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Hordak was still getting used to walking the halls of Brightmoon. For so long, he stood against it, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and destroy the beacon of hope this kingdom represented. All that separated him from this land was the illusive Whispering Woods, which even after understanding its true nature, still infuriated him for its unpredictability.
But he no longer walked with his dark cloak and shiny steel to take the stronghold. Now, he trotted along in deep lavender and his frail arms exposed to the world. He moved along, knowing that the gazes he was catching were half-surprise and half-suspicion. He couldn’t blame the guards or passing members of the cleaning staff for their animosity however. One good stand of defiance only one person was witness to hardly makes up for decades of destruction he created. All things considered, he considers himself fortunate to be able to roam freely as it was.
He moved with a purpose, guiding himself towards a particular person. Entrapta and he had come from Dryll to discuss the final repairs and renovations to Salenias. Being the catalyst to its previous state, Hordak took it as his personal mission to ensure it would recover. He wasn’t met with much pushback, in large part because there was no real commanding presence to rally and coordinate the efforts. How he lost against this decentralized authority still baffled him now.
But that meeting was not on his mind right now. Instead, it was on a certain blonde defector that had restored him after Prime took control of his body. He hadn’t seen Adora since the end of the war, and upon seeing her again brought up the memory from long ago. It was gnawing at the back of his mind, intense enough that he decided he would act on this ambition.
The winding halls of the castle brought Hordak to what he presumed was his ex-soldier’s bedroom. He stopped at the door, his fist raised to knock. Something in him hesitated. It was as if his armor had locked up again, yet he wasn’t wearing it right now. Was this… fear? Anxiety? He would need to consult this feeling with the flower princess later, but for now, he saw it as a hindrance. It yielded to his will as he struck the door exactly four times in a steady rhythm, then retracting his hand.
He waited outside for a minute, before it opened. He found himself face to face with someone far different from Adora, however. His old subordinate. Her eyes narrowed the moment she saw him. Her body tensed up and he caught his breath, sharing a similar glare before feeling the strain and softening immediately. He should’ve anticipated her. A miss calculation on his part. Still, she was in the doorway, and he wouldn’t achieve what he came here for by holding onto the past. He opened his jaw slowly, and tried his best to wave away the venom from his tongue whenever he thought of the name, “Catra.”
“Hordak,” She replied in a similar, sharp tone. He could tell she was holding back. She was another aspect of his old life that would require time to handle. But that was more than what he could offer today.
“I would like to speak to Adora,” he states civilly, making it clear that it was not an order, but expressing his desire nonetheless.
Catra didn’t falter in her glare, “And why would you want to do that?” she asked. The question was filled with suspicion and protectiveness. He understood her concern.
He didn’t have to try to appear non-threatening. His open shoulders with cracks trailing down him light electricity was enough, “There is something I wish to show her,” he explained, breaking the staring contest by drifting his eyes to the floor, “Something I believe she would benefit from seeing.”
“What would that be?” Catra probed, folding her arms and standing defiantly in the way. As if he would try and go in without being asked. As if he could fight her in this fragile state.
“It would be better if I brought her there,” Hordak huffed, seeing he was getting nowhere, “Better to explain.”
He was prepared for Catra to make the call herself, slamming the door or telling him to piss off. Instead, she turned her head into the room, whispered something he didn’t catch, and then after a few seconds, she looked back at him, “Fine,” she stomached a growl, then stepped aside.
A moment later, his intended audience peered through the entry way this time. Adora had her hair down, the first time Hordak had witnessed it himself, and she was rid of her red jacket, just bearing her old Horde undershirt. He raised a brow at that immediately. The blonde was cautious, but gave a small wave and smile, “Hey, Hordak.”
“Hello, Adora,” he said, but his eyes went down to the shirt, “Have,” he paused, wondering if he should say something. His concern outgrew his worries, however, as he gave a gentle point, “Is this all you have had for clothing since you left?”
