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Post by Clematis on Sept 24, 2023 20:05:13 GMT
The rumbling of jet engines up above caught Clematis' attention for a brief moment, looking up at the sky just long enough to see what was up there. There was always a tiny hope that every time a plane flew overhead that it might be her twin, but as usual it wasn't. It didn't leave her disappointed at all because the odds of it actually being her were so slim, but at least it left her with that thought of Nightshroud flying free somewhere. Clematis' attention returned to the young Terran, seeing that they were still looking toward the sky so longingly.
She knew that look. That same look Nightshroud used to have when the twins would sit on top of the science lab's roof back on Cybertron. Clematis didn't know for sure and she wasn't about to jump to conclusions, but maybe that was this Terran's calling as well, that call to the sky. The protoform's words only helped to solidify that theory.
However that did leave the valid question of what next. The azure and lilac femme was happy so see the young one smiling a bit more, looking just a little more relaxed than he had been moments before. "Well, I'll leave that decision up to you. We could stay here a little longer and enjoy our surroundings.. or if you'd like I could walk with you to the Malto's so you can meet the other Terrans." Clematis hoped he'd pick the latter, but given how nervous he was earlier and how excitable the other Terrans could be, she did worry that would overwhelm her new friend. "However, if you aren't quite ready to meet them just yet I understand. If you need a place to stay you're more than welcome to stay with me for now. I live in Autobot City where I work as a pharmacist. I help make medicine to help keep Cybertronians healthy or to help them recover when they're wounded."
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2023 20:44:06 GMT
Skyfox listened as the azure femme listed their options, taking very little time to make his choice. He wanted to meet the others like him. He had many hopes and questions already, so curious to see what these other Terrans would be like. How was life for them? Did they have names? Did they look like he did? Before he could answer, he was given another option. If need be, the young protoform could stay with Clematis. In the city. It was good to have a third option, just in case, but even with the confidence he'd built up, Skyfox didn't think he was quite ready for a trip to the city. Especially one full of Autobots. The idea alone felt almost... overwhelming. Though, it was intriguing to learn about the femme's occupation as a pharmacist. Clematis seemed to be nothing if not helpful. She was so nice to him, and hearing of how she helped others only solidified the Terran's perception of her.
"Mmm, maybe, if I need to. But I'd like to meet the other Terrans!" The protoform would reply with a smile. If he'd already made friends with first person he'd met, how hard could it be to do it again with the others? Especially if they were already like him. He had little concern for it now, but there was no telling whether that confidence would last. Even then, he was still quite excited to learn that he wasn't the only of his kind. That he had a 'kind' at all. What kind of things could they teach him?
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Post by Clematis on Sept 25, 2023 2:10:06 GMT
Clematis was more than happy to hear that the young Terran wanted to meet the others just like himself. He was displaying a great deal of confidence now just wanting to try meeting the other Terrans, but the femme would not have blamed him if he had a sudden change of spark or felt overwhelmed. That's why she wanted to offer him a place to stay even if temporarily so that the protoform would have somewhere to go, but she never expected him to agree to that either. At the end of the day the decision was his and his alone.
"Of course! I'd say you could ride on my vehicle mode and we could get there faster, but driving through the woods isn't an easy task with all the trees and lack of roads. It's alright though. I'd estimate we're probably an hour away according to my internal map from the Malto residence, but I'd be more than happy to walk with you. Plus we can continue to talk and admire all the wildlife along the way. It's a win-win~." The azure and lilac femme giggled softly, getting up to her pedes before holding out a servo for the young Terran to help him up if he wished. There was so many questions that were probably rampaging through his processor with what she'd already told him that she wouldn't be surprised if he had a lot he wanted to ask about.
"I'll comm Bumblebee and let him know we're on our way. That way he'll know to expect us and the Maltos probably will too. Bumblebee's a friend of mine who's working with the other Terrans to teach them all about Cybertronian life. He's pretty nice too." Clematis placed a digit from her other servo against her temple, sending a silent message to the other. To Skyfox it would just look like she was standing there when in fact she was not.
