To Lyger 0: King Monkey – Do you even have a driver's license, kid? Give it a year or two; then we'll talk.

"Any idea where the Bearator might be?"

Nabatala raised an eyebrow, giving Nyagwai' a sidelong glance. "Unfortunately, no," she answered, as they jogged down the street past the Eiffel Tower, lit up brilliantly in the darkness, with lines of glowing lights outlining the four legs of the tower. "I wouldn't have any idea where we would find him – aside from a passing glance in Tarascon, I've never actually seen him." She shrugged helplessly but put on a show of confidence. "But, maybe we'll run into him tonight, anyways!"

Nyagwai's mouth set in a thin line, and she cracked her knuckles. "I hope so. I have not actually seen that son of a bitch since Tarascon."

"How many times do I have to remind you that there's more to being a hero than just going after the villain who stole your miraculous?" Nabatala wondered, shaking her head in amusement. "You know, I'm starting to wonder if you're getting bored of seeing the sights of Paris with me!"

"No; it is not that," Nyagwai' protested, her eyes widening in surprise. "I am glad you introduced me to your friends – I really have appreciated it. Especially getting to know Marie and Amalia. I…" She sighed heavily. "Back in Peru, I did not have time to make a lot of friends. I was… focused on training, on the mission – do you realize that this is the longest period that the Bear Miraculous has been held by someone other than a Seneca of my clan in… fifteen hundred years? So now it's my responsibility to get it back."

Nabatala hummed sympathetically. "And you will get it back," she assured her. "And I'll help you do it, if I can."

Nyagwai' gave her an evaluating nod. "I… thank you, for your help."

Nabatala gave her a bright smile, turning to jog along the Seine. "What are friends for?" She raised an eyebrow at Nyagwai' knowingly. "So when you say you didn't have time to make friends, do you mean you didn't make the time for it? Because that could be your problem."

"Maybe it was a little of both," Nyagwai' admitted, grinning sheepishly.

"Well, I'm glad you made the time for it here!"

Nyagwai' giggled. "You know? I'm glad, too."

Nabatala sighed, looking out over the water as they continued to the east, roughly following the river upstream. They hadn't actually been assigned to patrol for tonight – in a way, that made going out as heroes that much more fun. Instead of being hyper-vigilant for any signs of danger, they could just be themselves and have fun talking about life. Of course, that hadn't stopped Nyagwai' from focusing on her search for information about the Bearator…

Still, being out here with a friend definitely beat staying at home and listening to the twins beg for a chance to stay up a little later.

She frowned. Her father had been handling bedtime more often the last week or two for some reason – that was why the twins were getting to stay up more often. But why? Her mother normally handled bedtime herself, getting the twins in bed promptly every time. But for some reason, she was giving that responsibility to Nabatala's father consistently now.

Yet again she was left to ask the question: was everything okay?

A noise from somewhere to the south, just off the sidewalk they were following, cut off Nabatala's line of thought and refocused her on the present. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, and one hand drifted back to her harpoon, turning to scan the spot where she had heard the noise. Beside her, Nyagwai' clutched her batons tightly lengthwise, deploying the claws and dropping low into a defensive crouch. Something else rustled, and Nabatala edged forward.

"Hey, easy there!" Looking in either direction, the Owl poked out of the bushes lining the edge of the sidewalk, his hands raised in front of his face, and crawled out to stop on the edge of the sidewalk. "I come in peace."

"Well, look who it is." Relaxing, Nyagwai' raised an eyebrow, studying the Owl carefully up and down. "What brings you out here, 'Dayowl'?"

Covering her mouth over her mask, Nabatala stifled a giggle.

The Owl cocked his head in confusion. "Who? I'm the–"

"Yeah, yeah, 'the Owl'." Nyagwai' rolled her eyes. "I recall hearing the other guy would announce it all the time!" She smirked. "You know, you are a little shorter than Knightowl."

"Wait, you know him?"

Nyagwai' shrugged. "I grew up on the stories of Knightowl and Majestia and all the others," she told him. "The United Heroez are basically legendary – those two especially. Although Uncle John wasn't a huge fan of Steel-Man…" She sighed. "Even though my people have always been on good terms with the Guardians, I did still live in New York. State, that is."

"Did you ever dream of becoming a superhero?" asked Nabatala, cocking her head curiously.

Nyagwai' hummed, tapping her chin. "When I was five, I wanted so badly to become the first female Sparrow."

"A girl Sparrow?" The Owl scoffed. "No way."

"Oh, really?" Nyagwai's eyes narrowed. "And why not?"

"Hmm?" pressed Nabatala, her eyes lighting up in amusement.

