The Start of Something Interesting...

[lastonepercent]

The day was calm, with no recent Decepticon attacks, and none suspected to be incoming for some time.  The cons were too busy licking their wounds from the last battle, one that the Autobots had decidedly come out ahead on.  The celebrations had gone on long into the night and the recreation room was already a mess.

Thus, it was the perfect chance for a lone Autobot to slip casually outside.

Mirage had no shift currently scheduled, so he was free to spend his time as he pleased.  He certainly made no move to hide his departure, greeting his comrades in the halls on the way out, but the box in his hands remained unopened despite any passing curiosity.  It was quietly shifted into subspace before long, and  the former noble shifted into alt mode just as smoothly when he reached the doors.  Despite the completely inappropriate earthen race car mode, the mech had little trouble self-adjusting before driving off into the forest covering the mountain, for business unknown...

Comments

[cliffjumper]

"Guess that makes sense," Cliffjumper said but couldn't exactly help grimacing as he rubbed the back of his helm, before he paused, hand dropping slowly back to his lap, "enjoyable though? How?"

He just couldn't see how the thing - accidental or not - he'd ended up in the middle of could be enjoyable.

... Pretty, he supposed, if you just got used to it, but it'd been overwhelming and sort of, just a little, he could admit, scary.

[lastonepercent]

"You mean, aside from the whole 'working with one's partner' portion of it all?"

A shrug.

"Because I assume that is a large part of it right there by itself."

Mirage tried to keep his stare serious, but a faint twitch at the corner of his lips could not be suppressed entirely.

"It is a religious experience, for one. Which, for a Priest, should be enjoyable on it's own. The larger ones often involving a great deal of...positive sensations and field charges, and that's not counting any sexual angles a rite may take."

[cliffjumper]

Well, there was that. Cliffjumper shrugged as well at that; he hadn't really thought of it that way, but, presumably, if everybody was interested and willing and you cared about the person you worked with, it would be enjoyable.

Cliffjumper ended up grimacing at that slight twist of Mirage's mouth, but he didn't really take offense.

"... Right. Really?" Cliffjumper frowned in thought, pushing away that comment about sexual angles. He wasn't thinking any closer about that. Nope. Did doing rites like that really come with positive sensations and whatever?

[lastonepercent]

"Well, yes," Mirage repeated, not sure if he should be amused or simply exasperated at this point. He supposed he should be glad Cliffjumper was showing a more positive interest at all.

"You may have been lost to the trance in the last rite, but surely you did notice that it was at least far from uncomfortable?"

He frowned; perhaps Cliffjumper had not gone in as deeply as he had thought?

"Most rites and rituals are supposed to bring peace or connection, after all."

[cliffjumper]

"I was far too fraggin' surprised and confused to notice much of anything else, Mirage," Cliffjumper said with a snort and a roll of his optics. He'd also, honestly, been somewhat... just a little, maybe, scared when things he had no idea what they were started to happen

Like slag was he going to say anything about that to Mirage, however, and even admitting this much was a bit embarrassing.

"Guess that makes sense, though. You'd have to be real fanatic 'bout doing slag if it was unpleasant or some other scrap like that." Sure, there'd probably be those who'd subject themselves to more than just some unpleasantness if they got enough recompense, but that wouldn't count for everybody, and certainly not for as many as had once been involved in the religious orders, Cliffjumper was rather sure.

[lastonepercent]

"True," Mirage allowed grudgingly, trying and failing to remember his own first rite and how he might have felt.

He really only remembers awe and the overwhelming peace, but then again, he had been far more willing than the minibot.

"Well, there are some that can be unpleasant, in a sense-" his own marking ritual, for one- "But most are far too involved with more positive wavelengths to be painful."

And even then, the unpleasant ones were done with a sense of duty.

[cliffjumper]

Willing and knowledgeable and ready. Cliffjumper... had been none of that.

"Like the one I... uh. Interrupted." Cliffjumper squirmed and blushed, far too easily remembering what had happened and feeling the flush of shame. Though not at interrupting, not really.

He still wasn't ashamed of having interrupted what he thought was a bad situation, but he was obviously flustered over having interpreted things so very wrong.

Then he frowned, shifting in his seat for a far more different reason.

"What I'd be expected to do? Or know that I'd be expected to do, or what-the-frag-ever," waving a hand around in the end to try and encompass the rather tricky situation of things he "would" know, "should" know and "would" and "should" be used to as having been a feature in his life up to this point.

If they had been and were involved. Which they weren't.

