Intermission: A Day in the Life of the Kwamis

With all of the wielders for all four factions determined, it's time to take a step sideways and look at the allies who support the miraculous wielders through it all: the kwamis. Each is unique, with their own personalities and powers, but they've hardly had a chance to shine on their own.

It's likely a weekend passed between the prior chapter and this one. Then again, I have no idea where weekends fall in this storyline, and I haven't for a long time.

Tikki is the ladybug kwami of the Eastern Order, allied currently to Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She rises with Marinette, and while her human partner is in the bathroom brushing her teeth, Tikki fazes through the floor of their home/bakery and steals a freshly baked macaron from the cookie sheet when Tom Dupain isn't looking. She returns with her prize and nibbles on it while Marinette brushes her hair. Tikki is great for advice, and often finds herself coaching Marinette. This time, it's Marinette's current love triangle and her failure to communicate. She urges Marinette to be honest and courageous. After all, she's so brave as Ladybug. Marinette thanks her, takes a deep breath, and prepares to depart for her day. Tikki darts into her purse where she makes herself comfortable around a tiny cushion Marinette sewed herself with a couple of sweet snacks to last through the morning.

Plagg is the black cat kwami, currently allied to Adrien Agreste. Adrien is in the shower, so Plagg has taken to sprawling across Adrien's pillow, eating gooey cheese without any thought of the mess he's making. However, he hears the door open. Plagg quickly darts into hiding as Adrien's cousin, Felix Graham de Vanily, enters the room to snoop around while Adrien is occupied. Plagg simmers in his general direction but can't reveal himself. Felix starts with Adrien's computer, but when he can't get passed the password, he moves on to searching Adrien's drawers and closet.

When he opens the personal mini-fridge, he finds it's filled with gooey aged cheese. Felix turns his nose up and remarks about his cousin's atrocious taste in snack food. Much to Plagg's shock, he hears a voice replying to Felix. That voice remarks in agreement that cheese is disgusting and how he would prefer a nice, juicy steak instead.

Much to Plagg's horror, a lion kwami floats into view next to Felix. Plagg recognizes his rival from a previous lifetime: Leeroy, the Leo kwami. Plagg starts forward to pick a fight, but then his mental gears engage, and he shirks quietly out of sight as far as he can go. This is bad. This is bad, bad, bad. Felix is Pride; their enemy from the Western Order. One of Adrien's precious family members is fighting against him. As if Adrien's own father being Hawk Moth wasn't bad enough. Now this. Plagg sulks—it's worse. Because of the enchantment on kwamis that force them to keep secrets, Plagg can't even warn Adrien about all this.

Felix, uninterested in what he's finding, moves to exit the room. Plagg goes to follow. Maybe he can at least find out what Adrien's cousin is up to. However, Leeroy is rather energetic, darting here and there, which makes it hard for Plagg to stay out of sight. Leeroy is also rather competitive, telling Felix such things as "I'll race you down the stairs!" or "I bet you can't jump high enough to touch the ceiling!" Felix is perturbed but does his best to ignore his kwami. If he were honest, if he could take his superpowers without the obnoxious floating toy, he would. It doesn't help that Leeroy is rash and somewhat of a Leeroy Jenkins. He nearly gets spotted by both Nathalie Sancoeur and Solomon/the gorilla. Plagg realizes that continuing to follow Leeroy and Felix is dangerous; he's getting closer to getting caught than he's ever been in the past. So Plagg flies back to Adrien's room and drowns his stress in cheese. By the time Adrien exits the shower, Plagg has eaten everything in the mini-fridge and asks Adrien to order more. Adrien rolls his eyes and sighs; this clearly isn't the first time.

Speaking of Nathalie Sancoeur…She does notice that Felix seems to be paying attention to her out of the corner of her eye, but she gives no indication that she's aware of his presence and continues to work as Gabriel Agreste's secretary. No matter how much Felix and Amelie would love to have her fired, her work is flawless, and there's no grounds whatsoever to get rid of her—especially when she's under contract by Gabriel himself. Of course, given his comatose state, all of his legal documents are going through the court system. That includes what'll happen to his company if he's not around to continue making designs after his backlog runs out—and that includes his will, especially about who is Adrien's legal guardian.

Nothing at all seems suspicious whatsoever about Nathalie—until she's alone in her private quarters. That's when she allows both Nooroo and Duusuu to reveal themselves. Duusuu the peacock kwami immediately tries to get Nooroo to play Twister with him, and when Nooroo refuses, Duusuu starts dramatically crying. Nooroo the butterfly kwami himself is a lot less cowed than he was under Gabriel, but he is still rather timid, seldom speaks, seldom speaks loudly, and seems to be in constant fear about what he's going to have to do next. As the kwami of generosity, it pains him to forcibly take over people's free wills. The birthstone items he had to enchant are all the worse. He knows they're slowly poisoning the personalities of their wielders; and he himself feels as if his own emotions are being poisoned along with them. Nathalie, being rather cold and professional and stoic, doesn't notice this in Nooroo. Otherwise, it's possible she might have done something to alleviate it. Gabriel wouldn't, but Nathalie might. After all, Gabriel's developing trait was his heartlessness. But Nathalie's is not heartlessness—hers is her strategic planning.

Nathalie tells them to quiet down so she can focus. She has her tablet out and open with at least three layers of encryptions on it as she analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of her opponents. It's been months, and she still has no additional miraculous in her grasp despite two entire Orders as well as the B Team operating in her city. She needs those additional miraculous to wake the man she loves. And to get those miraculous, she needs a strategy that can isolate and defeat the Western and Eastern Orders. Fortunately, she has one thing working in her favor. She knows the neighborhood, within four streets, where the Western Order lives.

She has sent most of her spyders to that area, and they have been watching 24/7. Anytime someone moves out, she follows them through her senti monsters and learns about them digitally through hacking—just in case those people are members of the Western Order, on the move. She also carefully watches all large packages that come and go, again to see if the Western Order is smuggling something in or out. She's had no luck yet, but it's only a matter of time before she sees Tarantula leaving a window or Hypnos being imported elsewhere—she's sure of it.

While Nathalie focuses, Duusuu recovers from his crying and turns on the TV to an emotional soap opera. He encourages Nooroo to relax and watch with him. Nooroo, being cowed into never speaking up for himself, ultimately complies. Which results in him being a "comfort plushie" for Duusuu as Duusuu hugs him out of excitement, squeezes him out of tension, and sobs on his shoulder from heartache due to the events of the soap opera. Nooroo is just too polite to refuse.

Nathalie is also very strict in keeping to a schedule. At the precise minute breakfast is to begin, she makes sure both kwamis have something to eat—and she takes care to feed herself. She is a workaholic, but not to the point of neglecting her own well-being. This consists of an oatmeal cup for herself, almonds for Duusuu, and a tiny sip of wine for Nooroo.

Meanwhile, Felix stalks back to his bedroom. His mother has the next guest room over, and she leaning on the wall in between, waiting for him. Felix, rather brusquely, tells her to leave him alone. Amelie Graham de Vanily stares very pointedly at Leeroy, who is out in the open. She scolds both of them, telling Felix that he needs to keep his kwami hidden. Their place in the Western Order depends on secrecy; it's a promise their family made generations ago.

Felix rolls his eyes, saying that the dead can keep their own promises. Amelie scolds him again, saying that she went out on a limb to even get him the Leo miraculous. Madam Gros could take it at any time if he acts irresponsible. Felix grumbles but complies, tucking Leeroy into his pocket. Amelie nods in approval. In doing so, her hair shifts slightly, revealing the crane kwami, Gracee, hiding behind her neck. Felix then points out the hypocrisy as he can see his mother's kwami—but calling your mother a hypocrite never works out well.

