Marinette Dupain-Cheng pushed the old, fraying mop across the wooden flooring of the seating area at Sloppy Joe's: Authentic American. She ran a hand across her forehead to push the black bangs that had come loose from her bun back underneath her red baseball cap. She heaved a sigh, stacking chairs upside down onto tables to get at the ketchup splatters and pulled pork and French fries, which had caked onto the floor after a busy day of serving hungry Parisians.
Over her shoulder, her coworkers sprayed cleaner across the countertops, and gossiped while wiping it.
"I watched the news on my phone before I clocked in. Did you hear about Mme. Renault? She disappeared late last night. Apparently she left her office and never came home. Don't you think that's just harrowing?" Aurore said to Michel.
"I thought the crime rate in Paris was going down. Makes you think twice about walking home alone after closing up the Joe, huh?"
"…Well, maybe I'll need a handsome guy to walk me there to make sure I'm safe…" Aurore's tone dripped with intention.
"I can be that guy," Michel flirted back.
Marinette gagged, mopping the floor harder. When she checked her watch, and it was finally time to clock out, she hung her apron up in the break room, grabbed her small purse, and headed out into the darkness.
It was just ten minutes before she got to the door of her apartment, and she did her best to put the key in the lock as quietly as possible. There weren't any lights on, so her housemates must have all gone to sleep. Marinette opened the door to the bedroom she shared with Alya, her roommate-maybe-best-friend. Marinette wasn't entirely sure where they stood; they only knew one another because they had both needed somewhere to live while attending Université Françoise-Dupont, a small school located in central Paris.
Marinette turned her small night-lamp on and checked over her shoulder that it didn't disturb Alya's sleep. She opened her academic planner and groaned to herself. Her paper for Chinese Mythology was due tomorrow, and she hadn't finished it yet. She debated staying up for a moment, but with one glance at the red alarm clock on Alya's desk, reading 23:46, Marinette squirmed and decided to finish the paper in the morning before class. She quickly changed into pajamas, turned off the light, and threw herself into bed, letting her bones feel just how exhausted they were after a long day.
Of course, while doing so, she forgot to set her own alarm.
Alya's clock beeped angrily at 09:00 and Alya groaned, tossing the blankets off of herself and walking to the desk to quiet the alarm. Marinette's eyes didn't want to open, but suddenly they snapped up like someone had slapped her. The paper! Her class was at 10:00; there was no way she'd finish it and make it there on time.
"Late again," she grumbled to herself, jumping out of bed and grabbing her laptop to throw herself into the paper as quickly as possible. Alya tornadoed around her, getting ready for her own class, but struggling to find a match to the sock she had on.
"Marinette, have you seen my sock?"
"I haven't, sorry," Marinette replied, somewhat robotically. Inside herself she felt badly for brushing her friend off, but this paper was already running on borrowed time.
She finished it at 09:48, packed up her things, grabbed a bite and left the apartment as efficiently as an autumn breeze.
"… Of course, we don't know everything yet about —"
The door's squeaky hinges interrupted Professor Fu's tangent, and Marinette smiled an apology at being fifteen minutes late, probably for the tenth time since the semester started, just a month and a half ago. She found a vacant seat in the very back row of the lecture hall, and slunk down as far as possible, pulling out her notebook and pencil to follow along and attempt to catch up with what she missed.
She methodically wrote down whatever the professor said, but her mind wandered, going over her schedule again. Classes ended at 12:00 today, then her internship at the Parisian Design House, which started at 15:00 and went until 18:00…
Someone speaking pulled her out of her thoughts. She raised her head up a little to get a good look at Sunflower Boy. She knew his name was Adrien; she had learned it the same way anyone learns a name in a lecture class — if the professor called on you enough times because you just had to share. Marinette tried not to be bitter. Adrien probably had a lot of time on his hands, and probably really loved Chinese mythology. He had golden hair that was long enough to start turning up at the ends, framing his face as if he was indeed a walking, talking sunflower. He always sat right in the middle of the front row, he always sat perfectly straight in his chair, and he always had something insightful to add. In other words, he was Professor Fu's favorite student.
"I realized while you were speaking that the symbol on the first scroll you showed us matches the one on the other scroll, despite both scrolls being from different kingdoms."
