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Luka Couffaine could feel the gentle rock of Liberty as he reentered the world of the wakeful.
He could hear the heavy clomping of his mother Anarka's boots as she moved busily along the deck above. It was in stark yet harmonious contrast to the almost ghost-like patters of his twin sister, Juleka. There were some that couldn't hear her approach, but he knew those soft footfalls better than most. A strong wind whipped by, and the boat rocked and creaked, all the noises blending into their own unique melody.
Luka smiled lightly, opening his pale blue eyes at long last. It was his favorite way to wake up... Liberty's own morning serenade. He had never been a particularly restless person, but since being granted permanent holdership of the snake miraculous he found himself treasuring the small, fleeting, likely inconsequential moments all the more.
He ran a hand through ombre hair that faded down from navy to almost an electric blue. It was a little oily, maybe a shower was in order, but it could wait just a bit.
He plucked his treasured guitar up from beside his bed, practiced fingers strumming lazily over a few chords. He closed his eyes as he strummed, focusing on his inner music. Almost meditating... Su Han would be proud. Well, perhaps. Sometimes he was still very caught up in old tradition and he might not appreciate a guitar as accompaniment to what was supposed to be a cleansing and refocusing experience. Still, for Luka, there was nothing that recentered him more than when he had his guitar in hand.
There was a subtle hiss of a forked tongue sliding in and out of the air.
Even without opening his eyes, Luka knew Sass had joined him.
"Good morning, Sass." Luka greeted calmly, continuing to strum.
"Good morning, Luka." the snake kwami greeted simply, yellow slitted pupils watching the guitar chords vibrate. "SSSsleep well?"
"I did." Luka acknowledged. "How have things been this morning so far?"
"Your ssssissster has a date with Rose later, or sssso I heard. Otherwise it'ssss been quiet."
Luka smiled, "That's good."
Good on both fronts, really.
He strums a bit more before setting his guitar aside and checking his phone for the time.
It's 10:28 on a Saturday morning. To his knowledge, all is well.
Luka pulls out a thick book and begins writing.
Sass watches, reading over the boy's shoulder just to see what notes he decides to make with this log.
'...XX/XX/2023 10:28 AM, Saturday.
The morning is calm and quiet. All seems well.
Juleka and Rose will be going out. (Make sure to encourage her.)'
Luka finishes for now, then flips back through several other small entries, nearly identical. Summaries change, but the gist is the same.
He is a keen observer now more than ever. Any detail that seems even minutely off is noted, any triumphs are recorded too. He's become a guardian in his own right, leaving temporal markers behind should some cataclysmic, world-ending event take place. As Viperion, he's seen so many possible outcomes to so many possible events that not keeping some kind of log would be remiss.
There have been talks with the celestial guardian, with the temple. Discussions with Ladybug-- Marinette, too. One day he might be the guardian of the miracle box. Not because fault had been found in Marinette, but rather the discussion had arisen from the desire to give her more freedom.
She couldn't remain detached, distanced. She was a highly emotional, brave girl who wore her heart on her sleeve. Luka, on the other hand, didn't really mind pulling back and watching, listening. Every day, every moment, really, had a melody of its own. It carried him, guided him, and filled what others would consider silence even on missions were Viperion used second chance so many times he nearly lost count.
He liked being in the audience of life through all the high and low notes. True, he also loved to be one of the performers and mix his own notes with the symphony on stage, but he didn't need to be a main act. Nor did he really need a featuring duet. He didn't fade into the background because he felt invisible like Juleka, but rather because the background was the best place to see and hear and feel and just let the music wash over him.
Though speaking of his twin sister, he had noticed subtle shifts in her as of late. Good shifts. It was like a small seed of confidence had been planted and was slowly and steadily growing. He didn't know if he had Rose to thank or someone else, but it warmed his heart to see her finally starting to believe in herself.
His thoughts returned to Master Su Han. His master, his teacher the last few months.
Su Han had spoken of a sacred rite that could be performed when passing on guardianship of the miracle box. It had been invented even before Fu's time, but could only be performed at the original temple in Tibet.
He had said while they tried to avoid guardians being holders at all costs, there had been times it was needed. And there were times, for safety, guardianship needed to be transferred, but one still needed to be a miraculous wielder.
Say if Marinette still wanted or needed to be Ladybug.
The sacred rite could be performed and allow her to keep modified versions of her memories, though it also required the new guardian to face a 'trial by fire' to prove their worth.
He had seen Marinette teetering on the fence for weeks now. The added freedom was tantalizing her, but she worried about being selfish. She worried about the costs involved, and perhaps the part that warmed his heart, she worried about what he would have to go through on her account.
While he'd assured her it would be fine, she'd still requested time to think.
Luka could respect this. He was sure she had grown close with the kwamis. Sass expressed nothing but the deepest respect for her. To give up the miracle box, she would forget the identities of the other holders, forget meeting the other kwamis save for the ones she'd personally wielded. And while the kwamis had watched people come and go for ages, the fact was no one liked to forget a friend. No one liked to be forgotten.
Apart from that, a new butterfly miraculous wielder is out there. Akumatizations have begun, but their plans are a mystery as much as their identity.
And so the proposal sits a bit like a pot on the back burner. It's not being ignored, per se, but it's definiely in the background.
Just like him.
Luka binds his journal carefully and puts it away for now.
All thoughts aside, a look out the porthole that serves as his bedroom window assures him it is a beautiful morning.
He smiles wide.
"I'm proud of you." Sass breaks the silence.
Luka glances at him, "Keeping a journal? It's not really a problem..."
Sass shakes his head slowly, slitted pupils never leaving his pale blue eyes.
"No. I mean taking on thisssss role. Not everyone can handle sssseeing all life's pathssss laid out before them and contiuing to exisssst in the knowledge that only they will know every possible outcome. Or that one day it could all be resssset, your memories the only evidence it ever happened. No one elsssse will ever grasssp the burden it can be. But you take it all in sssso calmly." he remarks.
Luka smiles lightly, "Because I don't see it as a burden, Sass. I see it as an honor to be trusted in making those tough calls. To have so much faith placed in me... I won't waste it." he promises.
Somehow, Sass doesn't doubt him.