<<"Hey Bee! I'm heading over to the Maltos. I found a young Terran out in the woods and he's interested in meeting you guys.">>
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Post by Deleted on Sept 25, 2023 2:39:41 GMT
The protoform raised a brow in confusion at her statement. He had just assumed that they'd walk. The idea of him needing to ride on her vehicle mode sounded... unpleasant, to say the least. But he still appreciated the thought. He preferred the alternative anyway. He took the femme's hand and pulled himself up onto his pedes, taking a quick look around them, waiting for her to lead the way, seeing as he had no idea what direction their destination even was. "Well, I could just fly there, but... that doesn't really sound fair." Skyfox would add in remark to their method of travel. It didn't sound like the best option to fly there himself and leave her to trudge through the woods, especially after she'd offered to help him. That, and he had a few questions he hoped she could answer. Perhaps she could explain more about her planet? Or that war she mentioned?
As the azure femme brought up her friend, Skyfox already tried to picture what this 'Bumblebee' could be like. It didn't sound like he was one of the other Terrans, and he the name didn't elude to much. Not for him, anyway. But the Terran made another slightly confused expression as he watched Clematis put her servos against the side of her helm. What was she doing? "...Are you going to message him?" He would ask in a low voice.
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Post by Clematis on Sept 27, 2023 0:21:50 GMT
The Terran could fly?!
That certainly caught Clematis attention and excited her a bit. "It's okay. We don't have to fly. Besides, sometimes a long walk can be fun." Maybe he really would have an aerial based alt-mode, but that would remain to be seen until he finally did find the right vehicle to scan. Whatever he chose, as long as he was happy with it Clematis would be too. The azure and lilac femme commed Bumblebee, smiling to herself that she hadn't entirely realized that the young protoform hadn't realized what she was doing. When she'd finished and the young one asked if she was going to contact Bumblebee, that's when it finally clicked.
"Oh! I just did actually." The femme sheepishly chuckled. "We Cybertronians have an internal communication system so we can call each other from afar or we can send messages privately like I just did. As far as I know the Terrans don't have those systems built in and Bumblebee's been using walkie talkies as a substitute, but who knows! Maybe Terrans do have internal comms and none of them have discovered it yet. There's still a lot to learn about you guys and we're still learning each day. Either way Bumblebee knows we're coming and said that he'll be waiting for us to arrive. He's looking forward to meeting you."
Clematis stretched a little bit, then motioned for the Terran to follow her. "C'mon~. I'll lead the way. While we walk is there anything you want to know more about? I didn't want to overwhelm you, but if you have any questions I'll do my best to answer."
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2023 3:15:36 GMT
Skyfox listened intently as the azure femme explained how their communications functioned. It was interesting to hear, and made the young Terran wonder just how different the Cybertronians were. But the ability to communicate almost instantaneously, from anywhere, to anyone sounded almost supernatural to him. No wonder it seemed like she had just been standing there. She was able to talk to someone else using just her mind, it seemed like! What other amazing abilities did they have? Clematis last comment did make him even more excited, if only by a little.
"Oh, alright." Skyfox would reply as the azure femme motioned for him to come along, following after her as they began to trek through the woods. "Yes, actually. What is your planet like? And... why did that war make you leave?" The Terran would ask as he ducked under a branch, tilting his helm and raising a brow, looking to Clematis with his same inquisitive expression. He wondered just what Cybertron looked like. What kind of animals did it have? Were the trees bigger there? How many people lived there? He had learnt so much so fast, but there was still so much unexplained.
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Post by Clematis on Sept 28, 2023 21:07:05 GMT
Clematis mentally winced as the young Terran asked his question. She really should've expected the questions about the war, but it was nice to get the question about what Cybertron was like. It was still a sad question to think about, but there was no way that he could have known that. Still, she promised to answer his questions and she was going to do her best.
"Cybertron is.. was.. a beautiful place in it's prime, or at least from what I've heard. I was created after the Golden Age of Cybertron so things had started to go south. There was no organic life and everything was metal, but I promise that's not as bad as it sounds. We did have flowers, but nothing like the ones found here on Earth. There were parks and towering skyscrapers as far as the optic could see. It was a bustling place, but much of it was lost to the war." Clematis paused for a moment, frowning as she tried to figure out how to best describe the war without infodumping the poor curious Terran.
