nexus_crossings

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?”

~Indoors~

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?”

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Yaga licks Ravagage's face and nuzzles back. Yes! Cat friend is still friend.

"I had no idea, but thank you for telling me. Whatever you want to be called, I'll call you. It's not my place to nickname people outside of the clan I got dragged into. If it is any consolation, Soundwave, I don't think humans get it either."

Mantis laughs, if a little bitterly. He shakes his head.

"Back home, I was shot and died of my injuries. I spent a decade as a ghost, but when I arrived here, I got my flesh and bones back. I've even been gaining some weight."

Soundwave can't help looking at Ravage and Yaga with an expression that is just stupidly adoring. Ravage and the little winged feline are purring at each other and nuzzling and it's so cute his spark can hardly handle it. He's wearing a mask and a visor, so unfortunately all that anyone else can see is a faint blushing glow, but he does shoot Mantis a slightly conspiratorial low flash in one eye, inclining his head down towar the two of them as if to say, 'can you seriously just believe that this is happening?'

He also can't move his hand, which is also on Ravage's shoulder, without dislodging Yaga.

"Do you know that animal is purring almost as loudly as Ravi is? How does that much noise come out of a creature that size?" He shakes his head. "I hope your death was not long and protracted, and I am glad that you are here now. Ravage and I are very much alive, though I know that there are worlds in which we are not. There was a time when, if you were on the Earth where I have bases, which I don't believe you were...we would have been enemies; but I am glad that is no longer true."

"I'm always Ravage," Ravage says, nuzzling Yaga, "no matter what pronouns I'm using. It's not really a gendered name, you know. Some people call me Ravi rather than Rav when I'm femme, but Soundwave has called me Ravi as long as he's known me, and I don't think Misfire's called me by my whole name at any time when we weren't in a formal work setting...he's also the only one who is allowed to call me Cat."

He starts to shrug, but doesn't want to bump Yaga, or Soundwave's arm for that matter.

"I don't even know how to explain it, but sometimes I feel different and 'she' just seems to fit better. I didn't even really know the word 'she' until a few hundred years ago, and I played around with it for a while...but I decided it doesn't suit me most of the time. Even though sometimes it really just does?

"Soundwave notices, because he's an empath and a telepath, and uses the correct one when we are alone, or when we are with people he knows I have chosen to disclose myself to. I honestly find the whole thing confusing."

He noses Yaga, marking her as she's marking him. "Yes, yes Yaga, who is a very good girl now?" Then he glances at the Espurr. "And who might you be?"

Ravage assumes that the Espurr, which waved at them, is probably a person rather than a pet, because given his own past experiences, Ravage will always assume person first, non-sapient animal later, in any situation where it's not absolutely clear. He's been treated like a giant house cat or a ravening panther on the loose far too many times.

"Cats are always like that. You should hear larger ones like cheetahs. It's a sign of comfort and trust."

The action of straining his neck gets to be a bit too much. Espurr looks around as Mantis begins floating high off the ground. He hefts the little creature up towards his own shoulder and does a small spin when he's roughly between Ravage and Soundwave's eye levels. Yaga meows loudly at him.

"Well, I'll be sure to follow along when you're feeling one side of you over the other. As for my new friend..." He strokes the espurr's chin slowly with the back of one finger, getting excited chirps. "I haven't picked a name yet. We only met today, but he's interesting. I've never met an animal with psychic powers of any kind."

Soundwave is grinning, but of course his mask covers it. Nonetheless, you can hear it in his voice.

"Soundwave: does know what it means when cats purr. If Ravage does not purr while we are alone, Soundwave...has work to be done." His hand tightens slightly on Ravage's shoulder.

"It was the volume I found so amazing," he says, almost shyly. He extends one fingertip to stroke Yaga's side very lightly while Yaga is perched on Ravage's shoulder next to his hand. "Big purr. Small cat."

Upon hearing that the other small creature is psychic, Soundwave extends a...tendril...of thought, and sends a sort of ping.

{[hello]: receiving IF [smallone] CHOOSE sending}

Edited 2020-11-11 19:04 (UTC)

Ravage gives Mantis a grateful smile (he does so love to be acknowledged--but she does even more so, when she chooses to show herself) and then notices what Soundwave is doing.

"Maybe Soundwave can get your little friend to tell us their name. They might have one already, you know."

"I've heard it's due to some old instincts from when they were more wild than domesticated. It helps with healing bones and tissue."

Yaga rumbles louder when Mantis gets a little closer. Cat and espurr get nose to nose with a round of sniffing, only for espurr to squeak loudly when Yaga ended it with a lick. The the little espurr locks eyes with Soundwave, pupils going a bit wider.

