Serve and Protect

Chapter 5

It was the chill that woke Catra up, and it struck her as odd. Even though the dorms were drafty, Catra rarely had reason to notice. Sharing a mattress with Adora had always been enough to keep her warm, even on the chilliest of nights.

She forced her eyes open. Diluted light drifted through the grimy window, and by its angle, Catra could tell that it was already late in the morning. Confused, she turned her head, much to the protest of her sore body. The dorm was completely empty, and Adora's spot on the bed was cold. Everyone must have decided to let her sleep in.

The cuts on her skin stung as Catra gingerly pulled herself up to sit. She sucked in a sharp breath and gritted her teeth against the pain. It took her a few more minutes to get off the mattress, bracing her weight against the wall as she rose to her feet.

"¡Jueputa!" she hissed miserably. It was going to be a long, excruciating day.

Catra glanced around for something to wear. To her surprise, she found her t-shirt draped over the radiator. Adora must have washed it — the thin fabric was still a bit damp under Catra's fingers, but the deep red splotches of blood were now nothing more than faded rust-colored stains that blended in with the rest.

"That idiot," Catra mumbled under her breath. "Why bother washing the blood out of this old rag when it's just going to get dirty again?"

Nonetheless, she smiled and slowly got to work shimmying into the shirt. Once she was dressed Catra made her way downstairs. There were still a few kids loitering on the main floor of the warehouse, but most of them were already gone for the day, off to pick pockets and steal what they could until the sun went down. Catra was debating how much she could reasonably score in her current condition when Kyle scurried up to her.

"Hey, Catra," he said, holding out a stale, nearly rock-hard muffin . "How are you feeling?"

"Fantastic," Catra replied. She snatched the pastry and crammed it into her pocket for later. "Do you know where Adora is?"

Kyle shook his head. "She was gone by the time I woke up. She didn't tell you where she was going?" He sounded surprised, and that made Catra bristle.

"She's probably off doing Force Captain shit," she muttered, looking away.

"Totally," Kyle agreed with a nod. "Anyway, we all thought you'd prefer to stay home today, so we volunteered you for chores."

Again, Catra felt herself get defensive. Sure, she was in pain, but she didn't need everyone else acknowledging it. She hated when the other kids babied her, almost as much as she hated when they picked on her. Either way, it made her feel weak and useless.

But she didn't complain. At least being stuck inside all day meant she would be there when Adora got back.

Catra was given sentry duty, which suited her just fine. She carefully lowered herself into the chair by the door and fidgeted, trying to find a position that was comfortable. It was boring as hell, but it beat having to mop the expansive warehouse floor or worse — latrine duty. She was about halfway through gnawing on her aged breakfast muffin when someone knocked the pattern into the door.

"Finally," Catra muttered. She'd spent her entire shift thinking of something sarcastic and biting to say to Adora for not telling her where she was going. Getting to her feet as quickly as her injuries allowed, Catra unlatched the door and pulled it open.

Her mouth was open, but the words died on her tongue when she realized it wasn't Adora waiting for her on the other side: it was Shadow Weaver.

"Leave it to you to completely disregard protocol," Shadow Weaver snarled by way of greeting. She gestured to the spyhole in the door that Catra had failed to use, and Catra shrank guiltily into herself. She had been so sure it was Adora outside that double-checking hadn't even crossed her mind.