So I just rebuilt an entire bathroom this summer which isn't easy nor fun to do on your own...sorry this story has taken so long to finish. I will post the last bit to this in a few days so enjoy!
Diving in... I would love to see the akuma drawn out too but unfortunately while I can draw monsters I suck at drawing anything human like.
Starlin's Ghost... Between this chapter and the last one all of your questions should be answered... I try to keep each chapter stories limited to 6 chapters although The Cats Shield is an exception and so was Skeletons Dance until I doubled up its Chapters turning them into 10,000+ word monsters...
Marinette is a clumsy witch with almost no magical power but has high hopes to one day be a certified stitch witch. Her first step towards her goal is summoning a familiar, but the real question is will she survive the test?
Witches Familiar (Part 5)
"No… NO!" Marinette gasped, coming awake with a start and nearly throwing Adrien off the bed as she jerked upright. "Adrien?!" Marinette cried, hearing him yowl, one hand snapping out to call light into her lamp.
The light flashed on, revealing Adrien scrambling towards her, then the bulb blew as she filled it with far too much power.
"Calm down!" Adrien hummed, his warm furry body slamming against her. Instantly, Marinette's fingers curled into his fur and he began to purr as Marinette took several deep breaths, trying to recover from the memory-dream she'd just had, and the odd surging sensation of her magic. The mark on her arm burned and Marinette felt her heart race in time with the throbbing burn.
"Marinette, calm down! It's ok, I'm here!" Adrien purred, growing so that he was large enough to go face to face with her. "What's wrong? Why are you about to panic?"
Blinking, Marinette pulled Adrien against her, burying her face into his fur. "I-I had a dream, but I don't think it was a dream. We were kids, and I found you in the Familiar world, and we said we would always be together but then Hawkmoth attacked and I never did know if you got away safely and, oh, Adrien…." Marinette sobbed, her heart still going a mile a minute.
Adrien had tensed when Marinette had pulled him against her, he did have some wicked claws in this form and he hadn't wanted to accidently prick her. Now though, with what she had said Adrien had to wonder. "So, you finally remember the day we met and became partners. Do you remember what happened that day, before Plagg showed up and yelled at us?"
Marinette pulled back, looking over Adrien's larger panther face. She blinked a few times, clearly trying to remember something since he had confirmed it hadn't been a dream, and then she gasped. "Y-you… you are a Gremalkin… you can become a human!"
With a grin that showed off his fangs, Adrien's panther form dissolved in a multitude of sparks, leaving a very handsome boy half crouched before her. Thankfully, this time, he did have clothes on but Marinette still gasped, one hand rising, and then before Adrien could say a word, she passed out once more.
It was probably one of the most stressful mornings Marinette had ever had, and she was still tired from the day before, since she hadn't slept well. Both Tiki and Plagg had come to her after she had passed out, since Adrien had panicked when he couldn't wake Marinette back up. They had pulled her from her unconscious state at Adrien's request only because Marinette had revealed that she had recovered her memories. Marinette had woken up in Adrien's arms, finding both Plagg and Tiki had gone fully human, revealing that they had been guarding her and Adrien since the day Marinette fought Hawkmoth. Plagg had felt terrible about not making it to Marinette's side in time to prevent her from being marked, and Marinette had given the grumpy man a hug, able to feel his regret like a stabbing pain in her heart. Adrien had been remorseful as well, since he hadn't been able to protect her, and Marinette had simply hugged him to her saying that as a kid it had been her job to protect him. Since they were older now and Adrien's powers had fully matured, he could now protect her, since the mark on her arm was still active and blocking most of her magic.
