Delicate, Chapter 17
Adrien stretched his arms as he woke up, feeling as if something beyond the passage of time had caused his awakening. He opened his eyes a bit; morning light had lit up the room somewhat, but it was muted by Marinette's drawn windowshade.
Mmmmmm.
Just the thought of her name brought back memories of the night before, sending a tingle through him.
And, of course, she was right there with him. Adrien smiled down at a sleeping Marinette, lying comfortably on her side next to him. Her back was to him, pressed up against his arm, and one foot was tilted back and resting on his leg. He smiled at that; they both tossed and turned a bit in their sleep, he was sure (or at least as much side-to-side movement as her small bed would allow without someone falling out), but it was as if she wanted to maintain continuous contact, even unconsciously.
And, boy, did we maintain contact last night, he grinned. Yeah, you ought to be tired, Marinette... that was a workout and a half for us, by the time that we were done!
One advantage of having a superhero girlfriend... that girl has STAMINA!
He ran his hand from her shoulder to her hip, very gently, and heard an approving sound and felt her snuggle even closer.
"Hi," she breathed, without rolling over yet. "Good morning."
"A very good morning," Adrien declared. "You're just waking up now?"
"Mmm-hmm," Marinette replied.
"Me, too. Though I could have sworn that I felt something touch my face a minute ago, so if it wasn't you..."
*Pat*
A light touch on Adrien's forehead gave him his needed explanation. He tilted his head back to look upwards, and saw a small furry face staring down at him and a paw preparing to tap him again. While he had only encountered one cat in his life that could speak English, the look on Audrey's face was so clear to him that she might as well have spoken it aloud...
Hello, hello! I love you, Mister! Breakfast now, please, also. Pleeeeease?
Adrien retrieved his boxers, while Marinette reached down for her discarded nightshirt.
"I think that someone's hungry," Adrien noted. "Where do you keep her food?"
"Pouches or cans, the cabinet on the right above the stove," Marinette said. "Out of someone's climbing reach. One of either would do, thank you."
Adrien toddled off to the kitchen, his small companion right at his heels, and prepared Audrey's morning snack. He was just sitting the dish onto the kitchen floor when a third party joined them.
"Well, hello, Adrien," Nooroo smiled. "I trust that all is well?"
"I would say so," Adrien smiled back. "And you?"
"So far, so good. The Kwamis met last night and discussed the situation. Plagg, as you might imagine, was quite interested in Duusu's persistence," said Nooroo. "I spent a fair amount of time meditating on what we may attempt today, gathering my strength. I do hope that you got some rest after... er..."
"Just say it," sighed Adrien.
"...your exhilarating evening," Nooroo continued. He paused, then added, "I only heard much of it. You seem to be rather talented at inspiring vocal feedback from her, Adrien."
Adrien was silent for a moment, wondering how much he ought to disclose. "She's... told me that that's kind of unusual for her to be that noisy," he whispered. "And that I should take it as a compliment."
"I certainly would," the Kwami grinned.
"You heard much of it, hmmm?" asked Adrien. "Did you watch the rest of it?"
"I... uh... well, the third time... ah... I would like us to focus on other things right now," stammered Nooroo.
"I bet you would," Adrien told him, quietly. "I'm not ashamed of what you saw and heard at all, just so you know. But Marinette might feel very differently about being watched, and I won't speak for her there. If this is becoming a habit, you need to discuss it with her before it happens again."
"I know," Nooroo agreed, meekly.
"I'm serious about that," insisted Adrien.
"ANYWAY... This ritual may take a lot out of both of us," Nooroo sidestepped. "When do you want to try it?"
"I was thinking this afternoon sometime..." Adrien ventured, distracted by the sound of approaching footsteps. Marinette appeared from the hallway, gave Audrey an approving pat while she wolfed her breakfast down, and kissed him on the cheek.
"Hi," she breathed, happily. "Talking about butterflying?"
"Something like that, yes." Adrien gave Nooroo a meaningful glance before continuing. "Nooroo's worried about the strain of it."
