Adrien couldn't sleep.
He was tired after the long day, especially having climbed the lightning rod, but his mind wouldn't rest. Nino said Adrien might be home sick. Adrien doubted that. Didn't someone have to like their home to miss it? Well, he did miss Natalie. She wasn't the warmest person, but she was always there when Adrien needed her. As far back as Adrien could think Natalie had been there, even when his mother was still around. Adrien sat up trying to distract himself with something. His eyes fell on Nino.
Adrien watched as Nino worked at his music desk. Adrien watched to know the purpose of all the buttons and knobs, but he didn't want to bother his roommate. Adrien liked the music Nino was playing. The beat made him want to get up and dance. Nino took off his headphones and sighed. He wasn't happy with the song.
Adrien asked if Nino played any instruments. Nino said he did. Adrien asked which instrument he played. Nino smiled, brightening up the room. He turned off the music then faced Adrien, before he answered.
"The better question is what don't I play," Nino said. Nino started listing off instruments he knew how to play: the guitar, the drums, the piano, the saxophone, the violin, the harp, and many instruments Adrien had never even heard of. Adrien couldn't hide his amazement. Learning one instrument was hard. Learning so many had to take a real musical genius. Nino leaned forward, one hand under his chin, as Adrien praised him. "Yea, I guess I'm pretty awesome. Oh, I've been meaning to ask you about magic." Nino continued on to say knowing everyone's style of magic would help them be a better team.
"Actually," Adrien said, "I don't really have a style."
"Yea?" Nino said.
Adrien nodded. He swallowed wondering if Nino's response would be negative.
Someone knocked at the door. Adrien jumped up and opened the door to see Marinette standing there. She was in her pajamas. Her hair was down. Adrien noticed the freckles on her nose. They were cute. Marinette greeted Adrien with a smile. She didn't seem tired. She seemed energized. Marinette wanted to know if Nino was awake.
Adrien told Marinette, Nino was awake. He turned around to Nino and announced Marinette's arrival. Adrien felt silly because he was sure Nino could already hear Marinette from his desk. The room was not large. Adrien wouldn't be surprised if Nino could also see Marinette. Nino got up and walked to the door. Adrien moved out of the way. Marinette asked him to join her on a walk. Nino got his shoes and left with Marinette.
The room was quiet.
Adrien sat down on his bed. He tried to get to sleep, but failed. As he tried to get comfortable, Adrien replayed the day in his head. He remembered the book Felix had given him. Adrien pulled it out of his bag. He opened the book.
Everything went black.
A creature with green eyes appeared in front of him. Adrien stared into it's big green eyes as the world returned to color. Adrien's breath caught in his throat. He wasn't sure how to react. The creature zipped around the room. It crashed into a bunch of things, knocking some of Nino's pictures off the wall in the process. Adrien followed after it fixing the mess it was making. After a few laps around the room it fell into Adrien's bed. Adrien picked it up. He asked if it was okay. It said it was starving. Adrien asked the creature what type of food it wanted. It told Adrien to take it to Felix, he knew. Then it fainted in his hands.
Adrien knocked on Felix's door. Felix opened the door. He was dressed in a suit instead of sleepwear. Felix was surprised Adrien was there so late. Adrien showed him the creature.
Felix frowned.
"Plagg," Felix said, "knock it off."
Plagg jumped up. After calling Felix 'no fun', he flew into Felix's room. Felix grimaced at the clattering and banging coming from his room. Felix entered his room, inviting Adrien inside. Plagg was knocking over all of Felix's belongings. Plagg seemed to be searching for something. He flew under the bed and returned with a hunk of cheese. He flew up to Adrien.
"Alright, Adrien," Plagg said With a grin, "Mission accomplished, back to your room."
Adrien asked Felix about Plagg. Plagg got offended and said he could talk for himself. Adrien asked Plagg to explain what he was and the purpose of the book. Plagg yawned. He landed on Adrien's head and told him Felix could explain everything. Before either Adrien or Felix could object, Plagg was asleep. Felix cast a spell returning his room back to it's original state. Felix offered to walk Adrien back to his room.
