#boréal

[dinnickhowellslikes]

[fidjiefidjie]

"Les mathématiques étaient un don de la nature, comme les aurores boréales."

Alice Munro

Gif Gifer

[felinefractious]

Nawa de Château Boréal

🐱 Norwegian Forest Cat

📸 Diana Česnokova [Chatterie de Château Boréal]

🎨 Light Amber Smoke [Extension Gene: Amber]

[ascle]

Aurores boréales

Une tempête géomagnétique de force sévère (G4) va perturber la magnétosphère cette nuit du 10 au 11 mai. Il s'agit de la première fois depuis 2005 qu'une telle prévision est émise. Cet événement devrait favoriser la formation d'aurores boréales dans le ciel.

Poésie de la nuit

[atlanticsea]

Some of my favourite shots of the aurora borealis, captured by the Chamrousse - La Croix webcam in the Alps (respectively taken at 00:10, 00:20, 00:40, 00:50 and 03:10.)

[artzychic27]

A dodgeball game between The Akuma class and the Science Kids would be pretty funny if you think about it.

Science Kids:

Akuma Class:

Kim: I think they wanna kill us, guys.

Marinette: No… No, of course not. This is a friendly game, right?… RIGHT?!

Ismael: Of course. And we will be perfectly-

*The whistle blows*

Ismael: MURDER THEM ALL!

*Cosette throws the dodgeball at Nino’s face, who falls to the ground; the ball bounces back into their hands*

Cosette: BAM! ONE POINT! *throws the ball at Nino again* BAM! TWO POINTS! *Starts throwing the ball at Nino’s face repeatedly* BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

Adrien: For God’s sake! Have mercy on him!

Simon: *Takes off his cross necklace* God is not here at the moment.

Ivan: Okay, we’re boned. Every man for himself!

*The Akuma Class run all around the school and narrowly avoid getting hit by dodgeballs*

Jean: *Picks up Juleka’s phone and inhales the scent* I’ve got her scent! SHE’S MINE! *Runs upstairs*

Marc: *Writes Nathaniel’s name on a dodgeball* Just keep your hands off mine.

Mme. Bustier: Shouldn’t we stop them?

Mme. Mendeleiv: Nah.

BASEMENT

Reshma: Chloé, Sabrina… I know you’re here… Surely you wouldn’t be stupid enough to hide in… This crate! *Opens a crate, only to find dust* … I guess she’s not here.

*Reshma leaves the basement, and at that moment, Chloé and Sabrina come out from behind a boiler*

Sabrina: … Maybe she’s gone.

*Then Reshma runs back in with a devious smirk*

Reshma: Maybe she’s not!

Chloé/Sabrina: *Scream; hold each other*

CAFETERIA

*Max and Kim are hiding behind the lunch counter*

Kim: I… I think we lost her. Lacey won’t find us, right?

Max: No, th-there’s a 30% chance of her finding us.

Kim: Thirty is still a number-

Max: Shh… I heard something… She’s… She’s in the vents!

Kim: WHAT?!

Max: SHE’S IN THE VENTS! RUN-

Lacey: *Pokes her head through an open vent* SURPRISE, BITCHES!

SCIENCE CLASS

Zoé: Marinette~ I just wanna talk! That’s what you like doing, talking about your crush on Adrien non-stop, your crazy schemes. Am I annoyed? Yeah, but I just wanna talk it over. Let’s do that, yeah?

…

Zoé: … Okay. We’ll do this the hard way… COME OUT BEFORE I SHOW ADRIEN THE SCHEDULE YOU MADE WITHOUT HIS KNOWING CONSENT!

Marinette: *Comes out form hiding behind a desk* No! Don’t!

Zoé: Holy shit! You actually have his schedule?! *Throws the dodgeball at Marinette’s face* Bullseye!

AUDITORIUM

*Mylène and Ivan are hiding backstage in the dressing room closet*

Ivan: We really should’ve picked a better hiding spot. This- this is the main spot for hide and seek!

Mylène: Well, if we’re quiet, no one will find us.

Ivan: You’re right. Sorry.

Mylène: It’s okay- Wait… I hear someone… There’s two of them.

Denise: Ivan~ Come out to play~ Are you hiding with Mylène? That’s so sweet. She’s actually Mireille’s target.

Mireille: Yeah. Why don’t the two of you come out nice and easy? *Throws the dodgeball with so much force that it breaks a mannequin*

Ivan: … We’re dead.

*And suddenly, a dodgeball is thrown right through the closet door, and just barely misses hitting Mylène. Instead, it gets embedded in the back of the closet*

Mylène: FUCK THIS! *Runs out of the closet*

VENTS

Rose: I think we’re-

Juleka: Shh. Don’t jinx it.

