"So, this means I'm invited on y'all's honeymoon, yeah?" Morgan grins wickedly over his croissant, leaning over the table to get closer to Carter. "You're going to let us join the fun?"

Carter just groans. "Tell you what. Fair's fair, you can see us once, when we agree to it, while we're on our honeymoon."

"Oooh, be careful there, Carter. Don't make promises without your man's permission; I'm absolutely holding you to that."

"Naw, that's fine." Avery says easily. "As he said, fair's fair. We can get breakfast together sometime. But we haven't even seen each other since we got here, and you've still got most of your honeymoon away from us, so you're not allowed to use this to get any more than that."

"Aw." Morgan whines. "Boring."

"Not that we know what we're doing, yet. Ask again once we've figured it out."

"That's not a no!" Morgan cheers. "Not that you can stop me, but it'll be nicer if you aren't mad at me."

Rhys rolls his eyes. "Annie can and will stop you. I can, too."

Morgan chuckles and leans over close enough to give Rhys a kiss. "You could, but you wouldn't."

Straight-faced, Rhys says, "Test your luck if you want, but even if you're right, that doesn't solve your Annie problem."

"Oh, true enough." Dramatically draping himself over Rhys' shoulders. "Annie would straight-up murder me. I still don't think she's forgiven me for before. Honestly, it kind of feels like she's just waiting for me to screw up again."

"No offense," Avery says, "but if that were true, she would have already killed you. You haven't exactly been an angel, dude."

"I've been trying!"

"We know." Carter says. "That's why I'm still talking to you."

"How about we not talk about the disaster on our honeymoon?" Rhys says. There's a general uncomfortable groan of agreement from the three of them. "What about your thing? How's it going with the keepers here?"

Carter sighs heavily. "Still early, but we've got our work cut out for us. Apparently, neither of them are in very good situations, and it's going to be complicated trying to solve it. Plus, we've got a native who asked for our help. It's an interesting puzzle, but even though they did ask us to prioritize the kids, that's another thing we're going to be working on. Early searches for Hawk Moth came up with nothing, the guardian is… well we're going to have to have a lot more time with him. Wish I could tell you more."

Rhys makes a face. "Wow. So much for in and out, huh? You going to take over as their teacher?"

"Not sure it's possible to take over for no one. But, yeah, ideally. Someone is going to have to teach them about the community. It'd be better if it were someone who knows the Paris community, but… I don't trust the guardian to do it."

"Oh, by the way." Avery says, drawing everyone's attention. "You wouldn't happen to know how involved IAME is with the schools here, would you? We've got another plan we're working on, but if we can get IAME on our side with the school system, that'd be a good option."

Rhys thinks for a moment before shaking his head. "I'm not totally sure. I'm not involved in education even in our branch. I know who would know, though. I'll ask them to text you about it, sound good?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Speaking of thanks." Morgan says. "Thanks for bringing us here. This is easily the best breakfast we've had here – and Paris has good food."

Avery smiles and rests his head on his palm. "Yeah, it was recommended to us, actually. One of the locals said it was super good."

"God bless the locals."

"Hm. What've you guys been up to, anyway? Just tourist stuff?"

"Pretty much! We hit a lot of the major landmarks around here already, but we'll get the Louvre and some other museums and stuff on our return trip. We have not been here long enough. Honestly, I don't want to leave."

Avery snorts. "You'll say that about every place you go to. Just be glad you're coming back before you head home. Hopefully we won't be here by then."

"We'll be here." Carter says, a bit resigned. "Even if we solve Hawk Moth in the next few days, which, not likely, we still have to make sure the heroes are set up properly. We'll probably be here all month at least."

Morgan giggles impishly. "I'm hearing… two interruptions on your honeymoon?"

"Don't push your luck." Avery teases. "And remember we're still deciding. Keep pushing us and we'll ask Annie to make sure you don't see us at all."

"Noooo! You wouldn't!"

"Try me."

Carter chuckles along with Rhys at Morgan's dramatics and Avery's stoic entertaining of them. It's nice to be around friends again, even if it hasn't really been that long since they left home. Paris is exceptional and grand and awesome, but it's still unfamiliar. Rhys and Morgan, for all they are, are familiar.

Still, there's an odd tension in the air. Carter expects it, to an extent. Avery and Morgan's old relationship still causes tension from time to time. It's less that Carter or Rhys are afraid that either of their partners would cheat, or turn away from them, though Carter has to admit it's hard to completely eliminate doubt – those two really liked each other back then, despite everything else about their relationship – and it's not even that they don't trust the new and improved Morgan that came back from his little soul-searching journey. It's been years since he came back. And sure, he's not an angel, but he hasn't deliberately hurt anyone since he got back. He's still wild and has a bit too little regard for the law, or just appropriate behavior in general, but he's loyal and true. Vocal, yes, about his desires, but Carter knows he won't do anything anyone's uncomfortable with. Never again.

