2305/Borrowing Without Asking

Borrowing Without Asking
Date of Scene:	07 February 2025
Location:	Four Clover Mall
Synopsis:	Catra has kidnapped a princess. Except that this is the future moon princess Chibiusa Tsukino. Also actually this kidnapping was really more of a rescue without telling anyone. Midway through lunch, Mamoru and Usagi show up to reclaim their daughter.
Cast of Characters:	Catra, Chibiusa Tsukino, Usagi Tsukino, Mamoru Chiba
Tinyplot:	Black Moon Clan
Tinyplot2:	BMC: Rabbit Hunt

---

Catra has posed:
Catra does not ride her motorcycle like a normal person.

Catra rides her motorcycle like a madwoman. Nevermind that it's winter and there's snow all over the place from a recent, massive blizzard, or that there's traffic, or that she doesn't seem to think it necessary to wear a helmet.

Well, not that Chibiusa would know this, but she has actually toned it down; she's only speeding by 10-20 over, and only lane-splits to get to the front of lineups at traffic lights. Is that legal in Japan? Catra never did check.

The stealth black motorcycle with the flaming wheels does get a few people pointing at it, and Catra does abruptly change course once when she hears police sirens (just in case, even if they probably weren't after her... probably). Eventually, once they've put enough distance between them and the library that Catra figures they're out of the combat zone, she slows down to a more reasonable speed and stops driving like she's expecting Hell to come up from behind and swallow them.

"Hey," she asks. "Look, I know that was... I'm not gonna..."

Alright Catra, you just snatched a kid and ran off, what do you say here?

"People were--"

Can you talk about death in front of a kid this age, here on Earth? When do they tell people about that?

"People were getting hurt real bad and I wanted to get you out of there before you got hurt. ...Are you okay? Anything hurt?"

Smooth, Catra. Real smooth. Way to win 'em over.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa wasn't given a helmet, but she does have Luna-P. The poor catball toy has had a cartoonish anger mark on the side of its forehead, bulging like a vein, ever since the jetpack idea ended up not working out. It's still smiling, but somehow the smile seems angry. Right now that magic toy has turned into a helmet; complete with cat ears, throbbing anime vein, and its ever present winning smile. The hat that Chibiusa was given by Mamoru is resting on top of the helm, bound by unknowable demon catball magic.

    She's quietly, and grumpily, holding on to Catra from behind. The fact that she drives like someone who seems to think that laws are for other people is not even remotely reassuring, but for the moment she's quiet. Better to be around someone who might kill you on accident rather than be where people will kill you on purpose.

    "I'm not hurt," she responds, "but I think we're safe for now, and I'd rather get back to my..." How should she say this? A lot of people know already, but those are people close to Usagi and Mamoru. Chibiusa claiming to have teenage parents in front of someone she doesn't know might have unforeseen consequences. On the other hand, Usagi is listed as Chibiusa's cousin on paper. "... back to my family. Please."

Catra has posed:
Catra has, admittedly, not thought this through from start to finish.

She is, clearly, a person who considers herself to be dangerous. Someone who rides around on not just a motorcycle but one with a powerful engine that makes a lot of noise and has an actual katana hanging off her belt, and not to mention the fact that she's a catgirl -- an actual catgirl, not someone wearing a headband with ears and a fake tail sticking out of their pants -- certainly doesn't consider themselves to be anything less than dangerous.

On reflection, she probably ought to have hidden the catgirl part, but it's a bit late for that now.

"I uhh... yeah. I bet that... Yeah I get that." She slows the motorcycle down a little, rounding a corner more slowly as she waffles on just wear to go. There's a mall a few streets over, and right now her suddenly aimless driving is taking her and Chibiusa in that direction.

"Look I'll be honest with you kid, I didn't exactly think this through. I just thought you were gonna get--" killed "--Hurt real bad so I just... Look I'm not exactly a nice person but I wasn't gonna let that happen."

The feline lets the bike slow down a little more -- not to the point that jumping off it is an overly good option or anything, but at least what she's doing isn't hair-raising anymore -- and swivles her ears backwards. "Who're your parents? They live nearby?"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa frowns at Catra's habit of trying not to say kill. She doesn't want to be too mad because, frankly? Catra may very well have just saved her life. Even if she did it in a way that makes things... complicated.

    "My parents were back at the library," she says. "Probably hoping I'm okay. Those people with the black moon marks on their forehead? They want to kill me." Chibiusa puts a special emphasis on the exact word that the Etherian catgirl was avoiding. Just to prove, somehow, that she's a big enough girl to know what that word means. Because that's what matters to her right now. "I've been through two apocalypses. I know what it means when people get 'hurt real bad'."

    She isn't sure how to deal with all of this. Small Lady isn't really mad persay, or even disappointed, just... Catra has really stuck her hand in it. Chibiusa isn't sure that there's any way to deal with this other than honesty. "Look, it's complicated. I'm from an alternate reality's future, so my parents aren't really... all grown up yet. I just stay at the dorms in Radiant Heart for now."

Catra has posed:
Catra perks an eyebrow upwards, and as they roll along down the road, she hunhs. "Oh... kay then. Alright." She sighs, and her ears flatten against her head. "You're not an ordinary kid. That's obvious. And you deserve more respect. So, yeah, I saw you in the middle of all that violence, and I was worried you were gonna get either hurt real bad, or killed. And I didn't want that to happen."

