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nexus_crossings2020-11-01 09:45 am
ginger_firebird) wrote in nexus_crossings2020-11-01 09:45 am
Jorden
~Outside~
“Do you know what this is? It’s a wolf. I worked with a woman who loved wolves. She would follow people from a distance before taking them out. I liked her, but she was scary.”
Mantis is in front of the apartment building again. He’s dressed and bundled up in white from the scarves covering his head and mouth to the jacket, scarf, pants, shirt, and shoes covering the rest of his form. Yaga is playing with some votive candles as they sail out of a box and settle into a loose ring around an assortment of objects. In the middle of the ring are several small figurines of animals and related objects: a nest with an egg in it, a white snake, an octopus, a raven, a wolf, and a praying mantis. He adjusts some of the candles by hand, but only with one hand. In the occupied arm is a small and fuzzy looking animal with grey fur and wide purple eyes.
“Watch this. This is the important part.” The little animal chirps with surprise as Mantis waves his free hand over the candles, setting all of them alight at once. He laughs at the noise and sits down, holding the small animal against his chest. “Don’t worry. You’re safe here.”
This seemed to soothe the little animal who trills and nuzzles its face against his chest.
“I’m pretty sure you’re a boy. What kind of name can I give a little boy like you?”
“Do you know what this is? It’s a wolf. I worked with a woman who loved wolves. She would follow people from a distance before taking them out. I liked her, but she was scary.”
Mantis is in front of the apartment building again. He’s dressed and bundled up in white from the scarves covering his head and mouth to the jacket, scarf, pants, shirt, and shoes covering the rest of his form. Yaga is playing with some votive candles as they sail out of a box and settle into a loose ring around an assortment of objects. In the middle of the ring are several small figurines of animals and related objects: a nest with an egg in it, a white snake, an octopus, a raven, a wolf, and a praying mantis. He adjusts some of the candles by hand, but only with one hand. In the occupied arm is a small and fuzzy looking animal with grey fur and wide purple eyes.
“Watch this. This is the important part.” The little animal chirps with surprise as Mantis waves his free hand over the candles, setting all of them alight at once. He laughs at the noise and sits down, holding the small animal against his chest. “Don’t worry. You’re safe here.”
This seemed to soothe the little animal who trills and nuzzles its face against his chest.
“I’m pretty sure you’re a boy. What kind of name can I give a little boy like you?”
Up in his apartment, Mantis is in the kitchen. The new friend is clinging to his chest and held up in a sling tied around Mantis’s body. Yaga meows quietly and sits on the counter as Mantis cracks open a window to set out several baking trays with cake in them. He looks out onto the world outside and sighs. Yaga walks onto his lap and sniffs at the little friend, getting a scared chirp. Mantis hugs his little friend closer and sighs again.
“I’m never going to enjoy this day, am I?”
no subject
The new friend's cute, but also very shy. Ben smiles slightly.
"If it's any comfort, I don't really celebrate my birthday - mostly because I didn't see much worth celebrating. I'm not used to being happy. I asssume that's what you're doing. You don't usually wear white." Ben glances over at the new friend. "So...you found a Pokemon, too? That's what I figure he is. He looks like one, though he looks very different from Morrigan. Don't worry, I'm a friend. I won't hurt you."
no subject
"If you were a real dog, that would kill you. This cake is special. I eat it in honor of a very important person." All that said, he isn't surprised that Ben has no patience around food. He holds up the espurr a little more and gets a little paw touching the mask around his mouth. The Pokemon trills quietly.
"I have no idea what a Pokemon is, but if that's what you are, then I'll consider you one. I found him when I went for a walk in the Wilds earlier this morning. He got stuck in a bush, and then he wouldn't let go of me." Mantis finds himself sighing again as he uses his powers to set another cake tier to bake. "When I was little, I used to go with my father to visit my mother's grave on my birthday. He never said why, but the grandmothers would tell me it was so we'd never forget her."
no subject
Now that he has permission, Ben settles down to enjoy the rest of the tray of cake. "I'll wait for it to cool a little before I eat another piece - that first one burned on the way down, and I figure that serves me right. Sorry about that, by the way. I didn't realize you made it in honor of somebody you loved. You've told me about your mother. She must have been a special woman."
Ben sighs, relaxing as he watches Mantis and his animal friends. "I've never seen you wearing white before. It looks good on you - does it mean something in your culture."
no subject
Mantis allows himself a little laugh at Ben's pain from being too eager. He strokes Yaga's back, causing the catwing to get up from his seat. He walks closer to Ben and sniff at his tray of cake.
"Serves you right for not asking permission, but you're used to eating the things I cook. And I think mother would appreciate that my cooking made someone else happy enough they couldn't wait. I didn't meet her when I was alive, but I was always told she wanted nothing but the world for me. As for the white...I wear it today because it's a holy color where I come from and different enough from my usual that is makes for good mourning clothes."
no subject
That last part's a joke, mostly. Ben doesn't usually care much about his appearance, though he keeps to some standard of grooming. He pets Yaga when the catwing approaches. Yaga's a friendly creature. Animals are nonjudgemental.
