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 Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 4:10 pm
Blitzwing's belly--or what he continued to insist on calling a belly, even though he knew full well that it wasn't precisely his intestines--felt heavy, and his back ached more with every day. His eggs--his and Astrotrain's--were getting close and closer to being laid, and there was still no sign of the rest of their pack.
Poor Astrotrain--he didn't deserve this. He was working hard to find the pack, to help take care of him despite the fact that he was having more and more trouble hunting. He didn't deserve the constant grousing of a male...femme...thing. The few times his randomness took over he felt guilty. Ugly. Unfit for the brander who willingly shared his life and his love. But nowadays, he was getting more and more irritable. More hotheaded. He was snappish, growling, discontent, all of it a blind to hide the fear of his own parents' fates--the fates he so desperately wanted to avoid for himself and his mate.
For quite a while now, Astro had been following the strange sensation tugging at his senses, a sensation that he hadn't felt in a long time. It was the tiny bit of magic that every Decepticon brand has infused in it. The feeling was weak, Astro suspected they were either far off or very few in number, but he really did't give a damn. He just wanted to be back with the pack, it would give Blitzwing someone else to shout at. He loved Blitzwing more than anything but the Brander wasn't sure how much more of his hotheadedness he could take without snapping back. He had to constantly remind himself that his mate was dealing with much more than he was and to try and be as supportive as possible.
Pausing for a moment, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he tried to clear his mind and concentrate on the direction the branding magic was pulling him. It was difficult to pinpoint exactly where the others were, but it was becoming stronger as they moved, so at least they were headed in the right direction so far. After recalculating and, hopefully, turning them in a more accurate direction, Astro turned to Blitzy and felt a small twang of guilt for his lack of patience. His stomach was so swollen and he looked so tired. Quietly, he turned around and went up to the smaller dragon, touching his nose to the other's, "You doing alright?"
Blitzy's first instinct was to snap back that there was no possible way he could be doing alright, but he knew that wasn't fair. It wasn't Astro's faul--okay, okay! It was partially his fault. But his fault in a *good* way. Being pregnant, well...it was uncomfortable, but surely it wouldn't last much longer! *And if ve go offline...I don't vant ze last sings I said to my mate to be zat I vas angry at him. So be calm, tell him ze trus, but do NOT sound angry at him." He took a few deep breaths until he could feel Icy taking over, then said in a calm voice, so as not to provoke a personality switch, "I...sink I'm doing okay. It's just...hard." *And I'm hungry, but I can't hunt, so zere's no point complaining about zat.* "How close do you sink ve are? I hope zere is a teacher zere."
As he started to lean against Astro's flank, he caught the briefest scent on the ground. The seeker frowned and lowered his nose to sniff at a tree stump along the side of the path. Yes. There it was. A faint whiff of the distinct Decepticon smell--blood, determination, and the hint of the Primus Valley that still clung to their pack's scent. He couldn't help but grin and give a soft Random giggle, lifting his head to grin at Astrotrain. "Ve're getting close!" he said cheerfully.
He could see Blitzy struggling with himself and it really meant a lot to Astrotrain. He knew how difficult it was for his mate to control any of his personalities and the fact that he was trying so hard, and actually succeeding...it really helped remind Astro to have patience. With a slow nod he let the other lean against him and stared off in the direction he had felt the magic, "And hunters. It's been too long since we've had a good meal." And now that Blitzwing was eating for more than himself they needed someone with more skill than Astro had badly.
His ears perked at the Random giggle, wondering what had that side of his mate's personality showing and couldn't hold back a smile as he caught the cause. They /were/ getting close. But that also meant that, more than likely, it was only a small group of 'Cons and Primus knew which 'Cons would be in that group. But they really weren't in a position to complain about who they ended up with, so long as there were hunters and a teacher it didn't matter. He gave Blitzy a quick nuzzle then continued towards the source of the branding magic, feeling a bit invigorated at the prospect of finally being with the pack again, "We should be on them soon, if they don't decide to move."
