2451/Kitties and Fishies

Kitties and Fishies
Date of Scene:	06 April 2025
Location:	Dorms #1
Synopsis:	Catra and Hinoiri have a sleepover and discuss some heavy topics... like memories, the people who hurt them and leaving the bad crowd.
Cast of Characters:	Hinoiri Kirara, Catra

---

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara had managed the impossible! Got Catra to come to the school...

... Sure, it was mostly because Catra needed a place to stay, and it was likely only the one night...

... And partially because Hinoiri just... didn't... feel right now, sleeping alone. It felt... wrong. Scary. She felt wrong. Whenever she was alone here... She just didn't. It was hard. She kept seeing DT. And so now? Well... having someone over helped. The bed was at least clean. If... sterile.

Hinoiri, meanwhile, had made POPCORN! And was sitting in her pajamas, after a short movie night... and now? "Hey... so, ummm. Catra, there was something I wanted to ask you about. I think... it's something... that... might hit a bit... close to home for you. I... hope in a... somewhat positive way. Maybe?" Hinoiri said softly.

Catra has posed:
Catra, of late, has been... stressed. It's not that she's actually been attacked by any Obsidian clean-up crews or magical operatives or anything; it's just knowing that they could be hiding around any given corner, read to strike, that has her thoroughly on edge. So on edge, actually, that she hasn't really been sleeping either; so when the invite came out to sleep a night in Hinoiri's dorm room in the one place in the city where dark magic basically just doesn't work...

Well, one can only be snotty about holding out for so long. Catra is tired.

So she's here; and she doesn't really do... pajamas. More like a super long shirt over undies. but hey, whatever gets you in bed.

So now she's sitting cross-legged besides Hinoiri, munching on popcorn (and some popcorn chicken that she brought along, 'cause she knows how vegetarian Hinoiri is but that doesn't change her being an obligate carnivore). And her ears perk up, and she hunhs? "Uhh, yeah, sure, go for it," she replies, with just a hint of trepidation.

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a soft sigh and picked up a piece of popcorn, fidgeting with it in her hand. "So... you know... ummmm... the whole Sora stuff bucked with me hard. Real hard. And... I mean, I ate the sun for a bit. And attacked a lot of people. I lost complete control. And I'm doing better now, but... that ache is still there. There's also the... Losing... Double Trouble... them leaving me like that? It... hurt. Especially when they told me so long how much I meant to them."

"... I recently... came across someone... the person who's kind of in charge of my powers. She... made me an offer. She can erase... my memories. Make it so I don't remember... everything about Sora. About Dee. I can... kind of... remove... that pain. Or, at least, some of it. You know? And I... just... I don't... know. It feels... wrong? In a way? But also... like... I'm definitely not my best when it comes to them. I'm hurting. A lot. So, so much, from what they did to me. But I know it's also a part of me. And... tossing those memories away... might make me... a better person? But... I mean..."

"... I guess... I know... you've been hurt a lot. IF you could just... lose those memories. Take them away from you." Shadowweaver. Adora. "Would you?"

Catra has posed:
Definitely popcorn chicken for this one.

That's the box Catra reaches into and basically just fills her mouth with it, and chomps slowly on it as she thinks through everything that Hinoiri just said. About Sora, and DT. About the offer to remove the memories. About possibly being a better person afterwards.

"I..." Catra trails off, and tilts her head away, to look at the wall. It's not that there's anything particularly inspiring about the wall. It's a wall. Seriously Hinoiri, get some posters or something.

"I would," she answers, quietly. "I think that would be my first impulse. Just... get over everything. But for me it would be a stupid decision because all the things I would forget, all the things that broke my heart -- like Adora -- and caused me pain -- like Shadow Weaver -- are basically my life, so I'd just end up wondering who I was and how I got here. I don't even know if I'd still remember my name 'cause Adora picked it."

The catgirl's ears flatten out as she tilts her head to look at Hinoiri. "I guess you have to ask... is losing the pain, also worth losing the lessons you've learned? About... how to treat people? And maybe about how to let people treat you?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara sighed and laid back down, dropping on the bed and making the bowl of popcorn bounce. She quickly caught it before it could spill, though she then sighed. "I... don't know. I mean... if I just removed some of the memories, maybe it would be okay? Remove the ones that... the ones that made me think that... Sora... cared about me. If I thought of her as just a... teacher. Nothing more."

She closed her eyes. "Double Trouble, on the other hand? That one's harder. She... said she loved me. Even now. More than that... she... chose me. And she... screwed me up good. It was... fun. Having someone who was interested in me. In all of me. Who knew I was bad then and... even now that I'm good? They were cool with it. So dramatic and passionate. I loved that about them. Someone who just... knew what they wanted, what they were about, and were the best at it they could be."

A small, sad smile formed on her lips. "When we got together it was... chaotic, to say the least. And they were, admittedly, probably bad for me. But it was... nice... being someone's first choice. And I crossed so many lines to protect them. I even went Sunbreaker again because I thought they were going to get hurt. But..."

