Scene #2500: Mother of All Problems

Owner	Pose
Dark Glimmer	Glimmer Brightmoon had been... very, very clear, for once. She'd sent both Adora AND Catra a string of texts. They had been a strings of texts that had been a mix of threats and begging to meet her at one of Radiant Heart's many gardens, in this case, one with a rather hunky looking statue in it. Something something 'I swear I will tell Adora/Catra every embarrassing thing you EVER DID and share EVERY PICTURE I have on you if you don't show' and there were RECEIPTS if they didn't show levels of threats. She wanted them there. On. Time. And she meant business. This? This was big. Something was up. Something had her tense. And... there was a decent chance, considering the earlier picture they'd gotten? They knew WHAT it was... She was sitting in front of the statue, with a bundle in her lap, seemingly playing on her phone, the bundle barely paid attention to. One might think it was a baby... someone else might think it was a school project considering how little attention she was paying to it. As she waited. ... There was also... a small... shadow... under the chair, under her... waiting... watching... stalking... Kitten Melog.
Adora Rainbowfist	Really, it probably wouldn't have taken the level of threats made when Glimmer asked Adora to show up. She'd been off doing her own thing, and not texting that much recently, sure, but when Glimmer sent the texts -- though she didn't respond immediately, leaving PLENTY of space for those threats and such -- she did just respond with a straightforward. 'Okay.' And so Adora Rainbowfist showed up. On time. Really, technically, slightly earlier than she'd been requested to show up but the sight of Glimmer from a distance with a bundle that looked like a baby at first had her freaking out behind a pillar for a bit about what the /heck/ to say in that situation, among other things. Especially because -- though her hairstyle was the same -- she'd started wearing slightly different clothes recently. Instead of the horde jacket, she was wearing a pink leather biker jacket with several chains hanging from it, and a pair of comfortable jeans (with stylish tears in the shape of cat paws on them!) and she rarely went anywhere without the small leather case that was hanging over her shoulder. At first glance, one might assume it was a kendo sword holder, but the bulk of it was wrong for that. ...Yeah it was a baseball bat instead. She takes a deep breath after collecting herself, before coming around that pillar, chewing a piece of bubble gum and blowing a bubble in it, trying to look cool and aloof for a moment as a soft ~pop~ echoes through the area. "'Sup, Glimmer?" Identity crisis Adora is /definitely/ what Glimmer wants to deal with now, right? Right???
Catra	Catra doesn't appear on time. Catra is late. When is she ever on time to anything? Except that she's not late at all, everyone else is early. Exactly six minutes after she was supposed to get there, an American girl in rippd jeans and a frayed gray hoodie arrives, walking with her hands shoved in her pockets and earbuds blaring obnoxiously loud heavy metal. Still, even under an illusory disguise, she's got the mis-matched eyes, so even if anyone hadn't seen the Rachel Miller disguise before, it wouldn't be hard to figure out. She waits until she's ''right there'' before thumbing the music off, winding the cord for the earbuds around her phone and stuffing it all in her pocket, and having a look around herself to see if there's any other... students in the area, or teachers, or anyone she's tried to beat the crap out of in the last year and change. "Hey," she greets, finally satisfied that she can hang out and speak for a bit. "So like. You can just ask and I'll show up. As long as you don't arrange a meeting at Obsidian Tower. ...Riventon said I shoudln't sneak in there again."
Dark Glimmer	Glimmer Brightmoon stared at Adora when she got there. Her mouth fell open. She stared. And she just... stared. She opened her mouth. And she stared. Opened. Stared. Open. Closed. Stared. Face palmed. Stared. Then... "Nope. Just... not... not commenting," she finally said. There were no words. She had no words. What could she say? ... Adora. Looked. INCREDIBLE. She looked... SO BAD ASS! And Glimmer. Was SO JEALOUS. "Ugh, where is she?" Glimmer asked, before looking down... Still asleep, good... Finally, though. Catra. "Good. And I know you will," Glimmer said. "But I need to sound like a bitch, or if anyone is reading my messages they'll think you're being nice and I can just get you to come whereever and that I can easily get you to join me. Now? They'll think I've burned all my bridges and whatnot with you, so that wouldn't work," Glimmer said. ... Wait. Was... was she thinking ahead? "Oh, right. Catra, this is yours," she said before reaching under the bench and picking up... a kitten. Kitten Melog by the scruff of its neck and holding it up, to her. "... I don't know why. But... yeah. Also..." Once Catra took the kitten, she unbundled the bundle and... it was Angela. ... Angela was a foot tall. And asleep. Peacefully asleep. "She's... asleep. She's been sleeping a lot. She was awake for a little bit earlier, and... she's not hurt or anything. But... I'm not sure how to fix this. But... but she's okay." "... But I can't keep her safe like this. Especially not from Horde Prime. I need you two to do it."
