Lets take a walk down memory lane shall we?
Starlin's Ghost... You get some of your answer this chapter. Also I do have a larger story idea mapped for this but I don't have the time to write it all out hence the reason why I put it here. If I ever get the time to writ the whole thing out I will republish this there since this is the beginning. Don't worry tho I won't leave this on a cliff hanger or anything.
Marinette is a clumsy witch with almost no magical power but has high hopes to one day be a certified stitch witch. The first step towards her goal is summoning a familiar, but the real question is will she survive the test?
Witches Familiar (Part 4)
A hand held steady just before her nose as Marinette blinked and took in the sights around her. Alya stood before her holding out a hand to help her up but Alya was several years younger than what she had expected. She stared at her friend for a moment realizing that Alya looked exactly as she had when they were just little kids. Before she could think any further on the subject though Marinette's body seemed to move on its own taking Alyas hand while folding the book she had borrowed into her bag before anyone saw it.
"You look so young." was what Marinette wanted to say but instead what came out of her mouth was "I found the spell Alya. If you want to view the Familiar world without glasses we can, it doesn't take too many ingredients and they are not hard to get. Even for us kids!"
Alya grinned at her, fox ears twitching in excitement. "We can do it with our level of power too?" At Marinette's nod she gave a squeal that didn't sound quite human. "That's so cool! Alright give me a list of ingredients I need to get and we can go for it tomorrow."
Marinette nodded eagerly, scribbling down ingredients that would allow them to open a window to the familiar world. A few minutes later the two girls separated lists carefully in hand and promised to meet up in the afternoon once school had let out. They would see each other in school but they were not in the same main class which meant other than just before school, Familiar class, and recess they wouldn't have much time to chat. As soon as she made it in the door she asked her parents a question one that could ruin all the plans she had just made with Alya.
"Mama, Papa, can I go play with Alya tomorrow after school? We were thinking of going to the park." Marinette asked crossing her fingers behind her back for luck.
Seeing Sabine was busy with dinner Tom answered lifting Marinette into the air "Sure kiddo just don't get into too much mischief and if you do…"
"Don't get caught!" Marinette giggled as Tom tossed her into the air then set her back on her feet.
"Tom do not teach our daughter your bad habits!" Sabine chided gently "And Marinette go wash up while this finishes please!"
"Yes mama!" Marinette called back, running to her room in the next instant.
Her door flew open as she neared, the use of her magic being negligible. "Aquis!" she called out and water flowed from her tap in her bathroom as she tossed her bag and other items into the air.
Each item flew to its proper space and she was quick to clean her hands before running back out of her room. Dinner passed pleasantly with her parents asking about her day and Marinette happily answering them. She most excited about their introduction into the familiar world which was a class everyone was required to attend it and it was the only class she had with Alya this year.
"We got to view the familiar world through something other than the glasses today mama! We got to see the under water areas and this really big plain area! Kim says he swear he saw a dragon but I don't believe him. I did see this weird bird though. It looked almost like a bird of prey but it had butterfly wings instead!" Marinette said making both her parents smile warmly at her.
"It was probably a species of changeling sweetheart. Now make sure you finish your vegetables or no cookies before bed." Sabine said smoothing a hand through her daughters hair.
Marinette leaned into the touch bouncing eagerly "I will mama!"
Dinner finished with little fan fair and Marinette helped her parents clean up before racing up to her room to get the rest of the ingredients ready. She had already borrowed the things needed from the kitchen and now all she needed were a few things from her garden. Once she was done she joined her parents for an evening cookie before getting ready for bed the excitement of tomorrow thrumming through her chest. The thrill of excitement only grew the whole next day and practically doubled as they both met up after school.
"Are you allowed to go?" Marinette asked hopping in place as Alya grinned widely.
"Yep! I say we go to our secret club house to do it!"
Marinette nodded and together they ran for their secret clubhouse which wasn't really a clubhouse at all. In reality their clubhouse was a back street that opened into an almost courtyard style space. It was set far off the main roads down two different side alleys and the two girls had set magic dampening runes in the walls so they could practice some spells without people coming to investigate. The two of them had built a clubhouse out of boxes and Marinette had placed a sealing spell over them so the whole thing was actually waterproof. Now they often used the space as a storage area for any ingredients they didn't want their parents to find.
"So how do we start?" Alya squeaked bouncing on the balls of her feet with excitement.
