WHAT: Adora and Catra run into Adam bleeding upon his arrival, heal him up, and escort him to the DOA WHERE: Forest, mostly WHEN: Sunday morning WARNINGS: Blood but nothing else too dicey STATUS: Complete
This was worse than Adam could have imagined. Not the pain, though that was nearly unbearable in itself. He hadnât felt it, at first, though heâd seen the spear erupt from his stomach, having entered him from the back, but now he couldnât move from the pain, and his lifeâs blood was leaving him at an alarming rate.
But no, the idea that Skeletor had the Sword of Power, that he was wielding the power of Grayskull, and Adam was powerless to stop him. Adam was powerless to do much of anything.
He squeezed his eyes shut, and took several deep breaths, Teelaâs cries fading into the background, and then he grit his teeth and rose to his feet.
Except when he opened his eyes, he wasnât at Castle Grayskull anymore. He didnât know where he was. He didnât recognize this forest, and he realized that Teelaâs cries hadnât faded into the background because of the pain, but rather, because she wasnât there at all anymore.
Bewildered, he looked around, and then the strength left his limbs, and he collapsed face first onto the forest floor.
Blood. That was the scent that hit her nose out of the blue. It wasnât a smell uncommon around the forest when there were beasts prowling about - hunting their prey, occasionally finding random stragglers a threat if they unknowingly breached their territory. By now, though, Catra knew the distinction between human blood and other blood, and there was no mistaking this one.
It was human. It was close.
âHey,â she whispered, tapping Adoraâs arm with the tip of her claws to catch her attention. Patrol duty began quietly today. Morning dose of caffeine was consumed, and between them they shared some pastries during their stroll around the main paths of the forest as if it was some cutesy date because why not make the most of these shifts, right? They were always on high-alert, ears listening and eyes peeled.
But this time her nose caught something, and Catraâs gut feeling leaned towards something being wrong. âSomeoneâs hurt,â she clarified, canting her chin towards the east of them. âBlood. Itâs a person. Thereâs - a lot of it. Letâs go.â
Adora nodded without hesitation, following Catraâs lead toward the source of the scent sheâd picked up. That sensitive nose had come in handy on more than one occasion during patrol; people got into scuffles and got scratched up around here plenty, even when chaos wasnât raining down around them. The forest was chock-full of creatures both native to Vallo and native to Outlandersâ home world. It was safe to say this place was never a bore.
But referring to blood in terms like âa lot of itâ was new. She flexed her fingers, mentally preparing herself for the very real possibility she was going to have to take care of whoever they came across. Healing was becoming second nature, something she could do even without transforming, but it was still a part of the She-Ra package she used rarely.
First priority though was finding this potential healing candidate, and it didnât take long. He was easy to spot, a blonde head face down among the brush on the forest floor with blood darkening the back of his shirt.
Wide-eyed, Adora hurried to his side, gripping his shoulders to gently turn him on his back. His chest was moving, so he was alive and breathing, but yeah, wow. That was an obvious stab wound, and he was losing a lot of blood.
The magic that enveloped Adam was warm and familiar, and when he opened his eyes, he almost expected to see the Sorceress of Grayskull Castle.
That was impossible though. He wasn't inside Castle Grayskull anymore. He didn't know where he was, but if the magic of Grayskull was still here, maybe it meant he was still on Eternia.
He opened his eyes just as the golden magic faded away, taking in the golden sorceress (or warrior, perhaps?) and what he thought must have been a magicat woman, though he'd only ever read of the magicat people in the old books he'd read from the settlers of Etheria, before that planet had disappeared entirely a millennium ago. He sat up, touching his fingers to the skin under the rip in his jacket, and, satisfied that he'd been healed, he turned his attention to the women.
"Thank you, kind sorceress, for healing me," he said, dipping his head in respect, slipping automatically into formality, not quite sure what to expect. "Was it you who brought me here?"
