Adora crossed her arms, her face stern as she looked forward in concentration. Her brows were furrowed, but as she walked the palace halls, her ponytail bobbed lightly behind her. Catra was next to her, her arms crossed as well. Her hair, while growing back, was still a bit too short to bob around.

Catra looked to Adora, uncrossing her arms and putting them on her hips, her tail moving upwards to poke at Adora's side. "Why're you so grumpy?" She teased, sticking her tongue out at her.

Adora glanced at Catra but quickly glanced away again. While her features seemed to soften a bit, she still looked stern. "I'm not grumpy, I'm thinking," Adora replied, although she did uncross her arms and put them to her sides. Catra rolled her eyes, her smile moving into a small frown. "Lemme guess, you're thinking about Hordak and the ruins, huh?" She leaned forward, pushing herself farther into Adora's view.

Adora looked to her girlfriend, her strict expression moving into a half worried half guilty look. "Yeah..." She sighed, slouching her shoulders and looking completely to Catra. "I just... I don't know, I just feel like he's-"

Catra let out an exaggerated groan, making Adora quiet. "Is everyone here obsessed with Hordak now? Like, seriously." She had been frowning, but let it turn into a small witty grin afterward, causing Adora to blush in embarrassment. "Well, It's just that-"

"Yeah, yeah, he used to be a big scary leader, but he's not anymore. Just get over it." Catra read the look on Adora's face, and sighed, her small frown returning as she stopped walking. Adora stopped as well, a few steps ahead of Catra.

Catra's tail flicked from side to side lazily as she crossed her arms, leaning her weight to one side. "Look. I know you're still suspicious of him. But you guys weren't around when Entrapta came around. Just... trust me, okay?" Catra's gaze shifted away a few times, her look turning almost a bit embarrassed of her words.

Adora studied her girlfriend's face carefully. After a moment, she let out a small smile. "Well... I can't promise I'll trust him entirely, but I'll trust your judgment." She spoke with an aura of genuineness, her eyes even seeming to smile back. Catra looked up, meeting those stupid eyes she loved. A smile appeared on her face but soon turned smug.

"Good, I was starting to think you were brainwashed. But that wouldn't be hard to do anyway." Catra stuck out her tongue, leaning forward to go into Adora's vision.

Adora smiled still, letting out a chuckle. "Hey! Not nice!" She laughed, chasing after her now running girlfriend.

~- - - - -~

Hordak looked up at the castle of Dryl, his right arm still being cradled by his left. At least the princesses were right. For once.

Hordak stood still before the gates of the kingdom, his right side slumped over due to the weight of his arm. How was he going to explain this? It's not like he could hide it. What was he going to say? Surely not the truth. But what, then? He couldn't just not explain this to Entrapta. She would notice and get... worried. Probably.

'If she isn't obsessed with my brother that is...'

The thought popped in his head before he could stop it, and he almost flinched because of its harshness. He couldn't think of Entrapta like that. She's helped him so much, He shouldn't be thinking of her like that. She won't betray him. She never had.

Hordak felt tired. After everything that happened today, he just wanted to go lie down.

He let out a sigh, shutting his eyes a moment before opening them and pushing his way into Dryl. The entrance was, at least, de-trapped, due to the amounts of new people coming in and out. That was one less thing to worry about.

Walking inside, he was grateful to see most everyone was inside or out somewhere else. Looking forward again, he thought to himself. 'I will tell her. Most of it, anyway. Just... the important parts.' He decided. 'But... wasn't all of it important?' He tried to shake off the thought.

Making his way to the entrance door and coming inside soon after, he took in a calming breath. It was getting chilly out now, as if Fall was coming early. He didn't like the cold, so he was glad to feel the palaces warm airflow through the ventilation shafts. The heating was Entrapta's idea once Hordak 'moved in'. She knew he hadn't liked Dryl's past coldness.

Walking the halls to the lab he was in only a few hours before, his arm felt heavier. The day really was starting to take its toll on him, despite his pain anyway. He just wanted to relax after this.

