Chapter 4
The day after Eir confirms that Mantis's antenna is fully healed and the cast can come off, Valkyrie takes her back to the clearing that houses the stables.
"I will get Nátta!" Mantis says, already starting off across the field.
"You don't need to." Valkyrie says, a small smile playing at her lips.
Mantis tilts her head. "Are we not going riding today? I thought—"
"We are."
Mantis's eyes widen and her heart jumps. "Are we…."
"Going flying? Yes." Valkyrie smirks, leading Aragorn over with a hand on his back.
Mantis does a little wiggle then smooths her hands down her thighs, visibly collecting herself. "Okay, this is… cool . Very cool. No problem!"
"You're going to have to hold onto me, though."
"Yes, that makes sense."
"Okay, great. So first you're going to want to approach him the same way as always, then I'll pull you up."
Mantis does as she's bid, slowly approaching Aragorn and placing a hand on his flank, carefully avoiding touching the downy feathers where his right wing meets his body. "Hi, Aragorn." She whispers. He snorts softly in greeting, tilting his head to look at her.
Valkyrie takes this as the sign to pull herself up, waiting a minute for Aragorn to settle before holding a hand out for Mantis to grab. She pulls Mantis up easily, and Mantis grabs onto her waist for stability as she lands. "You holding on tight?" She asks, tangling her hands in Aragorn's mane.
Mantis wraps her arms all of the way around her waist, chin balancing on her shoulder. It's nice. Valkyrie pulls Aragorn's mane to communicate that she wants to fly and he whinnies in excitement, starting into a trot across the grassy fields that quickly increases in speed until it's a full on gallop. Once he has enough speed he leaps from the top of a boulder jutting out of the ground, spreading his brilliant white wings to catch the breeze. Mantis giggles directly next to Valkyrie's ear, the carefree sound lost in the whoosh of the air around them, blowing their hair back behind them.
Aragorn stays low at first, swooping over the hills and above the stables. The rocky cliffs and hills go on for miles in every direction, rolling and green and endless. Valkyrie steers him closer to the cliffs, leading him to dive over the edge. Aragorn folds his wings and tilts his body down to pick up speed and Mantis grips her even tighter, gasping in her ear.
He flicks his wings out after they'd picked up enough speed, coasting down over the village. They're high enough up that everybody and everything look small, but not doll-house small like they looked from atop the cliffs. The old and new buildings stand apart from each other from this high, the new ones all golden and delicately carved like Mantis imagines the rest of Asgard had been once upon a time and the older ones more sturdy and worn, clearly built to survive the salty spray that the wind is constantly blowing into the village. The old cathedral on the outskirts of town stands out from the rest of the buildings, still beautiful despite the state of disrepair it's fallen into. Asgardians aren't much for human worship, so they haven't figured out what else to use it for yet. They pass directly over the greenhouse and the Asgardian-forged glass seemed to sparkle at them even in the fog.
Mantis lets out a whoop when she sees Korg down below, talking to Dwayne. They look up and waved, though the wind rushing in her ears make it impossible to know if they said anything back.
"Wanna go up higher?" Valkyrie yells, grinning when Mantis says yes. She pulls Aragorn up and he climbs high up into the clouds, freezing the tips of their noses and making every breath Mantis takes feel like ice. She doesn't mind it, though, and she couldn't remove her face-splitting smile if she tried.
Everything is foggy and hazy from up so high, the puffy clouds disappearing into grey wisps as they soar through them. The sun is brighter from above the clouds, a dazzling spot on the horizon that hurts a little bit to look at. The clouds stretch on forever alongside the sea, meeting in the frigid spray of waves crashing against themselves further out at sea. They swoop down again, fast and low, almost in free-fall. Aragorn pulls up right before they would've crashed into the water, close enough that the tip of his hoof skims the water as they glide over the surface. Aragorn knows to pull higher up when a wave is crashing then to dive back down again at just the right moment to envelop them in mist.
