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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2023 20:28:37 GMT
Starscream’s spark pulsed fondly at the reply Soundwave sent him, he still couldn’t remember asking for the nickname to be used, but he was so happy it stuck. He watched the mech walk away, looking at the black cassetticon by his side, nodding at Ravage before they left. The Seeker wasn’t sure it had been seen but his spark felt lighter after the acknowledgement. Ravage had become a steady constant when it came to peaceful recharge, the anxiety he had felt without the usual purring something he would have to confront. Sooner rather than later. Just another trauma on the pile of mounting traumas he’d been accumulating since the war ended. He did not miss the War per se but he wasn’t thriving during this ‘peaceful time’ either. Nightshroud, the good sparkling that she was, did as told, sitting between his legs, wings up and twitching. It was easy to fall back in the well practice grooming, starting with cables, digits digging under plate. Her question made him pause, ex-venting softly as he debated the best way to answer. When he resumed the gentle touch of his servos, he gave the best answer he could with what he knew. “I can’t answer that question… as well as you can. My instinct tells me that no, your split-spark twin does not hate you. Resent you for your actions, maybe. Angry at the way she discarded, certainly. Hate? You carried hatred in your spark for a long time. Do you see your sister going the same path you did?”He moved his servos to her wings, working on the hinges, cleaning and scraping dust in the delicate plating. What he said next would probably anger her but it was the right thing to say. “We also both know that if you truly want to know… you’ll look inside and you’ll find your answer.”Starscream did want the sister to mend their broken bond but he knew it would take time. The little trust Nightshroud had built was certainly obliterated after the jail break. Jail. The Seeker straightened up, opening his subspace and digging around. The wax. “Your sister, like any autobot, believes in second, third and millionth chances. Mechs can change, it’s hard, it’s something you work on everyday.”As he spoke, the container was opened, the wax gently rubbed on the most damaged parts of the back plating with dextrous digits. Once he was done with it, he shut it close and handed it to the femme. “This was given to me and many other Decepticons that were tortured by the fleshlings.”
He tapped on the side where the engravement was.
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Post by Nightshroud on Jul 8, 2023 17:33:33 GMT
Even with the touchy subject, Nightshroud couldn't fight back a smile as Starscream proceeded with the preening. It just felt so good that it outweighed all the negative feelings, but that didn't mean the femme didn't want to talk about it. No matter how long they'd talked, her adoptive sire had met with her twin. It'd be enough that he could possibly form an opinion of how the azure and lilac Autobot really was based on how Nightshroud had seen things from a warped perspective. Clematis and Skyfire both may have pushed for the crimson seeker to forgive her twin, but nothing either of them said would change Nightshroud's mind. Starscream's opinions, however, stood a chance at getting through to her. Nightshroud would listen to him. She sighed as the other mech voiced his thoughts on the matter, smiling sadly as the preening made the femme feel too good to frown. "I was afraid you would say that.. Even back on Cybertron, Clematis didn't hate anyone. She never got mad or anything, but I know better than anyone that that could change at any moment. The moment I realized she joined the Autobots.. I felt like she'd abandoned me. It doesn't matter what Skyfire said. It doesn't change what happened after the bombing.. She didn't reach out until long after I had suffered and nearly offlined, and I-." Nightshroud groaned a bit, rolling her helm to the side as her sire hit a particularly jumbled mess of cords. "Primus that felt good..~"Nightshroud lost track of her thoughts as Starscream continued with the preening, but this time he tried something new. She lightly gasped as she felt something applied to her back feeling a slight chill to the area. Whatever it was it smelled nice, but it was only when he handed over a small container. The crimson seeker took it into her servos realizing that it was a wax of some sort, but what surprised her wasn't the fact that it was offered to tortured Decepticons but what the former Air Commander asked her to do. He wanted her to look underneath the container, and her optics widened when she saw that small message on the bottom. 'A gift from me to help bring some cheer. Hang in there. - Clematis' Clematis was still making armor wax for bots, and somehow this had gotten not only into Starscream's servos but the servos of many other Decepticons as well? Nightshroud froze as she stared at the message, reading it over and over as if anticipating the message to read differently. Was Clematis visiting the imprisoned Decepticons and offering this as a 'kind' gesture? Did she know where Starscream was this entire time knowing he was suffering? Or was this the means of some other party; a cruel joke given to the Decepticons to remind them of their lifelong imprisonment? Regardless, it was the real deal. "How.. how did you get this..?"
