meadowlarklogs | A cup of tea would restore my normality

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A cup of tea would restore my normality

WHO: Glimmer, Catra
WHERE: Glimmer's workplace, Magpie Coffee & Teas
WHEN: June 17th or thereabouts.
WHAT: Catra's back and runs into Glimmer. There's a chat.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Sad princesses, sad cats, awkward conversations.

[ Despite all the excitement of the last weeks, one does need to keep a roof over one's head. So here's Glimmer. Back at work. It's not a very exciting job, as things go, but she finds it enjoyable enough? She brews coffees and teas and gets to chat with the people who stop into the cozy little coffee shop. It's kind of a nice change of pace, honestly, from all the world-saving battles and the pressure of being queen. She still worries and frets over what might be happening back home and yet despite herself she has found that she has settled into something of a new normal here in New Amsterdam. The morning rush has eased itself into the lingering slowness of the remainder of the day and Glimmer is in the process of brewing up a small pot of tea for another guest. The usual blend that's common here (Glimmer misses the tea from back home, but the stuff here isn't bad).

She sets it on a small tray to brew along with a teacup, sweetener, and a small carafe of oat milk and then carefully picks it up. She glances towards one of her coworkers, smiles with all the usual brightness she can muster. ]

Gonna run this out, be right back--!

[ She slips out from behind the counter and weaves through tables. Table... seven. That was in the far forner, right? She ducks past another patron and comes up short as she realizes who it is that's sitting there. ]

Catra?

[ There's a fumbling moment of surprise before Glimmer sets the tray down in front of the other young woman. Get it together, Glimmer. ]

Okay, how did you get your hair to do that because I am really tired of waiting for mine to grow out.

[ There. A little quip, irreverent and casual. Maybe that'll keep Catra from biting her head off and making a scene. ]

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[ Catra's ears go down immediately, and her hackles up. She fixes Glimmer with a glare and snatches her tea from the tray, taking a deliberately long sip as she fixes her gaze on the other woman, the silence stretching uncomfortably betwene them.

Finally-- ]

... I went home.

[ She doesn't seem... quite like the Catra that Glimmer had last spoken to. The Catra that Glimmer had last spoken to had been-- well, hostile, but also a bit wild, free spirited, starting to come around. Now Catra just looks... serious and tired. Her face is slimmer, her muscles leaner-- she looks closer now to the Catra that Glimmer knew in Prime's ship. ]

[ It takes a moment after Catra speaks for all of it to really click. But all at once, it does. Catra has been home. This is Catra as Glimmer knew her--or at least, very close to being the Catra who Glimmer had connected with on Horde Prime's ship. She hesitates, then glances towards the counter. ]

I'm taking my break.

[ That said, she slides into the chair opposite Catra without waiting for an invitation, her face dark with concern, worry, uncertainty. ]

Did you--?

[ Her voice catches. ]

Did you see Horde Prime? What's happening on Etheria?

[ She flicks an ear and looks away. ]

... No. He's not there yet. We were just about to launch our offensive on Brightmoon.

[ Glimmer lets out a little gasp and her hand moves to cover her mouth. That meant... ]

Then... You're closer to when I was.

[ Closer to being kidnapped and imprisoned. Closer to dealing with Horde Prime and his horrifying madness. But not there yet. She hesitates again, afraid to try and reach out across the gap like she had before. It might just end in hurt and pain but...

No. She had to try. They were stuck here together. ]

Are you okay? I mean. I know you're probably not, I guess. I just...

[ There's a disgruntled sigh, almost a groan, and Glimmer puts her face in her hands. ]

There were a bunch of monsters here and Adora went and--she was Adora about it even though she can't turn into She-Ra anymore. I'm worried about her. I guess I was hoping for news from home when you said you'd been there. Something that might make things better.

Just peachy.

[ Though her tone indicates... rather otherwise.

She takes another long sip of her drink and listens to Glimmer prattle on before responding. ]

So, there was some kind of monster attack, and Adora threw herself full-tilt into protecting people? ... What did you expect?

I know, I know. That's just Adora.

[ There's a bit of relief in talking to someone else here who just gets Adora. ]

I just want her to let me help her sometimes. Let anyone help her.

[ She's quiet again for a long moment and her hands grip each other in a taut show of anxiety. ]

...It's going to sound weird, but I'm glad you're back?

[ A beat. Then-- ]

... You're right. That does sound weird.

I told you.

[ Glimmer smiles weakly. Funny joke. ]

I know you don't like me. And I--I don't know how I feel about you.

[ It's complicated, okay? She squeezes her hands together, then forces herself to be still. She's a queen. She doesn't fidget. ]

But I think it's because you're from Etheria. You understand what 'home' means. The same way Adora does. And you get Adora. You probably--no, you definitely get her better than I do sometimes. A lot of the time.

