The Dinobots and the Sparkling

Found

 The jagged silver of the trunk of the trees shone bright in the sun, shimmering in a cascade of colors down the towering bole, it's copper fronts, thin and brittle with curvature along its length and intricate, beautifully natural, designs originating from the middle of the metal sheet and spreading across, thinning out until stopping along the edges. The trees took up nearly all of the area, fighting for dominance over one another to be the closest to the sun, selfishly taking up all of the sunlight they could get, leaving the ones that couldn't keep up to die, and in turn, providing shade to the whole of the ground, keeping the equally metallic verdure and crystal flowers from overheating in the overbearing beating of heat and light from the sun, the variety of species fighting one another for space to grow among the overcrowded land, some more successful than others.

The tall trees and various plants each had their own type of energon based fruit. From gelatin like energon encased in spherical shells of thin metal, to soft solid energon with sweet and sour liquid inside that squirted when you bit into it, all giving their surroundings a soft purple hue with their dim glow. These fruits gave life to the various creatures who dared to live in the untamed wilderness of the forest, and attracted ones that shouldn't of been there to begin with. A small red and white sparkling, barely old enough to walk without falling over every other step, stumbled along, his paint scratched from the stray branches that ran across his soft armor plating as he walked, determined to get what he came for. There was a low-hanging fruit just feet in front of him, it's weight drooping it's thin branch down to where he could just barely reach if he stood on the tips of his pedes. It was nearly the size of both his servos put together, its dim glow and soft, plump, appearance attracting the hungry sparkling. He gingerly put his leg over a large tree root sprouted from the ground, about half his own height, before swinging his over leg over, getting over the silver barrier between him and his prize before he toddled over. The sparkling grabbed the fruit with both servos, tugging on it several times before giving one final yank, falling onto his aft as the fruit broke off from it's delicate iron stem. He let out a surprised chirp as he made contact with the earth beneath him, his prize still clutched in his servos like his life depended on it, holding it close to his frame.

He was deathly still for a moment, more than likely just out of shock, before he sneezed, the dust that came up when he fell irritating his nose. The mechling once again chirped as he rubbed his face, lubricant pricking at the edges of his optics from the fall. Even if it didn't hurt that much, he was just a sparkling, and even that little bit of pain was something he wasn't used to. Still, this seemed to quiet down as he looked down at his prize. He sniffled, rubbing his face just a few more times before carefully bringing the fruit up to his mouth. It was a bit heavy for him, his arms trembling slightly after holding it up for more than a few seconds, but he smiled, the pain and sadness he felt just a moment ago dispersing, eagerness and excitement taking its place as he bit down into the succulent treat. He chirped happily as the sweet juice inside filled his mouth, giggling to himself as he chewed on the piece in his mouth, swallowing it before going it for another bite. He had barely put a dent in the thing with his tiny bites, and he was more than happy to take his time chowing down on the thing, unknowingly being the cause of two 'bots great fear as they frantically searched for their creation, as well as a single 'bots curiosity. 

A set of pale blue optics glowed in the dark forest, casting a pale light around where he hid in a tall tree, the strong metal of the branch bending, barely able to hold his weight as he looked down at the sparkling, easily hidden by the many leaves. His head was tilted slightly as he looked down at him. The small sparkling looked both familiar and foreign, too much of the former for the large dinobot to have considered him prey on first glances, and too much of the latter to swoop down and take him back to the sparkling nests, where any sparkling of their tribe, or neighboring ones, should of been right now. His wings twitched, unsure of what to do. Perhaps this was a runt? It was awfully tiny for a sparkling, and was obviously not newly-emerged. It would have been perfectly understandable if a lone carrier without a tribe had left him by himself in the middle of the forests in favor of putting all of their resources into caring for the other sparklings in their clutch. Still, that didn't seem right. The little one just didn't have the right kibble. Where were its claws? Why did it have such bright coloring? That would surely attract any predators, whether he had been out of the nest or not. It was too strange. He couldn't recall seeing such a sparkling, or full grown 'bot for that matter, in any tribes he had come across, or from any carrier-sparkling groups for that matter. Still, even if the little thing looked weird, from what he was used to at least, his spark ached at the thought of leaving it here. A predator would surely find this little thing eventually, and he couldn't bare the thought of even such a strange sparkling being ripped to shreds and eaten. He didn't have to keep it, after all.