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Hot. Hot. Summery and hot. It had been a long time since Blitzwing had been in the southern ranges, and for a dragon more used to the north, even a mountain dragon, it was uncomfortably hot. He could only imagine how Astrotrain was feeling.

Astrotrain! Who would have thought? Blitzy had known Astro all his life, but somehow he had never expected to have fallen in love with the brander. Separated from the pack, lost in hostile lands, cursed with tripolar disorder, he'd finally found something he could cling to. And now they were going to take the step, that most important step: they were going to be sparkmates. They were going to find a Guardian and, just maybe, have sparklings. The idea both tantalized and terrified him--on the one hand, there was nothing he wouldn't do for Astro. On the other hand...Dark memories he wished he could forget. The cold of a cave, the mournful looks full of love, full of the fire of sparks that so soon were extinguished...

Blitzy shook himself out. Cold, hot, and random he was, but depressed and moody? Never! He turned to look for his...his mate. They had stopped by a stream, wider and deeper than a creek, but not quite wide and deep enough for a river. At this time of year, it was running with fat fish, but more importantly, it was cold, and that was all that truly mattered at the moment. He had insisted on asking for directions every step of the way, and according to the locals--whom they were very pointedly not supposed to attack--a Guardian wasn't far off. He only hoped his shaggy-furred lover could last that long.

Old Silverback was downstream some distance, fishing. It was much quieter in the small family cave these days. Khala and Pinecrest were doing their own thing, Stanislaus and Conleth had gone to sate their curiosity about packs, and...Sitara...Sitara was still looking for the new Guardians. Sitara wouldn't be back for a long time, Stanislaus and Conleth probably weren't coming back, and Khala and Pinecrest were...around....

He sighed very softly. It was incredibly lonely. That's what it was these days, incredibly lonely. Like back after the "Plague" had ended. The wind moved downstream in a sudden burst, bringing with it a smell he had not smelled since before the Plague, and almost never this far south without the very best of reasons: a Northerner.

He retracted his paw from fishing, stood up while shaking the paw used for fishing, and padded upstream along a subtle path almost completely obscured by underbrush. He stayed hidden a moment or two longer, once he found the source of the scent. The source was a male Northerner fishing. He looked frustrated, though probably part of that was due to the heat of the summertime in Mountain lands.

Silverback looked around for any sign of what might have brought a Northerner into so warm a clime at this time of year, and soon spotted the reason: a male Mountain who appeared to have been the one asking for directions. A wash of memories crossed his mind, memories of female couples and male couples alike coming to him to ask him to bless them with offspring. All of them had been very much in love, and all of them had been practically dancing with nervous and hopeful excitement at the prospect of asking for children. Silverback half-smiled as he stepped out into the open. So the same-sex couples had revived. There was indeed hope once again for dragonkind, if same-sex couples came once again to ask for the blessing of children.

Astro was quite proud of himself for coming up with this ingenious plan to fill their bellies. It wasn't often he got praised for something that required more thought than brawn and the approval from his mate was helping to lighten his mood. He was completely oblivious to past that was looming over Blitzwing and the fear that it brought with it. He may have known the Seeker for many years, but there were things that, even as mates, they had yet to tell each other. Most couples might have preferred not to have secrets between each other, but that was just how Astro and Blitzy worked. That was how most Decepticons worked; they all had something in their past they didn't want to talk about.

The large dragon couldn't help but smile as he watched Blitzy push the school of fish towards him, enjoying the sight of them frantically swimming towards the wall his body had created. This was a pretty effective method of fishing, a lot easier than trying to take down a deer and Astro was glad to be able to help for a change. He didn't feel like so much of a burden.

And he was about to feel even less so. The moment Blitzy's air changed Astro was at his side, putting himself just slightly between his mate and this unknown dragon. Even though this could have been a dangerous situation, Astro couldn't deny that the soldier in him was practically throwing a party at the thought of finally being put to use. This, of course, consumed his entire thought process and thus prevented him from taking in the long mustache and mane that curled around the other dragon's tail. It was only when he heard the Seeker next to him mention Guardian that he remembered why they were there.

Slowly, he reined himself in and brought down the level of intensity his defensive stance took. There was still a chance this wasn't the Guardian they were seeking and Astro certainly wasn't going to let his guard down completely until they were sure. He made no notion of talking to the old dragon, even if he didn't have control over his personalities Blitzwing was still a better choice for conversing with any dragon.

((Oo, floofeh beard! Much better than Wreck-Gar's mustachio or Jazz's goatee. [SHOT]))

There was sadness in the Guardian's voice that part of Blitzwing picked up. Somehow, it seemed to resonate with the fear that was still humming at the back of his head; humming and growing louder with each passing second. He touched his tail to Astro's side as if he could draw strength from his mate. He was certain that he could.