Amelie tucks her hair back in place, hiding the kwami, and escorts Felix into his room. There, Gracee feels safe to reveal herself. As her name implies, she is a very graceful kwami with impeccable manners and a high-bred way of speaking (similar to Flayn from Fire Emblem: Three Houses for those who know it). She and Amelie get along fairly well, with Gracee's more reserved nature lending her to hide easier/less likely to reveal herself than other kwamis. Unlike most of the Western miraculous, she has had very little interactions with Madam Gros since her twin rings were in possession of the Graham de Vanily family for roughly two centuries. That means she has no idea whatsoever that Madam Gros sicced Hypnos on the entire Western Order or that Madam Gros is definitely someone not to be trusted. As far as Gracee knows, and thus as far as Amelie knows, Madam Gros is the legit heir and true leader of the Western Order and that Amelie filling in for Emilie is just the Graham de Vanily family fulfilling their duties and taking on their proper role and responsibilities.

Speaking of the Eastern Order of the Miraculous, Nino Lahiffe and Alya Cesaire are walking to school together after dropping off all their little siblings at the elementary school. They're challenging each other, treating the streets like a parkour obstacle course, calling it training for "turtle boy" and "fox girl." By the end, they're winded from leaping and sprinting and laughing so hard they can barely talk. So ultimately they're forced to rest to catch their breath and then continue on to school at a normal pace. Wayzz the turtle kwami remarks that he remembers when "the master" was that spry—then the smile vanishes from his face as he worries about the fate of Master Fu. Nino, who is usually carefree, also sobers up a little. After all, Wayzz is his friend too, and it sucks to see a friend suffering. He offers Wayzz a piece of lettuce to cheer him up and then asks if there's anything he can do to help. Wayzz points out that Nino has already gone above and beyond as Carapace. Nino says that he still wants to make sure "the master" is okay, even though he never met the dude. After all, he wants to protect the people of Paris.

Alya says that Ladybug and Cat Noir are doing everything they can to track down the Western Order. She's sure as soon as they find a lead, she and Carapace will be called in to help. Carapace most likely due to "the master's" connection to the turtle miraculous. She's also very worried about Fu, and she actually has met the guy. Trixx the fox kwami chides them, telling them not to look so glum. After all, Master Fu is very skilled. He has lots of experience (including fighting for the Parisian resistance during WWII) and is self-taught in many forms of magic. He can hold his own and is likely holding out against the Western Order. Trixx even brags a bit, claiming that he taught the master a few tricks, and he's sure that they'll come in handy for Fu now. Alya light-heartedly jokes back with Trixx teaching tricks, and Trixx suggests he's the best trickster. Alya, bemused, gives him some grapes and then says "okay Best Trickster, just keep yourself hidden" as they've now entered Francoise Dupont High School property.

Kagami Tsurugi is being carpooled to school by herself, courtesy of her mother's self-driving car. With no one else present, she feels it's safe enough to let both Tiia the mantis kwami and Longg the dragon kwami out. They're chatting, and while the car can hear Kagami, it can't even hear either kwamis. This leads to several times when the car thinks Kagami is giving it directions only for her to correct it and say she's "just talking to herself." This calls Tiia to let out a small but polite giggle. Longg rambles a little bit, amused that the car simply can't hear a word she says.

The two kwamis wind up settling down and occupying themselves with a game of Othello on Kagami's cell phone during the ride. They actually get along really well as their mannerisms complement each other. Meanwhile, Kagami goes through a mental checklist to ensure she has everything she needs for school. This isn't just limited to homework and fencing equipment. She makes sure she has snacks for the kwamis, which includes dragonfruit for Longg and fruit juice for Tiia. She ensures they both have small, comfy cushions to rest on in her bag. She makes sure she has her phone, precisely sharpened number two pencils, and covered text books to protect them from harm.

Mylene Haprele also catches a ride to school with her father. It makes sense, since he's a teacher there, after all. They're talking rather happily on the way to Francoise Dupont High School. It works out well for them as Mylene gets a tuition discount due to Mr. Haprele's work. They aren't the richest family as it's just the two of them, and her father works as a teacher and an actor, which aren't super well paid. It also allows them to spend time together without being together all the time as he's a teacher of a different class for ethic reasons. It helps Mylene with her anxiety knowing he's nearby.

During this, however, Mullo the mouse kwami gets bored. She's already finished her breakfast granola, so she sneaks out of Mylene's backpack to look for more food and to amuse herself. She peeks out first to make sure the father and daughter are distracted. Then she skitters across the arm rest, down to the floor, and into the glove compartment to search for more food. Mr. Haprele notices the last movement, slams on the breaks, and freaks out about a mouse being in the car. Mylene sorta panics about Mullo being discovered, but Mr. Haprele thinks she's scared about the mouse. She insists she didn't see a real mouse at all, and that if she did see a mouse, she would have been out the door and down the block. Mr. Haprele urges her to sit back. He yanks open the glove compartment while Mylene holds her breath. The compartment is empty, save for crumbs for a long forgotten cereal bar that Mr. Haprele left there a season ago.

Mr. Haprele frowns; he's sure he saw something. By then, Mylene realizes that they've all but arrived at Francoise Dupont High School. She also catches sight of her boyfriend, Ivan Bruel. She tells her father good-bye, gives him a kiss on the cheek, and hustles over to Ivan.

Ivan doesn't see her coming as he has his back to her. He's talking to Stompp, showing the ox kwami his drum sticks and saying that they should have time to rehearse their rocking drum duet before Mylene shows up. It's worth noting that Stompp, despite his size, is able to lift both drum sticks with ease. However, the moment Ivan says Mylene's name, he hears her voice directly behind him. Ivan quickly grabs the drum sticks and Stompp, hiding them behind his back. And it's so obvious he's hiding something that Mylene can't help but notice. She asks him about it, making Ivan sweat a little. Fortunately, Stompp is experienced and knows when to sneak away. When Mylene finally pesters Ivan into showing her his hands, he reveals he's just holding his drum sticks. He then says he's been working on a drum and vocal solo, just for her, and he wants her to hear it, but it's not ready yet. Mylene laughs and then inwardly cringes as she knows her boyfriend is far from the best vocalist. She tells him it's the thought that counts, and the two head inside together.

What Mylene hasn't realized is that Mullo has snuck off again, looking for more food. And she smells oatmeal coming from Ivan's rather large lunchbox. It actually has a locking clasp on it, but that doesn't stop a kwami. So Mullo darts inside, muttering to herself that she hopes that the oatmeal scent is coming from cereal bars. It's pitch black inside, so she doesn't see anything—she has to rely on her nose. However, Mullo then hears "intruder!" and is tackled. The two grapple for a moment until they realize that they're allies: the mouse and the ox kwamis. "Mullo?" "Stompp?"

This inevitably leads them to asking each other what they're doing here. After all, shouldn't Mullo be with Minimouse and Stompp with Blue Ox? They fall awkwardly silent, only to hear Ivan and Mylene talking and laughing outside. "Ohh….Ohhhh!" I guess it's a good thing kwamis can't blab secret identities.