The mark on her arm was something Plagg and Tiki had fully explained, since she hadn't been awake when they placed the secondary binding on the mark. Because Hawkmoth had originally calibrated the binding/siphoning spell for Alya, he hadn't accounted for the difference in magic in Marinette. When he decided to place the spell on her instead Marinette had already used up a majority of her magic making her appear weaker than she really was. Due to that weakness, Hawkmoth's spell, coupled with Tiki's, had forced any excess magic of Marinette to go to Adrien, instead of siphoning it off like it was supposed to. Adrien had then used their partnered bond to return her magic to her a little at a time creating a loophole around Hawkmoth's binding. It allowed Marinette's magic to mature properly, even though it kept her magic in a seemingly apparent weak state, though she could power spells and manipulate magic that she shouldn't have been capable of otherwise. After hearing all this, Marinette had stared at her arm where the butterfly sat, before asking if Plagg could remove the mark like he had for Alya. Plagg had shaken his head, and Tiki had explained, before Marinette or Adrien had a chance to demand why.
"The last of the mark's anchors will be completely destroyed in the next few days, especially since Adrien is now at your side. Your magic is already returning to normal Marinette, and if we simply destroy the mark now, without letting your body get used to the influx, it will cause your magic to go out of control. I know you don't want that, which is why the mark needs to remain in place for at least a few more days. The moment you summoned Adrien, the mark was sealed into an inactive state which means Hawkmoth can no longer steal your magic. However this also means he will probably become curious and might attack you two, in an attempt to reactivate the mark. You must stay extra vigilant these next few days, and be wary of strangers in case Hawkmoth tries to pull something," Tiki had said, leading Marinette to have one of the most stressful mornings she'd ever had.
Tiki and Plagg had returned to the Familiar world soon after, as they were on the trail of some magic spell they needed. They hadn't explained themselves, but they promised that they would be in touch if the kids needed them, and that they would be back to fully remove the mark on Marinette's arm at the end of the week. Adrien was not pleased with the arrangement and secretly he promised Marinette that he could and would remove the mark if necessary. Marinette had nodded, wanting the mark gone, but also feeling nervous about it since she could already feel the difference in her power. Since she had been pulled awake Marinette still felt tired, but it was a 'haven't-had-enough-sleep' kind of tired rather than a magically drained kind of tired. Then she had blown the other lightbulb in her room when she let too much of magic go in it. In the end, she used a light ball spell that she hadn't been able to do in years, just so that she could see to clean up the glass. The spell had come easily to her and Adrien had remained in his human form, batting at the light spell when it drifted too close.
"So, what do we want to do?" Marinette asked, as she finished screwing in a new bulb.
Adrien shrugged, batting at the ball of light and making it change colors as he wrapped a secondary spell around it. "I really don't know, Marinette. All I've wanted since being separated is to be at your side again. I missed you even, though I knew you were ok, because of our bond."
Dumping the glass in the trash Marinette moved to sit beside Adrien on her chase. He leaned against her and Marinette sighed, a feeling of contentment rising within her. She hadn't known what she was missing all these years, and now that Adrien was at her side and her memories had been restored Marinette realized exactly what had been missing.
"You know… if Hawkmoth hadn't interfered I wonder how my parents would have reacted to me bringing home a familiar at 8 years old," Marinette wondered with a yawn, as Adrien wrapped his arms around her.
Adrien chuckled. "Your parents are really nice. They probably would have just rolled with it and pretended I was a pet until you could reveal me properly."
He was probably right, Marinette realized, her eyes slowly closing on their own, her parents probably would have simply thought of Adrien as a son. Matter of fact they probably would now since Marinette really should tell them about his true lineage.
Her thoughts were interrupted as Adrien suddenly hissed, "Someone's coming" and poofed back into his cat form, making Marinette nearly topple over on him.
A moment later her trap door burst open as Alya called out, "Marinette, it's time to wake up, girl! Don't tell me you forgot to set an alarm again!"
Marinette groaned, and slumped fully onto her chase, after allowing Adrien to jump down so he could go say hi to Nino. "I didn't sleep well at all, Alya. Do we really have to go to school today?"
"Sorry, girl, but yeah, we do. Good news is we only have tomorrow left, then the rest of the week is all summonings. Besides, didn't you promise Nathaniel that you would come to his summoning?" Alya asked.
