Chapter Text
Under the light of the sun, it was hard to think of anything changing. Adora leaned on the metal railing, and inhaled the morning smells of the Fright Zone. The sun glowed orange on the horizon, the beginning colors of morning reflecting radiantly on the hot green metals of her home. Adora had to squint against the light to make out the shape of the moon over its shoulder. A pale and small comparison next to its celestial sibling, but all as much powerful if not in wane. While one used its power to give them strength, protection, the other used its power to remind them that they were vulnerable, not invincible.
Well, maybe not for her specifically. Not yet anyway. But... soon. Things were going to change.
Even though she worked towards it her whole life, it seemed daunting now that it was actually here. She didn’t know much, but she knew that things would be different.
“Adora, listen to me.” Shadow Weaver had told her a few hours ago. She reached out to Adora’s face and barely touched her skin with an icy hand. The contact made Adora’s skin crawl every time. “I know that you have reservations. But you must become the warrior that I raised you to be. This is what you were made for.”
The sun chased away the cold ghost of a touch on her cheek, but not the discomfort of the memories that Adora had of her meeting with her superior. But Adora was strong, and she did what she always did; tried her best to prove her place here. To earn the respect of her elders. She endured grueling training, nocturnal hours, and years of hardship just so she could repay Shadow Weaver the kindness of sparing her life when she was found as a helpless infant. She had to show that she was worth more now. And it worked. She had arrived at her destination.
But... Why did that leave an uncomfortable sensation crawling across her skin?
“Everything will be different.” Her mentor had warned her. “It’s going to seem like your whole life has changed. But this is all a part of the plan, my Adora.” Adora remembered looking out a window at the moon, just seven days from full. She felt scared. “Is this not everything that you have wanted, since you were old enough to want anything?” To have the courage to defeat her foes. To have the strength to protect her friends. To have the agility to never be hurt again.
“Yes... ” Adora whispered.
The reason that she endured so much with the Crimson Horde, the reason that she needed to be stronger, was not for her. Maybe it was to Shadow Weaver, but for Adora, she had other motives for her promotion. She did it all for---
“Hey Adora.” Catra’s words behind her startled Adora, but she calmed as soon as she saw the other woman approaching behind her. She smiled softly at how the warm tones complimented the darker earth tones of her skin, making her radiant. Would she miss the sunlight?
Catra smirked, one hand on her hip as she stood in the doorway. She calmly sauntered out to the balcony with Adora, stretching her arms over her head and yawning. Her hair was still unbrushed and fell in curls around her sharp face, matching the tone of the freckles that spotted her face.
“What are you still doing up? It’s past sunrise.”
Adora took a deep breath and resumed looking out over the landscape she called her home. It never really clicked in a meaningful way for her, unless Catra was around to make it feel a little more like home. She was hoping to get that sense of belonging now that she had the news.
“Shadow Weaver wanted to talk to me.” She said quietly, averting the gaze of mismatched eyes that bore into her back. “She said… that now is a good time. For me to make the change... I’m going to be the next vampire candidate.”
“Wait, really?” Catra squeaked in a high pitched voice in her excitement. Her eyes lit up as she seized Adora by the shoulders. “She seriously said that?”
“Heh, yeah.” Adora slid out of Catra’s firm grip and smiled at her oldest friend. She tried to think about the great strength and vigor she could soon have. She tried harder not to think of one of her elders biting their teeth into her neck, sinking their fangs into her skin.
“Wait so... what’s wrong? Why are you out here, then?” Catra asked, becoming more serious again. One blue eye and one yellow eye flicked over Adora’s body in careful scrutiny. She always was the smart one between the two of them. Adora rubbed the back of her neck.
“I guess I just wanted to see the sunlight. Before everything changes. I think I might miss it.” So much was going to change. How could she give up ever seeing the sun? But looking back to Catra, she tried to bite back her worries.
“Booooo, you sound like you’ve gone soft.” Catra teased, lightly shoving her. She then relaxed to join Adora in looking out at the sunrise over their home. Normally they would be asleep by now, getting to bed after a long night of training. They had to adapt to the nocturnal habits of their superiors from an early age, and they rarely got to see the sun in the darkened halls.
Adora tore her eyes away from the harsh light of the sun to look at her oldest friend beside her. She couldn’t admit that she was scared, but she had a feeling that Catra knew. She always knew what was up with Adora.
Catra leaned on the railing with her elbows, and yawned again. Her athletic build was never quite as bulky as Adora’s, more of a lithe and flexible shadow, but she was just as strong. Adora admired the beautiful curve of her spine and thought not for the first time that Catra would make an incredible vampire. Her physique already matched the sort of agility and control that their superiors praised, even though they still treated Catra like a servant. The threat of becoming a service member was ever present in their minds if they failed to meet the expectations of their tests, something they both strived to outdo. It was either janitorial or vampire elite, and blood bank while they waited to figure out which. But she knew that Catra would do well if they competed against each other, and one day they could both gain the gift of immortality, together, as they did all things.
At least she had hoped.
She had to tell herself that the pain would be worth it. That she could convince the other vampires above them to turn Catra as well. There was no way she could go through with it otherwise, thinking that she would have to suffer in longevity without Catra. Even if it meant trading the whole sun and moon to be by her side, Adora would do it. Even if it meant not seeing the orange rays of light illuminate her wild curls of dark hair around her face like a halo. Even if it meant not seeing the warmth kiss each freckle on her face. She would do it.