As they walked, Felix explained that Plagg was the fairy of the book of Destruction. The book was a piece of a set of spellbooks that granted great magic to it's user. The book of Destruction was meant to be paired with the book of Creation.
"But if you're the owner of the book, why did you give it to me?" Adrien said.
"I was the owner," Felix said, "but you're chosen now. As far as I'm concerned I was just holding it for you."
"He did consider taking the book and running away," Plagg said, "but then he chickened out." Felix glared at Plagg.
They arrived at Adrien's room. Felix told Adrien to get some sleep. Adrien still couldn't sleep, so he leafed through the book of Destruction. He couldn't read a single word of it. He tried to ask Plagg about it. Plagg was sleeping. Adrien sighed and laid down too.
Adrien woke up to loud knocking. He sat up. Nino wasn't there. Adrien trudged to the door and opened it. Chloe was standing there in a sun dress and large hat. Her mage robe was over the dress. She had a large bag at her side. She asked why Adrien wasn't dressed yet. Adrien asked what was going on. Chloe frowned. Adrien couldn't see her eyes behind her sunglasses, but knew she was glaring.
"We don't have classes today," Chloe said, "I told you I made plans for us."
"Right," Adrien said, "you did mention that." Chloe walked in. She opened up Adrien's dresser and pulled out clothes. She threw them at him.
"Get dressed, loser," Chloe said. Her harsh tone surprised Adrien a bit. "Like now," she said, pushing Adrien out of his room.
Adrien walked to the shower. Chloe trailing behind him. He asked if her friend was coming too.
"Sabrina?" Chloe said, "No, she's not coming. She's guarding my stuff from that Marinette."
Adrien asked why Chloe needed her stuff guarded. Chloe wasn't listening. She turned on the shower and shoved Adrien in fully clothed. It was freezing. Adrien jumped out. He was dripping everywhere. Chloe burst out laughing. She dried him off with a spell. Adrien thanked her. Chloe pushed him back. It was warm this time. Chloe threw his shower basket at him and told him to hurry. Adrien peeled off his soaked clothing. His father wouldn't be happy with this. Adrien blinked. His father would never know about this.
As Adrien stood under the water, his mind wandered to the book of Destruction. According Felix it was a powerful book of spells, dangerous in the wrong hands. Adrien wondered why he was trusted with such a book. He couldn't think for too long before Chloe told him to finish up or she'd come in there. Adrien sighed. It was going to be a long day.
Marinette and Nino were in the training area. The night before, Marinette asked Nino to help her train. She said a friend, she didn't specify who, told her that good magic started with a healthy body. She wanted to get back in to kick boxing, which she hadn't done much of in the last year. Nino smiled at her. He'd thought the duel with Chloe might have crushed her, but she seemed to be in a good mood. Nino hadn't seen her so energized in a while.
When Nino brought up the battle Marinette said she'd get another chance to to battle Chloe, but first she wanted to battle herself.
"My inner negativity I mean," Marinette said, "I've been beating myself up a lot for a long time. I need to start healing from all of that." Nino agreed to help though he wasn't sure what help he'd be. He'd didn't know anything about kickboxing. He wasn't complaining though. He liked spending time with Marinette.
Marinette adjusted her kickboxing gloves. She told Nino this would be good for both of them. Nino could work on his reflexes, while Marinette built her endurance and strength. Her hair was pulled into a bun and her eyes blazed with determination. She told Nino to prepare himself. Nino held up targets. Marinette got in a fighting stance.
"Wait," Nino said. Marinette relaxed. "Before we start, I'd like to remind you that I do not have the muscle of Kim, Ivan, or Alix, so don't hurt me."
Marinette laughed and agreed to try not to hurt him. Nino had only partly been joking. After Nino received a thorough thrashing, Marinette thanked him for his help. They went to the showers. Marinette talked about training every morning. She sounded really excited about it. Nino smiled. She hadn't been this excited in a while.
