1900/Hey, Catra.

Hey, Catra.
Date of Scene:	28 August 2024
Location:	Korma Chameleon
Synopsis:	Adora catches Catra at Korma and approaches her to try to talk. It goes... better than expected, really.
Cast of Characters:	Catra, Adora Rainbowfist

---

Catra has posed:
It's early evening, and the Korma Chameleon is a happening place, as it usually is. The staff are working hard, the kitchen is churning out food, and everyone is having a good time.

Well, everyone mostly. Sitting alone at a corner table is the ever-obnoxious Rachel Miller, the guise worn by Catra whenever she's in public; a ratty old hoodie, torn jeans, dirty sneakers. The hood is pulled low over her face even in here, and she's got her earbuds in, still blasting loud music that must be irritating to the people in the tables close to hers, but she'll be damned if she's turning it down.

There's food in front of her, which she's slowly picking at; possibly because it's her second plate, she's already finished one. What's in front of her right now is something spicy, with a creamy sauce and a lot of fish. Rashmi, this particular evening, is nowhever to be seen.

Unfortunate, since it's the first time Catra's been here since their last battle. But maybe also a relief.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Adora had been frequenting the Korma Chameleon. Not, necessarily, to eat every time. She'd actually taken to helping out when she could just to have an excuse to visit without getting food.

...Though she did get food pretty often too.

Look it's good.

Still, when Adora stepped in, she'd gotten pretty good at sweeping the room and spotting who was there, it was at the point she probably knew a few of the regulars by sight. ... Not that she interacted much. She was way too awkward to work as a server, after all.

This time was different though, Adora noticed a certain someone in the corner and... she quietly makes her way over, not to sit at the same table as Rachel, though, but instead to sit in the table immediately next to her... behind her if possible. It'd be less awkward that way, she thinks.

...It might be MORE awkward, but she wasn't sure she could face Rachel when saying this.

"...Hey, Catra." She says quietly, knowing that even over that music, Catra would probably be able to hear her.

"...It's fine if you don't respond to me if you don't want to. I don't want to ruin your dinner, just want to talk a little."

Catra has posed:
Catra of course noticed the moment Adora came in. Even with the music playing in her ears (something dark and angsty, Adora would notice as she gets close, with lots of shouting and some swearing in it) she can hear the door on the far side of the room. She can see the door from the spot that she picked too -- a good bet that's why she picked it.

And then Adora sits down behind her. She tenses up, and the only thing stopping her claws coming out is that she can't; not while she's disguised as Rachel Miller. She stops, holding her breath, her next mouthful hovering just over the plate until Adora speaks.

Talk. She wants to talk.

Sure she does. Catra's food makes it to her mouth, and she focuses on the flavor of it, which is absolutely delicious. Afterall, it's fish, and it's fish that's been cooked with an undeniable level of love, and not the Grey Kind. So she sits there, enjoying her food in spite of a soured mood. And then, as she swallows, reaches into her pocket for her phone; Adora might notice the volume of Catra's music decrease, just a notch.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Of course Catra went on the defensive the moment she sat down, Adora... can't really blame her from the last time they interacted. It was a rough time ... likely for both of them, considering what she knew. Which wasn't nearly enough.

Adora takes a soft breath, leaning back in her chair and staring up at the ceiling, both hands hanging next to her side. The server hadn't come over yet, possibly because they recognized Adora and knew her order already. Which was usually 'I'd like to try something new, please!' to be honest.

"I just... wanted to say that I'm sorry. For how I treated you the other day. You didn't deserve that. I wasn't doing alright, I was confused, and hurting, and I took it out on you and that... wasn't okay. ...And I'm sorry that I left you, way back when. I... didn't want to, I wanted you to come with me, but I didn't know what that actually meant. ...I'm still not entirely sure I fully understand it. You know me, I'm not the best at this stuff."

A part of her hoped that one of Catra's hands was down there too, so she could just touch it lightly. But no, it's fine. That might just make things worse.