But Morgan has earned his trust several times over at this point. Carter is more than comfortable with limited flirting, and even with him being as vocal as he is about his interest in Avery and, indeed, Carter himself. All of them know Morgan is devoted to Rhys. Another time, and they might question Morgan's intentions, but not anymore. He's earned that trust. Still. There's a reason that after several years of this they still haven't followed through. And Morgan backs off when asked, and he hasn't pushed, and that proves to Carter that his trust is well-placed.

That's why Carter knows trying to follow that thought, that similar discomfort he shouldn't rightly be feeling, is just a red herring masking what his true discomfort belies.

No, the real problem is the topic under the surface. All this talk of Morgan crashing Avery and Carter's honeymoon, and they still aren't even engaged. Carter is fairly certain he's going to be the one proposing – Avery isn't too devoted to any idea of how a marriage will play out and Carter knows he sometimes still has difficulty with deciding big things like that on his own. (Anxiety was not kind to him. Carter organizing the proposal would be a lot easier on him.) Plus, organizing something like that is very much Carter's cup of tea. Avery might expect him to do the proposing simply because he'd enjoy the planning a lot more.

The only reason Carter hasn't proposed already is because he isn't totally sure they're at a point that they want that, yet. Eventually, of course, but he doesn't know if now is the right time. Well, now, in Paris, is definitely not, but now in their relationship… he needs to talk to Avery first.

Luckily, they have time. There's no rush. Still, Carter thinks here in the bakery, after Rhys and Morgan take off, isn't a terrible time to broach the topic. "Hey, Avery?"

"Mmm?" Avery hums, glancing up to him.

"I don't know if it's Paris, or if it's them getting married or all this talk about Morgan crashing our honeymoon, but have you been thinking about what we're going to do? And, uh, when?"

Avery snorts. "It's just 'cause the topic is coming up. As romantic as Paris is, please don't propose while we're here. We're still ostensibly here for work."

"I know, I know. I promise, I wasn't planning to. But… is that something you want me to start working on? Or, do you want to propose? I kind of wanted to, but…"

"You do it." Avery says. "Surprise me, but after we get back. Not necessarily that you have to do it at home, but only after we leave Paris."

Carter chuckles. "So, a return trip would be fine?"

"Why not?" Avery shrugs, smiling gently. "I know you want to do the whole elaborate shindig, so I won't say this the easy way, but to answer your question, I'm ready for it if you are. After we're not dealing with two clueless kid keepers and a megalomaniac, anyway."

"Ahaha, I'll keep that in mind. And get started." Avery shakes his head fondly when Carter winks at him. "Speaking of work, though. It'll be a few hours before Iinar comes back. What do you want to do?"

"I'd like to go to the library." Avery says. "Arrel know which ones here will get me what I need?"

Carter waits for Arrel to respond, since he isn't totally sure himself. The keeper's library is connected to regular libraries around the world through old, lost, spatial magic – portals, really, but though new libraries can be connected to the keeper's library, the knowledge of how to create a new hub is long since lost. So, the people who manage such a thing sometimes create new entrances to the keeper's library, often in normal libraries, for any keepers to use, as part of an old deal they made with the kwami. Since there are keepers in Paris, and have been for a few months, not to mention Paris being an old and popular city, Carter would be surprised if there aren't any entrances here. That said, Arrel has never been to Paris before, much less recently. There's no reason he should know where exactly their library connects to. "I can sniff one out." Arrel says softly from the hood of Carter's jacket. "The librarians mark them, too, and with Avery's powers he might even be able to tell himself."

After checking that no one is eavesdropping, Carter whispers back. "Just go ahead and stick with him. You can talk about it directly." He feels a rustle, and then Arrel zips below the table to tuck himself inside Avery's shirt. "So, we'll separate for a bit?" Carter asks Avery.

"Yeah. You'll have better luck looking around the city. You mentioned talking to Britt, right?"

"Mhmm. She's pretty much the only lead we have right now, and Anais seems close enough to her. She'll probably help."

"Alright. We're about done here, yeah? You ready to head out?"

"Yes, sir." They stand and exit the bakery, waving to the kind lady behind the counter, Marinette's mother (she makes a good impression on Carter, for as much as customer service counts for that), and separate on the street outside the bakery after Avery looks up local libraries on his phone.

For his part, Carter follows Anais' directions to find Britt, and ends up outside a small apartment. The lady who answers the door is pretty, but severe. Her sharp expression, wary and fierce, framed by choppy hair almost the same color as Anais', pins him in the doorway. It's not a terribly uncommon attitude, this distrust of strange men at their door, so it doesn't faze Carter overmuch, still, she's got the features to make that expression harsher than many. Almost reminds him of Avery's mother.

"Hello!" Carter chirps. "I'm looking for Britt. Her friend Anais sent me."

There's a shock of recognition on the woman's face, and then the firm scowl find its bearings again. "And who's asking?" She asks.

"Carter Wroden. I met Anais recently and agreed to help her with a question she had."

The lady narrows her eyes. "I was expecting two of you."

