While Maray was taking Ladybug out on the tour, the Gyre line was being occupied by a determined female Troll, who was hellbent on getting back to Stone Arc.

This female Troll had slightly thick light green hair that was pulled into a large low bun with the stray hairs held back by a blue bandana and held up by two sharp Chinese hair sticks. Keeping her bandana back from her face were medium length pointed ears that point out behind her, completely bare of any adornments. Her almond shaped eyes were a fierce brown, and her elongated diamond shaped face was devoid of any scars that could mare her white stone skin, save for scars of various sizes scattered around her slightly muscled hourglass figure. Alongside her muscles, her long legs allowed her to reach 2 meters/6.5 feet in height, with four lower jaw fangs; two on each side, poking out from her mouth. Coming out from her hair, was a set of medium sized dark green horns that pointed out behind her. The female's daily attire consisted of a dark blue loose fitting long-sleeved top with flowing sleeves, and tucked into baggy brown pants to her ankles with close fitting cuffs. To finish off the look, was a black leather belt wrapped around her waist, holding small pouches filled with magic powder mixes and/or potions to use on call.

The Troll just happened to be Artemis, who was currently under her Styx alias as she held the accelerator lever with an iron grip. As she did, Styx was also bent over the control panel in an effort to make herself more aerodynamic, and to also avoid hitting her head on the top of the inner cabin.

"That little brat is SO grounded when I get my hands on her!" Styx growled out before she pulled the lever down, causing the Gyre to speed up even more, sending her to her desired location all the more faster.

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(Flashback)

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'SHE'S GONE'!!" Styx yelled into her phone, keeping her angry stare onto the Troll in front of her as she held a sword to their throat.

To explain some things, when Artemis had to go out of town to meet up with her contact in Bavaria... she actually had to go first to the Trollmarket below the Black Forest. Once she arrived, she exited the market to take the human way to Bavaria in order to talk to her supplier of Wolpertinger horns. With the rarity of the mythical creature, her supplier was a little... stingy when it came to Artemis needing to pick up her usual shipment. This usually led to her needing to negotiate her way back to the actual price agreed upon by her and her supplier... which is what Elana had interrupted when she called Artemis to tell her Rayla had run off.

"Exactly as I've said, Ms. Queen. When I got up to check on her this morning, she was gone." Elana said through the other end of the phone, her voice filled with worry as she reported to Styx/Artemis.

"And how early did you go?" Styx asked, using all her will not to snap at the innocent teenager.

"6:00 am. Like you told me to." Elana almost whimpered "I'm sorry ma'am, I swear I was sure she couldn't leave. I know I should have checked more, but she seemed like such a nice kid and-" the poor girl sounded like she was on the verge of having a panic attack.

Styx sighed, far too exhausted to handle the distraught teenager "Look, I'm pretty sure I know where she is. You stay in the apartment in case she comes back." she instructed the girl. "Do not worry, you are not in trouble. In fact, you know what? You can use the money I had left to get something nice brought to you to eat. You will be paid as much as you were promised, and I won't give any indications to others that there was an issue. I know you need these jobs." Styx could hear the girl's breathing calm down, much to her relief, the last thing she wanted was to cause a normal person excessive stress.

"What about you?" Elana asked, her panic starting to come down a bit at the older female's level headedness.

"I'm about to finish my business here. As soon as I'm done, I'll be on my way back home." Styx reported, still holding the head honcho at sword point.

"Oh, thank goodness." Elana breathed out. "Hope you have a good trip back." the babysitter farewelled on the other end of the phone.

"That's the least of my problems, but thank you. See you soon." Styx replied before she hung up and put her phone away, putting her full focus back onto her supplier. "Listen Garalt, something's come up. Can we wrap this up?" Styx asked her supplier, hoping that he would understand the need to get back home.

"Eh, you would have haggled down the price again anyway." Garalt remarked with a shug of his shoulders, his hands raised up to show he was unarmed. "Since you're in a hurry, I'll change the price to half the original. Just this once." the supplier offered.

"Thanks, Garalt. A pleasure as always." Styx thanked as she put her sword back into her hair, only to stop a goon from stabbing her in the back with a sword. At the sight of the now frightened goon, Styx glanced back at Garalt with an accusatory eyebrow. "Really Garalt, really?" the white Troll berated as she held the goon by his wrist in an iron grip.

"Can't blame a guy for trying, right?" Garalt nervously questioned as he lowered his hands, a tense smile showing his teeth present on his face.

"Not in the mood, Garalt. Goodbye." Styx groaned before she Judo flipped the goon to the ground and began to exit the room. "I expect my Wolpertinger horns by Tuesday." she yelled to him before running toward the train station.

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(Back to Present)

The Gyre finally docked in Stone Arc's station, slowing down enough for Styx to place her travel bag on her back and jump out of the inner cabin, landing onto the ground before taking off running. As she did, all the shop owners in the vicinity immediately cleared out of her path, knowing full well to stay out of the way when Styx was mad. But soon enough, she reached the one person she knew that would know where Rayla/Maray was.

"NOX!" Styx shouted as she closed in on Nox's stall, causing him to freeze in his tracks.

"Oh, boy. She's livid." Nox muttered to himself as he turned to face Styx as she reached his shop front. "Uh... hey, Styx. How's it going?" the dark blue troll nervously greeted Styx, a tense smile on his face.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" Styx demanded as she slammed her fists onto Nox's countertop, causing it to shake from the force behind the hit and cause a few things to drop to the ground.

"Why is it you always think I know where she is?" Nox sighed out as he bent down to pick up the fallen items on his side of the counter.

"You are the first person she goes to see when running off!" Styx exclaimed as she did the same and put the items back onto the counter next to the ones Nox picked up.

"Oh, right." Nox said, now realizing that Styx was right. "But relax, she's fine. She's showing Ladybug around the city outskirts." the shopkeeper told Styx, surprising her at the new information.

"Ladybug's here?" Styx questioned Nox, her eyes widening as she spoke.

"Yes. And she's going to take Maray to your shop after the tour." Nox revealed, soothing Styx's worries tenfold.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Styx sighed out, placing her hand onto the countertop and allowing her head to hang down as she began to relax. "Thanks, Nox. I don't know what I'd do without you looking out for Maray when she runs off." the white Troll admitted with a smile, looking back up at her friend as she spoke.

"Eh, she's a little terror... but she's our little terror." Nox replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "Now you better get going. They'll be finishing up soon." the dark blue troll reminded Styx, who had regained her wits and stood back up to her full height.

"Thanks again, Nox. See you at the pub on Friday?" Styx asked.

