View source for 1826/Snitches and Stitches

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2024/08/03
|Location=Obsidian Tower
|Synopsis=Glimmer gets ambushed by Catra, after the feline misunderstands things she overheard and decides to make a proper fight of it; until the fight goes out of both of them and Glimmer needs stitches.
|Cast of Characters=102,230
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>It's been a few days since the battle in the abandoned part of town. The battle where She-Ra opened a portal, and... something happened, she went into it and came back... different. Catra isn't quite sure she can put her finger on different *how*, exactly, but certainly less... willing to want to see anything worthwhile in her. At least, that's the conclusion the feline is drawing. <br> <br> And she's hurting. <br> <br> Not just hurting over that, there are many things. Her mind is in a state of boiling turmoil, moving back and forth between one issue and another like a small vessel being tossed about in a stormy ocean. And most of these problems she can't even contemplate how to tackle. Adora hates her. Scorpia hates her. Rashmi probably hates her now. Hinoiri definitely does. Bow an his girlfriend, Blueberry or whatever, hates her. Oh, and Glimmer wants to kill her. <br> <br> Well that, that is a problem she can do something about. <br> <br> Takashi's been remodeling, and the Moonstone is in a room of its own now, somewhat better seperated from his office and his labs, which is probably going to work wonders for his peace and quiet. Right now, Catra is hanging out in said seperate room; hastily built, still with power cables hanging all over the place (and maybe one or two of which Catra has made sure are... accessible.) The feline is lounging on top of the runestone, in a position that would probably be uncomfortable for anyone who isn't a cat, waiting for the Queen to return. <br> <br> "Glimmer wants to kill me?" she mutters to nobody in particular. "Fine then. *Fine*. Come and take your best shot."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon wasn't handling things much better, to be honest. It was one thing to know her mother had died. To watch it happen? Oh, that had stung. And to see Horde Prime again? He was a monster. He was utterly terrifying. She was legitimately scared.<br><br>... And then for Adora to *die*. Sure, there was a new Adora. But... but that wasn't her Adora. The one they'd known. That was... a prior Adora. A different Adora.<br><br>Bow had died here. Now Adora had died here. There was a new one. And maybe Horde Prime was back. And it was all her fault. If she hadn't been selfish. If she hadn't been greedy. She'd had it all under control. She'd told herself that. But now? Now Adora was gone. This Adora was... someone else. Wasn't hers. Just like this Catra was wrong. Had she killed Catra? Had the same thing that happened to Adora... happened to Catra? What was she supposed to do here? So many things Bow had said played through her minds. Things that, at the time, hadn't made sense.<br><br>Had she killed Bow, too? What if... what if they were all... rewritten or... whatever, because of her? What if this wasn't them at all? She thought they were from a prior time, but what if they weren't? What if they were just...<br><br>... What if she'd killed all her friends? What if she'd broken Adora so terribly and...<br><br>With a flash, Glimmer appeared back in her room, up against the Moonstone... and sat down. A bag of chips in her hand, which she tore upen and just dug her hands into, grabbing a handful and then shoving them into her mouth. "Damn it."<br><br>"Damn it damn it damn it!" she said, before stuffing her hands into the bag again. "Stupid. All of it is so STUPID! It wasn't supposed to be like this. None of it was. It's not fair. We won. Why didn I have to ruin *everything*?"<br><br>Melog, meanwhile, glanced over at the girl, but lowered its head again a moment later. Not its problem.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>Oh, right, of course. Glimmer doesn't use doors. Expecting her to come in through the door was silly, she just teleports everywhere. Including into other people's rooms. (Catra's bed may, for the last few days, just have been arranged to deal with that. It's entirely possible she's piled up her furniture and has been sleeping under it, just in case Glimmer decides to teleport in and murder her in her sleep. You never can be too careful where Princesses are concerned.) <br> <br> But now, here is Glimmer, sitting beside the Moonstone, right there beneath her. And, it turns out, entirely oblvious to the fact that Catra is here. The feline glances towards the weird... panther... thing, sitting in the corner; but it doesn't seem over much to care what's going on anyway. Catra can respect that. Mind your own business and she'll mind hers. <br> <br> She looks down at Glimmer, debating how long she wants to let her ramble on about her problems. How long does she want to be entertained by this? On another day, she might've just sat there and waited to be noticed. <br> <br> Not today. <br> <br> "Hey, Glimmer," she calls down. And there it is; poisoned honey rolling off her lips. "Oh, what a shame, the great leader of the Princess Alliance reduced to bawling against her Runestone in a glorified broom closet. What do you miss most? Your palace? Your friends?" Her eyes narrow. "Your *Mother*? Maybe if she'd been a better fighter, you wouldn't have had to go and screw everything up so badly."