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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Minoru was on his way home, passing by several apartment complexes on the way to his own, when he spotted someone tending to something unusual out front. It looked like an altar of sorts, or a kamidana if it weren’t on the ground.

He was curious, but did not want to be disrespectful, so he watched at a distance until the other man was done and talking to his pet before giving a friendly wave.

“Hey there!” He called out. “Celebrating a holiday?”

Mantis spent about as much time in his apartment as out these days. It didn't sit him to stay put for very long, even when he puts down roots of some kind. He and the espurr look up at the newcomer. He's altogether far more chipper than Mantis was feeling, but a bit of happiness was, perhaps, neccessary.

"My birthday. It's a day to remember my mother and others."

Of course, Minoru exclaimed the obvious, “oh! Happy birthday!” When it came to happiness, he had that in spades.

But he was honestly curious about the little shrine. And he was as respectful as possible when he asked, “honoring those who have passed on? May I ask who all the figures represent?”

The white snake among them definitely caught his eye.

Minoru might be able to see the way Mantis's face shifts into a smile, covered as it is. The further question is a pleasant surprise to him and he turns his gaze to the circle of candles.

"In order from the oldest death to recent..." He goes from the nest and egg, to the octopus, to the mantis, to the wolf, to the raven, to the snake. "Mother, Decoy Octopus, me, Sniper Wolf, Vulcan Raven, Nyoka ya Mpembe. It's a small collection of people to care about, but it's enough for a very tiny ofrenda."

Minoru listened attentively, smiling a little at how each figure seemed to represent the person in its own way. The nest and egg for his mother was poetic, really.

He wasn't familiar with the traditional ofrenda, but he could still recognize the sentiment from some of the Shinto beliefs his parents held.

“I’m sure they’d be honored to know you’ve taken the time to remember them...” he paused, confused. Did he really just hear what he thought he heard? “Wait a sec, did you count yourself?”

Mantis was no stranger to sentimental behavior. He can't really hide the traditions that he's picked up all over the world. One thing he always liked was candles. You could never go wrong with candles.

"Caught that? I've been dead for over ten years back home. This is the first time I've had my flesh and bones in a very long time. Considering I always did this for people who had died on me, it seemed right to include myself."

Candles were a good metaphor for life. A small, sometimes fragile flame, here for only a brief time. Made one take notice of, an appreciate, the smaller things.

The fact that they can be snuffed out and then re-lit later was even more appropriate.

“You’re not the first person I’ve met who’s alive here when they wouldn’t be somewhere else, but it’s still hard to wrap my head around it.” He apologized. “May I ask what happened?”

It also reminded Mantis, to a degree, about the strength he had in himself. He never needed matches to light something as simple as a candle.

"It's a hard thing to explain, and it sounds so impossible to begin with." Even he didn't quite believe he was truly alive again. "I was shot. Completely deserved it, but that didn't mean I couldn't linger to wait for the man who killed me to die too."

That would be an interesting sight to witness.

Minoru cringed slightly when Mantis revealed he’d been shot. It was out of empathy, not disgust. That had to hurt in more ways than one, especially if he still felt he deserved it.

“...revenge?”

It hurt terribly, if Mantis were ever pressed on the matter. Certainly not the worst way to go, but that bastard knew exactly what he was aiming for.

"Absolutely. I tried terrorizing him directly, but someone dragged me away before I did something regrettable." He's still a touch proud that he was strong enough that Sorrow himself had to come and stop him.

Minoru’s eyes lowered. People were capable of very regrettable things when they were in pain. Being shot, being killed by someone - it was hard to fathom exactly what that felt like.

Still, Minoru could sympathize. “I’m sorry that happened...”

"Oh, I deserved to die after all the things I had gotten myself into. I'm under no illusion of having been a good person. Your heart is in the right place, but save it for the redeemable."

Mantis looks down at Francour, who looks up with his large eyes. "Save it for things like this new friend of mine."

“No one is ever irredeemable.” Minoru just shook his head. He believed in that, honestly.

He looked down at the little creature. “He’s really cute, though! I’ve never seen anything like him before. What is he?”

"Maybe in another life, someone will forgive me more than I would myself."

He holds up Francour a little. The espurr chirps. "I don't know what he is, but I know he has powers like mine. I can hear clear and tiny thoughts in his head."

