Picking his build was easy for Silverstorm. He found a sleek jet that he loved and selected it without a second thought. Primus smiled at him and told him it was something called a Seeker, which pleased the Prime. Seekers were built for high speeds, grace, and aerial acrobatics, and made great fighters. He was happy with his choice. Then came his initial transformation.
He knew it would be painful, but the shifting parts scared him senseless the first time he tried. For the first time since he became a Cybertronian in body, his human sensibilities crashed over him. He yelped and tried to move back into a normal position but he got stuck. What followed was a panic attack of massive proportions. Even Primus and Ultra Magnus couldn't calm him down.
It was Mirage who broke through the fog of terror and coaxed him to reverse back into his bipedal form. He collapsed and started whining, unable to think straight as he shook and wailed, shouting that it wasn't natural, that he couldn't handle the transformation. The younglings had all had different reactions to their own initial transformations, but none had reacted as strongly as Silverstorm. It took a week for him to get the nerve to try again. Thankfully he was more prepared for the unusual shifting of parts that no human had ever experienced (and lived through, at least), and he managed to make it into jet mode.
He was thrilled with his new form, and he couldn't wait for flying lessons with the Aerialbots. First he had to get the basics of seeing, sensing, and moving his new parts down. And he discovered an interesting thing. His wings were incredibly sensitive. He could feel minute changes in the atmosphere and knew when people were moving around him. He knew when somebody approached behind him, and he could sense vibrations to an insane degree.
Silverstorm also discovered that his wings could convey his own emotions through small movements. And so while he was learning the basics from Ultra Magnus about his new form, he took his first lessons with the Aerialbots in detecting flier moods. Due to their close relationship, they were experts in reading each other's feelings and states of mind.
At first he saw no differences, and they laughed and teasingly called him a typical groundpounder, which puzzled him. They had to explain that it was a term that fliers used to talk about those without wings. It could be used as an insult or a playful tease, depending on the flier who was using it. Silverstorm knew they were teasing him, so he only laughed as they resumed lessons.
It took him a few lessons to begin to pick up on the Aerialbots' moods, but once he started noticing the tiny movements, twitches, and how they held their wings, he found that it helped him to understand them better than before. He was genuinely astounded that he'd never noticed their wing language before. It seemed obvious now that he knew, and he began to eagerly share his findings with the other younglings. They took to studying it with him, and the Aerialbots were very popular all of a sudden.
After the initial wave of interest had calmed down, Silverstorm was deemed to know the basics well enough to begin flying lessons, and the first lesson was scheduled. The Aerialbots led him to a flat, even stretch of Cybertron with nothing jagged or tall, and he stood waiting for the instructions. Silverbolt made sure he knew the basics then sighed and stepped back.
"Good. Now the first thing you will learn is how to activate your thrusters and hover off the ground in bipedal form."
"And how do I do that exactly?" Silverstorm asked nervously.
"You're a Seeker-build, so your thrusters are located on the bottom of your feet. You can activate them in jet mode already. Just transfer the process to your bipedal form."
"And?"
"We'll go from there once you can do it," Silverbolt said.
Slingshot laughed as Silverstorm looked down uncertainly at his feet. "This is going to be good."
"Oh, shut up, Sling," Air Raid snapped. "He's nervous enough as it is and you're not helping!"
"Is this a good idea?" Fireflight asked vaguely.
Silverstorm jerked his head up, his wings hitching high in panic. "Is it not?"
"It's not that it's a bad idea," Skydive said soothingly. "It's just… an unpleasant way to learn. But it's the only way we know how to teach you. It's the way we learned."
"That sounds ominous," Silverstorm muttered.
"Just try. Once you can figure out how to use your thrusters, we'll teach you more. But it can be a bit difficult," Silverbolt replied.
Silverstorm's wings trembled with nerves as he looked down at his feet. He offlined his optics and took a deep intake of air to cool his systems then focused on how it felt to route power to his thrusters. A surge of heat startled him, and he stopped, afraid to do it wrong.
"What's wrong? What do you feel?" Silverbolt asked.
"It's hot," Silverstorm muttered. "Is that wrong?"
"No," Skydive replied. "That's them preparing to ignite. That's a good feeling. It takes a whole lot of energy to get off the ground, so it's only natural. Try again. It's going to feel unusual at first, but you'll get used to it."
Silverstorm nodded, and he didn't like the anticipatory look on Slingshot's face. The flier wasn't cruel, it was true, but then again, he always got a kick out of a misstep or fall. Silverstorm knew at once why he looked like that.
