To Lyger 0: I… have to admit, I can't think of any that would be more awkward! Although if he called her that, she'd probably deck him!
To Butterfly: They are a lot of fun together!
To yellow 14: He can every so often not be a jackass!
As she regained consciousness, Bri felt like she was floating, her head detached from her body. Her eyes wouldn't open. Her arms were heavy, but her forearms were bare – where were her bracelets? She could tell she was lying in a bed, but it was so much softer than anything she was used to. The sheet draped over her was far silkier than her normal bed sheets – but it didn't quite touch her chest – something else seemed to be in the way. But what had happened last night? Her brain and body seemed entirely disconnected, her body responding sluggishly to any of her brain's commands. She could feel a light weight near the centre of her chest, just below her chin, and a rhythmic thumping against her collarbone beside that weight. Strangely, one side of her face tingled. Her hand was slow to respond. But with a supreme effort, she lifted her hand to her cheek and started on finding a bandage plastered across her cheek. She touched the inside of her cheek with her tongue and winced as the adhesive pulled. The thumping on her chest stopped, and the weight moved. Finally her eyes opened a crack.
A pair of enormous grey eyes set in a white-and-brown face stared down at her, centimetres from her nose. Its mouth turned up in a wide grin, its eyes lit up, and it licked her nose in excitement, a light, tickly sensation. "Maiden! You're awake! Oh, I'm so relieved!"
Bri blinked in confusion and cocked her head, swatting the creature away. It flipped around in midair, nimbly avoiding her hand, and dropped down to nuzzle up to her unbandaged cheek, humming happily. "Um…"
The thing smacked its forehead. "Oh, where are my manners?" it squeaked, flitting away to hover above her head so Bri could see it a little better. It was only about ten centimetres tall – most of that its head – and vaguely resembled a dog, complete with floppy ears and a short tail. "My name is Barkk, and I'm the Hound's Kwami!"
"'Kwami'… They talked about you before on the Ladyblog, didn't they?" Bri asked, her brows furrowing with the effort of thought. "You give the miraculous their powers?"
"Got it in one!" Barkk nodded, clapping her paws enthusiastically. Her tail wagged so hard her whole body quivered. "The Hound asked me to stay here and watch over his Fer Maiden to make sure you would be okay through the night. We were so worried when the Hound found you; they will be so relieved to see you awake!"
Bri's nostrils were filled with the smell of rancid meat. A wild face with tangled hair floated before her eyes. She couldn't move, her wrists pinned by the preternatural strength. She froze, her eyes wide, pupils dilated.
The Kwami gasped, covering her mouth with her paws. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have even mentioned it." A high-pitched whine came from Barkk's throat.
Bri clenched her eyes shut and shook her head firmly, forcing herself to inhale slowly through her nose. Her chest felt constricted, like the monster was still on top of her; she couldn't take in a deep breath. Although her head still felt like she was floating, tiny pinpricks of pain made themselves known at the edges of her consciousness. She sat up in the bed and put a hand on her chest. It was swathed in bandages. "What–?"
"You weren't bleeding too badly except from a couple of the deeper cuts," explained Barkk, placing her paw over one of the bandages, her eyes wide and sad. "But there were just so many of them that they needed to wrap you up completely to make sure they got all of them."
A water glass stood on the nightstand next to her bracelets, and she took a long drink. "My head…" She ran her fingers through her hair but froze on feeling another bandage wrapping the back of her head. She pressed gently on it and winced as a stab of pain shot through her scalp from that spot.
"You didn't need stitches, but it was bleeding pretty badly."
Bri nodded and rubbed her eyes, leaning back against the headboard, careful not to put pressure on the back of her head. Her arms still felt sluggish.
"They gave you something for pain and to help you sleep," Bark told her.
Bri coughed. "I'm sorry, but who did all of this?"
"La Paonne Deux… and the Hound."
Bri pulled the covers up higher to hide her chest, even though the bandages covered her torso entirely. Her cheeks burned from embarrassment. "So he…"
The Kwami nodded, her ears drooping. She perked up. "They will be so relieved to see you awake! The Hound was moments away from going out to hunt for the Ripper again last night once they finally got you all bandaged up. I don't think I've ever seen him so furious."
Bri's breath hitched, her jaw clenched. She could feel his grip on her wrist, hear his voice. Her hand drifted up to her injured cheek. The world around her faded, and instead of lying of a soft bed her back was against the gravel and cobbles of the alley. The Ripper's legs pinned her to the ground, his body pressed against her–
"Maiden?" The Kwami's voice cut through the haze of her mind, right next to her ear.
She blinked, and Barkk nuzzled against her uninjured cheek. "Sorry," she apologized, cupping a hand around the Kwami's back.
Barkk patted her gently. "No, I'm sorry. I would be concerned if you weren't feeling so anxious right now," she told her. "Do you want something for breakfast? Or do you need to wash up first? You can stay in bed and sleep if you want, too."