"Ah. My partner. I assume that means you're Britt? I can speak freely, then?" Britt nods once. "He's looking into what manner of magic might have created the situation Anais is in. I'm here to figure out what happened to her while she was still alive. She said you were the first person to find her after she lost her memory?"

There's another long moment before Britt finally opens the door and gestures him inside. "Not sure how much I can help you." She says. "I don't know anything about who she was. I don't even know anything about spirits." She guides him to a sofa and waves for him to sit, so he does, and then she moves towards the open kitchen to put on a pot of tea. "You want any?"

"Yes, please." Carter says. "And that's fine. I'm not expecting you to know everything. But you're the one closest to this aside from Anais herself, so it's worth investigating."

"I'm not worth investigating." Britt says sharply. "I was just taking a walk by the river and she was there. I don't know any more than that."

"Maybe not." Carter says. "But another perspective can tell you a lot. I'd like to hear the whole story, if you're willing to tell it."

Britt sighs, and doesn't say much else until the tea is ready and she rejoins Carter on the sofa. "Fine, then. As I said, I was just taking a walk. Saw a poor girl lying there on the riverbank. Knew she was a spirit right away, and that means no one else was likely to notice, much less give her a hand."

"It was good of you to help her. Not everyone would."

Britt shrugs. "Anais told you where, I assume. At the water's edge, almost right under the bridge near that school. I don't know anything about spirits, so I assumed the memory loss was normal. I assumed the poor girl jumped and her real body is somewhere in the Seine now. I did what I could for her, and then asked my friend what more could be done. He told me about spirits normally remembering things."

Carter hums. "Can I ask who this friend is?"

"Gerard. He lives nearby in one of those fancy mansions around the way."

"Gerard…" Carter murmurs, furrowing his brow in thought. "This isn't Gerard Garnier, by any chance, is it?"

Britt blinks. "Yeah, actually. You know him?"

"I know someone he knows. He ever mention Johann?"

"Never shuts up about him. Old buddies, I think. You know Johann?"

Carter laughs. "I'm pretty good friends with him, actually. Johann's library has saved me on more than a few jobs like this one. I owe him a lot. He's real generous with me. Good guy."

The edge in Britt's eyes softens. "Yeah, Gerard makes him sound that way, too." She sighs again. "You really should just talk to him. Gerard said he was going to look into Anais' memory loss. He never did find anything, but maybe if you work together, something will come up?"

"I'll definitely have to talk to him." Carter agrees. "In the meantime, though, would you keep telling me about Anais?"

Britt sips her tea and thinks for a moment. "Well, she's a bit strange, isn't she? I don't know enough about spirits to say what's normal or not, but I thought it was odd how fixated she got on those kids. The heroes. The first akuma and she was running after them, angry as all hell and swearing up and down that she'll put an end to Hawk Moth herself. Barely even knew anything about it all before she was on the warpath."

"Huh. So, you know the heroes' identities, I assume?"

"I know their names. Anais tried to convince me to go talk to them a few times, but I think that's none of my business."

"Hah. I'm sure they appreciate that."

Carter coaxes a few stories out of Britt, little anecdotes about Anais, but gets very little more that'll help him figure out who she was. From what Britt tells him, Anais hasn't changed much since she lost her memory, so Carter's own experiences with her tells him what to look for in personality (though he can't assume she acted the same before she lost her memory. Memories shape a person.), and aside from the bridge, there isn't much in location. That said, if Gerard was looking into it, there's a good chance he has something that can give Carter another lead.

He doesn't stay long at Britt's place, and since he has time, he goes promptly to Gerard's manor. Unlike Britt, Gerard doesn't have forewarning that he's coming, but that doesn't matter so much considering Gerard is the one who Johann told Carter to seek out. "For anything you need," he said. Johann even said that they should stay at Gerard's place. "It's certainly big enough!" He said.

It certainly is big enough, despite trophies of what Carter assumes are many adventures around the world littering the place. And, once Carter meets Gerard, he has a feeling that Johann was a lot less out of bounds than Carter assumed offering someone else's home for an extended trip to another country. In fact, one of the first things Gerard asks him, after introductions, is if he has a place to stay and if he and Avery would like to stay with him while they're in Paris. "Any friend of Johann's is a friend of mine!" Gerard proclaims loudly, before starting on a long anecdote about an old hunting trip he and Johann went on together.

If Carter weren't already used to Johann, it would be quite overwhelming. It's really no surprise the two are friends. Personality alone, the two could be carbon-copies of each other.

Luckily, that makes Gerard very easy to work with. His open and welcoming personality, plus Carter's in with him in his connection to Johann, makes the whole thing run smooth as butter. A little too smooth, actually, since much like his visits to Johann's home, Carter is just as distracted as Gerard is in the interesting antiques everywhere and the stories that go with them that Gerard is all too happy to tell. Without Avery or Iinar to keep him on track, Carter has a bad habit of running off on tangents even without those distractions. Pair him with an eccentric millionaire with a lifetime of adventures and a library full of books on magic that he's collected over that lifetime? Carter could sit in that library for days.