“When?” Catra asked without lifting her eyes to Adora. Adora was startled once again from her dark thoughts and took a second longer to respond.
“In a few days...” Adora answered.
“Is it gonna hurt?” Catra asked, chancing to avert her eyes up to Adora without moving her head from the sun.
“It will be painful at first.” Shadow Weaver had warned her. “But I know you are up for it. ”
“I--I don’t think so.” Adora lied to brush off her friend’s concern.
“It will feel like being split open and burning through your veins. You may feel like you are dying. But this will all fade away and leave behind you and your new form.” Adora gulped nervously.
“First they want to send me out on a mission.” Adora said. She gripped the pipe of the railing to steady her shaking hands. It felt like they wanted her to die. She didn’t want to die. “Tomorrow night. I have to go find a town… a tails town.” The Crimson Horde had a running joke of heads versus tails. Tails referred to the barbaric animals that controlled the places that they, the Heads, did not. They were always skirmishing for more land, and sometimes the elite power of the Heads won, while others, the tails took. “I don’t know much but I think that it has something to do with some sort of tradition for turning someone.”
Catra scoffed, then stood up tall.
“They’re hazing you.”
Adora’s face turned red and she squared her shoulders.
“I--- they are not!” She insisted, flustered at how Catra could make something so daunting sound so childish in so few words. “It’s important--- they--- it is not hazing! It’s gotta be important to the ritual somehow!” Catra laughed as she wrapped an arm around Adora’s taller, broader shoulders.
“Oh they are totally hazing you!” She joked, and play-punched Adora in the gut. The latter rolled her eyes and slid out of Catra’s grip, only to playfully shove her back. They playfully pushed each other around while laughing for a minute more, before Catra surrendered in Adora’s grip. She was in a perfect two-handed head lock under the blonde, and even though she was totally at Adora’s mercy, she felt exhilarated to be held so close to so much muscle.
“Okay fine, whatever.” Catra’s tone was exasperated but she smiled with bright teeth, reminding Adora again of her fate. “Can we go to bed already? It’s way too early for this.”
In response, Adora released Catra and walked back to the door. Inside, they would be met with sterile white lights on cool green metals, but that was a sacrifice she had to make. One of many.
***************
“Everything is coming together at last, my Adora.” Shadow Weaver’s words were a whisper in real life, but screaming in her mind. “Do not lose this chance.”
She didn’t want to do this. Not without Catra. She didn’t want to feel death take her, even if it was temporary.
But she had to. She needed to be stronger. She needed to be faster. She needed to protect Catra and herself from the threat to their land. And she would do anything to be stronger.
Which is why she was walking through the forested area known as the Whispering Woods. The foliage was dense overhead, almost completely blocking out the sky in vines and moss across the branches that were already heavy with leaves. Adora did what she always did, and she was strong. Strong enough to push away her fears and work towards her mission, not letting anything else cloud her mind.
It was easier to think about the danger that lurked in every corner rather than to think about the danger that lurked at home.
The soft blues and greens of the woods around her were nothing like her home. Where she once became familiar with right angles and straight lines, now she was in a kaleidoscope of twisted shapes and new colors, swooping landscapes and even wild animals. Adora stopped every time she heard a sound nearby, not moving until it was safe, but soon realized that this method was slowing her down. She had a deadline. So, she pushed through the undergrowth and focused on finding the village. Be strong. For Catra. We must be strong... We must be brave...
Rebel wolves could hide anywhere in this forest… the wildlife suited them perfectly, Adora realized. They had been told about the werewolves that lurked outside the Crimson Horde. They were vicious animals, hunting down people and vampires alike. As an Apex predator with no natural predators above them, their power had gotten out of hand and they needed to be stopped. She would shake in her bed as a little girl after being told stories of the hairy monsters that would gobble her up if she wasn’t good.
That’s why she had to find the village. To be strong enough to not have to worry about them any more. She swatted another branch out of the way in frustration.
Would she be seen as a failure if she couldn’t find the village?
It had been hours into the night now and still her search was fruitless. She growled in frustration when she came back to a spot she had marked. Marked because she had passed it three times already.
It was close to midnight now, and not only that but the moon was full. She didn’t have all night to find the village. It was dangerous here and she needed to become a vampire tonight, or Shadow Weaver would never let her live it down.
She was alone in this clearing, and the lack of trees for several yards made the sky more visible. She calculated her place and the cardinal directions based on the stars when she marked the boulder with an X. But what good was it if the woods would just turn her around again?
A rustle in the ferns caught her attention. Adora went back to her first routine and froze in place, not moving a muscle. She cursed herself for being out in the open, exposed on all sides as her eyes nervously glanced in the darkness to find its source. The light of the full moon was illuminated like hollow beams of light by the swirling dust in the air, and Adora could hear nothing but the pounding of her own heart in her ears. Another rustle came from the same direction, closer this time.
Her breath did not come easily to her. Sweat formed on her brow and she strained to see in the bushes what challenge the woods would bring her. Would she be able to fight them off without being turned first?
The moonlight reflected on the shape of two eyes in the darkness before the wind picked up and the clouds obscured the moon. Adora gasped as they vanished again to darkness, and soon the whole valley was under the fog of darkness.
