Work Text:
Aboard the Dragon's Daughter III
The Growling Sea
Catra was on a boat. The boat was on the water. (Well, magically skimming over the water. Because outside the Fright Zone, everything was magic.)
Somehow, everyone expected her to be okay with this. Magic. Controlling a boat. (She wasn't. She wasn't even a little okay with it.)
Adora had quietly told her she could stay in Bright Moon for this mission. She hadn't even been patronizing. Just worried. And concerned. And guilty for being excited to go on the mission. Catra couldn't let any of those stand, so she made sure everyone knew she was coming along.
As dumb decisions go, this one is almost as bad as going back to the Fright Zone.
Cats didn't like water. They liked high places. And under-blanket places. The ship had a dearth of blankets, but a lot of good, high places. Up high was further away from the water, so Catra had quickly ensconced herself as high up as she could go, keeping a lookout.
She wasn't sure what she was looking for. So far, everything was blinding amounts of bright sun, annoying amounts of wind, and terrifying amounts of water. Everywhere.
That, and a slender shadow trailing the ship. Long blue hair occasionally breeching the surface as it kept pace with the fast ship. A pale azure tail flicking out of the water, and hints of brown shoulders as she dipped back down into the water.
The mermaid hadn't come too close or strayed too far from the ship. The Horde taught her mermaids were abominations of magic that had to be killed, so she figured they were either friends with the Princesses or scarier than the Horde knew.
She might ask Glimmer or Bow at some point. Not the very loud ship captain. She wouldn't trust him anyway.
Catra had relished every defeat Adora had handed him. From the arm wrestling contest Adora had impulsively offered to earn their passage to Salineas to 'the great Sea Hawk' discovering Adora had taken the three month naval training elective. Twice. Catra hadn't. But she was very good at holding into the mast and staring out at the water in horrified fascination.
At least, so far, he hadn't gotten Adora to sing. Adora was her favorite person in the entire world, but Adora singing was a war crime.
While Bow cheered Adora on, far below, as she once again beat Sea Hawk at arm wrestling. And stared at Sea Hawk with hero worship and puppy love. (Catra was quietly grateful he seemed to annoy Adora.)
The sound of chimes next to her would have alarmed her, once. Not anymore. With a flicker of light, Glimmer was standing next to her, hanging off the other side of the mast.
The two shared an annoyed glance.
"This is supposed to be an important diplomatic mission, and they're goofing off down there! At least you seem to be taking this seriously!"
Catra really was. Being in the middle of nothing but water, aboard a wooden ship powered by magic with a man who had bragged about lighting his previous two ships on fire was quite possibly the most serious situation she'd ever been in.
But she was not one to waste an opportunity. She grinned at Glimmer. "He does seem to be taking up a lot of their attention, doesn't he? Poor Sparkles. Your shimmer just can't compete with a naturally shiny mustache."
Glimmer huffed. Glared down at them more. Rolled her eyes.
"He's all about the attention, isn't he?"
She and Glimmer had the oddest friendship Catra had ever experienced. They never used each other's actual names. They glared at each other. Argued constantly (unless it was about blowing something up. Then they were usually in agreement. Except about what to blow up.)
They said things to each other no one else got away with saying. But if anyone else said those things to either of them? The other was right there, ready to start a fight over it.
"At least Adora isn't fawning over him." Glimmer stared down at Bow being shown how to steer the ship by Sea Hawk, the two standing very close.
"No. No, she's not." Catra looked down and saw Adora smile up at her, waving brightly. Catra flicked her tail and her ears at Adora in response, blinking slowly. Adora's grin got wider, and she wandered off to find something productive to do. She was good at that.
Catra was going to break her of that habit. Adora needed to relax. With her. Under blankets. On solid, dry land.
"In theory, if I thought I saw a mermaid, should I be worried? Maybe tell someone about it?"
Glimmer, without breaking her unblinking stare down at Bow and Sea hawk, shook her head. "Mermaids are allied with Salineas. If you saw one, we must be close to Aquatica - their city. At least he's taking us the right way, I guess."
Catra laughed softly. "That's good, because there's one following the ship."
The Princess of Bright Moon shrugged. "Great. He can brag about mermaids following him now. How wonderful."
"Sparkles, you're the plucky leader. I'm the sarcastic and violent henchcat. If you keep getting grumpier, you're going to have to douse Bow in glitter, because I'm not taking your place as the sparkly one."