Marinette was just as excited but she forced herself to stay calm knowing that this spell they were about to attempt was the strongest thing they had ever tried. It might even be dangerous but Marinette shook her head tossing the thoughts aside.
"You draw the circles! Two of them like this then a smaller circle here." Marinette answered showing Alya the diagram she had copied.
Alya took the paper and grabbed the can of paint they had brought for this spell. As she laid out the circle using a piece of string and a fixed stick Marinette used her time to assemble and mix the ingredients they were going to use.
Finally they were ready, standing in a smaller circle with the larger one spread before them.
"Do the lines look funny to you?" Marinette asked peering at the lines they had drawn. They looked odd to her, almost wavy like how the street got when it was really hot outside. It unnerved her a bit and she rechecked all the steps to reassure herself they were doing this correctly. All they were doing was opening a viewing plane so even if it went wrong, the worst consequence should only be exhaustion.
Alya glanced about studying the lines then the paper in her hand. "No I drew them just like the paper…"
Marinette shook her head as the waviness of the lines settled out. That had been weird almost like something had added itself to the spell they drew.
"Are you ok Marinette? If you don't want to do this we don't have to. After all you're the one that has to start the spell since I don't have the power to." Alya said patting her friend on the shoulder.
Marinette blinked looking a touch confused but then shook her head. "No I want to do this Alya! Besides, this needs both of our power to start it up so we can both see the familiar world. Just pool some unfocused magic into your hands like you did with your fire the other day. I can take it from there."
With a grin Alya did as Marinette asked excitement buzzing through her even as the odd butterfly mark on her hand burned slightly. She ignored it watching Marinette instead as she pulled a punch of her magic up, making it look like a thread that she then wove into her own magic. Alya had never seen anyone do magic like Marinette since she seemed to be able to call pure magic into existence and weave it like it was a physical object. So far she had only done it in front of Alya making her keep it a secret but one day Alya knew her secret would be revealed and she wondered how others would react. Not having a clue as to what Alya was thinking Marinette wove the threads of their magic together making sure hers didn't overpower Alya's weaker magic before bending down and pressing it all to the magic circle.
"Spots on" she whispered as the magic threads in her hands were pulled into the spell.
"Spots on?" Alya asked crinkling her nose as the magic activated around them.
Marinette shrugged sheepishly. "Papa always teases me about my freckles and asks if I have my spots on. Mama yells at him for it but I kinda think it suits me for some reason."
Alya giggled knowing that Marinette's papa loved Marinette's freckles and only teased her because of it. Alya thought they were cute on her as well and she was glad Marinette didn't hate her spots anymore.
They both went quiet as the spell around them really took and they both gasped grabbing for the others hand as the circle before them twisted, the ground shimmering through a nauseating wave of colors before blanking into a misty white color. Both girls panted clinging to each other as the mist slowly began to clear and shapes began to take form.
"That…that took more magic than expected right?" Alya asked her legs shivering a bit.
Marinette nodded feeling a tremble go through her as well. "Yeah it definitely did but look!" she cried pointing at the circle which had cleared enough to show… blue grass?
"That grass is blue right?" Alya asked peering down at the rapidly clearing view.
"It's more of a blue green color but yeah its definitely not our world!" Marinette answered with a squeal overjoyed that they had managed to do the spell correctly.
Alya bounced beside her overjoyed as well "We did it! We totally did it! This is so cool Marinette!"
They both stared at the ground below them entranced as the view shifted slowly. Over the next few minutes they had both sat, still staring at the view as creatures of all shapes and sizes crossed the field they were watching. They both smiled as a family of odd deer like creatures with wavy jelly like strands for hair moved out of the trees but then frowned as they froze before turning and darting back into them. A kitten suddenly darted from the woods a shadow following it and it spun around, a black bolt issuing from it's body to strike something in the trees. Light flashed in their view and both girls blocked their eyes for a moment
"Did you see that?! Was that a kitten?" Marinette gasped excitedly pointing at the circle, Alya however stood spotting a shadow moving across their view, barely noticing the still running kitten as she did. An odd feeling went through her and with a bit of trepidation she looked towards the sky spotting what had created the shadow.
Alya grabbed Marinette "What is that?!"
Hearing the sudden alarm in Alyas voice Marinette glanced up to see the strangest combination of a hawk and moth like animal swooping towards them claws extended.
"Down!" Marinette yelped taking a leaf from her friends book and conjured a fire ball that exploded upon impact with the hawk-moth like creature.
It shrieked breaking off its downward attack to sweep back up into the sky where it wheeled for several turns not making a sound.
