The next day came sooner than Marinette expected, but she was glad not to have to wait so long to get back to looking after Rayla. Granted, she did need Tikki to wake her up after her first alarm went off, but Marinette still made it to Artemis's apartment an hour before breakfast needed to be served. As soon as she arrived, Marinette checked to see if Rayla was still asleep and wasn't disappointed when she saw the eight-year-old lying on her stomach all spread out on her bed, covers kicked away as she snored. Knowing that Rayla was still sound asleep, she went to the kitchen to start making breakfast for the two of them. It wasn't until she was halfway through cooking the bacon that she heard footsteps coming towards the kitchen, causing her to turn around and see a slightly groggy Rayla coming towards her.

"Good morning, Rayla." Marinette greeted her charge, followed by her flipping over the strips of bacon cooking in her pan.

"... Morning..." Rayla yawned as she stretched her back, followed by rubbing her eyes to clear up her lingering sleepiness. "I didn't think you'd be here so early." the eight-year-old admitted after her arms fell back to her sides, straightening her posture as she spoke.

"Artemis said that you usually have breakfast at 8:00, so I made sure to be on time today." Marinette replied, turning her attention back to cooking their breakfast.

"Fair enough." Rayla remarked as she walked to stand behind Marinette. "Can I help, please?" the Half-Troll asked, drawing Marinette's attention back to her with a concerned glance.

"Are you awake enough to not burn or cut yourself?" Marinette asked, causing Rayla to nod 'yes' in reply. "Then come on over." the pigtailed girl said, waving Rayla over before she lifted the pan from the oven top and took the already-cooked bacon off of it before putting more in.

"Have you cooked bacon before?" Marinette inquired, hoping to avoid Rayla hurting herself by cooking something she didn't know how to do.

"Yep. Loads of times." Rayla responded, recalling her times helping Artemis in the kitchen.

"Good. You can finish the bacon while I start the pancake batter. Then we can cook those together." Marinette

"Not a problem!" Rayla announced, followed by her going to get a step ladder to avoid needing her face so close to the pan while Marinette started making the pancake batter.

It took a few minutes, but the batter was ready by the time Rayla was done with the bacon and put it off to the side with the sausages before putting the plate back into the oven on low heat. From there, the two girls make the pancakes in no time at all and soon sit down to eat the fruits of their labor, Rayla taking the first bite of the delicious food.

"Mmh! So good!" Rayla squealed, quickly taking another bite of their breakfast while Marinette took her first bite.

"That's what teamwork gets you. It's always better to do things together than alone." Marinette replied, happy that Rayla was enjoying their shared work in their meal before taking another bite. It wasn't until they finished a good portion of their meals that Marinette decided to suggest a plan for the day ahead. "So, after we finish up here and you get changed, we'll go take the metro to the geode shop. Sound good to you?" the red-tipped-haired girl began after she finished another bite, almost done with eating her food.

"Sounds good to me! I can't wait!" Rayla exclaimed, starting to wolf down her food and leaving Marinette a little surprised.

"Whoa! Easy there! You don't want to lose a finger there." Marinette chided her ward, only to start finishing her plate.

Seconds later, they finish up their breakfasts and clean up, soon leading Marinette to wait for Rayla to get dressed for the day and change from her pyjamas into her usual attire. Just as Marinette finished putting away the pans, Rayla came out of her room and was now ready to head off.

"I'm ready! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" Rayla cheered, jumping up and down in her excitement and earning a smile from Marinette as she walked up to her.

"Okay, okay! Just give me a minute to make sure I've got the address in my phone." Marinette replied as she pulled out her phone to make sure that her directions were on, hoping to settle some of Rayla's over-excitement. When that little chore was done, Marinette looked back at the impatient Rayla. "Alright, let's head out." the designer declared, prompting Rayla to grab her hand and pull her out of the apartment, only stopping so that Marinette could lock the door. Once that was done, Rayla dragged her to the elevator, the two of them going down to the ground level to find the nearest metro station.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to the map Marinette had pulled up, it didn't take long for her and Rayla to arrive at the geode shop she had found earlier that week, the name of it being 'Geodes in the Sky with Diamonds'. If it wasn't for Rayla pulling Marinette down the street from the metro station, they would have arrived at the shop a little later. But Marinette didn't mind arriving sooner, seeing as it would let her and Rayla start looking at the available geodes together. The two girl's excitement only grew when they opened the front door and walked into the store, immediately greeted by the light and airy shop interior.

With the shop front made of large windows, the light caught on the wall's main paint color of an almost off-white cream that matched the shelves lining the back and sides of the shop. Near the front entrance of the shop, the cashier counter stood on the right of the door and in front of the shelves lining the wall, the counter wrapping around to the wall and joining the shelves. Off-white paneling decorated the front counter while a wood-block top sat on top of it with an old-timey copper register sitting at the end, the counter design being carried through to the shelves' inner ledges too. While the shelves lining the walls held an assortment of large geodes on display, the space between them had rows of bins matching the shelves that held the smaller-sized ones for sale. The only wall of shelves that didn't have larger geodes on display was the one lining the back wall, where the slightly bigger geodes that a customer could buy were displayed.

"Whoa! This place is amazing!!" Rayla gushed, her eyes sparkling when she looked around the shop.

"Yeah, it is. It looks even better than the pictures on their website!" Marinette agreed, which seemed to summon a girl to come out from a hidden door in the back and see them as she came up to the register.