That offer to stay here is remarkably tempting. Unfortunately, though, Carter does have a job to do. He won't be surprised if he ends up spending the night here a few times, deep in research, relevant to the situation or not (Lord knows he does that at Johann's place enough already.), but he can't make this his home while he's in Paris. He'd never get anything done.

Besides, he likes his privacy with Avery. That's worth more than any library.

Ultimately, Carter does manage to ask Gerard about Anais' situation. Gerard is very forthcoming with all his notes from his own investigation, but a quick scan through them don't tell Carter much that he doesn't already know. There are a few ideas and theories about what might have caused her to lose her memory, but the investigation as to who she was when she was alive stops where she was found. At the bridge. Without any more to go on in that department, Gerard thought to take the other approach, and figure out who she was by figuring out what happened to her.

Carter then spends the rest of the day with Gerard, sharing stories with each other, and then after lunch he tackles Gerard's library, spending a great deal of time simply admiring the volumes, getting an idea of what knowledge this room contains, and then a great deal more time with a book in his hands.

It's Arrel's appearance, many hours later, that spurs Carter to move from there. At Arrel's sudden appearance, Carter finally checks the clock. Only after realizing that it's well after time for school to end does he return the book to its place and prepare to leave.

"Madame Couffaine invited us over at six." Arrel reports. Since he knows, that means Iinar must have returned to Avery. Carter would like to think Arrel would come straight to him after that, but considering Carter has just enough reasonable time to say good-bye to Gerard and find his way to the Couffaine houseboat, he has a feeling that Arrel saw him deep in his reading and simply waited until interrupting him became necessary. It wouldn't be the first time.

It's a nice walk to the river, guided by Arrel and his phone, of course. He doesn't quite have time to stop to admire everything he'd like to, but he marks buildings and landmarks in his head as he goes so that he can examine them more closely later. Paris really is a beautiful city. It's almost a shame that Avery forbids a proposal here. Carter can see it, honestly, but he does agree that it'd ultimately be a mistake.

Not that Avery would say no if the proposal isn't up to snuff or anything. No, if it were entirely up to Avery, he would have just said yes when Carter asked him about it earlier today and they'd go straight into the wedding planning. (And then he'd say to just elope and go on a trip for a honeymoon – Carter does agree with that to a point. Their wedding budget should go more towards the honeymoon than the ceremony. They'd both enjoy a longer trip without keeper duties much more than any elaborate ceremony they could cook up. That doesn't mean Carter doesn't want a ceremony at all, though.) That's just the kind of person Avery is. Not much for formal events. Not against them, of course. If he had a problem with a fancy proposal and ceremony Carter would never force him into it, but if he alone were deciding it, he wouldn't put any priority on it.

Carter on the other hand takes a lot of joy in planning, so arranging a romantic and meaningful moment to propose is so his thing. And the ceremony is half "living childhood daydreams" and half for all their family and friends who would kill them if they just eloped and got out of Dodge without giving them a chance to fuss over the wedding. Knowing their friends, they'll take over the whole thing if he lets them. The worst part is that with Johann no doubt eager for it, money won't even be an issue. Carter will have to keep an eye on them if only to ensure that they don't blow it up into a huge event – he knows for sure that both Avery and he will prefer a smaller ceremony, cost notwithstanding.

"Carter. Over here."

Carter's attention snaps to Avery, waiting by the water's edge, with a boat not too much further down the way. "Hey, love." Carter greets him with a kiss. "I ran into Gerard – Johann's guy – he was actually investigating Anais' thing, too. Got copies of his notes with me, so you'll want to look through those."

Avery frowns and nods. "I'll check them out when we get home. Ready to meet the Couffaines?"

Carter eyes the boat again and nods, leading the way to the gangplank. Iinar zooms out of Avery's shirt into the boat, and it's not long until a woman and two teenagers appear on deck. Carter and Avery are quickly waved aboard and led to a small table below deck where they take their seats. There are only three chairs, but the space is small and the two kids seem content to sit in the background. They're certainly near enough to hear, and near enough to engage if they like, but they situate themselves just a bit out of the way.

"So," Anarka says, "you're the two new heroes I've been hearing so much about."

Carter chuckles. Word travels fast, it seems. "We consider ourselves historians, actually." He says casually.

"Even better!" Anarka cheers. "You're here to help with Hawk Moth? What can I do for you?"

Carter shares a look with Avery. As easy as it would be to spill the whole truth, Ladybug and Chat Noir will definitely not appreciate them going around sharing the heroes' identities, even if it is only within the community. They have to be a little cleverer than that if they want to interfere in these kid's lives. "Well, when we were researching the situation here, Collège Francois Dupont came up a lot. That's, ah," Carter looks over to the girl, Juleka, "your school, right?"

Juleka nods, and they also get a confirmation from Anarka. "Yeah, there are a lot of akuma there." Anarka agrees. "You think Hawk Moth is, what, targeting it or something?"