"I don't think they were healthy. And even now? I don't think I'd be good to do a... normal relationship again. Maybe I'll just... I don't know. Find someone I can just... mess around with. Hold hands with and like... share baking recipes with and stay up late chatting with about just... nothing. Someone who finds me... interesting. And cute. Cause stars know *I* don't know the first thing about what counts as cute or hot as a human."

"... I just... sometimes... I feel like I was taught all these things on how I was supposed to feel... but I was taught them *wrong*. And so... I'm just... is it better to just toss them out and not have them? Or better to be broken, but working on how to work around the parts of myself that are broken?"

Catra has posed:
"So how do you feel?" Catra asks, though there's none of her usual abrasiveness to it. It's not eactly gentle in tone either, but it's not... mean. Which for Catra is definitely something.

"Okay so like... here's the thing. Life sucks." She sighs, tossing some more of the popcorn chicken into her mouth and crunching it up, as she runs leans backwards until she flops down beside Hinoiri. "Adora promised we'd always be fine as long as we were together, and then she met Bow and Glimmer and within like five minutes decided she didn't want to be in the Horde anymore and ran off to join the Rebellion, and like, she didn't even talk to me about it first, it was just like "Oh right I forgot about Catra, I suppose I could invite her along too" and obviously I said forget it." She reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose, "And then even after she betrayed us, Shadow Weaver left the Horde to go chasing after her favorite student instead of the one who stayed loyal to the Horde."

Nevermind this was after Catra had knocked her off her perch, relieved her of the Black Garnet, and thrown her in a prison cell. That part's immaterial.

Also she deserved it.

"Look, like... all these things that you wanna forget. They did things to make you who you are now, right? Like I dunno, maybe you burned the crap out of some of the more annoying sparkles and maybe it felt good at the time, and maybe you feel bad about it now. Do you want to go back to being the person who did the burning?" She pauses, and shakes her head.

"Okay that's just dancing around things. DT made all sorts of promises and then broke them. And you feel awful. And I know how that feels. ...But if you decide to forget about it, you risk not being on guard against it a second time. ...how many times do you want to erase your memories so you don't feel pain?"

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara took another slow breath before sliding the bowl to the side and rolling onto her side to look Catra in the face. "I.... don't know. I guess... like... a part of me hopes I'll be better if I don't have those pains. But... maybe... I won't. Maybe me forgetting them makes me worse. Heck.... who knows? If I hadn't been hurt, maybe you and I wouldn't be as close."

"I guess there's something to be said about shared pain... Speaking of... About Obsidian. Just... know you're free to stay here as long as you need. It's actually nice having a friend over. You know, if you ever wanna move into the school for real, maybe we could get a room together. Stars know I miss having a roommate."

She then blinked. "Holy buck. I miss having a roommate. I'd NEVER had a roommate before, you know that? Back in the school. Hated it. But... ugh, sorry. No, what was I saying?"

"... I know it's scary, with Obsidian... never knowing when they'll pull some crap on you. But... I know you've been hurt by Adora. But these girls, the sparkles? They DO mean it. They'll protect you, with their lives if need be. So... please don't do anything reckless, okay? Cause these girls will then do something just as reckless to save you."

"... And if you got really hurt... I'd miss my friend."

Catra has posed:
"I can take care of myself," Catra insists, but maybe there's just a bit too much bite to the statement that hides some serious doubt about the issue. Can she, really? Afterall the last time she tried that she wound up screwing up with Shadow Weaver and then screwed up lying to Horde Prime about it and wound up getting sent to the Crimson Wastes, which sort of worked out but led to her ripping a hole in space and time because she was upset.
 % r Which if we're honest, isn't a super great reason.

"But... yeah I know. ABout them, I mean. I've seen how people like Rashmi operate." She pauses, and bites her bottom lip, still staring upwards. "She lost her best friend a couple months ago. Dunno if you heard... so like..." She sighs. "Be gentle with her. ...I'm really bad at this 'be nice' stuff," she adds.

"Look, like... I know you think forgetting your pain might be easier than remembering it. And you're right. But if you think it'll make you a better person, it'll do the opposite. You'll never treat anyone the way DT treated you 'cause you know now how much it sucks. If you didn't know that... you might not know why it's wrong, either."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
"Of course you can take care of yourself. Nobody thinks you can't. But nobody wants you to HAVE to take care of yourself. You're our friend. All of our friend. We can you to be safe, Catra," Hinoiri said with a small smile.

The talk about Molly made her cringe and then she sighed. "Yeah. I... I know. You know... Molly... came at me, once. When I was Sunbreaker. Tried to take me on by her lonesome... I responded by 'cursing' her. Made her think she was going to die. It was a whole... thing. A little magic tattoo with a countdown. I told her when it reached her heart... it'd kill her."

"... Apparently it kind of... messed with her. I mean, I guess at the time that was the idea. She came at me, alone. I knew she couldn't have a chance, and I wanted her to feel fear so she'd learn it wasn't a joke. She could get hurt. I didn't kill her... but I could have."

