bbnsverse. Autobot Base. New Allies Part 2

[dens_extra_pups]

Continued from here.



Ultra Magnus: Did you see the bacon? *is he actually showing an interest in the food he ate?*

Desinex: Not up close, but it smelled good.

Ultra Magnus: It's tasty. *glances over as something makes a soft trumpet sound* Don't be afraid. This is Swift Shadow.

Desinex: *still gonna climb you like a tree, Ultra Magnus* *and then she'll kind of drape herself around your neck* Swift Shadow?

Swift Shadow: *gentle kissie with the tip of her trunk*

Desinex: *blink blink* The heck?

Ultra Magnus: I got a pet.

Swift Shadow: *gentle sound*

Desinex: *slight headtilt* What is it?

Ultra Magnus: She's a ten year old Narudian mammoth.

Swift Shadow: *just slapped that big cow on the face for trying to get past her to Ultra Magnus*

cow: *snorts and trots off*

Desinex: Where'd you get her? *curious, and kind of sleepy now that she's up where she can see everything*

Ultra Magnus: The bartender at the Black Dog gave her to me. *free hand gently scratches Swift Shadow's topknot for a moment before he rises to his feet*

Swift Shadow: *trunk hugs his leg, and then checks on those bad giant cows*

gaur: *kinda snorty*

Desinex: Huh. *little snuggle that she'd probably deny if anyone asked her about it*

Ultra Magnus: *turns to go back to the bunker, telling his daughter about Narudian mammoths as he goes* *the hand holding Kae Yau and the body is tucked near his side, where it's easier to protect*

Desinex: *responses begin to get more absent and spaced out. Seems someone's falling asleep*

Old Lady Yau: *quiet hum*

Ultra Magnus: *doesn't even pause. As he reaches the bunker entrance one wing is going up to scoop Desinex down and envelope her*

Desinex: *happy little hum as she falls asleep*

Ultra Magnus: *quietly, to Kae Yau as they go inside* I should put the girls to bed before we meet the leaders.

Old Lady Yau: Aye.

Ultra Magnus: *down to the safest levels, where everyone sleeps, and then through a doorway hung with threadbare scraps of what used to be fabric. Enters the utterly bare room and then stoops to carefully tuck Desinex and Kriti into the crack by the floor near the door* Shhh. I'm putting you to bed.

Kriti: *sleepy little chirps that go quiet as she snuggles against Desinex*

Desinex: *wiggles back into the back of the hole, taking Kriti with her*

Ultra Magnus: *makes sure that the curtain's closed, and then rises to his feet, calls to Swift Shadow, and heads back out and up to the meeting room*

Old Lady Yau: *squares her shoulders. She's sad about the death of the young Ifiri, but she knows now is not the time to grieve. Now, she has to be the person her old clan depended on when days were dark and times were hard*

Optimus and Elita: *look up as Ultra Magnus comes into the room: a red and blue man nearly as ancient and scarred as Magnus, and a dark rose woman glossed with a golden sheen who is still beautiful despite her age and scars*

Jazz: *is busy snoozing through Prowl's best efforts to make him do otherwise*

Prowl: *much frown. Is not sure that the food bins are a good thing right now, because of Jazz's current state*

Bathilda: *quietly reassuring Prowl that Jazz is alright, and that the good food will help in the long run. What little paint is left on her frame shifts from dark red to black depending on the angle of view*

Senaiji: *rising from his seat, battered and faded blue paint catching the light in a soft sheen* Hello, Ultra Magnus.

Ultra Magnus: Hello, Senaiji. *nods to the others and then gently sets Kae Yau and her burden down on the table next to the two hundred pound slab of bacon that Optimus and Elita had been discussing*

Optimus: *deep rumble* Report.

Elita: *frowning with concern at Kae Yau's burden*

Old Lady Yau: *quietly and seriously* The bein' what attacked yer herd the ot'er night was a young Ifiri.

Optimus: Will you explain what that means?

Ultra Magnus: It means we know how the Decepticons have been burning the fields.

Old Lady Yau: Ifiri're fire-based bein's. T'is 'un was arter bein' some young. Far sight younger t'an me.

Ultra Magnus: Beings that our instruments can't detect.

