It, like fog, choked up the air around them, swirling madly around yet not enough to allow leverage to see something.
Marinette bit her lip; she'd had to detransfom when her earrings beeped, and standing in the mist did nothing to help her out, especially since she didn't have any spare cookies to feed her tired Kwami.
"L-Ladybug?" A voice rang out, reminding her under the cooling wave of the mist that she had a partner to help out.
"I-I'll be there!" She shifted and then froze; the glamour only did so much when you were transformed, it only kept your identity concealed when you weren't purposely jumping into the fray, letting hints plop out like hard gems on to the ground.
"M-Marinette? Are you here? I should get you out of here." Cat Noir was before her before she could really say anything.
She grabbed his wrist, avoiding his claws, "Can you get me some cookies?"
"Why?" Cat Noir shifted from beside her, half vanishing again in the mist.
"I just need some." Marinette shifted and then cursed underneath her breath as her bag slipped from her grasp, and Tikki came tumbling out, pretending to be dead.
"Don't you live in a bakery, Purrincess?" Cat Noir leaned over to pick up the contents of her bag, and Marinette really, really wished that she hadn't forgotten to grab cookies for Tikki. Akumas really could happen at any time during the day.
"Yes, but I forgot to bring extra." She winced when Tikki sneezed.
Cat Noir blinked and stared down at Tikki, recognition finally lighting up his eyes, and spelling out her doom, "Will she eat cheese? I might have some of that."
Marinette bit back a laugh, because of the image sneaking into her head; cats didn't eat cheese or at least none that she'd known of.
"I-I don't know. I've never tried." Marinette really wished that she'd packed extra goodies though she did kind of wonder how Cat Noir recognized the voice of a woman that he'd only seen a handful of times. She hoped beyond all hope that the answer wasn't an obvious one that prickled at her mind.
"Okay, I packed extra Camembert. Hopefully, that will be enough for now." Cat Noir paused before he whispered the words that she'd really hoped not to hear again, especially when she was pretty sure that he'd light up their small spot and reveal who he was to her, "Plagg, claws in!"
Green light flashed around them, and Marinette blinked up to see Adrien Agreste standing in the place of Cat Noir. Her mind slowly frizzled and melted; surely, she was seeing things?
He reached into his pocket to pull out two pieces of cheese though the stench of it left Marinette more than a little woozy; it tasted much better in a blueberry tart than it smelled by itself. Tikki made a face but ate it anyway.
"It's much better than cookies." Plagg grumbled, catching Marinette's attention. He looked adorable in a mousy kind of way even though she knew that he had to be a cat. It made her almost want to reach out and pet his belly and see if he could purr. She knew far better than to test her fate or chances by meeting the urge head on.
"Nevermind." Adrien muttered and just hearing his voice in the fog helped ground her; she'd have to deal with this new kind of information at some point, but right now, it didn't matter much, "Plagg, claws out."
"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette called, letting her transformation take her back into her more confident alter ego for now.