Day 1 of Maribat March! A six chapter story, Storms Coming, I Can See The Clouds
@maribatserver
Link to AO3
Marinette stared at the box sitting on her desk in confusion. It hadn’t been there when she’d left for school, she was sure. And her maman hadn’t said anything about leaving jewellery for her to find, so she didn’t understand how it had gotten there. Frowning in concentration, she lifted the box delicately, after checking to make sure there wasn’t any sort of trip wire attached to it, and turned it over carefully. It was a pretty box, hexagonal and black with an intricate red design on top, and seemed heavier than it looked.
Briefly, she debated calling for her mother but decided against it. They’d been in Paris for over four years now, if someone had managed to find them, she doubted they would have simply left a jewellery box for her to find. Unless it was poisoned, but she was going to wash her hands thoroughly as soon as she figured out what this was all about.
Taking a deep breath, she flipped the top of the box and flinched when a ball of light appeared out of nowhere. When it looped around her and morphed into a tiny black cat with terrifyingly luminous green eyes. The creature rolled over in the air and stared at her, and it took everything inside her not to throw something at it, or try to trap it somehow. It might be her first time encountering such a creature but it was hardly as though she had a normal childhood, so she mustered her best glare and waited.
“Hey, you’re a cool customer, aren’t ya?” the cat thing said, and Marinette bit back the urge to scream and run for her maman. What the hell was this thing? Instead of answering it, she maintained her silence and narrowed her eyes to let it know she wasn’t to be messed with. “What, you don’t even have any questions about what I am, why I’m here? Come on, show me some chaos!”
“Are you always this energetic?” she asked at last, unable to keep the distaste out of her voice. Sure, she liked high energy animals, and had even been considered bubbly from a young age, but she was determined to establish dominance in whatever strange relationship dynamic this was about to be. Because the creature was definitely trying to get her enthused about something, she just didn't know what.
“...no? I'm actually considered the lazier of the pair,” it admitted, turning right side up to inspect her more closely. Pair? she thought but didn't say. If she started questioning it, it would know that she was curious and that would give it leverage. “Name's Plagg, by the way. Congratulations, you've been selected as the black cat to partner with the ladybug of this generation. You'll fight heroically as a being of destruction and defeat the nemesis currently turning people into stone-”
“What? No. No no no no no,” she said immediately, horror dawning on her as she realised what this was leading to. Plagg gave her a curious look, as though he had been expecting her to jump at throwing herself in the line of fire! “I'm not the type of girl that fights villains. Cripes, I grew up in a hive of villains - well, not, you know, H.I.V.E. but - I am not who you need in some kind of dynamic duo, leading the charge against a maniac. Call the Justice League or something, I'm just a normal girl, with a totally normal life.”
“Gotta say kid, I was not expecting you to say no,” Plagg mused, somehow raising an eyebrow even though she didn't think it - he? It felt rude to keep calling Plagg an it - had eyebrows. “But time is kind of a factor right now, and you're the one holding my box. Maybe we can talk about this later?”
“So I can't return you to sender? Fine, what about just- just giving you to someone that would do a better job?” she tried, desperately searching for an alternative. Why was this her life? She was finally at the point where she thought she could reasonably push back against Chloé for being a brat without turning into a monster, giving her the power to destroy things just seemed like a bad idea. “Hell, I bet there's someone in the bakery right now that would do better! Like, I don't know, an adult?”
“I mean technically there's nothing stopping you from giving the power of complete destruction to any random passerby, but in the wrong hands I have been known to sink cities,” shrugged Plagg, grinning toothily at her. There must have been an extremely comical look of despair on her face, to match how she was feeling, because a hissing laugh emitted from the creature's mouth. “Or you could accept that you just need to go out, beat up the baddie and save the day. So, whaddaya say, kid? Wanna wreak some havoc?”
“I can't believe I'm even considering this,” she muttered, slipping the black, chunky ring onto her right hand ring finger and almost jumping back when it began to change shape to something more delicate and simple. The only notable part of it was the tiny, almost invisible engraving of a paw print in the centre of it. “What else do I need to know?”
“I thought you'd never ask,” Plagg purred, settling onto her shoulder before beginning.
_ _ _
The fight wasn't awful. It wasn't great, but it wasn't the worst fight she'd ever been in, so there was that. The ladybug holder, Coquille Rouge as he called himself, was overexcited and seemed to think being a magical boy was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Which, you know, maybe it was! But Marinette had a completely ordinary life and that was what she wanted, so this was nothing but a huge mistake. If someone she had never met had decided she could wield the power of destruction, surely she could delegate to someone she had known for, say…a day?
Alya was the perfect choice to be the black cat miraculous holder. She had a sense of righteousness, she hated bullies, and she stood up for who she perceived to be the weak! Definitely not the type to misuse the power of destruction in a fit of pique, so Plagg’s concerns that he would be used to sink a city - oh, she was absolutely not giving that any more thought than necessary because that would make calling on the Justice League super awkward - were moot. And then she scolded herself because she wasn't going to be involved anymore. So whatever she worked out about Atlantis wasn't going to matter.