The attack came in a flash of pink, and Adora was instantly knocked onto her back into the cold ground. There was a heavy weight on her chest, then it leapt off when Adora automatically started swinging her fists, getting just out of arm's reach. The clouds passed, and Adora beheld her worst fear realized as she sat up in the dirt.
Before her was a growling werewolf, one of shining pink fur and snarling full of sharp teeth. Her pastel fur stood on end and her tail upright in the air. Purple eyes burned through her confidence as though she were glaring at Adora’s soul. There was no other way out of it now, she would have to fight it.
“Rraauggh!” She screamed as she lunged forward, hands outstretched. Her attack was cut off when another attacker came at her from the side, and again knocked her to the ground.
Two?! She realized in panic as she spun away from the hard landing, the second wolf skidding to a stop in the dirt. He was a darker brown wolf, much harder to spot than his bright pink and purple companion. Adora’s mind raced as she realized that on the full moon, she might have wandered into the territory of a whole pack. If that was the case, she didn’t stand a chance. One maybe, but a pack?
She didn’t show her fear.
She hastily kicked out the legs of the brown wolf, tripping him to give her the seconds needed to get on her feet. He was fast to recover, and the two wolves surrounded her in front and back, growling loudly. They were bigger than she thought they would be, at least as tall as her at full height. Underneath their pelts was several hundred pounds of muscle, all wound tight as a spring in preparation to brawl her.
Why hadn’t her superiors given her any weapons for the journey? If only Catra were here---
Focus!
She went for the taller of the wolves, though his fur was shorter he was certainly bigger than his pink friend. He flinched to move out of the way, but too slowly, and she clocked his jaw. She had to jump backwards to avoid his snapping teeth at her hand a second later.
He didn’t seem as good as his partner in combat, so Adora tackled him down, and they rolled in the dirt in ferns until she fully grappled him on the ground. But now that she was vulnerably wrapped up, the pink one struck again, lunging for Adora’s back with her teeth.
Adora ducked out of the way just in time, releasing the brown wolf in the process. Thank heavens they were slow enough for her to evade, but she was still outnumbered.
Suddenly her leg was pulled away from under her by the lighter wolf, and she was dragged away on her stomach, flailing uselessly.
Her boot was dropped and Adora instantly rolled around to her back, and reached into her jacket. She barely had any time to throw the bola rope at the fluffier wolf before the other one was swatting her down with his paws again. She couldn’t see the results of her throw, but could hear the wolf make a surprised yap followed by a heavy thud.
Adora lifted her legs and kicked upwards into the jaw of the brown wolf that held her down. The brown one abandoned Adora to help his pack mate. Adora scrambled up and didn’t turn to look at the tangled legs of the creature before she took off running.
But they broke out quicker than she thought --- damn teeth! She thought as they caught up--- and soon were on her again, chasing and trying to bite at her legs. She didn’t dare look over her shoulder at the pink monster that pursued her, but could feel her breath warm and moist on her calves, closer with every step.
Eventually she tripped and fell over a steep ravine, sliding down the dirt much faster than she was running, before a rough landing at a more level area before it dropped off again.
One of the wolves howled out, probably signalling for the rest of their pack to come. Adora panicked and shakily got up and coughed the dust cloud she had created, and tried to get away. But as soon as she turned, the brown wolf was there, blocking her exit. She halted and gasped at the frightening thing before her. His legs were spread wide and his body low to the ground, ready to fight. His tail stood upwards and his ears pointed back as he pulled back his lips to snarl. His yellow eyes seemed to glow in the dark and a trickle of blood escaped his teeth.
Adora quickly turned back the other way, but the pink one was there already, barely out of breath from the long run. She stalked closer to Adora and the latter was trapped, with a cliff up one side and a cliff further down on the other, the wolves had her cornered on the edge of a much more dangerous drop-off. Adora’s eyes nervously glanced around in desperation, she was totally alone and unarmed, there was only one thing she could do, even if it was stupid and dangerous.
The pink wolf stalked closer, reflecting the faintest hint of sparkles in the light of the moon as she backed Adora up into Bow. Now she was inches away, and Adora could smell the animal stink of her, one that she had previously never smelled, and could look into the hot fiery eyes that watched her. Adora took one deep breath for courage, and leapt to her side, and tumbled down the rocky cliff face.
She heard a yip of surprise and a frustrated growl growing further away, and it was the last thing she remembered before she blacked out as she tumbled down the rocks.
***************
Adora was aware that she had a massive headache. That was the first thing she felt as she started to wake up.
She tried to move to a more comfortable position, but found herself restrained. She groaned painfully at the aches that bruised all over her body. She blinked open her eyes foggily to bright daylight, and curving blues and greens. Her eyes flew open in panic as soon as she recognized where she was.
The mission. The wolves! She looked down and found her hands tied together tightly.
“She’s awake!” A man yelled right next to her face all of a sudden. Adora flinched away from the sudden loud sound next to her ear. He was dark skinned with short hair that was dark brown, matching his wide eyes. He wore white and gold but it failed to cover his abdomen, and there was even a big red heart sewn over his chest.
