Into Another World (kotlc/mlb au)

Chapter 9

The group stopped just before lush forestry melted into dark trees and an ominous atmosphere.

"No turning back from here," Ladybug said, fingers firmly wrapped around her bow, an arrow already strung. She was the one who took the first steps in.

Adrien kept staring at the deep green hues compared to the playfulness of the Aelesian Forest. How the deep woods sharply contrasted it.

"I'm going in," he declared, running and nearly colliding with Ladybug.

"Gah, did you have to do that!?" she hissed.

"Sorry!" he threw his hands up in defense. "I'm just... new to all of this!"

"This is so much fun!" Keefe cheered, running in circles inside the thick foliage.

"I can see why so many fugitives hide out here," Sophie commented.

"Yeah, there's a lot of hiding spots," Ladybug explained. "I haven't memorized them all yet."

"You just memorize rendezvous points?"

"I wouldn't call them rendezvous points, really. Just places to hide if need be."

Adrien kept watching Ladybug, her eyes always searching the area, never in the same spot for too long. She moved with an impossible silence, gracefully avoiding the things that could give away location without even looking at them (whereas Keefe was most likely going to find a way to snap every branch he encountered). Her hood was still draped across her shoulders, her braid now trailing down her back. Her hair was a dark color, like the midnight sky had been recreated and woven together, leaving the stars alone. He found the color pretty, suiting her fair skin. He could see bits of rough skin on her fingers, marks of five years in the woods alone.

"Are you checking me out?" Ladybug asked.

Adrien froze, feeling his cheeks burn. "What, no! I just... you don't seem like the fugitive Fitz and Biana painted in my head."

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Of course Fitz told you about me."

"He was just mentioning how last night fugitives were spotted at the edge of Everglen, and he was certain you weren't there."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I know who they were."

"Who?"

"Probably shouldn't tell. Sake of privacy and all that."

"Right."

Adrien stared at the ground a little, freezing every time there was some type of weird creature coming past the group.

Ladybug clearly found it amusing after a while, because he caught her struggling to keep from laughing. "You're scared of imps?"

"They don't exist on Earth!" he nearly shrieked.

"Well, that would make sense," she shrugged. "Then I'm betting Earth hasn't seen gnomes, either."

"People have garden gnomes."

"Like to help with their gardening?"

"No, they're just old bearded men in pointy hats that stand around a garden. Harmless little statues."

Ladybug, Sophie, and Keefe stopped to gape at Adrien in shock.

"I take it gnomes are nothing like that," he said.

"You think?" Keefe nodded. "How do humans out there mess it up that badly?"

"If that's their gnome, then I don't wanna know what they think a dwarf is," Sophie grimaced.