To get to Sunstone city, Adrien and Chloe had to take a lift to the bottom of the steppe. The school was position high above the city. Chloe pointed to buildings as the ride continued. Adrien looked on asking questions, which Chloe didn't really answer. He'd never been to a mage town before. When their ride ended, Chloe grabbed his arm and pulled him through a crowd of people.
Adrien looked at Sunstone City in awe. He'd never been to a magic city before. He wasn't sure what to expect. There were plants everywhere. Vines wrapped around buildings, roots curved out of sidewalks, and trees popped up from rooftops. The sidewalks were stone paths with varied sizes and shapes. The streets were made of rich soil.
Chloe linked arms with Adrien, touring him around the city. The streets were filled with people in colorful fabrics. Adrien noticed only two styles of dress. Mages in traditional clothing. Historically mages wore robes, capes, or cloaks with a belt. The other mages wore modern clothing no different from a person in a non-magic city. The only in between he saw was Chloe. Her bright yellow mage robe was designed like a jacket. The back of it was long going down to her ankles, as many mage robes did, while the front was open. The opening started from the center of her belt and spread out diagonal in both directions creating a triangular shape. The only other modern robe Adrien had seen was Marinette's, which reminded him of a trench coat. The other students fell on one side of the style or the other.
Adrien asked Chloe where she'd gotten her robe. Chloe had a glow of pride.
"Daddy had it made for me," Chloe said, "he hired one of the world's best designers to make it. Not your father, in case you were wondering. He was too 'busy'." She made air quotes with her hands.
Chloe's mood seemed sour after that. Adrien frowned. He felt the urge to apologize, but decided against it. He doubted an apology would make Chloe feel any better.
"So," Adrien said, after a long silence, "Where are we heading?"
"We're getting you a pair of boots," Chloe said, "there's this old man in the fashion district that makes the most amazing boots."
"Why boots?" Adrien said.
"Every mage needs a good pair of boots," Chloe said, "those sneakers are fine for prancing around campus, but for serious magic you'll need boots. Even a non magical pair of boots has good traction, but you'll need some built in magic resistance if you want them to last any amount of time. Boots aren't just a trend, ya know."
Adrien thought about everyone he'd met at Sunstone Academy. Everyone, sans Alya, wore boots. He hadn't thought much of it, but even Felix had a heavy looking pair of boots. Adrien looked down at his shoes and imagined a new pair of boots there. Replacing the shoes his father had designed with something else, the very thought of it made him feel less trapped.
As Chloe walked Adrien through the fashion district, she pointed out stores she liked. Adrien noticed the traditional/modern split through the shops. Among the the colorful shops with large windows and bright displays, they stopped at a small grey building. It was a stone shack with no windows, it barely had a door. Adrien couldn't even imagine Chloe standing in front of the building, yet she was entering it without hesitation. Adrien followed.
Nino sat at his desk listening to his most recent project. It still didn't sound it right. The music was fine, but something was missing: a purpose, a soul, love? Nino took off his headphones. Maybe he needed to take a break from it for a while. Or maybe he was losing his touch. He forced those thoughts out of his head and tried to think of something else.
Adrien wasn't back yet. Hopefully, he wasn't lost. He was probably with Felix. If Adrien didn't return soon, Nino would have to go looking for him. There were knocks on the door.
"Door's open," Nino said as he turned towards the door. Marinette popped her head in. She was smiling.
"Hey, Nino," Marinette said, "I need another favor."
Nino invited Marinette in. She entered bringing Alya along with her. Marinette closed the door before relaying her plan to Nino. Chloe was gone for the day, because she took Adrien out to see the city, so it was the perfect time for Marinette to reclaim her space. She wanted to start by moving Chloe's junk off her bed, the only problem was Sabrina. She was in Marinette's room guarding Chloe's belongings.
"Do you really think we need three people to take her on?" Alya said. She opened up her notebook.
"Sabrina's never lost a one on one magic battle," Marinette said.
"Is Sabrina that powerful?" Alya said.
