The Academy
Tigra woke up with a light groan as she felt something pushing against her side. Her eyes opened slowly to see a little girl with blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail with blue irises underneath her.
"Tigra, come on. We got to get ready and I can't do that with you on my tummy." A young girl with blonde hair in a small ponytail complained.
"Do we have to, 'dora?" Tigra muttered.
No sooner after she said that did she feel something, or rather someone, kick her butt, sending her flipping forward with a crash onto the ground. It didn't hurt that much, seeing as the three of them decided long ago to sleep on the bottom bunk together.
"Why so mean, Catra?"
"It's too early to hear that talk." Catra spoke, her own brown mane swinging side to side with the shake of her head, sometimes going in front of her yellow and blue heterochromatic scleras. "Besides, the sooner we go, the less likely Weaver will see us."
"Fair." Tigra sighed lightly before stretching, showing off her fur and stripes and grabbing her uniform. It consisted of a red, sleeveless shirt with white around the collar and gray shorts that went down to her knees.
A minute later, Adora has managed to pull the shirt over her blond head without messing up her ponytail.
[Adora Age: 8]
[Level 3 Relationship: Family]
Catra, meanwhile, had to shake her head to the side a few times to get some of her brown mane out of her shirt and ran her short claws through her hair, getting rid of a tangle or two with a wince.
[Catra Age: 8]
[Level 3 Relationship: Family]
As the trio finished up, something popped up to the side of her vision for Tigra.
...
[Quest Added!]
The Academy
Today is your first day of the Academy. While you and Catra seem nonchalant about it, Young Adora seems as if she's on her own quest. While not needed, it never hurts to show others where they stand with you. Will you finish the Academy like the others, or make the Academy remember the soldier later on?
Objective: Finish the Academy
Rewards: 20,000 EXP, Cadet Promotion
…
Tigra hummed softly as they finally started walking to the Academy.
"Say," Tigra started. "Want to show why we're going to be the ones to finish this war?"
"Oh? What do you have in mind?" Catra asked.
"Let's finish the Academy as the three best. Show everybody that we're going to be their bosses one day."
"Can all three of us be the boss?" Adora tilted her head to the side like she's seen them do before.
"Why not? When one of us is in charge, we can make the rules." Tigra shrugged.
"First time that I've heard of three rulers over the same kingdom." Catra commented.
"Everything has to happen once if you want it to happen at all."
They continued talking during the walk before stopping in front of the Academy before getting in line as instructed by the Greeter. They wore black pants with a gray shirt with sleeves that stopped at their elbows.
"Seeing as it's the first day, we're starting off with a practical test." The Greeter gestured towards a small obstacle course with rails, tires, and a finish line on the other side of the yard.
"There are 50 of you in this class as of now. The bottom five in this test will be expelled." He dropped a sudden bomb that shocked the whole class. "The Horde will not drag those with no skill or talent. Only the best will be allowed to serve Lord Hordak. First up!" He pointed at the kid in front.
Yet, another pop up appeared for Tigra.
...
[Quest Added!]
The First Test
You were greeted by a surprise test via an obstacle course. If you place too low, you may be expelled, denying you the chance to become a Horde Lord alongside Adora and Catra.
Objective: Complete the course without being in the bottom five.
Bonus Objective: Finish within the top 5 best times
Bonus Objective: Finish with the best time
Reward: Continued Admittance, 50 EXP, ???
Failure: Expulsion
…
'First time there's a failure to these quests.' Tigra noted. 'Failure or not, this should be easy for us.'
Tigra watched as they were called one by one, with their times averaging between 1:57 and 3:23, until he reached Adora.
"Adora." He clarified with her, which she nodded. "By now, you've seen and heard what I have said several times, correct?" Another nod. "Then you can listen again. You will grab onto the railings and swing yourself across. From there, one of your feet must go inside every tire, otherwise you must start that section over. Afterwards, you are to reach that finish line as quickly as you can. Understood?"
"Yes sir!"
"Then…Begin!"
Adora ran to the railing and jumped, grabbing the first railing. Her small body swung slightly due to her momentum before she stretched out her right hand and grabbed the next railing. She continued until she swung and let go of the last railing, rolling herself back onto her feet. She began running once more before reaching the 10 tires. It took longer than Tigra liked until Adora got out of the last tire and booked it for the finish line.