Perfuma had called Catra a 'henchcat' back in Plumeria and Catra had decided to introduce herself as Glimmer's henchcat since. To anyone. And everyone. The idea of forcing the Princess to have a henchwoman instead of a loyal friend filled her with the kind of glee very few things did, because it made Glimmer stomp her foot almost every time.
Almost, because this time, she didn't even really notice. She was busy staring at a map and sighing.
Catra pointed ahead. "I mean, it's not a mermaid, but the water is full of broken ships up there. Speaking for me, I don't like it. If the water up there breaks ships, and we are in a ship, I think we should go another way. Now."
Glimmer looked up and saw the shipwrecks at the same time Sea Hawk bellowed for Adora to come back to the 'table' (an empty crate) to arm wrestle again. Glimmer gave a growl Catra silently admired and teleported back down to make them all act like grown-ups.
Catra looked down at the water. And the shipwrecks. And a new, larger shadow following their boat.
Because going places on water was such a good idea.
She tuned out Sea Hawk talking to (arguing with) Glimmer and watched the shadow in water getting closer. She leaned down, about to say something when a nightmare rose up out of the water and rammed into the side of the boat, rocking it hard and sending water splashing up over the side. The creature was long and sinuous, with tentacles wiggling behind it, and a gaping, leech-like maw with more eyes than anything should have staring out of its face.
The nightmare, slimy skin glistening with saltwater, jumped again and came up under the boat. Catra yowled, her claws digging into the mast as the ship went airborne, hurling over dozen feet up before splashing back down with a crash, the roar of the waves and the nightmare almost drowning out the sounds of everyone else screaming with her.
"The Serpent of the Sea!" Sea Hawk struck a pose as he announced it to everyone. As if knowing the nightmare's name made it any better! Squinting into the sunlight, Catra longed for a Horde blaster. Or a grenade. Even Sparkles would agree blowing that thing up was a good idea.
She heard Sea Hawk trying to sell Bow and Glimmer on the idea of a 'harrowing tale of adventure' right before she realized several things:
No one had told Sea Hawk that Adora was She-Ra.
No one had told Adora the 'Serpent of the Sea' was apparently the main attraction on Sea Hawk's horror cruise from Seaworthy to Salineas.
Which meant Adora was going -
"For the honor of Greyskull!" There was a flash of golden light Catra would never get used to and Adora - She-Ra - was racing down the boat, sword in hand.
"Adora!" Catra jumped down from the mast, hoping to intercept her before she -
And then Adora was flying through the air, her sword leading the way as she plummeted right at the nightmare's open, salivating maw. All Catra could see were eyes and teeth and green-black skin; the scent of rotting meat and sea water as the creature roared.
The Sword of Protection slammed into the creature's teeth - Adora's feet were braced on either side of its maw. The sound of the magic sword - like a gong pealing across the ocean, She-Ra's power like a rumble of thunder - hitting teeth and cracking them sent Catra into flight or fight mode.
(Catra didn't have a flight mode. Not really.) She spun in place, grabbing one of Bow's arrows, reared back to throw it -
And the creature reared up and took Adora under the water.
Sea Hawk stared. Water dripped down his face as he blinked in shock. He hadn't even dropped his pose. "Is that a normal thing she does?"
"Yeah," Bow sounded amused. Why was Bow amused by Adora throwing herself into the maw of a sea monster? Princess people were insane, and they were taking her Adora with them! "It takes some getting used to."
Arrow Boy wasn't wrong. He was right more often than not, but this time he really wasn't wrong. Catra hissed, jumping up on the railing, looking down at the water, steeling herself to jump in the water, when Adora's head popped out of the water, sword held high in triumph.
"Got it! Wait - no- !" And Adora was pulled back under.
Catra almost jumped, but Glimmer pulled her back. Stumbling, Catra turned, hissing, but Glimmer grabbed her shoulders. "Your idiot will be just fine!"
Catra wanted to scream, but Glimmer - already freaking out about her mission - was making sure Catra was okay. She growled, her claws cutting into the railing. "If someone hadn't sailed us into a Sea Serpent's lair, I wouldn't have to worry!"
Sea Hawk opened his mouth to say something, but Glimmer stopped him with a glare. "What? You wanted to show off?!"
He thew his hands up. "That was the plan, until your friend stole my thunder!"
Catra turned back towards him, fully intending to throw him in the water, when Adora poked her head out of the water, as herself, not She-Ra. She was laughing awkwardly. "Okay! Now I got it! We're all good!"
Glimmer grit her teeth. "Adora! Get. In. The. Boat." She turned to Sea Hawk. "I need this mission to go well, or my mother will never give me another one! So stop wasting our time and get us to Salineas!"
