Predatory

We Learn to Say Goodbye

After Tarn came back with the energex, he sat down next to me and we talked for a few hours about nothing at all. But it was a nice nothing, it wasn't supposed to be strenuous. Instead, it had a sort of comforting rhythm, though that might have been Tarn's voice box. 

For a killing machine who leads a team of demented psycho's to brutally murder people in the name of Megatron, he was surprisingly compassionate.

By the end of our conversation, I noticed something. My servo hadn't been shaking almost at all the past few days. Not around the D.J.D. anyway, I had quickly found them to be rather agreeable. Helex was still a bit cold, but Tesarus was a sweet-spark, though clumsy and forgetful. Kaon was 95% sass and 5% apathy. He hated mornings, the cold, and most importantly; work. His work ethic was completely nonexistant. That wasn't to say he didn't do it well, but he mumbled, griped, and complained the entire time he did it. Tarn didn't think to highly of that, but he also didn't push the matter for some reason. Vos was the one I was closest to, mostly because he literally would not leave my side. Tarn had taken to calling him, "Eius minutus umbraijus," roughly translated: Her little shade. He was constantly climbing up my arms, stalking me through the halls, and watching my every move. Not maliciously though, it seemed more out of a benevolent curiosity and interest. I think that stemmed mostly from the fact that he could talk to me and I would understand what he was saying. Most of which was him complaining about Kaon. Apparently they didn't like each other, I had yet to learn why however.

They were kind of comfortable to be around though. Every night Tarn would gather everyone up, Nickel included, and we would all play at least one round of either Praxus Hold 'em, Similes, or a game I hadn't ever heard of called "If". To play, someone would start by reading any question out of hundreds from a book called "If". Then everyone had to give their answers.

For instance, if the question was: If you were abandoned on a deserted planet, what one person/animal/thing would you take with you. Then you would give your answer. Kaon would obviously choose the pet, whom he lovingly called "Fluffy" behind closed doors. Helex might take a ship, because he was too cynical and practical to answer the question the way he was expected to. Nickel took a handsome doctor for some reason, no one dared ask any further questions, none of us wanted that image. Tesarus said he would take Tarn, Helex or Kaon with him. When pressed he finally decided on Helex so that he could help him get off the planet. Vos said he would take a tent, his faceplate was a weapon already, so no point in taking one with him, but apparently he thought shelter was more important than fuel? I replied that I would take a radio with me to intercept any ships in the area and keep tabs on everything going on around the planet. Then we all turned to Tarn. He straightened his posture, loosened his shoulder struts and replied, "The Phantom of the Opera soundtrack." And he did it without so much as a scrap of shame! 

Needless to say, evenings were fun. And I found myself quite enjoying the company of my new team. Even if they were a weird bunch.

After a long time, Tarn got a call from someone and had to leave. The moment he left, the room felt emptier. Colder, even. If that was possible. Tarn had this innate ability to make any room seem just a tiny bit warmer, the light just a bit brighter, the shadows a bit lighter, and the conversation a bit cozier. How he did it while still remaining imposing and intimidating would probably forever remain a mystery to me.

I sat on the edge of my bed in silence, staring at the wall in front of me. In less than 24 hours, I would officially leave the only planet I had ever known, with a group of murderers I had just met a few weeks ago, if that. 

Life's just full of surprises I guess. 

I downed the rest of the energex and slammed the glass down. I noticed it was rather fancy, a glass mug with hand made designs etched into it. I narrowed my optics. Just how expensive was that glass alone? And how had Tarn managed to get his servos on them?