It's a soft, somewhat simple reply. He had done so with Mantis already, but the giant person can do it too, so it warrants an answer. Though it takes a bit of effort to make it understanable, even Mantis hears the response.

"Fran...cour? Francour?" Espurr smiles and looks between Mantis and Soundwave. "Francour. That's a French name."

"Francour," Soundwave repeats aloud and in his mind. "Francour: charming." Again, he says and sends it at the same time, and even though his smile is hidden behind his mask, his optics are beaming through his visor.

Then he looks at Mantis. "Francour: may be sapient...may not be 'pet'?"

"I wonder why I purr. I don't have bones or tissues like Yaga's." Ravage smiled. "I want to tell you, Mantis, it worked out exactly like I told you I hoped it would. I went back, he asked me, and everything is almost like it was before the war, and the things that are different are good things. And now he's here with me."

"You ... talked about us? To so many people?" Soundwave very gently dislodges Yaga so that he can remove his mask, lean over, and kiss Ravage's forehead. "We are forever."

He smiles shyly at Mantis, blushing a little. "I know, we just met. But I had to."

He holds the mask in his hand for a little while, letting the smells in: Ravage, the little animals, the candles, Mantis--and with them, the information they carry, and smiles again before he puts it back on, a little giddily. This place is overwhelming. In a good way.

"I am glad. That you are his friend," he tells Mantis, and then he puts the mask back on.

Edited 2020-11-14 07:06 (UTC)

"Only kind things. A bit love-sick, really. Ravage seemed convinced you were comparable to the moon and stars in every solar system."

Mantis shrugs at the display of affection. "I don't mind such things. There is someone...back home who had permission to be so affectionate with me."

The compliment strokes Mantis's ego in a most pleasant way. He spins again, perhaps a bit slower, and settles more into a seated position mid-air. Espurr, now Francour, continues to make delighted noises. Much to the man's amusement, Yaga gets up to settle into a wiggle and pounce, landing on his leg.

"It seems I have a gift for finding uniquely smart creatures."

Soundwave shakes his head, amused. "I hated being apart from him, too." He wraps his arms around Ravage from behind. "Never again. And yes, I think you have."

"I only have one person back home who I trusted completely. It's in part because he's not at all shy about letting me see into his head. After I started reading thoughts, I never thought I'd find someone who would actually make me feel safe, let alone consistently."

Soundwave's smile might not be visible under his mask, but Mantis can probably feel it. There are so many people in the Nexus that are like him in being able to read people's thoughts or process information that neither normal humans nor Cybertronians are even aware of! It is absolutely amazing.

{Understanding!!!!!

Saw Ravi-brightspark's field before I spoke to her-then-her although we did not know even the word for that then. And knew then that I loved her, even though I did not know what love was...knew that she was mine and I was hers. She heard me call her name and came to me and touched my face and took me home with her and saved my life. And I have protected her, and him, with all my strength since I recovered it. I never liked sending him into the field, but he wanted to go. We have always been completely open to each other. Never distrusted Ravage, even when everyone seemed to think that I should. I know. I know he is mine. I know his spark is mine, no matter where he goes or what he does. No secrets. None.

Never felt safe without him. Him either. ~*~*~*~ My home ~*~*~*~

Other people we have loved, but only together. No matter what anyone says. Nobody else is my other. Conjunx endura. Forever. He has his own song and I hear it always, as long as it's there, however how faint, I know, his spark still burns.

But where is your loved-one? Such loss...}

It hurts, so much, without even touching it. And there's nothing he can do. Sometimes he wishes he hadn't learned to care about humans; they're here one day and gone the next. But it's better to know and to lose than never to know.

{I hope you are united in the Allspark. Decepticons do not believe, what they do not know to be true, but I know that other spirits and places are real. I do not worship them, because they do not help the deserving or restrain the cruel, but I do know, we are forever-beings.}

Edited 2020-11-17 18:19 (UTC)

Mantis gasps at the sudden flood of love and happiness. Even his own bitter heart is charmed and gladdened to hear such abject and sincere kindness wrapped around his own thoughts. He hugs Francour a little tighter and allows his mood to be further soothed and relaxed.

Nyoka and I are dead back home. We fought together, stood against the world, and then we were betrayed. Someone who was supposed to be on our side sabatoged the plans we had made and left us too vulnerable. We both got our piece of revenge and watched the man who got us killed perish.

The world became a slightly safer place because of what that bastard did, but we will never forgive him. I wanted to live and I wanted to stay next to my Nyoka ya Mpembe.

Mantis offers to Soundwave an image from his memory of Liquid Snake: all cocky pose and a smirk. Nothing but admiration accompanies the mental image.

Ravage is goood for you, whether a he or a she. Cherish that while your spirit is still in your physical frame.