The Couffaine family docked their houseboat, the Liberty, close enough to Francoise Dupont High School that Juleka and Luka were able to walk to class today. They're on a stretch near some cafes that haven't opened for the day, leaving them alone, so their kwamis are out, riding on their shoulders. All their kwamis, which includes Roarr the tiger and Sass the snake and Luuna the wolf. Sass and Luuna spark a bit of jealousy of each other as they both vie for the "best" seat on Luka's shoulder. They try one-upping each other by bragging about all the good things they've done and how they've helped Luka. Sass brags about their success during Desperada and Party Crasher. He states that he's mature, calm, and wise and will lead Viperion far better than any newbie kwami. Luuna argues back that she's assertive and loyal and a great leader—exactly what Alpha needs. She also brags about every other time Luka has become Alpha—and those far outweigh the times he's become Viperion. After all, isn't the power of empowerment better than the power of second chances? This stings Sass deeply as it truly has been a long time since the power of the snake has been called upon though he argues back that second chances are more important than empowerment. Luka sees Sass's expression droop and tells them to stop quibbling. However, he does realize he isn't doing Sass or the snake miraculous any service due to his responsibilities as Alpha. He wonders if he should ask Ladybug to find a successor to the snake. However, he realizes it's a double-edged sword because in doing so, he'd hurt Sass even more.

Luka quietly moves Sass to one of his shoulders and Luuna to the other. To make them both feel better and to ensure their mouths are too full to argue, he gives Sass a hard-boiled egg and Luuna some beef jerky. Roarr sees this and, rather loudly, demands a second breakfast from Juleka. Juleka is immediately cowed and searches in her pocket for some turkey jerky. Roarr takes it and basically inhales it she eats it so quickly. She then tells Juleka off by being so submissive. Juleka needs to stand up for herself. She doesn't have to be blindly obedient. This leads Roarr into coaching Juleka how to say "no" and how to keep it a simply "no" and that "no" is a complete sentence; no explanations are necessary. When Juleka whispers "no," Roarr tells her to speak up until she's basically shouting. By then, she and Luka have arrived at Francoise Dupont High School. This earns weird looks from other students. But Juleka and Luka laugh as their kwamis hide in their instrument cases.

Alix Kubdel skates to school. She sees her best friend, Stella Tenebrae, jogging ahead and yells at her to wait up. Stella, who is slowly having her personality warped by the amethyst bat ear cuff, obviously hears Alix calling but jogs all the faster to get away from her. This causes Alix to kick it into high gear with her roller blades. Which only causes Stella to shift from a jog into a sprint. She shouts back at Alix to leave her alone. She's too angry to be around people, let alone friends, right now, and she doesn't know why. Alix insists she can help. However, Stella argues that Alix can't. And due to her warping personality, she implies that the problem is Alix (for being too selfish) than Stella's own issues. Stella is finally able to lose Alix by racing up the stairs to a nearby museum or office building, something Alix can't properly do on her rollerblades. She circles the building, trying to cut her friend off, but has no luck.

Once she's alone, Fluff the rabbit kwami appears and comforts her. Fluff reminds her that she and Stella will be friends again. After all, Fluff has a future memory of Stella and Alix competing in the triathlon together. Alix points out that that already happened, in the past, during Mr. Laughter's chapter. Fluff clutches her head as if she has a headache; time travel memories are confusing and painful. Alix finds herself comforting her kwami, giving her a baby carrot to distract her. Alix says she knows that this is supposed to happen. She knows beyond a doubt that it's Nathalie's Sancoeur, Adrien's legal guardian, who let loose the birthstone items upon the city. But she has to let this happen; otherwise, Madam Gros who is Ivory will be able steam roll the Eastern Order; it's the three-way opposition that is keeping everyone in check. For the time being.

Fluff suggests that they act quickly before Fox Moth makes her move. Alix chuckles, pointing out that they have over a decade until Fox Moth gets the butterfly miraculous. Fluff again complains about time travel memories. Alix sighs; then she realizes she does have a solid half hour before her classes begin. With time to spare, she transforms into Bunnyx and enters the Burrow. After all, she has a lot of the timeline to watch and protect, so she might as well be prepared.

At the Kante residence, Max is running late—well, late for himself. He's usually pretty punctual. Markov is trying to get him out the door as his mother is still away for her space training. However, it's Kaalki the horse kwami who keeps delaying things. She insists that Max upgrade his wardrobe into something trendy and fashionable. Max admits he doesn't care. Kaalki argues with him while she brings out various shirts and slacks for him to try on. This only confuses Markov, who can just see the floating clothing; he can't even hear Kaalki. Kaalki continues debating with Max, saying that she could transform him from Steve Urkel to Stefan Urkél. Max wonders how she even knows about Family Matters, but Kaalki is more interested in pushing accessories on him than answering. Markov keeps interrupting too, trying to figure out what's going on, as he can only hear Max's side of the conversation. Max gets exasperated, grabs the outfit Kaalki is currently holding, and gathers his things to leave. Kaalki follows after him, insisting on accessories, cologne, and an impeccable hairstyle. It's not until Max tells Kaalki that he has a small cube of hay for her hidden somewhere in his backpack that she dives in, looking for breakfast, and lets him finish his preparations in peace.

Marc Anciel and his older brother, Mathieu Anciel, are also walking to school. Well, rather, Marc is walking and Mathieu is coasting slowly on his skateboard to allow Marc to keep pace. Marc tells Mathieu it's okay for him to go on ahead. Marc will get to Francoise Dupont High School at his own pace. Mathieu shrugs; it feels weird to leave his only brother in the dust. Marc points out that Mathieu probably wants to spend time with his girlfriend, Monique Imhof, and he shouldn't hold himself back on Marc's account. Mathieu again shrugs; if Marc is so sure. He skateboards on ahead.

Marc breathes a sigh of relief when his brother is out of sight as that gives him time to review things with Ziggy, the goat kwami of the Eastern Order. Ziggy is prone to panicking, and going to school where there's always a chance of discovery is a reason enough for her to panic. Marc reviews various plans they've talked about. Such as "if you think someone has seen you, hide in the nearest locker." But overall, Marc just encourages her to stay in his bag, out of sight. He's made it comfortable with a folded towel and snacks and even a book for her to read. He's able to calm Ziggy down; she then asks if Orikko and Lucciola will be in school. Marc says they will be, and he says it's okay for those three to hang out as long as they're not caught. The word "caught" causes Ziggy to worry again, which leads to the conversation repeating but with different words.

Meanwhile, Mathieu Anciel is just a block or two ahead. With Marc behind him, Zaggy, the Aries kwami, reveals himself. Unlike Ziggy, Zaggy is assertive and aggressive. He flies alongside Mathieu as if Mathieu on a skateboard is some type of competition. He gets to be a bit loud too often, so Mathieu is frequently shushing him. He also has to pull Zaggy into his pocket to hide him from some oncoming cyclists at one point. Zaggy emerges almost immediately after and tells Mathieu off, saying that "you worry as much as my sister." This surprises Mathieu, as he had no idea that kwamis could have siblings. He thinks through the Western zodiac and wonders aloud if the Capricorn in Zaggy's sister. Zaggy shakes his head. His sister is "elsewhere" and it's been "a long, long time" since he last saw her. He actually does kind of miss her, "but I don't miss her worrying. She cares about everything and takes care of her partner. She's really kind and sometimes too sensitive. But I still miss her, even her worrying."

Le Chien Kim gets off of the city bus as he heads to school; his face is buried in his phone as he's busy texting Ondine. Xuppu has to pull him by the edge of his shirt to keep him from walking into traffic as he crosses the street. Kim says "thanks, little floating monkey plush" to which Xuppu calls him a "nitwit." However, those phrases are now coming across as more of terms of endearment rather than insults. Ondine, who is now well aware of the dynamic between the two of them, tells them both to behave in her next text. Xuppu tells Kim to tell Ondine that he always behaves. Ondine replies that she's not convinced from someone who once worked alongside the famous trickster, Sun Wukong. She then promises she'll give Xuppu a banana if he makes it through the school day without causing trouble for Kim. Xuppu says he'll never fall for such a ridiculous bribe; however, he gives in the moment Ondine ups it to two bananas. Kim laughs, but as if knowing how her boyfriend would reply, Ondine tells Kim not to get into trouble either. That includes no basketball inside, no mixing laundry soap in the water fountains, and no quoting True or False in the middle of class. Kim replies that she's ruining all his fun, which gets Xuppu to laugh. By then, they're practically at the steps of Francoise Dupont High School, and Xuppu is nearly spotted until Kim shoves the monkey kwami into his jacket's pocket, at the protest of the kwami.

