Adora falls asleep; Angella mothers.
~~~
Adora liked to pride herself on her general etiquette. She was (nearly) always on time, always looked together, her hair was always smoothly back, her shirt was always wrinkle-free and she was always respectful.

She didn't have a choice in that end one there. If there were anything but back in the Horde, depending on their rank and severity of the disrespect, they'd get anything from latine duty to a public beating. Adora had been on the receiving end of the beating so many times, that eventually, the hits and thumps stopped hurting. Catra, even more so.

As Squadron Leader and later Force Captain - though she wasn't one for long enough to do anything, Adora often took the heat for her squad. Usually revolving around Catra and Lonnie. Same with the praise, in that respect. If, for example, Lonnie did something particularly impressive, Adora would take the praise from Shadow Weaver, who, in turn, would take the praise from Hordak.

After a particularly bad beating, one that rendered her with minor internal bleeding and a concussion, Adora took it upon herself to forcibly train the disrespect out of her squad; if nothing but for her health. Lonnie was less than pleased when she was handed latrine duty for the fifth time in a month, and Catra less so for training in the rain.

It took some adjusting when she first moved to Brightmoon, and the lack of immediate respect for Angella (on Glimmer's side) but she took it within her stride.

Adora had been struggling to sleep, truth be told. Her mind often spun when she was overexerted or emotionally drained. She'd been up all night long, formulating battle plans and contingency backups for when they made their next move. As She-Ra, that was her job. She was the heaviest hitter; and the only one with true training, or real battle experience.

At least the Horde were good for one thing in the end.

~

The birds were singing as the smell of coffee wafted into Adora's bedroom. She shot awake, peeling away a sheet of paper. She stretched widely, sighing as her back popped. She yawned, glancing out of the window. The sun was high, higher than her usual wake-up time...

"SHIT!"

She grabbed the papers and ran, not caring if she'd even remembered shoes. Nobody would be looking at her feet anyway. She skidded to a stop, just outside of the double doors to the War room, rubbing her eyes to rid them of any residue of sleep.

"Whoa," A monotonous voice said. "I didn't know your hair could even do that," Adora narrowed her eyes, thrusting the papers at the sea Princess. She grunted. Adora began to scrape her hair into its signature ponytail. "Unlike some people, I was working all night," She yawned again. "Can't we tell," Mermista drawled, dumping the papers onto the windowsill. Adora leaned against it, pinching the bridge of her nose tightly. "Oh my!"

She repressed a sigh. "Adora, you don't look well... did you sleep properly last night?" Adora sighed softly and forced a smile onto her face. "I slept," She lied. Perfuma narrowed her eyes slightly. "Are you sure? You look very tired... perhaps you should miss today's meeting," She put a gentle hand on Adora's shoulder. The blonde resisted another yawn. "I'm ok. I was planning a lot of the night. I can't sleep when my brain wants to be busy," Adora shrugged. "I promise I'll sleep tonight. I've got no plans to do anything,"

Perfuma sighed softly. "If you ever need assistance in sleeping, I know plenty of meditation rituals to release the melatonin properly," Adora smiled and patted her hand. "Thank you. I might just take you up on that,"

~

Adora found it surprisingly hard to stay awake during the meeting. Her head found relief by resting against the wall behind, something her sore neck was thankful for. During the most recent fight with Catra, a little over three days ago, Adora had been thrown into a tree. Her entire body ached for hours. Her ribs still hurt slightly, as did her neck. She must've had whiplash.

She sighed softly. "Adora? You have battle plans for us?" That sentence drove enough energy into her body as she stood. "Yes, Your Majesty. I also have contingency and backup plans in case things go south," She displayed the papers. "Which they usually do," Mermista snarked. Adora levelled her with a glare. She talked through her plans and how they would work; everyone's role depended on the success of the move before. In Adora's case, she was to keep Catra busy enough to forget the others while Mermista flooded the bots, which would lead to Frosta freezing them, and the ground around, which would lead to Perfuma making a blockade and trapping any single soldiers on their side, which lead to Bow and Glimmer taking out the other surrounding soldiers. Should Adora be successful in keeping Catra busy, Spinnerella and Netossa would come in, trap and detain her while Adora finished off the remaining bots, outside the blockade.