âUh,â Catra started, quirking a brow. During the whole healing process she had remained standing, arms crossed as she observed with a slightly concerned look because this was new - finding someone kind of half-dead in the forest when it was probably their first few minutes into this world? She almost preferred the awkward encounters that seemed to curse her when it came to newbies. âSheâs not a sorceress and no, not responsible for bringing you here. Call it dumb luck. Youâre in Vallo, far away from wherever home is for you.â
âOh, uh.â Adora blinked and smiled at the man awkwardly as she scrambled back to give him a little breathing room. She was surprised by the very formal tone he took with her. It wasnât a bad thing, but it was taking her brain a second to catch up so she could respond in kind. Or at least tell him she wasnât actually a sorceress.
Catra, however, had no such qualm about breaking the news to him in her usual to the point manner. It helped Adora recalibrate and she nodded her agreement to basically everything she said. It was all true, and over time, theyâd gotten good at delivering the Vallo basics, whether in person or on some inattentive newbieâs network post after their DOA debrief.
âYep, all of that,â she confirmed. âFor some reason, Vallo just pulls people from all different worlds and universes, and thereâs no going back until it decides otherwise.â She shrugged. When sheâd first gotten here that had been a big deal because she needed to get back and deal with Catra and Prime and basically the fate of her entire universe. Now that they were closing in on a year here, she had adjusted and it was all barely a blip.
âOh,â Adam said, brows furrowing. Heâd been planning to ask whether or not the warrior/not-sorceress could send him back home even if she hadnât brought him here, but she pretty quickly answered that question for him.
âIâm fine now, thanks to you,â he said, shooting her a smile, and then climbed to his feet. He frowned down at the dirt that stuck to his clothes, and made a half-hearted attempt to brush the dirt and leaves away.
âItâs a pleasure to meet you both,â he said, not batting an eye at the idea that the catgirl was named Catra. After all, Skeletor was basically an armoured skeleton, and who could forget Fisto, the man with the giant iron fist he used to fist his enemies into submission? âIâm Prince Adam of Eternia. I had been stabbed, by Skeletor, my enemy, right before he took control of the Power. Is there some sort of⊠heroic quest Iâm supposed to do in order to go back home? This really isnât the best time for me.â
Eternia. Eternia. Like - ?
Catra felt that not a lot surprised her nowadays. Life overall had made her jaded and Vallo was in a constant state of weirdness she had acclimated to but that definitely threw her for a loop. Because she knew that name, and so did Adora, and it could very well be a coincidence because - as it turns out - multiple words and universes and timelines existed.
Still, her ears perked up straight and her eyes rounded and she gave Adora this look. âI mean, itâs never the best time for anyone but -â Did you hear that? was what her stare was telling Adora, right before she turned her focus back to Adam. âHold up, did you say Eternia?â
She heard that right. Catra knew she did but she also wanted to make sure because - what the fuck?
At this point, Adora could read Catra like a book, and she knew that look. She knew what Catra had heard because she had heard it, too. It was hard to miss someone introducing themselves as a Prince, first of all, but it was the âof Eterniaâ part that got her. She knew Eternia. She didnât know much about it, but she knew it was the home of the First Ones.
So did that mean â Adam was a First One? She thought they had died out years ago. She knew from Glimmer that Horde Prime had taken credit for wiping them out. So, was this guy from a thousand years ago? Had he known Mara? Or had some of the First Ones survived?
Way too many questions for a guy sheâd just had to heal from a stab wound, though. She recognized that.
But Catra had brought it up, so surely she could ask one question, right?
âAre you a First One?â
"Yeah," Adam said to Catra, a little taken aback by the question, and then turned to Adora. "First One's a little old fashioned, but yeah, I guess so. Mostly we just call ourselves Eternians these days." He frowned. "You guys⊠know Eternia though, don't you?" He turned to Adora. "Aren't you a Guardian of the Secrets of Grayskull?" He was sure he'd recognized the Power, just as he was equally sure that the Power of Grayskull was an Eternian magic; other planets had their own forms of magic.
Whaaaat?
The supposed Prince of Eternia here was popping out too many important magical words for Catra to feel comfortable about this. Her knee-jerk reaction was to assume this was some elaborately woven trap in order to make Adora do - uh, something, she didnât know. Point was that this entire interaction suddenly became highly suspicious and it was maybe (definitely) why her tail went around Adoraâs wrist.
