Memories of Snow

[Halrae]

Months had passed since Halrae had found herself on the world simply known as Planet. Since awakening in Chainbreaker garden and finding it connected to a strange cottage she'd been joined by several creatures native to this land. It was one of the strangest things she'd ever encountered, but at the same time... incredibly welcome.

It was good to not be utterly alone.

It was wintertime now, and Halrae had awoken to a chill in the house despite the fires she'd set in her room's fireplace the night before. Somewhat used to this from her days in Chainbreaker Keep she'd gone about her morning wrapped in a blanket and warm clothes until the cottage warmed up, had breakfast, then checked on the garden as was her habit.

Still there, to her relief, with a small layer of snow.

Seeing the white fluff Halrae couldn't resist a small, find smile at the memories.

"Good morning," she said quietly to those no longer there, then left, closing the door behind her.

Standing in the hallway that had the garden for Halrae frowned at the other doors. While her bedroom was upstairs the other doors on the first floor led at first to empty chambers. But yesterday she'd opened one, considering whether it could be converted into a room for Drathiir if given a wide door, and found a familiar location there to greet her: Chainbreaker Keep's training room. The familiar stone walls, practice dummies, archery targets, weapon stands, workout equipment, all of it exactly as she lady recalled. It had rattled her so much she'd slammed the door closed and not gone back near it until evening. Like the garden it had still been there.

Truth be told she still felt rattled. The drow had braced herself to leave the Keep forever right before she came to Planet and while having the Garden with her was a comfort seeing another location in the Keep only reminded her of those who were gone. She couldn't say she understood the why, either.

It hadn't been there before, Halrae thought to herself as she stood there, thinking over the previous day. But now... Far more timidly than she would care to admit to Halrae went to that door and opened it.

The training room greeted her.

Suddenly Halrae felt she had to get out of the cottage for a while. Closing the door she dressed for the cold and headed out the front door.

A winter wonderland greeted her. The forest was blanketed in white, quiet and peaceful. Fluffy flakes drifted down serenely, a contrast to the drow's turbulent mind.

Going out for a walk?[/i][/color]

Halrae looked towards the mindvoice with a smile.

"Good morning, Drathir," she greeted the Kal'daka. "Yeah, I was. It felt...kind of tight inside this morning." The drow-wolf stretched his front legs and yawned, shaking some snow from his fur.

Mine my company?[/i][/color]

"Not at all." At the Kal'daka's inviting gesture Halrae moved over and hopped onto his back, holding on to his neck fur as he began walking through the woods.

They might as well have been the only creatures in existence, so silent was their surroundings. Were it not for the snow crunching under Drathir's paws Halrae might have thought they'd been caught in a spell of some sort. Where he carried her she didn't really pay attention to, but why should she? Her companion would never get her lost. So she had no idea when they'd come nearby to mountains until she happened to see the stone out of the corner of her eye.

More memories surfaced, and in a clearing Halrae patted his neck. He stopped and let her climb from his back then sat, watching. Drathir knew that something was troubling Halrae but she hadn't spoken of it, and as he was too big to fit indoors (right now at least) he hadn't seen anything to give him some clue. But perhaps he'd find a moment to broach the subject soon, or see something of note.

Unaware of Drathir's thoughts Halrae took a few steps forward in the ankle-high snow, them almost abundantly bent and scooped up a handful, packing it into a ball. She looked down at the ball in her hands and gave a wistful smile.

This is for you, my friends.

Sighting at a nearby stone sticking up from a drift Halrae took aim and threw!

Little did she have any idea that someone else aside from Drathir had seen her performance.

[Zenith]

Snow!

Every single living creature in Zenith’s cavern home- and there were quite a few of them nowadays- glanced towards the entryway in unison. A most unexpected figure stood in the proverbial limelight: Morpho. The cohort’s lone demonhound was something of an oddity among their number, a quiet, somewhat reclusive creature who took pains to avoid drawing attention to himself. On the rare occasion he broke his silence others tended to listen. This instance was no exception. Everyone watched in rapt attention whilst the Flare bounced in place, wagged his tail, and barked, Snow! Go see!

<< Snow? >> Aleoth tilted his head first to one side, then to the other. His many-faceted eyes couldn’t seem to decide whether to reflect curiosity or mild concern. << What is snow? >>

Zee reset his optics, realization dawning on him. Right. Aleoth was barely more than a hatchling. More to the point, he’d broken shell in summer. It stood to reason he’d have no clue what this ‘snow’ stuff everyone was crowing about was.

“Don’t worry about it, Al.” Zee reached sideways to skritch the soft hide just behind the adolescent bronze’s jaw. Said bronze promptly leaned into his touch, eyes half-lidding in pleasure. “It’s just another weather pattern. Happens whenever it starts getting cold outside. Think rain, just... colder and solid.”

<< Rain but solid.>> Aleoth repeated, more than a bit dubious. << Wouldn’t that be dangerous? >>

Another optic reset, then Zee laughed.

“Okay, I fragged that up, lemme try again. Rain falls from clouds, right? And it comes down sorta piecemeal, not all at once. Snow is like that too. It’s just water that froze up in the clouds. It comes down frozen in little flakes, and if it stays cold enough for long enough, it accumulates. We call it snow.”

Perhaps it would be easier to show you. There was a smile lurking somewhere in Haven’s tone, and not just because the Pegasus had a soft spot for little ones. Though- Alexandrae, dear, would you mind stoking the fire? I imagine we’ll all be cold and wet when we return.

Of course. Lex, naturally, was far too wise to go wading through snowdrifts for the sake of it. She’d taken one look outside and promptly parked herself by the firepit at the center of Zee’s cavern home. Why risk the cold and the damp when there were plenty of books to read inside? Zee, I expect pictures. Lots of them.

“Well, duh.” Pinnacle of maturity that Zee was, he stuck his glossa out in Lex’s general direction. “C’mon, Al, let’s get movin’!”

Out they trooped, a pegasus and a robot amidst a small cloud of dragonkin, and Aleoth’s gasp of happy shock made the lot of them forget the cold.

<< Look at all the snow! >> The little bronze jumped for joy, then jumped again, straight into a snowbank bigger than he was. He reemerged a moment later, eyes huge and hide flecked with snow. << Argh, it’s COLD! >>

Well, we did say it was frozen. Haven managed to mostly hide his hilarity. Zee... wasn’t quite so composed. In fact, he took one look at Aleoth floundering in the snow and lost his collective slag.

“Al! Your face!” He might’ve said more had Aleoth not emitted the world’s most indignant honk. The sound left Zee bent in half laughing his fool head off. “Oh, Primus, that’s fantastic-”

<< ...uh. Lil’ help here? >> Poor Aleoth. First he about drowned in a snowbank, then his supposed partner in crime broke down laughing at him, and now he couldn’t quite get the footing needed to free himself from his snowy prison. Zee took mercy on him, but not before snapping a still of the poor thing’s utterly indignant face.

“Hold on, hold on.” And there was one of the big (ha!) advantages of being a giant among itty-bitties: Zee could physically scoop baby dragons up. He did so now, depositing his bondmate back on dry and comparatively solid land. Aleoth gave himself an almighty shake and retreated back into the safety (and WARMTH) of the cavern, muttering expletives all the while.