Her arms and legs moved as hard as Adora could move them and didn't stop until she ran past the finish line.
"1:43.268." Greeter muttered before writing something, the time likely, down on his paper and clipboard. "Lonnie?"
A slightly muscled girl stepped forward before getting the same spiel and off she went. She easily went through the railings and seemed to do better at the tires than Adora.
Yet Tigra knew that she found the weakness of 'Lonnie.'
She was slow. Not devastatingly so, but it reminded her of Adora's speed before she had slowly started getting faster since she hated having to catch up to her and Catra when they started really running. Especially since they had begun to explore the Fright Zone more often now that the three of them could climb more consistently without hurting themselves.
"1:54.829." Greeter muttered as he likely then wrote down.
A few more kids went. A Lizardfolk kid named Rogelio finished with 2:03.286 while a Human kid named Kyle messed up on the tires but still managed to finish with 2:41.482. If Tigra hadn't seen the other kids go already, she'd think that he would likely be in the bottom five. But she could confidently guess that he'll end up between 42nd and 35th.
"Catra." He called.
Catra walked forward before he called for her to begin. Catra took off at a jog before reaching the railings and swung herself to every other railing before reaching the other side. Catra seemed to barely notice the tires until her stride stopped as her foot almost missed one of the tires. This loss in momentum definitely cost Catra a few seconds before she exited the tires. She began sprinting the instant she left and shot past the finish line and slid to a stop.
"1:45.845." He muttered before writing it down and looked at Tigra. "I assume you're Tigra, considering that you're the only one who hasn't gone yet."
"You'd be right."
"You ready?"
"Could you repeat the process once more? I want to make sure I don't mess up something and screw up my time." She asked.
"Heh. Since you're the last one, sure. You will grab the railings and swing yourself across. After, one of your feet must go inside each tire, otherwise you restart the section. Then reach the finish line as quickly as you can. Get it?"
She nodded as her plan seemed like it would work.
"Ready…Begin!"
Instantly, Tigra started [Dashing], increasing her speed/DEX by 50% to 15, towards the railing. Instead of slowing down, she continued running and jumped. She grabbed onto the first railing and used her current momentum and let go. She soared across the railings underneath before rolling once she landed.
Instead of [Dashing] once again, she began [Running], only increasing her speed/DEX by 25% to 12.5. Yet that was exactly what she needed in order to not accidentally skip a tire.
She quickly put one foot into the tire. By the time her other was going into the second, her other foot had already begun moving towards the next. She barely slowed since she entered the first tire before leaving the last one.
This time, she began [Dashing] once more, putting her back at her top speed as she made a mad sprint for the finish line. She zoomed past it and stopped [Dashing], lightly jogging to slow her momentum and not slam into one of her classmates.
She breathed slightly heavier as she glanced at her Stamina.
STM: 62/75
'It was likely over 1:30, but hopefully not by much.' She thought.
[Dashing] seemed to be taking 12 STM per minute while [Running] seemed to only take 8 per minute.
A bottle suddenly appeared in front of her vision. She followed the bottle and saw Catra was the one holding it out to her while Adora seemed to be excitedly talking about how fast she was.
She took the bottle before taking a small drink and giving it back.
"Thanks. Think we made our mark? I think only two others were maybe as fast as us."
"You definitely did. While I don't know what your time was, you likely beat mine. Only because I stumbled on those stupid tires."
"You were so fast. I thought I was finally catching up."
Tigra lightly smacked her shoulder.
"Hey, you leave speed to us, and we'll leave the strength to you."
"Yeah, just wait until you can show everyone your best area. Today just happened to be ours." Catra agreed.
"Quiet down." Greeter walked over before looking at his clipboard. "The names I call out, leave and you can try again here next year. Lyle, Terran, Yuro, Ghan, Laye. Your times were atrocious. This Academy is for those that may become Force Captains in the future. You still have two weeks before the other Academies open up for regular training. Dismissed."
As the others began to leave, Greeter spoke up.
"Except for Tigra, Catra, Adora, Lonnie, and Luxion."
Luxion seemed to be a human boy who stood at a height between Catra and Tigra.
"The five of you held the fastest times today. Luxion, you finished with 1:57. Lonnie, 1:53. Catra, 1:45. Adora, 1:43." He listed off before looking at Tigra. "Tigra, you finished with a time of 1:39. I'm expecting a lot of good things from you five. Dismissed."
