2595/What's a couple knees between friends

What's a couple knees between friends
Date of Scene:	06 June 2025
Location:	Nurses Office/Infirmary
Synopsis:	Catra is stuck in the school infirmary, wondering how she got there and why her knes show up when her solitude gets interupted by Mamoru and Hinoiri. At least they're nice people nd they came to be nice. And make sure she's okay.
Cast of Characters:	Mamoru Chiba, Catra, Hinoiri Kirara

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Mamoru Chiba has posed:
It's after school. Someone in a cat-print navy yukata with 'neko' and 'nyan' written all over it in gold pops his pink-tipped black-haired head in the door of the infirmary. It's Mamoru. He pushes his glasses up and steps in. "Sorry," he calls, "Did you want some more magical healing? It occurred to me I should check on you because I don't know how good Adora's healing is."

Catra has posed:
Catra is currently alone in the Infirmary, up until the moment Mamoru shows up. That much is obvious just from the fact that the second he opens the door he can hear the obnoxious music blaring from her earbuds all the way to the door. That definifely wouldn't fly with even one more person in the room, obviously.

The feline herself is laying on a cot, wearing some school-issue pajamas, and is thumbing through a comic book when Mamoru sees her. She lowers said comic book to look over the top of it, and then lowers the volume on her music. For a moment, she just stares, looking balefully in his direction, obvious to the point of it being painful how much her mind is at war with herself.

She DOES want more healing because she can't hardly stand at the moment.

She DOES NOT want company at this particular moment.

Something seems to settle it, and maybe it's the lack of a black moon on his forehead. She sighs, turning her head to look up at the ceiling as she tosses the comic book on the floor, finally shuts off the music entirely and winds the earbuds around her phone, and lays there, struggling to come to terms with how vulnerable she is in this particular moment.

Vulnerability which, where she comes from, is very definitely, Not. Allowed.

"Sure," she mumbles, exuding a deep sullenness, followed by "...Thanks."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
*Thump*.

There was the sound of something hitting the wall outside.

Followed a moment later by the window getting shaken... then heavy footsteps, then skidding, then the door opening and... Hinoiri coming barreling into the room. Face... slightly red. Hair a bit out of place.

And there was... a bit of soda-can-youma pop-top still in her hair. "Catra! Are you okay? I heard you got hurt, what happened? Are you okay? Who hurt you? Hey Mamoru, what happened? I--" And then she came to a stop.

Well. She stopped moving. But she didn't actually stop so much as she stopped moving her body. She continued to skid along a few feet, but, luckily, the floor was clean (ish) enough and she managed to NOT slam into anything else. Yayyyyy. Instead walking back, slowly.

"... Do you want some me to get you anything? I have tuna." Yes. She does, in fact, carry tuna with her. She actually pulled out a can from her bag.

... Believe it or not? It actually was not related to Catra.

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The prince is very patient right now-- maybe it's the full night's no-nightmares no-dark-energy sleep he finally got when New Moon told him to take a break. So he waits, thumbs hooked in his obi, leaning his back against the doorframe.

When Catra makes up her mind and agrees, he finally walks over, pulling the visitor chair closer to the bed Catra's in. He offers his hand.

Hinoiri comes running then skidding then sliding in, and Mamoru's eyebrows go up. "Calm down, she'll be a lot more all right in a few minutes."

He waits until she takes it and the sense of home and welcome and quiet sunny stillness has drifted into place along with an anaesthetic effect that strips the pain away while he's working... before he says, "New Moon works for Wicked Lady, and Wicked Lady is a corrupted Chibiusa."

Catra has posed:
Coming into the room and getting a closer look at Catra, both Mamoru and Hinoiri will note three things: Below the hem of the pajama shorts her legs are basically purple, and her knees are swolen up like a couple of bowling balls; her teeth are tightly gritted from the way she moves a moment earlier; and her hair is consierably shorter, like she got the most shoddy haircut possible on everything that was formerly there below the shoulders.

"New Moon happened," she growls, ears flattening as she lays back on the cot after looking up to talk. "Or my stupid impulsive self happened. I don't know. Take your pick." She sighs, and reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose; afterwards, her voice softens.

"Hey, Hinoiri."