*Adrien crawls over to them*

Adrien: Mind if I join you guys? Ismael’s gunning for my head

Juleka: Plenty of room here. God, how did this become so brutal?

Rose: I don’t know, but hopefully Jean and Ismael won’t-

*A dodgeball rolls over to them*

Adrien: … Wh- what’s supposed to happen- *The dodgeball explodes and sends dozens of smaller dodgeballs every which way*

*Meanwhile*

Jean: *Fistbumps Ismael* Nice.

ROOF

Alya: Aurore. You don’t have to do this!

Aurore: Oh, I have to, Alya… Unless you join me! Help me take down the rest of your classmates! We’ll be unstoppable!

Alya: No! I’ll never betray them!

Aurore: But, Alya. I… Am your father.

Alya: Wait… What?

Aurore: *Laughs* Come on, like I wasn’t gonna seize that opportunity. Now you die.

LIBRARY

*Alix is hiding on the second floor behind a shelf*

Alix: Come on, you bastard. I fucking dare you.

*Suddenly, she hears hissing and becomes vaguely aware of the looming shadow behind her*

Alix: … Clever demiboy.

*Without saying a word, Simon drags Alix with him as she screams*

ART CLASSROOM

*Nathaniel runs in and locks the door before gasping for breath*

Nathaniel: I need to work out more. *He heads over to a table, but stops when he sees a red liquid drip onto the floor. Slowly, he looks up and sees ‘You’re Next’ written on the ceiling*

*Marc’s laughter echoes around the room, but Nathaniel cannot see him anywhere*

Nathaniel: … Rainbow?…

Marc: Yes?

*Nathaniel screams when Marc somehow appears right behind him*

Nathaniel: Okay. Get it over with. Hit me… *He prepares for the worst… But instead, Marc taps his forehead with his dodgeball*

Marc: We win. *Runs out of the room* Guys! We won!

*Later, the Akuma Class students (Sans Nathaniel) are all getting bandages up*

Nino: WHY?! Why the torment?! Why the ambushing?!

Cosette: Because… We just felt like it.

Ismael: Yeah, if we gotta deal with the resident Akuma magnets, you gotta deal with our mad dodgeball skills!

Kim: Well… Why didn’t you nearly kill Nath?! He doesn’t have a single bruise!

Marc: Boyfriend privileges. No one in this class is to harm him in any way.

Marinette: Well, when you word it like that, you sound like a mob.

Simon: Yes, and?

[wisteriasymphony]

tfw you try to impress a cute girl and roll a Nat 1

[msweebyness]

Mirrorverse Crossover- Aurore

Hey hey hey, it’s Weeby with the next installment of Mirrorverse! Things are getting tense between the well/mannered fairy and the wacky witch! Enjoy! @artzychic27 @imsparky2002

Sitting ramrod straight and feeling supremely out of sorts, BluRore looked with trepidation at her counterpart, the witch giggling like a madwoman as she swung her legs back and forth. Every so often, she would sneak a glance at the fairy, before descending into another fit of laughter.

“Is there a reason you’re somehow acting even more disturbed than usual?”, BlueRore asked tersely, folding her hands as she looked at MimRore with uneasy irritation. What was with her?

The mad mage let out another fanatical laugh before answering her counterpart.

“I’m just excited to talk to a version of myself that thinks ‘goodness’ is the way to go in life, dearie!”, she tittered, gagging at the word ‘goodness, “It fascinates me how someone with my face could be so dull and dense!”, she went on to taunt, giving the fairy a twitching grin.

BluRore took in a deep breath at these words, her entire body going tense. If she wasn’t so well-trained in holding her composure…

“Oh, no…”, Sabrinocchio murmured nervously, her fingers making hollow clicking sounds as she twiddled them anxiously. If there was one thing her fairy godsister hated, it was having her intelligence called into question.

“I wouldn’t say that I’M the dense one here, my dear. Your head is barely attached to your shoulders on a good day.”, BlueRore said tersely, her wand gripped tightly in her hands. MimRore only smirked in response.

“Well, if you were smarter, you'd notice that something isn't quite right. But it seems...”, she taunted cheerily, before a sudden poof changed her physical form into that of a small purple bat!, “You're blind as a bat!”

Promptly changing the other blonde back to normal with a flick of her wand, BlueRore said in slight irritation, “I would ask what you mean by that, but I know I won’t get a straight answer.”

“Would you like a curved one?”, MimRore asked teasingly before she cackled like mad at her own joke.

The fairy’s eyes narrowed as she sensed that something was indeed different. Something felt…wrong.

“Enough with the games. What do you mean by ‘not quite right’?”, she demanded sharply, only getting a devious grin in response. It was then that one of the heroes seemed to figure out just what was missing from the picture.

