piper90 | video; regular network

Entry tags:

video; regular network

[ Whoever is using Catra's comm is standing at the foot of her hospital bed. Probably one of the medical staff or some other Jorgmund pencil pusher. Catra is sitting up, still bandaged but much grumpier than usual (or just as grumpy as usual?). A pair of nurses, along with a couple of other Jorgmund employees are crowded around her bed, one of them holding a plate on which sits a small, sad looking cupcake in which someone has stuck a very lonely candle. The fellow holding the plate, a rather selnder man with too-large glasses and too-cheery disposition, speaks. ]

We want to congratulate Catra on her continuing recovery and wish her a very happy twentieth birthday from all of us at Jorgmund. We understand that it's been a bit of a rough time for some of you lately, and thought this might help raise morale. All together now.

[ The group launches into a slightly off-key rendition of 'Happy Birthday to You' and Catra seems to sink down into her bedclothes, as if it might help her disappear from this plane of existence. Having no such luck, she is forced to sit through the song. ]

Go ahead and blow out the candle, Catra.

[ Catra looks like she would rather do anything except blow out the candle. Maybe even go toe-to-toe with the killer again. In spite of this, she leans forward and gives a half-heard puff of breath, which extinguishes the candle. Styrofoam plate is carefully balanced on her bedside table, and the glasses-wearing guy, no doubt from HR, takes the comm. ]

Go ahead and leave Catra some birthday wishes. I'm sure that hearing from her fellow employees will be just the thing to help her get back on her feet as soon as possible.

[ The comm is deposited into Catra's lap. She stares at the camera, then plants her face in her hands. ]

I swear if ant of you say anything...

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[Thankfully, Adora didn't call her on it. Tenten's still not sure how she'd reply to it.

At her follow-up, however, Tenten smiles, wiping away her earlier fretting, then moves over to the clothes. It's still weird, having someone else go through them, but... Well. A good cause. And now she's there to watch.]

That's good. So, what choices do you think look good?

I like this brown and white one, actually! I'm not sure it's totally her color, but I think she'd look good in it. Don't you?

[ She holds up the little jacket to illustrate. ]

Ah.

[Her usual outfit. She used to separate her clothes out from civilian wear and mission wear, but after After Pain had destroyed Konoha, she'd kinda just. Stuck with that. Still, she had spares. And other outfits.]

Yeah, I think that would be cute on her. I usually have my hips wrapped up in bandages and chain mail underneath that, but Catra might appreciate some air flow. You don't think it's too loose for her tastes??

[Then again, given their slight height and weight differences, something loose on Tenten might be a little less so on Catra.]

I think it'll work... and we can always take it in a little, right?

[ She does know how to sew a little. Sometimes you have to patch your own stuff in the Fright Zone. ]

I think we can make it work.

[Seems like anyone who lives the lives they do ought to have some skills in patching up clothes.]

Well, we can see how it'd look on Catra as is, then make decisions on alterations then?

[She glances at the outfit, then closes her eye. Her hands clap together, then contort into a series of knots, ending in a puff of smoke that envelopes her. When it fades, Catra's standing there, as she was before her contact with the murderer. She opens her eyes, looks down, clucks her tongue in annoyance, then moves her hands again. Another puff and she's in the outfit that Adora's holding, exactly as it is, and with the new haircut demanded by her surgery.

Catra's, or rather Tenten wearing Catra's form, is about fifteen pounds heavier and an inch or two taller. When she speaks, it's Catra's voice, but not her words. And her left eye, Tenten's bandaged one, remains closed except for instances where she forces it open.]

The tail's kind of weird. But we can definitely do a hole for it.

[She turns, posing a little.]

What do you think? Is this the one for her?

[ Adora stares for a long moment. She knows about Double Trouble, but this is something a little different. Still weird to see Tenten turn into her girlfriend (Catra's her girlfriend now, wow) and she has to remind herself not to keep staring. ]

Uh.

[ She walks one way, then the other, trying to get a better look. ]

Yeah. Yeah, I think it is. You're the second person I've met who can do that.

[Tenten turns, flexes, at one point just straight up bends backwards to touch her palms to the floor while keeping her feet flat. She wasn't quite sure she'd gotten the musculature right, but it felt like Catra would be fine. The staring doesn't quite escape her notice, but she manages to fight off the blush by writing it off as an examination. After all, it was Catra being eyed up, not her.

She straighten back up, wincing as she does so, then turns her head to look at Adora. She said that like it wasn't exactly welcome.]

All ninjas can. It's a basic skill, you don't get to graduate from the Academy if you can't pull off a transformation jutsu. Sorry, is it uncomfortable? I can stop.

[Thankfully, she doesn't know anything about Double Trouble. She's got Catra's body language down pat, though, except for the one closed eye. She ought to have, she spent enough time watching the older girl]

[ It's kind of uncanny. Adora isn't quite sure how she feels about someone else being able to flawlessly imitate Catra, but at least Tenten isn't going to be running around causing trouble like DT, right? ]

No, it's fine. I just wasn't expecting it.

[ She settles on the floor, knees drawn up to her chin as she watches. ]

You must've spent a lot of time keeping an eye on her. You're good.