[lastonepercent]

"Indeed," Mirage agreed, hiding a reluctant smile at Cliffjumper's reaction behind a hand. He didn't want to be amused at all this, which only made it all the worse.

"The most basic of basics, really. The introductory rites and procedures that even the most junior of acolytes would learn. No more than that."

Thankfully, that killed his amusement quickly enough. Any more that that and Prime himself would have to personally ask it of him first, and he still would't feel right about it.

"I can prep an intro-packet on datapad easily enough."

[cliffjumper]

Cliffjumper was, inexplicably, pleased at the smile he could see, even if Mirage made his best to hide it, and it teased out a lopsided grin of his own, however brief.

And brief it was considering the way Mirage's mood obviously took a dive, and Cliffjumper huffed, crossing his arms over his chestplating. He was annoyed, but at the same time, he supposed, he could understand why Mirage didn't like this.

Slag, he didn't want to know it, but even if it wasn't him, they might have had to go with someone else... Or Mirage would have had to fend off well-meaning "offers" the whole trip or something.

And that thought, however vaguely amusing very briefly, was also not pleasant, because well. Who'd want to deal with something like that?

"... Sorry." Staring at the wall to the left of Mirage, Cliffjumper grimaced. He had the feeling he would mess up, no matter how many times he read said datapad.

"Guess it doesn't help that I don't really wanna know it, huh?"

Since that had been Mirage's issue ever since they found out he was... sensitive.

[lastonepercent]

"No, not really."

Not at all, Mirage refrained from saying, biting back the snappy remark. He stretched his long frame, rolling his shoulders in faux nonchalance.

"But it is hardly your fault. I've allowed myself to be hoisted by my own struts, in this case."

It was the ambassadors, and his own.

[cliffjumper]

Apologetic or not, it was hard to hold onto the feeling when Mirage stretched and rolled his shoulders. Cliffjumper tried to look away, really, but he was stuck staring slightly angled at Mirage from the edge of his vision with his helm turned down slightly.

Mirage was, after all, very good looking, and while Cliffjumper might always scoff about the delicate lines and armour Mirage sported, the long, slender cut of him was distracting.

Very, very distracting, especially when he did that, and Cliffjumper had to duck his helm further and look away less his blush give him away, though the slightly stuttered, quiet reset of his vocaliser was probably... revealing.

Cliffjumper hoped not.

"Uh, well, think the ambassadors are kinda at rusted fault too, since if they hadn't found us, this wouldn't be happenin'," Cliffjumper offered with a snort, shifting in his seat on his berth.

The mini still wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not, though allies of any sort would obviously be a Primus-sent gift.

But if they actually were or might turn into allies, that was what Cliffjumper was doubting at all.

"We just gotta... get through this." Cliffjumper couldn't manage a smile, not even a half-hearted one, and a grimace slipped out instead. Not just because of what they were going to have to pretend and the fact that he didn't trust the Paradronians, but also...

Well, he sure hoped Mirage would still even vaguely tolerate him by the end of it all. Some small, tiny part was hoping for more, but it was ruthlessly squashed.

[lastonepercent]

"True. But then again, we wouldn't be in the midst of our chance to ally with a lost colony, either."

Another pop from resettling shoulders, before Mirage gave Cliffjumper a shrug.

"That will make it all worth it in the end."

It would have to. Giving Cliffjumper a lingering stare, Mirage nodded, resigned and serious.

"I'm sure we'll manage."

[cliffjumper]

"True," Cliffjumper muttered, "if that's even what they're gonna turn into..." grimacing, Cliffjumper fingered the datapad he'd been given. This was stupid, but it was happening.

They wouldn't, at least, be completely alone on Paradron, even if the Ark crew couldn't spare too many others either, which was understandable. They would, either way, be out-numbered.

On the other hand, none of the Paradronians were probably combat-trained, like the Autobots (and Decepticons) were, so there was that.

"Somehow, anyway," Cliffjumper agreed and rubbed the side of his helm, then looked back at Mirage, "you gonna sneak out of here the way you came?"

He wasn't sure what he thought about Mirage having sneaked here invisible, though.

[lastonepercent]

"Mhmm no," Mirage shrugged again as he stood up, heading toward the door. Palm on the exit pad, he turned long enough to flash Cliffjumper with a dimmed optic in a teasing wink.

"If we're supposedly 'involved', I imagine it doesn't matter if I am seen slipping out of here at all hours, now does it? I'll see you again for the launch - don't forget to memorize that data pad, and upcoming datapacket! I should have that ready for you by morning."

Chuckling, he stepped out into the hall, door whooshing shut behind him.