Bri took a shallow, shuddering breath. I survived. I'm safe. He can't hurt me. She clutched the sheet in both hands. I survived. I'm safe. He can't hurt me. Slowly she released her grip and tossed the sheet away, planting her feet on the floor. "Breakfast I think," she finally answered. "But I'm not about to wear the clothes from…" She swallowed hard.
Barkk giggled and pointed toward the opposite side of the room. "The Hound already thought of that."
The profusion of colour along the wall almost made Bri's eyes hurt. The vanity, chair, dresser, and three extra clothing racks were loaded almost to the ceiling with a wide assortment of clothing: shirts and blouses with every cut and neckline imaginable. Skirts, slacks, Capri pants, and shorts. A jacket and even a couple dresses. A handful of bras – everything from a basic sports bra up the laciest ones she had ever seen. All with the tags still on them. Bri picked out a red sweatshirt with black spots and glanced at the label. "'Agreste'?" The name took her back to lycée, when Agreste clothing had been all the rage among her friends, though she had never been able to afford their prices. Of course, that had been before Hawk Moth was revealed to be Gabriel Agreste and all her friends boycotted his company. But that was over a year ago. With a shrug she picked out a bra, threw on the Ladybug sweatshirt with a pair of sweatpants, shot down a couple painkillers with the water on the nightstand, and allowed the Kwami to lead her down the stairs to the dining room.
The clink of dishes and sound of voices drifting out of the room drew her, and she stopped at the doorway. The Hound sat at the table with a woman who had to be his mother, tall and slender with platinum-blonde hair. She stopped speaking and looked up in surprise on seeing her. "Oh, sweetie, what are you doing up?" She jumped to her feet and rushed around the table. "If you'd sent Barkk down, I would have been happy to bring up a tray for you!" Before Bri knew what was happening, the woman threw her arms around her in a tight embrace.
Bri awkwardly wrapped her arms around the woman and sighed, finally relaxing after the anxiety that had plagued her since she woke up. The woman rubbed her back gently, making soothing noises. Bri closed her eyes, inhaling her flowery perfume. For the first time since she'd been knocked to the ground last night, she finally felt… safe. "Thanks," she whispered, sniffling. "Um…"
"Call me 'Amelie,' sweetie," she instructed her, putting her hands on Bri's shoulders and holding her out at arm's length to examine her, looking critically at the scratches around her face and bandage on her cheek. "My son is Felix. After everything, I think it's only fair to share that with you."
Bri nodded, her shoulders dropping. "I–I didn't realize how much I needed a hug. After…"
Amelie nodded sympathetically. "If you want to go home to see your parents, you can take our other portal ring to the Heroes' Headquarters and simply walk home from there."
Bri's eyes widened nervously. She had never told Amelie who her father was! For as much as she longed to see her mother and feel her warm embrace after last night, what would her father think? Might he figure out how she was able to return home so quickly and unexpectedly? She shot Felix a worried glance, and he frowned.
"It would be rather suspicious if our Fer Maiden just showed up in Paris out of the blue instead of taking the train," he pointed out.
Amelie hummed in acknowledgement. "That may be true. All the same, we can arrange it for you if you wish, sweetie."
The tension in Bri's chest eased and she nodded. "Thank you for the offer," she replied. "And perhaps I will take you up on it eventually, but not today. Today… I just want to rest."
"Of course," Amelie assured her, guiding her to a seat near where she and Felix had been sitting. She placed a plate of croissants in front of Bri and poured her a cup of tea. "If you would like something more – eggs or bacon – I'll send word down to the chef. Otherwise I've given him instructions not to disturb us."
Bri raised an eyebrow at that information but shook her head, taking a croissant. "I think this will be fine for now." Biting into the croissant, it melted apart in her mouth and she gasped. "This… this tastes exactly like the ones from my favourite bakery in Paris!"
Felix snorted. "Why does that not surprise me?" he asked rhetorically. "I was in Paris anyways this morning, so I popped over to Tom and Sabine's," he explained.
"Was that when you picked up all those clothes?" Bri asked, arching an eyebrow and picking out another pastry.
"Yeah…" Felix ran a hand through his hair, grinning nervously. "I hope you don't think we just had a ton of clothes in your size lying around the Manor. Or that I even knew your size without looking at the label."
"You got enough of them," she observed wryly.
He shrugged. "I know you like wearing metal, but I really haven't seen you wearing all that much other than that, so I figured you would appreciate some variety from which to choose." She gave him a dubious look. "My cousin owns a fashion house; he and his fiancée insisted," he explained.
She raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Your cousin is Adrien Agreste?" She shook her head ruefully. "That explains so much," she muttered. Taking another bite she looked up at her hosts curiously. "So what is going on today?"
"That's entirely up to you," Felix replied, giving her a sympathetic look. "You can take the portal ring and return to London any time you want – I'll walk you home if you don't feel safe doing it on your own – or not if you don't feel comfortable with me knowing where you live. Otherwise you can stay here with us for the weekend, or for as long as you would like."
Bri nodded and helped herself to another croissant, letting out a breath to calm her racing heart. "I think I'd like to stay here with you – at least for a little while."