"It does serve me right. It looked so good I couldn't resist a taste, though." Ben chuckles. "I'll finish off the rest of the tray once it cools. I like to think I learn from my mistakes."
no subject
He can allow himself a joke or two, but it's all more muted than his usual. Mantis can't quite bring himself to even raise his voice as much as he does under normal circumstances. He watches Yaga loving on Ben and his breath hitches in his throat.
"Sometimes I think back to when my village burned down. All I remember that day if reading my father's mind. He hated the fact that I lived and my mother didn't."
no subject
"I thought my parents didn't want me back, but that wasn't true. My father loved me very much, and after hearing that I realize how lucky I was. I'm sorry that your father hated you so much."
Sorry, and ashamed. Ben knows he was lucky to have parents who loved him, and how their family had been torn apart despite that love. His father's murder still hangs heavy on him.
no subject
The espurr chirps and starts climbing up on his shirt. Mantis leans back and allows himself to be scaled upward.
"At least some things stay the same. I learned to make a shrine from one my teammmates. The cake was always something I did, but then I gained people to share it with."
no subject
Ben hasn't seen Leia for a while, but he still thinks of her. He leans back a little, making himself comfortable.
Ben's about to grab a slice of cake, but he pauses when he opens his mouth. Then he gives a sharp whistle, and Morrigan the Rookidee descends from the roof to land on his shoulder. "I have someone you want to meet. This is my friend Morrigan."
no subject
Espurr makes a terrified squeak and buries himself back into the sling Mantis had made for him. Mantis himself is far less afraid. It was an odd-looking bird, but a bird. He holds out one hand, wondering if the round thing will pop on.
"She's colorful. What kind of bird is she?"
no subject
It would probably be awkward even if Ben hadn't murdered his father, but that being the case made it especially awkward.
"She's a Pokemon called Rookidee. I found her in the Wilds and she followed me home."
no subject
For obvious and more outwardly reasons. His own father isn't the only one who managed to leave him feeling betrayed.
"Pokemon. I know I've heard that word once or twice. Morrigan... Morrigan, come. You're too small to make a half decent cornish hen."
no subject
Ben knows that he was luckier than he realized to have a father who cared about him. Loki's and Mantis's fathers seemed to want them dead or not care what happened to them either way.
"From what I know about the kind of Pokemon she is, she's not going to stay small. Some species grow if they're well taken care of."
no subject
Is he bitter about it? Absolutely. Mantis will never forgive his father any more than Liquid Snake will forgive his.
"Is that so?" He looks down at espurr, who is nodding off against him. The little creature let out a tiny yawn. "Are you a Pokemon too? Are you going to grow too big for this apartment?"
no subject
Ben doesn't want to hurt Han Solo anymore than he already did.
"There are places you can go to learn a little more about Pokemon. They aren't native to my galaxy, but they're interesting creatures. That one may well evolve in time if you take good care of it. Morrigan could grow big enough that I could ride her in time. She certainly will be too big to perch on my shoulder."
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Someone has to start making Ben eat besides him, especially now that the disaster of a man has been developing a taste for real food. That aside, Mantis would never divulge a secret that wasn't his to tell. A secret told was often a life lost when he was still alive.
"I was told there's a store for them ages back when I first got Yaga. Maybe they'll know why this little thing has psychic powers."
no subject
In all seriousness, Ben's not sure how good a cook a younger Han Solo would be, either, especially if he's anything like his son at a similar age. He's pretty sure Han's got his own set of issues - everyone in his family had problems of some kind of another. He wonders why Rey wants to be a Skywalker, a little bit.
"Yes, I learned a bit about Morrigan there. That's why I know she'll grow into something much bigger."
no subject
Ben does carry the air of having inherited a number of issues from both sides of his family. Mantis never digged far enough back to find out what kind of people he really came from, but he's had some suspicions about his mother given how many powers he had all at once.
"Tell me where it is? I can take this little thing there tomorrow. We can even go together if you're free."
no subject
Mantis is right - many of Ben's good and bad qualities came as much from his parents as, ironically, his infamous grandfather. And in his case his powers were inherited from his mother's side of the family - Han Solo wasn't Force-sensitive, but Leia Organa certainly was.
"They call it a Pokemon Center. It's in the downtown area, at the edge of the Plaza. Sort of a department store and a veterinarian's office rolled into one. I'd be happy to follow you there."
no subject
In fact, Mantis is now on a bit of a slant to make sure that happens. He's very assured now that Ben comes from a line of people on one side or another who are just a little bit awful when it comes to caring for themselves.
"Pokemon Center. Doesn't sound too hard to miss." He looks down at espurr and bounces him slightly. The little pokemon hardly budges. "I know only a few things about what kind of creature he is."
no subject
He's found that, as time went on, he's craved company more. Ben actually came out to attend parties and have a good time.
"What do you know about them? What I know is that they're a kind of animal, but there's magic to them. They're smart and generally friendly towards people, which is good considering how strong they can be."
no subject
Mantis is less inclined to sek out company, but there are times when it's fun. He doesn't have stamina for crowds the way others do.
"He has psychic powers. There's something about his ears, maybe the source of them, that he's desperate to protect. He even has an idea of what his name is, but the intelligence behind it is similar to that of a small child. I found him because we became aware of each other when I was looking out for animals in the Wilds."