Adora Rainbowfist	Really, when isn't Catra late? Not that Adora cared /too/ much about that. Or really knew that Catra was coming, necessarily. It's very possible that Glimmer told her but she just didn't connect the dots as she approached Glimmer. "Hm? On what?" She asks Glimmer. "Oh. Right. The outfit changed. Yeah, I met some people and they took me shopping and said this would look really good on me." She glances down at her new outfit. "Honestly, I like it." Pshhh~pop~. "Hey, Rachel. What's up?" She asks towards her as well, though she wasn't focusing ~that~ much on her right now. Instead on whatever reason Glimmer felt the need to threaten her and everyone she knew basically. ... Okay not /really/ threaten but, well. It's fine. Probably. Frankly part of it is also that she probably isn't really supposed to know and like Rachel Miller but that's beside the point. Adora's bad at keeping secrets. Aaaand. A kitten Melog is handed out towards Catra. Any sort of 'cool girl' persona immediately disintegrates as she immdiately melts. "Awwww oh my gosh that's so adorable and tiny..." She crouches down to be face to face with that kitten for a moment, reaching out to scritch at it. ...Which meant she was also face to face with that bundle when it was unwrapped. And tiny Angela was revealed. "..." She looks at Angela, and then towards Glimmer, listening to that explanation. Shit. She can't just keep going like this. Not having powers or being She-Ra was suddenly and immediately no longer an option. "...Right, because you're not free from you-know-what yet and if you-know-who is there..." Shit shit shit shit. She'd been trying, she'd been honestly trying to become She-Ra again, and now? Now she needed to step up her game on that trying. ... "Have you talked to anyone else about this?"
Catra	"Hey Adorawhat on Etheria are you even wearing?" Catra finalyl takes in the manner in which Adora is presenting herself to the world and looks her up and down. At this outfit. That makes her basically look like a homeless person. (Which, really, what are you complaining about Catra -- you chose this illusion afterall.) The feline's illusion recedes to reveal herself in the flesh, herself still wearing that Horde jumpsuit and Crimson Wastes jacket, along with the katana in its scabbard, hanging off her belt. She narrows her mismatched eyes, and does a slow walk around Adora, poking at her jacket, tugging at a chain, then pulling one side of the jacket away from her to look at her shirt underneath. "Did you hit your head again?" she asks at last. "'Cause like, this time it gave you fashion sense." And then just as Catra disengages, there's a... kitten... being thrust at her, and the first thing that happens is she draws up short, sucking in her breath as she goes all rigid for the period of time in which her brain's through process goes something along the lines of: Feline detected, classify as rival? Y/N Evaluating/Calculating/Tabulating Feline is small/unthreatening Feline is likely not a rival Catra reaches out to accept Melong in cupped hands as her tension dissipates, and holds him cuddled against her chest, looking down at him with an air of deep confusion. "Uhm, I've never... had a... whatever this is before," she explains, and is so focused on him that she almost misses Angela entirely. Almost. "...Wait hold up what? How did she get-- WHY IS SHE SO SMALL?!"
