"No, I Am Not From Here Either," She Replied Softly, Her Voice Carrying A Soft Lilt. "I Come From A Distant

A squeal of delight escaped the tiny alien as she put her hand in his. "Well then, let's go," Mantis giggled in response, leading him to the dance floor. It was nice, to be able to relax like this after weeks of being on edge, even if she wasn't exactly familiar with all of Earth's dancing customs she found the activity to be quite enjoyable. "Sorry if I step on your toes. I'm still learning, but I'll follow your lead as best as I can!"

He laughed and set his glass down, reaching out to take her hand. "Why are you begging me? All you had to say was let's go."

She had actually observed that fact, from the many videos she'd watched it seemed that falling over was indeed humorous, although she didn't necessarily see the humor in it. "I've observed similar behaviors among other species during periods of celebration or revelry. It seems that physical comedy holds a universal appeal across many cultures and beings. And I imagine the element of unpredictability adds to the excitement." Perhaps she would have to ask for a demonstration of it at some point.

"Well people find it funny when everyone falls over, and usually this game is played by children or drunk adults." She explained, shrugging. "If you play with a lot of people then the person who gets everyone out would step to the side, making less and less people with each round. That way the game lasts longer cause it goes pretty quick." Ella told the other girl, but wasn't sure how well she was selling it. "It can be pretty fun as long as you don't get hurt!"

Thankfully, in her experience at least, men had been an upstanding sort, though most of her human interaction up until this point had been with the Avengers and a few SHIELD agents here and there. She'd been venturing out into the human world more and more as of late however, which opened her up to a whole new world of human interaction. "Sadly, they're located right in front of my favorite donut shop, so I'll have to go without those while they're working. Oh! We should go find a new donut spot to go to!"

"Oh. Yeah." Peyton set Leia down beside her brother when she started squirming and walked over to her roommate, cat leashes that both cats were ignoring still in hand. "It's 'cause men are assholes." She knelt down to their level and made a face when Luke started resisting the leash again. Letting out a breath, Peyton looked up at Mantis, clarifying before she could question her on the asshole comment, "They're gross. Have no moral center. No decency. Most of them anyway."

Mantis smiled, giggling softly at Carol's response. She hadn't really chosen the name for that particular reason, but she enjoyed the reaction she got either way. Her expression became puzzled when Carol said she was going to be a bad influence, from what Mantis could tell she was a very vibrant personality, the kind she couldn't help but be drawn towards. "I don't see how that's possible, but I'd be more than happy to be shown around. There's so much of the city I haven't seen yet. You've been away though?" That comment definitely intrigued her, especially paired with the term 'earthside.' "Where were you traveling?"

"I love it. Of course, I love any species that decapitates the males after they're done with them," she said, with a wicked grin on her face. But it softened as Mantis continued. There was something very sweet about her. "You know, I'm going to be a very bad influence on you. But if you're okay with that, I would love to show you around a little. Not just here, but the city too. I've... been away a long time. Just got back earthside myself. So we can check it out together, take in the sights."

SHAY MITCHELL photographed for Tommy Hilfiger December 2023 campaign

"Oh, come on! You have to come dance with me! Please?"

"Well, I have been here for a few months now, it's about time I start acting more human." Mantis teased with a smile. As she focused, a gentle, glowing energy flowed from her fingertips, intending to ease the tension and soreness, replacing it with a feeling of relief. "There," she said softly, "feeling better?"

"Oh, damn. Look at you. Turning all human on me. No sympathy." But Johnny was smiling up at her as he said it. He raised a brow when she lifted her hand and shifted to look up at her. "Wait, seriously? Where have you been all my life? Yes, do it."

Mantis giggled softly, setting her water bottle down. "What's that saying you humans are so fond of? No pain, no gain? Wasn't this the goal, then?" Holding her hand up, she tilted her head to one side. "If you want, I can help. Easing discomfort is kind of my specialty."

@guardianmantisx asked: 💤  for  a  lazy  starter

"I can'tttttt do anything else," he complained as he crossed the gym to where she was sitting. Johnny plopped down beside her and laid his head in her lap, pouting up at her as he said, "I hurt in places I didn't know existed."

She tilted her head, her large eyes blinking in contemplation. "Oh, fostering," Mantis repeated, while absentmindedly petting Luna. The pup was content in her lap, her head flopped to the side so her tongue was hanging out of her mouth. Mantis was glad that Johnny had brought them in, they were quite amusing. "That sounds like a good plan, even if it would be hard to say goodbye to them when they get adopted." Giving the dog one last scratch behind the ear, Mantis looked back at Johnny. "Think we should take this play date to the park?"

"Yeah, of course." He smiled at her and nodded. Johnny moved so Noelle could curl up on his lap. "I get that. It's like having a fluffy toddler around," he smirked, ruffling the puppy's hair, looking up at Mantis. "There's a thing called fostering, though. It's when dogs at the shelter need a home, but they stay with foster families while they wait to be adopted. So that way you could get the feel for having one, but it's not permanent. You can try it out."

Mantis tilted her head slightly, her eyes fixated on Eddie. "No, can't say I know the meaning of LOL," she admitted, her antennae twitching in curiosity. Sitting cross-legged on the floor, she observed Eddie's amused expression with genuine interest. The feeling washed over her, a smile of her own tugging at her own lip. "Is it perhaps a human expression for joy or amusement? Because that's all I can sense right now."

Eddie glanced back at her, a light scratch on his temple before his arm wrapped back around his knee. "You don't know what LOL means?" He lightly chuckled, relaxing a little on the floor as he talked with Mantis, he liked her. "Lucky you, I ain't going to tell you as I don't want our texts being filled with them."