2203/Happy Mew Year

Happy Mew Year
Date of Scene:	04 January 2025
Location:	Plot Room 2
Synopsis:	After the New Year is rung in, and the fireworks have died down, Rashmi meets up with Catra to deliver cookies, conversation... and perhaps a little hope.
Cast of Characters:	Rashmi Terios, Catra

---

Rashmi Terios has posed:
The fireworks have died down, and Tokyo is once more only as quiet as the busy streets, and occasional revels will allow. No more fireworks threaten Catra's ears, but her personal phone buzzes in a pocket.

    << TXT from RASHMI -- Hey, Catra-chan! So I'm guessing New Year's left a bad first impression, but there's some stuff from it and Christmas that I need to get to you. Can we meet? You pick the place. >>

Catra has posed:
It takes almost a full hour before Rashmi gets a reply. She might even have been about to write it off and stop waiting to hear from Catra, when her phone makes whatever little sound she's set it to, letting her know that there's a message. And it's just a short message, too.

<< TXT from CATRA -- Sure. Sangenya Apartment, Rooftop. >>

Rashmi Terios has posed:
It's a good thing, perhaps, that Rashmi had spent the early evening patrolling. Since she doesn't have Catra's sensitivity, it was more than a little interesting to see the display from *above,* watching the explosives spread out underneath her like a field of glittering flowers. At which point, a chance thought turned her mind to how Catra must be taking this, thus the text message, and continued patrolling until the message is answered.

It's not terribly long after she gets her reply, that she touches down on the roof of the apartment building in question, hunting for the nearest roof access, and keeping herself visible from it.

Catra is not one to surprise without a very good reason, after all. They don't call 'em Murder mittens for no reason.

Catra has posed:
Turns out, Catra isn't difficult to find at all; she's out in the open, sitting on the roof with her feet dangling over the edge, gazing at what portion of the Tokyo skyline that can be seen from here. She's not wearibng her illusion, and it doesn't raelly look like she's dressed for the weather as one might expect; she's still in her Horde jumpsuit, with her Crimson Wastes jacket overtop. She's even still barefoot.

...Ahh, there it is. She's using a small amount of dark energy to keep warm. Well, that and earmuffs.

She's busy eating something out of a cardboard box with chopsticks, and there's a plastic bag beside her that looks like it's got another box with some more chopsticks as well. As Rashmi arrives, she doesn't look around over her shoulder; she just takes off the earmuffs and plops them down beside her, before thumbing off her music and tucking her earbuds away. Well, and flattening her ears out. Because you know. Fireworks happened recently.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Once Catra is spotted, and... earmuffs, yeah that's proof the night hasn't been kind to her... Rashmi flits to the edge of the roof next to Catra, settling down within arm's reach but not actually reaching out. "Heyyyy, Catra-chan," Rashmi says, in the tones of someone about to apologize. "Sorry about... all of that," she says, waving her hand generally skyward.

"So hopefully this'll make up for it... There's more to New Year's traditions than fireworks. ...Also I promised Bow I'd deliver his Christmas present."

Which is the first thing brought out of Nicomachea's central crystal; a festive cloth bag decorated with pawprints. Inside is a 'lucky cat' statuette, with one green eye and one blue. "Iunno if you watch his stream, but, when he saw that he thought you'd like it. And... well, he probably doesn't know, but those are supposed to be good luck. So it's kinda... double fitting."

Catra has posed:
As Rashmi passes Catra the festive cloth bag, before she opens it she gestures to the p;lastic bag with food in it. "Lobster and Mushroom Somen," she explains. "With extra lobster. Got you some too." She shrugs her shoulders lightly, and flahses a little black card that, somehow, she still hasn't returned to Glimmer. "Obsidian paid, so enjoy it."

Moments later, she's gazing at a good luck cat, with mismatched eyes, with a faintly unreadable expression. And it takes her a moment to take it in, this little cat with paw print decorations, that represents good luck.