“Well, that didn’t go quite as planned.” Zee rubbed at the back of his neck, equal parts embarrassed and amused. “You reckon he’ll forgive me?”

But of course. He is your lifemate, after all.

“That’s a relief.” Zee tore his gaze away from the cave entrance, pausing to admire the play of light off fresh-fallen powder. “I think I’m gonna go for a stroll. Care to come with?”

I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

And so a pair of (at-least-partially) orange beings strode off into the winter wonderland, snow crunching under-hoof and under-pede. For some time that was the only sound that passed between them. Each was wrapped in their thoughts, in their dreams, in the quiet camaraderie of a walk through the winter. Speaking would only have cheapened the moment. Perhaps it was understandable, then, that Zee had to fight an urge to flinch when Haven finally broke their companionable silence.

...wait. Is that Halrae?

Zee’s head snapped up, optics whirring as they refocused. Sure enough, that was his favorite drow just visible in the distance, and unless he was much mistaken... yep! She was throwing snowballs!

“Holy slag,” He murmured, something warm and buoyant bubbling up in his spark, “She does know how to have fun. I never thought...”

There was a joke there, something about Zee being allergic to thinking, but Haven opted to ignore such low-hanging fruit. Instead he gave his mechanical cohortmate a nudge. Perhaps you should join her? I imagine she would appreciate the company.

“You think?” Zee hesitated only briefly, optics bouncing between Haven and Halrae. Neither was surprised when his social butterfly tendencies won out. “...well, Pit, I may as well.”

Zee knelt and scooped up an appropriately mech-sized handful of snow. He packed it tight, rounded it out, took aim, and...

...completely fragging missed his target.

“I meant to do that!”

Yep. Just like he meant to announce himself. Totally intentional. stop looking at him like that


((Elemental, My Dear Watson, "fire", and Being Sung By A Choir, "wonderland", 1020 words.))

[Halrae]

Normally, Halrae was far more attentive to her surroundings. Especially with the snow she should've heard any approach. But at that moment she was rather lost in the memories brought about by throwing snowball after snowball at the boulder.

Then abruptly Drathir's ears twitched and his head snapped around to look towards a noise; he was far more alert. And what he saw was something that could give anyone caused for alarm – a massive snowball heading more or less straight for him! With a fully canine howl of alarm the Kal'daka bounded away, the projectile missing his tail by a millimeter. At the warning Halrae spun around and her next action was on reflex: she threw the closest weapon that was at hand, in this case the snowball she'd just made!

Splat!

Yeah, against a Cybertronian's ankle, it wasn't exactly much of an impact.

The drow realized who she'd unintentionally taken aim at a split second later, and she quickly held up a hand towards Drathir, who was crouched down beside her growling in threat.

"Ol zhah tenu - Usstan zhaun ukta." (It's alright – I know him.) At the assurance the Kal'daka settled, giving himself a shake and sitting.

Naut reiyal l'elend Sssiring.[/i][/color](Not quite the usual greeting.) Halrae didn't bother hiding the smirk before she regarded the one who nearly bombarded her.

"Sorry about that, Zenith. You... kind of caught me off-guard. I don't normally throw at random." Perhaps a bit of a rusty attempt at a quip, but that she was even making the attempt was a sign of just how comfortable she was already with the other.

It was then that the warrior realized that given the timing of everything Zenith had likely caught her at her small activity, and if he could see in the infrared spectrum he might have noticed her face heating up far more than would be usual for just being out in the cold. But surely he couldn't....right?

How embarrassing!

"What are you doing out here in the cold, in the middle of nowhere?" She asked instead, trying to divert from the topic of snowballs. Whether that would work or not.... well.

[Zenith]

For the second time in as many hours Zenith broke down laughing like the loon he claimed he wasn’t. He’d done it! He’d snuck up on actual bad-aft warrioress Halrae! And he’d gotten away with it almost unscathed! Sure, one of those big frag-off wolves had snarled at him, and there was snow oozing its way into the mechanisms of his ankle, but seriously? Those were small prices to pay to see closed-off hermit Halrae actually having fun for once in her life.

“Oh man, I’m so sorry,” He wheezed, flopping aft-first into the snow before his knees gave out. Something- several somethings, particularly unfortunate pine boughs if he had to guess- crunched on impact. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you, I promise, I just-”

And off he trailed into helpless giggles punctuated by the occasional hiccuping cough of an engine. Haven rolled his eyes- the same rich teal as Zee’s optics- and heaved a long-suffering sigh.

I would say he isn’t normally like this, but all three of us know that’s a lie. My apologies all the same.The dreamsicle-colored pegasus padded forward a few strides, dipping his head in the pegasus equivalent of a bow. You must be Halrae, yes? Zee speaks highly of you.

“‘Course I do, she’s my friend!” It probably said something about Zee, that he threw that term of endearment around so easily, but he didn’t so much as spare a thought for the significance of the phrase. He was far too busy lolling back in the snow and making a Cybertronian-scale snow angel. We’ll just... ignore the fact that his spark burned hot enough to melt the snow beneath his back and wings nigh-instantly.

To answer your question, we originally meant to show Aleoth the wonders of winter. He, ah... chose not to partake once he realized the discomfort involved.

“What he’s trying to say is, ‘Al got lost in a snowdrift and pitched a big ole slag-fit over it.’” Zee tossed Halrae a wink. “Apparently he doesn’t like the whole ‘cold’ thing.”

Few of us do. But after Aleoth opted out we decided to stay out and enjoy the scenery.

“And then we tripped over you!” Zee finished with a grin, maneuvering sideways to land belly-down in a fresh patch of snow. Clumps of white stuck to his exoplating, a chilly layer of frosting atop the weyrd’s sweetest cake. They’d melt soon enough, but for now they made for excellent camouflage. “Believe it or not, we weren’t aiming to find you, but I’m glad we did. Snow’s not nearly as much fun when you don’t have anyone to share it with.”

Fussing father-figure that he was, Haven squinted at elf and wolf alike, ears forking this way and that as he thought. Are you two staying warm enough? Zee might not be bothered by the weather, but somehow I doubt you’re so fortunate.

((Being Sung By A Choir, 'boughs'.))

[Halrae]

Once upon a time, Halrae would've become highly offended being effectively laughed at, by anyone.

But now? Now... honestly the drow warrior was simply fondly reminded of another moment, one also highlighted by snow, when snowballs were new and laughter rang in her ears.

She winced slightly when Zenith came to a crashing sit in the snow, mostly on behalf of the tree limbs he took down in the process (though admittedly at the same time a part of her thought 'firewood!'), then had to promptly swallow her own giggles at hearing his. Seriously, the Cybertronian's zeal was more contagious than a cold!

"Most definitely a lie," she agreed, nodding her head in reply to the pegasus' greeting. She was about to confirm her identity when Zenith did it for her... and his manner actually froze her in place for a moment, eyes somewhat wide.

“‘Course I do, she’s my friend!”

My friend.

