Minerva, a Bosque Mantis!
Lore dump below cut
Ever since Mantises have begun to get naturalized, the prejudice towards them never seemed to falter in the slightest, even now, Mantises remain a minority, and are often avoided. This public perception of them hangs heavy in the minds of every Mantis, most of whom try to ignore the stares, though the undeserved shame remains festering in the back of their minds. However, some have decided to forgo trying to fit in, and do their own thing.
Minerva's one such Mantis. As she was growing up, she often nearly gave her assigned caretakers heart attacks with her adventures outside the nursery, wandering the streets without letting anyone know where she was going, and often showing back up like nothing ever happened. Nothing they did could ever keep her in one place for long, and nothing they did could stop her from finding a way to do whatever she wanted. This relationship likely was how she became so creative with her solutions to whatever issue she faced.
However, as soon as Minerva came of age, she immediately set off on her own now that she was free. Jumping from place to place, she looked for whatever caught her interest, ditching it whenever it became too boring. Her curiosity of what lay beyond Arthroposi's walls ate away at her, and she desired to go out and see it for herself, and she found her chance.
She saw a job offering for a position in a compound out in the wilderness as a researcher on a poster while looking around again, and gladly followed up on it. She wasn't even all that bothered to sign all the paperwork and take all the classes, something she usually loathed to do. Then she was off to the site of the compound to get introduced and acquainted with the current inhabitants.
When she arrived, everyone was already out to meet her. She looked each one over closely, to gauge whether or not she would be able to tolerate them, and found quite the amusing menagerie. Of them all, one in particular came as a bit of a surprise; a female Black Widow Spider, standing off to the side, clearly only there begrudgingly, typical of a reclusive spider, but what on earth was one doing here, Minerva wondered. Her vision panned to the group in front of her, including two humans, one male and one female, perhaps they were a couple, Minerva considered, but then she smelled the scent of the Spider on the man. It was then that it dawned on Minerva. No matter, she decided, it wasn't her business as to what went on in the bedrooms, there were other things that prioritized her attention.
Rules were explained, introductions were made, it all went by in a blur. What she cared about was how pure and unfiltered the air was, the strong smells of the city did not taint this place. She loved it, green as far as she could see, nothing but nature, right at home. She checked out the assigned cabin, sharing it with the human woman, whom she learned was named Adrienne and a cartographer. She was on the weirder side for sure, but nothing Minerva couldn't handle, and besides, she didn't seem to care that she was going to be sleeping in the same building as a Mantis, Minerva couldn't even see the look of discomfort everyone else had when they saw her approach.
Minerva then unpacked her luggage into her room, it wasn't much, she never needed a lot, so it went by quick. As she pulled out her shotgun, she gave it a very thorough inspection. This gun was something she cherished more than anything else, it was her pride and joy, and the most favorite thing in the world. She had worked hard to buy it, she had seen one in action before as a child and loved its power. It gave her a sense of safety, as she could use it to protect herself as she explored the world, something she wanted more than anything. After she was done making sure nothing tarnished its gleaming metal surface, and no blemishes scarred its wooden stock, she felt satisfied. Lovingly stroking its twin barrels, she opened it again and traced the rim of the chambers, a habit she indulged in often, and gazed at her reflection on it.
Adrienne knocked on the door, snapping Minerva out of her reverie, who opened the door to see what she wanted, when she saw the girl with two beers in her hands, and offered one to her as a sort of house warming gift. It was then that Minerva decided that this human was her second favorite thing in the world and, cracking the bottle open, sat down outside and began to exchange stories together as dinner was being served, marking the start of the new path Minerva would consider the best choice she ever made.