Blitzwing nodded and surged forward excitedly, sniffing at landmarks here and there. A faint trace that implied darkness and cruel purpose--Screamer. Another scent that brought to mind a white male with dark mane. Starscream. So he wasn't the only seeker left. He could catch a few other whiffs, but they lacked familiarity. He had to keep going; the excitement in his spark was growing. "Last vun zere is a rotten log!" he cackled excitedly.
Soundwave glared out from his corner of the clearing. He was tired of the conflict. Not the fighting conflict--fights were okay. They were fun, in their own right. But the fight that was going on here was irritating. The fight, of course, between the sludgie, Zephyr, and Screamer. Zephyr was clueless, but Screamer was seething with anger, refusing to go anywhere near Zephyr or Zzzyxwe, despite the femme's attempts to warm him up. The year was starting to wind towards winter, and Screamer would need someone to keep him warmer in the winter. Zeezee was the only one willing to do so, and Soundwave was not willing to see one of his packmates die just because he was feeling miffed, though he would never admit that.
Astro wasn't paying attention to who the scents belonged to, he didn't really care and it wasn't like he bothered to know what anyone else smelled like anyways. He had never felt even the slightest desire to get that "intimate" with anyone from the pack. All he really cared about was finding whoever was there and demanding food then flopping down for a nice, long nap with Blitzy. They deserved it after all they'd been through lately.
Starscream was equally displeased with the tension that Screamer had been creating within their tiny pack. As if tensions weren't already high with two unknown outsiders and one known member who was less than stable. He was beginning to regret allowing both Zephyr and Zzzxwe to join them, they were just turning into on huge headache. But they were also both skilled hunters and if he had any hope of restoring the Decepticons, he would just have to suck it up. If it came down to it, he would speak to Screamer, though he wasn't exactly sure that would do any good. The Seeker simply didn't have any excuse for his behavior and was acting rather childish, even for a 'Con. With an audible sigh, the Commander rose from his seated position only to freeze as he caught a strange, but not completely unfamiliar scent and took on a slightly cautious air.
Yes, the scents were getting stronger. Blitzy faltered as he tried to pick the scents apart. Yes, Screamer and Starscream were there--Soundwave, too! So they had another hunter and a teacher. This could be good. The other scents were strange, though. Probably sludgies, definitely shaggy-furred. Blitzy slowed down. Who were the strangers? Were they a threat? Could they hunt? Surely seven dragons could not be supported by just one hunter, one of them pregnant! And there would be at least two more by the time the eggs hatched! "Astro...?" he said uncertainly. "I'm getting a little vorried..."
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Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 6:54 pm
Blitzwing was slowing down. Now why would he do that? The Brander slowed down as well to match his pace, giving him a confused look as he did so but before he could ask what was up his mate answered. A cocky smirk crossed his maw, feeling far too excited to have any of the worries that his mate was having, "Worried? About what? You've got one of the biggest dragons around at your side. There's nothing to be worried about." And he truly believed that. Astro had every confidence in himself and was convinced that no number of dragons could take him down. After all, if he didn't already have a reputation for being terrifying on the battlefield he certainly would now. Now that he actually had something to fight for, something to protect. But this was Blitzwing he was talking to, and not just any Blitzwing, but the smart one that always made sense. It was probably best to at least pay this concern some attention, "I'll go ahead if it makes you feel better."
Blitzy couldn't help but smile at his mate's confidence. "I know you are," he said with a sigh as the gravity of the situation went back to weighing him down. "But ze pack is small...I sink zere are only five ozers waiting for us. Vhat if ve can't find food? Vhat if ve all starve?" The terror was starting to return, and with it came Hothead, loudmouthed as ever. "I VILL GO FIRST!!!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "I AM NOT A COWARD!!!!!" *Even if I feel like I am.* With a snarl, he turned back towards the scent markings and rushed on ahead towards his pack, ignoring the obstacles in his way. He hardly noticed a thorn bush until he stepped on a large thorn, and even then, he just gave a yelp and continued limping along. He'd apologize for his behavior to Astro later, but for now the most important thing was finding the pack. The scents were growing stronger. Something was eating at the back of his mind--had been since he identified the scents. *Vhere is Megatron? Vhy is his scent not here? Is zere anozzer group of Decepticons somevhere else? Zere must be! Vhere is our leader if he is not here?* He knew Starscream would have an excuse. He wouldn't be the Air Commander they all knew and mocked if he didn't. But he had to find out what it was, and soon.