Angella seemed satisfied with the plans, reading through them personally. "And the contingency plans? What of the backups as well?" Adora pushed forward another piece of paper. "I have Mermista starting the chain for several reasons. If it goes wrong, Frosta can easily take over with the same results, and so could Perfuma. All three could easily swap roles with no further change," She said. Angella pointed to her daughter. "What of my daughter? What if her role is compromised?" Adora nodded to Bow. "Glimmer and Bow could swap roles as well, though it would limit the speed in which it's done, as Bow can't teleport," Angella nodded once. "And Catra? If you cannot keep her occupied?"

Adora sighed softly. "That's why I have Spinny and Netossa on standby - if I fail to keep her in one place, they can easily back me up and net her up," She sat back down, swallowing thickly, feeling the room heat up at the mention of the Horde co-leader. "Alternatively, we could, just like, kill her? I could drown her quickly," Mermista's monotonous voice rang. Adora spun, ready to snap at her, when Angella cleared her throat. "We do not murder people, Mermista... not even those who truly deserve it,"

Adora's head dropped against Bow's shoulder as the meeting continued for several more hours.
(It was an hour)

At some point, her eyes slid shut, though not of her own volition. She tried to keep them awake, but they burned. So she shut them, momentarily... only for... for a....sec...on..d..

At some point, she was somewhat aware of being moved, but nothing screamed danger, so she fell back into slumber.

It was several hours later that she finally woke up. There was a delicate finger running its finger up and down her cheek; caressing it, almost. For a second, Adora's heart panicked, thinking it was Shadow Weaver, caressing her. "I don't know why you protect that vermin, Adora... you suffer so deeply for her,"

But there was no lingering cold left in the wake of the finger, no hissing shadows, no dark room, just soft, comfortable silence. "Are you awake, Adora?" A soft voice whispered. Her mouth felt dry as she slowly sat up, feeling incredibly disorientated. She hadn't even felt that disorientated after the virus back in Dryl. She smacked her lips softly, licking them. She rubbed her eyes, stretching with a yawn. "I'm up, I'm up," She mumbled. There was a soft tinkle of laughter to her left.

Adora froze with her arms up high.

"I am glad you had a good rest, but you still look very tired. Perhaps you should miss training today, and sleep some more?" Adora refused to meet the eyes of Angella, despite her leaning forward. "I am... so sorry, Your Majesty. I-I didn't mean to fall asleep," She fumbled. Angella placed a delicate hand atop Adora's shoulder. "Breathe, Adora. I am not mad," She spoke. Adora finally looked over. "I know how hard you have been working, and what you have been working through, to bring us to victory... I also know you have a tendency to neglect your health to help everybody else?" Angella asked, raising an eyebrow. Adora glanced away. Angella stood. "Come. I will walk you to your room," She paused, holding her hand out. "Where you will sleep for as long as you need,"

Adora took her hand but walked in silence. They passed many rooms, a few of which Angella lightly commented on. As they reached her room, which was now symbolised by She-Ra's sword engraved into the wood with her name written in cursive underneath, Angella touched her shoulder. "Just so you can have a clear mind, Adora,"

Adora paused. "I did not mind you sleeping on my shoulder earlier," Angella smiled softly. Adora ignored the way her heart did something strange. "In fact, it reminded me of when my Glimmer was a baby... she was always sleeping in my arms," Adora smiled softly in return. "Um... you're uh... yeah," She mumbled. Angella huffed softly. "Please, sleep. I have come to see you as one of my own, Adora. And I do not let my own suffer in ways you have... so... please rest,"

Adora gave another small smile, promising she would.

If she slid down the back of the door, sobbing furiously afterwards, Angella didn't hear.

(she did, but she never brought it up... in fact, Angella often sat close to Adora, or had the blonde near her. Angella enjoyed the rare moments of vulnerability Adora showed; it made her feel wanted. And if the girl wanted protection and love, then by all the powers on Etheira, Angella would give it to her... even if she didn't ask)