randomplaces | BW 'verse. Axalon. Plague

Windracer murmured gently to Lockjaw as the femme opened confused optics and hissed softly. "Shhh, Aunty. Here, I have a drink for you."

Lockjaw blinked slightly, but let her head be lifted and then drank from the shielded container of energon before lifting one hand a little to show that she'd had enough.

"Alright." Windracer gently let her head rest back on the mat and smiled at her encouragingly, then replied to her puzzled frown. "Rattrap's sick too. He came home yesterday nearly too weak to walk, and my mother put him to bed."

The wordless femme shut down her optics with a sigh, slipping back into sleep even as she turned her head to look toward the CR chamber that she was laying next to.

Windracer sighed as well, then got to her feet and went over to open the chamber and check on Dinobot. Footsteps approached slowly as the door hissed upward, and she turned to frown at Rattrap. "My mother told you to stay in bed."

"Goin' back... just as soon as I check on... Choppaface." He blinked wearily, then startled and looked quizzically at Rumor as the small femme put an arm around him to keep him from leaning.

"We can tell you how he's doing." Windracer frowned at him.

"Hey... don't go all Boss monkey on me... kid." He turned back to her, looking too tired for words. "I... jes' gotta make sure. Ben havin' nightmares 'bout him 'n Lardbutt."

"Did he check on Rhinox, too?" Windracer looked at Rumor, then sighed at her nod. "Grrrr."

Rattrap just wibbled and gave her a miserable look.

Windracer sighed again and went into the chamber, setting the energon down out of the way before she did so. Dinobot was resting semi-reclined in the special sling that Rhinox had rigged up to hold the ailing bot, and she tugged on him a bit to change his position, then put a hand to his cheek. "Dinobot?"

"Choppaface?" Rattrap perked a little, hopefully.

The former Predacon's optics blinked on slightly and struggled to focus on his friend's face. Finally managing to do so, he smiled faintly and then faded back into unconsciousness.

Rattrap wibbled again, then yeeped softly as his knees gave out and Rumor and Windracer caught him. "He... din't even... say nothin'. No cracks on my stink... nothin'!"

Windracer helped get him away from the door of the CR chamber, then went back to close it before she helped Rumor get the bewilderedly muttering demolitions expert back to his berth and firmly tucked into his blanket. "Please, do what you can to keep him from getting up again?"

"I will," said Rumor, getting up onto the berth herself and cuddling Rattrap so that he stopped moving and settled down with a sigh. "Though I feel like I should be up helping you and the other humans."

"You are helping us. Rattrap is very hard to hold down." Windracer wiped at her forehead with her sleeve. "We already had to find Cheetor today when he got up and ran away."

Rumor winced and nodded. "I'll stay here."

"Thank you." Windracer gave her a thankful smile, then turned and headed back out to see to the other Maximals.

Rumor watched her go, then looked down at the bot beside her and thought of the care he showed to her creator. And just a few clicks ago Dinobot had smiled at him with an expression that suggested that the friendship went both ways. For the debt that she owed to the bot who had reprogrammed her and saved her life she'd care for the rat-bot. But she'd also do it because he'd become her friend too. Beings of her size and gender weren't respected among the Predacons, yet this bad mouthed little Maximal treated her like an equal.

The big green mech treated her with similar respect, and the few other Maximals who were currently capable of responding to the beings who cared for them had done the same.

Belonging was a strange sensation. But Rumor thought that she could get used to it very quickly.