The feline pauses, glancing over her shoulder, just briefly. "Or... Look, I saw a lot of bad things when I was your age and, I'm... not a good person, okay? So I didn't want you to wind up turning into some horrible little monster like me. But, don't worry," she adds quickly, "I am not gonna hurt you."

The mall comes into view, and Catra makes for the parking lot. "So, you're from an alternate future, hunh? That's super cool. I'm from another planet, it's called Etheria, and there's... There's all kinds of people there. I was part of this army called The Horde, and we were fighting the Princess Rebellion, which was led by..." she sighs, and her voice goes really quiet, "Someone who used to be my best friend but now she's my enemy. It's... complicated."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    They come up to the mall, and Chibiusa is still feeling weird about this, but at least she's not terrified for her life anymore.

    "I understand. Thank you. You had to make a choice in the heat of the moment, and you chose to try to save me, but there are people in that Library who really care about me and in a bit they're going to be looking. They will find me." Chibiusa looks back over her shoulder at where she thinks the Library was and considers. "Look, I'll explain things to them. I'm sure they won't be mad if we just talk this out."

    After a pause she says, "You seem to talk down about yourself a lot... do you think seeing bad things like that made you a bad person? Can't you just be who you want?"

    After she really processes the rest of what Catra says she gets a bit self-conscious, because well... she is a Princess, actually. "So... for the Princess Rebellion, were they rebelling against a princess or was it an entire group of princesses rebelling?"

    It can't be the latter, right? How many princesses can you possibly have?

    "Sorry to hear about your best friend. I bet that hurts."

Catra has posed:
"Absolutely no way am I taking you back to the Library," Catra insists, "We have no idea if it's safe there. We don't know if..." Catra pauses. "I dunno what angry ice-lady's name was but we don't know if they beat her or not. And I wouldn't have any issue going back and fighting her, but I uhh... only just learned that I can do fire magic and I don't know if I can protect you from her if your friends didn't win."

The feline pulls her motorcycle into a parking space, gently boots the kickstand, and shuts off the engine. "And, honestly, I don't know. But I made some pretty bad choices. And I tried choosing to be better but I don't think the people I really want to believe it do believe it. So maybe they're right, maybe I can't." She shrugs her shoulders dismissively, and focuses on looking forwards.

"The Rebellion was led by the Princesses. On my world there's... magic runestones, and if you have one, you're a princess. And they were all... banded together, trying to stop the Horde from taking over the planet. A couple of them are here now, too, but it's... weird. Complicated."

Catra sighs audibly. "Look, I don't like the idea of going back to the library, but I can call your parents. You said they're really young, here? You're from an alternate universe, if your parents are magic I might already know 'em." She pulls out her cellphone, which has a big crack down the middle of the screen.

"Yeah it hurts about my friend, but I think the worst part is that I don't think it hurts her. But... I dunno. We haven't really talked lately. Been aoiding each other I guess." She shrugs. "So what's up with that woman with the black circle on her face? And if you're from an alternate future, how'd you get here?"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    "I'm not saying that we should go back to the library," clarifies Chibiusa. Her brow furrows a bit as she hops down off the motorcycle. She takes a step back so that she can look up at Catra without craning her neck too far. "No one should be going anywhere near that library until things get cleaned up. Not anyone like me, anyway."

    She shakes her head, then grips her arms as her tiny body shakes for a moment. "They tried to kill her, too. That politician. Just because she helped fix the world in my timeline. Her only crime was trying to make things better."

    Her mind flashes back for a moment, but she lets out a sigh and tries to focus. "That was Berthier, from the Black Moon Clan. They're from the same world as me, and they want to erase the timeline we came from and make a new one by killing the influential figures of our past. I don't think that actually works, since we're in a different world."

    As for how she got here? How does she answer that. "I don't really know what happened. I was trying to go back to my own past and ended up in this world. It's... also pretty complicated. People tried to warn me that I could get lost in the timestream. I guess I actually did."

    Chibiusa's hand reaches up for the collar of her shirt. "There's only one princess in the world I'm from, and she doesn't have any magic powers. Not anything she can use to fight with, anyway."

    And oh how Chibiusa wishes she did.

    "My parents are Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen. Well, not yet maybe, but they will be in the future. Probably."

Catra has posed:
Catra snorts. "Tell me about it." She eases her bike onto the kickstand, now that Chibiusa isn't on it anymore, and then swings her leg over and stands in front of the pink haired girl, before dropping to one knee to be a little closer to her level. "So, I'll tell you a secret -- those Runestones I was talking about? Turns out I have one. And I have no idea how to use it, outside of stuff like..." she gestures towards the motorcyle behind her, "Making my wheels light on fire, stuff like that."

She opens her mouth to say something, and then promptly closes it again. "...Oh," she says, eventually. "Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen. ...Well..." she sighs, and pinches the bridge of her nose. "I can see this is going to make me really popular... but whatever."

The feline thumbs the screen of her phone, and scrolls through her contacts list, eventually picking one (she had to scroll all the way down to 'U' afterall) and pressing the button to dictate a text.

