It didn't take long for the food to arrive once the hotel staff was notified of her arrival .They were incredibly apologetic about the state of her room as well, tripping over their tongues to explain that they thought they still had time to prepare before her plane landed. They clearly expected Chloe to blow up at them and seemed equally confused and relieved when she merely requested a simple meal.

She was pretty sure she heard the chef gasp in horror in the background when they told him what she wanted, which had gotten a chuckle out of her. It was something she had grown to enjoy in the States though she had to be careful about indulging in it too often, but right now, it was just the thing she needed. She swirled the fry through the melted cheese before popping it in her mouth, letting the savory flavor distract her from the elephant in the room, or the lizard as was the case, or was it dragon?

Chloe side-eyed the little creature as it climbed atop the second burger she'd ordered and began to eat it. It made her even more grateful that the staff was too rattled to ask questions, like how she could possibly eat two massive burgers.

She continued to pick at her cheese fries as she cautiously spoke up, "Soooo, now that you have food?"

"In a second, I'm enjoying this, Warden." Chloe watched the dragon tearing into the burger like it was its last meal. It made Chloe smile, the strange creature looked kind of adorable like this and not nearly as intimidating or off putting. It reared its head back, opening its mouth wide before lunging forward to bite heartily, shaking its head back and forth to tear a chunk of meat free like the burger was a carcass. Out of the corner of its mouth it managed to ask, "What's your name?"

"It's Chloe Bourgeois," she said as she ate another fry and washed it down with a sip of her drink. "What's your name?"

The dragon continued to eat, ignoring her question until it was half way done. It sighed and belched before speaking, "I am the second child born of Fafnir, I have had many names from the Cursed Flame to the Frenzied Rage but you may call me Dorn, Chloe."

He (Chloe decided the dragon was definitely a 'he' based on his behavior) went back to finishing off his burger before waddling across the plate to dig into the fries.

"So, Dorn, how do I get the necklace off?" Chloe asked, poking at him only for his head to twist around and snap at her, giving her a sharp pinch. "Ow! Hey!"

"You can't get it off. I have to be the one to deny you and that's not going to happen. What is curious is that I sensed someone worthy and decided to accept them as my wielder, but you are not the same person I sensed, and yet you should be. In most cases a Numinous would just reject that person but you see, I've been locked away for a long time and want to stretch my wings a little. Who knows, maybe I'll even decide to make you worthy of being my wielder once I've had my fun. We dragons are a capricious lot," he said with a toothy smile before returning chasing the last of the fries across the plate.

Once he was done he rolled onto his side with a soft groan, looking far more rotund than when he had first appeared. It made Chloe chuckle until she caught him looking in her direction.

"Now for my next question, Chloe, why does that pest have an issue with you? And why the hell do you seem to be scared of her?"

That wiped any hint of a smile from Chloe's face and her appetite with it. She clasped her hands together, rubbing one thumb over the other.

"Let's just say I was the villain in the past. Maybe not the biggest villain but I might as well have been at times, so much so that I was basically a weekly problem. It got to the point where I had to leave Paris in disgrace but now I'm back and all I want to do is disappear, to not be noticed or bothered." Chloe spoke with a deep sorrow as she stared at her hands. In truth she was barely scratching the surface of her misdeeds but she didn't want to admit to it all just yet, lest she spiral into a true depressive episode. At the same time she knew that she couldn't lie to this strange creature.

"Good," Dorn said, making Chloe blink and lift her head. "At least I don't have to worry about you not being able to get your hands dirty when it comes to doing the task the gods ask of us," he said as he idly scratched at his swollen stomach. Before Chloe could even respond there came a knock at her door followed by a familiar voice.

"Chloe? It's me, I'm gonna come in. I need to talk with you." It was Zoe. Chloe was tempted to tell her to go away but realizing that her younger sister sounded serious, she looked at Dorn and quickly grabbed him off the plate. She sat him against her leg and covered him with a pillow.