The Owl swallowed nervously. "Um… because Sparrow is a boy?" he tried.

"Do you not think a girl can be a superhero?" asked Nyagwai, arching an eyebrow at him.

Glancing back and forth between them, the Owl held his hands up in surrender. "In present company, there's no way I'm getting out of this alive if I say 'no' – not that I would say 'no'," he added quickly. "Considering that I've seen Ladybug, and you–" he nodded to Nabatala "–in action, I'd have to say that girls can absolutely be superheroes. But since Sparrow is a boy – or a man now; he has to be, what, a hundred?"

"My grandmother said she thinks he is a different person entirely," Nyagwai' interjected. "She thinks there is no way someone could live that long, so they have to be different people than the ones who first started. Otherwise, they would have to be immortal or something."

"But Master Fu lived to be 180," Nabatala pointed out.

"Who?" The Owl furrowed his brows, turning his head to one side to look at her.

"The previous holder of the Narwhal Miraculous," Nabatala explained. "He was the Guardian before Guardian Emilie – or with her, I think."

The Owl cocked his head to one side. "Huh."

"You didn't know that?" asked Nabatala, her eyes widening in surprise.

He shook his head. "Nope. What's a Guardian?"

Nyagwai' blinked. "You do not know what the Guardians of the Miraculous are," she deadpanned.

He held his hands out. "No miraculous here, so…"

"The Guardians are responsible for the miraculous," Nyagwai' told him. "That's what I am training to be. I started at the American Temple, but now I am here until I can get back the Bear Miraculous – the one that my people held for millennia before this bastard stole it."

The Owl hummed. "Good to know."

"Guardian Emilie has been helping me train with my miraculous," Nabatala added.

"Huh. I've just been training to fight with King Monkey – although M. Damocles has been helping me figure out all the gadgets and the like."

Nabatala cocked her head. "Really? You've been training on how to fight?"

"Don't act so surprised."

"No, it's not that–" She swallowed nervously. "I actually… haven't done any of that," she admitted, looking away.

He started, examining her closely. "Really? But–"

She shrugged. "It just wasn't as important as patrolling the city before, and now there's less of a pressing need for fighting and so many other things to do."

Nyagwai' frowned. "Dan was doing some training back in Peru – back home. But I have not practiced much since coming here," she admitted.

The Owl hummed, nodded slowly. "I see. Well, I…" He paused. "Um… I could – or that is, if you want, we could…" He coughed, glancing back and forth between Nabatala and Nyagwai'. "Would you be up for some sparring?"

"Sure!" Nabatala nodded eagerly, dropping one foot back and raising her fists.

The Owl folded his arms and nodded, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Hand-to-hand works for now," he mused. "Though at some point you should probably also try it with the harpoon – that's more King Monkey's thing, though. Okay. Fighting with your fists – boxing, taekwondo, karate – you need to keep your hands up higher," he instructed her, crouching down in a similar stance and holding his fists up. "See? I have my hands up near my head to give myself more power, and my elbows are in close so I can block any body shots."

She hummed, studying him carefully. Slowly, he moved closer, bouncing on the balls of his feet, his fists raised. His face, completely covered by his cowl, betrayed nothing of what he was planning. Cautiously, Nabatala slid back a half-step, copying him and staying up on the balls of her feet, trying to stay in motion. Moving in quickly to cross the distance between them, the Owl swung a punch at her side, and she dropped her elbow down to block it.

"Good!" The Owl nodded approvingly, backing up a few steps. "But if you have a chance, it's always better to avoid the hit than to take it. That way the opponent expends his energy but you don't use any of yours."

"Okay…" Nabatala watched him carefully as he punched again, two quick jabs at her chest. As he attacked, she leaped backward out of his reach, and he missed wide. Lunging back in the moment he started to pull his fists back, Nabatala placed her hand on the back of his arm and shoved, sending him spinning away from her. He yelped in surprise, his cape blowing around his shoulders and over-balanced, falling away from her. Planting one hand on the ground, he pushed off and cartwheeled around to land on his feet a couple meters away. "Oops!" Nabatala grimaced, holding her hands up and starting in his direction before freezing in place. "Sorry!"

The Owl shook his head jerkily and rolled his shoulders. "No, that was my fault. Actually, you made exactly the right move under the circumstances," he assured her. "If your opponent is off balance, you use that against them. Just… when we're sparring, try not to go all out. Especially since you have a miraculous and I don't!"

She nodded firmly. "Of course. Sorry – I'll try to hold back."

He let out a bark of laughter. "Hopefully, at some point neither of us will need to hold back!"

She cocked her head. "What, were you holding back?" She furrowed her brows.

"Naturally."