"As nice as Cybertron was, it's form of politics wasn't as kind. It was built around a caste system which basically determined your job based on your alt-mode with few exceptions. Naturally an ambulance would probably be a medic or a helicopter would have some aerial job, but.. not everyone was made for a job that matched their alt-mode. My sister and I were some of the lucky ones that scored high enough on tests that let us join the medical and science fields which were some of the exceptions I mentioned, but then there were cases like the lower caste.. They were basically treated like slaves, never even allowed to see the light of day. The short version is that a lot of the lower caste revolted, but in different ways: some peaceful and some not and with that eventually two factions were created: the Autobots and the Decepticons."
The azure and lilac femme glanced to the protoform, looking to see if they were taking things in okay. "The Autobots have the same insignia I have on my shoulder and are lead by Optimus Prime who wanted peace for everyone, but then there were the Decepticons who were a bit more violent lead by Megatron. Eventually the war took such a toll on our homeworld that we were forced to leave lest it be completely destroyed, and through chance we found ourselves here on Earth after our ships crash landed. The war started again here, but after some time.. Megatron actually abandoned the Decepticons and switched sides." Clematis herself still didn't quite know how she felt about that sudden change of spark to this day.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2023 4:17:57 GMT
Skyfox squinted his optics in confusion at first, not quite understanding what she meant by a 'Golden Age' and how things suddenly all moved in one direction, but her next statement was was almost horrifying. A world of nothing but metal? It must have been so dull... everything grey and cold, no forests.... How could they have lived like that? He tried to keep himself from making any conclusions, especially since Clematis had tried to reassure him that it wasn't as awful as he imagined it. Flowers were nice, he supposed... But was that all they had?
He became even more confused after she explained Cybertron's caste system. He had only just recently learned how alt-modes worked, but even so, such a system didn't make much sense at all. Why would your place in society be based off a vehicle? Why couldn't you just change what vehicle you were to move up? Why was there some kind of tier system in the first place? The Protoforms optics widened as he let out a faint gasp as the femme continued. People forced to work and toil without any consideration for their well-being? That sounded awful! He didn't know much about politics or how society was structured, but he couldn't fathom how a civilization could work such a way. It wasn't hard to understand why they would revolt. But it was a bit harder to understand just why they fought eachother, especially to the point of hurting the planet itself.
"Optimus Prime..." The Terran murmured to himself, wondering what they must have been like. It seemed like an imposing title. But not more than 'Megatron'. It did confuse him to hear that he had changed sides. "But... why would he do that? If he had waged war for so long, how could he suddenly change his mind? And why would the Autobots and Decepticons be fighting eachother? If they were revolting, why not just work together?" The Terran would ask with a confused and concerned expression. With each answer only seemed to come more questions, and the Terran understood less and less.
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Post by Clematis on Oct 1, 2023 0:16:38 GMT
The Terran's question was a difficult one to answer. There were many ways to go about it, but all of them stemmed from a matter of opinion. That's what had caused the divide between Autobots and Decepticons to begin with, but Clematis had stayed neutral when the war originally started only choosing a side when the Autobots saved her life. She had to choose wisely how to explain why the war had escalated the way it had, but what was somehow a little easier to explain was why Megatron had switched sides. At least that she was somewhat familiar with, but even then it didn't make it any less strange.
"It's.. hard to explain. In the end the Autobots and Decepticons wanted the same thing, but they chose to go about it different ways. Megatron felt wronged as did the Decepticons, and they had felt that Optimus Prime was going to fight for the same things that the Council wanted.. to keep the caste system in place. Sometimes people can't be reasoned with, and sometimes they will choose to believe what they want to believe. Megatron and the Decepticons chose a destructive path and at some point lost sight of what it was they were fighting for while the Autobots continued to fight for freedom as they always had. The war lasted for four million years, so you can see how it was easy to lose sight of the true goal."
Clematis rubbed her arm slightly, looking to the young one as they walked. "But sometimes, it just takes one little thing to open your optics and make you see reason. After all those years at war, Megatron finally realized just what he was doing when he saw an incredible human soldier not just tending to wounded Autobots, but wounded Decepticons too. He felt inspired by her, and he wanted to be more like her. He felt that the best thing to do was to switch sides, and the Decepticons weren't exactly happy about that. To this day they're still fighting against the Autobots even though the war is over."
Megatron wasn't the only one who'd needed an eye opener. The azure and lilac femme had needed one too after spending four million years focusing on trying to fix things between herself and her sister, and all it took was Hot Rod to show her a good time. With a soft chuckle under her breath, she felt her face heat up at the intrusive thought of her boyfriend. "Sometimes you just need to meet the right person to show you the way."
