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Mornings were different in Etheria. The sounds of groaning pipes and creaking joints were replaced with soft chirping and the melody of a wind chime that hung just outside the large window. The day’s greeting was warm sunlight on your fur and not the sterile beeps from the clock on the bedside table.
Catra had never been a morning person but she regularly found herself roused by the movements of her bed partner. Adora wasn’t a morning person either but the Princess Council waited on no one, not even the all powerful She-Ra.
The feline lifted her head from where it had been resting atop folded hands. A yawn escaped her and she began her first task of the day-- watching Adora shake the sleep from her frame and shuffle around the room in search of clean underwear. Catra yawned again and stretched across the width of the bed.
“Council meeting?” The blonde released a half hearted grumble around the bobby pins perched between pursed lips. Unlike She-Ra’s magical locks Adora’s still had to be fastened down with a pin and a prayer. “You’re the princess of power, can’t you convince sparkles that saving the kingdom can be scheduled after breakfast?”
A chuckle escaped from the vanity bench. “Glimmer’s doing her best. It’s a long journey for some of the others. Early morning meetings mean they have the day to enjoy Bright Moon.”
Catra’s eyes rolled. The visiting princesses didn’t enjoy Bright Moon. After the fall of the Horde everyone busied themselves with their own kingdoms. They were here long enough to sit around the large oval shaped table. She could count on one paw the number of times she’d said more than four words to Scorpia in six months.
Silence fell back over the two and Catra went back to watching Adora dress. “Any missions coming up?” The blonde shook her head as she buttoned up her jacket. Catra’s ears folded down in a mild irritation. “Seriously? A squid in Salineas hasn’t skinned a tentacle and needs saving?”
Adora laughed. “No skinned tentacles though I’ll be sure to ask Mermista just in case.”
The corner of Catra’s mouth turned up in a small smile. She had missed listening to Adora laugh. She had missed a lot of things but with the war over she, no they, had all the time in the world to catch up.
Well time in between meetings and trips and missions anyways. Being She Ra was a full time job and while Adora did her best there was still plenty of down time where the only company Catra had was her own. She wasn’t allowed in council meetings. While sparkles had deemed her Princess Pain in her Butt, Glimmer’s ass had yet to become a recognized kingdom and thus the feline was shut out of the meeting room.
There were good will missions into the Whispering Woods. Much of the landscape still needed some repair from the war and smaller villages always needed help rebuilding. Catra had tagged along in the beginning but while the aristocracy of Etheria had been forgiving, the villagers were not. She found it hard to be of use when she wasn’t trusted to carry a basket of fruit let alone re-build a home.
She couldn’t blame them though. The Horde had been a ruthless menace on the everyday people of Etheria and she had proudly and loudly stood at the helm. There were consequences to her actions even outside the Fright Zone and she was seeing them first hand.
She was also coming to grips with the reality that she now had no purpose. For years her only concern was being as good as Adora which morphed into destroying Adora. With the Horde gone and Adora back at her side what was there for her? Scorpia and Entrapta were princesses in their own right. They had tasks and meaning to their lives. Her identity seemed to bounce between the scary Horde lady and She-Ra’s pet, depending on who you were talking to. Neither of those were sustainable long term and one was down right demeaning.
The side of the bed dipped and pulled Catra from her train of thought. Her mix matched gaze met Adora’s blue one. Her eyes were full of concern. “Are you okay?” A warm hand lifted to cup her jaw. She couldn’t help but press into the sensation and release a soft purr. She didn’t respond right away. “Catra…”
She pulled her eyes back open and glanced up at Adora’s now furrowed brows. Her tail flicked and she pulled away from the princess’s hold. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Go to your princess meeting before I get blamed for making you late again.” Her mischievous smirk was met with an embarrassed flush and flustered movements. Adora leaned in the press a chaste kiss against Catra’s mouth. A clawed hand rose quickly to hook over the back of a pale neck. Catra lingered against her lover’s mouth. She had not retained any of the mind control abilities of Horde Prime but that never stopped her from trying to silently mind-will Adora into ditching her meetings and staying in bed with her. So far she had been unsuccessful but she was nothing if determined.
Adora pulled back and smiled at the freckled cat. Catra, for a brief moment, felt the same warmth wash over her that she had felt when they first kissed in the heart. Only Adora could sooth the voice in her mind with nothing but a smile. “I need to leave for my meeting,” she pulled free of the loose hold. Catra’s hand fell limp against the bed. “I’ll be back right after it’s over.”
Catra stayed put and watched Adora pad quietly towards the door. “Promise?”
Adora paused and turned back to look fully at the women curled up at the foot of her bed. She smiled again and pulled the door open. “I promise.”
Catra waited until the doors latched shut before shifting to lay long ways in the bed. She crammed her face into one of the pillows and allowed herself to take in the other woman’s smell. It was nowhere near a replacement for having the other still here but it would have to do.
Mornings were very different here in Etheria but the heavy feeling of waking up alone remained the same.