Run and Hide Again (A MGE story ft. Razgriz and Umbrale)

If the Mantis' glare could bore holes into walls; the marine's location would be a seamless circle. As it was, she looked about ready to follow his suggestion; until she seemed almost visibly hit. She was facing away from Jackson, so he couldn't see anything, but she doubled-over, quivering for a moment. Almost as soon as it started, she stopped, and after another moment; turned back to him.

With a sigh, she dropped onto a stool opposite of him; crossing her legs, one over the other. What do you think we thought of you... humans, when you appeared? We might seem like mutants, but what were you to us? Just the same. You may call us what you like, but we prefer Mamono. If you'd rather I call you alien, mutant, or any other such name, please speak up now; if not, perhaps tell me your name, or I shall forever address you simply as Human. Understand? " The Mantis knew she wouldn't get through to him; at least, she didn't think she would, by any means. However, she was as stubborn as he. Manti lived alone, with naught but themselves to care for; and most that deemed to argue with them were promptly killed on the spot.

Jackson wasn't paying any particular attention to the Mantis when she had her little fit; not that he would have cared if she did, or had lost any sleep over what might caused it. His eyes stared aimlessly at the ceiling, the irises barely moving as the recent events rushed through his head. And the silence from him persisted as she posed the same philosophical bullshit the xenophiles back on Earth professed like it was gospel. Did he know friendly extraterrestrials? Yes. Did he meet any here? Aside from that Harpy, no.

Still, she didn't seem like she was going to kill him...A damned shame because he'd honestly had enough. "Bet you prefer your prey to struggle before you end its life. Sorry I can't be more entertaining, so call me whatever you want." he snarled weakly, completely disregarding her preferences. "Either kill me or throw me outside. I've honestly had enough of this shit to last ten lifetimes."

The Mantis simply stared at him for a long, long moment; a few minutes quietly passing along. Slowly, she rose, and simply muttered, "You're the downright most stubborn... thing... I have ever met. Since it only seems torture to you; I think I'll let you sit right there, and heal up." With her snarky comment snapped right back, she checked the clay casts, making sure that they weren't damaged in his earlier struggles. That done, and the casts secure, the Mantis stalked out of the room, leaping from the entrance, this time. It seemed that the best way to unhinge the argument was to simply leave, in her case.

-------

A small window marked the pass of time, and Jackson would note the passing of a sun, and transference of darkness into the room. In fact, it wasn't until light began to dawn once again--and reflect off the warm wooden walls in a fantastically beautiful image-- that she returned.

Under one arm was held a bucket of fruits; mostly wild-grown things, such as berries, apples, and various roots/tubers. In the other hand was held a bloody package; some kind of object wrapped solidly in leaves. The leaves were soaked in a dark liquid; and from them came the stench of blood.

Jackson stayed awake through most of the night, his body unable to move; if this was her way of torturing him, it was definitely working. Being in the home of the enemy, and apparently 'under her care', was something he would not stand for. Not that he could stand, but it was more of a metaphorical statement. In any event, he certainly did try to will his body to at least lift a leg; however, his muscles were simply too strained now that he had gotten relaxed...And as much as he hated to admit it, he needed to recover.

Yeah...Lie in wait, then kill this buzzing bitch and get out. And with that in mind to try and help him deal with the situation, his sleep quickly came once more, the uncovered green eye slowly lidding shut before the dreamless rest.

Morning's first light filtered through the doorway, the grassy veil helping to shield the most intense of the sun from hitting him; he awakened with a groan, his stomach rumbling with the need for nourishment. A slight 'thump' signified her return, the open eye resting on her and seeing she had supplies. Along with a bloody package.

"This how you plan on trying to scare me? Eat a freshly excised human organ? Try harder." he snarked hoarselu, still possessing the same level of sass that he had before. His body was still numb, the herbs in the casts and bandages helping to safely and effectively dull his pain response to allow for maximum comfort. "I will say I'm curious: What's your game here? I mean, surely you had more than a territorial reason for stopping those Wolves." He paused to let that sink in for her, unaware of what was happening in her body. However, his next words would assure her he was absolutely clueless, "I bet it was because the Wolves killed more of your kind than mine, and you didn't to let them have the satisfaction of ending me...No, that was YOUR right and your right alone, wasn't it?"