Lonnie and Luxion left quietly while Adora practically tackled Tigra off of her feet with a short gah before she hit the ground.
"We did it! We finished in the top three." Adora happily spoke.
"Catra, help?"
Catra looked down at the mess of limbs before smirking.
"Nah, I think you've got this, Ms. Number 1."
Tigra groaned before dropping her head onto the ground before looking at the notification.
[Quest [The First Test] Complete!]
Bonus Objective: Finish top 5
Bonus Objective: Finish 1st
Rewards: 50 EXP, 100 EXP, Attention from Administration
…
[Dashing] has gained 30 EXP
[Running] has gained 8 EXP
…
They had almost made it back to the barrack when Tigra felt her fur begin to stand as her body tensed slightly, preparing itself to either run or fight. She has been told a few times how it looks to someone seeing it.
Her fur starts to stand in a wave-like motion that seems to start at her shoulder blades before expanding across her body. Her ears quickly shoot backward until they practically blend in with her hair. Her pupils contract into almost needles and her breathing gets ever so slightly faster. Her tail also wraps around either her waist or leg. More times than not, her leg. A final tell for when she seems to be truly on edge is that her body's stance gets lower to the ground, as if preparing to either pounce on something or to suddenly start running.
Catra noticed Tigra's body tense and about asked when a voice drew out.
"Hello girls." A woman with floating black hair, a crimson dress, and a mask spoke. "I need to speak with Tigra for a moment."
[Shadow Weaver Age: 50]
[Level: 75 Relationship: Dislike]
"Shadow Weaver!" Adora exclaimed. "We, uh…"
"Adora, dearie. She'll be back in a moment. Come along, Tigra." Shadow Weaver turned and started floating away.
"You girls go ahead and get some rest. I doubt this will actually be quick." Tigra told before following Shadow Weaver.
...
It took about five minutes to walk where they ended up where Shadow Weaver spends most of her time with that large, red gem. After seeing it so many times, Tigra knew its name by heart now: The Black Garnet. Some kind of magical gem that Shadow Weaver uses in a similar manner as a battery for her magic.
"I received an interesting report from the Academy." Weaver started off. "Would you like to guess what I found so interesting?"
"Catra, Adora, and I ended up with the top 3 fastest times?"
"No, if there's one thing you strays are good at, it's running."
Tigra barely caught herself from growling at that name. If there was a word that ignited her anger the most, is being called a stray. Implying that she was on the same level as an animal seen as a pet that someone did not want.
"No. What I found interesting is that your time was ahead of hers."
"Well, it's like you just said. I'm good at running."
That was the wrong thing to say if her instincts had to say so, considering that they practically yelled danger.
Weaver's eyes somehow narrowed through the mask and Tigra began to smell a familiar scent. Something that always had a bad reputation with her.
Ozone.
Tigra had only just begun to move when Weaver struck.
Red lightning flashed from her hand and struck her, causing her to let out a cry of pain as she fell to the floor.
"You've seemed to have forgotten that I know I can be less gentle with you compared to the other pest." She spoke demeaningly. "While I can't find out the reason just why you have such an advanced healing factor, I still know about it. I can simply re correct your behavior and actions and need to wait roughly 10-15 minutes. At which point, you seem as if it never happened."
Another stream of lightning struck and continued striking as her cries of pain continued. It stopped nearly a minute later, leaving Tigra curled up, twitching from the leftover electricity.
HP: 24/150 HPR: 15/m
"Honestly, you seem smart for a stray, yet you continue to keep acting out." Weaver sighed, as though this was Tigra's fault. "Just because you seem like you haven't learned, you have two more corrective attempts before I send you back."
Tigra could only slightly twitch and glare at Weaver. She couldn't try to escape or run. To run from Weaver was to run from the Horde. Tigra simply can't do that. She has nowhere to run to, she has no plan on what to do after, but those weren't the more important parts.
She didn't know how to get Catra or Adora out with her if she left.
'They wouldn't leave without me, so I'm not leaving them alone here with her.' Tigra thought. 'Even if that means I have to endure this hell.'
Electricity swarmed through her once again after a few minutes.
...
It had gone longer than Weaver told. Instead of the usual 20 minutes or even 30, she had gone through an entire hour of that hell. Her fur still slightly standing from the lightning and had only just started going down.