"Oh, hi there! Welcome to Geodes in the Sky with Diamonds!" the stock girl greeted them as she came up to stand behind the register. "How may I help you two lovely ladies?" she asked, smiling at them as they walked up to the counter.

"Oh, thank you for the offer but I think we'll do fine on our own." Marinette replied, hoping to start looking.

"Not a problem. I've got some things I need to move around in the back, so just ring the bell if you need help and I'll come out." the stock girl explained as she reached behind the counter, pulling out a bell to place next to the register.

"Got it. Thank you!" Marinette cheerfully responded, followed by her and Rayla heading over to the geode bins while the stock girl headed back the way she came.

"So, what type of geodes are you looking for?" Rayla asked, the stock girl heading into the back room while the two girls arrived at the bins.

"We're looking for geode crystals like this." Marinette began as she pulled out her phone from her purse, pulling up an image of the geodes she had in mind. "But slightly smaller so that the resin version won't be heavy on the hat's brim." the pigtailed girl further explained, Rayla leaning in to get a closer look at the photos.

"Does the color matter if you'll make a resin version of it?" Rayla questioned, leaning back now that she had a good look at the geodes Marinette was looking for.

"Not really. I'm mostly looking for the right size for the geodes." Marinette replied as she put her phone back into her purse. "But if you do find a geode the right size with a pretty color, that will be even better." the red-tipped-haired girl added, eager to get started.

"Got it!" Rayla proclaimed, followed by her and Marinette to start looking through the geodes available.

The two of them soon find themselves drawn into the many colors and shapes of the geodes. Marinette even went as far as pulling out her sketchbook from her bag to draw up new design ideas, taking pictures of the inspiration sources for later reference. But while Marinette was occupied with drawing a design inspired by a fiery orange jasper, Rayla wandered back over to the bins to try and find the right-sized geodes. She had arrived at a bin for assorted geodes and started picking through them for any smaller crystal-shaped geodes, admiring them in the light as she did so.

But as she did her searching, Rayla started becoming more interested in how pretty the geodes looked, which soon led to her sniffing a malachite shard and finding it to smell amazing. Making sure Marinette wasn't looking, Rayla took a bite out of the malachite and had to catch herself from moaning at the delicious taste. From there, Rayla started snaking on more of the assorted geodes, taking a sample from each bin as she went by them. Just as she took a white quartz crystal from the bins, Marinette finished her design and looked back at Rayla just as she picked up the geode, her eyes widening at the piece in Rayla's hand.

"Oh my gosh!" Marinette squealed, immediately stopping Rayla in her tracks.

"I WASN'T GOING TO EAT IT!" Rayla blurted out, going ramrod straight while her arms snapped to her sides in her panic... yet still managing not to drop her collection.

"Wha...?" Marinette began, finding Rayla's reaction a little peculiar while the eight-year-old regained her composure.

"Uh... I mean I was... just about to show it to you. Is this close to what you need?" Rayla asked as she walked up to Marinette, holding out the geode to her now that she managed to reroute focus onto the object in her hands.

"Yes, it's exactly the right size I need for the second-largest geode for the mold!" Marinette exclaimed, taking the geode from Rayla's hand and raising it to her eyes for a closer look.

"Awesome!" Rayla cheered, only for Marinette to see the other geodes in her hands and send a curious glance at her. "Oh, I found these when looking for that quartz crystal. I was just admiring them before I put them back." the white-haired girl explained when seeing Marinette staring at the stones in her hands, bashfully scratching her neck as she looked at the ground.

"Who says you have to?" Marinette questioned, drawing Rayla's shocked attention back to her. "Seeing how much you love nature, I don't see why I have to be the only one to get geodes from here." the designer declared, leaving Rayla excited by her words.

"Really!? Thank you!!" Rayla exclaimed, jumping up and down in her excitement.

"Alright, calm down, now. It's no problem at all." Marinette said with a smile, trying to calm Rayla down a little bit despite her fondness showing through. "Now how about I help you pick out some more while we look for more of the geodes I need." the pigtailed girl offered, a smirk on her lips as she placed a hand on Rayla's shoulder.

"Absolutely!" Rayla happily replied, prompting the two girls to go on in their search of the bins for more geodes, now adding to Rayla's growing collection in the process.

Soon enough, they find the geodes Marinette needs and ones Rayla could add to her collection, soon going to the check-out to ring the bell and call the stock girl to ring them up. Seconds later, she came out of the back room and started walking to the cash register, a smile on her face.

"Did you find everything you need?" the stock girl asked as arrived at the register, ready to help them if needed.

"That and a little bit more, too." Marinette remarked, watching as Rayla placed her collection onto the counter while she put her geodes next to them.

"Ooo, those are some nice finds. You've got a good eye for these." the stock girl commended, admiring the geodes Rayla put on the counter.

"Thank you." Rayla replied, beaming at the compliment.

"Now, how are you paying? Cash or credit?" the stock girl asked as she started ringing up the collected geodes, making sure to get their prices right.

"I'll be paying for mine with cash, and Rayla here is insistent to pay for her new collection with her own money." Marinette explained, giving Rayla a playful side-eye.

"You shouldn't have to pay for me when I've got money of my own." Rayla countered, returning the side eye Marinette was giving her.

"Aren't you a sweet little thing? That's very mature of you." the stock girl remarked as she finished ringing the geodes, starting to calculate the separate prices after putting Rayla's geodes into a leather pouch.