By the time Valkyrie has convinced him to fly back up towards the clearing housing the stables Mantis is freezing and her hair is everywhere. She doesn't need to use her powers to know that Valkyrie feels as wrung-out yet exhilarated as she does, she can hear it in the way she can't help but laugh every time Aragon tries to steer them back towards the ocean again.
He flies in lazy circles before finally landing, skidding to a stop in the long grass and letting them slide off before trotting towards the stables for fresh water. Mantis's legs are shaky and her face is numb.
The complicated braids Valkyrie usually wears are loose and frizzy, lifting away from her face in the breeze. "So. Not the worst way to spend an afternoon, huh?"
Mantis laughs openly in response, still unable to stop smiling. The real kind, not the one she has to try at.
She starts to shiver on the walk back to the village. "It can get pretty cold up there, I should've warned you to bring a coat." Valkyrie says, rubbing her own hands together.
"It is okay, it made me feel like I was part of the clouds! Does that make sense?"
Valkyrie smiles. "Yes, it makes sense."
This time when Mantis invites her inside for tea, Valkyrie says yes.
***
"This will be the first Iðunn festival of New Asgard." Eir says, anxiously rearranging a wreath of flowers. "I fear our new circumstances will dampen our ability to celebrate in full."
"See, that's where you're thinking about this in the wrong way!" Thyra says, working on her own wreath. "Blending our own customs with those of Earth can bring even more wonder, if we let it! Have you ever heard of Tarot reading?"
Mantis listens idly from where she's busy cutting and organizing the flowers that they're arranging from bouquets that Geir brought back from the store along with the rest of the supplies for the night's festivities. She thinks about what Valkyrie had said, about most of the Asgardians being too proud to acknowledge when they can't rely only on themselves for all that they used to. It seemed to be ringing true from what she's seen; most of the Asgardians are doing their best to take the crops that they've grown in their smaller gardens and the fine glittering textiles that they've spun on their own wheels to celebrate rather than relying on what has been bought. They seem to be making an exception on the wine, though, which is already stacked high on a table in the main square.
"What does Iðunn mean, again?" Mantis asks, mostly to get them to stop bickering about if human psychics are real or not.
"Iðunn was the goddess of rejuvenation. She used to oversee the festival, of course, but the fate that befell her on the Statesman has prevented that." Thyra falls silent, eyes lowering.
Mantis slowly reaches out and touches her arm, eyes immediately shining with tears as memories that are not hers flash behind her eyes. Memories of crushed metal, of Thanos's terrible price. "I am sorry. I can feel her light."
"She would want us to celebrate this new beginning more than any others." Thyra says, uncharacteristically sober. "I think it is good to honor her."
"I do too. I have been able to feel the excitement in the air for the entire week!" Mantis pats Eir's arm once before returning to her flower cutting.
"You've been able to feel it from the air." Eir says, nudging her good-naturedly.
"Yes! Aragorn is amazing. I do not think I'd be able to fly him without Valkyrie." Mantis says shyly, smiling at the memory of the freezing wind on her face.
"You know, if you ever have any questions about...compatibility, I know quite a bit." Thyra holds up a rose with a raised eyebrow.
"What kind of compatibility?"
Thyra's eyes light up and she leans forwards conspiratorially. "Astrology compatibility."
"Valkyrie says that it is not real." Mantis points out.
"It isn't!" Eir chimes in, getting up to move her arrangement to the kitchen.
"It is." Thyra whispers to Mantis, eyebrows raised.
There's a loud knock on the door and Hiroim tramps into Eir's cottage, a plastic flower crown perched atop his rocky head. "Are you guys almost ready? The sun's going to set soon!"
