The Fae's Secrets

Mysterious Savior

****

While the two teens slept peacefully, the storm outside the cave continued to rage. It was only until a lightning flash struck across the sky, followed closely by roaring thunder that one of the two jolted awake.

Marinette jumped out of her dreamless slumber at the crash of thunder. Her mind still foggy with sleep, she didn't notice the unfamiliar clothing wrapped around her. Instead, she dug into one of the pockets in her cardigan to find Tikki, in order to make sure she was alright. Finding the little red and black spotted Kwami, she realized there were two layers hiding the little bug from view. Lifting up the large, dark jacket in confusion, her mind instantly sharpened back to reality. Where was she? What happened? Why was she in a cave? Did she fly in here and pass out? If so, Who's jacket was this? Tikki, sensing the girl's questions, remained calm as she helped her remember.

"Marinette, do you remember flying out in the storm?"

"... ye- yes I- I do."

"Okay... do you remember how you got here?"

"All I remember is... the wind... the wind threw me off balance... rain... rain got so strong... too strong... I felt cold... really cold... My wings!"

Throwing the strange coat off of her, she frantically looked over her shoulder to assess the damage her poor wings took. To her surprise, they weren't as beat up as she expected them to be. A few minor scrapes along the edges of them, but nothing that would leave scars. They weren't cracked at all. But, how? The severe cold should've at least left a split of some sort on her tips, instead, they were warm.

"Marinette, listen to me. You fell unconscious while you were flying through the storm."

"Wait, What?! Wait, if I fell unconscious while I was flying, then how in the wide world did I... end up... here? Where even am I? I mean, this is obviously some kind of cave, but- if I didn't get here myself, then... How am I not dead?! I mean, I'm not dead, right Tikki? Oh my gosh! What if I'm dead?!"

"Marinette calm down, you're not dead, you're fine. You're extremely lucky that he found you when he did."

"Wait... HE?! He who?! Some random guy just flying around in the storm as well?! His wings are probably broken because he had to save me! Oh my gosh, what if I killed him?!"

"Marinette! Just stop and listen to me! You did not kill anyone! The boy who saved your life was the one that gave you the jacket over there. I was awake the whole time. He wanted to make sure your wings didn't freeze."

"Oh... well... where is he then? I should thank him."

"Well, Marinette- there's something you should know first... he's a-"

Before Tikki could finish what she was about to say, the girl's attention had shifted towards the opposite end of the cave, trying to find her mysterious savior. But what she saw... she had only ever heard of in stories... dark, silky black feathers stared back at her as they surrounded the thing in a sort of cocoon. She instantly flinched away from the-.

"DEMON?!"

Immediately realizing her mistake, she clamped her hands against her mouth, trying desperately not to scream. But, the damage had already been done. Her shout echoed throughout the cave, loud enough that the monster before her jerked awake at the sound. It's dark green eyes bored into hers as she backed up against the far side of the cavern, as far away as she could manage.

It stood up quickly, as if realizing she was actually watching it. Her wings were now backed up into the stone wall behind her. It had some sort of mask covering its face, with animal-like eyes staring back at her. Her hopes that it was at least fairy-like were dashed away. As if debating with itself, it took one cautious step towards her, most likely deciding how exactly to silence her. But she wouldn't give it the chance too. A high pitched scream tore through her vocal chords as she watched the creature desperately cover the ears on top of it's head. While it was distracted, Marinette made a run for the entrance.