"That she is. And quite cheeky when she wants to be." Marinette chided, causing Rayla to playfully stick her tongue at her while the stock girl finished calculating the separate prices.

"Okay, for the three geodes you've got, that'll be 30 euros. And for the assortment of geodes and leather pouch, that'll be 60 euros." the stock girl announced, followed by both Marinette and Rayla taking out their wallets and pulling out the money owed. "Thank you for shopping at Geodes in the Sky with Diamonds. Hope you have a wonderful day!" the shop employee cheerfully said as they handed the money to her.

"Thank you!" Marinette & Rayla called out as they took their purchases from the counter, walked to the front exit and left the shop.

"That shop was really cool! I can't wait to tell Artmeis about it!" Rayla exclaimed as she swung her bag a little, circling Marinette as they walked along the sidewalk.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Rayla. I know I certainly did, too." Marinette admitted, watching Rayla move around her with impeccable grace. "But I've still got to get the stuff to make the resin copies. How about we continue our little outing?" the red-tipped-haired girl offered, immediately halting Rayla in her circling at the idea of continuing their outing.

"I'm all for it!" Rayla declared, only to suddenly climb onto Marinette's shoulders, leaving the girl surprised at how easily she had done so. "Lead the way!! Whoo!!" the Half-Troll cheered, allowing Marinette to get over her shock and smile up at her charge's excitement.

"As you wish, little lady!" Marinette happily replied, starting to walk down the sidewalk to their next stop.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After their extra little stop at another store for the supplies to make the mold for the resin geode, Marinette and Rayla soon found that it was already lunchtime after they left the store. Seeing as they were a good ways away from Artemis's apartment, Rayla led them to one of the restaurants she and her caretaker frequented. Fortunately for them, it wasn't that far away from the shop they just left and they soon arrived at the restaurant to find a table to sit at inside.

"This place is nice! I can't believe I've never known about this spot!" Marinette exclaimed as they found a booth and sat down, in awe of how nice the restaurant was despite not hearing about it until then.

"Really? It's right across the Seine from your family bakery. I would have thought you'd know about it." Rayla replied, leaving Marinette flabbergasted at her words

"How did you..." Marinette began, a little surprised that she knew about her family bakery despite not telling her about it.

"Artemis did her research on you after making that offer to her. While she had a good idea of who you were person-wise, she still wanted to know certain things." Rayla explained, settling Marinette's concerned curiosity about Rayla's ample knowledge of her.

"Fair enough." Marinette remarked, only for a waitress to come over to their table.

"Well, what do you know? My favorite little troublemaker has graced me with her presence." the waitress greeted the pair, causing Rayla to smile at the seemingly familiar face.

"Hey, Amanda! How's it hanging?" Rayla responded to the waitress; now revealed to be Amanda.

"Doing well, thanks for asking." Amanda reported, followed by a smirk to appear on her lips. "And I assume you've snuck away from your newest babysitter, again?" the waitress asked, placing her free hand on her hip while the other was on the underside of a tray.

"Um actually, she hasn't." Marinette spoke up, nervously waving to catch Amanda's attention. "Hi, I'm Marinette, Rayla's new babysitter." the designer greeted the waitress, causing Amanda's smirk to immediately fall from her face.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be rude. I've just been so used to seeing Rayla either coming into my restaurant alone or with Artemis that I didn't expect her to be here with anyone else, let alone her babysitter." Amanda explained amid her apology, hoping to smooth things over with Marinette. "The little troublemaker must really like you if she hasn't snuck away already. How long has Artemis been on her trip?" the waitress questioned Rayla, her smirk returning as she spoke.

"It's the monthly one, and she'll be coming back tonight." Rayla responded, earning Marinette an impressed stare from Amanda.

"A full two days! That's a record!" Amanda crowed, impressed with how long Marinette had lasted. "I bow to your ability to win over Rayla's favor. Not many people can do that." the waitress proclaimed as she bowed to Marinette, leaving the girl in question a little surprised at the gesture.

"Um... thank you." Marinette replied, not knowing what else to say while Amanda righted herself.

"How about I start you off with some mocks, while you figure out what to order? On the house!" Amanda declared, feeling in a giving mood in light of this occasion.

" 'Mocks'?" Marinette asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"Mocktails, aka Non-alcoholic cocktails. Basically fancy sodas." Rayla explained, already well-versed in the beverage.

"Well, if it isn't too much trouble, then that would be great!" Marinette decided, liking the idea.

"It's no trouble at all. Rayla and Artemis are frequent regulars here, and any friend of theirs is welcome here, too." Amanda assured Marinette, hoping to keep her from being weird about getting a free drink. "I'll be right back with your mocktails." the waitress said, heading off to the kitchen and leaving Marinette and Rayla alone at their table again.

"But we didn't pick them out!" Marinette called out, now realizing that little detail was missing.

"Amanda's not just the owner, she's also the mixologist and bartender here. All she needs is one look at someone and make them a drink they'll love!" Rayla spoke up, revealing a little bit more about their hostess for their meal and reliving Marinette's earlier worry. "Plus, she already knows my usual, so..." the eight-year-old trailed off, which gave her babysitter a good idea of what she meant.

"Okay, I'll go with you on this one." Marinette decided, throwing caution to the wind before her thoughts went back to Amanda's earlier remark. "If you don't mind me asking, what did Amanda mean by, 'Not many people can win your favor'?" the pigtailed girl asked her charge, which caused Rayla's excited expression to drop a little.

