Ways to be Wicked - Descendants 2 AU

Chapter 11

 Coming up the dark stairwell and into the top floor warehouse loft was like a breath of fresh air despite Adrien's reasoning for being there. All those eyes had started creeping him out.

On the top floor were cracked concrete beams and columns, light spilling in through dirty paneled windows that were painted various colors like a paint by numbers. A metal stair case stepped down into a lower area and led into an even larger open space room lit by various lamps and industrial lights that were scattered about the space. This main room's layout was a haphazard array of four different areas arranged between the concrete columns, with sheets hung or tied back against the walls to divide them. The furniture that wasn't pushed into various personal areas was beaten up and clashing colors, anything that could be carried or stolen easily enough and hidden away in their hideaway. Each personal area had its own distinct style, making it easy to see who had occupied the space before the Villain Kids had moved to Auradon.

One area was neatly arranged with a self-made chemistry set and various textbooks that were all laid out on various tables. Along the warehouse bay windows were various planters, all filled with the oddest variety of flowers and plants that Adrien had ever encountered. Among them was a miniature rose bush, still thick with the black roses Nathaniel had told Adrien to give to Marinette all those months ago before their date. Someone must still be watering them in their gardener's absence. Nathaniel's area also had various pots full of different soil types, set off against the wall and neatly labeled. In the center of it all was a semi-nice couch with a chipped tea set left to gather dust on a low coffee table that had seen better days.

Kim's area was as to be expected - a mess. Things were scattered everywhere with no sense of direction or organizational attempt whatsoever. He had clothing littered over a cot and a set of weights set against the wall along with various bits and bobbles that he had no doubt stolen over the years. There was a BB gun set off against the wall and an array of knives on a side table along with a whetstone. What Adrien found most disturbing though, were the amount of animal heads or taxidermied bodies Kim had laying around. A rat, a raccoon, what looked like a strange sea creature fished up from the bay, and even an adolescent alligator. It wasn't often that Adrien thought about his friends' parents, but seeing the hunting gear brought forth memories of stories his parents had told them of the dreaded Gaston and how close he had come to doing away with Adrien's father.

Another area was set up to look almost like a library with books littered about on mismatched shelves. Parchment and maps were layered across a large table, a single lamp hanging over the papers to illuminate the waterways and trails from all over the world. There were bits of gold and little treasures sitting in a wooden chest under the desk, pushed all the way against the wall so it wouldn't be easily reached. Alya also had weaponry like Kim, but hers were in a glass-doored cabinet to the right of her desk. Adrien could just make out a set of knives, a saber and two pistols that were carefully put away but always within reach. Why teenagers needed such weaponry baffled the young king, but having seen the conditions firsthand over the course of the day, he was starting to think they had the right way of thinking. But unlike Kim, Alya's area echoed of dreams to be followed with scribbled notes on maps and X's placed on where the pirate wanted to visit and possibly plunder.

Then there was the last area, which seemed to overflow pass her space and into the others like a connecting thread that kept them all together. Spray paint and graffiti was on every wall and column - whether it was red and black hearts over Nathaniel's couch or an intricate painting of the night sky over Alya's head, complete with accurate constellations. A forest sprang to life around Kim in vibrant hues, with shadows of animals hidden amongst the grass. All of it drew back to the focal point of the warehouse loft, a raised up area that screamed of one name: Marinette.