The Call of Chat Noir

Uh, Oh

I have no excuses. 

~ Marinette ~ 

   Holy crap.

   I honestly didn't even know what to think, right now.

   I'd woken up to the sound of an animal growling, and when I'd opened my eyes, I saw Chat Noir surrounded by two sleek black animals. By the looks of it, I'd guess that they were panthers.

   And, they did not look happy.

   My breath hitched in my throat as I heard one of them - the larger one - hissing. It, as well as the slightly smaller one, both glared in my direction, and I could literally feel my skin crawling underneath their hardened glares. 

   I gulped and gripped the matted grass underneath me, trembling as they each took a step toward me. I heard a growl, and my attention turned to Chat, who had his head lowered, staring in our direction. The two cats snapped their heads toward him, and the larger one stepped forward. I gasped, watching as the cat continued to stalk slowly towards Chat. It made me even more uncomfortable to see that Chat seemed to accept the fact that a freaking jungle cat was about to attack him!

   Get out of their, Chat! I called out in my mind, though the actual words seemed to catch in my throat. You can't let it get you! Oh, no. . . This can only end badly.

   As the panther continued to advance toward Chat, I shakily brought myself up onto my knees and tried to think of what I could do. The smaller panther kept looking back from me to the other two, so I didn't know if it was safe to move too quickly while she was watching me.

   Oh, geez, what can I do?! I need to do something!

   My eyes widened as I lightly gasped.

   The gun. I'd left it by the riverbank.

   If I could just get to it. . . I'd left it with my shoes and sketchbook. It was only a few yards away.

   I slowly glanced over my shoulder in the direction of the gun, and I let out a shuddered breath as I stood up on shaky legs. The smaller panther snarled at me, and I gasped and looked back. The cat had now hunched its shoulders, watching me with blazing eyes as it began to slink toward me. My breathing started to pick up as I took a few steps back, careful not to fall.

   What does she want from me?

   I quickly glanced over at Chat and the larger panther. They'd stopped moving towards each other and were now just growling at each other, almost as though they were speaking with one another. Chat's face expressed nothing but seriousness, maybe with a hint of anger. He was crouched, his arms bent at his sides, in almost a battle stance. He looked like he was ready to fight.

   No! Snap out of it! You need to focus.

   I waited until the smaller cat had looked back at the two others before I took a deep breath and bolted.

   I took off sprinting towards the place where'd I left the gun, and I could hear the panther let out an ear-piercing snarl from behind me. I whimpered lightly, and my legs began to shake uncontrollably, but I refused to look back. I kept running toward the riverbank, and I could hear the sound of the panther's paws on the soft ground as it began to catch up to me.