Mixer with Mixers

[ginger_firebird]

Nothing, and Mantis will attest to the fact, absolutely nothing in the multiverse ever makes life feel so much better as a bit of alcohol to get the blocked-up words flowing. He’s chilling on a stool at one of the local bars in the Nexus, merrily watching people he’s met congregate like a bunch of cats ready to caterwaul into the wee hours of the night. From an outsider perspective, the gathered crowd of friends and acquaintances must surely say something about who he is as a person and the kind of people hegets along with, but such is not the topic of the night. Nay, this is a wake of a different kind to toast the demise of a she-devil that they’ve all either fought or heard of enough to have strong opinions about. Shots abound, ye merry fellowship, for the witch is dead.

Mantis is sitting with Francour cuddled up in a scarf. The needy little espurr absolutely suffers without a continued assurance that Mantis will always be around, and curious eyes scan the crowd as he gets idle scritches from his progressively drunk human.

Comments

[chiaro_oscuro]

"Mantis. It's good to see you."

Ben is one of the first people to slither in, distinctive in all black. He's holding a half-drunk vodka, and takes a hearty gulp before talking to Mantis. He looks a sight, hair ragged, eyes wild, and visibly unsettled, and looks the worst he has since he came to the Nexus. Ziggy's grief rubbed off on him in the time he was at the Jones-Stardust house.

"So, you heard the news? Honerva's gone, that's the good news, she won't be bothering us again - unfortunately, she took Hiroki with her. Ziggy was in an awful state the last time I heard from him. He didn't take the loss well at all. The Antheans think she closed the gate intentionally to stop Hiroki's getting reinforcements from here."

Ben shakes his head, disgusted. Honerva, for all her universe-destroying power, was a coward. For all his faults, that wasn't one of them. Ben almost never ran from a threat if he could help it, even if running was a better idea.

"You were apparently one of the people she wanted for her experiments, and I suspect Rey and I, along with the other Force-users, were only safe because we were off her radar."

[ginger_firebird]

None of that comes as a huge surprise to Mantis. He's used to getting and expecting the worst, but there's clearly been something profoundly bad happening to Ziggy. The man was a living thermite reaction who efforlessly spread his feelngs to others and Ben clearly got the brunt of some of it. He beckons Ben to come closer and Francour reaches out with his tiny paws to try and offer a hug.

"That bitch... Nothing is too much for how she operates." Mantis feeds a sense of sympathy for Ben. A pang of sorrow follows after it, having been drawn up from the associated memory of being present when Liquid died shortly after he ended up on the other side of life. "SHe can't very well get me now. It's a good thing, in a way. It means she's desperate."

[chiaro_oscuro]

"For someone who claims she can destroy a universe, she's a gutless coward," Ben spits in disgust. "She was scared of us, I'll bet - that we could have taken her on working together. I was weaker than her, but I wouldn't have run away. I just feel sorry for Ziggy. This is the worst for him. I got involved because Ziggy and his family needed my help, and called in the angels because she was too powerful for us to handle alone."

He approaches, sighing heavily. "It would be like if Rey and I were separated forever. Not exactly the same, because my understanding is that Anthean bonds work differently, but Ziggy was clearly bonded with Hiroki and the breaking of that bond hurt him." Ben gently pats Francour on the head. His mental state is a mess right now. Not Kylo-bad, but not good either. "I hate her. It was either I knock back a few drinks or I break something in the workshop."

[ginger_firebird]

"The grandest claims are blatant lies and bullshit nine times out of ten. She ran away because we would have found a way to slaughter her one way or another. The most important thing is to keep an eye on Ziggy and make sure he can get through this emotionally. No one in that family feels things by halves."

He reaches out with one hand to Ben. Maybe he'll need a hug or just someone to lean on, but Mantis is willing to endure a little physical contact when Ben is clearly out of sorts. "You're doing the right thing going to find people. The less time you spend alone with those kinds of thoughts, the better." Francour chirps sadly and grabs Ben's fingers in his paws. "Come sit with me."