After they had returned to the base, Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee left to pick Jack, Miko and Raf up from school. Azura was feeling rather happy, and she had told Arcee that she wanted to do something with her when she would get back. Arcee was pleased to hear that. Sure, they collected some pretty stone that could be turned into jewelry, but Azura wanted to do something else now. So she went back to her room to entertain herself while she waited. And the way she did that was simple. With Optimus not watching her, Azura walks over to an exposed rocky wall and concentrates. It took a moment before she formed some large clay clusters directly from the rock itself. She was extremely pleased with herself with that achievement too. She had asked for clay, but she has yet to receive it. But as clay came from the ground, she had decided to make it herself.

Mostly because she figured Arcee would enjoy modelling something with the clay. She was aware she might get questioned by Arcee on how she got the clay, but she doubted she would get in trouble. She didn't take from the foundation of the large rock they were under, she merely used the rock itself as a means to help create the clay. And she was very happy she did so because now Jack didn't have to spend any kind of money on clay for her to enjoy.

She did make sure that there was enough clay for Arcee to use as well. And while she waited, Azura could not help but start molding things out of the clay. She was sitting on the floor in front of the couch with the pile of clay beside her and on the table. She had decided to model some animals, starting with a rabbit. She knew it was a simple choice, but it still took patience to model something out of clay. After all, if she had a pottery wheel, she could show that it wasn't exactly easy to model clay all the time.

As she was shaping the animal, Azura looked towards the door as it opened, and she smiled when she saw Optimus walking into the room. When he looked over to her, he was immediately surprised to see what she had with her. He stared at the clay for a moment, and he realized that she must have somehow formed it. He could not help but frown slightly as he began to think that she might have done something that could have caused damage to the silo.

He approached Azura as he glanced around before stopping and kneeling down, looking at the clay curiously. "Azura…" She looked up at him with a smile. "I trust you did not get that…" He frowned for a moment as he did not really know what it is. "It kind of looks like mud…"

Azura giggled and she shook her head. "No, no. It is clay! Mud is…just sloppy, wet dirt. Clay is a little harder to explain. But you will find clay deeper than the surface of the earth, and it can be used to make things." Optimus frowned as he listened to her as he definitely began suspecting she got the clay from somewhere she shouldn't. "Humans have been using clay for years. Some used clay to build houses, while clay was often using for things like pottery, plates, cups and so on. It is a natural thing."

Optimus hummed softly as he pondered on her response. "With that explanation, does that mean you retrieved the clay from some part of the base?" She looked at him in surprise and shook her head. "I hope you are not lying to me, Azura. I do not appreciate deception, and I will deliver consequences for it."

"I promise that the clay is not from the rock of this base. I did…use the exposed wall over there…" She points towards to the wall she got the clay from. "To form clay clusters on the wall without taking away any of the rock itself." Optimus seemed surprised as he looked back at Saphira curiously. "I know it looks like I took the clay from the rock itself, but I promise I did not. If I can form fire in my hand, or water, or snow…I can do the same for earth and rock. And this also saves Jack from having to go out and buy the clay for me. This is what I plan to do with Arcee, if she wants."

Optimus rubbed his chin as he observed Azura. He did not see any kind of body language from her that would suggest she was lying, so he intakes heavily and accepts that she had been telling the truth. "Very well, Azura. I trust that you are telling the truth." She smiled as she was happy to hear that. Optimus leaned down a little to get a closer look at the clay. He picked up some of the clay that Azura had not touched. "Hmm…interesting texture. How were humans able to use this for buildings and tools?"

"Well…for buildings, it wasn't just clay. I think humans…" She paused for a moment, stopping her progress on making the rabbit figure as she thought for a moment. "I am pretty sure clay wasn't the only ingredient. I think fibre from long leaves was used to help with making cob…and then that is what is used to make buildings. As for tools, once the clay is shaped into what is needed, high heat is used to solidify the item for use."

"Interesting." Optimus gently squeezed the clay curiously and began to shape it randomly. "It is very squishy…and easy to manipulate…" He was starting to see why Azura wanted clay and he simply smiled. "It is very fascinating that this world has so many different elements compared to what you would find on Cybertron." He placed the clay back down carefully and looked at the figure Azura was already creating. "I believe that is a rabbit you are making."

She looked at him with a smile. "You are correct. I am glad you figured out what it is. It is a shame I can't keep one." She knew that a rabbit in the base might cause chaos, even though those little, fluffy animals were incredibly cute. "Do you think Arcee will like it? I am curious because it seems that she likes art and craft too. She hasn't asked about my painting though…so I don't know if she will enjoy it."