Catra has posed:
The song blasting in Catra's ears comes to an end; and for a moment, there's just silence from the cat's direction. Silence enough that it's clear she's heard what Adora has to say. Silence enough that there can be no mistaking or mishearing her words. Silence broken only by the soft scrape of her fork gathering up the next morsel of curry, before lifting it up to her mouth.

There are so many things that are deeply frustrating about wearing this human guise. It's just not *her* body. She can't move properly, doesn't have her usual strength, she can't bring out her claws, and -- as is irritating her right now -- she can't flatten her ears or do anything at all with her tail. It's like her bodyparts are all either wrong, or don't exist.

She makes do by hunching her shoulders, like Adora's words are all landing on her back and pressing down on her, gathering weight as the blonde speaks. Inside, Catra is churning. An apology is being made behind her. How sincere is it? Is it real? Is this version of Adora more the same as or more different from the one that was here before? Does it matter? Why does she care?

Because she does care, that much sits low in the pool of her thoughts, but it is there.

Appologizing would be quick. Just two words. 'I'm sorry'. So much weight could be lifted with just those two words. And for a moment, she tries; if Adora could see her face, the struggle going on behind it would be almost palpable.

Old defense mechanisms kick in almost immediately. She shovels in another bite, and as the next song kicks in, Catra turns the volume right back up that notch. It's probably hard to notice; the next song isn't quie as dirgy or rude, much to the relief of anyone else within range. And her hands stay up in front of her, working on her food the entire time.

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Of course a hand wasn't there. Catra is eating. That makes sense. She couldn't expect her to have a hand just there conveniently because she wanted it to be there... she could have chosen to sit next to Catra, but she didn't want her to feel trapped.

The silence stung a little, she had to admit. Even if she'd said Catra doesn't have to respond to her, she still somewhat... wanted it. Some response. ...Of course, there was one. That slight increase of the music. The slight pause in the eating.

Dammit.
What was she doing?

It's not like she didn't reach out before. She didn't continue to reach out in a lot of their fights... but still. This time she knew...

She knew this time it was /entirely/ on her. It was her fault. She was the one who snapped and yelled at Catra. She was the one who blamed her for things that she maybe didn't even intend to have happen. She was the one who blamed her for... well.

...Things she did, technically. ...She had still activated that portal, after all. She was the one /did/ do the stuff to her...

Ugh.
It'd be easier if they were just fighting.

"And... I... I don't think you'll believe me, and that's okay, but I do want to make you a promise."

She takes a soft breath, leaning away a little from Catra, leaning on the table now. "I won't leave you, this time. When you're doing something wrong, I'll come to stop you. When you need help... just... just let me know, and I'll be there for you too. I can't promise I'll be there EVERY time, since, well, there's so much happening and I can't really know... everything. But." She shakes her head. "...If I find a way to leave... or if you find a way to leave... to go back home. I promise... not to leave you behind. And I want you to promise the same. I won't be like the past me. I won't leave you behind."

Catra has posed:
For a time, there's just the sound of Catra eating, and the music blasting in her ears, at a volume that must be uncomfortable but that she maintains anyway. As Adora talks, her muscles start to ache with tension, and her eating comes to a halt part way through. Her teeth lock together, and she finds the table in front of her creaking in complaint as she presses her hands down on it, fingers balled up into fists.

"Is this like the last promise?" she spits out at last.

What she really wanted to say never makes it to the surface. It never does. She always says something else instead, that feels safe. Always is anger safer than anything else. Nobody can really hurt you when you're angry.

"What was it you said? 'Nobody can hurt us as long as we have each other. I promise.'" She snorts audibly. "Well if you haven't found them already you'll be glad to know that Sparkles and Arrow-Boy are both here so you'll have everything you need."

Just make the promise, Catra. Just say the words 'I promise'.

She tries to say the words. But the words don't come out.

"I've heard it all before," she mutters. "From you. Not long before you did *this*." The music shuts off entirely, and a moment later Catra's phone whistles through the air and lands hard enough on the table in front of Adora to leave a hairline crack down the middle of the screen; on it, a picture of Catra, the space from chin to mid-chest taking up the entire view, with her entire neck looking like basically one big, angry bruise.

