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If Marinette wasn’t running for her life, she might actually be able to appreciate the beauty of the enchanted forest.
That had been the whole point, in the beginning. Well, that and collecting the berries Chloe had wanted, but she’d planned on at least trying to enjoy the scenery while she was there. The mayor’s daughter had always been able to get what she wanted, and apparently that included sending a servant to the enchanted forest to get special berries that apparently only grew once a year, right in the middle of it. How anyone knew that if you weren’t supposed to go in the enchanted forest, Marinette had no idea. But she digressed.
Everyone grew up hearing stories about how the enchanted forest was filled with all sorts of dangerous creatures. Werewolves, ogres, evil witches, even the occasional dragon were all rumored to have been spotted roaming the trees. Everyone in town knew which phases of the moon to avoid going out during and what days of the week were the most dangerous to so much as exist on. So when Chloe had stubbornly refused to eat anything but the “magic enchanted forest berries, Daddy, pleeeeeease,” Marinette had been sure that this would finally be his daughter’s one request the mayor denied.
Of course she had no such luck. It only took fourteen minutes of whining, a threat to tell her mother, and her signature pout before the mayor was sending Marinette out with a pair of soldiers - Marinette, because she was small, nimble, and ‘as the baker’s daughter, sure to know which berries were the ripest’ (ridiculous reasoning, in her opinion, but it wasn’t like she could argue with her dad’s boss), and the soldiers to supposedly protect her from the dangers of the forest.
Just her luck they’d gotten pounced not ten minutes into the trees.
Marinette had long since lost track of the soldiers. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that their heavy armor was definitely weighing them down and the chances of her ever seeing them again were mid to low, depending on how good they were at sword fighting and how many beasts there actually were. Another part of her mind knew that the only reason she was still alive was because she was skinny, fast, and light on her feet.
But the rest of her mind was preoccupied with, you know, running for her life.
Her legs burned, skirt whipping around her ankles and threatening to trip her with each step. Whatever was behind her was definitely some kind of animal, barking and growling roughly as it raced after her. Her breath was starting to burn in her raw throat. How long had she been running? Where was she even going? How long until she was pounced by the awful creature behind her?
Just the thought of sharp claws and jagged fangs spurred her on. I really don’t want to die today, she thought desperately. Not running an errand for Chloe of all people.
Of course her luck couldn’t hold out forever. Marinette shrieked as her feet finally caught on something, a rock or a root, she’d never know. She stumbled forward, ankle twisting sharply behind her as she fell.
Welp, this is how I go out then, she thought numbly. Goodbye, world. It was nice knowing you. Please give Chloe the karma she deserves for my useless death.
Only, to her surprise, she didn’t hit the ground and immediately get pounced by a vicious bloodthirsty animal that wanted to tear out her jugular. In fact, she didn’t hit the ground at all.
Instead she hit something right in front of her, something solid, and… warm. And vaguely human-shaped.
Arms came up around her, steadying her as she wobbled. Marinette would’ve yelped if she hadn’t been frantically gasping for air. She looked up, ready to thank her savior-
And froze.
Her ‘savior’s’ face was mostly hidden in the shadows, but she was able to make out a piercing pair of green eyes, eyes that darted up and down her figure as if scanning her for something. If her own eyes had stopped there, she might have been able to fool herself into thinking he was human. But no, nestled in his blond hair, swiveling around as the crashing noise of her attacker came closer, was a pair of furry cat ears. And below that, poking out of his mouth as he opened it to speak, was a pair of sharp white fangs.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
“Are you okay?” the man- creature? cat-man? - asked, hands clutching her shoulders.
All Marinette could do was stare, feeling what little blood she still had drain out of her face. Her earlier adrenaline-fueled snark was gone, leaving her with the chilling terror of looking death in the- wait, had he just asked if she was okay?
To her confusion, the cat-man reached up with one hand, unpinning his black cloak and letting it fall from his shoulders. In one smooth go, he caught it as it descended and swept it back up, settling it around her shoulders. She started as the heavy fabric settled around her neck, brain finally kicking into gear. “Bu- wha- huh-” she stammered.
Okay, maybe not that much into gear.
“Go stand behind that tree,” the cat-man said, brow furrowing as he looked up over her shoulder. “Don’t look behind you.”
“Wha-”
She shrieked as he - surprisingly gently - pushed her, legs stumbling back into action. In three wobbly steps she was behind the tree, leaning against it as if it was the only thing keeping her from face planting on the ground - which, in fairness, it was.
Don’t look. Don’t look, don’t look, DON’T LOOK, WHAT IS HAPPENING- her thoughts spiraled round and round as she squeezed her eyes shut, heart racing so fast it felt like it might burst. The crashing noises behind her had only gotten louder, followed by a low grunt and a squeal of pain.
And then there was a loud CRUNCH, and the sound of something solid hitting something else solid, and then silence.