Mantis takes the opportunity to run to her own cottage and change into the Asgardian clothes one of the seamstresses named Alfhild had made her, all black and green leather that she'd said was left over from Loki. It reminds her of her old clothes and she's comforted by it. Plus she feels excited to see Valkyrie, knows she wants to impress her. She's more used to this kind of feeling in others than in herself, having been isolated for so much of her life, but she knows what she's feeling even if she doesn't know quite what to do about it. She just hopes it doesn't make her act as foolishly as Peter used to around Gamora.
As the sun sinks over the mountains the usual lanterns around the village are lit, but this time there are double as many hanging from every available surface, lighting up the floral wreaths and swathes of embroidered fabric draped around. A tall bonfire lights up the center of the square where the Asgardians are beginning to gather, wearing newly woven robes. There are long tables of food with spreads of fish and vegetables and baked pastries, only some of which seem to have been bought during Geir's run to the store.
Mantis is sampling a small pastry when Korg approaches to greet her. He's wearing a plastic flower crown that matches Dwayne's and one of his own hawaiian shirts, sleeves slightly torn from where they scrape against his jagged muscles. He's smiling wide and Mantis can feel a certain energy emanating off of him, one that feels almost electric in the cool night air. She raises her eyebrows and reaches forwards, knowing Korg won't mind if she reads his emotions. Her antennae curl upwards, the tingly feeling of newfound affection spreading throughout her chest and limbs like bubbles through a drink. She feels her face stretch into another easy smile despite itself. " Wow." She says. "I feel your love!"
Korg is smiling too, rocking forwards on his heels and back again with a loud thump. "Yes, well, it's the alcohol and the people. I get sappy."
"It feels like it is more specific than just the people." Mantis says, nodding to his flower crown.
"Oh, Dwayne made it for me!" He leans closer, voice dropping to a whisper. "Is it obvious?"
"Only to me. And you are much less obvious than many I have felt who are feeling love. You would not believe what it feels like to be around the rest of the guardians." The mention of them makes her slightly sad, and she glances upwards, the stars just beginning to dot the sky. She takes comfort in believing they are among them somewhere, probably still as bad at sharing their emotions as ever.
"Worried about your friends?"
"Yes." She admits, still looking upwards and wrapping her hands around herself. "Their love makes them reckless, sometimes."
"Hey, they'll be okay! As long as they don't end up on Sakaar. I don't know who's in charge after the revolution."
"Ah, discussing the revolution that this one led?" Dwayne says, coming up behind Korg.
Korg nods, shifting his stance slightly to puff out his chest, his voice lowering. "It was nothing… I just did what had to be done."
Mantis enjoys spending time with Dwayne and Korg but finds herself wondering where Valkyrie is, trying to peer over their craggy shoulders to spot her among the throng of Asgardians without much luck.
She decides to try a beer to try and relax, not loving the sour taste but enjoying the way the bubbles dance on her tongue and make her feel slightly looser. She manages to extricate herself from Korg and Dwayne after a bit, both thoroughly wrapped up in each other, but she crashes right into someone else on her way to the bonfire. It's Geir .
"I am sorry!" She says, preemptively reaching out to feel his arm to make sure that he isn't hurt or annoyed. All she can feel is the feeling from the last time she'd read his emotions, happy and loose and particularly warm towards her. She is not used to people feeling this way about her, but his attraction is evident.
He flashes a smile. "You were actually just who I was looking for. We haven't really had the opportunity to speak much, and Valkyrie's always going on about you, so—"
"She is?" Mantis asks, eyes widening slightly.
"Nothing bad, I promise." Geir says quickly, as easygoing as ever.
"That is good." Mantis says, fiddling with her bottle. She likes Geir, but she isn't sure how to act towards someone who feels such a way towards her.
"What did you feel this time?" Interest is plain in his gaze.
"Oh, the same as last time. Alcohol changes emotions slightly, they become more easily accessible. I can feel your merriment, your love for your people, your interest in me…" Though she does not feel the same way towards Geir, she does not feel the need to lie to him about her awareness of his own feelings. Asgardians are much like humans in feeling, and their romantic and sexual feelings are often right on the surface for her to read. It's usually one of her favorite feelings to read, giving her a momentary burst of affection and wonder for somebody she wouldn't normally see in such a light. It's slightly different when it's herself she's feeling such emotions for, harder to read in others, but Geir makes no effort to hide his desire from her.
