(no subject)
Iceberg: All right, guys, I've got this satellite.
Dune Runner: Oo What for?
Iceberg: TV, dummy. Now, the reception's not gonna be up to much out here, so Ransack'll have to hook it up to our comm unit and man it while it's on.
Dune Runner: I repeat, what for? And how do you expect to get anything out here?
Iceberg: Well, I'm glad you asked. See, we'll open a portal, and you'll stand on a box on the other side and hold the dish up...
Nova: *wanders up dragging a dead giant carnivorus flower*
Dune Runner: ... *speechless*
Iceberg: Hey Nova! ^___^
Nova: ....
Iceberg: *innocent* What?
Nova: *inna mood. Turns to examine her trophy*
Iceberg: *grin* How'd you bag th-gah! *suddenly has a hand gripping his collar and a vision full of angry blue light*
Dune Runner: Ten seconds to explain this tomfoolery before I scorch you like a killzone.
Nova: *eyes them and then wanders off again, leaving the flower*
Iceberg: Hey! A little help with the bugging buggy?
Dune Runner: Nine.
Nova: You handled him fine before I showed up.
Iceberg: He ain't usually planning to melt my treads!
Nova: Suck it up. *keeps walking*
Dune Runner: Seven.
Iceberg: O_o Hey, what's with you today?
Nova: *has found something else cranky and possibly worth money to fight with. Is doing so*
Iceberg: I hope Wreckage's crew can work with her...
Dune Runner: FOUR. *turret spouts a couple of flames*
Iceberg: All right, all right! I got someone to sponsor the kid, so we get some human money to mess with!
Dune Runner: ...what.
*explosions from the way the kid went*
Dune Runner: Of all the dumb things-! *pulls away* You're losing your touch, snowball.
Nova: *comes back and hands Iceberg her cellphone... which is getting clear TV reception via the Nexus*
Iceberg: *examines it* Heyy, looks like you're off the box duty, grainbrain.
Dune Runner: *flamespurt* *leans forward* Spend the petty cash on something interestingly stupid next time.
Iceberg: *speculative look at him as he hands the phone back to Nova*
Nova: Hey Dune Runner. You know those treats you were hiding from Iceberg?
Dune Runner: ... *slow look up at her* What about them?
Nova: They're not there anymore, and I didn' do it.
Dune Runner: *frown*
Iceberg: *debates whether to run or stay for the funtimes*
Nova: *puts the phone away and settles down to watch proceedings* *...Next to the mudhole that formed overnight*
Iceberg: You know, the last time you were in this mood we ended up-
Dune Runner: *hisses and springs at him*
Nova: *looks in the mud and snerks*
Iceberg: *getting rolled around by a guy half his weight... not least because he's trying to avoid that thermo-torch*
Nova: *reaches in and pulls out what looks like two Easter chocolates. One in each hand she studies them*
Ransack: *strolls back into camp and boggles at the sight*
Mud: *suddenly everywhere, without warning*
Nova: *winces and drops Iceberg back into it, automatically drawing Dune Runner close to her chestplate*
Ransack: ...That was deeper than I thought.
Iceberg: *by his knees* Tell me about it.
Dune Runner: *glares at the orange one, but he's a bit winded from the fight, and calmer*
Nova: *still holding onto her primary comfort person, she points out to Ransack the beasts she's brought home*
Ransack: *with a last uneasy look at his team-mates, wanders over to get a closer look at the giant flora and whistles* How close did you find them?
Nova: That clearing about six miles that way.
Ransack: Did you see any others?
Nova: Yeah, couple little ones.
Ransack: *nod* We probably won't find many big ones in one area. *crouches by one and pokes the inside of its 'jaw' almost hopefully*
Nova: They're dead. I ripped their rootbases off. *nods to the pieces in question, which are laying a little distance from the main parts*
Ransack: Oh. *looks between the pieces and chuckles* Were they hard to take down?
Iceberg: *extracting himself from the mud*
Nova: *shrugs and settles down, sitting Dune Runner on her knee and letting him go* Not really. A shot through the base stunned 'em, and then I pulled 'em up. *after a scuffle, of course*
Dune Runner: *stays where he is, smouldering in silence* *literally*
Nova: *reaches into a compartment and offers her honorary parent a shard of Cybertron Sunrise*
Dune Runner: *blink blink*
Iceberg: *snicker* I think he's forgotten how to talk.
