Chapter Text
The voices wake Adora up.
She tries to ignore them, but the haunting chorus only grows louder, tugging at the corners of her mind. Adora sits up in bed, covering her ears with her hands in frustration even though that never helps.
Of course it doesn't help, the singing is in her head.
Growing up, Shadow told Adora that her family was cursed. The ocean would call to her, but she must resist its temptation. If she ever stepped foot in its waves, she was doomed to drown like her parents. Catra always rolled her eyes and said it was nonsense. But Adora heard the call all the same.
She's not a gullible child anymore, and yet what was once a rare occurrence has only increased in frequency as she's aged. Restless nights like this are becoming the norm, and she's not sure how much more she can take. She knows Catra has noticed the change and is getting worried about her, but she doesn't know how to tell her what's wrong. Adora's old enough now to know what most people will think if you tell them you hear voices in your head.
She can't let Catra down. They have so many plans together. She just has to focus on that, and not the incessant singing that isn't real.
She's definitely not selfish enough to wake Catra tonight in hope of drowning out the noise with her best friend’s gentle voice and soothing purr. Catra has an important audition in the morning. Casting calls that are inclusive of magicats are rare, and she needs her rest.
Adora does her best to slip out of bed quietly, padding downstairs for a drink. She chugs an entire glass of water, but it doesn't help how dry her mouth suddenly feels.
She decides to take a walk outside. Maybe getting some air will help.
On her way out the front door, she catches the glint of Shadow's key ring on its hook, sparkling in the light of the full moon. Adora snatches it before she can second guess herself, heading straight to the driveway and climbing into the car. Going for a drive will clear her head.
She tells herself she doesn't have any real destination in mind as she starts the engine, but she knows it's a lie.
It takes her a little under an hour to drive to the beach. When she exits the car, the salty air feels electric against her skin. The moon hangs low and heavy in the night sky, like the ocean might be luring it closer too.
For several minutes, Adora just watches the inky black waves lap against the shore, mesmerized and terrified. Maybe this is what she needs: exposure therapy. She can just dip her toe in the water, then drive home again. Prove to herself that the ocean doesn't have any kind of supernatural power over her and she won't be dragged down to a watery grave just by touching it. Then maybe the cries echoing in her mind will finally be silent.
She approaches the waves, kicking off her shoes. One moment she feels wet sand against her soles, and the next the ocean has rushed up to meet her, submerging her feet up to her ankles. The ground beneath her immediately feels unstable and she trips, falling forward into the rising tide. She splutters and flails around, trying to find purchase, but something is wrong with her legs, and she's struggling to breathe even though her head is still above water.
She hears the call again, ringing crystal clear as it beckons her to greater depths.
She turns to swim toward it without a second thought.
~{
Catra wakes up alone. It's a little disorienting, but not unusual. She knows Adora feels bad keeping her up with her nightmares, no matter how many times Catra insists that it's fine. They both have their shit, and the important thing is that they look out for each other.
She climbs out of bed to look for her. The obvious first place is the couch, but there are no signs that it has been slept on. There are no signs of anyone in the house, and when she looks out the front window, the driveway is empty.
She tries not to panic. There are any number of reasons Shadow might have rushed Adora off somewhere while insisting they didn't have time to wake Catra and warn her first. Hell, she wouldn't put it past her to make something up just to throw Catra off before her audition. Ostensibly, she's still Catra's manager too, but Shadow has never seemed to have any faith in her talent, or at the very least insisted that it couldn't compensate for her ‘insolent’ attitude. The only reason she hasn't kicked her to the curb is to keep Adora happy. She'll do anything to keep her claws in the golden goose, but it won't work. The second Adora turns eighteen, they're leaving the bitter old crone in the dust.
Catra fires off a check-in text, then starts getting ready. She has to be prepared to leave early in case she needs to take the bus to her audition.
Once everything is together, she eats a quick breakfast. Adora still hasn't replied to her message. Catra tries calling and the phone goes straight to voicemail, so it must either be off or dead. Adora probably forgot to charge it, she's been extra spacey lately.
Catra bites the bullet and texts Shadow to ask if the car will be back soon.
Adora didn't tell you? She had a very important callback last minute. We'll be home for dinner.
Catra takes another deep breath, resisting the urge to hurl the phone across the room.
}~
The audition seems to go well. They keep her for a long time, at least. Catra doesn't want to get her hopes up, that's only led to disappointment in the past, but she's still looking forward to telling Adora all about it.
She may be pissed about this morning, but they can't let Shadow get between them. That's what she wants. Soon, it will be the two of them against the world, just like they always planned.
Still, it would have been nice to have one day where the focus was on her career for once. Shadow always pushed them into musical theater, even back before all the years of training when Adora was a truly terrible actor. The old hag wanted to live vicariously through her charges after her own career as a singer was cut short by the accident that scarred her face. Catra thinks her personality probably didn't do her any favors, either.
Adora, even at her most unpolished, always managed to land roles because of her singing voice. Sometimes Catra wonders if she has some trace of hybrid ancestry somewhere. There are depths to her vocal range that she is pretty sure fall outside of the normal human register. Whatever the reason, Adora's singing voice has always been haunting, capable of reducing even the most stoic of casting directors to tears.
It haunts Catra a little differently than everyone else, she thinks. Every time she hears the girl she loves sing, a voice in the back of her mind whispers she’s going to leave you.
She tries not to listen to it. Adora may have wanted to please Shadow when they were younger, but she chose Catra in the end. If Adora’s voice ends up being their golden ticket, Catra will swallow her pride and take it. She can work crew or something. Magicats' hearing makes them good sound engineers.
But, even if the odds are astronomical, she wants to make it too. She wants them to be equals, and she wants to prove Shadow wrong. She also wants to provide the kind of representation she never saw growing up.
Adora has always believed in her—sometimes even when she didn't believe in herself. Catra can resent her success, or she can suck it up and be supportive in return. They're a team, and that's what matters.
When she gets home, Shadow is sprawled across the couch, wine stench seeping out of her pores. Catra tries to kill the petty voice inside that gloats that Adora's audition must not have gone as well as hers as she bounds up the stairs.
Adora isn't in their room when she reaches it, and it takes a moment for Catra to realize why something about the empty space feels so wrong. It’s not just that Adora is missing—all of her things are gone, too. There's no sign she has ever lived here.
Catra feels her blood run cold. She dials Adora's number again. It goes straight to voicemail.
Catra rushes back downstairs.
“Where is she?” she demands.
“She got the part,” Shadow slurs. “It's for a production—hic—overseas. They needed her right away.”
“Needed her where?” Catra says. “When is she coming back?”
“She isn't,” Shadow says, her voice low and bitter. “After everything I've done for her, the ungrateful brat has decided to forsake me. And she's certainly never needed you dragging her down.”
“No,” Catra says. “You're lying! She wouldn't—She couldn't—”
“Oh, you poor unfortunate thing,” Shadow croons. “Did you really think she loved you?”
She stands up, wobbling a bit, and crosses over to stroke through the tufts of Catra's fur under her ears. Catra is too numb to stop her.
“The two of us only have each other now.” Her alcohol-soaked breath fans across Catra's face. “Tell me, my dear. How was your audition?"