369/Chameleon meets Cat

Chameleon meets Cat
Date of Scene:	05 September 2023
Location:	Obsidian Tower
Synopsis:	Double Trouble and Catra meet in the break room at Obsidian. Double Trouble quickly realizes that Catra does not recognize them, and proceeds to be themselves about it.
Cast of Characters:	Double Trouble, Catra

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Double Trouble has posed:
The term started, which means that Double Trouble is already relishing every opportunity they get to escape back to Obsidian Tower where they can more comfortably be themselves. They're staying on campus, but after classes and clubs, they like to spend some time milling about and meeting people. They never know when a face might come in handy, after all.

And so it is that they are having a dinner which some might scoff at, but which they have come to find rather delightful: a microwave burrito. It is in the microwave now, the machine whirring as the turntable spins. Double Trouble stands there watching it as the timer counts down.

They're rather striking, really. Their skin is green and their hair a pale yellow. It's long, down past their shoulders to the middle of their back. They have long pointed ears, but they're definitely no elf. Their smile is full of sharp, pointy teeth. They have a long green tail that moves like it has a mind of its own. They're wearing a black mesh body suit and black leather booties.

Catra has posed:
Into the breakroom stalks a walking ball of negative emotions; seriously, it's a wonder how she gets through life sometimes, but today at least seems to be one of hte better days. Catra has not been enrolled at Radiant Heart; wether that's because she wasn't asked to, wasn't told to, or simply refused, is a question as yet unanswered.

On the upside, if Double Trouble has noticed that their natural appearance has a tendancy to... turn heads, it seems like right now, that's not the case.

"Hey," comes a flat greeting from Catra -- one entirely devoid of recognition -- before the cat plops down in a seat. She looks as orange and stripey as ever, wearing her black and red jumpsuit that she still prefers, with outrageous hair and a tail and all that. She's got a box full of sushi in front of her, with a pair of those cheap wooden chopsticks that you're totally not supposed to rub together because it's rude, which she goes right ahead and rubs together before she starts eating.

Double Trouble has posed:
Several thoughts run through Double Trouble's brain all in quick succession. First is relief at seeing a familiar face. That is followed up quickly by confusion because _their_ face is clearly not familiar to _her_. That confusion is replaced by curiosity and they smile just a little. All they say, though, is, "Hey."

Then the microwave dings.

They remove their burrito and tentatively squeeze the middle. Satisfied with it's temperature, they shut the microwave door and move over to sit down at the table across from Catra. "You're a long way from home," they say, as if they know where she's from. Because of course, they do.

Catra has posed:
Catra is right about to put a delicious looking piece of Salmon Nigiri in her mouth, when Double Trouble takes a seat opposite her, and comments about home and its proximity. She just kind of stares for a moment, tongue half out of her mouth to receive the nigiri, which she finally gets around to doing before she can end up just dropping it.

Sure beats the grey kind, at least.

"Uhm. Am I?" she inquires, before swallowing, and looking Double Trouble up and down once more. "Yeah, I am a long way from home, but I don't know how you'd know that. ...Unless you're also from Etheria." The feline shrugs her shoulders. "So, that'd beg just one question...

"Horde, or princesses?"

Double Trouble has posed:
Double Trouble takes a bite of their burrito without any regard for how hot it might be. It doesn't seem to bother them. They watch as Catra pieces together that they must be from Etheria. She may not recognize Double Trouble, but at least she still has her wits.

"I'm with the _winning_ side," they say, with a conspiratorial grin. "I'm surprised you don't remember me, Kitten. I'm Double Trouble!"

They strike a pose, but they're sitting down and have a little dribble of microwave burrito goop running down their chin, so it's not quite as picture perfect as they might like.

Catra has posed:
Catra just kind of watches, and it palpably takes her brain a moment to process. No applause even. "...So, Horde then," she decides. Wether or not she really is that naive is anyone's guess, really. Or maybe it isn't, and Double Trouble already knows the answer to that question.

"Sorry but, like, have we met? Because I'm fairly sure I'd remember a green person who's brave enough to call me 'kitten'." She picks up a piece of some sort of roll, dips it in the soysauce and eats it. "Last thing I recall on Etheria was Adora pulling a lever to open a portal with her sword, and then I ended up here."

OKay maybe that's not entirely how it happened, but Catra is clearly not in the mood to talk about how it actually did go down.

Double Trouble has posed:
That all took place before Double Trouble got entangled with Catra and her battle with the Princesses after the whole business with the portal. But, they did eventually learn the details of what happened. But if _this_ Catra left Etheria as part of those events, then this Catra never did meet them. Any advantage is an advantage, and so they keep their deep familiarity with Catra to themselves for now. It's hard to explain anyway.

"No, I don't think we _have_ met," they say, with a shake of their head. "I mistook you for somebody else I know. But still, you're from Etheria? Do you find it as unbearably dull here as I do? There's just no _magic_." Not entirely true, but as compared to Etheria, it sure is.

Catra has posed:
Catra stares at Double Trouble for a long moment; in her head, she's running the calculations, on wether or not this particular person can be truested. Wether or not they can be trusted as much as Catra ever trusts anyone. So far that's never gone well, afterall.

But even Catra can't go it entirely alone. In the end she just keeps eating her sushi, and shakes her head. "There's magic, just... not very much," she replies. "It's the fact that basically everyone here is an idiot. They all shuffle around in packs like they've had their brains disconnected, they're blind to everything, and if you haven't been told already, you have to make yourself look like one of them to go outside, 'cause if they see anyone different they'll all freak out," she finishes, waving her arms briefly up in the air.