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>"Oh by the Moon's," Glimmer said, shaking her head. "Listen, Catra, I know you make a habit out of being the biggest pain in the-- What did you just say?" she asked, looking up, her eyes narrowed.<br><br>Then, she stopped, and took a slow, deep breath. "You know what? No. I. Forgive you. Catra. Just go away. Okay? I know you don't understand why this hurts and I know even if you did you wouldn't care, but no. Just. Go. Away."<br><br>She put the bag next to herself and just pulled her knees to her chest. "... Go make someone else's day miserable. Maybe the new Adora's. She probably doesn't remember anything either. Or maybe you can go join Horde Prime. Last time you nearly sold Adora out to him, maybe this time you can succeed," Glimmer said, her voice practically dripping with venom and loathing.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>"Oh! Oh *ho*," Catra calls down triumphantly. "Hit a little sore spot, did we Sparkles? Oh no. I'm not leaving. I've been waiting to get you all alone for a few days now. We could have done this in the Abandoned Quarters when Adora was busy remixing herself like some bad music, but I didn't want to do that. I wanted you to *myself*. One on one. Horde Soldier to Princess." <br> <br> The feline bounces up to her feet, which would look extremely precarious atop the runestone if she were human, but she makes it look effortless. "I heard you wanted to kill me," she hisses, all the mirth draining from her voice; she reaches up, grabs a bundle of power cables, and pulls. The lights flicker out; somewhere an alarm goes off, and in the darkness above the soft glow of the runestone are two glowing eyes, one yellow and one turquise. The lights flicker back on, to show Catra grinning joylessly down at Glimmer; then they're off again. <br> <br> And when they come back on, Catra is gone, at least from the top of the Runestone. <br> <br> "Take your best shot," comes her voice from her newest hiding spot. <br> <br> "And then I'll take mine."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon growled at Catra's taunts. "Catra... I'm warning you..." she said, taking a slow, deep, annoyed breath. "You're going down a road you don't want, Catra."<br><br>Deep, slow breath. She looked up, though. "Catra. I'm not going to kill you. I've killed enough of my friends now that--" And then Catra grabbed the bundles. And yanked them down...<br><br>"Fine then," she said. "Do you really want my best shot?"<br><br>She got to her feet before turning to the stone. She held out her hand and the stone glowed. She started to draw strange symbols in the air... and then... a portal appeared?<br><br>No. It was an illusion. A small sphere. Allowing Catra to see... Into a garden? No. It was Glimmer's garden? Glimmer was standing in it...<br><br>"I... the queen demands your help," the her in the small circle said.<br><br>"I see, and what is it I can do for you?" Shadow Weaver asked, from the circle.<br><br>"I need your help. Help me *think* like Catra so I can understand her next move before she does, before anybody else gets hurt," Glimmer said.<br><br>"Think like Catra?" Shadow Weaver asked. "A waste. I told you, you're more powerful than you know," the dark mage said. "Allow me to show you how you find Catra..."<br><br>And then she'd be able to see it. Shadow Weaver. Taking Glimmer's hand. In a gesture that belied a gentleness that the woman had only *ever* shown adora. NEVER Catra. Not. Even. Once. And still. Shadow Weaver. Helped. Glimmer. Treated her almost like a *daughter*. Taught her a spell...<br><br>A spell that Glimmer would then use to try and find the cat, before launching a blinding orb of light at her face, intending to send her back and into the wall.<br><br>The tear stains in Glimmer's eyes glistening in the light of her glowing fists. "When we last fought, in your mind, Catra... I was so much *weaker*. I was the princess who needed to *Recharge*. If you fight me, I will *destroy you.*"<br><br>Though, admittedly, she suspected the illusion would hurt so much worse than the blast... More importantly? She *wanted* it to hurt. And for it to drive her *on*.