"No," Marinette said, sitting down on Nino's bed, "she's not powerful, she's smart."
"She's like a spell encyclopedia," Nino said, remembering when he'd been on a team with Sabrina the year before. "She's memorized more spells than anyone in our class and she can effectively cast every spell she knows. Every battle she's won has been her outsmarting and successfully countering her opponent."
"So basically," Marinette said, "we need to launch a surprise attack to get an advantage."
"Wouldn't that be a magic battle?" Alya said, "whose going to supervise?"
Marinette face palmed before collapsing in Nino's bed. She sighed. It seemed she hadn't thought that far in. Alya said she was sure the three of them would think of something. Marinette nodded, but didn't get up. Alya put away her notebook. She got up started wandering around the room. She stopped at Nino's desk.
"You make music?" Alya said, giving Nino her full attention.
"Yea," Nino said.
"He's pretty great," Marinette said.
"Can I listen?" Alya said.
Nino put his headphones on Alya. He told her it wasn't finished yet before he started it. Nino watched Alya as she listened. Just like the day before, he couldn't guess her thoughts. She looked off into space as if she were taking notes It put Nino on edge. He didn't know Adrien well either, but he could at least tell if he was getting a positive or negative response. So far Alya was a mystery. When the song finished, Alya took off her headphones.
"It's missing something," Alya said. Nino nodded. He knew it. She smiled at him. She had a great smile. "But I can't wait to see what it sounds like when it's done. I can tell it's going to be really good."
"Yea?" Nino said. Alya nodded.
"Yea," she said. She leaned in closer. "Tell me when you finish it, okay?"
Another knock came to the door. Nino said it was open. Felix opened the door. He was holding a cardboard box. He was looking for Adrien, the box was for him. Nino told Felix Adrien was out with Chloe. Felix asked if Nino would give Adrien the package. Nino agreed. Just as Felix was about to leave, Marinette jumped up. She ran to him, almost crashing into him, and asked him to supervise their magic battle. Felix stared at her with a blank expression as Marinette told him her dilemma and her plan. After a long silence, Felix agreed to supervise.
Marinette, Alya, and Nino walked to Marinette's room. Sabrina was sitting at one of the desks, reading. Marinette walked in, leaving Nino and Alya at the doorway. Marinette pulled out her spool of wire. She wrapped some of the wire around her hand before diving towards her bed. Sabrina jumped up, casting a spell. Marinette started floating towards the ceiling. Alya placed one of her cards to her mouth and whispered something. She threw the card.
A bubble formed around Sabrina. Marinette fell to the floor. Her spool rolled away. The bubble shattered. Sabrina threw down a ball of light. Alya ran into the room. The light flashed across the room, blinding Nino. As his vision returned, Nino saw Sabrina tied up with wire. One of Alya's cards was stuck to Sabrina's head, the word freeze written across it. Alya put another card on Sabrina causing her to float like a balloon. Marinette tossed the spool to Nino. Nino and Alya led Sabrina out.
"That was easier than I expected," Alya said.
The wire hit the floor. In Sabrina's place was a large block of stone. Nino's face hit the ground. It took him a moment to realize Sabrina was standing on him. One foot was on his back, the other pressed firmly on his head. Sabrina whispered a spell. A gust of wind traveled down the hallway. Alya screamed, with each moment her voice grew more distant until there was a soft thud. Sabrina warned Nino not to try anything. She said she had a lightning bolt ready for him. Nino's mind raced through his options, but no matter which way he sliced it the lighting would hit him before he could do anything.
Sabrina screamed. She fell to the ground. Nino sat up.
"They're all over me," Sabrina said, rolling around the floor. There was nothing on her.
"Are you okay, Nino?" Rose said, walking up behind he. She offered her hand. Nino smiled up at his former roommate, and more recently, former teammate. He thanked her as he stood up. Sabrina jumped up and glared at Rose.
"Rose," she said her voice filled with anger, "I should have known it was you. You'll pay for that!"