"Then maybe we shouldn't do this on an empty stomach," Marinette noted. "If you're up for it, I was thinking that you and I could take a walk and get some breakfast this morning... there's a little peddler's market on Sundays that I visit sometimes, a couple of blocks down from here. Vendors, prepared food carts and trucks; there's one that I know that does very good crepes. We can pick up something sweet for Tikki and fruity for Nooroo while we're there, too."
"That sounds delightful," beamed Adrien. "When do you want to go?"
"Well, we got our showers late last night... I can get dressed pretty quickly if you can," she replied. "Now that you can actually get to your clothes again."
"Uh-huh... maybe I'd better go grab my bag before it becomes somebody's overnight bed again," Adrien grinned, reaching down and scratching Audrey behind her ears.
About twenty minutes later, the happy couple approached the outdoor market on foot. If people who saw Adrien recognized him, they showed no obvious signs of it, or at least kept a respectful distance as they shopped.
"Do you come here often?" asked Adrien, as he watched Marinette consider some bins of vegetables and ponder what she had room for in her kitchen.
"Once in a while," Marinette replied, staring at an onion intently. "Maybe once a month? More often in the warmer months. Who comes here and what they bring varies by the seasons, so it depends if I'm in the mood for what's ripe now or not. There are some regular stops for me... like, this farm's is one of them."
"Indeed it is," smiled the vendor as Marinette extended payment her way for a small bundle of things. "Always nice to see you, dear. Come back soon!"
"And then there are the booths carrying things that aren't edible," Adrien pointed out. "Like, I've seen three so far selling sunglasses and handmade jewelry and things like that."
"Uh-huh," agreed Marinette, gesturing in several directions. "There's a little of everything. That guy over there has smoked meats of all kinds. Lots of baked goods. There are a couple of cheesemongers, some touristy stuff, though the jewelry-makers are usually really nice and I buy from them sometimes. Even though I have the most unique set of jewelry around at home," she grinned.
"And none of those are going up for sale any time soon," Adrien quipped.
"Probably not... unless I can't make rent some month, and then someone new gets to be a hero," Marinette giggled back.
"I'm picturing Mr. Ramier showing up. 'Do you have one of those in the shape of a pigeon?' he'd ask," laughed Adrien.
They walked a little further down, exchanging more small talk. Marinette added a mango, some bananas and a citron to her basket - "We'll see which of these Nooroo likes best," she told Adrien - and a bag of cookies for Tikki, among other things.
"Is there anything in particular you'd like to look for, while we're here?" asked Marinette.
"Nothing that I can think of... though I'll keep... looking," he replied, losing his train of thought.
"Oooh!" she exclaimed, suddenly. "Look at the scarves that lady has out today... want to take a look with me?"
"No, I... um... you go ahead, Marinette. I'll... be over... shortly."
She walked over to the booth that she'd pointed out, not realizing that Adrien's attention was diverted in the moment. Had she noticed, she'd have seen that Adrien had spotted a very familiar face... which was staring right back at him.
Exiting the booth in which she'd been shopping, a satisfied Marinette admired the two scarves that she'd just obtained.
These are really nice, she noted, and I can see that she put some time into making them. The weave on them, the use of color... the darker one gives me ideas for something I could make for Mama for Christmas. Not a bad price, either! Especially since I talked her into selling me both...
of them...
for...
One glance across the marketplace was enough to send Marinette's legs into motion, even as her brain screamed at her to play this out intelligently. Adrien was no longer touching the ground, lifted up and wrapped up by two muscular arms, whose owner's shape was unmistakable even at that distance.
YOU CAN'T JUST TRANSFORM HERE! her mind insisted, even as her legs pumped her forward. Not in front of everybody!
Her analytical mindset kicked in immediately. Glancing left and right, she considered her options; there weren't many promising ones for privacy. Too many open spaces, too many people nearby, her sudden burst of speed had drawn some of their attention...
Gabriel - told him? Sent him? Didn't expect a move from them this soon!
