A disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug, if I did, there would be more of Marichat in the series.
Chapter one
"Look at the lions, Marinette, they're so beautiful!" An exuberant, blonde girl exclaimed to her best friend Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
Marinette had a wistful look on her face, almost like she wasn't mentally there, but then in a blink of an eye Marinette came back into the real world. A ghost of a smile formed upon her lips, due to a compliment of what the lions shared with Marinette, about how her friend Rose's beaming attitude would fit right in their pride. On the outside, Marinette may came off as simply ordinary and a little bit boring. However, she's far off from those distinctive characteristics because of the heavy secret she carried upon herself. At the tender age of thirteen, she saved a poor kitty from almost being run over and her life literally changed forever. An old man saw her heroic act, then granted her with magic ladybug earrings that let her communicate with animals through her mind. Marinette not only gained a magic ability to talk to animals, but the furry best friend she saved from instant death became her pet who called herself Tikki.
It was best for Marinette not to tell anyone about being an animal whisper. She sometimes took off the earrings since listening to animals minds could be quite exhausting at times. One time, she almost died of a heart attack when her mom tried on the ladybug earrings, but then her anxiety relented as the magic earrings only worked on Marinette. From then on, she decided it was best to always have them on, cause it was better to be safe than sorry. At first, it was downright weird to have animal conversations through her mind, but when she talked to Tikki it became much bearable to adapt. Marinette was not a superhero, although she always made sure that lost furry animals found their way home, and she volunteered at the animal shelters a lot.
Suddenly, a loud ruckus snapped Marinette out of her musing. She looked at Rose, who had a sour expression on her face as she gazed at the popular crowd in front of another cage. They both went towards the claustrophobic cage before pure furry consumed Marinette's entire being. This was why Marinette hated zoos-animals shouldn't be locked up like their objects, they might as well be clothing at stores to how ignorant some of these people discard the animals. Like one of her fellow classmates, Chloe the Queen Bee, who went on about how the panther's fur would look lovely on her. When Marinette got closer to the cage, she found herself stupefied at the panther's captivating green eyes.
He was a handsome beauty. His fur was black as night, his long body sheared with intimidation, and his expression looked humanly coy. This pissed her off about how Chloe wanted to hurt this poor creature. Chloe didn't appreciate the panther's wild beauty, just a mere object that should only live to sustain trivial means. Something in Marinette snapped when the panther gazed upon her. Distressed thoughts consumed her mind, which weren't her own, but of the panther's that had some understanding of what's going on.
"Really, Chloe, who do you think you are?" Marinette asked loudly with a heated glare.
Everyone became silent, including Chloe as well. The whole class grew up together and they've never seen a timid Marinette shout out like that before. However, Rose knew the fodness Marinette held for animals, so she wasn't shocked by her friend's passionate outburst.
"Yeah, Chloe, you're treating this panther like he's nothing more than a piece of clothing." Rose piqued to add fuel to Marinette's defense.
Chloe flicked a golden curl away from her dolled up face. She gave both of the girls a distasteful look and cackled like a hyena. "Oh please, animals are nothing more than to be worn or to be eaten," Chloe said with a huff while Marinette stepped towards her.
"Is that a fact, then you should be locked up in that cage, Chloe. You're acting more like an animal than an actual human being!" Marinette spat as Chloe held her hand up about to slap her. Before Chloe could smack her, a ferocious roar halted her from doing so, which came from the menacing panther. The sudden fright also made Chloe lose her balance, due to her killer high-heels where she fell ungracefully on the ground. Her peers laughed at this, but Marinette didn't, cause she was shocked for not being the clumsy one this time. Chloe got up with her head held high, cursing at the panther and then she stomped away from her embarrassed scene. People began to diverse themselves from the panther's cage, since the scene was no longer dramatic and the panther no longer held their attention.
Marinette told Rose to go on ahead of her, she would catch up to her at the fox exhibit in a bit. Rose gave her an unsure look, but respected her friend's wish who probably wanted a breather for a moment. Once Rose left, she looked at the panther and started to converse with it.
'Thanks for the roar, kitty, you really let the Queen Bee fell off her high horse.' Marinette said with an internal laugh.
'My potential mate can speak to me, what a surpuurise.' The panther dragged with a seductive purr that made her shiver.
'Mate?' Marinette asked dumbly.
He nodded at this while his gigantic; furry tail flicked back and forth. 'Why yes, you are a miraculous purrincess, how can I prove myself for you to be mine?' He questioned so seriously as he captivated her with his gaze.
Marinette found herself lost for words. No human or even an animal had ever declared such romantic feelings towards her. She blushed at this, trying to avoid his unwavered gaze.
'What's your name?' Marinette blurted suddenly, hoping this would distract him from his earlier question.
If Marinette didn't know any better, she could have sworn the panther formed a humanly grin at her question, but she decided it all must be in her head. With a flick of his tail, he beckoned her closer to the cage, she hesitantly obliged and went as close as illegally possible towards it. He gracefully prowled towards her like the predator he was. They're so close now, if she leaned her hand forward, she could touch his furry big head.
'My pack calls me Chat Noir, what do they call you my purrincess?' Marinette shivered at his subtle possessiveness of her, but instead of being turned off by it, she found herself taking comfort from it.
'My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.' She stated instantly.
Chat Noir cocked his head at her while he purred loudly at this. Slowly, ever so slowly, she gently laid her fingers on Chat's head. He closed his eyes at this while she stared awe-struck. Suddenly, he fluttered his eyes opened and she almost gasped about how human his eyes were. The way he looked at her, caged her in like she was his prey, and it wasn't the fear that kept her in place. No, it was something else that she could not put her finger on.
'I shall be breaking out of here tonight, then I shall come for you when it's safe and my pack is well adjusted.' Chat said so casually like he was discussing about the weather.
'What?' She exclaimed loudly with heavy confusion expressed on her face.
'All I can tell you is that I'm not some ordinary wild feline. Just prepare yourself when I come for you. And beware of the poachers that call themselves Akumas!' With that, he nipped her fingers affectionately, until a very small claw mark appeared on her ring finger.
She quickly put her hands away from him and stared at him perplexed. Marinette was about to fire up with questions for this peculiar feline, but her friend Rose interrupted her.
"Mari, you're still here, thank goodness! The buses are about leave without us, so come on now!" For her friend being such a tiny thing, almost pixie-like in some way, Rose pulled Marinette away with a vigorous force.
Marinette protested at this, but it fell on deaf ears for her blonde-haired friend. She glanced back at Chat, who waved goodbye to her with his gigantic paw, making Marinette more confused than ever of what she had ever known about the animal kingdom. On that note, Marinette has decided to come early tomorrow before school started, so she could confront Chat Noir's oddness. However, unknown to her, it would be futile because of what the morning news would bring to her- A panther and a fox broke out of the national zoo at midnight.
Thoughts and Thanks for Reading:}