Nino and Rose stood opposite of her, readying themselves for her next spell. If Chloe was next to Sabrina, it would be a scene from last year on Team SNRC. An inter-team battle between the four of them seemed to happen at least once a week. Rose and Nino never won against Chloe and Sabrina, but they definitely gave the two a fight.
Nino tossed a sound wave, catching Sabrina off guard. Rose tossed a handful of seeds at Sabrina. The seeds exploded into vines wrapping around Sabrina. Sabrina squirmed. Rose told her not to move so much because the vines would get tighter. Nino was impressed with Rose's new trick. Rose said she'd worked on it all summer. The vines burst into flames. Sabrina seemed just as surprised as Nino and Rose.
Alix appeared in front of Rose. Before either of them could react, Rose was tumbling down the hall wrapped in a cocoon of blankets. Alix flashed out. She flashed back in kicking Nino in the stomach. He fell to the ground and tried to catch his breath. Alix helped Sabrina up. Alix was loyal to her teammates. Nino knew that much from when they were on the same team their first year. Nino braced himself for the impact of Alix's next attack, he had no chance of matching her speed.
A tiger appeared, knocking Alix down. It pinned her to the ground. Brackets appeared locking Alix to the ground. Mylene returned to her normal form, who despite all her ties with Alix chose to back up her current teammate Rose. Juleka was working to untangle Rose. Sabrina dashed towards Marinette's room. Nino jumped at her, but slammed face first into a shield.
Max wasn't far off, holding up the barrier. Nino rubbed his aching face. He was starting to understand why they were team SMACK. Nino kicked in the barrier, shattering it with vibrations. Sabrina was already dragging Marinette out of her room. Ivan swept Sabrina up, releasing Marinette from her grasp. Nino dashed toward Marinette. Alix appeared in front of him, cracking her knuckles.
Nino frowned. It was going to be a long day.
The inside of the cobbler's shop was small and cluttered. There were shreds of leather, among other materials Adrien didn't recognize, sprawled across the floor. Adrien tried no to step on anything, but Chloe marched in trampling everything in her path. She stopped at the counter.
"Hey, old man, are you here?" Chloe said, her voice was loud enough to shake the shack.
After a moment of silence, a tall old man appeared at the counter. He was pale and bald with a tint that made his complexion look greenish. Or maybe he only seemed green because of the green of his eyes and robe. He asked Chloe what she needed.
"Where's the other one?" Chloe said, "the small one."
"The master is resting," the man answered, "we just returned from a trip."
Chloe frowned. She crossed her arms, but didn't say anything. The room was still. Chloe sighed. She seemed irritated.
"Fine," Chloe said, "I suppose you'll have to do." She signaled for Adrien to come over. Adrien walked over, trying to do as little damage as possible. "My friend needs a good pair of boots," she said.
The old man took Adrien's measurements. While Adrien had expected his fee to be measured, he hadn't expected the man to take his height and weight too. Once done, he told Adrien his boots would be ready in two months. Chloe gasped. She demanded to know why a basic pair of boots would take so long. He told them there was a waiting list since many people ordered boots at the beginning of the school year.
"If they're done sooner I will contact you," he said, "until then stay out of magic battles." He hesitated before continuing, "Or go barefoot, that's also an option."
Adrien looked over at Chloe. He face was red and her expression was twisted with anger. Adrien was surprised she wasn't yelling.
"Do you have something to say, Miss Bourgeois?" The man said.
Chloe opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but her mouth snapped shut so quickly her teeth clinked. Adrien watched the scene wondering if he was imagining it. Chloe showing restraint was out of character. Chloe grabbed Adrien's arm and dragged him out. They marched through town for a while. Adrien asked what they were doing next. Chloe gave a one word answer: lunch.
Lunch was at a small restaurant by a pond. Chloe was staring off at the water as they waited to have their orders to arrive. Adrien frowned. He didn't like seeing her look so sad.
"So your boots are pretty cool," Adrien said. She wasn't currently wearing her boots, but they were white knee highs with black adornments. They looked like Chloe's favorite pair of shoes from when they were small. Her mother had given her those shoes.