"Naturally." Nox replied, always happy to spend time with a friend.

"And mayhaps this is the time you ask Tarnite to come?" Styx slyly inquired Nox, causing him to blush and look to the side to avoid looking her in the eye.

"Not this time. I don't want you to be a third wheel." Nox answered, rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke. It was true, Nox has had an infatuation with Ambasador Tarnite for quite some time. And Styx was always the one to either, A) encouraging him to ask him out on a date, or B) teasing him for it... like good friends normally do.

"You've been beating around the bush for too long, Nox. Just ask him out already!" Styx exclaimed, this being one of the times she was encouraging Nox to take the first step.

"Fine, I'll ask him out for a drink!" Nox replied, a little exasperated with Styx's encouragement when she had other things to focus on. "Now go and meet up with Maray." the shopkeeper reminded Styx, making her remember the reason why she came to Nox's stall in the first place.

"Right, I'm on it!" Styx shouted, running off towards her stall on the other side of the market. "Geez, why is it so easy to talk to you!?" she called out as she ran, a little amazed that she had relaxed so much in her friend's presence.

"It's a gift!" Nox yelled back, a smile on his face as he watched her race off to find her ward. Once she was out of sight, he went back to cleaning up the mess Styx left behind and continued restocking his wares.

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On the other side of Stone Arc, Ladybug and Maray were making their way through to where Styx's stall was, having finished Maray's little tour. Like Maray had promised, the tour of the outskirts was absolutely breathtaking. To the Waterfall Oasis carved into the wall behind the western ever flowing waterfall, from the Crystal Caverns in the lower areas of Stone Arc, Ladybug was amazed that these amazing places were not common knowledge. Even the secluded beach with powdered geode sands surrounding the Lapis Lagoon was a shock to her, considering it was quite big. But now that the tour was over; with Ladybug taking a few pictures to use the locations as inspiration for more designs, the superhero and Troll child were approaching Styx's stall.

"I have to admit, that tour was amazing." Ladybug told Maray as she held the Troll child's hand to make sure she didn't run off.

"Thank you, Mistress Ladybug! It is an honor to receive your praise!" Maray exclaimed, not looking to run off so she can spend more time with Ladybug.

"You don't need to call me 'Mistress Ladybug'. 'Ladybug' is just fine." Ladybug assured Maray, causing the eight-year-old to smile even wider.

"Really?" Maray questioned as she lifted herself onto her tiptoes, her eyes sparkling at Ladybug's words.

"Considering you and I spent time seeing the lesser known sights of Stone Arc, I'd say you've earned it." Ladybug replied, causing Maray to jump up and hug her.

"Thank you!" Maray cheered, prompting Ladybug to return the hug. Soon enough, she let go of Ladybug and placed her feet back onto the ground so they could continue walking.

"If you don't mind me asking... How did you end up under Styx's care? Did something happen to your parents?" Ladybug asked the red Troll as she grabbed her hand again, which surprised Maray when she asked but didn't deter her from answering as they walked by a low stone wall.

"I don't mind you asking, at all." Maray assured while she jumped onto the wall and began to balance on the narrow surface. "But to answer your question, I never knew my parents. Like Uncle Nox said, I was a newborn when she took me in." the red Troll child elaborated, holding her arms out to balance herself as she walked along the wall.

"Was Styx friends with them?" Ladybug inquired, now being able to look Maray in the eye since she was now at a height to do so.

"Not that I know of." Maray admitted before she let go of Ladybug's hand and did a cartwheel on the top of the wall she was on, much to the superhero's worry at the little stunt. "All she ever told me was that she found me in a forest when she was in the UK eight years ago. Other than that, we know nothing of where or who I came from." the eight-year-old explained when she righted herself and continued to walk normally along the length of the wall.

"That's terrible! I'm so sorry, Maray." Ladybug apologized as they approached the end of the wall Maray was balancing on.

"It's not your fault. But don't worry about me. I've got a good life here, and I wouldn't trade it for anything." Maray said as she jumped down from the wall with a front flip, landing on her feet with ease. "But that doesn't mean that there aren't days where I wonder what my birth family is like." the red Troll child admitted, a somber look in her eye as they kept walking.

"I wouldn't expect it that way, either. Anyone in your shoes would wonder the same thing." Ladybug assured, making Maray smile at her words.

"Thanks, Ladybug." Maray thanked, just before she glanced to her right and stopped in her tracks. "Oh, we're here." the red Troll child remarked, causing Ladybug to stop as well and follow her gaze to see Styx's stall.

It was actually very unassuming. Like most of the shops surrounding it, Styx's stall was made out of a simple 4x4 wood room, with only three walls to allow space for the shop front. The shop front itself was a wooden countertop, with green fabric draped behind it to block anyone from seeing what was in the actual room. All in all, it was not what Ladybug expected to see.

"You know, with Styx's reputation, I assumed that her stall would have been more of a shop if anything." Ladybug voiced out loud, only to realize the implications of her words. "Uh... no offense to her, of course!" the spotted heroine quickly corrected, looking down at Maray to make sure she didn't insult her or Styx.

"Don't worry, none taken." Maray assured with a smile, knowing that anyone else would make the same assumption. "But that's just the front. It's a lot bigger on the inside." the red Troll child revealed as she walked over to the green curtain and moved it out of the way to reveal the inside of the shop.

As soon as the curtain was out of the way, Ladybug was in awe of what she saw. Maray was right about the inside being bigger, seeing as it was four times bigger than what should have been in there. The walls were lined with all manner of shelves that held either books, potions or artifacts/totems. Multiple racks of weapons were set in the far back of the shop, where that third of the area housed a working blacksmith's workspace, complete with an ever burning forge. Towards the front third of the space, was what seemed to be a reception area, outfitted with seats of various sizes surrounding a coffee table, with glowing white crystals to provide light to the space. But the center third of the space was taken up by a sorceress's dream workspace, complete with cabinets that held an abundance of ingredients that Ladybug would bet money on that Styx got majority from Nox. There was also an array of cauldrons on top of fireplaces, and hanging herbs above them alongside hanging versions of the glowing crystals to add more light to the shop. In any case, Ladybug was blown away by what she saw

"Woah!" Ladybug muttered as she took in the seemingly impossible work space Styx had set up in her shop.

"Never judge a book by its cover... or a shop by its front." Maray recited, remembering what Styx had told her when she first showed her ward the inside of the shop.

"I can see that. It's very impressive." Ladybug agreed as she looked back down at Maray with a smile. "I'd honestly love to compliment Styx for her ingenuity in person." the spotted heroine admitted as she and Maray walked back to the front of the shop.

