Chapter Text
For the rest of the day, Catra and Adora got to know a lot about the magicats and their customs.
For example, the water at the shrines they visited was not for drinking. Adora learned that the hard way.
They also learned that magicats really liked plays, as Yen and Suji had taken them to a theatre to watch plays for the next several hours.
It was awe-inspiring at first, with the elaborate costumes and makeup they wore, as well as the spectacular displays of magic that the two had never seen on Etheria before. But as the plays dragged on, they devolved into comedies that they just could not comprehend.
Yen seemed to have a never-ending supply of explosive laughter, much to Catra's irritation. Every little joke the actors made seemed to trigger an onslaught of giggles from the warlord. Adora, Catra and Melog just sat there with blank expressions, totally unable to understand the cultural inside jokes.
When they finally exited the theatre (much to Catra's relief) the couple realized it was getting a bit late. It would not be long until the sun would set beneath the horizon, so they figured now would be a good time to head back home.
"Oh? Going home already?" Yen asks, glancing back at her as they walk through the town's busy street.
Catra nods. "We want to get back to our kids soon. They don't… particularly do well when left alone too long." She thinks back to the last time she and Adora had a date night together, and how they came home to a totally wrecked house.
"Understandable." They stopped by a small produce shop, then Yen turned to Adora. "Before you two go, may I ask a small favor? From you?"
"Oh, what did you need?" the blonde asks curiously.
"You know how I mentioned my omega daughter earlier? Well, seeing as you can transform into this, 'She-Ra'... I was wondering if you can do that for her, so she can see just how magnificent omegas can be. Just for a moment, if that's okay with you." There is a sincere warmth reflected in the warlord's eyes, and Catra can't help but feel a great deal of respect for the woman.
Adora beamed at the woman proudly. "Sure! Where is the little rascal?"
"Just around the corner from here, she trains everyday at the dojo." They continue down the street, following the warlord and warrior's lead.
"Training? I thought omegas could only be servants or housewives, though."
"Training for self-defense," Yen explained. "Not many families here can afford it, but my clan is very well off. Self-defense classes for omegas are very much worth it around here, after all I wouldn't want my little girl getting assaulted by some alpha."
Catra shudders at the idea. "That's a good point. If anyone did that to our daughters, I'd murder them on the spot." Adora hums in agreement.
They finally approach a large, secluded building far from the busy town center, which Catra presumes to be the dojo Yen was talking about. The interior appears to be illuminated, and she can see shadows moving about through the paper screen doors.
They make their way up the steps and Yen slides the door wide open, revealing a large, stocky magicat along with a much smaller and younger magicat, who couldn't be older than six or seven, in the middle of practice. The two stopped what they were doing and turned to look at them, the smaller of the two lighting up and bouncing towards the warlord.
"Mommy!" Yen knelt down and caught the kitten in her arms, hugging her tightly. Her little head pops out of the warlord's chest and she flashes a toothy smile. "You're early today!"
Yen rustles her child's poofy brown hair and straightens, gesturing to Adora. "That's right, because I brought someone here to see you! An omega that can transform into a powerful warrior!"
The kitten's eyes went wide with amazement. "Wha… really!?"
Adora stepped forward, her expression oozing confidence. "That's right, kiddo! Don't ever let those stinky alphas that us omegas are weak! We can kick their butts if we want to," she said matter-of-factly.
Catra just rolled her eyes. Yeah sure, as She-Ra. Even then I've handed your ass to you plenty of times, she mused. She glanced to the side and noticed Suji with a deep scowl on her face, clearly offended.
"Haha, that's the spirit!" Yen bellowed. "I'll leave you two alone for now. Don't let us alphas intrude on your omega bonding time."
The omega wasted no time bounding up to Adora, tugging at her jacket excitedly. "Wow, so you're really a warrior?"
Adora let out a cocky laugh. "Oh, you haven't seen anything yet."
As the three alphas step out of the dojo and stand around at the patio, they feel the ground rattle at Adora's booming voice and white light briefly flashes through the screen doors. A high-pitched squeal of delight follows soon afterwards.
Yen chuckled and buried her hand in one of her pockets, rummaging for something. She pulled out a thin pipe, as well as a small little pouch to go with it, which she carefully unraveled revealing a pile of some sort of fine, shredded herb.
