Ariel Pax

Like Water

RedAlert sat at his desk reading a data-pad; it was about nine in the morning, meaning HotShot was still sound in recharge. Actually, only he, Blurr, and Optimus Prime were ever up this early, making it actually a bit more peaceful.

Suddenly he heard the door open as a transformer walked in; he could always tell who it was by the sound of there footsteps, and before the 'bot could say a word he said, "Good morning Ariel." He looked up from his data-pad briefly, just long enough to affirm he was right.

He tried very hard not to smirk; last night HotShot had told everyone in base that he had walked in on her and Lightning getting rather cozy in her room: much to the dismay of Optimus.

She sat across from him at the desk, propped up her elbows, and then muttered, "Hey Red?"

He looked up from the pad, "Yes Ariel?"

She leaned over looking exasperated, "I'm bored."

He shook his head and lifted the pad, "Then go bother someone else."

"But everyone else is either in recharge or busy."

He arched his optic-ridge beneath his visor, "Don't I look busy?"

"Work-work-work! That's all you care about isn't it!"

"Trust me; I'd prefer to run off and slack at my duties like HotShot… but I work so hard because I don't want something to happen, and one of you guys be hurt in a way I can't fix without a certain piece of equipment that I could've easily made sooner."

She sat up, "I guess that's a good point… but then why'd you agree to go camping for the entire weekend?"

He gave her a strange look, "I didn't; I told him the only way he'd get me on that trip was to tie me up in energon chains and drag me."

"Yeah… but he'll probably do it. And I'll help!"

He shook his head, "Ariel, I don't mean to sound rude but… how can you act so cheerful with everyone in the middle of a war?"

She fell silent, twiddling her thumbs juvenilely. She finally muttered, "Sometimes you've just gotta suck it up and pretend not to be fazed by everything that's going on. I mean… you never know… every morning you can't help but wonder… 'Is today my last day? Am I going to survive?' …Until you realize that you just have to take thing one day at a time… wile still planning for the future. You have to be brave, but you can't get overconfident, and you can't go to far with whatever you do… because then you might as well be one of them."

RedAlert gaped at her sudden change of mood. Suddenly wishing he'd kept quiet. But she wasn't done with her strange behavior yet. She continued so quietly that he had to turn up his audio to hear her, "Sometimes I think it'd have been better if Optimus didn't have to deal with me. That I'd never been sparked."

He gaped a moment than regained composure, "Don't be ridiculous Ariel; Optimus would be miserable without you."

"It's not like he ever wanted me in the first place; I overheard him tell Elita-1 that he wished they'd waited to have sparklings until the war was over. And it doesn't seem like it'll ever be over. Not in his lifetime or mine even."

Red didn't know what to say, she did have a point, but a dreary one. He was slightly aw-struck that her attitude could change so quickly. She was like water, bubbly and care-free one second, frozen the next.

"Now Ariel, you know he loves you, he just doesn't want you to get hurt; and at the time he probably thought the war was coming to a close."

For a long wile neither of them spoke, but then she lifted her head and smiled at him, "Thanks a lot Reddy. And I am going to help Hotshot force you to take a break."

Desperate to change the subject he decided to go out on a limb, "I'm surprised Optimus hasn't had a talk with you yet."

She gave him a blank stare, "About what?"

"About what HotShot told everyone."

"What did that lying bot tell everyone?"

"That you and Lightning seemed pretty cozy in each others arms when he walked into your room to tell you about camping."

"What! We were just talking! And it was a best-friend hug!"

"I believe you." He said, looking into her optics, "But it's Optimus you ought to be trying to convince."

She sighed, "Time to go do some damage control."

He noticed something strange as she excited, even though the shortest rout to the control room was out the side door, she left through the exited that had no reflective objects adorning the walls or equipment. He shook his head once the door was closed, "Strange femme; a lot like water, except water doesn't avoid its own reflection."

To Be Continued…