She gave the pillow a smack to silence his muffled grumblings and complaints, earning another nip at her fingers before the door opened. Zoe's sneakered feet squeaked on the tiles of Chloe's entranceway before she turned to find Chloe sitting on one of the couches in the entertaining area. Zoe's eyes wandered over the two plates on the coffee table, noting that one was cleared but the other still had an untouched burger and half of its fries. Her lips pursed as her face pinched with concern and surprise before she shifted her attention to Chloe.

"Chloe, I did what you said and I spoke with Dad. He's still busy with work but he informed me of the situation," Zoe said and Chloe reflexively shrank in on herself. Chloe did not want to have this conversation and she specifically did not want to have it with Zoe.

"If you already talked to him, why are you coming to talk to me? I said I would stay out your way," Chloe said as she reached over and grabbed a fry to eat. She was trying to pretend that she had even a modicum of confidence but she was certain Zoe could see right through her.

"How bad was it? I spent my life with her but from what Dad…how bad was it truly?"

Chloe closed her eyes, hoping to ignore the question. No part of her wanted to remember, to even think about that woman or anything affiliated with her. The only good things she wanted to remember, she was not going to talk about with Zoe.

"It was so bad that I had to beg. That's all I'm going to say. I already explained enough to Dadd-to Dad. Zoe, you spent your life with her, you know how bad she is. I was just too stupid to acknowledge it but after a year and a half with her, I couldn't take it anymore. I'm back here and I'll stay away from you. I'll stay away from your friends. I just want to be alone and have some peace and quiet." That last part came out a little more defensive than she would have liked, but given how her day had gone she didn't have the energy to keep up any facade.

"You don't have to stay away from me, Chloe. We started off on the wrong foot but that was because of her. We don't need to be strangers now. If you really want to try again, we can," Zoe said as she moved closer.

It took all of Chloe's willpower not to shout that she didn't want anything to do with anyone. It was mainly because she knew Zoe was friends with Marinette and that meant she'd have to be around her, and Ayla and all of the others. Chloe didn't want that and she was about to say something when a particularly sharp pinch on her hand made her yelp and jump. Before Chloe could come up with an excuse she heard Zoe gasp in shock.

"What is that?"

Chloe's surprise was genuine when she looked at where Dorn was because instead of seeing a dragon he looked more like a traditional reptile. He was still mottled black and purple but his wings were gone and he resembled something like a bearded dragon lizard.

"Why do you have a lizard?" Zoe asked.

"He's…my emotional support lizard. I couldn't really have a dog with her around, you know how she feels about shedding fur, so I had to get the next best thing," Chloe sheepishly lied as she picked up Dorn.

He played the part of a lizard very well, just moving his head around placidly as his neck bulged with each breath. He was still about the size of a small dog but that didn't seem to phase Zoe for even a second as she came closer. It seemed almost comical that a lizard would be the thing to help ease the tension between them but Zoe leaned in close with rapt attention. She stared at him in amazement and started to reach out to touch him before pausing and glancing at Chloe for permission.

"Go ahead, but be careful, he bites," Chloe said, which got a chuckle out of Zoe who clearly thought Chloe was joking. Zoe gently stroked his head while Dorne continued to react like a normal lizard, that is to say, he just sat there. Seeing Zoe smiling at this strange lizard made Chloe wonder if they really could be closer as siblings, it certainly didn't seem as crazy compared to the rest of the day she'd had. Chloe just had to make sure she took things at her own pace.

She sighed as she wondered if she was making a mistake, "I…would actually like to try starting over. But just the two of us, there's too much bad blood with everyone else and the last thing I want is any more drama. Ok?"

Zoe smiled and for a moment Chloe thought her younger sister was going to hug her but instead she scooped up Dorn, causing the dragon to flail his limbs in his pudgy lizard form. She held him aloft as she leapt up and spun in a circle, making him soar through the air before depositing him back on the couch. Dorn sat still for a moment before exploding in motion, scrambling across the couch and off it to zoom across her room and under her bed.

The sight of it was just too much for Chloe and she clutched her stomach as she and her sister broke down in laughter. Zoe collapsed onto the couch beside Chloe and they wiped at their eyes as they finally got themselves back under control.

