"Thank you for letting me come over and visit with you!" Leïla told Emilie, smiling as she nibbled on a raspberry pastry. Kheaa lounged on the coffee table between them, working his way through a can of sardines, while Duusu sat on Emilie's shoulder holding a pastry of his own. "I think the last time I came over might have been the first couple weeks after Tarascon." She frowned apologetically. "That might be the only downside to the last couple months since we all stopped the Tarasque: I haven't really had the same need to see you for training."

Emilie hummed, selecting a pastry from the tray and biting off half of it. "You know, you don't need training as an excuse to come over here," she pointed out. "Or my Tarasque sickness," she added with a chuckle. "Although you have no idea how grateful I was – how grateful we all were – to you and your father for all your assistance and care while I was sick."

"Of course, Mme. Agreste," Leïla assured her, nodding. "Father takes all his patients seriously, and so do I."

"There's no need to stand on ceremony here," Emilie told her, waving her hand dismissively. "'Emilie' is fine. Or 'Guardian,' if you prefer."

Leïla nodded. "Yes, Guardian. I…" She paused guiltily. "I will try to come over more often, if I can."

"Don't think that you have to come and see me," Emilie told her, shaking her head. "I'm not some 'old woman' to be handled; I'm hardly forty, for goodness' sake! But," she added, giving Leïla a warm smile, "I am always happy to visit with you, whenever you wish. And this afternoon I can sense that there's something on your mind at the moment."

Leïla let out a breath. "There are a couple of things that I've been thinking about recently," she admitted. "Actually, I realized recently that I haven't really done a lot of training to use my miraculous – or at least not how to fight with it. I watch Ladybug and Cat Noir and King Monkey and Sent-Bee… all of them know how to fight. I know how to use Horn-Fade well, but that's it."

Emilie hummed thoughtfully. "You're worried that you wouldn't be able to fight properly if the need arose?"

Leïla pursed her lips. "Maybe a little bit?" She nodded reluctantly. "I know I did fine against Mind Wipe and those others. But I've only ever been trying to do what feels right, not really using any technique."

"That's a valid concern," Emilie agreed. "That you can recognize a weakness and want to take steps to overcome it shows that you are growing. You could have decided to just keep going the way you have been. No one would have blamed you in the least; Marinette and Adrien learned to fight by fighting Akumas, not by training together–" a shadow passed across her face "–but their allies, and especially the newest ones, haven't really had to be thrown into the fire to learn on their own. But then you were thrown into it without any training or preparation, and you had to figure it out for yourself. And you should know that we're all very proud of you for how well you handled Mind Wipe and the other escapees, how you helped to keep Paris going while the Heroes of Paris were gone." She grimaced. "I suppose Marinette and Adrien may have forgotten that you hadn't received that same level of training as their other teammates."

"It's not their fault," Leïla protested, her eyes widening.

Emilie's mouth set in a thin line. "They are the leaders of your team, are they not?" Leïla nodded. "Then it is their responsibility to make sure that you are prepared for anything that might happen, that you are capable of protecting yourself. I'm not necessarily blaming them," she quickly added as Leïla opened her mouth to argue, "but it is something we should bring to their attention. Do you understand?"

She nodded. "I understand. I just – I don't want to cause any trouble, especially when there's so much else going on recently."

"What do you mean?"

Leïla shrugged. "Marinette said the Lancer was in trouble?"

Emilie nodded in understanding. "That is correct." She sighed heavily. "Unfortunately, that's all the more reason for you to be able to protect yourself well."

"Thank you." Leïla let out a breath and smiled, finishing off her pastry and reaching for a second one as Emilie refilled her teacup. "It does feel better just to get that off my chest."

Emilie smiled at her. "That's what I'm here for," she assured her. "If there's anything bothering you – anything at all – you can tell me."

Leïla pursed her lips in thought.

"That includes now, too, you know," Emilie told her, raising an eyebrow. "I can tell that there's something else bothering you…"

"I have been pretty stressed lately," Leïla admitted, looking down at the coffee table between them. Kheaa looked back up at her with an encouraging smile, and she steeled her nerves to continue. "I thought that after the Tarasque was gone and the Heroes of Paris were back, after school let out and the summer started… I thought that things would settle down more. I thought I might have more opportunities to see my friends and do fun things. And I have had some chances to do that… but not nearly as much as I expected. Instead, I've been spending half my days helping Father at the clinic–" Emilie raised an eyebrow at her, and she flushed, her eyes dropping down to study her teacup. "–not that I don't enjoy helping him," she muttered.

"But you feel like you are being asked to do a lot more than you especially want to, like your schedule is getting to be too full?" Emilie asked. Leïla nodded guiltily. Emilie gave her an encouraging smile. "It's understandable for you to feel that way. I can feel how stressed and frustrated this is making you – any teenager would feel the same, with a schedule and responsibilities like yours!"

"It's not that I dislike any of it!" Leïla added quickly. "I love my brothers, of course, even when they lead me in circles or run off on me while I'm trying to get snacks at the park. I'm happy to help my parents watch them when they are busy with work. My favorite part of the week during the schoolyear was when I went to help Father with his recordkeeping at the clinic! And being Nabatala, being a hero and having little girls wear scarves made to look like my hijab and having people say they are accepted more in Paris since I showed up… all of that is incredible and amazing and–"

"–And a lot of pressure for one teenager to deal with," Emilie finished, nodding.