Halrae had long ago accepted that the people in this world didn't have the same prejudices against drow that basically everyone she had known before possessed. Not only was there another drow in residence somewhere but Halrae herself had remained unbothered in her home and in town. But none yet had called her by that word, a title that meant quite a lot to her.

And she found that for Zenith to call her 'friend' was not only a thing she didn't mind, but she actually found it pleased her. That, she thought, deserved something in return.

"I'm glad he thinks so highly of me," she replied with a return nod of greeting to Haven. "It's good to have a friend's regard."

Yes, she'd just called Zenith her friend. Those watching from the afterlife should be pleased.

She took a prudent half step backwards when Zenith tumbled over for his snow angel, white eyebrows raising in amusement and Drathir frowning as some accidentally flung snow landed right on his head between his ears; he shook his head to dislodge it and Halrae muffled another giggle behind her hand. She stepped again as her friend – after so long of not using that word it felt good to think – rolled over more in the snow.

"The cold can be surprising," she agreed, "and I admit I wasn't very tolerant of it my first time seeing it. I didn't even really understand 'seasons' until I came to the surface."

I am fine,[/i][/color] the Kal'daka answered, ruffling some of his fur casually. My fur is thick for the winter. Though Halrae dressed warmly she can't stay out forever.[/i][/color] Halrae shot a mock-glare at her canine companion, but though it was masked by her ebony skin her face was flushed from the chill and she knew it to say nothing of her pointed ears.

"My coat and gloves are thick enough," she said in reply. "The winters at Chainbreaker Keep could be frigid, being in the mountains, so I know how to be prepared." Briefly her expression became fond and sad at the same time, remembering that first winter, then she shook it and replaced the expression with a smirk. "Granted, I've never found earmuffs that fit me. But you look like a cake right now!" Amused, she scooped up a bit of snow. "But you're missing some frosting right... here!" She threw it at Zenith's shoulder, adding to the clump already there. Drathir whuffed a chuckle, rather pleased with Halrae's relaxing enough to play like he knew she would do in more private settings. He'd been concerned when he realized her bittersweet thoughts about the season, but it seemed for the moment she'd put them aside.

[Zenith]

Someday in the far-flung future Zenith would look back at this moment with utmost fondness. (...and not only because he’d made a heck of a snow angel.) He’d mentally slapped a ‘friend’ label on Halrae within moments of meeting her- as he did with most people, if we’re being honest- but he’d never expected her to return the favor in such short order. The Chainbreaker had every reason to hide her heart from all and sundry, and yet... here she was, laughing at his bad jokes, brushing off his shenanigans, accepting him as easily as she accepted the fact that sometimes gravity decided to take a day off.

It was wondrous, really, even if the words to say as much got tangled up in his vocoder. Saying ‘thank you’ could be hard like that.

One of his many charming quirks, Haven commented, glancing sidelong in Zee’s direction. The lanky jet flashed both of them a matched pair of thumbs-up before returning to his latest project. Apparently dissatisfied with simple snow angels, now he was making... a snow fort? A Cybertronian-scale igloo? It was hard to tell, really, but it seemed to involve heaping snow around himself in a vaguely rounded-off shape with rather more enthusiasm than skill.

And I imagine the seasons would be somewhat shocking. Zenith made mention of something similar. The smile was back in Haven’s voice, along with a gentle note of almost fatherly pride. Zee being Zee, he promptly stuck his glossa out and blew the robotic equivalent of a raspberry.

“Cybertron doesn’t have seasons,” He explained, his tone just a smidge sour. “The planet’s too dry to have a hydrosphere, and until recently it didn’t even have a sun, so... no seasons. Which made for a Pit of a shock the first time I went dirtside on a planet that did have ‘em. You ever tried picking mud out of heel thrusters? It sucks big fat cityformer bearings.”

Language, Zenith.

“Get fragged, Ven.”

You and I both know that will never happen.

“Which is unfortunate, ‘cos it might improve your attitude.”

There was no real heat behind the insults. Clearly they’d had this particular exchange before. Chances were equally good they’d have it again. After all, their entire relationship was built on friendly bickering.

Zee chirped in surprise when Halrae got in on the fun, shuttering his optics against her snowy 'onslaught'. The drow absolutely had the right idea: her addition completed Zee’s transformation into a living snowbank apparently sequined with ice crystals.

Okay, that wasn’t entirely accurate. He more closely resembled a turtle made out of snow, provided you ignored the wings protruding from his frigid ‘shell’. The image was ludicrous enough to leave Haven whickering in helpless laughter.

“I’m glad you’re havin’ a good time, though. Snow's a lot of fun once you get used to it.” Zee didn’t add what he’d been thinking, about Halrae grappling with any number of ugly memories stirred up by the change weather. If she was content- and all signs seemed to indicate she was- he wasn’t about to willfully torpedo her good mood.

After all, that wasn’t the sort of thing friends did to the people they cared about.

((New Year, New Something, 'sequined'.))

[Halrae]

The drow smirked, amused, at their banter. Truly it was like the exchanges shared on many days by the Chainbreakers, friendly bickering and zings that only affirmed their bond. She remembered giving and getting many in turn, and the memory was warming even in the winter cold.

The chirping sound was amusing in and of itself, and got a soft chuckle from the unexpected nature of it, as did Haven's response.

"When you get used to it," Halrae agreed, crouching to run her fingers through the powdery white. "I remember... I was just finishing breakfast when Kailyn and Prince Kearis came hurrying into the dining room, grabbing my arms and shoving my goggles on my head, telling me to follow them. They practically dragged me to the front door, throwing my cloak on me in the process, and shoved me outside with Prince Kearis calling, 'Look!'" Halrae smirked, palming a handful. "I had no idea what I was seeing, or what Kailyn meant when she announced 'Snow!' I admit I was rather baffled, stepping outside and into the snow, hearing in crunch, feeling the cold through my boots. Kailyn explained about snow, how it was very cold rain that happened in the winter, and in the high mountains. I asked what it was useful for." Here Halrae smirked. "Prince Kearis picked up a handful of snow, make a ball, said 'Watch!' and threw it at Mythias!" She laughed. "He made the most startled sound I'd ever heard, sputtering and stammering and yelping as it went down under his cloak! Prince Kearis just laughed and ran, picking up more snow as he went and throwing it back at me. I had no idea what they were doing, but I learned quick." Halrae's smile turned wistfully fond, if a touch sad. "My first snow, my first snowball fight. Even Razok got into the fun before it was over. Making snowmen and breaking off icicles, simply seeing how the snow changed everything in our territory, before heading back inside. Mythias made hot drinks and we all sat by the fire.... It was nice."
Drathir blew a breath, licking his nose.

Something warm to drink sounds quite good, actually,[/i][/color] he mused. We've been outside for some time, and you don't have a fur coat.[/i][/color]

"It's not that cold, and I've been in worse."

Perhaps before, but you don't have to now.[/i][/color]

"This Isn't a have to. This is fun." Once more the Kal'daka licked his nose, but seemed pleased anyhow.

Then perhaps a bit longer.[/i][/color] Halrae affectionately rolled her eyes.