"Arcee does enjoy those activities, Azura. Arcee has simply allowed you to spend your time doing whatever you wanted. I know it seems as though she hasn't been interested, but I can assure you, that she has. Plus…" Optimus softened his smile as he saw the frown on Azura's face. "Arcee has been a bit too focused on her duties as a soldier. She sometimes forgets that even as soldiers, keeping a sparkling happy is more important."

"Well, keeping me safe is."

Optimus let out a light chuckle at Azura's response to him. "Yes, yes, that is almost very true. I am grateful that she wants to protect you. But there is still time to spend time with you. It is imperative you have a good bond with everyone. Not just me and Ratchet. That way you have trust and a good friendship with them. And you won't panic as much if I need to leave you with one of them at some point."

"Well…ever since the scraplet incident…you know…it doesn't matter who I am with, daddy." He knew that. He smiled at her and gently placed his hand on her shoulders to rub gently to comfort her. "I get worried for you…I know it is probably silly…"

"It is not, but you do need to keep your emotions in check, which will take a long time for you to do. So we need bots here to be able to comfort you just as Ratchet can when I am not here." She pondered on that, and she understood. Azura could see why it was important. "I believe Arcee should be here shortly with Jack. He might even join in with this activity."

Azura would not mind that at all. She enjoyed Jack's company a lot, and she hoped that he joins in as well. "I am sure he might. Jack has been my friend for many years now, and I know he enjoyed having me as a friend during school. A lot of the other kids didn't want to know Jack, which is an unfortunate reality of school. But it is what it is."

Optimus had no idea that Azura was Jack's only friend in the school. "I guess, in a way, you leaving the base was fortunate for him. You being his friend must have made things easier for him." She nodded as she definitely knew that Jack was happier during school thanks to her. "I can see why you both have had a strong bond."

"Yeah. I suppose we can look at the past that way." Azura paused for a moment before she turned her head and her optics widen upon seeing the door open with Arcee walking into the room. "Arcee!" She stood up and ran around Optimus to reach the femme. Jack was not with her it would seem. "I am so glad you are back! I have changed up the activity for us to do. I hope you don't mind."

Arcee looked down at the clay curiously and she could tell that it was something that came from the earth. But as Optimus was calm, she guessed that Azura was not in trouble, and that this was fine to do. "I see you somehow managed to create the stuff you want to use. I am assuming this is clay, right?" Azura nodded affirmatively and Arcee walked over before sitting down, looking at the rabbit that Azura was making. "Well, I guess I don't mind. What exactly are we meant to do?"

"Just like making jewellery, we can make different figures out of clay," Azura explained happily. "Just as I am creating this rabbit. I figured since you liked to creative, you would enjoy it. You can make anything you want." Azura grabbed a large piece of the clay and held it up to Arcee. "You could create yourself, for example."

Arcee took the clay and squeezed it curiously as she investigated it curiously. "I am rather intrigued by this. I suppose I did not have anything to put the stones on anyway, so this is a good compromise." She turned her head and looked at Optimus. "Are you going to join in?"

"You should, daddy." Azura grabbed the larger piece of clay and held it up to him. "You can join in too. It doesn't matter if what you make looks bad, it's easy go fix it up with clay."

Optimus had originally thought about just letting this be a bonding time with just Azura and Arcee, but he smiled and took the clay clump from Azura. "Very well. I will need to think on what to make."

Azura giggled softly as she looked at her rabbit sculpture. It was pretty much finished, she was just adding the fur texture to it. "Don't think too hard, daddy." She looked at Arcee who was starting to shape the clay in her hand. "Where is Jack?"

Arcee sighed with a slight roll of her optics. "He and Miko are kind of in an argument right now." Azura and Optimus look at the femme curiously for more answers on that. "Apparently, Miko has been complaining about a history report she has to hand in tomorrow for school, and she has not finished it. Jack offered to help, and the girl has refused saying she doesn't want to do it. Now they are arguing about it."

"Seriously? History was one of my favorite subjects to do. There is just so much to learn about the past of this world. But I love reading into the mythology that people came up with from the past. Especially Greece and Egypt." Azura dug out some more clay from the pile she had to use to make something else. "Although, some of the crazy mythology ideas that came out from those times can be a bit of an eye opener. But it is still a lot of fun. But Miko hasn't been the type to be interested in school, and to a point, I do understand. But…well, it is her choice to make bad decisions."

"It really not too surprising for a young person to not enjoy learning, even when the education is something they must endure for a better future. You will find that kind of impatience in Cybertronians as well, Azura. And maybe even you when you are old enough." She shrugged with a little giggle, even though Optimus could be right about that. "But I do believe we should still support Miko. She will learn that she will be grateful for the education she learns. Even if the subject of history won't come into play in her future, it is something she must do."

"I'd offer my help, but it has been a while since I have really looked into the history of different culture so I probably would not be of much help." Azura decided to try and create a horse with the clay she had. She looked up at Arcee and her optics soften as she saw that Arcee seemed to be trying to create Cliffjumper and she softened her smile. "You know, if you manage to complete that, we could use high heat to solidify the figure and place it on Cliffjumper's grave."