Marinette sat up with a sigh. "Yeah, I did. I'm coming alright, just let me grab some clothes."
She stood up and moved towards her dresser her light ball following making Alya gasp. "Girl! Did you do a light spell?"
Marinette blinked at her friend then realized why Alya was so shocked. Usually Marinette couldn't start a light spell without help, although she could power one indefinitely once someone got it going.
"Oh… yeah, Adrien helped me. Turns out my magic is stronger than I thought… I just, um, have a minor mental block thing going on… I guess," Marinette stuttered, since she wasn't sure how she was going to explain her magic growing in strength by leaps and bounds.
Instead of making a huge fuss like Marinette had expected, Alya simply nodded, thoughtfully. "Well that makes sense. I mean getting a familiar usually strengthens a person's magic anyways."
"Ah, yeah," Marinette murmured, rushing to grab some clothes and darting to the bathroom to change.
They left for school together, with Adrien opting to ride in Marinette's hood while partially draped over her shoulder, and more than once Marinette saw people glancing at her in curiosity. Really, she knew why, since cats -especially black cats- were not seen often but, still, you would think that people would be a little less conspicuous.
"Think I should go invisible for a bit?" Adrien asked mentally, as Alya demanded what a passerby was looking at.
"No, you are my partner. They can just get used to seeing you around," Marinette answered, then chuckled suddenly. "One day you should come with me in your human Chat form. People will really stare then."
Adrien gave a mert of laughter at that thought, making Alya glance at the two of them, even as Marinette scratched behind Adrien's ears.
"You are taking the attention surprisingly well," Alya said suspiciously, as they finally arrived at school.
Marinette shrugged, in truth she hadn't really thought much about how other people would feel about Adrien. Regaining her memories and discovering her real magical potential was returning had made Marinette realize that there were far bigger things afoot than simply worrying about how other people saw her. The nervous itch of feeling people's eyes on her was still there, and yes it was still stressing her out, but having Adrien against her back, letting off a soft purr, made her able to take it in stride.
"A black cat isn't super controversial or anything Alya. It's just a bit rare. I mean your Nino should have caused more of a stir, since he was literally on fire before you put the collar on him. I'll bet everyone will forget he is even here by second period," Marinette stated as they walked to class.
Much to her annoyance, everyone hadn't forgotten that Adrien was with her, even though he remained at her side or in her hood the whole half day of classes. When the final bell rang for the day at noon Marinette slumped, even as Adrien wiggled free from her hood and climbed out on the desk. He stretched and padded to the edge, ready to jump down, when he saw the goo spell flashing towards them. His aura flared as he intercepted the spell, vaporizing it the moment it tried to touch him. Marinette's head shot up as Adrien turned and hissed at Chloe who looked utterly shocked.
"What the hell, Chloe?!" Marinette demanded, one hand pressing against Adrien's back to keep him from leaping to the floor before going after Chloe.
The whole classroom had frozen and Adrien mentally hissed, "I should have batted the spell back at her. If she does that again, I'll send an extra surprise with it."
"As long as the surprise doesn't hurt her, it was just a goo spell," Marinette replied the same way, even as she demanded out loud. "Why did you just attack Adrien? Are you stupid or something?"
Chloe went from shocked to indignant in seconds. "It was just a joke, Maritrash. What kind of freaky thing did you summon, anyways? Familiars can't use magic like that."
"Oops… forgot about that…" Adrien grumbled, as his lips lifted from his fangs in a loud hiss directed towards Chloe. Nino wiggled out from under the table at the sound of Adrien's hiss, letting a growl out as he too faced Chloe.
"Nino…" Alya called softly, the warning in her tone making the dog let out a small grumble.
"That was a protection spell Marinette and I set up on him yesterday, since we figured it wouldn't be long before you decided to try a sneak attack. It's nice to know you always live up to our expectations of you," Alya snarked, coming to stand beside Marinette who still looked furious. The spell was a lie, but Alya didn't mind lying for Marinette's sake. She would just grill Marinette later over what that darkness had been around Adrien.