"Good eye, Adrien. Yes, both kingdoms used a similar system for categorizing their mythological texts, and when we examine them side-by-side, we can see that…"
Had Marinette slept less, she was sure she'd make up for it now. Sunflower Boy smiled at the metaphorical head pats he was getting from the professor. Marinette wondered what it was like to be such a brainiac. Sure, she liked school. But kids like him seemed to live and breathe it.
Finally, class was dismissed, and Marinette walked up to Professor Fu before he left, handing him her paper as everyone else had done at the start of class. "Sorry for being late for the hundredth time, Professor. I had to print at the library."
But the professor smiled, a gentle, knowing smile. "That's alright, Marinette. I know you have a lot on your plate."
Her shoulders fell, and she just nodded, relieved to not receive a scolding.
"Now, you should head out. Don't want to be late to any more classes," he said as he packed up his own materials.
Marinette thanked him and sped off, the wheels in her brain turning as rapidly as possible. Onto the next class, and then study time, and then her internship…
Marinette arrived at the Parisian Design House with time to spare. The one place she didn't like to appear a frazzled mess was here, where her whole purpose was to impress her superiors. If she did so, they might offer her a real position once she graduated, and that would mean making her dream of becoming a big name in the fashion industry come… as true as possible.
She steeled herself, checked her hair in the window reflection, and pushed open the doors. She signed in, waved at Mireille, the front desk intern, and arrived in the fabric room, where she spent most of her time. She was the assistant to Ronaldo Girroult, whose designs were excellent, although he wasn't getting as much attention for them as he would like.
"Ah, Marinette! Good to see you. I'm searching desperately for the blue-and-magenta fabric, it says in the catalogue that it's #4389 but Lord above, I can't find a thing." He threw his hands up in the air, and Marinette gave him as confident of a smile as she could muster. The room was a complete disaster. There were huge tubes of fabric rolled out all over the floor, boxes upended, and nothing in its proper place.
"I'll organize it, and as soon as I find the fabric you want, I'll run it to your office."
"Sweetheart, what I would do without you, I cannot know. Thank you," and he promptly exited the room and returned to his cushy desk. Marinette was left all alone with the fabrics, which seemed to be taunting her with their messiness.
She was making pretty good progress, having collected almost all of the squares of lime-green #9080, when someone screamed.
She froze. It was no scream of laughter, or even of being pranked. This was a shriek.
Marinette hesitated a moment, debating going outside to see what was going on. Then the building shook a little. Was it an earthquake?
Ronaldo ran past the room in panic, but he came back when he saw her. "Marinette, what are you still doing here?! We must evacuate immediately! Get to the basement!"
"Wha —" but she couldn't finish her question, because he grabbed her wrist, and they ran down the flights of stairs. Marinette could see Mireille, as well as other interns and designers, flying down the stairs a few steps ahead of her.
They didn't stop until they reached the basement, and one of the designers turned on a light. They found themselves among boxes of supplies. Hera, the head designer and founder of the PDH, pulled out a phone and tuned into the news. Marinette leaned over to watch as Clara Contard, the events reporter, spoke about the "rampage" — the camera pointed at a huge… beast. It looked like a bear, but it was giant, and it was monstrous. It moved slowly and clumsily, stepping on cars and leaving Parisians scrambling in its wake.
Marinette and Mireille sat close to one another, watching it all play out. Mireille whimpered beside her, covering her eyes and claiming that she couldn't watch, so Marinette held Mireille's phone and watched instead, almost in rapture, her eyes glued to the screen. The beast threw its head back and roared angrily, its breath creating a wind that shook the trees. Marinette scanned the background for any outstanding landmarks, since it didn't seem to be near them. But at the same time, it couldn't have been too far if they were taking such precautions.
"The monster is currently rampaging down Rue Françoise-Dupont," the reporter announced, as if in answer to Marinette's thoughts. She gasped. The school! Her roommates! Her apartment!
She held the phone closer, tighter, as if that could allow her to see more clearly. She clenched a fist in frustration. Why was she here, trapped in a basement, far away from where everything was happening? She wanted to be there, at home with her friends, up close to the monster, to see it move. What was it made of?
"There are currently no known facts about the creature. It seemed to just materialize out of nowhere on the street corner of the university and the Champs-Elysées. Police are currently investigating the matter, but have found no answers."
Mireille started to wail. "Materialized out of nowhere?! But what if another one appears right now, here where we're hiding?!" Her voice began to edge on the hysterical, and Hera came to put an arm around her intern.