Arcee looked at Azura and smiled gently. "Well…we could. I guess this was just the first thing I thought of making."

"It is not a surprise. I miss him too." Azura looked back at the clay she had in her hand before she took a deep breath and became curious. "I am curious, Arcee. What did you do before the war? Did you specialize in anything?"

Arcee had to pause as she thought back to her past. "Hmm…I must admit, I have not really thought about it for a long time." Arcee paused on her creation as well as she pondered on the question. Azura was surprised that it was taking Arcee a while to think on it. "I suppose, I did more than a few things before the war came into play. The first being I used to run a store that sold special items to femmes. Mostly unique coverings that femmes enjoyed wearing from time to time. Kind of like the clothing stores found on Earth."

Azura was instantly curious. "I am surprised you haven't had a hand in helping Ratchet."

"That's because it is not on me to make the coverings, Azura. Ratchet is helping Optimus, but I believe he is also making some coverings you can choose to wear whenever you want. And they are supposed to resemble the dresses you used to wear all the time." That made sense. Azura was aware of being able to wear different coverings over the ones she would be wearing all the time so she could still feel like she was wearing something new everyday. She did not know Optimus was helping, but he hasn't spoken much about it to her either. "But if you would like me to design you something, I can. I am sure Optimus won't mind it."

Optimus shook his head. "I would not." Azura looked at Optimus and she tilts her head curiously as she noticed that Optimus had started to shape the clay piece he had. She observed and saw he was trying to create some kind of vehicle, though she was not entirely sure. "You could even start making some right now, Arcee."

"While she still has not got her coverings? Nah, I have to wait until she has them before I start to design anything." Arcee was amused by the suggestion, but she did like the idea of it. "Anyway…after that, I actually began to get in training about different oils that was used on Cybertron to maintain our bodies. I didn't get the chance to fully complete my training, but it was something I was interested in before I got into training for war."

"Would you go back to finish it if you had the chance?" Azura asked curiously.

"I am afraid there is not anything left to really complete that kind of training, Azura." The sparkling softened her expression and she nodded as she understood why. "I would love to if I could, but I am unfortunately unable to complete the training. I could probably look over the written material, but that is it."

"Considering we do not know how many autobots are scattered to the stars, you might very well become the only expert should we return to our planet," Optimus said in a gentle tone, looking at Arcee with a kind expression. "It is a subject I am most certainly not an expect in, but we do need someone to have knowledge on looking after our bodies. Ratchet can only do so much with his medical expertise."

Arcee appreciated Optimus's encouragement. "Thanks for the confidence, Optimus. But I am afraid I cannot really truly say if I could continue the training at this time. It would be foolish to even say we will go back soon."

"I know. It is a nice thought to have." Arcee nodded in agreement and Optimus looked down at Azura. He could see she what she was creating. She currently was creating the shape of the horse's body. "What kind of creature are you creating?"

"A horse." Azura was shaping the hindquarters at the moment of the horse figure and she was very happy with how it is coming along. "There's so much history about the horse. They were domesticated so long ago, and have been helping humans for so long."

"They seem like rather lovely animals. I have seen them more than a few times in paddocks of farms when I drive by them." Arcee had a smile as she spoke about the animal. "But the one time where I was actually mesmerized by the animals was when I was driving around Utah randomly and found a place to watch the sunset. It was out far from any towns, and there was an open field of grass in front of me. And while I was enjoying the sunset, a herd of horses ran by…"

Azura looked at Arcee with a smug expression. "Galloping is the correct term."

Arcee raised an eyebrow at Azura for her interruption and the sparkling just giggled. "Well…anyway…the herd of horses galloped by in front of me. There were at least ten, I think…and they were of different colors and heights. But the way they were galloping was…well, it was beautiful."

"Sounds like you saw a herd of mustangs. That would have been amazing. I have to admit, I am a tad jealous." Azura put the horse figure down as she thought about it. "While living in Wyoming, I used to fantasize watching hers of mustangs galloping by the orphanage. Watching them gallop so freely and elegantly is honestly so amazing to dream about."

"I suspect it would symbolize freedom for you," Optimus said gently as he listened to her. She nodded as that was why she loved the animal. "I have seen horses as well, though I have not paid much attention to them. I just see them I roll by the pastures they are in."

"Maybe you will take a bit more notice now," Azura teased with a grin. "There is actually a poem about the horse that I love. It was written by a man called Ronald Duncan, and to me, it perfectly captures the horse very well. It's called the Ode to the Horse."

"A poem about an animal?" Acree seemed rather surprised there was a poem about an animal on this planet. "I suppose I should not be surprised. This planet has a very vast array of animals, so humans undoubtedly made poems about them. I think it's weird, but I would be happy to heard what the poem says."

