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I warily watched Predaking and remained in front of Chardirakii. I couldn't risk having her snap and attack the Predacon. She might get hurt. "Why only the two of you?" Predaking asked me, tilting his helm to one side. "Enjoying the peace and quiet while we can," I answered, in a tone that offered no more information than that. Predaking nodded, then looked over my shoulder-plate,"The femme is pale." I refused to remove my gaze from Predaking, but his words worried me. "I'm perfectly fine," Chardirakii snapped crossly. "May I inspect her?" Predaking asked me,"Predacons are good at sensing medical problems." I hesitated and gave him a suspicious look. Predaking held up his servos,"No harm shall come to her I swear." His optics didn't hold any trace of malice, nor did they appear shifty or suspicious. I looked back at Chardirakii, then at Predaking again and nodded, stepping aside. "Okay really?" Chardirakii asked with a raised optic ridge. Predaking approached her and I saw Chardirakii immediately tense up. He reached out to touch her fore-helm, but Chardirakii snarled and transformed into her impressive beast mode, baring her long, sharp denta at him. Predaking too transformed and the two seemed to communicate through purrs, growls, grunts, hisses, and other animalistic noises. Finally Chardirakii seemed to settle down and crouched in the sand, a low growl rumbling in her throat. Predaking pressed the tip of his snout to her fore-helm, then her side, making soft grunting noises. Then he sat back and make a raspy purr sound, looking at me, then back at Chardirakii. Chardirakii hissed, but not angrily, and not in pain, then Predaking nodded. They both transformed and I crossed my arms, waiting for an answer. "Just the angle and the light I suppose," Predaking told me,"She's perfectly fine." "Like I told you," Chardirakii said in a 'I told you so' voice. "How long have you two been bonded?" Predaking asked curiously. "Over a year," I replied. "Optimus, aren't you forgetting something?" Chardirakii asked sweetly. I looked at her with a confused expression. "THIS IS A FRAGGING DECEPTICON!!!!" she shrieked angrily. I shook my helm and rubbed my audio receptors. New lesson learned...never make Chardirakii shout in a cave, no matter how shallow. Predaking chuckled,"You're her Sparkmate that's for sure." I sighed,"Any attacks on my team?" Predaking shook hs helm,"No unfortunately." He clenched his fists,"What I wouldn't give to dig my claws into their armor and-" "Ah-HEM?" Chardirakii cleared her throat, putting her servos on her hips. Predaking blinked, then unclenched his servos,"My apologies." "Oh yeah and uh...sorry about the Vehicon," I said, gesturing to the sparklese corpse. Predaking waved it aside as if it were nothing,"We have many Vehicons. It matters not." "It doesn't sound like you take good care of your family," Chardirakii stated, crossing her arms. Predaking shrugged,"They are programmed for battle. As I said before, it matters not whether they live or offline." Chardirakii was growing cross again, I could feel it. "Well it was...pleasant to have a civilized conversation with you, Predaking," I said, butting in before things got physical,"Megatron is searching for you I am certain." Predaking nodded and sighed, waving,"Enjoy the rest of your day, you two." He transformed and flew away, the energon incident forgotten. Chardirakii let out a sigh of relief and I turned to look at her. "Not every problem is solved by killing," I chided her. Chardirakii rolled her optics,"Old habits die hard. Besides I only killed the Vehicon, not Predaking." I walked over to her and set my servos gently on her upper arms,"Why did Predaking want to inspect you?" "He explained it himself didn't he?" Chardirakii replied, a bit too harshly. Then she bit her bottom derma and looked at the sand between our peds. I rubbed my thumb digit over her shoulder-plate,"Are you keeping something from me, Chardirakii?" "What sort of dumb question is that?" she snapped, again with that harsh tone. I stepped away, understanding she was upset. "I was merely curious," I said gently, then tilted my helm to one side,"Are you certain you're alright?" Chardirakii nodded and brushed past me,"I'm fine." She began to walk down the beach, her black hair fluttering in the wind. "Do you wush me to accompany you?" I called after her. "No!" Chardirakii shouted back, not breaking her stride. "What if you meet humans?" "Then I'll fragging transform!" she all but screamed before disappearing behind a large pile of sandstone rocks. I stood there in complete shock for a moment, then sighed. I walked back to our cave, and pondered the new questions arising in my helm. Why was Chardirakii suddenly so angry? Had I done something to upset her? Did Predaking tell her something untrue and she believed it? Was this a sudden phase? I arrived at our cave and sat down at the entrance again, rollinh the thoughts around and around, trying to make connections and find answers. I received none. "Femmes are complicated," I sighed aloud, putting my helm in my servos. Then a bright idea hit me, along with a white substance from a seagull. It slid down my shoulder-plate, emitting a repulsive stench. I walked over to the ocean and washed it off, then transformed and headed for the nearest town. I had a plan to cheer Chardirakii up and if it didn't work well... ...I had no more than this.