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>Catra might be hiding from Glimmer; but Glimmer isn't hiding from Catra, and the feline can see everything. And there it all is, on full display. Shadow Weaver. Being Kind. TO GLIMMER. To the enemy. To what she'd been training Catra to fight (when she wasn't abusing or threatening to kill her) since she was old enough to crawl. Kind, in ways she had <br> <br> Never <br> <br> Been <br> <br> To Catra. <br> <br> And then she's hit in the face with an orb of bright light, right when she didn't expect it, hidden in the shadows as she was. She feels herself slammed into the wall, her vision turns to stars, and she ends up on her knees, holding her forehead. But it isn't really the spell that hurt. <br> <br> "...So what," she gasps, "Shadow Weaver had a big heart full of love for everyone *except me*? Did she bake you a cake as well?" She stands up, first to one knee and then to her feet, and shakes her head. The stars are still dancing in her vision; so for the moment, she fights blind. But that's fine. The lights are still on the fritz, and she can hear Glimmer just fine. <br> <br> "That's a neat trick," she concedes, but she's already on a path now, and this path has nowhere to get off and it leads only to destruction. "But you know what... you probably think I'm weak, too. But I've learned since I got here, Sparkles. Now let me show you." <br> <br> As she speaks, her illusory doubles split off from her; one dashes off to the left, and one moves to the right, leaving her in the middle, still doing her best to blindly hide in the shadows; she draws the hilt of Powersend and manifests the blade, and then she and her doubles all conjure orbs of smoking, black energy; something she's asserted the will to do again, after Sailor Moon's cleansing of her. Luckily, that didn't stick. <br> <br> All three Catras close their hands around the energy, and then fire beams from their palms into the middle of the room; all of them aimed to criss-cross about where she thinks Glimmer is. Where she last heard her squeaky, annoying voice from.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon sighs and shook hr head. "Oh, Shadowweaver taught me a ton of tricks. She really took training me to heart. Maybe you can use some of the tricks she taught you against *me*."<br><br>"Oh wait, she never taught you *anything*, now did she? Do you know why? Because you--"<br><br>And then, she stops herself. Because Catra.... this wasn't Catra. Not the one she knew. And that line... The line dimmed. "Shadow Weaver never had a heart for anyone but herself. She--"<br><br>And then there were beams of darkness. She held up both her arms, forming an X over herself and letting out a shriek as the beams hit her... But, well. She'd intended that.<br><br>Because now she knew which one was real. A moment later she was gone, the beam continuing on past her, blowing a hole through the wall... And she was over Catra. And she tried to punch her, her fist erupting into a blast of explosive light. "So, what, you're supposed to be the new Shadowweaver now? I already knew about the illusions, Catra! Maybe if you apologize I'll even be nice enough to remind you where you LEARNED IT!"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>"I'LL NEVER APOLOGIZE!" Catra snarls; she whirls as she hears Glimmer teleporting up above her, moving to take the worst of it with her shoulder. Well, better than taking it to the face, at least. And now Glimmer can probably see her sword; wreather in purple energy, which swings in a wide arc as Catra keeps spinning after the punch. A blade that she brings around for a swift, vicious cut in Glimmer's direction. It's still a blind attack, and Catra is operating purely off of what she can hear. But she can hear quite a bit. <br> <br> "I learned this from a friend!" she snarls, "A friend I almost *killed* afterwards, because someone tricked me with fake orders from the board, and the people I *warned* that they needed to be protecting her, like your stupid Bow, *Weren't up to the task!*" She lets her illusions collapse in on her, and then they split off again, all running in different directions. Well. Blindly. Her vision is still improving after hte burst of light in the pitch darkness, and she already had extremely sensitive vision to begin with. <br> <br> "I heard you talking to Takashi," she snaps. "I *heard you*, Princess. Or should I say *Queen*? How's Brightmoon doing without you, do you think?" <br> <br> Catra and her doubles once again draw shadow energy into themselves, and she fires three beams, all pretty much cutting into the wall around her. But, this time, all three beams are quite real.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon froze, then.<br><br>'I'll never apologize!'<br><br>'What about you?' Glimmer had asked.