Best chance - another twenty meters - break right, through that opening, behind that building - find a place to stash my bags - something big to hide behind. If I can transform, he can't get away from me. No one can.
He wouldn't hurt Adrien - would he? No reason to - no good reason - they used to be pretty close - is this a kidnap attempt?
She watched the big man's head turn her way, and their eyes met. Noting this, she forced herself to downshift from a frantic sprint into a more casual jogging speed.
He's seen me - though if he's here for Adrien, he KNOWS who I am - doesn't change anything - he knows I know he's here...
Play it cool, Marinette. He's staying still. Maybe Adrien isn't in danger...
Adrien heard Marinette's voice from behind him as the Gorilla lowered him back to the ground. He turned around and saw Marinette standing there, watching them like a hawk, catching her breath slightly. Her face didn't look terribly alarmed... but her eyes told him another story, as they searched his face for clues as to how to handle this.
"Hey," he greeted her with a smile. "I was just about to join you over there, when I ran into... were you running just now?"
"I, er... didn't want to lose you... in the crowd," Marinette evaded. "And then I saw you... you two... over here..."
"You remember my friend here, right?" Adrien asked her, his voice and manner calm, reassuring her that this was not an emergency. "He was my family's bodyguard and driver in the old days. You're still there with them, right?"
The Gorilla nodded his assent as Marinette sized him up. He looks quite happy, actually, she reasoned, reading his expression and body language. They used to be close, they haven't seen each other in a couple of years... that was a welcoming bearhug, I'll bet, not anything hostile!
Thank goodness. Though I'm still VERY curious about this.
"I don't know if you remember me, Sir, but I do remember you from my school days," Marinette ventured. "I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng... Adrien was a classmate of mine at Francoise Dupont."
With a small smile, the Gorilla mimed a hat on his head, then a feather sticking out from it.
"Yes! I did make a derby hat that Adrien wore on the runway one time," Marinette smiled back. "You have a good memory."
The Gorilla pointed to Marinette, then moved his hand in a rapid chattering motion by Adrien's mouth.
"Oh, he used to talk about me quite a bit?" she grinned. "I wish I'd known that then."
"And I still do," Adrien confirmed. "Marinette and I have become... very close lately. You caught us spending a lazy morning out together."
A small thumbs-up from the Gorilla indicated his approval. From what Marinette could tell from his subsequent motions, he was offering to excuse himself and let them get on with their shopping.
"Adrien, I, um... want to take a peek at something over there for a minute. Maybe you two have some things to discuss - catching up on old times, finding out what brings him out this way...?"
"You read my mind," Adrien replied, his smile remaining but his tone indicating that he'd caught her undercurrent. "I'll catch up with you in a few minutes, okay?"
"Perfect." She squeezed his arm affectionately, then turned to the Gorilla. "It was nice seeing you again, Mr... er... Sir."
He executed a small bow in response.
As she left, trusting that Adrien knew what he was doing, the Gorilla turned back to Adrien. With a gesture, he indicated Adrien and Marinette and asked if they were a couple now.
"Most definitely," Adrien answered.
That got him a pat on the back from his burly friend, and a facial expression from him that could only be read one way...
Finally!
About ten minutes later - an agony for Marinette, not seeing or hearing what was going on between Adrien and the Gorilla, but a self-inflicted one - Adrien caught up with her, by himself once more.
"Is everything all right?" Marinette asked, immediately.
"It is. I think it is," Adrien answered. "No, that wasn't a total coincidence... but I don't think that it was what you were worried about, either."
"Tell me about it, then. Please," she requested.
"Father sent him out here... for a few reasons. Obviously, they didn't know we were going to be here as well; I don't think that we knew ourselves until this morning," Adrien began. "But after your confrontation last night... Father did have Nathalie make some inquiries about you, reasoning that where you were, I wouldn't be far behind."
"He'd hinted as much. At least they came looking for me and not my parents, and I'm not terribly hard to find if someone puts their mind to it, I suppose," Marinette reasoned.
