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It had been some time since the calamity. Ladybug was victorious over Monarch, Gabriel Agreste had sacrificed himself to stop him, and almost all the Miraculous had been recovered.
Ladybug had made a public announcement on some of the details, and then went radio silent. Nothing. No updates for weeks.
And then, just a few days before class, they learned the reason why.
Nathaniel was in his usual place in the Louvre, working on his latest sketch. Marc was at morning soccer practice, and they were planning to meet up later, for a date before school started again.
He was focused on this piece; a depiction of the former Miraculous hero team, using a publicly available photo as a reference.
It was just after the Penalty attack, and one of the only times the entire group was assembled in one place.
Nathaniel remembered that day. He remembered the chance he had to be a hero, to be part of a larger team, to contribute to saving the day.
And then he lost that chance when Ziggy was taken away.
Through all the darkest days, thoughts about the goat kwami had occupied the back of his mind. What did Monarch do to them?
His pencil lifted up from where he had just filled out the shading of Caprikid's horns.
They were really tall. And those had almost gotten in the way a couple of times during fights.
Caprikid. Would he still look like that now?
Nathaniel turned to a new page, drawing a new figure on the page. Starting with the horns. He curled them around into a more compact shape around Caprikid's head. Then he adjusted the jacket, giving it a darker fur lining. He kept the triangle zipper pull, because he liked that. He also adjusted the gloves, leaving the forearms free of fur so it wouldn't get it the way of his drawing. And finally he changed the shape of the boots, adding details to the soles to look like a goat's cloven hoof.
The new Caprikid.
"I wonder..."
"Of course you gave yourself heels."
Nathaniel made an undignified yelp as he slammed his book closed and tried to prevent all his writing tools from scattering across the floor. It took him a few seconds to process everything. That was Alix' voice, and it wouldn't be too bad for her to see. But she couldn't find out he was a hero. But she was a hero herself, and she let people know. And since she travelled through time, she probably already knew. Wait...
"Alix!" Nathaniel softly exclaimed, almost unable to keep his voice down.
"Yeah, you could do with the extra height." Bunnix was poking half out of a Burrow, scratching her chin in a thoughtful pose with a smirk.
Nathaniel huffed and threw his entire sketchbook at her, knowing she would catch it. She opened it to the page showing Nathaniel's new design for Caprikid.
"Want me to hide this in time? Nobody will find it in the Mesozoic era."
"It's fine. I can burn it." He reached out to take it back. Bunnix stepped out of her Burrow and held it out for him, but as Nathaniel got closer, she placed something else on top.
"I'm actually here for a special delivery. Ladybug wanted me to give this to you," Bunnix shrugged.
"I guess it was her way to let me see you for a moment."
"For a moment? You... you still have to hide?"
Bunnix nodded.
"The Butterfly Miraculous was never found, so I have to hang out in time again. Seeing monuments being built, spying on famous people, checking out when flying cars are built..."
She was trying to make it sound fun, but Nathaniel could tell that some part of Alix really wanted to come back.
She dropped the act, reaching out and wrapping her arms around Nathaniel.
"I miss you guys," she sighed.
"Yeah. I miss you too," Nathaniel gave her an extra squeeze before stepping back.
"Should I get Jalil?"
"It's okay, I've already seen him. Now I'd better get going before I mess up too much of the timeline."
Bunnix opened another Burrow and started walking back through it. She paused turning her head slightly with a smile.
"You'll be great, Nathaniel. And things will get better."
The burrow closed before Nathaniel could clarify.
He looked down at the object that Bunnix had given him. It was some kind of hexagonal box, marked with intricate patterns. Ladybug had wanted to give this to him? Why?
Nathaniel's curiosity only grew as he opened the box.