Catra found a rope, ignoring her trembling arms, and threw it down for Adora, who swam over with admirable form and speed. As she climbed back up the side of the boat, Catra dove for her pack, digging around until she pulled out one of her most essential pieces of equipment: her emergency blanket.
She stood a few feet away from the railing and waited. She jumped as she heard a splash - she turned and saw the mermaid's tail disappear into the water. "Some ally you are."
As Adora jumped over the side, Catra jumped, almost tackling her, wrapping her up in the blanket from behind, pulling her back towards the center of the boat and the cabin behind them. She pulled Adora down, her arms around her, until they were both sitting. Adora was between her legs, her back against Catra's chest, Catra leaning against the cabin.
Adora craned her neck to look back at Catra. "Are you okay? You didn't have to get in the water, did you?"
Catra wasn't sure if she was going to scream, laugh, or cry. Instead, she nipped Adora lightly. "Dummy! You did that so I didn't have to get in the water to fight it?!"
Adora, trapped as she was by Catra's arms, looked down. "A little? Also, because I didn't want the creature to ruin Glimmer's mission or Sea Hawk to think we owed him for saving us and because people were in danger and I could stop it?"
Catra sighed and caught the towels Bow threw at her. She reached up and carefully started patting Adora's face and hair dry, an upset mewl escaping despite herself. Adora turned, pressing her side into Catra and Catra gave up, decided to be a little wet, and clutched Adora to her.
"Good motives. Still dumb." Catra breathed a little easier as Adora rested her head against her shoulder. "I get it," she whispered. "I do. You're a legendary warrior princess now. That comes with - responsibilities. Things you have to do."
Plumeria had been horrible. Adora had stabbed the Corrupter, and Catra had been positive Shadow Weaver's magical technology was going to kill her, but apparently, She-Ra's light was stronger than Shadow Weaver's darkness. It was a terrifying moment that lived in her nightmares, but also gave her hope: whatever She-Ra really was, she was as strong and powerful as Adora herself.
And like Adora, sometimes, She-Ra had to risk herself for everyone; if she didn't, there would be no way to win. No way to fight the Horde or save Etheria. Which was, Catra would grudgingly admit, not the worst goal. She just had big problems with the 'Adora risking her life' part of things.
"But you don't have to do them alone. That's what you have me - and even Sparkles and Arrow Boy for. You know better than that! We grew up in a squad. A dysfunctional, self-destructive squad of idiots, but a squad. You used to yell at me for not being part of the team. Now that I want to work with everyone else, you're just - throwing yourself at monsters?"
Adora closed her eyes and pressed tighter into Catra. "I have all this power now. I can - I can do all these things, and I don't want any of you to be hurt! If it's just me that gets hurt, then it's okay! I get better and I don't lose..."
Catra's low growl was protective this time as she pulled up her knees, wrapping Adora with as much of herself as she could. This was Shadow Weaver's fault. This terrible idea that Adora didn't matter, only what Adora could do mattered was her poison, as sure as Catra's fears (all of them, probably, and there were a lot) were Shadow Weaver's fault, too.
Adora had spent more than one night helping Catra work through those, reassuring her over and over and over again she was wanted. She was important. She was - worthy. Now it was her turn to be there for Adora.
"You getting hurt matters to me. It matters a lot to me!" Catra pressed her nose into Adora's cheek. She would wait until Adora was dry and they were alone, but she was going to have scent mark Adora all over again. The sea water had washed it away.
Another reason to dislike the ocean.
"You matter. You matter to me." Catra ran her hands up and down Adora's arms. She was shivering from being cold and wet, but there wasn't much they could do about that for a bit. Adora would have to dry out in the wind and sun. "Adora. You matter. I didn't leave the Horde for She-Ra. Glimmer and Bow didn't trust you with the sword because of She-Ra. They trust you. I left the Horde for you. In spite of She-Ra."
Catra felt like she wasn't saying the right things, but she didn't know what else to say. She would just do what Adora did and repeat it over and over until Adora could hear it, and then a thousand times more until she believed it. And she would keep saying it, so Adora never forgot it.
A shadow fell over them and another blanket draped over them. "Etheria got lucky." Glimmer sat down next to Catra. "We did. We got you as She-Ra. Not - me. Not a Princess or someone so angry at the Horde they would go on a rampage and get themselves killed or captured. We got you. Adora."
"Me?" Adora sounded so small right then Catra just wanted to take them back to Bright Moon and tuck Adora into their room until she believed she wasn't supposed to get hurt or killed just to save everyone else.