Dark Glimmer	Glimmer Brightmoon just gave Catra a shrug. "Yeah, you did, no, you don't remember, and yeah, it is yours, and now, it's your problem. Suck it up. I've got to stop Horde Prime from blowing up the world, you can watch Melog. It's fine, it doesn't really... eat. Or... poop... or anything... really. And it likes you. And is like... empathetic with you, or something. I don't know. It was your magic, you were the one who bonded with it, not me. I only figured out it was using magic, you were the one who helped it calm down and find a home. Now I guess it wants to do it again." "... As for my mom? Well... I don't know. I guess it's this world? Maybe? I mean... magic is weird here. At least it didn't wipe out all of her memories? But she's all... mascotty... and like... it's weird. But I don't know if she can do any magic now. And if she has to fight... she can't defend herself like this. And I can't hold off Horde Prime and protect her now. The only other one who knows is Riventon, he helped me get her out of there and he's keeping an eye on the Moonstone. Well... I guess..." She reached up and stroked the red necklace around her throat. "Actually, there's another guy. This... uhhhh. Angel. An earth angel. He... helped me free her. Michel. He's cool. So... yeah. I just... I'm coming to school now. But I need you two to keep her here, out of trouble. Safe. I need both of you two to do this for me. Can you manage it?" she asked. "Because Obsidian is going to be gunning for her. And you two are the only people I can trust to keep her safe."
Adora Rainbowfist	"I mean it's basically my usual outfit in different colors, really." Adora responds to Catra as she's examined by her. And poked around at. "I didn't hit my head though, I actually uh, met some people who were being attacked by one of those... what are they called?" She pauses, resting her hand on her chin. Hm. "The... uh... the things that show up with Witches, I think they're called... Familiars? I kind of helped fight it off." Pause. "Okay I didn't have magic so that's kind of an overstatement but I managed to get away mostly unscathed and mostly uninjured and everyone else survived too so I'm going to chalk that up to a win. So I mean like. ... I didn't hit my head." ...She did, however, get mildly maimed by a Familiar and end up having to heal from that for a bit but that's beside the point, they didn't need to hear /that/ part. "...Anyway uh. I think it's just I got to know some people who know the fashion of this world a bit more instead of just continuing to wear, y'know. The old horde jacket or a school uniform. Also this is comfortable." Pause. Right. Right. Angela. Angela is the important thing here. Also the question of why she's so small. The explanation from Glimmer is listened to, and Adora falls quiet as she does. Smaller, mascotty, but hasn't lost her memories. She shifts slightly, her gaze moving a bit away from Angela at that. "Right... well. ...Even if she can't do magic, at least she knows how to do it and can help you regain yours, probably." She says thoughtfully. "And... well. She's safe. And not trapped in a destroyed sword." Maybe destroying the sword saved her? But... to her knowledge of what of the timeline she's been told of, she'd destroyed it in Glimmer's timeline too, so maybe... in that timeline she inadvertently made her unable to be saved? No, Adora. Thoughts like that don't help. "Okay. I'll do what I can to help keep her safe. And... maybe ... not punch Riventon as hard if I encounter him..?" Maybe. It's hard to know. Some situations make things rough. A part of her wants to talk to Angela about things. Another part of her is terrified of talking to Angela about things. "...Hey, Glimmer? ... I'm glad that you were able to get her out, finally. Get her free."
Catra	'It really likes you.' "Well, it shouldn't," Catra asserts, still looking down at this little kitten thing she has in her arms. Like. What is she supposed to do with it? Aside from hold it. And it doesn't eat? What's the point of that?! Where's the fun in life if you don't eat stuff? Here on this world that entirely sucks and is loud and noisy and stinky but does, to be fair, have things like salmon, tuna, red snapper, and squid. "Adora you're almost as good at fighting as I am," Catra sighs, rolling her eyes without looking up from Melog. "So you don't have magic right this minute, like, whatever. I didn't have magic when I beat Shadow Weaver and I still put her in her place. So use your muscles and stuff. And then go ''figure out how to use your magic''. Just... I don't know. I have no idea how this works. Yell 'For The Honor of Greyface' or whatever it is until you figure out how to manifest a sword or something." She pauses. "Or go see Rashmi, she's a huge dork but I like her and she's good at solving problems." Catra finally looks up from staring at Melog, and it's like she finally processes a bunch of things all at once. "Wait hold up your plan for keeping your Mom who looks like you washed her in cold water safe is to give her to Adora, who's current magical repertoire is hitting someone with a glorified stick until they see stars, and me who hasn't worked out how this Spirit Ember works and I'm also being hunted by Obsidian and I have no--" She pauses "Almost no friends?" At this point, she would absolutely throw her hands out to the sides, but she's holding a kitten so she does does it with one hand, "Woman I am about to ask ''you'' if you got hit on the head. With an entire tree or something." Catra's ears flatten out, as she stares at Glimmer's face. 'You two are the only people I can trust'. Her shoulders sag, and she sighs loudly. "I'll see what I can do," she mumbles. "But Glimmer Michel is ''not'' safe for you to be around."
