Work Text:
“Scorpia? What are you doing?”
Scorpia didn’t turn around. Her shoulders tensed but she nodded to herself. She had made up her mind. “I’m packing.”
“Packing?” Catra shook her head, her tail swishing with discomfort. “To go where? I knew you liked it back in the Crimson Waste but I didn’t think you’d feel homesick,” she chuckled.
Sadness filled Scorpia’s heart at the mention of the desert. That place, where they could have been happy. That time, when Scorpia’s heart wasn’t yet broken. When Catra hadn’t crossed any line yet.
“No, Catra. I’m not going to the Crimson Waste.”
Scorpia threw the bag over her shoulders. She walked passed a dumbfounded Catra, averting her gaze from her.
“Where are you-” Catra didn’t finish her sentence. Because she knew. Of course she knew. But she didn’t want to see it. There were so many things Catra didn’t want to see. “You can’t!” She grabbed Scorpia’s arm. Scorpia flinched, but she didn’t stop. Catra had to go around her and block the way out of her room.
“Catra, step aside.”
“No!” she yelled. Her voice had this vulnerable pitch that always made Scorpia sorry before. It used to make her want to hug the catgirl and rock her until the sorrow went away. But Catra had made it clear that she didn’t want it to go away. She didn’t want to heal.
“Catra, either you let me go to Beast Island, or you come with me. But I’m going, no matter what you do.”
Her voice was softer than intended. But it was also resolute, and Catra felt it. Her mismatched eyes expressed conflict. Conflict and fear. Maybe... Maybe Scorpia could convince her, if she tried enough.
But she was tired of trying.
“So,” Scorpia said with a sigh. “What will it be?”
Catra blinked then snarled. She had already turned her vulnerability into rage. She was so good at that. “She betrayed me! She deserved her punishment, and now you want to betray me too?!”
Scorpia pursed her lips. She wasn’t one to get angry, but if Catra kept pushing it, she would be surprised. “I don’t want to betray you, I just want to go save my friend.”
“And you would leave me behind for that!” Catra’s voice broke. Oh no, Scorpia was not in the mood for a guilt trip. But at the sight of those tears prickling at the corner of those yellow and blue eyes... She couldn’t help it. She would try one last time to convince her.
“Come with me then,” Scorpia pleaded, “come with me so we can fix this.”
Catra’s eye twitched. Scorpia had a feeling she was currently reminiscing some unpleasant memory involving a certain blonde princess. Of course. It always went back to her. It was always about her.
“I should have known all princesses were the same,” Catra spat. “I should have never trusted you!” She shouted. “You said you’d stay with me no matter what happened! You promised!”
“Catra...”
“All lies! Everybody always lies to me, and abandons me! I’m sick of it!”
She unsheathed her claws and swiped at Scorpia, who caught her arm in her pincers thanks to her reflexes. She pinned Catra to the wall, which surprised her so much she gasped and looked up in fear.
“I don’t want to abandon you Catra,” Scorpia said in a teary tone, “but Entrapta needs me. I can’t give up on her.”
“I need you!” Catra yelled. “I let you in, and now I need you, and you’re leaving for her?!”
“You sent her to DIE!” Scorpia shouted. Catra’s ears drooped at the sight of the fire in Scorpia’s eyes. The scorpion princess was really angry now. “You betrayed her, Catra!”
“I didn’t!”
“Yes, you did! You tazed her! You banished her! You opened the portal, and you didn’t even care if it would send us all to our death!” Scorpia sniffled, blinking her tears away. She hated when she got mad like this. “You didn’t even care about me...”
“Scorpia...” Catra looked guilty, finally. But Scorpia was not over.
“If you’re looking for someone to blame for all the shit that happened to you these last few days, just take a look in the mirror! You fucked it all up!”
“I had to- I had to win!”
“Win what?! Huh?! Tell me, Catra, what would you have won if Adora hadn’t saved us all?”
“Ooh, so now you want to join her, of course,” she snickered darkly. “You’re going to bow before our great savior and blame it all on mean evil Catra!”
“It’s not like- You know what?” Scorpia loosened her grip on her friend. “I’m done.”
In a swift move, she cuffed Catra’s hands and tied her to the bed before she could react. She knew Catra would try to stop her. Scorpia opened the door and stepped outside. She heard outraged screams and the sound of something heavy being dragged on the metal ground.
“That’s right, leave.” Catra had managed to tug the bed until she could show her face through the door. One glance over her shoulder, and Scorpia saw that she was crying. She focused on the path ahead quickly, not looking back. It would hurt too much. “I’m better off on my own anyway! You’re an even bigger disappointment than Adora after all!”
Scorpia stopped. She put a pincer to her chest, as if it could ease the feeling of her heart being stabbed to death. She turned around slowly, peering into Catra’s expectant and fearful eyes. The feline woman was out of breath. She was waiting for Scorpia’s reaction. What exactly was she expecting? How could she think it would bring Scorpia back at her sides?
Was it how Adora felt all those times Catra hurt her?
“Catra,” Scorpia whispered. “I think you should start to wonder why everybody’s leaving you.”
Scorpia saw the despair and the pain on her face. But she couldn’t feel guilty about it. Scorpia was hurting too. She couldn’t stand to see Catra destroying herself and everyone around anymore.
Besides, she had someone to save.
So, she walked away, ignoring the one she loved so much crying and raging behind her.
She walked away, feeling her heart bleed more and more each step that brought her closer to the skiff she was about to steal.
She walked away, knowing there was no going back to the Horde after that.
There was no going back to Catra.
Scorpia cried a lot that night on her way to Beast Island.