"Hey Usagi it's Catra. I have your daughter. We're at Four Clover Mall. I'll take her to the food court. Come met us whenever I guess."

With that message sent, Catra stuffs the phone back in her pocket, and shrugs, glancing in the direction of the mall. "Want something to eat? I'm buying. Anything you'd like."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa gives Catra a wry smile because, well... she knows she's kinda kicked the hornet's nest. The future princess probably could have said something sooner but, again, protesting loudly in front of the Black Moon Clan was never going to be a good idea. Especially after she promised to just stay back and hide.

    With Usagi having been texted, Chibiusa knows it's only a matter of time before her parents just Show Up. So if they're going to get food, it'll need to be fast.

    Luna-P reverts to catball form, still wearing Tuxedo Kamen's hat, and floating behind Chibiusa as the small pink thinks.

    "Oh! How about a burger?" She says, after looking around. Surely there's something like that here.

Catra has posed:
"Burger? Sure, there's... I'm sure there's a burger king in there. I dunno if I've ever actually had a burger, I just see other people having them. I'm an obligate carnivore but mostly I eat chicken or fish, honestly."

Catra just shrugs lightly, unaware that Usagi and Mamoru are likely to just... teleport in at any moment. But really, if she did know, would it change anything?

The feline doesn't do anything patronizing like insist on holding Chibiusa's hand, either, the small person has made it quite clear, to Catra's mind, that she'd like to be treated as an equal so that's how Catra is treating her -- even if she is keeping her ears locked onto her at all times, so even if she's not in sight she can hear quite well where she's at. She doesn't bother to don her illusory disguise, either, she just takes a moment to get a hoodie out of a saddle-bag and put it on under her jacket, so she can put the hood up.

And if anyone asks about the tail or, like, SWORD, then "It's cosplay buddy lay off it, Cosplay is NOT CONSENT, leave me alone."

Fortunately, there is a burger king and it doens't take long to acquire two-- scratch that. It doesn't take long to acquire four Whoppers and fries so everyone has enough to eat if they want, and a couple sodas in paper cups, and somewhere along the line Catra has time to acquire a headband with cat ears for the kid too, if she wants 'em. Did Catra even pay for those? Probably? Probably.

"Alright," she asks, once she's got a tray with food." Where do you want to sit? Table? Bench?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
In the time it takes for Koji to be healed, Sailor Moon busies herself with cleaning up the social business. Mostly, reaching out to Rashmi and Veronica on Norie's behalf, because dark energy curse or not, she's lost her father and there's nothing in her condition that prevents her from feeling worse than usual...

And once he's healed, and able to stand, and he's been firmly told to get antibiotics - and once Amy has been asked to look after him - Sailor Moon considers all the grim, gristly things around them.

Considers the mysteriously appearing and disappearing Black Moon Clan member, the now disembodied arm they've been left to deal with, the flood and damaged library, the dead body that was Norie's father, the fact that Catra has taken Chibiusa somewhere -

And her phone buzzes, as she's finishing those texts, and she wilts in relief.

"Mamochan," she breathes out, "Catra took Chibiusa-chan to Four Clover Mall. She's taking her to the food court."

All the stress - okay, let's not joke, about sixty-percent of the stress - leaves her body in a rush.

"So since she actually told us where she's taken her, let's not beat her up."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
And Mamoru, rinsing blood off his hands with floor water and hating everything just a little bit and very temporarily, stops and his shoulders sag. He suddenly looks like an adrenalin crash, too, but he hauls himself up. "Okay. Let me wash my hands," he says, partly to Usagi, mostly to himself, as he flicks so many germs off his hands and refuses to look at the body or the books.

Or at Koji's blood on himself.

He sloshes over to a water fountain and-- sort of? Well, rinses them in clean water, anyway. They need to get outside so he can kick some snow away and touch grass, but once he does he shuts his eyes and finds Chibiusa. Then it's just a matter of taking Usagi's hand and stepping through the air and emerging at the target destination.

There's a bright spark in the air at the food court, right next to Chibiusa, on the side of her opposite Catra, and Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask step the rest of the way through the air, going from snow to ceramic mall floor tiles, and probably dripping. "Table," he says.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa, now sporting a pair of black cat ear headbands to match her strange demon cat toy, looks at the available options and says, "Let's go to a table."

    It will, she thinks, give Catra something to hide behind when her probably-panicking-parents show up. Chibiusa doesn't think that Catra is the kind of person who'd go down like a chump or anything. She seems fairly capable, especially if she can drive like a madwoman and not get killed. Still sometimes it's better to have ways to avoid fights, and to assume some amount of defensive terrain.

    Granted, depending on Sailor Moon's or Tuxedo Mask's mood, the table might not be the deterrent that Chibiusa is hoping it will be. It'll probably be fine as long as Chibiusa isn't visibly in distress, right?

    ... and now Dad is here, with Mom, and they look a bit... worse for the wear. The small pink girl just looks at her parents, stands on her tippy toes, and snatches a burger from Catra's tray and unwraps it to start munching. Sadly she has not mastered the art of 'one bite one burger', so she takes tiny nibbles instead.

    After swallowing, she says, "I'm fine, by the way." Then she turns towards the nearest table and starts climbing into a chair. One handed, because burger, but also with Luna-P giving her a boost.

