She-Ra: Broken Reflections (CH 2) · 2:10pm Jul 7th, 2022
The first difference between Adora’s idea of a desert and an actual desert was the space. It wasn’t something she’d thought about, but Mystacor was very cramped. She’d never felt claustrophobic exactly, but the only place she could see anything more than buildings was at the city's edge and she didn’t get to see it very often. But through the carriage window, she could see for miles, all the way down to Plumeria Forrest.
The colours of the desert stunned her too; she’d had a picture in her head of a general smooth tan-ness and maybe a washed-out cactus or two. But there were shrubs all over the place; a mixture of greens and weirder, more arcane shades. The ground near them was grey and clear of brush, but it grew richer and more colourful the further it got from the beaten path and soon became a deep brown, and then a rich, earthy red.
Adora reached into her bag and pulled out a special padded case. She carefully lifted a pair of round spectacles with scratched lenses onto her face. Her vision was fine, but then again, these weren’t normal eyeglasses. She’d worked on them for years and they could do all sorts of things; from filter out magic interference to see tiny objects. She actually used them to tinker with her devices most of the time, always sure to keep them with her toolbox, and had decided to bring them along on their trip on a whim.
Adora tapped the bridge of the glasses and the glyphs flared to life. She was blind for a moment but as Adora ran power through them the glyphs turned invisible and the lenses adjusted themselves, turning darker to compensate for the light. Adora slid a finger down their side, zooming in on the forest. She’d never seen it from ground level, and the area near Mystacor was too dense to see through. From down here, though, she could see the odd mix of pinks and browns that made up Plumeria. For a moment, she thought she saw some kind of animal, maybe a deer? But it disappeared.
She adjusted her glasses and looked ahead. Their magical carriage was trundling next to a river that fed into the city. Rock formations stuck out of the landscape at odd angles, and in the distance, she could see the Light Zone. Titanic rock spires surrounded the city, curving around it like warm arms wrapping around a child. It was huge, dominating the landscape and standing taller than anything she’d ever seen before.
I've never seen anything go so big before! Adora felt a little breathless staring at the spire. It'd been barely visible in the distance when they'd started a few hours ago, and she hadn’t realized just how huge it really was. “It’s amazing!”
“It’s bright,” Light Spinner grumbled. “Draw the curtains, would you?”
Adora waited a moment and then drew them shut as slowly as she could get away with. She reluctantly set her glasses to normal and sat back down next to her mother. Light Spinner was looking at a magical scroll as it wrote itself, filling in with almost alien diagrams of some sort of sword. On her arm was some kind of golden bracelet with a sapphire set into it. It shimmered oddly in the light but Adora didn’t think twice about it. There were plenty of enchanted jewellery shops in Mystacor. So I’ll have something to do if I flunk out of school.
Adora frowned and shook her head to banish the thought. It didn't quite leave, sticking to the side of her brain like mold to a wall. I'm not a failure yet, she thought forcefully. "Do you want help with that?” She asked out loud. Maybe if she could get involved with her mother's project...
Light Spinner jerked her head up, eyes wide. Adora flinched and looked down; the two of them had existed in a fragile truce since last night that she hadn’t meant to break.
“...No, child,” Light Spinner said neutrally. “It’s relating to the Black Garnet, and not something I can show to many.” She put the scroll down and looked at the door. “You may sit outside as we enter the city if you wish. I’m sure you’d enjoy it.”
“Really?” she asked. Light Spinner didn’t like it when Adora was out of her sight. “You don’t want me to study some more? I was up last night—”
“I saw,” Light Spinner said quickly. “Your fortitude was never a quality I doubted. But I’ll be busy while I’m here, and I don’t see a reason for you to stay with me the entire trip.”
Adora blinked. Spinner had always been overprotective of her and expected Adora to help her in any scholastic pursuits. She had fully expected to be stuck in a laboratory or a library passing things to Spinner for her to learn, especially after their conversation last night. “Uh, thanks!”
She smiled at Light Spinner, who nodded fondly at her in return. Adora clamored up the ladder and made her onto the roof of the carriage. The air smelled so clear out here; Mystacor wasn’t exactly dirty, but it was still a city. The air was stilted and filled with the mixed smells of urban life: woodsmoke, ozone, and rotting garbage dusted with the icy scent of high altitude. But it’s so warm down here, she thought excitedly. And so bright!
