Marinette slept through the night on Sunday and only woke up around midday when Natalie knocked on her door to tell her that lunch was ready.
According to Natalie, Marinette hadn't eaten since the incident on Friday night and she was worried. She showed her concern by standing next to her throughout the meal, making sure that Marinette ate everything.
When she was allowed back into her room, she was almost relieved to be alone again. She generally liked company, but someone who was constantly looking over your shoulders and clearing their throat to show their displeasure was something else.
Plagg came flying out of his hiding place and eyed her carefully: "Did you bring me some cheese?" Marinette's mouth twisted and she returned his gaze thoughtfully.
"No, but when we do our rounds today, we should stock up right away." She decided. She had a mini fridge in her room that was filled to the top with bottles of water, so she would be able to make room there.
"That's still so long away!" complained Plagg and didn't stop complaining until Marinette decided she'd had enough. It was time to occupy him in another way and she felt the urge to stroke the flying cat. But every time she reached out to him, he looked at her with a look that said you wouldn't dare.
So it was time to bribe him. She took her old doll's house out of the cupboard. She had actually been given a four-storey castle for her dolls, but she had seen this little wooden house with four rooms on a walk with her mother and immediately fell in love with it.
What she wanted, she got and so she took it with her. For years, it was her place of refuge in her imagination. It stood for everything she wanted. A simpler life with lots of love and without the worthless but expensive material ballast that was weighing her down and suffocating her.
She had always wanted to play with it with her friends, but Cloe was not a doll friend, she only ever tore their heads off and laughed when Marinette cried.
She didn't really have any other friends, at least no one who would come over to play.
Today she would play with a friend.
"Plagg, come here!" she asked him. The little god lay curled up on her head cushion and only opened one eye at her request.
"Come on now, I want to show you something! I'm sure you'll like it." Plagg raised his head in annoyance, "If I can't eat it, I don't want it!" he sighed.
"Come on, we'll set up your own kingdom for you!" she piqued his interest.
„You want me to move into a doll's house?" he raised his eyebrows.
"Well, yes, but not like that, I have lots of fabrics here and we can furnish it together. We can even paint it in the colors you want!"
"He finally agreed to that. His colors were definitely black and poison green.
In the end, the doll's house looked just as Marinette had always imagined Wednesday Addams' doll's house would look, but Plagg was happy.
Snuggled up in his new bed, he closed his eyes contentedly. Marinette couldn't resist the urge and stroked his back gently.
He cracked one eye open and watched her, then closed it again and began to purr. Marinette had to smile and she continued stroking him until she suddenly started purring herself.
This startled her so much that she jerked up and bumped her hand on the roof of the doll's house. She cursed quietly and shook her hand, while Plagg cringed with laughter.
"You!" threatened Marinette, "this is all your fault, why don't you warn me that I'm going to start purring?"
"It usually takes months to years too and some never start to develop cat instincts, but you seem to be getting way too involved with me. You should be around people more, it'll stabilize you."
Marinette groaned; if that was the solution to this problem, it probably wouldn't be long before she started cleaning herself with her tongue. The thought sent a cold shiver down her spine.
In the meantime, it had become dark and Plagg no longer wanted to watch his kitten running up and down the room in a slight panic. Like a trapped animal, a trapped cat of prey to be precise. The thought amused him.
""Let's go for a spin!" said Plagg. "Scare up some pigeons and get some food!"
That made Marinette smile. "Plagg, Claws Out!" and Mercury jumped onto the roof of the neighbor's house.
Scaring up pigeons was fun and she ran around aimlessly, after stocking up her cheese suplies, when she suddenly arrived back at the roof of the bakery's neighboring house. Why had she gone here?
She sat down on the edge of the roof and let her legs dangle.
It was very late by now and the whole house was dark. Something was moving in the shadows in front of the house. Come out little mouse, she thought. What a strange thought she thought to herself about her own thoughts. She had always thought about her own thoughts, but this thought was somehow strange. It belonged to her, but somehow it didn't.