She poured some of the herb into the bowl of the pipe and pulled out a box of matches, then set it alight.
Catra's nose wrinkled at the unpleasant scent, waving away the clouds of smoke with her hand.
The warlord offered the pipe to her. "You smoke?"
"...smoke? Is that what you call it?"
"Yes. We call it tabako. It helps soothe the nerves."
Catra grabbed the pipe with slight hesitation. She held it awkwardly, unsure exactly how to use it. Shrugging, she brought the mouthpiece to her lips and inhaled deeply.
"Akh!" Catra coughed violently at the harsh smoke filling her lungs. It leaves a dry, burning sensation in her throat that has her gasping for air. "What- cough- what is this!?"
The warlord threw her head back in laughter. "I told you, it's tabako. I suppose it takes some getting used to."
Even Suji had a small grin on her face. "I've never seen somebody react so badly to it before."
"I don't understand how you can call this soothing ," Catra said with disbelief.
"Give it another go, I'm sure it won't be as bad," Yen suggested.
Reluctantly, Catra took another hit from the pipe and, while she still had another fit of coughs, it doesn't feel quite as awful, and in one more puff she found herself able to tolerate it.
"Huh… I guess… it's not so bad."
"That's the spirit!" Yen patted her back encouragingly. Catra passed it back to the warlord, who then passed it off to Suji. "So, how did you like our humble little province?"
"It's been great so far," came Catra's earnest reply. "I can't wait to take the kittens here. They'll love it."
"I'm sure they will! I think they'll quite enjoy meeting others of their own kind. Speaking of which, how was that for you? It can't have been easy growing up without other magicats to relate to."
Catra shrugged. "I used to be curious about where I came from but I sort of just got used to it. Everyone I grew up with were orphans so none of us really had a family." She paused for a moment, staring out wistfully. "But… now that I'm here though, I guess I am curious. Like, why I was abandoned… who my parents were."
"Ah, that is a reasonable thing to wonder indeed. Truthfully, I have no idea how you could've ended up outside of Half Moon. My best guess would be that you were born out of wedlock and abandoned because your mother wanted to avoid dishonouring her family name. It's not… completely unheard of."
"A coward's way out of responsibility," Suji muttered scornfully, passing the pipe back to Yen. "Abandoning a child is more dishonourable than raising a bastard."
The warlord hummed in agreement, a billow of smoke escaping through her nostrils.
Catra stared down at her palms. I could've had a family , she thought. Those old feelings of abandonment from her younger years nearly began to resurface, but she quickly quashed them. Years of therapy had made her much better at dealing with her insecurities. No, I already have a family. And I'll never let them suffer like I did.
Yen offered the pipe back to Catra and this time, she accepted it gratefully. As the smell of sweet, burnt smoke permeated the humid air between them, Catra gradually relaxed.
"Have you made a life for yourself, Meowmeow? In the outside world?"
"...Yeah, I have." Catra smiled, looking back on her life and the mistakes she made, and the tremendous progress she's made since then. "It hasn't been easy, but I'm content with the life I have now."
"That's good to hear. Whoever your parents were, I'm sure they'd be proud to see how far you've come."
"You… you think so?"
Yen smiled back at her warmly. "Yes. Why wouldn't they be? We magicats are a stubborn bunch, but we value many things, compassion and courage above all."
"...and loyalty," Suji added. "Loyalty to your clan, to your nation, to your family." She turned to Catra, her gaze unwavering. "I don't understand you outsiders and your strange customs. But the way you treat your mate and speak of your children is… admirable. I cannot say that about many alphas here."
Catra blinked at her, then nodded curtly. "...thank you." She felt a surge of pride at the compliment. It meant a lot coming from alpha to another, so she knew the warrior's words were sincere.
The door to the dojo abruptly slid open and Adora walked out, de-transformed.
"Phew, alright guys, I think we--" she paused, wrinkling her nose. "Catra? You're… smoking?"
Catra handed the pipe back to Yen, waving the smoke away. "What? No I wasn't."
Adora grinned, folding her arms at her. "...right."
Yen let out a good-natured laugh and patted the alpha's shoulder. "You're alright, Meowmeow. It's been nice getting to know you two, I haven't had this much fun in a while." She turned to Adora. "How was my daughter?"