“Uhhh, guys? Where’s Mireille?”, Demolition Denise piped up with a nervous edge to their voice, shooting a hard glare at Mireides as the goddess snarkily raised a hand and waved, “OUR Mireille.”

With rising horror and fury, BluRore noticed that MimRore's giggles had turned sinister, and became louder by the second. Shooting to her feet, she shot her counterpart a piercing death glare.

“What have you done, you vile witch?”, she snarled, clenching her wand so tightly her knuckles were white. MimRore only stuck her tongue out.

“Wouldn't you like to kno-“, she had begun to taunt only to cut off with a squeak.

Holding her glowing wand to the manic girl’s throat, BlueRore demanded, “ANSWER!”

“Okay, cool your blue tits, I just hid her somewhere!”, the loony sorceress said shakily, before regaining her ‘composure’ and smiling deviously once again, “But I won’t tell you where...unless...”

“Unless. What?”

“Unless you can defeat me...”, the wacky weather witch began dramatically before she jumped on the table and struck a dramatic pose with her arms raised, “IN A MAGIC DUEL!”, she thundered

BluRore looked wary as she ventured to ask, “That's it? A duel? There has to be a catch.”

“No catch, fairy! If you win, your little kitty goes free as a bird, no harm done!”, Mimrore said cheerily, before she added with a wicked glee, “But if you lose...”, before she paused ominously.

“Out with it!”

“YOU’LL HAVE THE CHICKENPOX FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!”, Mimrore shrieked, letting out a shrill evil laugh. BluRore looked unimpressed. As did the rest of the villains.

“Really, Rorie?”, IsmaScar asked in clear disappointment, “That’s it?”

“Oh, and one more thing!”, MimRore then went on to say as her smile turned eerie and dark, “Your precious pussycat princess will remain trapped, and what becomes of her will be up to me and my friends!”

This was met with roaring approval from the villains, who already began to plan what they could do with the lioness.

“Just do what she says, 'Rore. She clearly can't be reasoned with.”, Reshmabela piped up through the bubble, hollyhock beginning to grow around her feet, a sign that she was nervous.

“Fine. But Nino, Lacey and Ismael, the ones from MY world, will judge this match. I don’t trust your three witch friends to remain impartial...or not to intervene on your behalf.”, BlueRore said firmly as the three witches in question glared and muttered curses at her, “You’ve laid your terms, and those are mine.”

MimRore pouted but decided to play along, “Oh all right.”, as she secretly held her fingers crossed behind her back.

“I see that.”, BlueRore said sharply.

“Fine.”, MimRore huffed, irritated at the fairy’s vigilance, “But my friends at least get to watch! It’s not fair for you to have cheerleaders while I don’t!”, the witch insisted, the other villains piping up in agreement. No way did they want to miss this!

“You're the one who decided to kidnap my girlfriend!”, BlueRore snarled, only a couple seconds away from strangling this lunatic.

“Whatever, busybody!”, the witch said, sticking her tongue out, before she grinned malevolently and began to bounce on the spot, “Let’s assemble our spectators...and LET THE DUEL COMMENCE!”

—————

A few minutes later, everyone was in the main courtyard, villains seated on one side and heroes on the other. The blue-clad fairy and cackling witch were standing face to face as the two other fairies and genie prepared to judge the match. Snapping to gain everyone’s attention, IsmaGenie began to review the rules.

“Alright, here’s the lowdown: basic junior magic duel standards apply. No turning invisible, no targeting the spectators or judges, no fatal magic attacks. Got it?”, the genie said, BlueRore nodded solemnly. MimRore giggled maniacally and nodded as well…hiding crossed fingers behind her back.

“Okay. Turn back to back, ten paces outwards, then the duel begins.”, Fairy Godbro then instructed, before backing away with the other judges. Everyone watches with rapt attention as the two took their paces…only for MimRore to slowly fade from visibility as she passed behind a tree, making the heroes scowl, and the villains snicker. Their wacky witch had this in the bag…or did she?

The judges were about to intervene, but it seemed BluRore was a step ahead of them. Narrowing her eyes, she aimed her wand upward, deflecting the rays of the sun intensely in the direction where MimRore had gone, causing the witch to let out a yelp.

Following the sound, BlueRore cast her magic towards the witch, forcing her to turn visible again. MimRore scowled and stamped her foot, glaring daggers at the smirking fairy.

“Come on, babe! You can still kick her ass!”, Mireides cheered, with a few of the other villains adding their own encouragement. MimRore straightened up and prepared her next trick.

Gaining a wild and sadistic grin, her hands beginning to thrum with magic. BlueRore’s eyes widened as MimRore suddenly turned towards her friends, aiming some manner of curse. The heroes’ eyes widened as they realized the intent, while the villains watched eagerly to see some carnage.