<br><br>"Me? All I do is hurt people. There's no one left in the entire universe who cares about me," Catra had said.<br><br>'ADORA! I'm sorry! For everything!'<br><br>And Glimmer didn't follow up the strike. She really should have. Instead? That blade struck her, cutting a deep gash in her side and she disappeared in a flash of sparkles, letting out a hiss of pain, a hand moving to hold her bloody side.<br><br>"The war's over, Catra. Or it should be," Glimmer snapped. "Horde Prime *lost*. Believe it or not? Brightmoon doesn't *need me* anymore. I was the queen they needed for a war. I was never the queen they needed for a... oh, what's even the point? Does anything I say even *matter* to you?!" She held up both her hands, forming a barrier of pink, blinding light. "You've only ever listened to me one. Damn. Time. In your entire life! Even when you joined us you seemed to care more about annoying Adora than ever working with us! I might as well be talking to a wall, shouldn't I?" she asked, getting driven back by the beams, skidding along the ground.<br><br>"You almost destroyed our world, but I forgave you! You took my mother from me, and I hated you! And now you're like that ALL OVER AGAIN! I thought you were a friend, I thought you were someone I could care about! And you... wait, what? You... warned to... protect them?" And then her concentration flickered. And the barrier wavered and one of the barriers pierced it, sending her back into the wall with a shriek.<br><br>She crumbled to the ground, punching her fist into the ground. "Grrrrrr..."<br><br>On the one hand, she wanted to destroy this girl. On the other hand, she was hurt and... and now she was uncertain. A hand moved to her side and came back with blood. She gave a soft sigh.<br><br>If she heard... what she said to Takashi, though... Did that mean she knew? And if she had tried to... help someone, who she'd been tasked with hurting, was that part of Catra still in there? Did it even matter? "I'm sorry, Catra. I'm sorry for what I did to you, okay? I'm sorry for what I did to everyone. I *swear* I never meant for this to happen. I swear I didn't want everyone to get hurt... I swear I didn't want... I didn't want to lose Adora. I'm sorry, okay?! I'm sorry... I just... I just..."<br><br>"I couldn't... I couldn't let the opportunity slide away. I couldn't... lose her again... I thought I'd be the only one affected by this. I didn't know it'd hurt you..." Admittedly, she didn't even know if Catra would hear this. Or was listening.<br><br>"... I don't want to hurt you now... If there's any part of you, that part who was trapped with me on Horde Prime's ship... just... walk... away..." she pleaded with her.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>"Shut up shut up SHUT UP!" Catra snarls with rage, blinded as figuratively as she is literally. She draws more enrgy, firing it off randomly; more or less in Glimmer's direction, but the angrier she gets, the less precise her aim becomes. Her doubles are doing likewise, of course, but with even less accuracy. As Catra draws more and more energy, she draws too much; a common mistake she's been making, as she's extremely new to this act of doing magic. The veins under the skin on her hands start to glow, with the effect slowly working its way up her arms as they are wreathed in shadowy energy, all as she's preparing a big spell. <br> <br> A spell that doesn't come. She just stands there, holding on to the energy, and blinking her eyes as her vision slowly comes back. <br> <br> "Yeah, I warned them," she snaps. "So what? I didn't want to kill Hinoiri but the *board sent orders*. So I warned Rashmi and told her to bring her stupid friends, and all she brought was Bow and some stupid Blueberry so I had to let them hit me so I could lose, because they're all BAD AT FIGHTING." <br> <br> Catra lifts her free hand halfway to her face, before realizing that with the amount of shadow energy she's holding, rubbing her eyes might be a bad idea. Instead, she just shakes her head, and walks with the sword up in front of her to put Glimmer's own runestone between her and the Queen. <br> <br> "I don't know anything about Horde Prime or his ship, I just know Hordak was trying to contact him," she growls. "That was what I pulled the switch for. Even though..." She pauses, and lets out a long, frustrated sound. "Listen *Princess*. Stop trying to talk me into being a good person, alright? I'M NOT. I pulled the lever even though I KNEW it could end the world. Entrapta warned me! But I didn't *Care*. And I only heard part of what you said to Takashi, but I didn't *Care* about that either. You know why? Because I'm what Shadow Weaver made me! I'm what YOU and your Princess Alliance made me, a horrible, evil little monster, and, and," <br> <br> Catra trails off for a second. <br> <br> "AND ALL