Dark Glimmer	Glimmer Brightmoon just blinked a few times and stared at Adora. A witch's familiar. She did WHAT?! .... OKAY SHE WAS NOT COMMENTING. YOU KNOW WHAT? NOT THE TIME. SHE HAD WORDS AND NONE OF THEM WOULD BE GOOD RIGHT NOW. NONE OF THEM WOULD MAKE THIS CONVERSATION ANYTHING APPROACHING GOOD! AT ALL! "Nah, punch Riventon as hard as you want, he deserves it, just don't like, kill him," Glimmer said with a shrug. "And most of us shouldn't like you, Catra, but we do, deal with it. You're likeable. So suck it up and just be liked. I swear to the moons..." she said, pinching the bridge of her nose... "And yes. You two, believe it or not, ARE the best choices here. Because you know what? Last time Horde Prime came after you two, he ended up dead. So I'm hoping he'll get antsy about going directly after you for a repeat performance without at least going through me. And you know what? If he goes through me I won't really have to worry about it anymore, now will I?" she snarled, before cringing and taking a slow, deep breath. "Sorry, sorry. Right. Thank you, Adora. Yes. My mom is... safe. And it is good. Oh my gosh it is good. I am so happy and she's... safe. I missed her so much and just..." she sighed. "I'll figure this out. Just... figure it out. Adora, figure out your sword. Take as long as you need, but figure it out. Catra, figure out your... well, figure out your shit, then figure out your rock, then help Adora figure out her sword. In the meantime, I'll keep Horde Prime from breathing down both your necks. And no, despite what I said earlier I'm not going to let him go through me. And Michel is fine. He's... sentimental. There's not really... angels here. Even if we're not like, from the same world, I'm half like him, so... it means a lot to him having me here. Besides, he helped me save mom. So... he's already proved he can be trusted." "... but seriously. Adora. Catra. I mean this. No angst, no sarcasm, no snide remarks, no rolling your eyes. Can you do this? Can... I trust you with this? Can you two keep my mom safe? Can I depend on you for this?"
Adora Rainbowfist	"Well, yeah. That's why I was able to fight of the familiar or whatever. Though it seemed like all I was doing was really knocking it around more than actually /hurting/ it, which was... weird." It's strange seeing something get sent into a wall and not be significantly damaged, but that's not having powers for you really. "Heh, I wonder if greyface would actually listen to me." Adora jokes about the comment on the 'honor of greyface' bit. "Anyway, yeah, I've been trying." Go see Rashmi. ...That's not a terrible idea, really. Though she's hesitant to go to her. Maybe Nurse Meiou instead or something... Rashmi has a lot on her plate all the time it seems like. "It's not actually that bad of a plan if we're keeping her here on school grounds -- the upside to /us/ is that I have a dorm that she can stay in and be relatively safe here, and so do you, and we can take turns on it and stuff, at least while Glimmer gets things settled down and figured out and stuff." Aaaand then the warning about Michel. And how he's not actually safe for her to be around. Welllll... crud. Wait is Catra a good judge of character? She /did/ decide to stay with the horde over coming with her to the princesses after all! ... Also wait is she actually just /okay with this/? Catra's been her enemy basically constantly the past... however long it's been. ... ... ... Huh she kind of is. ...Okay it's complicated but well, Catra SEEMS like she's doing better, really. Mostly. ... Glimmer's actually the one who acts more concerning recently but that's probably because of all the stress and losing her connection to the moonstone and such which is definitely not helping things. Really. ...That snarling is a bit concerning though. Seriously. What the heck. "I'm... trying, I promise, on figuring out the sword. I think it's... not that far away. Like when I reach for the power it's just on the tip of my fingers but just... slips through my grasp when I reach to actually try to grab it, you know?" She responds to that. More talk of Michel and if he can be trusted or not and Adora just quietly decides that she has no idea what to think on this person and if she should trust him or not. Or Glimmer. Probably Catra? Catra's usually been pretty straightforward about what she wanted. Which is something that she can respect and work with. "I... don't have magic right now. But I know people who can help if I need to, and I know where she'll be safe... or at least reasonably safe, so..." Pause. "Yes. Yes I will keep her safe. I lost her once because I wasn't strong enough -- I won't let that happen again." There's a resoluteness on her face as she says that, that confidence she had struggled with since coming here -- since learning there was a past her, while struggling to cope with various events, plus everything being so weird, with... all of /earth/. But none of that mattered. Angela needed her. And finally, she at least start to listen to those final orders that echo through the back of her mind. ''Take care of each other.''