"So... no, the Gorilla wasn't sent here to kick your door in," Adrien clarified. "More so something of a scouting mission - getting the lay of the neighborhood, I guess. If signs of one of us turned up, that would be a bonus, but he wasn't camping out in your parking lot, either. It caught him by surprise as much as it did me when we saw each other."
"And I came running as fast as I could, because at first I thought that he'd grabbed you," sighed Marinette, relaxing somewhat. "It wasn't until I got close that I realized it was a hug, not him carrying you off."
"Yeah. That was kind of the other thing... he and I did get along well back then, and we hadn't seen each other in a long time... so he volunteered to come out looking today, hoping that he would see that I was here, that things were all right with me. It's not that Father didn't believe you last night..." Adrien trailed off.
"...But he didn't get to be Gabriel Agreste by not following up on things and being sure," Marinette finished for him.
"Something like that. And a few baked goods and things for the house would make the trip worthwhile, even if he didn't see us."
"Do you believe him?"
Adrien pondered that for a moment.
"I don't mean to imply that he's untrustworthy, Adrien," Marinette clarified. "You know him far better than I do. But even he told you that his being here wasn't a coincidence. Do you think that he was telling the truth about why he came?"
"...I do," Adrien replied. "Through all the things that Father did, I never got the impression that he was an active part of it. He was Akumatized more than once, and not willingly like Nathalie was. At least that I know of. All that he ever wanted to do was keep us safe... and me in particular."
He looked back at Marinette with visible concern. "But I do think we should try what we've been planning sooner rather than later. Just in case, you know?" he told her. "Because I don't want you feeling like you're always looking over your shoulder."
"Agreed. The vendor with the crepes that I'd mentioned isn't far away," she answered. "Let's get them in takeout boxes and bring them home with us."
As they walked, Adrien asked, 'Does Audrey eat crepes?"
"If they're left unguarded for more than two seconds, yes."
A couple of hours later, a small gathering began in Marinette's living room. The Book of Lore sat motionless on her coffee table next to Marinette's laptop, with Marinette and Adrien on the couch in front of it, and three Kwamis fluttering overhead.
"So how should we do this?" wondered Marinette. "Nooroo, what is your suggestion?"
"Hmmm," Nooroo pondered. "We suspect that the Book is written primarily in some form of Chinese, with which both of you have at least some familiarity... but it may be in a dialect not spoken aloud in a thousand years. It may be ciphered, it may be in multiple languages, it may have many other tricks up its sleeve."
"One of you will empower the other, naturally," added Wayzz. "I would suggest that the other wear one Miraculous so that Tikki or myself can monitor the process, but not transform with it. Nooroo should provide all the power that is needed... or that would be safe to use."
"How about this?" suggested Tikki. "Adrien, you and Nooroo are better attuned to each other. Let Marinette use Nooroo to transform you, and Wayzz can keep watch. Wayzz... should I go back in the box?"
"Let's try it with you out here first," Wayzz countered. "You and Marinette are so well-attuned that it should be a minimal draw on her."
"Will it make a difference, do you think?" Marinette asked him. She removed her earrings but did not renounce them, gently sitting them on the coffee table instead so that Tikki could remain.
"One way to find out," shrugged Wayzz.
"All right... here's the brooch," Adrien declared, handing it across the table to Marinette as she slid the Turtle off her wrist and passed it to him. "And I'll bet that you never anticipated being Nooroo's host, hmmm?"
"It does feel a little strange, yeah," she smiled. She reacted slightly as the transfer was made, feeling the second Miraculous align with her energies at once, but waved it off. "Good strange, not bad strange, though."
Nooroo nodded at that. "Tikki and Wayzz and I are all reasonably compatible; you shouldn't feel much of a strain from maintaining just two, especially with your experience," he noted. "There are certain other combinations that I would not recommend. The Ladybug and the Tiger together, for instance..."
Tikki grimaced. "Don't even go there," she warned Nooroo. "Not right now."
Once the Miraculous had all been distributed accordingly, Nooroo gave Marinette an encouraging look. "This is your show now, Mistress," he declared. "Whenever you are ready."