She glanced at her HP and noticed that she has another 2 minutes before she is back to perfect and can hide this from them decently.
Adora doesn't fully know what goes on behind those doors. The worst that Adora seemed to get from Weaver was emotional manipulation. Something that could be just as bad as the lightning in the long run. The last thing she wanted was for Adora to do something and have Weaver take it out on her even more.
Because if Adora knew about this, she would do something.
Catra though, Tigra is worried that she's starting to understand that something strange is up, if her stares and looks of curiosity were anything to indicate, and Tigra is worried just how far Catra's mind will reach before grasping an answer that makes sense to her.
And not that Tigra, her childhood friend, can heal from nearly anything in 10 minutes. She could still bleed out as that can stall or overrun her healing factor if bad enough.
Tigra came out of her thinking and saw that it should be done by the time she got back to the barracks. When she did return, she's glad she waited as Catra grabbed her arm and pulled her in with a surprised noise before Adora shut the door behind her.
"Are you hurt? In pain? Tired?" Catra asked rapidly, looking over her body.
"Not until someone yanked my arm. Someone just yanked my arm. I could use a nap." Tigra answered.
"What did Shadow Weaver want?" Adora asked.
"Something about her not being happy with my time in the exercise course. Said that I should have been faster."
"Faster!? You are already the fastest person in our class!"
"Not fast enough for Shadow Weaver though."
Tigra started getting ready for the 'night,' which is simply power being turned off to certain barracks to simulate actual night time, before snapping her fingers, causing a small Flame to appear on her finger.
"Does doing that actually help you with controlling your magic?" Adora asked, sitting on their bed as Catra continued watching Tigra closely.
"Yeah." Tigra spoke softly before the rest of her fingers on that hand gained a small Flame as well. "It also is relaxing. Like taking a nap to rest your tired muscles. However, this likely won't help with my control after tonight. Despite learning this not too long ago, it's…really basic."
[Flame] has leveled up!
[Flame] has been maxed!
[Flame] will no longer increase control. However, due to maxing [Flame] out, WIS is increased by 3!
Tigra
LV 2 (250/300)
MP: 130 MPR: 22
WIS: 11
Magical Control: 6%
[Flame LV MAX - Cost: 1 MP/m]
[Fire LV 3 (78/300) - Cost: 17 MP/m
Att. Points: 5
Skill Points: 1
…
Tigra stopped supplying Flame magic and the small flames went out, returning the barracks to the darkness with a faint green light on to let those without Night Vision still see enough to move about. She turned to the duo before raising an eyebrow.
"I'm guessing I'm sleeping in the middle this time?"
"Think of it as your reward for placing first." Catra threw out.
"Alright. I thought about a small celebration, but I'll be honest. I'm actually feeling tired."
"You were with Weaver for over an hour." Catra pointed out. "I'd be more surprised if you weren't."
Tigra got onto the bed before Adora laid down on her left and Catra made her way down.
"Heeeey." Tigra drew out, faking hurt in her voice. "Is it that bad sleeping next to me that you'd rather sleep down there?"
"Don't you punch in your sleep?"
"No, that's Dor. I kick."
A year ago, Adora had a bit of a fit while sleeping and had elbowed Catra in her side and had accidentally punched Tigra in the face hard enough for her to roll over and fall off of the bunk, all while holding her face.
Safe to say, Catra doesn't take any chances with Adora unless Tigra is acting as the buffer.
However, Catra will also sleep next to Tigra once she found out Tigra kicks in her sleep if she has one of her rare restless nights. While Tigra couldn't explain it, the dreams on those nights always felt like she was running away from something.
Which usually resulted in Tigra accidentally kicking Catra, which always got an apology from Tigra once she learned that she had another restless night.
Catra blinked before nodding and laid down on Tigra's right and the situation quickly turned into a snuggle fest.
After all, they were alone in this barrack for now. They know that that will change soon with the Academy starting up. But Tigra ignores that in favor of enjoying this moment.
[Reputation with Adora has increased. 45→47 [Family]]
[Reputation with Catra has increased. 52→53 [Family]]
As she drifted off, she noticed one of her oldest skills and it always made her terrified of Shadow Weaver.
[Electrical Resistance] gained 512 experience.
[Electrical Resistance LV 16 (570/1600) - Reduces damage taken from electrical attacks by 16 %]
[Reputation with Shadow Weaver has decreased. -28→-30 [Dislike]]