Acting quickly, she created a glimmering blue disk of magic and flung it in the direction of her friends, just in time for MimRore’s hex to hit it head on and bounce right back at the witch. MimRore was flung several feet before falling back on the ground, her clothes and hair smoking.

“Nice one, Blue!”, Simon Pan yelled, “You’ve got this in the bag!”, earning him glares and scowls from the villains, and a small fireball flung in his direction by the goddess of death.

As Demolition Denise was talked down by their friends from sending the (slightly nervous) goddess flying, MimRore was absolutely seething. How was this fairy so ahead of all of her tricks?!

Having enough, she decided to pull out her trump card! Glowing with a malevolent purple aura, her body began to change as BlueRore watched in fascinated horror. The sorceress morphed into a giant, purple misshapen creature that vaguely resembled a dragon, breathing a spurt of pink flames and sparks.

“WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW, PIXIE PUNK?! EVERYONE KNOWS THAT FAIRIES CAN’T SHAPESHIFT!”, MimRore shrieked, more sparks flying from her lips as she laughed in frantic glee.

To her credit, BlueRore did look nervous for a brief moment, before her eyes sparked with an idea and her demeanor turned steely.

“Perhaps not.”, she said ominously as she aimed her wand, “But we can change others.”

With that, she sent a bright bolt of blue magic at MimRore, and when the flash cleared…a small wooden puppet version of the ghastly creature sat on the ground. A tiny squeal of fury emerged from the toy, as the heroes laughed and cheered with glee. The villains were far less enthusiastic.

To add insult to injury and secure herself the win, BlueRore conjured a small gilded cage around the witch-turned-puppet, that thwarted her efforts to change back, enraging her even further.

“Now, this cage prevents you from using any magic that I don’t permit you to! And if you want me to set you free and allow you to change back…return my kitten to me, now.”, the fairy said firmly.

Seeing she had no real other options in the moment, MimRore hissed, and the dazed lioness appeared in the midst of the makeshift battleground, immediately being tackled in a hug by BlueRore.

“Mir, I was so worried! Are you alright? Did she hurt you at all?”, the blonde fairy babbled, pulling back to check her partner for any injuries. Laughing softly, Miremba grasped her girlfriend’s hands and rested their forehead against hers.

“I’m fine, Baby Blue. Thanks to you.”, before the two shared another hug as the other heroes came to check on their friend. In the fluster of conversation that followed, BlueRore dissolved the cage and MimRore changed back to normal. Pulling her knees to her chest, she sulked over her loss to that prissy pixie.

She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see her girlfriend, giving her an encouraging smile as their hair flickered in the sunlight.

“Don’t worry, Cuckoo Bird. We’ll get ‘em next time!”, Mireides said resolutely, turning and give the heroes a stony glare. No one got away with humiliating her ‘Rore.

And there you have it folks! BlueRore may be proper, but when it’s time to kick ass, she doesn’t mess around! Thanks to Sparky for his help with the opening conversation, and Artzy for the idea of how to end the duel! Keep an eye out for Artzy to release Zoe! Leave your thoughts in the comments and reblogs!

[harwin-breakbones-strong]

Aurora Borealis in Northern France Mont Saint-Michel - February 27, 2023 📸 Mathieu Rivrin (x)

[philoursmars]

Fin août, je suis remonté vers le Nord en passant par l'Auvergne et Vichel.

Ici, le ciel, avec un double arc-en-ciel et la pureté du ciel nocturne : le Dauphin et l'étoile Véga sur la 3, Hercule et la Couronne Boréale sur la 5.

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Aurora over Jökulsárlón 2 by Xtian (See My Albums) Via Flickr: In Explore en position 473 le 27/10/2022 Thème Flickr Social - Green Chrono: 1682

[goggles-mcgee]

Too Late: Aurore & Mireille

Latest chapter in the story for @miner249er

Previous Story

Beginning Chapter

Last Chapter                     Next Chapter

Summary: All Aurore wanted was a peaceful, stress-free day from all that was going on in the chaos that had become Paris. Just a day out with her best friend, thinking about nothing but of course life was never that easy and her day never got the chance to be peaceful. Though it did end interestingly.

__________

Aurore sighed as she twirled her parasol between her fingers. She could feel her best friend’s gaze on her but she really didn’t know how to put all the thoughts in head into words. Usually Mireille was the ‘quiet’ one out of the two but lately Aurore hadn’t felt up to talking much even with so much to talk about. Or maybe it was the fact she only wanted to talk about one thing and that one thing made the two of them depressed and caused Mireille to spiral more often than not. Though it would be a discredit to Mireille if Aurore believed her friend didn’t know exactly what, no who, was on her mind. It was just better for the both of them that Aurore did not voice it but that was her vicious cycle, it was all she wanted to talk about. Oh at first she tried to talk of other things, the weather, the hottest gossip at school (but that quickly fell into the category of the person she was avoiding bringing up), or whatever mundane thing she could think up. The problem was now instead of those things being the distractions they were meant to be, they were now reminders. 

