Adjustment of character, 15
Hey, lookit. More!
They didn't even stay in Vos for a full decaorn, ultimately. Amber was seeming restless, afraid more or less any time she was more than a few steps from Roadstead's side, unless he left her in their rooms. It made it very hard for him to enjoy being home, and wasn't doing much for her socialization, or helping her fit in.
Leaving Vos was much easier than reaching the floating city. The brown Seeker simply took Amber up to the rim, and then they stepped off the edge and flew away. She had gotten much better at flying, at least. She had had too, given Vos' construction. There had been plenty of practice. It took two or three joors of solid flight to reach the outskirts of Sippar, and another half-joor for them to reach the barracks which were open to those with the brand.
Metrodash was not waiting for them, but Roadstead wasn't bothered by that. There was no way the grounder could have known they were coming this orn, after all, and the grounder had his own things to attend to. Sometimes Roadstead wondered what things, but he had never asked his pet. It didn't matter, not enough to bring up. So, the first thing Roadstead did was take Amber to the rooms and put away what little they had carried from Vos, what they had brought and what they had bought.
From there he decided to wait. It was mid-afternoon, and even if Shockwave would be willing to see him now, Roadstead would not get out of the visit what he wanted to get out of it. It would be better to wait, to spend time elsewhere and try, again, to soothe Amber about the society of which she was now a part. Accordingly, the second thing Roadstead did was to take Amber to a bar.
There were many bars available in Sippar, but Roadstead wanted to be careful. Even after Vos, there was a lot that would frighten Amber, like the 'strip' club-slash-brothels which were available. Clubs with loud music and hard high-grade would also frighten her, so ultimately he took her to what was more or less a night-club, with singers and dancing but nothing too over-the-top.
The club wasn't very busy in the middle of the afternoon, and the pair of Seekers were welcome guests. Roadstead was blatantly lounging, listening to the Helio singer. On Earth, the song would be husky, jazzy. Here, it was still 'jazz', but with variations. There were always variations, because human music didn't sound the same to Cybertronian audios, it didn't sound good, and so they had re-made every style, every song they wanted, and then began creating new ones.
She moved, laying against the instruments and crooning, moving her rotors up and down, stroking them at times as needed. It was all very 1940s, as interpreted by giant alien robots, and Roadstead enjoyed it. Amber was watching closely, mouth open and vents working slightly harder than usual, gaze locked on the movements. On the rotors, if Roadstead guessed right.
"Enjoying yourself?" he asked, a pointless question. Amber wasn't even sipping the mid-high grade they had bought.
Amber's answer was an indistinct sound, a bob of her head and an incorrect twitch of her wings. Roadstead laughed a little, and stayed quiet until the singer was finished and the stage was turned over to a pair of racer-dancers.
"You think you'll like that form?" Roadstead tried again, sipping his own energon. It burned a little, and those who knew said that it tasted as much like whiskey as energon could. He didn't care, never really pining for his human life once he had mourned his friends.
"That form- Oh. Oh, yeah... That's going to be so strange. But, I mean... yes." Amber didn't really seem to be paying attention to him as she spoke. "Did you see how her rotors moved, so graceful... And so much more flexible than these- I mean, not to say anything bad about-"
"Shut up," Roadstead interrupted, but his voice was fond. It didn't hurt him that Amber, helio-spark as she was, was unhappy with her Seeker-frame. He would be happy to hand her off to someone else and let her have her proper form, but there had not yet been the right person. He could afford to wait still.
Amber fell silent with a slightly abashed laugh, and watched the dancers for a while. After a bit, she asked, "So... where are we going after this?"
"After what?" Roadstead asked. "After we're done here, we're going to Shockwave, or at least I am, and since Metro doesn't expect us or know we're home yet, you'll come with me unless you want to try flying home alone. There might be someone in the building who's interested in you, anyway. Or if you meant after Sippar? Nothing. This is the end of your tour."
"Oh... Um, when you say interested..."
"To take you in, Amber. You know that." He wanted to go back to the front... Amber nodded, reassured that he hadn't meant 'for the night', and silence fell again, for a while.
"What will I do, since I'm not willing to... er, pay the way..."
Roadstead chuckled and shrugged. "You can clean. Fetch and carry. Learn a trade. Apprentice work. Care for younglings. Most of the things you might have done on Earth have a counterpoint here. It's not as hard as you seem to fear."
