She hates Adam, in particular, with his stupid Adora-like grin and his stupid Adora-like eyes. She especially hates his stupid big mouth and his apparent tendency to just drop his backstory on any passing space travelers, like he's just been hoping that one of them would eventually turn out to be his missing sister.
The glow of Melog's red aura is hidden beneath the table, and Catra's ears both twitch as she picks up the quiet growl in Adam's direction. Quietly, she takes a deep breath and holds it - one, two, three - before letting go.
She's calm, for all appearances. She's been through more stressful situations than this; she's held it together before Shadow Weaver, Hordak, Horde Prime. She's not going to let one stupid little family dinner break her down.
(--Except, you know. She's supposed to be Adora's family.)
She'd tried to linger awkwardly outside when the parents (she can't think the word without a sneer; one that raises Melog's hackles) took Adora inside and wrapped their daughter up in hugs, and both she and Melog had wound up hissing at Adam when he'd tried to clap a welcoming hand on her shoulder, all of her hair and Melog's mane bristling in warning and threat. He'd backed off, hands raised, surprise on his face - and she'd stomped into their family home, trying to pull herself together enough to just get Melog to shrink back down and maybe turn a little less blatantly red.
It turns out getting him to become small is easy once she steps into the home, and suddenly wants to be anywhere else. It's cozy and it's warm and it's so, so the sort of place she can see Adora living happily in and -- and that hurts, a sudden sharp ache, and so Catra shoves it down. This is the type of place where someone as warm and kind and loving as Adora belongs.
Catra has no place here.
So Melog becomes small, and Catra silently (desperately) bids them to hide themselves before Adora sees and they ruin everything for her.
And that's how they're here, now. With an absurd amount of food for such a small village, piled onto the table in front of them. She doesn't really eat any of it; just breaks things up small enough to not have to taste them when they eventually, reluctantly, end up in her mouth. She's quiet, which is really the only way to make sure she doesn't snap anything at anyone, but she can't help the small humorless snort when Adora announces the Horde had been okay and raises their linked hands; and nor can she help the unimpressed tightening of her lips when Adora decides that Glimmer and Bow can wait.
Nice to know that if she hadn't been with Adora when she met Adam, that she'd be stuck out there wondering where she was, too.
She still squeezes Adora's hand back, because she hates these people but she loves Adora, and takes the excuse to abandon her utensil and food to instead turn around and grab Adora's navigator with her free hand. She has her own one, and it's attached to the belt on her hip, right where it should be. She doesn't want to use it.
"I'll tell them," she says blandly, like it's the easiest thing in the world. Her tail, draped over her seat, twitches with annoyance. For someone who preaches about friendship so much, Adora sure does love to ditch them all at the slightest opportunity.
Adam, at least, seems enraptured by Adora's rambling. He's leaning forward on the table with both arms, soaking up every word with a gleam of excitement in his eyes.
(Catra has to focus really hard on the navigator, otherwise Melog might make good on her rapidly increasing desire to do something violent.)
"Take your time," he says; kindly but not without eagerness. He wants to know more about Adora and her life story, and even though Catra has been there for most of it she's jealous anyway. He reaches for a bowl of mashed something, piling more onto his and Adora's and Catra's plates (ignoring the baring of her teeth, still directed intently down at the screen she's tapping a message on), and continues like what he's saying isn't a bad thing: "You sound like you've lived enough for three lifetimes already!"
And then: "Tell me more about Swift Wind." He's basically got stars in his eyes, imagination running wild. Catra didn't see much in the way of fauna in the brief time they'd had before they were accosted, so she supposes she understands that fascination. (And Swift Wind isn't Adora, so it's a marginally more acceptable thing to want to know more about.) "What's a horse like? Can you fly on him?"
He's clearly got some daydream going on, and Catra huffs a quiet and derisive breath at the screen. If she thought more kindly of him, she'd think he was giving Adora an opportunity to take a break and collect herself before delving into more of her history. But she does not think kindly of him. Instead, she just remains secure in her opinion that he is, without a doubt, a pure and total idiot.