I DO IS HRUT PEOPLE ALRIGHT? There's literally nobody who cares about me. So skip your fake apologies! Why are you even here?!" <br> <br> Catra lets her doubles dissipate; and the energy she's holding, she fires off into the walls; walls that blast outwards and creak and groan loudly in protest of what's just happened. Her veins are still glowing, but she isn't holding any energy anymore; just a glowing Katana. "So I killed your Mother when I opened the portal? Well..." Well I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I didn't want to do it. I didn't have a choice. I had to do it. I thought I had to do it. *I'm sorry*. It wasn't what I meant to happen. <br> <br> "Well, GOOD," she snaps. And as her vision clears enough for her to see her way, she spins on her heel, making for the door. "Don't follow me, Sparkles. Just... Just don't."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon was breathing heavier... It hurt. It hurt. She felt some small tears welling up in her eyes. She remembered this. She'd... seen this side of Catra. She knew that side of Catra. And she knew something else...<br><br>She listened, and well... Catra... just admitted to going against the board. How upset was she? How hurt was she? And did she know that...<br><br>"I know you're not a *good person* Catra!" Glimmer yelled. "I know you're a nasty, vicious little monster who will do anything to win! I know because when you pushed our backs to the fire *I almost destroyed the world* in order to STOP YOU! I was so desperate to win... that I went against Bow, and Adora, and almost destroyed our world and brought Horde Prime to our doorstep."<br><br>"... That's why I don't hate you. Because... when things got bad enough I was no better. I betrayed my friends. I lied. I almost destroyed the world. I listened to Shadow Weaver and Light Hope. I was every single bit the monster you were. And I... I'd do it again..."<br><br>"... I don't hate you, Catra. I *pity* you. Because I had to be you for a few days and it nearly destroyed me. It nearly destroyed my home. It nearly cost us everything. When I followed you, it wasn't Bow, or Adora, or the princess alliance who rescued me. It was you."<br><br>"... If I hated you... I'd have to hate myself more... But I imagine if anyone knows what that feels like it'd be *you*," Glimmer said, slowly climbing to her feet and limping to the moonstone, laying her forehead against it. She was so, so tired. So angry. And it hurt. It hurt so... MUCH!<br><br>"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she finally screamed, turning and blowing a burning white laser through the wall outside, unleashing her fury and pain in a single, vicious blast.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>Catra hears every word of what Glimmer says; even if she were all the way down the hall, she'd have heard it, but she's still here. The glowing in her veins is slowly cooling off. It definitely looks painful, and judging by the way she's flexing her fingers, it doesn't just *look* painful. The feline turns around to look at Glimmer; to look at her, and take in the absolute mess she's made of her, bleeding and scorched as she is. She stares at her, emotionless; expressionless. Her face just blank. <br> <br> And then she turns on her heel, and stalks out the door, banishing the blade and pocketing the hilt. There's not a sound as she walks out, her feet carrying her away silently. <br> <br> She's gone for almost five minutes, before reappearing in the doorway. She walks up to Glimmer with a dour expression, until she stands over her, looking down at where she is, up against the rune stone; and she drops something on the floor beside her. A first aid kit. <br> <br> "Sit still," she commands, in a sharp, impatient tone of voice. "I've patched myself up plenty of times. I know what I'm doing."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon slammed a fist on the Moonstone, the tears streaming down her face. Hated. Her. Hated them. Hated herself. It wasn't... Why did it all have to go this way? "I never wanted this," she whispered to the stone. "I'm just another big disappointment, aren't I? I just... ruined everything."<br><br>"... I was never as brave as you thought I was..." she whispered, more tears streaming down her face. At least it wasn't bleeding too bad. Maybe she'd be fine. Maybe...<br><br>She dropped to her knees and sighed, glancing around the wrecked room. Oh, whatever. They were lucky they didn't take out the whole floor. Stupid. She was so STUPID! She should have known Catra would be able to use dark energy, and now apparently have a sword. She should have known better than to hesitate against her. It wasn't the Catra she knew. This was the little terrible monster who killed her mother and almost destroyed their world and had Double Trouble trick all of them and just...