"THERE YOU ARE!" A voice to their left yelled, causing Maray to wince at the familiar scolding.

"You just might get your wish." Maray told Ladybug as she looked to her left and saw Styx running up to her and Ladybug. "Hey, Styx." the eight-year-old nervously greeted Styx with a wave, only to be interrupted when her caretaker came over to her and scooped Maray up into a hug, dropping her travel bag to the floor.

"Thank Deya, you are okay!" Styx exclaimed as she held Maray in an iron grip. "You are okay, right? No scraps, no bruises, no lacerations?!" the white Troll interrogated Maray, pulling back to give her a good check over.

"I'm fine, Styx. Promise." Maray assured her caretaker, a little annoyed by Styx's fretting.

"(sigh) Good." Styx breathed out, kneeling down to place Maray back onto the ground. But as soon as her ward was out of her hug, Styx's face hardened into a scowl in no time at all. "YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE, YOUNG LADY!! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I WAS?!" the white Troll exclaimed, holding Maray's shoulders as she shook her in hopes of knocking some sense into her.

"I thought I told you to 'stay put'." Styx said after she stopped shaking Maray and held her in place as she continued her lecture.

"You didn't say for how–" Maray began, hoping to defend herself.

"Don't be a smart alec with me, Maray! You know what I meant." Styx interrupted, not having any of her ward's attitude and 'wise guy' routine. "You can't just wander around Stone Arc on your own." Maray's caretaker reiterated.

"But I wasn't alone." Maray protested, pointing to Ladybug behind her and prompting her to nervously wave at Styx.

"Regardless of being with Ladybug, how many times do I have to tell you, 'behave yourself'?" Styx questioned her ward, even if she already knew the answer to that particular inquiry.

"I've lost count." Maray quietly replied, turning her head to the side as she answered Styx.

"Exactly." Styx said with narrowed eyes, before she sighed in exhaustion. "Look, you and I will talk about this when we get home. You go inside the shop while I talk to our guest." the white Troll instructed her ward as she rose to her full height, hands on her hips while looking down at Maray.

"Fine." Maray replied to Styx, only to turn around and hug Ladybug by her waist. "It was nice meeting you, Ladybug!" the red Troll child exclaimed as she tightly held the spotted heroine, making Ladybug smile fondly at her.

"You too, Maray. I hope to see you again soon." Ladybug responded as she knelt down and gave Maray a proper hug before the eight-year-old let go of her with a smile, heading inside the shop. "She's honestly quite fun, ma'am. I didn't mind taking care of her during the tour at all." the spotted heroine assured Styx as she rose back to her full height, a soft smirk gracing her face as she watched Maray go into the reception area.

"I'm glad that she didn't cause you any strife. But the same can't be said for her babysitter." Styx remarked as she rolled her eyes at her ward, only to remember who was with her at that moment. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Styx, and it's truly an honor to meet you, Mistress Ladybug." the white Troll said to Ladybug, properly introducing herself to the superhero as she held her hand out to her.

"And you as well, Styx. Your reputation precedes you." Ladybug greeted Styx while shaking the shopkeeper's hand with a smile, only for her eyes to narrow on Styx as she took in her appearance. "If you don't mind me saying this, but you look familiar." the spotted heroine remarked, breaking the handshake between them as she tried to remember where she had seen Styx from.

"Probably because Maray and I were a part of the crowd that greeted you when you first came down to Stone Arc." Styx responded as she placed her hand on her hip as she spoke, prompting Ladybug's eyes to widen in recognition due to the reminder.

"Oh yeah! You were the Troll with the smaller Troll on your shoulders!" Ladybug exclaimed, now remembering where she had seen Styx from.

"That smaller Troll was Maray. She was so excited to see you and Chat Noir that she climbed onto me to get a better vantage point." Styx revealed with a fond smile as she remembered that fateful day as well. "Honestly, when your partner waved at her, Maray wouldn't stop going on about how Chat Noir was now her favorite hero for the next week." the white Troll brightly elaborated, only to remember who her current company at the moment was.

"No offense to you of course. She loves both of you, but seems to prefer him." Styx explained, hoping to rectify any misunderstandings.

"It's okay. I honestly don't blame her. He's my favorite too." Ladybug assured Styx, as well as admitting her admiration for her partner with a fond smile. "But if he ever hears that, he'll never let me hear the end of it." the spotted heroine continued, the moment interrupted by a sudden thought of how much teasing she would get from Chat Noir if he heard her say that.

"Oh, I have no doubt about that. Your secret is safe with me." Styx responded to Ladybug, happy to keep her little admission under wraps. "Regardless of that, I can't thank you enough for making sure Maray was safe and bringing her back here." the shopkeeper reiterated.

"There has to be some way I can repay you?" Styx asked, hoping that she could show her appreciation for her noble deed as she picked up her travel bag.

"Just making sure Maray's safe is all I need." Ladybug replied, looking over at the Troll child in question as she covertly watched their conversation and ducked down to avoid being seen.

"Nonsense, it's against my morals to let such a good deed be unpaid." Styx insisted, holding her bag strap as it hung from her shoulder. "But word around the market is that you're looking for... a disguise of the unique variety. Am I right?" the white Troll questioned, using the local gossip to her advantage for once.

"Yes, that's right." Ladybug confirmed. "If you sell anything like what I'm looking for, I'll happily pay for it." the spotted heroine reiterated, hoping that Styx would accept her offer.

"You brought my ward back to me, safe and sound. For that, you can have anything you want from me." Styx assured, waving her hand at Ladybug to 'push' the offer away. "Now, what is it that you're looking for?" the white Troll asked as she entered her shop, Ladybug following behind while she placed her bag onto one of the empty seats near Maray.

"A two in one disguise of some sort. Something that can provide me with a disguise amongst the Trolls, and a second disguise for a human alias." Ladybug explained as she and Styx walked up to the area where the cauldrons were in the shop.

"Like what the Changelings are able to do?" Styx inquired, going over to her ingredient cabinet to see if she had everything she needed for making Ladybug's disguises.

"Somewhat like that, yes." Ladybug confirmed, as she watched Styx begin her work.

"Unfortunately, I can't make you a Troll disguise since it is a little out of my skill set. But I can make you a disguise that looks like your current form that you can wear underneath your suit." Styx voiced as she placed her hand onto one of the shelves closest to her waist and used it to prop herself up to reach for one of the vials on the higher shelves, fibbing about her skills to downplay that certain ability. "It would be a second layer of protection for your identity in case one of those akumas got close enough to get your Miraculous." the shopkeeper elaborated as she looked at the label to make sure it was what she was looking for, only to turn around and see the newly widened eyes on Ladybug's face.