Mamoru's hand is offered, and she hesitates for a moment before taking it. And while she'll feel the calmness, the welcomenss, what Mamoru gets in return is a boiling cauldron of emotions; at first it's just... rage, all encompassing and all consuming. But the rage isn't all there is; it's a shell, around pain and sorrow and grief and... fear. A great deal of fear.

But not just fear, it's more like terror.

"Tuna'd be great," Catra mumbles; and a single tear tolls down her cheek, quickly brushed away by the back of her hand. Nobody noticed. They didn't.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small nod, reaching down and popping open the tuna and... yes, there were crackers, holding them out to her. "Vending machine youma," she said after a youma. "Guess they are good for something." Pause. "I... I left some yen," she said quickly. She didn't just steal the food, after all.

"Yeah... Wicked Lady... the squirt actually went and did it... huh. Really actually started going and redoing all of our poor choices," she mumbled softly. "All the greatest hits. Here's hoping she doesn't try to eat the moon, at least." She would, at least, not try to feet Catra. Her hands worked and she knew that being independent was important to Catra.

"... So, she's some new dark general type then, I take it? Trying to set an 'example', I take it?" she asked, looking down at Catra's legs. "... Geez, and I thought what I did to Rashmi was bad..." she muttered softly. "... And before you ask, Mamoru, no, I won't do something reckless like trying to go get a vengeancing or anyting..." But, if the opportunity presented itself... it wasn't like she wouldn't take the chance to deck this 'New Moon' out. "So, what, is Chibiusa trying to make this girl her new mom or something, replace her mom with her or something?"

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
The violent swell of roiling emotions doesn't hurt the healer, and he doesn't flinch. He just starts to work, quietly, eyes closed as he reduces inflammation, helps the broken blood vessels repair, gently diffuses and disperses any blood hanging out where it's not supposed to be, and then starts working on damaged tendons, damaged cartilage, slaps some more regeneration on that bone... it'll take a bit.

He leans in, opens his eyes, and murmurs, "I'm sorry, I can tell how you feel right now. Is the worst feeling something I can help with? Also, offer's still open."

Then he sits up again and glances to Hinoiri before closing his eyes to help focus, again. "Nah. We're hoping for a mass purification at the wedding. Fix Wicked Lady and New Moon. So if you'd like to bring your non-burny fire with you, that'd be cool. You're coming to the wedding too, Catra, right?"

But there's more. "She's a new dark general, yeah. She's about Hematite strength. Wicked Lady is about Beryl strength. And she wasn't trying to set an example-- it was retaliation. I could explain the whole thing but I'm busy. Also important: New Moon is someone very precious, so even though you're going to fight her, please don't actually try to kill her. I don't have the Silver Crystal -- I can't bring her back, like Usagi brought me back."

A sigh. "They're both currently trying to replace Chibiusa's mom with her. Chibiusa brainwashed her and crammed her full of dark energy."

Catra has posed:
Catra takes the tuna; gingerly, she's moving the most carefully that Hinoiri or Mamoru have ever seen, as she loads up a cracker and puts it in her mouth. At least she can manage to do that one handed, while she's finalyl getting some relief, and she stares at the ceiling while she eats.

"Yeah I'll come," she mumbles. With the healing, and the absence of judgement that she thought was coming, the feline manages to relax, if only just a little; the rage remains present, in place like a castle rampart aorund all of her vulnerabilities. "I don't..."

She sighs, and holds on to the tuna for the moment without eating any more of it yet. "I don't know if anyone can help."

"I don't know what a silver crystal is either." She tilts her head, looking sideways at Hinoiri for a moment, then back up at the ceiling. "I don't do purifying fire, except like... purifying something by turning it into ash. But I'll..." she lets out her breath, "Do my best," she mutters.

"I didn't mean to cut her hair. That part was an accident. I was really just gonig for the door." She shrugs her shoulders, "Because... she was... What she said..." She swallows audibly. "Anyway I was just going for the door. ...If I gotta get to this wedding to save Chibs I'll do it."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara let out a groan. "Great. Hematite level. So on a very, very good day I could take her..." She hadn't had a 'very good day' like that since she'd been Sunbreaker, honestly. At least, not for long. Those kind of power ups tended to be rare and short lived.

"And Beryl level huh? That's... not good. That kind of dark energy is about the point where you start to snap. That's where I snapped," Hinoiri said, just a hint nervously. "How much of Chibiusa is still in there? And yeah. My purifying is definitely going to be coming... but we're going to need a lot to purify that much..."

