#chain 01

“But don’t you think it’s much safer for the both of us to just take to the sidewalk?”

Crona had been to this city before, they were sure of it. The memories were there, warped and hazy and all too vague, like something out of a dream-- but the familiarity of the Hive was too strong to be simple happenstance. It was almost nothing like the quiet Death City, the energetic hustle and bustle foreign and frightening to them.

Almost immediately they felt rooted to the spot in the midst of the sidewalk-- the city’s vastness overwhelmed and set anxious fire to their veins. Crona hunched over with a small whimper, searching the dull wooden sword inexplicably in their hands with wild and frantic eyes.

 “Stop it, be quiet, please,” they hissed to what seemed like no one in particular. “You-- you’re not h-helping-- no, I-- I can’t--”

This quiet arguing with themselves went on for far longer than it should have. Passersby side-stepped them uncomfortably and shot dirty or confused glances, thankfully unbeknownst to Crona. It wasn’t until they registered another pair of feet facing them that they went silent, their gaze slowly trailing up to find a serious-looking woman had approached them. Whatever had given them the courage to speak out was gone now, their tongue heavy as lead; instead of speaking to her, they merely paled a sickly, nauseating white.

"Nah, he's not a wolf-- this is my dog, Noishe! I know he's kinda big," that was an understatement, considering he came close to reaching Lloyd's shoulders, "but he's friendly, I promise! Right, buddy?"

[ Um.. yes! Hello.. ]

"He can talk, too! Pretty cool, right?"

While there were... perks to being powerless, too often did Mantis find himself yearning for the control he once had. The silence in his head was a pleasant change of pace, but he detested not having the upper hand anymore; it goes without saying that perusing a person’s mind like a magazine on the shelf presented heavy benefits in practically any situation.

This woman in particular housed a fascinating... personage, one that Mantis wished he could crack into. He didn’t need to read minds in order to see that she was a no-nonsense type of gal; those piercing purple eyes boring into him belied a detached calculation typically only seen in soldiers. 

Ah, whoops. Hearing another wolf or not, he really shouldn’t have howled; attracts too much attention in a city. So, when Hige hears footsteps around the corner, he opts to disguise himself once again. As the woman comes into view -- ooh, and she’s gorgeous -- she calls out to him, and her words...

“Oh, uh--”

He’s about to deny it, right, like any normal human guy should, but a cross-breeze between the buildings carries her scent just right, and his eyebrows shoot up. Taking half a step forward, he sniffs the air before looking at her -- wonder, excitement, and anticipation plain on his features. 🐾