Nathaniel Kurtzberg is already sitting in Miss Bustier's classroom, working on more panels of his comic on his tablet. Orikko the rooster kwami is bored, and his body language shows it. Lucciola, the lightning bug kwami, is patiently waiting as Nathaniel draws. In part, she's entranced by the lightbulbs in the room. With Nathaniel absorbed in an artist's trance, Orikko takes off to explore. Lucciola, however, notices this and tries to stop him, saying that they have to remain a secret. Orikko points out that it's fine as long as they don't get caught. Lucciola says that that doesn't feel right, but she follows Orikko into the walls and pipes anyway. The relationship between these two is notably different than Sass and Luuna. Orikko acts as more of a mentor to Lucciola, who is very new, naïve, and uncertain in the world. Of course, Orikko is a bit bombastic, arrogant, and can be a trickster himself, so Lucciola isn't getting the best advice at times. Fortunately, kwamis can't blab any secret identities or powers, which is why neither of them have mentioned to Nathaniel that one of his friends is paired with the dolphin kwami and thus is likely Dauphin or Dauphine.

This actually crosses Lucciola's mind as she explores the insides of the school with Orikko, and she asks him about it. This eventually leads to Orikko explaining why kwamis are compelled to keep secrets and how the Great Sage created them that way. Lucciola is really interested in the Great Sage; this is the first time she's ever heard about him. So Orikko explains what he can; however, there are times that the compulsion for secrecy forces bubbles out of his mouth. He explains that the Great Sage was a very wise man and the first human to ever study magic. He's the one who gave the kwamis physical forms to interact with this world rather than being an abstract concept, such as creation or destruction. That part sounds very familiar to Lucciola; it's something she knew when she first opened her eyes. She knew what she represented (which depends on what the canon concepts turn out to be). Orikko agrees; his experience was the same. He says it's great to interact with the real world rather than be an ambiguous spirit. Sure, there's some amount of weakening that happens when they went from spirits to kwamis, and they now have to serve masters. But the fact that they can make friends, eat food, and hold conversations is totally worth it.

Orikko then lets it slip that the worst part is that they don't age while their partners do. Lucciola stops short amid the pipes to a water fountain and asks what he means. Orikko explains that kwamis are immortal, but humans aren't. After all, they are the embodied spirits of concepts. He's seen it in the past with his other masters. They get old, and they all eventually die. And then the kwami sleeps in the miracle box until it's time to serve a new master. He stops talking when he realizes that Lucciola is crying. Orikko mildly panics and asks what's wrong. Lucciola asks if that includes Nathaniel—if one day he'll get old and die. Orikko admits it's true, which causes more tears. Lucciola blubbers that she doesn't want Nathaniel to die; he's the only master she's ever known, he's why she exists in the world, he'll always be her only master. Orikko has to calm her down, which is very much not his strength. But eventually he is able to when he says that regardless of what happens, he and Lucciola will always be friends.

Roger Raincomprix offered to drive his daughter, Sabrina, to school in the police car. However, she decides to walk. In part because she loves walking the long way to school with Barkk the dog kwami sticking out of her purse, just as if she were walking a real dog. Barkk loves these very much too. There's also been times that Barkk has been careless and people have caught glimpses of her. However, since there genuinely are teeny-tiny dogs in the world, Sabrina has been able to play Barkk off as her teacup Chihuahua before hurrying out of the scene. And if Barkk gets too energetic, which is often, Sabrina can usually bribe her into obedience with the promise of Milkbones.

Barkk hides when Sabrina joins her new friends, Yvonne Garnier and Genevieve Faucher. (It's not as if Barkk has to hide as Yvonne ans Genevieve have known about her since Labyrinth, but it is a force of habit.) Barkk is happy that Sabrina now has healthier relationships. After all, Sabrina and Barkk met off of the back of Chloe Bourgeois abusing and dumping Sabrina, and Barkk knows full and well how badly Chloe hurt her master. Sabrina is actually still working through that as well as learning how to address, deal with, handle, and hopefully move on from her abandonment issues. Barkk also subtly tries to keep Sabrina away from Chloe, such as nudging her down a different hallway in school, distracting her when Chloe approaches, or by randomly taking off in a different direction if she sees Chloe coming. Because, above all, Barkk is loyal; she's going to protect her new master—or rather, her new best friend.

The last kwami of the Eastern Zodiac is Daizzi, the pig kwami, who currently resides with his wielder, Rose Lavillant. For safety reasons, Rose has confided about her illness as well as all its symptoms to Daizzi. That way, if anything goes wrong, Daizzi could at least do something. For example, Daizzi could dial 911 (or whatever the French equivalent is). Even if Daizzi didn't speak over the phone, the call would bring medical help. Daizzi already told Rose that he is still compelled through enchantment to keep secrets. Rose smiles when she acknowledges this, but she also knows Daizzi is smart enough to figure something out. Daizzi, however, is every bit as optimistic as Rose and doesn't believe things will ever get that bad. Daizzi then asks if they'll be able to hang out with Juleka and Roarr that afternoon. He does love spending time with his friends, after all. Rose shares that she and Juleka have plans to hit the local music store and then listen to CDs on the Liberty until dinner time. Daizzi cheers. Rose then says that if that makes Daizzi happy, the fact that she was able to pick up fresh strawberries ought to make Daizzi ecstatic. Daizzi squeals at the "fresh strawberries" part as those are both his and Rose's favorite food.

Apart from Francoise Dupont High, Ondine is heading to her school. She has her rather large athletic bag over one shoulder as she does have community swim practice after classes. It's a bit of a juggle as she's still texting Le Chien Kim and Xuppu as she walks. It should be obvious, but Finn the new dolphin kwami is hiding inside her athletic bag. Although he doesn't sit still well at all. He's very curious about the world around him and is constantly poking his head through the sports bag to see the things they pass by and ask what they are. Ondine is willing to humor the kwami when no one else is around, but his excitement nearly gets them caught on a daily basis. At the very least, fortunately for Ondine, there are no other kwamis at the school—so there's no chance of a curious Finn running into (for example) the elephant kwami. However, this doesn't quite apply to the frog kwami, as Ondine and Tsuyu Asui are good friends on the same swim team.

Beyond that, Ondine does have a full life at school, we just don't get to see it too much due to it not being Francoise Dupont High. She has several friends there, has her favorite classes, and overall has a much more stable school life due to it not being within the eyes of Hawk Moth—either of them. A few of her friends ask her to bring her boyfriend by. They hear about him, but Ondine has yet to introduce him to them. Ondine promises she'll do so soon—and if they're really all that eager, they could join her for swim practice.

Speaking of Tsuyu Asui, she meets up with her boyfriend, Fumikage Tokoyami, at the lockers inside Francoise Dupont High School as usual. She catches him by surprise, and Fumikage stutters for a bit when he sees her for the first time. Their kwamis, Froppy the frog kwami and Dark Shadow the crow kwami, watch them closely as it's how they learn about the world. Dark Shadow is a lot like his counterpart from My Hero Academia; he's very loyal to Fumikage but can be wild and doesn't know his own strengths. He's prone to lashing out at anything he sees as a threat to his master, and his power grows with the darkness. Froppy takes a lot after Tsuyu; she's observant, honest, and direct. However, her newness to the world does often hinder her observations as she's not always certain what she witnesses, what it means to the world around her, and how things and people interact with one another. And when she and Dark Shadow are left alone together and curious they tend to cause trouble—such as by locking their wielders in a closet.