She gave a small smile to Catra. "Catra? All you need to do right now is rest. Purifying is a different kind of magic. You can't do it, that's okay... It's like in Kirakirafantastica. You don't ask a pegasus to telekinesis, like you don't ask a unicorn to fly. If we have a Hematite and a Beryl level threat... gonna take a lot just to make sure we don't kill them and can purify them..." she muttered. "Ugh... That much dark energy, though... That kid can't be making the best choices right now... I remember what it was like when I was in that state..."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"I had no idea what you were thinking, at the time," Mamoru tells Catra wryly. "The Silver Crystal is like a runestone and a soul gem combined, and its great powers are purification and restoration. When Usako's heart is full of determination and everything she is, and everything lines up, she can work great miracles; she can put things to rights."

His voice lowers a little, "First, I bet you're wrong about no one helping, unless it's your hair. Nobody can help that, sorry, we've looked. But it would look cute even shorter." He reaches up to rub his eyes one after the other, and says in a more normal voice, "Second, I'm afraid of fire, it's a trigger, but I'm working on it. Sorry if I react if you have to use it near me suddenly. Third, when I'm done you'll be able to bend your knees, but you'll probably need crutches for a couple of days. I'll be done in another two minutes, ish."

He doesn't let go of Catra's hand, but Mamoru half gets up to push his chair back against the wall, and leans his head against the wall when he sits back down. "Small Lady is still in there, but her compassion is cut off and she's not very sane. Right now I'm the load-bearing outboard sanity for both of them, which is why I can't help against them in fights, and why I'm staying with them."

Catra has posed:
"Bending my knees is nice," Catra admits. "I don't like being stuck in bed like this. ...This sucks." The feline getes back to the tuna and crackers, letting Mamoru continue doing his work on her legs. They do, perhaps, look a bit less purple for it. "I don't care about my hair. It'll grow back. ...Whatever, it's only hair anyway, it's not important."

It is important.

Catra takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly. "Fire is kinda my thing now," she mumbles. "I'm not really using dark energy any more. I can, I just... haven't. I'll try not to use it without warning you but I can't promise anything."

Catra's eyes look sideways at Hinoiri, and she swallows audibly. "Hinoiri, I..." she gets two words out and trails off, before looking back up at the ceiling. "...Nevermind, it's... not important right now."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a soft sigh before reaching a hand out and giving Catra's arm a soft, gentle squeeze. "Catra?" she said softly. "You look cute with short hair, but still sucks. Nobody should do this to you, ever. It's wrong. And... I'm sorry I wasn't there to help. Even if I couldn't have stopped it, I wish I could have been there to have at least tried."

"... Dark energy sucks, it burns, it makes you hurt, it ruins your ability to make good choices, it gets everywhere, and it just... sucks."

"... And... I'm here. If you don't want to say it? Whatever you wanted to say? You don't have to. But if you want to? You can. I'm here. Even if it's silly, or not important... if it's important to you? Then it's important to me. Because you're important to me. And not just because... you know. But because you're my friend."

She then glanced to Mamoru before then looking to her legs, then back up to her eyes. "And... if you're worried I won't be able to understand... how it feels... or... that you can't open up to me about it... trust me... I have some experience... so... go ahead. I'm here for you, as much as you need me." Pause. "Well. I may have to go and get a chair at some point, depending on how long you need me, of course. I'd like... sit on the bed but I really don't want to jostle you at all if I can avoid it..."

Mamoru Chiba has posed:
"While no one should do that," Mamoru says to Hinoiri mildly, "and it was an accident because she was going for the door, Catra did cut off a braid of hair that was grown naturally for sixteen years and reached New Moon's ankles-- it was long as Usako's. And I can't heal hair. And New Moon is the maid of honor. I didn't want to get into it, but you have to understand that Catra fucked around and found out. But at least," he adds, "you can rest assured that she wouldn't have busted your knees like that if I hadn't been there to heal them. Then Adora did, I thought, which is why I left."

Mamoru's hand is still holding Catra's, and she can feel that he is not actually judging her, and he did feel sort of awkward bringing it up, but he wants Catra to understand, too. There's the impression that if she wants more information on it she can ask him.