Geir runs a hand through his dark curls, flashing another smile. He's only slightly sheepish, leaning forwards towards her. "Yeah? How does that make you feel?"
"Alright, that's enough from this one!" Valkyrie's voice cuts through the noise as she comes up behind Geir, slapping a hand on his shoulder. "Plenty of maidens to charm elsewhere." She jabs him in the ribs with an elbow and gives him a significant look.
Geir laughs, shaking his head. "How you always know just when to show up and cockbl—"
"I do no such thing." Valkyrie interrupts sweetly. "Off you go!"
Mantis finds their social interactions slightly confusing, is not sure what to make of their particular blend of camaraderie and competition, but is mostly sure that there isn't any real fire in it. It reminds her of a less violent version of the stories Thor had told of his relationship with his brother.
"Sorry about him. Again." Valkyrie says, shaking her head. "He's a horndog."
"I thought that he was an Asgardian?" Mantis asks, frowning at the unfamiliar word.
Valkyrie snorts. "He is. I just mean that he's a terrible flirt."
"Oh! It is okay." Mantis leans forwards, as if divulging a secret. "It is a good thing he cannot read my emotions, it may have hurt his feelings."
Valkyrie's lips stretch into a wry smile. "A good thing indeed." Her eyes skim over Mantis's outfit. "Back to the leather, huh? It suits."
Mantis feels a small burst of pride at the praise. "Alfhild said that it was salvaged from Loki's old favored textiles, I hope that nobody minds."
"Nobody minds." Valkyrie says immediately, reaching behind her to grab a bottle of wine from one of the rapidly-shrinking piles. She pulls the cork out with her teeth and Mantis watches the line of her throat as she tips her head back, taking a long drink.
Behind her, a knife throwing contest has started up with a large block of painted wood serving as the target. Valkyrie's hand shoots up to catch an errant knife that had been soaring over her shoulder, and she immediately turns to launch it back, expression annoyed. "Seriously, guys? No knife throwing if you can't hold your liquor."
"Sorry, your highness." Somebody calls from the crowd.
She waves a hand and turned back, scrunching her face up. "Still don't like being called that."
"Would you rather be called your real name?" Mantis asks, perking up.
"I see what you're doing." Valkyrie says, crossing her arms with a rueful smile. "I'm still not telling you."
"It was worth a try." Mantis is unable to help her small smile in return. "Can I try that?" She points tentatively to the bottle of wine.
Valkyrie holds it aloft. "You've had alcohol before, right?"
Mantis nods. "Yes, Peter likes it. He doesn't drink wine, though, only beer."
Valkyrie watches her consideringly and holds the wine out to her. Mantis takes it, sniffing once before taking a swig. "Oh! This is much better than beer!" She takes another long drink.
"Most things are. No knife throwing if you're planning on hanging onto that, though." She nods towards the bottle.
"Deal."
An hour later Mantis has finished the bottle and is cheering from the side as Valkyrie throws five consecutive knives at the woodblock in the pattern of a star.
Valkyrie smirks, tapping a younger man lightly on the shoulder. "I believe that's...what was it that you bet again? The entire contents of your wallet?"
The man nods, looking put-out but digging around in his pockets anyway, pulling out the wallet. Valkyrie opens it and peers inside. "I'll just take 200 bucks, call it even." She pats him on the same shoulder before making her way back to Mantis. "And that, Mantis, is how you dissuade arrogant young men from being quite so arrogant."
"I will make a note of that, though I'm much better with guns than knives."
"I'll teach you sometime. When we're both less, you know."
"Unsteady?" Mantis guesses, watching the way Valkyrie wobbles slightly where she stands and feeling very wobbly herself.
