9 Chapter 9: Bad Dreams

The cave was peaceful as the pair of Cybertronians dreamlessly slept. The darkness that lingered in the room signified that the sun had not yet awakened.

Firespark smiled in her sleep and snuggled into the warm bundle in her arms. The bundle itself started to squirm at the action and gave a loud yawn. Blue optics bright with energy gazed up at the sleeping femme's face then at the mech sleeping on the other berth.

A loud clicking noise aroused the pink femme from her slumber and groggily stared at the mechling, "Goodmorning Thunderstrike," Firespark's orange optics traveled to the red and orange mech and smiled childishly. Quietly, she arose from the berth with the sparkling in her arms and moved towards Solarflare. The femme leaned over and placed Thunderstrike right by the sleeping mech's helm.

Firespark couldn't contain her laughter as the mechling did as she'd hoped. The sparkling had crawled on top of him and gave out a loud screech, scaring the poor mech awake. With quick reflexes, Solarflare caught the sparkling before he fell off the berth.

Solarflare glared at the femme, who was now sitting on the berth, laughing hysterically, "Thanks for the wake-up call,"

Firespark beamed at him, "Your very much welcome." She got up and took the sparkling back, "Now, who's hungry?"

Refueling went without a hitch since the energon supply was beyond full, thanks to the seven energon cargo crates. Firespark was worried about the amount and wondered if it would show up on energon scanners. Solarflare was quick to reassure her that the density of the trees and nature would scramble most scanners.

With watchful optics, Firespark watched Thunderstrike crawl toward the cave entrance, seemingly curious about something. Fluttering sounds came from just beyond the cavern, and a small bird flittered inside. The mechling, interested in something smaller than him, crawled towards it. Both Cybertronians were quick into action. Solarflare picked up the sparkling while Firespark cautiously held the bird in her servos.

Firespark observed the bird's behavior and noticed a thin metal wire wrapped around its leg. "You poor thing," she whispered as delicate digits removed the pesty cable.

The bird lifted its leg, testing it, before setting it down. Small brown eyes gazed up at the pink femme and chirped, almost as if saying thanks.

Firespark looked up at her family, "Does a walk sound good to you?"

Solarflare nodded his helm, "Yeah, I think we can use the fresh air. It gets stuffy in here." He then repositioned Thunderstrike on his hip, "You ready to go," The sparkling bounced in excitement and pointed at the bird, a large smile appeared on his faceplate.

Firespark smiled and walked side by side with the mech, their pedes walking automatically toward the lake.

The sun barely peeked over the tree line, turning the water into a pale pink. Small sparrows were already awake, in search of their breakfast, and singing their early morning songs. Some flittered out of the way as the trio entered their peaceful place.

Solarflare flinched as two brown sparrows swooped above his helm, wary of his last incident with birds. The sparkling in his arms watched their performance in awe, reaching his servos out to touch them.

Firespark's orange optics looked around the lake, searching for the best place to reintroduce the bird into its natural habitat. She nodded to herself and walked over to a stump covered by the low branches of the firs. It would keep the bird hidden from predators, and the tree limbs were low enough for it to climb up the trunk. Gently, her servos unfolded, allowing the brown bird to wander free.

The sparrow hopped around the top of the stump, studying its surroundings before beating its wings fiercely to land on a branch. The bird's brown gaze looked at the trio before disappearing into the pine needles.

Thunderstrike watched the creature before looking sadly at Solarflare. The mech took notice and smiled, "There's no need to be sad. He's with his family now. We should be happy for him," Though he couldn't understand the words, the mechling decided to look for other creatures.

Solarflare turned his attention toward the pink femme keeping a watchful eye on the bird, and walked up to her side. Firespark's optics looked at him, "I'm sure he'll make it. Light bruising on the leg, but it should heal up nicely."

Solarflare nodded, "Only because he had the best medic on hand." The sparkling cooed as a honey bee buzzed by and landed on his outstretched servo. "I don't think he's ready to go home yet. Shall we continue our walk?"

"We shall,"

The walk was peaceful and refreshing for the trio. The lush greens and the lively sounds of the forest amazed the sparklet, as light blue optics looked from one thing to the next.

The only offputting thing was the scent of fire with a pillar of smoke rising above the treetops and the clashing of metal, but the Cybertronians were aware of humans camping up in these forests. Perhaps some humans were looking for something in their luggage and built a fire to keep warm or cook their meal.

Thunderstrike yawned and nestled against the warm frame of Firespark, who took him when Solarflare's arms got tired. The couple smiled at him before nodding in agreement to start the journey home.

As they walked the familiar path toward the cave, the smell of smoke was getting stronger. Worried, the pair quickened the pace and arrived at the place that was their home.

Tongues of fire danced around the mouth of the cave, burning the grass and moss away from the rock. Piles of destroyed equipment and containers littered the outside. The only thing left in perfect condition was the empty energon cargo containers.

Firespark dropped to her knees, mindful of the sparkling, and stared at the chaos in shock. Everything they had was gone, everything that she worked hard to search for was gone, their home was gone.

Solarflare sat beside her, lost for words, and held her close to his broad chassis. The empty cargo seemed to mock them for their carelessness.

"I should have known," Firespark whispered, then scoffed, "Didn't we discuss this very thing today?"

A bright blue glow drew her attention away from the damage. A datapad laid right in front of her. Sighing, she grabbed it and looked at the mech, "Guess there's only one option we can do,"

Solarflare gripped her shoulder, "Are you sure? I mean, you do have a history with them, but that would mean getting back into the fight,"

"I know," the femme whispered, laying her servo over his, "But we have to, we need to, for his sake," her orange optics gazed at the sparkling in her arms, thankfully asleep.

The mech nodded and helped Firespark on her feet, "Alright, let's get going,"

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