Carefully, she puts it back in the bag and sets it beside herself, to make sure it doesn't get broken. "I... d'you mind if I ask you to hang on to it, for a while?" She gestures towards the vague direction of where Obsidian Tower stands. "I just... got a feeling that things are gonna go down at Obsidian Tower, and... and it's totally weird, Bow giving me a present, but I don't want it getting wrecked."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
At the request, Rashmi tilts her head for a moment, but nods, smiling. "Yeah," she says, tucking the bag and its contents back into her book. "Not a problem, Catra-chan. Just let me know when the heat dies down. Luckily, the other stuff probably won't be important enough to care to wreck, but first... Thanks for the food!"

This last sentence, said in a singsong as she opens her box of somen and takes the chopsticks with a bob of the head as thanks. And she does spend a good few minutes simply enjoying the food; one must, after all, pay good food shared freely its proper respects!

"...So anyway," she says, once half the box is gone, "I couldn't tell you where it came from offhand, but... In Japan it's traditional to give people cookies on New Year's. Like, by giving you something nice, they're hoping that maybe more good things will happen for you this year. Good luck, prosperity, happiness, y'know... that kind of thing."

As she says that, she plucks a small box out of her Device, addressed to Catra.

Catra has posed:
Catra sits beside Rashmi and eats, quickly finishing up her meal. It's not like she didn't eat earlier; she did, but then there were fireworks and stress and she was hungry again, so the food goes down the hatch quiet easily. When she's finished, the empty box and chopsticks go in the bag, and Catra mumbles something about never having tried lobster before, but it's pretty good, way better than the grey kind, which sometimes seems to be her primary measure of what is or is not good food.

"..." The feline takes the small box, and squints at it for a moment, as she takes in what Rashmi said about giving cookies at New Years. "Well... that's definitely better than BLOWING UP THE SKY," she declares, waving her free hand upwards. "What on Etheria was that all about, anyway?! It was like open warfare had broken out in offensively bright colors! And ther ewasn't even any warning, just suddenly everything was blowing up!"

Catra falls silent again, and turns her gaze back to the little box, which she goes ahead and unwraps. Which, she tuns out to be pretty tidy and efficient at. Claws help.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Inside the box are cookies! Some long, with chocolate sandwiched in the middle, and some just iced sugar cookies, with varying degrees of skill applied to the icing. A card in the box declares the cookies to be a gift from 'Usagi, Usagi, and Mamoru.'

"Yeaaaah, the fireworks," Rashmi sighs. "Like a couple thousand years ago, they were supposed to ward off demons, and now they're pretty popular all over the world for real big celebrations. People who take care of animals generally also hate 'em, too, but..." Rashmi shrugs. "Anyway... the cookies with chocolate, those are called 'langue de chat,' which... Kind of amusingly, means 'cat's tongue' in French, I guess because of the shape? But also..."

And she pulls out *another* box. "These are from Madoka-chan."

And *another* box. "These are from me..."

Over time, a handful more boxes are just stacked up between Catra and Rashmi, each from a named recipient, each containing just cookies, or other sweets. Some, like Rashmi's, clearly store-bought, some handmade, but all of them carry the same unspoken message:

    This is a person who hopes this year hurts less. Who wants for Catra to find a way to be doing okay. Who may not know how to actively help, but... sends along good wishes.

And all of them are from *Rashmi's* side of the magical 'fence.'

Catra has posed:
By the time it's all finished and Catra is looking at basically a lifetime supply of cookies (well, she'll get through them in a month or less but who's counting), the feline is looking basically just... weirdly dumfounded. Like she doesn't have a snarky comment or a mean retort loaded in the tubes for this one. So she's just stuck, sitting there looking at all of it. And all of it came from people who aren't with Obsidian.

All of it came from people who are supposed to be her enemies.

People who are supposed to be trying to beat her. Who aren't supposed to care about her feelings or wish her a better yeat -- especially since, if she has a good year, it ought to mean they're having a bad year.

Right?

"Why?" she ask, at last. "I mean, just, I don't get it. We're not on the same side." but the words feel more like something she said because she thinks she's supposed to say it, and it shows, as she scratches the back of her head, trying to work out where to go after stepping in this particular pit.