That had never crossed his mind. He had just assumed that if they were all still alive then they must be able to get food so there really wasn't anything to worry about. But maybe there was. And five? Astro could only feel the pull of three brands, so that meant there were two, unbranded dragons around. Now he was feeling a bit more cautious, but apparently Blitzy wasn't any more. As soon as his mate took off he was running with him, of course, avoiding the painful obstacles along the way. He winced as he watched the Seeker rush through the thorn bush, wishing he would calm down and use some sense but there was no point in trying to convince him otherwise right now. He'd just have to follow him and make sure he didn't get into any more trouble.
The sounds of rushing paws reached Starscream's ears and he was quickly on the alert, assuming the Soundwave would notice either himself or whatever was approaching. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with any threats on his own. But something about this didn't seem threatening, even though it sounded like they were about to be ambushed. There was just something too familiar about the scents...
Sensitive ears told Soundwave that, out in the woods, there were two dragons on the run. With a snarl, he lept to his paws, looking to his leader for cues. Starscream seemed content to stand there; perhaps the former air commander had already figured out who it was? *Or perhaps he has not.* Soundwave had never trusted the Seekers, and there was no reason he was going to trust the dragon whose reputation for treachery was legendary--as was his tendency to be rash and, to be blunt, stupid. Flicking his tail, tensing his muscles for combat, Soundwave faced towards the sounds.
The smell was thick as Blitzwing crashed into the clearing with a snarl, parts of his mane standing on end. He was in a bad mood, only slightly mollified by the sight of two very familiar faces. He screwed up his face with a snarl, then stormed over to Soundwave and sat down. "I CAN'T TAKE ZIS ANY LONGER!!!" he shouted. "VHEN VILL ZESE EGGS COME OUT?!"
Somehow, Starscream wasn't completely surprised to see a fellow Decepticon break through into the clearing. However, he was surprised to see Blitzwing with an enormous stomach, one that he was pretty sure didn't come from stuffing his face with meat. How the hell did Blitzwing get knocked up? It wasn't exactly easy for a male to get pregnant. That involved a Guardian and another male. And as if he wasn't already confused, and honestly a bit disturbed, enough, the sight of what he could only assume was the other male involved in this made it worse. Astrotrain? Was the cause of Blitzwing's swollen stomach seriously /Astrotrain/? Albeit, Starscream had never really bothered to know more than a name for most Decepticons, he couldn't avoid taking notice in small things about them. And he had never pegged the large Brander as being gay. It was all a bit shocking to him.
As Astro stepped into the clearing he managed to slow, then stop himself to take in the two dragons that stood before him. Starscream and Soundwave. Well...he was glad to see Soundwave at least, that meant they would have a teacher. But Starscream? He was certain the one remaining branded dragon wasn't Megatron, other wise the two he couldn't feel anything from would have been branded and thus he would have known they were there. So that meant Starscream had undoubtedly taken command and Astrotrain really wasn't sure how he felt about that. He had never trusted Starscream. Slag, no one did. And something about this seemed a little off to him. With a silent stare at the new Commander he slowly made his way over to his mate's side.
Soundwave stared, shocked, at Blitzwing grumbling at his paws. Once the shock started to wear away, he felt another emotion pop up. Jealousy. He tried to quash that one as soon as physically possible. It involved uncomfortable memories, memories he'd rather no Decepticon know. *That could have been me, all those years ago. But it wasn't.* That wasn't the point, slag it all, that wasn't the point! The point was that the seeker was exhausted and pregnant, and from the looks of it, he probably hadn't been eating well. He looked up at Astrotrain, and again, a feeling of mixed emotions popped up. Astrotrain? It was wonderful to see him! Finally, once Zeezu or whatever her name was gave birth, the sludgies could be branded! Astrotrain? Was he the father of Blitzwing's eggs? Seriously? The big, stoic, almost emotionless egomaniac falling for a seeker with a split personality order? It was practically unthinkable!