That glee persisted as they entered the city. Everything was so big here; the gate stood at least twenty feet tall and the walls went up so high that she could barely see the top as they got close. She waved to the two guards, armed with thick shields as they passed inside.
The Light Zone itself was both familiar and alien at the same time; the big buildings and cacophonous crowds put Mystacor to mind but the way it went about those things was so new. There was constant noise in the background from people hawking wares and machines going off. In the distance she could hear a low droning she assumed was from some kind of fan; even under the towering walls, she could feel a slight breeze. There was constant movement wherever she looked and it just felt so alive.
Above her, she could see a dense network of catwalks strung between buildings, spaced evenly to let light and air filter down. She used her glasses to zoom in, barely able to see the people from that angle. A group of teens was eating lunch on the edge of one of the lower platforms, joking with and shoving each other. One slipped and fell to the ground several stories below, but— to Adora’s shock— he simply stood up and dusted himself off, leaving behind nothing but cracked paving stones. A guard began to yell at him, and the kid leaped away. He bounded a dozen feet in the air and scaled the wall quickly, the guard shaking her head at the kid’s antics.
“Woah,” Adora said to herself. She’d known the Scorponi had super strength, but she’d just thought they’d be aggressive or brutish. She’d never considered what they could build with that. Now that Adora was looking, she could see claw-holds on the walls and outside entrances well-above ground level. Most restaurants were at ground level, but she craned her neck to try and see what sort of places were above her. The city was innovative in a way Mystacor just wasn’t.
I wonder how I could get up there, she wondered as she craned her neck. She had packed all of her tools in case of emergencies; perhaps she could put together a climbing harness....
Though she wasn’t entirely sure why she’d bothered to pack her tools in the first place. If something did happen, her mother would be more than capable of handling it. She knew every spell in the Arcane Athenaeum and brought them together in ways best described as artistic. She was living proof that you didn't need raw power to be a sorceress.
I’ve got more power than any of the other students and I'm… Adora sighed. No, I’m not going to be whiny. There’s still plenty of stuff I can do. Light Spinner had suggested she do something other than study magic... maybe she could learn more about the city?
Their carriage rounded a corner and started to slow down, jolting Adora from her thoughts. They were approaching the Light Zone’s castle, and she needed to get their bags together. After they were settled she’d be able to explore the city more.
Catra stepped into the official dining room, quietly eating a pear. It was smaller than the ballroom but still felt voluminous compared to the personal rooms where the royal family usually ate. Scorpia had redecorated it from scratch about seven times since they'd been given the job of welcoming Light Spinner; often enough that she felt bad asking the staff to do it and just began doing it all over herself.
Sure enough, Scorpia was inside, arranging decorations again as she valiantly tried not to panic. Red lights shone from the metal hooks in the streamers as she tried to levitate them against the columns of the ballroom. The royal dining room had been decorated with scarlet and turquoise, but Scorpia was replacing the red banners with lavender ones. Catra’s ears twitched in annoyance, but she kept quiet as she stepped up behind her sister. She silently finished chewing and made completely sure that Scorpia had finished using her magic before she spoke. “Hey, Scorp!”
Scorpia’s shriek was met by Catra’s chuckles as the older girl spun around. “Catra! I swear, one of these days…”
“What?” Catra asked innocently. “I’m just saying hello.” She took an innocent bite of her pear and blinked more innocently still. “You shouldn’t be so rude,” she continued. “I mean, you’re a princess.”
Scorpia huffed good-naturedly. “While you're here, can you make yourself useful and help me with these? Trying to get them on the hook gives me a headache.”
“Easy.” Catra sat her fruit down and clambered up Scorpia’s back. It’d been one of their favorite games when she was little— between her supernatural balance and Scorpia’s strength, it was actually easier to climb up to her shoulders than waiting for Scorpia to pick her up. She stepped across Scorpia’s outstretched arm and reached up, hooking the ring with ease and waved Scorpia towards the next one. Catra held the banner carefully, smoothing out the length of fabric as they strung it between the two pillars. “This is pretty last minute,” she said casually.
“I know, I know,” Scorpia said. “I’ve been trying to think if I should use Mystacor’s colours and ours together, or if I should just do theirs by themselves, and I thought blending them was the best idea, but then I spent all last night worrying and now I’m changing it back...”