On her return, the Mantis listened to his tirade, simply staring at him all the while. When he finished, she didn't say a word at first, simply laying down the basket, and beginning to peel away the leaves. When she was finished, it revealed a semi-cooked leg of some meat. If he happened to have hunted in his life, Jackson would have recognized it as Rabbit; from the haunch down, and a fat one, at that. It seemed have been cooked only a bit; enough to destroy the parasites, while remaining raw and bloody enough to transfer all of the nutrients(raw meat, while technically bad for you, has far more nutrients to sustain you, than it's cooked counterparts).

Walking over to the marine, she stared down into his eyes, before muttering, "Not only are you the most stubborn human I have ever met, but the stupidest, too." With that, she plopped the bloody haunch right down on his face; not bothering to aim for his mouth, or anything.

Turning her back to him, she began to root through and separate the items in the basket, by the supply-wall. She did, however, call out to him, to explain, "You're arms and abdomen should be mostly healed. Your arms may be numb, but you should be able to break those thin casts, if you try. Be careful, however; you probably still have some internal bruising. And your legs aren't in working-order at all, yet." Being an insect, of surgical precision and speed, the Mantis knew more than a little about medicine. To top it off, she completely refrained from answering his secondary question; due to the sheer stupidity of it that she gleaned.

Jackson did hunt, but not all that often here; back home, he used to hunt with his father. All sorts of game: Deer, bear, boar, anything and everything that didn't require traveling to Africa. And though he couldn't see it too well, he saw the texture and knew it was rabbit; though some of the coloring was off. The hell kind of rabbit did she get? The thought of having rabbit made his stomach rumble again, as if demanding a delicious piece of meat.

Though he would soon an unexpected surprise: She then stood over him, holding the bloodied hunk over his head, his eye widened in surprise before it landed with a wet 'smack', sticking to his head and feeling the slightly congealed blood run over his skin. "Says the bug housing and treating an enemy" he muttered, trying to sit up this time...Much to his surprise, he felt himself able to raise up enough to at least have his back against the wall, the sticky meat rolling into his lap.

"Oh cute, just have me break my arms again...Fine, watch as I..." he started to tell her as he hit the casts together, shutting up as they shattered quite easily. Sure enough, his arms were numb...But he could move his fingers! "The hell..." he whispered, more than a little surprised that she was right. He was careful to flex his fingers, testing their range of motion; sure enough it was still limited, which meant he would be stupid for trying to lift the meaty leg. And with how recently he'd been injured - or what he thought was recently - he would be surprised if he could lift even a pencil.

"How the fuck..." he said, still looking over his body; this shouldn't have been possible. The only times he'd seen recovery this fast was in the bio-labs at Base. "I don't get it...How long was I out?!" he then asked himself incredulously more in wonder about his regained functionality than he was hungry...Until his stomach reminded him again. "Yeah, yeah...Working on it" he muttered, gingerly tearing a small chunk off; well, if he was going to get killed anyway...Might as well be on a full stomach.

Even here, he'd had to resort to raw fish more than once to sustain himself; hopefully this didn't taste as bad as it looked. The gamey meat slid down his throat, the blood coating his tongue as it hit his stomach. "Raw rabbit...Now I've eaten everything" he then muttered, the blood starting to drip onto the bed; and it didn't help he was it as a napkin.

The Mantis ignored him for a while--although she did manage a soft snort of a laugh at his exclamation of surprise. Eventually, she straightened, returning to her stool, with an apple in her hand. The other hand, strangely enough, two of the fingers were stuck in her mouth, where she seemed to be nursing on them. Eventually, she pulled her hand out, to reveal a brilliant red burn on her hand. After all, Manti' eat their meat truly raw; no need for any level of cooking.

"I'll take that as the closest I'll be getting for a 'thank you'. As to how long you were out... a solid week-and-a-half before your first woke up. I never would've believed how much care a human took...", she grumbled a bit, before biting into the apple. A soft, almost purr-like hum filled the air as she did so, and her antannae wiggled a bit to betray her satisfaction at the taste. "And as I said before, there are a vareity of magical herbs in those casts; a few acquired from a Dryad in my lands. There's a touch of magic in them, from her."