"Thank you." The drow looked at the snow-Cybertronian, absently shaping the snow she held into a few random forms, not a snowball but more like a miniature snow sculpture. "You said you were showing Aleoth the 'wonders of winter.' I take it he's young, has never seen snow before?" Halrae looked around in curiosity. "Did you wander very far? I mean, I know you can take long strides and all, but if he's young I wouldn't think you were planning on bringing him out for a long time. I know Kailyn said something about young ones not being too comfortable with the cold."

[Zenith]

Zenith offlined his optics and just... listened. Halrae’s words painted a scene every bit as vibrant as one transferred via hardline from a fellow Cybertronian. He could see it so clearly: the snow and the ice, the snowballs flying every which way, the laughter and joy of friends and comrades sharing a moment of simple fun. Perhaps the details were off- after all, he’d never met any of the other Chainbreakers- but that didn’t dampen the importance of the moment.

Either moment, really, for there were two occurring simultaneously. Halrae had willingly shared with him some small fragment of the people who had molded her into the elf she’d become. That was a gift beyond his ability to repay. Small wonder Zee stayed silent for a few moments, a smile tugging at his lips, and committed the reconstructed file to permanent memory.

“Sounds like a good time to me.” Haven nodded enthusiastic agreement, his perennially messy forelock flopping every which way. “But I think your friend there’s got the right idea. I can’t get cold. You and Ven can. I’d really rather you guys not freeze solid.”

But all the organics seemed content to stay where they were, and Zee wasn’t about to argue with them. Instead he hunkered further into the snow, wings fanning out at carefully calculated angles. Now Halrae had the maximum possible surface area to decorate with snow sculptures!

And if he started up a mental countdown, well, that was just common sense. Someone had to convince the squishies to get back inside before they got frostbitten. And speaking of squishies...

“Al’s my dragon.” Hopefully Halrae could forgive the note of paternal pride in his voice when he spoke of his little bronze lifemate. After all, Zee was terribly fond of him. “He’s only a couple of months old, so yeah, this is his first real snowfall. We’ve had a few dustings of snow before, but nothing that stuck around long enough to really count. But, well. Snow looks a lot warmer and softer than it actually is. Al didn’t really like snow once he was up to his headknobs in it.”

An image flickered into being between them, a still capture of the young dragon half-immersed in a snowbank. True to Zee’s words, Aleoth looked less than amused by his predicament.

“I was gonna bring him along, but once he realized how cold it was out he decided to stay back home. I think Alexandrae’s got the watch now? She’s usually in charge whenever I leave the house.”

He paused, pinging the gryphon for an update. Some small knot of tension he hadn’t been aware of holding eased when she pinged back an all-clear.

“Ha. Apparently he’s sleeping by the fireplace now. We didn’t go too far, though. I think home’s about six or seven kliks from here?” He laughed, wings vibrating with amusement. “Wait, does that make us neighbors?”

((New Year, New Something, 'countdown'.))

[Halrae]

Drathir was rather pleased that Zenith agreed with him, shaking himself briefly against a small flurry of flakes that blew from a nearby treetop onto his neck. Halrae crumpled her rather poor attempt at miniature snow sculpture and threw the resulting ball at the mech's wings. Hey, even she could read that invitation! She bent to scoop up some more but froze when Zenith elaborated on the exact nature of 'Al.'

"He's a – dragon?" She echoed, straightening, snow tumbling from her fingers. "As in... fire-breathing, flying, roaring...." Just then the image flickered to life and the drow did the only thing that a reasonable, sensible creature from a high fantasy world like Faerun would do when faced with something like that:

She gasped (because Halrae never, ever shrieked) and recoiled backwards, ending up sitting in a waist-deep snowbank.

Drathir, for his part, jumped to his paws mostly in surprise and concern for his drow, but a moment later Halrae had rolled to her hands and knees in the white powder and was leaning forward close to the image. He settled back; she was alright, if the look of amazement was something rather unusual for her.

"That – that – okay, that is adorable, I have to admit, but... You can do magic?" Halrae pushed herself to fully kneel, ignoring the cold in her awe. "Prestidigitation, or illusion?" Then Zenith's own question got through and she blinked. "Um...Well, we only walked maybe a quarter-mile I think. But isn't click a sound, not a distance?"

Neighbors.... well, at least if she had a neighbor it was someone she actually was finding out she liked!

[Zenith]

One of these fine fragging days Zenith was going to remember that not everyone came from the same background he did. A turian or viera- or, y’know, a drow- wasn’t going to have the same frame of reference he did. For them dragons were either mythological figures or forces of nature brought to fire-breathing, world-ending life. It stood to reason they’d react with either disbelief or outright terror. Perfectly reasonable reactions, given the information they had access to.

It was a timely reminder that even on Planet, not everyone had access to the Dungeon Master’s Guide like he did. because zee was absolutely a cheater like that

“Oh, frag me,” He muttered ruefully, and buried his face in the frigid snow. He reemerged with a frosty moustache and snowy beard. Both began melting as they spoke, but still. Robot moustache. Maybe the sheer absurdity of the moment would make up for scaring a few years off Halrae’s lifespan.

“Sorry, Hal, I shouldn’t have sprung that on you.” He probably shouldn’t have sprung the nickname on her either. Too little, too late: that particular turbofox was already out of the bag and bolting for the horizon. No use trying to wrestle it back into place now. “No, I can’t do magic. Trust me, if I could I would’ve been shouting it from the rooftops long before now. This is somewhere between biology and technology. It’s...”

He cast around, thinking hard, and finally landed on an example that would get his point across without insulting anyone involved.

“Drow can see in the infrared spectrum, right? It’s a natural ability your kind are born with. It’s the same idea with my species and technology like this. This thing- it’s called a holo-projector, ‘cos it projects holographic images from my memory banks- is a part of my anatomy just like your eyes are part of yours. If I see something interesting I can take a mental picture of it, tuck it away for later, then show it to others using the projector. I can do some other neat tricks with it too, but it’s all just technology, no magic involved. ”

The jet smiled to himself, something warm and somehow homey flaring at the edges of his electromagnetic field. Go figure, the barely more than teenaged robot felt paternal about his dragon.

Primus, was this how his cohort felt about him and Azimuth and Zephyr and all the rest? ...How the Pit did they handle it?!

“Aleoth- that’s his proper name- isn’t a dragon like you’re probably thinking, though. His ancestors came from a place called Pern. Remember how Chath chose you when we first met? Pernese dragons do the same thing. They choose a humanoid to become their rider and stay with that person for the rest of their lives. It’s... well. It’d take a poet to really describe what bonding a dragon is like, and I sure as slag ain’t a poet, but. It’s a big deal.”

And one of the most beautiful things he’d ever had the honor of experiencing, but he kept that bit to himself. Somehow he got the impression Halrae wouldn’t really understand it until she lived it herself. Impression was Just One Of Those Things that words could never really capture.

“Al and his siblings just hatched at the end of the summer. There was a big to-do on Mt. Gnerq, a big ole mess with armies and attacks on mother dragons and all sorts of slag, but. In the end Al came home with me, and he’s probably the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Sounds like a lot, especially when he’s barely more than a baby, but. It’s true.”