"Not necessarily." Carter says. "Even the attacks that don't occur at the school are all in this area of the city. We think it's more likely that the school is just a place where the kind of emotion Hawk Moth needs pops up more than average, and this school in particular because it happens to be close to where he's working out of, not that he has any intent towards the school. That said, we've been asking around, and a few things have come to our attention about the school that we're hoping can be solved and reduce the student's risk of being akumatized. We're working on Hawk Moth, of course, but even if he weren't here, these practices aren't good for the students. It'd be in everyone's best interest to fix the issues."

"Oh, now? What kind of things are we talking about here?" Anarka's eyes narrow dangerously. "I haven't heard of any nasty stuff going on there."

"Corruption." Carter says. "For a start. Plus, bullying that's not being acknowledged. Misguided teaching practices that apologize for those bullies and places the responsibility of their improvement on the victims instead."

Juleka pales. "You're talking about Mlle. Bustier." She murmurs. That all but confirms everything they've heard. To both Carter and to Anarka, apparently, with how her expression darkens.

Carter smiles encouragingly and nods. "She's part of the problem. As I understand it, the principal isn't helping, either."

Anarka growls, looking about ready to march to the school already. "You deal with these kinds of things, yeah? This is what you do without a Hawk Moth to fight?"

"Partly." Carter says. "We focus on the magic community. Especially those who don't have access to the magical education necessary to keep themselves safe while they explore their powers. Our job is actually primarily as teachers ourselves. We have classes and everything, open to the community. Past that, as I said, we're historians. We learn and collect everything we can, so we can better share that knowledge."

"Hm. So you're going to want to put a stop to all this happening at Dupont, yeah? To give Hawk Moth less to work with? What can I do? I'm not going to let them hurt my daughter."

Carter smiles. That makes everything a lot easier. She's cooperative, and eager to help. "To limit Hawk Moth's options, yes, but also just for the kids. We're hoping that talking to your daughter's teacher will solve that problem. From what we hear, she's well-meaning. If we explain what she's doing wrong, there's a good chance she'll make an effort to fix it. As for the principal, our friend put us in contact with IAME here in Paris. We're still in the process of figuring things out, but we're hoping some more official action will scare him enough to stop the corruption. Worst comes to worst, we figure out a way to expose everything he's doing. That'll get him investigated by the proper non-magical authorities."

"If you want to help," Avery says, "in most cases like this, it's a student coming to us for help. Usually someone we teach, asking for help in their regular school. We typically pose as relatives for them, or something similar, and talk to the teacher directly. A spirit friend of ours has been investigating the akuma, so she knows the school pretty well. She said Juleka here is the best option we have if that's how we plan on doing it."

Anarka taps her chin, nodding. "Aye, you could be cousins. Their da's off at sea, so if I'm busy some visiting cousins could have a good excuse to go in with her instead."

"Or," Carter says, "you could play up that we're teachers ourselves, and heard some troubling things from Juleka, if she's okay with that." He looks over to Juleka for her silent nod of approval. "And you don't need to be busy. If you want to be there, you can."

The idea of being there herself clearly appeals to Anarka, with how she lights up so wickedly. "I'll call Caline right now."

"Oh, uh," Carter stops her before she can go to make the call. It's a bit of a stretch, considering this family doesn't know them at all, but Carter figures he'll ask anyway. "If you and Juleka are both comfortable with it, could Avery talk with her alone for a moment? Just for any other instances, other concerning things that we should know about and address before we go in. As he said, it's usually a student coming to us for help. The more we know about what's happening there, especially as it pertains to her, since she's the one we'll be talking about, the easier this will be. I understand you don't know us, so if you both would prefer having that conversation together, that's fine, but we typically talk to kids one on one – which is why it'd be Avery alone – just because we've seen a lot of cases where kids aren't… entirely comfortable exposing those kinds of things in front of their parents. It's nothing personal, I promise. We don't know your family. It's just something we've started doing by convention."

Anarka laughs loudly and just looks to her kids. "Hey, didn't you two have questions about your magic, anyways?" She glances over to Carter. "I can't help them as much as I'd like, since I'm not magical myself. You all go on and talk. I'll call Caline."

When she takes off, it quickly becomes apparent that Juleka is very shy. It takes her brother's coaxing to get her to really open up about school, and Carter hears some very concerning stories, notably one about picture day. Once she gets talking, though, she gets more comfortable and the brother, Luka, pulls Carter away, letting Juleka and Avery continue their conversation.

Luka has questions about his magic, he says. Carter isn't surprised. If Anarka isn't magical, that means their father most likely is, but Anarka said he's off at sea. Who knows how long that's been the case? The two seem relatively responsible and competent, but with no reliable source to turn to at home, they're bound to have loads of questions.

Avery is good with kids. He doesn't talk as much as Carter does, so he's a better listener, and kids like being listened to. Carter trusts him to learn everything they'll need. And Luka has questions of his own, and Carter is more than happy to share his answers.