"That's... actually a great idea! I can't believe I didn't think of that!" Ladybug praised, wondering how that precautionary measure idea could have slipped her mind. "Is there any way to add that into my disguise, instead of the Troll one?" the spotted heroine asked, clasping her hands together as she spoke. At the sight of Ladybug's sudden posture, Styx softly chuckled to herself as she smiled at the superhero while putting the vial back onto the shelf.

"No problem. Considering your current form is an already existing form, it will be easy to add it into the disguise rune." Styx admitted as she walked over to the cauldrons. "Honestly, it would be childs play to make what you've requested." the white Troll revealed as she bent down to the bottom of two of the three cauldrons and lit the fireplaces with a snap of her fingers.

"Make it?" Ladybug questioned as she watched Styx rise to her full height and crack the tension in her back.

"I don't just sell disguises, I create them custom for those who need them. It all depends on what the customer wants." Styx explained before she flourished her hand and caused a good amount of ingredients in the cabinets to be surrounded by a soft black aura before flying out to surround them.

"Woah!" Ladybug yelped when she saw the flying bottles and ingredients circling them. "How did you-" the spotted heroine began.

"I've been in this world for a long time now. I picked up a few tips and tricks to help my craft." Styx answered the unfinished question, a smirk on her lips as she began picking out what she needed from the floating ingredients.

"How does making a disguise even work, exactly?" Ladybug wondered out loud as she kept staring at the ingredients, even going as far as poking one of the bottles at it passed by her.

"How this works is that the disguise will be stored in this." Styx began as she grabbed a gray runestone from a small basket that is among the floating ingredients and showed it to Ladybug. "This is a runestone. It's what your disguises will be stored in when not in use." the magic shopkeeper explained before she took another out of the basket and allowed it to return from where it was stored.

"In order for that to happen, I have to make potions that will be used to create the disguises. When the potions are done, I'll drop the runestones into the allotted concoctions so they will infuse with the magic." Styx elaborated as she pressed a trick tile next to her foot, causing water shoots to lower from the ceiling above the occupied cauldrons and allowing an unknown liquid to pour into them. "But there is one thing that you might not be comfortable with." the white Troll nervously added with a scratch of her neck, steam rising up from the liquid meeting the hot metal cauldrons.

"What is it?" Ladybug asked, fanning away the thick steam so she could keep her eyes on Styx.

"In order for the disguises to be summoned by you and you alone, as well as for you to customize the disguises to your preferences, you will need to add your blood to the potions." Styx explained as she began adding ingredients into the cauldrons, making little splashes as they landed into the already hot liquid.

"That doesn't sound so bad." Ladybug remarked before a puff of blue smoke came out of the in-progress potion, figuring that there was a good reason for Styx to ask for her blood.

"But the catch is, you need to detransform into your civilian self for the best results." Styx revealed, causing Ladybug's eyes to widen at her words.

"Wait, what?!" Ladybug exclaimed, shocked by Styx's admission.

"Just hear me out, okay? While Old Magicks and Miraculous Magic work well together, the disguises I make have a delicate balance to them." Styx explained while pouring in another ingredient, which seemed to sooth Ladybug's worries a bit as she spoke. "If I make your Ladybug disguise, I would need a piece of your hair as you are now to copy how you look and add the tiniest bit of Miraculous magic to prevent others from finding out your identity." the shopkeeper continued, grabbing another floating ingredient and tearing it in half.

"But if I took blood from you while you're transformed, it would be too much Miraculous Magic in the runestones and cause the disguises to malfunction at random times. Your blood when not transformed will allow you to use the disguise outside of your transformations and fluctuate the disguise magic properly." Styx further explained as she put the newly separated ingredient pieces into the cauldrons, Ladybug's worries almost gone but still lingering. "Maray and I will not look when you do, and your identity will remain a secret. Is that good with you?" the white Troll asked, walking out from behind the cauldrons as she spoke.

"Well, if it's necessary for the disguises, I'll do it." Ladybug decided, her worries gone after Styx's assurance.

"Excellent." Styx said before she waved her hand into the air, the appendage being surrounded by a soft black glow and causing a divider to appear from out behind one of the cabinets. "That will provide an extra layer of precaution when you need to de-transform." the shopkeeper told Ladybug, who smiled at the sight of the divider.

"Thank you." Ladybug thanked as she watched Styx continue making the potions. The next 20 minutes were a flurry of ingredients flying into the occupied cauldrons, Styx chopping and pouring the necessary parts of the recipe. But soon enough, the potions were ready for the next step and approached the blood part of the concoction.

"Okay, now is the time for your blood." Styx announced as she pulled out two vials and a small knife and held it out to Ladybug, shocking her.

"How much do you need?" Ladybug questioned, her voice laced with disbelief as she wide-eyed the items offered to her.

"I only need a few drops for each. But put a piece of your hair into the one for you Ladybug one before you de-transform." Styx explained, easing the shock Ladybug had if her deep exhale was any indication.

"Got it." Ladybug confirmed, going behind the divider and doing as Styx instructed and taking a few strands of her hair to put it into one of the vials before detransforming. Once she was Marinette again, she took the small knife and slit her finger tip, squeezing it until three drops fell into each of the vials, hair one included. With the first half of her part done, Marinette transformed back into Ladybug and walked out from behind the divider with the vials in hand.

"Okay, here you go." the spotted heroine reported as she held the vials to Styx, but instead of taking them, Styx merely pushed them back to her customer.

"If I add them in, you won't be able to change the second disguise to your preference." Styx revealed to Ladybug, causing her to pull her hand back into herself to allow Styx to continue speaking. "You have to think about how you want the non-Ladybug disguise to look as you pour in your blood. That's the only way this works." the shopkeeper further explained, stirring the first cauldron with one of her large metal ladles.

"Right, got it." Ladybug confirmed, nodding as she spoke and watched while Styx finished stirring.

"Now, pour the vial with the hair into this cauldron." Styx instructed, pointing to the cauldron in front of her as she walked to the next one, allowing Ladybug to pour in the vial with hair into it and causing the potion to turn bright red.

"Good. Now for your human disguise." the white Troll said as she finished giving the second cauldron a good stir, prompting Ladybug to follow Styx's instructions and pour in the second, non hairy, vial into the cauldron.

