Of Candlelight and Fairy Gardens
Written for the TF-Speedwriting Advent Calendar, 2013 for the following prompts:
#1 A shadow over the snowy idyll
#2 Scenario: a meeting during acid snow on Cybertron
#3 a photo of a glass tree branch that this site won't let me link to
Content: non-sexual human/mech snuggling
The storm had brought the entire region to a standstill, nearly a half inch of ice coating the evergreens and the winter-bare limbs of the oaks and maples. The streets and highways were clogged with fallen trees and snapped power lines, and even without those hazards, they were too slick for safe travel. Seventy five miles northeast of Portland, on Mount Saint Hilary, conditions were even worse - the freezing rain there had fallen on top of nearly four feet of wet Pacific Northwest snow.
Not even alien tire treads were risking travel.
The Ark was powered down to conserve energon - its solar converters, too, had been damaged by the thick coating of ice. They would self-repair or could be replaced, but until then, all but the most important systems were put on standby. Energy had to be conserved for defenses should the Decepticons choose to take advantage of the deadly storm.
It meant no heat, no electricity for the usual diversions of video games or television in the rec room, training rooms shut down, and many of those not on duty choosing to recharge the painstakingly slow way - without plugging in.
In short, it was disturbingly familiar, too much like life on Cybertron had been during the great shortages and long stretches of dark monotony that was the reality of war.
"Found them!" Carly announced, grinning wide from beneath her thick, oversized hat (a Yule gift from Groove after she'd taught him to knit - Protectobots found ways to keep busy even when not busy, after all). "I always knew there was a reason to keep these," she said, her breath steaming in the chill as Hound lifted her and the box down from the storage compartment she had appropriated. With practiced ease, he deposited her on his broad shoulder, his armor deliberately warm to guard her against the bitter temperatures that had followed the ice storm. Keeping their fragile friend warm was most certainly considered an essential use of energon, enough so that it was part of the "essential personnel" rotation.
Spike was with Sparkplug in New York for the holiday, of course, and Chip was overseas with Prowl at a conference, but Carly had been in residence when it was clear the storm was coming, and not even Red Alert would have considered sending her away.
"What did you find, Carly,?" Hound asked.
"Candles! One of the best parts of a blackout, along with playing card games and roasting s'mores over the fire. Too bad we don't have any marshmallows - gonna have to put them on my list for the next trip to town. But I've got plenty of chocolate!"
Hound smiled at Carly fondly. Trust a human, especially this indomitable one, to find ways to make such a time a reason for celebration and joy. Not to mention that Carly's chocolate supply was legendary, and she certainly wasn't at any risk of running out. Hound knew for a fact that several mechs, including himself, kept a supply of chocolate when it became clear how much she and the other humans liked the treat. Even Ratchet had mumbled something about antioxidants and health benefits that outweighed the risks of refined sugars.
"You really like this kind of weather," Hound commented as he made his way through the darkened corridor and then down the ramps toward the science labs. The labs were deep enough underground to keep a constant temperature. In addition, Perceptor had permission to keep a couple of small heaters going for some sensitive bio-synthetic nanite compounds he'd was in the midst of culturing.
"I do! I mean, I know the ice is destructive and all, and I hate to think of anyone traveling in this. But when I was a kid, ice storms meant getting to hang out with my family around the woodstove - reading by candlelight and stuff. I'd pretend I was Laura Ingalls Wilder living out on the prairie in the old days. Mom and Kjersten had to work so much, and it was nice when they got stuck at home."
"Then I'm looking forward to reading by candlelight with you," Hound said amicably as he began to manually crank open the door just wide enough to slide through sideways.
"Speaking of your maternal creator and her life partner, Carly," Perceptor said from the within the dim lab, the light of his optics focussed intently on the glow of nanite incubators on his main work table, "it would behoove you to contact them, as they certainly are concerned for your well being."
