Adora’s first transformation is an accident, on a sunny afternoon on the roof of her best friend’s house. Catra stands and goes to climb down through her window (to fetch her phone, she says, so they can watch a movie without the threat of her foster mother barging in at any moment) and slips on a loose tile; Adora jumps to catch her before she can fall, and then suddenly both of them are flying.
“What the fuck,” Catra whispers, “What the fuck?”, and as they float up and up and up Adora holds her closer and pays no mind to the searing pain on her collarbone, determined not to let her fall.
//
It takes a few rounds of trial and error, but she figures some things out.
First: she’s a magical girl, of a kind. She’s She-Ra, and she’s the protector of the city of Etheria, and she’s damn good at her job. Her transformation can be activated at will, but it takes some effort and is more easily triggered when someone close to her is in danger. This is because — as Catra puts it, smile bitter and full of steel — She-Ra and her aren’t the same.
Second: She-Ra is taller than her by three feet — taller and stronger and tougher. She can take hits Adora can’t, can heal herself and others, can fly. She protects people above all else. She is kind and good with kids and loves to take long walks in the sunset. She’s goofy and sporty and she wants to be the hero her world deserves.
And, third: Catra is her soulmate.
Her name is permanently tattooed onto Adora’s collarbone. What else could it be?
//
Razz is the first person that Adora — that She-Ra saves, and coincidentally also the first person to figure out her secrets. All of her secrets. She-Ra scoops her out of the window of a burning office building, and when she sets her down she adjusts her glasses and peers up at her and says, “Oh, is that you, Adora? Lovely of you to drop by,” and shuffles away.
Adora de-transforms (simpler, especially with no one expecting her to save anyone) and gives chase, half out of blind panic, half out of curiosity. When she stops Razz at the door to her house, she doesn’t even look surprised, and putters around her tiny kitchen preparing a meal for her as though she were dropping by to catch up and not beg her to keep her identity a secret.
“You’re just like my Mara,” she says fondly, over and over again. “Just like her. You’d give anything to save the people you love, wouldn’t you, dearie?”
Adora doesn’t quite know how to respond to that.
“And she’s your soulmate, isn’t she? The first one you saved?”
“Um. Actually, you’re the first one I —”
Razz tuts. “No, no, not me. The girl you saved when you changed for the very first time. Her name is on your skin.”
Adora presses a hand guiltily over her collarbone, feeling Catra’s name marked there like a brand. She hasn’t told anyone else about it yet. Catra would — well, Catra would probably never want to see her again if she knew. “How do you know about that?”
“That’s what this magical girl business is, girl,” Razz says sternly. “It’s all about love.”
FILL: TEAM CATRADORA
ship: adora/catra
words: 555
Adora’s first transformation is an accident, on a sunny afternoon on the roof of her best friend’s house. Catra stands and goes to climb down through her window (to fetch her phone, she says, so they can watch a movie without the threat of her foster mother barging in at any moment) and slips on a loose tile; Adora jumps to catch her before she can fall, and then suddenly both of them are flying.
“What the fuck,” Catra whispers, “What the fuck?”, and as they float up and up and up Adora holds her closer and pays no mind to the searing pain on her collarbone, determined not to let her fall.
//
It takes a few rounds of trial and error, but she figures some things out.
First: she’s a magical girl, of a kind. She’s She-Ra, and she’s the protector of the city of Etheria, and she’s damn good at her job. Her transformation can be activated at will, but it takes some effort and is more easily triggered when someone close to her is in danger. This is because — as Catra puts it, smile bitter and full of steel — She-Ra and her aren’t the same.
Second: She-Ra is taller than her by three feet — taller and stronger and tougher. She can take hits Adora can’t, can heal herself and others, can fly. She protects people above all else. She is kind and good with kids and loves to take long walks in the sunset. She’s goofy and sporty and she wants to be the hero her world deserves.
And, third: Catra is her soulmate.
Her name is permanently tattooed onto Adora’s collarbone. What else could it be?
//
Razz is the first person that Adora — that She-Ra saves, and coincidentally also the first person to figure out her secrets. All of her secrets. She-Ra scoops her out of the window of a burning office building, and when she sets her down she adjusts her glasses and peers up at her and says, “Oh, is that you, Adora? Lovely of you to drop by,” and shuffles away.
Adora de-transforms (simpler, especially with no one expecting her to save anyone) and gives chase, half out of blind panic, half out of curiosity. When she stops Razz at the door to her house, she doesn’t even look surprised, and putters around her tiny kitchen preparing a meal for her as though she were dropping by to catch up and not beg her to keep her identity a secret.
“You’re just like my Mara,” she says fondly, over and over again. “Just like her. You’d give anything to save the people you love, wouldn’t you, dearie?”
Adora doesn’t quite know how to respond to that.
“And she’s your soulmate, isn’t she? The first one you saved?”
“Um. Actually, you’re the first one I —”
Razz tuts. “No, no, not me. The girl you saved when you changed for the very first time. Her name is on your skin.”
Adora presses a hand guiltily over her collarbone, feeling Catra’s name marked there like a brand. She hasn’t told anyone else about it yet. Catra would — well, Catra would probably never want to see her again if she knew. “How do you know about that?”
“That’s what this magical girl business is, girl,” Razz says sternly. “It’s all about love.”