re_alignment | [VIDEO] Welcome Back?

Current Mood: pensive

Entry tags:

tf: idw | perceptor

[VIDEO] Welcome Back?

[He's been here before. At least, that is what the Acolyte that greeted his arrival informed him, warning him that some of the "other refugees" might assume some level of familiarity with him. Past friendships forged, previous alliances made, beings encountered...]

[Perceptor remembers none of it.]

[His expression as he regards the Link is calm and inscrutable, though, despite how unsettling it is to find that his memories, if they were even his own memories, are... altered. Or missing. Or incomplete. Something.]

Do I have a laboratory here?

[Why beat around the bush, as Verity would have said. Well, she might have added a few... choice terms, perhaps, but, still. The sentiment remains.]

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[But they've been endearing mistakes. The faint smile is back, glare banished back to the shadows of the "not dying again" conversation.]

Yes, of course. I will await you here.

[Some visible relief at the return of the smile, faint as it was.]

Right. Good. Uh. Wait there.

[Perceptor might already hear the roar of engines, even before the transformation's complete. Surely Drift's still allowed to drive like a maniac? At least in the circumstances?]

[If Drift weren't driving like a maniac, then he would worry that Ambulon and First Aid screwed up. As it is, there's something very close to happiness welling up inside as he stands near the front of Liege's temple to wait for Drift to arrive.]

[Given the growing rumble of that familiar engine, it shouldn't be much longer now.]

[It isn't much longer before Drift roars over the last corner, brakes screeching, shedding speed. He unfolds from his alt, even before he's fully stopped. There's a moment where he wants, obviously, to lean in for a hug, but pulls himself back, rigidly, looking instead just kind of...nervous.]

Perceptor. [He sounds breathless. It's not from the drive.]

You look. I mean. It's good to see you again.

[Perceptor watches the approach with an appraising optic. Drift has such a graceful economy of movement. He misses those times on Cybertron, backing Drift up as long-range support for more than just the camaraderie; watching him fight had been... exhilarating.]

Drift.

[He tries not to feel disappointed for the lack of that almost-hug - not that he'd expected one, or even had realized that Drift had wanted to... merely that... Perceptor had wanted one.]

[Perhaps it's the shock he'd just received a few minutes ago. Perhaps it's merely a symptom of how unsettled he feels. He doesn't know, and for once, decides not to analyze it as he leans in for the embrace he craves.]

You, too. I'm glad that you are no longer dead.

[Drift misses those, too, and the memories of those times between them are thick in the air around them.]

[He gives a tentative smile at his name, almost a wince.]

[Until he's pulled into a hug, as though magnets were bringing them together. He heaves a shaky breath.]

I'm glad, too. And that you're here. It's...it's really good to see you.

[He should release Drift. He... doesn't. Not just yet. He merely nods, resting his helm against Drift's as he nods.]

You as well. If I must relearn everything here, as a stranger would, at least...

[He trails off, and reluctantly begins to disentangle himself before he embarrasses himself too much more.]

[There's a long sigh against Perceptor from Drift's ventilation system, a sound of releasing tension. ]

[The hands aren't quite so quick to release, so that disentangling gets a little...tangly.]

You have friends here. And there's a lot I want to show you. The Hub, for one.

[Perceptor is okay with that. That tiny edge of a smile, in fact, is much wider, now. Drift is probably the only one who has seen Perceptor smile like this in... a long time, actually.]

I look forward to it.

[He really does. He's missed this. He's missed Drift. Even on the Lost Light, there had been a distance he regretted. But there is no Rodimus here - yet, that he knows of - to absorb Drift's attention, and no Brainstorm -again, yet, and please let that be truth - to constantly harass Perceptor and drive him right out of temper.]

[Maybe this is why he doesn't remember his former time here? Maybe he's meant to start over?]

I'm over-analyzing again. [He chuffs a small laugh.] So, which first? The Hub, or this ghost?

[Right. It's Drift's turn to figure he should probably let go. Perceptor might want to, you know, breathe or something.]

Better than what I do. [Drift gives an awkward shrug. He's more the rush in headlong and stab things kind of mech. Not...always the optimal solution.]

...have you fueled recently? [Because if not, Hub. Then ghost. ]

[As long as Drift doesn't crimp the coolant hoses too much, or for too long, it's good.]

What, dash in blades first? [That's almost a grin as he gently teases Drift.]

[He has to pause to consider that question, though. How long has it been? That... is probably answer enough.]

No, I don't think so.

Edited 2013-04-14 03:49 (UTC)

[He's trying to restrain himself.]

Well...it does work sometimes. [Don't diss the stabbing.]

Right. We'll go there first. You can probably think better on a full tank or something.

[Or maybe Drift can just enjoy fussing at you for a bit. ]

Yes. Yes it does.

[Perceptor nods, greedily drinking in the attention.]

Fuel would probably be wise.

[Especially if it means more time with Drift. He pauses, though, a thin frown sliding through the edges of his smile.]

What sort of... currency is in use here?

[He doesn't want to put Drift to any difficulty, after all.]

Right. We'll go to the Hub. There's a bar there.

[....?]