"I didn't get anything for anyone else," she admits. "Well, except..." She trails off. "...Nevermind, it's not important."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
When Catra asks why, Rashmi tilts her head, eyebrows rising. Almost as if it never occurred to her to question kindness offered to someonee who hasn't been treated kindly much at all. Finally, she simply shrugs her shoulders.

"Because for some people, sides don't matter. They want everyone to have a better life, they want the *world* to be better. Some of them also know that the more happiness and peace there is in the world, the less Darkness there even *is.* Which is a nice bonus effect, if you ask me. But Catra-chan... All of them have met you, even if just a little, and we're not *blind.* We can *tell* how much just worse in general this whole thing is making you feel. So if we can't convince you to just get out of there? We can at least make it a little easier on you while you're in."

"We can show you that even if you have to fight us... we care about you too."

Catra has posed:
Catra looks down at the cookies and other treats, and back up at Rashmi, and then out at the city. "Yeah, I tried changing the world once," she replies, "I ended up here after destroying my own. And, yeah, I know... everyone says I didn't, but..." She sighs, and hunches her shoulders. "I still did it, knowing what the consequences could be. Even if I didn't actually want to destroy Etheria I still took the risk. And I made everyone else take it too. And every time I lie awake at night thinking about it, I eventually end up wondering if Shadow Weaver was right."

The feline clasps rests her hands on her knees, and chews on her thoughts, as well as the inside of her cheek, making her take on a bit of a strange expression.

"Okay so... listen. And don't tell anyone I told you this. I dunno, maybe you know already. Horde Prime is here, and I've never met him but Glimmer says he's like Hordak, the guy I used to be second in command for with the Horde but worse somehow. And Glimmer is definitely experimenting with Dark Energy. Which... I dunno how that'll work for her. I don't think it'll mess her up like it did Adora, but... I dunno, just, tell people to be careful, I guess."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I will," Rashmi says, and her tone is serious and sincere. "I won't tell anyone it's from you, but... Bow-kun'll probably be able to guess. Adora-chan too."

Falling silent, she looks out over the city as well, the glittering lights above and below them, and finishes off her food.

"So... I'm not gonna tell you how to think, or how to feel," she says, tucking the empty box back into the bag. "And you probably already know exactly what I think about this Shadow Weaver, and how little of it is fit for broadcast. But I want you to keep something in mind for me, okay?"

Drawing in a deep breath, she lets it out. "Sometimes people do stupid, reckless, or even horrible things. Things a lot of people would call unforgivable. And if someone does those things, sure, they should take responsibility, try to make up for them however they can. That's just sense. But even if they *meant* to take an unforgivable risk... That doesn't have to be their whole existence. They're still a person. They still get to make choices. And not all of those choices have to be like the one that haunts them."

Turning to look at Catra the redhead smiles gently, and nudges the stack of boxes. "Maybe if they reached a hand out, someone'd be there to take it."

Catra has posed:
Catra's ears flatten out, and she sits with her shoulders hunched, looking down at the ground several stories below, between her feet.

"I didn't actually want to destroy Etheria," she replies. "I just... didn't listen when Entrapta warned me what could happen. I didn't want to lose. I especially didn't want to lose to Adora. ...Or Bow and Glimmer and the rest of the Princesses, but especially not Adora. But, I didn't want to destroy the world, I just... wanted it to be different."

The feline glances sideways at the pile of boxes beside her. At least getting them back to Obsidian Tower will be easy, there's a door for duskporting on this rooftop so she'll only have to juggle them for fifteen feet or so.

"Maybe I didn't even want the world to be different, just... y'know. Things." She loks sideways at Rashmi. "If some... other persona took over your best friend and turned her into your enemy, how hard would you fight to get her back?" she asks.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Pretty hard," Rashmi says after a moment's silence. "I'd probably look for any way I could to get her back. And I'd probably be *so furious* if someone told me I shouldn't take one of those ways... But there's people I'd listen to, no matter how desperate I'd be. I think..."

Rashmi looks out over the city again, pursing her lips in thought. "...I think if I didn't have anyone I trusted to tell me how far is too far... I might gamble with the world too. Depends on how desperate I got, but... Yeah. I can see what it'd take to get there."