"Oh, that." Rayla muttered, lifting her menu to hide her face behind it. "Well, the truth is that I don't really know anyone enough to call friends other than the adults Artemis and I usually interact with." the white-haired girl answered, looking off to the side as she responded.

"What about from school? Do you have any friends from there?" Marinette questioned, now curious to know more about this intriguing young girl.

"I don't go to public school. I've been homeschooled all my life." Rayla admitted, putting her menu down and still avoiding eye contact with Marinette.

"Wait, really?" Marinette nearly squawked just as Amanda came back over to them with two mocktails on her try, one a fiery red-orange and the other a bright pink.

"Here we are! Your usual cherry hibiscus mocktail for you, Rayla. And here is a pink grapefruit and rosewater for you, Marinette." Amanda reported, placing the drinks onto the table as she said which was which.

"Thanks, Amanda!" Rayla thanked, reaching to grab hers and immediately taking a sip from it.

"Have you decided what you want to order yet?" Amanda asked, hoping to get their meals started.

"My usual, please." Rayla said as she placed her glass down on the table again, followed by her handing back her menu to Amanda.

"You got it." Amanda replied, taking the menu before looking at Marinette. "And what about you?" she asked.

"I'll have the club sandwich without mayo and a side of fries, please." Marinette responded, following Rayla's example and handing back her menu to Amanda as well.

"Not a problem. Anything else?" Amanda inquired, placing the menus under her tray arm.

"No, we're good." Marinette & Rayla replied, happy with their orders.

"Alright, I'll get your orders out in no time at all!" Amanda announced.

"Thank you!" Marinette & Rayla thanked before Amanda left the table, letting Marinette refocus on her conversation with Rayla.

"So, you've never gone to a real school before?" Marinette questioned Rayla, now getting back to their earlier exchange.

"No, I haven't. Artemis has been teaching me for as long as I can remember." Rayla admitted, rubbing the back of her neck as she spoke. "But it's not going to be like that for much longer. I'm going to be going to public school after spring break!" the white-haired girl exclaimed, excitement filling her features while Marinette's blooming worries were put to rest at the news.

"That's great!" Marinette cheered, only for her brain to process her words. "Wait, 'after spring break'? That only gives you a semester before summer break. Why wait so long to enroll you?" the red-tipped-haired girl queried, her curiosity growing the more she learned.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm smarter than the average eight-year-old. Thanks to Artemis homeschooling me, I'm ahead of the curve." Rayla explained, absentmindedly playing with her drink straw as she focused her attention on Marinette. "As such, the plan is for me to spend a semester in second grade to foster my social skills and spend time with kids my own age. After that, I will head up to fourth grade next year." the Half-Troll elaborated, leaving Marinette surprised.

"Fourth grade?! You're two grades further up than other kids your age?!" Marinette exclaimed, eyes wide at the sudden jump in grades Rayla was going to have.

"Yep! And I take pride in that!" Rayla announced, leaving her straw alone as she threw her arms into the air in her excitement. "Either way, I'm still excited to go to school for the first time. Even though it's nerve-wracking too." the eight-year-old admitted, now slouching in her seat while Marinette smiled at her.

"You know, you remind me of my friend Adrien. He didn't start going to public school until this year, too." Marinette replied, reaching over to place a comforting hand on Rayla's shoulder; who perked up at the familiar name.

"Really?" Rayla asked as she sat up, her face filled with wonder at the new information on her favorite hero.

"Yep." Marinette said as she reached for her mocktail, taking a sip from it and instantly fell in love with the flavor. "You weren't kidding! Amanda is really good at matching people with their perfect drinks." the designer praised, followed by her taking another sip.

"Told you!" Rayla exclaimed, happy that Marinette enjoyed her drink. "But how come your friends only just started going to school? Why not start sooner?" the white-haired girl asked, wanting to know more since Artemis didn't tell her much about Adrien or how she started watching over the boy.

"From what I've been told, his family was a little overprotective of him growing up. So much so that he had to sneak out to get to his first day of school!!" Marinette replied, releasing some of the negative thoughts on how unfair Adrien's situation was. Don't get her wrong, she knew he was better off than the majority of their class, but he was more down to earth than any of them despite his vast wealth.

"Wow, that does sound a lot like me! This Adrien guy sounds awesome!" Rayla squealed, amazed that she had so much in common with Adrien already.

"Yeah, he is. But before he opened up to me about his inexperience with going to school, I didn't like him at all." Marinette admitted, bashfully looking to the side as her cheeks turned a little red. "Now, we are friends and it's been... really nice having him around in class." the red-tipped-haired girl trailed off in a fond-sounding tone, taking another sip from her mocktail.

"And by that you mean you're in love with him, right?" Rayla nonchalantly asked, causing Marinette to look at her in shock and keep herself from doing a spit take. "It's painfully obvious to everyone." the white-haired girl remarked, an eyebrow raised at Marinette in a 'You aren't as slick as you think' way.

"That's what Artemis said to me too when we first met, but yes, I've got a crush on Adrien." Marinette responded, confirming Rayla's suspicions with a bemused smile. "But I shouldn't be surprised that you figured it out. Seems like everyone except for Adrien knows how I feel about him." the designer mused aloud, chuckling a little despite the awkwardness of her situation.

"Doesn't help that your eyes seem to turn into hearts and your face melts into a love-sick smile when talking about him." Rayla teased with a giggle, only to see Marinette's blush getting worse before she stopped. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." the Half-Troll assured her babysitter, which seemed to calm her babysitter down from her embarrassment.