Adora looked down to see what he was referring to, then chuckled, “Oh! No, not at all!” She laughed a little too loudly, “Brightmoon wear just hasn’t ever been my style. I prefer the tight-fitting as opposed to the robes,” she then looked at his apparel, and backtracked slightly, “You look good in them though!” She added as a hesitant compliment.
That earned her a faint curl of Hordak’s lip, “I appreciate your appraisal, Adora. If you require more of your preference, Entrapta would be a suitable consultant,” he then added as a half-baked joke, “Though they may contain more robots in them than fabric by the end.”
Despite how much the sentence made him feel nauseated, Adora smiled at it, “I’ll think about it,” she stated. Then it returned to a worried frown, “What do you need?”
This was his moment. Hordak had thought about this moment enough. He sighed, “Nothing more than your time and trust,” he claimed, “There is a place I wish to take you today. Somewhere,” he lowered his voice, making sure it was just her that could hear, “I remember you from.”
His short phrase had the desired result. Adora’s eyes widened, understanding him completely. Her posture straightened, growing alert immediately. Her lip trembled, “Y-you mean it?”
“I do,” Hordak nodded, “I understand if you do not want to go, but I wanted to provide the offer-”
“Please,” she pleaded in the middle of his monologue, cutting him off. She stepped forward, hands shaking at her sides, “When can we leave?”
Adora never thought she would be on a skiff ever again. The old machine had a new coat of off-white and gold trim, and the sail bore the Dryll crest, but the coils and cables that made up the fast moving vehicle brought back some memories from their dormant state. She clung to the center as Hordak steered the vessel. The ride was quiet, neither were those used to speaking to the other openly, so they fell into a comfortable silence.
After about an hour of cutting through the air, her former general uttered gently, “We are here.” Lifting her eyes up anxiously, Adora felt her heart skip a beat. Large crystals protruded out of a humble meadow. The grass was a green so dark it was nearly blue. To anyone else, the sight would be just another one of the beautiful spots on Etheria. But to the two occupying the inbound skiff, it was so much more than that.
Hordak landed the skiff onto a hill overseeing the valley. It bumped against the ground before the landing gear settled, leaving them motionless for a minute. With the breeze no longer their enemy, Adora felt its gentle push causing her hair to flow towards her left in a steady wave. It mimicked Hordak’s blue mohawk and the surrounding grass.
Adora felt afraid to step off the metal platform. Her feet were almost fused to the skiff, while the meadows around continued to move. They looked comforting, but there was a wall in her mind keeping her from accepting it. She’s only ever seen this place in dreams or in other perspectives. The cool air and light smell of mildew were foreign to her. The skiff was safer. It grounded her to reality, reminding her who she was.
She watched Hordak take the first step off the vehicle. He sunk to about thigh deep in the grass. A pause settled before he turned, sensing Adora’s distress. He reached out his hand to her, giving her plenty of opportunity to focus on it, “Whenever you are ready.”
To think she would have ever found comfort in Hordak’s actions was enough to hijack her mind from her spiraling thoughts. He was almost completely different from the lord that she had fought against for years. Instead of a scowl branded on his face, he held only passive and concerned expression. She took his hand, the ridges of his palm steadying her as she followed him into the grass.
Treading the green was a little easier than walking through water. While they were gliding calmly in the wind, the blades were up to her waist. Hordak accounted for her speed, or perhaps his lack of a power suit has also made him more brittle and careful of the terrain. Either way, they walked at a slow pace as the ex-overlord retraced his steps. He came to a stop right at the top of a small hill overlooking the vast landscape. It left Adora speechless to see the shards of crystals rising out of the ground at angles, all aligning with her dreams and Light Hope’s simulation all too perfectly.
“I’ve been to this location three times,” Hordak hummed, Adora latched onto every word he spoke. His voice was deep and rough, carrying a weight with his syllables, “The first you know. I detected the portal had opened and raced to get here, only for the vortex to close before I could go in. I retrieve-” he paused, catching his words, “I found you that day. The other times were mere data collection. For as brief of an opening it was, the portal had given off a plethora of energy.”