~- - - - -~

Hordak tried to hide his relief when Entrapta told him that Wrong Hordak had left a while ago. Currently, she was evaluating the state of his arm, seeing what tools she would need to fix it. She didn't seem mad, but just... relieved? Did he worry her?

He glanced away from Entrapta, his other arm resting on his knees. He didn't mean to do that. He told her what had happened. Him getting lost and the princesses releasing him, but he didn't mention why he ran off or was trapped. She only seemed to overlook those details by focusing on his arm.

Trying to relax, he felt a shock of pain run through his right arm to his shoulder, causing him to growl. Entrapta stopped her work. "Well, I can fix it, but I'll need to take the exoskeleton off." Hordak glanced back over to her, questioning, but not objecting. He trusted her judgment.

Entrapta held his arm out in her gloved hands, her hair gripping tools midair as they waited. She had her mask down. "Nothing on the outside is damaged badly, just a dent to buff out. But one of the support systems was damaged inside. I can't get to it while it's on you. It's too close to your arm." Hordak gave a slight nod, figuring she could fix the system either way but wanted to give him less pain. He appreciated it.

"I... appreciate your help," Hordak spoke, looking to his left arm. Entrapta tilted her head towards him, though he didn't see it. He remained quiet for a minute, letting Entrapta remove his arm piece. She worked fast, but careful. He trusted her, so he didn't even bother to watch. She had repaired his armor before, after all. "I appreciate you too," Entrapta said after finishing, her mask still over her face. However, as Hordak turned to her, she pushed it up, her arms now holding his unattached armor piece.

She seemed quiet. "How was... the experiment?" Hordak asked slowly, attempting to make her talkative again. Even if he wanted to Relax, he wouldn't mind having her talk as he did so...

"Oh, I uh, didn't get to it yet." She spoke, a hair tendril floating by her mask, but not moving it down. She focused her gaze on the armor piece as she sat it in her cross-legged lap, her other hair tendrils working on the prying open panels in the arm.

Hordak was surprised at that. His voice showed it as well. "You were excited about it, though. What stopped you?"  he wanted to know. Did he hold her back? He was making a mess today...

"Oh. Well, I wanted to wait for my lab partner to show up. It's not fun without him, is all." Was that a bit of smugness in her voice?

Hordak turned his gaze to her again, catching her eyes glance away from him. She put her mask back down after as she pulled out her mini welder, but he caught a smile.

He felt his face warm. He watched the welding sparks illuminate her masked face, her eyes shining through the mask. 'You're staring.'

He snapped his head away, feeling his lip curl up in an attempt to scowl away the rising blush. A habit he developed to hide emotion. It didn't seem to work now, though.

He didn't scowl at Entrapta, though. He was simply embarrassed at his behavior. They were friends, yes, but his gaze seemed to linger a bit too long. He had been doing that lately.

Entrapta's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "So, uh, how we're the princesses today? I know they can be.... Uh... Princesses?" Entrapta seemed to be warming back up to herself again, but the worry lingered in her voice. "Tiresome." he sighed out, being truthful. He hated dealing with them, but it was needed for his freedom.

Entrapta lifted her mask and set her tools down, looking over the arm piece. She was silent now. Studying her face, he noticed her worry. He felt truly bad about that. He shouldn't have run off.

She moved over to his arm, ready to put the piece back on when he stopped her. "Entrapta." She looked up upon hearing his voice, the armor in her hands.

"We both seem to be tired today." He spoke slowly, thinking. She looked at him, not denying his statement, but not yet agreeing. "Maybe..." Hordak glanced away, and scooted his bare right arms next to him, placing in his other arm afterward to gaze at it. It looked as it always had.

"We should just take a break." Hordak didn't know what she'd say to that, and for some reason, he was nervous asking it. Why was that? He looked to his arm compared to his armored one to keep his gaze fixed on something.

"Sure."

(Hi there! Sorry if the chapter ended kind of abruptly, I didn't want the chapter to be too long. But it will be continued, haha. Have a great day/night!)