"There is a point in time where love can turn into a sin."

— Forbidden Love

CHAPTER FOUR

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

At first, Marinette wasn't sure what to make out of the creature who had emerged from the bushes.

It wasn't a squirrel or a rabbit—it certainly wasn't a unicorn. So what in the world was it?

The creature didn't look just like an animal. It also had features of a man. He was covered from head to toe in thick, black fur, and the fur on his feet was a lighter grey– practically silver. As the black fur reached his face, however, it became thinner, almost like skin, but a light shade of grey. The only thing resembling a man was the fact that this animal had a human face, human eyes, a nose, a mouth, and blonde fur on the top of his head that could only be recognized as human hair. And on top of that head full of hair, the creature had... black furred ears?

Cat ears.

She idly wondered if he had human ears too.

And his hands... his hands were human hands. They each had five fingers on each palm, but instead of human skin, they were black and furred... but thinly furred just like his face. And his hands each had claws. Black, retractable, sharp claws, just like a cat's.

If it wasn't because she'd heard of his existence in myths, she might've screamed.

Instead, she sternly held his gaze, refusing to avert her eyes. He stared at her for what felt like the longest time, only tilting his head once to get a better look at her. Marinette simply stared back in utter bewilderment, unsure of what she should say.

I mean, what exactly are you supposed to say to a man/cat looking creature, who really isn't even supposed to be real?

Hello from the other side?

"Who are you?" Marinette asked, breaking all silence that stood in between them.

"I could ask you the same question," the creature tilted his head even more to get a better look at her. "I know I have never seen you before. I would have clearly remembered."

She tried not to visibly let it be known that she was surprised by the fact that he spoke English.

But she fidgeted in her spot anyway. What was she supposed to say to that? That she'd broken the law by climbing over the wall from the other side? That she crossed over when she knew it was forbidden?

Suddenly, the creature gasped, "Wait... oh wait! Wait just a minute... you are a human!" His eyes widened so large that she feared they might pop out from his sockets. He extended a finger, pointing at her as if she was something foreign, and then his face went pale, almost as if he'd seen a ghost.

Well... at least the cat was out of the bag.

"No, really?" Her sarcasm was as chilling as ice. "I was beginning to think I might be a whale."

He ignored her sarcasm, instead mumbling hastily, "Oh, shisbu. You cannot be here."

She vaguely wondered what that word meant.

"And yet, here I am."

"You need to get back over the wall now." The cat-man demanded, as he made his way over towards her. "I will help you climb back up."

"What?" Marinette quickly back away from him, and in a matter of seconds, he came to an immediate halt the moment he realized she didn't want him coming any closer.  At least he had some sense of respect. "I do not want to leave." She pouted, eyeing him closely before she suddenly asked, "What does shisbu mean anyway?"

His eyes went wide at the mention of the word. "Do not say that so loud."

She ignored his warning. "What does it mean?"

The man sighed in defeat and slowly lowered his head so that his eyes were levelled with her own. He stared straight into her eyes and lowly said, "It means shit in my language. Happy?"

Oh. Marinette found herself grinning.

"Very actually." Marinette replied, letting a smug smile tug at the corner of her lips.

He ignored her, instead taking a step closer to the tall, stone wall. He looked up as the wall towered over them both before he met her eyes again. "I will help you over," he offered again. "Either way, you need to leave as soon as possible."

"What is so dangerous about this place anyway?" Marinette, determined to stay, was not about to leave without a fight. Even if she had to convince the... the cat-man to let her stay. "You do not look very dangerous to me."

"I am not the one you should be worried about." He stated firmly, not one ounce of emotion visible in his features.

Her smug look slightly vanished from her face. "So, what should I be worried about then?"

He shrugged, "How would I know? You have crossed over onto the magical side of the wall. You could encounter anything and everything."

Despite his words of warning, Marinette was not willing to submit so easily. "If I have to leave, then there has to be something it in for me."

His eyes quickly met hers again. "What do you mean?"

She smirked up at him. "I should get something for having to listen to you."

The cat-man shrugged as if it was a reasonable exchange and flipped open a small pouch fastened at his waist that she'd never noticed before. He dug for something inside before he pulled it out, allowing the item to slide into the palm of his hand for her to see.

"This is an arrowhead," he said, "My most valued prize possession actually." He paused before his eyes found hers, and with a jerk of his hand, he motioned for her to take it from his palm. "If I have to give it to you to keep you on your side, I will gladly do so."

Marinette's eyes widened, and she didn't even have a chance to respond before cat-man suddenly grabbed her wrist and placed the arrowhead in her own palm. "Now," his eyes focused back onto hers before he glanced at the wall. "Do you need a lift or not?"

Marinette stared at him wide eyed. Then she nodded. Speechless.

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

"Where have you been?" Krissy's voice echoed into the bedroom that night, and Marinette quickly scrambled to hide the arrowhead underneath her pillow before her sister could see it.

"What are you talking about?" Marinette asked, turning to stand from her bed as she faced her sister. "I have been here ever since I was practically glued to my bed by Aunt."

Krissy shook her head. "Marinette, I am not stupid and I was not born yesterday. I came up here after tea to talk to you and you were gone." Then Krissy uncrossed her arms to point towards her bedroom window. "Plus, do not think I did not notice the rope of dresses you made to escape."

Marinette couldn't help but smile, because her sister knew her all too well. "Okay, so you got me," she raised her hands above her head. "I am guilty."

Krissy crossed her arms once again. "So, where have you been then?"

Marinette's mind began to fill with memories from earlier that day, and her insides bubbled in excitement as she thought about all the new things she had discovered.

Well, more like the new someone she had discovered.

"Oh you know, just out."

Krissy groaned, "Seriously? I know you were out. I want to know where you were!"

Marinette turned to look back at her sister, and she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her. "But I just told you. I was out, not in. So technically, when you ask where I have been, I can say I was out."

Krissy groaned once again, which earned her a laugh from Marinette. Sometimes, teasing her sister could be really fun.

"This is not amusing at all." Krissy scolded, because she was already annoyed that her older sister was messing with her.

"It is to me," Marinette snorted, "When you get upset, the whole world has to stand out of your way."

To that, Krissy let out a soft laugh. "Now that is actually way too true."

The two sisters laughed together eventually, the slight annoyance and anger they had for each other slowly fading away. And suddenly, instead of prying to know where Marinette was, Krissy instead asked, "Well, since you will not dare utter a word about where you have been, can you at least confirm that your day was eventful?"

Marinette smiled and turned back to look at her pillow, where the precious gift cat-man had given her lied underneath. She then turned to face Krissy, nodding as she replied, "Yes. It was very eventful."

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