AWBE Chapter 13: to be seen without pity.
Marinette let out a huff as she laid on top of her bed, staring at the ceiling.
She had begun to envy her time at the temple and League.
Marinette knows that it’s a horrible thought to have and she should never want to willingly go back there.
What were they expecting from her with the way people are treating her.
At least while she was with the league or at the temple, people weren’t treating her like she was someone to pity. Like she was a cracked glass, ready to shatter at any given moment.
The feelings of pity radiating off of anyone and everyone she has had contact with the past month were driving her insane.
The list goes on and on, even though the people she's allowed contact with are very limited.
She hasn't even had the chance to say hi to her older brother, her fox, or her cat.
She couldn't help but wonder if those three would treat her like this as well.
How much was she asking of people to treat her like a regular person?
How much was she asking of people to treat her with more than just pity and sugar-coated words?
She was getting sick and tired of being treated like this.
Of course, Marinette doesn’t plan on telling one that this is how she feels.
She couldn’t ‘tell’ anyone anyway. Even if she wanted to because her voice still wasn’t back.
Her voice works just fine when she speaks to the kwamis.
Her voice works just fine when she’s talking to herself.
Her voice works just fine when she’s talking to plants and animals.
Her voice doesn’t work with anyone else.
Marinette had tried to talk to people by not looking at them, not saying anything about the league, the temple, Hawkmoth, or the miraculi, but it didn’t work.
In addition to that any time someone is within a five-mile radius of her, Marinette’s magic picks it up and her voice disappears.
It's not like she could just turn her ability to sense people off. It is a skill that has become the same as the skill to breathe. It was a skill you don't even think about when you're doing it, and a skill that you can't just stop doing.
Marinette let out another huff before sitting up off the bed.
She quickly changed into a pair of leggings and a wrap shirt she had made in her spare time. Jagged and Penny being happy to buy her whatever fabrics, supplies, anything she needs or wants really.
Grabbing a backpack, Marinette placed her sketchbooks, Pens, Pencils, and erasers inside the bag.
Marinette sent a quick text message to her Aunt and Uncle, letting them know that she will be in the garden, before placing her phone in the bag with the rest of her things.
The gardens were always rather calming and quiet.
Marinette had already been in the garden for ten, fifteen minutes when a dog came barreling into her.
She tried to coo at the great dame but her voice caught in her throat.
It made sense since the owner was probably nearby.
Except this was the backyard of Stone Manor.
How did the dog even get back here in the first place?
Her question was answered when a man around her age slipped through a person-sized gap in the fence. The area was covered in vines and soft plants so it made sense that she hadn't noticed it before.
Marinette let herself appear, uncaring to the man as she giggled at the dog that was nosing her for attention.
She observed his energy and had to stop herself from physically freezing.
Her neighbor is the bartender?
He seemed to freeze upon seeing her playing with his dog. The man simply awkwardly stood there until the dog, Titus the name tag read, ran over to him and gave him a push.
The man walked a bit closer, leaving more than enough space for her not to feel crowded, and cleared his throat. She pretended to notice and looked up at him, blinking a few times before offering a smile.
"I apologize for Titus. I hadn't even known there was a way he could get out of our yard." The man said as Titus ran back to her for more pets.
Marinette nodded her head as she scratched behind the dog's ears.
The man watched her play with Titus for a bit before she realized that she never gave him her name.
Taking out a spare sheet of paper, she quickly scribbled down her name before offering the paper to the man.
He looked at her questioningly before reading the paper.
He paused to look at her before looking at the paper again.
"Marinette?" The man questioned.
Marinette simply nodded her head and pointed to herself.
That made the man furrow his brows.
"Can you not talk?" The man questioned, clearly confused.
Marinette nodded her head.
"But you talked at the bar." The man stated.
"Why can't you talk now?" The man questioned.
Marinette looked at him, really looked at him, observing his body language and energy.
He didn't quite lack social skills, they just weren't easy for him.
Almost as if he hadn't learned them till much later.
Marinette paused when she could sense the Lazarus pits on him, but he most likely hadn't been in contact with them for at least a decade with how faded the energy was.
The energy made her want to try something.
Taking out another piece of paper, she asked for his name.
"My apologies, that was quite rude of me. I am Damian Wayne, and that's my dog, Titus." The man, Damian, introduced himself.
Marinette looked at him for a few moments before pointing to her throat, then at her head.
She proceeded to draw a symbol on the paper, writing something down next to it.
When Damian looked at the paper he tensed, reading it out loud to make sure it was correct.
"The doctors said I was traumatized by the bad people." He read, turning the paper to face her. "This symbol belongs to the 'bad people?" Damian questioned, receiving a nod from Marinette.
Damian looked at her with a new weariness, as if she was a weapon instead of a cracked glass about to shatter, and kwami was it nice to not feel someone's pity.
"Why are you telling me this?" Damian questioned cautiously.
Marinette handed him another piece of paper.
"You have the Lazarus pits energy on you. It's faded, so my gut says you're safe." Damian read out loud again.
He looks at her for a bit before letting out a sigh and taking a seat next to her, Titus happily laying his head down in Damian's lap.
Damian took one of her pencils and wrote a number on the paper before handing it back to Marinette.
She looked at the paper with curiosity.
"You'll run out of paper if you keep talking like that. Texting would be more effective." Damian said as if that train of thought wasn't missing a few details.
Marinette took the number and added it to her phone.
: Why do I need your number to talk to you?
Damian looked at her confused before releasing his mistake.
"You just got out of the League. I'm originally from the League. If you want to talk about something that happened there I would be the best person to talk to." Damian explains.
Marinette tilted her head in thought before shrugging with a nod of her head.
: but why would you do that?
Damian looked up from his phone and raised a brow at her.
"You said it yourself, your gut feeling is that I'm safe. Plus I've probably been through something similar to you." Damian said with a shrug.
Marinette thought about it for a moment before shrugging.
They ended up sitting in somehow comfortable silence for the next hour or two.
Marinette only left to head back inside when she got a text from Penny that it was time to eat, so she has to go back inside.
Titus let out a whine when she stood up to leave.
: it was nice to meet you again
" you as well Marinette."
With that Damian and Titus went back to their side of the wall, and Marinette back into the manor.
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