The Forgotten Ring

Chapter 4: Connections

je ne sais quoi: used to capture an indescribable, special distinguishing feature, or to name some unnamable quality; literally translates to "I don't know what."

~ ~ ~

"You know, aside from the fact that you royally fucked up as Albachor yesterday, there was something significant about being that close to the holder of the black cat miraculous."

I look up slowly from the book I was reading and peek at Renovva before returning to the pages. "Oh yeah? What's that?"

Renovva flies in front of my face to tell me the news. "You didn't feel it?"

"Feel what?" I ask without looking up.

"A connection! A tingle! A sense of..." she struggles for the word, waving her arms around frantically, "je ne sais quoi, if you will."

I let out a little laugh. "No way you just said that when we're in France of all places." I put down my book. "And no, I didn't feel anything."

Renovva's ears drooped. "Oh."

"Did you feel something?"

"Yeah..." she trails off, "just a little though. Like a sense of familiarity."

I raise an eyebrow questioningly. "I mean, you know Plagg, don't you?"

"I know, but it wasn't just some connection to him, it was also to the holder. It felt like..." she pauses, "like home."

Now I was even more confused. "The holder felt like home." I repeat in disbelief.

"Like I said, it's hard to describe. I just thought you would've felt it too."

I shrug. "Nah, but it was interesting. To see my counterpart, you know."

"Yeah, it's been too long. I haven't seen Plagg in ages," she remarks sadly.

I feel a pang in my chest for the kwami. Renovva had told me before of her relationship with Plagg. She thought of him as her stupid older brother and secretly loved being around him, as nagging as he is. She doesn't usually admit it, but I know Renovva misses him dearly.

Then a possibly stupid idea pops into my head.

"What if we, uh..." I start. Renovva perks up. "What if we went out there again?" She raises her eyebrows immediately and I wave my hands in defense. "Invisible, of course. We could look around the city, I've heard that sometimes the heroes just wander around. Maybe we'll run into Chat Noir."

Renovva looks deep in thought and then looks me dead in the eye. "I don't know if I trust you to stay far enough away."

"Okay," I sigh, "how about this? If I find him, I'll transform back into myself. That way you can assess what you need to or feel your feelings or whatever."

She blinks slowly, but a small smile forms on her face. "That could work. But if you get caught again, you're dead!"

"Yeah, whatever. You got it boss."

I walk to the doors my balcony, Renovva following me. We glance at each other one last time.

"Claws out!"

~ ~ ~

I scan the rooftops as the sun sets over Paris. By now, I had been searching for Chat Noir for at least seven minutes, meaning I had about three minutes until I de-transformed and was visible again. As an adult, using the miraculous power left the holder with ten minutes before changing back instead of five minutes. As the holder ages, they become strong enough to handle more time after using the power before returning to civilian form. I, being eighteen, had finally reached the threshold for an extra five minutes.