⠀ ( he doesn’t know a thing about strutting, so a casual walk will have to suffice. doing so with little issue, grinning halfway only for himself to experience. ) ⠀ better, i will say. ⠀

⠀ ( naturally, karr’s doorwings lift alongside the provided touch, residing higher & proper when compared to before. his pedes shift, forcing his stature upright & not so awkward looking. ) ⠀ i feel stable this way. ⠀

⠀ ( pauses, optics piercing over his shoulder. ) ⠀ i’m willing to accept tips. ⠀

⠀ how touching. you should run along back to him. i have nothing of interest to offer you in contribution to this hang out you seek. ⠀ ( door wing twitch. ) ⠀

⠀ we? when did this become a group effort? don’t you have elsewhere to be. ⠀ ( nearly stumbling over every uneven surface. teaching himself to walk is going.. swell. ) ⠀ perhaps with your team. ⠀

⠀ ( grunted sigh, the emotive fins on his helm remaining pinned. ) ⠀ you believe everything to be a game. ⠀ ( sliding by. ) ⠀

⠀ just fine. ⠀ ( it doesn’t help that he’s slightly hunched. standing up STRAIGHTER! visibly looks her over.. ) ⠀

⠀ indestructible molecular bonded shell. ⠀ ( plainly said, his body panels shifted amongst his transformation sequence. he’s gotten better, & seems sure of how to use his pedes, doorwings heavily dipped at his sides.) ⠀

⠀ ( he hasn’t gotten away yet! karr merely wanted to be OUT if he were to continue speaking with her, somewhere he feels in control.. ) ⠀ this is what i am accustomed to. ⠀ ( & not a single ding or scrape sustained from his recklessness! ) ⠀

⠀ ( scans her over, focusing on her rotors. each blade is removable at the mount. ) ⠀ weapon of choice? ⠀ ( he slyly questions, lurching forward suddenly! a fake out! before the vehicle squeals tires & reverses again, this time busting the wall out behind ⠀ 𖬺

⠀ the only ‘ people ‘ messing with me is * you. ⠀ ( he says as he begins to reverse again, his back end crushing up into the wall at the very end. ) ⠀

⠀ this conversation is not proving to be vital. ⠀ ( a roundabout way of saying that he won’t be answering such, reversing himself deeper where the light struggles to reach, scanner visible despite the retreat. ) ⠀

⠀ ( merging beings into yet another, larger being. how crafty they are. ) ⠀ i’ve managed to sustain myself for this long without the company of another. what leads you to believe i do not enjoy the solitude? ⠀

⠀ there isn’t another out there quite like me. they are inferior. ⠀ ( the petting is definitely on purpose at this point. ) ⠀ are you apart of a team, vortex? ⠀

⠀ i would like to see them try. ⠀ ( conducting a brief scan shows no able bodied individuals worth worrying over. of course, no one here is capable of even nicking his paint, much less robbing him for all he’s worth. ) ⠀ velocitronian. no. i am the ⠀ 𖬺

⠀ my anamorphic equalizer, or, scanner bar, grants me the ability to scope my surroundings via X-ray and infrared. i knew you were coming before you showed face. ⠀ ( humming eerily. the touch is.. odd. the other individual he met did no such thing. ) ⠀

⠀ thank you. it is the first of its kind. ⠀ ( the vehicle responds, the light bouncing between the border of the laser lens happily. not sleeping! ) ⠀

⠀ ( too bad she isn’t kitt. perhaps if he stays silent she will lose interest & move on with her day. like anyone * normal would. ) ⠀

⠀ ( someone is rounding the corner on him, indicators say, like he couldn’t hear their heavy pedesteps approaching beforehand. bouncing yellow light poised on his hood extinguished. keep walking. ) ⠀

⠀ ( rain isn’t the worst this body of his has seen. still wedged in the alley he’s chosen to call bounds, less dusty than before. ) ⠀

⠀ ( humming, tucked in an alley. shards of glass & sheetrock litter his hood. that can easily be overlooked. a completely refueled car is a happy car. ) ⠀

I lower my head into my hands and sob. Oh 、but how wretched are we 、the unloved. We wither like forgotten plants in the shadow 、always yearning 、always hungry--stretching our arms forever towards a light that is always moving farther and farther away.