To her other side, Adora could hardly take in the person on her right. She was bright colors and sparkled with light. She was the first person Adora had ever seen that had pink hair, and her clothes were more like flowing robes that had been cut short to allow her easier movement. Her face was much more furious looking, but was softened by the smooth and curved features of her face. These must have been the two werewolves that she faced…
“What happened,” She asked, wincing at the pain in her head that flared up like a knife wound when she spoke.
“Quiet, prisoner!” The pink one yelled at her, standing up to tower over her. “I’ll ask the questions here!” She tried to sound threatening, but Adora hardly thought twice about it. She had been raised by Shadow Weaver, a centuries old being who had mastered every art of combat and science to bend the world to her will. This soft young woman could hardly hold a candle to her threats.
“How did you get this far into the woods?” She asked, glaring through Adora’s calm and alarming her from her thoughts.
“I just... walked in?” She explained with as much of a shrug as she could manage while bound up.
The boy also stood up, and went to stand next to his friend. He was several inches taller than her, but seemed more neutral about the information than her. Adora decided he couldn’t be much of a threat --between the big heart and his exposed abdomen he didn’t seem the violent type-- and focused back on the shorter woman. She was a threat to Adora right now, but she couldn’t stop taking in her simple and roguish beauty. She looked like she had seen some tough things, and was prepared for anything, even though she seemed completely non threatening in her human form in the daylight.
“Right, sure.” The girl laughed sarcastically, reminding Adora of Catra. Would she be worried about her being gone all night? Would anyone look for her? Had she failed her superiors’ test? “You just wanted to take a walk right into pack territory. Makes total sense!” She threw her arms up in exasperation. She leaned down closer to Adora’s face as she growled out her next words, and it sounded almost half animal in her throat. “The woods are Pack territory. You’re lucky you made it as far as you did.”
“I was trying to find a village.” Adora said. It wasn’t technically a lie, maybe they would think she was just a harmless traveler.
“Trying to take your vampire friends there?” The woman asked her, crossing her arms.
“How do you know my friends are vampires?” Adora challenged.
“You reek of death.” She explained. The boy shook his head.
“More like the smell of decaying fungus and dust mixed with vinegar. Classic vampire. And it’s all over you.” He said more helpfully. “Even though you don’t seem to be one.” Obviously, she would have shriveled up under the sunlight. Adora’s defeat weighed sorely on her aching chest, and caused her to lash out.
“Well I would have been turned last night, if you two hadn’t interfered!” She yelled at them, but mainly at the meaner one. A fire came to her eyes as she looked back at Adora. She kept her eyes on Adora while she spoke to her companion.
“Why would you want to be a vampire?” The boy asked. “They’re the worst!”
“Maybe so I could fight off the werewolves attacking my friends!”
“If anybody is attacking, it's the vampires!” The pink one yelled again. “They were mowing down innocent people, we were just defending!” She huffed.
“The vampires would never hurt anybody!” Adora yelled, pulling against the binds on her wrists.
“Well that would be a first! Since when do vampires not want to hurt people!” She had to turn away and fume while she kicked a tree, before speaking to her companion.
“Come on Bow, let’s try to get her back to Bright Moon. This is going to be a huge advantage for the pack.” She smiled and Adora couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her at the sight of how big her teeth were. Big, and pointed. She wanted a closer look, a morbid curiosity pulling her gut rather than telling her that a closer look was the last thing she wanted.
They pulled her to her feet, and started walking. The man kept a hand on her arm, firmly keeping her from running under strength that she underestimated. They began guiding her through the woods as her mind raced.
She needed to escape somehow. It would be easier when they were both human in the daylight, but she had no idea what to expect of them or their powers. Would anyone come looking for her?
“Glimmer, do you know where we’re going?” Her captor asked.
“Trust me Bow, I know what I’m doing!” She insisted. So those were their names... it was unusual, none of the names in the Crimson Horde sounded like that. It was almost whimsical. Bow helped her step over a tall root while she struggled with the knots around her wrists.
“Can you smell home from here?”
“Yes!” She protested, whirling around and stomping her foot. She just looked all the sillier the longer Adora looked, there was no way that she could be a threat like this, with her pink hair and sparkly clothes. She didn’t even look that strong, her exposed arms were smooth and free of the toned muscle that Adora was used to seeing in the barracks, and she couldn’t help but stare at the exposed skin.
“It’s just hard when she smells so much like a vampire!” They continued walking onward.
“Sorry about Glimmer. She’s usually super fun.” Bow said, and Adora took a minute to realize that he was addressing her. “Not much of a talker, huh?”
Adora tested her limits in his reach by tugging slightly in his grip while making it look like she was avoiding a branch. But his grip was firm as iron.
“I prefer not to swap pleasantries with my captors.”
“Well, what about your name?”
Name, rank, and position were the only three things she was allowed to disclose. They had warned her in classes that if she ever got captured, those were the only three things she could say.
“...Adora.” She said quietly.
“That’s a cute name!” Bow gushed, causing Adora to blush.
“No it’s not, it’s just my name!”
“It can be two things!”
They passed the time for many more minutes without a word between them. Glimmer marched ahead of them, and Bow led Adora behind. She had to find a way out, before these wolves made a meal out of her. She was told that they loved to gnaw on the bones of their enemies, an insatiable appetite tearing into mortal flesh whenever they saw it. She wasn’t sure how she had made it this far with them without eating her. What would Catra do?