"I understand Chloe and I promise I'll make time for just the two of us but we both know that isolating yourself is not healthy for you," Zoe said as she glanced in Dorn's direction to watch him climb onto Chloe's bed where he began attacking her pillows.

"Maybe, but for now I just want to get settled in. Besides, I'm really not ready to see anyone else and that's something I can control a little at least, unlike Ladybug," Chloe said with a sigh. She glanced over and saw Zoe staring with a mixture of emotions, confusion most prevalent.

"Ladybug already stopped by to warn me and let me know she and the rest of her team would be watching me. I don't even know how she knew I was here, there was no way she saw me while she was chasing whoever that was earlier."

Chloe let out a frustrated huff before grabbing a fry and cramming it into her mouth. As she stared at the plate she realized more fries were missing and glanced at Zoe, who was trying nonchalantly to cover her mouth as she chewed.

"You know, we could order you a plate, too."

"That might be a good idea," Zoe said with a smile that faded quickly as she gripped her knee pensively with her free hand. "Listen, I"m sorry about Ladybug. Maybe I could try talking to her, she's really approachable-"

Zoe paused as Chloe held up a hand, "If us starting over is going to work, that is something we will never do, unless it's a real emergency, got it?"

Chloe tried not to sound too harsh but she was not about to have her sister reporting to Ladybug. It was bad enough that most of Zoe's friends were part of Ladybug's little circle of heroes.

"Got it," Zoe said softly, her cheeks strangely flushed. She gave herself a shake and continued, "Now how abo-"

Before Zoe could finish, Chloe's phone went off, its ring tone causing Zoe's eyebrows to climb her forehead in horror and shock.

"Skulls for the skull throne!" Chloe's phone rang as she hurriedly grabbed and answered it. Her face burned with embarrassment and she was sure she must look like a tomato from blushing as Zoe stared at her.

"Hello?" Chloe answered sheepishly.

"HEYYYYYY! SHE LIVES, PRAISE BE!" was the reply that came through the speaker, making Chloe facepalm as three different people were talking over each other, making it nearly impossible to understand anything.

"One at a time, please," Chloe said as she held her phone a bit aways in case it took a moment for that request to sink in on the other end.

"Hey Chloe, it's Roman. Glad to hear your voice. You didn't message the group chat that you arrived so, well, we decided to finally call. Returning from one hell to France definitely ain't good for your health," Roman said, his deep southern twang making his poor excuse of a joke more charming than it should have been.

"That and we saw Ladybug fighting something around the time you should have arrived. She didn't bother you, did she? It's Einstein by the way," Einstein's German accent matched with his pragmatic concern and Chloe couldn't help smirking at it.

"Fuck that! If she made you upset I'll be over there to knock her head in an instant! You hear me?" a third voice shouted, belonging to a girl who's words still held a telltale trace of her Japanese accent.

"I'm fine, Tori. Actually I'm a bit busy, it's why I didn't message yet. Open a chat when I get on later, ok?" Chloe heard them all groan, they hated being left in the dark but they agreed and after a quick series of goodbyes Chloe hung up. As she set the phone down she noticed Zoe's raised brow. "They are off limits too, for now," Chloe said, adding that last part as she saw a pout start to twist Zoe's features.

"Gotcha," Zoe said, immediately brightening up. "Hey Chloe, I'm glad you made friends in the States, but from what I just heard…" Zoe paused, nibbling her bottom lip as she tried to figure out a polite way to ask a question that was obvious. How did their mother not forbid Chloe from hanging with such a rowdy sounding group?

"It helps that Mom is a small fish compared to Einstein's and Tori's parents, and as for Roman, well good luck trying to forbid him from doing anything…" Chloe caught herself as she realized she was doing the exact thing she didn't want to. "And that's all you get for now, as I said, they're off limits."

Chloe was quick to soften her words, "Now how about I order you a burger and then we can catch up."

End ch 2

Edited by GrayNeko

I'm a dragon and I can't bad the idea of my pride taking a hit like that so instead my dear Warden I'm going to make you worthy and I am going to enjoy every moment of it