“You were amazing, Pigtails,” Plagg said when they were back in her room, twirling lazily through the air. “That finesse, with destroying things? You're a natural! Never had someone use the power without screwing it up the first time, I really lucked out getting-”
“Nuh-uh,” she interrupted, hand propping on her hip and finger pointing at him angrily. “I told you: I'm not cut out for being some kind of magical girl. Even if I wanted to, my history isn't exactly- I was raised in a less moral environment and I don't need the temptation that wielding the concept of destruction would bring. So thank you, but no thank you; next stop, Alya's bag so someone with a steady moral compass can handle you.”
“Wait! I'm not blowing hot air, kid; you really are the best holder for the black cat miraculous right now,” he whined, landing on her nose and practically smothering her as his green eyes pleaded with her. “Come on, give me a week! You won't even notice I'm here most of the time, promise. I won't destroy- well, minimum destruction and only where it won't matter. And you'll need to feed me, to help recharge-”
“Not really selling me on keeping you,” she grumbled, though she also gave in and considered what he was saying. She'd felt powerful, and in control as a heroine, and she'd been instrumental in defeating Stoneheart before he could cause more damage. Coquille Rouge had even said as much, applauding her quick thinking when Alya had questioned them for her blog. “Fine. One week, and if it doesn't work out I don't want you complaining about it, okay? Now, what kind of food do you want?”
“Cheese!” he said immediately, tilting his head in a manner that Marinette just knew would have most people cooing and giving in to his every whim. And really, was she any better than anyone else? Apparently not because instead of questioning why this cat wanted cheese of all things, she loped downstairs and rummaged in the refrigerator for something that might appease the little thing. “If you have something old and runny, like camembert, I will love you for eternity,” he told her helpfully, zooming past her to look for himself.
“I can probably get you brie more easily if you want a rind cheese,” she said, though she did spy a lone box of camembert just as Plagg did. He didn't even hesitate, a small cackle of glee escaping him as he grabbed the lid, threw it aside and ate the entire wheel in one go. “Hey!”
“Mmmmm, fo goooooo,” he said through the mouthful of gooey cheese, making Marinette's nose wrinkle and prompting her to consider buying a more pungent fragrance for her perfume. She was not going to be known as the stinky-cheese-baker girl for the rest of her schooling, no matter how much Plagg wanted the more expensive wheels.
“Glad you enjoyed it because I'm not buying you camembert constantly,” she said, narrowing her eyes at the little beast. “I will buy it as a treat sometimes, but usually it’ll just be brie, or gruyére. Stuff that maman and papa use in the bakery. But variety will be good for you, I’m sure.”
“Fine, I suppose I can’t complain,” he grumbled, curling into a ball on her shoulder and purring again. Marinette really hoped she wasn’t going to regret this, but at least it would only be for a week for now.
_ _ _
Instant regret. Why had she let Plagg convince her that she could do this?
It had been fine, all the way up until Ivan got reakumatised. A thing that could apparently happen. Even better, there were more of him. Coquille Rouge hadn’t captured the stupid freaking butterfly so now they had to fight a hundred of the creatures. Talking to her partner in heroism didn’t alleviate her regret; he didn’t even listen to his kwami when she was explaining his powers. It sounded like he was her polar opposite with how much he wanted to be a hero, which was definitely going to make things…interesting.
Somehow, they pulled it off again, but then the butterflies coalesced into some freakish face, and Coquille Rouge made a bold declaration about protecting Paris that Marinette actually thought was pretty cool. She just wished he hadn’t named her as his partner in accomplishing the task of removing the tyrant called Hawkmoth.
Sure, she could still give up the ring, hand it off to someone else and run into the sunset to resume her completely ordinary life, but the guilt might cripple her. Coquille Rouge had given her such a hopeful look that she couldn’t think about giving Plagg away without picturing Coquille crying. Fabulous. Plagg seemed to know it somehow, too, his smug little face floating around as he devoured a piece of brie and settled on a perch on her desk.
“Are we seriously going to pretend that this is my life now?” she burst out, glaring at her sketchbook as if it was to blame for all of it. “I can’t do this, I can’t be a superheroine just because some power-that-be wanted me to. I’m supposed to be living my best life! I started standing up to Chloé today! I told her off for putting gum on my chair, and made a new friend! I shouldn’t have to-”
“Come on, kid, this is only day one of the week,” Plagg said, leaping up and spiralling through the air towards her. “Take it one day at a time. Really a week isn’t even that long, we should give it a month or a year-”
“No, screw this, I'm not giving up my last year of collége just to become some cliché magical girl,” she growled, stalking out of her room and towards the kitchen where she knew her maman was currently making dinner.
“Look, pigtails, I'm not saying today wasn't difficult, but you can't give up just-” Plagg began, and she thought he sounded panicked, but she cut him off.
“I'm not giving up - I'm calling in a favour,” she sniffed, shushing him as she turned to her maman and pulling a pigtail nervously. “Maman, I need to contact auntie Talia.”
