When the Phoenix Falls (Adrien Agreste)

Chapter 16: Kung Food (or maybe not)

Colette ran her hands over the balcony railing as she went over everything she could remember about Mandarin in her head. Sure, she had been learning it for years, but actually putting it into practice was something different entirely, especially when it was someone close to her that she would be using it with. She could practically hear Marinette worrying in the main room of their house, repeating the same phrase over and over again with different pronunciations each time as she tried to prepare. They had known their uncle would be visiting for almost a month now and Colette was aware that Marinette had been intending to learn at least basic Mandarin before his arrival, but with one thing and another - plus Marinette taking on too many after school activities as well as her superhero responsibility - she had never actually managed to get round to it.

Her only reassurance was that she wasn't going to be the only person in the room able to communicate with her uncle. When she had told Adrien about the visit, he had been thrilled about the opportunity to put his learning in practice and had practically insisted that he at least get to help them at the competition her uncle was taking part in later that day. He had looked so excited that Colette hadn't had it in her to say no, and she was suddenly thankful for that as she paced back and forth, wringing her hands.

"What are you worrying for?" Vohon's words were lazily spoken, as though he was resentful of breaking his silence to speak. "There's no point, and you speak Mandarin anyway, so you'll be fine."

"You're so thoughtful, Vo," Colette muttered in retort, stopping her pacing and turning back to look out over the city. "And that's not how it works anyway, just understanding my lessons doesn't mean I'm actually capable of talking to a Chinese person."

"Well, you can understand me, can't you?" Vohon spoke again, only this time Colette had to think for a moment to comprehend what he was saying.

Turning to face him with an incredulous expression, she whisper shouted, "You speak Mandarin?"

The look Vohon gave her at that moment was one of such complete smugness that she strongly considered taking off her choker and leaving his next owner to deal with the snarky little Kwami. It was absolutely typical of him to have heard her panicking all morning only to throw that sort of little comment in at the very last moment.

Before she could even open her mouth to respond to this new development, the short, sharp ring of a doorbell rang up the stairs and through the balcony door, freezing Colette in her tracks. Glancing over the balcony railing, she thought she caught a glimpse of the sleek, black car which Adrien's bodyguard drove, but she didn't have time to check if it really was them. Turning back towards the door, she frowned grumpily at Vohon.

"We'll talk about this later."

Reluctantly shifting her waistcoat to allow the Kwami to take his place inside her pocket, Colette straightened her clothes and ran a hand over her braid before she walked back into the house, closing the door softly behind her and doing her best to ensure her steps were measured as she walked shakily down the stairs.

"Mar, what are you doing?" Colette's worry dissipated momentarily as she saw her sister standing at the bottom of the stairs, their uncle nowhere in sight as the ravenette moved jerkily from side to side, waving her arms and legs around in the air as though that was in any way going to help whatever situation she had got herself into.

"Collie," The sight of her sister clearly calmed Marinette, allowing her to collect herself just about enough to let the man who had been standing outside into their home without any further incident. "You've got to help me. I don't know what to do with mum's uncle, I don't think I can pull this off."