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2023 20:27:18 GMT
Once the container was taken from his servo, Starscream resumed his preening. Claws dug between plating seams, removing dust and anything that would scratch or hurt during transformation. It was soothing to groom his sparkling, something he hadn’t indulged in decades, not since his Trine scattered because of the War.
The question sent a pulse of worry in his spark, as memories of how he found it flooded him.
“G.H.O.S.T. medics left one of these after attending to any Decepticons that needed assistance.”
He decided that leaving it vague would be better… it’s not like he remembered much from his time in jail to start with, the days all blended together. He ex-vented, finishing his preening and eyeing critically his work. With a gentle pat on the femme’s helm, the Seeker slid off the berth, stretching his wings. They scraped against his back, as usual, the built-up from not having them preened finally too painful to ignore.
Starscream sat on the floor, debating for a moment before turning his back to Nightshroud. He looked over to his sparkling with a small smile.
“Your turn to do the preening.”
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Post by Nightshroud on Jul 11, 2023 0:56:42 GMT
Not telling Nightshroud how he had gotten Clematis' armor wax was probably the best move he could've made. She didn't need to know that her twin was demanding that the Autobots and G.H.O.S.T. give medical supplies to injured Decepticons because of her. She didn't need that level of guilt burdening her, so she'd remain blissfully unaware of that fact even if Starscream had recalled those details. Either way she held a reminder of her twin in her servos, but she couldn't be too bothered by it at the moment considering the wonderful preening that was being done to her wings. They felt so much lighter and less tense.
For the briefest of seconds the femme was sad when it was all done, but that quick little pat from Starscream made her chuckle happily.
She watched as her adoptive sire got up from the berth, wincing at the sound of the scraping of his wings before he decided to sit on the floor. Nightshroud didn't know just what had happened, nearly about to ask if he was alright when he suddenly turned his helm to look behind him.
It was like he had spoken the greatest words known to Cybertronians as her crimson and azure optics lit up brightly, both in shock and in awe. Starscream had finally asked for her to tend to his wings! Nightshroud knew just how much traditions meant to him that he was particular about who tended to his wings, but the fact that he was willing to ask for assistance.. was he that desperate or did he want to appease the femme? The smaller seeker wasted no time leaping off the berth, dropping to her knees right behind Starscream to make up for some of that height difference between them. "I thought you'd never ask!" She'd been looking forward to this for so long considering the number of times she'd offered massages or preening, but she couldn't believe that he was finally letting her do something like this.
Gently the femme placed her servos on either side of the former Air Commander's shoulders, letting her digits slip between the plating to study his frame and find those troublesome cables. "If it's okay, can I use some of that armor wax on you?"
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Post by Soundwave on Jul 11, 2023 2:15:12 GMT
By the time Soundwave reached the stash of energon, he had picked up on Starscream's conversation with his adopted sparkling. He had given her the wax he had procured during their stay in jail, but it didn't surprise the Spymaster that Starscream didn't say where he'd gotten it from. Given the fact that he'd forgotten many things during that time between the extended stay itself and beating his helm against the wall so hard that he forgot days worth of things it didn't come as a complete surprise. Soundwave however still maintained that recording from the Autobot medics where they had voiced their frustrations that Clematis had insisted that her medical supplies be used to treat wounded Decepticons as well, all because her spark twin had joined the Decepticons. Something to keep in mind, but Soundwave wouldn't play it quite yet.