Fumikage mentions the upcoming Team B practice session, tomorrow evening. Dark Shadow is happy about this. Not only is he as a kwami stronger in the evenings and at night, but he's also able to make Tsukuyomi stronger during that time period too. Froppy mentions she prefers rainy days for the exact same reasons. They agree that the best time would then be a stormy night, and they (rather seriously) express the hope that Hawk Moth and Ivory only move during stormy nights. Their wielders are bemused as they don't believe things work that way. Hawk Moth preys upon emotion, and he'll strike whenever a civilian is weak. Ivory…well, she's harder to read. Everyone knows the Western Order wants the miraculous, but their methods and motives are less clear. Although, Fumikage admits, they have no idea why Hawk Moth even wants the ladybug and black cat specifically besides a generic "more power." Tsuyu says she's certain it's way more than that, but she has no idea what it might be. She suspects Ladybug knows, however. And that is true. It's just that Ladybug and Cat Noir have never told anyone about how their miraculous can grant a two-pronged wish out of concern of more people trying to claim their miraculous regardless of consequences. Fumikage crosses his arms. He can accept them keeping some secrets; they all have secrets after all. But if information about Hawk Moth's motive would help the B Team find his lair, then he does wish the golden duo would share that information. So far, the B Team has searched half of Paris looking for him without any luck.

Giselle Winters-Blanchet heads to Mr. Haprele's class with her head low and feet dragging. The ultimatum her friends previously gave her still rings in her head. Give up being Snow Leopard or they'll tell Adamantus (and thus Hawk Moth) her secret identity. Now, Giselle realizes she could turn the tables and tell Ladybug the secret identities of Swallowtail and Gel Girl, but she simply does not have it in her heart to betray her best friends, Meera Pugliese and Raissa Deschamps, like that. Chill the snow leopard kwami checks to make sure that they're alone in the hallway before revealing himself. Once he's sure it's safe, he talks to Giselle to try to comfort her. He suggests she "play it cool" with her friend and let their insults slide off her "like ice" because he's sure they didn't mean what they said. Chill in terms of personality is a bit egotistical in the sense he wants to be cool and trendy at all times; he has a thing for sunglasses. He likes puns a lot and also likes painting himself as rather powerful. Like the rest of the kwamis on the B Team, he's so new to the world that is inexperience and naivety lead to several mishaps and a lot of jokes and humor. But he does care a lot about his mistress; he's only ever had one, so he holds her in high regard. He doesn't like seeing her hurting like this, but he's still too inexperienced to really help her. He offers her his bonito flakes to cheer her up. Giselle thanks him.

Before the conversation can continue, several other students come down the hallway. Chill darts straight down out of sight, hiding in the floor. Where he collides with Lucciola. They wind up tangled together, and Orikko leaps in, pulling Chill off of Lucciola and nearly starting a fight with him to protect her. Lucciola stops them before it gets too far, insisting she is both all right and that judging from the pattern on this strange kwami, he's the snow leopard kwami—which makes him an ally. All three stop and blink at each other. Lucciola breaks the awkward silence first by introducing herself and Orikko. Chill then gives his name with a twirl of his tiny sunglasses. Lucciola then asks if Snow Leopard goes to this school too. Chill, very unconvincingly, says "No…?" Orikko interrupts that his master does not go to this school either, and that he and Lucciola most definitely do not have the same master. More awkwardness. Chill roughly buys it simply because he doesn't know any better to be suspicious. He then asks them what they're even doing there if their masters don't attend this school. Orikko begins hamming things up at that point, saying that they're travelers on a world-wide adventure. Of course, since he's the older kwami, he's the captain. Both Chill and Lucciola, being new kwamis, need to address him as "sir." Chill and Lucciola are curious enough that they go along with it, and Orikko leads them boldly through the wires and pipes of Francoise Dupont High School on a make-believe voyage.

The last kwami belonging to the B Team is Pollen, the bee kwami. She arrives late with Aurore Beaureal, who has her celebrity work in the morning. Mireille Caquet isn't with her for once as Mireille had additional work at the news station. That leaves Aurore alone in the halls as everyone else has gone into the classrooms. Pollen pokes her head out and then encourages Aurore to walk with her spine straight and chin held high, just like a proud, confident queen. Aurore says her posture and walking are already great due to the nature of her part-time job. However, Pollen encourages and coaches her through exuding confidence all the time. She talks about regal grace and poise. Aurore semi-rolls her eyes but she goes along with it. However, her smile quickly fades.

Pollen notices this and asks what's wrong. Aurore admits she's worried about Mireille, who is her best friend. Today while she on the air, she happened to glimpse Mireille in the wings, talking down to one of the crew. It is completely out of character for Mireille, and Aurore has no idea why or what's going on. Pollen suggests that maybe Mireille is stressed from school or dealing with something at home. Aurore says she doesn't get the feeling that that's that, but it could be as she can't write it off entirely. Pollen encourages Aurore to have a serious talk with Mireille as a friend, to show her that she can open herself up to Aurore. Aurore wonders if that'll work, and Pollen insists that the skill of any royal is communication and deliberation. Aurore smiles, stopping outside her classroom door to pat Pollen on the head. She makes sure she has some fresh honeycomb for her kwami and then enters Ms. Mendeleiev's room.

First period begins, and Madam Gros is in her office without any appointments. That gives her time to scheme. Her desk has been specially constructed with secret compartments. One holds the now empty Western Order miracle box. But another compartment holds the most useful tomes of magic she scavenged from the Western Order after it fell to Hypnos. She brought both of these here in a normal backpack, which means Nathalie's spyders saw nothing unusual as she went to work. As Dolores planned. After all, she has reason to suspect her apartment has been compromised. So she got at least some of the magical artifacts out. It's a lot harder to move Master Fu or even a dormant Hynos. Dolores knows she needs to address those without attracting suspicion, so she's looking into options on how she can move a kidnapped victim without raising any alarms from civilians or enemies.

Ellie, the elephant kwami, is in her usual hiding place behind a potted plant. She is sitting absolutely quietly; it's clear by her body language that she's terrified of her mistress. However, after many long moments without Dolores Gros even looking in her direction, Ellie peeks out to see what she's reading.

Ellie, of course, recognizes the grimoire from the Western Order's archives. Madam Gros is working intently on hand-writing a French translation of the ancient Mandarin text. It brings a stab of homesickness. In the Western miraculous box, the elephant hair pin is at its core—the same location where the black cat and ladybug are found in the Eastern miraculous box. This not only denotes Ellie and the powers of the elephant as being the strongest in the Order, but she's also one of the most revered. Which means she interacted a lot with the nuns and monks of the Western Order even to the modern day. She knew them by name; she was friends with them. But then her life changed within one night. Dolores sicced Hynos on the Order, resulting in them all being eaten. When Ellie was next summoned, she found herself forced to obey the very person who (for all she knows) murdered her allies. It gets even worse as she's forced to use the power of Oblivion to (more or less) brainwash children. In the hands of a noble user, Ellie and the powers of the elephant can help forget or alleviate the pain of traumatic incidents, process PTSD, and correct self-serving memories. Not at all what Ivory does.

It's especially hard for Ellie because "an elephant never forgets." Of all the kwamis, she has the best memory—so she knows exactly what is done to her victims mentally and emotionally. When she's not controlled by someone like Madam Gros, Ellie is rather affectionate and smart, often helping her wielders study and strategize. She also has a protective instinct towards children and those she deems smaller than her. Even though she's a kwami, she is still an elephant, so she sees many as being smaller than her.