"Duh," Chloe said, "they're made with the shedding of an albino basilisk. I'm one of the only people with a pair like it."
Adrien nodded and listened as Chloe told the story of how her boots came into existence. It all started when Felix took her to get a pair of boots at the Cobbler's. While Felix was talking with the owner of the shop, Chloe found a small scrap of material made from the albino basilisk's skin. She wanted her boots to be that material, but that was the only piece they had left. Chloe contacted her father, who in turn put out a large cash reward for anyone who could bring him the skins of an albino basilisk. Their food arrived while Chloe was talking. She continued between bites.
"But, like, everyone failed," Chloe said. "It was pathetic. I spent my first few months here wearing these horrid black boots that Felix made me get because he said I was being a brat. Can you believe that? Me, a brat? I'm the best person I know. Then one of the upperclassman actually got her hands on the basilisk skin somehow. And I got my boots. She didn't even take the money though, she just wanted Felix to help her with some project."
Chloe started talking about other things she'd collected over her years at Sunstone. Adrien was glad she was back in a good mood. When lunch was done, Chloe was ready to go back to school. She said they could continue exploring another day.
When they got back to campus, Chloe went straight to the showers. Adrien went to his room. Nino was sitting at his desk, writing something in a notebook. Nino told Adrien, Felix left a package for Adrien and it was on his bed. Adrien opened and looked in the box. It was filled with Camembert cheese. Adrien assumed it was for Plagg. He dropped the box on the floor and pushed it under his bed. Adrien sat on his bed.
"How was your trip?" Nino said turning to Adrien.
"It was cool," Adrien said, "we went to this cobbler's and - Nino, what happened to your face?"
Nino touched the bandages on his nose. There were bruises on either side of his face. Nino laughed.
"You should see the rest of me, " Nino said. He told Adrien the whole thing started off as an innocent attempt to jump Sabrina- Adrien wouldn't have worded it like that- then it turned into a battle royale. "It didn't help that Alya was attacking everyone," Nino said. He pointed to a bruise on his cheek, "this one was Alya."
Nino tried to fill Adrien in on the details of the fight. He did his best to catch Adrien up on two years worth of relationships that effected the students alliances. There was loyalty to roommates, loyalty to teammates, then there were friendships and romantic interests. Adrien tried to absorb as much as possible, but there was so much to remember.
"In the end," Nino said, "Alix sat on Sabrina while the rest of us cleared Marinette's bed, so mission accomplished."
Chloe screamed. She must've been done with her shower. Nino and Adrien went to the doorway. Chloe, wrapped in a towel, and Marinette were arguing in the hallway. During their shouting match, Chloe screamed again, surprising everyone. She told Marinette this wasn't over before stomping into her room.
The rest of the day was quiet. Nino said it was because everyone was tending to their wounds. Adrien frowned.
"I keep missing all the fun group activities," Adrien said. He'd missed some big conversation at dinner, he'd missed Chloe's fight with Marinette, and now he'd missed a class magic battle.
Nino patted him on the head and smiled at him.
"Don't worry," Nino said, "soon you'll be sick of all our face the way we're all sick of each other's faces." Adrien found Nino's statement oddly comforting. "By the way," Nino said, "Marinette told me, you were the one who got her art bag down from the lightning rod. And also to be nice to you and spread the good word of Adrien."
Adrien didn't know how to respond.
"You know we're friends, right?" Nino said.
"We are?" Adrien said.
"Yea," Nino said, "or we will be soon ayway, so why delay the inevitable?"
"Okay," Adrien said with a smile, "thank you."
Nino got up then helped Adrien up. They went to eat dinner.
After dinner, Adrien went straight to bed. He was exhausted. Multiple flicks to the nose woke him up. He opened his eyes to see Plagg floating above him. He had a look of mischief. Adrien frowned. He'd finally got to sleep just to be woken up.
"Hey, Adrien," Plagg grinned, "want to have some fun?"
Adrien blinked.
"Plagg, I have class in the morning," Adrien said.