He squeezes her hand and lets go. "There. They're healed, just very fragile and tender, and you should probably take lots of vitamins and calcium supplements for a couple weeks." Then Mamoru gets up. "You can have my seat, and you can talk about it without me here, if that's easier. I know you two are close." He knows they're dating. He also knows he was just uncomfortable socially at them.

There's a swift line of self-lighting charcoal sparks across and down the yukata, and Prince Endymion's standing there for a moment. "See you soon, I'm sure."

He teleports out.

Catra has posed:
Mamoru teleports out.

he disappeared before Catra could say anything, but it's fine because she wasn't going to say anything. Well, that's the narrative spinning in her head at least. Maybe she was gonna say something. Maybe. Well, now guess what, he's not going to hear it, is he? No. And that's his own problem.

However, her knees do feel better, and that's good. Even if they're still going to take a while to get back to how they were, and she needs to... take... calcium supplements? Where do you even find those? Does Setsuna, who very nicely promised there would be no dissections, have any?

"Well that is the most..."

The most what? Messed up? Embarassing? Painful?

Catra sighs, and pinches the bridge of her nose. "Not what I expected," she mutters. "I knew I was picking a fight but I thought it'd at least be a fight, y'know, we'd throws some attacks, yell at each other a bit, I'd get to communicate why I was angry and then we'd all do our seperate ways and I'd get some noodles with double chicken or something."

The feline gestures with one hand, pointing around the room. "I wasn't expecting to end up in here all busted knees for the next two weeks. And like, what, she knew someone would heal my knees up so smashing them was okay? How was that okay? I didn't even attempt to do anything like that to her."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times, staring. "She did... oh... buck..." she grumbled. "Yeah... I uhhh... just... wait. Mamoru, just a piece of advice, before you go?" she said. Hopefully he'd stick around a few seconds.

"I know Chibiusa is your little girl and all, and you love her. And I know you were Hematite and all. But trust me. I've been there. On dark energy. I've been at Beryl's level. And I know what that much dark energy does to a person. Be very, very, very careful. By the time you get to where you and I were? You have to have already crossed some thresholds... especially if it's not being forced on you and you've chosen it. By the time you're at Beryl's level? You're almost someone else entirely. When I hit that point, I was eating the sun. So..."

"... Be careful. I know you throw roses, but don't wear glasses made of them right now. You might get yourself, or someone else, killed."

She... wanted to believe he knew what he was doing, she did. But she also knew, sometimes, people needed a bit of a reminder. She just hoped he did know what he was doing... and that he'd enjoy the bit of silly wordplay.

She then looked to Catra and sighed. "Well, let's... just get this off the table, first of all. What she did to you was *not* okay. It's her excuse, but it's *not* okay. It will never *be* okay. Ever. It's a reason, but that does NOT make it okay. Dark energy made whoever that woman is do some screwed up things to you... but that does NOT make it okay," Hinoiri said, shaking her head. "But... that's not okay. She hurt you and that was not okay."

She then sighed. "But... this is also why attacking people, violently, doesn't always work. I... Heh. You know... back in school... I ever tell you, I used to get in fights at school, too? You know what ended up stopping me from doing it? Why I stopped like... fighting... and started... running, whenever things got too heated, or if I knew I was going to lose my temper and lash out if I stuck around?" she asked, cheeks going a little red.

Catra has posed:
Catra waits while Hinoiri says what she has to say about Dark Energy to Mamoru; and maybe it feels a little bit like she needed to hear it too. Because she does miss using it. Even though using it sucks, honestly; but it's addictive, like a drug that consumes you but makes you feel powerful -- and at this particular moment, Catra is desperately searching for a way to feel more powerful and less stuck in a strange bed in an infirmary she never exepcetd to actually visit.

"I won't appologize to her," she growls, apparently settling on that assertion to do the trick instead of reaching for something she shouldn't. And it really doesn't do the trick, but maybe it helps just a little. And hey, at least she still has the Spirit Ember and Powersend reasonably close to hand. Well, close-ish. Nearby enough.

"And, yeah, tell me," she adds. "When I was in the Horde with..." she sounds like she might falter for a moment, "Adora, the only problem-solving skill they ever taught us was violence. Someone in your way? Hit them. Someone bothering you? Hit them. Someone cozying up to your friend? Hit them." She sighs audibly. "Adora figured out how to get past that but I never did."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara blinked a few times, opening her mouth... then... she just sighed. "Who... would... who would ask you to apologize to her? She... shattered your legs?" she asked. She, admittedly, was a little bewildered that Catra would even think that she'd WANT her to apologize to the woman who, well... did THAT to her.... Yes, she understood like... Yeah. What Catra did was terrible.

