#; mantis

" it was? " question was asked with a genuine sense of inquisitiveness. mantis didn't particularly see herself as someone that was brave, or someone that did brave things. maybe that was a miss-sight on her part. mantis was so good at seeing others for who they truly were, seeing their qualities, along with picking up on their feelings... but when it came to herself... who she really was, what she really wanted... she was still trying to figure those things out.

❝          thank  you  Mantis,       thank  you     !          ❞       the  intensity  of  his  enthusiasm  is  caused  by  a  multitude  of  factors.       the  strongest  is  the  harsh  truth  that  he  went  through  quite  a  few       DARK       years  when  the  gold  glimmer  of  optimism  was  washed  away  from  his  gaze,       leaving  its  place  to  solemn  ambers  of  alcohol  as  he  mourned.       another  is  the  playful  banter  that  took  place  before  the  other  guardians  left  the  big  room.       everything  is  a  contest  among  the  misfits,       even  who  is  the  most  difficult  of  them  all,       but  Peter  knows  that  behind  layers  of  each  one  jabbing  at  each  other     .  .  .        there  is  love.      

they       ARE       family       ;       there’s  an  unwritten  law  about  families  bickering  across  the  galaxy  that  they  are  not  spared  from.       he  can’t  say  he  can  complain.       at  least  he  has  a  family  he  can  bicker  with.       ❝          i  know  i  don’t  always  make  it  easy  for  ya.       i  need  to  make  up  for  that  stuff  somehow  right     ?          ❞       the  half  human’s  smile  leaves  its  place  to  subtle  concern.       ❝          i  gotta  ask  though.       were  you  not  feeling  good  before  we  talked     ?       somethin’  up     ?          ❞

though they've been together for a while now, since the guardians showed up at ego, and since she had taken her place amongst them... the idea of being a part of it, part of them still filled her with a warmth that she hadn't experienced beforehand. it had been a lonely sort of existence before. becoming part of this family might just be the best thing that had ever happened to her, though, she doubted that peter, nor the others truly knew the extent of her gratitude.