Soundwave is amused at the coda. {Not sure what gender has to do with it? I don't care about that. But nobody has to tell me to cherish Ravi. So many times we almost lost each other, during the war.}

He tries not to think about the times they were separated, by captivity or by deployment, but a little of that probably does come through.

{...Am sorry Nyoka is gone. Seen through your eyes, very beautiful.}

Soundwave is honoured to share this, and also is not unaware how much of a stroke of luck it was that this never happened to them. Especially when he was such an idiot about Megatron and Galvatron.

I want him here, sometimes. Voices are different from the living and from the dead. I don't even want to hear a real conversation, just the way he said things.

Mantis misses Liquid dearly, but even as much as it saddens him, he still feels only the greatest happiness thinking about him. No one else really ever came close to that level of automatic response in him. He pets Francour slowly.

Ravi is strong. You'll be happy for a long time. Longer than you think. No one cares that much and doesn't last.

Soundwave knows that caring doesn't stop people from getting themselves killed, but he accepts the good wishes as offered. {I hope so. We are very much in love, and have been as long as we've known one another. Still, I wish you could have Nyoka back. I don't understand what makes people who have died end up here with the living, but I hope he will find his way here.}

"I'm so glad the two of you like each other," Ravage says aloud, although the happiness in him is likely palpable to both his husband and his friend. "You should come to the Embassy, Mantis, and meet the rest of our family. Soundwave's brats Rumble and Frenzy," and at that Ravage grins, "who I guess are mine too now, and Laserbeak, my birdsister, and my brother Glit. Sometimes my sister Howlback is also there, and Esmeral and Clobber and Suckerpunch are our friends, among others, and Ben comes over all the time."

I have Nyoka where he is safe. When I find a way between the Nexus and home, I'll bring my memories of this place back to him. He deserves to have new memories to visit instead of the old ones that slowly fade away.

Mantis nods and looks down at Francour. "What do you think? Should we see Ravi and Soundwave's family?" He gets a loud series of trills and chirps. "I'll have to think of something to bring as a gift. I wouldn't want to be invited into someone's house without bringing over something, but what do you give robots?"

"Soundwave likes music--"

{It would be nice to meet him, since you know both of us.}

Soundwave grins at Ravage, shining through his mask. "I do," he says, "and Ravage likes pretty things, pretty to look at, and pretty to adorn himself with, although we cannot wear things outside of our home that would be ruined if we needed to transform. We have imported much of what we need to furnish the place, but the walls are largely bare. We may not eat what organic people eat, but we are as fond of material things as anyone else."

I want him here. Life is esier to get through when I have him to lean on.

Mantis laughs quietly to himself. What tangible and simple things to like! "A series of records. You can play the music and then hang up the sleeves on the walls. Such things usually get a number of interesting images that can make a bland wall look interesting. Alternatively, I could find posters for different musicians. I can think of a few already that you two might find interesting."

Ravage laughs softly, and looks up, very fondly, at his mate. "Soundwave absolutely loves old, weird, and rare recordings. He even has recordings of old numbers stations. Though some forms of recordable media are harder to upload than others...he can always find ways. Even things he doesn't choose to listen to all the time...he will put clips from them in his compositions sometimes, or play bits of them back in conversation if he thinks it's funny."

Soundwave thinks for a moment. "For the Embassy, for our home...I think the art which would be most appropriate would be that which showcases all the cultures that we come into contact with here, as well as our own, which of course we would provide. For our private quarters. Things that are just...aesthetically pleasing. Natural things, maybe. We do not have much 'nature' on Cybertron."

He looks down at Ravage and then over at Mantis. "You are not of course obliged to bring us presents. But if you would like to, those are the things we would find appealing, and useful. It seemed that you were confused as to what to bring someone who doesn't eat human food. And, as someone who also likes to make treats, I completely understand."

He looks off to one side, perhaps into his past.

"Once, my energon gel pastilles were famous throughout the Decepticon fleet. Ravage and I did not have much in the beginning of our life together, but as soon as we reached a point where we always had enough fuel that I could experiment with it, I would make treats. At first, because Ravage and the birds loved them, and they were easier to make at home than to afford. I found that making pretty little bites of things, with inclusions and icing, would bring me peace and settle my mind. So I became...quite good at it. I would make Ravage and the birds little treats every day, and I would send boxes to my people who did things that made me proud, and I would bring them to Lord Megatron's table. It is a little sad for me that you can't enjoy them, just as we can't enjoy the treats you make here. I also make fizzes for us to drink. I may be the commander of all the military personnel at the Embassy, but we're a small team, and I like to remind them that we are more like a family than anyone else."

Of course you want him here. And you should have him.

Jorden

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