Catra has posed:
Feline grace is a beautiful thing.

Of course cats are also known for falling over themselves trying to do simple things. Catra was just in the middle of putting the tray down on a table when suddenly there's a flash of light forming in the air right beside Chibiusa and Catra is not taking it sitting down, "KID GET BACK!" she snarls, letting the tray drop (somehow neither drink falls over) and just stepping around Chibiusa, grabbing the hilt of powersend and bringing the sword out in one smooth motion (with that deeply satisfying 'schwwwing' sound no less), pointing it straight at whatever comes out of

oh

"...You need to tell me you're going to freaking TELEPORT, Catra snaps, as she holds her sword up in a defensive stance. "Seriously, you're as bad as Glimmer, appearing all over the place with no warning and I'm already stressed! And then realizes she's holding her sword up in a defensive stance, and with a light flourish, returns it to its scabbard, and sits down at the table, opposite Chibiusa.

Catra chooses to completely ignore everyone who is, she does not doubt, staring. Instead she just picks up one of the sodas and slurps from the straw, then goes for one of the four burgers and slides it over in front of Chibiusa, along with one of the cartons of fries, before picking up a second burger for herself.

"Alright look, I know there's four burgers, but that's two for me and two for the kid. If you want some get your own."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Sailor Moon takes Tuxedo Kamen's hand, and in a flash of light they are in the food court, which is not at all empty, and which they do not care about at all. What Sailor Moon cares about is Chibiusa, munching on a burger, clamoring up to a seat at a table, and declaring that she's fine in a sort of calm and matter-of-fact way. She wouldn't be hiding it from them if she was scared.

It's the main thing that keeps her from blowing up at Catra for yelling at them after stealing their kid (even if it was with good intentions).

"You kind of stole our kid, we don't give heads up about that kind of thing," she snaps, and then takes a deep breath, and looks at the burgers and fries and snatches up one of the cartons of fries anyway. In a show of true love, she shoves them at Tuxedo Kamen, who needs them a lot more than she does, after pumping out attacks, healing, and teleporting, all in a short time-span.

"But since Chibiusa-chan is okay, you're getting a light punishment that we'll figure out in a bit. For the heart attack."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
Mamoru's eyes widen when Catra tells them off about teleporting, and he's just managed to wrench all of his flying shredded emotions around into a nice solid RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION when Usagi snaps it ahead of him, and then he's getting fries shoved at him, and he looks at his filthy dirty hands and the fries that Usagi just handed him, and he puts them carefully back in her hands and kisses her.

I am about to fall apart, is what he thinks through that kiss, and Usagi can see that his nice handy depersonalization is going to give out because Chibiusa is okay and Koji is alive and Berthier is dead.

What he says is, "I need to wash my hands."

He carefully kisses the top of Chibiusa's head, too, and all she'll get from him is the vast overwhelming relief and how scared they were because they love her so much--

And then he heads for the restrooms.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa is certainly not hiding her fear, or any of her emotions really. It's very plain on her face just how tired she is, and also how relieved she is to see Mamoru and Usagi both come back from another encounter with the Black Moon Clan.

    There is only one question on her mind, one that she might feel a little guilty about asking. "Did she get away?"

    She doesn't get in the way of her parents being mad, but she does accept the extra burger. The future princess just sits at the table, letting things fall as they may, considering whether or not to plea on Catra's behalf. After all, even if the way the catgirl went about her business was rightfully terrifying to her parents, she still meant well and she did get her out of a bad situation.

    When Mamoru kisses the top of her head, he gets her raw unfiltered emotions, and especially a feeling that the world is cosmically unfair and they shouldn't have to deal with all this Black Moon Bullshit. Then she considers the swear jar and blurts out, for a reason probably not apparent to anyone but Mamoru, "Thoughts don't count."

    Then she actually takes a close look at her alt-dad and winces. It's probably a testament to how much horrifying stuff this small child has seen that the sight of blood doesn't phase her much. It's more... what the presence of all that blood implies. At least one person died today, she's pretty sure.

    She thinks all of this while watching the scene unfold and munching her burger, casually, as if what's happening right now is no big deal. It is, of course, a big deal and she understands it, but she's learned that acting calm can sometimes make others calm too.

Catra has posed:
Catra snorts. "Ask Adora how well trying to 'punish' me works out," she replies, and watches as the fries get snatched up. "Okay fine you can have the fries. ...Dunno why I even ordered those, I'm a carnivore, not... potatoe-vore or whatever it is that eats those."

Her burger, however, gets a big chomp taken out of it and she chews it up, before holding the burger sideways to look at it with a frown as she chews more slowly. "...Don't need tha'," she pronounces with her mouth still full of food, and tugs both the lettuce and the tomatoe out, tossing them back down on the tray before swallowing and having another bite. "...Much better," she pronounces, after swallowing this time.

The feline watches the simple (from her point of view) interactions between Mamoru, Usagi, and Chibiusa, all while more quietly munching on her burger (and willing her tail to stop being puffed up before anyone notices). "So anyway," she comments, picking up her drink for another slurp from the straw, "I did NOT realize she was yours. But there were people dieing and I didn't want her to be one of them and I have a motorcycle. Seemed like an easy decision to make." She pauses, watching as Mamoru heads off to wash his hands. "Also I've never seen him in that get-up before so I had no idea it was him. She pauses, and watches Chibiusa eating her burger. "You can ditch the veggies if you don't want them," she pronounces, "And as I bought the burgers I make the meal rules today."