Things like what having selkie blood means, how it'll affect them. Not too much, shapeshifters like selkies are only biologically compatible with humans because they turn, biologically, into humans, so Luka is hardly going to sprout fins or webbing or anything like that. It could affect how their magic manifests, Carter tells him. Even spellcaster's magic isn't all the same. Some magic likes transfiguration, other magic likes water, or the earth, or the moon, or communication. There are as many specializations as people, but their natural magic inclinations don't necessarily determine their capabilities. Just what comes easiest to them.

Things like why a spell he's trying isn't working. He's missing a key ingredient necessary for that type of spellcasting. Things like what a transfiguration feels like. It depends, both on what he's transfigured into and on who's casting the transfiguration. Carter reminds him never to transfigure on an empty stomach, and that transfigurations can be a lot of fun, but are always dangerous, so don't stay transformed too long. And to remember to have a wildspeech spell already prepared if he doesn't have more people than just himself and his sister to cast the spell after the transfiguration. He doesn't bother telling Luka to be careful, or to not do it. Carter tries not to do that, as a rule. Instead, he gives him all the information to do it safely, and lays out the risks, so Luka can make his own decision.

Things like what a transfiguration sark is – Carter is surprised that Luka even knows about those, they're exceptionally rare – and how they're related to selkie's own transfigurations. Sarks are inspired by the selkies, and historically the selkies' pelts are typically considered the first transfiguration sarks, and selkie pelts nowadays are often called sarks colloquially (that's probably how he found out about them, Carter thinks), though by definition sarks are created by spellcasters and are more broad, working for anyone who puts one on, whereas selkies' are natural and specific to the individual.

Things like what the difference between using a sark and using regular magic is. The energy expenditure associated with transfigurations is the same, but sarks largely eliminate the danger of botched spellcasting, so long as the sark is correctly constructed. They're more useful if one plans to transfigure many times for whatever reason, as they're reliable and generally don't need the same time a spellcaster does to recharge, and are most often used by casters in marine environments, if they plan on diving a lot for research or for whatever other job they have to do under the waves. Sarks also are much safer to use alone. Self-transfigurations are exceptionally difficult, especially full-body ones. Not necessarily for the actual skill in transfiguring oneself, but because full transfigurations are magically taxing at best, and transfigurations are also extremely physically taxing, so to have the toll of both on yourself is generally not the best idea. Sarks ease the magical toll, so transfiguring alone is a lot more reasonable.

Luka is quiet, patient, calm and composed. He's a good listener. And transfigurations aren't all he asks Carter about. Once they're done with that topic, they move on to music, and how Luka feels it integrates into his magic. Carter explains spellcasting conduits and focuses as best he can.

When they're done, Luka thanks him for his time and leads him back to the others, asking if they could talk again about more questions he has on other topics. Carter readily agrees, of course, but considering Luka is still a minor in a family that he's only met today, he ensures Anarka knows before giving Luka his phone number to let him contact him anytime he needs. He gives his number to Anarka, too, telling her to feel free to ask him anything she needs. He would, anyway, but he can appreciate how difficult raising two casters as a non-magic can be. She needs a reliable place to learn about all the strange goings-on that her kids are likely to get into. If she decides to trust Carter and Avery to be that place, they're more than willing to provide.

"Oh. Howdy." Avery says casually. "I'm glad you took us up on our offer."

Carter closes the door behind him before leaning to look over Avery's shoulder at whoever has joined them in their apartment. "Oh! Hi, Chat Noir. Good to see you! Want some tea? I'll put on a pot."

Chat Noir stands awkwardly in the living room, fiddling with the end of his tail. "I, uh, yes, please? You're Carter and Avery, right?"

Carter meets Avery's eyes, accepting the half-hearted roll that says "I got this" and merely patting his shoulder and kissing his cheek before slipping past him to the kitchen. Avery will help Chat Noir with whatever he needs. "That's right, Chat. I assume you got our message about learning your identity?"

"Y-yeah."

Carter leaves them to it while he prepares the tea. Avery will help Chat Noir get more comfortable, and then figure out why he's here. Carter isn't necessary for that. Tea, though! Tea is necessary for guests. He hums a quiet tune as he waits for the pot to boil.

It's not long before he's carrying cups out to the living room, where he finds Chat Noir frowning at the ground. Both he and Avery gratefully accept the offered tea. "So, Chat Noir, what did you need?"

Chat blushes. "I, uh, wanted to ask about… how do you… Uh, this is a weird question, I just- how do- how do I know if a relationship is toxic?"

Carter shares a look with Avery. "Did you have a specific one in mind?" Avery asks gently.

"No- yes- maybe. I just- your story got me thinking abo- and I… oh man, I don't know. I'm just… confused."

"That's okay." Avery says. "It can be hard to sort through things sometimes. Why don't we do that together?"

Chat fiddles some more with his tail. "How?"

"Well, to simplify things, it's probably not toxic if you like it. That's not to say that anything that frustrates you is toxic, but that's a good place to start looking. What's the last thing that happened, with anyone, that really frustrated you?"

