v., inf. fool; deceive; ensnare.

She toyed with her fork carefully, watching Lila from below her lashes. Marinette was glad that the other had agreed do readily but she needed to be careful. Lila was a high risk person and anything could set her off. “I am sorry we got off on the wrong foot. When I saw your interview on the Ladyblog I was… A bit more peeved than I should have been. I worried at the time what Hawkmoth might do if he saw that. The risk to you and your mother.. and the lies about the disabilities concerned me. If the truth ever came out. And with Rose knowing Prince Ali I knew it would only be a matter of time before you came up to him.” Slowly Marinette tapped her tea cup. “But, I wanted to say thank you.”

The way her brows rose with disbelief bellied all the suspicion she felt with Marinette’s declaration. There was no need to lie (ha!), so why was she going out of her way to say something that was blatantly and obviously a lie straight at Lila’s face?

“Well you didn’t have to worry about that,” she said— almost sneered at the other girl, really. “Ladybug would’ve done all she could to save me from Hawkmoth.” There was no need to refute any of the things Marinette claimed because, well, she was right. 

But they were alone, so it was fine. No one would know.

To receive zeppoles (her mother’s favorite) in the form of a gift basket was a reminder of something she didn’t have, causing the crinkle in her expression. Even the framed drawing of her and her mother (as beautiful and as thoughtful as it was) didn’t alleviate the frown on her face.

Though maybe that was because of the fact that the gifts had been from Marinette, her name looped gracefully on the card attached to the basket.

Lila waited for two whole days for the flowers to grow in her chest.

It was everywhere. The news was all about a disease that they had been calling ‘Hanahaki’. Dying from unrequited love? On paper, it sounded too stupid, too fantastical to even consider.

(Said the girl who’d fallen in a hole and ended up in a new world, who’d come by powers and met the equivalent of prophets masquerading for their gods.) 

Yet, when people started showing symptoms, when streets were filled with whispers and petals and drops of blood, she was forced to believe. 

Lila remembered declaring her love for Adrien. She knew that Adrien didn’t return that gesture at all, had taken notice of her shortcomings instead of staying blinded by her light like everyone else around them. 

She loved him. Maybe. He didn’t love her. Definitely.

So, she waited. She sat on her bed, in her apartment, and waited. She imagined the brightest of sunflowers, decorated with speckles of red. She imagined clutching her chest and feeling as her throat clogged with a bouquets worth of sunflower petals. She imagined the attention, the pity, the eyes on her as she declared her love, unrequited as it was.

The hours ticked by and the sounds of coughing could be heard next door. Lila had half the mind to slam her fists against the wall to stop them but thought better of it. That neighbor of hers had been kind enough to have given her plates of cookies earlier (after she let slip that she’d been craving for some)—

—and now they were struck and bleeding with a disease that had, miraculously, passed over Lila’s head. 

Why wasn’t she happy then? Being unaffected should be a good thing. This meant she was above everyone else, that she wasn’t saddled with a serious, life-threatening disease because it was related love, that she was safe.

A voice echoed in her head, tiny and familiar.

It’s because you only love yourself.

She led the way to a nice little cafe. Peaceful and calm and she kept Chesire In mind. Marinette could be greedy for once in her life and set boundaries. Boundaries that should be easy to respect and roll with. She took a slow sip and watched Rossi. “We aren’t in Paris and I doubt we’re in the same school. So. From now on we aren’t enemies and we aren’t friends. If we happen to meet we’ll be polite and interact with each other with dignity.”

The cafe was something simple and the spread that was set was the same in that regard. It was in public and it was a shroud to keep Lila from acting out of turn. Lila followed regardless, keeping silent until they were sat and until Marinette had spoken to her.

And what she said was true. They weren’t in Paris. They weren’t friends. They were enemies. She had declared war on Marinette after the almost-Akumatization of the girl. So it was appalling to hear her offer a truce, or what sounded like one but wasn’t, because Lila didn’t like that she wasn’t the one setting the rules of whatever this was.

“Are you sure you can’t?”

Her eyes were big and wide, smiling hopefully. Supposed she had her way, maybe she wouldn’t have resorted to begging. Asking the man to let her pass through the cordoned street was a challenge in and of itself. He was adamant that she not go through because it would be unfair to others.

Like she cared about that.