Once he picked up the energon and started to make his way back, the blue mech overheard that Starscream wanted Nightshroud to do some preening. Judging by the tone of the femme's voice, Soundwave wouldn't have been surprised if this was the first time he'd allowed her to do so or she was excited due to the length of time they'd been apart. If nothing else, it was nice to hear that she had calmed from her earlier panic.
Making his way back through the maze, Soundwave didn't re-enter the berthroom straight away. He simply glanced inside just enough to see Starscream sitting on the floor; the femme no doubt behind him given the height difference between the two. He'd wait for Starscream to give him permission to enter, especially since he was sort of blocking the entrance.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2023 19:19:48 GMT
There were so many reasons Starscream used to justify his avoidance of preening. Tradition was the first one he used, the all too well rehearsed ‘only Trinematemates’ spiel. The second one he used the most was that his plating was sensitive and only a competent medic was qualified to do maintenance on his frame. The list went on, each excuse as iron clad as the previous one.
His excuses had been knocked one after the other by femme while she wormed her way into his spark.
The real reason, however, he had never said out loud. He wasn’t planning on telling anyone. Sitting there on the floor, with strange digits digging in his plates, the Seeker's first instinct was to swipe at them and pull away. He dug his claws in his thighs, resisting the urge.
The real reason was all the embarrassing noises he made during preening.
All Seekers did, Nightshroud was herself making all the noises he found so cringe coming out of himself while she was in his lap. To drop his own guard, that low, was very hard for Starscream. He knew logically that the whole point of grooming and preening was to relax the frame, he just couldn’t, yet.
A shadow in the corner of his optics made him whip his helm to the side. Soundwave. The whirl of anxiety whirling in his helm was probably easy to pick up. Lowering his guard meant lowering his guard on all levels and this is exactly why he didn’t…
[‘Ping’ ] [Nightshroud: Trine.]
Starscream ex-vented slowly, smiled at Soundwave, focusing on the relief flooding his spark. Company would distract him from his own reservations. Soundwave was safe to be around while his guard was down. The Seeker winked in the direction of his sparkling, feeling her excitement and eagerness at returning the favor.
“If you want too, little dove.”
Starscream’s optics turned back to focus Soundwave, unclenching a servos from his leg to pat the ground in front of him.
“I’m trying this new thing: relaxing. I’m very unfamiliar with it, do you have any experience with this mystery yourself, Soundwave?”
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Post by Soundwave on Jul 27, 2023 2:16:32 GMT
Starscream? Relaxing? Two words in a sentence that just sounded so strange, and yet it didn't sound half bad. Given all the duress he had been under, Soundwave appreciated the downtime and Starscream desperately needed it as well. The Spymaster was resilient and harder to crack and beat down, but not the seeker. It was all too easy to make him beg for his life and bring him down, though it didn't stop him from trying his schemes again later. Resilient in a completely different way, and probably not for the best either. It did, however, have it's uses. Soundwave watched as the former air commander patted the ground before him, motioning for the blue mech to sit in front of him. It didn't escape his notice that Starscream had glanced behind him, speaking to Nightshroud. At least this gave the femme some space to be comfortable, and hopefully the preening would keep her distracted. Nevertheless Soundwave sat down with his legs crossed, looking to the mech before him. A faint hint of a chuckle escaped from Soundwave as he sat still. Starscream wanted to get his opinions of how best to relax, and the Spymaster indeed knew a few ways to do so. He'd start with something simple, not wanting to do too much not because of Starscream, but to give Nightshroud a chance to feel like she was actually making an effort and feeling useful. "Music can be quite soothing. Perhaps something along these lines." A strange hum emitted from the former communications officer's speakers, similar to the hum a group of Mini-Cons made in unison. Realistically it was nothing more than what humans referred to as binaural beats, something pleasing to the audial receptors that could help reduce stress and a great deal of other things.
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Post by Nightshroud on Jul 27, 2023 2:29:16 GMT
Whatever Starscream's reason had been for letting Nightshroud do the preening, it didn't matter in the end. Nightshroud was just happy that he was finally letting her do it after asking for so long before he'd been captured. She knew that he needed it and it bothered her a great deal that he wouldn't allow her to, but the femme was understanding. Traditions or whatever, she needed to respect that boundary even if it sounded insane given the circumstances. They were both alone, and he had no trine to aid him. She was all he had at the time.
