[ Once the chip is safely removed from her neck, and she's reached some kind of uneasy peace with both Adora and Entrapta, and she's finished staring at every boring detail of the empty room she's been huddled in -- she runs out of reasons to stay huddled.
She tries pacing for a while, like that might create a false sense of productivity, but surprise surprise -- it doesn't really work.
With a low sigh -- rubbing her hand over the back of her neck anxiously, wincing when her fingers press into the fresh wound there -- she opens the door and creeps out into the hallway of the ship, body language pure anxiety. ]
[ Catra's first week in Bright Moon isn't going badly, but she's certainly bumped into more than a few awkward situations in an uncomfortably short amount of time. She's realizing how little of the world she's really experienced -- what are birthdays? Sweets? Real food? Over-stuffed pillows?
She's spent so long being in control, needing to be in control, that the sudden fishtail out of her depth is unsettling.
Did she mention the pillows are over-stuffed?
Even sprawling together with Adora each night isn't quite enough to earn her a decent night's rest. Not just because she hasn't acclimated to bedding that's actually soft, but because her dreams are almost always nightmares. Green liquid, shadowy, chanting voices. That constant thrum of Prime's ship beneath her feet, a grim foreshadowing of his constant presence in her mind.
All this to say, she spends a lot of her nights pacing the unfamiliar halls of the palace, what was once the ultimate stronghold of her enemies. Everything down to the pristine gold furnishings makes her uneasy, a constant reminder she doesn't quite belong. This night in particular she finds herself retracing her steps multiple times without realizing it, passing the same doors, arches, windows, paintings.
At a certain point she stops with a loud groan, dragging both hands through her hair. Where even is she? She thinks maybe the doors nearby are bedrooms, but she can't be sure when everything looks the same! ]
[ Glimmer has been doing her best to help Catra feel more settled, but there's only so much she can really do. Especially when she has her attention pulled in a dozen different directions for a dozen different projects related to repairing and rebuilding her kingdom and other places all over Etheria. Add to that trying to make time to connect with her dad, the various celebrations, and all the other things a queen needs to make time for, it means she's perhaps not spared as much time for Catra as she'd like.
That should be okay though, right? Adora is here, too. And Bow. They all want to help! It's just maybe they don't quite know what will help or how to make it feel like it works.
Like Catra, Glimmer finds her sleep oft disturbed. Sometimes, she is back aboard Prime's ship, running through endless corridors with his voice laughing in her ears, taunting her. Other times, it is her chipped father, overwhelming her with magical power. Still others, she is trying to find her friends, their cries for help growing fainter as it seems she cannot run fast off or far enough to get to them.
Tonight is one of the bad nights, where Glimmer wakes up with a chilly sweat on her brow and a pounding heart from one of her bad dreams. So, unable to sleep, she tucks a robe around herself and steps out into the hallway. Maybe a walk outside or at least just a walk will help her. It surprises her to turn a winding corner and see Catra in the middle of Catra, hands in her hair. Glimmer pauses, hesitates, then takes a few steps closer. ]
[ And somehow Catra forgot there are other people here.
She jumps with an alarmed squeak, tail lashing back and forth a few times, until she realizes it's Glimmer -- some of the alarm fades, her fur lying flat again. Not a threat. ]
I'm fine.
[ It comes out a little too hastily; she's suddenly too aware of how this looks, wandering the hallways aimlessly at night. Maybe not unlike what she did on Prime's ship. Glimmer called her out for that too, back then. ]
[ Poor Catra's squeak gets a half-smile from Glimmer, though she manages not to laugh aloud and spares poor Catra's ego that blow. She shuffles closer, until she's within a normal conversational distance--talking across the corridor at each other is probably not the best idea this late at night. Catra's snappish reply, that she's fine, seems immediately suspect, but Glimmer doesn't say it yet. ]
I'm the queen, Catra. I don't have a bedtime.
[ Glimmer allows herself a brief moment of smug triumph before the light of victory fades from her face. ]
[ That actually bubbles up a laugh from Glimmer. It's soft, she's trying to keep it quiet considering how late it is, but she only half succeeds. She grins at Catra and shifts a little closer, leaning up against the wall next to the other young woman. ]
Adora thought the beds were too soft, too. I thought we gave her one that was more to her liking? Is it still too soft? We can get you something different.
[ Catra feels a little twinge -- long-familiar but growing less severe by the day, at least -- at the reminder of that time. When Adora was here with the Rebellion sleeping on comfortable cushions and laughing with her new friends while Catra was still with the Horde, alone, sleeping in an empty and miserable bed.