Chloe flipped her hair with a snort. "Of course Maritrash had to go to you for help. I should have known her familiar would be as useless as she is."
All at once Marinette decided she'd had enough. She was still tired from lack of deep sleep, stressed out from what she had learned, and she could literally feel her magic starting to surge, since the mark on her arm was no longer active.
"At least I have a familiar, Chloe. You on the other hand don't yet, and I'm sure that when you do finally summon all you will be able to handle is a mud slime. You seem to really like those goo spells so, truly, I think it will be a perfect fit," Marinette snapped, as Adrien jumped down to the ground to press against her ankles.
The classroom went silent for a total for two seconds before Chloe shrieked, "How dare you!" While simultaneously launching a kind of bladed wind spell at Marinette.
Any other time Chloe had ever launched a spell at Marinette, Alya usually had to step in or Marinette had to dodge. This time Marinette could literally see the spell light up the air and she could feel the holes in the spell where Chloe had forgotten a piece or was simply forcing the spell to happen. It didn't take much effort at all to reach out with Adrien's magic and snap the spell off, before any real wind could even stir. A sound like crashing glass echoed through the room, and Adrien grew to his panther size, snarling heavily as Chloe stumbled backwards from the backlash of her spell shattering.
"W-what did you just do?!" Chloe screeched, as Sabrina grabbed her.
Marinette shrugged, rubbing Adrien behind the ears, even as the rest of her classmates edged back from the suddenly very large cat and the battle that seemed to be brewing right in front of them. "Your spell broke, clearly you need to go back to casting 101. Come on, Alya, the summonings should be starting soon and I want a good seat."
Grabbing her bag, Marinette moved for the back doors, a peripheral shield spell on the tip of her tongue in case Chloe decided to try anything further. Alya whooped with laughter as she darted after Marinette and with a final sniff of disdain towards Chloe, Nino followed as well. They made it all the way to the door, and were halfway out of it, when Chloe finally seemed to get some semblance of thoughts in her head.
"You just wait until I summon a familiar, Marinette Dupain-Cheng! I'll show you then how stupid that ugly cat of yours is!" Chloe squalled.
Marinette sighed, letting the door snick shut behind them, and continued down the now semi crowded hall. Surprisingly, Adrien did not retreat into his smaller form choosing to stay quite large and fearsome looking, which actually gave Alya and her some breathing room.
"She is probably going to demand a familiar battle as soon as she summons something," Alya observed, grinning at Marinette who seemed far more confident and calmer than normal.
"We can handle her," Marinette answered, her hand lightly resting on Adrien's back.
That had not been what Alya was expecting, but hearing the confidence behind those words Alya chuckled, throwing her arms around her best friend. "Atta girl! She crowed, making Marinette smile and Adrien chuff with amusement. Nino whined, feeling left out, and Alya petted him for a few seconds while she waited for Marinette to toss her stuff in her locker. The four of them made their way to the arena and Adrien did finally shrink down, since he wanted a good view of the summonings. He wasn't going to switch into his human form so he needed to be small enough to sit on Marinette's shoulder.
"Would you be upset if I switched into human form?" Adrien asked curiously, as he hopped up on the back of Marinette's chair.
"Um, no, but it might cause a few inquiries, since I will no longer have a familiar at my side. Plus, how will you explain yourself to Alya? She will be awfully suspicious if you show up out of nowhere and introduce yourself as Adrien," Marinette replied, as she took a seat in one of the chairs closest to the aisle.
Adrien thought on that for a few minutes, since he wanted to one day walk around with Marinette in his human form. Once Marinette had fully reclaimed and mastered her power, Adrien knew they could craft an illusion spell so that it would seem like he was hanging out on her shoulder when he was in human form. Alya wouldn't be fooled for very long however, so at some point he would have to reveal himself to her. Nino whined at him from the floor, breaking Adrien from his thoughts, and Adrien sighed. "Can you ask Alya to give Nino a seat? He wants to watch as well, but he doesn't feel like talking."
