A/N: Heyo, we gots a new chapter! This one just hit me all of sudden and I think I finally got the groove I need to write Nerium. Anyways I hope you enjoy the chapter but, I am giving you all a warning here. FAIR WARNING Y'ALL, THERE IS A POINT IN THIS CHAPTER THAT A ANIMAL IS KILLED AND EATEN, ITS NOT GRAPHIC, JUST MENTION OF BLOOD AND THE KILLING OF THE ANIMAL, IT IS A DEER, BUT I JUST WANTED TO WARN YOU IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT YOU DON'T HAVE TO READ IT. I'LL PUT THIS STAR * BEFORE IT STARTS AND AFTER IT ENDS, SO YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED, JUST IN CASE, DON'T WANNA OFFEND OR GROSS ANYONE OUT I AM VERY PARANOID ABOUT IT SO THIS IS JUST FOR MY SAKE AND YOURS!...now, enjoy.
Chapter 12-The Start of Something
Nerium's POV
I sat alone in the common area of the ship, where others came for their Energon and relaxed. Currently, I was Druidcrafting a flower, making it grow from my palm, then cutting it's life source off and watching it wilt and die. The spell was a cantrip so it didn't drain my pool like other more powerful spells.
Honestly, a toddler could do this spell.
But, it had its perks, like distracting the thoughts going through my helm. It's been a full week since my arrival and not much has changed, I've begun to hang out more and more on the Bridge, whenever Megatron is around there.
His work would have seemed boring to others, but to me, it was the most interesting thing on this ship. I don't think he minds either, he hasn't shooed me away yet.
Then the others of the ship, Knockout and Breakdown are on friendly terms with me I suppose. I mean, I don't hate them but they are just...something else. Then there's Starscream who has almost become a shut in as of late, his either working, visiting Moonfall in the Med-Bay or in his room, nothing in between. He even has vehicons bring him his rations and rarely if at all talks to anyone.
Of course, that's pissed off his brothers who seemed adamant on speaking with him for some reason. Then there is Soundwave and Astraea, those two are never around. Either Soundwave is doing something secretive or Astraea just simply avoids me.
It seems like she hates Moonfall, every time she passes the Med Bay she glares at the door, and from what I've heard from others, those two didn't get along ...and it seems neither will I, but that has yet to be seen.
I sighed to myself as I crumpled the dying flower in my hand, crushing it into black dust.
"You seem bored…" My helm snapped to the owner of the voice, Lord Megatron stood tall over my table with a curious glance.
"Ah," I hurriedly collected my thoughts and pulled my mask down, "Yes, it would seem."
He sat across from me with an unknown expression, "How do you usually fill your time then?"
I became suspicious, "Why do you ask?"
He chuckled, "Color me curious, so tell me, if you don't mind. How does a druid fill her days?"
"Well,' I thought back to my memories, rushing around in my head, it only caused pain to swell in my spark at them all, so I quickly skimming through them I said.
'In the past, I was a wanderer, walking the Countless Lands with others seeking adventure and danger. Before that, I was simply studying in the temple, tending the gardens that high in the mountains was a daily task. As well as meditation and working on my spells. I also used my time to study other languages, at this point I am fluent in ten languages."
"Ten?" He asked, he almost seemed impressed...and amazed?
I nodded my helm, "Yes, I can speak Common, Gnomish, Druidic, Orcish, Giant, Draconic, Sylvan, Dwarvish, Elven and Goblin."
His ruby optics seemed to widen, "I wondered about that, every time ones of spoke Cybertronian in any dialect you seemed lost."
I remembered, there were times in passing where I couldn't understand the language, it was strange, the Primes said I would be equipped for this. Why wasn't I? Then I heard snickering in the back of my helm from the Primes, I scowled in confusion in my mind, my face remaining neutral.
"Correct, it seems Common is the same language as some humans use, English. By the way, why do you speak a human language?" I asked, genuinely curious.
