C: Peyton - Blog Posts

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 stepped through the door of their shared apartment, a wide grin on her face as she cradled her new feline companion in her arms. The excitement bubbled within her, eager to share the joy of her latest addition to the household with her roommate. Yet, amidst her enthusiasm, a subtle unease lingered at the periphery of her thoughts, a nagging whisper urging caution, although she wasn't sure what she should be showing caution towards or for. Brushing it aside for the moment, Mantis cuddled the cat to her face, her eagerness to reveal her new furry friend to her roommate overwhelming any sense of foreboding even as it tightened its grip on her subconscious. "Peyton!" She called out, hoping that the other wasn't still in bed. "I have someone I want you to meet!"

@stvrlcrd

With a serene expression, she joined Peyton on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest while she contemplated the advice Peyton had given. "You make a point," Mantis said softly, thinking about how much of her life had already been dictated by a man. She had vowed as part of her experience here that she would do what she wanted. "I do really like their donuts... especially their cheesecake donut. I have no clue where'd I'd find something like it." Her focus shifted to the cats and their discarded leashes. "Did you want me to calm them down for you?"

Peyton made a scrunched up face -- both in distaste at the whole catcalling situation and her actual cats who decided to mutiny against her apparently. She gave up on the cat leashes and looked up at her friend. "Or," she said, sitting crosslegged on the floor. "You could keep going to your favorite donut spot and ignore them. Give them like a big screw you." She shook her head, "Babycakes, if you let gross guys dictate where you go in life, you'll literally never go anywhere."

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 had gathered that the whistles and cheers from a bunch of construction workers while she was out for her walk earlier wasn't entirely meant as a friendly greeting although it seemed positive, and Peyton's reaction to the story only proved her assumption right. Still, she shook her head, although she appreciated the offer. "No, it's okay, but thank you. But that was what you call 'catcalling,' yes? I haven't experienced it yet... Can't say I enjoyed it."

“Wait, they said what to you?” Peyton asked, pulling a face. “Do you want me to take care of it?”

Mantis blinked in confusion, her head tilting slightly. "Inside her head?" she questioned, trying to imagine what the inside of the giant green lady might look like, which only made her wonder if it was rude to be wandering inside of the lady to begin with. Peyton's question about fostering animals pulled Mantis from her thoughts, her heart fluttering with warmth at the idea. "Oh, I've been thinking about it a lot, actually. A cousin for Leia and Luke would be wonderful. I can sense their longing for more family," she mused, her empathic nature attuned to creatures as she reached over to pet them. "Maybe we can fit that into today's plans too, although I did ask Johnny if he wanted to come when I decided... But nothing says I have to decide today! We're just looking."

"Yep." She agreed with a nod, sitting Leia down beside her brother so they could eat the pancake together. "I don't actually know yet, but it's not top secret unless they tell me. And they didn't tell me. So..." Peyton looked up at her and smiled, before snorting at what she said next. "Yes, we can go get a giant pretzel. And go to the Statue of Liberty. You can walk inside her head." She nodded at her. "So, did you think about fostering an animal anymore? I think they could totally use a cousin."

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."

She couldn't help but chuckle at Peyton's sleepy protest. "Sorry for the early ruckus. But you see, pancakes wait for no one!" Mantis grinned, her eyes sparkling with joy. As Peyton scooped up her curious cat, Mantis's smile widened. "Hello, Luke! Would you like some breakfast too?" she asked, her voice filled with warmth. Peyton's compliment about the smell made Mantis's heart flutter with pride, even if the appearance of her breakfast creation was a tad unconventional. "Thank you! I promise they taste better than they look," Mantis assured her with a playful wink. At least she hoped it did. "And there's coffee too! You know, this cooking thing is pretty easy once you get the hang of it." Mantis paused to take a bite of her toast, leaning against the counter while waiting to flip the pancake. "So, any plans for the day?"

Peyton padded into the kitchen, making a noncommittal noise when she heard her roommate already moving around like it was a normal hour of the day. "Bruh. It's 8 am. It's basically illegal to be this awake at 8 am." She pouted a little, about to say something else, but one of her cats was on their way over to the pancake mix. She scooped them up -- Luke, she realized once he was in her arms -- and returned the other girl's smile. It was annoyingly infectious. "Hi. It smells good." She hopped up onto the counter, Luke on her lap. "Lowkey looks kinda weird, but smells good."

"Crack the eggs, crack the eggs!" Mantis happily sang to herself, attempting to avoid making a mess as she cracked open the shells. Unfortunately, she missed the bowl and she left a yolky mess on the counter as her attention shifted to the toast popping up from the toaster. "Oh, yay! Toast!" she cheered, smothering her overdone toast with butter before turning back to her abandoned attempt at pancakes. "Okay... so now I stir this and pour it into the pan." Mantis carefully dipped her mixing bowl over the skillet, dumping a rather large amount of clumpy batter into the center. Her attention was drawn away once again as her roommate joined her, a bright smile crossed the alien's face as she greeted the other warmly. "Hi! I'm making breakfast!"

@stvrlcrd