Danni's feet hurt, she was covered in blood, sweat, and dirt, and she was so hungry she was ready to eat the rock she was kicking. She had taken off her shoes because it became too hot, and her feet were already slipping out of them because of her sweat. Everyone had followed her example, and had taken off their shoes as well. The soldiers and other men, including Zane, had taken off their shirts, panting and fanning themselves with their stinky clothes. The woman just had to bear through the heat, though Danni had been smart and had ripped her jeans down to shorts. The Arizona heat was unbearable, and a few people had already fainted, being carried by soldiers or one of their friends or relatives who were strong to carry them.
Danni walked along side Optimus, who didn't seem to mind the heat. Probably because he had AC in him. Danni panted like a dog, tongue out as she licked her dry lips, though her tongue couldn't provide much saliva since she hadn't had anything to drink in two and a half days. Optimus looked down at her, concern in his optics. He knew that Humans couldn't survive long without food and water, which made him wary of the Humans behind him. He needed to find them some water, and fast.
Looking to Ratchet, he saw the same concern in his optics. He knew he would be the same, he was a medic after all. Danni's knees became wobbly like gelatin, and she collapsed, still panting as she gulped down what was left of her saliva, which tasted a lot like sand. Optimus quickly bent down, letting her grab a digit to help her back up. "Are you alright?" He questioned, voice laced with concern.
Danni nodded drowsily. "I'm, I'm just fine. Don't…Don't worry about me." She said, walking on. Optimus had enough on his plate right now, he didn't need another Human fainting. She stood up straight, and tried to walk tall, though her burning feet and trembling knees wouldn't allow it. Slumping back over, she licked her lips once more, and looking ahead, her eyes widened at the sight. An oasis, a large pool of water, just waiting there. But Danni shook her head. Some of the others had already had their mirages, thinking the sand was an entire ocean, and Ratchet had announced them all crazy, and were passed out by now.
But, Optimus pointed ahead, right towards the oasis. "Let us stop there." He said in a loud voice. Danni didn't even need him to say that, and well, neither did the other Humans. They ran towards it, and Danni went on her knees, lapping up the water like an animal as she splashed some in her face. It was so cold and refreshing, it was the best water she had ever tasted! She looked up to see the soldiers taking their caps and filling them with water, splashing it down on their bodies. Now, everyone was wet, happy, and dirty. Extremely dirty. Even the water couldn't wash off most of the dirt, but it did help with the blood and sweat.
Danni took several more gulps of the water, and knelt back, water dripping from her chin. Her made a noise that sounded slightly like a grizzly bear growling, and she clutched it. Great, now she was hungry after she was just quenched her thirst. And she didn't seem to be the only one. A chorus of rumbles erupted from the others, and they rubbed their empty stomachs. The Autobots looked down at the Humans strangely once the loud noise came to their audio receptors. They had plenty of Energon for themselves, most of it placed in their subspaces, so they wouldn't go hungry, but they still had to feed the Humans, or at least find something edible for them to eat.
The small oasis only provided water and shade from the small trees around it, and that seemed about it. No food was for miles as far as he could see, not even a single thing, there were only small desert animals, scampering across the sand. They would have no food, unless…
"Danni, catch a rodent."
Danni looked up at the mech with a cocked eyebrow. "Excuse me?" She said, water dribbling from her lower lip. Optimus simply pointed towards the ground at a small desert mouse skidding across the sand, burrowing back into its hole.
"Catch a rodent, make a fire, and eat it." Optimus directed. She just stared at him a while longer, until she nodded, and got up from the pool of water, walking over to the mech, head high as she walked past the mech. Her eyes narrowed at the sight of a small mouse, and she could already smell the thing over the fire, fat and juicy and all roasted up. Danni's mouth watered at the thought, and she was more intent on catching the creature every passing second.
Danni licked her lips, and went down into a predatory crouch, staying still until it came closer and closer, and stopped to sniff the air. Danni pounced, and landed on the small creature, hands cupped over it. Well, that was easy. She thought as she smiled, feeling a small warmth in her stomach. She felt a painful sting, and she recoiled in pain, looking at her hand. The little thing had bitten her! Her palm had a bead of blood running down it, dripping onto the sand. She snarled at the thing, who seemed to be laughing at her, how he just stopped a few feet away from her, squeaking insanely as he raised his whiskered nose towards the air.
Now this was personal.