Chat Noir is quiet for a long time, just sipping his tea, before finally he says mutely, "Ladybug, I suppose. I didn't even know this guardian existed until you guys brought him up. I just… feel like she doesn't trust me."

Avery smiles and nods. "Ah, yeah. That is frustrating. It's hard being the one left out of secrets."

"It is! I just… why doesn't she trust me like I do her?"

"I'm afraid I can't honestly answer that." Avery says. "The only conversation I've had with Ladybug was last night, and you saw that. But I do know some about that secret in particular – with the guardian. Would you like to hear the details?"

Chat Noir's eyes go wide. "You- you mean you'll tell me?!"

"Of course. You're a keeper. It's only right that you know the role that the guardian has played so far." Chat Noir looks at Avery with the stars in his eyes, almost childishly begging him to tell him everything. Avery chuckles. "From what we've heard, from the guardian and from Anais, who you know has been following the both of you, Ladybug only met the guardian when her kwami got sick. Even then Ladybug didn't know who he is until Ladybug's kwami decided to tell her about him."

Chat Noir scowls. "Why didn't either of them say anything? I would have liked to know we had a guardian!"

"Ladybug didn't say anything because the guardian made her promise not to." Avery says. "I don't know her, so I won't pretend that I know what she was thinking when she was keeping that secret, but if she did really want to tell you, the guardian put her in a position where she is forced to either keep quiet, and leave you out, and if it comes up to ask you to trust her without question, or to break the trust of the man who gave you both your Miraculous. Little as I'd like to call him such, he's a teacher for her, of sorts, at least after he accepted Ladybug knowing about him. Make sense?"

Chat Noir covers his mouth. "So… oh." His ears flatten down on his hanging head. "So, she didn't have a choice. Not really. And our identities are the same, aren't they? Plagg isn't… very responsible, so I guess I figured it wouldn't be a big deal to ignore him, but… to Ladybug it'd be betraying her kwami's trust, wouldn't it?"

"Probably." Avery says quietly. "Does that make her behavior make a bit more sense to you?"

He nods emphatically. "Yes! Oh, man, and I was so angry with her about it! I'm such a terrible partner! I should have been able to figure all this out! I can't believe I didn-"

"Hey." Avery touches his shoulder carefully, to stop him from spiraling any further. His voice is just sharp enough to definitively grab Chat's attention. "It's not your fault. Everyone needs help seeing other perspectives. They wouldn't be other perspectives if you could see every one, would they?"

Chat chuckles sheepishly. "I guess not." He sighs. "Thanks. That… clears up a lot, actually. Can I… this is ano- another thing that's been bothering me. The ladybug and black cat, we're yin and yang, aren't we?"

Avery frowns. "Are you?"

"I thought so! But… you," Chat Noir locks eyes with Carter, "you said that the kwami's relationships don't affect ours? Is that true? How can we balance each other without being a match?"

Carter chuckles softly. "The simple answer? Through work. The kwami are independent beings. The bonding with them does meld us, to an extent, but only in the sense that they leave their magic inside us. It's… more like marking us than anything else."

"Like a bear marks it's territory." Avery adds, smirking.

"Sort of. Magic doesn't like itself. It doesn't live well in other reservoirs of magic. That's why Hawk Moth can't be a magical being. That's why we aren't. The kwami's magic wouldn't work, or would get very unpredictable, in someone who already uses magic. So, the magic the kwami leave inside us 'marks' us. To an extent, it protects us. Especially from invasive magic." Carter hums. "What's a good example?"

"When Carter was bitten by a werecat," Avery says, "the ailuranthropy – that's the technical term for the curse that makes werecats what they are – struggled to take hold in him. It bought him time for our friends to make a purging charm that would get rid of the ailuranthropy and stop him from turning. There were other factors, too. He was transfigured, and he was transformed when he was bit, all of that bought him time, but his bond with Arrel was another piece that contributed to us having as much time as we had."

Carter nods. "It's also why the bite was such a scare. If the curse did take hold, it would have rejected Arrel's magic and I couldn't be a keeper anymore."

Chat stares, wide-eyed. Avery nudges Carter's leg before saying. "I know I helped, but that was a bit tangential, wasn't it? We were talking about you and Ladybug being in balance."

Chat nods. "Yeah. I mean- that's very interesting, but I'm… not sure what it has to do with my question." He says that like a question, but Carter decides to ignore it.

"Aha, sorry. My point is, the kwami do mark us, but that doesn't fit us into any larger scheme. If your kwami do embody this dualism idea, this 'two halves of a whole' thing that it sounds like you're thinking, then that's strictly the kwami. Part of a keeper's job is to act as an… ambassador, of sorts, for the kwami's principle. But more accurately, we're acting as ambassadors of the kwami themselves. Make sense?"

Chat Noir makes a face. "What's a… principle?"

Carter blinks. "Oh, boy. Sorry. Sometimes I forget that your guardian didn't even do the bare minimum to teach you. The kwami's principle, and by extension yours, is the thing that your kwami represents. I am the keeper of patience, for instance. That which has its goal in sight, but knows not to reach for it, and recognizes when to move."