While she thought about why she was thinking that, she fixed her eyes on the shadow. It moved towards the door, stopped briefly, she couldn't see what it was doing because its back was turned to her, and then opened the door to the bakery. Interesting, Marinette decided, she wanted to take a closer look!
She quietly jumped off the roof and crept after the shadow. It was clearing out the bakery till. She watched it with fascination. Then it broke down the door to the living area and she crept after it, so close that she could smell the adrenaline on its skin, but it didn't notice her in the slightest.
It quietly rummaged through the drawers in the living room and then climbed the stairs to the attic. The warm air that spread as the trapdoor opened smelled familiar, human and warm. It was a bedroom. Something in Marinette's stomach began to stir, she became nervous. The shadow had gone too far, she had been curious, but now the shadow had crossed a line. The boy up there was hers, she didn't know why she thought that, but the shadow made her angry.
She followed the shadow upstairs and came into the room just as the boy was startled by the breeze. The shadow lunged at him and covered his mouth with a chemical-smelling cloth.
The sweet smell of chlorophorm filled the room and fueled Marinette's rage. She rushed at the completely surprised man and tore him away from the boy. Above her was an open pitched roof window that led out onto a balcony. She grabbed the man by the collar and jumped outside with him. In the light of the moon she grinned wickedly at the man and with the back of one claw she stroked him from temple to cheek and along his chin.
Then she turned the claw around and scratched him lightly across the throat. Enough to make it bleed a little, too lightly to really hurt him. She held him by the collar with one hand as she jumped with him and landed on the street. Fabric tore but the man landed next to her unharmed. She let go of him; "Run, little mouse." She said.
The man stood rooted to the spot for a moment, then ran off. She quietly counted to 5 and then made two leaps and had caught up with him. "Got you!" she said and dug her claws into his right thigh so that five long, deep scratches were visible under the torn jeans. The metallic smell of blood was in the air and spurred her on even further. She stopped again, gave him a head start and then caught up with him again to do the same with his second leg.
When she let him go a third time, the stupid mouse ran into a dead end. With his back against the wall, he fumbled out a knife with trembling fingers. Oh, how funny, he wants to fight. She tilted her head in amusement and walked towards him, but the killjoy lost his nerve, dropped the knife and crumpled to the floor. "Please don't!" he sobbed. How annoying, this is no fun, Marinette decided and watched her prey. Even light kicks to his side didn't persuade the man to continue playing. Finally, she let out a sigh and took a cable tie out of his pocket. He had probably had more in mind than just breaking in.
"Tie yourself up!" she ordered and the man sat up and tied his feet himself, she tied his hands. Then she shouldered him and walked back to the bakery. With a loud plop, she dropped her prey roughly in front of the door.
Like a cat leaving a mouse at her master's door, she thought. Damn, she had to talk to Plagg about this.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the blond boy who ran up to her and hugged her. "Thanks, you saved me. What's your name anyway?" Marinette froze at the touch and had to fight against gasping. She took a step back and the boy let go of her.
"Mercury," she said curtly. Then she noticed that the boy had gone pale and she followed his gaze. He had spotted her prey.
She smiled proudly at him. "For you, I'm out now." And with that, she was gone.
"Damn, what was that?" Marinette asked Plagg hysterically when she got back to her room. br /"Well, I'd say it was fun!" he grinned at her.
"Wahh... first purring and then chasing? How much longer until I get fur all over my body and just meow?" Plagg rolled his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic, kitten! The Miraculous is just reinforcing instincts you already had anyway and obviously those instincts are telling you to mate with the blond boy...
Marinette was suddenly red as a tomato and stuttering to herself but Plagg didn't hear her because he was almost falling out of the air laughing.
"Uh, my kitty's in love," and with that he retreated to his new house, leaving Marinette alone with her thoughts.