As she did, like Styx told her to do, Ladybug imagined what her human disguise would look like. In her mind's eye, her hair turned into the dark brown that her dad had, but still kept in her usual low pigtails with the length going to her lower back. Deep blue eyes turned into her mother's light gray while retaining their original shape, her face shape staying the same but becoming more rounded to prevent instant recognition. Creamy white skin darkened into a beautiful sienna tone, with her body keeping her original shape and height but becoming more filled out muscle wise. And to top it all off, her usual attire turned into a red knitted sweater with sleeves to her mid arm, a white tank top that poked out from the sweater collar, blue jeans and red boots to her mid calf.

Once Ladybug decided on the final look of her human disguise, the potion turned a bright pink, making Styx smile at the result.

"Well done. Now it's time to finish the potions." Styx proclaimed as she pulled out a knife and slit her palm without so much as a wince. She then squeezed out two drops from her cut into each of the cauldrons, causing a poof of smoke coloured the same as the concoction to be expelled from them.

"Maray, could you grab the first aid kit please?" the white Troll asked, bringing Maray out of her observing and scaring her stiff in fear of being in trouble.

"Sure, Styx." Maray replied after processing Styx's words, getting up from her seat and going to another cabinet to get what her caretaker asked for.

"Are you okay? Didn't that hurt?" Ladybug questioned Styx as the older Troll wiped her hand clean from any germs to prevent any infections.

"I'll be fine. It's not the first time I've had to do that." Styx assured as Maray came over with the first aid kit, letting Styx open it and pull out gauze and a roll of wrapping. Once she finished dressing her hand, Styx took the runestones into her unwrapped hand and plopped them into their respective cauldrons. As the stones sank to the bottom of the cauldrons, the color of each potion turned clear as the runestones absorb the magic and change color to match the potions they were placed in.

"Why did you need to put your own blood into the potions?" Ladybug asked out of concern.

"Considering the little parlor trick I showed you earlier, I thought it would be obvious." Styx remarked before she waved her hand in the air, a strainer next to her cabinet gaining a soft black aura before flying into her hand. "I have the ability to use magic, but truly strong magic needs something more potent. Giving a part of one's self allows for a much more widespread set of possibilities as well as a greater power, and without my blood, I couldn't manage to truly craft what you need." the shopkeeper explained as she took the strainer and used it to pull the newly colored runestones from the cauldrons.

"Ah, got it." Ladybug said while Styx walked over to her blacksmith area, beginning the next to last steps for the runestones, only to stop and place the stones onto her table before she began to look for something.

"Maray, do you know where I put the metals I use for detailing?" Styx called out to Maray, searching her table for said metals since it was the last place she saw them.

"Third drawer in the second shelf away from the forge." Maray replied, going back to her seat in the reception area.

"Thank you." Styx thanked her ward as she walked over to said shelf, found the metals and grabbed a few from the variety.

"Do you prefer copper, bronze, or rose gold for holding the runestones together, Ladybug?" the white Troll asked the superhero, holding out the metals to Ladybug so she could see them in the light.

"Rose gold, please. I feel like it would go best with the colors the runestones are in." Ladybug responded, her fashion designer side coming alive at the possible combinations the options provided had to offer.

"Excellent choice." Styx praised before she put the other two metals back and took the rose gold to her blacksmith area.

"Maray seems to know her way around pretty well." Ladybug remarked as she watched Styx sit down in her blacksmith work area to begin the last steps.

"I should hope so. I'd expect nothing less from my apprentice." Styx said as she started melting down the rose gold into molten metal.

"She's your apprentice? I thought she was your ward." Ladybug said as she watched Styx open a drawer in her table and pulled out a large lump of clay.

"I am both. But while I do have some knowledge of how to use magic, I haven't actually used it like Styx has." Maray called out from her seat, happily answering the question,

"You still have a long way before you can begin using magic, Maray. You still need to finish your self defense training." Styx called out as she made the clay into a mold for the runestones. "But considering your little stunt today, I might be inclined to prolong your wait time." the magic caster warned her ward, glancing over her shoulder while her hands continued to work via muscle memory.

"What! Seriously?!" Maray cried out in protest, not believing what Styx was saying.

"Uh-uh, don't give me that. You knew that was a possibility when we first talked about it." Styx berated as she placed the runes together in the mold and poured the melted rose gold onto them, fusing the magical stones together before sighing in exhaustion. "Again, we'll talk about this later at home." the white Troll decided as she summoned a pair of detailing tongs to her hand, wanting to focus on finishing the disguise necklace.

Using the summoned tongs, Styx took the rose gold plated runestones to the water bucket and dropped them in, allowing them to sink to the bottom as the metal cooled down. After a few minutes, the blacksmith reached into the bucket and pulled the cooled runestones out from the water, the rose gold now cool to the touch in the clay, before heading to her work table to make final adjustments.

With the metal cooled and solid again, Styx broke the clay mold and took the runestones in her hand to clear it of any leftover clay. Once it was clean, Styx went to work making a chain out of the same metal and added a small loop onto the center of the runestones to allow it to hang onto the chain. After slipping the runestone charm onto the chain, Styx then added the clasp and ending loop so Ladybug could wear it, and gave it a nice polish to finish it off.

"Here it is. All done!" Styx proclaimed after the adjustments were made, holding up the rune necklace to display it in the light of the glowing ceiling crystals and show it off to those in the room.

With the necklace complete, Ladybug could now see the pink and red colored runestones expertly joined together thanks to the rose gold, and looped onto a chain of the same metal. As it sparkled in the light, the spotted heroine was impressed by how such a tiny trinket could hold such powerful magic inside of it, much like her Miraculous. Either way, the superheroine was in awe of Styx's work, now seeing why the white Troll had such a glowing reputation.

"It's beautiful!" Ladybug praised as she gently took the runestone necklace from the magic caster, taking a closer look at the hidden details it had. "I love it! Thank you so much, Styx" the spotted heroine thanked with a smile, holding the necklace close to her chest.

"It was my pleasure, Ladybug. I hope you get a lot of use from it." Styx said, glad to have made Ladybug happy with her work.

"I'm sure I will. Again, thank you so much." Ladybug reiterated as she pulled out her yo-yo and placed the necklace inside so she could keep it safe until she was at home. But once her yo-yo was closed up, Ladybug took the opportunity to check the time. "Oh shoot, I've been here for the whole day! I have to get home!" the spotted heroine exclaimed, her eyes widening when she saw it was nearing 5pm.

"It was nice meeting you two." Ladybug said as she began to exit the shop, only to stop at Maray's seat in the reception area. "Hope to see you again, Maray." the superhero told the eight-year-old with a warm smile, bending down to speak to her new friend.