"And then you sulked until eventually you opened a portal and left. That was *you*. Maybe you don't remember. But *you* did it, and even if you didn't, you'd do it again. You're still *you*."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Adora's gaze lowers down towards the table, leaned against it quietly at that spit back towards her. "...And we stopped having each other when I left The Horde and didn't make sure you came with me." Adora says quietly. "And then things started going wrong."

Nevermind Catra caused some of that wrong.

That's not the focus of this conversation. Sparkles and Arrow-Boy are both here. Adora opens her mouth to comment, but...

They're not what this conversation is about. She closes her mouth again, just quietly listening to Catra's words until she finishes at that point.

"...Maybe it was me. Maybe it was a promise the past me made, too, but..." She pauses. "Maybe she didn't have the conversations I have. Maybe she had different experiences. A different fate."

Adora shifts a bit in place, looking at that picture of Catra, that picture of the bruise on her neck.

"..."

Seeing her friend injured like that.
By her.
Even if it was an alternate her.
It made her heart ache in ways she couldn't describe.

"...I..."
"Like I said. ...I didn't think you'd believe me. ...And that's okay. ...Words can be lies. So I'll show you the way we've always shown each other. ...Through action." She reaches to pick up that phone, looking at that crack on it.

...She kind of wants to try to fix it, but she doesn't really have the knowledge or skill. What she did have the skill to do?

She hit the delete button.
It's probably better if Catra doesn't dwell on a picture like that.

And she sets the phone on the table in front of Catra. "It cracked when it landed, sorry."

Catra has posed:
Catra watches the phone return to her, and picks it up, tilting it left and right to look at the crack in the screen. She glares at it, lips pressed into a thin line. No doubt if she weren't hiding her face, she'd be showing her teeth, but she can't even do that the way she'd want to, so she doesn't. She just... picks the phone up, casually plugs her earbuds back into it, and taps the broken screen until the music restarts.

The phone gets dumped on the table in front of her, as she scrapes her fork across the plate of food in front of her, gathering everything left on it up into a convenient little rice and curry mountain. "Whatever," she mutters, letting the burst of rage fade from her voice, into something almost entirely void of energy or emotion.

"You did what you did. I did what I did. And we're going to keep doing it. You are who you are now, and so am I. You're the hero. I'm the villain. We have our paths and neither of us are ever going to change." She shovels in her food, getting as much in one mouthful as she can without it falling off the side of her fork. "But you know what? Sure, I want to go back."

she pushes the food around on her plate as she chews, destroying and rebuilding the little mountain. "I hate this planet. I *hate* it. I can't even be me. It's so *loud*, and it *stinks*. There's hardly any dark places in this city. It's just... loud, and smelly, and the people here are all unbearably stupid." She turns her head to look at Adora, eyes travelling up and down. Then she looks right back to her food.

"Fine. You find a way home, I'll come. I want to be back where I'm second in command of the Horde, where the only person I have to worry about is Hordak, where I *know* I can beat the Rebellion, and everything makes sense. So fine. You find a way back, bring me. If I find a way back, I'll bring you." Her eyes narrow.

"But don't think that makes us friends. I don't like you."

Adora Rainbowfist has posed:
Adora kind of awkwardly stood there as Catra examined the cracked screen and glared and just looked angry. ...But then she just. ... Seemed to calm herself down? ... It could be worse. "...Things aren't that simple. If I were really a hero, we wouldn't be going through this. I'd have stopped the portal... and if you were truly a villain... you wouldn't have gone out of your way to make sure that certain people didn't die."

Adora gives a small smile towards Catra. And Catra agrees. Sure, she wants to go back. Sure, she hates the earth, but you know what?

...It's a step. And they had at least agreed on /something/. "Sounds like a promise, then. We'll get back to where everything makes sense... and then we can get back to ..."

Fighting.

"...Whatever happens there."

Okay it was probably going to be fighting, really. "And, uh." She pauses. "Rachel? ... Thanks for listening." Adora says, before turning to begin to quietly walk away. It wasn't a stalking away. It wasn't a fight, this time. Sure, it still hurt. Sure, it wasn't... really... how she HOPED things would go but...

...It was a step in the right direction.
...She hopes.