How much time had she lost? Wasted?
Maybe that's another thing keeping her up all these sleepless nights. ]
Pff-- She told me she slept on the floor for a while. That's probably closest to what the Horde called "beds."
Sometimes I think we were lucky to even get blankets.
It sounded pretty rough when Adora talked about. And it still does.
[ Glimmer leans over, nudging her shoulder against Catra in a gesture of camaraderie. She smiles, trying her best to be supportive, to understand. Even if she doesn't really get it. ]
If you really want to sleep on the floor I can't stop you. We do have plenty of blankets, though!
[ She's qiueit for a long moment, then finally breaks the awkward silence again. ]
[ Catra looks away, flustered, but doesn't move away from the physical touch. Touch is comforting, she's realizing. She knew that when she was a kid, with Adora, but back then-- it had only been Adora. But everyone here doles out hugs and casual touches like it's nothing, like it's easy.
Her tail twitches a few times while she mulls over a response that straddles honest and flippant to a degree she can live with. ]
It's-- just a dumb bed, I'll figure it out.
[ . . . ]
Anyway . . . I can't just go to sleep that easily.
[ Glimmer understands . . . doesn't she?
She's the only other person who lived that nightmare too. ]
[ Glimmer's smile falters just a little at Catra's words and she nods. She drops her gaze to the floor and tugs the robe she's wearing a little tighter around her, as if to ward off a chill. ]
I can't either.
[ GLimmer is quiet, not sure how much to say or what she could say in the moment. ]
...I keep dreaming about all the corridors, you know?
[ Catra glances sideways as Glimmer shifts, then looks away again, staring at the wall across the way. ]
. . . Yeah. With all those stupid clones skulking around everywhere, and that creepy food, and--
[ And the voices, the shadows in her mind, she almost says. She clamps her teeth around it before it can come out, a faint tremor running up her spine and into her hands. ]
[ Glimmer goes quiet then, glances at Catra as she notes the faint shiver that the discussion brings--can feel it where their shoulders touch. She hesitates, then awkwardly tries to slip an arm around Catra's shoulders. There's some relief and some guilt at that relief when Glimmer thinks about the fact that without Catra, she might have been the first one to be chipped. ]
Do you want to talk about it? Or... we can just go, I dunno. Raid the kitchens for a midnight snack or something.
[ She jumps a little at the contact, startled -- the fur along her spine raising just slightly. But she relaxes quickly enough, even presses into Glimmer's hold a little (she would deny it). Something about the contact eases some of the mounting panic and anxiety in her chest, so she doesn't fight it. ]
. . . A snack sounds good.
Maybe some of that cake you were raving so much about.
[ With her usual sparkle and shimmer, Glimmer deposits the pair of them into the kitchen. She dusts her hands and steps over towards one of of cupboards. Hmm... ]
[ Glimmer laughs, poking her tongue out at Catra over her shoulder before she begins to rummage around. Cake, cake, cake... there had to be some in here somewhere, she was sure of it! ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
@queenships, season 5 spoilers
She tries pacing for a while, like that might create a false sense of productivity, but surprise surprise -- it doesn't really work.
With a low sigh -- rubbing her hand over the back of her neck anxiously, wincing when her fingers press into the fresh wound there -- she opens the door and creeps out into the hallway of the ship, body language pure anxiety. ]
@sparklequeen, season 5 spoilers
She's spent so long being in control, needing to be in control, that the sudden fishtail out of her depth is unsettling.
Did she mention the pillows are over-stuffed?
Even sprawling together with Adora each night isn't quite enough to earn her a decent night's rest. Not just because she hasn't acclimated to bedding that's actually soft, but because her dreams are almost always nightmares. Green liquid, shadowy, chanting voices. That constant thrum of Prime's ship beneath her feet, a grim foreshadowing of his constant presence in her mind.
All this to say, she spends a lot of her nights pacing the unfamiliar halls of the palace, what was once the ultimate stronghold of her enemies. Everything down to the pristine gold furnishings makes her uneasy, a constant reminder she doesn't quite belong. This night in particular she finds herself retracing her steps multiple times without realizing it, passing the same doors, arches, windows, paintings.
At a certain point she stops with a loud groan, dragging both hands through her hair. Where even is she? She thinks maybe the doors nearby are bedrooms, but she can't be sure when everything looks the same! ]
Re: @sparklequeen, season 5 spoilers
That should be okay though, right? Adora is here, too. And Bow. They all want to help! It's just maybe they don't quite know what will help or how to make it feel like it works.
