Orphaned Cries

[Soundwave]

Soundwave settled in with them for the duration of their rest, letting them recharge against his chest. He knew they were intelligent, and once the pair were fully asleep, he reached out to them with the neural tendrils in his arms, gently plugging into their cranial ports and uploading a basic understanding of his language so he could more easily communicate with them. He was careful not to overload their neural cores, however, he did not want to harm them, he wanted them to trust him and perhaps choose to become his symbiotes once they were large and old enough to survive the re-engineering and bonding process. And if they chose otherwise, he wanted them to be strong enough to survive on their own.

After several Micro-Cycles of rest, Soundwave looked to the small avian brothers for a moment, awaiting the moment the new data he gave them was fully incorporated and they could begin to understand his intention for the young pair.

[Laserbeak]

As the red marked avian awoke out of recharge, he blinked a few times and tilted his head curiously, then looked up at the large mech, his optics wide with curiosity. He chirped and chittered at the big mech, then he tried to figure out the strange language he suddenly found within his neural core. ~"Whooo?"~ came the single churred word and the small avian tilted his head, blinking at their apparently new friend.

[Buzzsaw]

The purple avian woke up not long after his brother had, a small yawn squeaking its way out of him. Hearing his brother speak in the strange language prompted him to investigate it as well. ~"Alllphaa?"~ He chirred, looking up at their large new friend.

[Soundwave]

Soundwave smiled inwardly and slowly brought one hand up to point to himself. ~"Soundwave."~ he offered, letting them take the time they needed to acclimate to the new language. He looked to the one who asked if he was an Alpha and tilted his head slightly in thought. ~"Soundwave can be Alpha."~ he offered softly, his deeply modulated voice resonating gently to them. He wanted them to accept him on their terms, and he was certainly was willing to take the place of Alpha for the pair and take care of them as he had done for Ravage. They needed someone to take care of them and he was there already, so there was no real reason why he couldn't adopt them as his own.

[Laserbeak]

Laserbeak churred thoughtfully for a moment, then looked to his brother. //~"We need an Alpha. You trust him to be a good Alpha?"~\\ he asked his brother. He was still a little uncertain, but this big bot seemed to really want to take care of them. They had no one else and their progenitors had never come back. If it hadn't been for this mech, Soundwave, he and his twin brother would have starved to death in their nest or they would have been eaten by some other creature.

[Buzzsaw]

The purple-accented one looked over to his brother, nodding. //~"He caught me, and fed us. I trust him to be a good Alpha. He'll take care of us."~\\ To punctuate his point, he nuzzled against Soundwave's chest, letting out a small chrrring purr. ~"Alpha..."~

[Soundwave]

As the pair of avians snuggled against him and trilled softly to him, he cradled them close, being careful how he held them. Now that they seemed to trust him, he thought it might be a good time to offer them their own compartments. For now, they were still small enough to share one and figured they would prefer that for the time being, so he opened the back of one shoulder and gently lifted them up towards it so they could see into it. ~"Specialized compartment. Safe, warm, protected, together."~ he assured them. Inside they could see small interface system similar to the module all bots had to provide life support to others, allowing them to link to his neural, fluid, and Energon systems to sustain them and grant them a link to him.

[Laserbeak]

Laserbeak looked into the compartment tentatively, looked to his twin, then to Soundwave, then back to the compartment. Slowly he climbed up onto the big mech's shoulder, peering into the compartment, turning his head this way and that, trying to get a good look at what was inside, then crept forward towards it. With a squeak he found himself losing his grip on Soundwave's smooth armor and began sliding towards the open compartment, started scrambling to get back up, lost the struggle, and fell, landing with an indignant squawk inside the compartment itself. From there he looked up at his twin, a little forlorn at this point.

[Buzzsaw]

Buzzsaw followed his brother up carefully, chirping in alarm when his brother slipped in. //~"Are you alright?!"~\\ He asked, climbing up and sticking his head inside. Being a bit more careful, he carefully crawled into the compartment, snuggling next to his brother. //~"It is warm in here, and feels like when Alpha and Beta would recharge with us..."~\\ A pang of sadness at their lost creators slipped across the bond, and Buzzsaw nuzzled even closer to his brother.

[Laserbeak]

As Soundwave gently closed the compartment over the pair, Laserbeak snuggled close to Buzzsaw. He too could feel the emptiness in his Spark, missing his Alpha and Beta terribly. //~"You think he will love us like they did?"~\\ he asked his brother, still worried and uncertain. He clung a little tighter to Buzzsaw as they felt Soundwave shift, yet despite his moving around, they were oddly stable inside that compartment, as if it somehow kept them from being unsettled by his movements.

[Buzzsaw]

Buzzsaw was quiet for a little before he responded to his brother. //~"I think he will. He seems lonely."~\\ He shifted a little, draping a wing over Laserbeak, part of him wishing he could see what was going on outside. //~"He is not our old Alpha, but he can be our new Alpha."~\\

[Laserbeak]

Laserbeak nodded, having gotten that sense from the big bot as well. Maybe he needed them as much as they needed him? It was definitely possible, and as he looked up at where the compartment opened, he had to admit, he did feel safe and warm, and this Soundwave insisted on keeping Laserbeak and Buzzsaw together. Maybe he would love them after all, maybe he would make a good new Alpha for them. The red and black avian had to admit, he was beginning to like the sound of that particular prospect.

[Soundwave]

After some time letting the two little avians not only get to know him, but also to let them grow into their wings, it had come time for them to learn to fly. He knew they had another few Ano-Cycles before their last growth stage, but now that they were big enough, they needed to learn to use those wings. He had gently coaxed the pair, now taking up their own compartments in his chassis, onto a ledge that was shoulder height to Soundwave. He then walked backwards several steps away from them, then held out his dactylin towards them. ~"Laserbeak, fly to Alpha."~ he intoned softly, remaining still as he waited for the black and red avian to come to him.

[Laserbeak]

~"Fly?"~ Laserbeak asked, looking at Soundwave, looking at the ground, then back to his Alpha again. He knew he trusted Soundwave, knew the big mech loved them as his own hatchlings. But trying to fly? That was a little much, or so he thought at first. But then the idea began to sink in and he looked up, tilting his head as he saw a flight of other avians nearby, not like him and his brother, but Raptobots none-the-less. He shifted his grip on the metal perch and hunkered down, watching them fly around a bit, thinking, then looked to his beloved Alpha, arching his wings. Something within him told him to jump and flap his wings hard, and that's precisely what he did, however awkwardly, only to end up completely off kilter and crashing to the ground in a decidedly undignified manner, letting out a squawk as he fell.

[Buzzsaw]

Buzzsaw looked at Soundwave curiously as well when Soundwave asked Laserbeak to fly to him, then watched as something inside Laserbeak guided him to do so. Only, it wasn't quite done correctly. Bringing a wing over his face, Buzzsaw snickered a bit, nudging his brother playfully over their bond. //~"I don't think that was flying, brother."~\\