Jorden

[ginger_firebird]

~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?”

Comments

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I love my father. You probably could handle him - from what I know about him in the time period he came from, he's a better man than he acts sometimes. Yours, though...he doesn't sound like any kind of loss."

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."

[ginger_firebird]

"If you're willing to vouch for his good character, I'll see if I cant find him around this place. Mine was a bitter man who mourned his wife more than he loved his child. I understand why he would feel that way, but it didn't make it any better when that's the first real thought you've read off of anyone's mind."

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?"

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I haven't seen him in town lately, but he's around. But please don't tell him that I'm his son, and I trust you not to. It's better for him that he doesn't know about our true relationship, and he probably wouldn't believe me anyway."

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."

[ginger_firebird]

"I'll tell him you don't eat enough and that you deliberately come to my house with an empty stomach so you can clear out my pantry."

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."

[chiaro_oscuro]

Ben smirks as he eats up another piece of cake. "Guilty as charged. In my defense, your food's difficult to resist."

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."

[ginger_firebird]

"You're starved for quality and the means to enjoy good food. What do you even know how to cook?"

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."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"I can cook, but I can't say it's very good. Besides, I prefer dining with company over eating alone."

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."

[ginger_firebird]

"It's not very good because you need to practice more. Anyone can cook. You will learn to cook."

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."

[chiaro_oscuro]

Ben shrugs, then cuts himself another slice. "I figure I can learn. It's a matter of effort and learning. But you're right, I like to visit friends on an empty stomach. First I like the company, it's better than living without other people, and second my stomach isn't empty for very long."

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."

[ginger_firebird]

"Then if you're so determined to be a guest in other houses, the least you can do is figure out how to be the person who brings food over instead of expecting to be fed. I can teach you plenty of simple recipes that make for good snacks."

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."