Catra	"...Wait what?" Catra squints at Adora, and quirks an eyebrow way up. "''You'' have a dorm room here," Catra points out, "''I'' don't. I have to sneak onto the grounds 'cause I'm basicalyl not welcome here Adora." Well, maybe that's true and maybe it isn't, but Catra has never actually put it to the test by coming here by any means other than stealthy ones. "Pretty sure I've burned that bridge really hard on several occasions," she adds. Catra glances down at tiny Melog, and watches as he rolls over, stretches his legs out, and curls back up again. Yep, definitely a cat. Sort of. "Luckily the non-magical people here are not overly bright, though, so I can just... keep sneaking in. Which is fine I guess. And Obsidian's people probably can't reach me here. Maybe Joker can, I don't know. But I hope not." Good grief she hopes not. Was that a distnict note of worry in her voice? "But like, if you keep her in your dorm I can..." she trails off for a second, "I dunno, cover for you whenever you need it. It's not like I have classes. Or a job. Or like, any particularly pressing things to do." It's not like she's trying to either destroy the world or save it at the moment, anyway. Either the world will end or it won't. She still hasn't met this Horde Prime guy and she's pretty sure Glimmer is overreacting. Catra looks down at Melong once more, and her ears flatten out. "I have no idea how to take care of... this," she mutters. Notably, she hasn't tried to give Melog back, mind you. "Mamory offered to help me out with an apartment though. I should probably take him up on it." She grits her teeth, grinding them for a moment. "This is sooner or later Obsidian is actually going to try for me 'cause I did things without permission which apparently is a no-no. So I've avoided staying anywhere too long 'cause I don't want them to catch up with me and I don't want anyone else getting caught in it who; shouldn't be. ...But I dunno, maybe his apartment building is safe. And it sure beats ''school''. I had enough school back on Etheria and it sucked and I don't wanna do it again."
Dark Glimmer	Glimmer Brightmoon takes a slow, deep breath... 'Wasn't strong enough'. And then Catra started... Catra'ing... and then... "Okay. Catra? Adora? You both have issues. A lot of issues. I know you have issues. But I really... I really, really need you to get your acts together for this. Catra? Just stay with Adora or whatever, if you have to. Adora? Nobody cares if you're 'strong enough' right now. As long as you're at the school, they can't hurt you. She'll be safe here. I just... I just need you two... to please... to just please... work together on this. Please. She's my mom. She's my... she's my..." And then? Then Glimmer just... she just starts to shake. And tears start to well up in her eyes. And she tries to hold it in, but all of the stress, the anxiety, the panic, all of it just... starts to boil over... and she quickly pushes her mother into Adora's arms and gets to her feet and then gets to her feet, standing up and walking a bit away, keeping her back to them. But oh, it was so very, very obvious what she was doing. What she was trying to hide. "I just... I really need you two to do this, okay? Can you please. Just. Work. Together. On this. Please? I don't care how. Just for me. Just... please. I need. Her. To be. Safe. If something happens to her, now? I can't... handle it... I just... I can't... I can't..."