He must have seen a glimmer of it on my face as he chuckled, "Any planet we come too we learn the language, even if Earth has the most diverse set of languages, it's standard procedure. If we want to use and conquer the planet, we must know what our enemies are saying, right?"
"Of course, that makes sense. But, does that mean you know all of Earth's languages?"
"Ma chère fleur, tu crois que je te ment?" He said with a sly smirk.(My dear flower, do you think I am lying to you?)
I stared at him blankly, "What?"
He rumbled in laughter, despite myself I cracked a small smile at the sound of it.
"I think I know a way to pass the time, if you are interested, Nerium?" He asked, a scheming and dominating expression of his scarred faceplate.
"I'm listening…" Anything to stem the boredom, anything.
"I will teach you not only Cybertronian in the dialects that I know of, and I will teach you some of Earth's more...exotic languages, if and only if, you teach me magic."
I stared at him in surprise, so, this was his endgame? My spark sank a little, knowing that he only talked to me like this for something I had. It reminded me of the Half-Elf Bard. But...I shouldn't be so surprised, he is the Lord of the Decepticons afterall, but still….
'Momma, are you okay? Do you need me to claw his optics out?' Wendigo asked aggressively through our bond, I could feel her annoyance and anger directed towards Megatron for making me feel like this.
'I'm fine, let me handle this.' I said before looking back at him with a hardened and more cold stare.
"I can't Megatron…" He stared in surprise before anger replaced it.
"What!? Why not?!" He demanded, his optics flashing a dangerous red.
I scowled further, "If I did, I would lose my power."
He seemed to stop in his tracks, I went on, "My power is based on the knowledge of a language, Druidic. In order to gain power over nature you need to learn this written language, once a druid passes it on to another, they lose their power over nature and is left with nothing."
I remember when my Master in the Temples taught me the power of the Druidic language and I remembered how powerless he became, I didn't want to become him. I vowed never to pass on that knowledge to anyone else, no matter what, so that I could keep this power to myself.
He was silent for a moment before standing and walking away.
"Megatron," I called out, he stopped. "What if we made a different deal?"
He turned, surprised, "What do you purpose?" His curiosity settling it seemed his annoyance and anger.
"You still teach me what you suggested before and I, once in awhile, will Polymorph you so that you can experience a semblance of my power, if only for a little while." I said, alighting the black stones in my palms.
"What is, Polymorph?" He asked, stepping closer.
"It's better if I show you, but not here, do you know a secluded place on Earth?" I asked dimming my palms once more.
He smirked in satisfaction, "I do, lets go."
Elsewhere on the Ship...
Starscream's POV
I held the necklace in my secret compartment near my spark, it's warmth seemed to spread through my frame making it more pleasant to walk through the cold halls of the Nemesis than usually. I had finished my work for the day and was heading towards my quarters when I stopped.
I sensed something off in the air, someone was watching me.
I kept walking, gaining speed as I headed for my room where I knew I would be safe. But the feeling never went away, it kept following me. I started to run, faster and faster down the hall as my fear increased and increased.
Ahead I saw my room, I smiled in victory as I opened to door quickly and slammed it shut behind me. I vented hard, trying to cool my racing systems.
"We are done waiting, brother." A voice snapped thoughts of safety and victory as I looked up to see Thundercracker and Skywarp standing there.
My optics widened, "W-What...are you doing in my room?!" I asked, rage racing in my systems, I never liked bots just waltzing in my private room, it was private for a reason!
Thundercracker scowled even more, "We need to talk, now."
"Star," Skywarp's voice crackled in sadness, "We're worried about you...what happened to you on the last mission?"
My spark sank, I had been keeping up the walls on our bonds so that I could keep Moonfall's spectral form secret. But now...regret flood my systems, my wings dipped.
"Many things happened…" I said poorly, Thundercracker snarled.
"To the Pit Starscream! What were you thinking back there?! What drove you to such horrid thoughts?! How did you fall so far in such a short amount of time, more so than a millennia of war did!?"