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Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 7:28 pm
Some of the fear fell from Blitzy as he took another look at the silent teacher. He wasn't entirely skinny. Good. They could eat well, or at least well enough. And there was a teacher! His eggs could be raised and taught! But something was still nagging at him. He slowly got to his paws and sat down next to Astro, leaning against him. When he felt Icy take control, he opened his mouth and turned towards the air commander. "It is good to see ozer Decepticons at last," he murmured. "But ve should report to Megatron. Vhere is ze commander?"
Starscream did his best not to visibly twitch at the mention of Megatron...That worthless excuse for a Commander. Why did they need to report to him? He wasn't here. He was /dead/! They'd better get used to reporting to Starscream now because he was the new Commander. He took a short moment to suppress all his rage and put on his usual show. He did have two Primus-Pure Decepticons before him and one was a Brander. He would need to gain their loyalty as soon as possible, "I'm afraid Megatron is no more. He was, unfortunately, lost during the scattering..." Oh how the words burned his tongue. He wished he could speak freely and tell them exactly how he went out. That it was because of him that their once "Grand and Glorious" leader was dead. But he couldn't. How would he earn their loyalty if they knew?
Astro did his best not to snort in response to Starscream's words. Instead, he tried to focus on Blitzwing by curling his tail around him supporting him as best he could. But seriously, Starscream was already spitting out the lies? Astrotrain would bet his brand that Megatron was still out there somewhere, probably building up a /real/ Decepticon army back up while this pathetic excuse for a Commander was pulling together the measly scraps in a feeble attempt to earn their trust and take out Megatron when the time came. Oh how exciting this would be.
Blitzwing giggled. With every word his fellow seeker oozed out, he was feeling more and more at home. The lies, the power-hunger...Good ol' Starscream. Reliable in his unreliability. "Oh?" he said innocently. "How vas he lost?" He kept back the "this time" that also wanted to crawl out. That would bring out Random, and he had a feeling Random would have enough to laugh about soon enough. He hadn't realized yet how much he had been looking forward to this; hearing Starscream's excuse about where Megatron was. *He probably took most of ze pack somevhere else.*
There was a doubt in his mind, though--Soundwave. Soundwave was watching the three of them and saying nothing. Nothing to deny Starscream's words. *Vell...he knows zat ve know Starscream is lying srough his teess. He's obviously been left here to keep an eye on Starscream. Zey're probably all here, vaiting for Megatron to come back from a multiple-day mission or somesing. Somesing probably happened to Shockvave, zough, if he is not here as base commander. Ve'll find out soon enough, zough.*
And here it came. Starscream's wonderfully crafty story that was mostly truth sprinkled with a few lies here and there to make him completely innocent in the whole tale, "Well, after the Maximals attacked and dispersed our pack I was lucky enough to find Megatron rather quickly. We attempted to find the rest of you, but we unfortunately wandered into an area infested with rabid squirrels. As absurd as it may seem, there will hundreds of them and though I tried my best to protect out great leader, I was overwhelmed and unable to do so. Thankfully, I managed to escape." The story got more and more amusing to the Seeker every time he recited it. He could just picture Megatron cursing his name as he watched him succumb to the vermin, that treacherous smirk plastered to his face. But he kept his face solemn as ever as he told the story, feigning grief over their loss.
Rabid squirrels? That was really the best Starscream could come up with? He had heard some pretty absurd stories come from that mouth but this one really took the cake. It took all his self control not to laugh. Astro would save that for later when Megatron showed up and Starscream would, once again, have to grovel at his feet and make up another lie to explain his treachery.