It was a small gesture of protectiveness. Catra wasnât trusting this.
âShouldnât we, uh - take you to the doctor to get checked before we get too deep into this? You literally showed up here half-dead,â she deadpanned, eyes narrowing at Adam in a very Iâm onto you and will fucking fight you kind of way.
Grayskull? Adoraâs eyebrows shot up to her hairline instantly. So many more questions popped into her head. How did he know Grayskull? Was that an Eternian thing, too? She thought it had all come from Mara, but it didnât sound that way. Was she a Guardian? Did she know Secrets of Grayskull? Sheâd never heard of any of that, but now she desperately wanted to know more.
âRight, yeah. You should probably get checked over just in case.â She smiled at Adam a little awkwardly. She was confident enough in her healing now to feel sheâd taken care of the problem, but she preferred to be cautious. She glanced back at Catra. âShould we take him to the clinic? Or I guess we could go to the DOA so he can get the whole welcome speech and ask Alex to check him over. Sheâs a doctor, right?â
Adam couldn't say why Catra suddenly seemed to have her hackles up, or why she looked like she would fight him if he so much as looked at her the wrong way, but he didn't miss the shift. Did it have something to do with him mentioning Grayskull? Should he⊠not have done that, maybe?
Maybe he shouldn't have done that. Maybe if someone showed up from a different world and started talking about the Secrets of Grayskull, he'd be instantly suspicious too. Well, maybe not him, but Teela.
For a brief moment he wondered if he should be suspicious about the whole getting pulled into a different world and immediately meeting someone else who had the power of Grayskull, especially after Skeletor had just taken it from him. He quickly decided no; if this was some nefarious plot, it was way too convoluted. Even for Skeletor. Besides, it was better to give people the benefit of the doubt, especially when they were being helpful and healing people.
"If you think that's best," he said, mildly, prodding his stomach again through the rip in his jacket. "Though if there's anything you didn't manage to heal, I'm sure it will be better in just a spell."
He shot them what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
Adam literally got no reaction from Catra.
Well - aside from how she was scrutinizing him anyway, wheels turning in her head. Okay, maybe she was jumping the gun by automatically branding this dude in her head as not trustworthy because what were the chances of him wanting to use Adora as some kind of weapon? He was from Eternia, a fucking fabled First One and they had made She-Ra so the chances of that were actually⊠not as low as she liked? It made her glare a little harder. Just a little.
âDOA works,â she answered, not once tearing her eyes from Adam because yes, that look wasnât about to leave anytime soon. On the surface he really seemed like a total dork but she wasnât about to let that lull her into a false sense of comfort. âTheyâll give you a device and a rundown - options for housing, money.â Glare. âAnd a proper check up. Adoraâs good but you never know.â
Yep. Still glaring.
Adora was stuck in this weird awkward headspace that kind of reminded her of when Scorpia had first arrived and she and Catra had gone to greet her. Except, in this case, she was the more awkward of the two. She didnât see any reason not to trust Adam, and the urge to just spill her guts about She-Ra and Etheria and Mara and everything she knew and ask him about everything she didnât know was strong. Light Hopeâs archives had only had so much information; she wanted to know more.
But Catra was acting as her impulse control in this case, and that was probably a good thing. It could be overwhelming for them all if they jumped into that rabbit hole, so it was better to hold off. There was always the occasional person who came through and disappeared within mere days, but the vast majority stuck around. She could poke Adam with her questions later on.
âOkay, DOA it is. Weâre not too far from the Crossed Quills, we can take their Waypoint.â She reached down to take Catraâs hand, lacing their fingers together, and waved Adam over with the other. âWaypoints are this super cool technology in Vallo thatâs like teleporting,â she informed him. âCatra hates them, but theyâre the fastest way to get around.â
Alright, so clearly hilarious jokes were obviously not the way to go about getting Catra to stop glaring at him, but he figured if he gave her time sheâd probably come around eventually, so he wasnât going to push it too hard.
