Wings of Fire

by Sulktora Storm Dragoness

Optimus wanders into the Long Sands during his First Heat, where he promptly runs into trouble. He escapes, but unfortunately, his troubles don't stay in the desert; they come looking for him. This is a Dragonformer story requested by my best guy friend/cousin. Pairings include Megatron/Optimus and slight Barricade/Bumblebee.

1. Chapter 1

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Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or the idea of Dragonformers.

Big thanks to LadyAnatar, for being my Beta.

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Wings of Fire – 1 and 2

~The Heat~

Nothing was more annoying than having to deal with one's upcoming First Heat. It was torture laced with fiery lust. The worst part of all was being completely alone during it, simply because the adult clan members had long-ago declared that all younglings must leave and suffer though for the sake of tradition.

It was the tradition of his clan to have those going through their First Heat leave for the Long Sands and wait out the heat. More practically, it was a way to understand times when they would be separated from their mate. A time to start learning how to ignore the need to reproduce, in case of food shortages or young ones being hunted or killed by enemies.

In young Optimus' mind, this tradition was simply unfair to him and the other younglings who were elsewhere in the Long Sands. However, it was also obvious to him that with the younglings gone, it allowed the clan adults to produce more offspring. Normally, a simple mating during a heat flight produced one egg. The egg was laid one month after conception, and it hatched five months after being laid.

The Sire dragon then took on the task of providing for his mate and offspring. After their offspring reached adulthood, the whole sequence repeated itself, rarely leaving the Sire dragon with much time to spare for their mate and offspring, other than teaching the little ones how to fight and hunt.

~The Mistake~

Trudging across the Long Sands with the sun beating down on his back and wings, Optimus lets out a huff of frustration.

Idly, he recalled the final reason why the younglings were sent into the Long Sands; it was to see how strong the raised offspring really were after all the time their parents took in raising them. If the new adults came back after the heat finished, it mean that they were raised well and would pass on strong genes when they found a mate.

The major kicker was that their 'seal' must remain intact until a dragon found a mate, because coming back heavy with egg and without a mate was absolutely unacceptable. Those that broke the rule were immediately cast out of the clan. Only after losing the egg or abandoning it, and then submitting to the clan leader's will, could they ever rejoin the clan and find a mate. That tragedy had not happened for a long time, and many hoped it would stay that way.

Banishing those thoughts, Optimus walked faster, following a water source that he had smelled earlier on the wind.

While more thirsty than hungry, Optimus knew with a water source around, prey would be nearby. Spotting the oasis ahead, Optimus sighed in relief and rushed to the water. He drank heavily, then eagerly dove in to cool off from the desert heat and wash of the dust from disturbed desert sand.

After Optimus got his fill of the cooling water, he shook off the remaining droplets and curled under a large, nearby palm tree. He fell asleep swiftly, utterly unaware that he had crossed into another dragon's territory; another dragon who was unfriendly, and ruthless.

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Also once again, another Big thanks to LadyAnatar, for being my Beta.

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