More true than even he himself realized. Aleoth had somehow remedied the homesickness Zee had grappled with from the moment he’d first arrived. Perhaps he wasn’t a Cybertronian, couldn’t fill a room with an electromagnetic field the way a fellow mech could, but he was cohort all the same. For a mech cut off from all he’d ever known, that familiarity was more precious than innermost energon.

“That, and he’s going through a growth spurt right now,” He added, optics bright with that same fond amusement. “Al’s basically a famine on legs. I don’t want him eating the entire fragging forest if he gets peckish. But if you ever want to meet him...”

He trailed off, letting the offer dangle in the air between them. Given Halrae’s reaction to a picture of a dragon, trying to force an immediate meeting seemed like an excellent way to scar both parties for life. Best to wait, then, and let her come around to the idea in her own time.

After all, it wasn’t like any of them were going anywhere anytime soon.

“Oh, right, duh.” If he hadn’t been encased in snow Zee would’ve whacked himself between the optics. He seemed to do that a lot when Halrae was involved. “A ‘klik’ is a kilometer. It’s a unit of measurement from Earth. Not sure how it worked its way into the Cybertronian consciousness, but it did, then it got passed down to me. But if my place is only a few kilometers away from yours, yeah, that makes us neighbors!”

The prospect clearly delighted him. YAY FRIENDS

((Stay Away From 2021, 'famine', and Snowflakes Keep Fallin' On My Head, 'frigid', 880 words. Holy cats that got away from me. ._. ))

[Halrae]

The drow couldn't hold back a very clear snort of amusement at Zenith's faceplant into the snow, then outright laughed when he looked up caked in snow.

So that's why everyone had thought it was so funny when Razok had dropped Halrae into a snowdrift and she'd popped back up with snow clumped on her long, white hair. Yeah, she got it now.

The nickname? That was new. Not even the Chainbreakers had ever called her by a nickname, aside perhaps from 'drow,' or perhaps 'reckless' mostly in reference to her 'hit me first' attitude. But neither of those were actual nicknames really. 'Hal' was.

A century or so ago, Halrae would've attacked Zenith for it, taking it as an insult. Now?

Now she felt a warmth that reminded her of the warmth she always felt in the Keep, with her friends.

Halrae tipped her head to one side as she listened to his explaination. Technology she knew only a bare minimum about mostly from hearing about the Lantan island in the Trackless Sea. They used mechanical creations and rumors spoke of a giant worm-like thing that could eat through solid rock. She'd never met someone from Lantan and quite honestly had never wanted to; they sounded downright crazy.

What Zenith could do sounded much more reasonable, very much like magic and so easier for the drow to wrap her head around and accept.

"Just like how a sorcerer can just 'do magic' because of who they are, you can do this projecting because of who you are," she surmised in her own terms. "That is like infravision, in a way. Innate."

Taking in the differences between dragons was greatly helped by her having Chath connected to her, the firelizard currently napping in the cottage kitchen where it was nice and warm.

"I hate to imagine how much a dragon can eat when they're growing," Halrae chuckled. "Though I haven't been around a lot of really young creatures. Well, except for Halrask, and she certainly could eat! I was hunting for her every day until she learned to hunt for herself well enough." The halbard-wielder took a thoughtful breath, standing and dusting off snow. "Honestly it... might be smart for me to meet him. When he's small. I don't want to meet a larger dragon unprepared and have a bad reaction and get someone hurt." She left unmentioned that most likely that someone would be her, since a larger dragon could easily squish her. Call it a bit of pride, but she would rather think that she could handle herself against a dragon.

Yeah, maybe Halrae was a bit full of herself when it came to her skills still.

She made an understanding sound at the explanation of measurements, nodding though the exact term 'kilometer' wasn't familiar to her either. 'Miles' were more up to her standards, but that was okay. It was a distance, and from his thought not a far distance either.

If it is so close, Drathir commented, then perhaps it would be smart to go ahead with this meeting, if Aleoth would be in a suitable mood for it. It would give you a chance to warm up, and we are out anyways. There is no telling when you might cross paths with an adult dragon by chance.

"That's true...." Here was uncharted ground. Halrae knew the Kal'daka was right, and honestly she was enjoying Zenith's company. It would be an excuse to not part ways just yet. But she'd never been the one to ask 'hey, lets hang out.' That kind of thing had always been the territory of Mythias or Kailyn. They'd acted as the 'face' of the Chainbreakers, whereas Halrae was just the background muscle and scout. Drathir licked his muzzle, stretching his forelegs. He could speak up, but he thought it was probably for the best to let his Bonded handle this on her own. Call it a learning experience.

[Zenith]

Some small part of Zenith- the part that had always gotten him in trouble back at the academy- had fully expected to get... something. A halberd to the face, maybe, or a dramatic exit, or a volley of verbal abuse. Surely there would be some sort of retribution for his slip of the glossa. That was what drow did, wasn’t it? Got even in the most creative and painful way possible? Defended themselves from all and sundry with violence that sometimes defied easy description? Every book that so much as mentioned them in passing agreed on that much.

Except Halrae was far from a typical drow, and these were far from typical circumstances. There was a bond between them now, something new and fragile just beginning to set down roots, and that changed everything.

Strangers might get a bloodied for their shenanigans. Friends got away with murder. And Zee? Apparently fell into that latter category now.

Needless to say, Halrae’s laughter was one of the better things Zee had heard in his life. It sounded suspiciously like victory.

“That’s a good way of phrasing it, yeah,” He mused, careful to keep the note of triumphant glee out of his voice. It lit up his electromagnetic field instead, but what organic could parse the ebb and flow of a Cybertronian EMF? “My holo-projector’s just as much a part of me as my wings are. It’s just a little bit more... showy? That’s not a great word for it. Maybe ‘more adaptable’?”

He thought for a moment, snow crunching as he angled his head to the side, and briefly wondered whether he was about to clarify or muddy the situation. Only one way to find out!

“After we lost our home planet a lot of my kind were kinda forced to hide out on organic worlds. We could make our bodies look like local tech, but that made it almost impossible to interact with organics on their level. Some bright spark figured out how to use holo-projectors to make... I guess you’d call them holographic representations of ourselves?”

As per usual, ‘tell’ was quickly abandoned in favor of ‘show’. Something hummed just beneath Zee’s glacial armor, a note just barely audible above the thrum of internal systems idling away. It rose half an octave before steadying. Light flickered, the same teal as Zee’s optics, and all at once a humanoid figure blinked into being a few feet from Halrae. Even at a glance the being felt like Zee: tallish, slender, and just a little coltish, with coppery red hair and sweet teal eyes half-hidden by squared-off glasses. The way he waved and bounced on the balls of his feet just cemented the fact that, Primus save Halrae, there were two of him running around now.

“We call ‘em holo-forms.” The words came from the holo’s mouth and Zee’s vocoder at the same time. Magic! ...Technology! They were basically interchangeable at this point anyway, right? “And they were one of the big reasons we were able to stay hidden on other planets. We could use these to interact with organics and pass ourselves off as natives. Whenever you see a horse tacked up you expect it to have a rider somewhere, right? It’s the same thing with a lot of the vehicles we turn into. So we could pass off our holo-forms as our ‘riders’ or owners or whatever, and most organics just kinda went with it.”