Catra wrapped her tail around Scorpia’s arm comfortingly. “These look pretty, “ she said, “so I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.”
“Are you sure?” Scorpia asked. “Cuz if you’re just saying that to be nice, there’s still time to change it back, so…”
Catra hmm’d thoughtfully. “Well,” she said, “Are you trying to make a strong impression or a friendly one?”
“Friendly!” Scorpia said. “If you're strong you don’t have to worry about making an impression.”
That struck Catra as maybe too simple; there were lots of different ways to be strong and not everyone noticed the same ones. But she wasn't really in charge of anything; despite her mother’s words, it was Scorpia making all the final calls and not Catra. Queen Lynda would agree with her anyway; because of her grandfather's past allegiance with the horde she always advocated for ways to reform her people's image.
Catra's tail flexed as she made a smile; the last thing she wanted to do was make Scorpia feel bad for doing her job. “Then friendly it is,” she said out loud. “Let’s just get this finished and—”
As she spoke her fingers slipped and the ring started to fall, before slowing in mid-air as a magical glow caught it. It wasn’t Scorpia’s magic; it was a softer shade, closer to orange than scarlet, and the ring shook less as it levitated into place. The rest of the streamers began to float as well, sliding smoothly into place along the walls. Catra crouched low for balance as Scorpia turned around. “Hey, Queen Mom.”
“Hello, girls!” Queen Lynda beamed at them, not even needing to look at her work as the streamers finished floating in place. “You’re doing a lovely job, Scorpia.”
“Aw,” Scorpia said, “Thanks! I hope they like it.”
“I wouldn’t worry,” Queen Mom said, who would have avoided sounding condescending if she knew what condescension sounded like. “She’s just here for her studies. Her name is Light Spinner and she has a daughter named Adora. I promise you she’s friendly.”
Scorpia didn’t frown, exactly. “Thanks,” she said again, “I’m, uh…”
“We are just wrapping up,” Catra cut in. “All of our ideas look good, right?”
“Of course, of course!” Queen Mom waved the objections away as her magic flowed around the room in defiance of her words, shifting the table by about a foot and nudging the centerpiece back. “I’m just trying to help, that’s all. Just making sure everything’s nice and orderly.”
Scorpia’s uncomfortable shuffle went unnoticed by Queen Mom. The Queen wasn’t a callous person; she cared about her family even more fiercely than Catra did. But caring about something didn’t mean you were good at caring for it, and there was a reason it was Captain Mom (currently out of the city on business) that usually handled emotional problems.
Catra knew it wasn’t her fault. Her father had treated Lynda as a weapon with which he could wage a war, fatherly duties be damned. He’d forced her to join the army as soon as she was old enough, which was where she met her wife, Ashe. Queen Mom had spent her entire life trying to re-do her own childhood via her daughters, and had mostly succeeded. But she committed to everything she did one-hundred percent, which meant that when she eventually did make a mistake, she’d keep making it, blindly and passionately.
In this case she’d seen that Scorpia was nervous, and decided the way to make her feel better was to go behind her and adjust every decision she made while just sort of hoping that Scorpia’d forget those changes hadn’t been there in the beginning. Catra had told her it was just making Scorpia worse, and so had Captain Mom before she left, but she was still determined to be helpful.
Catra’s tail straightened, but she forced it to stay loose. She hated being ignored, and keeping Scorpia from freaking out was just about the only job she'd ended up having. "That’s nice," she said, a bit slowly, “but everything is good so…”
“Yes yes, you’ve done wonderfully.” Queen Mom said as she subtly rotated the centerpiece again. “Thank you for helping your sister, Catra. You're very sweet.”
“You gave the job to both of us,” Catra reminded her. Her ears wanted to droop again, but she held them upright. "Besides, I just—" Catra bit off the end of the sentence but heard it in her head regardless.
If I'm not worth it, they won't let me stay.
The old fear had manifested less and less since she'd been adopted, but it still liked to appear behind Catra and throw her off. The fear that, if she wasn’t needed, she wasn’t anything. It was irrational, it was stupid, and it wouldn't leave her head no matter how hard she fought it. Catra sighed. "I just like being useful," she said instead.