âAnd these Waypoints are⊠reliable?â Adam asked. The transport devices they had on Eternia usually worked okay, but not always. And they tended to run out of power at inconvenient times, and then required hard-to-find crystals to power them back up. It wasnât that he was especially nervous about being teleported to who-knows-where, but he figured the sooner they got wherever it was they were going, the sooner he could get some clarification about Heroic Quests Home. âAnd what exactly is the DOA?â
âUsually,â was Catraâs honest response to the Waypoints, shoulders shrugging. Most of the time they brought you to the intended location. Other times - they were kind of wonky, but whatever. With their joint hands she tug Adora along, leading the way. Her eyes hadnât exactly softened; they retained a guarded harshness, though she was trying her best to straddle the more neutral line.
There was like, maybe a toe on the more aggressive side of that though.
âDOA stands for âDepartment of Outlander Affairsâ,â she continued. âYouâre an Outlander so thereâs programs in place to help you get on your feet until Vallo decides you can fuck off back home. No one knows when that will be. If that will be, I guess.â
Apparently she and Adora were more of the permanent Outlander residents, according to the forty-year-old version of Adora that showed her face a month ago.
That was as good an explanation as Adora could have managed, so she let the cursing go without comment. Whoever Adam got from the Welcoming Committee would go into more detail, and she was glad for that. Last time sheâd tried to give someone the introductory speech, theyâd referred to her as âGlowstickâ and ended up living in a tree before disappearing again. This was already infinitely better.
The Crossed Quills was one of those places that seemed eternally busy. You could hear it from a mile away, and that was the case now, too, when the sounds of ruckus started to reach their ears. She made quick work of leading them inside and up to the second floor landing where the Waypoint waited for them. This one would only take them to Morningside, but it was a quick turnover to the Waypoint right in front of the DOA from there.
âHold on tight,â she said, reaching out and waiting for Adam and Catra to do the same. They whooshed away in the blink of an eye, landing inside the lobby at Morningside. But before they could so much as glance around, Adora redirected them toward the DOA, pulling her hand back when they landed.
âHere we are!â she announced, instantly reaching out to grab hold of Catra and rub her back. Teleporting always made her feel sick to her stomach.
Adam didnât get sick to his stomach, but he was, for a moment, completely disoriented. It wasnât at all like travelling by the teleporters back home; those were more like a gentle picking up and setting down, if they were anything. It didnât feel like you moved at all, really, so much as it was like the scenery changed. This was more like a pull.
It would take a bit to get used to, he thought, but it wouldnât take too long.
He hadnât had time to look around inside Morningside, though he did now. It wasnât really like the inside of any building heâd seen before, and now he kind of wanted to see what it looked like from the outside. He resisted the urge to run outside and take a look.
âThanks,â he said, shooting the both of them a grateful smile. âI guess you guys probably have better things to do than to stick around, huh?â he said, hoping that the answer was going to be Oh no, weâd love to introduce you to everyone and stick around all afternoon, but knowing it probably wouldnât be. Especially not with how little Catra seemed to trust him.
Oh god oh god Catra hated these things. It wasnât until they were pulled through that her streak of glaring finally broke - hard to stare at someone with the blazing intensity of a thousand suns when her stomach felt like it was about to fall out of her mouth or something gross like that. âCool,â she choked out and it was the lamest attempt at a reply but she was doing her best to do something gross like dry-heave in front of a total stranger.
She had some dignity, okay. But she also did this awkward thumbs up thing while Adora rubbed her back (which did help) so maybe not a lot of dignity right now.
âI wish we could, but we really do have to get back to patrol.â Adora shot Adam an apologetic smile, her hands still rubbing circles across Catraâs back. She knew how weird it could be to be on your own when you were first here, although that feeling hadnât lasted long for her with Catra around. She would make an effort to get to know Adam, though, especially if he was a First One. Her curiosity wasnât going anywhere.
The front doors slid open and a brunette girl with a clipboard stepped out and waved. âOh, thereâs Waverly!â Adora waved back and pointed Adam in her direction. âSheâs with the Welcoming Committee, sheâll take care of you and get you a phone and everything. But weâll check in soon, okay? I promise.â