[ just as soon as he gets the wherewithal to go. he's not getting the damage deposit back for this place - he kind of accidentally set a few too many rooms on fire. ]
[ Catra doesn't seem at all bothered by the state of the place. If anything, she dumps the gym bag and jumps onto the bed with a certain amount of fiendish glee and then rolls across it, getting cat fur everywhere immediately, and then giving a biiiiig stretch.
The whole thing is very cat-like. In some ways, she really is just a cat. ]
[ She's glad for the moment alone, if she's being honest.
Sleeping on other people's couches for the last few days hasn't left her with a lot of time to herself, and it's been getting tiring constantly keeping up her front. She wraps herself up in the blanket for a moment like a burrito and just lets herself lie there for a bit, eyes closed, inhaling and exhaling. Not asleep. Just allowing herself to just be.
But eventually, when Damian is finished with prep and well into cooking, the smell reaches Catra's nostrils and she opens her eyes again. Curiosity finally wins out, and she pads out to the kitchen silently. ]
... You can cook, too?
[ There's a certain amount of surprise in her voice. ]
[ listen to that humility. it's no three course meal, but it's a decent curry made from scratch. with you know... bugs and junk. ]
The family butler taught me when I was a kid. [ there were so many fond memories in that kitchen. which is why he burned the whole fucking manor down when the source of them had died. ] He said his biggest fear was that I'd grow up to be as useless as my old man.
[ She doesn't even seem fazed by the egotistical proclamation-- why bother being humble if you're good at something? Humility never got anyone anywhere in the Horde. So Damian's way of speaking is one she's familiar with. ]
Huh. ... He sounds cool.
[ Is all she has to say to that. She comes closer and sniffs it, her face still looking puzzled. ]
... I don't recognize this smell.
[ Catra hasn't exactly been adventurous in her diet since getting here. Almost every food here is new and weird to her, so she tends to stick to the few things she knows she likes. ]
Back home in the Horde, we just got ration bars every day. I don't think any of us knew how to cook.
It's English Lamb Curry. Just replace lamb with fake meat.
[ whatever alfred would still be very proud of it ]
Teaching someone to cook is teaching then independence. That's a slippery slope. Figure out how to do one thing for yourself and you start wondering what else you can do.
I don't know what literally any of those words mean, but it smells okay, so sure.
[ Her face turns pensive when Damian talks about independence, though. Of all the reasons people have used to try and convince Catra to learn how to cook, this is the first one that actually appeals to her.
[ you can lick the spoon, you hideous gremlin cat. he offers it out while he flicks the burner down and checks the rice. ]
Some people might say it's paranoid thinking. [ people he apparently doesn't think much of from his tone. while not everyone is consciously calculating, people tend to be self-serving and do what they do to get a certain result. ] They're wrong. The key to instilling total loyalty is creating total dependence.
[ Catra takes the spoon and blows on it for a minute, before taking a cautious lick, and then another bite. Her eyes widen slightly, but her actual thought reaction isn't instantaneous. It's a new taste, and her brain has to work out how it feels about it first. Finally-- ]
... It's good. [ Yeah. She nods. ] ... I like it. It reminds me of... the fancy shit they serve in restaurants here.
[ She thinks about Damian's second point, still holding the spoon, having forgotten to give it back. ]
... Yeah. I mean. I always knew that, but I never thought about in terms of... y'know.
[ Herself. Being dependent on the Horde. She wants to say she isn't, but... where else can she go? What is that, if not dependence? ]
[ alright, alright, here we go. grabbing a bowl. ]
Yeah. I know.
[ he hadn't thought much of it until he'd returned to the league. met the sister he'd never known he'd had, watched how she hung on to ra's every word. ]
[ Catra's still holding the spoon Damian gave her, and she gives it another lick. It seems like she's-- working through something, in her head. ]
I always thought... I don't know, cooking was kinda lame, for some reason. One of my-- underlings, back home... [ she almost said friend, whoops, shit, can't have that ] she was always doing shit like this. Baking cakes for us. Making tea and snacks. I mean. It wasn't very good. She was a born dumbass. But she was trying, y'know?
It always used to get on my nerves. ... Maybe I didn't give her enough credit.
[ he shouldn't speak for her, though. but the more she talks the more he - sees himself? hates it? something painful and unpleasant prickles in his gut.
he's quiet himself for a moment. ]
My brother was like that.
[ another pause. ]
My oldest brother. He was always going out of his way to do some stupid thing to make me 'lighten up'. He couldn't cook, or clean, and he ran his mouth constantly... he was a completely useless adult who never failed to treat me like a child.
[ ... ]
He was my best friend. [ until he killed him. ] I didn't appreciate it until he was gone. Its hard to recognize those traits as valuable when you've been taught that empathy and compassion are just liabilities.
[ She listens quietly to Damian talking about his brother without issue, and for a moment it seems like maybe she's even empathizing.
But then something in that last part strikes a raw nerve for Catra and she looks away, suddenly irritated. Her ears go flat and she replies far too quickly, ignoring everything else-- ]
No. That's bullshit. Anyone spouting it is a moron.
[ he rules the world through fear - even if he's conflicted about it. not even his father believes in the goodness of mankind, though he pretends to. ]
But compassion and empathy mean you have something to fight for beyond just surviving. Give someone a reason to live and they tend to be a lot harder to kill.
[ look one time vic called them friends and he broke all his game consoles because sometimes people get too chummy and you need to re-establish the pecking order by being a little shit
[ Her face does a thing where it seems like she's pleased for a second but then immediately tries to hide it. She quickly takes another bite of food so she has some excuse to be doing something other than talking.
Honestly, for all her fronting, Catra's easy enough to figure out once you get her measure. ]
Yeah. Well. I'm still better than all of those other small fry. Don't you forget it.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Wait. You have a whole extra room?