Dune Runner: *talks to Iceberg in Minicon vitriolic enough to make Ransack wince*
Nova: *fascenated and taking notes*
Iceberg: *unconcerned: is the buggy-bot gonna come down here and make good on that?*
Dune Runner: *narrow stare* ... *no, apparently he's going to stay right there with his Cybertron Sunrise and not give a certain spawn-of-Unicron-and-a-snowblower the satisfaction*
Nova: So those things're supposed ta be worth something?
Ransack: *welcomes the change of subject* Yes, once we clean out the xylem and do a bit of dissection. ^^
Nova: The whatnow? *brow quirk*
Iceberg: *cheerful* It'll pay for Dune Runner's repairs.
Nova: ...*impudently flips the orange guy back into the mud*
Ransack: *explain* The cells in the stem that carry water up from the roots. You're supposed to dry them out separately.
Iceberg: *pulls himself up and slings a handful of mud at her*
Nova: *absent hand over Iceberg and inadvertantly pushes him in deeper as she listens with that sparkling intensity that still shows up at times* Okay. Ya know how ta do that?
Ransack: I think so. *chuckle* And Dune Runner... *glance at the yellow bot, who's watching Iceberg's difficulties with interest* should be able to tell us which tissue is which.
Nova: *nods* We doin' that now?
Ransack: *glance at his team-mates, and he drops his voice* I think we'll give it another hour.
Nova: Alright. *turns her attention to Dune Runner and isn't aware of how hopeful she suddenly looks* You wanna go flying?
Dune Runner: *giving his partner a worryingly intense look* *gaze snaps away to Nova, and he's suddenly blinking* ...Hnn?
Nova: You'd fit in my cockpit... I don't mind mud.
Iceberg: *slightly worried* *abrupt burst of loud, mocking Minicon*
Dune Runner: ...Just let me kill him first. *jumps* Then we can scatter the pieces.
Iceberg: You do care!
Ransack: <<
Nova: 0.o *worried look to Ransack*
Ransack: >< They've got it covered.
Dune Runner: *hah! knew that could come off!*
Nova: *internal flinch, ands she gets up and quietly heads for the other side of the plants and the clearing*
Ransack: *follows at a distance* Are you all right?
Iceberg: *laughing* That the best-ow! All right, not- *clang?* bad....
Nova: *poking at one of the root plates* Yeah. *just a bit spooked by the word 'kill' in context with one of her parental units*
Ransack: They don't do that often. *glances back* I think that's the third time Iceberg's managed to get him into a real fight.
Nova: It's okay. *offers him a tiny sprout that looks like it might someday be a carnivorous flower*
Ransack: ^^ *takes it, petting automatically*
Sprout: *can't move much, but is curious about all this contact*
Nova: What're they for? *pokes at the rootplate again, trying to figure out what people would want with the plant it came from*
Ransack: *very gentle scritching* There's a few compounds in the tissues that the locals like to use for in manufacturing components. I'm not sure what they do with the dried-out xylem, but apparently they'll take it.
Nova: Huh. *poke poke poke, scan, analyze*
Sprout: *tiny roots looking for a drink* *those roots don't look like soil roots*
Ransack: *oh, that's cute* *and helpless. What can he do but find it a puddle?*
Sprout: *drink drink drink*
Nova: *starting to pick the rootplate apart by tissue style*
Ransack: *holds it down carefully to let it at the water*
Sprout: *stops after awhile and gives another of its little twitches*
Nova: I think I know which stuff is the thing you dry. *scowling thoughtfully at a handful of spongy stuff in her hand* It stinks.
Ransack: I can smell it from here. Oo *straightens up* But the water's supposed to run out of it quickly enough.
Nova: ..... *squeezes it*
Xylem: *surprisingly stiff, but the water's held in loosely, and it drains out onto the ground*
Nova: *curiously looks at the aftermath of the squish, then shows it to Ransack*
Sprout: *seems to be asleep*
Ransack: *tickles it lightly, nodding* That's it. And if you leave it out in the sun, it'll dry out the rest of the way. Pity our man with the torch is occupied...
Nova: *checks out the fight, and then tosses the xylem out in the bright spot in the clearing before going after more of it.* Hmmm, it's in the roots, too.
Iceberg: *getting pounded on, and fighting back enough to keep his partner goaded*
Ransack: *settles the sprout on his shoulder, near the tow rig, and goes to help*
Sprout: *holds on, but doesn't move otherwise*
Nova: *pulls a blade out of her storage compartment and sets to work in earnest* *and so the evening is passed in work... and anger management*