Catra mewled again and looked at Glimmer. "I don't know how to explain it! You're the leader!"
Glimmer folded her hands in her lap. "I'm the leader because I'm a Princess. It's silly, because in a fight, either of you know more of what you're doing than I do. But I am. My mom put me in charge. I've been taught to be a leader my whole life. You can't lead without doing things. You can't lead without people willing to do things you ask them to. Leading is scary and hard, because when you make decisions, those decisions affect other people. But it's why the lot of you decided to follow me that matters."
Glimmer took a deep breath, and Catra could tell - she had a point. It might take Princess people forever to get to the point, but they usually had good points.
"Adora, you care. I can recruit a hundred soldiers. I can recruit sorcerers - maybe, my aunt is real weird about my mom sometimes? I can convince people to fight the Horde, but they do it to survive. You had all the choices in the world. More than anyone. You could have just run off with the sword. You could have gone back to the Horde. Gone and started your own rebellion. Instead, you said: 'I want to help save everyone' and you came with me. You said 'Princesses should protect the people' and you've stood with me to make my Mom do that. To convince other Princesses to fight. You were raised in the Horde. You had so little - you didn't know it, but you did. And you chose to care there, too. Sure, you were told things, but you still always had a choice, and every time, you chose to care. That's what makes you powerful. What makes us lucky you're She-Ra and not someone else."
Catra purred into Adora's cheek. "She's right, Princess. You cared about me, too. A stupid kitten in a stupid box and you wanted me to be warm and safe and fed and happy, and fought Shadow Weaver to make it happen. You even cared about Lonnie, who was mean to you. A lot."
"I care about you." Adora muttered, making sure Catra heard the present tense. "Never gonna stop. I don't understand, but...I believe you. That I matter to you. I'll be more careful. Think more. I'm just not sure I was wrong this time?"
Catra sighed. "You weren't totally wrong. But...two seconds to say 'I've got this' and 'watch my back' instead of running at it and yelling 'watch this!' would have helped. A lot. Last time you ran off on your own, you found a magic sword and we got in a fight. I don't like it."
"Neither did I." Adora was hugging herself and somehow managed to wiggle so she and Catra were face to face without changing how Catra was holding her. Catra appreciated the skill. She wasn't ready to let go yet.
"Then let me help, dummy! Please?" Catra only said 'sorry' to Adora. No one else. She also never said please to anyone else. Only Adora. The other rebels knew that. They'd learned to accept it. But even Adora knew how important it was for Catra to say 'please.'
Adora looked up at Catra and blinked slowly. Catra let out a relieved breath and smiled, purring and nuzzling against Adora. That was settled. Adora kept her promises.
Glimmer sighed. "I missed something. You just did that silent communication thing."
"Adora slow blinked, agreeing to Catra's implied request! Catra accepted her agreement and thanked her!" Sea Hawk sauntered over with a shrug. "I once served with a magicat! Squall! Terrible sailor, but magnificently violent!"
Catra looked up, baring her teeth, ears back. Sea Hawk backed up a step, his hands up. His voice was a slightly higher pitch. "It won't happen again! I promise! No need for that!"
Bow winced. "I don't think we need a translation of that one."
Catra sniffed once and turned back to Adora. She would never tell him, because he was a menace. But at least he knew how to communicate.
The Sea Gate
Salineas
Catra had joined the Rebellion. Technically. She had even told the quietly terrifying Queen of Bright Moon she would fight the Horde. She'd agreed to being under Glimmer's nominal command and supervision, mostly because Adora liked Glimmer and Catra knew if she didn't, she might get locked up or sent away.
She and Angella understood each other - Catra was a soldier. She was trusted because Adora was trusted, and even that was hard for the Queen. She and the Queen had only interacted twice since then - both times at meetings about missions.
Like the Horde, the Rebellion ran on subtext. Most people didn't say everything they meant. Unlike the Horde, everyone seemed to mean to what they said.
(Except Adora. Adora was the most direct person Catra knew. That hadn't changed, even if she still tried way too hard to talk in subtext like everyone else. If it wasn't so cute watching her try, Catra would have told her to stop. But watching her eyes and face light up and get deadly serious as she tried to imply and be subtle was too much. That, and she would be crushed to find out she was bad at it.)
Everyone seemed to understand. Catra hadn't really joined the Rebellion. She had joined Adora, who had joined the Rebellion. Everyone seemed to understand Catra didn't mind fighting the Horde, not like Adora who still carried massive guilt over it.