"Me too, Ladybug." Maray agreed as she and Ladybug fist pump each other. With the little farewell to each other, Ladybug got up to her full height and walked to the exit to leave.

"See you around, guys!" Ladybug yelled back to the two Trolls as she ran off to get home.

"Bye!" Styx & Maray replied as they waved 'goodbye' while watching Ladybug leave. But once she was gone, Maray glanced back at Styx with a questioning eye.

"You put a tracking spell on it, didn't you?" Maray inquired, knowing that her caretaker always had a trick up her sleeve.

"Obviously. Have to have some way of keeping an eye on her when she's not transformed." Styx admitted as she began to clean up her shop. Seeing as she hadn't planned to open up that day, it was actually easier to clean up the small mess she made on her blacksmith table.

"That's an invasion of privacy! How are you okay with that?!" Maray asked out loud in disbelief, throwing her hands up into the air before she slumped back into her seat with her arms crossed over her chest.

"You already know the answer to that, Maray." Styx remarked as she finished her clean up, amused by her ward's reaction to her slightly askew morality. "Now come on, let's go home." the magic caster announced, waving her hands to extinguish the flames in the occupied cauldrons's fireplaces.

"I'm totally grounded, am I?" Maray rhetorically questioned as she watched Styx reach up to the ceiling and grab a hidden pull cord from behind one of the hanging herbs.

"Oh, yes you are!" Styx exclaimed as she gave the cord a hard tug, causing the cauldrons to drain out the leftover liquid. "But we'll discuss it more when we get home. Like Marinette said, it's getting late and we can't keep Elana waiting anymore than we have." the white Troll decided as she walked up to the reception area, prompting Maray to get out of her seat as she grabbed her travel bag.

"Fair point. Lead the way." Maray replied, leading to the two of them to walk out of the shop and let the curtain close behind them to hide the inside of the shop.

Now that they were reunited, the caretaker and her ward began walking to the exit of Stone Arc, passing by multiple shops as they closed up for the day. One of the shops they passed by happened to be Nox's stall, where Styx and Maray could see Tarnite and Nox talking to each other. Thankfully for them, they were close enough to hear their close friend finally ask the ambassador out for a drink.

"He finally did it!" Styx cheered in a hushed voice, a wide smile on her face as she witnessed Nox taking the plunge.

"That's my uncle!" Maray exclaimed in a similar volume, causing them both to give Nox two thumbs up as they passed by. After sending Nox their praise, they kept walking to the exit, soon arriving at the foot of the crystal staircase. But once they made sure that no one would see them leaving, considering the population of Stone Arc assumed that they lived there, they began climbing back to the surface.

"Don't forget your bag, Rayla." Styx reminded her ward once they reached the top of the stairs, stretching her stiff back from the climb they just finished.

"I know, I'm getting it." Maray tiredly replied as she went to get her bag from its hiding place. As soon as she took it out of the crack in the wall, Maray put it back on as she went back to her caretaker.

"Alright, let's go home." Styx sighed out as she pulled out her own runestone necklace from underneath her top, it only having one soft glowing white runestone on it and made with silver.

As she held the runestone in her hand, the glow faded as she turned back into her human form, her outfit made up of a dressy white top tucked into black flare pants, white 2 inch heels, and a black coat to her knees. When she finished turning back into her human self, Maray copied her example and turned back into her own human form. From there, Artemis and Rayla tucked their runestone necklaces back under their shirts, before the older female pulled out her dark gray Horngazel from her travel bag. With the Horngazel out, Artemis drew the exit outline into the cavern wall, allowing them to begin walking back home.

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(Time Skip)

It didn't take long for the two shapeshifters to get back home to their high rise apartment, even when they took the time to grab a bite to eat. Since it was already pretty late in the day, Artemis didn't feel like making dinner and it led to the two of them eating in silence before heading back home. As soon as they walked through the door, Artemis sent Rayla to her room while she dealt with Elana, who got up from her spot on the couch when she saw them enter the apartment.

"Again, I am so sorry that Rayla ran off on my watch, Ms. Queen." Elana said as she and Artemis walked to the door to the apartment, looking forward to leaving after she apologized again.

"It's okay, Elana. You actually lasted longer than most." Artemis assured, impressed with how long Elana had lasted before Rayla ran off. "That's a feat in itself in this house." the older female remarked with a smirk, glancing to look over at her ward's bedroom door.

"Thank you, ma'am. But if it's all the same, I don't think this is going to work out." Elana admitted to Artemis, who was not surprised with her words.

"I completely understand, Elana. Don't worry about it." Artemis responded. "You wouldn't happen to have any recommendations?" she asked the high school senior, hoping to get someone in line for the next time now that Elana wasn't going to be her regular.

"I'm sorry, but I don't." Elana revealed with a frown, much to Artemis's slight disappointment.

"Fair enough." Artemis said as she began to dig into her purse and find the money she owed Elana for her troubles. "Hope you have a good rest of your weekend before Monday." the older female voiced as she handed the money to Elana, who took it as she opened the front door.

"And you as well, Ms. Queen. Have a nice evening." Elana farewelled as she put the money into her purse and left the apartment. Once she was gone and the door was closed, Artemis breathed a sigh of relief before she turned to face the other side of the room.

"Okay Rayla, you can come out now." Artemis called out to her ward, prompting Rayla to sheepishly come out of her room, dressed in her comfy clothes. "You are in a lot of trouble, young lady." the shapeshifter berated while Rayla walked over to her, her posture slightly hunched over as she awaited the oncoming lecture.

"Please Artemis, have mercy on me! Like you told Elana, I behaved a lot longer than normal." Rayla pleaded, clasping her hands together as she spoke.

"But you still misbehaved, Rayla. After I told you not to!" Artemis exclaimed, pinching the bridge of her nose as a headache began to pound on her head. "And the next thing you do is go wandering around Stone Arc alone!" the older female continued, looking up from her hand to glare at her ward with narrowed eyes.

"You know that I know my way around down there. Plus Uncle Nox was there too in case things went wrong." Rayla argued, letting her hands fall back to her sides as she spoke.

"That's besides the point. You nearly gave Elana and me a heart attack!" Artemis seethed, walking over to her ward as she lecutred Rayla for the millionth time.

"I told you that I would have been bored out of my mind. While Elana was nice, she was still boring." Rayla admitted, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she looked down to the floor.

"Just because you don't like being left at home, doesn't mean you can torment your babysitter and/or run off to wherever you want." Artemis reiterated. "This is getting ridiculous, Rayla. I have no choice but to fully ground you for a month." the shapeshifter decided, shocking Rayla from looking at the floor and redirecting her attention back onto her caretaker.