"Oh. ...I might like to care for younglings... Or learn a trade... Don't know about cleaning but... I guess it is something I can do..." Amber was pretty clearly encouraged by his words, and Roadstead wondered how she had failed to notice the variety of jobs on her own. Either way, she understood now, so at least there wouldn't be a problem about it.
The rest of the afternoon was spent watching the shows and making the club owner happy by spending credits. Eventually the night-club started to fill up, afternoon cycling into evening, and Roadstead stood. They had whiled away enough time here, and Roadstead didn't want to miss Shockwave. Amber stood with him, following the brown Seeker to the door, and then they took off.
They weren't disturbed on their way through the government buildings, Roadstead going slower than usual so Amber could look around. It was well worth looking. The building was a monument, a fort, and very nearly a city-within-a-city, and they had to land some distance from it. Thanks to the influence of the OCs, this central government complex was known as Darkmount, though it was rather fanciful to call it a 'mount'.
It was only when they approached Shockwave's office that Roadstead realized they were lucky he was in. It was pretty clear he was in, because when they reached the foyer before Shockwave's office there were three other mechs, near identical to each other. It was the lens one bore which gave them away, and he nodded respectfully. Reflector might not be able to fight, but he had still earned his rank.
"Hello, Roadstead," the triplicate voice said, Reflector looking at the Seekers in a way Roadstead didn't really mind. "You will have to wait a little, Shockwave is busy... Who is this?" They were particularly looking at the femme.
It was not a surprise that Shockwave was busy, nor was it a surprise that Reflector knew him- probably even without pinging. The spy liked Seekers, and was visual, finding it as easy to remember who was who by color as Seekers found it. "Her name is Amber," Roadstead answered.
Interest kindled in three pairs of red optics. Roadstead knew what they were thinking. Name, no designation given. That meant Amber was new, and an OC, and it showed. Reflector would wonder how new... "Hello, Amber. How are you liking this life?" they asked, standing and coming closer to the femme.
"Um, I... it's, um... It's very interesting..." Amber answered slowly, looking at the three. Probably, Roadstead thought, wondering who they were. Reflector was not well remembered, even with actual speaking roles in G1. Luckily, the camera chose to be amused by that, and not insulted like some others.
"You have been enjoying yourself...?" Reflector asked, still coming closer, with a very clearly hungry light in their optics.
Roadstead thought he should warn them, though. "She's only Seeker-framed. Probably Helio-sparked." That would also answer their other question, most likely. She still had her seals... and if she had fit in the Seeker-frame, Roadstead was sure that Reflector would try to get her from him. It was almost a pity that she needed reformatting.
"We understand," one of the units answered. Probably the lead one, and while Roadstead knew their individual names, he couldn't remember which was Spectro and which was Spyglass, or which role either took.
"Sure you do..." Roadstead smiled a little, shrugging. He wasn't going to interfere, not really. "Just remember, Amber, you can say no."
That got him a startled look from the femme, and a Reflector unit was sniggering. "Do you think we would not tell her that ourselves? But if you're putting it that way..." the two non-sniggering units said. "We would like pictures..."
"You always do," Roadstead answered, only to get a rude gesture in answer. If the camera had wings, he was sure they would flip him a 'buzz off', and either way, he knew to shut up. He had done his part, and Reflector... well, they might take advantage of Amber, but they would be careful when they did so, and leave her with compensation. She wouldn't, or shouldn't, feel used.
"Er. P- pictures...?" Amber asked, glancing from Roadstead to the three mechs. "Pictures of... what...?" Oh, it was likely she knew what they were alluding to, but she was unwilling to accept it. Reflector would do her good, then.
"Of you." It was probably Spectro, Roadstead did think he was the leader- pinging for ID was useless, they were all set to reply with the Reflector designation.
Amber curled up a little, but only a little. She was learning... "Of me. ...Why?" She could ping them just as well as Roadstead could, and knew the ranks well enough to know where she stood. Reflector's brand alone was enough to show that.
Viewfinder answered, lightly tracing the lens he carried. "We like Seekers. It doesn't matter about your spark... We are visual, and care about the frame- Oh, but we wouldn't just take from you...!"
"No, of course not. If you give us the time to take the images... You need to reformat, he said. That's expensive, this can help." Reflector was shameless in getting what they wanted, and Roadstead tuned them out. He was sure that Amber would be going with them... and he was pretty sure that the camera would get everything they wanted from her.
The door opened then, a tank-mech coming out and bidding Shockwave goodbye. Roadstead stood, waving at Amber and Reflector and smiling as neither seemed to notice. They would manage... And in the mean-time, he was hoping to get lucky with Shockwave again.