⠀ until we meet again, sunwire. ⠀ ( the car responds, humming as he commits & enters the streets to depart. the prowl begins again. ) ⠀

⠀ ( first time refueling & all. he wasn’t looking forward to that of an audience, suddenly returning the emptied container back into her servos & transforming again. he immediately notices how much smoother it occurs with fresh energon. ) ⠀ i understand ⠀ 𖬺

⠀ tell me more about this stasis lock you speak of. can it be used against another? ⠀ ( he asks. surprisingly he understands what he needs to do with the cube in his hands, but can’t get past being watched. ) ⠀ preferably while your attention is averted. ⠀

⠀ root mode. by definition i assume you to be talking about this.. * other form i possess. ⠀ ( karr sounds snarky & less than pleased to have had the notion brought up before him, but transforms regardless. albeit.. slightly uncoordinatedly. ⠀ 𖬺

⠀ sunwire. i am the knight automated roving robot; the first in a bold new experiment. you may call me karr. this energon you’ve spoken of would do me well. i will wait here for your return. ⠀

⠀ store. ⠀ ( he repeats, still heavily unfamiliar with the term but listening with full intention of understanding. internals whirring, the map studied & logged. ) ⠀ i value your knowledge. what do you call yourself? ⠀

⠀ only your guidance, if you would, to the nearest fuel station. ⠀ ( they use those here, right. ) ⠀

⠀ ( perhaps she can help, on second thought. since karr’s arrival, he’s failed to understand how the civilians on this planet replenish themselves, & this pesky indicator no matter how many times he’s overridden it refuses to give up. ) ⠀ excuse me. ⠀

⠀ ( nothing * she can help with. sunwire. a cityspeaker. what could she possibly have to say for it? ) ⠀ hello, there. ⠀

⠀ ( rounds the corner & sits, disrupting her people free view. facing her like that is one way to raise her suspicions, karr. ) ⠀

HE WANTED TO SEE HOW MUCH MISERY " MISERY " COULD TAKE.

⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ 𝐘𝗢𝗨 𝙒𝘼𝙎𝙏𝙀 𝖸𝖮𝖴𝖱 𝖳𝗜𝗠𝗘, ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ 𝐌𝐘 𝐓͟𝖶͟𝖨͟𝖭͟ ᵎᵎ ⠀

⠀ ⠀ 𝘠𝘖𝘜 𝑪𝑨𝑵𝑵𝑶𝑻 𝓣𝙍𝙄𝙐𝙈𝙋𝙃 𝖮𝖵𝖤𝖱 𝖠 ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐎𝗧𝗬𝗣𝗘. ⠀

⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗧𝗔 ⠀ 𝗠𝗬 ⠀ 𝘞𝘈𝘠, ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ 𝗠𝗬 ⠀ A͟U͟D͟I͟E͟N͟C͟E͟ ⠀ 𝘼𝙒𝘼𝙄𝙏𝙎.ᐟ ⠀ ⠀

⠀ ⠀ ⠀ 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗬 ' 𝗥𝗘 ⠀ 𝙂𝘼𝙉𝙂𝙄𝙉' ᵁᴾ ⠀ 𝖮𝖭 ⠀ 𝑼͟𝑺͟.ᐟ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ 𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗟, ⠀ 𝗟𝗘𝗧 ' 𝗦 ⠀ 𝙂𝘼𝙉𝙂 ⠀ 𝘜𝘗 ⠀ 𝗢𝗡 ⠀ 𝑻͟𝑯͟𝑬͟𝑴͟.ᐟ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ “ 𝖢𝖮𝖬𝖡𝖠𝖳𝖨𝖢𝖮𝖭𝖲, ⠀ 𝘛𝘙𝘈𝘕𝘚𝘍𝘖𝘙𝘔 ⠀ 𝖠𝖭𝖣 ⠀ 𝗕͟𝗘͟𝗖͟꩜𝗠͟𝗘͟ ⠀ 𝐁𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐔𝐒.ᐟ ” ⠀

⠀ ( how red alert sounds to rewind when he gets on his little tangents. ) ⠀

⠀ i’ll be sure to. missed you, flipsides. if red gives you any issues next go round, let me handle it. ⠀ ( a reassuring pat, pat! & she’s released from his arms. ) ⠀ get back safe, okay? ⠀

⠀ of course you can. i’ll let him know when you plan on coming next. no gifts, only you.. ⠀ ( TUGS her into an embrace. rewind’s a HUGGER!! ) ⠀

⠀ i don’t think you have anything to worry about. you got on board without issue! next time do the same thing, but bring your sketchbook! ⠀

⠀ yeah, that’s him. always putting his nose where it doesn’t belong and claiming it’s for ‘ safety reasons. ’ don’t get me started. he’d definitely flip through your sketchbook if he got ahold of it. ⠀

⠀ red alert is both the easiest and the hardest person to get by. don’t ask me how he achieves it. ⠀ ( rewind runs his fingers over his mask with another tickled hum, visor bright again. ) ⠀ you’d draw me? really? that’s nice of you, flipsides. ⠀

⠀ mm.. alright. you, er, you draw? that’s neat! i’d love to see what all you’ve done. forgetting it today gives us the opportunity to plan for our next get together, that’s all. ⠀ * 🙂‍↕️✨ ⠀

⠀ ( rewind works hard not to blatantly regard her change in character, a sporadic glance shifted over her as she moves. ) ⠀ you’ll have to meet him sometime. . . . i’m always here to talk about anything. i still care about you. and what bothers you. ⠀

⠀ chromedome and i are doing well. still going as strong as ever. but you really don’t talk to rosanna anymore? i’m sorry, that sounded really bizarre to me. ⠀ ( concerned blinks of his visor. ) ⠀