...Now there was Soundwave.
Just as the mech had been tempted to push her away while Nightshroud worked on his shoulders, Nightshroud too nearly backed off when Starscream dug his claws into his thighs. Had she hit a particularly painful spot, or was he that uncomfortable with her doing this? The femme paused, but when he didn't further react she hesitantly continued with the preening.
Nightshroud smiled softly as her adoptive sire said she could use the armor wax on him if she wanted to, and she knew exactly where she wanted to use it too. His back looked horrible, and it had for some time. Placing some on his back along the spinal strut would be a nice way of soothing some of the ache while helping to protect the armor. For now she focused on the shoulders and the wiring underneath the armor. The crimson seeker did her best to untangle the wires, applying pressure with the tips of her digits before sliding them down slowly to help smooth out the cables while also relieving the tension. "Let me know if that hurts too much and I'll stop." The hurt could be good though, but there was such a thing as too much pain.
However, that's when she realized Soundwave had walked up and struck up a conversation with her sire. Nightshroud initially flinched, but then a realization hit her. Starscream was letting her do the preening, not the mech he wanted to make his conjunx. Silently she smirked to herself, continuing to untangle the cables while relieving the pressure where she could.
She had to admit though.. the music was kinda nice. She'd never tell Soundwave that, however.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2023 14:49:51 GMT
Starscream kept his optics on Soundwave as the blue mech moved closer, smiling fondly at him. By Primus, Soundwave was quite a sight without his faceplate on, the small chuckle he let slip while sitting down not escaping the Seeker. The music was soothing, the other servos clenching his leg slowly relaxing its tight grip.
His whole frame was slowly relaxing under his sparkling ministrations, taunt cables loosening which will give him more motion range, debris cleared from plating that’ll relieve the itching decades of tension slowly melting away. Part of him was pleasantly surprised she was so good at this. Ex-venting slowly, he moved his arm to reach for Soundwave, grabbing his servos and squeezing gently.
A groan escaped him and he closed his optics as a wave of relief shuddered through his frame. Whatever Nightshroud had just done, it worked wonders on his pain level. He was so used to be in pain, it had driven him, combined with rage, for so long. Getting rid of it would be such a relief.
It felt so alien, that it took a few breems for Starscream to realize that his spark was humming peacefully. For the first time in ages, he was truly happy.
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Post by Nightshroud on Aug 1, 2023 0:05:46 GMT
Starscream seemed so much more relaxed, and it was infectious. Nightshroud continued to work on his shoulders as she cleaned between the armor plating as well as helping to straighten out the cables. It would have amused her to know that Starscream was surprised by how good she was at this when she'd studied Cybertronian massage therapy on the side in her own time. To imagine he could have felt this good if he'd let her do this back when they'd first met, but she understood why he didn't want her to. Now the femme had a chance to show off what she'd learned both from her studies and from how good her adoptive sire made her feel with his own preening sessions. Once she finished the shoulders, Nightshroud slid her servos together on either side just enough that her thumbs could reach the back of Starscream's neck. Applying pressure with her thumbs, she let them slowly slide up and down the back of his neck from the bottom of his helm just to where the spinal strut met the shoulders. She did this a few more times before letting her thumbs slide all the way down the spinal strut stopping just short of where the wings had messed up his back.
"I'm going to apply some of the wax to the damage here. This might hurt, but.. it'll help protect it from further damage and promote self-repairs. I promise I'll be careful, and do tell me to stop if it's too much."
Removing her servos from her sire's back, the crimson seeker opened up her subspace and pulled out a small buffer. It'd been some time since she'd last used it, but she hoped it'd be enough to get the job done. She opened the container of armor wax and..
..was immediately hit with a wave of nostalgia.
