Lady Stardust

Soundwave had actually used the mass-displacer on himself and Ravage, so he was only about eight feet tall and Ravage was almost normal human height. The bag of tiaras had also been mass-displaced where needed, though the ones that fit Laserbeak hadn't needed to be. Since they were going to be outdoors, though, he decompressed to half-size, around fifteen feet, and sat down on the ground, removing the fizzed energon from his subspace. "Greetings," he said, "and thank you for your invitation."

Ravage did not bother to decompress; he quite enjoyed being smaller than Soundwave once in a while now that he didn't always have to be, so after he spread the tiaras out on a blanket, he draped himself across Soundwave's lap. "You pick, Aletayria. We'll all be royals tonight. I'm a prince now, but we're all still royalty.

"Also, that's my birb-sister, Laserbeak."

The red bird flew right up to Aletayria's inviting field and offered her head up for a pat. {I'm Laserbeak! I don't talk the way humans do very well, but you seem really nice, and cat-sibling said you were fun!}

Laserbeak was her usual size, as she wasn't a tall robot despite her incredible wingspan; but with her wings folded up she wasn't much bigger than an ostrich or an emu, and her legs were much shorter than either of those.

Aletayria was happy to see the visitors and calmly stroked Lazerbeak's head and cheek.

We can speak this way but my husband, Tom, can only hear telepathically.

Then she goes to see the crowns. "I'm used to changing genders. My child does it all the time, so does his twin." She tells Ravage with a smile. The change of words is easy for this family.

How have you been since our last meeting Soundwave? she asks while perusing the items.

Tom was a little out of his depth to be honest. He had been around aliens before but it still pushed his threshold a little farther when he met those that diverged from human form.

Even so, the pilot in him couldn't resist the bird like form. He can't talk telepathically though he can hear and knows when his wife has been speaking that way. Obviously, this bird spoke that way.

"You're sleek." It was a compliment from the human who designed things for flight.

Tommy didn't like people or visitors much anymore. He had sequestered himself in the house to indulge in silence and isolation. It was his way and he felt no compulsion to socialize. However, when he felt the minds that arrived curiosity about other species got the better of him.

He came to the front door and unlike Aletayria looked far more human though he had the tall lanky appearance all Antheans possessed. The cats are all milling around his feet for a moment before sitting to stare out the glass wall at the visitors. Each cat with an expression ranging between curiosity and get the hell away from here.

Tommy on the other hand, if anyone looks to him, is unlike Aletayria or Ziggy. He is nearly devoid of any perceivable emotions or readable surface thoughts. It's like a void in his space though it isn't that there is no mind just that it is unreadable and walled off. If someone were into human pop culture the word Vulcan might come to mind.

Slowly he steps out the door onto the front porch but he stays away, watching only. The cats follow never taking their eyes off the three visitors.

{I'm very well, Aletayria,} Soundwave says, carefully removing both his visor and his mask and setting them aside, and finally taking off his heavy helm, allowing the sensory crest on top of his head to flare up, like a metal mesh mohawk or fin that expands into the free air.

He lets the world flood in, brilliant colours and sounds and streams of data.

He can feel everyone now, from Ravage warm and gold and purring in his lap, to cool and welcoming Aletayria (and Zayda floating cheerfully within her pouch), to bubbly Laserbeak, and friendly but courtly Tom, and the guarded one, watching from the porch. He greets Zayda and Tom, as well, with a little frisson of energy.

Soundwave acknowledges the guarded one mentally, but does not reach for him. He feels the walls that pain and grief have built and does not push at them; he only watches for a moment, witnessing. {I see you. I know you are there. I am Soundwave, and I am no danger to you. Be welcome or remain apart, as pleases you.}

{Thank you,} Laserbeak thinks loudly and clearly, and preens, then offers her head to Tom to be petted. She can understand human and Cybertronian speech, but she's not very good at producing it.

Ravage greets Aletayria with a blink and a little lift of his nose and offers up the crowns. Some of them are nearly children's toys and others are made of precious metals and stones, wrapped in velvet and silk. A fair number of them are red, like Ravage's optics and Laserbeak's wings. "Laserbeak and I collected these. Some of them were gifts, of course. How have you been, and how's Zayda?"

He waves to the man on the porch, but doesn't expect anything.

edited 2020-12-02 04:49 (UTC)

Aletayria meets the energy from Soundwave with what might be a mental hug and beneath it little Zayda reaches toward the presence. Her mental awareness is starting to improve faster as it gets closer to her being able to spend more time in the open. However, she doesn't miss the shift in attention.