Marinette couldn’t help the whimper that escaped her lips. The silence was loud, too loud, and the only noises in the forest were that of her own frantic panting and the leaves rustling in the chill breeze. What happened, what just happened, did he- did the beast-
Something touched her shoulder and she screamed, whipping around to face her attacker-
Who took a step back, raising his hands in defense. “Whoa! Sorry! Bad idea.”
Marinette stared at him, wide-eyed and panting. The cat-man slowly lowered his hands, green eyes glinting with something close to a sort of gentle mirth. “Sorry, I should’ve warned you I was behind you,” he said. “Are you okay?”
Unsure what to say, she just shook her head.
The cat-man slowly reached out, putting a hand on her shoulder. Marinette couldn’t help the tremor of instinctual fear that shivered through her body, although if he noticed he didn’t show it. Instead he gently pushed her forward, taking her other arm and guiding her… somewhere. Marinette numbly let herself be led, slow-moving mind figuring that if he wanted her dead, he would’ve killed her ages ago. As they walked, she turned her head, nervous curiosity getting the better of her, but the cat-man shook his head, giving her a very human look that she knew meant ‘you don’t want to know’.
The cat-man led her around a corner, gently guiding her to a large rock sitting next to a tree. To her surprise, he had her sit, slowly lowering to a crouch next to her. “Now, would you mind if I…” He gestured to her ankle.
He seemed to take Marinette’s gaping as a yes, reaching out and carefully pulling her ankle into his lap. As her skirts shifted, she realized that the skin was swollen and quickly turning a bruised shade of purple-blue. She felt like a fish, silent and wide-eyed as he delicately poked at her tender skin.
“Well, it feels like it’s just a sprain,” he finally said, looking up and meeting her eyes with a smile. “Looks like you got real lucky this time, Princess.”
There were too many things happening, too much new information being processed, so her dazed brain settled on the thing that currently made the least sense. “P-princess?” she stammered. “I’m not a princess! I-I work for Chloe! My d-dad is a b-baker!”
The man chuckled. “Well, you’re certainly pretty enough to be one.”
Marinette’s cheeks felt like they were on fire. “O-oh.”
“What are you doing in the woods?” he asked curiously, settling back on his heels. “Aren’t you humans usually told to stay out of the enchanted forest?”
You humans. Right. “I- Chloe sent me to pick the b-berries,” she managed. She slowly pulled her ankle out off his knees, hissing as it tinged. “I should be getting back now, they’ll be worried about me.”
The cat-man raised an eyebrow. “On that ankle? Now that the adrenaline is wearing off, it’s going to start hurting when you put weight on it. I doubt you’ll make it out of here on your own.”
Marinette huffed. “I’ll be fine,” she said, adjusting her skirts so they covered her swollen ankle. To prove her point, she pushed herself up, determined to stand upright on her own-
And immediately fell forward, right into his waiting arms. She screeched, ankle throbbing with pain.
Okay, maybe he was right.
To his credit, the cat-man didn’t laugh. He looked down at her, green eyes sparkling with mirth only inches from her own. “Told you.”
She huffed again, squirming as he tightened his hold on her. “Put me down!”
“Walking on that ankle is only going to aggravate it more,” he said gently. She squealed as he carefully stood, grabbing at his shirt.
“What are you doing?” she yelped.
The cat-man just winked.
Black mist suddenly surrounded them, swirling violently. The breath felt like it was stolen from her lungs as the darkness pressed in on her, surrounding her from all sides, squeezing and pushing and pulling and whipping her around-
And then it stopped as suddenly as it’d started, pulling back and fading away in the sunny afternoon.
Sunny?
Marinette looked up, wide-eyed. They weren’t in the forest anymore, but standing on the edges of town. There was Rose’s house, and the school, and further up the street was her house!
She yelped again as the cat-man lowered her down, feet gently hitting the ground. She wobbled, grabbing onto the nearest building for support.
“Well, I’ll be going now,” he said with a two fingered salute. “I’m sure you can find someone to help you the rest of the way. I’d take you to your house, but I’m not sure where it is, and I don’t think it’s a smart idea for me to wander town with these.” He reached up, flicking one of his ears.
Marinette couldn’t help the surprised giggle that escaped her. “You- uh, don’t you need your cloak back?”
The man blinked, as if he’d forgotten. “Oh. No, keep it. I have others. Hopefully it’ll help keep you out of another hairy situation.”
“It-” Marinette looked down at the black cloak, eyes widening. “It’s enchanted? Is that why you gave it to me?”
“It makes it just a little harder for darker creatures to see you.” The man reached forward, adjusting the clasp. Marinette’s cheeks warmed as his fingers brushed the bare skin underneath her neck.
“Th-thank you,” she stammered, looking up.
The man’s eyes twinkled back down at her. “See you around, Princess,” he said with a quirked smile.
“S-see me around?” Her eyes widened. “What do you me-”
But in a swirl of black mist, he was gone, leaving behind his thick black cloak and so, so many unanswered questions.
If Chloe didn’t kill her first, her heart giving out on her definitely would.