...yeah that probably hadn’t clarified things in any way, shape, or form. Zee had a talent for trying to clear matters up and doing precisely the opposite. That didn’t make him dismiss his holo, though. In fact, he set the thing to adding more snow to the pile already heaped atop his wings.

At least until Halrae and Drathir flipped his processor right off its rails all over again.

“Wait. You’d really want to meet Al?” This time there was no was no disguising the amazement in Zee’s voice, or the joy that rippled just beneath it. Go figure, friends wanting to make friends with his other friends got the big jet all giddy. “I... I honestly hadn’t even thought about that. I figured you wouldn’t really be that interested in meeting him. But, uh- yeah, you’re totally right, it’s probably best you meet him while he’s small. I love him to death but dragons are still a lot to deal with, and Al can be a lot even for a dragon.”

For a sparkpulse Zee considered ‘paging’ the cohort and having them drag Aleoth out into the cold. Good ole common sense stopped that plan in its tracks. Right, better plan: get ahold of Alexandrae and have the whole cohort prepare for guests. Zee did just that, gently tugging the mental threads that connected him to gryphon and dragon alike.

You two mind if we have a visitor here in a lil’ bit? Got someone who wants to meet you, Al.

Aleoth’s answering wave of curiosity probably would’ve taken him out at the knees if he’d been standing. Alexandrae, old and wise enough to temper her response, merely laughed. But of course. Shall I set on the kettle for tea?

Zee chose to not ask just when or how a gryphon had acquired a kettle. Instead he pulsed affection and gratitude through their bond, the emotional equivalent of a long-distance hug. I’d appreciate it. Be back soonish.

Optics irising, he brought his attention back to the physical present and the task at hand.

“Mind backing up a smidge?” He asked, wiggling his wingtips just a smidge. “Al would love to meet you, and I’m totally down to introduce you, but I’m gonna have to get out of all this snow before we can leave.”

Which was a crying shame, in his untutored opinion. He’d been enjoying the whole ‘turn into a living igloo’ thing.

((Stay Away from 2021, 'death', and Snowflakes Keep Fallin' On My Head, 'glacial', 979 words.))

[Halrae]

In this case, showing was definitely more useful than telling when it came to the holo-projector. Halrae's furrowed eyebrows clearly showed she was struggling to follow along, eyelashes flickering down slightly as her keen hearing picked up on the humming sound – then she jumped back when the person appeared in front of her. Not a hostile reaction, but just a surprised one as she didn't react with a punch or anything.

Oh, she could so tell that this was Zenith, in another form. The coloration, the animation, the eye color and expression in them...

Definitely Zenith.

"I can understand wanting, needing, to stay hidden," the drow commented. "I've heard of some spells and items that could disguise me, make me look like a normal elf, if I'd ever bothered to hunt them down." Without hesitation, because let's face it that wouldn't be Halrae, she reached out to poke the holo-form Zenith in the shoulder, to see if it was solid.

Then she smirked at Zenith's surprise. Yeah, it was a practical move... but truth be told she was curious about a little dragon. She'd seen a few from a distance since arriving here, but this would be safe, and give her more understanding about this world.

The drow stepped back when bidden, though she tossed a final snowball at Zenith's right wing before he could shake free. Hey, one final bit of snow for the road!

[Zenith]

Credit where credit was due: the more Halrae hung around with him, the more quickly she seemed to adapt to the Weird Slag that was part and parcel of befriending a Cybertronian. She’d flown with him on their first fragging meeting, for Primus’ sake, and now? Now she seemed to have accepted his offer to swing by and meet the cohort.

Yep. That emotion swelling in his field was abso-fragging-lutely victory.

“Hey, hands off the merchandise.” He briefly slapped on what a human might recognize as a thick Brooklyn accent. Apparently that holo was indeed solid, or at least solid enough for Halrae to poke, and for Zee to feel. “Kidding, kidding. The holo’s linked up to my systems, but kinda loosely, if that makes sense? If it gets damaged I can feel it, but it doesn’t hurt, because it’s not actually real. Which is a good thing, ‘cos I’ve gotten slapped a few times and it really should’ve hurt.”

Said holo ambled off a few feet, snow crunching under-foot, whilst its owner rose to his full and impressive height. Snow cascaded from his wings, a blizzard in miniature. Most of it even managed to miss Halrae. That counted as a win in his books.

...did robots even have books? Maybe it was ‘a win in his dataslate’? Meh.

“I think you’ll like Al, though,” He commented, stretching broadly to work the energon back into his limbs. “He’s a pretty cheerful little guy. Real friendly, real brave, almost as reckless as I am. And he doesn’t have a lot of the... preconceptions a lot of organics do.”

Which was a laughably roundabout way of saying ‘he doesn’t hate drow like most sane people do’. Zee didn’t feel the need to point that out, not when Halrae was more than smart enough to figure it out on her own.

“C’mon, this way!” He crowed, and bounced off in the direction of home. Haven whickered a soft laugh before falling in behind him, half an eye still on Halrae. If she needed a guide, she’d have one, even if Zee was far too busy chattering about everything under the sun to pay attention.

((Snowflakes Keep Fallin' On My Head, 'blizzard'.))

[Halrae]

Of course Halrae wouldn't recognize the accent, but she had felt fabric and form beneath her fingertip well enough. That confirmed Zenith's words, and she had to admit it made sense. Getting slapped - or punched or stabbed or slashed - really hurt and this holo-form didn't seem to be wearing any armor.

Hmm. Briefly she wondered if he made it seem to be armored of it indeed would be, but that was a line of questioning for another day.

As Zenith turned to head off Halrae gracefully hopped up onto Drathir's back, holding to his scruff in lieu of a harness or anything of the sort, and the big drow wolf began walking in the furrow left by the big robot.

Work smart, not hard, and let him clear the way!

Halrae listened absently to the chatter offered, offering an occasional comment or acknowledging sound. She'd sorted through Zenith's mention of 'Al's' - the drow reasoned that she'd not risk calling him by the nickname to his face - demeanor. Preconceptions, hmm. There was little doubt as to what he was referring to; certainly it wasn't preconceptions about Ikal'daka! But she appreciated the distinction nevertheless. It had been a long time since anyone had done anything out of the way to try and make her feel welcome, decades really.

The presence of the holo-form had her also wondering if she should invite Zenith to the cottage. On the one hand it would be polite to return the invitation, but on the other she still felt a little embarrassed by the storybook appearance of the cottage itself, so out of character for the normally stoic, determined drow.

Dollies and frilled throw pillows, really! But every attempt to redecorate had resulted in the offending item returning to its spot by the next day. By now she'd given up.

Well, time enough to muse over that. First to meet a dragon!

[Zenith]

Credit where it was due: Drathir absolutely had the right idea letting Zenith lead the way. The worst of the drifts might’ve reached hip height on a human, but they barely brushed a Cybertronian’s ankle. Zee forged through them with the greatest of ease, wholly oblivious to the effort such a feat should have required. No fool Haven, he fell in behind his bondmate, Zee’s holo-form walking shoulder-to-shoulder with pegasus and elf alike.

And if his holo’s feet never left so much as a trace of their passing, well, that was just part of the fun.