Carly hid a grin behind her hand. Perceptor had been scolded recently about his lack of social skills with the humans and tendency to relate to them more as curious lab animals than sentient beings. He clearly was using the time she was spending in the lab as an opportunity to practice relating to humans as people rather than subjects.
People... who clearly needed a great deal of reminding of things due to the inadequacy of wetware processors. At least he was trying.
"Blaster already contacted them," Carly assured him. "That's what gave me the idea to find the candles - thinking about Minnesota ice storms."
That comment did lead Perceptor to turn his bright optics on her. "My apologies, Carly. I'm certain we could turn the lights up. I neglected to consider the inadequacy of visual receptors in a diurnal species."
Carly laughed, shaking her head, and deposited her box on the lab table near one of the softly humming heating units. "Candlelight's all part of the fun, Perceptor," she said, pulling a variety out of the box and placing them near the pile of blankets, pillows, snacks and books she'd set up earlier. She felt the tingle of a scan and knew Perceptor was checking for substances that would interfere with his delicate cultures. "Are they all okay with your experiments?"
"For the nanite cultures, yes. They are well sealed from any airborne contaminants. But these primitive light sources are hazardous to your health, Carly. Burning them will cause you to inhale a wide array of chemical hazards from the petroleum byproducts of the wax, and if the flame lengths exceed their laminar smoke points, you will inhale carcinogenic soot. No, I'm afraid I cannot permit this activity."
"They ain't gonna harm her in small quantities, Perceptor," Hound interjected.
"I'm not waiting out an ice storm without candles, Percy," Carly said, her tone allowing for no arguments. "I promised to read the Fellowship of the Ring to Hound by candlelight, and then we're going to play cards. It's a human tradition."
Perceptor raised a finger as though to make a point, then reset his vocalizer. "Very well. If it is an important ritual, I shall, with your permission, observe you. It is not as though you are using those as your primary means of illumination on a regular basis. Though if you must use them frequently for ritual purposes, I do suggest you restrict yourself to those made of beeswax rather than paraffin."
"It's a deal," Carly said, pulling out the matches.
The next morning found Carly bundled up against the cold outside the main entrance. While Hound's broad pedes sunk into the deep snow, Carly could carefully walk on the ice that coated the top. "I'm Legolas and you're Boromir," she said with a giggle.
"Just don't go taking off your shoes like a Hobbit," Hound said, settling his mass down to observe the frigid landscape under the icy blue sky. Now that the storm had passed, arctic air had settled over the region, promising that the ice would not be melting quickly. The forest was filled with the sound of cracking tree limbs giving way under the weight, each limb and needle sheathed in clear crystal.
"It's so beautiful," Carly said with a sigh. "Like a fairy garden, the way the ice coats everything like glass. Did you have any snow or ice on Cybertron? I know you had rain, obviously, but that wasn't such great thing."
"We had ice storms and snow - not often and mostly at the poles. But once in awhile a freezing storm would hit one of the city states, at least the sections that didn't have shielding. It would coat everything, just like this. But… well… acid rain is bad enough. Acid snow or ice? That stuck around? That was really bad news."
"Oh my, I can't even imagine. Makes this seem pretty tame."
"Cybertron's weather was mostly sedate. But when it hit, it did a lot more than take down tree limbs. When I was a pretty new bot, an acid snow and ice storm wiped out the crystal gardens in Praxus because their shielding failed. They'd been growing longer than any mech could remember, they say the core of the gardens predated the city itself - a natural wonder that the city had been built around. By the time the snow and ice melted… well, they regrew the gardens, but they lost that wildness they'd originally had."
Carly made her way back across the top of the snow and stood on Hound's lap, her hand touching the warm metal of his cheek without saying a word. Ready to listen, as she was so adept at doing.
"I like the weather here better," he said after a long pause, placing a finger atop her tiny hand. There was no need to relive how the 'Cons had slagged the new gardens, along with the rest of the city. And how Autobots, in turn, had slagged far many places in the cruel logic of war.
He was determined that this world, with its wild weather and unfathomably optimistic and resilient dominant species, would not suffer the same fate.