In her effort to familiarize herself with the miraculouses, Marinette was going to spend time with one kwami each night. It would be good for them to get out of the Miracle Box and see the modern world, and they could tell her about their powers. Tonight, she decided she would wear the Dog Miraculous. As she adorned the collar, a sparkling ochre-colored light appeared and transformed into the big-eared kwami Barkk.

Immediately, she floated at attention. "Ah, Miss Marinette! For what purpose have I been summoned?"

Marinette blinked. "Ah, I mean… I just wanted to talk. Y'know, hang out, get to know you. Like I've been doing with all the kwamis."

"Of course, but there must be a reason you chose me in particular."

"You mean other than the fact that I've spoken to most of the others already?" she asked with an incredulous look… which quickly deflated. "… fine, there is. But before I get into specifics, I'd like to hear about your concept. It might help me put my thoughts into perspective."

"Very well, then. As a refresher, I am the Kwami of Loyalty. When you think of loyalty, the association you get is probably of one person making the choice to stand by another person or to an organization of some kind. But the idea also covers the underlying reasons for the loyalty: faithfulness to whomever they are loyal to, dedication to a cause or ideal, and, to be blunt, personal gain. Additionally, some loyalties are born not of preference but of necessity."

"Out of… necessity…" Marinette pondered, looking deep in thought. "I assume the breaking of those underlying reasons will cause a person to sever a particular loyalty?"

"If all such reasons are broken, that is obviously the case, but it's important to note that the weighing of these things and the resulting decision-making aren't entirely conscious; a person may not even use the term loyalty to describe their feelings and actions. The concept runs deeper than language can describe it."

The new information only further furrowed the girl's brow. She was still trying to make sense of how Adrien could say that he wouldn't give up on Chloé and then proceed to refuse the suggestion to reach out to her. It was a contradiction.

"Okay, maybe I should just tell you the problem directly. You see, there's someone that I… seem to care about, but I don't know why. She's a terrible person, so terrible that she causes a good chunk of Hawk Moth's akuma incidents, and she's especially terrible to me specifically. I have every reason not to want to help her – I mean, sure, working on her meanness would help reduce those incidents, but it's not really that important to the bigger picture of stopping Hawk Moth himself so that there are no akumatizations to begin with. It would be a huge investment for me that would probably fail anyway, and the only person who would be likely to make progress just said no for reasons that I equally don't understand."

"Is that what you were seeking my advice on?" Barkk asked, wearing an expression that was hard to pin down.

"Sort of. You see, my dad gave the advice that I should trust this other person to make the decision he thought was best, and this isn't what I thought he would say… even though, logically speaking, it actually is what's best. The easiest and most beneficial option for me is simply to move on from this."

"But for some reason, you can't."

"Yeah. My conscious keeps telling me that giving up on that spoiled brat would be wrong, that there's something worth keeping around in her. It reminds me if I don't help, no one will. Tikki suggested that maybe I'm biased towards her due to our history, but again that makes no logical sense because I know that my success in life is not dependent on or in spite of how this girl has treated me. And yet… a part of me does wonder if maybe the reason I feel so strongly is out of some desire to show that I've 'outgrown' her by killing her with kindness, which is exactly as petty as it sounds."

"Pollen certainly thinks she's worth keeping around," Barkk countered.

This gave the girl pause. "… how did you know this relates to Pollen?"

The kwami smiled smugly. "It's only natural. For the Miraculouses, they all come in pairs. You know that the Ladybug and Black Cat are counterparts, of course. The Fox and Turtle are, too, as are the Butterfly and Peacock. Of the Miracle Box's inner circle, that leaves the Bee, and its counterpart… is the Dog. My miraculous."

"It is? I mean… I guess that makes sense. Subjection and loyalty both relate to social structure and power."

