A Strange Afterlife

[ginger_firebird]

 It had to be impossible. He could feel his skin. A pulse beat under his neck. He stood in front of a store window and regarded his reflection in the glass. Same black leather outfit. Same brown trench-coat. The fabric weight down on him and he rubbed his arms as he tried to figure out what was going on. A wandering spirit had doors to enter and exit when it came to the world of the living, but he'd never achieved something like this. It was alien and wrong and he had no idea where anyone was.

Mantis sighed, marveling quietly at the way his chest rose and fell with his breathing. It didn't matter. He'd keep moving and hope for the best. If this was some punishment for a misstep, he knew exactly who to take it up with.

"Sorrow!" Even his voice carried an echo. Mantis pointed himself into a new direction and began to walk. "What did I do this time, old man?"

Comments

[chiaro_oscuro]

"They aren't hard to figure out, but they're very useful to have. The Nexus is, ah, chaotic." A pause. Ben has mixed feelings on the chaos, but he's never seen it go bad himself. "I'll give you my number, if you'd like to keep in touch with me."

[ginger_firebird]

Mantis is going to mess around with the device. Some of the icons are intuitive and he pulls up what looks like an alphabet. Forgive him, young Ben. He's a bit of an old man with these kinds of things. "That will help. How do I find mine on this thing?"

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I'll show you." Ben fiddles his own device as an example, showing Mantis his own number. "Now that we know where your number is, we'll go to your contacts, and I'll add myself. That way you can text me at any time."

[ginger_firebird]

Mantis will just loom over a bit while Ben demonstrates how the phone works. He looks at Ben's contact on the device and tucks it into his jacket pocket. "After I find a place to stay for the night. I'm assuming the usual rules about day, night, and weather apply to this place."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I live in an apartment in the downtown area," Ben explains. Part of him likes teaching people about the Nexus. "Yes - the usual rules apply. We have seasons, too, except they work a little differently in a few ways. Nexus winters can be very harsh, so stocking up in the fall is important. There are beings in charge of the seasons here. I'd be careful talking to them. They're very powerful and making them angry isn't a good idea."

[ginger_firebird]

"It seems there are a lot of people who live here naturally." And increasingly, he's curious about what kinds of people they are. "Do we know how they control the weather? I can handle a hard winter, but this sounds like magic more than something that can be explained rationally."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"Some of them are like me. They died in their world and can't go home, or they have no home to go back to. I think some live here by choice, though." Ben considers the question. "It's magic, so no. I've met a couple of the seasonal spirits, Reynard and Dyane - you'll know them when you meet them, though they're most likely to come out in their seasons."

[ginger_firebird]

That rule again... Mantis doesn't doubt that Ben believes it, but he's not about to let that kind of rule stop him from trying to find his way back to Liquid. Rules exist to be broken, after all. "Real magic. All right. I suppose the way we can read thoughts would look like magic to people who don't know how our worlds work."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"The seasonal spirits' magic is different from ours. Much older, as I understand, and much stronger. They're as ancient as the seasons themselves." There are a few people in the Nexus even Ben would never tangle with, and they're on the list. "We still have access to the powers we had back home, thankfully."

[ginger_firebird]

"Hmm. We have stories about such things where I come from. I may not know their exact rules yet, but I do know how their kind work." It's tantalizing. He almost wants to stay long enough to meet one. "You're welcome to become a client if you think my powers will be of use to you. I don't mind business from...friendly faces."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"When you're dealing with beings like the angels and the seasonal spirits, my best advice is to be polite. You never know who you're talking to in a place like this." It's one of the reasons why Ben's learned to watch his tongue. "I'll think about your offer. It's not often I meet someone outside my world with similar powers."

[ginger_firebird]

Angels now. It's a veritable menagerie of things that aren't supposed to exist. The rules are ones he's familiar with, but he's going to need some time to wrap his head completely around what he's wandered into. "I rarely met people in my own world with powers like mine. It seems like it's a rare thing everywhere."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"There are a few more people from mine, but I wasn't aware there were others who had similar powers. That's why you caught my interest." Ben tucks away his own PINpoint. "Our numbers are slowly growing. It's a bit of a relief, honestly - though you startled me a little when I felt you in my head."

[ginger_firebird]

"We can start a group for the resident psychics. No need for fliers and posters when everyone can find out from each other the dates and times for meetings." As much as he jokes, Mantis wouldn't mind seeing something like that come to pass. It's odd and comforting to find kindred spirits.

[chiaro_oscuro]

Ben laughs, but softly, as if he's not used to laughing. "Yes, that would make the matter of deciding where and when to meet easier. I doubt we're the only psychics here. I'm interested to see what use you put your powers to."

[ginger_firebird]

Mantis laughs a little more often than Ben does, but it isn't something he does consistently. Maybe it's a psychic thing. "It can be useful for manual labor. I've moved machines as large as a building in the past and can read minds. Between the two of them, I might pass as a jack of all trades."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I don't use mine very often, but it does come in useful when I need to grab a tool in a hurry or if it's in a place that's difficult to reach." Ben's a mechanic now, and the Force has its benefits in that line of work. "When you settle down, I'd be willing to come and visit."

[ginger_firebird]

"You repair things. I've never been good for that, but maybe I can learn. Never too old to pick up a new skill." And they'd share the advantage of being able to reach tools easier. "I don't need a lot of space. Decorating is more of a hassle than the space itself."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"It wasn't too late for me, though part of it was repurposing skills I already had. Putting them to a better use." Ben nods when the stranger describes his needs. "I see. My home is modest - I live in an apartment near the industrial area."

[ginger_firebird]

"I was better at finding a way to use machines. It didn't matter the size, I would make it work." Apartment. That's definitely his speed. Mantis nods. "I'll have a look around. If I end up near you, at least there will be no shortage for potential conversation."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I don't get many visitors," Ben says. He has a few friends, and sometimes he deals with customers at home as well as at work, but in general he keeps to himself and likes it that way. "But I wouldn't mind the occasional visit."

[ginger_firebird]

"I rarely lived anywhere long enough to have visitors." They're well matched in that regard. Mantis increasingly appreciates that this man has clearly been through a great deal. He wants to pry, but it's not something he can pull from Ben after just meeting. "I'll make something for us to eat. It's been a while since I had to."

[chiaro_oscuro]

It's not something I'm used to, either, but I'll do my best to show you the proper hospitality." Ben's had some practice when Rey came to visit him, so he has some idea of how having people over to visit works. "I wouldn't mind trying your food, either. What were you thinking?"

[ginger_firebird]

"The best hospitality is food and drink. I haven't eaten in a while, but I want to do a real mincemeat pie. It's filling and can potentially be healthy as well." He already has aspirations for preserved herbs and jars of fruit. There's much he can do again, but the options swirling through his brain are of simple things. He wants to eat and just...sense things again.

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I could use something filling." Ben eats small meals most of the time, though he's guilty of the occasional burger at Lord of the Fries. Pie would make a good change of pace. "It's one of the good things about being alive, even if it's something very simple. When you come back from the dead, you don't take things for granted."