Giant robots from space: cheating since time immemorial. those rat bastards

Thankfully for all parties involved, it really wasn’t all that far from Halrae’s home to Zenith’s. Soon enough a truly towering redwood came into view, its uppermost branches soaring high above the surrounding treetops. The old-growth evergreen stood alone in a clearing perhaps a quarter-mile across at its broadest. In summer it must’ve made for an image worthy of a postcard. Now, draped in winter’s finest, it stood watch over the few beasties bold enough to brave the cold.

Canny survivalist that she was, Halrae would probably notice signs of habitation almost immediately. The tree and its surroundings were neatly maintained, for one thing, every loose leaf and twig spirited away by... something. (Knowing Zee’s proclivities for all things draconian, that ‘something’ was probably ‘a whole mess of firelizards’.) Divots and lumps were visible in the snow, a sure sign that several creatures had moved about the clearing in the recent past. More noteworthy still, someone (or perhaps several someones) had shoved much of the snow away from the tree’s roots. The earth thus revealed had clearly been compacted by many feet over many days. A few large boulders, conspicuously set in convenient places, completed the image.

This was no longer a clearing. It was Zenith’s front yard, complete with yard furniture fit for a dragon and a mech.

“And here we are!” Zee spun in a circle, indicating the tree and its surroundings all at once. The note of pride in his voice made it clear he was pleased with his abode, however humble it might have been. “Home sweet home. Or, uh. Cavern sweet cavern?”

We actually live just beneath the tree, Haven explained, trotting towards the dark triangle that must’ve been the ‘front door’. The cave was here before any of us were, as far as we can tell.

“Not that I haven’t expanded on what nature gave us.” Yep, there was that note of smugness again. Apparently Zee was enjoying this whole ‘homesteading’ thing. “Turns out some of the wood right above the cave had rotted out. I got all that cleared out and turned it into a roost for the firelizards. It’s too small for me or Al or Ven, but I’m pretty sure the itty-bitties like having some space just for them. Makes ‘em feel safe, y’know?”

Right on cue a flitt swooped out of the cave’s entrance. Nightbeat took one look at the new arrivals and chirped what must’ve been a greeting. Then she disappeared all over again, presumably off to alert Aleoth to his visitors.

“Did you want to go in? Or should I get a fire going out here? I, uh... I just realized I don’t have any chairs or anything to offer you. You’re the first organic I’ve brought here. Everything I’ve built or dragged in is kinda meant for folks my size.”

The realization seemed to embarrass him, judging by the way he suddenly avoided Halrae’s gaze. Haven jumped in before his bondmate could verbally trip all over himself.

What about that rectangular storage container under your workbench? It if you laid it flat it should be about the right size.

“That... actually might work just fine.” Zee blinked, bemused, and tromped off into the cave with a call of, “Be right back!”

He reemerged a scant few moments later carrying a long, flat metal box that would serve as both seat and table- and in his wake bounced a half-grown but still sizable bronze dragon.

<< Halrae! >> Oh dear. Apparently Zee had spilled the beans. << It’s so good to finally meet you! Zeemine’s told me so much about you! >>

“C’mon, Al, don’t rat me out like that.” Zee set the container down near the circle of stones that apparently served as a firepit, draping a blanket over it once it was settled.

<< Are you really from the Underdark like Saesenth’s bonded? Are your ears really pointed? Can you do magic? Will you show me? >>

He probably would’ve continued in that vein had Zee not reached out and physically pinned the dragon’s jaws shut.

“Easy, bud. Let the poor gal talk. Halrae, this is Aleoth. Al, this is Halrae. Be nice, okay?”

<< I’m always nice, >> The bronze shot back, but there was a certain tenderness beneath both of their teasing. It was immediately and painfully obvious that dragon and mech loved one another dearly. Apparently ‘loving people’ was just a thing that came naturally to one Zenith of New Kalis. 

((L Is For The Way You, 'tenderness', 855 words.))

[Halrae]

Much to Halrae's private surprise the proximity of Zenith's holo-form so close to her didn't set her teeth on edge. She had been as typical for a drow wary of close proximity growing up, when anyone within a weapon's reach of you could end your life so easily. This had continued for some time into her association with the Chainbreakers before she would be relaxed enough around them to let them touch her aside from mending her wounds. But it had come, and after their passing and Prince Kearis' departure she had once more shrugged aside contact.

But here she was, riding on Drathir's back and with so many very close to her, and she was not only comfortable.

She was happy.

The 'clearing' that the pair were led to was certainly not quite what Halrae was expecting, yet at the same time so much of what she saw made perfect sense. The large boulders that were likely seats, cleared and maintained foliage and signs of passage... She was keenly reminded of the courtyard of Chainbreaker Keep, once they'd fixed it up and everything was growing again.

"Beneath the tree?" Halrae echoed, studying the towering, majestic tree and the cavern entrance that Haven approached. Then she grinned. "Ah, yes! I've seen that happen sometimes in the mountains near the keep, though it wasn't often. Prince Kearis said it was usually something's home."

Speaking of him was fine, was easy. It was speaking of the rest that hurt and choked her.

The first? That was something of a surprise. Given Zenith's outgoing, friendly nature she would've thought someone else would've been invited here long ago. Perhaps they had been, and just hadn't accepted? Either way, she felt honored, and oddly proud of herself for being said first, like it was a distinction of some kind.

"I can sit wherever," she assured, sliding from Drathir's back into the shallow snow left from Zenith's passage. "I'm kind of used to not always having a cushioned seat or mattress." Then Haven had his burst of inspiration, and off Zenith went to get the storage container. He returned, and Halrae finally laid her eyes on her first up-close dragon, the much-spoke-about Aleoth.

A smile couldn't be hidden as Aleoth bounded towards her. Really, there wasn't much for the drow to feel frightened of. Yes the bronze was considerably larger than she was, but there was just something so undeniably friendly about him! And that enthusiasm was charming. She was reminded of Prince Kearis a good deal, and of Mythias when he was in a whimsical mood. She gracefully hopped up to sit on the blanket-covered container – it really was a perfect seat for her – and Drathir settled in a snow-free patch nearby, watching with equal parts amusement at his drow warrior and alertness for anything hitting a nerve she would rather not have hit.

Yeah, that affection wasn't lost on either of them either.

"I am from the Underdark originally," she confirmed when she had an opening to answer, "though I can only say I think I've seen Saesenth's bonded, not really talked to her except for once or twice. And yes, my ears are pointed." She pulled aside some of her white hair and turned her head to the side to more clearly reveal one in demonstration. "I can do some magic, but I'm a warrior, not a wizard. All I can do are the spells any drow commoner can cast; faerie fire, darkness, and dancing lights. And as for showing you...." Halrae thought, then her somewhat wicked mischievous streak kicked in and with a bit of will and she flicked one hand towards Zenith, lining him in icy blue 'flames.' Granted, they caused him no harm, but they certainly made it easy to spot him out even if his large size wasn't enough.