... But then things escalated. Hard.

"... Yeah... ehhhh... I uhhhhh... kind of... almost... hurt some people... real bad. I was an over achiever, you know? Realllllly stood out. So when people kept challenging me, eventually... I didn't care who got hurt, and people couldn't keep up, went too hard... and almost... went TOO hard... and..."

"... I realized... I was going to hurt someone, eventually. So... I just kind of... started running from my problems. Kind of took that too far, too. I got fight or flight, and didn't know how to ado anything but that. when I couldn't run.... when Sora ended up pinning me down? Oh... that one was... not good. So... yeah. But... picking fights... it only leads to someone getting hurt..." She glanced to the empty tuna container and sighed. "And you're a good person, Catra. Despite your frequent attempts to deny it. You were pissed, but if things had gotten out of hand, it might have been the other girl in the hospital bed, instead. Would you feel much better? Well... aside from physically?"

Catra has posed:
"I don't know how I'd feel," Catra sullenly admits. "Probably not better. But I didn't want to put her in hospital and I wasn't going to escalate things that far, I was just... I just wnted to havea fight." She purses her lips and stares at the ceiling. "I like fighting. I'm good at fighting. And it's... basically the only thing I actually know how to do, the Horde didn't teach me anything else."

Catra tilts her head to look at Hinoiri, and her mismatched eyes look her up and down for a moment. "You're lucky you had someone who was willing to do that." She puases for a moment, "Shadow Weaver never did anything like that, she just constantly reminded me the only reason I was around was because Adora liked me. Until she didn't. ...Except maybe she still did at first. I don't know. But, like..."

The feline tilts her gaze back up to the ceiling, and hugs her arms about herself. "You got into fights and stuff, but like... I was commanding an army, and I used it to burn villages to the ground. I almost destroyed Brightmoon -- I was this close," she holds up one hand with thumb and forefinger almost touching for emphasis. "And I hurt anyone who stood in my way -- hurt them real bad sometimes -- and I was rewarded for it."

"...And I blew it with Adora, like, she'll never want to be close to me again I'm sure. Even if I am trying to be better. ...I am trying to be better. I just..."

"I don't know how."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara listened and gave a small nod, her arms crossed before she, slowly, got to her feet and started walking a little bit.

Admittedly, it was possibly a bit... callous to do, right then and there? She didn't mean for it to be, but it helped her think as she listened.

"Yeah, you are a damn good fighter. Personally? I was never good at it. I mean, I got a lot better at it when I came here. Only because of Fuyuko, though. I had her drill me in it until I felt like I was going to throw up." She paused. "Actually... did a little... once..." She rubbed her stomach.

"But yeah, only thing I was ever good at was magic. Being a student. When I lost that, I felt I was lost. I didn't... have... that. Sora never told me that. I mean, sure, there were a lot of nobles and stuff who'd like... always mutter about how Sora was going to ditch me as soon as she found a *real* student, and a lot of ponies who wanted to knock me off, but like... none of them could dethrone me. And they weren't exactly the same thing," she said sheepishly.

"... And yeah. You did some messed up things. But so did I. So did a lot of other people. But you were also in a really ,really bucked up situation. You're not IN that situation anymore, Catra. You're in a new one. You have a new life, new people, surrounded by different people. A lot of who will likely punch out this Shadowweaver if she ever has the courage to show her face near you. Myself included."

"... And trust me. *Being* better isn't easy. I've been trying to be better. Rashmi has been a *huge* help in that regard. Coco has, too. Lots of these girls have reached out a helping hand. You just have to let them. And trust me. I *get that*. I know how hard it is to accept help. I... hate having to accept help. I used to be the one who never, ever needed help. Who'd do everything on my own, who could handle it all on my own... and now? I'm... not..."

"... I'd be lying if I said there aren't the occasional times where a small part of myself wants to go back to having Sunbreaker's power. Where I wish I could go all flames and just kick everyone's flank. Riventon put me through a *bus* like I was an insect and I felt so *pathetic*... But... I know that wasn't right, either. Because... I know the way I was going about it wasn't right, either. I know, in some ways, I'm weaker now. It's *hard* and scary to let yourself be weak. To be vulnerable. To let others help you. To... admit you even need help. So... trust me... I get it..."