“Do we have to travel now?” Adora complained. “I mean it’s mid day! ” Normally she would be asleep right now, away from the light of day. She was exhausted from being up so late past sunrise.
“She kinda has a point.” Bow pointed out. “It would be way easier for us to travel at night too, you know.” Glimmer groaned at all the whining behind her. Adora realized that they must draw their power from the moonlight, and tucked it away for further use in her escape.
“Look, we can rest when we get to the village, okay?” Glimmer grumbled. “We can grab some food until night and take her back the easy way. But we have to get there first!”
Adora had no choice but to comply. She was dragged long through more of the woods, more than she thought could have existed, and wondered if this would be the same village that she was supposed to find last night. She thought of the strange nature of her captors, they seemed like they were close. It reminded her of herself and Catra. Catra... would she be alright without Adora around to keep her out of trouble when the sun set? She had done all of this, this stupid expedition just to go through a terrifying ordeal, for her. But there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do for Catra.
They walked for hours under the grueling heat of the sun. Adora could feel the heat on her back and it felt so foreign, like some sort of new attack that she had to ward off. The sun crawled across the sky in an even line until it was directly overhead and Adora wanted so badly to go home and sleep the rest of the day. She had never stayed up this late.
Her werewolf captors, on the other hand, seemed to be just fine with it. Even if they drew power from the moon, they were no strangers to the warmth of day. They navigated the forest with their superior senses with ease, smelling and hearing everything around them. Compared to them, Adora was flying blindly. Plus she was still outnumbered. But if she wanted to make a move, it had to be soon. During the night they would be stronger. And she, a strong-for-a-mortal-human, wouldn’t stand a chance.
***************
Glimmer knew many things. As princess of a mighty pack, she was tutored and trained to be prepared for anything. She knew battle maps, and she knew her pack mates. She knew her own senses and knew that she could trust Bow to the end of the line. She knew the forest, she knew her territory, and she knew how to fight.
What she did not know was why a human girl had the vulgar stink of vampires on her.
This girl was something else. Was she completely blind? Did they really raise her to think this way? How was that possible when she was surrounded by leeches that caused nothing but death and despair? Vampire was synonymous with death in certain parts of the woods. They smelled like rotting corpses and vinegar. And this girl... well, she wasn’t a vampire herself, but she clearly lived with them. And that meant that she was on their side, which meant that she was a threat.
Glimmer rubbed her bruises from the night prior at the memory of the fight she had put up. It healed faster, especially with the moon so close, but the bitterness of almost losing to some human blood bag remained in her mouth.
She kept glancing back at Bow and Adora. They walked mostly quietly, though sometimes Bow would try to start up some conversation. Bless that man and his massive heart of gold. Was he really so desperate to be friends with the same people that they had to fight off? The same people that had killed her father? But no, he had to be liked by everyone. And what was worse, he seemed to actually be wearing Adora down a bit. She wasn’t stuck in a constant scowl anymore, and seemed to nod and listen to things he said even if she didn’t offer much in return.
Glimmer growled in frustration, turning back to the path ahead of them. The sound came out of her voice in a purely canine manner, and she had to suppress her violent instincts. They would soon be at the village.
“So you guys just... Stay awake? All day?” the soldier asked incredulously. Glimmer scoffed but Bow had a better answer.
“Well not all the time.” He explained happily. “We go out during the day sometimes, if we want to. Of course not usually right after a full moon.” Glimmer wanted to kick him for divulging their secrets.
Adora nodded in deep thought. She looked around the sunlit forest in wonder and awe while she digested the information.
She knew of the effects of the sun on vampires. But did they even force their underlings to live under similar conditions? Had this girl never seen a daytime sun? It seemed... cruel. But Glimmer didn’t know what to think. After all, it wasn’t Adora’s fault. She was just raised that way.
“Okay, here we are.” Glimmer announced. Ahead, they could see through the treeline to a small village where dozens of people were active. Adora seemed surprised to see so many of them going about their lives, and her eyebrows flew up as she watched children playing, merchants selling, musicians playing, all in the warm golden rays of the springtime sun. Glimmer turned to face Bow and Adora before heading into town.
“Look, we’re just going to see if we can get a good meal for energy, maybe a ride at nightfall, okay? No sidetracks. So just don’t say anything or talk to anyone, got it?” She threatened. Adora looked at Glimmer with wide gray eyes, but clearly it had no effect on her. She frowned slightly, but Glimmer would need to show her that she meant business before she tried to escape in the crowds. “Got it?” She growled again, this time fully embracing her canine instincts as it escaped her throat. She sounded like a barking dog, and this time Adora nodded in wordless compliance. Glimmer had to turn away to casually brush her hair into place (no she was NOT blushing) while Bow untied her hands to not bring any suspicion before they could walk into town.
“What is going on here?” Adora asked the closer they walked to the center of town. She had already failed her mission to lay low by gawking at every sight like a tourist with her mouth wide open.
“It’s a spring festival.” Bow explained. “I think around here, they use it to celebrate the earth waking up from winter!”
Bow stopped walking when he realized that Adora had stopped just to fix him with a look of utter perplexity, with no sign of recognition.
“You know, like a big party?”
Still nothing. Bow’s face suddenly turned downward in crisis as though his heart might break.
