"That is pawesome!" Chat Noir cheered when Ladybug told him the news. Ladybug cringed at the particularly awful cat pun, but Chat Noir had not seemed this happy for quite a while, so Ladybug just smiled and continued to explain the details Tiki had shared with her.
"So it is like the ultimate scavenger hunt!" Chat concluded. (The closest Adrien had ever come to doing a scavenger hunt was being the "prize" at the end of 'Friends Day' one a couple years ago. It had been a great publicity stunt for the GA fragrance line, but he thought it might be much more fun to do the searching, especially alongside Ladybug).
"Tiki said it was similar to a coming of age ceremony for some cultures or rite of passage…but yeah I guess it might be a bit like a scavenger hunt," Ladybug concluded.
Chat beamed. Ladybug had no way of knowing how much he needed to escape. To get away, where no one knew his name, gave him looks of pity, or blamed him for what his father had done. He could focus on fun tasks with Ladybug and put all the grief on hold.
"The only thing I'm trying to figure out is how to get away for stretches at a time, without it becoming suspicious or a worry to my parents. Do you think you'll be able to get away okay?" She asked.
"Yep, no problem," Chat said shortly, moving on quickly to other topics, asking about teleportation (which of course he knew plenty about already).
While ladybug started to describe her conversations with Kaalki, Chat's mind was elsewhere.
Ladybug and Chat had traveled to many places already on various missions. New York, London, China, and heck, they had even visited Space that time Max's mom go acomatized.
This would be the easiest time ever…no sneaking out, no avoiding a bodyguard, no stowing away on one of his father's business trips.
Chloe had just bragged to everyone that she had convinced her mother to take her on her fashion-line reveal in Mulan. Since Mrs. Bourgeois "had to" fire her latest assistant last minute, she had conceded. This meant Chloe would not be around the hotel with him, and would be totally distracted by assisting her mother (and catching up with her famous Italian boyfriend). Mr. Bourgeois was so busy as mayor of Paris, and was always very accommodating to any of Adrien's requests (and honestly appreciated the boy's presence in the household in the stead of his beloved, but high maintenance ladies). As long as Adrien checked in with his guardian once in a while, he was pretty much free to do whatever he wanted. Going unnoticed would make this mission so much easier, but he envied Ladybug, who had a family that would care enough to check up on her, and be worried about her.
Chat suddenly snapped back to the conversation with Ladybug, when he realized she had just asked him a question, and was waiting for an answer.
"Sorry M'lady what was that?" he asked apologetically.
"I asked if you'd be ready to leave next Friday night," she repeated.
"A week from now? The first day of Spring Break?! Yeah sure, I think that'll'' work," Chat agreed quickly. "Aaahhhm where are we going?"
"Chaaat," Ladybug groaned exasperated, " were you not listening the whole time!?"
"Sorry," he ducked his head sheepishly.
"Okay…so…Tiki said we must start at the Tibetan Miraculous Temple. The monks will give us our first task, and when we pass the test, we will be given our next destination. After each task we can pop back to Paris with Kaalki occasionally-as needed (wither to help keep the city safe, or take care of our civilian lives). Tiki couldn't really tell me how long it would take. I guess it will just depend on how we do."
"We've got this!" Chat Noir said enthusiastically, putting his arm around his partner, "There is nothing we can't handle! There is no way these 'challenges' are going to be more difficult than what we've already faced!"
"Yeah," Ladybug let his confidence rub off on her, "you're probably right!"