Title: Never Forget
Rating: K+
Continuity: G1
Characters: Smokescreen, Aerialbots
Disclaimer: Don't own
Prompt: 2. Master List Prompt.
Jan. 12: A picture.
He never forgot flying. Never forgot what it felt like to soar through the clouds, weightless, defying everything that held everyone else to the ground far below.
He could still recall the smooth slide of air over his wings, over his chassis, through the thin gaps in his armor, cooling overheated internals.
He remembered the lights of the cities far below, little, twinkling stars come to rest on the ground.
He could still smell the crisp, sharp air, could taste it on his tongue. He could hear it rushing over his audios, the sharp hiss of it as it caught and eddied around him.
Up here, on the top of Mt. St. Hillary, he could remember... he could remember it all, and, for a few long moments, allowed himself to be immersed in the memories.
Then, he brought himself back to the present. He still had his wings, but they were no longer capable of carrying him through the sky. He still had the heavy sensors, but they now fed him information that, while useful as a tactician and soldier, was not what was needed for flight.
He was Ground-Bound.
He had made the decision for a few reasons. Chief among them was that he did not want to follow the other Seekers to the Decepticons, and the best way to do that, the most effective way, was to separate from the fliers in a way they would never look for. Because no Seeker ever willingly grounded himself.
His doorwings drooped and his shoulders slumped as a breeze played across his plating.
"Hey! Smokey!" a cheery voice called from above, and he glanced upward.
Air Raid. And his brothers were swooping and spinning above him.
Smokescreen forced a smile over his face. "Hiya, Air Raid! How're you doing?" he shouted back, twitching his doorwings in a friendly greeting that was only half faked. The five young fliers were wonderful. He loved them. But they often did remind him of what he had lost, which lead to a rather convoluted relationship between them.
For he had given up the sky, and they still had it.