GORE(kinda) WARNING. IF YOU DONT LIKE READING STUFF ABOUT ANIMALS BEING TORTURED THEN DONT READ THE FIRST PARAGRAPH (you can, like read up to the words "That's it." Then stop reading and move to the next paragraph.

The black cat ran fast and ran hard. His breath came in short puffs and he could barely feel the hard ground underneath his paws. The world rushed past him and he had no idea where he was going. It was almost routine, him running away from the people. Finding cats had become such a rarity, that people wanted them. Not as pets, not as gifts to others, but for their pelts. That's it. The cat had witnessed far too many deaths, heard far too many yowls of pain. His whole clan was gone. And it was because of them. Nino. Skinned alive. Chloe. Skinned then cooked. Plagg. Stoned to death. His father. Stabbed in the heart directly in front of him.

The cat's eyes narrowed. How could they? Why would they? He still struggled to wrap his tail around the whole situation. The cat scaled a tree and glared at the people who ran under him, trying to find any trace of him. The cat growled. Good luck with that. Now, if they would be ever so considerate as to not look up...

Crap.

The cat's green eyes made contact with a girl's blue ones. He held his breath, praying that she didn't notice him. That she was just admiring the leaves. No. That wasn't possible. She had tribal paint on her face. She was definitely looking for him, if not at him. Maybe her gaze would pass over him? The girl's eyes narrowed.

Nope.

She definitely saw him.

Double crap.

The cat blinked. He blinked once. Three-hundred to four-hundred milliseconds passed. And the girl was behind him, net in hand. "Gotcha," she whispered.

The cat yelped. No. No, no, no, no! The girl threw the net around him and he screamed and clawed at anything and everything.

"Ouch! Stop that!"

The cat continued his struggle. The girl's grip loosened and he took the opportunity to fling himself out of her grasp. He fell to the ground with a thud and tried to run away but the net got caught and he was stuck, defenseless. The girl landed in front of him and tilted her head. He noticed with satisfaction that he had scratched her on the face a couple times, the blood smudging her tribal paint. He also noticed that she was beautiful. She wore a simple white dress and, he noticed with disdain, a midnight black cape. Pale skin that contrasted beautifully with her dark hair, and a splash of freckles along her nose. Bright eyes and full pink lips, it was hard to believe that humans can be so beautiful yet so monstrous. "Bad, kitty," she chided, "Things will go much easier if you participate."

The cat snapped out of its daze and struggled again. He shut his eyes and tried to remember the lessons that his father had given him.

"Close your eyes,

Think of your motive,

Concentrate,

Concentrate, Adrien. Think about being him. Right now, that is your motive.

Breathe,

And transform."

The cat shut his eyes hard, finding the motive wasn't difficult, it was to get the hell out of here. He inhaled,

Exhaled,

And transformed.

The girl gasped and sprung away from him. "You...What...Huh?"

Chat lept to his feet, threw the net off him, and ran. He didn't get very far. The girl tackled him to the ground and pinned him down. "You," she panted, "Are going to tell me how you did that. And then you will transform back into a cat."

Chat's eyes widened. "W-wait! Please, don't...don't kill me. I'll tell you e-everything that you want to know. I won't run away." He took a breath. "I won't run away. Cat's honor."

The girl's eyes narrowed. Without taking her eyes off him, she slowly got off him and sat across him, with her net in hand. "Tell me who you are. And don't play any games with me. I know several ways to skin your type." Chat Noir noticed a long knife that was attached to her hip.

He gulped. "Uh...my name is Adr—" He stopped. His father's number one rule was to never reveal his real name. "My name is Chat. Chat Noir."

The girl was silent. He could tell that he was taking in his human form. Black leather mask and all. "And... what are you?"

"A black cat."

"No, you're not."

Chat couldn't help but smirk. "Yes, I am, Princess. Don't you know that black cats carry magic? It's why you humans want our pelts so much."

"Black cats carry magic?"

Chat had piqued her interest. Now if only he could use that as leverage to stay alive. "Yes! We do. My power happens to be shifting. I'm a shapeshifter."

The girl tilted her head. "So you're a human that can turn into a black cat?"

"Nope. I'm a black cat that can turn into a human."

"I'm confused."

Despite the circumstances, Chat Noir had to laugh. "It's ok. It can get a little confusing Princess."

The girl narrowed her eyes. "Don't call me that."

Chat leaned in close and smirked. "Well, what else should I call a fair lady like yourself?"

She blushed. "My name's Marinette. Oh, God. I'm gonna get in so much trouble if my tribe finds out that I just told you my name."

"Well, Marinette," Chat Noir started, "We'll just have to make sure that nobody finds out."

Marinette tried (and failed) to fight the small smile creeping up on her face. This cat was growing on her. This cat, which she should've been hunting, was making her want to keep him alive. "Fine."

Chat Noir clapped his hands. "Great! Ok, we're gonna have to get me out of this horrid net."

"Right." Chat was surprised that Marinette had agreed to help him so easily. No extra charm needed. By the look on her face, he could tell that she was surprised as well. "Why are you—" He shook his head. "Never mind."

Marinette worked in silence, untangling him from her net. "Now what?" she said once he was free.

Chat stood and scooped her up. "Now we hide." He leaped up back into the trees and almost fell out again because Marinette had shoved him. "Hey! What gives?"