"They're more entwined than just that. You see, subjecting people to one's rule is only effective if they stay there. Followers who lack faith in their ruler, whose needs aren't being met, will leave or rebel. A hierarchical system can only function and be beneficial when both Pollen's and my concepts are present. We're paired because the natural result of this truth is that the two come together – that is to say, a good leader will attract loyal followers, and wise followers will only subject themselves to a good leader."

"Okay… but how is that relevant to this?"

"I think your attachment to the girl Chloé is like that. You know that there's potential in her to become a strong ally, and she made clear in the past that she believes strongly in Ladybug. Your partnership could be very effective if allowed to blossom."

"No, I don't think it can," the blue-eyed girl replied instantly. "She may have believed that in the past, but she doesn't anymore."

"Have you interacted with her since that incident and she clearly stated as such?"

Marinette smiled sheepishly. "Um… I suppose not. I was a little preoccupied during her last akumatized victim attack to talk to her."

"Then I don't think you can know that for sure," Barkk said with a shrug. "Perhaps it is true that there is nothing else you can do for her at this time, but I don't think you should lose hope in the possibility that her fate may yet change."

"Yes, I suppose that's true." The bluenette's features softened in ponderance. "I guess only time will tell. In the meantime… on the topic of your miraculous, I'd like to hear about your powers."

Barkk's tail began wagging enthusiastically. "Ooh, yes, yes, I'd love to share! First off, in order to transform, you need to say, 'Barkk, on the hunt!' Once you do, you'll get a magic ball that always returns to you when you throw it! You'll also get my superpower called Howl, which will set up communication with anyone holding the ball! It's super cool!"

"Woah, slow down there!" Marinette stated exasperatedly. "I don't quite get it. Doesn't the ball already provide communication as the miraculous's tool?"

"Yes, but you have to use it actively to do so. Howl lets you all share your thoughts and what you're seeing and hearing even if you're using the tool to fight or are unable to talk or use your hands for some reason."

The kwami put her hands on her hips. "Also, whatever that magic talking brick thing you have that lets you do that normally is relatively new, from what Tikki told me. My power used to be very useful!"

The heroine blushed as she glanced at her phone that laid on her desk. "Yeah, well… it still sounds useful, I promise!"

She thought for a moment, recalling all she had learned tonight. "So if I were to give the miraculous to someone, I would want the kind of person who is hardworking and intelligent, but who lacks a goal to strive towards. The Dog Miraculous would empower them to engage their skills, their newfound loyalty driving their potential and transforming it into great contribution."

"Most certainly," Barkk agreed with a nod. "Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Well… knowing that the Dog is the counterpart to the Bee gives me an idea, but I don't know if it would work out any better than it did with Chloé. My understanding of people's loyalties clearly still needs some work."

"I'm at your call if you need it, Marinette. Oh, wait, I nearly forgot something! To de-transform, you say, 'Off the hunt.' Simple enough."

"Yeah. Say, speaking of needing you… there is one more thing I wanted to discuss."

"Yes?" The doglike being tilted her head, which Marinette thought looked very adorable.

"When Hawk Moth crashed my anniversary party, he told me that he wants the Wish to bring back a loved one. It seems he possesses an undying loyalty towards this person that's what's driving him to make akumas to go after our miraculouses. But I don't understand how he could possibly think that one person is worth all of the destruction and chaos he's causing."

Barkk's ears drooped. "Unfortunately, the Earth itself is also something that you can have – or not have – loyalty to. Some people will let it burn if it means they get what they want."

"His willingness to let the world burn was quite literally made clear today. Just how far do you think he'll go?"

"I wish I knew. All I can say is that sometimes, love knows no bounds, and all you can do is keep fighting and hope to win before something irreversible happens."

"Yes… and to do that, I need to be well-rested. I think it's time to call it a night."

"I agree. Good night, Marinette."

"Good night, Barkk."

With that, she removed the miraculous and returned it to the Miracle Box, before storing it away in its secret hiding place at the bottom of her chest.