“Do you guys not have parties ?” Adora put a hand on her chin while she looked away to think about it.
“Well we have raiding parties. But based on context I’m assuming it isn’t the same thing.”
“Bow, we should focus on our mission.”
“Glimmer!” He pulled her into an embrace that was, just like Bow, full of warmth and softness. “Adora has never seen a party before!” Glimmer rolled her eyes. Had it not been for her supernatural strength, it would have been impossible to pry away from her best friend.
“We have to lay low, we can’t draw any attention--” But before she could finish her sentence, she blinked and the two of them were gone. Bow was dragging Adora by the hand into the heavy throng of the festivities, and she growled again. She could feel the wolf instincts getting closer to coming out with every minute she spent with the horde soldier. It grew warm in her chest, wanting to reshape her into a stronger self, but she pushed it away. She was already low on energy from last night’s chase, and couldn’t waste it on annoying prisoners. That’s probably just what she wants!
Glimmer couldn’t stop Bow now that he was on a mission of his own; mission: show Adora how to have fun.
Glimmer knew many things. But she didn’t know anything about this girl. And she wanted to. She wanted to know why she inhaled all the food she was given as though she had never had real food before. She wanted to know what her favorite color was. She wanted to know how she got mixed up with such a bad crowd, being raised by vampires.
Adora had an appetite that would give most werewolves a run for their money. That much was obvious from the way her eyes lit up like a kid when she saw any kind of food.
“What, do they not feed you in the Crimson Horde?”
Adora had to chew and swallow her latest victim, an apple turnover, before answering.
“Sure, but not like this! ” She responded happily. “No sunlight makes it hard to grow crops. It’s all artificial.” It was as though she had forgotten for a moment that they were sworn enemies, or that she was their prisoner. Was it possible that all of her previous attitudes had come from being hangry?
“Wolves need to eat a lot too, especially after a full moon.” Bow said. “It takes a ton of energy to transform. So there’s always plenty of food on hand in werewolf territory. Especially if there’s a big party!” He handed Adora the rest of his cotton candy. She seemed perplexed.
“Did... did you just give me Glimmer’s hair?” She asked. She tested the light pink material between her fingers, looking between it and Glimmer’s hair in confusion. Glimmer found herself blushing bright red at the comparison. Bow laughed. She was tempted to transform right there, despite it all, just to hide how flustered she was.
Adora took a bite of the offered candy. Glimmer glared at Bow for no reason, perhaps for distracting them from their super important mission. But he just shrugged with a smile.
There was a running joke, between the two of them now that had been going on for years. There’s a saying that for werewolves, they have a human brain and an animal brain, or wolf brain. It was a common colloquial term. But the joke between them was that Glimmer in particular, had a wolf brain and a lesbian brain. They were both thinking the same thing while they supervised Adora inhaling her sweet treat.
Eventually they had to tear her away from the picnic table because she was drawing attention with her appetite. Glimmer hoped that none here were able to smell the vampire stink that still lingered on her and her clothes.
Bow dragged the two of them to a bandstand, where a quartet was playing jaunty dancing music. Adora smiled wide with her mouth open at the delightful melodies. If Glimmer had her reservations about it before, she was sure now that Adora had all but forgotten about being held prisoner, she was totally enraptured by the music. She realized that Adora looked much more attractive when she was smiling, as opposed to the neutral or angry look she wore on the way here. She realized that she wanted to see that smile more in the future.
Gods, what was she doing?
The sun was setting and soon they could drag this poor defenseless mortal to her kingdom in the heart of her pack’s territory, where they would punish her just for how she was raised.
Bow put a flower in Adora’s hair while Glimmer munched on a turkey leg. She didn’t seem to notice at first, then seemed perplexed by the strange gesture, and Glimmer felt her chest becoming warm. This time, it wasn’t the warmth of wanting to let the wolf out.
She bit her tongue, something highly unusual for a fireball like Glimmer.
They saw face painters. They looked at shops. The stars started to appear in the sky. They heard the stories from the elders. They saw street performers. And all punctuated by their quest for protein-rich foods. After a few hours, even Glimmer was warming up to the horde girl. She looked at her softly, but only when she was sure nobody, least of all the vampire wannabe, was watching her.
Eventually the darkening sky settled over their heads and brought with it the cool smells and sounds of night. With the moon still offering so much power from last night’s full, the party only became more boisterous. Glimmer could feel the power running through her veins like how she could run through the woods with her paws barely touching the ground while she flew through the forest. It was begging to be let out, prickling at the underside of her skin with a warm sensation. She inhaled the night air deeply, relishing the cool night air like a high. Her eyes pierced through the darkness with ease. She could tell that Bow was feeling the same way, the return of strength with the moon.
It must have caught Adora’s attention, even as clueless as she was, for she hesitated and looked at them with her head cocked to the side. Glimmer hated that she thought Adora would make a good werewolf, and hated that it wasn’t the first time she thought of it that day. Her mannerisms just screamed canine sometimes, despite the smell of death on her. But that smell was fading.
“Adora,” She said as calmly as she could, but the moon gave her power and it was present in the cool melodies of her voice. “Don’t go back to the horde.”
Adora’s look went from confusion to something more defensive in an instant, like she was going to fight. She wanted to say something, but then the look deflated out of her like a balloon. She looked down at the ground while she rubbed her neck. Glimmer didn’t know what to make of it, but fortunately Bow was ready to pick it up for her.