“Of course you are,” Queen Mom said. “We love you!” Scorpia nodded but didn’t say anything, instead looking Catra up and down suspiciously. She and Captain Mom had this odd expression when they were thinking, it was like they could right through her.
Catra opened her mouth to say something, but one of the servants opened the door. “Your Majesty,” he said, “Your Highnesses. The Mystacor carriage has passed through the city gates.”
“They what?” Scorpia spun around and Catra hopped off, smoothly hitting the floor on her feet and trailed behind her giant sister as she made for the door. “Aw man, we’re going to be late and they’re going to hate us… Catra, can you get there ahead of me?”
Catra hesitated, “I mean, of course I can, but are you sure I should be there before you—”
“We can’t let them think we’re late!” Scorpia fretted. “Just hurry and stall!”
Light Spinner blinked tired eyes as she got out of the carriage; she’d spent the entire night talking with Light Hope about the Runestone Network and kept reading the Black Garnet’s specifications during the carriage ride. The scroll Adora had asked about was linked to Light Hope, who fed her important facts and instructions through the glyphs she’d placed on the scroll. The Sword of Protection itself was around her wrist, disguised as a bracelet.
Right now, she had to entertain the local rulers. Spinner hadn’t expected to be impressed with the Scorponi’s work; Hybrids were a rather dull collection of races with very few sorcerers among them. But she couldn’t help but nod approvingly as she stepped out of the carriage and beheld the magnificent castle she’d be staying in.
The Palace was hewn out of the rock face itself, and like the whole city, it stood taller than it did wide. The stone was a faded mixture of reds and greys, and there were several gates above street level. Guards were posted at each one, and Spinner noted in surprise that not all of them were Scorponi. She would have thought that their superiority in fighting would have squeezed out any other applicants. On the other hand, they had opened more travel into the Crimson Wastes, which Light Spinner supposed would bring diversity to the city guard, even if it was less efficient.
A Magicat wearing a sleeveless red crop-top and dark pants with her large mane done in a ponytail stood waiting for them near the top of the stairs. They weren’t an uncommon race, but the small crown meant that this one was Princess Catra, the adopted member of the royal family. Spinner had approved of what she’d learned from what little was written about her. She was clever and willing to bend rules.
The sounds of muffled crashes and shouted apologies carried through the carriage's open door as Adora tried to wrestle their luggage out. Light Spinner closed her eyes and took a deep breath, barely suppressing her frown. If that feline had fallen into my lap instead of Adora, she thought to herself, my life would have been so much easier.
She banished the thought as she turned towards her daughter and raised her hand. She drew a simple levitation glyph with her fingers and aimed it at the luggage. The largest piece glowed purple as she drew a second glyph that would let her target more than one thing at a time. She set about arranging their luggage into two piles; setting the heaviest items together on top of Adora’s tool trunk and binding them together while the lighter bags were handed to Adora directly.
Adora smiled at Light Spinner, who simply nodded in return and turned back to the Princess. “Your highness, it’s a privilege to meet you,” she said, voice not betraying the exertion her magic had cost. “My name is Light Spinner and this is my daughter Adora.” She interlaced her fingers and bowed in the Scorponi fashion, Adora mirroring her actions behind her.
Much to Light Spinner’s surprise and growing approval, Princess Catra bowed in the Mystacorian fashion. “Princess Catra,” she introduced herself, “and the honour is ours. Mystacor’s acceptance of my people after my grandfather’s exile has always been appreciated.”
Her people, Light Spinner thought favourably. And her grandfather. No lost love for the people of Half-Moon then. The Magicats had left behind a number of their own when they retreated underground from the Horde, and they would have been slain if Queen Lynda hadn’t overthrown her father so quickly. The few Magicats she’d met in Mystacor had wished they could find Half-Moon and return to their people, but Princess Catra was clearly a more sensible person.
“Your city is beautiful,” Adora interrupted, much to Light Spinner’s annoyance. “Uh, Your Highness,” she added belatedly. “I’ve never seen anything like it! What’s up there?”
“That’s the best part of the Light Zone!” Catra paused, then frowned. “And the most dangerous, actually; don’t go up there by yourself. You non-hybrids can’t shake a fall off like the Scorponi can. Anyway, since there’s less space on the ground, it’s all really overpriced down here. But the further up you go, the cheaper everything gets, and then at the top, you get an amazing view of the city.”