Marinette bit her fingernails. Mireille did have a point. It made small beads of sweat form on Marinette's brow. But what was she getting anxious about? There was nothing she could do about it if that happened!
And with that realization came the epiphany. She… wasn't scared. Unnerved, yes. After all, it was a giant monster. But scared? Marinette furrowed her brow. She was worried for her roommates, dreadfully. It made her feet itch to leave so she could be there with them. But for herself? Not at all.
Why was that? It wasn't as if she had some one-up, some immunity to danger that her roommates didn't have. They were all equally fallible. But for whatever reason, Marinette couldn't find it in herself to be afraid.
She forced herself to watch the news broadcast and ignore those confusing thoughts, instead focusing on Clara Contard's narration over the footage of police helicopters shooting at the monster, their bullets doing nothing.
An hour passed. Marinette was starting to feel cramped from holding the same position in the packed basement. Ronaldo muttered about being hungry, but another designer shushed him, her brow knit with concern.
Marinette watched intently as the helicopters flew over with a giant steel net, dropping it over the beast and attempting to trap it. The beast tripped clumsily, caught in the net, and the four helicopters deftly swung to catch the ends, pulling the monster off the street and flying away with it hanging between them.
Clara Contard exhaled and announced, much too cheerily in Marinette's opinion, "We've got it, everyone! The monster has been detained! You are free to come out now, and city services will come and repair the damage as soon as possible!"
Hera dismissed everyone due to "distressing circumstances." Marinette was just so thankful to finally escape, and she sprinted up the stairs, the only thing on her mind being to get back to her apartment. Was Alya okay? Then she shook her head. Of course Alya was okay. But were Mylène and Juleka — the other girls she lived with — okay? She didn't know them as well. What if they were blubbering, terrified, like Mireille? Something in Marinette forced her to hurry up. She wasn't sure what she could do about it if she was right, but anything was better than leaving them there, all alone.
She made a beeline for the metro, and was slightly shaken to see that the streets were deserted. The metro was deserted. Where had everyone gone? Had they really all hidden in their basements?
She boarded the metro and got off after one stop, at the Françoise-Dupont station, and ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time, her heart pounding, her mind racing. What would she find when she returned aboveground?
"Oh, my…" The breath left her lungs. She had seen a hint of it in the news broadcast, but nothing could have prepared her for the reality. All around her, ruin. Cars were flattened. Lampposts bent. Broken glass and rubble scattered everywhere. Giant footprints cracked into the pavement. Marinette looked up to her apartment building, and she thanked all of creation that it appeared unscathed. But she ran as she wondered whether she could say the same about her roommates.
She swung the door open, and Marinette was met by three tearful faces, huddled together in front of the TV. There was a moment of shocked silence, and then they all shouted, Alya jumping up to squeeze her in a vice-grip hug. "Oh, Marinette, we were so worried about you!"
"I was worried about you. It looks like a bomb went off out there," she said, hugging her in return.
Alya set her down and went to the window, her face falling.
Juleka played with her long hair, the purple streak wiggling around erratically as she ran her hands through it again and again. "I saw the monster from our room. It was horrible."
Mylène just hugged herself. "What was it? And where did it come from?"
Marinette went to each of them, giving them a reassuring hug, flushing with relief to be back here, with them.
"But how are you, Marinette? It must have been terrible for you, being alone at your internship…" Mylène looked up at her, her nut-brown eyes shining with concern.
"I was fine, the monster was nowhere near me," Marinette reassured her, although she didn't admit the truth that was worrying her even now. That even if the monster had been near her, she still wouldn't have been afraid.
Marinette was disappointed to find that classes were not, in fact, cancelled the next day. She made the mistake of voicing her disappointment during breakfast in front of Alya, who had recovered fully from the incident and was now in full reporter mode. "You shouldn't be worried, Marinette," she told her with excitement, "I've got alerts on my phone that let me know every update regarding the monster. As of 08:09 this morning, it was still in police custody. And get this," she pulled her phone back in front of her, scrolling for the right page. "They brought a zoologist in to try and find out what happened with this bear and why it's so unnaturally huge!" She brandished the webpage in front of Marinette, glowing with pride.
Marinette considered letting Alya know that she was not worried at all, and never had been, but she kept quiet and finished her toast. Instead she mulled over everything that had happened. According to the news the previous night, the authorities were considering it a "freak accident" and a "strange happening," assuring the public that it was nothing to be concerned over. Alya, being as nosy as she was, didn't believe it for one second.
