How the Bird Left its Cage

Ch 1: Ladybug

     I know that there a lot of young readers on Wattpad, so I just wanted to let you guys know that there is swearing in this story and graphic descriptions of violence. If you are not 18 or older, I would advise not reading this. Possibly sexual descriptions as well.

     With that said, enjoy the story, readers that are 18 or over.

The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common -Ralph Waldo Emerson

The summer leading up to Marinette's senior year was an absolute waste. 'Exasperated' didn't even begin to cover how she felt by the end of it. The akuma attacks seemed all consuming. At first, she'd tried relaxing, tried to breathe. But every time she had, it put her at a disadvantage, and she fell behind when it came to protecting the city. It was better that she had given up any chance of enjoying herself.

Summer sucked. It was fine. The real challenge was when the school year started, and Hawk Moth got creative with his timing. Akuma victims would wreak havoc in the dead of night, whether that meant setting a building on fire or just deciding to steal all the different colors of unicorn stuffed animals. Then, the next day, a different victim would show themselves in the morning or evening, which meant that Ladybug and Chat Noir barely had time to sleep. Neither were able to reset their circadian rhythms, and sometimes, akuma attacks would take hours before they could go back to bed.

This is why, when it was one o'clock in the morning- fucking 1:00 AM- and Marinette was pulled from blissful slumber to her blaring alarm, she decided that when she caught Hawk Moth, she was going to throttle him.

...

There was no sign of Ladybug's usual grace when she returned. She tumbled from the balcony into the dark of her room and the impact with her hardwood floor left her winded. She squeezed her eyes shut until, finally, she could gasp for air.

"I hate him so much," she rasped, complaining to no one in particular. She lay inert for several moments, her labored breathing ringing in her ears.

"Tikki, spots off."

When the kwami fell onto her abdomen with a high pitched wheeze, Marinette lurched into a sitting position to examine her, her pain forgotten.

"Aw-" Marinette's lips pressed tight together, her worry building as she gazed down at the supernatural being. Tikki was unconscious. The young woman surveyed the room as best she could in the dark, trying to figure out what to do. Standing up was much harder than it should have been, so Marinette leaned on the wall on her way to the bathroom. Her knees wobbled before the sink as she turned on the tap, and resentment coiled in her chest.

Marinette would never admit that Hawk Moth was getting to her. She had a job to do, and she was going to damn well do it- even if he was slowly exhausting her, waiting for her to slip up. Marinette swallowed. It was becoming more apparent that she would slip up.

She was offered brief solace as she placed Tikki under the water and warmth enveloped her hands. The dirt ebbed, revealing that Tikki was unscathed. With an immense sigh of relief, she dried her off with care and tottered to Tikki's bedside to tuck her in. With a small knowing smile, Marinette left a small pile of cookies for when she woke. Satisfaction encased her as she stretched before overexertion churned her stomach, her pain no longer forgotten. The price of forcing herself past her limit slapped her hard as she raced for the toilet. She threw up, one hand holding back her fallen hair, the other clutching the side of the bowl for balance. An ache circled her stomach as she heaved and caught her breath.

Fuck.

She was tired of living like this.

...