First Times For Everything (ch5)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY $10+ PATRONS! THANK YOU!!

Okay! So now we're having our first timeskip of 6 years. Catra and Adora will now be pre-teens as shown in their sparring matches in the canon.

This "first" is going to be one everyone will recognize from the canon ;3

Disclaimer: I do not own She-Ra.

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												Chapter 5. Special Catch

It's six years later when Catra and Adora finally become official cadets of the Horde. It hadn't been particularly easy, but one thing is for sure; it was definitely much more fun than it would have been to become cadets without ever knowing one another.

Their six years together had consisted of mostly training, along with a few occasional mishaps of getting on Shadow-Weaver's nerves.

But after meeting each other, they'd never had to face the sorceress alone ever again. As promised, they looked out for one another, even at such young ages, and all the way until now.

Catra and Adora were about eleven years old when they passed their physical and written exams to become cadets. They were assigned to be on a team together with Lohnie, Kyle, and Rogelio, who had all grown closer over the years.

All of the hyperactive children that had once scampered all across the Fright Zone's base were now energetic pre-teens fueled by the promise of one day becoming potential Force Captains. Everyone had grown a little taller, hair had grown longer, voices had deepened just a bit - all gradual and somewhat minor changes.

But there's one person who's changed much more than all the others – at least in Adora's eyes.

No one else had been close enough to Catra – in a physcial, spiritual, or emotional sense – to notice her gradual change over time.

Only Adora recognized the very first time Catra started talking a little bit more, and a little bit louder, or when she started smiling a little more often, or when she told her first joke, or did outgoing things that her past timid self never would have dreamed of doing.

Adora noticed everything about the girl who had become her best friend.

Catra had gotten a bit taller like the rest of them, though Adora still had an inch or two on her. She'd gotten more feisty both verbally and physically, and she wasn't afraid to leap headfirst into a fight.

She wasn't afraid of anything anymore, other than Shadow-Weaver.

She tried to hide it, but whenever the sorceress came around, Catra would freeze up and clam up, or only offer mumbled words in response to her. But that was understandable, and Adora was always there with her to help sooth the typically-agitated sorceress until she was satisfied and let them be.

But in just about every other department, Catra's personality and liveliness had blossomed.

Adora had absolutely loved being able to watch her climb out of her shell one step at a time.

But sometimes she almost wished Catra would take a step back.

Sometimes. Almost.

Like on mornings like this one when Adora hasn't even opened her eyes yet, but she can already feel the piercing yellow and blue gaze boring into the backs of her eyelids, and she can hear the faint rumblings of an excited purr. Adora groans softly and turns over in her bed, pulling her pillow over her head.

"Catra, please... just five more minutes..."

"That's what you said five minutes ago!"

"No, but I actually mean it this time."

"Adora-"

"All right, all right, fine! Just please don't pounce on me again."

Adora lets her pillow fall back onto the mattress as she rolls over once more and finally opens her eyes. Catra is already dressed and waiting, eyes bright and tail swishing. She purrs a little louder as soon as she sees Adora's eyes. Adora sighs but smiles.

Since becoming Force Cadets, everyone had been given new sleeping quarters. They were now in a larger room and had been given bunk beds. Catra and Adora had marked the walls of them right away with grinning doodles of themselves side by side.

Adora had opted for a lower bunk while Catra had unofficially claimed the one above it. But needless to say she never used it, and instead opted to curl up at the foot of Adora's bed, or on particularly cold nights she'd sleep pressed right up against Adora beneath the blankets.

And Adora can feel the slight chill in the air now as she shifts around on her mattress and the blankets fall away from her arms.

Catra is still waiting eagerly with a spark in her eyes, tail swishing. Adora clears her throat and sighs again.

"All right, fine. C'mere, you." With a hopeless smile, she opens her arms invitingly.

Catra's purr bubbles all the way up her throat as she all but flops herself down onto Adora's chest. Adora swallows down the grunt and instead wraps both arms around her friend, draping the blankets over Catra for the time being. She can feel Catra's skin and the fur of her ears is a little cold, which makes Adora wonder how long she'd been up for, just sitting there watching her.

That was one thing that hadn't changed much about Catra over the years. She was still hesitant to ask for things – at least with Adora. She'd gotten gutsy enough to cut on line in the mess hall to get the last tuna sandwich, or speak out of turn to their commanding officers when she had a bone to pick about one thing or another. But when she was alone with Adora like this, she still held herself back sometimes.

Adora curls both arms around her now and rubs her hands over Catra's back and shoulders as the vibrations of her purr rumble between their chests.

"Y'know," she begins. "If you're cold, you don't have to wait, Catra. Just come over here whenever you want, even if I'm asleep."

"Hmm, but it's no fun unless I get to see your reaction and hear you talk when you still sound like a frog in the morning."