[ Ugh. She doesn't want to say the wrong thing and have Catra snap at her. Glimmer does her best to press on. ]

But I can say 'Adora was being Adora' and you understand what that means. And... that's important to me here. You're both... you're both kind of a piece of home, I guess. Even if home makes me mad and scared and confused sometimes, it's home.

[ She trails off. Does her best to smile across the table. That probably sounded stupid, but she's doing her best here. At least Catra isn't swinging between yelling at her and gloating anymore. ]

Edited 2020-09-05 02:38 (UTC)

... So you're homesick.

[ She doesn't lash out, but she does huff. ]

What's so great about home, anyway?

Etheria is a really beautiful place.

[ That's the first thing she thinks of. The wild places, the forests, the seas, even the Crimson Waste. They're all so beautiful and vibrant in their own ways. The sterile feeling urban depths of New Amsterdam just don't feel the same. Even when overgrown with plant life. ]

My room. I can teleport.

[ There's a little grin at that one, then Glimmer's face flickers back into a melancholy seriousness. ]

My friends are there. Everyone I've ever loved.

[ Catra leans back in her chair, one arm slung over the back of it. ]

... Yeah. Stupid question. I guess the perspective really is different when you're a Princess.

Oh, come on.

[ Glimmer leans forward. Her chin rests in one hand as she looks at Catra. ]

There has to be something about home you liked.

[ Something about home she liked? What was there to like?

There was Adora. But then Adora left.

There was Scorpia. But then Scorpia left too.

What was there left to like? ]

... No.

[ For a moment that's all she says, with clarity and finality. No explanation. No softening. It just hangs in the air between them. She raises her drink to her mouth again and finishes the rest of it, before putting it down again, empty. ]

You took the only thing about home I liked away from me.

[ It makes sense, in a weird way. Why Catra is so hellbent on destruction. Why her grudge against the Rebellion always feels so personal. Why she doesn't care who she hurts. Why sometimes it feels like she just wants to see the whole world burn. ]

[ It's what Glimmer expected. Or rather, what she hoped she wouldn't hear. That 'no,' which is so final. So utterly hopeless with the bald declaration that Catra has nothing she misses at home. She remembers how Catra had talked about whispering in the dark with Adora and the true fondness in her voice. Then Catra says, of course, that it was Glimmer who took away the only thing Catra liked.

The only person Catra liked. Glimmer shakes her head, her expression beginning to harden into anger. Her sympathy only goes so far--and she won't let herself be blamed like that. ]

I didn't take her. She made the decision to leave the Horde on her own.

[ She takes a deep breath, then adds: ]

You could too, if you wanted.

Why would I leave? We're finally winning. We're finally going to crush the Rebellion into dust. I'm getting everything I ever wanted, Sparkles.

[ Except, even as she says it, she knows it's not true. ]

Is it really what you want? Because Horde Prime is--

[ Glimmer's voice catches in her throat, emotion threatening to overwhelm her. All she can think of that mocking, gloating voice telling her so calmly that what she was eating was the last remnant of a culture Horde Prime had casually wiped away except for the tiny bits and pieces that amused him. ]

Horde Prime is going to use you to get Adora. If he even feels like he needs you for that. And once he's done with you he's just going to get rid of you. Don't you get it? He'll destroy you, me, Adora, all of Etheria to get at the Heart.

[ Of course, Catra hasn't seen that yet. Glimmer rubs at her eyes, trying to fight off the threatening sting of unshed tears. ]

You'll find out for yourself, I guess.

[ One of Catra's ears flicks with irritation. ]

What do you mean, "the heart"?

[ Because that's the easiest point to address in all of this, rather than any of the other things she doesn't want to get into. ]

The Heart of Etheria. The First Ones turned the whole planet into a giant weapon. It's huge--it could wipe out the universe.

[ Glimmer frowns. ]

I thought you knew about the Heart of Etheria.

What...?

[ Catra looks briefly surprised, and then looks away as if to cover it. ]

... I think I'd remember hearing about a giant weapon.

Edited 2020-09-05 05:06 (UTC)

Wait. Right.

[ Glimmer rubs at her face with a hand. ]

You didn't know about it until later. Agh, this is so confusing.

[ She sits up a little straighter. ]

Long story short, the First Ones were siphoning off Etheria's magic to use as a weapon and storing it in the planet. She-Ra was going to be their way of activating it and using it to destroy their enemies. The princesses are connected to it. I... I helped activate it.