"Thank you, Rayla. I'm glad that you and Artemis are keeping my little secret." Marinette said, a smile appearing on her lips at the promise. "Honestly, you two are so alike it's scary." the pigtailed girl remarked, leaving Rayla to return the smile at the comparison.

"Seeing as I've been in her care for a long time now, it makes sense." Rayla thought aloud, her face filling with fondness as she reflected on her time in Artemis's care.

"Speaking of that, how did you end up in Artemis's care? Are your parents...?" Marinette began, trying to tread lightly in case the subject was sensitive.

"I don't know. I never met them." Rayla responded, once again leaving Marinette shocked by her reply

"Wait, really?" Marinette asked, prompting Rayla to nod before taking another sip from her drink. "But then, did Artemis–" the red-tipped-haired girl started to question.

"Artemis didn't know them when they were alive... at least that's what she told me when I asked. She said that she was on a trip when she found me as a newborn and took me in." Rayla interrupted, already knowing the question Marinette was about to ask after hearing it a lot beforehand. "It's actually part of the reason why I haven't gone to public school yet. Artemis tends towards being a little overprotective of me since she found me, having lost a few people in her life before that day." the white-haired girl elaborated, placing her mocktail back onto the table with a small frown.

"Because she doesn't want that for you?" Marinette asked, now gaining a better understanding of Artemis's reasons for being overprotective of her ward. 'Seriously... is this a thing amongst rich parents?' the designer thought to herself, surprised to find that Adrien's dad wasn't the only one to act the way he had with his child.

"Exactly. But that doesn't mean she didn't try to find my birth family. When she first found me, she tried to do a background check to see who or where my birth family was." Rayla continued, slouching into her side of the booth as she spoke. "But I didn't have anything on me to point in the right direction, nor did I have a note with me. The only thing I had was the blanket I was wrapped in, my name stitched on the bottom corner." the eight-year-old concluded, once again looking to the side as she explained her backstory.

"That's awful! What kind of parent does that to their child!?" Marinette exclaimed in mortification, furious that she now knew someone with such horrible parents.

"I don't know. But while I'm curious about my birth family to find out more about where I came from, I have no intention of going back to them." Rayla admitted, sitting up in her seat again as her features filled with resolve. "My life is here in Paris... with Artemis." the white-haired girl added, her cheeks turning red at the mention of her caretaker.

"Sounds like you two are closer than I thought." Marinette observed, seeing Rayla's fond-looking expression.

"As much as she insists otherwise, Artemis is the only one I'd consider my mom. I just wish she would let herself accept that instead of just pushing the thought away the second it's brought up." Rayla explained, revealing how she really felt about Artemis and her taking care of her over the years. "But she's been burned a lot before... so she's skeptical of letting people become that close to her." the Half-Troll revealed, earning a sympathetic smile from Marinette.

"Well, sounds to me that you're the only one who can. Considering how protective she is of you, I'd say that you're getting closer to breaking those walls." Marinette said, once more placing a hand on Rayla's shoulders to comfort her.

"You really think so?" Rayla asked, looking up at her babysitter with hope-filled eyes.

"I know so! I believe in you, Rayla!" Marinette declared, causing Rayla to pull her in for a hug.

"Thank you, Marinette!" Rayla squealed in happiness, prompting Marinette to return the hug before they pulled away just as Amanda came over with their food.

"Here you are, ladies! One bacon cheeseburger with camembert and a side of fries for Rayla, and a mayoless Club sandwich with a side of fries." Amanda announced, placing the food on the table as she said which is which. "Enjoy your meal!" the restaurant owner cheerfully said after the food was served.

"Thanks, Amanda!" Rayla replied, earning a smile from Amanda before she left them to dig in.

"You have camembert on your cheeseburger?" Marinette questioned her charge, finding the choice of burger components a little strange.

"I abhor the standard cheese they put in their burgers. Plus the camembert adds an extra gooey factor to the burger that I can't get enough of!!" Rayla excitedly explained before she took a bite of her burger, gleefully moaning at the taste as it touched her taste buds.

"What type of cheese do they usually put in it?" Marinette questioned as she lifted her sandwich from her plate, eager to take a bite.

"Processed American." Rayla simply replied, causing Marinette to halt in her tracks at her answer.

"Ew... no wonder you like the camembert better. That stuff is nasty!" Marinette recoiled, her face scrunching in disgust as she glanced over at Rayla before finally taking a bite of her sandwich, finding herself immensely enjoying the flavor of it.

"Right!? Why that abomination they call cheese exists, I have no idea!" Rayla joyfully agreed, followed by the two of them laughing before eating their meal, time passed by as they continued getting to know each other better.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Time Skip)

A little while after their conversation and being served lunch, Marinette and Rayla paid for their meals and started making their way back to Artemis and Rayla's apartment. When they got back, they immediately started to work on the mould for the resin geodes in the hopes of it drying before Marinette had to leave. Thankfully for them, they managed to find a silicone that would cure in the oven for about six hours. But before that, Marinette and Rayla set the geodes they found in the shop into the right spots, connecting them with air-dry clay shaped into a rock base. After the clay dried and the geodes were ready, the two girls mixed the components to make the silicon and poured it into the casing for the mould so that it could cook.