She wasn't sure they understood, completely. She liked fighting the Horde.
She had enjoyed fighting Octavia while Adora had repaired the Sea Gate. Octavia trying, over and over, to get past Catra while Glimmer, Bow, Sea Hawk and Mermista had fought their ships had been the highlight of their terrible adventure at sea.
Making Octavia retreat, cursing her name, had been the best day since Adora hadn't sent her away on the beach.
Adora was exhausted and asleep in Mermista's palace. Catra would be joining her soon, but she knew Glimmer and Bow were in the same room with her. (Catra had spent no small effort convincing them to share a room. What was it with Princess people? You stayed close to your people - you didn't spread out and leave everyone unguarded!)
She had to wait a bit before crawling in bed with Adora. There was something she had to do, first. She wasn't even that annoyed about it. Just questions had to be answered.
Answers she would get by starting an argument with a Princess. She was going to try starting the argument the Princess people way, though. If she did the Horde way, she'd just end up wet. Princesses with water powers made picking fights a little more delicate. And less fun.
So, she was sitting outside the Sea Gate, on the rock Adora had stood on to repair it and waited. With a cooler. She thought she had Mermista's measure. If she was wrong, then she'd be grumpy about it at breakfast and corner her before they left.
She wasn't wrong, though. She'd learned from the best (worst?) when it came to figuring out people. Shadow Weaver was awful, but she was good at taking people apart. Catra had learned how, but she was doing her best not to use it for evil. (Most of the time. She was going to make Sea Hawk fear her on the way back to Seaworthy.)
Sure enough, she saw the blue hair and blue tail of the mermaid arc up and over the water as Mermista swam around the bay. The water shifted and moved, and debris from the exploded Horde vessel pushed away and up on a small wave, landing in a pile on the shore. Right next to a similar pile.
Mermista was cleaning up after their battle. By herself. Presumably, because she was the only one who could, but probably because she needed some alone time. Catra understood that. She even felt a little guilty about interrupting. But only a little.
Catra threw a rock at her. It was a small rock, but Catra had good aim. It bounced off Mermista's butt right as she dove back under the water.
A second later, Mermista poked her head up and saw Catra smirking down at her.
Catra waved. That was polite, right?
Mermista heaved a deep sigh and rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"
Catra smiled and opened the cooler next to her. She held out a bottle full of bubbly red liquid. "You're an idiot."
Mermista's form shimmered in an eye-twisting, vertigo inducing magical shift as she rose up on a tall wave, landing next to Catra on her own two feet.
She took the bottle and squinted at it. "Red Creme Fizz? I thought you'd be more hardcore."
"Just go with it." Catra huffed. Red Creme Fizz was pretty hardcore when you'd grown up drinking tepid water that tasted like metal. No one should make fun of it. Ever. Catra was going to suggest that as a Princess Alliance by-law. Bow would back her.
"If you say so?" Mermista shrugged, obviously confused. Didn't she recognize a peace offering when someone made one? Catra didn't make them often. There was still the option of 'get into a real fight, deal with being wet, and claw answers of her' plan. It was usually a solid plan, but Catra was still considering the whole 'ocean' thing as a current flaw in her regular approach to these things.
Besides. Glimmer wanted them to be diplomatic. Catra could do that! Sorta.
"It's practically the 'welcome to the alliance, you're probably gonna die' drink. I think Bow carries a case on every mission. Or the 'you are sitting next to a terrifying body of water' drink. I dunno."
They'd had a picnic next to a lake after Plumeria, so that counted. Princesses seemed to like giant puddles where someone could drown.
(Catra carried a case on every mission. For Adora, of course. It's not like she would miss silly Princess drinks when she was away from Bright Moon. But Adora might.)
Mermista rolled her eyes and tossed her trident down next to her. It clattered against the rocks. "And you're here to call me an idiot because?"
Catra bared her fangs. Just barely. She opened her bottle. "Because I didn't tell them, and you don't want me to. So I get to call you an idiot and you get to tell me why."
Mermista popped the cap off hers and sat down. "Tell them what? Tell you why about what? You are infuriating!"
"So are you. You followed us in and saw the fight with the Sea Serpent. You already knew about Adora. You already knew Sea Hawk was coming. You heard Glimmer bitch about her mission."
Mermista brushed her wet hair over her shoulders and took a sip of her fizz. "Ugh. You saw me? Lame."
Catra smirked and drank half of hers down. She was thirsty, she liked it a lot more than she'd ever admit to Bow, and there were more in the cooler. "I saw you. Like I said, you're an idiot. You knew. Your kingdom was about to get conquered, and you're what - chasing boats and spying? Of course, that's not why you're an idiot. It just doesn't make any sense."