"You didn't have to pick me up," she hissed, "I'm perfectly capable of climbing trees myself."

"And I'm perfectly aware of that. How did you manage to sneak up on me earlier?"

"I climbed."

"But it only took you a second!"

"I climb fast."

Chat narrowed his eyes. "It's in your cape."

"W-what?"

"Your cape. Cats carry magical properties. That cape is made out of cat skin. It's how you were able to climb so fast. Or did you teleport?" Marinette paled. "Well," he said, "that answers that. Oh, I'm free to answer your questions now."

Marinette hesitated, but quickly regained her bearings and started bombarding him with questions. "How does your power work? How do all cats have magic? Is it only black cats that possess magic? Do all cats shapeshift?"

Chat blinked before answering. "Uh...no one really knows, yes, no, and no. Now if that's all that you need, I'll be on my way. Nice talking to you!" Chat Noir saluted before jumping out of the tree.

"Wait, no!" Scrambling, Marinette reached out and grabbed Chat's tail. "You haven't answered all of my questions!"

Chat's head hit the tree. "Hey! What gives?"

"You have to answer all of my questions. You promised," Marinette said as she glared down at him.

He glared back. "You have more questions?"

"Well just one but now you have to elaborate on your answers."

Chat cursed. "Cat litter. Well, can you help me back up? I don't really like talking to my killer upside-down."

"Killer? I am not going to kill you. You have to answer all of my questions first."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I'll keep you as a pet."

"And how will you, a girl whose tribe hunts and kills black cats, keep me, a black cat, as a pet?"

Marinette shrugged. "I'm a resourceful person. I'll figure something out."

"Resourceful, huh?"

"Very."

Chat Noir rolled his eyes. "I'll hold you to it. Now to elaborate, I have to be right-side up."

With a grunt, Marinette tugged on Chat's tail and managed to pull him back onto the tree. When he was in a comfortable position, Marinette poked him. "Alright. Your right-side up. Start talking."

"Like I said, no one really knows. Cats can develop one out of hundreds of powers. Which also answers your other question. There are so many different powers. Like shapeshifting," Chat gestured to himself. "Control of one of the many, many, elements, and—"

Marinette cocked her head. "I thought there were just four?"

"Nope. There's water, fire, earth, and air. But there's also, darkness, light, ice, and the soul. There's more, but I want to answer all of your questions so I can get out of here."

She raised an eyebrow. "Very blunt. You do know that because you said that, I will now ask more questions?"

Chat hissed. "Get on with it, then."

"You hissed at me."

"I'm a cat, Purr-incess."

"I told you not to call me that."

"Well you don't have much control over me, y'know. Cats don't really listen to people. Besides," Chat Noir smirked. "It's not like I'm your pet or anything."

Marinette glared at him and blushed a little. "J-just...Answer my questions already!"

Chat Noir tilted his head to the side. "What's the magic word?"

"Answer them."

"Ah, ah, ah," Chat tsked, "I think that the words are 'purrty please, O Great Chat Noir!'"

Marinette threw a dagger and landed it in the bark inches away from his head. "Ok, ok. Sorry. What happened to keeping me as your pet?"

"I've decided that I don't want a mangy cat like you as my pet."

"Mangy?! I am anything but mangy—"

Marinette pulled out another dagger and examined it. "Answer the questions," she said, her eyes not leaving the blade.

"A-alright. Um...So, powers are usually determined by what type of cat you are. Calicos usually have the ability to cast illusions, uh, Russian Blues can make protection barriers, and Exotic Shorthairs have the ability to create anything they want. Siamese cats can immobilize anyone, and Tabby cats can control elements. Just one, though."

"And what can black cats do?"

Chat puffed out his chest. "We are the most powerful, and rare, type of cat. Black cats have more than one power. We all share one, and we have a bonus power that's ours and ours only."

"What's your shared power?"

"Shapeshifting."

"And your special power?"

Chat raised his hand. "Cataclysm," he whispered. A dark bubble formed around his hand and Marinette stared in awe. When she reached out to touch it, he hastily jerked it away. "Don't touch it!"

"Why? What does it do?"

"Marinette, do you know what 'cataclysm' means?"

She straightened. "Of course I do! I'm not stupid. It means destruction and chaos..." She trailed off. "Oh."

Chat broke off a twig from the tree branch they were sitting on and touched it with his other hand. As always, it disintegrated into ash. "Yeah. Oh."

Chat Noir and Marinette sat in silence for a while. Feeling anxious, Chat coughed. "Er..do you...uh...h-have any more, uh, any more questions?"

Marinette shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

"Then...can I ask you one?"

Her eyes widened. "You're...you're not gonna try to leave?"

"Not yet. I need to know something. Why—" Chat Noir was cut off by some shouts.

"Where is she?"

"Marinette!"

"I bet that damned cat took her!"

"When we find her, we kill the cat!"

Whoops and hollers were heard after that and Marinette and Chat looked at each other in alarm. Marinette started pushing Chat up the tree. "Go, go! You can ask me next time."

"Next time?"

"Yes! Meet me here next week, when the sun is at its peak."

"You're not gonna turn me in?"

"No, you stupid cat, now go!"

Chat turned around and started climbing. Once he was on another branch, he transformed back into a cat. Before leaping off, he turned around and looked Marinette in the eye. He nodded. And she returned the gesture.

Thank you, Princess.