Marinette twitched, her eyes flickering to Adrien then Nino in surprise, before passing along the message by saying, "Alya, does Nino maybe want to watch? He can take the chair on your other side."
Alya blinked at her before glancing down at Nino. A message or thought or something seemed to pass between them and Alya sighed. "I really wish you would just break down and talk to me Nino. Hop up over here if you want to watch."
She pulled the seat down next to her and Nino gave a small woof before jumping into the chair and turning to face the front. He then leaned over the arm rest, so that his head was pressed against her arm for a few seconds, making Alya smile and scratch at his head.
"He doesn't talk to you?" Marinette asked, feeling rather surprised, since the two of them seemed to communicate like she and Adrien did.
Alya shrugged. "Yes and no, it's sorta complicated and I think it will get better as our bond strengthens. Don't you have trouble communicating with Adrien?"
Marinette opened her mouth, then paused, as Adrien's back claws prickled at her as he slithered down off her shoulder into her lap, a slight feeling of panic drifting off him. "Ah, well, he is just a cat, Alya. We are working things out."
Alya glanced up at her, confusion clear on her face, but she didn't get a chance to ask any further questions since one of the Administrators called for silence. Marinette barely paid any attention, her thoughts turning inward as she mentally called, "What's wrong?"
"I can sense Hawkmoth's magic," Adrien replied, his eyes narrowing in concentration. "I don't know if it's just a spell, like a tracker or a minion, or if he is here in person, but either way we should really leave."
Marinette's hands tightened in Adrien's fur even as she resisted the urge to look around them. She did activate her magical sight as she managed, "We can't." Adrien glanced up at her and Marinette could sense the question even before he formed the thoughts. "It's super rude to leave while someone is summoning and Nathaniel is the one summoning. He will definitely see me if I leave now and it might affect his chances. Besides, what do I tell Alya so she doesn't follow us?"
Adrien huffed, his tail twitching in agitation, and Marinette stroked a hand down his back in a soothing gesture. He was quiet as Nathaniel made it into the circle, the lines blazing briefly as they locked him in his chance. Marinette watched as he lifted what looked like a paint brush into the air and suddenly it grew until it was the size of a staff. He then began painting in long strokes in the air before him, and inky designs shimmered to life in the larger circle as he drew. Adrien patted Marinette with his paw reclaiming her attention at once.
"I'm going to use an invisibility spell and illusion spell so Alya doesn't realize I'm gone. I'm going to go check out an escape route that will take us nowhere near Hawkmoth," Adrien said
"Be careful," Marinette replied, knowing that she wouldn't be able to talk him out of doing what he wished to do.
Adrien's outline shimmered oddly and since her magical vision was active she saw him slip off her lap and under the seats, his body blending with the darkness so well Marinette wasn't sure he would need the invisibility spells.
"Marinette, you ok?" Alya whispered, as Nino gave a small whimper, clearly seeing Adrien slip past.
Adrien paused for a second and Nino's ears jutted forward, his posture going stiff, before Alya reached over to pat him. Glancing between her best friend and familiar, Alya frowned. "What is wrong with you two?"
Marinette forced herself to relax as Nathaniel finished his circle and paused to glance around the stadium. Marinette smiled raising a hand in a half wave as his eyes met hers and Nathaniel seemed to blush before rapidly returning to his circle. Alya, for her part, jabbed a finger into Marinette's side, making her jump slightly.
"What?" Marinette demanded, flinching as Nathaniel activated his circle and the resulting magical flash forced her to deactivate her magical sight or become half blinded.
"You keep twitching and you just feel, I don't know, overly tense? Then Nino suddenly started, acting the same way, and you didn't answer when I asked what was wrong so… what the heck?" Alya groused, her voiced barely above a whisper.