Mermista glared at Catra, but the magicat let her smirk fall away and she shrugged. Waiting. Because she understood better than Mermista thought she did. This was the hunt. People might not say what they meant, but Catra was good at the subtext. Really good at the subtext.
Catra had to find out if Mermista was who she thought she was, or if she was as cold and dismissive as she played. Someone had to look out for the Alliance in ways Glimmer and Adora couldn't.
Not that she cared about the Alliance. She was just in this for Adora and because she wanted to make Shadow Weaver cry. And maybe die.
But it was important to Adora. And Glimmer. And Bow.
Glimmer was right about Adora. Adora cared. Every single person she saved or helped meant something to her. Every single Horde soldier she avoided hurting meant something to her. But Glimmer believed. She believed hard and deep and in ways no one else did. She believed not just in the Princesses, but in the people of Etheria. In the concept of Etheria as a good place that needed to be saved, preserved, rebuilt better and brighter than before.
Catra didn't know if she believed in any of that. She believed in Adora. She was starting to believe in Glimmer.
And she believed, sometimes, you had to corner someone and say what you meant.
"I didn't know any of you were on the boat until I got close. I watched, okay? Geeze. Paranoid, much? And like you wouldn't spy on you if you had the chance."
"Oh, I would." Catra readily agreed. "I wouldn't get caught, though. I would have come on board and said good-bye to him, too. Not just watched."
Mermista choked on her fizz. "What?" She pulled the bottle away from her mouth with a trembling hand. "You're ridiculous. He's ridiculous."
Catra shook her head. She was right Mermista was an idiot. The same kind of idiot she'd been. "That's why you were following his boat, right? To warn him off and say good-bye and then go back to your palace for whatever last stand you were waiting to make. Save him, sacrifice yourself. The normal heroic princess plan."
She couldn't blame Mermista this time. Her options had been limited. Just like she couldn't blame Adora this time, either - no one else could have fixed the Sea Gate. And because this time, she'd asked Catra to watch her back while she did it.
Catra had. No one had touched her. And Catra had gotten a great view of Glimmer and Sea Hawk blowing up Octavia's ship. One of the things she admired about Glimmer. The girl shared Catra's affinity for 'blow it up' as a battle plan.
Mermista coughed and wiped her mouth. "Whatever, catgirl. Thought I'd ask Aquatica to help, okay? They said they 'couldn't,' the bastards, and sent me on my way! I'm not my Dad so they don't owe me anything! Then I saw Sea Hawk's little boat and figured I'd find out why he was sailing into certain doom. This time."
Catra rolled her eyes. That was the dumbest excuse she'd ever heard. Mermista's delivery was perfection itself, though. Laconic drawl. Almost-but-not-quite eyeroll. Toss of the head with her infuriatingly dry hair. (Seriously? How did that work? Was it her magic? Was it a Princess thing? How did she just get out of the water and end up with dry hair? And could she teach Catra how?)
"Stalking your boyfriend on the high seas? If you want to find out if he's got a lover in every port, you should follow him away from your own city. Just a tip."
"As if." Mermista took another long drink of her fizz, and Catra swore she heard a sigh of satisfaction as she lowered the bottle. Red Creme Fizz. If you didn't like it, you were probably a bad guy. Catra was going to find a way to prove it. Somehow.
"He's not my boyfriend. And what? Are you some expert on stalking? Creepy, catgirl."
"Henchcat. I am a henchcat. Mock me correctly or admit I'm right. And yes, I am an expert at stalking. I'm a cat. It's part of my deal. No dice, mergirl. You knew Sea Hawk didn't know you were under siege. Try again."
"Or what?" Mermista smirked right back at Catra, almost as if she were enjoying the debate. "Admit it. You're worried I'm going to toss you off this rock, right into the water."
Catra suppressed most of her shudder. She took another drink and hissed. "Adora would be upset. I don't think you want her having this conversation with you. She might take it personally, being lied to and tricked into helping save your little kingdom. Instead of being a big girl and asking us." She paused. Just long enough for Mermista to start to answer. Then she giggled. Because poking the Princess was fun. "Of course, you could admit you were there to smooch Sea Hawk one last time?"
Mermista flopped back on the rock. "Ugh. How are you such a nightmare?"
"Eh. Years of practice." Catra traced a single claw along the rock. "I'm wait-ing."