After another bite, she looks up at Usagi once again, "Look, I know I'm an Obsidian villain and you don't trust me, and that's fine, but if I ever see her," she nods towards Chibiusa, "In that kind of danger again I'll fight those Black Moon jerkoffs all day long. ...Or get her out on my motorcycle again if you need it."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She kisses him back, of course. What? Not only is this for the sake of communication, but also, she loves her fiance, the future father of her future daughter, and frankly, given the kind of day they've had, a kiss in front of their daughter and sort-of-friend-sort-of-neutral-person-deal is earned.

Into the kiss, she communicates her understanding, her love, her sense of 'I'll take the lead on this', because frankly, he deserves to clean his hands and take a moment to pull himself together, after everything, and she knows Catra better.

Partially from encountering her more often, but mostly from Adora - Oldora, to be specific - revealing her and Catra's Entire Life Story to her, ages and ages ago.

"I have talked to Adora," she says dryly, "Oldora. That's why the punishment will fit the crime, and be something like... I don't know... embarrassing but not humiliating. You didn't mean to scare the shit out of us - oh no, that's a payment to the swear jar."

She glances at Chibiusa, hoping that just maybe she didn't hear, because Tuxedo Kamen was busy with her... there's hope...

When Chibiusa offers her question... well. To any other child, Usagi probably would have danced around the subject, minced words, found a way to make it nicer. To some of her friends, she would have done that, that's for sure.

But she's been getting to know Chibiusa well these last few months, and her daughter not only deserves honesty, but would be relieved by it, too. "She's dead. Everyone - came together to stop her, after Catra-san took you out of there. And it's not that I don't trust you, Catra-san. I only trust a - well, I trust a lot of people with Chibiusa-chan, I guess, but, there are a bunch of those Black Moon guys, and they all want to kill Chibiusa-chan, so taking her out of our sight was... you know... scary."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa continues to watch the exchange between her alt-mom, her alt-dad, and her rescue-kidnapper. There is a lot of attitude between the three of them and while she knows that Moon and Mask are not yet Queen and King, a part of her is a little proud to see them carry themselves with the same kind of authority they do in the future. Even if Catra feels no obligation to recognize it.

    She looks down at the veggies in her own burger and starts pulling some of the lettuce and pickles out. She leaves the tomato and onions in, though. "I never understood why they added all of this other stuff. Burgers are really about the meat, the bread, and the ketchup."

    Chibiusa glances towards Usagi and smirks. She heard. Then she feels weird about it because she knows dad just heard what she herself was thinking and it feels maybe a bit hypocritical.

    All of that is forgotten at the news that Berthier is gone. For good. Chibiusa frowns and goes back to her food. She starts stuffing her fries into some ketchup and swirling them around for a moment as she tries to pretend that she's Fine. It's all Fine. It's actually not fine but at least things are slightly less terrible than they were before and ugh that feels like such an ugly thing to think.

    It's true, though.

    "Thank you," she says. It's not enough. There could never be enough gratitude in the world for all of their love and support, but it's all she can manage right now. "Wish there was a better way to resolve this, but I don't think there is."

    To Catra, she adds, "I know you meant well, but you really stepped in it when you grabbed me and ran. You've been nice to me, but I can't really fault my parents-to-be for being scared or upset either."

Catra has posed:
At the notion that she stepped in it, Catra kind of just... snorts, as she eats her burger.

"Look, I get it," she half-mumbles. "I get why you were worried and now that I know I won't just grab and run like that again. But I did it to save you. Seriously, for once I was trying not to be a horrible little monster and I don't feel like I should have to apologize for that."

And I WON'T, is the unspoken vibe that comes from that statement.

"And maybe they are pretty tough, but I'm not weak. I was the Horde's best fighter back on Etheria. I put one of the best Sorceresses on that planet in her place when I had no magic at all, just claws and skill. Now, I'm a pri--"

Somehow, in spite of not having had any food in her mouth at that moment, Catra finds something to choke on.

Once she's finished coughing she washes it down with a deep gulp from her soda, and ahems. "...I have a Runestone now, like Glimmer's Moonstone, except where hers is all about light mine is all about fire. ...Apparently... the previous wielder of it burnt down their kingdom with it, or... something. I dunno what went wrong there. But I'm still trying to get used to thinking firey thoughts. But anyway."

Catra side-eyes her burger, now that she's halfway through it. "...Seriously the same planet that has stuff like sushi and chicken udon and tonkatsu ramen and stuff came up with this? I mean it's meat so I like it but it's like... grease and salt and I feel like I'm gonna have an offended stomach later."

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi takes a deep, deep breath, and reminds herself of all the things she'd said to Rashmi just a few minutes ago, and which Rashmi said, and about the power of being the bigger person, and munches a few of the fries that she will still give to Mamoru.