It didn't matter if he stained her bed; he'd soon notice that it wasn't so much a mattress, or sheets, as it was a collection of myraid furs. All different kinds laced the rather comfortable piece of furniture; from fluffy to thin, thick to heavy. There were so many, it'd be hard to notice a stain int he first place.

He was out for a week and a half!? He knew that this planet's day/night cycles were a fair bit longer than those of Earth, so was that a week and half in Earth time or this planet's time? Either way, the fact that he slept that long left him flabbergasted for a moment, a piece of the flesh stuck halfway entering his mouth. "That long...Geezus, Rip Van Winkle's got nothing on me." he joked, more to himself since she more than very likely would not understand the reference.

He let the comment about him needing a lot of care slide; she took that of her own initiative, so she made that bed herself...But funnily enough he was sleeping in it. Which when it came down to it, was fairly comfortable. And for the next few moments, their eating of the provisions was about the most peaceful one they'd had after he woke up. Naturally, a haunch this meaty was just too much for him; his stomach shrank a lot from the malnutrition and he just couldn't finish the whole thing.

"Aye, man...I almost forgot what real food tasted like..." he then said, a nice circle of red staining his lips, splotches still on his face and abdomen from where she dropped it on him. Looking down, he saw the mess he'd made, smiling at the thought of him actually being to eat like a pig for a change. "Eh...Sorry about the mess, I guess. Your fault for not giving me a plate, or even cooking it all the way." he then said to her; though his tone was a little more light-hearted this time, for some reason feeling in a better mood now that real food set in his belly for once.

The Mantis simply gave a shrug, ignoring the sting in his statement, since it was lighthearted in the first place. She had no response at all to his more surprised comments; she did indeed not know who Rip Van Winkle was. However, when he had his fill of the haunch, she promptly took it from him; finishing it in mere seconds, before depositing of the apple core-&-bone in a receptacle nearby.

"Now, I need to redress the casts on your legs today; the poltice is wearing thin. If you can assure me you won't insult my heritage, form, personality, appearance, tone, or any other action; I'll let you bathe in a stream while I re-mix it." She told him mater-of-factly, before standing to look him over once again. This time, her eyes lingered just a touch longer on his crotch; yet again, not lasting more than a moment.

"Fine, fine...At the least, you're a better host than those damned Wolves would have been." he replied sarcastically; though in his heart, he had a feeling that they would not have treated him nearly as well as this Mantis was doing. He was a little unsettled that she basically ate from the same carcass he had picked at, but supposed he never actually touched the thing with his lips directly. Unknown to him that Manti and their mates often shared from the same kill.

He mistook her gazing at his crotch for eyeing the blood that stained his underwear, his voice a little agitated as he replied, "You know, that wouldn't have happened if I had a plate. You dropped it on my face after all. And another thing, you were the one that said I couldn't walk yet...So how do propose I get to this stream you're talking about? You gonna carry me or something?"

The Mantis scoffed at his mention of a plate, rolling her eyes and everything at the ridiculousness of it. "Manti' don't eat from plates. I dreadfully apologize for not having one for you. After all, you spilled blood on my dead animal hides." It was almost like the emotionless Mamono had made a sarcastic joke there... However, upon hearing his question, she gave him a look that could only be compared to one of a parent watching their child run face-first into a glass door. "Man... I mean, you connected the dots on that one, but to question it in the first place? You really are stupid..."

After a moment, she turned, and grabbed a satchel from the supply-wall; seeming to hold a pugnent aroma of flowers and spices. Promptly, though, she did indeed scoop him up in her arms; although, with some effort. She carried him like a bride; needing to not injure his legs anymore than they already were. Approaching the doorway, she told him, "Prepare yourself." Before leaping out.

It was a big tree. Several meters of wood flew by his view, before they landed--relatively gently, thanks to the Mantis' powerful legs--steadily on the ground. Looking up, Jackson would notice that the tree was indeed huge; a baby of the massive vareity that grew into the great villages of the harpies. Known by mother-trees to many, this one was but a seedling. Yet, it was still big enough for a massive knothole halfway up to house the Mantis and her newly-acquired Marine.