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Marinette patted Alya on the hand. "I'm ok and so is Nino, I suspect. I had my magical vision active and Nathaniel is really strong. The flash both times made me twitchy."
Alya's lips turned down into a pout, but before she could voice any counter arguments Marinette pointed towards the summoning circle where the floor was glowing an indigo blue mixed with emerald green. Lines swirled through the solid base and the color condensed into the center where the lines pulsed with light. Slowly it rose from the floor in an odd oblong shape and Nathaniel took a step over the lines into the main circle.
"What in the heck did he summon?" Alya asked cocking her head to the side "You don't think he summoned a slime do you?"
Marinette shook her head. "I don't think so Alya, it almost looks like an egg or something."
Nathaniel paused several feet from the egg-like shape, his staff sized paint brush just stroking the ground. There didn't appear to be anything happening until Marinette activated her magical vision and saw that the egg was sending out tendrils to wrap around Nathaniel and the paint brush he held. People in the stands shifted, starting to become uneasy with the lack of action, until Nathaniel stroked the brush across the ground making a dark line. Color shifted on the egg's surface, and a second line appeared next to his and suddenly Nathaniel smiled. He began to move in earnest, swirling the brush along beside him as he swiftly sketched out a moving picture across the floor. People gasped at the picture coming to life in the circle and Marinette could only smile as Alya grabbed her hand, squeezing it tight.
"Girl, that's amazing!" Alya gasped and they both looked down at the picture of a serene pond with lily pads and swaying willows. Color filled the floor as the egg seemed to begin to dance, cracks making the surface appear jagged. Ripples swirled across the sketch centering on the egg, which suddenly burst, revealing a grey bird about the size of a chicken that landed on the floor in the center of the drawing.
"I think it's a phoenix species," Marinette gasped, watching as the bird swept its long tail across the floor, absorbing the magic of the drawing and reducing it to grey stone again.
Nathaniel had gone still at the hatching of the egg and the bird shook its feathers out, fanning its tail like a peacock would. As the tail fanned, each feather changed to a different color until its tail was a rainbow that swayed in a nonexistent wind. The biggest smile lit up Nathaniel's face and he turned his attention to the floor as the bird's tail feather pattern began to change. He redrew the pond scene again but this time the colors were all wrong for their world. Animals made an appearance, looking nothing like anything alive in their world and Alya grabbed Marinette's hand after a moment, making her jump.
"He's drawing the familiar world!" she hissed, and Marinette nodded having realized that the moment the colors for the grass came out a blue green color.
"Phoenix species are so choosy. This one really seems to like him though," Adrien murmured in her mind, and a few moments later she felt him slip onto her lap blending in with his illusion, before casting it aside.
"So it is a Phoenix," Marinette replied, stroking a hand down his back. "Do we need to leave?"
"Once he is done we probably should. Hawkmoth hasn't noticed us yet, but I know of somewhere safe we can go so you can practice your magic without worries," Adrien said, butting his head into Marinette's hand.
The floor painting was finished and the Phoenix had turned entirely gray again, its tail feathers drawn into a tight bunch laying on the floor. It peered at the drawing then at Nathaniel, who looked incredibly nervous, before slowly strutting towards the center of the circle. There it gave a soft trill, spreading its wings and tail feathers once more as the painting around it lifted off the floor along with the summoning lines. The shapes dissolved into a riot of color and the whole mess flowed into the bird's feathers. For a long moment the bird looked like a rainbow come to life before the brighter colors faded leaving blues greens and odd bits of purple for eye spots. The magic settled and Nathaniel moved to the bird's side, only to yelp as it leaped into the air so it could land on his shoulder.
"Did it get smaller?" Alya asked as Marinette stood, letting Adrien dart to the ground. People around her were standing and clapping as well since the summoning had been a beautiful display of skill.
"I think so. I'm going to go congratulate Nathaniel and head home, ok? I'm still sorta tired," Marinette answered.
