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Word Count: 2406
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A/N: It has been hectic around my house lately, (holiday season and all) so it will be a little while between chapters. Man, I am having so much fun writing @goodboiboomer-fc5 ‘s Catlina, haha that time I got it right, and I hope you like the direction this is going, and please, feel free to give me notes
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Summary: Percy tries to get Catlina to trust her, and learns a little about the other woman’s past.
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Percy walked around the clearing, following John's instructions on how to set up the wards he had given her. He had finally had a break through with the enchanting on the projects bullets, and didn't want to lose steam, even for something as important as training. He had given Percy an apologetic glance, before allowing himself a lingering look at Catlina, who seemed disappointed that it would just be her and Percy.
"Okay, remember, we don't want you to hurt yourself, or push yourself to far," Percy reminded, and Catlina nodded.
"I know," she said, standing in the middle of the clearing, facing Percy. She looked more nervous than she had the last time they had come out, and she turned away from Percy to start building the star. Percy watched as Catlina created a star, only looking away when it got so bright that it enveloped Catlina completely.
Catlina let out a heavy gasp as the star petered out. Percy rushed to her, easily catching her as her knee's buckled. Percy helped her over to a rock, sitting her down. She pulled out a granola bar and opened it for Cat, putting it into her hand.
"We can take a break," Percy suggested, and Catlina nodded, chewing a mouthful of granola bar. "It's pretty cool that you can make stars," Percy said after a few moments of silence, chuckling as she looked down at a scar on her hand.
"It's caused me nothing but trouble," Cat said, frowning at the granola bar in her hand. Percy looked over at her and frowned. "It has destroyed my life more times than I can count. It put a target on my back," she paused, and Percy thought she was done talking, opening her mouth to offer a few words of comfort, but stopped when Catlina continued. "It even cost me my husband."
"You were married," Percy asked, surprised by the information. Catlina nodded, folding the wrapper back around the granola bar before pulling a knee up to her chest so she could rest her chin on it.
"Yeah," she said. She briefly looked bitterly sad, but it was quickly covered with a mask of indifference, showing Percy just how much Cat didn't trust her. Percy swallowed hard, rubbing her hands down her jeans awkwardly.
"I was twenty-one," Percy said, leaning forwards to her elbows rested on her knees, "it was my first mission with the Silent Fang. I was over eager, or not cautious enough, I don't really remember, but I got caught. I was subjected to all kinds of torture, and the really fucked up part was that I would heal, and they could just make the same cuts, the same strikes the next time, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I was on autopilot.
"Jacob saved me. He was sent in by the Fangs to recover my body and any operation secrets I may have let out. He was surprised to find me alive, and honestly, so was I." Percy looked over at Catlina and sat up straight. "That's how I met Jacob. He broke into my cell, killed my torturers, and carried me out of the facilities in his arms." She paused and took a deep breath. "Catlina, I want you to trust me. Not for anything as noble as me saving your life, but because I think you need someone you can trust. Having your life ripped away from you like that, time and time again, it destroys a part of you." Catlina nodded, taking a deep breath.
"Is that you trying to get me to open up," she asked, and Percy shrugged.
"No," she said honestly, "it was me just trying to get you to trust me. The only people that know that actual story are me and Jacob. And now you. I don't want you to share your life story, unless you want to. Catlina," Percy paused to gather her words, "I'm not gonna pretend to know what you've gone through, I've never lost anyone like that, but I'm here for you. I promise." Catlina nodded, letting the words sink in for a minute before standing up.
"I think I can try one more time," she said, taking on a bracing stance to prepare herself for the star.
~*~*~*~
Catlina sat and rested while Percy carefully removed the wards, not wanting to leave any trace of magic the Project would be able to track. She had finally removed the last one when Percy heard a twig snap. The noise was loud enough that it caught both women's attention. They turned towards the noise and stilled, waiting for whatever made the noise to present itself.
"Cat," Percy said quietly, walking over to her quickly. Catlina stood, not taking her eyes off of the trees where they had heard the sound. Percy grabbed Cat's arm, preparing herself for dragging Catlina after her as she took off along the top of the hill. Percy took a deep breath, ready to bolt as what looked like a couple stepped out of the trees.
They were dressed for a hike, with matching headbands and fleece vests. The man was wearing tan cargo shorts with sock pulled up almost to his knees. The woman wore shorts that barely went down her thighs and her face was sweaty enough that it was obvious that she wasn't used to hiking if the short shorts hadn't been a dead giveaway.
"Morning," the man said with a wave and a friendly smile.
"Good Morning," Percy said, doing her best to match his enthusiasm at meeting strangers on their trail. The woman leaned forward, resting her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. It didn't take Percy more than a few seconds to realize that the couple weren't a threat to them, and she relaxed.
"I'm glad to see that we're not the only ones taking advantage of the beautiful day," he said, casually leaning against his walking stick.
"Yeah," Percy said, glancing over at Catlina to make sure she was okay, "we're camped down in the valley, thought we'd come up here and take in the view." At a glance, Cat looked relaxed, but Percy could see the tension in her shoulders. She was wound tighter than small dog that had been kept inside all night, like at the first chance, she was going to be gone in the blink of an eye.
The man scratched the back of his head and looked around, taking a deep breath. "Could you point us back in the direction of the trail. We seem to have lost it?" Percy chuckled and nodded.
"It's east about a quarter mile," she said, pointing back down the hill. "And be careful. It's easy to get turned around up here." The man smiled and waved at Percy.