Danni pounced on the mouse again, though missed by half an inch, the mouse scampering away again to laugh at her. Danni's eyes flared with anger, and while the little animal was laughing it's little tail off, she pounced once again, and caught the little rascal in both hands, standing up as she looked at it with triumph. "Who's laughing now?" She mocked.
"You do know it can't talk back, right?" Danni turned around to see Zane, head cocked to the side as he stared at her strangely. She simply shrugged, and showed him the struggling mouse with a smile. Zane looked at the mouse, than back at her. "Uh, okay, congratulations. You caught a mouse." He said, giving her a small thumbs up. "So what?"
"Duh! We catch, we cook it, we eat." She said simply, giving the mouse a small squeeze with her thumb, as she was getting extremely annoyed with its constant scratching, and her hand was getting itchy from its rough fur. "Optimus told me to catch one, and I did." She said enthusiastically. Zane cocked his head to the side at her excitement. Was she proud of herself in some way? Did Optimus mean that much to her or something? Shaking his head, he shooed the thoughts off, only to see that Danni was no longer in front of him, but next to Optimus, tapping the side of his leg.
The mech looked down at the Human, who showed him the mouse. "I got it Optimus." She said. The mech bent down with a smile, and belittled all of his strength to gently pat her on the head. Zane really didn't see why he seemed proud in a way. It was just a mouse, a measly little thing at that. They'd need to catch like, twenty more to feed everyone there. The one she caught would probably feed maybe two people, and one of the people who ate it would get a smaller bit then the other, and they'd probably get into some kind of fight, since it was hot, everyone was tired, and everyone seemed cranky right now.
So what was Optimus, Leader of the Autobots, Holder of the Matrix of Leadership, who actually died once before for them, proud about? He was much much much higher than her entire being, yet he was proud? It frazzled Zanes mind, yet he simply shrugged it off, and went over to start a fire. Snapping some twigs off of the trees, and rubbed them together. Almost immediately, the flame appeared, and steadily grew larger and larger until it seemed just about right. Zane looked over his shoulder to see Danni, the mouse now dead and skinned by Will. Zane took the mouse, and began to roast it slowly, and the smell soon attracted the others, who stared hungrily at the food at it began to become brown.
By the time Danni had gotten mice for everyone, the sun had gone down and it had become slightly darker. The fire blazed as people cuddled together by the fire, enjoying their roasted desert mouse. Zane leaned against a tree, slowly drifting into sleep. It had been a long day of walking, and he was actually quite happy, his tummy was warm and full, he was pretty clean, his mouth didn't taste like sand, and it was getting cooler as the sun went lower under the horizon. Zanes eyes widened as he felt a something against his arm, and looked over to see Danni, who was currently yawning as she snuggled into his arm.
She had had a long day as well, catching all those mice. Her hands hurt because those little bastards had bitten her hands up, leaving scabs on her palms and fingers, and her arms and legs hurt from pouncing on them. But, she was content as Zane was, a full belly, and a warm fire to lay by as the temperature went down. Right now, she was too tired to even remember the Decepticons, actually, she barely even remembered what had just happened barely two days ago.
"Zane," She said drowsily, and he looked down at her with tired eyes. "I'm tired." Zane shrugged, shuffling around in his place. There was a small silence, and Zane began to close his eyes. "Zane," He looked down at her in annoyance now. He was tired, he just wanted some sleep. "will you be my big brother?" She questioned, now cuddling her way into his chest. Zane looked down at her in surprise, then back at his friends, Mick, Oliver, and Tom, who were all piled on top of eachother, snoring loudly. At least they didn't have to see this.
He brought his arm over her. "Sure, I'll be your big brother. Whatever you want," He smiled, and ruffled her hair a bit. "Little sis." Danni smiled sleepily, and with one last yawn, fell asleep against him. Zane followed her example, and fell asleep instantly, head tilting over Danni's.
Optimus smiled as he watched from afar, a smile on his faceplate. He felt warmth in his Spark at Danni's happiness, and he felt the same drowsiness as the Humans. The Autobots had had their energon already, and were full as the Humans were, and were ready for a good recharge. Optimus sat down carefully, trying hard not to wake the sleeping Humans, and closed his optics, falling into slightly troubled sleep, but otherwise, he was satisfied. No Decepticons by far, and the Humans they were with were safe. He did not feel peaceful though, dreams of war slipped into his thoughts as he fell into recharge, and he knew, even then, it would be a rough night.