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Adora knew there were more important things she should have been focusing on. She didn't have her She-Ra powers anymore and the whole planet was getting invaded by an alien empire from beyond the stars. Her every thought should have been on aiding what was left of the rebellion in protecting what few Etherians remained.
She knew how everyone was looking to her for leadership with Glimmer gone, that even if she wasn’t She-Ra anymore, Adora herself had become a beacon of hope that the rest of the rebellion and the remaining Etherians looked towards. In these desperate times… they needed Adora more than ever.
And yet... Adora couldn't stop thinking about one person in particular. One person whose presence dominated every thought she had.. She had thought it was something she had put behind her at this point, that whatever she had felt before was gone. And yet... something had stirred in her.
Perhaps it was because she wasn't She-Ra again now, that she was plain old Adora and that it was Adora's feelings that were finally coming out. For too long, Adora had thought about what She-Ra wanted, what She-Ra needed, a lot more than she thought about herself. But whatever the cause was... Adora couldn't stop thinking about Catra. And there was only one person at the moment she knew had the answers she sought. Scorpia.
Adora was glad that Scorpia had seen the light and joined the rebellion. Even though the two had their differences in the past… Scorpia had seemed genuinely kind and sweet, the polar opposite of a lot of the Horde’s force captains. Maybe it was because she had always been a Princess at heart.
Plus, it helped that the rebellion had a new source of muscle to rely on with She-Ra gone. But Adora knew that Scorpia had also spent the longest time with Catra over the last year and a half… but Adora knew it might have been a touchy subject for her. Catra… hadn’t exactly treated Scorpia the best. But Adora needed desperately to talk to someone who understood Catra as well as she did.
It was after another long mission to escort refugees from yet another destroyed village that the opportunity arose. Adora, Scorpia, Bow, Netossa and Spinnerella were utterly exhausted from the ordeal, Netossa and Spinnerella doing their little game of who destroyed the most bots to keep their spirits up.
"Hah, looks like I beat you again, Spinny!" Netossa boasted. "I destroyed seventeen Prime bots during that last fight."
"I never doubted you for a second, Darling.... but I got nineteen," Spinnerella teased with a smug look on her face. “Managed to destroy two at once with a well-timed cyclone blast.”
Netossa chuckled, before she kissed her wife on the cheek. "That's my girl.”
Adora smiled. Honestly, trying to think positive and still have a sense of humour did wonders at a time like this. She just wished she had that same level of confidence the others had. Deep down… she was a paranoid wreck. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d actually gotten a decent night's sleep.
"Hey, I'm gonna go see if Entrapta needs help," Bow replied. "That old First One's ship isn't gonna get spaceworthy by itself."
"Oh can I help?" Scorpia wondered. "I mean, if you need a big girl who can lift... stuff."
"Nah, it's alright, Scorpia," Bow reassured her. "You guys should probably get your rest. Who knows what mission we get sent on tomorrow.”
Netossa yawned. "Yeah, I can agree with that." She took Spinny's hand. "Come on, Spinny."
As Netossa and Spinnerella went to their tent, gazing at each other adoringly, and Bow headed to the spot where Mara's ship was parked, it was just Adora and Scorpia who were left. As the arachnid was about to make her own way to Perfuma's tent, as that was where she'd been spending most of her time, Adora called out to her.
"Hey, uh Scorpia?"
"Yes?" she wondered.
Adora tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, something she always did while nervous. "Can I uh... ask you something?"
"Oh sure!" Scorpia chirped.
"Could you um... tell me about Catra?"
The Scorpioni’s face... shifted at that, the bright cheery smile on her face fading away. She seemed... saddened by the mention of Catra's name. "Huh... you know that wasn't exactly what I was expecting. Heck, I don't think I've seen anyone even mention her in days."
"Look, I know it must have been hard for you and if you don't wanna talk about it, I understand," Adora admitted, praying to the stars she hadn’t said something stupid again. "It's just...."
"You miss her," Scorpia finished. "Yeah, I don't blame you... Catra missed you a lot too. But after that whole portal thing... I don't even remember if she even said your name once outside of like, whatever she was planning. I’m pretty sure she just called you ‘She-Ra’ half of the time.”
