#36 - Not Quite a Family Reunion
A few days later, Starfeather, Airazor, Snowbelle, and Bluesprite were having a girls' day out. They were headed for neutral land so they would be less likely to get caught by a Predacon patrol. It had taken some convincing of Optimus Primal to let them go, but a pleading look from Snowbelle and convincing words from Bluesprite soon sealed the deal. They had decided to make a picnic kind of outing out of it by taking some energon cubes with them for later. Snowbelle was excited, endless chatter coming from her vocalizer. Airazor was the one she was riding and found the youngling an entertaining traveling partner. Bluesprite zipped all around the group, making comments on the scenery and also talking with the young vixen.
Starfeather was mostly quiet for the trip, absently listening to the conversations. However, her mind kept going back to the other day when she and Terrorsaur had finally had a serious talk. She wondered what bonding was like and if he would ask her if she wanted to. He hadn't that day. She began to wonder if she would even want to. If bonding was the equivalent of marriage, then this would be one of the biggest decisions of her life. She wished that she had her mom to talk to. She wasn't sure if she was ready for something like that yet. Dating was one thing… Not only that, but there was a war going on. She had seen on TV wives turned to widows and husbands become widowers. What if either of them died before this was all over? It was a real possibility that she had never truly taken in. She didn't want anyone to die, but that didn't mean they wouldn't.
The raven shook her head. She doubted that she was ever going to be human again so why not make the most of this new life? She could almost feel the open road of possibilities lay before her. She came crashing back into reality when someone bumped into her chest. Iridescent blue feathers as well as the loud buzzing of wings caught her attention.
"Hey Stary-eyes," Bluesprite said, swerving rapidly below the raven. "You shouldn't let your mind wander. It's much too small to go anywhere by itself."
"I'll manage." Starfeather laughed. "Are we there?"
"Uh-hu," the hummingbird nodded and swooped down into a sheltered valley.
The other two followed and landed in the lush grass. Snowbelle leaped off of Airazor's back and rolled in a particularly thick patch of grass and flowers, giggling as the leaves tickled her nose. Bluesprite shifted to robot form and laid beside the fox, spreading her arms and legs.
"Hey look! Grass angel!" she declared.
Snowbelle transformed as well and mimicked the other's actions. Starfeather had half a mind to join them, but she was contented to sit next to Airazor and watch and laugh along with them.
-x-
From the shadows, a small band of figures watched the strange shiny beings that had entered their home. They watch fearfully and curiously, waiting for them to leave so that they could get back to foraging.
-x-
Starfeather and Airazor continued to watch Bluesprite and Snowbelle horse around until the raven turned to the other.
"Hey, Airazor?" she said. The falcon glanced at her.
"Yes?"
"Terrorsaur and I were talking the other day and, well..." She paused awkwardly. "I think he's going to ask me to... bond with him soon."
"Really? Wow, that's great!" Airazor's sea green optics widened and she grinned. Starfeather smiled nervously back.
"I know, but..." She paused again. "I'm not so sure if I should. I mean, I don't know what to expect. Not only that, but there's a war going on. I don't know if we should yet." Airazor took on a thoughtful look.
"Well... I think that, if he does ask you," she finally said. "You should accept. After all, you might not have the chance to again if you wait." The raven looked grave, pushing away a sense of doom, and nodded.
"I guess you're right." She then smiled softly and added shyly. "I do love him."
"I'm happy for you," she said. Airazor smiled encouragingly and hugged her friend. Starfeather smiled her thanks.
"So," the raven started after a minute or two of watching the other girls still clowning around. "How's it going between you and Tigatron?"
"Oh…" Airazor blushed slightly. "Well, we're... we're getting along."
"Come on, Airy." Starfeather playfully poked the falcon's arm accusingly. "That was so fake."
"Alright, I give," Airazor giggled, waving the other's hand away. "We've kissed a few times since last week."
"That's awesome!" Starfeather cheered, though not too loudly. Their conversation was cut short however when they heard a shriek and looked to see that Snowbelle was sitting on Bluesprite, mercilessly tickling her.
"Stop!" the blue femme cried through her laughter. "You win, YOU WIN!" Snowbelle laughed in triumph before jumping off and sitting innocently by a mossy log. The hummingbird gave her a playful evil glare and sat up.
"Oh," she sighed. "I say it's time we fueled up."
Everyone agreed and sat in a circle, though Snowbelle wanted to sit in Starfeather's lap. Airazor, who had been placed in charge of carrying the energon, brought out the cubes and gave one to everybody. They drank their energon rather quietly. That is, until Snowbelle flicked her ear like helm ornaments toward the trees behind them.
"What was that?" she said. "Did you hear that?" The older femmes went on the alert, thinking Predacons might have gotten wise to them. This time, they all heard the underbrush rustle and an odd noise.
"Snow, get behind us," Starfeather ordered quietly but urgently as she reached for her blaster. The youngling nodded nervously and transformed into beast mode and cowered behind a mossy fallen log. The other three femmes had their weapons pointed toward where the bushes kept rattling.
"Alright you," Bluesprite growled. "We know you're there, now come out and face us!"
To their surprise, a small ape like creature stumbled out from the bushes. It stared up at them with big curious dark brown eyes. The femmes relaxed.
"Aww, it's a cute little monkey!" Bluesprite squealed. "I jus' wanna hug 'im and love 'im and call him..."
"I don't think Optimus would allow us to bring it back to base with us," Airazor giggled.
"Oh," Snowbelle breathed when she lifted her head at the commotion. "It's so cute!"
Starfeather, on the other hand, was staring right back at the young ape. Their eyes seemed to lock together and she kneeled nearer to it. Something about this ape made her plating crawl.
"Guys..." she said softly. They looked to her. "I think it's a neanderthal."
"Neandy-what?" Bluesprite questioned. Airazor then looked over the creature more careful and her mouth opened.
"I think you're right..."
"What's a ne- neeado..." Snowbelle tried to wrap her vocalizer around the funny word. "Knee-ann-der-thawl...?"
No one answered her for a moment. Then, Starfeather spoke, her optics never leaving the animal.
"A neanderthal is supposedly an early form of human beings."
"Human?" Bluesprite repeated. "I thought humans only lived on earth."
"I did too..." Starfeather trailed off. The small ape came nearer, still gazing back at her. "So now, either humans exist on another planet or... this place is what I thought it was all along."
"And..." Airazor paused. "Where would that be?"
The raven didn't reply for what seemed like a long time. Snowbelle looked from one to the other, waiting for someone to say something. She had heard of humans before in her lessons and seen a picture or two. A few humans had been important factors in the Great Wars years and years ago. Finally, Starfeather found the voice to answer.
"This is earth, but in prehistoric times..."
"Then, how do you explain the second moon?" Airazor asked. No one had an answer for that.