“Well, it sounds like that’s exactly what this is, right? So, maybe you’re in luck!” Minoru smiled.

Of course, he leaned in for a closer look at the little critter in Mantis’ hands.

“Powers?” He asked. He wasn’t frightened by the thought of someone who could sense others thoughts. The longer Minoru lived and worked in the Nexus, the more superhuman or even non-human things he seemed to find.

"I think you'd need to know more about what I did for that, but the enthusiam is refreshing."

Espurr leans towards Minoru and boops him ever so gently on the nose.

"Telepathy, like mine, and he can move things." Mantis rattles off the details with utter and complete calm. "We're two of a kind."

Minoru chuckled when his nose got booped. “That’s great that you two have each other, then.”

The only telepaths he’d met were the Antheans, but Mantis didn’t feel like the aliens. He was as thin as one of them, though.

“Sometimes I wish I could talk to Kazumi like that.” Quickly clarifying, “She’s my pet butterball python. Raised her since she was a hatchling.”

"He also has social skills that I don't." Mantis takes the little paw in his hand, getting a little nuzzle from espurr in the process.

Mantis is decidedly very thin, but also very much a human. He has met the Antheans, though, and would appreciate the comparisson.

"I've tried reading the minds of proper animals. If you really want to know what she thinks of you, I can have a look inside her mind."

Minoru was a little shocked at the thought, but only because he had not really considered it before.

“...That would be really neat.” He decided with a smile.

“My brother and I share an apartment (now with pictures!) not too far from here.” He pointed in a direction away from the plaza and gave the address. “If you want to come over! Once you’re done with your ritual, of course.”

He did not want to impose on Mantis’ special celebration, but he was definitely curious.

"Animal minds are simple, but it's easy enough to figure out what they want because of that. If she's smart enough, I can tell you if she likes you."

Mantis looks back at the little shrine, lit candles and all, and nods. He stands up slowly, minding the espurr's head as he does so. The pokemon climbs up to his shoulder and grabs on to parts of the scarf covering Mantis's head.

"The ritual is done for now. I can make the cake whenever it suits me."

“Okay!” Minoru eagerly led the way.

He opened the door to their apartment to find the lights off. Isamu wasn’t home. He was probably at IRIS, Minoru mentioned.

“Make yourself at home.” He welcomed his visitor.

The living area was small, but well-suited for two people. Books covered much of the available wall space, and plenty of table space as well. The large window let in a lot of natural light. On the side of the room, there was a reptile enclosure, where a still-growing butter ball python was sunning herself on a rock.

“Hey there, Kazumi. I brought a friend over to meet you!” He cooed at his snake.

Mantis and the espurr lean their heads in cutiously. It's always a strange thing to be privy to the lives of others, but Mantis still enjoys some measure of exploring a new environment. The espurr chirps quietly as Mantis steps inside. He's much more interested in all the books, but that enclosure...

He crouches down just slightly and turns his head to the espurr. "What do you think?" A little trill answers him. "It's a python. You're too big for it to eat."

Unfortunately, the reading material all belongs to the other Uchiwa twin. Isamu never met a book he didn’t like. The same could probably be said for Minoru and snakes, but he only had the one butter ball python.

“She’s not looking for a meal either, little guy.” Minoru added on behalf of the espurr. “Just fed yesterday.”

He carefully opened the top of the enclosure. Kazumi perked up.

Mantis stands up and leans over a little to get a good view of the snake. Espurr clings tightly to his shirt and peers over with him. "Hello, little snake. I'm used to a different kind than you."

Espurr looks at Mantis as the man starts trying to read the snake's thoughts. He never knows what he's going to find, only that there will be things to find. "She just ate, so her thoughts will likely be about us."

“It’s okay, Kazumi. They’re new friends.” He cooed, stroking her scales gently.

Kazumi had been raised by Minoru since she was a hatchling, so she was very used to his presence and his touch. She was not fearful around humans, and was a genuinely curious animal. He hardly had to coax her, and she was already climbing up his arm the way she used to do when she was smaller. (She was approaching three years old now, getting close to four feet long.)

“You can hold her too, if it helps.” He smiled. “She likes to explore. So I let her.”

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