Early update do to irl schedule changes.
Marik and Kat looked down from the crest of a grassy knoll. They were laying on their stomachs, chins resting across arms folded in front of them. A small herd of unicorns were grazing nearby, unbothered by the pair's presence as a light breeze rustled the grass around them.
"I swear, everyday with you is like I'm in some sort of weird dream that, surprisingly, I don't feel inclined to wake up from," Marik stated, still in disbelief of everything he'd witnessed so far.
"You can say that again," Kat giggled beside him.
Marik leaned over to kiss her and she rolled onto her back, allowing him to deepen the kiss. As his hands wandered lower, she stopped him.
"Not here. Fae are conniving creatures, and I won't risk them taking advantage of either of us. They have ways to increase one's lust and make you agree to doing things you wouldn't otherwise do."
Marik kissed her once more before sitting up. "I'll keep that in mind."
He looked around, taking in the scenery that surrounded him and left him feeling breathless. He'd have loved to have shared an intimate moment with Kat here. He wanted to show her how much it meant to him that she was sharing this place with him. Surely she didn't bring just anyone to the Fae realm? Or did she…?
"Have you ever brought anyone else here?" The words had found their way out before he could stop them.
"Not really," Kat replied. "I brought Imhotep here a few times when he was younger, but I usually come to this place alone. It's peaceful and helps me gather my thoughts. For some reason it always feels like a part of me belongs here."
"I can understand why. I can literally feel the magic in the air here, and I can only assume that for someone like you it makes you feel less out of place," Marik stated.
Kat had sat up beside him, leaning back on the palms of her hands with her legs stretched out and crossed at the ankle. "Something like that. I like being in places like this, but I'm always afraid to stay for a prolonged amount of time. I fear losing touch with what little humanity I still retain."
"You know…" Marik said, scooting closer and placing an arm around his girlfriend's waist. "You're more 'human' than you might think."
"Oh? How so?" Kat asked in a doubtful manner.
"What's the saying? 'To err is human, to forgive is Divine'."
Kat scoffed. "Have you met those who are 'Divine'? They do not forgive. If anything, they hold a grudge."
"Maybe the saying actually means that those who are meant to be truly Divine can only become so by forgiving themselves for their imperfections?"
Kat stared blankly at him for a moment before throwing herself backwards while laughing.
"What?" Marik asked in annoyance.
"That has got to be the dumbest thing I have ever heard!" Kat replied, still laughing.
Even the nearby unicorns appeared to be neighing in a way that sounded like laughter.
"I don't think it's dumb," Marik stated while looking away and silently pouting.
He heard his girlfriend shift beside him and turned to see what she was doing. He was pleasantly surprised as he found her quickly straddling herself onto his lap, taking his face in her hands.
"I'm sorry" she said while staring into his eyes. "That was a cruel thing for me to say. You know I would never call anything you have to say 'dumb'. I love you too much."
Marik quickly recoiled back, warnings sounding in the very depths of his being. Kat would never have let those words leave her lips in such a casual manner…especially since she still struggled to say them at all.
"What's wrong?" not-Kat asked, appearing confused by his behavior. "Did my words upset you that much?"
He pushed the thing that was not his girlfriend off his lap. How was he supposed to admit that he knew it wasn't her without speaking to it?
A leopard-like growl not far away answered that question for him. He saw Kat standing not far away, drenched in water. The steam evaporating up from her body and into the air around her indicating her extreme level of pissed off, causing Marik to momentarily feel pity for the entity his girlfriend's eyes were trained on.
Kat leapt at the imposter, fangs and claws fully bared. The imposter bared its own sharp fangs as they rolled to the ground, claws tearing deeply into flesh that repaired itself almost instantly.
Marik quickly lost track of which was which as the two tussled on the ground, the one that had been soaked now as dry as the imposter. Both fought with the same beastial ferocity of the original. One kicked the other back, and she lost her footing momentarily, falling onto her back. Before the other could pounce, Marik stepped in between them, arms outstretched to stop them.
"Let me take care of this!"
"Shut up you fake!"
The two bickered back and forth, each trying to imply the other as being the imposter. Marik was stuck between the two, unable to say anything directly towards either. Eventually he'd had enough.
"Will both of you shut up!?" he shouted in irritation without looking at either girl.
Both Kat's fell silent, each tilting their head in a similar manner as though surprised by his outburst.
Marik took a few steps back, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to calm himself. He needed to find out which was which, and he had an idea on how to determine which was the imposter.
"You know I love you, but there are times I'm not sure if you feel the same," he said aloud. Kat had said not to talk to anyone other than her…she never said he couldn't voice his thoughts aloud without having them directed at anyone in particular.
He peeked an eye open, making certain he would have a visual on the one that slipped up. The one to his left smirked knowingly, looking smugly at the other. The one to his right took a small step forward wearing a pained expression.
"What are you talking about? Of course I feel the same. I love you."
Marik immediately turned to the Kat on the left, pulling her in close and giving her a kiss.
"Are you okay?" he asked as their lips parted, rubbing away a small smear of residual blood from her cheek.
Kat smiled happily up at him. "Do you really have to ask?"
This prompted a chuckle out of Marik. "So, how do we get rid of the fake?" he asked.
Kat leaned to the side to look around her boyfriend and over at the imposter. "Easy. You just say 'Nice try, Puck. My boyfriend's not an idiot'." She added to it by sticking out her tongue.