"Alright, girl. I'll give you a blow by blow for the others later. Get some rest!" Alya chuckled, rubbing a hand over Nino's head when he whined.
Marinette nodded and hunching a little she moved up the aisle past people to get to the staircase. If anyone had been watching for her they wouldn't notice her gone from her seat until everyone sat back down. Moving swiftly and apologizing to people as she past them Marinette followed Adrien as he slipped down into the bowels of the arena. This time she activated her magical sight and as she walked she noticed the odd markings down the walls. She also noticed a presence that shimmered just behind her.
"Is that?" Marinette started to ask, then realized that Adrien had vanished from view.
"Yes, something is following you. Keep moving until you find Nathaniel, I'll be able to destroy the tracker once the magic changes again," Adrien answered, and Marinette felt a trickle of relief from being able to hear his voice.
"When the magic changes?" Marinette asked curiously.
"You will see in just a minute," Adrien replied cryptically.
Marinette wanted to keep asking questions but a moment later the scrolling in the walls seemed to blaze to life, illuminating the odd smudge as a monster like apparition. Marinette slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from yelling and Adrien came out of nowhere in his Halfling form, slashing down with his claws and shredding the thing out of existence. The light faded and the apparition went with it as Adrien looked up at Marinette.
"Hi?" Adrien called, hesitantly holding up a clawed hand.
"Hi… I totally forgot you had a Halfling form…" Marinette breathed, moving closer to look him over.
Like this Adrien looked like a completely different person. His hair was still blond and his eyes were still green, but other than that and his human shape he was impossible to mistake as a normal human. Black leather encased his entire form, while cat ears and a tail twitched, showcasing his nervousness. His claws were sharp and a mask covered his eyes, making them seem greener than normal. To Marinette's vision magic ebbed and flowed around him in this form, highlighting the fact that even though he looked like it, Adrien wasn't quite human.
"You look like a knight or something out of a fairy tale like this," Marinette finally decided, making him laugh and shift back into his normal cat form.
"That would make you my princess then, right?" Adrien laughed, leaping to her shoulder. "Don't worry, your knight has vanquished the nasty tracker, and because of the odd magic fluctuations down here it shouldn't alert Hawkmoth for a bit."
Marinette rolled her eyes, deciding to forgo the princess comment as she put up a hand to help stabilize Adrien as he settled into her hood. "That's good to know, Adrien. Do each of your forms have a title?"
Adrien yawned stretching out a bit across her shoulder. "I suppose you should just call me Chat Noir in the Halfling form since I only use that form to fight in. If anyone were to see me fighting in that form I don't think we want it being tied to you or me, since we are running under the radar for now."
"Ok, but Chat Noir is not very creative," Marinette commented, making Adrien snicker.
"Yeah, Plagg came up with that one. He said it's better to keep it simple, so unless you have any better ideas?"
Marinette frowned, but before she could say anything more a loud trill echoed down the hall they were in, and turning the corner Marinette nearly ran into Nathaniel.
"Oh! Hi Nathaniel! Great job!" Marinette called, stumbling back, causing Adrien to dig in his claws to hold on.
"Ma-Marinette! You ca-came!" Nathaniel stuttered.
Marinette smiled warmly at him. "Of course I came! Now that I know you have a bird like familiar I'll make you a bird hat so you two can match!"
Nathaniel blushed, kicking at the ground. "Y-you don't have to…" In the next second he yelped as his familiar pecked at his ear. "Sorry… she is hungry I think."
Marinette nodded, feeling Adrien chuckle against her. "Go feed her then. We can catch up later! Great job with the paintings, everyone was really impressed."
Nathaniel nodded again, blocking his familiar from pecking him and moved past Marinette with a shy wave. The moment the two turned the corner Adrien hopped down and grew to the size of an extremely large panther.
"Hop on Marinette," Adrien called, and Marinette gazed at him in shock.
"Hop on?"