“In all those times,” he started, his tone trembling ever so slightly, “I had not truly admired this place. Always a mission. Always a failure,” he growled heartlessly, Adora feeling his grip tighten for a moment, before relieving the pressure, “Now, seeing it without the sole desire of Prime’s light consuming my every action, it is truly beautiful.”
“It is,” Adora agreed plainly, exhaling deeply and breathing in the serenity around her. The blades of grass moved in waves as they pleased, the field open and barren. If she were to close her eyes, she could envision the portal right there, it’s dark swirl piercing this land’s reverie to drop her down into it.
“About seventeen years ago from today,” he began, “You arrived on this world. Cast away from your place amongst the stars to this world that was devoid of them,” he rumbled. Adora turned to him, silently but intensely listening, “I cannot provide you with a precise day in which you first breathed life, but if I can give any consolation, it is this,” he paused, allowing it to sink in, “Happy birthday, Adora.”
Adora didn’t know what to say. Her heart hammered at her chest, and her eyes were wide with disbelief. She cast her gaze to the ground. Birthday. Her Birthday! She had understood the concept even in the Horde. Or at least she tried when she made sure to remember the day she found Catra in that cardboard box. And she learned it better in Brightmoon, as it seemed every few months another party would go down celebrating a different princess’s time alive. She found it awkward when asked when her birthday was before, as she was unable to give a date. But now, that was different.
She drew her eyes up to approximately where the portal floated above the land. She had a day to call her own. She didn’t know what to do with that information. All Adora could do was turn, and crash into Hordak in a desperate, but careful hug and whisper, “Thank you.” It was a fragile sentence, scared to interrupt the peace around her.
It was comforting to feel his hand run through her hair. His sharp fingers stroked her locks tenderly as she held onto him. He remained silent as her emotions collided with each other. A soft rumble festered in his chest, a protectiveness he used to hold the woman close.
“You know,” she whimpered after a while, still clinging to him, “We aren’t so different from each other.”
Adora felt him stiffen, “How so?” he asked.
She smiled, “We were taken from the universe through portals,” she started off, “Brought to the same magical lands in Despondos for seemingly no reason or purpose. Manipulative mentors,” Adora chuckled, “And while we were here for other purposes, our only want was to be able to belong.” She ended by pulling away, parting by giving him a reassuring smile.
Hordak’s surprise was written all over his face from what she described. A breath trembled out of him, “My deepest regret is not seeing the wisdom you would carry in you,” he stated, looking back towards the open field, “For allowing Shadow Weaver to raise you instead of forgoing my pride and taking care of you myself, I am truly sorry.”
Adora turned with him to the meadows, watching them shift with the breeze, “Forgiveness has always been easy for me, aside from her,” her brow creased just thinking of her caretaker, “You were lost and believed in the purpose and destiny you were taught, just like I was. That does not excuse the damage you’ve caused, but from me personally, I forgive you.” she stated confidently.
“Perhaps in another life I would have been like Kadroh,” Adora turned at the chuckle he gave, another sound she was experiencing for the first time.
Adora nodded, “Watching you learn the concept of winking would be exceptionally hilarious,” she giggled, imagining those piercing red eyes as he performed the muscle movement. They shared a laugh, then it drifted back into a peaceful quiet, “I think I’m ready to go home.” she declared to him as she let the image burn into her mind.
“Are you sure?” He asked, taking in the view himself.
“Yeah,” Adora nodded, “After all, I have a birthday to go tell everyone about.”
She saw the gentle upturn of his lip as she spoke. He turned around, and waved to her to take the lead. Adora looked back once more, wondering if maybe she would come back some day. Perhaps it would be great to settle down in, build a home with Catra to grow old in. Until then, she strode through the grass once more, with the most unexpected and warming company she thought she would be with today.