[ SHE HAS SLEPT ON SO MANY UNCOMFORTABLE COUCHES, DAMIAN. ]
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[ it's a bad and painful memory. ]
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I mean-- not that I'm complaining. I haven't slept on a bed in days.
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[ just as soon as he gets the wherewithal to go. he's not getting the damage deposit back for this place - he kind of accidentally set a few too many rooms on fire. ]
You're welcome to it.
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The whole thing is very cat-like. In some ways, she really is just a cat. ]
Awwwww yeaaah.
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but he'll excuse himself and... make them both dinner, he guesses? he's a pretty fan-fucking-tastic cook. ]
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Sleeping on other people's couches for the last few days hasn't left her with a lot of time to herself, and it's been getting tiring constantly keeping up her front. She wraps herself up in the blanket for a moment like a burrito and just lets herself lie there for a bit, eyes closed, inhaling and exhaling. Not asleep. Just allowing herself to just be.
But eventually, when Damian is finished with prep and well into cooking, the smell reaches Catra's nostrils and she opens her eyes again. Curiosity finally wins out, and she pads out to the kitchen silently. ]
... You can cook, too?
[ There's a certain amount of surprise in her voice. ]
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[ listen to that humility. it's no three course meal, but it's a decent curry made from scratch. with you know... bugs and junk. ]
The family butler taught me when I was a kid. [ there were so many fond memories in that kitchen. which is why he burned the whole fucking manor down when the source of them had died. ] He said his biggest fear was that I'd grow up to be as useless as my old man.
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Huh. ... He sounds cool.
[ Is all she has to say to that. She comes closer and sniffs it, her face still looking puzzled. ]
... I don't recognize this smell.
[ Catra hasn't exactly been adventurous in her diet since getting here. Almost every food here is new and weird to her, so she tends to stick to the few things she knows she likes. ]
Back home in the Horde, we just got ration bars every day. I don't think any of us knew how to cook.
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[ whatever alfred would still be very proud of it ]
Teaching someone to cook is teaching then independence. That's a slippery slope. Figure out how to do one thing for yourself and you start wondering what else you can do.
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[ Her face turns pensive when Damian talks about independence, though. Of all the reasons people have used to try and convince Catra to learn how to cook, this is the first one that actually appeals to her.
Damian speaks her language. ]
... Huh. I never thought of it like that.
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[ you can lick the spoon, you hideous gremlin cat. he offers it out while he flicks the burner down and checks the rice. ]
Some people might say it's paranoid thinking. [ people he apparently doesn't think much of from his tone. while not everyone is consciously calculating, people tend to be self-serving and do what they do to get a certain result. ] They're wrong. The key to instilling total loyalty is creating total dependence.
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... It's good. [ Yeah. She nods. ] ... I like it. It reminds me of... the fancy shit they serve in restaurants here.
[ She thinks about Damian's second point, still holding the spoon, having forgotten to give it back. ]
... Yeah. I mean. I always knew that, but I never thought about in terms of... y'know.
[ Herself. Being dependent on the Horde. She wants to say she isn't, but... where else can she go? What is that, if not dependence? ]
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[ alright, alright, here we go. grabbing a bowl. ]
Yeah. I know.
[ he hadn't thought much of it until he'd returned to the league. met the sister he'd never known he'd had, watched how she hung on to ra's every word. ]
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I always thought... I don't know, cooking was kinda lame, for some reason. One of my-- underlings, back home... [ she almost said friend, whoops, shit, can't have that ] she was always doing shit like this. Baking cakes for us. Making tea and snacks. I mean. It wasn't very good. She was a born dumbass. But she was trying, y'know?
It always used to get on my nerves. ... Maybe I didn't give her enough credit.
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[ he shouldn't speak for her, though. but the more she talks the more he - sees himself? hates it? something painful and unpleasant prickles in his gut.
he's quiet himself for a moment. ]
My brother was like that.
[ another pause. ]
My oldest brother. He was always going out of his way to do some stupid thing to make me 'lighten up'. He couldn't cook, or clean, and he ran his mouth constantly... he was a completely useless adult who never failed to treat me like a child.
[ ... ]
He was my best friend. [ until he killed him. ] I didn't appreciate it until he was gone. Its hard to recognize those traits as valuable when you've been taught that empathy and compassion are just liabilities.
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But then something in that last part strikes a raw nerve for Catra and she looks away, suddenly irritated. Her ears go flat and she replies far too quickly, ignoring everything else-- ]
They are.
[ She looks frankly downright offended. ]
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[ which he is, actually, don't call him on this. shut up and take a bowl. ]
But combine those traits with actual strength and you have a force that can't be beat.
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[ Catra takes the bowl and shovels a spoonful into her mouth, but she still looks grumpy. After chewing and swallowing-- ]
Next you're going to tell me to believe in the power of peace and love and all that garbage.
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[ he rules the world through fear - even if he's conflicted about it. not even his father believes in the goodness of mankind, though he pretends to. ]
But compassion and empathy mean you have something to fight for beyond just surviving. Give someone a reason to live and they tend to be a lot harder to kill.
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[ It's BURNING EVERYTHING TO THE GROUND. ]
And I sure as hell don't need any of that crap to do it.
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he gets it ]
Didn't say you didn't. That was a general 'you'.
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[ She seems mollified, but she still looks grumpy. At least now it seems a little more like comically grumpy, instead of genuinely angry. ]
... And I'm pretty difficult to kill, too. So don't go getting any ideas.
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[ adorable. ]
I don't associate with people who are easy to kill.
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Honestly, for all her fronting, Catra's easy enough to figure out once you get her measure. ]
Yeah. Well. I'm still better than all of those other small fry. Don't you forget it.
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