"That's the part that sucks the most," she grumbles. "I could handle everything else, but having to go out disguised all the time is irritating in ways I can't describe. But, hey." She shrugs. "At least there's no princesses. Well, except Adora, I guess. She's here too."

Double Trouble has posed:
Double Trouble eats the rest of their burrito as they listen to Catra. They think for a moment after she finishes, too, chewing their last bite. There are so many ways to play this. "I figured that out very quickly when I arrived here. Thank goodness that witch found me," she says. The witch that told them Catra and Adora were here.

They reach into a pocket of their bodysuit and pull out a delicate silver necklace with a pink tourmaline pendant. "This right here puts me in my costume for attending the school," they say, and then they slip it on. And _poof_. They're no longer tall, green, and vaguely fearsome. They're smol, pink, and completely _adorable_, with their inky black hair pulled back and their green eyes wide as they smile. "I'm Dianora Lagorio!"

She leans into the table and grins. "There absolutely _are_ princesses here, Kitten. More than just blondie. They just don't call themselves that. I've heard some of the others call them _sparkle skirts_," she says. "The going theory is a lot of them attend Royal Heart Academy, and so I'm going to go make some friends!" She sounds disgustingly cute, but then, still sounding just as cute, she goes on to say, "And then exploit them toward my nefarious purposes."

Catra has posed:
"You have fun with that," Catra replies, on the prospect of going to Radiant Heart Academy. "I'm not going to go there and hang out with a bunch of idiots all day long." She keeps eating her sushi at a leasurely pace; afterall, if you rush your food, it makes it look like you're worried that someone might take it away. That you might get bulled. And Catra isn't worried that; she's got herself pretty convinced at this stage.

"But... hey. If you meet anyone interesting, at least, tell me about them? Then I'll know it'll be worth my time to mess with them later. ...I think Adora's going to that school too, so definitely tell me if she makes any friends."

of course, just assuming that someone will go and be your spy for you doesn't work, even when Catra was a Force Captain, and here she definitely isn't.

"Don't worry, I'll make it worth your while. ...Just... keep me in the loop, okay?" Maybe, going to the Academy suddenly seems like a good idea, but Catra's not about to admit that.

"I know about the sparkle skirts," she adds, "Just... I dunno. They sound even more ridiculous than princesses."

Double Trouble has posed:
"Right?! What kind of name is _Sailor Moon_ anyway?" That is the only sparkle skirt she's actually heard the name of, at least, that's what she thinks the name is. Hinoiri called her a lot of other names, too. She shakes her head. "They're all about _love_ and _friendship_ just like the Princess Alliance. They all think the same. And that's why I know that Dianora here is going to be _perfect_ for getting on the inside." She giggles.

"They won't know what hit 'em. They never do," she says, sounding so innocent, and yet so sinister at the same time.

She sits back on her seat and looks at Catra for a moment. It's funny because she's so much sorter as Dianora. Finally she says, "I'm not sure you actually can make it worth my while. You're not the sort of big player here you were in Etheria." She's so smol and cute, to hear her so plainly talking about this is a bit jarring. "But, we're both so far from home, and we've got to stick together. So, I'll keep an eye on your girlfriend for you."

Catra has posed:
Catra's lip curls up, "She's not my *girlfriend*," she spits, but maybe that's not the part that suddenly burned Catra so badly, and left her ears flat against her head and her claws out, just for a moment.

Just for a moment.

The volatile feline goes back to munching on her sushi, albeit with a somewhat more... determined method to her actions. There isn't much sushi left, and it's debatable if Catra is even enjoying it anymore, or just stuffing it into her mouth with military precision to get it over with.

"Maybe I'm not a 'big player' here yet, but neither are you," she points out. "But I can still curb-stomp the likes of any princess here, just like I could before. I started at the bottom in the Horde, I'll work my way up here too. Just wait." She pauses, and shrugs. "Just need to understand this world a little better first."

Double Trouble has posed:
"Oh, I'm never a big player, and that's how I'm _always_ a big player, Kitten," Dianora says, with a dismissive wave of her hand. She slides down off her chair, and then lifts the necklace up off her neck and just a moment later there stands Double Trouble again. They tuck the necklace away in the same pocket in their bodysuit it had been in before, and then look at Catra for a moment.

It's sad look in their eyes. They love to see heartbreak, especially when they cause it, but it's so painful to watch people get in their own way when it comes to their happiness. The sadness shifts to mischief, though, and they grin a little.

They change.

It's Adora standing there. Adora in her usual red jacket and white shirt and brown pants and boots. She's got her ponytail and poof. It's like she came here straight from Bright Moon. She leans in and reaches out with one finger and boops Catra on the nose if she can manage, then she backs away to heads toward the exit. "Let's catch up later. See you, Catra!"

Did she give that chameleon her name? She sure did not.

Catra has posed:
The most subtle of beings, Catra is not, and never has been. Maybe that's why she was outsmarted by Double Trouble before, and probably why it'll likely happen again. Not that Catra saw it coming before, and that likely hasn't changed either, no matter how good a tactician she might be.

Sometimes you just aren't in your element, afterall. She watches as the strange green person transforms again, to take on the visage of Adora, something that instantly makes Catra's hackles rise, even knowing it's not really her. "...Hey that's not fair, my disguise can only do one look," she protests half-heartedly. Is that really what she's upset about? It seems unlikely.

It's not until after Double Trouble has left, that the feline pieces together that Double Trouble knew her name -- and that in fact, she had not given it.