That smell. That floral smell. That wasn't just Clematis' favorite scent, but it was Nightshroud's too. It smelled vaguely of the metallic flowers found in the parks on Cybertron that Clematis had been able to somewhat recreate with her homemade waxes, and she remembered how her twin would always use that specific wax when massaging her wings.. especially after the transition from wheels to wings. The joints were always so achy, and Clematis massaging those joints helped so much. It's why Nightshroud always loved getting massages even if her wing joints were extremely sensitive to the touch.
The young femme shuddered as she let her optics close for a moment, forcing that memory away before applying the wax to the buffer's head. She very gently placed it against Starscream's back, powering it on to a low setting before moving it back and forth gently to help coat the damage caused by lack of preening.
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Post by Soundwave on Aug 1, 2023 0:15:14 GMT
Good. The music seemed to be helping Starscream relax even further. Soundwave stayed silent as he studied the seeker's reaction between the sound and his sparkling taking care of his back, watching for so much as the slightest hint that it was all getting to be too much. Slowly but surely Starscream finally released his grip on his legs instead reaching out for Soundwave's servos.
And he held them gently within his own.
The Spymaster didn't want to ruin the moment by talking too much, just letting the music do the work for him as he rubbed his thumbs along the top of the seeker's servos. It was a nice moment between the three of them, and just seeing how Starscream came undone with the preening made Soundwave smile. For once it was nice to see Starscream relaxed and not ranting and raving about something that had caused the slightest inconvenience. Usually it was Megatron in those scenarios, but there were times where it was his trine or even Shockwave. Sometimes it was Soundwave himself, but more often than not it was the Decepticon leader himself. The former second in command had suffered through much and not even just of late. He had suffered from more than his fair share of abuse from Megatron in which Soundwave bore witness yet did nothing. It was wise not to otherwise Megatron's anger could very easily turn on them instead.
And Soundwave had a reputation to uphold, not that it mattered anymore.
He listened as Nightshroud powered on the buffer, curious as a faint floral scent filled the air. It didn't do much for Soundwave, but as long as Starscream was enjoying it did it really matter?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2023 23:47:47 GMT
Starscream was more than relaxed, he was gradually melting under Nightshroud’s servos. Pain and tension were bleeding out of his frame. She’s really good at this.
‘Ping’ [Nightshroud: Medic; Massage Techniques]
Right.
He was certainly gaining a whole new appreciation for it.
What she did on his neck however felt as if Primus himself had taken his pain away. The Seeker did let out a pure moan of satisfaction, moving his helm from side to side when her servos moved away, delighted to feel no pain.
He hummed in acknowledgement at his sparkling’s warning, not really concerned about pain. His tolerance for it is far above average. What was strange for the Seeker was the absence of pain. Starscream opened his optics, chuckling softly.
“I can admit, it was very stupid of me to not let you do that earlier.”
Pulling Soundwave’s servos toward him, he started to pick on some debris stuck between joints to distract himself. The state of his back meant the buffer did hurt quite a lot. A few hisses of pain escaped him but keeping himself busy with Soundwave’s servos was enough of a distraction. It did feel much better after each pass, pain slowly dully.
Starscream ex-vented as an old sensation crawled over him. Numbness. That felt wonderful, after years of sheer agony, numbness was a cherished respite.
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Post by Nightshroud on Aug 6, 2023 21:57:14 GMT
At that confession, Nightshroud couldn't help but chuckle. Starscream must have felt so much better with the preening to have admitted something like that.
"It's okay. I understand why you didn't want me to before." Or at least Nightshroud thought she did. "What matters to me is that you asked me at all."
The femme winced a little at her adoptive sire's hisses. It didn't surprise her much considering how he had made such a big deal about his back before and how he used to duct tape his back to deal with the pain, but it needed to be done in order to help heal. Just one preening session wasn't going to be enough to fix all the damage and bring his wings back to 100%, but just one session was already working wonders on the taller seeker. Once Nightshroud felt confident in her work with the buffing, she powered the buffer off and set it aside. Now came the trickiest part of all.
The wing joints.