Reminders of The Protector.

Of Marinette. 

Even just thinking the teen’s name made her throat tighten. Before she had disappeared, Marinette had become a very close friend of Aurore and Mireille. Though she never wanted them to be public about it out of fear of the reactions of her former friends and the Liar. Aurore had always argued that her class would protect Marinette and nothing could break their friendship but the girl would merely give her a small smile and say things were enough for her. After a while they gave up arguing with her, they were just happy to have her friendship and Aurore wished that truly had been enough. Friendship was supposed to save the day. That’s what all those kids' shows told them, it’s what parents encouraged and it’s what Aurore had foolishly believed in even in the face of what Hawkmoth had turned Paris into. When reality hit her in the face, it hit her hard.

Aurore had been like a lot of Paris’s population that saw their heroes as this dynamic duo. Best friends out to fight the evil of the world! Then the group grew and so had the belief, because here was a friend group bestowed with powers beyond imagination and they fought for good, they fought the evil that tried to oppress the people of Paris. It wasn’t hard for Aurore to get caught up in it all, the magic, the heroism, the fights, the everything. It was like seeing her favorite shows come to life and she was constantly in awe. She remembered feeling as in awe of the group as she was envious. They were living out her childhood dream. Then she along with all of Paris found out the fantastic group of friends that defended them from Hawkmoth and Mayura wasn’t as tight-knit as they all had believed. It shouldn’t have been as world-shattering as it had been.

And yet it was.

If Hawkmoth had not been…stopped by The Protector, Aurore was sure she would have been akumatized. Actually she was willing to bet money that most of Paris would have been akumatized if the villain hadn’t been stopped. It was weird, being able to feel emotions properly once more and Aurore, like many, hadn’t known how to move forward when they realized that. She had become so used to forcing herself to only be happy and when she did get angry or something like it all she felt was fear. Mireille and she had spoken about it often as neither had been comfortable enough to go to their channel's newly hired therapist. The lady was nice enough, but Aurore just couldn’t bring herself to trust the woman. Mireille had just been afraid to have to talk to a stranger about personal things, so the two of them decided they would just talk to one another. It wasn’t healthy, they knew that, but it wasn’t an easy thing to stop. 

The one thing they avoided talking about though after a particularly bad panic attack from Mireille and a rather bad dip in Aurore’s depression was Marinette going missing. Again, they knew it wasn’t healthy, Aurore’s father pointed it out any time she brought it up tentatively, but it hurt too much to acknowledge beyond the basics. Though Aurore knew that only made her parents worry more and she was pretty sure they were looking at therapists outside of Paris to take her to. She knew she was getting bad so she knew they weren’t going to ask if it was something she wanted to do, it was going to be something she needed to do. Even if she understood that, it didn’t make the anger, betrayal, or anguish she felt lessen. Mireille was in the same boat though, apparently her parents were talking to Aurore’s and this was going to be a group thing. That’s why she asked her friend to take a walk today. To warn her. 

The problem was trying to bring it up without it ruining their day out, though Aurore was not confident that could be accomplished no matter what. She didn’t want to wait till the end of their outing, because she knew holding in that information would make her act unlike herself and Mireille would notice. While they ate was also out of the question because she knew that neither she nor Mireille would be up to eating if she did, but that was also why she feared the ‘ripping the band-aid off’ method. If she brought it up right now, at the beginning of their day she ran the risk of their day being ruined and them not even making it to the cute little bistro their coworker Eileen had suggested earlier that week. But she couldn’t not tell Mireille, her best friend deserved to know what their respective parents were planning!

“What’s going on between those pigtails of yours?” Mireille joked softly.

Aurore gulped, she knew Mireille would notice something. “A lot.” 

The girl beside her hummed, “Anything I can help with?”

“I don’t think this is something that will go away so easily…” Aurore muttered as she looked down at her shoes, she watched the way the sun shined off the material as they walked, she absolutely couldn’t handle looking at Mireille. 

“Well,” Mireille mused, “it might not go away easily, most things don’t, but talking certainly makes things a little better. Don’t you agree?”

“I agree…” She said a little hesitantly, but Aurore did actually agree. “It’s just…I don’t think my parents do. Well I mean they do but they don’t. They- It's complicated. Or maybe it’s not and I’m the one complicating everything! I don’t know.”