Leïla's shoulders slumped. "I'm glad that people, well, like me, are welcomed and accepted more because of me. But I still can't believe I'm the one who's doing it. I mean, I'm just me!" She frowned. "Would I even be here if I hadn't been walking home late when a mob of bigots attacked me? If it hadn't been for Ryoku and Lupa Gris saving me? I mean, that changed everything for my family: Chloe helped my mom get a promotion, she and Adrien got my dad's clinic started, they even arranged for my transfer to Collège François Dupont. If it hadn't been for my dad's clinic, would I have even become Nabatala?"

Emilie leaned forward and placed a hand on Leïla's with a sympathetic smile. "I don't know the answer to that question," she admitted. "If you hadn't been there when you were – or if Ryoku and Lupa Gris hadn't arrived when they did – things may have turned out the same, but they could have happened very differently. Your father is very driven; he could have opened a clinic even without Adrien's and Chloe's investments. We might have come to your father for medical help in that case; we may well have used a different physician. You may have been the right girl for the job when I needed a new Narwhal to fight Mind-Wipe and Sandy. But I may not have known you and instead turned to someone else. There is no way to know what might have been. What I do know, however, is that I am so happy that everything happened the way that it did. And I think this is the best possible outcome. You were attacked and saved by the Heroes of Paris and, circuitously, now you are in a position where you can prevent that from happening to another girl."

Leïla shrugged, frowning. "I suppose so."

Looking up at her with wide eyes, Kheaa squeaked, "I'm glad that you're my holder, however it came about."

Smiling, Leïla leaned over to rub the Kwami's head. "I'm glad, too," she assured him. "Believe me."

Emilie let out a breath. "If you would like, I can talk to Marinette about your schedule with the Heroes of Paris," she offered. "Considering the amount of stress she had to deal with in her first year – the same age you are now – I know she wouldn't want to see you collapsing under the weight of it. Especially when she has it in her power to prevent it."

"She and Adrien were my age when they first fought Hawk Moth?" demanded Leïla, her eyes widening in surprise. She shook her head ruefully. "Ladybug and Cat Noir really are incredible."

"Yes, they are," Emilie agreed, smiling fondly. "But, then, anyone who would step up to become a hero at that age is incredible," she told her, giving her a meaningful look.

Leïla blushed. "Thanks."

"Of course." Emilie hummed, examining her carefully. "But I can tell that there's something else," she prodded gently.

Leïla frowned. "It's not that big of a deal – or at least I don't think so…" she began, letting out a breath. "It's just my mother. She has been acting strangely lately, and I'm not sure why."

"Strangely how?"

"She's been a little slower in the mornings," Leïla answered slowly, furrowing her brows in thought. "She hasn't really been eating at breakfast. And I overheard her on the phone making an appointment with a doctor!"

Emilie tapped her chin and looked up at the wall behind Leïla. "I see…" she mused. "Has she said anything about what is happening?" Leïla shook her head. "Have you asked her about it?"

"I'm… afraid to," Leïla admitted. "What if it's something really bad?"

"If it's that bad, then I think you would want to know in advance so you can help her and prepare for whatever it is."

Leïla let out a breath and nodded. "Maybe…" She glanced up at the clock. "I'll give that some thought tonight. But speaking of that, I do need to go – I'm watching a movie with friends!"

Emilie stood up with Leïla and gave her a quick embrace. "It's about time for dinner here, too. But you have fun tonight, sweetie. And tell your parents 'hello' for me, will you?"

"I will," Leïla agreed, as Kheaa flitted up to perch on her shoulder and she left Emilie's suite toward the front door. She was just arriving in the atrium when a girl her own age jogged down the hallway from the opposite direction. The girl cocked her head in surprise, studying Leïla intently. "Hello?" Leïla greeted her.

"Um… hi." The girl frowned. "You look vaguely familiar, but I don't think I remember you."

"Oh!" Leïla grimaced. "I'm sorry. My name is Leïla – Nabatala," she added, indicating Kheaa. "I was just visiting with Guardian Emilie."

"Oh…" The girl nodded in understanding. "I'm Ruth. From the American Miraculous Guardians." She frowned. "I would be the Bear Miraculous holder, only it was stolen."

"I'm sorry."

Ruth shrugged. "That's why I'm here: I have to get my miraculous back from them and stop the jackass who's been abusing it."

"Have you been in Paris long?"

"A month, maybe six weeks." Ruth pursed her lips. "And still no closer to finding him."

Leïla hummed, glancing down at her watch. "Well, you can't search for the Bearator all the time," she pointed out. "What all have you done in Paris so far?"

"Not much." Ruth shook her head. "Just hanging around here…"

Leïla let out a breath. "I'm on my way over to watch a movie with a couple of friends," she told Ruth. "Do you want to come with me? It would get you out of the Mansion for a couple hours."

Ruth cocked her head in surprise. "Really?" Leïla nodded. Ruth shrugged. "Why not?"

As they walked down the long driveway toward the gate, Leïla smiled. Maybe things did happen for a reason. Even if she didn't always know what that reason was.