Chapter Text
It was just one of those days.
Adora had finally done something right. She had saved the family from a rampaging robot jaguar. And she did it her way too, leading it through the treetops, entangling it in the undergrowth, and grappling it with her makeshift spear. She’d shown that even if she wasn’t like all the other gorillas, she could still be worth something to them.
When she presented the remains to Angella, the whole family cheering her on, Adora saw a glint of respect in her eyes. She could have sworn her mechanical arm was about to reach out to embrace her — at long last recognize Adora as one of their own.
So, of course, something had to go wrong. Loud noises came from the lowlands. The scout, Juliet, came back with a report: strange monsters were stalking across Island, knocking down trees, zapping small creatures, and throwing them into cages.
Angella ordered the family to take refuge in the highlands, where the whining was the loudest. Just as Glimmer was about to object, Adora volunteered to keep an eye on the strangers while the family stayed safe. Angella accepted the offer. She knew Adora couldn’t follow them there; the strange sound that made them mildly uncomfortable was fatal to her after a few hours, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her from keeping the rest of the family safe.
Ever since she had lost her mate, Micah, the silverback had been fiercely protective of everyone who remained and deeply suspicious of outsiders, hairless mutant apes included. At least by volunteering to stay and protect them somehow, Adora was maintaining some claim to being part of the family. It was the best for everyone; Angella and Adora knew it.
As she swung through the canopy, passing ancient metal ruins and crystal spires coated with vines, she cursed her back luck. No matter what she did, Adora could never fit in with the other gorillas. Ever since they took her in as a baby, she was the odd one out. When the fuzzy light people in the Forbidden Zone started trying to talk to her, things just got more confusing. Some of the shapes looked a bit like her — long and lanky instead of squat and strong like her family.
One time, when they were small, Bow and Glimmer had followed her to the Forbidden Zone. Since Adora wasn’t really part of the family, it wasn’t forbidden to her. As long as she came back with something useful and didn’t trigger any traps that might damage the surrounding area, Angella turned a blind eye.
While wandering through the tangles of wires, Glimmer had stumbled upon a pile of bleached, white bones. “Adora, look” she had signaled. “The feet! The hands! They look just like yo—” Too late, she noticed Bow desperately trying to get her attention, and realized what she had said. Adora was alone. Anyone who might have been like her was long gone.
After that, she began noticing skeletons more often, especially down by the beaches when she was foraging. She thought about Bow’s comment every time. The other gorilla was one of the few who made a real effort to make her feel welcome. He always nested near her; he covered for her with Angella; and he even took an interest in the weird Light People stuff that made the rest of the family give her a wide berth.
One time, he speculated that the skeletons were the apes’ ancestors; and that Adora’s parents, whoever they were, just happened to be a bit more like them. Different apes, but still apes. “You’re one of us, Adora” he had reassured, gesturing to their hearts. “Don’t forget that.”
Sometimes, she pressed her hand against what remained of theirs, matching them up, and urging them to tell her who they were. All she ever got was silence. Maybe that’s why she took to wearing the coverings she found on them— to connect with whatever was left. That, and having something substantial on her bare skin to keep off the cold made her feel a bit more like she belonged among the others.
It didn’t take her long to find the strangers. They were loud. When she caught sight of them, she stayed a hundred feet above, observing in the canopy. The strangers were . . . well, strange. There were five of them - all covered in black shells like giant beetles, except for the two out front — the biggest and the smallest. They were different.
She got closer to the ground, at times only a few feet from them. They didn’t notice. Not very observant, she noted for her report. The strangers were easy to avoid, or ambush? It looked like they were foraging, but they walked past plenty of edible plants. When they did stop, they just pointed small tablets at them and kept moving. They wouldn’t survive long if they thought that would get them food. Adora thought it was kinda sad.
When they got to clearing the family had used for nesting a few weeks ago, they stopped. One of the armored ones pointed its tablet a lot, seemingly excitedly. Adora frowned. The nests weren’t food, and the family didn’t leave any behind. Why were they interested? Maybe they didn’t have a home and wanted to use the old site as theirs.
Her suspicion was confirmed when the smallest one called them together. She pointed to the biggest one, the one with big red claws, made some sounds, and then stormed off alone. As soon as she was gone, the others started settling in. Adora didn’t know what to make of the display. If the smallest one was their leader, then she knew the strangers must be intelligent, like her family. Only intelligent creatures followed the smartest, not the strongest.
But if the smallest one was their leader, then why was she going away, all by herself? A leader should stay with the family and protect them. Only outcasts spent time alone. So, what was she: a leader like Angella or an outcast like Adora?
She followed her to find out. If she was the leader, then Adora was doing her job — keeping an eye on the threat to family. She wasn’t sure the strangers were a threat given how they were acting, but if they were then the leader was the one to watch out for, and she definitely seemed to be looking for something. If she was an outcast . . . well then, Adora was interested for different reasons.
It wasn’t long before the alleged leader made Adora question her intelligence. Everyone knew pookas traveled in packs; yet here she was grabbing one. She watched to gage her reaction when the rest of the swarm converged. Maybe she could learn how these strangers fought; that would be useful to report. But instead of fighting, the strangers’ leader ran. Ok, she is smart. Good to know.
Adora followed at a distance for as long as she could, until finally the Stranger was about to be chased off a cliff. Adora waited for her to chance course, but she didn’t. Unless the strangers could sprout wings, she was going to—
Without hesitation, Adora sprung into action. She raced through the canopy, swung on a dangling cable, and caught her by her coverings in mid air. It wasn’t a smooth escape. The Stranger was very uncooperative, clawing out of her grasp when they landed on a pillar and leaping back in her arms when the swarm reappeared. Finally, after surfing through the twisted crystal jungle, Adora managed to get the Stranger to safety.
