Mantis Felt A Warmth Spread Through Her As Johnny Wrapped His Arm Around Her, The Comfort Of His Presence

Mantis carefully listened to Ella's explanation of spring cleaning, her large eyes blinking slowly as she absorbed the information. She found the concept intriguing, a ritual of renewal and purification. With a nod, Mantis picked up a cloth and began wiping down the surfaces of the room. Dust particles danced in the sunlight streaming through the windows as she worked methodically, her movements precise and deliberate. As she cleaned, Mantis couldn't help but ponder the idea of getting rid of things one no longer needed. It struck a chord within her as she thought of her journey of self-discovery. She'd gotten rid of things that no longer served her, and it had in fact enriched her life in ways she never expected. "Interesting... shedding the old to embrace the new," Mantis murmured softly, her voice barely above a whisper, "a beautiful analogy for growth."

Ella didn't mind cleaning, she found it a good way to distract herself from other things going on with her life. At the sudden question though, she paused. "Oh we still clean in between! But Spring cleaning is supposed to be like a big deep clean. Where you might get areas you don't usually clean or you even get rid of stuff in your house that you don't need anymore."

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emotions

😡 for an angry starter

😄 for a happy starter

😲 for a shocking starter

😭 for a sad starter

🤔 for a confused starter

😶 for an angsty starter

🥰 for a fluffy starter

👻 for a scared starter

💢 to start a fight with my muse

💀 for a jealous starter

🤗 for my muse to comfort yours

plot-themed

👀 my muse catches yours in a shady situation

🔎 our muses find a clue to an investigation

🕵️ my muse helps yours on a mission

🛡️ for my muse to shield your muse from something

⚔️ for our muses to duel / fight

texts

✨ for an excited text

🔥 for a lustful text

💔 for a heartbreaking text

🗣️ for a rude text

☕ for a morning text

💤 for a midnight text

🍺 for a drunk text

muse

📷 for an instagram post

👶 for a throwback instagram post.

🖼️ to see the last pictures taken on my muse’s phone.

🎭 for a gif moodboard of my character ( or a + character name )

🎨 for an aesthetic of my character ( or a + character name )

🎵 for a mini-playlist my character ( or a + character name )

Mantis tentatively stepped closer, her large, empathetic eyes studying Pietro. "Sometimes, being alone isn't the best way to heal," she said softly, her antennae twitching slightly. "I can feel your sadness, your pain. You don't have to carry it all by yourself." She hesitated, then added, "I didn't mean to intrude. I just want to help."

Pietro heard the voice from behind him and turned with a scowl. "Who invited you up here?" he asked, looking back to the cityscape. There were plenty of balconies in the tower, but this particular section of rooftop was a little harder to get to, more out of the way. Still, maybe she had just stumbled on him by accident, and she'd leave as quick as she'd shown up. "I'm fine. I'm not hurt." Not physically anyway. "I just wanted to be alone."

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."

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."

Mantis was thankful that Loki didn't ask more about her history with Ego; eventually she would open up about it all. But at that point in time it was just too fresh of a wound to go and reopen. She uttered a soft thanks before her smile of appreciation turned into amused laughter as Loki described the happenings of home. "How lucky that she can communicate with them though! At least you'll never have to guess what the animals are thinking? There's probably a lot of people who'd be jealous of that ability. As someone who's thinking of fostering, I am one of those people."

"My father used me as a political pawn. Found out a few years ago." Loki looked up at her. "I get it. I promise. It sucks beyond reason to talk about, so we don't have to." His expression was softer when he said it, but didn't say anything else about it. At the shift in conversation, he scrunched his nose. "Do I not like it? Eh. I don't mind it. But my fiancé enables it, so there's a difference." He smirked, but then shook his head. "I think she can actually talk to animals, funnily enough. Which would make a lot of sense. Apparently her magical abilities manifested in nature, so I'm guessing that's why she's attracting them."

"Hey, Carol," Mantis began with a smile, her large eyes sparkling brightly. She'd found the other woman fascinating and fun to talk to; Mantis always felt slightly more elated than usual after an interaction with Carol. "How about we take a break from saving the universe for one night and go grab a drink? Maybe even off-world? You know, just, 'hang out' as they say."

@higherfurtherfasterr

Mantis's smile grew tense at the mention of splitting up siblings, the comment having stirred up her mixed emotions about helping Ego with his mission to find a Celestial heir and what he'd done to those that didn't share his abilities. "Siblings are important, I'd never break them up if it could be avoided," she replied, doing her best to keep her emotions from bubbling over onto him. The sadness Ego brought upon her was the last thing she'd wish on anyone. "And don't tempt me with the zoo idea! The zoo is amazing, I'd live there if I could. Animals have such interesting emotions, and their feelings are much simpler to understand sometimes. It sounds like a dream, honestly."

He snorted softly and leaned his head against hers as they walked. "You can justify it if there's a sibling pair. Can't split up siblings." Johnny tilted his head enough to look down at her and smirked, only lifting it completely when they got to the ice cream shop. Reaching out to open the door for her, he continued, "Seriously, though. I'm excited for you. I think it'll be really good. And look, if this whole superhero thing doesn't work out for either of us, I'm totally down for opening our own zoo."

"It's easy, Peter! Just let the music guide you. Feel the rhythm and let your body follow. You don't need to worry about your hands, they'll find their own groove. Trust me, dancing is like tapping into the universe's heartbeat." She extended her hand towards him, a hopeful smile lighting up her face. After a while, dancing on Earth didn't seem all too different than dancing anywhere else in the universe. "Come on, just one dance won't hurt!"

"Look, I'm refusing for your benefit, I swear!" Peter insisted, laughing. "I have no idea what to do out on a dance floor. Like, what do I even do with my hands?"

Mantis could hardly contain the squeal that escaped her as she sank to the ground, allowing the puppies to run up and jump all over her. "They're so fuzzy!" she giggled, the warm glow from her antennae an evident sign of her excitement. Her hands found a spot behind Luna's ear, the dog leaned into her palm as Mantis gave her a light scratch. "Oh, they're so sweet... Careful, I might steal them from you." She paused, tossing Johnny a playful smirk. "Actually, I think they're telling me they want to come with me."

"Yesss," he smirked and reached over to take her hand, tugging her out to lead her to the next room. Both puppies were making themselves comfortable in the common area of the Tower. "The white one is Luna and the black one is Noelle," Johnny said, as they walked in. He dropped her hand so she could go over to them. "Noelle's only a few months old. Her sister's a little older, but not much."