"How is it going to hurt?" he asked resignedly.
"No idea," Air Raid said. "It depends on the build and how well you can activate your thrusters at first. There is a myriad of ways for this to end up. I suggest doing it and getting it over with."
Silverstorm was finding the idea of learning to fly less and less appealing, but he knew that he couldn't put it off forever. With a grimace, he offlined his optics again and focused on his thrusters. They began to warm again, and he shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. It wasn't unpleasant like the feeling of overheating was, but it was a new sensation. The heat continued to build, and he began to think that nothing would happen. Then something most certainly did.
With a startling noise, his thrusters fully activated for the first time, and he rocketed off the ground with so much force that he couldn't even scream. He had no idea how to control himself, and he tumbled through the air then hit the ground and somersaulted as his thrusters stopped firing. He sat still for a moment, stunned and aching all over, then hands touched him and helped him up.
"What happened?" he asked, his voice laden with static and shock.
"You flew," Slingshot said, sounding impressed. "Got about a hundred feet off the ground before losing control. Not bad, Prime." He paused then laughed. "Good tumble though. I landed on my wing the first time. That hurt like you wouldn't believe."
"I didn't lose control," Silverstorm said through spattering clicks. "I had no control to lose."
The Aerialbots all laughed at that. Silverbolt helped Silverstorm up, steadying him.
"That could have been worse," Silverbolt said kindly. "And now you know how it feels for your thrusters to work. Now, we're going to move on to hovering."
"How exactly are we going to do that?" Silverstorm asked.
The Aerialbots saw his wings quivering with nerves. Fireflight held his hand and smiled, suddenly very present.
"We stabilize you by holding on to you, and then we keep you still until you can control the force of your thrusters."
Silverstorm clicked his glossa then nodded. "Sounds manageable."
"We'll see," Skydive said.
Once Silverstorm had his nerves under control, Silverbolt and Air Raid took his hands and stood on either side of him.
"Now activate your thrusters," Silverbolt encouraged.
"What if I drag you with me?"
"A real possibility with only two," Skydive conceded. "But there are five of us, and we're more than a match for an untested flier."
Silverstorm took a deep intake then focused on his feet again. They began to warm, faster this time, and he concentrated. This time, he took notice of the heat and pressure so that he would be able to gauge the timing of takeoff in the future. When they activated again, he yelped as he shot up into the air. Silverbolt and Air Raid were taken by surprise by the sheer power in their Prime, and they tumbled for a moment before the other three got to them and helped to stabilize Silverstorm and force him to be still.
"Frag!" Slingshot groaned, his form trembling as they held him steady.
Silverbolt gasped to cool his systems. "Wow, Prime," he gritted out. "You're powerful."
Silverstorm was too busy being overwhelmed by sensations he didn't understand. His wings quivered, and he was aware of every breath of wind, aware of the heat and pressure difference, and he couldn't focus.
"Just breathe," Fireflight murmured.
"T-too much!" Silverstorm cried, his body trembling.
"Okay!" Silverbolt exclaimed. "Turn off your thrusters and we'll get you back down."
"Preferably sooner than later!"Skydive grunted.
It took a moment for Silverstorm to be able to focus enough to stop the power flow to his thrusters. The Aerialbots relaxed at once, and they gazed in astonishment at Silverstorm, whose wings shook as he hung limply in the middle of the circle. His optics were white, and he shuttered them.
"Okay," Silverbolt gasped, squeezing his leader's hand reassuringly. "Okay. Let me think."
"Too much!" Silverstorm moaned, shivering as his wings hitched higher, signaling his distress and overwhelm.
"What's different?" Silverbolt asked Skydive.
Skydive considered their own lessons and then their Prime's. "We were in an enclosed space and Shockwave turned off all airflow. We didn't have the overwhelming feelings of pressure, heat, and wind to distract us."
"We can't replicate those conditions," Fireflight said grimly. "He's going to have to get used to it."
"Okay then," Silverbolt said decisively. "Raid, you're with me. You three back off. We have to improvise a bit."
They nodded and landed. Even their small movements made Silverstorm cry out again.
"No more! No more!"
His processor was swimming in a sea of sensations that he had no words for. Every shift of the wind was picked up by his wings, and he couldn't do anything but flounder. Silverbolt squeezed him again.
"Prime, can you look at me?"
Silverstorm struggled to see past readings that flashed across his mind, but he finally focused on Silverbolt's face.