Adora walked over to some nearby rocks and plopped herself down. "But you also told me how badly she treated you... I didn't wanna remind you of that."
"Honestly... yeah, Catra treated a lot of people badly… then again I probably screwed up too. I never was the best at personal space," Scorpia admitted, sitting down next to Adora. "But even if she was a terrible friend... I don't think I could hate her. I don't even think I have a bone in me that's capable of hating!”
"Neither do I... No matter how angry I've been, a part of me... still wishes she was my friend," Adora said. "I told her that she'd have to live with her choice, that if she chose to stay with the Horde and be evil, that was it. But now there is no Horde... and I'm wondering where she is."
"To be honest, I've thought the same thing," Scorpia said. “I told Glimmer not to hurt her when we went to the Fright Zone when I got my powers but… I don’t know if Catra was even still there. I like to think she maybe got out and is lying low somewhere but…” Scorpia hugged herself with her big claws. “Darn it, she was my Wildcat... I don't want anything bad to happen to her."
"I noticed you always called her that," Adora stated. "Were you and her..."
"Oh! Oh no," Scorpia insisted, her face flushing red in an awkward manner. "I mean... I did have a thing for her. Remember that time we were in the Northern Reach and you got messed up and I had to babysit you?"
"I... vaguely remember that," Adora said, blushing in embarrassment as well. "I swear I tried to hit you with a mop."
"Yeah, and called me a big bug... and somehow managed to remember Catra's favourite number while still being uh... disk-drunk? Yeah, I'll go with that. Well anyway, right before you crashed the party there... I was gonna ask her out on a date. I don't think she understood it though. And then we were in the Crimson Waste together and she was so happy after we took over that gang and I wanted us so badly to stay and... Darn, I should have just told her how I felt there and then."
Adora put a hand on Scorpia's shoulder. "You really loved her, didn't you?"
"I still do. I mean, don't get me wrong, I am so happy to not be in the Horde anymore and you and your friends have been so nice. Especially Perfuma... she's the sweetest.” Another blush filled Scorpia’s cheeks, this one of fondness. Adora could tell that Perfuma and Scorpia had gotten close the last few weeks.
Scorpia then let out a deep sigh. “But there are days when I still miss Catra. I feel like... it's not the same without her. I’d… do anything to get her back.”
"I know exactly how you feel, Scorpia," Adora reassured the white-haired woman.
"How do you deal with it?" Scorpia inquired. "Missing her and all. Because honestly for me… it’s kinda impossible.”
"I don't... I just try to focus on what's important, distract myself with other stuff. Planning, training... It's how I haven't gone completely crazy with this whole invasion thing."
"Yeah that wouldn't be great for one's mental health. Even my hopeless optimism can have its limits."
"I dunno, Scorpia, I think your optimism is one of your more endearing qualities," Adora stated.
The arachnid grinned and then pulled Adora into a bear hug. "AW SHUCKS!" She exclaimed.
"Ooof!" Adora grunted as she was crushed in Scorpia's embrace. "Oh Stars, you are a hugger, aren't you."
Scorpia quickly pulled away. "Sorry, sorry, still have to work on those personal space issues!”
"No, I liked it," Adora replied. "To be honest... that's the first hug I've had in weeks."
The arachnid pulled Adora into a hug again, this time a bit more softer. "Well you know what, Adora? As far as I'm concerned, I'm gonna personally make sure you get a hug every day until this war is over."
"Aw, thanks," Adora replied, blushing. "And... I hope we find Catra one day. Wherever she is."
"Oh Scorpia!" Perfuma's voice called out. "I made you dinner!"
"Coming!" Scorpia chirped, getting up, but before she left, gave Adora one last hug. "We'll get through this, Adora, I promise."
Adora smiled and watched as Scorpia left. She could tell that Scorpia was definitely in love with Perfuma. As she looked up as the stars filled the sky, her thoughts turned to Catra again. Wherever she was... Adora hoped she would see her again. Little did she know, it'd be a lot sooner than she realised.