"Exactly."
"I might need to sit down." Mantis confesses, worried that Valkyrie will laugh at her or accuse her of not being able to hold her liquor the way she sometimes does with her other Sakaarian friends.
To her surprise Valkyrie nods immediately, taking her by the arm and leading her slightly away from the crowd. "Feeling okay?"
"Yes, yes, I feel good! Just a little bit nauseous, maybe."
"Right." Valkyrie says, turning abruptly. "Enough of this bachinalia." Mantis tilts her head and Valkyrie takes her by the arm again. "I have food you can eat at my place, sober up a little."
Mantis nods and lets herself be led, content to let the cool night air calm the buzzing in her skin. She feels strangely giddy, a little like the way she'd felt after flying. Valkyrie's hand on her arm feels like it was filling her skin with warmth that spreads to the tips of her fingers and toes, and Mantis misses it as soon as Valkyrie removes it to open the door and let her inside.
Valkyrie busies herself in the kitchen and Mantis sits cross-legged on the couch, shutting her eyes and feeling the world spin around her. She almost feels like she's back in space, spinning through orbit in a tiny ship. She wonders if she'd see blurred stars when she opens her eyes, but she just sees Valkyrie opening another bottle of something brown for herself and downing half of it in one swig. It really is impressive. She brings her a sandwich on a little plate, sitting in the chair across from her and keeping a tight grip on her bottle.
Mantis practically inhales the sandwich, talking about how delicious it was through a mouthful of food between every bite while Valkyrie watches, waving off her compliments and trying and failing to hide her amusement. "You're even nicer when you're drunk, I swear. You're like...a sentient ball of sunshine, or something."
Mantis giggles, flopping over on the couch to lay on her back. "Which sun? This one?"
"Yeah, this one, though it's pretty much the same where I'm from. They're all just stars."
Mantis closes her eyes again, tiny pinpricks of light filling the darkness behind her eyelids. "I miss the stars. Though I never understand what Thyra means when she says they control our lives."
Valkyrie snorts. "Tell me about it. It's not actually real, though, so you don't have to worry about it. Just smile and nod whenever she talks about it."
Mantis opens her eyes again and watches Valkyrie, thoughtful. "She said she wants to tell me about compatibility."
Valkyrie finishes off the bottle, wiping her chin with the back of her hand. "You know how I measure compatibility?"
Mantis shakes her head. "No, how?"
"By trusting my own feelings over what the stars are supposed to tell me. No offense."
Mantis giggles again. "As if you are the easiest to read!"
Valkyrie raises an eyebrow. "Touche. But you're the one with literal empathic abilities, so…"
"Yes, but you don't let me use them on you!"
Valkyrie is silent for a moment, then: "Yes. And thank you for respecting that."
Mantis nods, sensing the weight of Valkyrie's gratitude even as the room sways around her. Another thought occurs to her, and she speaks without thinking much about it, enjoying the looseness the alcohol affords. "Does Geir think he is compatible with me?"
Valkyrie rolls her eyes. "He thinks he's compatible with everyone with a pulse. He should know not to talk to you like that, though."
"I suppose it is a real compliment, coming from him."
Valkyrie squints at her. "How so?"
"Well, he must like me enough to see past all of the ugliness." Mantis says it earnestly, completely unbothered by it.
Valkyrie frowns, staring at her as if she's a particularly confusing puzzle. "Mantis, you're not ugly."
"That is kind of you to say." Mantis is surprised by how confusing Valkyrie seems to find an objective fact.
"I'm not being nice, Mantis, I need to know that you don't actually think that about yourself."
"It is okay, Valkyrie, really, these things do not matter to me!"
"Who told you that you're ugly?"
"Well, Drax did—"
"Drax is an idiot, Mantis. He is an admirable warrior, and I'm sure he does not know any better, because if he did I'd have to—" She cuts herself off, noticing for the first time that she's leaning so intently forwards that she's about to fall out of her chair.