And then she says:

"Catra, thank you for wanting to help Chibiusa-chan. It is a good thing that you wanted to help her, and I didn't think you'd do anything bad to her. I know you just wanted to help, and it's more proof that you're not a monster, like I've said before, but... it was scary. So I'm glad in the future you won't do that kind of thing again."

This is her extending grace.

"I know you're strong. We're all pretty strong. These people are strong too - they can go toe to toe with any one of us, and worse, they like spreading the kind of dark energy that's infectious. The kind that makes you start to lose it." And it's a lot harder to fight when you've got to protect someone else, she doesn't add, because she doesn't want Chibiusa feeling bad - and because she doesn't want to risk Catra taking it the wrong way, and thinking Usagi is saying she's never had anyone to protect.

"...wait, you have a what now?" Beat. Beat. Faint surprise, into exasperation, into fondness. "How do we know so many people with fire powers? That's great, Catra! I'm sure you'll do great."

She's pretty sure, anyway, if she doesn't use that power for Obsidian, but -

"Um, well probably because the bread and veggies take up room so they don't have to sell as much meat? Burgers are a kind of sandwich, and a sandwich is all about bringing different stuff together."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Are sandwiches a metaphor?" Mamoru asks as he comes back, out of henshin, looking a bit scrubbed and pink from it. Out of henshin means he's also wearing a sling with his right arm in it, his leather jacket draped over that shoulder and properly worn on the other arm.

He slides into the seat that will get him in the least trouble, then gratefully takes the fries from Sailor Moon and starts eating them. In the process, somehow his hand brushes against her upper arm where there's no glove, and that's how this cheater catches up.

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Small Lady listens to Catra's point of view, while also considering Usagi's. Really Mamoru's, too, though his is going to be very similar to his fiance's on this.

    She doesn't really have much to add, so she keeps eating her burger. She's tired, as she imagines they all are, and she could really use the extra energy. The meat tastes nice, and she appreciates the protean and the carbs. Even if junk food like this isn't the healthiest, it's not completely devoid of nutrition either.

    Chibiusa notices Catra suddenly stop and correct herself. For now, the reason why flies over her head. She turns to Sailor Moon and asks, "Does that mean if I think moony thoughts, I'll get powers? Or should I be thinking rosy thoughts instead?" Yeah, because Senshi powers totally work like Etherian magic. Good job, Chibiusa.

    Usagi's answer to the veggie question makes Chibiusa frown. "What, so they cut their product with veggies? Do they think we wont notice?! Cheapskates," she says, before taking yet another bite. This is why post-scarcity is better!

    "It's not a metaphor," she tells Mamoru. Then she thinks about it for a moment. "Wait... is it a metaphor? If it's a metaphor I missed it."

    Luna-P pings, and Chibiusa translates. "Is it a metaphor or a simile?"

    Then, something from earlier finally occurs to her. "Wait, were you just about to call yourself a princess?" It makes sense, after all. She has a runestone now, right? "I thought you hated-- ohhh, nevermind."

Catra has posed:
Catra picks up her second burger, still in its wrapper, and tosses it up in the air straight towards Usagi. "One of these is definitely enough," she explains, dryly, as she grabs her soda and washes down the half a burger she's already eaten. "So okay. I kidnapped your kid, but it was to protect her and she's fine, and you're reunited with her and everyone's happy." She pauses, reflecting on the person who sreamed 'Daddy!' when the guy got very obviously killed. Well, he's not fine; and she doesn't voice it, but the contemplation is evident in her expression.

"Well anyway," she mumbles. "All of you are fine. So sit," she states more forcefully, "Eat a burger and stop glowering at me like I chucked a hairball in your Grey Kind or... whatever you people eat for breakfast."

Abruptly, the cat reaches over to grab a fry from what were her fries but are now Mamoru's, muttering something about at least trying one to find out how bad they actually are.

In so doing, her knuckles brush over the back of Mamoru's hand; and there's... a flash of something, probably what she was thinking about earlier when she was telling Chibiusa she didn't want her to have a childhoof full of horrors like she did.

"Catra. You stay." A tall, red-robed woman wearing a mask to conceal a horrific visage towers over Catra, glaring down at her. Catra, at about the age Chibiusa is now; glowing with a sheen of magic, but it's not her magic, and it's paralyzing her, making her stand to attention and hover with bare feet inches off the could floor. "What do you think you're doing in here?" demands the figure.

"We were just playing!" protests the small Catra, with abject terror in her voice to match her shaking.

"Insolent child," snarls the tall woman. "I've come to expect such disgraceful behaviour from you. But I will not allow you to drag Adora down as well."

in the background, there's a protest from another small child, a girl with blond hair, that it was her idea too, but it falls upon deaf ears. "You have ever been anything more than a nuisance to me!" come the tall woman's sharpened, dangerous words. "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! Do you understand?"

And through it all, the small Catra is just... quivering, with big eyes locked onto the tall woman, holding her breath and visibly trying to shrink into the shadows.

Meanwhile, Catra -- the real Catra -- gets a vision of her own; a vision of Mamoru asking Amy to pull an arm out of Koji -- not someone she knows, past him almost picking a fight with her once -- while getting energy from Usagi, and the worry about Chibiusa spilling over it all. It's enough that Catra, in a rare moment of clumsiness, fumbles the fry and it tumbles un-eaten to the floor.