{My cousin, Thomas.} She tells Soundwave and Ravage. {He has been very mistreated and the recent human captivity has damaged his senses. Thomas never was social but it is a good sign that he, and the cats, have come to look. His mind is powerful by our standards and if he chooses to use it to speak it may be unnerving but he is even more peaceful than I am.}

She thought it was worth warning them. Tommy frightened people sometimes and she didn't want that to happen here.

Aletayria then turns back to the crowns finding it hard to choose. Her own people attracted to the color red but eventually she settles on one with some bluish hued metal and red stones and fabric.

"We are well. Zayda will be meeting the community soon, something important to my species. I will invite all of you so you can meet her, though our children develop differently than humans. She will still be physically weak but her mind and senses will be strong. She'll be like that for a long time."

Tom is so used to mental contact that Laserbeak speaking in his mind hardly gets noticed.

"I design spacecraft and planes." He tells her while stroking her head. To be fair, he's in a bit of awe over the idea of something mechanical, bird like and sentient. "I find your form beautiful. Is it rude to ask about your abilities?"

He doesn't want to be offensive but there is part of his mind that would love to know the technical.. biological?... specs and abilities she has. As a researcher it is hard to resist the urge but doesn't want to treat her like a thing. He knows she is far more than a plane or an object.

Tommy barely acknowledges Soundwave but his eyes shift to the larger humanoid. His gaze comes with a mental intensity and focus that is nothing like the rest of the family.

The cats come first, leaving the porch slowly to investigate the newcomers, especially Soundwave. He may even be able to sense their connection to Newton, that he feels and sees what they do. When he was on Earth he never bound quite this tightly to his cats, but since his blindness he felt the void in his senses and used this to fill them.

After awhile, when he is satisfied he speaks to Soundwave. His mind is loud, and despite being open in the outdoors, it might feel like it is filling the space. {What are you?}

It's a question of curiosity but his mind is distant, aloof, and reserved. Some might even call it cold but for now it remains a gentle presence.

Laserbeak is very happy with all the attention. When she's working, it's her job to be silent and unnoticed and record what she sees, but she's actually something of an extravert within her family and with friends. She returns Aletayria's affection happily and continues to preen under Tom's admiration, happy that even though neither she nor Tom is natively a telepath, they can communicate just fine in the presence of Soundwave and Aletayria.

{I don't mind at all, personally, but some of my capabilities are classified. I can't do everything that larger mechs can do, because they wanted me to be able to do specific things very well. I don't mind being the way that I am, although some condorlights do. I was designed to be able to observe and record silently--like a drone, but with the intelligence to understand what things are important and seek them out specifically--to interrogate other machines, sapient or not--and given lasers with which to defend myself if discovered. But I also like to do other things. I like candy, but I shouldn't eat human candy because sugar is bad for my fuel tank. I like sparkly things to wear, play with and eat, and I like decorating with sparkly things. I made our friend Ben a jacket. Well, Ravage bought the jacket, but we decorated it with diamonds and amethysts. And I like having friends.}

Since Tom is respectful of her personhood and maintains an appropriate physical distance, she's happy to show off her laser turrets and the laser sight in her forehead, and stretch out her wings (which have additional solar panels in them for an extra energy boost when planetside) and flex her claws a little bit. She has her vanity, after all, and enjoys respectful admiration and curiosity about herself as much as any other being does.

All Cybertronian flightframes are considered notoriously vain; in her case, it's definitely true.

[LB is also completely disinterested in anything resembling sex or romance, and because of this disinterest, she experiences platonic affectionate contact as it's intended, though if touched along the wing struts, will explain that others of her kind might misconstrue that kind of attention.]

edited 2020-12-02 14:44 (UTC)

Ravage puts on a silver tiara with rubies and diamonds, and winds long strings of rubies around himself.

"I look forward to formally meeting Zayda," he says, and produces beads that match the crown Aletayria chose for her to adorn herself with. Apparently they are playing dress-up for now, and that's fun--he tosses LB one of her favourite tiaras and she catches it easily with a snap of her head.

He drinks some fizzed energon. Everything about this is nice. He rarely gets to see Soundwave open to the world and enjoying himself outside of their well-shielded bedroom. Even at Ziggy's concert, he didn't dare to uncover his sensory crest (which was probably all for the best) and seeing it exposed in front of others feels almost a little risque; when their relationship was more open, Soundwave was known to release his spike before he would even think of removing his helm. But that was a matter of trust, not sexual intimacy.