"I'm not your... mistress?" Marinette wondered aloud, then stared at Adrien as he broke out into laughter.
"That sounds familiar," he cackled. "I've been telling him 'don't call me Master' since day one."
"It's force of habit," Nooroo apologized. "And it helps me focus."
"Just call me Marinette. Though I suppose that I should think of another name as soon as I say this... Nooroo, give me wings!"
Adrien looked on with admiration as the white flash faded.
Marinette's clothes had transformed into a bodysuit, a gradient ranging from a deep purple by her neck and left shoulder to a muted silver by her right boot. A lacy mask stretched across her face, with a similar gradient but with purple-to-silver going right-to-left rather than left-to-right. In lieu of Hawkmoth's walking stick, her hand held a slender rod, closer to a wand in appearance. A simple black belt crossed her waist. Her hair remained dark, but rippled gently as though it carried a faint charge of some kind, or that an invisible Adrien was running gentle fingers through it.
"...Stunning," Adrien noted in a quiet voice.
"Thank you," she smiled. "I don't really have a name for this getup... what should I call myself?"
"Mine, I hope," Adrien teased her.
"Pfft," scoffed Marinette. "You already knew that. What's a kind of purple butterfly?"
"I don't really know," Adrien wondered. "I'm not up on my winged insects... I think there's one called a purple emperor, but I don't know if there's an empress."
"Or maybe I'll pass on the whole insect imagery altogether. Maybe something like... Esprit du léger. Or Fée de la lumière."
"The spirit of light? Fairy of the light?" translated Adrien. "Perhaps just Lumière for short."
"That makes me feel like a talking candelabra," she giggled, "but I can work with it. No one but you will ever see me like this, anyway. I just feel... okay, I know that Ladybug is powered by magic. I can feel it when I'm powered up. But this is a different kind of magic... lighter, more ethereal. I feel like I should be floating! And after all of the darkness Hawkmoth brought to Paris... light is what I want to give to the world."
"It suits you, so much," beamed Adrien. "Okay. Now, do you need to catch a butterfly to use for this, or something?"
"It doesn't feel like it... my butterfly is more of a form for magic, a shaped capsule that contains it, than a transformed living thing. I don't know how Hawkmoth did it, but this is my way."
Lumière closed her eyes briefly, concentrating, bringing her hands together... and when she opened them, a tiny white butterfly rested in them, its wings fluttering slightly.
"Hello there, little butterfly," she smiled. "After saying bye-bye to so many of you, it feels good to finally meet you properly."
She looked across at Adrien. "Are you ready?" she asked.
"Let's do this," he replied, and the butterfly took off.
As it made contact, Adrien felt a very odd sensation - but not an unpleasant one by his standards.
It was as if Lumière was not just speaking to him in his mind, but was actually inside his mind. He felt her presence all around him, embracing him warmly, speaking softly to him as clearly as if she was sitting across from him... which she was, smiling right there in front of him! He could hear Marinette's real voice and Lumière's slightly-reverberating voice simultaneously, causing something of a mild echo effect that was a little bit disorienting at first.
"Are you all right?" she asked, pleasantly. "You do have control of yourself?"
"Oh, yes. It's... just... so intimate!" Adrien marveled. "Like you're a physical part of me right now. You're not just in my head, you're part of me. And I haven't even transformed yet!"
"I'll have to remember that! It sounds like that could have some very interesting implications," winked Lumière. "But we have more important things to do right now."
She took a deep breath and continued. "Unraveler... yours will be the gift of parting the mysteries of languages, old and new alike. You will be able to read any written text, crack any cipher, and translate anything before your eyes into the language of your choice. You can either type the results out on my laptop, or if your full concentration is needed, read it aloud and I'll do the typing. Are you willing to accept my power and to translate the Book of Lore?"
"I am," he declared. "Please, give me your power."
A white flash engulfed him...
Lumière examined her creation carefully. In Adrien's place was a figure clad in a brown robe, strange symbols woven into its design, and a hood covering most of his face and shadowing the rest. His eyes glowed bright and green from within.