"What is that thing?! Are we in trouble for casting the spell?" Alya asked fearfully then gasped, grasping at her hand in pain.
"I don't know Alya that thing doesn't look like an official anything! What's wrong?!" Marinette cried in return feeling Alya dropping to her knees.
"My hand… it hurts…" Alya whimpered her skin turning pale.
Marinette pulled at her friends hand uncovering a purple butterfly like mark that pulsed through several colors as she watched. "I thought that was a birthmark!"
Alya glanced at it, the mere sight of the butterfly suddenly making her nauseous and then she saw the hawk-moth thing diving for them once more. "Marinette!" she croaked lunging up to slam Marinette down out of the hawk-moths way. Claws slammed into her back throwing them both forward over the warded lines. Marinette screamed Alyas name as the impact sent them flying but Marinette already knew her friend was unconscious. The spell around them twisted as they slammed into the un-warded area and with the sound of shattering glass they were suddenly falling through an aqua sky. Marinette clutched Alya to her as she spied the ground rapidly coming at them. This was going to hurt when they struck the ground, Marinette knew but still she braced herself wishing she knew even a small antigravity spell. Seconds before hitting the ground a disturbance shifted the air around them and with the sensation like that of falling into leaves their speed slowed. Marinette cringed but only a foot or so from the ground Marinette realized they were hovering and she unrolled herself from around her friend.
"What the-" Marinette started then, whatever spell held them released suddenly dropping them the last foot or so right onto her tailbone.
"Owwe…" Marinette complained then sat up spying two slash marks in Alyas shirt. "Alya Alya!" Marinette called shaking her friend but unfortunately she didn't respond. Marinette could see blood however and with a grimace she pressed her hands to Alyas back feeling the wound and how drained her friend suddenly was of magic.
"Just hold on Alya…" Marinette murmured focusing her magic into a spell that returned skin and bones to their original state. Even as she healed the wounds Marinette could feel some of her magic being pulled away and she frowned as she realized it was being pulled towards Alyas one hand where the butterfly sat.
"Um is she ok?" a small male voice asked making Marinette jerk and look around frantically. Two very small bright green eyes peered at her from the grasses and as Marinette watched a small black kitten shifted a little further into the light.
Marinette's healing spell flickered out under her hands all of Alyas injuries having been healed and a small part of her energy restored. "Uh we were attacked by something and the spell broke… She is going to be ok I think. Were you the one who slowed our fall?" Marinette asked feeling odd about talking to a kitten.
The kitten nodded then grimaced and Marinette could see that he was hurt as well. Gently Marinette shifted Alya so that she was laying flat off her lap and held out a hand to the kitten.
"You look like you're injured, can I take a look? I might be able to heal you." Marinette whispered sliding onto her knees as she did.
The kitten shifted a little his green eyes rising to meet her blue ones and the instant they truly met Marinette could feel a connection between them flare into life. The kittens ears perked and it limped forwards revealing a slash mark across its shoulder.
Marinette hissed in sympathy and the kitten froze before her looking a touch startled. "Its ok." Marinette soothed reaching for him the spell already fixed in her mind. "It looks like a surface cut and that's it."
Gently Marinette wrapped her magic cloaked hands around the kitten lifting him up and she could feel his own magic reaching out in response to hers. She half expected it to fight against her magic seeing as he was just a kitten, albeit a very strange one, but instead it twined around her magic seeming to learning her spell as it was knitting his flesh back together. Within a few moments Marinette was done her spell dying off and she slumped a little feeling the effects of doing several powerful spells all at once.
"You feel tired." The kitten said looking up from Marinette lap where she had settled him.
Marinette nodded "I am but I recover fairly quick and hopefully my friend will be waking soon. Once she does we will have to figure out how to get home."
The kitten stretched and jumped off her lap turning to look up at her. "So you aren't from around here?"
Marinette shook her head "No we fell into this world on accident through a visual spell, which I didn't even think was possible. In any case my name is Marinette and that is Alya. What's your name anyway?"
The kittens head tilted slightly "Um I don't have one. Plagg calls me kit or trouble or noir sometimes but I don't have a name like Marinette."
Marinette's lips pinched into a frown "Do you want a name?"
The kitten shrugged "I don't know. I guess so at some point. Plagg said I would find a name for myself as I got older."
Tapping a finger to her cheek Marinette said softly "Well I don't like the idea of calling you Kit. Noir is really just a color and I don't think Trouble really suits you… How about Felix?"