Avery nods along. "And I'm the keeper of liminality. That which refuses destiny and cannot be defined."

"Principles are most accurately described with a phrase." Carter says. "For simplicity's sake, the phrase is often replaced with a single word. And, of course, those words may be subject to interpretation, or odd translation, so for that reason it's perfectly reasonable to have multiple kwami of patience. That's why the phrase is important. Do you know what your principle is?"

Chat Noir frowns. "Didn't you call me the keeper of destruction? Is that it?"

"With Ladybug as creation. That is a reasonable summary, from my understanding, though I admit I don't know your phrases."

"Bringing it all back around." Avery says, smirking. "What Carter is trying to say, to answer your original question about you being balanced without being magically matched, is that as the keeper of destruction, you should be striving to balance out the keeper of creation. Just like she should be doing for you. I've done more research on your Miraculous than Carter has, and the concept of dualism and balancing each other comes up pretty often, but it's always in the context of the ideal pair. It's not what you are, it's what you're trying to be. Make sense?"

Carter readily admits that Avery's explanation, without Carter's distractions and tangents, strikes home with Chat quickly. Plus, Chat is paying him much better attention. Maybe I'm just confusing him, though. Either way, I think maybe Avery should handle him more than me. Even as Carter talks, Chat glances to Avery, as if for clarification. That's usually a good sign that the student prefers Avery – looking to him rather than asking Carter to pause or clarify. At least, so long as the student is comfortable, it is. If they're not, they probably just don't want to ask plain and simple. As it is, Chat lights up when Avery simplifies the matter for him. "Oh! Yeah, okay! But… wait, so we're trying to be soulmates? Oh! We're choosing to be soulmates!"

Avery laughs. "Not so much. Drop the soulmate thing. Dualism isn't in all aspects. You're the keepers of creation and destruction. You balance each other such that one doesn't overpower the other. Even in balance, your principle shouldn't dictate how you treat each other. You could be perfectly balanced enemies, and that would satisfy the dualism ideal. Or just best friends. You could even be complete strangers. You started as that, and you weren't any less keepers than you are now. Truth be told, no keeper perfectly embodies their principle. You shouldn't expect yourself to perfectly balance Ladybug, nor should you compromise who you are to fit her. You're your own person, with your own agency. You're not tied to her."

"Oh." Chat droops. "Oh. So, I just… I've been stupid this whole time. I've been bothering Ladybug over something that isn't even… real."

Avery shifts to touch Chat's shoulder. "Your feelings are real. I'd wager a guess that most people fall in love without it being defined by magic." He says it teasingly and manages to get Chat to smile. "I want you to listen to me, okay? Everything about your relationship with Ladybug is very real and is very much defined by your actions and your feelings. Magic may not play a part in it, but that doesn't make anything you feel or do invalid. That said, do you think this new perspective will change the way you act?"

Chat bites his lip. "Should it? I… I still love her. You said that's real. So… so we can still be together."

"Maybe." Avery says. "But if you aren't meant for each other. If your getting together is something that is defined entirely and only by the two of you, what's missing from what you just told me?"

Chat furrows his brow. "I love her… that's real… so… oh. Oh. Oh, god. I… I've been completely disregarding her feelings, haven't I? I was just so… so confident that we were destined that…"

"I know." Avery says softly. "I know. But you know now, right? So, what are you going to do?"

"She told me to stop calling her bugaboo. And… and flirting during battle. But… she doesn't seem to mind, sometimes? Is it… just during the stressful parts?"

"If I might advise?" Avery says. "I'd just talk to her about it. Ask her straight out what you've been doing that bothers her. And listen this time."

"I will! I'll do it as soon as we have a moment free!" Chat grins. "I'll be the best partner in the world!"

"I know you will." Avery says, earning Chat's beaming smile turned to him. "And while you're here, and we're doing this anyway, I did have something I wanted to ask you about. Another thing that I worry might bother you."

Chat blinks. "Oh? What is it?"

"Your dad."

Chat Noir immediately curls in on himself, closing up and turning his gaze to the ground. "I- Father is just- he's…"

As he struggles for words, Avery casts Carter a meaningful look. Carter nods. This is something that Avery will have to talk with Chat about alone. It might not happen tonight, but Avery will show him he can be comfortable enough to share. Having two adults watching over them alone is rarely the most comfortable a child will be for opening up about personal things like that. "I know the basics." Avery says. "And quite frankly, it's concerning to me. Carter needs to step out to talk to our kwami. We still have a few things to plan for tomorrow, but if you still have time, will you sit with me and tell me what, if anything, frustrates you at home? Maybe I can help?"

Carter smiles encouragingly and excuses himself when Chat looks at him. He heads off to the bedroom, trusting in Avery and in Chat Noir, that they'll get things figured out. He lays down on the bed, giggling with Arrel, thinking, I wonder if Marinette is going to stop by, sometime, too?