"Catra, I'm serious."

"So am I."

Adora just sighs again. Another thing that had changed about Catra is how stubborn she can be, and how good she is at arguing.

Adora had at least gotten her point made, so she lets the conversation drop for now. She adjusts her hold on Catra a bit, feeling the familiar pat of a tail tapping on her waist. And the purr radiates all across her body, even though she isn't even the one producing it.

She's glad Catra had learned how to unashamedly let it out. Catra might not always express her feelings with words, but she's never failed to with the noises she'd made upon meeting Adora that very first day. She'll still hiss and growl and whine - mostly at others - but when she's alone with Adora, it was just about always the purr.

And Adora's very glad for it. She loves being able to feel and hear just how content Catra is. The pleasant rumbling fills her every breath to the fullest, sometimes so much so that she ends up sputtering from how hard she's purring.

In the early-morning hours before anyone else is even awake, Adora doesn't mind it one bit. She listens to her favorite sound as Catra's warmth spreads across her body along with the little vibrations. Adora closes her eyes again and just breathes with her, wishing she could purr back and express how content she is too.

But she feels Catra knows. Catra always knows.

They laze about in their new bed together for a while, drifting in and out of consciousness. Adora dreads when the wake-up calls will come. But for now she just focuses on the moment, on the feeling of Catra's warmth pressed against her, of the rumble of her purr and the faint beat of her heart...

And then in a split second everything stops. Catra tenses up with a gasp, and the purr stops abruptly, though Adora can still feel her heart, and it's racing. Catra lifts her head up sharply, ears shooting tall. Adora blinks open her eyes just in time to see them twitch.

"Mm, Catra? What's the matter?"

"Shh! Did you hear that?"

"To be honest, it was kind of hard to hear anything with how loud you were purring..."

Catra sits herself up, letting the blankets fall away. Her ears are taller than Adora's ever seen them before, and her tail has begun to lash. Adora sits up beside her a little nervously.

"Catra? Are you okay?"

"Shh! There's something-" She stops talking with a jolt, as if someone has given her a shock.

Adora doesn't know what to make of her behavior. In all the years she's known Catra and all her little oddities, she's never seen her act like this before. Adora reaches out tentatively to put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Catra, I think you should lie back down."

But Catra rounds on her silently, letting out a soft snort before pulling away from her hand. She drops off the side of the bed and lands on all fours, then begins prowling across the floor. Adora calls after her in a whisper.

"Catra! What are you doing?"

Everyone else is still asleep, so Adora doesn't want to go running after Catra to drag her back to bed. Catra is normally quiet and light enough on her feet not to disturb anyone, but Adora has no idea what she's doing right now, and she's more than a little concerned.

She watches her in the dim lighting as Catra crawls across the floor, sometimes pausing sharply and hiding behind a bed. Adora tries to whisper-scream at her.

"Catra! What is going on?!"

Catra flicks an ear, so Adora knows she heard her, but she doesn't respond. She just keeps her keen eyes focused on whatever it is she's looking for.

She creeps forward with every shred of stealth and care she'd been culminating in her training all these years, enough to let Adora know this is something serious. She can't see much beyond Catra's form and her lashing tail, but it's making her even more nervous.

Slowly, she removes her blankets and begins to slide her legs off over the edge of the mattress, intending to follow her.

"Catra-"

But before Adora can get another word out, it's too late. Catra wiggles her hips and whips her tail in excitement before launching herself forward with a yowl.

"Ha!"

She buries herself beneath Lohnie's bed, and of course the commotion rouses her, and several other cadets.

"What the-?!" Lohnie scrambles up in her bed and raises her fists, ready for a fight until she notices the tail beneath her bed. "Catra? What the heck is goin' on? Get away from my bed!"

"What's going on?"

"What's all the noise?"

"Come on, we still have a few minutes..."

As other moans and groans start filling the room, Adora winces, knowing she'll have to take some responsibility for her partner's actions. Sure enough, Lohnie glares across the room right at her.

"Adora, would you come get your stupid friend away from my bed?"

"Uh, r-right. I'll get her..."

At the very least, now that everyone else has started to wake up, Adora doesn't feel so uneasy about... whatever is happening. She stands up fully and begins making her way over to Lohnie's bed and Catra's flicking tail.

"Catra, come on. Whatever you're doing-"

"I got it!" Catra's triumphant declaration echos through the room, effectively serving to wake up anyone who wasn't already disturbed by the commotion. As Catra squirms her way out from under the bed, Adora puts a palm to her face and sighs.

"Catra, what are you-"

"Here! See?"

"I d-aaaaah?!" Adora scrambles back as soon as her brain registers what Catra's just shoved in her face. Catra's holding a tiny, squirming mouse by the tip of its tail.