The kittens eyes narrowed and his ears curled back. "Pass." He hissed in distaste.
"Mmmm yeah it doesn't suit you… Oh how about Louis?" Marinette asked
The kitten paused ears twitching as he thought about it then answered "That's a better name than Felix but I don't think it's quite me either."
Marinette nodded accepting his answer and proceeded to call out other names she had heard before or had made up. "Um how about Adrien?" she wondered realizing that she was starting to run out of names
Instantly the kittens ears perked his eyes bright. "Oh say that again!"
"Adrien." Marinette complied and a shiver ran through the kitten followed by a burst of green light that made Marinette shut her eyes against.
"I love it!" a distinctly boyish voice cried as warm hands gripped her making Marinette's eyes fly open.
A boy the same age as Marinette now crouched before her, as naked as a jay bird. "Y-you… you're human?" Marinette gasped surprised then her mind registered the no clothes thing. "You're naked!" she shrieked yanking her hands away and covering her eyes.
"Oh oops." The boy muttered "Sorry I didn't put on clothes this morning since they make my fur itch. Here this form will be better."
Another flash of green lit up shadows behind her closed eyelids then then warm hands pulled at Marinette's making her uncover her eyes. Slowly Marinette opened her eyes finding the boy now dressed in black leather, with a set of real cat ears twitching in his golden hair. Glancing down Marinette noticed the gentle way he held her hands since tiny sharp claws adorned his fingers and a twitching tail caught her attention as it swayed behind him.
Adrien grinned revealing sharp canines. "This form automatically comes with clothes, since it's a magic in between thing. At least that's how Plagg explained it. I'm a Grimalkin but from now on I'm going to be called Adrien!"
He bounced on his toes making Marinette giggle in relief and she squeezed Adrien's hands ignoring the prickle of claws since she instinctively knew he wouldn't hurt her. "I'm happy you are no longer naked and that you like your name." Would you like to play with Alya and I once she wakes up?"
Adrien nodded enthusiastically pulling Marinette to her feet as he shot up. "I would love to play with you two! We can play tag or climb some trees and I can introduce you to Plagg an-"
A high pitched screech cut him off and both kids spun around to find the Hawk-moth like creature diving from the sky only to pull up as it noticed there attention had shifted.
"That thing again?!" both kids cried in dismay then looked at each other in shock.
Adrien's eyes narrowed "It's what attacked you and made you fall isn't it?"
Marinette nodded then eyeing his shoulder she suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "It's what hurt you too isn't it!"
Adrien nodded sheepishly. "I left Plaggs protection spell to go play and it tried to carry me off. It's a nasty conglomeration."
Marinette let a small angry hum pass her lips making Adrien cock his head at her a bit worried. "You ok Marinette?" he asked a touch nervous as her pink aura flickered into existence.
Marinette glared at the sky where the creature was wheeling in clear preparation of attack. "That thing hurt Alya and you for no reason. I'll bet if we let it, it will come after all of us and hurt us again. Well I wont let it hurt my friends again!" she declared creating a ball of light in her hand, ready to let it fly as the creature began a dive to attack.
Adriens hand squeezed hers drawing her attention, his eyes were wide, with a bright kind of energy sparkling behind them that Marinette couldn't place. "You really mean that? I mean we just met, will you really be my friend?"
Marinette nodded decisively having already thought this through. "I like you Adrien and to take this thing down we will have to be more than friends. We are now partners and we are gonna pluck that ugly hawk-moth things feathers!" she declared throwing her ball of light as the creature came too close.
The hawk-moth dodged but the ball still exploded as it swooped past catching and burning the beast a bit. It banked away breaking off its attack on them as it shrieked and Adrien stepped forwards. Normally he would never even think of fighting unless he were totally cornered but Adrien felt brave with Marinette at his back. Brave and strong and he didn't know why but he felt determined not to see any harm come to Marinette.
"If I shrink can you throw me at it? I can shred its wings that way and we can get it on the ground." Adrien asked turning back to face her.
Marinette's hands lit up again and she moved pressing them to Adrien's chest. Green tendrils of light wrapped around his body coating him and he shivered as the light vanished. "What was that?" he asked feeling odd though not in a bad way.
"The strongest protection spell I know." Marinette replied as the hawk-moth dove for them again.
Adrien nodded swiftly shrinking and leaping into Marinette's arms as a cat once more. A second spell coated him and Marinette explained as she waited for the beast to come in range. "The second spell is a tethering spell. Once you hit that ugly thing it will transfer to it and I'll make it so it can't fly again as long as we can get it on the ground."