"A handful, but she's a good kid. I think she has a bright future ahead of her. She seemed really inspired by me."
The warlord smiled triumphantly. "Outstanding! Thank you for this, I am in your debt." She bows before her, prompting Suji to do the same. Adora just blushed, feeling somewhat embarrassed by the gesture.
"Oh, uh, it's nothing really," she said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. "It's just something I do sometimes."
"Pft. Like transforming into a giant warrior princess is not a big deal," Catra scoffed. "Just take the credit where it's due, idiot."
"Right." Adora coughed, then puffed out her chest to resume some level of confidence. "Of course! It was nothing, really." Her wife chuckled and padded by next to her, kissing her cheek.
"You ready to head back?"
"Yup… or, wait… I promised the kids we'd get them souvenirs."
"Oh yeah…" Catra turned to the two magicats in front of them. "Where would we be able to buy some souvenirs?"
"Souvenirs? I know just the place."
------
After the couple bid farewell to the two magicats, they were promptly teleported out of Half-Moon and back into the Crimson Waste.
Darkness had fallen over the desert, and a gust of wind chilled Catra to the bone.
Adora's bag was filled to the brim with all sorts of trinkets and souvenirs, having gone on a wild shopping spree as soon as she entered the gift shop Yen had brought them to. Items from toys and sweets to cans of seafood were all but contained in her bag and pockets.
Catra was a bit more conservative with her spending, having only bought a few things for each of her daughters. A good luck fortune for Idun, a bunch of snacks for Eir, a doll for Freya, and a wooden sword for Sif.
Catra figured Sif would probably want something like a sword. When she was a young alpha she loved playing with toy weapons, as they engaged her fighting instinct. Of course, it also got her into a lot of trouble and Adora would often have to drag her out of conflicts with Shadow Weaver and the other cadets.
But that wasn't the only reason. Suji had also suggested she get her a sword so the kitten would have more courage. She had told her about Sif and how she had struggled with bullies, so Suji told her about how young magicat warriors would train with wooden swords to instill strength and discipline before being granted a steel one once they became full-fledged warriors.
The wooden sword wasn't just for her to fight, but to also teach her to be brave. And Catra wanted nothing more for her little kitten than to stand up for herself.
"Hey Catra, I was thinking," Adora suddenly said.
"You were thinking? That's unusual of you," Catra joked.
Adora elbowed her wife in the gut. "As I was saying. Um…" she trailed off, a little unsure if she should continue. "So like. What if we had another litter?"
Catra stopped in her tracks, the blonde taking a second to realize before looking back at her.
"Uh… Catra?"
"You want even more kittens?" Melog next her drooped their ears, mirroring Catra's unease. "Isn't… isn't four enough, Adora?"
The blonde frowned, a little upset but also not really surprised her mate would react this way. Catra was extremely apprehensive when they had their first litter (despite being aroused by Adora being pregnant in concept) and only really came around to the idea when she was close to giving birth, so it wasn't unusual for her to be nervous at the idea of having even more.
Still though, Adora liked the idea of having more kittens. As long as Catra would go along with it, and she had a feeling she would eventually. She just had to do some convincing.
"I mean, what's four more?"
"'What's four more' are you kidding me, Adora? The kittens we have are stressful enough as is! You really wanna have a house full of rowdy children and a bunch of screaming kits!?"
Adora sighed. Maybe she was right. The idea was dumb. But she'd been thinking on it for a while, and spending time with the warlord's daughter today only solidified her desire.
Just as Adora was about to argue, her tracker pad started beeping. She scrambled to pull the tablet from her disorganized bag, gritting her teeth in frustration at all the other junk mixed inside. When she finally retrieved it, she turned the screen on to check the notification.
"What… oh, Bow and Glimmer are trying to patch us through." Catra walked over next to her, watching as she hit the answer button.
To the couple's surprise, neither Bow nor Glimmer were on the other end.
"Huntara?"
"Blondie, hey, sorry we have to see each other again in such dire terms, but we have a situation here."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on? Why do you have Bow's tracker pad? How did it end up all the way to the Crimson Waste?"
"I was just getting to that, okay? Your kits, uh, they're… they're here, and one of them's in… in critical condition."
