Mantis Beamed At The Compliment, Her Antennae Perking Up Slightly. "Thank You, April. I'm So Glad You

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."

Mantis chuckled softly at Peyton's initial assumption, shaking her head as she watched her roommate's reaction to the creature in her arms. "No, not a construction worker this time," she teased lightly, her smile widening at Peyton's immediate change in demeanor. Setting the cat down gently, she observed Peyton's affectionate interaction with the furry newcomer before replying, "I know, I was leaning towards a dog, but when I saw this little one at the shelter, I just couldn't resist. Isn't she just precious? I just loved her cute little face, there was no way I was leaving without her." Mantis went to set the cat on the ground, hoping she would acclimate to her new surroundings quickly. "They called her Maine Coon, but that's not a great name, I think we should rename her."

Peyton had been awake for a little bit, not surprised to see that Mantis was gone, already up and about despite it being early on a weekend. She yawned, stretching her arms behind her head as she padded down the hall. "Please tell me you didn't bring one of those construction workers home. Babes, even if they tell you sweet stuff, they aren't -- " She dropped her arms, pout immediately forming on her face when she saw what her roommate was holding. "Oh my God! It's so cute!" She went over to gently greet the cat. "i thought you were getting a dog."

"Of course," she replied softly, her eyes radiating warmth and understanding as she offered her hand. "Just stay close to me, and we'll find our way out together." Despite the chaos surrounding them, Mantis remained composed, doing her best to keep them both out of harm's way. As they reached the the hallway, Mantis turned to Cuyler with a gentle smile. "I don't know how many of those suits there are, so we have to be careful, okay?" She bit her lip, glancing down the hall before stepping out, in case there were more suits around the corner. "I wonder what made them go crazy..."

He wasn't skilled in magic or special abilities like that, but he'd grown up around it and there was something about her. He could tell as soon as he was in her presence. Which was why he immediately schooled his thoughts and feelings, putting a feigned, but authentic-looking, smile of appreciation on his face. "Thank you," Cuyler started, nodding at her question. "Yes. I guess i got turned around in the commotion. I'm not familiar with this place, I'm afraid. Lead the way."

Mantis giggled at Peyton's playful smirk, appreciating her roommate's understanding nature. "Exactly! Taste is the most important," she agreed with a nod. As Luke demanded attention and affectionately rubbed against her arm, Mantis chuckled, scratching the cat behind the ears. "I'm getting you food, don't you worry," she cooed, putting the first pancake to the side and pouring the next one into the pan. She started cutting up the finished pancake for the cats to share, nodding eagerly at the invitation. "I'd love to come to the lab with you!" she exclaimed, enthusiasm bubbling over. Not that she really understood much of what they worked on, but it was fascinating to watch. "What are you working on? Anything you can talk about or is it a secret project? Oh! And when we go to the city, can we get one of those giant pretzels?"

"I can absolutely see that, yes." She looked at Mantis with a smirk, rolling her eyes fondly at the other's antics. Peyton pressed a kiss to the top of Luke's head. "That's all that matters, babes. How it tastes, not how it looks. I don't gotta look at it when I eat it." She let Luke go so he could walk over to Mantis and rub his head against her arm, insistently against her arm, obviously wanting food of his own. "Nah," she replied to her roommate's question, hopping off the counter so she could go and pluck Luke's sister off the bookshelf before she could knock a plant over. Once Leia was secure in her arms, she walked back over to Mantis. "Well, I need to head to the lab and finish something I was working on if you want to tag along. We could head to the city after."

Though she'd only been on Earth for a short time, Mantis had found a number of things she enjoyed. Recently she stumbled upon an intriguing Earthly pastime—rock-paper-scissors. Not realizing it was a game better suited for multiple players, she had started a game by herself. With childlike enthusiasm, Mantis animatedly formed the hand signs of rock, paper, and scissors in various combinations, giggling to herself each time she'd 'won' her one-woman competition, blissfully unaware of anyone and anything.

🤔 for a confused starter for @awclintno

Mantis shifted uncomfortably, her large, expressive eyes blinking slowly. "It's just… complicated. My father had dark intentions, and I was a pawn in his grand plan." She hesitated, reliving memories she'd rather forget. "Well, if one ever does, make sure to record it. People seem to really love the videos of the animals pretending to talk, think about how popular your video would be if they were actually talking!" Mantis offered a reassuring smile, hoping to ease the tension that lingered in the air. "A personal zoo sounds fun, though. Do you not like that idea?"

Loki caught the slight hesitation and looked up. "Is the past a no-no subject?" He questioned, head tilted. "Your father sounds delightful. And like he'd be best friends with mine. I get it." He gave her a small smirk, before shaking his head and switching the subject off of that, "But the talking animals thing? You described my daughter's heaven. She's apparently made it her mission to create her own personal zoo and I'm waiting for one of them to start talking or something at this point."

Mantis had known she'd have to talk about her home at some point, although truth be told she would have rather waited a bit longer before the topic had come up. But she was comfortable with Loki, at least, so it wasn't as difficult to open up to him about her life before the Avengers. "I lived with Ego before I came here. It was just me and the Living Planet my entire life. No animals, talking or otherwise, no other living being besides me and my father," she paused a moment, a breathy laugh on her lip as she forced a small smile. "If you've never met Ego, you should be happy about it. He's not exactly what I'd call a 'people person.'"

"Oh. Well, thank the gods," he said under his breath, vanishing the file with a wave of his hand. "If animals here on Earth could talk, I'd be in trouble." Loki looked at her for a moment, before asking, "Where are you from again?"

"Of course, I can help you navigate this maze of a tower! It can be quite overwhelming at first." Mantis smiled warmly, her empathic abilities already sensing the other's unease. "You're not alone in feeling lost here. Many of us felt the same when we first arrived. But don't worry, you'll find your way around in no time. Where are you trying to get to?"

anna marie was used to being around big groups of people , at least other mutants , but joining a new superhero team has her feeling all sorts of uneasy . avengers hq was completely different to xavier's mansion , she's already lost after wandering the corridors for so long . so she's grateful when she turns the corner and is greeted by a fairly familiar face .

" hey , y'all got a big place here . wont'cha help a girl out ? "

Her lip rolled between her teeth, impatiently waiting for him to finish his report with stifled giggles. "It's so cute!" she exclaimed when he finally looked up at the screen, bouncing as the video continued to play. The animals were probably her favorite part of this planet, though there was still a lot she hadn't experienced. Her eyes flicked up from the phone at his question, giving her head a quick nod. "I have! We had a training session together." Mantis explained, clicking the videos off for the moment with a slightly disappointed expression on her face. "You know, I've watched a lot of videos since I got here, but not a single one of them talking. Do they not talk on this planet?"

"Good morning to you, too. I guess we're doing this again?" Loki waited a beat to finish the case report in front of him, before he looked up at the screen. "And we've graduated from cats to puppies. Congratulations." He leaned back in his chair and looked at her for a moment. "We should go find my brother sometime. Have you met him? You two would honestly get along so well."