Edited 2020-11-13 20:11 (UTC)

[That gets a quick flush. Was Adora calling her out? No, couldn't be. For one thing, well. Adora wasn't the most observant person around.]

She's worth keeping an eye on.

[Tenten coughs awkwardly, then squats to see how that feels. Still comfy. She stands again, then feels at Catra's exposed fur on her hips. She hadn't done up the bandages there, because she hadn't figured Catra would want to wrap up every time.]

Maybe we should give her a pair of shorts, too. I don't know how she feels about showing a little, uh. Fur. And if the angle's wrong, someone might be able to see something she doesn't want them to.

Yeah. She really is.

[ Adora sounds a bit dreamy, but she snaps herself back to the present after a moment. She follows Tenten's gesture and eyes the little tufts of exposed fur on her hips. ]

Huh. Maybe. She doesn't usually mind that much, but... yeah. I don't think she wants to show off to everyone. Shorts are probably a good idea...

[Adora, you dumb, sweet, oblivious girl, she could kiss you.]

Yeah, when I first started wearing these, I realized pretty quickly that the wrong gust of wind and, well.

[An illustrative tug.]

But I can tuck things in there, so I just started wearing armor and then hiding it with some bandages. But some shorts like, uh...

[She reaches over and pulls a tight, black pair out of the pile, then held them out for Adora to examine.]

What do you think? Still a little eye-catching, but nearly pervert proof.

Perfect!

[ Adora stands and walks over to examine the shorts. ]

I think we've got ourselves a gift.

[She sets them down on top of the actual clothes, makes a gesture with her hands, and there's a puff of smoke. By the time it's cleared, it's Tenten again, all bandaged up and in Jorgmund's issued black fatigues.]

Right. I'll ice the first layer of the cake. While it cooled, it should have pulled away from the sides, which is why we didn't grease the pan or wrap that in parchment paper. You wrap the present in... uh. That parchment paper over there ought to do, since we don't have any wrapping paper. We can use thin strips of tin foil for a ribbon, or just make do with some string.

[It also gives her a chance to disguise the trouble she's going to have with icing. Once she's placed the knife on the cake, it ought to be fine, but she doesn't want Adora to see her come up short and miss the pan. It'd be embarrassing, but at least she could blame it on the bandages if she's caught.]

Edited 2020-11-13 21:33 (UTC)

Got it!

[ Adora seems happy enough to get down to wrapping the impromptu present. It really isn't that difficult and she finishes it up pretty quickly. She does know how to make things neat after all. She turns back and saunters over to watch the icing. ]

You need a hand...?

[Tenten had a bit of a problem at first. She'd scraped some of the icing on the table. But once she had a hand on the cake pan and had closed her eye, it was a lot easier to visualize and start spreading it neatly and evenly.

Still, Adora came at a useful time.]

Yeah, um. Can you, carefully, pick up the other cake and set it directly on top of this one? We're almost done.

Definitely!

[ Adora gingerly picks up the cake and sets it on the first. There. Double layer cake achieved? Hopefully? ]

[It's pretty hard to screw that part up! Tenten gives her a gracious little smile in thanks, then goes about spreading the rest of the whipped cream icing on the top.]

It's not gonna be too sweet like Jorgmund likes their cakes. The icing's not going to be grainy or anything. It should be nice and spongy. So...

[She pauses, then takes the scroll and holds it over the piles of clothing. Each one vanishes in a puff of smoke.]

If you want to do more cooking sometime, something a little less rushed, I'll be happy to show you a few things. Would you mind carrying the cake to her and I'll grab the present?

That sounds like it'd be nice.

[ Adora gives her a beaming, grateful smile. ]

I should really learn how, anyway. [ She grabs the cake and pauses. ]

Oh, do we need plates and utensils?

I guess I'll work you in, then.

[A brief half-smile in return. And then she jerks a little and slaps her forehead.]

I was about to totally forget those. You've got your hands full with cake, I'll handle the utensils. You go on ahead and lead the way to Catra, I'll be right behind you.

OK!

[ And they're off! Time to go find Catra's hospital bed again. ]

[ Surprising no one, Catra is still there ]

[ Adora strolls right up to Catra's bed and sets the cake down on the side-table there with a grin. ]

Happy birthday, Catra!

[ Look, she's just pleased she can try to make Catra feel better. ]

[ Catra is suddenly, intensely glad that the video feed has long since been shut off. She stares at the cake that's been dropped next to her bed, then up at Adora. ]

You made me a cake?

[ What the fuck? ]

Tenten showed me how and I helped, so really we both made you a cake.

[ Adora seems so incredibly pleased by this. ]

I know we didn't have birthday celebrations or anything in the Horde, but... I want to do this for you.

[Speaking of, Tenten's just outside of Catra's little curtained area, holding the utensils and present. But something told her that Adora and Catra might like just a little bit of privacy at first, so she's hanging back, balancing the goods primly with her good hand.

It gives her time to school her expression. She'd always been good at that, focusing on the Twenty-Fifth Rule of Shinobi Conduct. But she knows that if she has to see Adora and Catra kiss over this, she's probably going to break a little anyway. Adora doesn't mean any harm, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't hurt anyway. So best to wait outside, try not to imagine actions to the words she's hearing, and enter when the time feels right to deliver presents.]

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