"... At the time I thought I was such a good person, making sure she learned a lesson... funny. Looking back? I was kind of a jerk. Sure, I didn't want her to get herself killed.... but I was using that as the excuse for borderline torturing the girl. I can't imagine how scared she was. There were better ways to go about it..."

"... After that, some of those sailor senshi girls tried to kill me. I'd attacked Sailor Moon, beat the everloving shit out of her. And you know what she did? She stopped them. Her henshin was in pieces and she could barely stand. And she was shielding me after the other girls had ambushed me... because that's what they do."

"... None of us can't be surprised, none of us can't be ambushed, or off our game, or overwhelmed, or pushed to the breaking point... it's not about you taking care of yourself. It's about... having someone there to watch our backs when we can't."

"... And... thanks. This... actually has been really helpful. And like... logically? I can probably do and figure all of this out alone. I can... like... I can come to a decision on my own. But... I think... times like this? I... really don't want to..." Her hand started to reach for Catra's, but she stopped. No. It was probably rude. She knew how Catra didn't always like being touched. "... But... times like this? I... think I really just... want the people I trust near me. And I appreciate you being one of those for me."

Catra has posed:
"You ever say anything to her about it?"

Catra doesn't notice the hand approaching hers -- either that, or she just doesn't comment on it -- as she's still staring up at the ceiling. "But like... I dunno if I'm the greatest person to be asking for advice about how to make up for past wrongs, 'cause I've like... burned down people's villages and stuff. And it's not like I ever said sorry. I was trying to destroy the entire forest around Brightmoon, so I could... y'know. Destroy Brightmoon."

"Almost succeeded too." She scratches the back of her head without moving from where she is. "Glimmer was basically dry. Adora lost her sword and I kept her busy while everyone else was doing what I told them to do. Scorpia was attacking Angella. I *almost* destroyed the Moonstone, and then it would have been game over for sure. But then Adora's stupid friends showed up and ruined everything."

Catra lets out a sigh, and falls quiet.

"But I guess I'm glad I don't have the destruction of Brightmoon on my conscience," she mumbles, just... barely loud enough to be heard. "So I mean whatever. I still don't wanr Adora to win. But I just... I dunno anymore."

Catra chews on things, still staring at the ceiling. "I guess it's nice not to entirely have to rely on myself," she mumbles at last. "And when I got myself kicked out of Obsidian -- not that I've been back to find out but I think it's obvious -- they all offered to help. Even the ones who really, completely don't trust me."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara shook her head. "No... she... was always welcoming to me, even after that. Well... I guess I did say... I was sorry. I said sorry to a lot of people, though. But... yeah. We didn't talk much. She was... sweet, though. I... hope they can save her..." she mumbled softly. She'd heard they might be able to... so she hoped.

As Catra told the story of nearly defeating Brightmoon, she just grinned and nodded, listening. It was good to see her friend open up. It was good to see her... start to work through her problems. She then took another sigh and sat up, tossing another piece of popcorn into her mouth. "So, right. Why don't we watch another movie? Frankly, I think the two of us deserve something fun and, well... there's got to be something silly in this world worth watching, right? That, or we could have a study buddy session. I mean, you do have this new fire stone and I'd positively *love* a chance to explore magic with you... but... well... I know this is supposed to be a relaxing evening and I don't want to bore you with me nerding out with magical formulas and stuff. Unless you want to, I mean."

... Nerrrrrd.

Catra has posed:
"Definitely movie." Catra sits up and munches some more of the popcorn chicken -- honestly, it might just be that they have entirely different tastes in popcorn, even if one of them is only definable as popcorn in the very loosest of terms. "I'd rather not overstay my welcome here by accidentally burning the place to the ground. Which I'm... sorta worried I migbt do."

Catra does, however, produce said Spirit Ember and look at it. "I'll figure you out yet," she mutters. "Probably right at the very last second, when it's entirely critical that either I set everything within a hundred yards entirely on fire, or something really bad will happen." She pauses. "Like someone I don't like going un-burnt. That would be terrible."

But, then she slips it away again, and nods towards the TV. "I was gonna suggest 'Ash', that spooky new movie we should totally be able to pirate, but I picked the last one so... your choice."

Hinoiri Kirara has posed:
Hinoiri Kirara gave a light snort and shrugged. "Yeah. I exploded my first apartment, so trust me. I won't mind. I already know how to fill all the paperwork out and what kind of excuses to make." Still, she couldn't help but grin wide as she said it. Slowly, she got to her feet and stretched.

"Mmmmm... but yeah. That sounds more than fine. And trust me. The fire... isn't so bad. It's scary at first, since you don't want to burn the right thing. But before long, you'll realize it's not that much worse than a lot of the other elements you can fiddle with. Just... a little harder to control at times. But magic flame is special. It's... fun, when you know how."

"Ash sounds fine. I like a good spooky movie." She'd walk to the computer, tapping away a few minutes, sighing, looking annoyed... then perking up. "Gotcha."

And as the movie started, she headed over to the couch, grabbing her popcorn on the way and then tapping the seat besides hers.

And yes. Catra was totally going to get leaned on. Deal with it. Unicorns leaned while they watched movies. It was just what they did.