The hawk-moth was in range in seconds and Marinette heaved Adrien into the air realizing at the last second that no matter what she threw at it the beast wasn't breaking off a third time. Diving for Alya Marinette threw a shield over them both activating Adrien's protection as he landed on the things back.
A sound like shattering glass echoed as the Hawk-moth smashed into Marinette's shield, then flipped over it when it didn't break. The beast tried to correct its trajectory but Adrien had already damaged its wings making them practically useless.
"Adrien!" Marinette cried seeing his kitten form get tossed off just before the beast slammed into the ground on its back. Silver light shrouded the Hawk-moth as it struggled to right itself and the tethering spell kicked into life binding it to the ground with silvery pink treads that multiplied as it struggled.
Even giving the thing a wide berth, its head twisted to follow her movements its bulging multifaceted eyes flashing a range of colors even as it snapped its ugly beak at her. Marinette stuck her tongue out at it before moving into the higher grass.
"Adrien?" Marinette called again turning as he answered "Here!"
He slid between the grass strands far larger than what he had been before as a kitten but even still he barely moved the grass until he was at Marinette's feet. Without even thinking Marinette dropped to her knees wrapping her arms around him.
"I saw you fly off, you didn't get hurt did you?" Marinette asked
Adrien butted his head into Marinette's chin, a purr rumbling through him as she held him close. "Nope I even landed on my feet! Did we get the thing?"
They pulled away from each other as the thing in question shrieked and Marinette nodded rising to her feet as he transformed back into his halfway form. "So what do we do now?"
Adrien shrugged, at a loss as they moved back into the trampled area. The beast was still tethered to the ground but both of them could tell it was starting to break free. It was snapping its beak at Marinette's spell breaking it apart a little at a time and the two of them glanced at each other a bit nervously.
"Should we try to run?" Adrien asked "I can carry your friend."
Marinette frowned, it was probably a good idea to run away at this point but something told her that if they left the area she and Alya might never be able to return home. Besides, the creature would still come after them and it wouldn't be as easy to bring down a second time especially since it was already repairing its wings magically.
"You said the creature was a conglomeration. How do you know that?" Marinette asked eyeing the creature as it snapped another line.
"I can see it. Cant you?" Adrien replied pointing at the Hawk-moth
Shaking her head Marinette sighed "No I can't see anything. It just looks like a giant monster thing to me. But if you say it's a conglomeration that means we can un-conglomerate it!"
Adrien frowned an idea forming in his head. Plagg had been teaching him deconstruction magic since Adrien apparently had an affinity for it. Sometimes he would accidently ash his clothing when it was too tight or caught on something. Strangely enough he could feel Marinettes magic and he could tell that she was a perfect counterpoint to his magic. Together, their magic's combined, they could take this thing apart without killing the creature at the center. Slowly almost nervously Adrien held out his hand black wisps edged in green floating about his palm. "I need your magic to combine with mine. Do you trust me?"
Marinette eyed the wisps and then called her own magic into being in her hand making silver edged pink strands come into existence. "Partners right?" she asked making Adrien grin as she held out her hand.
"Partners!" Adrien crowed bursting with joy as he took her hand.
Their magic combined burst into a rainbow of light and suddenly within her mind Marinette could hear Adrien as he thought "It looks like a transformed butterfly with the use of feathers and stuff."
Looking back at the hawk-moth like thing Marinette realized he was right and she could suddenly see magic in its purest form. With a gasp Marinette moved forward towards the creature, Adrien matching her steps and the hawk-moth froze in its attempting escape. Marinette could see the butterfly in the center of the creature except it wasn't quite a butterfly, in fact it looked more like a fairy than anything.
"Lets get it out of there." Marinette called in her mind and Adrien rumbled his agreement.
The combined light, their combined magic shot from their entwined hands piercing the Hawk-moth creature until it reached and surrounded the fairly like being in the center. The moment it was totally surrounded the hawk-moth gave a shrill cry then vanished into an explosion of black bubbles.
Adrien and Marinette dropped to their knees panting heavily even as their hands remained entwined. Grins lifted their lips as they glanced at each other but before they could try and congratulate themselves on a job well done a furious snarl filled the air.
"You idiot kit, WHAT DID YOU DO?!" an oversized panther demanded as it slunk into the now truly trampled clearing.