"Well? How do I look?" he asked.
"Like some ancient hooded sage," said Lumière. "An interesting choice."
"Did I choose this?" wondered Unraveler. "I think that this was more out of your head, not mine."
"You know, I'm not sure?" Lumière replied. "Like, if the transformed design was something that the Moth bestowed, not their own choice, wouldn't you think that a fashion mogul like your father would've made more aesthetically pleasing villains?"
"Don't you think that your fashion model boyfriend would, too?"
"Touche," she grinned. "Again, you're still in control, Adrien? It's not like Hawkmoth's possessions, where there's... like, a hybrid personality running things?"
"I still feel like me," Unraveler confirmed. "And I still feel you, though maybe a little bit more in the background now. We'll see if I remember everything when I transform back, but I don't feel like there's a reason that I wouldn't."
"Good. That's how I want this to go - as little interference in there from me as possible," smiled Lumière. "Wayzz? Tikki? Does everything look good to you?"
"So far, yes. This is how Nooroo's power was always meant to be used," Wayzz declared.
"Same here," said Tikki. "If you both feel good, go ahead."
"All right," Lumière replied. "Let's do a warmup exercise and make sure that it works."
She pulled the laptop in her direction, typed a few things, then slid it over to Unraveler. "I just used Google Translate to turn two sentences into Greek. You don't speak or read Greek, right?" she asked.
Unraveler shook his head. "It's all Greek to me," he quipped. "I have no experience with that."
"Yeah... that's Adrien in there," smirked Lumière, wincing at the joke. "Now, take a look at what I typed," she gestured, "and tell me what it says."
He stared at the screen intently, then looked at Lumière with his body language showing uncertainty. "...The fish has hairy legs? My hovercraft is full of eels?" he asked, hesitantly. That can't be right."
"Actually... it is," beamed Lumière. "I put in two nonsense sentences that no one would ever guess, just to be sure that you weren't guessing them."
Unraveler turned and stared at Tikki. "My girlfriend's mind works in mysterious ways," he declared.
"Tell me about it," Tikki agreed, getting a small raspberry in return from Lumière.
"Okay, then... time for the main event. See what you can make of the Book of Lore, please."
Lumière held her breath slightly as Unraveler opened the book and began to peruse its contents. The glow in his eyes increased slightly as he turned the pages.
"This is... interesting," he breathed. "These introductory pages are ones that I've seen before, years ago... that day in the library with Lila..."
"I remember that," said Lumière. "And then I grabbed the book after Lila threw it in the trash."
"She did what?" asked Unraveler, then shook his head. "Not now, not now. Concentrating. Okay... this page shows one of the ancient Ladybugs... um... Piao Chong was her name, according to this?"
"Yes!" Lumière beamed. "That's the name that Master Fu had told me. So you can read it?"
"...Haltingly," Unraveler said. "It's most definitely in code, and it's taking a lot of effort to work it out, even with your magic." He flipped a couple of pages, admiring the ancient heroes and rattling off what text he could decipher. "Wow, look - there's that Eagle Miraculous that turned up in New York City!" He paused, considering that. "But if that wasn't from our Miracle Box... what's it doing in this book?"
"That's a good question," agreed Lumière. "Perhaps there was more than one set of Guardians, and they shared information? Or maybe the Miraculous all originated from a common source, and were distributed all over the world later on."
Unraveler flipped forward through the book. "Okay, the historical section is interesting, but it's not helping us other than to know that it can be read. This thing really needs a Table of Contents... ah, here we go. Oh, wow!"
"What is it?" asked Wayzz, trying not to get too close, but curious nonetheless.
"Whatever this is... there's text here that I can read, like... phonetically? But I don't understand what it's saying. The meaning of it is obscured," Unraveler replied. "Like, it's meant to be just the way it is, but it's not something I can convert to words."
"Aha! Those are likely spells and incantations related to the Miraculous. If they are, you're right; they're not words. They're glyphs of power. Do not attempt to speak them aloud! Pronouncing them incorrectly could have very unpredictable effects..."