The wings on her ankles *blip* back into existence... apparently to allow her to lean back on thin air. "...But on the other hand? From everything I've heard, it sounds like the side Shadow Weaver's on? You're a lot more likely to be happy if you're on the *other* side of her, y'know?"

Catra has posed:
"Oh, I was never on Shadow Weaver's side, even when we were both in the Horde," Catra replies. "Eventually I got Hordak's blessing to depose her and I did it personally, even though she had magic and I didn't. She'd used it against me enough while I was growing up that I memorized her patterns and then she was just... easy." She pauses, and grinds her teeth audibly, "Well aside from when she escaped and went to go join the Rebellion so she coul keep manipulating Adora, and I got banished to the Crimson Wastes over it. But whatever, I captured Adora and brought back her sword... Which... was the key to opening the portal."

She sighs, and shakes her head. "Alright, I am at least a little glad that Shadow Weaver isn't here, and if she ever is, she's gonna be in for a shock. I've got magic now too and I'll banish her to the bottom of one of those..." She gestures towards the ocean, "One of those ocean platforms they use for drilling that oil-stuff people here seem to be so fond of."

The feline glances sideways again, and looks Rashmi up and down. "Yeah, well... I don't believe you when you say you'd consider going that far, but... your friend is really lucky to have you."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...I mean I'll take that as a compliment," Rashmi chuckles. "But seriously. *Everyone* has that line. The hard part is remembering it really is better to keep from crossing it. But even if you do, that doesn't make you a monster. Monsters don't *get* to decide what they do and why. *People* do. And people can always change their minds, if they really, really want."

Climbing to her feet, Rashmi plucks one more thing out of Nicomachea; an empty grocery bag. "Here," she says, holding the bag out. "So you don't have to worry about dropping any of the cookies. Also... If Shadow Weaver *does* show up here... d'you think you could hold off on dropping her into the ocean long enough for me to punch her in the mouth? I'd owe you."

Catra has posed:
"No guarantees," Catra replies, accepting the bag so she can load up the boxes full of cookies and treats into it. She does it carefully, like what she's packing is something really important and irreplaceable. "Look, I dunno what's gonna happen. And if Glimmer says things are going to get real bad with Horde Prime around... I mean... the girl has the brain of a grasshopper that's had way too much coffee stuck inside a marshmallow, but she's pretty genuinely scared of Horde Prime. She was never scared of Hordak like this. ...Or me."

Which, well, maybe she should've been, but Catra doesn't voice that conceit.

"Anyway, if things get really out of hand, I'll... I dunno. I'll text you or something."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"That... is definitely a good way to sum up why we should all be worried," Rashmi says after a moment, reviewing the very small number of times she'd been in Glimmer's presence. "And yeah, do. And if you're in trouble and *want* help, text me then too. I... can't promise Adora-chan won't be part of the backup when I arrive, but I can promise it'll be backup *for you.*"

Watching Catra gather up the boxes, Rashmi can't help but smile. *There's* a message that has also landed home.

"I'll let you go, Catra-chan... But seriously, think about what I said, okay?"

Catra has posed:
Catra looks like she visibly has no idea how to respond to that. Eventually, she just nods. "I don't... I used to think Adora'd never do anything but fight me, but she helped me out earlier tonight." She holds up the earmuffs, before dropping them in the bag on top of the boxes of treats, which she hoists up with her as she stands up -- by just planting her feet up on the edge of the roof and rising in a manner that would be terrifying if anyone with less agility than Catra did it.

"I gottam ake sure Glimmer isn't picking a fight with a photocopier," she grumbles. "Uhm." She glances down at her side. "Thanks for bringing me all of these."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Yeah," Rashmi says, bobbing her head. "G'head, Catra-chan. And I was happy to make sure you *got* them."

And she was, in all honesty. People might say that 'being kind is its own reward' is hokey, but... Everything clearly meant way more to Catra than she'd be willing to say, and if Rashmi hadn't been reliably able to contact her... *Would* she have gotten them in time?

It's the kind of question that helps Rashmi really get when her mom talks about making life a conspiracy of joys.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" she says aloud, stepping off the edge of the roof and just hanging there, ankle-wings fluttering. "Happy New Year, Catra-chan."