The Fae's Secrets

Homeward Bound

The dark jacket wrapped itself loosely around her shoulders as she trudged along the muddy path home. Picking back through the forest, her mind stretched into thousands of directions at once, trying to sort through various pieces of information about what she had witnessed. Categorizing them until she was able to write them down in her diary. With her head stuck in the clouds, and Tikki directing her way past any large tree limbs, she didn't notice when the city came into view.

She definitely didn't notice when her two best friends cried out for her, frantic in their search to find her. As they came rushing towards her, Marinette was tackled to the ground into a fierce hug.

Alya.

"Girl! Where have you been?! We've both been worried sick! I totally didn't expect that huge storm to roll in! I'm so sorry! It's my fault we got separated! I'm the one who forced you to come to the Canyon with us! Thankfully, Nino and I were able to find a cave near us when that freak typhoon swept through! But, we didn't realize you weren't following us and- Girl we thought you-I'm Sorry! Oh, Marinette, you were right! We should never have gone into that weird Gorge in the first place!"

The initial shock of being thrown to the ground wore off, and Marinette soon came to her senses, realizing just who had found her. Hearing endless amounts of apologies spewing from the fairy before her, she became quick to reassure them both. Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, the pixie encouraged Alya of her good well-being.

"Hey! Hey! It's alright! Alya, I'm alright. It wasn't your fault. I'm fine, see? None of us knew that would happen when we went there. That storm threw us all off guard. It's okay. You have nothing to worry about. I'm safe."

After making sure she was really alright, Alya helped her best friend up off the ground. Once standing, the brunette threw Marinette into another bone-crushing hug. Nino stood off to the side, watching the scene unfold with immense relief. Even though they continuously teased him about worrying too much, this time he wasn't the only one to be over exaggerating.

"Oh dude, I'm so glad you made it through that freak storm safely! I mean, I tried telling Alya you would be fine, but she didn't believe me! You have no idea how long I had to listen to her worrying about you, especially when I was just as terrified! That weather came out of nowhere! I mean, what happened back there, anyway? I thought you were right behind us! How did you get through the storm alright? If you weren't with us, where'd you go? Also, what's with the weird jacket?"

Up until that moment, Marinette's mind saw only relief at seeing her two best friends safe and sound, momentarily forgetting what happened. When she heard Nino point out the piece of unfamiliar clothing still wrapped around her shoulders, everything came crashing down. Flying through the wind, waking up in the cave with an extinct creature, and learning more about him and his Kind than what she had been taught all her life.

As Alya finally pulled back to see what Nino was talking about, the pixie didn't waste time demanding answers. Answers to which Marinette herself lacked... and Needed. But what could she tell them? Hey, you know that ancient species that was meant to kill our People? You know how they've been extinct for longer than anyone can remember? Well, guess what! They're real! Yeah No. There was no way she could say that. She would end up sounding as crazy as her best friend. Although, perhaps Alya wasn't that far off...

"I-um, I'm not entirely sure where I got the jacket from. All- all I remember is that I-uh, got the wind knocked out of me somehow and then I woke up in a cave on the other side of the gorge. There um- There wasn't- anyone there, but the jacket was just around my shoulders, keeping me warm. I- I don't know whose it is."

Marinette internally cringed at the horrible lie she just made up, but that didn't matter when she saw Alya practically light up with excitement. Her red orange wings beat so fast behind her, it would've put hummingbirds to shame. P wondered if it was too late to tell them what actually happened...