Marinette wasn't sure what she believed. Maybe it really was as they said; a strange happening, nothing more. An unexplainable phenomenon, like ghosts or ESP. Maybe that was why she hadn't been scared.
But the logical part of her brain argued back that this was nothing like ghosts or ESP — this was real.
Professor Fu dismissed class early that day, letting everyone know to meet him in office hours if they had questions about their papers. As Marinette packed up, he cleared his throat and said, "Marinette, if you could stay after everyone leaves, for just a moment, there's something I'd like to speak about with you."
She froze, her hand halfway in her backpack. "Su— Sure, Professor." She had no idea what to think. Never in her one and a quarter years of university had a professor ever asked her to stay after before. Was she in trouble? Did she flunk on her paper? Or maybe he decided not to accept it because she turned it in late?
Her legs jiggled with nerves as she waited for everyone to clear out. Finally, even Sunflower Boy Adrien was gone, and Marinette was alone with Professor Fu.
He was a small man, of slight stature, shorter even than she was. He had a small goatee and that was it for facial hair, but being half-Chinese herself, Marinette knew that even a goatee was impressive.
Professor Fu approached Marinette and handed her a paper. It was her paper, she realized. There was a star at the top, which Professor Fu had drawn. "Marinette, your paper was exceptional. It was very clear to me that you did your research with a fine-toothed comb. Do you have an interest in Chinese mythology?"
Marinette hesitated. What was this all about? So her paper was good. Couldn't he have emailed that? "Not particularly, Professor. I just know, had I not done well on this paper, my grade would have suffered more than it already has, with my tardiness."
Professor Fu stared at her a long while. "It seems to me that you take your responsibilities seriously."
"That I do, sir," she replied, glancing at the clock in the corner. If he didn't get to the point soon, she was going to be late for her next class.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, can you keep a secret?"
His conspiratorial tone caught Marinette's attention, and suddenly she wasn't worried about her next class anymore. "Yes… I mean, I think so, sir."
Professor Fu turned to his bag, looked at her a moment, and then pulled out a strange looking artifact. He handed it to her, and Marinette, as if in a trance, put her hand out to take it. In her palm rested a ring, rust-colored with splotches of black here and there, and weighing next to nothing. As she picked it up between her fingers, she thought she could discern a bit of transparency from it, as if it was made of glass.
"This is an ancient piece of jewelry, from the eras we have discussed at length during class. Some say it brings good luck. Or, rather, bad luck to its wearer's enemies. I want you to try it out. As a research project, of sorts." Professor Fu smiled at her, a disarming smile full of the confidence Marinette wished she had.
She continued to examine the ring, brought it up to the light, ran her thumb across its smooth surface, completely entranced.
"I'm glad you find it as fascinating as I do," the professor added at seeing her reaction, and that brought Marinette back to reality.
She was about to open her mouth, and ask him for details on what the research project was, exactly, and how to know when it was over — when the corner of her gaze snagged on the clock, and she saw that she was already running late, once again.
It was all she could do to pull herself away from the ring, slip it into one of the pockets of her backpack, sincerely thank Professor Fu, and run off to her next class.
Marinette went through her day in a daze. She worked her mid-shift at Sloppy Joe's without seeing the customers she smiled at, without hearing herself tell them their totals and whether that would be paper or plastic. She didn't really let herself stop and think until she got back to her apartment at 20:00. When she crossed the threshold she checked to make sure Alya wasn't home, then examined her roommate's calendar to ensure it would stay that way, at least for a little while. Sure enough, the entire evening was blocked out with a heart-shaped bubble that read "Date Night" inside of it.
She had the room to herself.
Marinette apprehensively sat on the edge of her bed, reached into her backpack, and pulled out the ring from Professor Fu. She told herself to calm her breathing, that this was nothing, that it was just an old ring and had nothing to do with the strange happenings.
But she knew none of that was true, because when she held the ring in her palm again, she could feel it buzzing with a sense of untapped power, as it had earlier in the classroom, as it had all day, entreating her to put it on, to discover its mysteries.
And now that she was finally, completely alone, she could.