Catra's stomach dropped, Huntara's voice drowning out as her mind tried to process what she just said. Her kits? Her kits were here? Why weren't they at home? How did Bow and Glimmer lose them? One of them was hurt?
What happened?
Her own voice barely registered in her mind as she yelled it out, silencing the two in front of her.
"Hey, calm down--"
"Don't tell me to calm down!" Catra shouted furiously, startling Adora. Melog's mane turned bright red, roaring just as loudly. "Those are our kids you're talking about! What happened to them!?"
"Catra, she was just explaining," said Adora, trying to keep her voice steady. While she too could barely contain her own anxiety, she knew she had to keep her mind focused if they were going to rescue their kids.
But there was no mistaking that she was just as ready to rip someone's throat out.
"Yeah, so I was saying, we're in the Valley of the Lost and while we took care of the bandits, your alpha kitten is badly hurt. Boy and Glitter are here too. I've sent you my coordinates, there isn't any time to waste."
"Okay, okay," Adora nodded, grabbing the coordinates on screen and placing them on the map. "We're on our way, we'll be there as fast as we can." As soon as she ended the call, Catra dug her claws into her scalp and shouted into the sky.
"FUCK, Adora!" The blonde was bombarded with her wife's pheromones, rage mixed with worry and protectiveness. "This was a mistake! We never should've come here!"
"Catra, get a hold of yourself!" She grabbed her shoulders, trying to placate her with her own comforting scent. "We have to be there for them."
Catra took a deep breath, doing as best she could to calm down her nerves. Then, she met Adora's blue eyes and nodded. "Let's go."
They both mounted themselves on Melog and set off towards the Valley of the Lost, a million thoughts racing through their minds.
--------
Earlier that day…
"Wow, so you're Catra's kid, huh? So that's what she's been up to since the war ended," the male alpha laughed deeply, ruffling Sif's hair. She growled in annoyance.
"Who can blame her? I've had a ton of bastards since the Horde disbanded. Pretty sure we all went wild when we got off the suppressants," a female alpha murmured. "Probably got a whole bunch of litters by now, for all I care."
"Speak for yourself," the male huffed. "I was never dumb enough to take those suppressants. I know how to control my urges."
Sif flicked her tail absent-mindedly, barely able to follow what these adults were blabbering on about.
After she followed the strange alpha and omega into the building, which turned out to be a shabby-looking bar, she was introduced to the dozen or so gang members inside and was eager to be inducted into their social group.
Most of them were alphas, like her, and they all spoke of her mother fondly. They all seemed strong and confident, which she admired. To think that they were willing to accept her despite being much smaller gave her a surge of hope.
She'd never had friends before, so this was all just so exciting.
Zara came by with a mug of beer and sat down next to her at their table, smiling down at the young alpha.
"So kid, how are you liking it here?"
"It's awesome," Sif responded. "I think you're all way better than the kids at school." Tomo retorted at her with several robotic noises, which Sif quickly hushed. She didn't need its criticism right now.
"Hah, I bet." She took a sip from her glass, wiping her top lip when she finished.
The male alpha across from her asked, "You sure you really wanna recruit this kid, Zara? Sure we're low on members, but she's just… so young."
The woman shrugged. "Why not? We know what it's like training up kids from infancy. This isn't that different."
"I guess…" he scratched his head, not really convinced.
"I'm not too young," Sif spoke up, trying to sound as assertive as she can. "I'm strong. I can handle whatever you guys throw at me."
"You sure about that, kid?" the other female alpha asked, smirking.
"Yeah." Sif bared her sharp fangs and extended her claws, trying to look intimidating. The alpha just laughed.
"You got a funny one, Zara. I think I like this kid."
Sif frowned, unsure if the woman was being sarcastic or not. Whatever, she was gonna prove herself one way or another.
The door to the bar suddenly opened and a large, beast-like man walked inside, dragging a small child in with him.
The four at the table turned to them and Sif immediately felt a chill run down her spine when she realized who just came in. The little girl that angrily struggled against him was none other than her sister Freya.
Why is she here!? Did she follow me all the way to this place!? I told her I was going to do this on my own!
The man shoved her forward to Zara, and it was then that the two kittens finally met each other's gaze.
Freya looked absolutely terrified. She shared a pleading look with her sister, and while Sif was still somewhat angry at her for following her here, she couldn't help worry about the implications of Freya being caught by these gangsters.