They didn't even stay in Vos for a full decaorn, ultimately. Amber was seeming restless, afraid more or less any time she was more than a few steps from Roadstead's side, unless he left her in their rooms. It made it very hard for him to enjoy being home, and wasn't doing much for her socialization, or helping her fit in.
Leaving Vos was much easier than reaching the floating city. The brown Seeker simply took Amber up to the rim, and then they stepped off the edge and flew away. She had gotten much better at flying, at least. She had had too, given Vos' construction. There had been plenty of practice. It took two or three joors of solid flight to reach the outskirts of Sippar, and another half-joor for them to reach the barracks which were open to those with the brand.
Metrodash was not waiting for them, but Roadstead wasn't bothered by that. There was no way the grounder could have known they were coming this orn, after all, and the grounder had his own things to attend to. Sometimes Roadstead wondered what things, but he had never asked his pet. It didn't matter, not enough to bring up. So, the first thing Roadstead did was take Amber to the rooms and put away what little they had carried from Vos, what they had brought and what they had bought.
From there he decided to wait. It was mid-afternoon, and even if Shockwave would be willing to see him now, Roadstead would not get out of the visit what he wanted to get out of it. It would be better to wait, to spend time elsewhere and try, again, to soothe Amber about the society of which she was now a part. Accordingly, the second thing Roadstead did was to take Amber to a bar.
There were many bars available in Sippar, but Roadstead wanted to be careful. Even after Vos, there was a lot that would frighten Amber, like the 'strip' club-slash-brothels which were available. Clubs with loud music and hard high-grade would also frighten her, so ultimately he took her to what was more or less a night-club, with singers and dancing but nothing too over-the-top.
The club wasn't very busy in the middle of the afternoon, and the pair of Seekers were welcome guests. Roadstead was blatantly lounging, listening to the Helio singer. On Earth, the song would be husky, jazzy. Here, it was still 'jazz', but with variations. There were always variations, because human music didn't sound the same to Cybertronian audios, it didn't sound good, and so they had re-made every style, every song they wanted, and then began creating new ones.
She moved, laying against the instruments and crooning, moving her rotors up and down, stroking them at times as needed. It was all very 1940s, as interpreted by giant alien robots, and Roadstead enjoyed it. Amber was watching closely, mouth open and vents working slightly harder than usual, gaze locked on the movements. On the rotors, if Roadstead guessed right.
"Enjoying yourself?" he asked, a pointless question. Amber wasn't even sipping the mid-high grade they had bought.
Amber's answer was an indistinct sound, a bob of her head and an incorrect twitch of her wings. Roadstead laughed a little, and stayed quiet until the singer was finished and the stage was turned over to a pair of racer-dancers.
"You think you'll like that form?" Roadstead tried again, sipping his own energon. It burned a little, and those who knew said that it tasted as much like whiskey as energon could. He didn't care, never really pining for his human life once he had mourned his friends.
"That form- Oh. Oh, yeah... That's going to be so strange. But, I mean... yes." Amber didn't really seem to be paying attention to him as she spoke. "Did you see how her rotors moved, so graceful... And so much more flexible than these- I mean, not to say anything bad about-"
"Shut up," Roadstead interrupted, but his voice was fond. It didn't hurt him that Amber, helio-spark as she was, was unhappy with her Seeker-frame. He would be happy to hand her off to someone else and let her have her proper form, but there had not yet been the right person. He could afford to wait still.
Amber fell silent with a slightly abashed laugh, and watched the dancers for a while. After a bit, she asked, "So... where are we going after this?"
"After what?" Roadstead asked. "After we're done here, we're going to Shockwave, or at least I am, and since Metro doesn't expect us or know we're home yet, you'll come with me unless you want to try flying home alone. There might be someone in the building who's interested in you, anyway. Or if you meant after Sippar? Nothing. This is the end of your tour."
"Oh... Um, when you say interested..."
"To take you in, Amber. You know that." He wanted to go back to the front... Amber nodded, reassured that he hadn't meant 'for the night', and silence fell again, for a while.
"What will I do, since I'm not willing to... er, pay the way..."
Roadstead chuckled and shrugged. "You can clean. Fetch and carry. Learn a trade. Apprentice work. Care for younglings. Most of the things you might have done on Earth have a counterpoint here. It's not as hard as you seem to fear."
"Oh. ...I might like to care for younglings... Or learn a trade... Don't know about cleaning but... I guess it is something I can do..." Amber was pretty clearly encouraged by his words, and Roadstead wondered how she had failed to notice the variety of jobs on her own. Either way, she understood now, so at least there wouldn't be a problem about it.
