Rainy Days

Chapter 10

He was distinctly aware of two states of being, contrasted as easily as black against white. There was the comforting numbness that lacked all sensation, and the hot sickening wash of pain and confusion. Adrien's consciousness drifted occasionally between these two states, cringing away from the sharp intense feelings being awake would give him in favor of the dark. It didn't want to let him wake up, the darkness being easier to contain and manage, but the boy was injured and there was no dodging the pain forever. He would have to come to eventually, face what waited for him. As if to confirm this, Adrien became aware of a voice for the first time, finally straying away from the nothingness and towards his steady discomfort.

"Adrien? He's okay isn't he Plagg? It's been hours!"

In the closet the only light that was provided came from the crack under the door, only just separating the boy and the two kwamis from the darkness around them. Tikki hovered over Adrien's face, her tiny hands on his cheek as she looked towards the glowing green eyes of her companion in desperation.

"He's tough..." Plagg responded hesitantly, speaking at normal volume without fear of being overheard. It had been almost three hours since the attack and the school had long since been evacuated. The kwamis had done their part, locking the door and watching over the boy but if he needed serious medical help there was little they could do, so they waited in anxious silence. Plagg had listened diligently after the attack, his hearing superior to his counterpart's, relaying everything he had heard in a hushed voice until they were alone again.

Whatever half-baked magic Adrien had managed to pull off with Tikki had seemed to do its job, though there was no way to verify entirely.

"That's definitely Nino," Plagg had reported at one point, his ear pressed to the door. "He's far away but that's him, and he was stone wasn't he? That should mean the others are okay too right?" When he had looked over at Tikki he swallowed hard, taking in her desperate worry written on her face and saying, "Yeah absolutely! That's it, everyone was turned back. So everyone's okay, Marinette too, okay?"

When Plagg had said her name Adrien had stirred restlessly, moaning in pain before slipping back into the dark. The kwamis traded a dark and heavy look before returning to their vigilance, vowing silently to protect him together.

Now, as they approached the third hour, Adrien finally started to stir again.

"Adrien! Hey, listen look at me! Are you okay?" Plagg was immediately in his face, the boy slowly trying to sit up and wincing in pain when he put pressure on his left arm.

His head was spinning, feeling nauseous and sick from the pain but he grit his teeth against it and tried to pull together the tattered edges of his mind. He took a breath and winced again, his ribs aching in protest and forcing him to pull in short gasping breaths. He reached out with his right hand, pulling at the fabric of his shirt and revealing long red-ish blotches across his rib cage. His tired mind noted this in slight concern, knowing from experience that unless he had been in that closet for a day there shouldn't be bruising yet. If he had been hit hard enough to have blood discoloration already than he had to move carefully, and when the bruises really did set in it wasn't going to look good.

He stiffened when he heard two quiet gasps at the visible damage to his chest, and carefully he lifted his head to look at the small floating red creature, slowly recalling that her name was Tikki.

Cute name... holy crap...

He breathed out heavily, his face contorting in pain a little as he tried to find his voice. He closed his eyes, fighting the sickness he felt.

"Are you okay?" Plagg asked again, his concern showing an uncharacteristic age to him. Adrien almost preferred he be joking and playing around, providing at least something familiar.