"... But the hardest part is admitting you need it and you don't know how to do it yourself, even if you want to. So..." She reached out and gently stroked her cheek, giving a small smile. "I think you're going to keep being better. Because that's the fun, obnoxious part about being a better person. It's not one big test. It's a constant, mind numbing, obnoxious marathon. You don't wake up one day and go 'I am now a better person!' Sometimes? You relapse, and do something bad, or angry, or bitchy, or shove someone in a locker, or have a bad day and come this close to just walloping some jerk with your backpack... but... you try. And every day you get a little better. It gets a little easier. And then, one day, without really realizing it... you look back... and you aren't sure how it happened, or when. But you realize, you've changed... your life has changed. And... you're more the person you've wanted to be all along."

Catra has posed:
"Funny thing is..." Catra wriggles around a bit, and props herself up on the cot so she's not just laying there staring at the ceiling, all accomplished with the absolute minimum of jostling her legs. "If I hadn't decided to help the heroes end one of the Witches Five -- or... four or two or however many of them they were at the time -- right in front of Mistress 9, I'd probably still be in Obsidian and I'd probably still be doing all the same stuff."

Catra sucks in a deep breath.

"Sometimes I still want to be in Obsidian. I... I miss it. I knew what was what and I knew what I had to do and everything was pretty straightforward, even if I refused to do it sometimes, like," she shrugs, "I dunno like telling Rashmi in the least vague possible terms that I was being sent to murder someone else who just got out of Obsidian and I didn't actually want to do it, so I had to make it look like I tried real hard but there were too many heroes around." She snorts, "Even if they did a bad job of the protection detail."

Catra can't resist getting that one little dig in on the heroes.

"I guess I was never a particularly good villain on Earth. ...I was the villain on Etheria, like, I'm sure Hordak thought he was in charge but I guarantee you I was going to depose him and take over, but here I was just... I dunno. Just... me. I don't think anyone overly much cared what I did. Except maybe Riventon and that complete weirdo, Joker, who got real concerned about how much energy I was pulling in." She pauses, and blushes softly, "And he's also the one who sent me afer you in the first place."

The feline's ears lay flat against the side of her head, and she finds a way to resume staring at the ceiling, even while she's propped up so she doesn't have to. She does take a moment to look down at her knees, too, hidden by pajamas and currently free of the braces that are sitting on the floor beside the cot, waiting for the moment when she needs to stand up again for basically any reason.

"I feel... really awkward, like I don't know how to figure things out," she admits. "Because..." She sighs, and blushes, and focues really hard on the ceiling. "Because I do and I dunno how to talk about it."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a small shrug. "I know what what you mean. When... Obsidian kicked me? I didn't know what to do, either. I felt... lost. They were the first ones to find me when I got here. They'd saved me when I was alone and... powerless. Showed me dark energy. And suddenly they wanted me dead and destroyed the identity I'd had... it felt... weird..."

"... I went from being the big name on campus to being a nobody... betrayed again... And... in the end? It was good for me. And I know it's hard. Following... direction is easy. But being... tossed out, and not having that direction anymore? It's... a lot harder," she mumbled softly.

"... But harder doesn't have to mean worse." She gently began to stroke her behind the ears. "And it definitely means a lot less lonely. I didn't have a Rashmi, a Usagi, an Amy, a Coco, a Laura, a Sayaka and certainly not a Catra back home," Hinoiri said with a small smile.

"And trust me, that's the secret. I don't think *any* of us know what we're doing. Even the sparkles. I think... we're all just kind of figuring it out as best we can, as we go. And... I think that's okay," Hinoiri said. "You're trying as hard as you can, and as long as you're trying? Everyone will be there to help you out."

"... I think that's the big difference, now. Before, back home? Whenever I fell? There were a lot of people willing to point and laugh. Now? There's a few who still do that... but a lot more hands are being reached out to help me up. And I think the same is true for you. So long as you're willing to let us... Oh, and so long as you're willing to let me be like... so, how protective am I allowed to be right now? Cause, like... I know you've got this whole independent cat thing going on but I swear if someone messes with you right now I *may* tear their mane out. Is that cool, or is that too far?"