The feline just sits there, gaping, for a good ten minutes. Well, not really, more like twenty seconds, but it feels like ten minutes.

"...What... was that?" she asks at last.

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"Well... Honestly, I got my powers because Luna gave me a magic compact?" Usagi shrugs at her daughter, looking apologetic. "Maybe if you shake Luna-P hard enough, she'll do something similar?"

This is, sadly, not helpful advice from mother to daughter.

A burger is thrown her way, and she catches it, of course, smiling brightly as Mamoru return, and while he inhales fries, she chomps on the burger, easily devouring half of it in one go - which is probably why she chokes a little when Chibiusa gets indignant about them cutting their product.

"-hack- Well beef is a little - coughcough - pricy in this country, but also I think a lot of companies are pretty -hack- cheap so probably -"

Sorry, stores! She's disillusioned her child! Wait, why is she apologizing?! You stores should be apologizing!

"Oh, this isn't me glowering, Catra-san, don't worry. I am a lot less cute when I glower, believe it or - " there's a moment of stillness and freeze, as something happens, and she realizes that - contact was made. Immediately, her hands go to Mamoru - not to his skin, but to his arm where cloth covers, so he can decide if he wants or needs to share more, but can still be supported.
"Mamochan is psychic, so - you must have touched him, and saw something - are you both okay?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"Well I mean if it's about different things coming together," starts Mamoru, answering Chibiusa, "I thought maybe it was a metaphor for cooperation or something. But it wouldn't be a simile unless you used like or as. So, 'a sandwich is like a metaphor' would be a simile (and incorrect) and 'a sandwich is a metaphor' is a metaphor--"

Thankfully there's trauma to interrupt the pedantry.

Usagi and Chibiusa can absolutely see it happen; Mamoru's eyes dilate and he sits forward a little, hunching inward. And then he closes his eyes and makes himself relax.

He moves his hand to touch Usagi's; he's okay. Then Mamoru looks faintly apologetic at Catra. "It was an accident. I wasn't expecting anyone to touch me and I'm exhausted, so I didn't have my walls up. I don't know what you saw."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Small Lady looks at Usagi and considers her response, then gives Luna-P a 'you've been holding out on me' stare. Luna-P Ball may not fear death, but from the way it slowly hovers away from Chibiusa, it very clearly fears its master's scorn.

    All of that gets forgotten though, when Contact happens. Chibiusa looks at her alt-father with a concerned frown. Oh no. What happened?

    "This is why our family doesn't do high fives," she notes. Mamoru seems... fine, at least. Tired, but fine, or at least fine enough that he will actually be fine after enough rest. Maybe.

    The sudden distraction also means that Chibiusa forgot what Mamoru just said about metaphors or similes, which means that she may ask this question again some day, and also get the same answer. The cycle will continue. Probably.

    She does not forget about the cheap beef, though. Small Lady has beef with this beef. She'd be giving the table an earful, but she already has a mouthful, and she's munching it angrily.

Catra has posed:
"...Just what happened with... whatever his name is. And the arm. Which explains why you showed up half covered in..." Catra's eyes dart towards Chibiusa, who expects to be treated like an equal but is still very, very young. "Yeah anyway. I didn't learn your deepest secrets, don't worry."

No great privacy was breached, at least not on her end of things. The feline keeps working on her burger, apparently having decided that the fries aren't worth it actually and she can always try them some other time.

"Anyawy. Yeah, I've got fire powers now, Of some sort, but it's completely different from using dark magic. Like instead of having to fight with it and wrestle it into doing what I want and making it understand that I am in charge, I just need to, I don't know... ask nicely? And it's kind arefreshing but it's also really weird and I'm not used to it." Her eyes narrow, and she looks back and forth between the three members of this odd family. "Is that what it's like for you lot? Magic just does what you want without any fuss? Because that's damned unfair."

Catra is silently piecing together that it's probably not unfair, really, she has the Spirit Ember now and can learn to do magic the same way, and it was her choice to learn to use dark energy, as she shrugs to Chibiusa, "I guess not."

And then the penny drops.

"Wait, if I saw you patching that guy back together, did you see anything?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
"No," Sailor Moon says, as soon as Mamoru has confirmed he's alright, and as Catra asks if the magic just does what they want without any fuss. "It definitely isn't like that."

If it was, Molly would be alive, instead of dead in the Dusk Zone. If it was, Junichi-kun wouldn't have weeks and weeks of recovery ahead of him, probably forced to spend the rest of the term in the hospital and in physical therapy. If it was, Norie's father would be alive, the same way those people in Paris were, after it was all over -

The Silver Crystal hadn't worked. The magic hadn't worked. She hadn't worked.

"Most of the time, when it works, it's because - my heart is in it. And even then, I can't always make the magic do what I want. It's more like... when it works, it's because it has to. Because you know it will work, so it works."

The tiara will fly. The light will purify. The heart will smash through bones like so much concrete, and so on and so on.

...huh. What did he see, and how much of it is he about to lie about?

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I saw some of your baby pictures," Mamoru says offhandedly after swallowing a mouthful of fries, "but they're none of my business and I'm really good at forgetting things on purpose. I've been doing this my whole life."

