Being Human

Adrien

*** I'm sorry if I have got any of the names spelt wrong - I'm working on it***

  The room was dark, making Marinette's eyes instantly drawn to the exhibits under their spotlights, there was a carved snake, coiled up, the black marble almost seeming to pulse. As Marinette crept closer, she felt like it might suddenly jerk upwards and strike. She took a deep breathe in, the snake reminded her of Viperion, after Chat Noir had left she'd called on him a few times. Though if she admitted it to herself the non-akumatised Paris villains didn't offer her any difficulty, she'd only called on him because she had got lonely.

Then, there was Luka, the sweetest guy on earth, the world's best first boyfriend, romantic, patient, and so full of kindness. They'd become very close, just... the closer they'd become, the more Marinette had realized her feelings towards him were more friendly than romantic. There was a blonde-haired, green-eyed ghost that had never quite disappeared from their relationship. Sometimes she'd thought that Lucas had deserved better than her. Once or twice, after a party, when they'd had too much wine and had cuddled up in bed together she'd told him she thought that, and he'd kissed her sweetly on the forehead and called her his muse. He'd said that what they had, was important to him, that he'd accept anything of herself that she was willing to give. So, she'd given him part of herself, and she'd kept parts of her away for when it felt right.

She stepped away from the snake with a shake of her head, she didn't want to think about Luka right now. It made her miss him, and her parents, and everybody who she had left behind. She walked along the display cabinet at the side looking at flint daggers and carved bowls, but the things that really caught her attention was the masks made of turquoise mosaics and shells. The different shades all blueish green, all reflecting the light, it was beautiful, and she was inspired. She took her phone out and snapped a photo, then she took her sketch pad and started designing.

"Marinette, it's getting late." Tikki whispered from her yellow leather satchel.

She peered down and gave a smile at her constant companion, a being whose knowledge and lifespan she couldn't begin to understand but that she somehow shared a deep connection with. She couldn't imagine life without her.

"These colors are amazing, it's like every single one is slightly different and yet, they're still all turquois, some are like more green, and some are more blue..."

"Your lecture starts in ten minutes, you don't want to be late for your first class."

"I just need to make some more notes on how these tessellae connect together, it's kind even but uneven, I don't know how to describe it so I need to sketch it. I'm going to base some dresses on it, maybe a top, something silky. I'd love to design my own fabric."

"You should give yourself extra time Marinette. You're not used to the city yet."

"It's okay, I just take the red line and change at Liverpool street to the yellow... or is it the black, wait.."

"You don't know do you?"

"Just one more minute and... I'm done. Let's go." Marionette said as she started to run up the marble steps to the great hall of the museum.

***

Marionette panted as she ran through the door, she stopped and looked around, there were rows and rows of stepped seats, and in almost every one of them was a person who turned to look at her as she stumbled in. She felt her cheeks grow hot as she looked up and saw a stern grey-haired woman in a tartan blazer scowling at her. She was stood in front of a smart board which had a list of bullet points containing words like essays, and multiple- choice matched with percentages. The tiny numbers at the bottom of the screen let Marinette know she was fifteen minutes late.