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2023 5:13:29 GMT
The young Terran didn't immediately understand Clematis' explanation, and it took them a moment to try and grasp it all, turning his helm away with a saddened expression. So much war over nothing but a misunderstanding? Four million years... Surely, that had to be an exaggeration. How could they let it go on for so long? Even after they'd lost their own planet? Even if it was ugly and depressing. And how could the Autobots just forgive their enemy so quickly?
He turned his attention back to the azure and lilac femme as she spoke up again, raising his helm to face her and listen, optics widening as she went on. A human was the one that changed Megatron's mind? She must have been amazing for someone like Megatron to look up to her. Or, well, look down. He was very curious to know just who it was. Surely she was some kind of hero! She probobly lived a super fancy house, and was very famous, and other stuff like that. He also wondered whatever happened to Megatron. Though, he was a little concerned to hear that there were still people fighting over an old war. But it was also a little confusing. Why still fight when you already lost? What for? What was the point? How did the Autobots not already beat them all?
"How co-" The Terran stopped as he noticed Clematis odd behavior. What was she laughing about? "That doesn't sound very funny. Is something wrong?" Skyfox would ask, not understanding what she seemed happy over. From everything she'd told so far, not much of it sounded very happy to him. Was he missing something? Was she okay?
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Post by Clematis on Oct 1, 2023 15:30:25 GMT
"Eh?"
Clematis blinked a couple of times, looking to the Terran with a confused expression. She waited for him to finish what it was they were trying to say before it finally clicked, confusion shifting to embarrassment as her face heated up more. Primus what a time to have such an intrusive thought!
"O-oh! I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing cause of that." How in the world was she supposed to explain this one? The azure and lilac femme smiled sheepishly, folding her servos behind her back as she continued walking. "Thinking of how Megatron just needed a single person to help him realize what he was doing made me think of how I needed that sorta eye opener not all that long ago myself. Not that I did anything bad! I'd just spent millions of years trying to mend things with my sister and focusing on how she was doing that.. I sorta forgot that I have my own life to live. Took Hot Rod asking me out on a date for me to realize it's okay to focus on me. That's actually why I was out here to begin with. To have a little me time in the woods, but I'm more than happy to help you out. Besides, I'm still walking through the woods like I planned to do anyway."
The femme continued to lead the way toward the Malto residence when she suddenly stopped, watching as a couple of small, furry Earth creatures scurried past them. "Awwww~. The animals here are cute."
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Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2023 16:29:52 GMT
"Oh. Uh, okay."
Who asked for what now? The Terran needed a moment to understand just what she had told him. Who was she talking about? And from the skewed perception Skyfox had of Clematis from their short time together, he was surprised to hear that she would need help for something. And he didn't entirely comprehend the problems she'd explained to him since he didn't understand exactly who she was referring to.
Skyfox's attention was pulled away as the femme beside him suddenly stopped, looking over to her and then down at whatever she was looking at. His optics tracked the small creatures as they scampered by, watching them disappear into the brush, then looking back up to Clematis as she fawned over them. He mostly agreed with her, though he'd never exactly been able to get a close look at any of the animals he'd seen. Any deer or boar or occasional bear usually just ran away as soon as they caught sight of him. He figured that shouldn't come as much of a surprise given how he looked... The only animals he'd ever been able to be relatively close to were the birds. At times when he was just resting or taking in a view somewhere, once they realized he wouldn't hurt them, the birds would perch in the trees beside him. There, when it felt like he and the birds had reached an understanding, he felt most comfortable.
His mind drifted back to Clematis words before. Who was 'Hot Rod'? And more confusingly,
"What's a sister?"
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Post by Clematis on Oct 7, 2023 13:41:15 GMT
Clematis had been completely distracted watching the little creatures scurry about and go on their own merry way. It amazed her that something so tiny could be so full of life, even if they lived such short lifespans. It made her wonder just how small lifeforms could be yet thrive in such an environment. While she enjoyed the flowers, there was something to be said about a cute rabbit or two hopping around or even a small group of deer with their young ones just passing through. You didn't get this sort of thing on Cybertron, so it was amazing to watch something like this here on Earth. If they ever made it back to Cybertron, it'd definitely be among the things she'd miss the most.