Once in the oven and the timer set, the two girls sat on the living room couch and watched the newer Ghostbusters movie. But despite the action of the movie, the day's earlier events finally caught up with Marinette and Rayla, causing them to fall asleep on the couch. It wasn't until a few hours later that Artemis finally arrived home, opening the door with an exhausted groan before she trudged into the apartment's main area. But her exhaustion was cleared away when she saw her ward and Marinette sacked out on the couch, Rayla smuggling deep into Marinette's side.

"Aw!!" Artemis breathed out, a smile appearing on her face before she walked over and gently shook the girl's shoulders to awaken them. "Hey, there sleepy heads." the Changeling greeted them, which caused Rayla to smile when seeing her.

"Artemis!!" Rayla cheered, jumping up to hug her and fully awakening Marinette."When did you get back!?" the white-haired girl inquired.

"Just a few seconds ago." Artemis replied, pulling back from the hug while Marinette sat up and smiled at them. "And seeing as I didn't get a single call about you running off, did you have fun with Marinette?" the graying-haired woman questioned, a smirk and raised eyebrow replacing her smile.

"I had the best time with her! She even let me help her with her latest design project!" Rayla squealed, only for Marinette's phone timer to go off. "Oh! The mold is ready!" the Half-Troll announced as she jumped off the couch, running to the oven while Marinette stood up and watched her.

"The mold?" Artemis wondered, turning her attention to Marinette for an explanation.

"I'm working on a geode-based design and needed to use geodes to make a fake geode for decoration on the side of the hat." Marinette explained as she grabbed her sketchbook, flipping to the right page to show the design to Artemis.

"Very impressive. You're quite talented." Artemis praised Marinette, dazzled with the design she was shown.

"Thank you." Marinette replied, happy for the kind words.

"So, did you bring the materials needed to do so with you today?" Artemis asked while Marinette rose from the couch, interested in what they were up to during her time away.

"Well, we went out to go to a geode shop and craft store earlier to get the supplies, and we found a silicone that can be baked to speed up the process." Marinette explained the two of them walked over to the oven, where Rayla was excitedly waiting for them. "And now it's all done." the pigtailed girl concluded before she and Rayla grabbed oven mitts and opened the oven, pulling the silicone mold out to place it on the counter.

"I'm impressed. I honestly can't wait to see the finished product." Artemis admitted as she watched Rayla and Marinette take the casing off of the mold, letting it cool

"I'll send a picture of when it's done." Marinette promised as she pulled the geodes and clay base out of the mold, leaving the mold hollow before she placed the geodes into the sink to cool. "There, it's done!" the red-tipped-haired girl announced, lifting her hands away from the mold now that it was cleared.

"It looks so cool!" Rayla gushed, leaning over the counter to get as close to it as possible. "Can we do the resin geodes now?" the eight-year-old asked Marinette, turning her gaze onto her as she spoke.

"I wish we could, but it takes a while for resin to cure. A couple of days at least." Marinette replied, a remorseful wince appearing on her face.

"Not to mention, it's getting late and I'm sure Marinette needs to head back home." Artemis added as she pointed to the balcony windows, causing the girls to turn and see the setting sun.

"Aww..." Rayla whined, slumping over herself in her disappointment.

"But, I know you'll be able to do loads more fun stuff like this in the future." Artemis assured her ward, to which Rayla immediately perked up at the words.

"Does this mean that Marinette's my permanent babysitter?" Rayla questioned, her eyes now sparkling in her excitement at the possibility.

"Well, considering she has done a good job of keeping an eye on you, and you haven't snuck away from her... I'd say that is the case." Artemis replied with a smile, only to turn to Marinette. "If that's alright with you, Marinette?" the sorceress inquired, hoping that she would be willing.

"I'd love nothing more! I adored my time with Rayla." Marinette happily answered as she bent down to hug Rayla, the eight-year-old nuzzling into her in response.

"Oh, you have no idea how happy that makes not only Rayla, but me as well!" Artemis exclaimed, her emotions running on high now that one of her recurring problems finally had a permanent solution. "From here on out, you're my go-to for Rayla's babysitter." the older woman declared, causing twin smiles to appear on Marinette and Rayla's faces at the news.

"Thank you, Miss Queen." Marinette said as she rose to her full height, glad that things went so well.

"Call me, Artemis. You've earned it." Artemis responded, a fond smile appearing on her features. "But, we've kept you too long already. You better get going before it gets any later." the Changeling reminded the designer, now remembering the growing late hour now that the last lingering detail was taken care of.

"Yeah, probably a good idea." Marinette reflected, followed by her starting to pack her bag with Rayla helping her out. Once she's ready to go, the fourteen-year-old then gifted the geodes she used for her mold to Rayla as a memento of their project together, who gives her another hug. After the last hug, the two girls pulled away and Marinette began walking to the door, Artemis and Rayla joining her.

"Thank you again for looking after Rayla on such short notice." Artemis reiterated as she took out her wallet from her purse, pulling out 300 euros and holding it out to Marinette.

"Whoa! This is way too much! I can't accept it." Marinette insisted when she saw the amount being offered to her, eyes wide at Artemis's generosity.

"I insist. And I'll keep insisting every time until you just take it with a simple 'thank you'." Artemis smugly said, causing Marinette to sigh in relentment before she finally took the money.

"Thank you, Artemis. I can't wait for when you need me to come by again." Marinette happily declared, putting the money into her purse before getting the apartment key out to give back to Artemis.

"Rayla and I can't wait either. We'll see you next time." Artemis assured the teenager as she took the key back, putting it into her purse for safekeeping.