The Mantis did not pause for long, and began marching out into the forest. A few short moments later, and they were at a stream. Laying him down beside it, she reached into the satchel, and took out various mortars and pestles, along with a sponge-like sphere that seemed to be made of a fungi-like material. "You may use that to wash yourself. Leave your legs alone; I will clean them myself before I apply the salve and clay." Without waiting for a reply, she began to mix and match mushrooms, leaves, flowers, and spice-like grains.

Jackson's brow twitched a bit in annoyance as she shot his own words back at him; it wasn't like he was expecting her to carry him, for fuck's sake! For all he knew, she would have used this opportunity to say "Go on, get walking" and then laugh when he fell on his face. She might have been treating him well so far, but he was still convinced there was a part of her motive she was hiding. He didn't get a chance to voice his concerns though, as she then scooped him up like a woman on her wedding day, his eye seeing the huge drop.

He clung to her a little too tightly as she gave him the shittiest warning ever, his stomach feeling like it was free-falling before they touched solid earth. His chest heaved a little from the surprise; his eyes then wandered upward and let him appreciate the true height he just fell from. But soon, he was then placed right on the edge of the stream, the banks lined in soft plush grass. It was here that she handed him a strange...ball of some kind. It seemed like a sponge, it had the holes of one...but it also had these patterns on it.

Dipping it in the stream, he saw the surface bubbling a little, feeling it swell and push his fingers out as it soaked up water; he then ran it over his arm, feeling a slight tingle as the natural cleansers from the fungus started to wipe the blood off. He would then run it over more of his body, cleaning his torso and face, each time dipping the sponge into the cool running water. "Hey...This bandage around my head...Any chance we can change this too? Pretty sure blood on a wound isn't something exactly healthy to keep around, huh? Even better...Can I just take this off?" he then said, already starting to unwind it; hell if his arms were already better, then who was to say his injuries here wouldn't be?

The Mantis was busy sifting and mushing; combining and mixing all of the various substances. When he inquired as to bandage on his head--and began to unwind it without her answer-- she sighed, and grumbled out, "Ever think to await your doctor's advice, before treating yourself?"

The Mantis simply scoffed, as he took the bandage off, he would notice it was rather padded, folded and dual-folded in locations, as if to create a buffer zone.There was minimal blood on it, however. " You didn't have many injuries on your face; other than a general concussion. I put that around your head, solely to stop self-injury in your thrashing. I don't know if you're aware; but you tend to hate Mamono's in your sleep. Part of the reason why I formed clay around the salve."

After a moment, she turned to him, a large pestle-jar of a dull reddish-green paste held in one of her hands. "If you're done, the salve's ready. If not, I can wait a bit." Uncharacteristically so, she had offered him a compromise;and if he wasn't keenly attentive on his own status, he might've noticed the way she admired his toned--if malnutritioned slighty--body. The tiniest, most unnoticeable smattering of a blush coated her cheeks, to boot.

Jackson had unwound the wrap, finally able to let his whole face breathe; his eye was still closed, largely in part to the fact that it was bandaged in part thanks to the concussion. He was a little wary to open it, but decided that even if it was injured, he would at least like to feel he had some form of control over his body. And slowly, the lid parted, the vision in it hazy at first but clearing up little by little. Before long his eye was open fully, able to see just as well as the other one.

He breathed a little in relief, reaching up to touch it even though his arms were still numb from the salves. He then looked into the surface of the water, seeing a set of four scars over the area of the eye socket going from his temple down to just below his cheekbone, a piece of physical evidence about his dance of death with the Wolves. They were dead now though...And here he sat, being tended to in the aftermath. "Yeah, well, I like to think I have good reason...You know, not wanting to be in the situation I'm in right now and all. Never was good at playing with others" he snarked, turning his attention back to her only to catch her staring.

