Ch. 238

They had only been walking for a few minutes but Starscream could already tell that Optimus was a moving mech with no destination in mind. Despite having brought the seeker to a location only he could have picked, the Prime made it clear through actions and actions alone that he'd never been here before and that this was their chance to explore it together. Starscream wasn't sure how much he liked that as his peds crushed vegetation and he stumbled, for the second time now, on what a human would describe as a boulder. He hated not having at least a path to walk on.

"Well," the red and white mech sighed, stopping to stretch his arms up, "I have certainly learned my lesson. Let's head back to camp and call it an early night, hm?"

Optimus paused and turned to look back, "I have a question and a statement. Which shall I address first?"

Starscream shrugged.

"Would you care to tell me what lesson you feel you have learned?"

The seeker's wings fell flat and Starscream shifted uncomfortably before slowly rising back up again, "Uh, yes, um... it's bad to bottle things up. I've been through a lot and I need to talk more."

The Prime crossed his arms, "I see."

Starscream nodded, "Yes... It was a hard lesson to learn," he pouted softly, letting his arms and upper chassis sag forward, "but I'm better now. We don't have to go through this whole, arduous walk. Heading back now is our best option."

Optimus's optics became stern, his arms still locked across his chest plate, "This then moves us onto my statement: it will be at least a few hours before it is dark enough to consider powering down."

The seeker's pout turned into a frown, "Optimus, this is useless-"

"You are failing to see the point, Starscream."

The smaller mech pulled back, his frown now full of judgement, "Do you dare suggest that I don't understand the severity of my condition? That I don't see how badly it has effected me and everyone else? Or that I'm not taking it seriously enough?"

Optimus shook his helm, "I doubt none of these things. But you are in a fragile and coarse place at this moment-"

"Coarse? You choose the word 'coarse' for this-"

"Yes, Starscream, I did," Optimus relaxed his stance and his expression, "You are in a state that can easily be directed down two paths, one of healing and the other of despair," the smaller mech turned away and the Prime stepped closer to offer his servo, "Please, allow me to guide you while you are still finding ways to handle all this. Your fragility now could cause you to break once more. And I chose the word 'coarse' to describe how hard you have been on yourself, just as the environment around you has been equally unkind. Please, Starscream, allow me to hold onto your trust for just a little while longer."

Starscream sighed softly and shook his helm. Thoughts were racing around in his mind faster than he could properly acknowledge them. But the feelings attached to each one? They slowly and painfully snaked their way through his frame. His rushing mind was struggling to cope with the lingering emotions. He just wanted everything to find synchronization, to balance out, without him having to deal with it all. Was he sorry it had all come to this? Of course he was. But was he ready to lay it all out, accept what did happen and what occurred, before moving on? ... That was a question he was hoping to set aside for another time.

Optimus's servo began to retreat. As it pulled away, Starscream suddenly reached out, grasping the ends of the rectangular digits carefully.

"Optimus... you never have to ask for my trust; you already have it," the seeker murmured, "It's just-I never-" he sighed, "This isn't something I've had to deal with before... and I certainly didn't have anyone trying to help me through it. Optimus, I trust you more than I trust myself at times... but I'm going to need you to tell me what your plan is before I just go head long into whatever it is..." he finally glanced up, but it was to look passed the Prime and into the beyond, "or... whatever forest it is you've found..."

The larger mech was delicate in finding a more firm hold on the seeker's servo as he smiled lightly, "This place is new to me, Starscream. I wish to explore it with you and along the way we will take moments to reflect as needed. I promise we will return to our camp before dark and I will do my best to accommodate any needs you may have while we enjoy our stay here."

Starscream smirked, "Oh, do your best to accommodate, hm?"

"Within reason," Optimus nodded, "I have my limitations."

The smaller mech scoffed playfully and rolled his optics as he began to walk again, "You? Limitations? If you're trying to tell me that you, the great and wise Optimus Prime, has limitations, you're failing considerably."

The Prime followed Starscream closely, his small smile growing, "You seem to think I am not accurately describing my own abilities."

"Optimus," the seeker almost tsked, "I have seen you challenge Unicron himself, take on some of the most one-sided battles that held your victory at the end, and you've put up with me and my more unique qualities. If this is an accurate description of the word 'limitation', then I have been sinfully using it incorrectly the whole of my function."

Optimus shook his helm, "While these things may be true on your account, I am still a mech."

"You are a Prime. That makes you quite a bit more capable than the rest of us, no?"

"To the same extent then," the Prime returned, "your outlier capabilities make you far greater than I."

Starscream's wings flicked and his gait slowed, "I... don't know about that..."

Optimus carefully squeezed the smaller mech's servo in reassurance, "I do not say this to make you uncomfortable, Starscream. But my former self had to be given the Matrix of Leadership to become a Prime; you were sparked with abilities that remained dormant until they were needed. And you have become far stronger than the first time you used-"

"Yes," the seeker huffed quickly, sighing, "yes, I know..."

"... I did not mean to upset you."

Starscream shook his helm and allowed Optimus to walk ahead as they came to a tight grouping of trees, "No, that's not how I... I had to die for it all to happen. You were offered the choice, or at least, Orion Pax was... If I could have chosen this...? I'm not entirely sure I would have. Not the abilities portion and... being chased by psychotic forces. The rest I would take, though. All of you have been worth this."

"I hope we have been," Optimus held a low hanging branch out of the seeker's way as they continued to delve deeper into the forest, "It would not do you well to force yourself to endure the company of those you do not like."

Starscream smiled weakly, "Lucky for me, I like all of you. Even Smokescreen, the little brat."

"He took your capture very hard, Starscream."

The seeker sighed, "Yes, I know. I wish he didn't. Even if we had... somehow managed to..."

He trailed off. And he didn't need to say more. The two continued to walk to no where, ducking under branches and maneuvering through tightly clustered trees whose roots were definitely making Starscream rethink the whole 'nature' thing. But for every stumble or beginnings of a trip he would have, Optimus would hold his servo tight and prevent him from falling. And as the sound and smell of running water became clearer to the pair, the seeker took a pause to intake deeply.

"... Optimus?" he turned to look up at the larger mech, "Let's keep going until we find the water."