[ Glimmer looks down at the table, her eyes trying to find somewhere that isn't Catra's eyes for just a short moment. ]

Because I wanted to beat the Horde. And instead it was used to bring Etheria out of Despondos and into danger. Once we were free, Horde Prime could find us.

Soooooooo, why not just use it against Horde Prime if it's that powerful?

You need She-Ra to activate it.

[ She looks away from Catra, her arms crossing over herself in a sort of hug. ]

And I got captured before we knew what was happening. Adora probably doesn't want to risk hitting me with it too, since I was on Horde Prime's ship.

[ A pause. ]

So were you.

[ She lets the implication that Adora wouldn't want to hurt Catra either hang there, unsaid. ]

... Sounds like a real party. Can't wait.

[ Typical Adora, though.

She doesn't really know what to do with any of that information, and she doesn't really like the direction Glimmer's going with this. So instead she decides it's time to take a different track.

There's something else she's interested in knowing, anyway. ]

... So what's Hordak doing in all this, anyway?

[ The question draws a grimace from Glimmer. ]

Horde Prime like... Mind-wiped him. Made him just like the rest of his clones again. It--It was awful.

Mind-wiped...? You mean like-- erased his memories?

[ It brings Shadow Weaver and her attempt to factory-reset Adora to mind. Catra suppresses the urge to shudder. ]

... How far back?

Yeah.Just took away what him Hordak. I mean, he might have kept his memories?

[ Even if Hordak was her enemy, the idea of someone stripping out what made you interesting and unique and a person because it somehow made you imperfect disturbs her right down to her bones. ]

I don't know.

[ She knew on some level Hordak was considered a defective failure, but hearing his fate spelled out for Catra like that is ... chilling. On some level, it feels like a fate worse than death. Death might have been kinder. ]

Tch... never thought I'd feel sorry for Hordak of all people.

[ He and Catra might be on the same side, but there's evidently no love lost there. ]

Me neither.

[ Glimmer bites at her lip. She stays quiet for a very, very long moment. ]

...I don't want to fight you while we're stuck here, Catra.

Well bully for you. I'm happy to fight you til the cows come home.

[ It's both true and not.

Catra is never one to back down from a fight, and not from one with Glimmer especially.

On the other hand, she is so tired. A truce... might be nice. She can't admit as much in front of Glimmer though, or she loses face. ]

... Buuut if you're crying uncle, I suppose I could work out the arrangements for a truce.

[ Glimmer rolls her eyes. Ugh. ]

You know, if that'll get you not to claw me every time I talk to Adora then sure. I'm crying uncle.

[ The last part is just oozing with sarcasm. ]

Truce?

Oh no. You don't get off that easy. That's not how this works, Sparkles. You're the one giving up, which makes me the winning party here. I get to dictate the terms.

[ Catra leans back in her coffee shop chair and stretches outrageously like the cat who got the cream.

Mostly to hide the fact that she can't actually think of anything she wants other than for Glimmer to stay away from Adora, and she already knows that's not going to happen, and it would make Adora sad besides. ]

... Admit I'm better than you. And tell all your little friends here that you've decided I'm actually awesome. [ Her reputation is important, okay. She can't have Glimmer going around ruining it for her. Catra can do that all on her own. ] And maybe then, I'll agree to a truce.

[ Glimmer's eyes flash with determination and her gaze hardens at Catra's conditions. She might not want to fight, but she still has her pride! ]

I'm not admitting you're better than me.

[ She sits back and crosses her arms. ]

And I haven't even talked about you to anyone here. Why would I need to? It's not like you can take over New Amsterdam for the Horde or whatever. So maybe I can admit you're kind of awesome. A little bit.

I mean, you kind of already did by caving first.

[ She shrugs, but she looks ridiculously pleased with herself.

Is she being completely insufferable? Yes. On the flip side, is it really this easy to get Catra to stop hissing? Also yes. ]

But it's okay. I can work with this. You just keep up your end of the deal, and everybody's happy.

I'm not caving. There's just no point to fighting while we're here.

[ Like there had been no point on Prime's ship, either. ]

Don't worry about me. I'm happy to get along if you are.

Whatever you say, Sparkles. Whateeeeeever you say.

[ She says it with the tone of voice that promises shenanigans later. ]

[ UGH. Catra is so... Catra! Glimmer sighs dramatically and starts to get to get to her feet. ]

I've gotta get back to work. I'll see you around, I guess?

Oh, that's right. You work here. In that case, while you're at it...

[ Catra picks up her cup with the teabag still in it. ]

I want a re-fill.

[ Glimmer rolls her eyes, but she reaches out to take the cup anyway. ]

Coming right up.

[ Catra just smiles up at Glimmer like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth and purrs outrageously. ]

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A cup of tea would restore my normality

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