Mantis blinks, looking more surprised than she had all night. "I am not ugly to you?"
Valkyrie coughs, grabbing her bottle and trying to drink more despite it being empty. "No. You aren't."
"Wow, and coming from an Asgardian!"
Valkyrie latches onto the chance to change the subject. "Believe me, on the old Asgard everyone besides the Valkyries would look at me strangely if I so much as wore the wrong color or left my hair unplaited. That kind of beauty is overrated."
"I like your plaits." Mantis says. "They seem very complex."
"They are. We learned them quite young."
"Can you show me?"
"Now?" Valkyrie looks longingly at her empty bottle like she can will it to be full again with just her mind.
"Well, yes…"
Valkyrie slowly stands up from the chair, sliding into the couch besides Mantis. "I can braid yours first, if you like."
Mantis sits up excitedly, turning to the side so that Valkyrie can reach her hair better. "Okay!"
She breathes out a soft sigh when Valkyrie first touches her hair, tilting her head back and relaxing her shoulders. The soft buzzing in her system calms into a shivery feeling of contentment at the feeling of Valkyrie's deft fingers combing through her hair, parting it into different sections and beginning a complicated braid at the crown of her head as if it's second nature. She supposes it is.
"Is that why you left Asgard? Too many braids?" she asks after a few moments, feeling emboldened enough to ask about Valkyrie's shrouded past.
Valkyrie's hands still for the briefest of seconds, but Mantis can feel it. "...No." She finally says, smoothing her hands over Mantis's hair even gentler than she had been before. "I had nothing to return to. Not after her."
" Hela?"
"Yes. She took everything there was to love about Asgard."
"I am sorry." Mantis says, bowing her head. She hesitates for a moment, then: "I think there is still a lot to love about Asgard."
Valkyrie's left hand comes to rest on Mantis's shoulder, squeezing lightly. "...I'm beginning to think the same."
Mantis can't pinpoint exactly why, but she feels as though this is an important moment. She begins to turn around but Valkyrie leans back, smoothing her hands over her hair once more with an air of finality. "All done. Looks great."
Momentarily distracted, Mantis leaps up from the couch to seek out a mirror, finding herself in the bathroom after a blur of motion that leaves her slightly dizzy. She turns her head this way and that, watching her reflection gaze back, slightly fuzzy under the haze of the alcohol, as though the edges have been smoothed out. Valkyrie has pulled her hair back from her face in winding braids but left it to fall over her shoulders. Mantis thinks about what Valkyrie had said, wondering how she views her if she didn't find her ugly. She blinks at herself, large eyes reflecting the glow of the bathroom light. If someone as lovely as Valkyrie finds her beautiful, then perhaps it's true.
Her cheeks are pink when she emerges from the bathroom, and she can't fight the small smile that she can't seem to wipe from her face. Valkyrie is still on the couch, but she seems to have fetched herself another bottle, drinking from it with something like desperation. She sets it down when Mantis slides next to her on the couch.
"Can I try to braid yours?" Mantis asks, hoping fervently that the answer is yes.
"The key word there is definitely 'try'." Valkyrie says. "I'm not sure how much luck you'll have, but…okay. As long as you don't get out the scissors when I'm not looking."
"I would not do such a thing!" Mantis wiggles into a better spot on the couch as Valkyrie squares her shoulders and turns so that her back is facing Mantis.
Mantis reaches a tentative hand out, combing it through Valkyrie's dark hair with wonder. It is much longer and thicker than her own, and it already has complex braids snaking through it that she's afraid to mess up.
"I would've had to take them out anyway." Valkyrie says after a moment of silence, turning her neck to peer over her shoulder.
Mantis takes that as the signal to slowly start gently pulling the braids apart, marveling at how much more complicated they are up close. After a while Valkyrie seems to relax, shoulders dropping and head tilting slightly back. Everything surrounding Mantis feels hazy and indistinct except for the tangibility of Valkyrie right beside her, Valkyrie under her hands, Valkyrie trusting her.