Being who he was - what many would call a 'meathead' - he didn't have any inkling of knowledge about any of the Mamono aside from habits and regions where they resided. Clues that would aid in his survival...The datapad holding those observations was likely destroyed as well, not that it mattered by this point. For a few seconds, they locked gazes only for Jackson to reply "Take a picture, it'll last longer." Truth be told, the muscle mass on his body was probably about a quarter, maybe a third less than it had been in his prime. His face, while not chubby even at full health, also looked far too thin and his cheeks were still sunken.
"Anyway...Yeah, I'm ready. I guess." the marine stated finally, his legs stretched out before him as he laid back.

Only a scoff would come to match his snarky comment; followed promptly by a small role of the Mantis' eyes.What little kindness the Marin[/color]e had remembered this morning, seemed to have promptly flown right out the non-existent window. When he caught her staring, however, she looked a bit surprised, before snapping hastily back, "S-Shuttup, Moron! I was checking your wounds..." The Mantis still looked flustered, but was prompt to grab the jar of salve, and move over to his side.

Muttering, "Hold still...",the Mantis extended one arm-blade, and carefully slit the clay casts among the sides; cracking it off gently. It came to reveal very bruised, swollen legs; it didn't look as if anything was broken(at least, anymore). However, it definitely seemed as if they had sustained the most damage; the skin almost black-and-blue all over."Trust me when I say that you don't want to know what these looked like, before..."

Leaning down towards his leg,she began to apply the salve in gentle, sweeping strokes. Her hands were soft, but insistent; making sure not to hit him, while applying the salve as liberally as possible. Of course, this did have her delicate hands drift as far up as his inner thighs; making sure to coat every inch of his legs. "I'm not going to apply clay to it this time;the fresh air should alleviate the bruising, while the herbs work to heal...So, you'll need to careful about your legs; and as your regain your ability to walk, make sure to take it slow..." She advised him, and without waiting for his presumably snappy answer, she turned to start replacing her various herbs.

Jackson paid her snappy retort no mind; fucking weird ass bug was just staring at him, what else was he supposed to say? Tell her he was going to strip off his underwear? Still, it seemed his statement got to her, something that did make a little bit of a grin pop up on his face. Though soon she finally started to apply the salves to his legs, breaking the thin casts; damn his legs looked ugly.

Not surprising what he had put them through, but even still it made him squick a little. "Shit...Sorry guys, but at least you're getting some rest now" he then said to the poor beaten limbs; now he felt bad for any other part of his body. Who knew what his freaking liver looked like? Before long, a mild chill from the salves overcame him, feeling her fingers (barely due to the analgesic effects of the previous application) work the once-pristine extremties. Though her hands started getting closer and closer to his crotch, his eyes narrowing as she reached the top of his inner thigh.

When she was done though, she quickly pulled her hands away; unlike before, he had no snappy answer. His legs did feel better, but he didn't try and walk yet. And as she worked, he could not help feeling curious, "I don't get you...My kind killed yours, and many others. Why are you healing me...Feeding me? For all I could have cared, you could have left me to die and that would have been the end of it."

The Mantis paused in her packing, at the hearing of his question. She seemed to tense for a moment, but soon began to repack her things. After a few minutes, she was done, and turned around to face him. Slowly, she crossed her legs under her(criss-cross, apple-sauce), and appraised him for a long period of time. It seemed she was about to make another comment about how stupid he was, but rather, she responded,

"...When Mamono species go to war, many lives are lost. Families are strewn, kids killed; there is plenty of death.However, in the end, we don't wipe them from existence. Just like any war, once the objectives are established, peace will settle." She paused, then elaborated in a different light, "And the only humans I have ever killed, are poachers."

Her answer definitely wasn't one he was expecting, more that she was going to berate his intellect again; still, it wasn't anything earth-shattering she said. It was the hope of all wars: To have objectives settled, then peace follow afterwards. People died, children included; it was an unfortunate but very real consequence of bloodshed between races...Between people. His gaze never left her as she elaborated that she'd only ever ended were poacher lives; no skin off his back, that was how he felt. All this shit going on and they were trying to make a quick buck? Fuck them.

"Well...I'll admit I wasn't expecting that" he finally said after letting her words sink in. There was this gnawing feeling he had she wasn't telling him everything; and he was over keeping secrets a long time ago. And with this, his questions continued.