I couldn't look him in the optic, I felt those dark feelings surface again as I replayed the memories in my helm. But, then the warmth from Moonfall's stone washed them away and granted me something I thought I would never receive from anyone, encouragement, silent but still there.
I looked up into his optics, my nerves steeled over as I said, "That's the thing, Thundercracker, I fell that hard because for once, I gave a scrap about who died in this war. I cared this time, because the one bot who ever even tolerated my opinions and thoughts died! It was unfair! This war is unfair and I hate it!"
"But we care about your opinions too, Screamer." Skywarp said, confused at my words.
I closed my optics and rubbed my fingers between them, "This...is different, Skywarp. She isn't family, she is...something completely new and unexpected. She has forcefully shoved herself into my life, our lives, how could I not notice her. She is something to take notice, someone who deeply cares about others opinions and ideas."
I opened my optics to see Thundercracker's face softened, "You talk like she's still around…"
"BECAUSE SHE IS!" I bellowed in unexpected anger, my optics widened in surprise, where did that sudden anger and aggression come from? "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me…"
There was a tense silence before Thundercracker spoke, "So, she's the reason you fell into that deep pit of darkness?"
I nodded, numbly, my emotions were all in a jumble now.
He cracked a smile, "Then you must really like her."
I could feel the heat rising from my very core and spark, the warmth of Moonfall seemed to amplify it.
I sputtered, "I-I don't...I mean, I d-do…" I trailed off as I heard sweet laughter from my Moonlight in my audio….
….why do I keep calling her my Moonlight?!
Skywarp snickered, "Good to see you found someone you enjoy their company, Star!"
I huffed, crossing my arms, "W-Whatever, just...are we…?"
My younger brothers looked at each other with a small smile before looking back, "For now, but know you can tell us anything, alright Starscream?"
I nodded, "Yes, yes, I know. Now can you please get out of my room?"
They chuckled to themselves as I forcefully pushed them out and closed the door. I sighed in relief in finally being alone, well, not completely. Her spectral form suddenly appeared in front of me, floating above the floor to be face to face, she held a mischievous yet sweet smile.
"W-What?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer.
Her smile widened, "I knew you liked me, can sense it in your spark but saying it out loud is so much better."
The heat came back tenfold, "I-I, well yes I like you...and your company...but I mean ...you can't like me like that. Right?"
She chuckled, "I like you, Starscream."
My spark leapt in my chassis, "Y-You…" I couldn't come up with words.
"Maybe, some day, I'll even fall in love with you, Starlight." She said with a sly smirk before disappearing as quickly as she came. I slowly slid to the floor, my optics wide in surprise and shock. Did she just...no she must be joking...but she never joked before...am I? Are we? Can I even?
Is this reality or a dream? And if it's a dream, can I never wake up please?
Somewhere in the middle of the Canadian Wilderness...
No One's POV
Nerium and Megatron stood alone in the quiet of a snow-covered pine forest. The snow caught the sounds and muffled them, making it an eerie type of silence. Nerium took in her surroundings, she smiled at the remoteness, she couldn't sense any human activity anywhere.
"So, you wanted to show me your part of the bargain?" Megatron asked, looking down at the small gnome that sunk more into the snow than the larger mech.
She nodded, a small but rare smile gracing her face, "Yes, but you need to be accepting, can you do that?"
Megatron saw the challenge, "Of course." He answered with gusto.
She faces him completely, she moved her onyx inlaid palms around, creating a cocoon like shape in the air, the glowing greenish-blue light sparkling in the clear and fresh air. Then, she thrusts it forward and it passes into Megatron.
He never felt transformation like this, it was new and weird. His form shifted and lower, his peds elongated as his legs became shorter, his servos became paws, his audios became like dishes that swelled on his helm. His face elongated, the scars remain and long thick tail grew out from his spinal strut.
He felt powerful, in strength, in senses and his agility.
