TF_SPEEDWRITING - Prompt: No Respect
[PG] No Respect
Length: 400 words
Continuity: Warped Minds (A G1ish AU)
‘Kids these days… Just like the kids in those days,’ Thundercracker mused, smiling on the inside, and stoically preparing energon containers for ration collection on the outside.
The blue Seeker sported a Senate varvel* on his helm, but blank wings, save for a red stripe; respectively signifying that he was claimed in service of the senate, currently inactive, and had ranked well enough at the war academy to come out with a recommendation for officer training.
*The varvel takes the form of a metallic inlay in the shape of a faction’s crest, and fills the roles of a badge (such as carried by a police officer) and a dog-tag (such as worn by a soldier).
He didn’t move as a dirty gaggle of the flock’s young dodged around him as they passed by him laughing, screaming and fighting, into the communal area where the flock gathered/played/ate/recharged/functioned, but he did feel a strong pang of nostalgia.
“Oi, you, you and you! In, in, in!” Shooed an adult Seeker; but only recently matured. Vos had a curfew in certain districts, and it was at least partly due to the habit of adolescent Seekers trashing property while decent mechs were too busy powering down to notice and chase them off. Unfortunately staying indoors didn’t necessarily keep them from their antics.
Thundercracker was continuing with his work, when the same mech (having herded the rest of the young inside) grabbed him by the arm and span him around. Thundercracker’s wings initially hiked aggressively, but he let them drop when he saw the other was acting inquisitive and excitedly, in the manner of one who isn’t old enough to have yet grown out of all his youngling habits, rather than of an adult looking to start a fight.
A long examination followed, as the younger Seeker inspected his elder.
“Hey, hey! That’s you? When’d you get back?” He spoke Cant, a hybrid of pidgin Iaconian and arterial Seeker that was becoming increasingly popular amongst recent generations, to the extent that it could now be considered the dominant language. Thundercraker himself had spoken it growing up, but now it sounded ungainly to his audials.
Thundercracker glared at the other Seeker for a short while before it finally clicked - the dark paint job, the immunity to grumpy looks, and the mindless invasion of personal space - surely there was only one person this could be, but at last sight, the mech had been little more than a bitlet.
“…Skywarp?” He hazarded. [Next]