The spider kwami of the Western Order is partnered with Dr. Gerald Theroux and in all irony spends most of her time at the Agreste manor where he works, looking after the comatose Gabriel and Emilie Agreste. Her name is Arachnee. As far as kwamis go, she's rather aloof. She spends a lot of time twisting her webs into various shapes from scarves to Jacob's ladders. After all, Dr. Theroux's job is to watch over two people who are unconscious 24/7; they have a lot of downtime. Dr. Theroux spends his time studying from the other tomes they salvaged from the Western Order, which leaves Arachnee with nothing to do. Dr. Theroux has expressly forbid her from exploring the mansion (a wise bit of caution given how many other wielders live there), so all she really can do is twist webs. Now, Dr. Theroux is fully aware of two such wielders; he knows Amelie Graham de Vanily is Odette and her son is Pride. But they do not know he's connected with the Western Order as Tarantula—and he wants to keep it that way. Dr. Theroux treats Arachnee much better than how Dolores treats Ellie; plus, Arachnee was so aloof that she had no deep emotional connections to the original Western Order. To be blunt, she really doesn't care about what happens to them. The same thing is true about Dr. Theroux; she has no deep feelings or loyalties towards him either. She's never had deep ties to anyone. However, she serves them well as is her duty, and she has a keen intellect. Her mind is very strategic, and she often can come up with all sorts of traps and schemes for any situation.

Dr. Theroux's niece and nephew are both wielders as well. They're at the apartment they all share, discussing what to do about the events of the previous chapter. Now, while both Brynne Theroux and Zenon Theroux are college-aged, they're barely attending any classes and have no jobs whatsoever. They're basically being home-schooled/home trained in the way of the Western Order, as taught by Dolores and Gerald as well as taking maybe one or two college classes online each. Zenon has expressed his own desire to strike out on his own, but Gerald and Dolores want to keep him close. It doesn't take much effort to do so as a large part of this sect's motivation is finding out what happened to their mutual loved one, Grant Theroux.

Of course, since they have few obligations, a lot of Brynne and Zenon's time is focused on caring for Master Fu, who is still their prisoner. He's pretty much in the exact same state he's been in since he was captured during the Hypnos chapter. The two present kwamis, Xooloo the salamander and Cerro the rhinoceros, are rather curious about their hostage. After all, they haven't seen a monk from any miraculous Order in several years. And it's been several centuries since they met anyone trained in the traditions of the Eastern Order. However, Madam Gros and Dr. Theroux have placed numerous wards around the room that Fu is imprisoned in. This prevents him from using any magic of his own as well as preventing outside consciouses and scrying spells from getting to him. This also keeps the kwamis from fazing through his prison walls. It also stops Gel Girl and her astral projection though they don't properly realize that yet.

Brynne, Cerro, Zenon, and Xooloo are having a rather intense discussion. During the prior chapter, their alarm chimes went off on the apartment, meaning that someone or something was trying to push passed their defenses. Brynne is convinced they've been discovered and that they should move before they wind up being ambushed on their home turf. Zenon is always ready for a fight and wants them to boost their offenses. "Let them come; I'll trash them!" Of course, Cerro sides with Brynne "the best offense is a good defense" while Xooloo sides with Zenon "I'm all fired up for a fight!" (Yes, Fairy Tail reference.) Being siblings, things continue until they wind up calling both Gerald and Dolores for a conference call.

Dolores Gros is pretty perturbed about this as a conference call of the Western Order may be overheard and that runs a risk of discovery. So she keeps it short. They're not moving their home base until she says so. Zenon sticks his tongue out (piercing included) at his sister. Brynne demands to know why. Madam Gros points out that if they cancel their lease right after an attack from Adamantus, that's a paper trail back to the Western Order. It'd be too suspicious—especially if they tried to move out at night, which they would likely have to do to hide Master Fu. So she tells them to stay put. She does say she's looking into alternatives, but they're on the verge of their final move, their "check mate" so to speak. She can't risk them acting out of fear and recklessness. So they're to keep up the magical defenses, keep the curtains drawn, and wait for further orders as Ivory works on the final phase of their plans for Paris and as Ivory seeks a safe way for them to relocate.

In terms of personalities, Xooloo is very hot blooded (pun) and irreverent. Which means he pairs well with Zenon, who is going through his goth/punk phase. He also is naturally very high temperatured, and only his wielder can touch him without getting burned. Cerro is incredibly stubborn and reckless; she isn't the most intelligent kwami either. Which means she tends to follow Brynne's plans without hesitation. She also loves Brynne's cooking and has the highest stamina of any kwami, which means she is very seldom tired. Now, that doesn't mean Cerro is energetic—rather, she's very stalwart and steadfast and paces herself extremely well.

Of course, these aren't the only kwamis serving the Western Order. Buff (which is short for Buffalo) is the Taurus kwami; he is currently allied to Tristan Fortier, who is best known at Francoise Dupont High School for his success in the community boxing league. It didn't take long for him to teach Buff the boxing style of throwing a punch either. Buff, of course, values strength above all else. It isn't a surprise considering his ability is the basic super strength, after all. And since Tristan is very physically active, including training at the gym every other day, he and Buff get along great. Like Cerro, Buff is also very steadfast and stubborn. Being from the same order, Buff and Cerro do know each other—and they have a very deep friendly rivalry in which they always argue but are fiercely protective of each other.

It's class time for Tristan, leaving Buff with little to do. He's not very good at sitting still while Tristan listens to Mr. Haprele's lecture. He eventually wanders off and heads to Madam Gros's office. He figures he can hang out there and have someone to talk too. Maybe there's still some kwamis without wielders he can visit too for all he knows. So he fazes through the wall of the counselor's office and greets her. Madam Gros is not happy to see him. She lectures him in an obviously angry manner though she denies that she's angry. If someone were to see him, that person could trace the kwami back to her and discover that she's the leader of the Western Order. It would ruin all her plans. And how dare Buff jeopardize those. By the end, Buff is quite cowed and winds up hiding in the potted plant with Ellie until the bell rings for classes to end, at which point he sneaks back to Tristan.

The Gemini kwami, represented by the cabbit, has the misfortune of being paired with Lila Rossi. Lapinna spends a lot of time in fear being Lila's partner—and a large part of that is fear of others. She knows that if her power, Duality, is used on a transformed miraculous wielder, the kwami winds up feeling as if he or she is being ripped in two. Lapinna is very kind, and she hates the thoughts of other kwamis suffering because of her. It gets worse as Lila is cruel and demanding—she even figured out how to use Duality on herself, which is basically forcing Lapinna to split herself in half. Lapinna often begs Lila not to act that way, but Lila doesn't give a damn. She treats Lapinna worse than Gabriel treated Nooroo. This has caused Lapinna to become really withdrawn and timid, afraid of speaking up for herself and others, and frequently hide herself away so that Lila doesn't see her. Under a better wielder, Lapinna is usually energetic and witty; she usually bonds with her wielder quickly and they often wind up becoming good friends. Not being able to befriend her wielder is making Lapinna downright depressed.

In between classes, Lila Rossi is keeping her ears open and her lips full of lies. She's always on the prowl for ways to make herself look good and her rivals (Chloe, Marinette, Kagami, and especially Alya) look bad with minimum effort from her part. And it's burning her alive that she keeps seeing her crush, Adrien Agreste, looking at Marinette when she (Marinette) isn't paying any attention. She knows she needs to sink Marinette, good and soon. However, she remembers how badly things went for her in Truthsayer, so she knows she needs to play her cards well so any antics don't come back to bite her. And as if playing right into her scheme, Marie Chauveau and Suzette Rault walk by on their way to lunch.