Like Catra, Glimmer finds her sleep oft disturbed. Sometimes, she is back aboard Prime's ship, running through endless corridors with his voice laughing in her ears, taunting her. Other times, it is her chipped father, overwhelming her with magical power. Still others, she is trying to find her friends, their cries for help growing fainter as it seems she cannot run fast off or far enough to get to them.
Tonight is one of the bad nights, where Glimmer wakes up with a chilly sweat on her brow and a pounding heart from one of her bad dreams. So, unable to sleep, she tucks a robe around herself and steps out into the hallway. Maybe a walk outside or at least just a walk will help her. It surprises her to turn a winding corner and see Catra in the middle of Catra, hands in her hair. Glimmer pauses, hesitates, then takes a few steps closer. ]
Catra? Are you okay?
Re: @sparklequeen, season 5 spoilers
She jumps with an alarmed squeak, tail lashing back and forth a few times, until she realizes it's Glimmer -- some of the alarm fades, her fur lying flat again. Not a threat. ]
I'm fine.
[ It comes out a little too hastily; she's suddenly too aware of how this looks, wandering the hallways aimlessly at night. Maybe not unlike what she did on Prime's ship. Glimmer called her out for that too, back then. ]
Isn't it past your bedtime, Sparkles?
Re: @sparklequeen, season 5 spoilers
I'm the queen, Catra. I don't have a bedtime.
[ Glimmer allows herself a brief moment of smug triumph before the light of victory fades from her face. ]
But, um. Seriously. I couldn't sleep.
Re: @sparklequeen, season 5 spoilers
Something stops her. She shifts awkwardly against the wall instead, trying to make her posture look way more casual than it is. ]
I'm not surprised, with these beds the way they are.
Re: @sparklequeen, season 5 spoilers
Adora thought the beds were too soft, too. I thought we gave her one that was more to her liking? Is it still too soft? We can get you something different.
[ Let her help, Catra! ]
Re: @sparklequeen, season 5 spoilers
How much time had she lost? Wasted?
Maybe that's another thing keeping her up all these sleepless nights. ]
Pff-- She told me she slept on the floor for a while. That's probably closest to what the Horde called "beds."
Sometimes I think we were lucky to even get blankets.
Re: @sparklequeen, season 5 spoilers
[ Glimmer leans over, nudging her shoulder against Catra in a gesture of camaraderie. She smiles, trying her best to be supportive, to understand. Even if she doesn't really get it. ]
If you really want to sleep on the floor I can't stop you. We do have plenty of blankets, though!
[ She's qiueit for a long moment, then finally breaks the awkward silence again. ]
Are you sure there's nothing I can do to help?
Re: @sparklequeen, season 5 spoilers
Her tail twitches a few times while she mulls over a response that straddles honest and flippant to a degree she can live with. ]
It's-- just a dumb bed, I'll figure it out.
[ . . . ]
Anyway . . . I can't just go to sleep that easily.
[ Glimmer understands . . . doesn't she?
She's the only other person who lived that nightmare too. ]
no subject
I can't either.
[ GLimmer is quiet, not sure how much to say or what she could say in the moment. ]
...I keep dreaming about all the corridors, you know?
no subject
. . . Yeah. With all those stupid clones skulking around everywhere, and that creepy food, and--
[ And the voices, the shadows in her mind, she almost says. She clamps her teeth around it before it can come out, a faint tremor running up her spine and into her hands. ]
no subject
[ Glimmer goes quiet then, glances at Catra as she notes the faint shiver that the discussion brings--can feel it where their shoulders touch. She hesitates, then awkwardly tries to slip an arm around Catra's shoulders. There's some relief and some guilt at that relief when Glimmer thinks about the fact that without Catra, she might have been the first one to be chipped. ]
Do you want to talk about it? Or... we can just go, I dunno. Raid the kitchens for a midnight snack or something.
no subject
. . . A snack sounds good.
Maybe some of that cake you were raving so much about.
no subject
I'm pretty sure we have some--! Hold on!
[ With her usual sparkle and shimmer, Glimmer deposits the pair of them into the kitchen. She dusts her hands and steps over towards one of of cupboards. Hmm... ]
no subject
She hates magic. Hates it. ]
What did I tell you about a little warning, Sparkles?
no subject
[ Glimmer laughs, poking her tongue out at Catra over her shoulder before she begins to rummage around. Cake, cake, cake... there had to be some in here somewhere, she was sure of it! ]