"What do you got here, Roy?" Zara asked, eyeing the trembling kitten up and down.
"Found her near the dumpsters. All by herself."
Zara's eyes flicked from Freya back to Sif, and she quickly made the connection. "This is your sister, isn't she, Fuzzball?"
Sif stared down at the floor, unwilling to admit the truth.
Zara chuckled darkly and shot the beast-man a toothy grin. "Well, well, to think we've got an omega here, too…" She reached out her arm and brought her palm to Freya's cheek, rubbing it sensually. The kitten flinched uncomfortably.
Sif bristled wildly at the way she touched her sister, rage steadily building as her instincts screamed at her to protect her. Sure, Freya was a pain in the ass, but she was family .
And there was just something deeply unsettling about the way Zara looked at her. Something about it wasn't right.
"She can fetch a pretty hefty price, don't you think?" Zara said, moving her hand to pet one of Freya's ears. "Young omegas are worth a lot on its own… but a rare one too? A feline omega will bring in some good coin."
"That's what I was thinking, Boss. What do you suggest we do with her?"
"We pawn her off, of course," she said bluntly. Sif watched with wrath as she continued to lower her hand down Freya's shaking body, clenching her hands into tight fists. "But first, we should probably break her in."
The young alpha let out a crazed snarl as she finally lost it and pounced at the woman, slashing her claws through her side and sending her stumbling away in pain.
Zara quickly regained her footing, eyes shooting daggers into the kitten as she winced at the scratches. "What the hell!? The fuck is wrong with you!?"
"Stay away from her!" she spat. Tomo maintained a defensive position in front of her, poised to attack as well. "You're not selling my sister!"
The other alphas quickly surrounded Sif, but it did nothing to deter the alpha's explosive rage. In fact, it only fueled it, stoking the flame inside her as adrenaline coursed through her veins.
"You clearly don't know anything about the Crimson Waste, kid. If you wanna be a part of our gang, you have to accept us as your new family! Whatever life you lived before doesn't matter here!"
"It matters to me!" Sif shouted defiantly, scraping her feet's claws into the ground. "I don't want to be a part of your family if you're going to hurt her!"
Freya felt pure terror grip through her, knowing full well that there was no way Sif could take on all these grown alphas. The man's grip on her was as hard as steel, there was absolutely no way out of this situation. Tears started to flow down her cheeks.
They never should have come here. She should have stopped Sif from leaving. Then they wouldn't be in this mess.
"You've made a grave mistake," Zara deadpanned.
Before she knew it, Sif had launched herself at the gangsters, and she was getting torn apart.
The robot was the first to go, doing its best to drive itself in between Sif and her attackers before being utterly destroyed and tossed to the side.
And when Tomo was gone, Sif stood no chance.
Freya was forced to watch in painful agony as her sister was nearly beaten to death, guilt eating away at her with the realization that she had caused all this.
Just as she was about to give up all hope, she heard the man grunt behind her and his grip went slack, falling to the floor with a thud. In the next instant, a puff of pink sparkles flashed before her and she caught a glimpse of her aunt Glimmer rip her way through the rest of the gangsters, taking them out one by one.
She nearly fainted in shock before a firm, but gentle hand caught her, looking up and recognizing her uncle Bow.
"It's okay, I got you," he reassured her, his voice calming her down somewhat.
After Glimmer finished taking care of the thugs, Freya saw her drop down to her knees over Sif's broken body. She brought her fingers down to her neck, checking for a pulse, then carefully picked the girl up, walking over to them with a grim expression.
Bow gasped and covered his mouth in shock. Freya felt her heart sink in her chest at the sight of her sister, bruised, bloody and unconscious in Glimmer's arms.
"Boy, Glitter, we took care of the--oh," the large, purple woman stopped in her tracks, and went silent, having walked in on a somber moment.
Glimmer finally looked up, tears streaming her face. "She's… alive. Barely. We have to get her to a doctor, Huntara. Is there any sort of clinic or hospital or anything here?"
"Y-yes," she stammered out, quickly motioning towards the door. There's a doctor here I trust. We have to hurry."
As they rushed out of the bar to wherever Huntara was taking them, Freya couldn't keep her eyes off her sister. Her sister who had risked her life to save her, and might potentially die because of that.