Mireille stopped walking and gently tugged on Aurore’s arm to get her to stop as well which made the blonde girl look up at her friend. Something she somewhat regretted as Mireille looked at her with her big doe-eyes and Aurore knew she would tell her everything despite the fear that seemed to have her heart in a grip. “Aurore. Whatever it is, I bet it’s not worth you making yourself stressed. You’ll make yourself sick like that.”

She huffed in reply, Mireille was definitely the Mom Friend, though Marc told her she could be as well, maybe they traded off the role. “I know Mir. It’s just…I overheard my parents talking and I don’t think I would be as upset if I knew it was just about me but they were talking to your parents too. Not there. At my house or anything, but like, over the phone on speaker. I had just put Pier down for a nap and was going to tell my parents that he was sleeping and grab a snack but I heard them talking and it sounded serious. And I just…I eavesdropped.” 

Aurore watched as Mireille bit her lip, a bad habit her friend had when she was nervous. “Is it…Is it bad? What they were talking about. Is it bad?”

“No?”

“You don’t sound positive.”

“It’s not bad. I mean it’s really not but…” Aurore bit her lip now. “They uh, my parents were telling yours that they are looking at therapists outside the city to take me too. They didn’t talk to me about it which I guess I can kind of understand. I have turned down all the ones here in Paris…”

“Me too.” Mireille admitted quietly.

Aurore gulped because she guessed as much. “My dad never really said anything, but when I mentioned we talk to each other…he didn’t look happy. I mean he also didn’t look upset or mad, but he definitely didn’t look happy. He and mom brought up talking to a professional after that and I said I’d think about it-”

“Which, in Aurore talk, means no.”

“Yes, well, I honestly thought they had forgotten about it. I don’t…I don’t want to talk to a stranger about myself or what I’m feeling…but my parents think I need to. They found out I had overheard and well…It turned into an argument but, in some ways I can see where they are coming from. I don’t…I don’t feel like myself a lot of the time anymore.”

Mireille was quiet, but it wasn’t her normal quiet and it scared Aurore. Sure they often spoke to one another about how they were feeling but she was pretty sure they both held back a lot too so they wouldn’t be a burden. Which is nonsense because Mireille could never be a bother. “I…I don’t think I’m okay.”

The admission wasn’t surprising but it still made tears well in Aurore’s eyes. “Me too…”

“My parents…my parents are looking for a therapist for me too aren’t they?” Mireille asked in a small voice.  

Aurore nodded.

“I’m…I don’t want to but I know they’ve been worried…” The shy girl sighed. 

“Mine too. I feel bad…” Aurore admitted as she took one of Mireille’s hands in her own and continued their walk. “But…there’s really nothing we can do to stop them. I just wanted you to know. I’m sure your parents wouldn’t ambush you with this but…you needed to know and I couldn’t keep it from you.”

Mireille squeezed her hand. “I appreciate that.”

The two stayed quiet as they walked, occasionally they swung their hands but overall they didn’t speak. Aurore wanted to give Mireille time to digest everything she had told her and she had no doubt it was a lot to digest and sort through feelings wise. Aurore herself had been furious when she first overheard her parent’s conversation. She didn’t think she needed to see a complete stranger and talk about her life. Her life was fine, it wasn’t great but it wasn’t awful and that was something right? She was happy sometimes, though more often than not, if she wasn’t with Mireille, Marc, or her younger brother Pier, she felt numb. Like she was going through the motions as if she had gone through each day a hundred times despite knowing she hadn’t. She tried to keep her grades up but she knew they had been slipping, it wasn’t like she was failing but she could no longer say she was doing her best to achieve high grades. She did what was necessary or whatever she felt she had enough energy to do. Sometimes just staring at her homework overwhelmed her to tears.

So maybe, yeah, she could see why her parents finally had enough of her behavior and just straight up told her she was going to see someone to talk to instead of asking her. Though to be fair to Aurore, she had tried to talk to a therapist here in Paris but the first session ended up with the therapist themselves breaking down as apparently Aurore was the first client they had had post-Hawkmoth’s defeat. She had sat there through the most heartbreaking breakdown she had ever witnessed and she had seen a lot seeing as she worked in show-biz. The therapist went on about how he was scared he would become akumatized again-and boy hadn’t that been a sad eye-opener; even their therapists weren’t safe-he was terrified of feeling even the slightest bit of emotion during a session even if he knew that Hawkmoth posed no threat anymore. Aurore didn’t blame him. No in the least. But she did not return after that session and told her parents that they should email him and maybe suggest he go see a therapist, preferably outside Paris.