But her thoughts were interrupted as the young Terran had another question for the femme. "What's a.." How was she even supposed to explain what a sister was? Clematis knew what it meant, but finding a means of describing it so it would make sense was the hard part.
"A sister, and a brother, is someone who's related to you by normal means. A sister is typically a femme like me and a brother is typically a mech like you. Usually siblings, that's the general term for a sister or brother by the way, are close in age and come from the same place. You could also be such close friends that you regard each other as siblings despite not being related by any means." She hoped that her wording hadn't confused the Terran even further. "For me.. my sister and I came from a split spark, which is essentially the core of what makes you.. you. You can't live without a spark. A split spark is what happens when a spark naturally splits in two as it develops and becomes two separate sparks, so in a sense.. she's a part of me and I'm a part of her. We share each other's thoughts and feelings." And pain, but she didn't want to trouble the Terran with that last bit. "I hear it's kinda the same with the Maltos actually. Hashtag and her siblings all share feelings with one another between themselves and the two humans they're bonded to."
"My sister Nightshroud and I were in a terrible accident back on Cybertron, and I thought I had lost her.. but in thinking so I ended up hurting her by accident. I've been trying to make things right with her ever since, and I think we're starting to make some progress."
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2023 0:45:26 GMT
Skyfox looked forward, continuing to carefully duck and move around the foliage and branches as he and Clematis sauntered through. The Protoform's optics occasionaly glanced up to the sky to look to the birds. His mind wandered around as the azure and lilac femme spoke and explained the concept of siblings. If people who came from the same place were siblings... Did that mean He was siblings with the Terrans? They were from the same place. But they hadn't even met, so did it count? Probably not...
Another questioned that rattled around his processor; What was the problem with Clematis' sister? Who was she? Why weren't the two together? The answer came as quickly as the question crossed his mind as the azure femme told the young Terran of how her and her sister's split spark, and how the two felt each other's thoughts and emotions. 'A spark is what makes you'... It was a little odd at least, not understanding what a spark was in literal terms, but he mostly understood its purpose.
Skyfox turned to look toward the azure and lilac femme as she told the Terran of how she had hurt her sister, and how the two had begun to mend. Skyfox was glad to hear it, and smiled a little in response. "Well, that's good. Siblings are supposed to be friends, right?" Immediately, his mind went back to her mentioning the link between her and her sister, as well as the Terrans. He didn't catch it at first, but now, he began to wonder... In the short time he'd been online, he'd randomly felt vague compulsions of fear, or excitement, or frustration. They hadn't been very strong, and he always assumed it was normal but now he began to think more on it. "I think I might be that way too. You said the other Terrans had something like that, right? I think I might be part of that!"
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Post by Clematis on Oct 12, 2023 0:18:12 GMT
Siblings were meant to be friends..
Clematis wished that were true between her and Nightshroud. She felt like they were slowly making progress, especially considering Nightshroud had been the one to reach out for help when it came to the whole jailbreak thing. Sure she left out a few details, but the important thing was that Nightshroud actually asked for help. Clematis couldn't ignore that effort even if there had been some malicious intentions, and she wanted to use that as the stepping stone to try and repair four million years of damage. She started reaching out through their bond more, telling Nightshroud little things even though she never actually expected a response. That all changed the moment she and Hot Rod started dating, and it had taken two days worth of bragging about her boyfriend for her twin to ask her to shut up.
At least it was something. She'd take that much as a small victory.
"You think you might have that sort of bond too?" The azure and lilac femme was surprised to hear that, but then again she didn't quite know how things worked for Terrans. Maybe this one was a lost Malto that just needed a little help finding his way home. If that was the case, the femme most certainly was happy to help. Then again, she would have willingly helped regardless. She couldn't just leave this poor Terran out there alone with nowhere to go. "The Maltos do, yeah. From what I've heard they share all sorts of emotions. If one is happy they all feel that happiness. If one feels sad they all feel that sadness. It's such a unique feeling to know a sibling so well that they don't even have to tell you how they're feeling because you can already feel it for yourself. Hopefully you get to feel that."
As they continued to walk the two of them had reached the edge of the woods where a small house and a barn sat in a nice little clearing; a decent sized ranch out in the distance. "Well, we're here. Do you want me to go with you or do you think you'll be alright on your own from here?"
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