Adora Rainbowfist	"...Wait, you don't? ... Huh. That's weird." Adora responds to Catra at the comment of her not having a dorm room. "...Well anwyay, I have a dorm room here, and I'm sure there's other people who would be willing to help out when we're here and..." She pauses. "Well, other things, too." Telling Glimmer about The Shed is probably not a good idea, really. "Eh? They're... actually pretty smart here, there's just a lot of people who attend the school so they probably just assume you're a classmate of theirs really." Anyway. "...I'm sure that you'll be pretty safe at Mamoru's place, though, yeah." His name is /literally/ protection, after all! The talk about not going through school like The Horde again gets a soft laugh from Adora. "You hated the classes, but went out of your way to ace them anyway." Adora says, sticking her tongue out at Catra. And Glimmer is just. Talking about their issues and how they need to get their acts together. She takes a soft breath at that. How more sure does she have to act? She already confidently said she would. ... Well, whatever. Dark energy messes with people, right? And... well... Yeah. That. Adora steps towards Glimmer and reaches to do the only thing she can think of to do. She immediately just. Gives her a hug. "...I already told you, I will. And I will. She'll be safe." She says, her tone softer, doing her best to be reassuring. "Things might not be ideal right now, but when have they ever been for us, and we pulled together before." Ugh. She was never the best at this. "Besides, you have the dream team together. Back when we were in the horde, when Catra and I worked together on something, there wasn't anything we couldn't do." She said, flashing a grin. She meant it to be reassuring and confident. "...But yeah. We'll take care of it." And then she backs off from the hug. "And if we need help, we'll ask people who we trust who won't use it against you or us."
Catra	Catra pintches the bridge of her nose, and exhales. "I aced the classes because I wanted to be really good at fighting, so people wouldn't be able to pick on me when you were around," she mutters. "Which wasn't a big worry 'cause you were always around, until suddenly you ''weren't''." And then Catra shuts her big mouth. Maybe a hair too late. Maybe several words too late. BUt she does shut it, and her ears flatten out as she turns around, facing away and wandering over that way a few steps. Behind her, Adora is embracing Glimmer. Catra doesn't see. She's too busy making sure nobody can see her kicking herself. "We'll take care of your Mom," she asserts. "I might be struggling with the Spirit Ember but I am extremely good with my claws and this sword. If anyone comes for her I won't hold back. She'll be safe. I..." ''I Promise'' lingers on her tongue, unsaid. "I'll make sure of it."
Dark Glimmer	Glimmer Brightmoon relaxed, a bit, into the hug. She closed her eyes, giving a soft sigh. "Yeah... I... I know. If you two... if you two are doing it... I know she'll be safe. Horde Prime can't get through you two. I... I'll keep him off your backs. Just... get ready, okay? I'll keep things under control, okay?" she said, looking back before wiping the tears off her cheeks. She then pulled away from the hug and looked between the two of them. "I... I should get back to the tower b-before they realize I'm gone. I'll... I'll come back, though, tonight. And I'll check in regularly, to make sure everything is going good, okay? And I'll be starting school soon. So... just... I don't know. Just... thanks... be okay... please..." she said, before turning and running off. She'd need to leave the grounds to dusk port out, after all.
Adora Rainbowfist	"...Yeah." is really all Adora says in response to Catra's comment. Wrong time, wrong place, and getting into a fight with Catra in front of Glimmer right now is ... probably not ideal, really. Especially when things were going ... kind of okay in a slightly mental breakdown kind of way. Her own feelings about things were a bit conflicted on the matter too, since, well... last time she saw Angela, she'd been sacrificing herself for her. ...But she's here now. "Alright, Glimmer. I'll see you soon. Be safe." Adora says quietly. "Hopefully we can get you away from them, soon, too." ... ... Somehow. Last time this happened they ended up accidentally severing her powers, though, and they needed to figure out how to un-sever it. Somehow. ...When she has the sword again. ...It did something with balance, and healing, and stuff... so maybe it could do that? Eventually? Maybe? ... If only she wasn't so terrible at the 'healing' part.
Catra	Well that went well. More or less. Sort of. No it didn't. When does anything actually go well? And what's Catra supposed to do right now right this minute with a tiny kitten from another planet that's supposed to be hers but she doesn't remember? Does he remember? It's not like she can ask him. Catra's ears flatten out and she sighs, looking down at Melog once again. "I'd better hide him in your room along with Angela," she mumbles, still not turning around. "If I take him with me he's in way too much danger and... and I don't ... want that." Catra stares at her feet, grinding her teeth as her mind spins in circles over all the ways this could go wrong. Mostly over the ways she herself could screw it up. "Okay your dorm room then," she says, restoring her illusory visage of Rachel Miller, "And then I gotta go."