The rest of the afternoon was spent watching the shows and making the club owner happy by spending credits. Eventually the night-club started to fill up, afternoon cycling into evening, and Roadstead stood. They had whiled away enough time here, and Roadstead didn't want to miss Shockwave. Amber stood with him, following the brown Seeker to the door, and then they took off.
They weren't disturbed on their way through the government buildings, Roadstead going slower than usual so Amber could look around. It was well worth looking. The building was a monument, a fort, and very nearly a city-within-a-city, and they had to land some distance from it. Thanks to the influence of the OCs, this central government complex was known as Darkmount, though it was rather fanciful to call it a 'mount'.
It was only when they approached Shockwave's office that Roadstead realized they were lucky he was in. It was pretty clear he was in, because when they reached the foyer before Shockwave's office there were three other mechs, near identical to each other. It was the lens one bore which gave them away, and he nodded respectfully. Reflector might not be able to fight, but he had still earned his rank.
"Hello, Roadstead," the triplicate voice said, Reflector looking at the Seekers in a way Roadstead didn't really mind. "You will have to wait a little, Shockwave is busy... Who is this?" They were particularly looking at the femme.
It was not a surprise that Shockwave was busy, nor was it a surprise that Reflector knew him- probably even without pinging. The spy liked Seekers, and was visual, finding it as easy to remember who was who by color as Seekers found it. "Her name is Amber," Roadstead answered.
Interest kindled in three pairs of red optics. Roadstead knew what they were thinking. Name, no designation given. That meant Amber was new, and an OC, and it showed. Reflector would wonder how new... "Hello, Amber. How are you liking this life?" they asked, standing and coming closer to the femme.
"Um, I... it's, um... It's very interesting..." Amber answered slowly, looking at the three. Probably, Roadstead thought, wondering who they were. Reflector was not well remembered, even with actual speaking roles in G1. Luckily, the camera chose to be amused by that, and not insulted like some others.
"You have been enjoying yourself...?" Reflector asked, still coming closer, with a very clearly hungry light in their optics.
Roadstead thought he should warn them, though. "She's only Seeker-framed. Probably Helio-sparked." That would also answer their other question, most likely. She still had her seals... and if she had fit in the Seeker-frame, Roadstead was sure that Reflector would try to get her from him. It was almost a pity that she needed reformatting.
"We understand," one of the units answered. Probably the lead one, and while Roadstead knew their individual names, he couldn't remember which was Spectro and which was Spyglass, or which role either took.
"Sure you do..." Roadstead smiled a little, shrugging. He wasn't going to interfere, not really. "Just remember, Amber, you can say no."
That got him a startled look from the femme, and a Reflector unit was sniggering. "Do you think we would not tell her that ourselves? But if you're putting it that way..." the two non-sniggering units said. "We would like pictures..."
"You always do," Roadstead answered, only to get a rude gesture in answer. If the camera had wings, he was sure they would flip him a 'buzz off', and either way, he knew to shut up. He had done his part, and Reflector... well, they might take advantage of Amber, but they would be careful when they did so, and leave her with compensation. She wouldn't, or shouldn't, feel used.
"Er. P- pictures...?" Amber asked, glancing from Roadstead to the three mechs. "Pictures of... what...?" Oh, it was likely she knew what they were alluding to, but she was unwilling to accept it. Reflector would do her good, then.
"Of you." It was probably Spectro, Roadstead did think he was the leader- pinging for ID was useless, they were all set to reply with the Reflector designation.
Amber curled up a little, but only a little. She was learning... "Of me. ...Why?" She could ping them just as well as Roadstead could, and knew the ranks well enough to know where she stood. Reflector's brand alone was enough to show that.
Viewfinder answered, lightly tracing the lens he carried. "We like Seekers. It doesn't matter about your spark... We are visual, and care about the frame- Oh, but we wouldn't just take from you...!"
"No, of course not. If you give us the time to take the images... You need to reformat, he said. That's expensive, this can help." Reflector was shameless in getting what they wanted, and Roadstead tuned them out. He was sure that Amber would be going with them... and he was pretty sure that the camera would get everything they wanted from her.
The door opened then, a tank-mech coming out and bidding Shockwave goodbye. Roadstead stood, waving at Amber and Reflector and smiling as neither seemed to notice. They would manage... And in the mean-time, he was hoping to get lucky with Shockwave again.