Jazz: *without opening his eyes* So it ain't a long range weapon. It's livin' fire.

Prowl: *startled squeak*

Bathilda: Ach!

Senaiji: *soft snerk and a mutter of "Knew you weren't sleeping that hard."*

Old Lady Yau: *very brief flash of emotion as she glances to the bots*

Optimus: *so much compassion in that deep voice* Is there something that we need to do to send the child back to the Starsinger?

Elita: *squeezes her husband's hand under the table*

Old Lady Yau: *attention back to Optimus* *headshake* Nay, I jes' need a place t' work t'at won't be in danger'a burnin' up.

Elita: *quietly* Most of the bunker will match that description.

Optimus: *nods*

Old Lady Yau: Is t'ere anywhere I c'n work t'at won't cause problems fer the rest o' ye?

Bathilda: *quietly* Ja. Ser ist se Hall of Memory.

Elita: *nods* Yes. That's a good idea.

Optimus: *silently nods his agreement*

Jazz: *grunts*

Ultra Magnus: *without looking* Prowl, stop pinching Jazz's wing. He'd speak up if he didn't agree.

Optimus: And go eat your breakfast.

Prowl: *frown, nod* Yessir. *will move to do so*

Old Lady Yau: *seriously* T'ere's prolly more Ifiri wit' the Decepticons. Prolly young'uns. Yer best defense 'gainst t'em is water.

Optimus: *puts his head in his hands* Do we have to become like them now?

Elita: *troubled and impassive*

Old Lady Yau: Pfft. Nay, b'y. Young'uns like t'is 'un don't like tryin' t' cross water deeper t'an a puddle.

Senaiji: It won't kill them?

Old Lady Yau: T'ey'll refuse t' cross 'f it's deeper t'an a few inches, 'n wider t'an t'eir stride.

Bathilda: *frown* It vould need to be deep enough sat se Decepticons could nicht block se flow of vasser easily... *is starting to envision how it might work*

Elita: *pulls out a knife as she rises to her feet. As she cuts off half the bacon* Let's get some of the others, Bathilda.

Bathilda: *nod* Ja. *will move to rise to her feet*

Elita: *nods to Kae Yau, and then stuffs the meat into her mouth as she jogs out of the room*

Bathilda: *hurries after Elita, musing out loud about building techniques*

Senaiji: *soft chuckle* Well, that will keep them from worrying so much, at least.

Optimus: *deep gust of a sigh*

Jazz: *gets to his feet with a smooth movement and crams the rest of the bacon into the sigh* Fussin' ain't gonna bring anybody back, O. P.

Optimus: Mrrph!

Ultra Magnus: The bacon is tasty. *offers his hands to Kae Yau*

Optimus and Jazz: *both giving Ultra Magnus surprised look at him actually expressing approval for a food*

Old Lady Yau: *moves to climb back onto Ultra Magnus' hands*

Ultra Magnus: *will carry her and her burden out of the room*


A couple days later


Elita: *slipping through the ancient trees, her feet deliberately stirring up the scented plants as she walks. At her side is a young Narudian mammoth, and on her shoulder is Kae Yau* You really shouldn't have lit that. Magnus isn't going to be able to look at anyone for days.

Old Lady Yau: *snort* 'T wasn't t'at bad. 'N 't cleared out the smell quicker.

Elita: And it made Kriti pee herself.

Old Lady Yau: T'at, I do feel bad about.

Elita: We need to trust one another, Yau. *offers the huge military cracker that she's munching on*

Old Lady Yau: *will break off a piece of cracker to eat* *quietly* Aye. I's understandin' t'at, but she's ben some long since t'ere's ben anyone as wasn' a me 'round. We loves our fire.

