It was almost two in the morning before Raven lightly landed on the balcony of her and her father's apartment. She didn't want to go back, but she needed to sleep just a bit and change her clothes for the school day. Silently, she opened the sliding door and slipped into her room.
"Kiismet, touch the ground..." She whispered, hoping the light wouldn't alert the other resident of the apartment. Luckily, the light vanished quick and Kiismet was floating back before her face.
"Are you sure you're okay? It's been so long since you've had a panic attack as Raven..." Kiismet asked, her face scrunched in concern. Ella silently nodded, placing her bag on her little desk before moving to the ratty old dresser for her night clothes. Slowly she changed, careful not the aggravate the wounds she could easily ignore as Raven, before turning back and climbing in-between the thin sheets and the older-than-her mattress. Kiismet sighed, flitting down to wedge herself between Ella's neck and the pillow.
"Good night, Ella..."
"Night, Kiismet..."
The vibrate only alarm went off only four hours later, though the owner was already awake and ready to leave. Ella grabbed her phone and slipped out back to the balcony, releasing the breath she had been holding the entire time inside. Kiismet sat on her shoulder, her little paw attempting to hide the yawn escaping.
"I know it's early, but I think I'm gonna need Raven for this... I don't exactly wanna break a leg getting down." Ella sighed, looking over the railing at the ground four stories down.
"I don't blame you. But we gotta be quick- your father was already moving when we left the room." Ella nodded, her mouth set in a frown.
"Kiismet, touch the sky." With her words, Ella jumped over the railing and vanished from sight just as her father opened her bedroom door.
Out of the light, Raven appeared and floated down to the ground. Pressing herself against the wall, she managed to dart out of view just in time for Ella's dad to burst out onto the balcony searching for his punching bag.
Shouldering the school bag, Raven let out a sigh as the man returned to the apartment.
"Touch the ground.." In a flash, Ella was back.
"I wish I could just be Raven all the time..." She mumbled as she began the walk to school, Kiismet peeking out from under the curtain of hair.
"Then I could just fly away from all my problems and not have to worry about anything anymore..." The kwami frowned sadly at her master's words, moving to nuzzle against her neck. Ella smiled at the touch, reaching up to give her kwami a finger to hold.
"Thanks Kiismet. I'm glad I have you..."
Parking her butt on a bench in the park by school, Ella pulled out her journal and sheet music again and began writing with Kiismet occasionally chiming in her opinion on some of the rhymes while she munched on the walnuts Ella had in her bag. Once the time on her phone hit eight, Ella packed up her stuff and headed to the bakery again.
"Good morning dear! What would you like this morning?" The sweet lady greeted Ella the moment she walked in the bakery door. Her reaction made Ella smile wide, reminding the young teen of her mother before she passed away.
"Good morning, ma'am! I was wondering if I could get some more of the walnut bread and if you have them, a chocolate muffin?"
"Of course! It'll be a moment so feel free to look around or have a seat while you wait!"
"Thank you ma'am!" Ella smiled again, moving to the small table by the bay window. She had only just sat down when there was a loud clatter and the door behind the counter was yanked open.
"Bye mom! Bye dad! I'll see- oh! Ella!" And there stood Marinette. Ella stared for a moment at the girl before she smiled and stood to meet the girl.
"Good morning Marinette! I didn't know this was your family's shop."
"Yeah we've been here for years." The girl giggled. "Are you waiting for your order?"
"Yeah, but I just walked in a moment ago."
"Want me to wait with you? Then we can walk to school together!" Ella smiled at the thought and nodded, drawing a large smile from the blunette.
Ella returned to her seat while Marinette grabbed a banana muffin for herself and a little bag of macaroons. 'For later', she said. The girls sat and chatted for a few minutes before Marinette's mom walked over with a little brown paper bag.
"Here you go, Ella- three slices of walnut bread and one chocolate muffin."
"Thank you ma'am!"
"I guess we should get going!" Marinette smiled as Ella paid before leading the way out the door, Ella waving one last time at the older lady before following her friend.
The pair entered the school indoor courtyard, quickening being joined by Alya who immediately dived into what happened yesterday. Ella couldn't help but hand on her new friend's every word, hoping there was no mention of a tricolor bird flying about.
"But there was something else! Apparently someone saw Cat Noir at the Eiffel Tower last night- with a superhero other than Ladybug! According to them, she looked like a bird or something!"
'Crap!'
"I gotta get something out of my locker so I'll meet you guys in class!" Ella was quick to dart away from the conversation, running for the locker room and bathroom. Slamming the door shut and escaping the private shower room she used yesterday, Ella quickly locked the door and dropped her bag with enough time to curl into a ball against the door, her breath coming out in pants and wheezes.
"It's okay, Ella- breathe, please! No one knows about Raven- it's gonna be okay, I promise!" Kiismet was out of the skirt pocket the moment Ella locked the door, her tiny paws reaching out for her friend.
"I- am- brea- breath-ing- Kii-kiis-" She couldn't even get words past her hyperventilating, her hands grabbing at her hair and pulling on it hard. Kiismet flitted around Ella's head in her own panic, smacking at the hands causing even more injuries.
"Come on, Ella- let's get to the classroom. You don't wanna be late, I know that... come on, Elle please!" Kiismet begged, resorting to pressing herself against the girls neck and talking against her skin to pull the girl from this attack.
~Elsewhere...~
"What's this?! A second surge of negative emotion? Such fear and panic, so much uselessness! Such an explosion of emotions more potent than Ivan's- I need to find them!"
Ella took a deep breath around 3 minutes later, held it, then released; finally opening her eyes to see Kiismet's own panicked gaze.
"Sorry Kiis... that was a bad one wasn't it..." Ella's eyes were watery as Kiismet returned to her position plastered against Ella's cheek.
"Don't scare me like that again, Ella..."
"I'm sorry, Kiismet..."
"No! Those negative emotions are gone! ...no matter, I still have Ivan's unbridled anger to my advantage...!"
Ella didn't stay in the bathroom much longer, despite not wanting to move, but when the last call bell rang for home room, and other students began running for their rooms, she finally stood on shaky legs.
"Are you sure you wanna stay? We could go for a fly?" Kiismet offered but Ella shook her head.
"I can push through- if I let every attack beat me, I'll never get out." Kiismet nodded at her master's double meaning words, flitting back down to her little home in the skirt pocket.
With another deep breath, Ella unlocked the door and headed up to the classroom.