Maybe it was that, her suggestion there, that had given her parents the idea of seeking a therapist for their daughter in Reims. If anything she guessed they were going to tell her they were visiting her grandparents who lived in said city and would ambush her with the appointment. Sadly, it would have been effective as she felt like all she wanted to do was run given she now knew about said appointment, or future appointment. She didn’t actually know if they had booked anything but let it not be said that they did not know their daughter. They knew she would have protested or done something dramatic like run to her cousin CiCi’s place which was still a plan that lingered in the back of her mind. But…there was a voice in her head that sounded too similar to Marinette than she was comfortable with, shouting at her to not run away. To not back down. You got this Aurore! 

“You’re not thinking of running to CiCi’s are you?” Mireille really did know her better than most. 

Aurore chuckled weakly. “The thought has crossed my mind more times than I can count Mir…It’s always my back-up…but-but I know in this case I shouldn’t. Or well, more like there’s a voice telling me not to and giving me a right scolding if I even briefly think about CiCi.”

Mireille nodded before she bit her lip, she looked a little apprehensive which made Aurore feel apprehensive in return. “Scolding, huh? That little voice wouldn’t happen to sound like…like Mar…like Mari…like her would it?”

Another chuckle, though this one was remarkably wetter than the last. “You know I can’t lie to you Mir. Yeah…it, uh, it sounds like Marinette.”

Her name hung in the air like a noose but Aurore trooped on, she wanted to say her friend’s name. She wanted to hear her name. Her real name, not the idolized name people referred to her by, not the akuma name others called her in reverence, her actual name, her normal name. A name she introduced herself with with pride. “It sounds so much like her Mir…”

“I think I have a voice like that too…” Mireille confessed on a cry. “She scolds me when I’m being ‘silly’ or she comforts me when everything just gets too much. I miss her Aurore! I really miss her!”

The sound of her friend crying made Aurore cry and soon they were just standing on the sidewalk hugging each other like the other might disappear too and they just cried. As sad as it was to say, this was not an unusual sight for the people of Paris as of late, random bursts of emotion were as commonplace as a sneeze nowadays. The news said something about delayed reactions, others said something about repressed emotions, all Aurore could see and understand was the damage. These bursts were a good thing yes but they were also the ugly damage left behind by an unremorseful terrorist. Normal was a thing of the past and yet it was something Aurore ached for day by day. She yearned to not wake up and stare in her mirror and tell herself to be happy no matter how she actually felt, to wear a smile despite her facial muscles protesting. It was what she had done every morning when Hawkmoth and Mayura were still a thing and it was a habit she still couldn’t shake. It was like how her mother would play Vanina* every morning because it was her favorite song and would give her a little extra cheer, or how her father started his days wearing his fathers old Dog Tag because his father had been such a positive person, or so he said. Aurore never got to meet the man. 

The damage stayed like a persistent stain. Faded but never gone. 

The two gave each other one final squeeze before they let go and gave each other a strained smile. Aurore giggled sadly and shook her head. “You still hungry?”

“Mireille tiredly chuckled back and shook her head, “No. You?”

Aurore gave a wry smile. “Nope.”

“Want to just take a walk? I don’t feel like going home just yet.” 

“Mir, that sounds like an excellent idea.” Aurore declared as she looped one arm through Mireille’s and picked up her forgotten parasol, she hadn’t even noticed when it had fallen. 

They hadn’t even moved more than two steps when they heard footsteps rapidly approaching them and all of a sudden Aurore felt the breath knocked out of her and she was on the ground in a tangle of limbs. She heard Mireille shriek and all she could do was groan back. She thought she even heard a snap and prayed that it hadn’t been her parasol. She didn’t need another thing to add to the already big list of things she was feeling crummy about. Before she could shout at whoever decided to bulldoze her and her friend she was unceremoniously pulled up on her feet. She felt hands brushing off her shoulders and heard someone frantically apologizing and that’s when she finally noticed that the person-no-people who had knocked them over were Luka and Kagami. Both of whom looked pale, shaken, and just a tad frustrated. “I’m so so sorry Aurore! We didn’t mean to run you guys’ over!”

“Luka is correct, it was not our intention but you see we are running from some…rather persistent people and..” Kagami said with a wince as she tapped her foot. Adrenaline obviously still coursing through her veins and with the way he kept glancing over his shoulder, the same could be said about Luka.

“Wait, you guys are being chased?” Mireille cried out in shock. Aurore didn’t really think twice about grabbing at Luka and Kagami and running in the direction of the Seine. Mireille was startled if the noise she let out was anything to go by but she caught on quick and then all of them were running. There was no plan really, but Aurore knew Luka, ish, and she knew his family lived on that houseboat on the Seine, it was hard to miss. So she figured if they ran towards the body of water, they would see the boat sooner or later and that would be their safe haven. She voiced as much and left them all to discuss whatever they wanted but Aurore could only think about getting these two to safety. 