And the Stranger immediately hissed at her, stalked off on her own, and got herself stuck in a plank between a tree branch and the rest of the ruin just in time for rainstorm. Adora approached her as she tried to get herself out of this position, ineffectively flailing. After watching a few attempts, Adora pushed her back on the upswing and followed her into the shelter of the tree.
After she shook off the rain water, she got a closer look at the Stranger. She was furry like her family, stripes covering her exposed arms, but she wore coverings as well, with the same red wings Adora found in some of the skeletons. With her mane completely soaked and hanging down her shoulders, she looked smaller. But those eyes, blue and gold, sparkled even after all that had happened. Looking into those eyes, Adora was certain that the Stranger was intelligent. Maybe she could reason with them. Get them to keep their distance.
Are you ok? Adora asked with a few low, concerned hoots. The Stranger glared and made a long string of noises. Adora was confused. Her body language was closed but showed vulnerability. If anyone in her family looked like that, you were supposed to comfort them. But the noises sounded . . . weird. Lots of small sounds strung together that she didn’t recognize. She couldn’t be sure the Stranger wanted her help.
Erring on the side of helping, Adora crept closer, slowly, leaving herself open for attack. I won’t hurt you, she said with her body language. Not a threat. Not a threat. She couldn’t be clearer.
But the Stranger still panicked and took a swipe at her. That’s when Adora got a good look at her hands. The Stranger kept making noises, but Adora wasn’t paying attention. She couldn’t take her eyes off those hands. They looked just like—
While the Stranger was gesturing, Adora grabbed her wrist and pressed their fingers together. Hers was a bit bigger, but they still matched up closer than it did with any gorilla’s. It was different too, more slender and tipped with claws, but it lit up something in her heart. As the Stranger pulled her hand away, tears gathered in her eyes. It started to click together: the hand, the coverings. What if this stranger was one of her kind? The weird, bipedal, mutant half-apes? What if there were others?
There was only way to be sure. Forgetting caution, Adora rushed in, pushing an ear against her chest. She gasped when she heard the heartbeat — the same one her family had; the same one she had. Same. Deep down, they were the same.
When she pulled away however, the Stranger growled. Had she gotten too close? Didn’t she realize they were the same? What’s wrong with her? Then it hit her. Adora was lucky enough to have her family raise her. The Stranger just had the beetle-people. Maybe they didn’t have heartbeats like them.
No problem, Adora thought. I can show her. Before the Stranger could finish growling, she softly but quickly brought her head against her chest, letting her listen. After a few moments, she edged back to the trunk. Adora waited expectantly for her to have the same revelation Adora had all those years ago with Bow and Glimmer.
Instead she looked impassive still. Adora frowned. She gestured back and forth to their hearts, but she didn’t show a sign of understanding. It was frustrating.
How could she make her understand? Maybe the Stranger’s family didn’t communicate like hers. If anything, the long strings of sounds reminded her of the Light People. So, Adora decided she would try to speak that language. She knew a few sounds that made the Sparky Ruins do things, the ones that the Light People knew her by. She would try that.
Drawing up tall on her heels, she beat her chest. “She-Ra.” It got the reaction she hoped for. The Stranger looked surprised, then started making even more sounds. Adora put a finger on her lips. She may have misled the Stranger on her verbal skills. She tried again. “She-Ra.” It was a name. She gestured back at the stranger, hoping she would share hers.
After a few more sounds, the Stranger reciprocated her gesture and said something. So, that’s her name. “She-Ra,” Adora said, pointing to herself. She pointed to the Stranger. “Nice Tits.”
Nice Tits’ pupils grew huge. Yes! Adora had done it. She’d connected! But this wasn’t enough. If she was going to keep her family safe and find out more about these strangers like her, she needed to learn more of their language. So, when Nice Tits said “no no no. Not happening.” Adora mimicked her.
Hearing her voice, Nice Tits came out of her shock and cleared her throat. “She-Ra” Nice Tits said touching her shoulder. “Catra,” she said pointing to herself. “She-Ra. Catra.” She repeated the process. Oh. “Nice Tits” might just be the sounds for her chest coverings. Or a nickname? Adora wasn’t sure.
Adora scooted forward and placed a cautious hand on her shoulder. She didn’t want to get this wrong and scare her off. “Catra?” She repeated, hoping for confirmation. The stranger nodded. “Catra.” She said again with certainty.
She smiled as the sky cleared up. After all these years, one of her kind was in front her — in the flesh — and she had a name. Adora thought it was a nice one.
Suddenly, a high-pitched cry whistled through the air, and then boomed. Adora put herself between it and Catra, to protect her, but the other was not afraid. She kept chattering. Adora picked up on one sound that she repeated each time the noise and the streaking light happened. Adora tried repeating it to show she was listening. “Kyle,” she shouted, pointing at the last one. “Kyle!”
Catra smiled. She got it right. Progress! “She-Ra,” Catra said slowly. “Can. You. Take. Catra. To. Kyle?” Adora nodded. She didn’t know some of the middle words, but she got Catra’s meaning. This was perfect. By learning everything she could about the strangers, she could keep her family safe and discover more about herself in a single strike.
Once she mastered their weird way of communicating, maybe she could work out a deal — keep them away from her family and find them their own place on the island. That could be her place in the family— the Diplomat! That could be her role! Angella would have to recognize her as part of the family if she pulled this off.
As she lifted Catra up and began leaping through the trees and swinging through the ruins, Adora cackled along with the other’s screams as they closed in on the Strangers’ Camp. Adora was a fast learner. She knew she could make this work.
It wasn’t just one of those days, she realized. Today was a good one.