Azura was happy to hear that. Even if the autobots didn't quite understand, she knew that they would certainly enjoy the poem. And it was something she actually learned about in school and it has become her favorite poem that she sometimes remembers from time to time. Especially since horses were one of her many favorite animals on this planet. She closed her optics as she began to tell them the words to poem.

'Where in this wide world can man find nobility without pride?

Friendship without envy?

Or beauty without vanity?

Here, where grace is laced with muscle,

And strength by gentleness confined.

He serves without servility;

He has fought without enmity.

There is nothing so powerful, nothing less violent,

There is nothing so quick, nothing more patient.

England's past has been borne on his back,

All our history, is his industry.

We are his heirs, he our inheritance.

The horse.'

Both Optimus and Arcee had smiles on their faces as Azura finished the poem. They both could now see why this would be a favorite poem of hers. It really sounded liked a poem respecting something that has done a lot in this world, even if it was not about a leader. But the horse clearly has left its mark on this planet's history, so the autobots were happy to hear the poem from Azura.

"That was beautiful, Azura," Optimus compliments as she opened her optics and smiled at him. "I do not know how famous that poem is, but I enjoyed hearing you speak of it."

Azura was thrilled to hear that from her carrier. "Thank you, daddy. I don't think it is as famous as other poems, but it is still a beautiful poem. It's a great poem to pretty much describe the horse. They can be dangerous, but so can dogs."

"At least we can also see more of a reason as to why you love the animal," Arcee said sa she looked at the figure in her hand. She had already done a lot with the clay, and it was really starting to look like Cliffjumper. "I can already imagine that you will make a near perfect sculpture in your small hands."

"Well…I don't care much about the perfection part," Azura said with a light chuckle. "I just like that I am able to create it. Especially since I am not actually trying to create anything for cash. It is just for funny, and that is the most important thing." She glanced over at the door as it opened, and she smiled when she saw Jack walking through. "Jack!"

Jack gave a wave to Arcee and Optimus as he walked over to them with a smile. He seemed to be irritated as he had been having a long talk with Miko, and the conversation had annoyed him a lot. "Hi." He raised an eyebrow when he noticed Optimus and Arcee with clay in their hands. He was surprised to see that. "Wait, when did you get clay? I didn't get any for you yet."

"You won't need to worry about buying it, Jack. I managed to create some clay for myself," Azura said in a proud voice, seemingly surprising the boy and he walked over and picked up a piece curiously. "You could stay and join in right now. We are just have a general conversation while we make something with the clay."

"I see." Jack smiled, rolling the clay piece around in his hand to shape it into a ball. "I suppose I could use a little stress relief. Miko can be such a pain! I don't get why she wanted to come out here in the first place if she wasn't going to do well in school."

"I am sure Miko will receive the consequences of her actions tomorrow, Jack," Optimus said to the boy gently. "If you have your own schoolwork covered, you should not need to worry about Miko. You should just relax and enjoy our company."

Jack's smile widened and he sat down beside Azura with a sigh. "Sounds like a good idea." He looked at the rabbit figure Azura had already made and he looked at her curiously. "If you had told me you could do this, I wouldn't have started trying to save for some."

"Sorry…personally though, I did not know I could do it until I tried it. So I did. And it has worked perfectly!" Azura giggled as she was very proud of it. "You can use that money for something for yourself, Jack. You don't need to get anything for me. I got everything I need anyway."

Optimus was happy she would say that. Having everything she needs right here in the base made his spark feel warm. "I am happy you would say that. But you still need things for your fish, Azura." He glanced over at the tanks, and Azura chuckled softly. "And you have the fourth tank to keep working on as well. But yes, you pretty much everything you need right here in the base."

"True…but I have made sure I am stocked up on what I need so Jack doesn't have to go and spend so much money. I don't want him to waste a lot of money on me." Azura looked at the boy and saw he was starting to shape the clay in his hands. "Honestly, I could easily just ask Fowler. I think he still has the card he gave me a few years ago…but I don't know if it can still be used."

"I do not mind doing it, Azura. So you do not need to worry about me."

Azura was happy that Jack was very humble about it. And this is what they did for the rest of the afternoon until Azura got bored and decided to spend time with Bumblebee and Bulkhead. They made use of one of the recreational rooms, and Bumblebee and Bulkhead ended up playing Hide and Seek after deciding on what to play. Azura was more than happy to play, as she ended up winning the game overall. It was a great way to end the day as well. Though Optimus's attempt to keep Azura from thinking about the educational game didn't work. Azura still wanted to play it, but she would wait for the autobots to go to their berths to do anything…even though the autobots did not need recharge as often as she did. But it wasn't going to stop her from achieving her goal.