She had seen how crazed some people were getting over any information they could get about Marinette in any of her identities or forms. It was maddening. It was frightening. Like everyone else, she had seen the news about Madame Bustier’s murder, and had heard through the grapevine about what happened to Lila. It might not be The Followers who were after Luka and Kagami but there was no way that Aurore was going to risk it. So they ran and ran until they caught sight of the house boat. Thankfully it was docked and even though she was out of breath, Aurore pointed to it and they all clumsily made their way over but before they could even think of boarding they ran by an elderly couple who had been crossing the street at the same time as them but were doing so slowly. Aurore desperately wanted to just run on the boat, to get to safety but as the echoes of distant footsteps rang in her ears she shook her head and let go of Luka and Kagami. She felt the stop but she just continued to make her way to the couple even as her heart thumped in her chest violently. 

“Aurore?” Mireille wanted.

“They’ll get trampled Mir. You can hear them. They’re not going to stop even if they see them.” 

“They might.” Kagami said reluctantly.

“But they might not.” Luka said back.

Mireille bit her lip but nodded and all four of them ran to the couple and helped them across the street, trying not to rush them even as the footsteps got closer, got louder. The closer and louder they got, the more Aurore’s hands shook but she would absolutely not abandon these poor old folks. 

“You children are very kind.” The woman said with a kind smile, one Aurore couldn’t help but return. The woman reminded her of her grandmère.

“Yes, but I do believe you are in a rush. Do not let us keep you any longer.” The man said with an equally kind smile, though his was tinged with a sadness Aurore didn’t understand but somehow felt all the same. 

“Be safe.” Luka said firmly but with his own smile before they all waved at the couple and ran as fast as they could because they heard the footsteps come out of the alley they had come from shortly before and they didn’t want to waste any time. There were some shouts of recognition from the small crowd and Aurore had been tempted to look back but she did trust herself not to trip if she did so, so she just ran. She ran and swore to herself she would wear more comfortable shoes from now on because her undoubtedly cute Mary-Janes were pretty but her feet were killing her. 

They all clumsily ran on deck and promptly fell into a pile once more as it seemed their bodies had run out of adrenaline once they deemed they were in safe territory. The noise made Madame Couffaine come barreling out of nowhere with a sword of all things but when she saw the gaggle of children slumped on the deck and from the sounds Aurore heard and the way the woman’s neck snapped to shore, she was pretty sure she also saw a crowd chasing said kids. Without any help from the exhausted children, Aurore watched as the woman swiftly undocked the boat and before she knew it they were sailing and it was anything but smooth but she was grateful to get away. In time, the ride and they calmed down and Madame Couffaine-Anarka, as she asked to be called-led them down into the living room-esque room to let them calm down further as she got them somewhere safe and quiet. She recommended they tell their parents which Kagami, Mireille and Aurore did swiftly. 

For a moment they all just sat there until Luka made a face when he plopped down face first on the couch and sat up. “Ow.”

“What is wrong?” Kagami asked in concern.

“Something in my pocket poked me.” He mumbled as he reached into his sweater pocket. 

“Now that you mention it, it feels like there is something in my jacket pocket too. It feels heavier.” Mireille said as she furrowed her brows and stood up so she could rummage in her jacket pockets since said jacket was wrapped around her waist. 

Aurore watched in mild interest as the two dug in their pockets only to pull out two identical boxes. Mireille looked confused, Luka looked like he had seen a ghost. That’s what had Aurore sit up straight. “Gami…” His voice shook when he spoke too.

Kagami too stood up and started going through her own pockets before she took her mini backpack off her shoulders and saw the big pocket open. With shaking hands she opened it further and reached in. It was a surprise to Aurore when she pulled out a third identical box, but to Kagami and Luka it looked like they expected it and were still somewhat in shock. “What…?”

“Aurore. I promise we’ll explain in a minute but can you please check yourself to see if you got a box as well.” Luka pleaded and well, Aurore really couldn’t say no to his desperation. So she checked her small clutch and found nothing but remembered her skirt had pockets and she was wearing a petticoat so if something was in there she probably wouldn’t feel it. So with a deep breath taken in she reached into her own pockets and when her hand met wood her eyes widened. Out she brought the fourth identical box and heard Luka laugh a little hysterically, a little breathlessly while Kagami slowly lowered herself back onto the couch. 

Mireille and Aurore shared a look before Mireille frowned at the two other teens, “What’s going on?”

Next Chapter

[jupiterslifelessmoons]

Am a photographer

[felinefractious]

Nina de Château Boréal

🐱 Norwegian Forest Cat

📸 Diana Česnokova [Chatterie de Château Boréal]

🎨 Light Amber Smoke [Extension Gene: Amber]

[licornelilith]

[eupat]