"But I wasn't talking about wiping a race from existence...I was asking why you left me alive. You saw I was broken, beaten and near death; were the roles reversed, I would have put a bullet in your head and not have felt a damn thing. I was an easy kill, an insurance that I wouldn't go on to kill any more Mamono. So again I ask...Why did you take me in? Even you said that it was a lot of work to get me to where I am now, so I can't help but wonder as I talk to you, why you would invest the effort."

A small smile came to Mantis' lips, at the marine's reluctant acceptance. His follow-up question, however, left her rather flustered. She couldn't just tell him that she was going into heat! He fucking hated Mamono; and devotely, at that. No, it wouldn't be *that* simple. If she told him, he'd only get angry; he wouldn't let the subject drop that she was 'keeping him hostage for sex', or something else ridiculous.

Despite the light blush now coating her cheeks, the Mantis grumbled out, "I-I... told you, already. I can't just let you die in my lands. Otherwise I'd have to listen to how 'I killed the last free man'... for, like, forever." With her hastily-excused answer complete, she averted her eyes from him; seeming to take stock of the medicine within her bag once again.

Meanwhile, which Jackson had no idea of knowing, her instincts were driving her insane. Only her regal, practiced discipline learned from years of being isolated, allowed her to keep her cool. As it was, her body was burning hot; a heat was almost like torture, unttil a male was inside her, or the season passed.Else, her loins would only grow with a carnal need for mating.

Jackson indeed hated Mamono with a burning passion, probably even worse than most Mamono wanted a male to express their love to. Were she to tell him she was going through a heat cycle now, any chance of peace would be shattered, perhaps even irreparably so. And even though her answer sounded half-assed, the fact that she was sticking to it devotedly; maybe she was just super reclusive and the thought of killing him drawing such attention to herself was worse than anything for her.

He had no idea how much her body was craving a male's hard length inside her, nor how much having a prime male like himself so close in proximity was causing her latent lust to start boiling over. Even still, he seemed content to let it lie. "That's a pretty stupid reason to me, but whatever; you don't want people bothering you, I get it. You also probably can't wait to have me gone...Trust me, the feeling's mutual" he replied flatly, feeling his legs starting to tingle as the salves worked their magic literally. The herbs from a Dryad were excellent absorbers for nature's own inherent energy, allowing even the worst-damaged tissue to be healed at a vastly accelerated rate.

"Anyway...If we're done here, I'd like to lie down some more. You can leave me out here if it's too much of a pain to haul my ass back up the tree." he then said finally, already laying back and letting his less-sore-now body stretch out, revealing the entirety of his former physique to the Mantis.

The Mantis ignored his comment again; figuring it was simply better to not retort in this case. As he laid back, practically showing himself off to her, a blush crept back onto her face. Her breathing was beginning to pick up; her eyes almost clouding over... before he commented like a whiny baby that'd he rather lay down.

With a groan of almost pained-like annoyance, the Mantis stood, slung the satchel over her shoulder, and sweeped him up again. On the short walk back to the tree, she explained to him, "Judging by the simple bruising, you should be liable to walk somewhat tomorrow. Of course, you won't be running for a few more days; and your stamina will be presumably far less than normal for quite a while." Since the bones in his legs had already knitted back together, it was only a wait for the vessels to clear, and the skin to be restored. Then a work to rebuild the muscle fibers that were lost; and he'd be good to go.

When they reached the tree, she warned him once again to prepare himself, before she tensed, and crouched down low. In one, powerful spring, she launched near-vertically, almost half the distance up to the entryway. With Jackson, however, she was weighed-down, and sunk the claws of her chitin-armored feet into the bark; essentially running the rest of the distance up the oversized plant. Once inside, she replaced him on the bed, and dropped onto her stool. Scrounging about in the bedside basket of fruit, she brought forth an orange for him, a small handfull of strawberries for herself.

If only Jackson knew what he was putting her through, he might actually be disgusted enough to try and run off. As it was, she had become a mere inconvenience, and honestly this life of comparative pampering was better than the freeze-dried shit he'd been poisoning his body with. The damage that caused, little to his knowledge, had also been repaired thanks to the garden-fresh produce and meat he had been given over the past two weeks.