Marinette examined the ancient artifact again, and some of her spirits fell. The ring was much too large for her finger; she would never be able to wear it. Her mind began racing, thinking of other ways, maybe putting it on a string and wearing it as a necklace, but where would she find a string, and did she trust it not to break? It was a priceless artifact her professor had entrusted her with, and —
Her thoughts came to an abrupt stop as she realized she absentmindedly put her thin finger into the too-big ring. Her eyes whipped down to see it slowly shrink, to morph into a completely new shape, and suddenly a green jewel appeared in the center, gleaming with a bright light. Marinette covered her eyes with her other hand to shield herself from it, and her heart started pounding again because there was no other explanation for it: this was a magical ring.
When the light faded, she lowered her arm. All was calm again. What had happened? She looked back down at the ring, and found it was completely unrecognizable. It was now made with many thin pieces of iron braided together, with an emerald delicately encrusted in the center. She examined it closely, holding her hand up to the light to see better.
"That's a new shape, and quite lovely, if I do say so myself," a voice called out from near Marinette's head.
"What?" she almost yelled it, whipping her head about to locate the source of the voice. "Who's there?"
A creature seemed to emerge from the shadows. It floated in midair, and it was quite small, small enough for Marinette to hold in her hands. She noticed it was pitch black with bright green eyes, the same color as the emerald in the ring.
"I'm Plagg, your kwami, of course," the creature informed her. He floated about and finally rested in front of her on the bed. "You've awoken me from my centuries-old slumber by putting that ring on."
Marinette examined the ring again. "Centuries old? Are you like the genie of the lamp, or something?"
"Hm, something like that," he told her, "but I don't grant wishes. That ring there contains my miracle stone, the miracle stone of the black cat. It's a physical manifestation of my energy that humans can tap into. Isn't that convenient?"
Marinette's head was spinning. "I think so?"
Plagg got back up and floated about her head, inspecting her. As he moved closer to the lamp light, she noticed he had little cat ears and whiskers, which wobbled about as he spoke. He also had tiny little fangs in his mouth. She almost thought he looked sort of cute, although she had the feeling he wouldn't take it as a compliment if she shared what was on her mind.
"You're sort of young to wield a miracle stone," he remarked, with a matter-of-fact tone she was sure meant to offend her. But Marinette couldn't be offended. Not when she still knew so little about what was happening.
"What do you mean, wield? What does it do?" She stared at the gemstone, instantly struck with the reality of the situation. She was in possession of a magical ring which allowed her to tap into the power of this creature, whatever that meant.
"Oh, child, you really know nothing, do you?" Plagg floated about her room on his back with his eyes closed. "The miracle stones were used by mages of old since the dawn of time. To fight evil, if you want the simple explanation. To prevent threats from compromising the safety of their kingdoms. And now, you've been trusted to do the same for yours." Plagg landed on Marinette's desk and began to investigate it, but she was still trying to understand.
To prevent threats from compromising the safety of kingdoms? Such as in times of war? Or against… something else?
She gasped with realization. "This isn't just some random occurrence! I've been trusted with this because of that monster from yesterday! There was more to it, I knew there was!" Marinette abruptly stood. "That thing isn't an ordinary bear. It's some sort of evil being! That's why I have this, right?" She looked to Plagg for confirmation, but the kwami just shrugged.
"I'm not the guy you should ask for answers about that. All I know is, when you need my help, you just call my name and say transform me — and I'll let you tap into my power. With my help, you can disintegrate any item you touch by calling out, cataclysm! Pretty nifty, eh?" Plagg put his paws on his hips and looked at Marinette through his periphery, clearly peacocking. She stifled a giggle and instead nodded, clenching her fist and regarding the ring with new knowledge, the fuzzy confusion that was clouding her mind finally starting to ebb away.
Marinette took a deep breath. There was no time like the present to try out your newfound magical abilities. "Plagg, transform me!"
With a flash of green light, Marinette began to change, feeling the ring get hot on her finger, and a surge of power jolt through her like a shockwave. When the dust settled, she opened her eyes, looking down at herself. Her clothes were gone, replaced with a black skintight suit that seemed to be made of some sort of magic material, the texture between fabric and leather. She moved into the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror.
She flicked on the light and almost flinched. "Whoa," she breathed. Marinette hardly recognized herself. Her entire body was covered by the black suit, electric green lines running up and down her legs and arms where the seams would be. She had cat ears much like Plagg's, perched at the top of her head, and as she focused, she found she could fine-tune her hearing, tapping into faraway sounds at will. Around her waist was a small belt, with a baton tucked into it. It was silver, with an engraving of a green cat paw in the center. When she pressed it, the baton extended, continually growing until it hit her ceiling. She pressed it again and it returned to size. "Crazy…"
The suit even had built-in shoes. They gave her a small heel, and she tried not to think if that would hinder her on the battlefield. Her hands were encased by the suit as well, the gloved fingertips including sharp points, to mimic a cat's claws.