Catra has posed:
That is a good question.

"Uhm... probably don't pick any fights," Catra mumbles. "Partly because I don't want you to also have broken knees. Because it really sucks." She adopts a decidedly sour expression, and folds her arms once again, but with considerably greater defiance this time. "I guess I could've gotten away with only one but she wanted me to kneel and there's no way I do that, so I stood up on one good leg and tried to fight her again."

"Which was stupid but I did it anyway and I'd probably do it again."

Catra continues to fidget and look uncomfortable as some deep conflict rages inside of her brain that she can't work out how to express.

"Adora was there," she admits at last. "She got her She-Ra thing back when I got hurt. And like... I... I always hated it. I hated it. And I hated her for having it and taht damned sword and... And I really hated that She-Ra took her away from me. Except then I was... just... really glad to see her. Is that weird? Am I stupid?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara took a slow, deep breath. Oh, she was going to have to rip this bandaid off now, and it was likely never going to be a good time to do it, but... it was likely the best time to do it.

She reached out and gently put a hand on Catra's hand, giving it a very gentle squeeze. "Catra... Causality is not causation," Hinoiri said softly. "What I mean by this... is... when Adora got She-ra, she left you. But that isn't why she left. She left... because of other things. But those other things? Those were what led to her becoming She-ra. I know it feels like the same thing, and I know it hurts like they're the same thing, and it's easy to blame them like they're the same thing... but they aren't."

"... Whether or not she was She-ra doesn't matter, because the things that led to her becoming She-ra are what also meant she had to leave and why she could never leave. And... frankly... no. I don't think it was weird to be glad to see her. You and Adora have probably the most complicated, violent relationship I have *ever* seen. Just... seriously. There is so many bits and pieces there, all knotted up... and you don't get there without first caring about someone. Someone can't break your heart if you don't care about them first," Hinoiri said.

"... And when push comes to shove, the two of you still probably care about each other a lot, and I'm not surprised. I'm happy she was there, too. Frankly, I wish *I* was there. You two... have a lot to work out, and it's going to take time. And, like it or not? You two still care about each other. And are probably going to fight, and argue, and squabble, and hate, and miss each other a lot. And I don't know what's going to be there on the other side... but I'll help where I can. But... no. There's nothing wrong with being happy to see someone come to help you when you need it. Sora knows I always felt uplifted when people came for my stupid flank. Which you did a few times yourself, Cat-ra~" she said in a teasing tone, giving the hand another little squeeze.

"... Is it okay if I stay here tonight? I... don't think I'll be able to sleep knowing you're here alone, anyway..."

Catra has posed:
And all of that is a really good point, and that registers on Catra's face. She seems to deflate, somehow, as the tension leaves her muscles and she lets go of something she's been holding on to for a long time -- something that probably isn't gone, but for the moment it's just being quiet. She looks up at Hinoiri, and for once doesn't try to hide when a little moisture glistens in the corner of each eye.

"Yeah," she whispers. "I did care about her. I cared about her a lot. Even... when Shadow Weaver was busy telling her she had destiny and treating her like the chosen one while treating me like the dirty dishwater. Even when she didn't want to do anything that would put her on Shadow Weaver's bad side."

"Because," Catra sighs, "She promised that as long as we stayed together, nothing really bad could happen. And like... she stood up for me with the other kids. And she came with me to call Octavia a dumb-face when we were six. ...And then she figured out how to turn into She-Ra to protect me from pink-haired bitch."

She wipes the back of her hand across her eyes, and looks back up at Hinoiri, "Thank you for being with me and backing me up. I needed it. And.... yeah, please stay tonight."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara smiled when she saw that look on Catra's face. It seemed, this time... the words got through to her. IT was.... nice to see. Her actually listening. Cause she did love the girl, but sometimes it was so infuriating telling the girl one thing and knowing that the words she said just weren't being hear--

Wait, is this what she put them all through?! Yes... yes it was.

A part of her almost considered mentioning that sometimes... you had to leave to stop bad things from getting worse... That...

Well, there were a lot of things she could say.

Instead? She leaned forward and gave Catra a kiss on the cheek. "Always. I'm proud of you, Catra. It takes a strong person to take something like this... and learn the right things from it."

... She wasn't going to let anything lay a hand on her kitty. Not tonight... not for a while, even.