"Yeesh," Plagg said, laying on his back and floating through the air, "Felix said the same thing. I guess being a stick in the mud runs in the family."
Adrien sat up.
"I'm not a stick in the mud," he said.
"Prove it," Plagg said.
Adrien frowned. He agreed to do the "fun" thing Plagg had planned. He put on his shoes and a jacket before following Plagg into the hall. Many flights of steps later, Adrien found himself on the school roof. The sky was full of stars, more than Adrien had ever seen before. The moon was full and bright. Adrien wanted to reach out and touch it. Plagg hovered over Adrien's shoulder, looking up at the sky. The silence under the bright sky was comforting.
Adrien snapped back to reality. He looked over at Plagg. Plagg was still staring up at the sky, his expression unreadable.
"So," Adrien said, "what's the fun thing?"
Plagg grinned.
There was spell Adrien needed to learn. It would transform him into a powerful mage capable of using the spells in the Book of Destruction. The spell wasn't in the spellbook so Adrien needed to memorize it. Plagg told him two more spells. One was to detransform and the other was a nullification spell.
"That spell can undo just about any of the Book of Creation's minor spells," Plagg said. Adrien nodded as he ran the spells through his head. "Do you want to try?" Plagg said.
"Yea," Adrien said, "it sounds fun."
"Alright, don't get cry if you can't do it," Plagg said, with a mocking tone, "plenty of my best partners needed multiple tries."
Adrien frowned. He took a deep breath before saying the spell. A bright light filled the area. When the light faded out, Plagg was gone. Adrien"s body felt... different. He felt less solid. Adrien stuck out his now gloved hands. The gloves appeared to be a thick leather, but they didn't feel like leather. The black suit and heavy boots had a similar look. As he turned to look for Plagg, his cape fluttered in the wind. He called out to Plagg.
No response.
Where could he have gone?
Adrien looked to the next building. The intense urge to jump washed over his body. Adrien's brain told him that was a bad idea and he tried to push the urge away. Adrien examined the distance between the buildings and he knew he could make it. A confidence creeped into his mind. He'd never felt so sure of himself before it was like someone was there nudging him on. Adrien took a deep breath. He took a few steps back before running forward.
He leaped.
Adrien landed on the roof of the dinning hall. That was so easy! He'd even landed on his feet. He took another leap, this time landing on the ground. He gave his landing a 10/10. Adrien grinned. What other things was he capable of in this form? He started walking, then broke into a sprint. His surroundings blurred as he sped pass them. He could run forever. Plagg was right. This was fun!
Adrien turned a corner, slamming into someone. She groaned in pain. Adrien reached down to help her up. He froze as his eyes met with a shocked pair of bespectacled eyes. Alya gasped. Adrien took a step back. Why was she out so late? Would she recognize him?
"It's you," Alya said, sending a shiver down Adrien spine, "The Black Mage of Sunstone Academy."
Adrien sighed with relief. Of course, the school's urban legend. Adrien tried to play off the situation as if he was the Black Mage, but the language that danced out of his mouth wasn't the one he spoke. Alya only looked confused for a moment before insisting she get his picture. When she looked down to reach into her pocket, Adrien dashed off.
Alya called after him. Adrien only stopped when her heard her trip. Her camera bounced away from her. He ran back over to her and lifted her to her feet. He asked if she was okay. Alya stared up at him. Adrien remembered she couldn't understand him. Alya smiled bright like the moon. Adrien felt selfconcious. He picked her camera up and handed it to her.
"Thank you," she said.
AdrIen nodded before running off. When he was sure he was far from her, Adrien hid around the corner and detransformed. Plagg reappeared.
"I told you it'd be fun," Plagg said with a grin of pride.
"Yea," Adrien smiled, "it was fun."
As the two made their way back to Adrien's room, Plagg complained about being hungry. Adrien gave Plagg a hunk of cheese. Adrien got in bed and looked up at the ceiling. He couldn't wait to transform again. As he slept dreams of adventures to come filled his head.