And though she'd nearly given Adora a heart-attack, and half the other cadets a rude awakening, Catra herself is absolutely beaming with pride. Her eyes are sparkling, her ears are tall and excited, her tail is curling with delight, and her purr radiates more loudly through the room than all of the groaning combined.

Adora takes a second to understand exactly what's happened here this morning before heaving another almighty sigh.

"A mouse..."

"Yeah! I knew I heard something crawling around in here! Thought you were being sneaky, didn't cha?" Catra holds the mouse up between her eyes and narrows them threateningly. "You're not so smart. Just try to steal our food, you little-"

"All right!" Lohnie interrupts. "Would ya can it?"

"Hey!" Catra snaps. "You should be thanking me! I saved your life! If this thing had bitten you, you could've gotten infected with something! Right, Adora?" Catra turns back to her partner and shoves the swaying mouse into her face again. Adora stumbles back.

"C-Catra, could you stop swinging it around?"

"What should we do with it?" Catra tosses the mouse into her other hand and pinches the tail between her claws. As other kids look up to see it, they shout a few disgusted ideas.

"Gross! Kill it!"

"Throw it in the furnace!"

"I have an idea," Lohnie interjects. "Maybe you two lovebirds can share it for a romantic breakfast."

"What?! Ew! I'm not gonna eat a mouse!" Catra snaps.

And Adora ends up smiling a little bit, because she's happy that the part of the statement that had grossed Catra out was the idea of eating the mouse, not the idea of sharing a romantic meal with her.

But Catra's started to bristle as the other cadets begin getting up to mutter about the situation. So Adora steps closer, carefully avoiding the mouse dangling between them, and puts a hand on Catra's shoulder.

"I have a better idea. Come on."

Adora takes her partner's unoccupied hand and begins leading her out of the dormitory, down the quieter hallway. She's still a little flustered about everything, but more than anything she's relieved nothing serious had happened to cause Catra to act so oddly. As she casts a glance back over her shoulder, her partner is still beaming at her catch.

"Maybe we can keep it. Y'know, as a pet?"

"Somehow I don't think that's going to fly."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." But she keeps smiling as she inspects her prize.

Adora can't help but smile too. Because all of the other cadets had suggested to harm or kill the mouse, which is probably a typical or expected response from a Horde member.

But Catra had only suggested to keep it alive. And Adora isn't quite sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that she appreciates her partner's softheartedness. And that's exactly why she wants to get this sorted out before someone ruthless like Shadow-Weaver comes along and settles things in a brutal manner right before their eyes.

Adora quickens her pace as she leads Catra to the nearest exit, having Catra show the mouse to the guards so they can understand what it is the girls are doing. They let them pass, and the pair steps outside into the cold gray morning. Adora sighs again before turning back to her.

"All right. You can let him go."

Catra's smile fades for just a second before she shrugs.

"Yeah. Guess you're right." She crouches down, and Adora goes with her. But before Catra can let go of the mouse she turns back to her with a grin. "You sure you don't wanna keep it?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"Suit yourself."

Catra places the mouse down gently onto its four little paws, then releases her grip on its tail. It runs off immediately into the shadows.

The two girls are quiet for a moment. Catra's oddly proud of making her first catch, but a little bitter to have let it go.

And Adora quietly revels in her partner's kind nature. She gives a squeeze to Catra's hand and leans over to bump their shoulders together.

"Thanks for the offer, though."

"Huh? What are you going on about?"

"Well, when you first caught it, you turned around and tried to give it to me, right?"

Catra's ears swivel and flatten as her face turns pink.

"I... I mean, that's normal, right? You're my partner. Of course you were the first person on my mind. I dunno, I just felt like I should give it you for some reason..." Catra tapers off mumbling under her breath.

But even if she doesn't fully understand her own actions, Adora appreciates them nonetheless. For Catra to have been so excited about using her skills to hunt that mouse down and successfully capture it, only to offer it to Adora...

It was touching. Sort of.

Either way, it made her feel happy that Catra would think of her as the person deserving of such a special prize.

Adora bumps their shoulders again.

"Thanks, partner."

"What are you doing? You didn't even keep it."

"I know. But thanks anyway."

"Whatever," Catra rolls her eyes. "Let's just go back inside. I'm starving." She stands and pulls Adora up with her. Adora smiles and squeezes her hand back.

And though Catra would never admit it, Adora could hear her purring all the way back.

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A/N: "That was one time!" As soon as I got the idea for this "first times" fic I knew I had to do the First Mouse incident, haha.

I enjoyed writing this chapter and describing how Catra might've changed over the years, from the scared taciturn little girl to someone a bit more confident and outgoing. I think Shadow-Weaver would still be her only concern, but she'd be much more expressive otherwise. Baby steps!