Of course, the irony is that Lila doesn't realize that Marie is one of her allies within the Western Order as Marie is also Shark Regina, the Capricorn wielder. This is intentional on Madam Gros's part. She doesn't want her pawns to start comparing notes and realize the inconsistencies in her lies. That's why Madam Gros/Ivory forbids the 12 western zodiacs from exchanging contact information, even when done confidentially through something like Discord that the A Team and the B Team are using.

Anyway, Marie has not told her best friend that she's Shark Regina. And Suzette is slowly simmering at never getting powers for her own, despite being a rising talent in her gymnastic group. But for once, the two aren't talking about the most recent akuma attack or their favorite yaoi manga. Suzette is listening to Marie vent about how Marinette "stole" the class pizza party from under her as they're rival class representatives. Marinette represents Miss Bustier's class, and Marie represents Mr. Haprele's. However, this rivalry is completely one-sided and exists solely within Marie's mind. Despite that, Marie is pretty pissed off that Marinette is better at fund-raising than she is. She also doesn't buy Marinette's
"goody-two-shoes" act as she believes Marinette is secretly brooding and scheming and petty, which is total projection on Marie's part. Lila happens to overhear this, and she does agree; however, that's because Lila herself believes that everyone is self-absorbed and treacherous, just like her. Intrigued, Lila follows closely, eavesdropping.

While Marie Chauveau rants, Pann the Capricorn kwami attempts to hang on for the ride in her purse, which is being jostled around next to a can of dried sardines, which Pann loves but Marie always complains about having to carry around. In terms of personality, he's very driven and often encourages Marie to practice more and train herself—despite the fact Madam Gros forbid practices without her watchful eye. However, it is due to Pann that Marie has upped her time studying and the completion rate of her homework; she's actually becoming a better student at school, if only because her kwami won't stop nagging her. Pann can also be a bit unscrupulous at times, which serves Marie well. The only thing they don't agree on is yaoi manga as Pann simply does not get romance. "Kwamis don't fall in love," he often tells her. Marie tries to explain it, but Pann zones her out.

Anyway, Pann is hiding in Marie's purse as she gossips with Suzette. Due to being a kwami, however, he's able to move unobserved. He's the one who notices Lila Rossi tailing them. He tries to catch Marie's attention; even with a dented moral compass, he does not trust Lila from what he's seen of her at school—and that's even without knowing she's Mink who inflicts Duality on transformed people and their kwamis. He does what he can to alert Marie to the fact that she's being followed, but she's engrossed in the conversation. She occasionally slams her palm against the side of her purse to calm Pann down, but she never does realize the message he was trying to share.

Elsewhere during lunch time, Nicolette Lacroix has headed to a corner of the roof where she can be alone to think. She has some seriously deep feelings for Etienne Fontaine, the resident narcissist, but she also realizes it's completely one-sided. She's becoming increasingly aware of his flaws, especially his "never my fault" nature. She knows that these feelings would lead her into a very unhealthy relationship if Etienne ever noticed her over a mirror. But she can't stop herself from being attracted to him, especially his good looks. And the few times he is genuinely nice and helpful only wind up stringing her heart along.

Nicolette looks at her finger. Even though she's not transformed into June, she can see some relationship threads—the Cancer miraculous has had that much of an influence on her. And she can see her pale red thread leading into the future to some guy she has not yet met. She can also see the thread that connects her to Etienne. It's not the most toxic out there; she's seen worse. But she can see it's lumpy and unhealthy, and the color is pale pink, signifying a crush—and a rather weak one at that. Which Nicolette actually feels painfully because, to her, this is her first crush ever, and her feelings seem so deep and sincere. However, she can't deny it's one-sided and unhealthy, so she calls her kwami, Trapper the crab.

Trapper comes across as a gruff old man even though he's really no older or younger than all the other kwamis—especially when considering he's actually an embodiment of a concept. He tends to be waspish and set in his ways, often earning him the name "Snapper" from Madam Gros, Nicolette, and even past Cancer wielders. It takes a while to coax him out of his shell, but once a wielder does, he can be a great listener and very protective. He also cares for all his wielders, though he has interesting ways of showing it to them, such as leaving raw shrimp on their dinner plates when they're not looking.

So, with no one else around, Nicolette confides in Trapper. She wonders if she should use the special ability of the crab, Sever, to remove her feelings for Etienne. Trapper tells her that feelings and relationships, while braided together, aren't the exact same thing. She could always Sever the relationship, but if her feelings aren't addressed, the relationship will reforge itself. Granted, it's way more complicated than that—all relationships are. But Trapper points out that all Nicolette is doing is looking for an easy solution. And an easy solution isn't what she needs. She needs to tackle her feelings head on, own up to them, and then let them go. She needs to confront Etienne—but more importantly, she needs to reflect on her own self and find out what she sees in someone like Etienne. Because understanding herself and her likes will help point her to a better guy and a healthier relationship—not to mention growing in confidence in herself apart from relationships. Nicolette is genuinely impressed with Trapper's insight, and Trapper mentions that it comes with the territory, as he's the kwami of relations (watch relations be one of the canon concepts in season 4…).

During lunch, Meg Delphinus hangs out with her best friend, Rachel Beauchene, and Rachel's boyfriend, Tristan Fortier. Meg really isn't interested in the sappy side of their relationship, so she largely keeps quiet when the couple talks about their dates. However, today is anything but snappy. When Meg arrives, Tristan and Rachel are already tense. And during lunch, things only get worse. Rachel takes every harmless comment the wrong way, snapping at Tristan in a way that causes both him and Meg concern. Meg, being pretty aro herself, figures that this must be a "couples' thing" and sneaks off to let Tristan and Rachel work out their issues, even though she is deeply concerned by Rachel and hurt by her words.

Once alone, Swanna the Virgo dove kwami reveals herself. She can see Meg is upset, so she works to calm her down. Then, being a practical character, Swanna helps Meg verbally review the prior two weeks to see if they can determine why Rachel is so angry. But as far as they know, Rachel's family has undergone no recent crises. Which helps but not really as Meg still doesn't know what's gotten into her best friend. Swanna, fortunately, is able to keep Meg calm and rational by taking a practical approach to the problem while still being empathetic and open-minded. Unlike Trapper's rather sage approach, Swanna comments about how timing is important when approaching tricky issues in a friendship. She advice Meg to give Rachel some time to herself before speaking to her again. She also helps to coach Meg through reading body language, which is a weakness of Meg's. Meg thanks her. Then, Meg gets a text message on her phone. Swanna hovers over her shoulder to read it as it's from Madam Gros. She has a mission for Angelica.

The bell rings for afternoon classes to start. Pierre Lefevre, however, delays. He goes out of his way to find Lila Rossi, hanging outside Miss Bustier's classroom for a chance to talk to her. His crush is pretty obvious. However, Lila Rossi doesn't immediately return from lunch to her home room. Worried, Pierre tracks her down—he finds her in the locker hallway. He starts chatting friendly towards her, and Lila plays it off cool. She only does so so that he doesn't realize she's hiding some type of binder behind her back. Pierre chatters on while Lila rolls her eyes when he's not looking; he is pretty obtuse. Lila then makes an excuse to hurry to her class before she's late; she could say as much, but she doesn't as she's Lila and she lies. She ends it with a "see you later," which sends Pierre over the moon.