" 'Fully ground me?' " Rayla repeated, fear dripping into her voice.

"That means no training, no T.V privileges, no visits to Stone Arc and you will be on full lockdown for the whole time." Artemis threatened, causing Rayla to widen her eyes and drop her arms to her side again.

"WHAT! You can't do that!" Rayla exclaimed in disbelief.

"You have forced my hand here, Rayla. You need to understand that your actions have consequences." Artemis reprimanded, putting her food down on this one.

"Artemis, I'm begging you!! Please don't do this!" Rayla begged, almost going to her knees as she did so.

"Rayla..." Artemis began, only to stop when Rayla tried to use the Big Eyes on her. "Nice try, Rayla. You know that only works with Nox." the older female said as she looked Rayla dead in the eyes, trying not to bend in her decision.

"Pleeeease!" Rayla pleaded, clasping her hands as she made her bottom lip quiver. Fortunately for Rayla, Artemis couldn't resist for long, and gave in with a sigh.

"Okay, how about this... you help me take care of the unfinished business in the room upstairs, I'll go easy on you." Artemis offered, snapping Rayla out of her guilt trip routine.

"Aw, come on! You know I hate doing that!" Rayla cried out, not believing that her go-to move had failed.

"Take it or leave it, Rayla." Artemis warned, immediately telling Rayla that it was all she was going to get if she kept her mouth shut.

"Ugh! Fine, let's get this over with." Rayla groaned before she began to walk up the stairs to the upstairs room. Seeing that she won, Artemis followed behind with a smirk. Once they were in front of the alleged room's door, Artemis opened the door and revealed the room to those in attendance.

The room itself was pretty bare for the most part, since Artemis only used the room as storage... or when she had a body in the apartment. There were a few dark oak cabinets along the walls that held a variety of tools, while a large tarp covered the matching wood floors. But the main thing either female was focused on... was the stonified Changeling spy in the center of the tarp covered floor, its body reconstructed and held together with magic while his head laid next to his feet.

"I'll admit, I'm going to miss using this guy's head as target practice." Artemis reflected as she walked into the room and picked up the head to turn it around so she could see the bullet holes in the back of it.

"Me too. He's a lot more durable than the usual practice equipment." Rayla agreed as she followed Artemis's example and walked into the room, only to look at the Changeling's scratched up back. A result from using the spy's stone body as a practice dummy.

"But the longer we have this guy around, the more we run the risk of getting found out. And we've put this off long enough." Artemis revealed as she stretched her back, getting ready to demolish the evidence and turn it into gravel to spread around the city.

"I'll get the sledge hammers." Rayla reported in a tired tone before she pulled out her runestone necklace and clasped it in her hand. As she concentrated, the soft glow faded away from both of the stones and allowed her to transform into her true form.

Truth be told, Rayla wasn't either a human or a Changeling, she was a half human-half Troll Dragon, which anyone would figure out if they watched her turn back into her natural form. Like with her Troll form, her hair darkened until it was a light gray instead of coal black, retaining its thick and curly texture while becoming wild and messy, its length going to her mid back. Her amber eyes changed into golden scarla with black slits pupil, keeping their usual round shape alongside her elongated face shape from her Troll form. Small whisker tendrils suddenly grew from the space above her lip, and her nose changed into a small orange triangle shaped nose up to her forehead.

Her skin then darkened into a red-orange tone, and hardened into a soft stone texture whilst decorated with small and large gold and black markings along her arms and legs. While her body type and height remained the same, it was more muscled due to her training from Artemis over the years, while the lower jaw fangs of her Troll form appeared once more. Alongside the small dark red horns with black bands that poked through her hair while looking like cat ears, a tail matching her body type then grew from her lower back before going to the floor.

Taking off her jacket, Rayla went to one of the cabinets in the room and opened it to grab two of the many sledge hammers inside. With the weapons in hand, she passed one of them to Artemis, who took her coat and heels off before rolling up her shirt sleeves and transforming into her true form. Once the light faded from her body... It left behind the female Troll who killed the Changeling spy in the first place, who smirked at the statute in front of them.

"Okay, I'll take the top half of him, you take the bottom half." Artemis decided, adjusting her grip on the sledge hammer in preparation.

"Can I at least smash the guy's head?" Rayla asked, hoping to find some form of entertainment in her punishment.

"Go nuts." Artemis allowed, causing a smile to appear on Rayla's face.

"YES!" Rayla cheered before she swung the sledgehammer and smashed the Changeling's spy's head into pieces, bringing a tear to Artemis's eye.

"That's my girl." Artemis muttered to herself out of pride as she whipped the stray tear away, only to push the rest of the spy's body to the ground, allowing the magic to fade and let the statue separate into pieces once again. With the statue in pieces, Artemis split the remains between the two of them so they can get to work, leading to them turning the remains into gravel for the next hour.

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It took them another hour after turning the Changeling spy into gravel to scatter his remains throughout the city's garden areas, but it was worth it. Now they didn't have to fear someone finding the body, and their weekend was free. When that little chore was done, the two shapeshifters headed back home, even taking the time to check up on Adrien and Marinette while leaping from rooftop to rooftop past their homes. But they were more than happy to return to their home, change back into their comfy clothes, and snuggle up in front of the fireplace to fight the oncoming autumn chill.

So now they were in their true forms and sitting in the apartment's huge living room. The space was rustic modern, that sat across from the kitchen and dining area as they sat on a raised level above the living room. Connected by a small set of stairs, the living room sat below the path between the kitchen and living room and was surrounded by bare cream colored walls and dark oak floors. The high vaulted ceiling above was decorated by dark oak beams that ran into the kitchen, while multiple warm tone glass tubes hung from the ceiling too. These provided more light than the wall of black tinted windows that separated the apartment from the balcony area that extended from the building.

In regards to furniture, two couches, a love seat and three single seats of white upholstery were placed around the space to surround a coffee table made up of dark oak. Next to the single seats closest to the fireplace sitting on the same wall that the apartment door resided, were dark oak side tables with dark wood lamps with cream-white lampshades sitting on top of them. The already lit fireplace itself was made up of darkstone, with a dark oak mantel holding several pictures of Artemis and Rayla, and a pile of firewood in a small copper cradle next to it. Alongside the flatscreen T.V hanging above the mantel, the floor below the furniture was covered by a white and black patterned rug to protect the floors from scuff marks. Copper accent pillows and blankets were situated on the chairs, the blankets sitting on the arms of the two large couches. And to top it all off, a storage cabinet made out of dark oak sat behind the largest couch across from the fireplace, where a decorative bowl holding dark pebbles sat on top of it.