Nightshroud sighed softly, giving herself a moment to at least prepare Starscream for the next step of the preening. "Moving to the wing joints now. I know I keep saying it, but I would feel better if I did. Tell me if this is too much and you need me to stop. I won't be offended." The femme couldn't see the former air commander messing around with Soundwave's servos, but she was much more focused on what she was doing with her own to begin with. Carefully she moved her servos back up toward the shoulders where the wings connected to Starscream's back, letting her digits slip through the gaps to very carefully clean the joints and rub them. Nightshroud knew her's were extremely sensitive, perhaps more so than most seekers, but she didn't know just how sensitive Starscream's would be.
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Post by Soundwave on Aug 8, 2023 1:27:43 GMT
It never stopped being strange.. Starscream's relationship with his adoptive sparkling. Soundwave recalled just how the seeker was for millions of years, angry and always plotting to overthrow Megatron no matter what was thrown his way. Yet here he was, calm and relaxed as Nightshroud was allowed the privilege of preening his wings. There was no smugness or backtalk that she was doing the job wrong; Instead only the admission that Starscream had wished he'd let her do this sooner.
The act alone showed just how much the former air commander trusted the young femme.
Soundwave was pulled from his thoughts as the mech before him moved his servos closer before meticulously picking at them. No not picking.. but cleaning? The Spymaster tilted his helm in confusion as he hummed curiously. He wasn't quite sure what Starscream was doing or why he was doing it, but a part of him wanted to know. "Starscream, what are you.."
Before he could finish that thought, the blue mech felt Ravage jump onto his back before draping herself over his shoulder. The cassette stared Starscream down, just as curious what he was doing to Soundwave and if he was hurting the Spymaster. When it didn't appear that he was, Ravage decided to nuzzle Soundwave.
"Ravage.."
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2023 14:02:05 GMT
Nightshroud was really good at this, the buffer and the wax finally easing some of the excruciating pain away with each pass. Occupying himself with Soundwave’s servo did help him cope with the worst parts, focusing on what he was doing instead of flinching and hissing. It was almost second nature for him, to busy himself while his wings were tended to.
Soundwave’s helm tilt did catch his attention, optics shifting to look up as he heard a soft hum. It would have escaped the Seeker’s attention if he hadn’t been already looking at the spymaster, the quiet sound easily drowned under the music he was playing. Starscream smiled at the question, about to answer when Ravage jumped on Soundwave, trying to act innocent as she nuzzled him.
The Seeker might have been offended at how little the cassetticon trusted him if Nightshroud’s warning about her next move didn’t catch his attention.
Right.
Wing joints were extremely sensitive, ordinary. The Seeker had since long taken the habit of disabling his sensors when he wasn’t flying. It had its perk, no pain crippling him chief amongst them, but it also came with an enormous caveheat. Not having sensations also meant that he could have done some damage to himself without releasing it. He knew this one would hurt, so he focused back on his task, disappointed to find out that he had already done a pretty good job with the servo he was holding.
That’s when he felt Nightshroud’s digits slip between his back and the wing joints. Hissing, Starscream grabbed Soundwave’s other servo, squinting critically as he inspected it for debris or anything obstructing the delicate joints. A small rock had lodged itself between the joints at the base of a digit, well stuck but he was finally able to fish it out with his claws. He held it in front of the spymaster’s mask, suppressing a hiss of pain with a groan, before answering.
“Making sure you look your best. Have you seen yourself? You’re scratched from pedes to helm.”
The Cassetticons seemed to be fairing alright, but Soundwave was a mess. Starscream could see a few rocks stuck in Ravage’s paw joint, but he didn’t feel like adding scratch marks to the list of his suffering right now. He had enough to deal with as of now. He could however…
“I’ll let you know that preening is not only a respected and ancient Vos tradition, but it also helps with transformation. I have no doubts Ravage would transform much faster if those rocks weren’t blocking her joints.”
He casually pointed at the paw he was referring to before discarding the rock he had been holding and resuming his inspection of Soundwave’s servos.
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