Another whine escaped her, one that used to get people to kneel prostrate on the ground. He still refused. This wasn’t going on as planned and Lila was getting fed up with the fact that this person wasn’t budging on her measly request.

“Couldn’t you make an exception for us?” Lila pulled the nearest girl beside her: a lilac-haired child who had walked past at the best time (in her opinion). No idea if the other girl would find it appealing to be used as an excuse.

“My friend and I would really appreciate it if you let us through!”

Powers were... something.

They were out of her reach. Lila was no stranger to heroes and villains. Paris boasted their own set of masked individuals parading the streets in colorful spandex. She’d seen her fair share— she had been one of those spandex-wearing individuals.  

It was a fleeting moment of freedom. The wish to become Volpina again burrowed deep in her chest.

To see someone punch a brick wall to dust would have been another day in Paris for her, except for the fact that she was nowhere near Paris. And the fact that she had never seen anyone who hadn’t been turned into an Akuma do such drastic feat. 

“Your hand!” Lila’s tone oozed concern. Of course, said concern ebbing from her was more devious than anything.

He didn’t need to know that, though. 

Or, it would have been, had the sky not started to rumble threateningly above them.

The weather aside, Lila was sat on a bench with her hands folded on her lap. She looked like someone had taken her food and stepped on it when they found out that it was a sandwich and not the marvelous spread of international confectionary she had advertised an hour ago. 

But that was beside the point. The point was that she had started her act of gathering attention. The easiest way was to pull the heartstrings of whoever paid attention to her not-so-subtle sniffling. The story she spun revolved around going to an undisclosed shelter.

Was she really going to one? A believable story would have her saying ‘yes’. Maybe she would.

“And really, how am I supposed to volunteer at the shelter today if the weather won’t let us?” She blinked back tears, turning to the poor sap who had been lured by her... act. “The forecast said it was going to be sunny today, but look at how dark the day’s been!”

There was a cat by her feet.

It was pudgy and had short legs, fluffy and bright orange. It walked with authority equal to royalty. Its tail swished in the air, relaxed and pointed to the sky.

It was following Lila wherever she went. 

And she was oh-so-slowly getting irritated with it.

The cafe was bustling with people when Lila first caught a glimpse of the cat She had bought a snack and went her merry way before she ever noticed it following her around. For all intents and purposes, it was a normal cat, well-fed from the looks of it but not too fat. 

There’s nothing to note about the cat until she glanced at its head— and she watched it intently now as it poised in front of her, eyes squinting.

There was a flower crown on its head and a collar around its neck. Did it have an owner? Is she going to have to search for said owner?

“Aw, are you lost kitty?” Lila knelt down to stare the cat in the eye. 

It only answered her with a loud mewl. Well, if it wasn’t lost, it will be if it didn’t stop circling around Lila’s legs.

The streets were filled with fruits ripe for the picking. Lila noticed any and all contenders to her attention. They didn’t know it yet, but they were all in the running. 

In Wonderland, the view was deceptively bright. Lila would rather have choked on an imaginary spoon than continue looking at it. But she was stuck and until she found her way back to Paris, settling shop and buttering up the inhabitants of her new home would be her first priority.

Exhibit A: Lila plucked out one fruit from hundreds more loitering around the center. Relaxing her shoulders and putting on a smile, she sauntered towards her target, letting her eyes wander until she innocently blinked at the other’s footwear.

She was positively glowing with joy, teeth showing. Inside though? She might have already choked on that imaginary spoon.

“Hi! I can’t help but notice your shoes,” Lila cooed; her act a familiar tale, complete with a grin, enthusiastic and nice. “Where did you get that pair?”

@lila Spotting Lila had dropped Marinette’s stomach right to the ground. Until it hit her. This wasn’t Paris. This wasn’t their old war and more than likely things could be better… Arrenged than their last time. “Rossi. Join me for tea?”

“Dupain-Cheng.”

The offer for tea was unprompted. Lila waited for the fangs to be barred; for Marinette to add a scathing remark to the invitation. She hoped for it because that would prove what she’d been adamantly saying about the Parisian girl. 

It never came (because all her words were lies, lies, lies) and all Lila could do was smile instead. Smile as she followed Marinette's cue.

this little gremlin’s name is lila and she will ruin your day. that’s all i have to say on the matter. please like this post for a v short starter* from her! capping at 5!