Nexus; Blue's Bar. Talk of the supernatural over energon.

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Leading the way into Blue's Bar, Ratchet locates an out of the way table large enough to accommodate the group before setting Nova down in one of the chairs. Glancing at Chromia and Starforge, he motions for them to have a seat as well. "I'll head up to the bar itself and get us some mugs of energon. Mid-grade for us, low-grade for the kids. Anything else you'd like?"

Up on the medic's shoulder, Jaraxis is taking in all the sights and sounds with interest. He's already conveyed to his companion what he wants... Just a matter of waiting on it, now.

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"Shoot 'im in the aft," says Nova promptly, ignoring her mother's startled and guilty facepalm.

"Was gonna say." Chromia shakes her head and also looks at Jaraxis. "Thanks, and there are different kinds of bonds. I had kin bonds as well as that full spark bond with Ironhide."

Mentioning her mate reminds her of why she's here, and the concern returns to her optics.

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"Blitzwing is not a mech you want to mess with too much," Ratchet replies, a bit more serious now. "Half our crew is currently in quarantined stasis lock, so we need the extra help."

Finally convinced that maybe the kids are okay, Jaraxis finishes the wafer and then scoots up within Nova's reach. He's probably hoping for pets, but he's honestly not sure what he'll get.

Ratchet glances at Chromia, blinking slowly as he takes in her shift in demeanor again. "Worried about why he's still hanging around?"

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What Jaraxis gets is a smile of delight at sight of somebody Nova's own size, and then the offer of a one armed half hug.

"I remember ours," says Chromia, frowning at what Ratchet says about his crew even as she nods to his question. "It's ben two thousand years. He shouldn' be anymore, unless my bellyachin's keepin' him here."

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A hug? Well, Jaraxis isn't entirely sure about that. He sits and just looks at Nova for a long moment before deciding that if for some reason she manhandles him, it shouldn't be too hard to escape her grip. Sidling up to the youngster, he rests his chin on her shoulder and wraps his tail around her waist.

"One never knows why the deceased hang around unless they out and out tell you. At least that's what I think... My ghost alternate was hanging around before to keep an optic on his daughter and to try and get her to...let go of some guilt she was holding onto. Given I haven't seen the other lingering spirit in question, though, I don't know why he's still around." Ratchet takes a sip of his drink and then leans forward on the table, resting one elbow on the top. "Who's your Matrix bearer? Rodimus? Whoever has it might be able to give you some insight if they're properly connected to the Matrix."

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"Awww." Nova carefully sets down her mug so that she can put her other arm around Jaraxis too, then rocks slightly and rubs his back, radiating her rough and tumble but tender-sparked parents for everyone to see. "Don't let that big glitch getcha down. Ratchet likes ya, 'n so do I."

"Yeah... it's Roddi. Though I'm thinkin' Blazer might be able ta answer my question better, seein' as he's our bridge." Chromia frowns and absently nibbles on her Sunrise, the tangy, intricate flavor making her brow ridges lift despite her distraction. "So Ratchet was there... and nobody even noticed 'im."

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Jaraxis purrs like a contended cat, hugging back and even leaning just the slightest bit. Ratchet's voice echoes in his mind. Spoiled. The Tarthan is quick to respond. Am not! I'm just cute and the kid knows it.

"I may have been able to see him because he's my alternate, but even if that weren't the case... Well, as I mentioned, Jaraxis is a Seer. And as we are bonded, I can often sense what he does so long as the connection between us is wide open," Ratchet explains. "But I haven't seen that particular alternate of mine in a long time. Doesn't mean he's not still around, obviously, or it could mean he finally moved on. If I do happen to run into him again, though, I'll have to remember to question him about Ironhide. Just don't go blaming yourself for what may or may not be his 'unrest' until you know for sure what's going on."

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"We only saw them that one time." Starforge pipes up from where he's sitting on the edge of his chair watching the adults and his sister and Jaraxis, who is now being offered a Cybertron Sunrise.

Chromia looks down at her son, then turns back to Ratchet. "What was he like? Worried? Upset?"

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Jaraxis can't resist the offer of more food, so he takes the Cybertron Sunrise without hesitation and nibbles on it. His tail twitches as he gets a little more kick than he did out of the wafer, but he's gotten into Ratchet's high-grade before...

"I'd say concerned, mostly for his daughter. She had some unresolved guilt issues, I think." Ratchet glances from Chromia to Starforge. He's not keen on involving the kids actively in the conversation, but the youngster might have more infomation both adults are missing out on. "Where did you see them, Starforge? What were they doing?"

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"Like Nova said." He sips from his mug and shifts. "Watchin' us while we were in our tanks. They were only there that one time that we saw. Though I guess they could'a ben there before we woke up. Ratchet looked happy, but I think the red guy was cryin' a little bit. He put his hand on our tanks."

Another shift, and then he yelps as he slips off his chair and bangs his chin on the way down. Nova starts, and little fearless tough nut that she is, this hurt to her brother has her instantly bursting into tears.

"Slag!" Chromia lifts her son into her arms and examines his faceplate as he winces and wriggles with embarrassment, proclaiming himself alright and bemoaning his spilled energon.

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The sudden movement of Starforge falling and the outcry from Nova send Jaraxis back up Ratchet's arm so fast that he's little more than a silver and blue blur. Hiding in the folds of the medic's scarf, the Tarthan peers out to see what's going on, having jumped so fast he missed what actually transpired.

While Chromia sees to Starforge, Ratchet figures he had better do something to quiet Nova down. Likely the other patrons would appreciate the effort, anyway. Reaching over, Ratchet picks up Nova and then pulls her into his lap, keeping one arm around her.

[Seems like Ironhide has possibly been hanging around for sake of these two... It probably saddens him that they never knew him, really. ...just to wager a guess. ]