And when things get fixed after breaking... sometimes they grow back stronger. Might be worth seeing, if you wonder what it could be like. But if you don't want to? ...I get that too. I just... don't agree, y'know?"

Catra has posed:
"Of course she was lying," Catra snorts. "I knew the Horde was mainpulating us the entire time. I *thought* Adora knew that as well. I just always figured we were going to grow up and take over ourselves, someday, and then *We'd* be the ones calling the shots. But then Adora goes out alone one time and meets these... *other people* and within five minutes she's turned her back on me and everything she knew to join the enemy!"

For a time, Catra focuses on her food; and angry-eating is a thing to behold. It's not hard to imagine the flattened ears and lashing tail, even if they can't, just this moment, be seen. But after a few bites, Catra seems to realize she's eating without bothering to enjoy, and requires herself to slow down. A piece of Naan is torn off and stuffed directly in her mouth, and the look on her face gives away that she simply... isn't sure how she feels about it.

"I don't know what I want," she mutters. "Well. Yes I do. I want to not be in Adora's shadow. I don't want to be her 'sidekick'. I don't care if she's the Princess of Power and I'm not. I *don't* have to follow her around everywhere she goes. I am so much stronger than she or anyone else ever thought, and if I have to prove it again on this planet, then I *will*."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Well you don't have to prove that to *me,*" Rashmi points out. "I already *know* how tough you are. I just... you're not a monster, Catra-san. And I don't want you to feel like you don't have a choice *but* to act like a monster. Because you've talked like that before, and... It's okay to not know what you want, y'know? But you *deserve* to want something *good* for yourself."

Rashmi sips her tea, and shrugs. "That's all, really. If you don't know what you want... then let something *nice* be options you can take."

Catra has posed:
"You don't know me well enough to say that," Catra darkly asserts, talking into her food as much as anything else as she goes about eating it. She pushes food around on her plate for a moment, getting rice and sauce and fish thoroughly mixed together, before resuming the act of eating. And enjoying. Because it *is* good.

"But I do want good things," she adds. "I want..."

She trails off, as there are... so many ways to finish that sentence.

I want Adora back.
I want to be safe.
I want to be loved.
I want to be happy.

"...Doesn't matter," she mumbles at last. "You parents made really good food again. They always do." She gestures towards the naan bread, "I dunno about that though, is it... Is there supposed to be something else I'm supposed to do with it?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I know you well enough to have *an* opinion," Rashmi counters. "And if you do want good things... That's great! Then go for them. And if you want help, let me know. Because I get that relying on people can be hard, Catra-chan. But just because it'shard doesn't mean it's a bad idea, y'know?"

And Rashmi beams as Catra compliments the restaurant's food. To some it might be silly how pleasing the comment is, but the redhead never fails to be tickled when other people love the thing she grew up with.

"I mean, bread is bread. Lots of curries you can spoon on the bread and eat like pizza, but you don't *have* to have it."

Catra has posed:
Catra picks the bread up again, and instead of breaking a piece off and eating it, she dips it in the sauce of her curry to swirl it around before eating it. She mmms softly, and nods once.

"Okay, that's better," she confirms. "Bread, I... I don't know. It's okay I guess but usually it's kinda... bland. I don't know what you see in it. ...but then I'm a cat and you're not. I eat mostly meat and apparently that'd be bad for you."

Catra eats the rest of her meal in relative silence. The meat of the conversation seems to have been covered; now there's just the matter of chewing on all of it.

She fought Rashmi, twice -- no, three times actually -- and attacked her with dark energy, which apparently hasn't made her upset enough to not want her to come back. She made vague threats against her best friend and her boyfriend, which didn't drive her away. She pointed out that Shadow Weaver was lying, and knew it right away even without having to meet her.

Adora never worked that one out on her own. But then, Adora is a dolt.

Eventually, Catra finishes her meal, and the cup of tea. And she finds herself at a palpable loss for words. Unsurprising; she was never much use at small talk. Instead she produces a stack of yen, easily up to the task of paying for her mreal and leaving a generous tip besides; it gets placed neatly on the table before she slips out of her seat and heads for the door. As she exits the earbuds are back in, and the music resumes, picking up with the same song right where she left off.