From the fog, he rises, as if on stilts. Drops of water roll down his compound eyes, his antennae flick away a piece of seaweed, and he begins to trudge against the current. He is a spindly, fragile-looking creature standing on eight limbs. He is the Mantis Man.

Every day, he does this. He buries his claws and serrated arms into the river bed and fights hard for every step. His chitin is dented where rolling pebbles have struck it, where predatory fish have snapped at his heels. He is, by nature, a weathered creature. He chooses safety over ease. He chooses the riverbed.

He angles his body to allow the sun to shine on it. The warmth vivifies; as the river seeps his strength, the sunlight replenishes it and allows him to maintain pace, grueling as it may be.

The sun travels, and the Mantis Man trudges. The river grows fiercer with each step, its bottom more precarious. Each step becomes a hazard. One false move, and this fragile assemblage of leaves and twigs will crumble to dust. This is why he avoids predators. Bears, humans, and other, stranger beasts--a glimpse of them and he submerges, disappearing from sight. But today, the coast is clear. The sun is bright, and the mud thick. He feels safe.

Fish swim between his forelimbs, inches from their serrated edges. He does not act on the urge to strike; not today. What he seeks is something else altogether, a scent in the breeze.

His wings hum underneath his thick armor. Chitin hugs soft gossamer that, unlike the rest of him, is untouched by hardship. When given the chance, their tapestry will unfurl like a rose in bloom and swirl in a thousand hypnotic patterns. But not now. Not yet.

His wings are his trophy, his crown, even his pride, maybe. They are not for the birds to peck or obnoxious river parasites to nest between. Only her eyes are equipped to fathom the kaleidoscopic dance of every wavelength in the electromagnetic spectrum. Only they can appreciate the subtle artistry of his infrareds and ultraviolets fading and shifting and swirling and stilling in a hypnotic dance.

One day every seven years, the Mantis Man chooses beauty over safety, the scent in the breeze, the promise of companionship.