[Zenith]

Some deep-buried sliver of Zenith’s spark had expected... something. Censure, perhaps, or mockery, at least a thinly-veiled jab or twelve. After all, he was a hyper-advanced robot living in a literal hole in the ground. The cognitive dissonance was so overwhelming it made even his processor ache. Sure, the cave beneath the redwood scarcely looked organic anymore, but it was still a Primus-slotting cave. It was the kind of place you’d expect to find a single-celled organism, not an honest-to-Primus robot from beyond the stars. Such a dwelling was far beneath the dignity of a Cybertronian, no matter how lost said Cybertronian had managed to get themselves. Zee’s Towerling ancestors were probably spinning in their graves at the very thought.

And yet, Halrae accepted it without so much as a raised eyebrow. No censure, no mockery, not even a gentle ribbing. It simply was, just as their budding friendship simply was.

“I think I would’ve liked this Prince Kearis guy,” Zee commented, flopping down onto a boulder partially flattened by many such heavy landings. “Though I can’t say I’ve ever met a ‘prince’ before.”

The winglords of Vos might’ve had something to say about that statement, to say nothing of the New Towerlings, but a bunch of spoiled Seekers hardly qualified as royalty. despite what starscream might have thought

Aleoth had precisely no time to spare for his bondmate’s cloud-gathering. The bronze was quite literally dancing in place, bouncing from foot to foot in poorly-contained excitement. She was real! Halrae really existed! And she was exactly as Zee had described her! A little smaller than Aleoth had expected her to be, and maybe a little skinnier, but that was part and parcel of being a Cybertronian’s dragon. Everyone looked small in comparison to Zee. But Zee couldn’t do magic, not like Halrae so effortlessly demonstrated, and that immediately made her Capital A Awesome in his book.

<< Whoa. >> He breathed, many-faceted eyes awhirl with joyous blues and greens. << That’s so cool! And you can just... do that whenever you want? Is that kind of like how us dragons can just breathe fire when we want? Or, uh- I can’t yet because I’m too small, but my mama could! She was big and scary and almost as cool as you! >>

Zee wanted to respond to that- and probably would have done so in snarktastic fashion- but there was one slight problem. He was on fire. Heatless fire, as his sensor suite helpfully informed him, but he was still on fragging fire. And unless he was much mistaken, Halrae was the cause. Perhaps that was why he shot her A Look TM before slooowly lowering himself to the snow in an exaggerated parody of stop, drop, and roll.

“Oh no,” He monotoned, making a great show of flopping around in the snow, “Whatever will I do? I sure I hope I don’t burn to death! That would be terrible!”

Cue Aleoth breaking down in giggles. Apparently this sort of ‘applied with a trowel’ sarcasm was an old favorite of his.

[Halrae]

Zenith's reaction to the Faerie Fire got an amused snort-laugh from the drow to go along with the dragon's giggles. Halrae dismissed the flames with a grin.

"Not so useful in daylight," she admitted, "but in dimmer lighting or darkness, or against opponents who favor invisibility magic, infinitely useful. Granted darkness rarely hinders a drow; we can see infrared." She shrugged casually. "Sometimes I wondered if our being able to use it and Dancing Lights is just a throwback to when we were the same as surface elves. I can't do any of them all day, but I can cast them when I choose to. Darkness is the hardest, the most tiring, ironically. If I were a noble I could also levitate but I'm far from that."

Looking at Zenith in the snow Halrae smirked again.

"You probably would liked him," she agreed. "Believe it or not, when I first met him he'd been polymorphed into a Bugbear, but still had his own mind and ability to spread well. We all thought he was just insane until his curse was lifted!" She laughed. "I still remember the first words out of my mouth were 'well damn, he really is an elf! Never let us live it down that we didn't believe him."

Well, won't let me live it down, now, she thought to herself.

"Anyhow, he had to return to his realm and fulfill some duties or another, about a year before I came here. I think last I heard he was married and expecting his firstborn. It's hard to think of him being political and formal; he's the first one to start any snowball fight and make jokes." Abruptly Halrae have herself a mental shake. "Sorry. I usually don't ramble like that."

She's unintentionally dropped her guard there, and though it was up Drathiir would be able to confirm it wasn't as high as before. She'd talked about the Chainbreakers, even in a roundabout way.

It was a good start.

"Well," the drow commented, perhaps a slight change of topic, "at least that's one hole I don't have to worry about connecting to anywhere unpleasant like the Underdark! I'd be highly disappointed to find a place like that beneath the ground here."

[Zenith]

It was nice, Zenith decided, sitting in the front yard with friends and cohort on every side. Not quite like home, but... nice. It was precisely this sort of casual companionship he’d missed most since departing Cybertron. Even back aboard the Tellius there’d been precious little time to waste on social gatherings. The others, be they Lunarian or Great War veteran, had all had their own tasks to attend to. Crash-landing on Planet had merely compounded the problem. The steady stream of additions to his cohort had finally begun to ease that damnable loneliness, but it had never truly left him. Not until Aleoth, at any rate- and now Halrae seemed set to finally well and truly set it to rest.

Yeah. He could absolutely get used to this. In fact, he hoped he would.

“Maybe not useful in daylight,” Zee agreed, almost disappointed that the faerie fire had disappeared, “But I can absolutely see it being useful elsewhere. It’d make a Pit of a way marker, if nothing else. And because you see in infrared it doesn’t even mess with your night vision, right? Or would that just be your vision?”

Oh. So that was where Aleoth had gotten his penchant for asking a million questions. Like bondmate, like bond.

“He sounds like fun,” He added, a faint thread of wistfulness twisting through his words. “But I can’t say I blame you for not believing him to start with. What are the chances someone’s actually telling the truth about something that ridiculous? But, well. There’s always an exception to the rule. I guess you found him.”

A lot more than ‘found’, by the sound of it, but Zee could all but feel Halrae’s mental defenses starting to slam back into place. That she’d allowed such a moment of vulnerability at all was a huge step forward. Best not to press his luck. He let the moment pass, humming as he lolled in the snow, and finally rolled back to a sitting position as Aleoth settled next to him.

Why yes, the half-grown bronze was absolutely leaching off his bondmate’s body heat. Call it one of the fringe benefits of being lifemated to someone with a pulsar for a spark.

“Pfah!” Zee snorted, derision clear in every... letter? Syllable? Apparently he didn’t much care for the implication his personal hole in the ground contained Teh Ebil Elveses. “Nothing big or nasty down there except for me, and I’m just big, no nasty involved.”

He paused, considering, before giving the cavern entrance a sidelong stare.

“Or it shouldn’t, at any rate. This is still Planet. The IF’s gonna do what the IF’s gonna do, but. There shouldn’t be anything weird down there. ‘Specially not when the rest of the cohort’s mostly out and about.”

Then he smiled, every angle in that lanky frame of his somehow softening. Because of course a Lunarian knew exactly how to seem approachable when they needed it most.

“But you don’t need to apologize. I’m happy to listen. And more than anything I’m happy you feel safe enough around me to talk about this stuff.”

He almost pressed his luck, added something about ‘because I can tell you’re carrying a heavy weight on your shoulders’, but common sense muted his vocoder. Instead he ran a large hand down Aleoth’s back, making the youngster purr like some overgrown cat. There’d be time enough for more counseling conversation later, when Halrae felt up to sharing. After all, they had all the time in the world.