Towerling
Chapter 1
Change
Mirage was the first to make a comment. He usually remained silent as he followed his sire through the crowded streets of Iacon, but the neon paint on the wall of a shop caught his attention. He stopped in front of it and stared, absently stepping out of the way of other pedestrians on the sidewalk. "The Decepticon propaganda is beginning to spread."
It took his sire a moment to retrace his steps and stand in front of the graffiti with Mirage. When his sire stood next to him, the purple and gold decals of their house flashing in the light, he simply shook his head at the graffiti. "It is a shame that these so-called 'Decepticon sympathizers' have lowered themselves to such levels. Defamation of property—just another excuse for them demand retribution from the Senate."
Mirage stared at the symbols, his optics tracing each one with patient care. The message was written in a script more commonly found in cities such as Kaon or Tarn, and few who had lived in Iacon would know the meaning behind them. Mirage was an exception; he had learned the language during the first few vorns after his creation, before it was stigmatized as "the Decepticon language" by the media. His carrier once bragged about how their status had granted him such a thorough education; now, she glossed over it when she named off the numerous languages he knew to potential suitors.
"Should the Senate dismiss such behavior so easily?" Mirage barely turned to face his sire, optics still tracing the symbols. "Down with the Senate!": it was such a simple message, but something inside Mirage still balked at the forwardness. "I have heard that the uprisings in Kaon have—"
"Nonsense!" Mirage snapped his mouth closed and finally turned away from the graffiti. His sire still stood beside him, glaring down his nose at the wall. "This will soon blow over just as every other so called 'revolution.' Every mech soon learns that they cannot properly function without the order the Senate provides them."
"That does not keep them from voicing a need for change."
Mirage bowed his head when his Sire turned a pointed glare towards him. "They do not know what 'change' they seek. It is all just one mech's attempt to disrupt the peace that has reigned throughout Cybertron because of the steady guidance of the Senate. If there were a need for change, then the Senate would enact such. As for now, there is no need."
"I have heard rumor that some of our current senators sympathize with the Decepticon movement."
"A petty attempt to divide our ranks." Mirage's sire abruptly turned away from the wall and effortlessly stepped back into the flow of foot traffic. Mirage followed without a final glance at the graffiti. "As you begin to learn the inner workings of the Senate, you will be just as capable of differentiating between a false rumor and a true rumor, such as Senator Mortalis's affair with the Praxian ambassador."
Mirage allowed the change of topic without a word. He knew his sire had already forgotten about the graffiti, and he knew well enough not to attempt to bring the subject back up after it had been so easily dismissed. However, he kept his optics trained on the walls of the shops they passed, looking for any other blatant voice of rebellion.
It didn't concern him; none of it concerned the nobility who lived within the Towers of Iacon. Once the mech who started it all had been placated, life would return to normal, and everyone would find a new crisis to gossip about.
That didn't defuse the small spark of curiosity Mirage had though.
AN: So this is something that has been brewing in the back of my head for a while. I decided that I would do another daily prompt challenge for the month of July like I did with the first two stories of the Drone series...I actually forgot to post the first three chapters here, so that's why chapter one is being posting on the fourth day of the month. ^^;
Why Mirage though? Mainly because I've never really been able to find an "origin" story for him, and we're not really given much about him from canonical sources other than he's from money. I've personally come to have soft spot for the snotty noble too, and I want to give him more of a background that could be applied to Rise. This particular story will have a mixture of G1, Prime, and Movie lore, though I suppose I would consider it mainly taking place in the G1 universe.
I'll be back to post the other three chapters I have so far later so that the story will actually be on track for tomorrow's chapter. :D