{You know, Aletayria, you're now one of the privileged few who knows exactly how pretty my husband is,} he thinks with deep amusement.

But then again, anyone who doesn't think that Soundwave can be cheeky hasn't noticed that the button to open his interface panel is clearly labelled "PLAY".

Soundwave does greet Zayda before shifting his attention. He is very much looking forward to seeing this child who will be so very much like he was once grow up amid a crowd of people who will love her for what she is and never fault her for what she can't be. And he wants her to know that whenever he's around, he'll be one of those people.

{I'm glad he has chosen to come out,} Soundwave tells Aletayria. {Solitary confinement is not good for the soul, even when self-imposed, but understandably, it is sometimes the safest option. That is difficult to return from.}

Soundwave likes the cats and allows them to sniff and rub up against him, and watches with amusement as Ravage plays with some of them in his lap.

Tommy's mind is very big; it's as big as his own, which is very surprising. A pleasant surprise, in a way. Ravage's field and compassion are big enough to envelop Soundwave's mind, but he does not have telepathic faculties on his own.

{That's a very good question. I'm Cybertronian, but my sensory acuity and range deviates from the norm by at least five sigma, which is sometimes as much of a curse as a blessing. The best answer is probably: I'm Soundwave.}

edited 2020-12-02 17:03 (UTC)

Being around Antheans for so long Tom is used to physical contact, sometimes continuously, so he doesn't mind continuing to touch Laserbeak. While Tom is very affectionate he's also monogamous in an extreme sort of way that has been enhanced over time through the mental bond with his wife.

He smiles at the big bird. "A lot of my work is classified. I know what you mean."

He's listening and watching all the parts he's being shown carefully. His mind rolling through how something like this would be constructed, materials involved. She does get a laugh from him. "I've seen what sugar does in engines first hand."

Tom, as a teenager, may have done this to someone's car but he isn't talking. He keeps to the topic at hand though instead of revealing that he was a miscreant at one time before his love of space forced him to gain discipline. "You incorporate a lot of technology similar to what I work with when constructing manned vehicles."

Those words were carefully chosen to distinguish between the living thing before him and the inanimate objects he worked on. The solar panels are of specific interest. If there's no show of disapproval he will walk around her carefully to get a better look at them. "I've been working on solar power technology for several years now. Combining human technology with the Anthean scientific research I'm close to developing a panel that can collect power from moonlight or light reflected from a planetary surface."

Leaving the science for the moment because he honestly feels a little uncomfortable looking at her as a tech object he smiles. "My wife will tell you I have a sweet tooth too. What is candy like if not sugar based?"

The curiosity is back fully. After learning to live with one alien species Tom has lost all fear on first meeting any alien that seems reasonably friendly. It just leaves his naturally social and talkative personality.

Aletayria graciously takes the beads to wear over her dress. Though she knows the idea from watching human media, Antheans don't really play dress up. There's a childish delight to it that echos in her emotions.

Aletayria shakes her head at the thoughts if only because Tom has thought similar things now that he can show people what she looks like. It is endearing and that comes across her emotions. {My species has a distinct attraction to blue colors. He definitely fits many of or beauty aesthetics.} It's flatter but she asks tentatively. {His crest is like the concept of a third eye?}

She then turns her attention back to Soundwave. {He's never been very social. I've been trying to bring his wife here to see if it will help. They are both in so much pain. Their children didn't survive long enough to be evacuated from the planet.} Given what she had seen from this species, she could easily imagine they would understand the hurt involved.

edited 2020-12-03 12:55 (UTC)

He watches the cats interacting and takes in their assessment of the visitors. The truth of the matter is that Tommy can't see clearly what is out in the yard. The poor eyesight making him even more wary that he had been.

A long quiet pauses hangs while Tommy takes in the information and decides whether or not to respond. Some of the cats run back to him as he moves to descend the couple of stairs that separated the porch from the yard. His motions are slow, patient, and confident though he does have a property about his presence that makes him appear that he's always lost in thought. He's old even by his species' standards and it shows in how he moves.

{You are rare in your species?} Tommy's curiosity stemming from his own family being a rarity with so many having visions and strong minds. However, the offer of a name elicits a strong wave of uncertainty. Tommy didn't feel any connection to his Anthean name and his human name had been drawn out of a probability hat for lack of better description. Coming to a halt still mostly across the yard from where Soundwave, Ravage and Aletayria are congregated he finally offers. {Thomas Newton.}

{You shouldn't have too much trouble doing that. But light does lose some of its energy when reflected,} Laserbeak points out.