"I need you to stay calm. Relax. Come on, you can do it. Just feel it," Silverbolt encouraged. "I know it's a lot, but you need to relax. We're right here. Just feel it."
Silverstorm didn't want to feel anymore. He moaned, but he tried to obey. After a struggle, he went slack in their grip, sucking in great gasps of air to cool his heated systems.
"Good. You're doing good," Air Raid murmured.
"That's it," Silverbolt praised. "Now, let the sensations flow over your wings. Don't try and get away."
Silverstorm whined, but he nodded. The breeze played over his wings, and the pressure was different from the ground level. He looked down to see how high he was and he was astounded to see that the others were small. He had to be at least two miles up.
"Feel the difference?" Silverbolt asked gently.
"Lower push," Silverstorm croaked.
"Pressure. Yeah, there's lower pressure the higher you go," Silverbolt said. "Now, you feel the south breeze?"
The wind set his sensors ablaze with feeling, and he nodded. "Y-yeah. It's intense."
"There isn't anything blocking the airflow this high up," Air Raid said. "And the winds get more intense the higher you are."
Silverstorm stayed very still, but his wings continued to twitch as he registered all the new feelings. Silverbolt and Air Raid murmured encouragement and explanations for each feeling, and after half an hour, he finally felt like he was getting a handle on the overwhelming sensations. Silverbolt concurred.
"Okay now. We're going to slowly lower you to the ground. I want you to notice how it feels as we get lower. Can you do that?"
"Yeah." Silverstorm's voice was stronger.
The two fliers eased him down, and Silverstorm focused on his wings. The pressure began to feel more like what he was used to, and it helped him to relax even more. By the time he gently set his feet on the ground, everything felt normal. He swallowed and sat down, a shiver passing over his body. He was exhausted.
"Okay. That was good," Silverbolt said. "How about some energon?"
"Yes please," Silverstorm murmured.
Fireflight handed him a cube of mid-grade, and he took a long, satisfying drink before leaning back on his hands.
"That was something," he sighed.
"All things considering, you did well," Skydive said. "And that is despite the unaccounted-for setback."
"I'm sorry for that," Silverstorm said.
"Don't be," Slingshot said. "Wings are some of the most sensitive appendages you can have. When we became fliers, it was horrible. We were immobilized. It was unlike anything we had ever experienced."
"Too much, as you put it," Skydive said, smiling.
"It was compounded so hard with five of us," Fireflight said quietly.
"Flight!" Air Raid yelped.
Silverstorm swallowed another mouthful of energon, watching their optics turn pink as they glared at Fireflight. The spacey flier flinched, looking down.
"I don't see why we don't tell him," Fireflight said quietly.
"We have to all agree," Silverbolt said tightly. "And we obviously don't."
Fireflight nodded and his optics began to haze over again. Silverstorm had never seen him so aware for so long before. He reached over and squeezed his hand. Fireflight looked over.
"It's okay, Flight," he said gently. "When everybody agrees, you can tell me. I can wait."
Silverbolt looked at him and gave a small smile. "Thanks for understanding, Prime."
"No problem. I've heard some stories about Shockwave from Magnus. I know you haven't told me everything, and I can understand why. But when you're ready, I'm here. I just want you to know that."
Fireflight smiled and reached over to stroke the top edge of Silverstorm's right wing. A shiver of warmth spread through Silverstorm, and he shuttered his optics in surprised delight. His wings jumped a little, and the Aerialbots all laughed.
"Fliers have a way of communicating that groundpounders just don't get," Skydive said, his optics shining. "Shockwave forced us to learn all of it. So we get to teach you now."
"Does it bother you?" Silverstorm asked. "That you were forced to use it, I mean?"
"It did at first," Slingshot admitted. "But it's a language that really works for fliers."
"Can I get an example?"
Fireflight repeated the stroke along Silverstorm's right wing, and the same warm burst filled his spark. His wings quivered and he chuckled.
"That's a sign of affection," Fireflight said. "Makes you feel all nice and warm, right?"
"Yeah, it does," Silverstorm said. He took another drink of energon then looked up at the sky. "I think I'm going to like being a flier."
They all held up their energon as a sign of agreement, and Silverstorm settled back to rest, wondering how long until he could fly properly. He looked forward to being able to soar through the sky, to be able to read emotions from wings, and now he got to look forward to learning about a new way of communicating with his fliers. Even with the setbacks, it was a good day.