"Fine. Whatever. I knew he'd help, okay? Stupid pirate. Let him light his ship on fire. Blow up a Horde ship. He likes doing that! Then give him another ship. A big ship. Full of people. People I could save. He'd prance around on the bridge and strike a pose and give a speech about 'adventure' and he'd get them out."
"Makes sense. All those people would see him as a hero and he'd lead them into the ship graveyard, feed the Horde to his sea serpent and save some of your people. That's a Princess plan. I believe that."
Mermista might not be like the other Princesses, but she was still a Princess. She was a lot more guarded, standoffish than Perfuma. Her anger was quieter than Glimmer's simmering behind her eyes and not out in the open. But she was still a Princess.
"Happy now?"
"Not yet!" Catra waited.
Mermista didn't disappoint. Without opening her eyes or sitting up, she put the bottle to her lips and finished it off in three gulps. "What else could you possibly want?"
"Other than admitting you were going to say good bye to your idiot? I still have some concerns. Getting Sea Hawk to help save people. I buy that.
Mermista turned her head to the side and glared at Catra. "I never said he was mine!"
Catra shrugged. "Whatever. I have one, too. Convinced she's got to save the world. Might kill herself doing it too. So what? You saw She-Ra and decided to let us float in and then see if we'd help you save your city?"
"Sail, henchcat. Sail in. What, did Glimmer send you out here to interrogate me about this or something? Can't ask me questions on her own?"
"Nope." Catra ran a claw lightly along her almost empty bottle, watching the line score into the glass. She'd once drawn her and Adora's faces on a bottle, but she wouldn't do that ever again. Adora had kept the bottle. Put it on a shelf over their bed in Bright Moon.
(Catra would never admit it, even to Adora, but it meant something Adora had kept it.)
"Glimmer doesn't know, mergirl. None of them do. Just me. If you convince me you weren't playing us, you're good. If you don't, I'll rat you out. And you know you need the Alliance. You're a port city, sure, so good money there, but if none of the other Princesses want to play Princess games or save the world with you, then you'll be all by yourself out here the next time the Horde wants to bust down your gate."
Catra knew she was playing with fire - or water, as it were. But she had to know. Adora didn't need someone else manipulating her into saving her life. Even if it meant Catra got the chance to fight Octavia. (It would break Glimmer's heart, too. Catra didn't want that, either, but she wasn't sure how to deal with those feelings yet.)
And if she was right, Mermista hated that thought as much as Catra had.
"All alone?" Mermista laughed. Genuinely laughed, as if Catra had just made a joke. "Like that's new."
The waves at the bottom of their rock got higher, crashing against the stone.
Catra winced. She hadn't meant to hit that much of a nerve. "Didn't think it was." Her voice was softer this time. "But you weren't alone this time and we won. Your stupid pirate. My idiot warrior. We had them. Glimmer and Bow helped too, I guess."
Wasn't it better that way? Catra knew better to ask. She wasn't going to force Mermista to admit something she wouldn't. That wasn't fair. Or diplomatic.
"Didn't you hear? Princess Alliances are disasters. What makes this one different? She-Ra? You? Me?"
Catra huffed. "Well, I'm worth any two princesses. Everyone knows that. But maybe we're just that much better than your parents were. They lost. Gave up, if what Glimmer and Angella said is true. Because it got hard. I'm tougher than that. Are you? Or are you going to just give in before you fight? Apparently, that's a Princess plan, too."
"You know what? You want to know so badly how I was going to 'use' your friends?" Mermista sat up, and the waves crested higher. "I saw She-Ra and Glimmer and Bow and saw they were good enough sailors that I saw three more big ships full of people I could get out! I saw a few more Horde ships burning before they got away! I didn't think I could win! Don't you get it? I was sitting there waiting to die! I was just trying to save as many as I could before it happened!"
Catra just sat there and stared as Mermista broke down. (Bow. She should have brought Bow. Bow was good with crying people. Catra was only good with Adora.) She let Mermista cry for a few minutes. She didn't comment on it or draw attention to it.
Thinking you were going to die in a futile last stand was a good reason to cry. No need to embarrass her over it.
"Most people hug. Or give speeches. I don't do that." Catra handed her another bottle and got one for herself. "But I can say thank you. From me. Because you just fixed a problem you didn't know existed."
"I'm not a hugger." Mermista took the bottle and laughed, wiping tears away. "Do you practice not making sense?"