In addition to all of that, she also felt different. Her whole body felt slimmer, muscles more taut. She lifted up her arms and there was no sign of fatigue, no blood rushing down to leave her extremities tingling. She bent her knees and found she could hold that position for minutes on end without feeling an ache in her thighs.
The last thing Marinette closely looked at was her face. She had stalled by checking out the suit, but now was the moment of truth. She took a good look at herself, and it was eerie. Like she was looking at an alien clone. Her face was more angular, her cheekbones more pronounced. Her shoulder-length hair was now grown down past her thigh, braided softly, swinging behind her like a cat's tail. Her costume included a black domino mask that seemed to stick there by itself, and her eyes were now the same electric green as her suit accents, as the paw on the baton, as the jewel in the ring itself, which, upon examination, had changed once again, the miracle stone hidden from view, she guessed to protect it in battle.
She took everything in again, and then her face fell, and her shoulders suddenly slumped, and she found she couldn't look at herself anymore. She was starting to feel like a completely different person. "Detransformation," she mumbled, and with another flash of light, Marinette watched as the suit melted around her, and Plagg emerged from the ring, which went back to its regular appearance on her hand.
She trudged back to bed and sat down, holding her head in her hands. What was she going to do now? She had insane superhuman powers she could tap into whenever it suited her fancy. She had a new pet, although what species he was was still mostly unknown.
Plagg noticed her shift in demeanor and dropped his cocky façade. "What's wrong, Marinette? Usually my wearers are more excited than this… You're making me feel insecure."
Marinette chuckled. Well, he mostly dropped it. Then she exhaled. "This is just so surreal. Yesterday, a monster. Today, a magical ring. Did I slip on some barbecue sauce at work and hit my head on one of the countertops?" She looked up at Plagg after a moment. "And how do you know my name?"
He smiled a knowing smile. "Fu told it to me. To prepare me for having a wearer again. And to warn me to be on my best behavior," he grinned cheekily.
Her brows furrowed. "And… what does the professor have to do with all of this? How does he know about magic, how does he have this miracle stone?" Marinette found herself spiraling. Nothing made sense anymore.
But Plagg kept it cool as ever. "Hey, just because he trusted you with his miracle stone doesn't mean you've proved yourself quite yet. I'm not allowed to tell you more right now — we still have to wait and see if you go bad."
It was all too much. Marinette flopped backwards to lay on top of her bed. She blew some air out and tried to make sense of everything in her mind. Fu owned an ancient magic jewel. He liked her paper so much he decided to entrust her with it. Now, if the monstrous beast reappeared, she would be depended on to do something about it. Was that a responsibility she was ready for?
Before she could start to unpack that one, Plagg landed right on her pillow and looked into her eyes. "I know you're busy contemplating the impossibility of all of this, but do you have any cheese? I'm drained and it's my preferred method of regaining strength. And for future reference, you'll need to keep some with you at all times, as we might need to transform in a place where cheese is not handy."
Marinette raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me I'm going to have to go around my day carrying cheese in my bag in case we need to transform?" Her tone, incredulous.
"That about sums it up," he answered nonchalantly.
"Oh no, oh no we won't. Cheese is perishable, Plagg. I'm not going to carry that around all day. Do I look like a refrigerator to you?"
Plagg just gave her a once over.
She sighed, long and hard. "You know what, don't answer that. I'll be right back." She left the room and when she returned, she brandished a red Cheese-Itz box out to the kwami.
"This will have to do," and she poured a few cheese crackers onto her palm. Plagg tentatively flew into her hand, grasping onto the cracker and pushing it into his mouth with a satisfying crunch.
Marinette feared for a moment that he would spit it out and insist she share her finest camembert with him, but to her elation, he soared off of her hand and shoved the rest of the cracker into his mouth, flying back into the box for more.
"It's like a cheese cookie! Never before have I beheld something so wonderful! All hail the inventions of the modern world!" He flew about her room, doing spins in the air and eating cheese cracker after cheese cracker.
Marinette sighed and watched his joyful dance, unable to keep from smiling as well. Yes, today was full of strange happenings, but at least she'd never be bored again.