Yep. There it was. Blitzy didn't even try to contain it. He instantly fell against his mate, his voice echoing around the woods in peels of raucous laughter. "Rabid sqvirrels?" he asked in his Random voice. "Starscream, zat is ze best story you've come up vis yet!! Hahahahahaha, I can see him, heeheehee, just standing zere and yelling at you to come back!! Ahahahahahaha, and you not coming back...Oh, Starscream, zat vas GREAT! I must know, vhat vas your inspiration? Did Megatron get nipped by a sqvirrel vhen scouting? 'Cause zat vas just INSPIRED!!" He couldn't help it. What, no falling off a cliff? Getting sick? Getting the slag kicked out of him by that goofy-looking blue Maximal with the yellow horns? Just...crazed rodents? Oh, Starscream! You could always count on him to come up with the most interesting stories! "You should become a fazzer, too, just to tell zem ze bedtime stories, ahahahahahaha!!" His lungs hurt from laughing so hard.
Wait. Not his lungs. His...well, the egg-carrying organ. Blitzy gave a groan as he felt his muscles start to cramp and his breath started coming in desperate gasps, fighting the laughter coming out. "I...I don't feel so good..." he muttered.
Soundwave sighed inwardly. He couldn't watch Blitzwing. It was too much. With no word from Megatron in months, he was beginning to truly believe that their leader was no more, and that Starscream was now truly the Commander of the Decepticons. Instead, he focused his eyes on Astrotrain; at least he was trying to be dignified and respectful about this.
But Blitzwing's words brought his blank, red eyes snapping back towards the seeker. He was starting to groan and breathe heavily. His pregnancy, it seemed, was at an end. *And not a cycle too soon.* Soundwave turned towards him and started to nose him away from Astro. He'd seen this before; he would need his mate's support, but Blitzy would probably start cursing Astro black and blue, and that was something a male did not need his mate to start doing at a tricky moment that could turn serious at any time.
As if his laughter and disbelief wasn't enough of an annoyance, Blitzwing had to throw in a another blow. Telling him he should be a father...Who was he to tell him what to do? Of course, no one really knew what Starscream had lost in the scattering, they didn't know about the mate he hadn't seen in years...that he wasn't even sure was alive still. His ears went flat against his skull, completely intent on getting some respect when it seemed things took a slightly unexpected turn. So it seemed like there would be more members of the pack soon. Starscream had no interest in witnessing this, nor did he really want to be anywhere near the three of them. His mind was in another place, one that he didn't want anyone else to so. So, silently, he slipped away to let the three of them deal with this on their own.
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Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 9:07 pm
At least one of them managed to get in a good laugh at Starscream's ridiculous story, and man did their new "Commander" look pissed about it too. Astro couldn't hold back an amused smirk, grateful for the Random personality's outburst. It didn't last very long though. The moment the words left his mate's mouth Astro's full attention was on him, his eyes full of worry, "What's wrong?" As Soundwave started nosing Blitzwing a low, threatening growl started in his throat. Sure, he was a Teacher and knew a lot about egg laying, but who the slag was he to touch his mate? He had suddenly gone into a highly defensive mode, which seemed to be blocking out most reasoning that might have tried to get a say in. All he really knew was that Blitzy was suddenly not looking too good and some dragon other than himself was touching him and trying to push him away.
Soundwave rolled his eyes--an advantage of monochromatic eyes, he'd learned, was that no one could tell if you were rolling them or not. "He's going into labor," Soundwave murmured. He could sense the tension coming from the other dragons. Inside him, a rebellious part that he had never fully been able to kill wanted to snap angrily back at the brander that he would never steal another male's mate, he would never be unfaithful to the dragon he still loved, but he knew he couldn't say that. He couldn't love a Maximal, not as the only teacher they still had for certain. He had a duty. And that duty was to raise the pack and bring in more members.
He could still understand what Astrotrain was saying, however. Soundwave sighed. "Bring Blitzwing over here," he murmured, flicking his tail towards an area just outside the clearing. He'd seen enough male births to know that they were even...messier than female births. He knew Astro would especially not want to see what happened *after* the eggs came out and those organs became...extraneous.
"And a word to the wise?" he added in his raspy growl. "Our new commander is sensitive about his position. Best to simply accept his leadership."
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