Adrien nodded. "This will only work if I am carrying you, although since we are connected you might be able to do it on your own someday."
"Do what exactly?" Marinette hissed, even as she climbed up onto Adrien's back.
"Go to the familiar world. Now hold on," Adrien instructed, since he could hear people heading towards them.
Nervousness shot through Marinette as Adrien began to move and she snatched at his fur, holding on tight. "Wait! What about the wards?"
"Not a problem," Adrien replied as he leaped at the wall, the two of them vanishing from view a second before three people turned the corner.
Marinette clung to Adrien's back, eyes screwed shut, until he stopped moving. Slowly, Marinette opened her eyes and gasped. They were in a field of green-blue grass with reddish orange trees littering the background. The spot was the same one as her dream and the same spot Adrien had appeared in when she summoned him.
"How is this possible?" Marinette gasped, sliding down off Adrien's back.
"There are a few species that can cross freely between the worlds. Grimalkins are one of them, and when we have been bonded to someone for an extended amount of time we can usually bring them with us when we cross back and forth," Adrien answered, and changed to his human form in a flash of green light.
"Oh… but why did you bring me here? I know you said it was so I could practice my magic, but why the familiar world," Marinette queried, even as she tried to absorb all the sights around her.
Adrien grinned. "Well, to be honest, I wanted to show you where I grew up, but this world is safe from Hawkmoth and I know a shielded place where you won't have to worry about your magic getting out of control. It's where I practiced, so I know it's safe to use at any time. I'll take us home whenever you are ready."
Marinette hugged Adrien, pulling him close to her and grinning herself when a purr filled the air between them. "Thank you, Adrien. I was wondering how I would be able to find my limits now that my magic is getting stronger, so this will help so much."
Adrien returned the hug, happy that she was happy. "Always, Marinette, you are my partner. It's my job to take care of you."
Marinette finally pulled away, a blush highlighting her cheekbones that Adrien pretended not to see as he took her hand.
"Come on, I'll show you the way, unless you want to ride on my back in panther form?"
That idea had Marinette instantly intrigued but she wanted to see everything and she knew it would take all of her concentration to ride so she shook her head. "That sounds like fun, but I want to look around as we walk, so maybe on the way back. We do have to come to this spot again to get back home, right?"
"Unless we want to end up back in the summoning area, no. Usually a single spot is tied to its counter location when you are walking between worlds. Summoning changes locations because there is a homing like spell built into the summoning circle's lines, and it aims for a specific being that fulfills the homing spell. When your spell got messed up as a kid the magic tangled with the summoning magic and it dumped you here. At least that's how Plagg explained it to me. I don't know if he's right or just made something up to get me to quit asking," Adrien muttered, leading Marinette through the trees.
Marinette giggled, her hand tightening around his, and Adrien smiled before starting to point out all the interesting things the forest had to offer. Eventually, they made it to the circle and Marinette was happy to let Adrien remain outside while she tried several spells that she hadn't been able to do in years. Slowly she worked her way up through spells that she had needed Alya to help set up, and was overjoyed to find that each spell was easy and worked seamlessly. It was almost instinctual the way her magic just seemed to flow into position and she was giddy with success when Adrien stepped into the circle. By that time Marinette was fairly confident that she could keep her magic under control, but Adrien threw her for a loop when he demanded that she attack him. After refusing, Adrien explained that she needed to work on battle spells since, if Hawkmoth really decided to come after her, she would have to know how to use her power offensively and not just for defense. Marinette had understood and showed Adrien all the spells she knew for attacks which were actually quite a lot. Adrien was impressed, and by the time they were finished Marinette was so exhausted Adrien had to carry her. At some point in the journey home Marinette fell asleep, leaving Adrien to sneak them into her room. Not wanting anyone to worry he texted both her parents and Alya so that they knew she was in her room safe and simply sleeping. Adrien smiled at Marinette, who was curled into a ball beneath the covers knowing that it was going to be a fun and interesting week.