The way back up was a little bit rougher, especially since their ascent was interrupted by his added mass, his body shaking slightly as she sprinted up the tree to her home. Finding himself back in the comfortable furs, it wasn't long before she gave him more to eat; and if he were being honest, her 'kindness' - though by this point it was more to keep him alive since she stated more than once she didn't want to hear about him dying in her home - was starting to make him see her as less of a threat.

Then again, Jackson also didn't know that the plants by large on this planet that were grown with a Dryad's help eroded any inhibitions species might have with each other, notwithstanding the predator-prey and consumer-producer relationships that were necessary to keep the ecosystem intact. It was a little known gift of their kind, and the Marine was slowly experiencing it first-hand. "Uh....Thanks." he said as he took the orange, not even adding the 'I guess' that had become a staple in his few interactions with the Mamono that didn't end up with him playing the one-man army.

Peeling the citrus fruit of its skin, he parted a wedge and popped it into his mouth. Their meal was silent once more, before long the male breaking it, "So I can walk tomorrow you think, huh? That's a relief...And I bet you'll be glad to have your bed back."

The Mantis sat back during that time, biting into her strawberries with a succulent, relishing action. It was near sultry in nature, if he noticed, but the happy, perky hum that filled the air after each berry betrayed the more gleeful style. In truth, even she didn't know that she was erasing his inhibitions. Dryads actually kept it all a secret; otherwise, most wouldn't actually eat it.

When she heard him thank her, without a retort, a slight frown of surprise came to her face, but she quickly dismissed it. Probably just a slip-up on his part. Following his next inquiry, the Mantis replied, "You'll still be sleeping in the bed. I believe there's a storm coming in tomorrow, and the last thing we need, is someone with near-broken legs shivering in the cold. Besides, the floor isn't exactly a nice place to sleep, for someone injured." For a moment, she stopped, thinking it settled, but she soon added, "I can't let you leave, just because you can walk, either. You can still be picked off pathetically easy; without your guns and armor. I suppose I can teach you to use a bow, sometime, if you wish..."

Well damn and he thought she was just going to let him go; still, probably better that he didn't. She was right, he was still weak from his long stint of overexertion...Didn't mean he wanted to stay though. And her words still only confused him.

"I still think you're keeping me here on purpose just to spite me. Fine though, I'll play your game, since at least I can suspect your're not going to turn my insides out and roast me over a fire" he told her. And while it was true that not having his guns and armor would put him at a severe disadvantage...No, she had it right. His armor and weapons were quite plainly the reasons he'd lasted so long. Surely he could find another suit, definitely a gun.

"Depends...Will a bow allow me to defend myself if I'm attacked?" he then asked her, staring at half the orange he still had left. He didn't like feeling defenseless...Like he did right now. Reliant on another for safety.

The Mantis only sighed, at the Marine's continued ignorance of her kindness. Rolling her eyes, she ate a few more strawberries--the tender, red juice gathering on her lips, before she licked them away--while pondering his question. Abruptly, she was finished, and made a miming, gun-like form with her hand.

"Let me put it this way. And in a way that shows some... fallacy, with the way you humans fight. You always use guns, right? At least, most of the time..." She pointed outwards with the hand-gun, and acted as if she was looking down the sites. "You always think in straight lines. As you have noticed, we monsters aren't dumb, and few of us use missile weapons in the first place. Other than a slight drop in straightness, guns always shoot directly forward. You can't curve bullets. And your guns, you can't really lead a target accurately, because of the speed of the bullets."

She paused for a moment, then mimed a bow instead, making the action of drawing it back, before releasing, as well as aiming around. " A bow, for one, can do that. You can make arrows curve. You can make specialty arrows. You can lead a target easily with arrows. You can make strong bows, light bows, fast bows, slow bows. A bow can fit anything you need.Best of all, you don't have to just... find, new bullets. You can make arrows anywhere, or recycle ones you find." Another pause, and this time, she stopped miming, and gave a soft laugh. "Not that I use a bow. But I know some elves around my land, and I'm sure I can teach you to use one, with some decency."