“You don’t have to turn into a vampire.” He said softly, reaching over to put a hand on Adora’s shoulder. “If you stick with us, we can help you and keep you safe. And you can help us.”Adora looked up at him with a twinkle of hope in her eye.
“You would do that for me?” She asked. “We’re supposed to be sworn enemies...”
Adora looked up at the night sky. She had to decide if they would take her to Bright Moon, or if she would continue down the path that Shadow Weaver had laid out for her.
A sudden shriek of terror interrupted them, and they all became alert in an instant to the sound. People started screaming, and they ran to the source.
The town square was in chaos. The lanterns were knocked over, windows were broken, decorations were torn down. It looked like a tornado came through the main street. Glimmer instantly knew what the source was, smelled it thick on the wind: vampires.
She allowed the energy to flow through her, catalyzed by her own rage and anger at the disruption of the peaceful affair, and shifted before Adora could even realize. She became taller, stronger, and her pink cotton candy hair began to mutate to cover her whole form. She willed her body to rip itself apart and remake itself anew, too easily under the moonlight. Her ears popped upwards and pointed at the attackers, five of them, as they scattered across the streets. When she had fully realized her new form under the guidance of the moon, she inhaled sharply and growled with her lips pulled back.
Adora spun around only a second and a half after coming to see the commotion and realized that Glimmer had turned into her bipedal wolf form. She gasped and stepped back, closer to the square as Bow also transformed. His connection to the moon wasn’t as strong as Glimmer’s, so it took a few more seconds. Even though she wasn’t powerful physically compared to other wolves, she held the advantage of the moon.
Glimmer pushed past Adora and into the fray, where four vampires were trying to hunt and corner helpless humans to find a meal. One of them didn’t move much, and she soon realized that she was not a vampire... she had the same smell as Adora, though. She lived with them, but she hadn’t been transformed yet.
Glimmer tackled one of the vampires away from a small crowd, then followed up with a slash of her claws across their body. The people escaped while the vampire recoiled, quickly reevaluating their odds now that the pack was here. She stood to her full height, taller than her human form but shorter than most of her pack, and prepared to defend her territory.
***************
Adora had never seen active combat before. She would have, if she had followed through on her transformation with her clan, but she had never hunted before. It was worse than she thought.
She didn’t get to catch the faces of those who came in and started to hunt the people. She knew that she would recognize her own superiors, but they were too fast.
Then the next thing she knew, she was looking at two werewolves again, ready to strike and... they ran right past her to defend their territory.
They didn’t hurt her.
Did she cause this? She didn’t know. It scared her. Similar to the fear of her own transformation, for the first time in a day, she felt fear.
There were bodies... two bodies were on the ground, sucked dry of everything they had. It was all so fast, how could this happen so fast? How long had they been here before they were noticed? How had it gone so wrong?
There was one person amongst the chaos who wasn’t attacking or defending. They were searching. Adora’s heart swelled with relief in an instant and the fear was gone as she recognized the one familiar face she was longing to see.
“Catra!” She called out, desperate for a lifeline. Just a day ago she thought she knew what she wanted, what was good and what was bad. Now, when everything else was turmoil, she needed the familiarity to ground her.
Catra looked over to Adora and smiled and waved, as though there was nothing wrong in the world.
“Adora, hey!” She called. “They let me join the raiding party!” She bubbled excitedly. The choice of words made Adora’s stomach drop.
They met up and embraced briefly. Soon they had to separate, and take each other in despite all the running and screaming and fighting around them, holding each other by the shoulders at arms length.
“Catra, what are you doing here?” Adora asked, even though her question had just been answered.
“You went missing, we had to track you down!” Catra said. “We followed your scent this dumb tails town. Did you get captured or something? Did they hurt you?”
She couldn’t stop staring at the bodies. They were just people a moment ago, dancing and celebrating, but now they were ashen and dry. She tried to look away from their sunken cheeks, their glassy eyes, their mouths hanging open in a weak scream before they died. This wasn’t supposed to be how it goes. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
“Uh, hello? Adora?”
“Catra, we have to stop them.” Adora pleaded with a low voice. “This--this isn’t right! Look around, they’re killing people!” She gestured to the chaos around them.
At that, Catra became confused. She looked around but didn’t seem bothered. Her own apathy confused Adora.
“Well, yeah.” She shrugged. “They kidnapped you.”
“No Catra, this is wrong!”
“Who cares?” Catra snapped, suddenly becoming irate. “We look out for each other. They hurt you, so we hurt them. Why do you care about these random people anyway? It’s not like they’ve ever done anything.”
“Exactly, they didn’t do anything wrong! They don’t deserve this, they didn’t agree to be eaten like we did. They shouldn’t be killed over a meal!”
“Adora, you sound crazy. What did they do to you?”
Adora grabbed Catra’s hand, but the latter yanked it away.
“The Crimson Horde has been lying to us, they aren’t protecting anyone!” She tried not to cry, not to let the fear into her voice. “The werewolves aren’t hurting people, we are!”
“Yeah, no shit!” Catra yelled, throwing her arms out. “What’s gotten into you? You never cared about blood bags before!”