But as the fire crackled and the night fully appeared in the windows of the living room, Artemis sat on the largest couch while Rayla sat in the single seat closest to it, both sulking a bit from earlier. After having enough of the silence, Artemis sighed and uncrossed her arms from her chest.

"Come here, you little terror." Artemis relented as she gestured for Rayla to come over. With the permission to come over to her caretaker, Rayla jumped off her couch and sat next to her, only to melt into Artemis's embrace as she pulled her in for a side cuddle. "For a half-breed, you cause twice as much trouble than either species combined." the Changeling sighed out as she sat in her comfy clothes of a gray long sleeved nightshirt, teal pajama pants, and white socks, holding her ward close.

"I don't mean to cause any trouble. I just want to have some fun." Rayla softly admitted, looking at the floor as she spoke. "Especially since you don't take me with you on missions." the half-troll continued as she looked up from the floor and up at Artemis.

"I know the last few months have been rough since... that day. But you can't keep me locked up." Rayla said in an effort to comfort her caretaker, causing Artemis to sigh and look down at her ward with a tired smile.

"I don't want you to get hurt because of me." Artemis admitted as she looked to her right, rubbing her thumb over Rayla's bicep. "I have a tendency to lose the people I care about, and I don't want you to be one of them." the older female elaborated, causing Rayla's stare at her to soften.

"So I guess this, along with my stunt earlier, means we won't be talking about me getting out of the house more often, huh?" Rayla questioned a defeated look on her face as she asked.

"On the contrary... it just proves that we need to have this talk." Artemis revealed, her tired smile turning into a smirk before continuing. "Keep in mind, you are still grounded for today." the Changeling reminded her ward, pointing at her with narrowed eyes as she made her point.

"Yeah, I figured." Rayla admitted sheepishly.

"But instead of full lockdown for a whole month, it'll be two weeks with just no TV privileges." Artemis offered, making Rayla smile at her words "Sounds fair?" the older female asked, double checking if the offer was agreeable.

"Better than nothing." Rayla responded, happy to have a lessened sentence.

"Glad you think so. But we still need to address certain things." Artemis began, knowing that they needed to talk about the elephant in the room. "I am aware that I've been a little overprotective of you lately, and it's making you go stir crazy." the Changeling continued, reflecting on her coddling as of late.

"Well, I wouldn't say 'stir crazy'. More like 'stuck in an endless loop of cabin fever'." Rayla explained, nervously rubbing her shoulder.

"Exactly my point, Rayla. But I now see that I need to ease up on that." Artemis concluded.

"So, what does that entail?" Rayla asked in an eager voice, leaning up towards Artemis as she spoke.

"I have been thinking lately... depending on how things go for us in the future, I wouldn't be against you going to public school, or coming with me on some of my easy trips." Artemis revealed, causing Rayla's smile and eyes to widen out of joy as she took in her caretaker's words.

"Really?! You mean it?!" Rayla pressed, her joy seeping into her voice.

"Don't get your hopes up too quickly. Like I said, it depends on how things go for us later on... including your behavior from now on." Artemis reminded, trying to get Rayla to view this realistically and not set her heart on it too fast.

"I promise I will be on my best behavior from here on out! I swear!" Rayla promised, her golden eyes practically glowing as she made her promise.

"Look, I don't expect you to turn into a saint overnight. But I do expect you to not terrorize your next babysitter and not run off without my permission." Artemis outlined, laying down the exact terms for Rayla's chance to get into public school.

"Deal!" Rayla exclaimed, only for a sly expression to appear on her face. "On one condition..." the eight-year-old offered, causing Artemis to fondly shake her head at Rayla's words.

"Yeah, I walked into that one." Artemis remarked to herself before redirecting her attention back to her ward. "Only one, so make it count." the Changeling told Rayla, putting her foot down before her ward thought to ask for more conditions.

"I'll behave if you manage to get Marinette to babysit me." Rayla requested, her smirk widening much to Artemis's chardagin and slight exasperation.

"Need I remind you that she doesn't know that I'm Styx, or that I'm a Changeling? Nor that Maray is a half Troll Dragon-half human?" Artemis lectured, reminding Rayla of the slight complication in her request. "I can't just go as Styx and ask her to babysit you, only to give her a human address. It would blow our cover and bring unwanted attention to us." the older female continued, making Rayla's happy face fall a bit.

"But I'll see if I can meet her in my human form and make her the offer." Artemis offered to Rayla, her ward's face brightening up at her words. "Deal?" the Changeling asked, holding her hand out to Rayla.

"Deal." Rayla exclaimed, shaking her caretaker's hand before giving her a tight hug, making Artemis smile as she returned the hug.

"Now that we've reached an agreement... Did you break your record in climbing down the fire escape?" Artemis asked her ward with a smirk, pulling back from the hug as she spoke.

"By a whole 30 seconds!" Rayla happily replied, still hugging her caretaker as she looked up at Artemis.

"That's my girl!!" Artemis cheered before she pulled Rayla back into the hug, ruffling her loose hair. "While I don't like you sneaking out without my permission... I can't deny the feeling of pride I get when you improve your skills in the process." the older female admitted, her skewed morals surfacing a bit as she congratulated Rayla's progress.

"Thanks, Artemis." Rayla thanked in a squeaky voice, happy to receive such praise while they both tightened their hold on each other. Once they were satisfied with the amount of time they hugged, they finally pulled away. "Now, can we watch a movie before bed? Please?!" the half-troll asked, only pulling a half efforted version of her 'Big Eyes'. At the sight of her ward's pleading expression, Artemis chuckled to herself out of fondness.

"Okay, one movie. Then it's no more TV for the rest of your grounding." Artemis reminded Rayla as she nodded 'yes', soon grabbing the TV remote from the coffee table.

"Fine by me." Rayla agreed, allowing Artemis to settle herself to lay against the arm of the coach before she came in and snuggled into her side to watch Artemis surf through their saved movies. "Oh, can we watch that one?" the eight-year-old inquired as she pointed to 'Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children' when it appeared on the screen.

"I don't see why not." Artemis admitted before she clicked on the movie, causing it to start. As the opening titles played, the Changeling and her half-Troll ward got more comfortable to watch the movie begin, a feeling of safety and warmth settling around them.

A/N: What?! Artemis is actually a Changeling, and was also the one to save Marinette's identity from being found out by the Janus Order? Who could have predicted that? How did you guys like the introduction of Artemis and Rayla? Hope you guys found them as fun as I did when creating and writing them. See you next time!