Chapter Text
"Adora!" The yelp was clear, undeniable. The oilyfurred catfem's screeching had proven too much for her bunkmates, being sent on a solo patrol around The Horde's inside territory. Why, alone, you ask? She was expendable. Only a child - Whom was only to be a soldier, one of thousands. And noone would let her forget it.
The nightmarish face of a burgundy scarred, masked figure with a curled, smiting snarl enveloped her memory. The only thing that solved that was - Adora. The blonde woman with a sparkle in her blue eyes and a smirk plastered on her face, no matter how hard Catra - the catfem - had pushed her away - scratched - anything. Adora had stuck back to her - until she didn't.
Where had she gone? The girl gave an involuntary wail - they were only young children - they weren't even allowed on the battlefields!
The cream bot enveloped over the girl. A strangled gasp escaped her - she didn't expect such an ambush outside of her living quarters. Her adolescent body was no match for the spider-bot - nicknamed that for its metal legs and red neon lights that shone at her - admittedly gave her fear. Not that she'd admit that to anyone - at this thought, the whitehaired adolescent almost smiled. Almost. It was a miracle that anything was to be in her presence without a growl or squeal.
A stray thought fluttered across her mind - what if.. she should just let it? Let the spindily legs plunge their way into her flesh, allow the darkness of light be enveloped by whatever comparability of death there was and let it overtake it. Squinting her eyes shut, she muffled a shriek. Not like it was to let her go painlessly. She heard a sickening crack of bone, and the loss of any feeling besides blistering pain by her leg. No matter. Pain meant nothing. Not in the end.
And the weight was lifted. But not by whatever grim reaper guided her forwards, but by a shaggy haired child - not much older than herself - in much oversized Horde uniform. She couldn't help but let out a sharp hiss of relief, her scaled skin shimmering by her neck. She could never stay ' human ' for long, and it was worth dying on the Horde bot cameras then unearthing her secret. That was her judgement, see it how you may.
But she couldn't change now. Not with this - cat girl? standing over her, panting. And that was the moment that she, Dae, decided not to die.
Catra stood above the whitehaired adolescent of around her own age, her ribs expanding and shrinking in gulping breaths. Etheria - Shadow Weaver was to kill her! She shook her head - why would she care what Shadow Weaver thought? She could go find Adora herself! Her ears twitched as she turned back to the limping lady. There was one way to make this right - Catra eyed the lopsided leg that was somewhat hanging from the girl.
Catra leapt forwards, snarling. She was, if not injured, a trespasser, who would need to be dealt with. And - if she was gone - the footage would only show Catra, herself, showing the outsider the way out.. besides.. she seemed pretty ready to die - she was only doing the girl a favour!
At least - that's what Catra told herself.
It was no secret that she was surprised that her dagger hit no mark, the injured girl rolling to the side. And even more so when, to both of their shocks, Catra was suddenly outdone in the hissing game. The girl's jaws had opened, and given the loudest, most reptilian snarl ever heard to Catra's ears. The young girl's eyes met her own amber and teal ones.
Catra felt a tug at her self conscious, something deep and connecting, seeing herself in the girl, and walked over to us, ears all the way up, with her tail in the air.
"Wanna be my friend?" Catra's clawed hand reached forwards, surprising both of them. The other girl met her grasp, forcing herself to stand up, her leg injury withering beneath her.
"My name's Catra. What's yours?"
Hesitation and anxiety seemed to almost brim through the limping fem, and as she stood up on her good leg, leaning heavily on a tree, she uttered a sentence that made Catra's heart jump.
"Dae. My name is Dae."