Miraculous Games

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five:

Chat cut his way through the underbrush, whacking each of the branches with his staff. Marinette followed behind him. She was a little shaky on her feet, but she had refused the help both Fox and Chat had offered her. It bothered Chat, knowing that Ladybug could pass out at any moment. Speaking of Nathanael, he was right behind her, making sure the group stayed together. It unnerved Chat a little bit, knowing that he was the last in the group, but even with that said, he trusted Fox to keep Marinette on her feet.

The sun had climbed high into the sky, and Chat had a feeling it was trying to deceive them, but the worry about Marinette kept him going. He had a feeling that her tired limbs and pounding head were enough to tell her that it was early in the morning outside of the arena. Every once and awhile, he would check his silver staff and check the time. This time he checked, it read 3:37am.

"Do you need to take some time to rest?" he asked, turning over his shoulder and speaking to Marinette. She shook her head, the sun revealing how much sweat was on her forehead.

"No, we need to keep going."

Biting his lip, Chat accepted her answer, no matter how unhappy he was about it. He faced forward once more then pushed the branches aside for his friends. Ladybug walked in front of him, but stumbled over a root. She let out a cry of surprise. On instinct, Chat quickly extended his arms out and caught her before she hit the ground. The branch he had moved aside flew over his head, just barely clipping his ears, before smacking Fox right in the face.

"OW!" Nathanael cried out, covering his whacked face by his hands.

"Sorry," Chat apologized as she pulled Marinette to her feet. "I had to catch her before-"

"Just shut up. Leave me alone." Fox snapped, shoving the branch that smacked him aside and pushing past Chat and Ladybug.

"Nathan," Marinette croaked, "please don't be harsh..."

"No no, it's fine, My Lady," Chat replied. His expression had morphed from worried to irritated. "The poor dog probably just needs to blow off some steam. I'm not going to stop him."

Fox stopped and turned. "What did you just call me?"

"A dog," Chat answered without hesitation. "A fox is a type of dog, am I right?"

Nathanael clenched his fists. "What's your point?"

Chat got to his feet and brushed off his hands. "Well, I figured that since your bark is worse than your bite, I have a feeling you have something building up inside of you."

Fox crossed his arms. "And that bothers you?"

"Nah, I could care less about it. I just think that it's bothering you instead."

Marinette tried to step between the two boys, but Chat put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't, My Lady." She stopped, then stepped back. Chat looked back at Fox, whose ears were slowly turning deep red. "Is there something you want to say to me, Fox? Because I'm willing to listen right now. You seem to have been giving me the cold shoulder lately."

Nathanael glared at him, but he said nothing. His fists clenched and unclenched, and Chat could tell that his mind was racing. Was he finally going to tell him what was on his mind, even though he already had a pretty good idea of what it was? I mean, Chat wasn't clueless. He could tell something was bothering Nathan, but he was tired of beating around the bush. It was time to face the problem head on. If they didn't, it would only cause problems later on, and Chat needed Nathanael's full trust. There would be no way they could take down the Games if Fox was still holding grudges.