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She hates Adam, in particular, with his stupid Adora-like grin and his stupid Adora-like eyes. She especially hates his stupid big mouth and his apparent tendency to just drop his backstory on any passing space travelers, like he's just been hoping that one of them would eventually turn out to be his missing sister.
The glow of Melog's red aura is hidden beneath the table, and Catra's ears both twitch as she picks up the quiet growl in Adam's direction. Quietly, she takes a deep breath and holds it - one, two, three - before letting go.
She's calm, for all appearances. She's been through more stressful situations than this; she's held it together before Shadow Weaver, Hordak, Horde Prime. She's not going to let one stupid little family dinner break her down.
(--Except, you know. She's supposed to be Adora's family.)
She'd tried to linger awkwardly outside when the parents (she can't think the word without a sneer; one that raises Melog's hackles) took Adora inside and wrapped their daughter up in hugs, and both she and Melog had wound up hissing at Adam when he'd tried to clap a welcoming hand on her shoulder, all of her hair and Melog's mane bristling in warning and threat. He'd backed off, hands raised, surprise on his face - and she'd stomped into their family home, trying to pull herself together enough to just get Melog to shrink back down and maybe turn a little less blatantly red.
It turns out getting him to become small is easy once she steps into the home, and suddenly wants to be anywhere else. It's cozy and it's warm and it's so, so the sort of place she can see Adora living happily in and -- and that hurts, a sudden sharp ache, and so Catra shoves it down. This is the type of place where someone as warm and kind and loving as Adora belongs.
Catra has no place here.
So Melog becomes small, and Catra silently (desperately) bids them to hide themselves before Adora sees and they ruin everything for her.
And that's how they're here, now. With an absurd amount of food for such a small village, piled onto the table in front of them. She doesn't really eat any of it; just breaks things up small enough to not have to taste them when they eventually, reluctantly, end up in her mouth. She's quiet, which is really the only way to make sure she doesn't snap anything at anyone, but she can't help the small humorless snort when Adora announces the Horde had been okay and raises their linked hands; and nor can she help the unimpressed tightening of her lips when Adora decides that Glimmer and Bow can wait.
Nice to know that if she hadn't been with Adora when she met Adam, that she'd be stuck out there wondering where she was, too.
She still squeezes Adora's hand back, because she hates these people but she loves Adora, and takes the excuse to abandon her utensil and food to instead turn around and grab Adora's navigator with her free hand. She has her own one, and it's attached to the belt on her hip, right where it should be. She doesn't want to use it.
"I'll tell them," she says blandly, like it's the easiest thing in the world. Her tail, draped over her seat, twitches with annoyance. For someone who preaches about friendship so much, Adora sure does love to ditch them all at the slightest opportunity.
Adam, at least, seems enraptured by Adora's rambling. He's leaning forward on the table with both arms, soaking up every word with a gleam of excitement in his eyes.
(Catra has to focus really hard on the navigator, otherwise Melog might make good on her rapidly increasing desire to do something violent.)
"Take your time," he says; kindly but not without eagerness. He wants to know more about Adora and her life story, and even though Catra has been there for most of it she's jealous anyway. He reaches for a bowl of mashed something, piling more onto his and Adora's and Catra's plates (ignoring the baring of her teeth, still directed intently down at the screen she's tapping a message on), and continues like what he's saying isn't a bad thing: "You sound like you've lived enough for three lifetimes already!"
And then: "Tell me more about Swift Wind." He's basically got stars in his eyes, imagination running wild. Catra didn't see much in the way of fauna in the brief time they'd had before they were accosted, so she supposes she understands that fascination. (And Swift Wind isn't Adora, so it's a marginally more acceptable thing to want to know more about.) "What's a horse like? Can you fly on him?"
He's clearly got some daydream going on, and Catra huffs a quiet and derisive breath at the screen. If she thought more kindly of him, she'd think he was giving Adora an opportunity to take a break and collect herself before delving into more of her history. But she does not think kindly of him. Instead, she just remains secure in her opinion that he is, without a doubt, a pure and total idiot.