Adora looked around her at the chaos that her friends had brought to the town. She had consented to allowing her blood to feed her elders, under the condition that they continued to care for her. But this was no such deal, this was cold blooded. These people didn’t deserve it.
“I mean honestly, what did you think was going to happen?” Catra continued. Adora looked at her oldest friend with betrayal in her eyes.
“What?”
“Why do you think they sent you to find this place, Adora?” Catra became furious at her ineptitude. “They were planning on draining this village dry anyway! And you were going to help them do it! Are you seriously that dumb?”
“I... it can’t... it wasn’t...”
“Wake up Adora!” Catra screamed, and at the same time slapped Adora across the face.
***************
Glimmer slashed her claws through another vampire, but made no contact. The shadow before her flickered and was already making a counter strike before she could even finish her attack, and punched her in the ribs before she could blink. She fumbled under their strength and cried out in pain.
She tried to spin her body to where he was standing, but he had already vanished again. Damnit, how were they so fast? Glimmer had tangled with vampires before, but it never got any easier to keep up with them.
She followed her nose down the alleyway to hunt down the vampire. Along the way she passed another body, sucked dry like the others she had seen. How long had they been here before they were noticed? She growled in rage and pursued the attackers.
In this form, so close to the full moon, all she knew was to track down the scent. Find them. Hunt them. Protect their territory. Protect the pack. And that’s what she was going to do. Her mind became focused on that singular need to hunt the vampires.
***************
Adora’s hand flew up to the stinging pain that spread across her cheek as she fumbled backwards, unable to find words. Tears formed in her eyes and she wished that they wouldn’t make her look so weak. When she opened her eyes again, she looked at Catra with confusion and betrayal. Even Catra seemed scared.
“Snap out of it, Adora! Let’s just go home and forget about this whole thing, Adora.” Catra pleaded with her. She reached out to grab Adora’s shoulders but in a moment of weakness, Adora flinched away from her touch. Immediately, Catra’s face twisted in pain at the reaction.
A howl echoed across the valley, a long and sweet note. The howl lasted for many heartbeats, and Adora felt like she was hearing a song made of night air. Her blood ran cold at the sound and they both looked for the source. More howling rose up to answer the battle cry, from wolves coming in from all sides of the town. They were surrounded.
Adora saw Glimmer helping Bow to his feet after he had been bowled over, they were both searching for the call with hope in their eyes. Glimmer smiled and Adora could see all of her tall, pointed teeth in the moonlight. The song was now being howled in a continuous harmony all around them.
“The pack is here--they came!”
Glimmer met Adora’s eye. She looked worried.
Don’t go. She seemed to ask her. Adora understood perfectly what it meant. It was so simple to see in her expression. And she wanted to stay. She couldn’t go back home, not now that she knew.
But Adora looked to Catra. And she was scared of the howling all around her. Her eyes searched the darkness. One by one, the vampires fled from the shadows and escaped back the way they came. They were retreating. Adora again reached out for Catra’s hand, and held it fast in both of her own.
“Catra, please. Come with me. You don’t have to go back with them.” Catra’s eyes became wide but she was confused, and frightened. Panic set into her blood. Enormous wolves the size of horses ran through the town, a pack of size and number, and they began to switch from howling to snarling in their chase.
“We’re retreating, we need to leave,” One of the vampires yelled at her. He had claw marks across his entire face. “ Now! ”
Catra’s hand left Adora’s as she backed away into the smoke. They maintained eye contact as she took more steps back.
“Catra,” Adora called out one last time, reaching out towards her as she vanished into the night, fleeing with the Crimson Horde. Adora felt her heart break within her chest. Maybe it was the pain from her battle, but she knew that part of her heart had just left her here. She didn’t know what to do anymore. She was lost and alone and afraid. She didn’t think it would hurt this much. She sank to her knees and tried desperately not to cry.
But she wouldn’t give up. She had to be strong.
For Catra. Together. We must be strong.
Werewolves came up and out of the shadows until they surrounded Adora, all facing the way that the vampires had fled. Enormous black werewolves that shimmered in the fire light, bron wolves that blended into their surroundings, gray werewolves that looked like the speckled surface of the moon itself. Adora was surrounded, but they paid no attention to her as they chased off the threat. It felt almost like she was protected. It felt... strange. It felt safer than she ever felt in the barracks.
A large, soft hand rested on her shoulder. Adora saw the pink and sparkling fur it was covered with, ending in dull but long claws. Glimmer.
She sat down next to Adora, her lilac eyes looking straight through her. A fluff of hair between purple ears reminded her of the cotton candy softness that was beneath the body of muscle and strength. Her heart tried to calm down with the reassuring presence of a strong werewolf beside her.
“It’s okay.” Was all she said.
Bow smiled over her shoulder, his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth as he panted to catch his breath. The silly mannerism of their canine instincts made her smile, and before she knew it she was hugging Glimmer. She was so soft, her long and fluffy fur was like a pillow and Adora breathed in her animal scent. It smelled like woods, like campfires and sunlight and fresh rain. Tears fell from her eyes unwillingly and she nuzzled her face deeper into the embrace of fur around her, she seemed to create and emanate warmth. Glimmer hesitated for only a second before wrapping her arms around her, resting her muzzle on top of Adora’s head protectively.
Maybe it wasn’t okay. Not yet. But it was going to be.