We, uh, the stuff is just stuff we found so far. So, no money. We figure everyone does their part to survive here, you know?

[The frown smooths away. He hadn't wanted to hope that it would be like that, but it would have been worse to assume that Drift would simply take on the responsibility for Perceptor's debts. He's relieved.]

Yes. That's logical. I didn't want to impose. As soon as I determine where my skills will be most useful, I'll begin contributing, as well.

So. The Hub?

[He waits for Drift's cue - walk or drive.]

We're all refugees, here, Perceptor. No one really can, you know, lord it over anyone else.

[Except the First Forged but...yeah, that's a topic for later.]

The Hub.

[Oh, hush now, Perceptor. Would the Drift you know ever walk anywhere he could drive recklessly? ]

It's not far.

It wasn't... It isn't "lording it over" that I worry about. I just...

[Don't want to be a burden.]

Don't like assuming.

[He's terrified, he realizes suddenly. Terrified of alienating Drift, of fracturing this fragile rapport redeveloping between them.]

I told you that I over-analyze things.

[With a tiny shift that's supposed to be a shrug, he steps back to transform so that he can follow Drift.]

No assuming. You're one of us.

[That air of finality that he'll stab anyone who says otherwise. ]

[Drift does, to his credit, go slowly. It's not far to the Hub and he steers toward the hill that would give the best view: the others had been working for months, and though it's still incomplete, it's...something. Part bar, part hostel, part hangout.]

Neutral territory, we figured.

[Perceptor almost wishes, for a moment, that he wasn't so afraid of words. He wishes he could express to Drift what that note of warning in Drift's tone means to him. How it fills a hunger much deeper than his fuel tanks.]

[He's saved from that, though, by the need to keep up. Something that isn't very difficult to do; he appreciates Drift's thoughtfulness as they top the hill that Drift has brought him around to.]

[It isn't Crystal City. There's a sort of unfinishedness about the place that Perceptor isn't certain that it will ever fully shed. There have been far more artistic structures built on his own Cybertron, much less what the others must have surely seen over the years.]

[Despite that, it's one of the most welcoming, lovely places that Perceptor has seen.]

Many hands have contributed.

[Many hands, from many worlds. The melding of various influences runs down to the very depths of its foundations.]

I promise to behave.

You could say that. We all contribute, like I said.

[It probably looks a lot better to Drift's optics than Perceptor's: a ramshackle structure, though solidly enough built, a mishmosh of styles. It's beautiful to him because he helped build it, and because it represents them doing something constructive: creating, instead of destroying.]

I, uh, I wasn't saying that as a warning. [Did he goof already?]

[Perceptor can guess at the deeper meaning of the structure. It's something he'd long ago lost hope of ever actually seeing for Cybertron, even after Optimus' use of the Matrix. It had been wondering just how long until the next conflict would break out that had been part of the drive for Perceptor to join the crew of the Lost Light. The NAIL's had resented Autobot and Decepticon alike, and the tensions between the two factions' survivors had been touchy enough without that to complicate matters.]

[Plus, Drift had gone with Rodimus.]

It's remarkable.

[He means that. He hopes that Drift can hear it in his voice.]

It's been too long since we've been able to jest with each other.

[It's the only way he can think of to explain that he'd been teasing, without saying it aloud. That sentiment is true, too, though; they used to be able to tease one another in their quiet way. Sometimes with nothing more than a shared look, or a finger flicked down unobtrusively down a weapon.]

[Perceptor almost asks Drift if he, Perceptor himself, has changed too much, but snaps his vocalizer off at the last moment, afraid of Drift's answer.]

Do you think that our Cybertron has any hope for this someday?

[Hopefully Drift won't realize that the question he'd actually asked had been a substitute for a more damning one.]

I. Uh. Yeah.

_Sorry.

[Because it's his fault. Because he left the Wreckers and...yeah.]

[Shake it off, Drift, shake it off.]

It does. If it can come together the way most of us have here.

Unfortunately, we've had to unite against an enemy to get this far.

Don't be.

[See? This is why you can't have nice things, Perceptor. You break them.]

Do you regret who you've become, Drift? Because you seem much more... balanced. Content.

[No one who remains in the Wreckers can claim either state.]

[Perceptor sighs softly.]

That is a big "if". Although, given how our reality had fared, our common enemy may just be "everyone else". We are not well beloved in the universe.

[Drift is harder to break than he looks, Perceptor.]

I regret what we've done to our planet. I don't want to do that here. That's all.

[But he's found a purpose in that, if nothing else, and that gives its own stability.]

No, we're not. But we have a chance to change that--maybe change everything--here.

[Good. Perceptor tends to be a bit rough with his things.]

Agreed.

[But you're dodging the question, and Perceptor gives you a look that indicates that he noticed... but that he's letting it slide. For now.]

And perhaps take those lessons back with us to help our own Cybertron.

[Perceptor flicks a look side-long at Drift.]

Are you happy, Drift?

[Okay, maybe not for that long.]

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[action] sorry about dropping off last night. This cough SUCKS

[action] no worries! halthy first! then rp!

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[action] sorry these tags are so slow this cough thing sucks

[action] I feel your pain. -_-;