<br><br>And then there was more walking and she whipped around. "I'm fi--" she said, the words catching in her throat. Well... if anyone knew how not fine she was, it'd be Catra. The girl was borderline the queen of 'I'm fine'.<br><br>"..." She gave a small sigh and then turned, back to the stone. "Fine..." she muttered. The wound... wasn't too deep. Hurt, though. Lots of blood. "Sword's new, you used a whip last time we fought. I preferred the whip, annoying as it was, it was less stabby."<br><br>What she meant was 'Thank you', but there was no way she was saying that to Catra right now.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>Catra sits down beside Glimmer and unzips the first aid kit. She sets out a few things, keeping them inside the kit so as not to touch the floor, before peeling back Glimmer's clothes to expose the wound she made. That *she* made. She did this. Just now, with her sword. Because she's an evil little monster who hurts people, because she made a mistake, and Glimmer probably never meant to hurt her at all. <br> <br> But she did. Shouldn't it be her fault? Why should she care if Glimmer is bleeding. ...Because... Because it's making a damn mess, that's why. <br> <br> "This will sting," she mumbles, as she rips open a packet with a disinfectant wipe in it, which she uses to clean the wound. And it does sting. It stings like being slapped by an offended jellyfish. Catra's fingers are surprisingly gentle as she works, though; even if it's about as pleasant as... Well it's unpleasant. <br> <br> "This is gonna hurt as well," she informs Glimmer, as she next picks up... is that a needle and thread? "Do you think you can tough it out or do I need to hit you real hard in the head and knock you out first?" <br> <br> The feline threads the needle in one go, and then sits there, looking down at Glimmer. "The whip was fun. I ever tell you how I got it? Hordak sent me to the Crimson Wastes to die after Shadow Weaver escaped. I took it from someone there. Then I used it to beat Adora." She sighs. "I wish I'd stayed there. But I didn't and here we are."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon gave a small nod. "I'll be fine, go ahead. I've been sewn up before." It didn't stop her from hissing, though. Each time she felt the disinfectant wipe washing over it. She didn't complain, though. Didn't tell her to stop.<br><br>"Nnnnng... honestly... no, you hadn't. Really? That... explains so much. Only you could go to the Crimson Wastes and end up stealing from them."<br><br>Pause. Blink a few times. "... That actually explains why the people there crumbled to the Horde so quickly after that."<br><br>"... Wait, does that mean you had only been using a whip for like... a few *weeks* when we fought?! Oh, that's just, ow! Great. So, I will deny this under a truth spell, but you literally jumped off a suspended bridge to avoid getting blasted by me, and then managed to snag me with that blasted whip of yours while in a forty foot freefall. How did you learn how to use the blasted thing OW that fast?"<br><br>"... I mean, sure, throwing off my aim like that ended up with me bringing the whole hideout down on our heads, but *damn*."<br><br>"... Stupid as it is, I kind of miss the Crimson Wastes too. I mean, aside from the like... constant deathtraps. And fauna that could kill you. And the flora that could kill you." Pause. "Ow... actually, I don't think I actually miss it at all... next time I went there after that... I was busy doing meetings all day and all of the fighting was over by the time I got there, I didn't get to do any of the butt kicking AND I got yelled at for skipping out on an important 'management' meeting."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>"I'm fast," Catra explains, as if that... explains everything. "I'm a cat, Glimmer, my reaction times are way faster than pretty much anyone else's, a whip is a weapon that might as well have been made for me." She pauses, focusing as she pushes the needle through Glimmer's skin and out the other side, so she can start sewing the wound back together. And, she does a surprisingly good job of it. <br> <br> "And, I memorized your patterns," she adds. "Which you've just shown me are different now. But before I had you down to every move." She shrugs, before moving on to the next stitch. "Don't feel bad. It's the same way I beat Shadow Weaver. I memorized her pattersn and dodged her magic until I could break her mask and have Scorpia through her in a cell. All those years... she was just teaching me how to beat her." She sighs audibly. "I cannot... tell you how satisfying that was." <br> <br> Catra falls silent after that, and just works on the stitches. One after another. Painstakingly tied, with more or less perfect little knots; and for all the care she's putting in, she's not slow. She just has to wipe her hands every now and then. <br> <br> "What was it like, growing up in a castle?" she asks. "Mostly we just did combat training, and ate gross food, and got yelled at by Shadow Weaver." Her eyes narrow. "Well. *I* got yelled at by Shadow Weaver. Adora was her perfect little prodigy."