Marinette gasped turning to face it and Adrien poofed back into a kitten stepping forward so he was between the panther and Marinette. The panther didn't even seem to notice Marinette reaching out to slap a paw into Adrien who was standing his ground. Unfortunately for the panther Marinette's protection spell was still very much in effect and he yowled as it came to life zapping the crud out of him. Darting forward Marinette scooped Adrien up and backed away as the panther eyed his paw, then the two of them once more.
"No Marinette wait!" Adrien meowed from her arms even as the panther's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"I won't let you hurt him!" Marinette declared taking a last step back so that she was within the circle that the tethering spell had created. If needed she could activate it with a little effort but it seemed like the panther knew Adrien so maybe she wouldn't have to…
"Plagg don't you dare scare that poor girl anymore! She freed that precious little fairy with the kits help! She couldn't have done it without him!" a feminine voice scolded
Marinette glanced behind her in time to find a small fairy like creature kneeling beside an even smaller one tinged in a reddish glow. The panther let out a growl then sat down eyeing the two of them.
"This is between us grimalkins Tiki! I told him to stay within the boundaries. None of this would have happened if he had just listened!" Plagg retorted happy to see the smaller fairy flutter off as soon as Tiki finished healing it.
"Are they talking about you?" Marinette asked mentally fearing to speak out loud.
"Yeah but I was bored…" Adrien bemoaned making Marinette chuckle and kiss the top of his head.
"Kit come here." Plagg said his eyes narrowed at seeing Marinette kiss his head.
Marinette tightened her grip slightly as she felt Adrien shift to jump down. "His name is Adrien and I won't let you hurt him if that's what you are gonna do!"
"You named him?" Plagg growled incredulously even as behind her Tiki giggled.
"I helped him choose a name!" Marinette retorted feeling mutinous even facing a giant black seemingly angry panther.
"Plagg let them be you can already see what has happened here." Tiki hummed floating into the air to land on Plaggs head.
"That's the problem Tiki! How in the world did this happen there is no way she should have been able cross so how did she get here?!" Plagg snarled sounding ferocious
"Her names Marinette Plagg and she fell here when that hawk-moth thing attacked her and her friend!" Adrien cried from Marinette arms.
Both Tiki and Plagg froze. "Hawkmoth?" they asked and Marinette nodded
"It looked like a hawk and a moth got smashed together or something but once we got it on the ground Adrien showed me what it was supposed to look like. Alya and I made a viewing spell and then that thing knocked us into the center of it. I don't know how it happened but we fell through into this world. I didn't even think it was possible."
"You must have done something wrong or someone added something to your spell." Tiki said gently patting Plagg on the head as he grumbled and started moving towards Alya.
"We didn't!" Marinette insisted watching him nervously even as she continued speaking to Tiki "I copied the spell right out of the adult book and the lines were perfect! Well sorta perfect. They went a bit hazy just before we started."
Plagg growled suddenly as he looked Alya over hissing to Tiki "I knew it. She's marked! That's how that dam man spy got through."
"Do you want me to put you down?" Marinette asked Adrien mentally as she moved to her friends side. She wasn't sure about the big panther Plagg but at this point she didn't think he would try and hurt any of them. At least she hoped he wouldn't.
"Not really, I think I'm small enough to sit in your hood. How about that?" Adrien replied
"Sure!" Marinette hummed passing Adrien up onto her shoulder
Adrien slid into her hood easily wiggling around so he could prop his head and paws on her shoulder. The look Plagg gave him made Adrien glad he hadn't jumped down. Plagg probably would have snatched him up by his scruff and transported him home if he had.
Marinette moved to Alyas other side eyeing the now purple mark on her friends skin. "That mark was supposed to be a birth mark. But it flashed different colors and then Alya passed out and I could feel her magic being pulled out of her! Can you take the mark away? I think it's hurting her."
Plagg looked up at Marinette then back down at the mark a small huff issuing through his teeth. For some reason, Marinette had the feeling he was talking to Tiki the same way that Marinette had spoken to Adrien.
Plagg bared his fangs and Tiki giggled patting his head before he raised one massing paw, black tendrils flitting between his wicked looking claws. Out loud and mostly for Marinette's benefit he said "I can remove it and once I do we need to have a conversation on exactly what you two have done. You're too young to be forming the kind of bond you guys have which is exactly why travel to the familiar world is forbidden."
Marinette didn't really understand and neither did Adrien but they both had a feeling that whatever had happened between them was permanent. "Ok" they both echoed anyways since Plagg was eyeing them in such a way that demanded a response.