"See you then." Marinette replied, followed by her looking at Rayla once more. "And I promise we'll have even more fun next time." the designer pledged to Rayla, earning a smile from the Half-Troll as she came up to hug her one last time.

"Come back soon, okay?" Rayla requested, prompting Marinette to kneel and hug her back.

"Don't worry, I will." Marinette promised before they broke away from their hug, which left Marinette the opening to turn to leave. "Goodbye! See you next time." the pigtailed girl farewelled, opening the door behind her.

"Bye!" Rayla called back while she and Artemis waved goodbye, prompting Marinette to return the gesture as she left through the door, closing it behind her. Now back to just them, Artemis looked down at her ward with a warm smile, pride filling her features.

"I see that my trust in you not causing any trouble was well placed." Artemis remarked, placing her hands on her hips with a smirk.

"Hey, I know I can be difficult, but seeing as I asked you to get Marinette to babysit me, why would I drive her away like the others?" Rayla rhetorically questioned her caretaker, earning an amused guff from Artemis at her reasoning.

"Heh, good point." Artemis replied, her smirk turning more light-hearted the more she entertained Rayla's antics.

"How was your trip, by the way? Did you get everything you needed?" Rayla asked, hoping to finally find out the outcome of the reason why Artemis went out of town.

"That and more. Speaking of which..." Artemis replied with a relieved sigh, followed by her reaching into her satchel and pulling out a cloth bundle from it. "I recall you saying you were nearly out of black paint, so I made a little detour before heading home." the older woman explained while Rayla excitedly took the bundle from her hands and opened it, gasping when she saw the contents.

"Night Fury scales!! EEEE!!!" Rayla squealed, throwing her arms onto Artemis and hugging her tight. "Thank you, Artemis!! It's just what I needed!!" the white-haired girl gushed, taking care not to spill her new gift from its pouch.

"There's more at the bottom." Artemis said with a smile, prompting Rayla to pull back from the hug and reach into the bundle, finding a tooth and claw from the same dragon at the bottom of it. "I thought you'd like another addition to your collection." the graying-brown-haired woman added, earning another hug from Rayla.

"THANK YOU!!!" Rayla shrieked in joy, happy to have the extra present while Artemis knelt to hug her back.

"Okay, okay, you're welcome." Artemis chided her ward, glad that she was happy before she pulled away. "Now I don't know about you, but I feel like a movie night is in order after my latest trip. Why don't you put your gifts away and change into your pajamas? You can tell me how it went before we start." the sorceress offered, placing her hand on Rayla's shoulders as she spoke.

"Sounds good to me, Artemis!" Rayla cheered before she ran off to the hidden library, Artemis smiling after her before she followed behind her. Needless to say, she was eager to put her haul into her inventory and change into her comfy clothes so that she could finally relax and spend time with her ward.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Following their time in the library, Artemis and Rayla changed into their comfy clothes and joined back up on the living room couch, snacks spread out on the table in front of them. Now that they were prepped for their movie night, Artemis pulled Rayla in for a cuddle.

"So, how did things really go with the Little Ladybug?" Artemis asked her ward, arms wrapped around her as she leaned against the arm of the couch with pillows adding a layer of comfort between her back and the hard armrest.

"A little rocky at first, but we got past that and started having a good time." Rayla admitted, snuggled in her caretaker's arms while she was curled up in her lap.

"Why did you have a rocky start? Did you try sneaking out?" Artemis questioned, now worried that something happened and they covered it up in a joint effort.

"No, I didn't. It was mostly due to me... accidentally... causing her to have a nosebleed." Rayla bashfully explained, earning a wide-eyed stare from Artemis at the news.

"What?!" Artemis squawked, only to start laughing at what she just heard. "How did that happen?!" the older woman managed to spew out in her bout of laughter, trying to regain her breath at how ridiculous the story was.

"I was showing her the album of your trips. When I pulled it out of my bookshelf, she got too close when it nearly dropped out of my hands." Rayla hurriedly explained, her voice raising a higher pitch as she sat up from Artemis's embrace.

"Oh oh oh! Oh my goodness! I sure hope she's okay!" Artemis hollered, unable to stop her laughter.

"She's fine. I used first aid right after it happened." Rayla assured her caretaker, letting herself drop back into Artemis's shaking chest.

"What was she doing so close to you in the first place?" Artemis inquired, her laughter finally dying out a little bit.

"Oh, that's because she tried to use that Gaggletack you gave her on me." Rayla nonchalantly replied, which caused Artemis to do a double-take at the words just spoken.

"Wait... WHAT!!" Artemis yelled, only for her laughter to return with a renewed fever. "SHE THOUGHT... YOU WERE A CHANGELING!? OH MY GOD... I DIDN'T THINK SHE'D THINK THAT... WHEN I FIRST MENTIONED YOU TO HER!!" the sorceress screamed amid her laughter, soon finding herself about to fall off the couch before she stopped herself from falling.

"What! You're the one that caused Marinette to think I'm a Changeling?!" Rayla cried in shock, eyes wide at the admission Artemis had made in the middle of her growing amusement.

"Not on purpose, I promise you that." Artemis assured as she started to calm down from her laughter, lifting herself fully back onto the couch. "I'm assuming the new Trollhunter has run into a newly placed one and warned her of them. I didn't think that when I talked you up, she'd become suspicious of you." the older woman theorized as she got comfy again, Rayla cuddling into her once again.

