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

[ginger_firebird]

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_ascendant]

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.}

[dontpetmeibite]

"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."

[ginger_firebird]

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?"

[dontpetmeibite]

"Soundwave likes music--"

[soundwave_ascendant]

{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."

[ginger_firebird]

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."

[dontpetmeibite]

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_ascendant]

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.

[ginger_firebird]

"I've been in number stations! I used to be a member of the KGB in Russia and they would drag me out to locations like that to check on the mental state of the people managing them."

The idea of bringing in art that represents Earth and it's many cultures is of great interest to Mantis. He nods listening to Soundwave talk and bites his lip a little mulling over not just the grand personality, but how much of a life was lived by this robot standing before him.

There's plenty he can do with the knowlege he's been bestowed. These robots are worth being kind to.

"I can get art and music easily enough. If you know what kinds of ingredients you need for the treats, I can try to source them out as well. Your considerate nature is only surpassed by your physical size. Nyoka would like you both."

[soundwave_ascendant]

"We don't have any problems sourcing ingredients," Soundwave says, "and you'd not know the difference between food-grade, medical-grade and industrial-grade for some of them. But it is kind of you to offer." He glances aside. "I still use numbers stations," he admits after a moment, "but I wouldn't have been responsible for any in your world."

"I'm sure we would have liked him, too," Ravage says quietly. "Maybe some day we'll find out for sure."

[ginger_firebird]

"Your technology for the stations would probably be more advanced, or at least of a greater size. Where do you construct yours? The ones on Earth tend to be out in the middle of nowhere." The tech talk fascinates him in a way he hasn't felt in ages. He can only imagine the kinds of stories lie behind Soundwave's optics.

"In time. I'll find a way out of here and drag him to Nexus if I have to."

[soundwave_ascendant]

"In the middle of nowhere," Soundwave says with amusement. "But we have a bigger selection of nowheres. For instance, we have one on Pluto."

He glances fondly at Ravage, who nods.

"Do that," he says. "We want to meet him."