Her thoughts slip away when she tries to grasp them, so she lets go of them, running her fingertips through Valkyrie's scalp and listening to her contented hum.
"Your hair is very lovely, Valkyr—"
"Brunnhilde."
"Hm?"
"That's—that's my name."
"Oh!" Mantis rolls the world around in her mouth before saying it a few more times, sounding out the syllables. "Brunne-hil-de. It suits you."
Valkyrie shrugs her shoulders, not looking at her. "Don't go around telling everyone."
"Of course not, Brunnhilde." Mantis giggles again.
Valkyrie doesn't say anything, still not looking at her. Mantis slows her hands, having too much trouble replicating the delicate weaving of Valkyrie's braids and opting to just run her fingers through her hair instead. She wonders why Valkyrie seems more quiet now than she usually does, more nervous. She trusts her, right? Enough to let her touch her hair and know her real name. She doubts that any of the New Asgardians have been afforded the same privilege, and the knowledge sends a small thrill through her stomach.
The thrill is lessened slightly by Valkyrie's prolonged silence. She isn't the best at reading social cues, but Mantis can't help but fear that the earlier dislike that Valkyrie has seems to feel for her isn't completely gone, that she only suffers through Mantis's company out of a misplaced feeling of responsibility for her. It has happened before, after all. Even the other guardians treated her like she was far younger than she is at first, just because she doesn't understand all of their ways.
There is always one way to understand Valkyrie better.
She lifts her left hand and holds it in a frozen semi-stasis for a moment, debating. Valkyrie has specifically asked her not to read her emotions, but that had been before….before what, exactly, she doesn't know, but it was before pegasus rides and wine and Brunnhilde. She swallows, lowering her hand slowly to rest two fingertips against the warm skin of Valkyrie's neck.
Mantis's antennae arch and glow brightly, her body thrumming with all of Valkyrie's emotions in a flood, her head spinning from the combined buzz of feeling both of their alcohol consumption at once. Her heart feels too big for her chest, suddenly, and she feels an enveloping sort of warmth throughout her body, one that is directed towards herself.
Oh.
Oh.
She recognizes these feelings, had felt them every time she read Peter when he was around Gamora. It is far stronger than what she read in Geir, a more shallow attraction that felt more about the idea of her than the reality. She gasps softly, and Valkyrie immediately shifts forwards, something dawning in her brown eyes. "Mantis…" she says slowly. "What were you doing?"
Mantis doesn't respond, looking at her with wide eyes.
Valkyrie grits her teeth, leaning forwards and away. "You were reading me, weren't you?"
"I—yes, I was, but it is okay! You…" She leaned closer, eyes wide. "You like me! You lov—"
"Alright, I'm going to cut you off there." Valkyrie growls, something steely in her eyes where there had been a dazed warmth before. "I asked you not to do that."
"I know, but—"
"No. I asked you not to, and so you shouldn't have done it."
Mantis blinks, confused and frowning. "I…do not understand. I could feel your affection."
"Yeah, well, maybe your antenna isn't as healed as we thought." Valkyrie is back to not looking at her.
Mantis wrings her hands, feeling her eyes well up. "I messed it all up, Brunnhilde, I'm sorry—"
"Don't." Valkyrie looks guilty, running a hand over her face. "Look, Mantis, it's okay. Don't worry about it." She cracks a barely-there smile, a ghost of an imitation of her usual cocksure smirk. "I've got a bottle to finish." She holds the bottle aloft, brown liquid sloshing as she stands. "Drink some water. Get some sleep."
With that she's gone, leaving Mantis on the couch, eyes wide and shimmering. How had everything gone from so right to so wrong so quickly? The pleasant haziness of the alcohol now makes her feel reckless and unable to focus on anything concrete, just the sudden panging ache in her chest.
She knows what that ache means, now.