{There are many things that taste sweet that aren't sugar. We need minerals and metals to build up our bodies, and my favourite treat is made from curly copper shavings infused with ethylene glycol, which of course is a coolant. You could properly make them with propylene glycol, which wouldn't poison a human...but I don't think you're supposed to eat copper, either.}

Ravage grins. {I think of it as a signal booster, or maybe a satellite dish. He'll use it when he's working to try and find things that are faint, or far, far away, or to broaden the spectra of what he perceives. Also it is a means of making him make pretty noises, but only I'm allowed to do that.}

He takes a palette of coloured powders and draws on his face in silver and red, lining his eyes in both colours and drawing lines over his cheeks and above his eyes where his vibrissae are; after a moment, they pop free like whiskers, shining brightly.

{Do you ever use things like this when you feel like royalty? I'm not sure if this would be toxic to anyone else.}

He looks up into Soundwave's eyes, and when his spouse smiles at him and nods, he paints silver around Soundwave's eyes, then kisses the tip of his nose.

{We brought energon, so that you wouldn't feel like you shouldn't eat or drink if you want something. Unless you still want to go out, and we're just getting ready for that?} he asks Aletayria.

Soundwave is happy to let Ravage paint him. It reminds him a bit of days he would not consider 'happier', but definitely 'simpler'. He would never want to go back to those days, because he spent way too much time wondering if he'd be alive at the same time tomorrow, but there was definitely a greater focus in the present moment, rather than the past and the future and all of the steps in between. He felt very alive then, because everything was still new, and the world was so dangerous.

{The crest is all the things that Ravage said,} he tells Aletayria, {and sometimes it's nice just to let it unfurl and breathe, but it's often unsafe to do that.}

Soundwave understands exactly what Aletayria is getting at, but something seems not quite right. {He is barricaded, so I can't be sure. But his pain feels different from that of a broken spark-bond. I would not form a barrier quite so impenetrable if I believed that Ravage were still alive, or ...still Ravage.}

At the same time, via the magic of parallel processing, he has not completely diverted his attention away from Thomas. {Hello, Thomas. I'm very rare. I'm the only one of me that has ever existed, so far as I know. But because the ability that gives me most of my power can also make me incredibly weak, there may have been others. If so, they were likely destroyed when they began to manifest. I would not have survived if my mate and my brother hadn't decided I should.}

"Little energy is better than none. A panel that can do both will give more continuous energy." Tom was a science geek, always.

"No, we can't eat copper but you're right about toxins sometimes being sweet." Tom shakes his head. "Though, I think we have similar desserts. with citrus twists instead of carbon shaving."

A smile flutters through her expression. {It sounds more like our concept of a third eye. We don't let ours become visible but Ziggy does occasionally. The gold he wears on his forehead outlines its position.}

She watches as Ravage decorates Soundwave. It reminds her so much of her own child that there is a wave of love that comes through. {It's more common among humans though we wear it for important events and used to during war. Among our people we use cloth for the same.] Aletayria hears her cousin in her mind talking about cultural exchange. That was always Tommy's way to think of culture. {Wait here for a minute.}

She disappears into the house and a few moments comes back with long sheet of rusty red fabric with brilliant turquoise patterning. The fabric is shear, shimmers, and weighs almost nothing but is incredibly durable and designed to withstand the high winds, blowing sand and cold of Anthea. She offers it to Ravage. {This is what we'd use. Everyone develops their own taste in color, pattern and how it is wrapped. It's so unique you can tell us apart if you learn them.}

She nods to the concept of going out. {We can but I'm enjoying having company here too.}

She sighs at Soundwave. {He thought his failure caused us all to die, including his family. It's only one of many traumas Earth leveraged on him.}

When they start talking about what they do Tommy gently gives his cousin a mental push. Though the Nexus is different there is enough here to consider this a first contact situation. His old life, before the war, comes back when this was what he did. The first contact with humans long ago was playing over in his mind.

Tommy listens quietly while observing them. His eyes barely move from Soundwave. The Anthean's eyes move to Tom and the very corner of his lips turn down. {You're like our hybrids. They've been hunted when discovered.}

Soundwave might pick up on the imagine in Tommy's mind, one he got From Aletayria. It's the moment Tom punched Aletayria's fatehr in the mouth for refusing to help Ziggy because he was a hybrid. The memory is strong, even if it isn't his.