"Well, her suspicions were put to rest when I picked up the Gaggletack and gave it back to her without anything happening. From there, we got along like a house on fire!" Rayla explained, which helped calm Artemis down from her overwhelming mirth.

"In any case, I'm sorry that Marinette was suspicious of you because of me. Honestly, I don't blame her for being as such after my explanation." Artemis apologized to Rayla, finally able to say full sentences now that she got all her giggles out. "But it seemed to have worked out in the end, so I'll let it slide." the graying-haired woman decided, reaching a hand to ruffle Rayla's hair.

"Whew, that's good to hear." Rayla replied with a giggle, raising her arms to try and stop Artemis from messing up her hair.

"By the way, how come Marinette gave you the geodes after the mold was complete?" Artemis asked as she complied with Rayla's efforts and stopped messing with her hair, letting her ward fix it to how she had it before.

"Well, funny story actually. While we were at the geode shop, I found something interesting." Rayla regaled, leaving Artemis intrigued by her words.

"And what's that?" Artemis inquired, a curious eyebrow raised at Rayla.

"I found out how delicious they are! I ended up buying a whole bunch while we were there, under the guise I found them pretty." Rayla explained, gushing about her latest find before realizing how it sounded."Not that I don't find them pretty, obviously. But I had to say something other than I wanted to eat them." the eight-year-old rapidly amended, even though Artemis knew what she really meant and was more interested in the discovery.

"So, you managed to eat them? Without feeling sick?" Artemis asked, raising a hand to Rayla's forehead to check her temperature if it suddenly started to rise by just the mention of her worries.

"Yeah! If anything, they made me feel stronger." Rayla replied, taking Artemis's hand off of her forehead with a roll of her eyes in fond exasperation. "Why are you asking, though?" the Half-Troll questioned, a little suspicious of Artemis's sudden mother henning.

"I have been looking for a better alternative to those rocks you've been eating for mineral nutrition for a while now, and it sounds like you finally found it." Artemis admitted, letting her hand drop to her side instead of circling Rayla's waist like her other one. "Geodes and polished gems are clean minerals, I can't believe I didn't think of it before! Not to mention the potential event of you eating magic gems to help increase your existing magic, instead of relying on your rune necklace to fuel you." the Changeling ranted to herself in self-loathing for missing such an obvious solution, hitting her forehead with the bottom of her palm.

Since Rayla was half TrollDragon, it made it hard for Artemis to find ways for her to eat normal human foods while also maintaining a balance of Troll foods as well. It had been a challenge on the account that Rayla found she didn't like much of what normal Trolls ate to be palatable, preferring human foods instead. This led to Artemis needing to incorporate minerals into her food, which is why she left Marinette a selection of altered recipes to choose from, having perfected them years ago. But now, Artemis had a more viable solution that would not only keep Rayla healthy but also make her stronger in the long run, too.

"Does that mean you might be willing to teach me how to use magic sooner?" Rayla queried her caretaker, looking up at her with a wide-eyed pleading stare.

"For now, I'm just glad we have a healthier way for you to gain the minerals you need. But while I make no promises, we'll see how things go later on." Artemis promised Rayla, a grateful smile appearing on her features as she pushed some of Rayla's stray hairs away from her eyes.

"Thank you!" Rayla squealed, hugging Artemis and eliminating any space between them before her caretaker hugged her back. "So, how was your trip to the Hidden World? Was it tricky?" the white-haired girl asked, pulling back from the hug to learn more about Artemis's latest excursion out of town.

Ever since she was a toddler, Rayla has always been fascinated by dragons and the wonderful species they are. Her love for them only increased when she learned she was a TrollDragon, which was pretty close to an actual dragon in her book. From there on, Rayla read every book on dragons and their ancestral home she could get her hands on, learning everything she could about them as a means to feel more connected to her heritage. Seeing as the only place TrollDragons resided in was Stone Carver Bridge, it didn't give Rayla many opportunities to learn more about herself since it was risky to even visit the city. So learning about dragons and the Hidden World was the next best thing.

"Better than normal, actually. The hardest part of it was getting the claw and tooth from a Night Fury nest." Artemis admitted, followed by her placing her right hand onto her left shoulder and rotating the sore joint to relieve the pain from landing on it during her trip. "But I managed to get them off of a well-guarded skeleton. Must have been the remains of the last alpha of the flock." the older woman noted, which had Rayla looking up at her in awe.

"So cool!!! How are you so good at this!?" Rayla gushed, wondering how she was so lucky to have such a cool caretaker.

"Many years of training, and honing my skills." Artemis replied, enforcing the need for Rayla to complete her training before she could go on more dangerous adventures. "Something that you will be very soon." the graying-haired woman promised before she pulled Rayla in for another hug, the eight-year-old quickly returning it when hearing her words.

"Now, how about that movie? While it was an easy trip, I'm looking forward to having a quiet evening with you." Artemis said as she pulled back from the hug, Rayla still smiling up at her when hearing the suggestion.

"Here, here!" Rayla happily cheered before she grabbed the T.V. remote, now surfing through the movies they had until they spotted a good one. "Oh, how about that one?" the Half-Troll inquired, pointing to Alice Through the Looking Glass when it showed up on the screen.

"Sounds like a good one. Let it play." Artemis declared, prompting Rayla to click on it and let the movie begin. While the opening titles played, the two of them grabbed their snacks before Artemis grabbed a blanket for them to snuggle with together, now ready for their quiet night in.