"Thanks so much. I really appreciate it. You two take care," he said, turning away from Percy and Cat. The woman looked grateful that their uphill hike was over, and didn't even wait for the man before heading back towards the trail. Percy looked back at Cat who, even though the couple were gone, still hadn't relaxed.
"We should get back," she said, turning back in the direction of the den. Percy grabbed her shoulder and stopped her.
"You're right," she said, "but we can't go back the way we came. In case we're followed. If they aren't as innocent as they seemed, we don't want to lead them directly back to the den. If they're following us, we'll be able to lead them away and take care of them." Percy let go of Cat and headed down the other side of the hill, in the direction she had told the couple they had set up their camp. Cat shook her head, glancing over her shoulder at the couple before following Percy down the hill.
They hiked down into the valley where Percy had said they were camping. Neither of them spoke, keeping their ears open, stopping every couple of minutes to make sure they weren't being followed. Percy took the lead, happy to see that Cat had no trouble keeping up. They walked the valley floor for an hour before Percy stopped for a rest near a creek.
"Is something wrong," Cat asked, and Percy shook her head, leaning against a tree.
"No, I just need a rest. I guess I'm still not at one hundred percent after getting shot." Cat nodded, looking back towards the way they had come. "They didn't follow us," Percy assured, confident that she would have heard or spotted them if they had.
"I know," Cat said, wrapping her arms around herself, "but what if they had seen what we were doing?" Percy chewed her lip for a second and shook her head.
"That's what the wards were for. They'd have disguised us from both Josephs cameras and people just stumbling onto us." Cat didn't seem convinced, but she didn't voice any other worries about it. Percy could see that her words hadn't soothed the other woman's concerns, and she'd have been lying if she said she didn't understand why. How long had Cat spent looking over her shoulder to make sure she was safe?
"We should get going," Percy said softly, and they hiked back to the den. Catlina was silent, but she kept looking over her shoulder. Percy let them walk in silence until they reached the lift that dropped down into the bunker. She grabbed Cat's arm and made her face her.
"I meant it when I said I was here for you. If you need anything, Catlina, just let me know." Percy made sure her face was open and honest, needing Catlina to believe her.
"Thanks," Cat says as the lift begins it's decent into the bunker. Percy frowned and let go of her arm, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets.
~*~*~*~
"How did she do," John asked, still bent over the blue prints he was drawing up.
"She did really well," Percy said, drumming her fingers against the ceramic mug in her hands with the rhythm of her bouncing knee. "She's progressing fast, but I still don't think she's giving it everything." John nodded, humming quietly as he finished writing down the notes he needed.
"She isn't a fighter, Percy," John said, turning to her. "She isn't like you and Jacob." Percy looked up at him and frowned.
"What what does that mean, John," she asked, her fingers and knee stopping. John frowned back at her and shook his head.
"That mean's she doesn't see herself as a weapon, Percila and she isn't going to just let you turn her into one. And neither am I." Percy set her mug down and stood up, glaring at John.
"I'm not trying to turn her into a weapon, John. But you cannot deny that if she doesn't know how to properly control her gift, then she is a danger to not only us, to herself." Percy had to focus on not yelling at him so they couldn't be overheard from outside the work shop. "Believe me, I don't want her to be a weapon. But the attack at the mall just proves how unstable her powers are." John frowned, but he didn't argue.
"She isn't a weapon," he said again, turning from Percy and walking out of his work shop. Percy let out a slow breath through her nose, picking up her mug. She took a long sip from her drink, looking up when Jacob walked into the room.
"Are you okay," he asked, and Percy nodded, setting her mug back down.
"Yeah," she said, sure he could see through her lie. She was obviously agitated. Her shoulders were tense and her posture was rigid.
"Do you need to talk about it," he asked, and Percy shook her head, tensing more when Jacob grabbed her hand. "Percy," he said, his voice soft and gentle like it got when he was trying to sweet talk her.
"I'm fine," she said, but when she met his eyes, she knew he didn't buy it. "It was just an argument with John." Jacob smiled softly and cupped Percy's face in his hands, leaning close enough that Percy could smell the coffee on his breath.
"You shouldn't let him get to you," he said softly, and Percy rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. He's mostly just full of hot air." He pressed his lips against Percy's forehead before pulling away from her. "How was your hike?"
Percy looked up at him, trying to gauge if he knew what her and Catlina had actually been doing. But if he did, nothing on his face gave it away.
"It was good," she said, picking up her mug again. "We hiked up to the next hilltop and then back down into the valley. We even met a couple of hikers who had gotten lost." Jacob gave her skeptical look and she chuckled, understanding the thought that had just gone through his head without him needing to voice it. "We made sure we weren't followed back to the bunker."
"I wasn't worried," he said, and he almost sounded like he believed it himself. "We should head out later," he said, and Percy nodded.
"We should," she agreed, "it'd be good for you to get a real feel for out surroundings. I'll catch up with you in a bit, I have to go talk to Joseph." Jacob nodded, and they both walked out of John's work shop.
Percy headed towards Josephs room, knocking on the door before letting herself in. Joseph was sitting on his bed, his legs crossed under him with his hands resting on his knees as he meditated. Percy hadn't seen him without a shirt often, and the number of his tattoos always took her by surprise. He smiled as she let the door close behind her and slowly opened his eyes.
"What can I do for you, Percila." She shook her head. She hated it when people used her full name, but at least when he did it, it wasn't because he was trying to annoy her. He gestured to a folding chair across from his bed, offering her a seat. As soon as she sat down, her knee started bouncing and her fingers went to drumming against her mug.
"I need a favor," she said, taking a deep breath.
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