He laughs at Chibiusa's high-fives comment, but the rest of the conversation has settled into a sort of unhappy medium-- wait no, that's Mamoru himself.

"I'm really glad to hear that you've got powers that aren't dark energy," he says truly warmly, though. "And it sounds a little like some of my things are, the having to-- to ask. Or pray. Earth is where I get my power, so I pray to the Earth, if I need something I've never tried before."

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    "If my magic worked that easily, I would have..." starts Chibiusa, but then she stops, before changing the direction of that sentence midway. "... I would have an actual henshin."

    Luna-P hovered a slight bit higher at what Chibiusa was going to say, but then lowers and tilts downward when she decides not to confess to the violence that slowly brews in her heart. One day, Small Lady. One day Luna-P will bear witness to your sparkly glory, and it will smile. Just as it always has.

    Usagi gets an envious glare from the small princess, but then it softens. Knowing that Sailor Moon also has problems using her magic actually... makes her feel better. Maybe it's easier for Small Lady to compare herself to the less experienced Senshi who still thinks she'll be a housewife some day, rather than to the figure of ethereal invincibility that is her mother.

    After a moment she smiles at her future mother, and it's kindof a warm smile, and she also does likewise for her favorite unhappy medium, also known as her dad.

    She takes a bite of her fries and, after munching them, says, "At least the fries are okay." A pause, and then, "If the fries are also cut somehow then I don't wanna know."

Catra has posed:
"...I didn't... have any baby pictures," Catra mumbles. "When you're being raised to be a child soldier they don't really do that." And she would know.

Did Catra see straight through Mamoru's lie and is just choosing not to comment on it any further? Or does she just 'know what he meant'?

Either way, the feline stuffs the rest of her burger in her mouth, chews it up, and gulps it down. And then washes it away with the rest of her soda. The empty wrapper gets stuffed into the soda bottle (along with Chibiusa's if she's done with it) before she winds up and lobs it away from the table. She's not litering -- there's a trash bin not far off with the little swingy-door stuck open, and Catra gets it in without touching the edges.

"Next time I take you to dinner it'll be somewhere that isn't junk," she states, deadpan, looking at Chibiusa. She chews on that for a moment, before on impulse she pulls out her phone and taps at the cracked screen. She slides it across the table to where Chibiusa can see it. "Copy that into your phone," she mutters. "That's my number. If you're ever in trouble and neither of them," she inclines her head towards Mamoru and Usagi, "can come rescue you, or they're like... unconscious or in another dimension or something, I'll come get you and," she draws the first six inches of her katana before slamming it back all the way into her scabbard, "Teach whatever's bothering you an important lesson. Alright?"

Usagi Tsukino has posed:
There was clearly something coming before, have an actual henshin, but Usagi's heart is panged by the words that are said, because - because they too, matter. Chibiusa is a little girl, but she's been a little girl for a very long time, all without power of her own. It's normal, for little girls to need to be taken care of, and half the time Usagi wishes she could be a little girl still, taken care of, instead of fighting, but -

Chibiusa-chan is in danger, too. And she knows everyone she loves is fighting for her, but she can't fight for them.

...Usagi can't fix that, but she can make sure Chibiusa has an extra dessert, tonight. At least it will be nice.

And then Catra makes a very kind offer, and Usagi, being Usagi, risks her life to give her a hug, quick but warm.

"Thank you, Catra. For looking out for Chibiusa-chan too."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
And Mamoru just nods, to Catra's comment about child soldiers not getting baby pictures. He finishes his fries and starts to crumple up the carton in his not-enslinged hand. And then his face just gets warm at them all, he just watches because look that's his family, and Catra may have scared the shit out of them but look how protective she's being of their baby!!

"And thank you for getting her out of there before one of the generals showed up and--" he stops himself in the nick of time. "Chibiusa-chan, why have we not given you a communicator yet?"

Chibiusa Tsukino has posed:
    Chibiusa sips on her soda and doesn't comment on the baby pictures. If Catra wanted the table to know, she'd tell them. She doesn't even plan on asking alt-dad about it later. If it was her business, he'd say.

    When Catra's number is offered, Chibiusa stops sipping to say, "Luna-P is my smartphone." She then turns to the catball and orders, "Copy that number and save it under Catra, okay?"

    Luna-P, of course, obeys. For a moment its eyes turn into a smartphone screen and Catra's number gets entered and saved. Then the catball smiles at Catra as the katana gets partially drawn. Ooh, it likes this one.

    "I doubt I'll be far from my parents, but... if something comes up I'll call. Obsidian doesn't like the Black Moon Clan either, so you probably wont get in trouble for helping me."

    Chibiusa tries not to stew too much on her own helplessness. At least not in the moment. As much as she hates the fact that she can't handle this problem on her own, without risking harm to the people she cares about... eventually she's going to have to accept that doing it alone was never an option. Her heart would never allow her to deny someone's earnest desire to help. Not from the people closest to her. Especially not Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen.

    Mamo asks her why she doesn't have a communicator yet, and Chibiusa says, "Because I don't need one." She pauses for a second, and then stands up on the table's chair with a start, holding out a hand to Mamoru. "Wait, are you offering me a present? Gimmie!"

    Another pause, and she almost remembers her manners. Some of them anyways. "Please."