The houses within Freiburg felt like something straight out of a fairy tale. The half timbered homes cozied up next to each other along the street. Happy little window boxes displayed brightly colored flowers, and all was set among the perfectly green rolling hills, vineyards, and the mountains beyond.
As they pushed the wooden door open into a small woodworking shop, a tiny bell clashed, unceremoniously announcing their arrival. Ladybug was about to ask Ember what time it was when suddenly chimes started going off, and a large clock burst into life.
"No time to waste, quick, let's begin!" a voice chirped urgently.
Ladybug and Chat Noir rose their eyebrows, and saw a small bird flitting around the cluttered shop, with every inch of wall space taken up by uniquely crafted Cuckoo clocks.
"Don't you want to know who we are?" Ladybug asked.
The bird shot her an incredulous glance.
"Okay I guess it is pretty obvious..." she shrugged, "but shouldn't you tell us who you are?"
"Time is precious...who I am is of no consequence...why I am is much more interesting!" it chirped, perching at a thick pine table with stacks of wood, tools, and metal mechanisms. "That Twain fellow understood! He always said 'The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why!'"
"What if you never find out?" Chat Noir asked.
"Well than you haven't been paying attention!" the bird responded impatiently. "Come...come! Du gehst mir auf den Keks! You can take your time with your work, rather than using up your life with idle questions!"
"This is the cuckoo kwami," Ember rolled his eyes. "Honestly Cuckoo, a simple introduction would have been faster. You're immortal anyway!"
"Just because time is on my side, doesn't mean I care to waste it!" the cuckoo muttered, assembling materials for the task he had planned for the weilders.
"You know I'm right," Ember ruffled his feathers.
"Even a stopped clock is right twice a day!" the cuckoo grumbled.
Chat Noir tried to wipe the smirk off his face listening to the two kwami, but not soon enough that the keen eye of Ladybug didn't catch him, and she elbowed him in the ribs.
"Hey!" he protested, poking her back in the ticklish spot at her side, and she batted him away, stifling a giggle.
"Cut it out!" Ladybug whispered when the cuckoo kwami flew into the back room for an extra chisel. "I already feel like I'm in trouble at school with this kwami!"
"Hmm..so you're quite the rebel in your class huh?!" he teased. "Here I was thinking you were the squeaky clean, play by the rules type! Mi'lady I'm shocked!"
Ladybug stuck out her tongue at him, and crossed her arms. "You can restrain your shock Chat Noir, that's not me at all! Most the time I'm just in trouble for running late...usually because I'm chasing a particular mangy cat of my all over the Paris!"
"So you admit you have been chasing me!" Chat Noir grinned, making her get in one last eye roll before the cuckoo took his place in front of them.
"You have what you need! You have the opportunity today to engage in a tradition of workmanship and dedication. The skill! The intricate detail! The delicate mechanics! Today you will create a cuckoo clock!" He proudly sang out the last words so dramatically that Chat Noir's mouth twitched with the threat of laughter, which he quickly pushed down noting the sideways glance from Ladybug.
The cuckoo seriously and systematically talked through each step needed to reach the small completed clock they would make together. Ladybug bit her lip, and rested her head lightly on one hand concentrating on each step. Seeing her like that brought back memories of seeing Marinette at school do the exact same thing when he used to find excuses in class to turn around and borrow a pencil or something.
Finally it was their turn to get to work. The first step was carving the wooden housing for the clock itself. The word 'cuckoo' was amusing, but the demands of constructing such an intricate piece of art and function was no joke!
This is pretty difficult!" Chat Noir sighed, readjusting his grip on his chisel.
"Aller Anfang ist schwer. All beginnings are hard, but persistence is the true art," the cuckoo encouraged. "Übung macht den Meister. Practice is what makes the master!"
"I don't think I'll get to master level in carving anytime soon," Ladybug said holding up the block of linden wood that was already angled a little lopsided.
"Taking the time to do your best, and taking pride in your work will set you a part from others," the cuckoo brushed aside her hesitation. Then he flew to the wall, and pointed to one after another clocks; each one he described the clocks, as if he was talking about their maker.
Chat Noir tried to rush the final step, and hammer more pieces together at once. In his haste all three pieces broke under the strain.
"Sorry, it was a mistake!" he said gathering the splintered pieces.
"Mistake! Psh! That was no mistake...it was a decision. A wrong decision, but there was nothing accidental about it!" the cuckoo chirped.
"What do I do now?" asked a repentant Chat Noir.
"Make a better choice!" the cuckoo stared back blatantly.
After slow and steady process, they once again had the pieces they needed, and fit them together seamlessly. The dark stain they applied coated the wood, and defined the carved angles. Setting aside these parts to dry, they moved on the the more delicate aspects of making the clock...the mechanics to run the time piece itself.
Two small wooden pipes were attached to two tiny wooden air chambers on each side of the clock. Then three weights were delicately adjusted to hang in a balance. The first weight controlled the clock, the second the moving parts of the cuckoo, and third the music box.
