Marinette gasped aloud, sweat beading on the back of her neck and dampening her pillow. Wriggling frantically to shake off the last dredges of the dream that had shocked her awake, she turned to grab her phone - only to sigh in relief when she read the date and time.
"It was... it wasn't real," she murmured to herself, setting the device back on her nightstand. "It was just a dream."
Her heartbeat still thudded in her ears, and as she looked back at her phone screen, she wiped her face and was surprised to feel crust on her cheeks. Tears? Had she... been crying?
"Marinette?" Tikki's voice, still slow with sleep, made her turn. The being sat upright on her pillow with a yawn, rubbing her eye before fixing her Chosen with a look of concern.
"Sorry if I woke you, Tikki," she explained, wrapping her arms around herself and lying back down. "It was just a silly nightmare."
"A nightmare? That's not silly at all. If I may ask... what was it about?" Making her way closer, Tikki curled up near her face.
"It... it was..." Her voice trailed off in thought. What was her nightmare? Already it was hard to recall. "I think... about a white cat or something, I don't remember now."
Tikki took a little longer to respond this time. When Marinette turned her head to look at her, she chuckled. "A white cat... now that's silly. What, did a stray eat one of your hamsters?"
"That would've been a ridiculous nightmare," the girl agreed with a little giggle.
From below, they could hear Citron shuffling around in her closet. A pang of guilt hit her when she realized the Sentibeing must have been woken up by her outburst.
Silence hung, heavy and thick, over the room, yet there was a familiar buzzing of energy from Tikki, the very same thrill that she still felt every time she fought as a hero. She still couldn't wrap her brain around what it was, or where it was coming from; she wasn't flying, nor was she in the earrings. "It must be her ancient power," she surmised, closing her eyes again.
Boy, was she lucky to have this power. It wasn't always easy, but Tikki was so warm and wise that it felt like having a second mother. How could she ever live without...
A thought struck her then. "Tikki?" She whispered.
"What is it?"
Opening her eyes again, she turned to look at the Kwami. "What would it take for someone to break a contract with a Kwami?"
The ancient being raised a brow. "What are you thinking about?"
"I was just wondering," she mused, tilting her head to look at the ceiling. "Cat and I have Kwamis, but Hawkmoth must have one too, right? Considering how he keeps sending people to fight us, I keep thinking he must not be very kind to his." Taking a breath, she questioned, "What would it take for a Kwami to break a contract with a user?"
Her words hung there, quiet. For a moment, Tikki didn't say anything. When she turned to look at her, she saw a thoughtful expression on the being's face.
"Now that's a good question," she hummed. "We are naturally very resilient beings - we have to be, considering the sheer might we contain. If a Chosen decided to, they could break their contract whenever they wanted - although that would force their Kwami to completely wipe their memories, of course. We can't have former users spilling the proverbial beans about magic the public at large should not be privy to."
Tapping her chin, the kwami continued. "But, of course, we also have the option to break our contracts. If we feel that, at any point, our Chosen - or our user, considering Nooroo's delicate situation - is of no more use to us, or if we believe that there is no more room to perhaps bargain with them - should they be at a moral event horizon, we are able to break the contract ourselves." She paused to let her words sink in. "It's not very often that we have no choice but to do so. I'd like to think, for the countless millennia that we've interacted with the human world, the Guardians have chosen well enough. But then, of course, where there is good, there is always evil."
"Wow..." Marinette breathed. "I'm guessing Plagg is the one who has to keep breaking contracts?"
"Oh yes." The ladybug avatar nodded solemnly. "No concept in and of itself is inherently evil. Just as Destruction can be used to do harm, so can Creation. For all of his gruff facade, Plagg's an old softie at heart. He'd rather destroy himself before he ever changed his ways. It just so happens that people see the concept of destruction and believe it must be used for harm."
"Poor kitty," she commented with a sigh.
"It's alright. Plagg is strong." Tikki smiled, a faraway, aged expression that reminded the girl of her grandmother. "It doesn't take much for him to break a contract. Some of us, though, are a little too earnest and goodnatured to put their foot down."
A face flickered through Tikki's mind, a friend, a sibling. She frowned, casting a stormy gaze at the pillow, causing her Chosen to shudder under the sudden weight of the room. "Make no mistake, Marinette. Everyone has their limits. Even those too timid and broken-down to say no the first time."
Marinette swallowed, nodding. The wrath of a Kwami, she decided then, must be a horrible thing to experience.
"And..." her voice was smaller than she thought it would be. "And... if they did break their contract...?"
"Hawkmoth as we know him would be finished." Tikki affirmed with a wry smile. "Though I can't say I would feel bad for him, it would take a choice so devastating - not just for himself, but for everything he holds dear - for Nooroo to finally have had enough of him."
"Little cat on a roof... all alone without his lady..."
Deep in her heart, she wondered just what it would take for Hawkmoth to finally disappear from their lives forever.
A/N: Mmmm, maaaaaaaybe just one more little plot thread. Oh heck, maybe three more. I do so love giving the Kwamis more agency in their dealings with humans.~