Nerium smiled happily at the silvery-grey Cougar as the feline inspected himself with soft grunts and appreciative sounds.
"Megatron," The metallic cougar looked up at her with brilliant red eyes, "This might be hard to understand but you have gained the intelligence of the animal, which means you can't speak and nothing you had before will work, no weapons, no Comms."
Through her knowledge of reading animals, she could tell what she was saying was making it to his now smaller brain.
"Alright, my turn."
Again, she focused on her natural power of Wildshape. Just like Megatron, she lowered and transformed into a cougar, but instead of silvery-grey, she was more a tan-ish color. She was now about the same size as Megatron, which was an improvement if a bit disappointing.
She was also glad that she left Wendigo back on the ship, this needed to be one on one.
Even though Megatron currently had the mind of a big wild cat, she retained her intelligence. She huffed at him, gaining his attention, she huffed again in a 'follow me' kind of way.
She ran into the forest at full speed, quickly he caught up with her.
For Megatron, his mind had been reduced to basic thoughts and instincts. But he felt utterly free, as he ran in the snowy forest. His blood pumped through his body and the rush of the hunt and run filled his entire mind. Scents were different, almost heightened beyond what he could before.
As he ran, his simpler mind looked at the female cougar ahead of him as they ran together. He kept thinking of how powerful she was, how she would be someone to keep the scent of, he wanted her, his basic mind didn't have barriers of society or no embarrassment at thoughts of how she could be his, only his.
She was powerful, beautiful, and quick.
Suddenly, she stopped. Her ears perked up, he stopped beside her and he listened. There, in silence was the sound of something moving silently amongst the snow. Slowly she crawls towards it, him following her. They make their way through the snow, quiet as can be. They reached a clearing to see deer in the snow, digging up grass and eating bark at the edges of clearing.
Megatron huffed, 'Food…'
Nerium being more intelligent than her counterpart stopped him, 'No, you'll regret it.'
He looked to her confused, 'But, food, we need food.'
'No, we'll get some later, come.' She said, starting to walk openingly into the clearing.
******Not getting why his partner wanted to not eat, he sprinted out before her chasing at one of the deer grazing. It's head shot before it dashed, running for the edge of the clearing. His powerful legs carried him faster and faster, before he lunged at the poor deer, he latched on and dragged it down with his claws and teeth, growling loudly.
The thing slammed into the ground and before it could recover he latched onto the throat and snapped its neck with his jaws. He huffed in the cold fresh air, his mouth and claws stained with blood of the creature. He looked up to see his partner approaching, she huffed.
'I knew I couldn't stop you, even if I tried.' Her ears were down with almost an annoyed look.
He looked between the carcass and his partner, before nudging it slightly to her. She looked at it, then back at him, then to the deer and him again. She sighed and huffed, 'Fine, been sometime since I've eaten a dead animal as an animal, might as well since you went through the trouble, but only this once, got it?'
The male cougar seemed to lighten up a little, Nerium looked to which would be the best in his cougar form before going for the upper front leg. Seeing her go at it, he just dug right in.*********
After sometime, they had their fill and carried on.
They spent hours in the forest, running, resting, chasing. They came to a rocky cliff overlooking the valley they'd been running around about, the sun setting on the snowy forest. Nerium settled on the overlook, her tail swishing back and forth, beside her, quite close, was Megatron.
In the back of his mind he didn't mind the view, but the more animalistic part seemed impassive. But what he really cared about was the female cougar beside him, she was something else.
Powerful, yet cautious, secretive and strange. She was something he wanted to tear open and see how she ticked. But he knew, even in this animalistic form, he would rather wait and pick her piece by piece than rip it all open. It was something savor, he wanted to know the enigma of this female, no matter how long it took or in what form both of them took.
Nerium wondered how Megatron's more intelligent side will react to eating a deer, with amusement she imagined horribly, that's what you get for not listening, in any form.
A/N: French isn't my native language, so if I messed it up, I blame Google Translate.