"This is the heart and soul of the clock!" the wild kwami crowed passionately, overseeing their progress. "The clocks movement is what drives the clock to keep time. The quality of a cuckoo clock's movement will not only determine its life span and performance, but also the accuracy of the clock."
"You talk about the clock as if it is alive!" Ladybug commented.
"You above all should know time is a living entity! It governs all life...and death," the cuckoo looked intently at her, and then cocked his head to one side. "You think I don't recognize one who has flitted through the future and tinkered with time?! The rabbit may have burrows throughout time, but I am the keeper of time, and all it's alternate universes."
"This clock isn't like a time machine is it? Think of all the things we could fix through time!" Chat Noir piped up.
"No, no time machine. Just a clock with a lesson. We cannot turn the clock back or make past pain vanish. That would be like winding the clock the wrong way," the wild kwami shook his head. "You do, however, have the potential to learn from the past in to impact the future in a positive way! If only more mortals made the most of their time to stand up for what is right!"
They attached the final pieces with the fittings and carefully wound the clock. As the clock sprang to life the song called "The Happy Wanderer" plunked loudly, and the small wooden cuckoo announced the hour.
"Good work!" The cuckoo congratulated, bringing them a piece of samsonite as their token. "I will think of you both when I hear its chime. Farewell weilders. Off you go! Up the hill you will find a path that will lead you to your next challenge. The Black Forest awaits!"
Following their trail, at the edge of the forest they saw a large dark furry creature with black, white, and grey markings striping her face. The stripe extended down her wide back, and came to a point at her bushy tail. Her beady eye shone up at them, analyzing them as they approached. The Wild kwami was a badger.
"Creation and Destruction! Together again!" smiled the Badger. "Tiki and Plagg must be pleased!"
Chat Noir grinned at Ladybug, and rubbed his shoulder against hers affectionately.
The badger smiled like a proud grandmother at the two young wielders, and paused a moment before announcing their assignment. "On the ground through the Black Forest you will find dried out old branches. Your job is to clear as much of the forest as you can before the shadows start stretching longer. Then I will evaluate your work ethic," she instructed.
Ladybug picked up a stick, and looked up. The ground was littered with endless sticks and branches all over. She held her little stick and looked over at Chat Noir, who could only offer a shrug.
"Are you overwhelmed by the enormity of your task?" the Badger smiled, "Of course you are. It is impossible! Impossible to do all at once on your own...try to break it down into smaller more possible pieces and you will discover by the end you've met your goal!"
"So we're just picking up sticks the rest of today?!" Chat Noir asked, wishing that the task had been more...heroic.
"Du siehst den Wald vor lauter Bäumen nicht. You don't see the forest for all the trees," the badger chided. "It is easy to get frustrated if you just consider what is in front of you. In life it is important to see the big picture."
"What's the bigger picture?" Chat Noir asked. "Like a whole pile of sticks?"
"Look beyond yourself and consider how far your impact will go. For you it is picking up a stick, but to the forest you are preventing dead wood from catching fire, clearing paths for villagers to walk, and providing firewood for villagers. It may seem like a menial task, but it still makes a difference."
Ladybug looked at a map on her yoyo, and together they divided the area into segments of forest. Then they set about clearing old brush and fallen branches. The pile grew and grew. Stopping over, and carrying armfuls of wood was monotonous and tiring, but they kept at it.
Chat Noir and Ladybug would comment to each other now and then about their adventures. For some reason Chat Noir brought up the Kwami Buster akuma a couple times. Ladybug wondered if it had something to do with teasing him about Multimouse a couple days ago. As they got deeper and deeper into the thickness of the forest Ladybug wished she had a few more of herself to get the job done more efficiently, but she told herself that it was all part of the trial.
Ladybug walked in between Ember and the badger. She reached down for another branch, when she noticed another near her other hand. Trying to quickly grab them up at the same time, she ended up dropping her whole armful of wood.
"Wer zwei Hasen auf einmal jagt bekommt keinen. Chase two rabbits at once and you'll catch none," the badger said patting her knee, and helping her pick up the dropped sticks.
"Believe me one 'rabbit' is more than I can handle!" Ladybug sighed thinking of how hard other things in her love life had gotten lately. Then he glanced around the forest, and looked back to the badger and Ember. "Did either of you see where Chat Noir went?" She asked.
They looked blankly back at her, so she called out "Chat Noir! Chat Noir? Where are you?
"Where has that cat gotten to?!" She muttered.
"We should stick together!" warned the badger. "There have been others who have been taken by the forest."
"Taken?!" Ladybug looked at the kwami startled.
The badger nodded solemnly, and Ladybug felt a tinge of panic surge through her. She dropped her burden to run through the trees calling after him. The kwamis floated behind her, close on her heels.
...But only the hollow emptiness of the quiet forest answered. Chat Noir had vanished.