Of Magic and Mayhem

Ch 10

"Shh. Please don't scream.", Adrien said quietly, eyes still closed, ears flattened against his head. He tried to open his eyes, but the pupils slitted tightly against the morning light, making his headache worse. "A-A-Adrien?!" "I had a nightmare." Marinette could sympathize with him, and her face softened,"That bad, huh?" He nodded, tightening his grip on her. "Gah! Can't.....breathe....." "Oh! I'm sorry!", he quickly apologized, loosening his hold.

She gasped a couple times before asking, "You wanna tell me about it?" He shook his head, and rolled them so he was facing the wall. She squeaked when he took her with him. She felt something wrap around her leg, and looked down to see a furry black band. His tail. Her eyes wandered to his ears, which were no longer glued to his head, but were still relatively flat. "What's wrong?", she asked quietly. "Headache.", he murmured.

She wondered.... The ravennette reached for his temple, lightly touching it, and felt her own head start to hurt a little. The headache dissipated as fast as she took it, but she also had flashbacks of her dream....but from the other person's point of view.

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Tikki had shock written all over her face when Marinette told her what happened later that day. The fairy set down her cup of tea, folded her hands in her lap, and sighed heavily. "This......isn't exactly....the first time we've met, Marinette." The witch's brow furrowed, "What are you saying? This isn't my first life?" The ginger fairy nodded, then asked,"Do you know how old Plagg and I are?" The ravennette shook her head. "Over seven thousand years."

Marinette's jaw dropped. Tikki continued, "A unique trait that sets fae apart from other magical creatures is our ability to bind ourselves to someone's soul. Demon, human, witch, other fae, etcetera. The only thing required is that both parties consent to the bond. Plagg bound himself to Adrien's soul, and I to yours." Marinette sharply inhaled, then slowly exhaled, trying to reign in her nerves, "I take it we were good friends?" The fairy laughed, "That doesn't even begin to cover it! Actually, we're lucky this time around. Last time one of you were reincarnated without the other, Europe was almost wiped out."

Marinette grew white. She could remember only one thing in history that fit Tikki's description: the Black Plague. She came around to the sound of Tikki snapping her fingers in her face. "Where were we?", the witch asked. Tikki sighed, "I was in China. I didn't stay in one place long enough for you to reincarnate, so Plagg wound up having to deal with the pandemic alone. Adrien's soul didn't have a counter to balance him out, so he lost control when he started to turn. According to Plagg, the dark energy was enough to infect the population of rats, which infected the people, and continued it's vicious cycle of death long after that incarnation had died. I am glad that some survived, although those people were just glad to have survived 'the Wrath of God'." "I guess they just got lucky?" "Very."

Tikki sipped her tea. Marinette had a nagging question, "How does the soul bond work?" "Easy. Once the bond is made, the fae carries and protects the other being's soul after they die until they get to a good place to reincarnate the soul. Then the fae can sense the soul and protect it during life too. In other words, you are my eternal charge." "How did we meet?" At this question, a look of deep thought crossed Tikki's face, as if she was trying to remember a long forgotten memory.

"I was visiting a friend in Egypt, Plagg. Mind you, this was right around five thousand years ago. He got along well with the people. The Egyptians worshipped Bastet, so his fae form was normally how he got around at the time. They thought he was her agent, although gods live in a completely different realm. We'd visit a village from time to time. Plagg said he found a good friend in one of the villagers, the resident Mau. He had a beautiful wife and son. Naturally, she was a witch, but the children loved her. I got along well with her, telling stories of other lands and the legends they held while she filled me in on their own. One night, Plagg told me he wanted to bond with the demon, and asked me about his wife. I can't exactly remember how the conversation went, but he convinced me to agree with him. We bonded soon after. A few months down the line, the village was attacked. Plagg and I felt the distress and rushed over, but we were too late. The entire village was burned to the ground. Everyone was dead except one person: the demon. That was the only time I've ever seen Plagg so....so....greif stricken. Kmt Mau had already fallen on a sword to be with his wife, so there was nothing we could do to save him. Sound familiar?"