Tikki backed Wayzz up, insisting, "And many of those simply aren't for Kwami ears to hear."
"Then how will I know if I'm getting them right, if you two shouldn't hear or read them?" wondered Unraveler.
"I did release you from that order never to look in the book..." Lumière reminded Tikki.
"There are orders and then there are fundamentals," Tikki apologized. "I don't know what some of those incantations would do to us, let alone to you or the world around you. The incantation for the Wish may be in there somewhere, too, and even if you're not wearing them now, the Ladybug and the Cat are under the same roof..."
"And... we may have larger concerns," interrupted Wayzz.
Their heads all turned towards Unraveler, whose eyes were glowing brighter and brighter with every page turned. He appeared to be mouthing syllables nearly silently, with his breathing becoming ragged and irregular...
"I don't like this," Lumière gasped.
"I don't, either!" Wayzz agreed, in a loud voice. "Break contact!"
Lumière closed her eyes and concentrated... then opened them again with a panicked expression on her face. "How do I do that? It's not working!"
As Unraveler's voice increased in volume, Wayzz flew to his side. "Help her!" he barked at Tikki, then focused his attention on Unraveler, mumbling something quietly into his hood.
"Be calm, Marinette," Tikki instructed her. "Don't panic; you can do this. Focus on the power itself; draw it back into you slowly, like drawing it with a syringe, rather than trying to yank it away from him. Think of the young man beneath the costume. Bring him back to you."
A few tense moments later...
Adrien opened his eyes to a worried Marinette holding him and three Kwamis buzzing around him.
"Whoa," he mumbled. "Was I out cold?"
"Only for a few seconds," Nooroo told him. "How are you feeling now? What do you remember?"
"I... uh... I'm just a little shaken up, I think," reasoned Adrien. "I remember accepting the power from Marinette. I was reading the book, we went over the pages full of historical Miraculous hosts..."
"So you do recall what happened while transformed. That's a good omen," said Wayzz, to which Nooroo nodded.
"If my power isn't corrupted into Akumas, that is how it should function," he agreed.
"And then I got to some weird pages... you said that they were glyphs of power and I shouldn't read them aloud, Wayzz... and then things went a little hazy, and I woke up just now."
"Was it some kind of booby-trap?" wondered Marinette. "This is magic we're talking about. Something where it's protected so that only certain people can read it?"
"Not... likely anything that complicated," Tikki considered. "I think it's more that the incantations themselves can be complicated. If you read one incorrectly, or if you read only part of one, you might be invoking forces that you don't know how to put back down. There's a difference between translating the book and understanding how to use all of it."
"Yeah," Adrien agreed. "It's like, I can read the owner's manual for my car and know how to start and drive it, maybe change the oil in it, but if something goes wrong I need a mechanic to fix it."
"Hmmph," a disappointed Marinette sighed. "I don't think I have any ancient Chinese wizards in my Contacts list."
"Don't lose heart, Marinette," Wayzz told her. "From the start, this wasn't very likely to be a 'turn to page 47 and push a button heal Adrien's mother' kind of procedure. We all know more about the Book now than we did twenty minutes ago."
"And almost fried Adrien in the process!" she countered.
"Fried is a strong word," cautioned Nooroo. "You have our guidance, which should be a comforting advantage. We are still learning about its contents as well, for obvious reasons..."
"So this will be small steps forward, small steps back," Wayzz agreed. "For now, I think that Adrien needs some rest and tender loving care."
"All right, mister. Come with me," Marinette declared, helping Adrien to his feet. "You're not leaving my bed for a while."
"I bet he won't," a small voice snickered.
Marinette whirled around. "Tikki!" she replied, in mock indignation. "You heard Wayzz! This man needs rest, not that."
Despite his slightly weakened state, Adrien grinned at Marinette. "Let me get a little rest," he told her, "and maybe I will need some more of that, too."
As the two of them headed down the hall to Marinette's bedroom, Nooroo noted, "That can be a very spiritual and renewing experience. ...I'm just saying."