Plagg huffed in irritation while Tiki giggled fluttering up off Plagg so that he could do what was needed. "We can have some cookies and drinks while the grump growls at you two. Don't worry too much about it though, this just mean that by the time you have to truly summon a familiar the bond you share will be fully mature. Adrien here will be able to access all his abilities and you Marinette will probably find that some of his powers will be at your disposal."
"Some of Adrien's powers?" Marinette asked curiously her mind skipping right over the Familiar talk.
Tiki nodded tapping Marinette on the nose. "You have a strong familiar presence in your family. I can feel it in your blood. Your bond with Adrien here, even though its very new, is activating your familiar blood. You will probably be able to start seeing all kinds of magic and spells as the bond matures."
"Really? That's so cool!" Marinette squeaked scratching a suddenly purring Adrien behind his ears.
"Got it!" Plagg snarled breaking into their conversation and Marinette gasped as Plagg fastened his teeth into Alya's arm.
Marinette nearly moved to try and stop him but then she realized that Plaggs teeth, while they looked like they were imbedded in Alyas arm, they really were not. Instead they seemed to be phasing through her arm and a second later Plagg yanked back pulling a black butterfly from her skin.
Alya gasped shooting upright and nearly smacking into Plagg as he crushed the butterfly between his teeth. Marinette dropped to her knees making Adrien cling to her as she grabbed Alya.
"Alya are you ok?" Marinette called grabbing hold of Alya as she swayed
"He was stealing my magic." Alya whispered then her eyes slid shut and Marinette had to catch her as she slumped over again.
"Alya? Hey Alya Wake up!" Marinette called shaking her friend lightly even as she held her to her chest. Worried and confused she looked up to see Tiki and Plagg staring at her.
"She will be fine kit." Plagg sighed "Your fox friend was marked at a very early age so she will be tired for a while. The good news is her magic will fully rebound in the next few weeks. With the mark gone she will mature properly now."
Glancing down Marinette did see that Alyas skin was finally returning to a heathy shade of brown. Then a secondary shimmer seemed to light up under her skin and as Marinette opened her mouth to say something when whole world seemed to twist violently. Adrien yowled loudly on her shoulder and Marinette activated her protections on the two of them as a furious roar seemed to echo from far away. Someone yelled her name and then she landed flat on her side exhaustion making her limbs feel like lead.
"Marinette! Marinette! Help!" a voice mewled and Marinette forced her eyes open. Immediately she realized they had returned and glaring at her was an odd purple dressed man. He had a silver mask on his head, a cane in one hand and in the other he held a struggling Adrien.
"LET HIM GO!" Marinette screamed slamming her magic forward and into the man. She didn't have time to think of a spell or anything so Marinette did what she did best and simply manipulated pure magic into an attacking force that caught the man totally off guard.
The man hollered in surprise and dropped Adrien who darted immediately into Marinette's arms.
"Are you ok?!" Marinette cried holding him close.
"He said he was going to take me away from you! He was going to trap me and I couldn't get away!" Adrien answered his shudders vibrating against Marinette's chest. "He's Dangerous we need to run!"
"No you need to go back and get help. I can't leave Alya I have a feeling he's the one who put that icky mark on her!" Marinette replied glancing up to find that the man had recovered and was looking rather pissed.
"I don't want to leave you!" Adrien replied and Marinette could feel the panic in him.
"No choice Adrien… Do you trust me?" Marinette asked as her aura flared to life.
They had just met but she had her answer as Adrien's aura flared as well mixing with her own and creating a rainbow of colors. With his magic mixing into hers Marinette could feel the portal that they had been pulled through and she could feel that Adrien still had an anchor at the other end of the portal causing it to not fully close. His anchor couldn't come through to their side since the portal was only meant for them but Marinette just knew that she could send Adrien back. For a brief moment she wondered if it was a part of his inborne magic to be able to pass between worlds but she didn't have time to contemplate it since the nasty purple man was preparing for an attack.
"Stay safe and go home!" Marinette cried activating the magic from the portal.
In an instant magic wrapped around a startled looking Adrien and with a pop he was gone from sight and her arms. Marinette felt the loss instantly but she didn't have time to feel sorry for herself because the nasty man was coming at her.
"You stupid brat what did you do?!" the man snarled
Marinette scrambled to her feet keeping herself between him and Alya "I sent him home where you can't hurt him! You're the one who sent that hawk-moth thing after us aren't you!"