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon gave a light snort. "Oh, please, that's not my combat patterns. I don't even *know* my combat patterns. And if I don't know them, how can I expect the enemy to figure them out?" ... It was a distressingly evil method. She let out another hiss of pain when the needle went through again.<br><br>"... That does sound satisfying, though. You know when you kidnapped me the first time? I managed to teleport and punch her in the face *so hard*. I ended up like... getting... all damaged from her magic after it, but sooooo worth. Would definitely punch her again." Ahhhh, fond memories. "She was a terrible person, though. She... always knew what to say to make you think, just maybe, she'd help you. That, maybe, there was something almost like a soul behind that mask... That, maybe, she wasn't just using you in the end. So of course I fell for it like an, ow, idiot."<br><br>"... So, I know it's going to sound stupid... but... lonely," Glimmer mumbled. "I didn't... do much combat training. After dad... well... the princess alliance fell apart. Mom... wanted to keep me safe. I spent most of my time in my room and just... more or less ignored. Turns out when you're the daughter of an immortal queen? Nobody ever expects you to matter. Guards kind of stare at you. Mother was too busy for me. Felt... a lot like being in a prison sometimes, just a nicer one." Pause. "Food was good, at least. It... really wasn't until Bow kind of... came into my life that I was able to do things. I started rebelling. Learned how to fight, proved I could be useful... pissed off my mom soooooo much." She then gave a light snort. "I don't think I'd have gotten away with as much as I did, if not for Bow. Mom loved him. Everyone loves Bow..." And there it was, a small, slightly saddened look in her eyes. "... Things got better for me, though. Meeting the other princesses. The alliance. It was... nice. Scary, but nice."<br><br>"... You ever have to sneak out after curfew, too?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:102|Catra (102)}} has posed:'''<br>"Regularly." Catra keeps working on stitches, but it looks like she's almost finished. "Wait, 'ow'? Big baby. Come on, this is nothing." The feline clips off another stitch, and tugs a little more thread of the spool for the next one. "You'll be completely healed by tomorrow. ...Anyway, sneaking out was easy, Horde Soldiers on patrol aren't usually looking out for a couple eight year old brats sneaking out of the walls. Or in, for that matter. And it's not like Adora and I really had to coordinate anything, I slept at the end of her bunk, so we were always together pretty much." <br> <br> Catra finally finishes the last stitch. She dumps the needle and thread back in the kit, and gets a bandage and a roll of gauze. "So make sure," she states as she gets another disinfectant wipe and cleans off the wound area again before she starts bandaging it up and winding gause around it, "You keep it clean, or you'll get infected and then you'll hate your life."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:230|Glimmer Brightmoon (230)}} has posed:'''<br>Glimmer Brightmoon gave a light snicker and nodded. "Yeah, it was really cute when you two did that. And really? It... no, actually, considering the number of times we broke in and had to fight you people, the guards there really weren't the best. Like, they were okay? But just... we got the drop on them so often and I was *not* the most subtle when I uhhh... started." Pause. "I got better."<br><br>Glimmer nodded to the instructions. "Keep it clean, I can... probably do that. No mud wrestling or anything." She leaned back, giving a soft, exhausted sigh.<br><br>"... And... it's not true, by the way. That nobody cares about you. That nobody can care about you. Believe it or not... I... screwed up... all the time... hurt... a lot of people."<br><br>"... And sometimes they don't forgive you. And sometimes... you can't... forgive yourself..."<br><br>"... Just... I guess... I know what it's like to not be a good person. And... I know what it's like to feel so much anger and hate in a dark moment that... you do things you regret. And things you wish you could undo... and things that, despite that, you'd do them again. So... I guess what I'm saying... is you're totally Horde Scum, but you're not the worst monster I've ever met."<br><br>'I'm sorry and thanks for helping sew me up after what you did to me, I guess, baka'.<br> <br>
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