Elita: Try watching some of the other women to see how to flirt. *crunches cracker and chirps to Soft Leaf*

Soft Leaf: *noms her namesake and smells like apple*

Old Lady Yau: *amused snort*

Elita: *stops and crams the rest of the cracker into her mouth even as she hunkers down and ducks behind a tangle of roots entwined with rusted metal*

Soft Leaf: *freezes, her ears standing out from her head*

Old Lady Yau: *on alert now, checking the winds for scents and listening intently*

Elita: *soft, barely audible whistle through her teeth. "One bot. At least one beast."*

Old Lady Yau: *equally soft "Split up and send warning?"*

Elita: *holds up her hand to show the tiny device tied into the palm* *"Warning finished."*

Old Lady Yau: *smirk, nod* *"Scare the enemy?"*

Elita: *hand makes a sign for wait* *wing hand goes out to tug warningly on Soft Leaf*

Soft Leaf: *silently tugs back as her trunk tests the air*

Decepticon: *looking around, is trying to find either something that shows what the Autobots are working on, or an Autobot to beat up*

juggernaut: *pushes into sight, shouldering the bot out of its way. Is like a twisted and horrible caricature of a drach, with a split and clubbed tail, gnarled and thickened black skin, and a head featureless except for a wide maw studded with twisted teeth*

Elita: *sibilant whisper* Motor Master.

Old Lady Yau: How're we doin' t'is, Boss?

Elita: *absent whistle. "Watch in stillness."*

Soft Leaf: *so still*

Elita: *once more that faint and sibilant whisper blends with the breeze as she gets a good look at the matte green bot* Ut.

Old Lady Yau: Permission t' roast 'is *aft*?

Elita: *repeats the whistle for waiting and watching* *knows that she herself can't take on these two alone*

Old Lady Yau: *soft whisper* T'is git is low-ranking 'n ain't too strong.

Elita: *puts a hand on Kae Yau, and then launches herself into the air as she sees Motor Master charge*

Motor Master: *just picked up a strange scent and decided to destroy it in case it's some of those big animals that the fire brat sent a message about before vanishing*

Soft Leaf: *shrill scream as she sticks out her ears and launches into a charge of her own. Will protect her herd!*

Old Lady Yau: *rebel yell as she jumps from Elita's hand. Then she's unleashing a gout of flame aimed at Ut. Motor Master, hope you like your friends fried!*

Ut: *startled squeal, will try and frantically beat out flames, but the fire is so intense that he doesn't last too long before succumbing to the heat*

Elita: *gapes for a moment where she's hovering overhead, but then drops like a stone onto Motor Master's back*

Motor Master: *screams with insane rage, calling to nearby allies*

Decepticons: *several ifiri and a couple more massive creatures similar to Motor Master break and burn their way through the brush*

Old Lady Yau: *harsh yell in her native language as she charges at the ifiri teenagers*

ifiri teenagers: *rushing the stranger!*

all the ifiri: *hoo boy. Got anything you want cooked, Elita?*

Elita: *trumpet sound toward the sky, and then flame toward Breakdown. Knows that he's got to be knocked out before his strange mental thing kicks in*

Swift Shadow: *comes hurtling out of the trees and flips the bad thing that her matriarch is burning*

Breakdown: *startled bellow as he's knocked aft over honesty*

Swift Shadow: *rips at his belly with her tearing tusks, still trumpeting*

Breakdown: *fighting back and protesting muchly as he tries to avoid getting killed*

Dead End: *considering saving his own skin or saving his brother as he circles over the combat*

Optimus: *just crashed into Dead End in midair*

Ultra Magnus: *tosses Desinex toward Elita and Soft Leaf, and then aims a hard blow to the base of Breakdown's skull*

Breakdown: *KO'd!*

Dead End: *angry bellowing*

Desinex: *whistles to Elita, "Need help?"*

Old Lady Yau: *SO much scolding of naughty teenagers* *she's reverted to her native tongue by this point*

Ifiri teens: *battered, bloody, and defeated. And yielding to the older, more powerful Ifiri*

Elita: *yanks up one of Motor Master's wings so that Desinex has a convenient spot to bite*

Desinex: *makes Motor Master yell as she sinks her fangs into one of the few soft areas at the junction of wing and shoulder*

Elita: *pounds on the armoured beast's head with a closed fist, whistling encouragement to Soft Leaf as she does*

Optimus: *spins Dead End around and then lets go of him*

Dead End: *ends up breaking a tree as he collides with it* *going to abandon the fight, his brothers and sister can deal with stuff!*

Old Lady Yau: *fireball to the butt!*

Dead End: *YELP*

Ultra Magnus: *grunts as a huge bot plows into him, and then turns so that the bot's back is exposed to Swift Shadow*

((Written with random_xtras))

Continued here.