This might just be the most important moment of his life. Megatron had been threatening. Every officer he had served under, even Starscream, had been threatening. But somehow, Old Silverback's gravity was even stronger. He had to be confident. He had to speak for Astro and himself, and the children they might--they would--have. He had to be...cool. Icy. Dignified.

"Ve vant babies and ve need your help so I can get pregnant!! So much for dignified. And so much for no longer getting embarrassed at Random. His face felt red and hot. Red and hot, those described best his father's face, cracked into a smile as his eyes struggled to--

No. Focus. You just embarrassed yourself and your mate in front of the oldest dragon in existence. What do you do now? Blitzy squeezed his eyes shut and tried to push back the waves of shame. "Zat...is not how I intended zat to come out," he said in a quiet voice.

The Mountain's words left him speechless for a few awkward moments. It was at about the end of this silence that he remembered hearing of a similar couple from his daughter Sitara....

He shook himself subtly and nodded. "I see. That can be arranged. Please, come forward," he said, closing his eyes to start to draw on the reserves of magic every Guardian had, as befitting their status. He drew also on the energies deep inside the two males, energies that only Guardians could use in such ceremonies, and on the energy of the Element of the Mountain dragons: the hills themselves. The steady nature of the hills formed a steady cord, the loving nature of the two fathers formed a soft cord, and his own passionate nature formed a cord made sleek by experience.

Channeling these three cords of energy, he directed them at the Mountain and started to intertwine these cords into a weave that slowly took the form of three eggs in the Mountain's belly, carving a cavity in the process that would become a womb of sorts in which the eggs would develop further. Finally, after some moments of intense magical work and concentration, the weaving was complete, and Silverback tied off the cords of energy into a shell around the little ones and released the threads of energy to their owners.

He wobbled a little as he lifted his head and opened his eyes. That spell took a lot out of even young, healthy Guardians who'd had a lot of practice with performing this spell, and Silverback was no longer young, nor had he done this for many, many years. He managed a smile to the two fathers, focusing on the Mountain father. "And now you are pregnant. Care for the little ones well, and may your family and the Decepticon Pack be blessed with happiness and long life," he said gently. He was not the most fond of the Decepticon Pack, but Guardians couldn't really be biased for or against packs of their own kind. Guardians served all, just as he had done right now, and spells like this brought in new life that helped him atone for his sin all those years ago.

Astrotrain certainly didn't feel the effects of the magic like the two mountainers did, in spite being connected to the flow of magic itself through his branding. After all, he wasn't casting the spell nor was he having an organ suddenly grow inside his abdomen. All he really felt was the tug of the spell that was used to form the eggs inside his partner's belly and nothing much more. And for that he was grateful, it meant he could focus solely on supporting Blitzwing. His mind wasn't focused on watching Old Silverback any more, the Guardian had done what they asked and Astro no longer felt he was a threat, even if he was aware of them being 'Cons. The only thing that mattered now was taking care of his sparkmate and the young that he carried.

He made sure he was a solid wall, both physically and emotionally, for the Seeker, supporting him as best he could and touching his nose to Blitzy's neck for reassurance. Then, purely out of respect for what he had done for them, he glanced to the Guardian and gave a subtle nod of thanks. It would seem that the event had cleared all frustration of the heat from and now he had something else to be pleased about. They were heading home, which meant they wouldn't have to ask for directions which then meant he could chase off any other dragons that happened upon them. And he would, because he was in daddy-mode now and he wasn't going to be having any strange dragons anywhere near his mate and their precious cargo.

But they weren't going anywhere just yet. Blitzwing could hardly speak, let alone walk. He would undoubtedly need time to recover and as much as Astro hated the idea of staying in the Primus-forsaken south much longer, he hated the idea of something happening to Blitzy because of his impatience. So he would have to survive just a bit longer.

Blitzwing could barely concentrate, even as the magic ebbed and his body settled--what a laugh! His body hadn't settled! It never would! The habit of years could never be replaced by--

Sink of ze sparklings! Sink of ze sparklings! Sink of your spark, and sank Primus zat you have a chance to have sparklings vis your spark-mate! The seeker repeated the words over and over again as he leaned against Astrotrain, getting unsteadily to his feet. Through eyes clouded by distraction, he watched the Guardian wander away, then turned his face up to Astro. Hothead wanted to complain. Random wanted to burble in joy. So different were their wishes that Icy found a chance to slip in. "Shall ve get to zat cave?" he asked. He was depending on Astro to guide him there. He felt...ungainly. Yes. If he concentrated on his balance, his legs, instead of the mayhem in his abdomen, he would definitely say that he was feeling ungainly and unsteady more than anything else. And he had a sinking suspicion that his back would start to ache. He almost felt like his brand was aching...his brand...

Suddenly, Blitzy had an idea. An idea he wished he had come up with long ago. Sank Primus! I sink I know how to find ze ozers! His tail started to twitch and he smiled happily.