"I am Hawkmoth you foolish child and now I think I shall have to teach you a lesson." Hawkmoth answered the silver mask looking suddenly sinister as black butterflies filled the air.
Marinette had a mere three seconds before the swarm leaped at her and she pulled the residue energy from the circle around her to literally light the air around her up with lightning. The butterflies turned to ash as they touched the fiery brands and Hawkmoth gaped in surprise before Marinette turned the lightning storm on him.
"Go away!" Marinette yelled as the lightning surged for him
The butterflies swarmed suddenly too thick to see and as the lightning ashed the lot of them Marinette realized Hawkmoth was no longer standing before her. Panting heavily Marinette glanced about taking a step back to be closer to Alya if something more happened. She was exhausted at this point, her magic drained to dangerous levels and in truth she was just a scared little kid.
"You have far too much power for a normal child." Hawkmoth murmured making Marinette shriek and spin around.
Her fist flashed out, the additional spell of power she added to it making it a dangerous combo. The blow struck Hawkmoth in the chest since he had arrogantly come far too close and it knocked the wind out of him while actually fracturing at least two ribs. Furious and in a lot of pain Hawkmoth struck back with a backlash spell that blasted Marinette off her feet and into the concrete. She bounced once then slid to a stop the pain of the impact nearly sending her unconscious. With a whimper Marinette forced her eyes open and saw the nasty Hawkmoth man bending over Alya a black butterfly in hand.
"NO!" Marinette shrieked slamming almost all the power she had left in an attack that sent Hawkmoth flying.
He managed to partially shield himself, bits of lightning and energy scoring the area around him. In the next instant the spell petered out and Marinette tried to roll over even as she made sure Alyas shield was safely up and sound. Hawkmoth wouldn't be able to hurt Alya now. Marinette's shield was fully active at this point and barring killing her it wouldn't collapse under any attack.
"Clearly I chose the wrong child. Since you are so dam insistent I'll just take your magic instead." Hawkmoth snarled making Marinette focus on him.
His clothes were no longer pristine and like the rest of him a scorch mark or two marred the silver mask covering his head. Hawkmoth even looked tired and Marinette stuck her tongue out at him as he cast a spell that bound her where she lay. Marinette couldn't move even though she struggled to as Hawkmoth came closer.
"Leave us alone!" Marinette yelled wondering why no one had come to investigate the presence of battle magic yet. They should have since Marinette alone had used a fairly powerful spell that was easy to detect. Of course she didn't know that Hawkmoth had placed a dampening spell and shield around the area that they were in. Even if Marinette had chosen to run with Adrien they would have been trapped by the shield.
Hawkmoth stopped at Marinette's side peering down at her with a look of irritation. "I refuse to be foiled by a mere child. Since you are so adamant about protecting your friend and that disgusting creature I suppose I shall have to settle for your magic instead." His finger lit up with a black light and suddenly he was holding a struggling black butterfly by the wings.
Fear surged through Marinette and she whimpered trying to move away. The bonds pinning her stretched slightly and Marinette pushed one hand against them trying to focus the dregs of her power into fighting back. A cane came down a moment later pinning her hand to the ground and she yelped in pain as Hawkmoth bent down the butterfly in hand.
"The spell should still work even though it was meant for the other one. Their magic's are similar anyways." Hawkmoth mused speaking more to himself than to Marinette.
Marinette didn't understand but she knew that her magic was very different from Alya's and whatever the man was about to do he was about to do it wrong. Before she could say a word however the butterfly made contact with her skin and Marinette screamed as it felt like he was trying to brand her. Her magic instantly fought against the contact and since the mark wasn't calibrated specifically for her it wasn't able to anchor correctly. Hawkmoth didn't notice, he saw the flash of color as the butterfly melded to the child's skin and it was clear he thought everything had gone smoothly.
"There that wasn't so hard now was it?" Hawkmoth aske cruelly, twisting the end of the staff further into Marinette's hand.
"Meany nasty purple man." Marinette hissed at him her bright blue eyes narrowed in pain as she battled internally for control over her magic.
At her words Hawkmoth frowned lifting his cane end from her abused hand. "Mmm yes as I said before you little brat I am Hawkmoth. However I don't suppose I should just leave you like this. If you know the secret of my marks all the other children I control will be discovered as well. It's a good thing memories of children are easy to contain."
He bent forward again his hands glowing white and Marinette struggled hard feeling the wall starting to form in her mind as he made contact. Whiteness surrounded her and furiously Marinette screamed.