Once she's out of sight, it takes Dee the stag kwami to stab Pierre with his antlers to get Pierre to snap out of his daydream fantasies. Dee, as a rather tactful Libra, tells Pierre that he can do better than Lila Rossi. Pierre doesn't listen at all. He asks Dee for advice; what does he think would impress Lila. Dee admits he has no idea; kwamis don't fall in love. He also repeats that Lila isn't worth the effort, she offends his sense of justice, but Pierre continues to ignore the remarks. He wonders if Lila would be impressed he revealed he was the superhero, Sir Silver Hart. Dee flies into his face and flatly vetoes that idea. Identities must be kept secret at all costs. That directive was programmed into the stag kwami by the Great Sage and reinforced by Ivory. Pierre doesn't really want to listen to this, but Dee makes himself heard. This whole scene results in Pierre being late to class.

Once school ends, Chloe Bourgeois makes beeline (pun) for her family's limo. She has no reason to stay after class. She's not on good speaking terms with anyone any more, and there's no way she's getting sweaty doing a physical activity after school. Not to mention the less active clubs, like the school newspaper and DnD group, require her getting along with other people, which she refuses to do unless it's on her terms. So she heads out immediately and stands by the curb very impatiently as the limo comes around the corner. She makes eye contact with Adrien as she waits, and it looks as if he might speak with her. However, Chloe still hasn't forgiven him for breaking her heart, and she turns her back to him.

Once inside the limo, Barbarra the Scorpio scorpion kwami reveals herself. Barbarra does point out that Chloe needs some allies in the world just to get by; she can't do everything alone. Chloe tells her that she's going to do a better job picking the people in her life now than she did in the past. After all, from her point of view, Adrien and Sabrina and her mother all betrayed her. Chloe is rebuilding things with her father…but she's not going to be careless. And concerning other people, teens her own age? She'll only let them into her life if she knows they can be of use to her—even then, she plans on keeping them at arms' length. Her friendships going forward will be a favor for a favor, nothing more. Barbarra, being pragmatic and shrewd herself, wonders if Chloe has anyone like that in mind. Chloe starts to say "no"—but then she remembers her conversation one night with June. Chloe changes her answer to "yes."

However, Chloe's plan has always focused on number one: she needs to make herself stronger. She, as Queen Scorpion, needs to continue to practice. And maybe, she can combine the two. Maybe she can peel some allies away from Ivory for when the time comes to turn on her, fully take charge of both the scorpion and the bee, and topple Ladybug as the reigning heroine of Paris. Barbarra is a little intimidated by that, stemming the brutal fear Madam Gros instilled in her. However, Barbarra is an ambitious Scorpio. Chloe doesn't even need to bribe her with caviar. Once Chloe starts appealing to Barbarra's true nature, the two become a determined human and kwami pair.

Guy Nigels heads home with his American roommate, Cameran Tyler. They're laughing and joking around, as usual. Guy makes a comment about previously looking for Cameran and not finding him in his room or in the apartment; he wonders where Cameran went. Cameran insists he has no memory of this. Guy is certain Cameran left a few day back, and Cameran is certain he didn't. They shrug it off.

Once home, Guy tosses his bag down and heads right to his computer to play the special event running on Wrangle MMO. Chirron, the Sagittarius kwami, reveals himself and asks about all the weird things he sees in the game, which causes Guy to get rather gushy about cowboys and the western genre. Much to his surprise, Chirron is actually interested in the topic. Guy wonders about this, and Chirron explains he's always been interested in the future. It's been a long while since he was allowed outside the miracle box, and he loves seeing how the world has changed and developed. The western genre actually provides him critical information on how civilization and technology advanced while he was dormant. Of course, seeing how Chirron is interested only causes Guy to get the more excited. He logs out of Wrangler and starts pulling books off of his shelf to review with the Sagittarius kwami. He's got tons of fictional westerns, but he also has a dozen history books about the same period of time. Chirron is especially interested in expansion as he didn't realize the world was so large; there's so many experiences to be had that he never knew was possible! He also loves hearing about wars where people won their freedom as well as, seemingly oddly, developments in philosophy, which is where Guy can't really help him. The two of them wind up pouring over books all evening, of which his family just assumes Guy is unusually thrilled about doing homework.

The Aquarius kwami, Oshii, is represented by an osprey and is currently paired up with Monique Imhof who is Mathieu Anciel's girlfriend. Both are mutually aware that he's Ramson and she's Zephyria the Witch. Since Monique and Mathieu don't have a date tonight, Monique and Oshii opt for a quiet night in. Oshii, personality-wise, is a complete free spirit, which means Monique often has to keep her corralled. She doesn't like being contained to a single room and often tries to explore. This leads to them arguing a bit, and Monique turns on her music player so her family doesn't get suspicious about her "talking to herself."

However, this turns out to be a good thing as Oshii is enamored with the music. She instantly forgets the argument they're having and asks about the musician and where the instruments are being hidden. This leads to a conversation between the two about modern music and mp3s, which in turn leads to Oshii attempting to sing the lyrics—most of which she completely makes up. Monique giggles and then sings the song correctly. Oshii jaw-drops. Monique has an amazing singing voice, and Oshii is quick to point this out to her. Monique immediately stops singing, embarrassed. She doesn't really like to perform. She's happier with a quieter life, being behind-the-scenes. Oshii, however, starts getting very excited and pushes Monique to pursue her talent. Oshii compares her to some other famous historical singers, likely someone who was very good at madrigals. Monique is flattered, but she insists on being out of the spotlight.

The last kwami(s) is Bubbles and Betta, the Pisces kwami, a pair of koi who are allied with Etienne Fontaine. Since it's just before bedtime, Etienne is going through his nightly rituals of moisturizers and cleansers. He's trying to teach his kwamis the importance of each product, but Bubbles has a hard time retaining information and Betta is a bit sulky and not even listening. As an unusual case of a single/double kwami, neither can travel far from each other, and they consider themselves a single entity. However, they're not a hive mind or shared conscious, and they have their own distinct personalities.

Anyway, not being interested in Etienne's (many) "handsome-care" routines, Bubbles finds other things amusing while Betta complains. However, Bubbles is quite a bit like Dory from Finding Nemo and is thus very easily distracted. This makes things hard on Betta. As Bubbles wanders off, Betta feels the bond between them stretch like a leash. It actually gets physically painful until they're forced to snap back together, with Bubbles often responding with "Did I do that?"

Now, when they work together, they can be a very effective force. They're creative with a strong analytical eye, often fond of building what they consider to be amazingly artistic sculptures out of random stuff they find. Though the sculptures are as artistic as abstract art. These "piles of junk" are left around the apartment according to Etienne's parents, leaving them to wonder what Etienne is doing. After all, they don't know about kwamis. To his parents, Etienne has always just been a little too odd. But they humor him regardless, which includes "his" sudden taste for seaweed chips.

That's all the current kwamis, though there is one other character worth mentioning along the same lines: Dapple, the tiny unicorn senti monster allied with Nicholas Sancoeur. Unlike the kwamis, Dapple isn't intelligent enough to speak and doesn't have too much in the way of personality or interests. It was created solely to protect Nicholas from the Western Order's wards around the city. For that reason, Dapple is caring and protective of Nicholas. Though that usually consists of Dapple nuzzling Nicholas's palm from within his pocket. Dapple usually hides there or in Nicholas's backpack. When Nicholas is transformed into Adamantus, he has a small pouch on his belt where Dapple resides. After all, Nicholas has to keep Dapple close at all times to gain the ward immunity. If he happened to be around wards and separated from Dapple, he's liable to collapse and might even break apart entirely under prolonged exposure. Nathalie created Dapple to protect Nicholas, and Nicholas still doesn't understand that that's because Nathalie cares about him as if he were family. In return, Nicholas's growing emotional state means he's growing fond of Dapple and has started to see Dapple as more than an aid or a pet. Nicholas considers Dapple the same as all the other teens consider their kwamis. This is seen when he pets Dapple gently on the head before he goes to sleep.

To be continued in Chapter 90: Undertaker…