The Call of Chat Noir

All Good For Now

"Uh, well, you see. . ." I trailed off, letting out an awkward chuckle. "It's like I said before: I shot him by accident because I was startled!"

"Yes, I know about that, but that doesn't explain why you're all dirty, and why you have scratches all over you," Papa said, narrowing his eyes as he leaned closer to inspect me. "Like, how did you even manage to get a scratch that bad on your face, of all places?"

Well, funny story: a giant panther attacked me out of freaking nowhere, and I was barely able to fend it off before I had a chance to reach the gun that Hawkmoth gave me before I left earlier this afternoon! Did I also mention that I had to fend off a wild panther?! I did? Oh, alright then! Did I also mention that the only reason Chat Noir got hurt was because I tried to shoot A DIFFERENT panther, and Chat Noir just happened to yell something in FRENCH before jumping in front of the panther to take the bullet?! I didn't mention that?! Well, that happened too!

"I, uh. . ." I stuttered, pressing my lips together into a firm line as I desperately racked my brain for anything that didn't add in parts from the abovementioned. "I. . . had to carry him back here after I shot him, and I. . . fell down a cliff?"

"You fell down. . . a cliff?" Papa questioned, his eyes widening as he cocked an eyebrow at me. I waved my hands out in front of me, shaking my head as I mentally began cursing at myself.

"I-It wasn't a very steep cliff!" I exclaimed. "It was more of a. . . hill, really! I promise, I'm perfectly fine!" Papa just stared at me blankly for a few moments before letting out a deep sigh, shaking his head as he pinched at the bridge of his nose.

"Whatever you say, Marinette," he murmured, "as long as you promise that you're perfectly fine." I grinned, nodding in response as I turned back to exit the tent, Papa following behind. I stepped outside, my eyes darting over to Hawkmoth's tent as I saw him stepping out, as well.

"Going somewhere, Clayton?" Papa spoke up from behind me. Hawkmoth only hummed in response as he threw his pack over his back, placing a small handgun in his belt before opening the chamber of his shotgun.

"Might I ask where it is you're going?" Papa tried again, this time generating a more formal response.

"Out," Hawkmoth muttered. "I just want to make sure that there are no more of his kind lurking around in the bushes, waiting for the oportunity to kill us all in our sleep, or something like that." He then cocked his shotgun, raising it up to his shoulder as he aimed it into the surrounding jungle, though he was fixated on nothing in particular. "I assure you, my only intentions are the safety of Miss Dupain-Cheng, of course. Wouldn't you agree that, that is our top priority, Professor?" Papa hesistated for a moment before nodding, grumbling something to himself as he moved away from his tent and off to another part of the camp, where a few of his scientific instruments were sitting under a canopy. I remained where I was, keeping my gaze focused on Hawkmoth as he strapped his shotgun to his back, folding his arms over his chest before he turned to me.

"Is there something wrong, Miss Dupain-Cheng?" He asked flatly, his icy grey gaze sending a chill up my spine.

"Not that I know of," I muttered to myself, rolling my eyes before speaking a bit louder. "No, sir."

"Alright, then," he replied, turning his back to me as he headed off toward the treeline. I waited until he disappeared, and I could no longer hear the crunching of his booted feet on the dense jungle floor before I headed over to my tent. I pushed back the flap, stepping inside as I headed over to the trunk that was sitting beside my cot, the trunk that held all of my clothing. Well, it wasn't just my clothing; I had other things in here, like a few of my design books, my pencils, and a photo of my mother.

I dug around in the trunk for my pajamas, and settled on a plain shirt and a pair of thin pants that would be comfortable enough to sleep in, and prevent me from burning up in such a warm climate. After slipping them on, I dug around a bit more until I found one of my blank drawing books. Since I'd left my other one back at the. . . river, I think it was? Anyway, I didn't have it with me right now, so I just grabbed another blank one and a few pencils and headed back on over to Papa's tent. I stepped inside and made my way over to Papa's cot, where Chat Noir was sleeping soundly. I sat down beside the cot, placing my drawing book in my lap as I tried to think of something to draw for Chloe. I mean, I was going to be watching Chat Noir for who knows how long, so I might as well do something productive, right?

After a few minutes, I decided to use the panthers from earlier as inspiration, and got to work sketching a few ideas, some of which were both classy and rather casual. It was actually fun to use the idea of the panthers. Even though they'd, you know, tried to kill me, I couldn't deny that they were just absolutely gorgeous animals. Their coats were so dark and glossy, and their eyes were something else; so filled with caution, but breathtaking. It was honestly hard to hold a grudge against such an animal.

I paused mid-sketch as my mind drifted back to this afternoon's occurrence.

Why had he tried to protect that panther? It wasn't like he just didn't want me to kill it; he deliberately told me not to kill it, and then jumped in front of a bullet to save it.

I shook my head in confusion as I looked over to Chat Noir, who still hadn't moved from his current position, his side steadily heaving up and down.

Is it possible that he would have a connection to those animals?