Marik kept hold of Kat by the waist as he turned to see the imposter's reaction. It scoffed irritably, its voice now different and bearing a thick accent.
"Aw, c'mon. T'was all in good fun. We meant no 'arm."
The imposter's body shifted, taking on the form of an impish looking boy with a flattened face and a wide, gap-toothed grin that stretched literally from ear to ear. Small goat horns curved up and out of the hair on its head, the hair itself tied in a knot between them. It also appeared to be part goat from the waist down, its entire lower half covered in dark, wiry fur.
"You dropped me into the lake," Kat stated sharply.
"Aw, wee bit o'water ne'er hurt no one," Puck said dismissively.
"Yeah, and a 'wee bit o' I'mma kick your ass' won't hurt you either."
"Ach, ye elementals. No sense o' humor."
"Oh, I've got a sense of humor alright. Wanna see a neat trick where I make my foot disappear?"
The grin on Puck's face vanished as he quickly took a few steps back while covering his backside.
"Uhhh…would'ya lookit the time! Methinks we must be going." Puck gave a very curt bow while still attempting to walk away with his backside covered. "Pleasure meetin ya…uh…"
"Don't push it," Kat growled.
"Uh…right…pleasure meetin ya, Blondie." Puck quickly vanished in the same manner as the fae-weasel.
Marik looked down at his girlfriend. "I thought you weren't supposed to reveal a Fae's name? Or be rude to it?"
"For starters, Puck isn't his true name…and I'm allowed to be rude to Fae. Perks of being what I am," Kat stated nonchalantly. She then looked him in the eyes and smiled. "Puck didn't count on the fact that regardless of how I feel towards you, there are still certain words I won't say."
"Are you implying that he personified how you actually feel?" Marik asked in a taunting manner, hoping maybe she would at least admit that her feelings were more than what she let on. He was pretty certain she did, but it would be nice to actually hear her say it.
"You know I won't answer that."
Marik sighed heavily. He had a feeling she'd say something along those lines.
"You know, we should probably head back before something else goes after you."
Marik sighed again. "Probably," he said with a small chuckle. "Just know that I'm still hurt that you laughed at me and thought what I said was dumb," he added in a playful manner.
Kat laughed lightly. "What? Was the fake-me's apology not enough?"
"It didn't come from you, so it doesn't count."
Kat sighed and rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. "I'm sorry I laughed…and that I said your interpretation was dumb…even though it is."
"Wow. Puck did a much better job at an apology. He even said he loved me," Marik said sarcastically.
"Oh…so you prefer the other version of me?" Kat said in a teasing manner.
They began walking back in the direction of the portal that had brought them there, Marik's hand planted firmly around Kat's waist to make certain no one could snatch her away again without him knowing.
"Nah. I'm sure the other version would be too predictable. Where's the fun in that?"
Kat smiled and laughed.
"You know," she said after a few minutes, "I've been a bit curious as to how someone who spent a good portion of their life in a cave knows so much about the rules of the Fae?"
"I've read some Shakespeare," Marik replied nonchalantly.
"Some?" Kat asked, a brow raised in curiosity.
"Okay…a lot," he admitted.
Kat chuckled. "Do I dare ask why?"
Marik quietly groaned.
"Odion and I had made our way to Europe, and I didn't know English very well at the time. We stopped at a bookstore to see if we could find something that would help me learn the language better. In my stubbornness to do things myself, I attempted to ask if they had such a book, but instead I apparently asked if they had any books written in old English. I walked out that day with the complete works of William Shakespeare."
Kat had placed a hand over her mouth before he'd even finished half of his explanation in a terrible attempt to hide her amusement.
"Please tell me you didn't actually go around Europe speaking in Shakespearean English…"
Marik felt his cheeks flush. "It's not funny."
Kat had to stop walking as she doubled over in laughter.
"Oh, c'mon! I'm sure you've done something embarrassing because you didn't know better!" Marik said loudly in annoyance.
Kat wiped away a few tears as she calmed her fit of laughter. "Does getting my head stuck in places while transfigured count?"
Marik gave her side-eyed glance as if thinking.
"Not quite…but I do find it amusing that it's happened."
"Wait until you actually see it. I guarantee you'll laugh just as hard as both Kura and Mal."
"Oh gods…don't tell Bakura about my Shakespearean fluency."
"I may have laughed, but I'm not going to submit you to endless torture. That's just cruel."
They had begun walking again, the shoreline coming into view as they crested another knoll. Kat's brow furled, appearing concerned as she gazed into the distance.
"Is everything okay?" Marik asked, confused by her sudden change in demeanor.
Kat pointed over near where they had arrived. A large, golden deer with a massive pair of antlers atop its head was standing there, staring in their direction.
"What's that?" Marik asked.
"That's the Ceryneian Hind. She appears to be waiting."
"Waiting? For what?"
Kat spoke quietly in the immortal tongue. The Hind snorted loud enough Marik could hear it from where they stood, flames erupting from its nostrils as it did.
"Not what," Kat replied to his question. "Who."
Marik became extremely concerned by the way she'd said 'who'.
"Okay then…who is she waiting for?"
Kat looked up at him, her face full of worry.
"You."
I decided to have a bit of fun with how Marik might have gone about certain things early on in his life above ground, and his early criminal career. I can imagine he might have been too stubborn at first and thought that he could do things on his own without the Millennium Rod. Based on the manga chapter where Marik discovered people walking on a book, I think early on he tried to learn to learn new things through reading (though as time passed he began relying less on books, and more on the Rod).