“Oh wow,” Adora said, “that sounds amazing! Will we get to see it? I mean,” she said, suddenly flustered, “unless that’s trouble because I don’t want to be an inconvenience, and—”
“Don’t worry,” Catra graciously said. “I’m sure it’ll be on Princess Scorpia’s tour.”
“When will Her Highness be arriving?” Light Spinner asked pointedly.
“Soon. She’s simply making sure everything is ready.”
Light Spinner nodded but kept her annoyance to herself. It was a simple power move, making her wait so that Princess Scorpia could establish dominance, and it was insulting that she was expected to believe it. Light Spinner had always hated things like this, because above everything else she hated wasting time. I may as well do something productive as I wait. “It was kind of you to wait for my daughter and myself,” she said.
"This job belongs to both of us," Catra said. "I just finished my other duties first."
"It speaks well to your capabilities as ruler," Light Spinner said, her words flowing like honey over toast. "I wouldn't have been so kind at your age."
Catra's smile was smaller but more sincere than the one she no doubt wore for her subjects. Her ears twitched ever-so-slightly and she stepped to the side just before Princess Scorpia opened the door. She wore a dark purple top with black pants, with only a simple circlet on her head. She laced her claws together and bowed. "Sorceress Light Spinner, thank you so much for agreeing to visit the Light Zone!"
"Princess Scorpia," Light Spinner said with careful politeness. "It's nice to finally meet you."
“Thanks!” Scorpia said. “I’ve read a lot about you too! When you wrap up here, you’ll be appointed as a member of the Sorcerers Guild, right?”
Light Spinner kept her hands from balling up into fists. Is she insulting me? Me?
Her voice was composed as she responded. “That’s correct, pending my research into the Black Garnet. I trust everything is in order?”
“Yep! Well, first I’m gonna show you around the city— I mean,” she interrupted herself, rubbing the back of her head with her claw, “I guess you saw the city, we were supposed to know you were here before you got through the gates, but there’s still a ton of stuff you can’t see from the streets, like all the docks and stuff, and Queen, uh, Lynda invented this setup to build new machines with some of the machines we got from Hordak’s crash site, and—”
“That’s very impressive,” Light Spinner cut in with what she felt was a reasonable degree of patience, “but I don’t wish to infringe upon your hospitality, and my time is—”
“Oh, no, totally!” Scorpia said. Light Spinner silently mouthed the word ‘totally’ under her mask. “No, this has been set up for ages. Catra helped me there, too…”
Light Spinner nodded without speaking. She had no idea if Princess Scorpia was being deliberately obtuse or if she was simply too nervous to think correctly, and in either case, she needed to be rid of her. "It sounds as though you've put a great deal of effort into our visit," she said, "but I don't have very much time with which to conduct my studies." She gestured to her daughter, who stood even straighter and tried to make sure she looked serious. "My daughter was just speaking of how fascinated she was by your magnificent city; perhaps she could accompany you on your tour while your sister monitored my experiments?"
Princess Catra frowned and opened her mouth, but Scorpia was rushing to speak first. "Sure, sure! Whatever works best! I'll just help, uh, Adora? Adora carry all your bags to your rooms first."
“That’s very kind of you,” Light Spinner said drily. She gestured with one hand and their luggage floated dutifully floated towards Adora. She and Scorpia walked through the door and down one of the side halls, quickly vanishing from sight.
Light Spinner took a step towards the doors, but Princess Catra didn't move. She looked more than a little annoyed and Light Spinner belatedly realized dismissing the older sister would have upset the younger. "It's the best use of our time," she said. "She seems to be more of a people person than a researcher anyway."
It wasn't enough to soothe her. Princess Cara schooled her face and assumed a large, bright, and utterly fake smile. "This way," she said in professional tones. "We'll get you started right away."
Catra practically stormed past Light Spinner, fur standing on end and forcing Light Spinner to move quickly to keep up. She considered a number of different apologies but ultimately elected to wait. If she needed Catra's help she'd get the girl by apologizing to her sister, or with the magic she'd be unlocking.
She was so close; the scroll Light Hope had given her had been tantalizing spartan with its details but she knew she'd be able to harness the Runestone. Everything she'd ever wanted for herself and Adora was so close, barely an inch away from her fingers. Just a little more patience, she told herself. If I take my time I can have anything I want.