"Nope. Just naturally gifted." Catra leaned back, feeling tension uncurl around her. "You don't know, do you? Heh. Me and Adora? We're from the Horde. We defected. After Adora found the magic sword and became She-Ra. I almost didn't. I almost got really stupid and decided to be mad instead of remembering who Adora is. Even so, I grew up hearing Princesses are monsters. I'll spare you the details. Then I get out of the Horde and I meet Sparkles, who believed in Adora and wants to make the world sparkle like she does. Perfuma, who punches people with plants and wants everyone to be happy. Like, that's her purpose in life. Then, you."
Catra waited. Let Mermista think. "All right, Horde girl. What about me?"
"Ex-Horde. You know, I was only there for the same reason I'm here. Adora. I'm self-aware enough to admit it. But you? You're like me. You just hide it better. You talk about waiting to die, but I think you were waiting to fight. I think you were going to try to win anyway, once no one else was going to get hurt. Not self-sacrifice, even. You wanted to hurt them right back. You were going to use every dirty trick, underhanded move, and mean idea you've ever had and make the Horde hurt as much as you did."
Mermista looked at Catra for a long, silent moment. Waves crashed below them, and the moons burned in the sky.
"I get mad. And then I get even." Mermista's voice was soft, but there was a razor edge to it Catra understood all too well. "I would have burned Salineas to the ground and destroyed the Pearl before they got it. And I'd have burned them with it."
Catra laughed. That, she understood. "Me, too. Octavia? I clawed her eye out when I was kid because she tried to hurt Adora. I was going for her other eye today. But that's the problem you fixed. That there was no one on this side like me. That I was the only one who wanted to hurt them for what they do to people. What they did to us growing up."
Mermista drank more of her fizz. "You know, this stuff is better than I remember. Haven't had it since I was a kid. You're also right about me. I have a mean streak. I try to aim it right, but it's there. The Horde seems a fair target."
And you love your city and your people as much as the rest of the Princesses. You're what I might have been without Shadow Weaver.
She kinda wanted to hate Mermista for that, but the girl had chased her boyfriend across the ocean to say good bye, let him blow some people up, and then let him save as many as he could. If Catra was given to romantic gestures, that was the kind she could get behind.
"It's okay." Catra waved her bottle at Mermista. "They can save the world. We can set the other guys on fire. Or drown 'em. Either works."
Mermista grinned at that. Not like Catra was going to judge her for being a little vengeful.
"Your Adora. She's like Sea Hawk, isn't she?" Mermista pulled her knee up. "Always trying to prove herself. Never quite managing to know what to say or do. They hide it differently, but they both want to do good and get told they did. To know they didn't make the wrong choice again."
"Huh." Catra sighed and peered down at the docks, where Sea Hawk was doing something with rope on the deck of his new boat. He was singing as he danced across the deck of the Dragon's Daughter IV. The lightness was back in his step, and he smiled up at Mermista - and blew her kiss. "Not fair. Now I'll feel bad terrorizing him the whole way back for making Adora fight a Sea Serpent."
She was probably still going to. At least a little. He'd put Adora in danger and sicced a sea serpent on them while she'd been in the boat.
Mermista snorted. "I should probably tell you to go easy on him, but that was dumb. Even for him." She looked down and him and saw him almost fall as he struck a post on the deck railing. "I guess I should go down there and help him. Make sure he doesn't set it on fire before you set sail."
Catra laughed. She couldn't help it. "He's an idiot, but he's your idiot?"
Mermista shook her head. "He's not mine."
He should be. Catra didn't say it. That wasn't up to her. She was right, but Mermista would get there on her own. Or not. But people like them needed their idiots. The people who cared, even when they shouldn't. Life was darker without them.
Catra had lived it for a few hours. That had been too long for her.
Loving them was dangerous, though. Losing them, them doing something stupidly heroic they couldn't come back from. That kind of loss would break someone. Worse than never having them, maybe.
Catra was going to make sure she never found out.
"Going to follow us back?"
Mermista shrugged. "Part way. I have to yell at some people in Aquatica. Probably threaten. I'll make him promise not to light it on fire until after he gets you home." Then, very quietly, so quietly anyone who wasn't Catra might not have heard, Mermista whispered: "The stupid pirate keeps his promises."
Home. Catra almost laughed. Home was with Adora. She could be home as long as Adora was there. But their room in Bright Moon was pretty nice, and she missed their bed. It smelled like them.
"Sparkles might be disappointed. I think she got a taste of lighting ships on fire and using them to blow things up. But I appreciate it."
Mermista held out her bottle and Catra tapped hers to it. "Still think I'm an idiot?"
"Yeah." Catra grinned. "But you're my kind of idiot."