Familiar Footwork {Ep 2, Jazz}

[Deleted]

Ep 2 Week 2 Day 5
Control Room

Two days after her unfortunate crash landing, and being helped out of what could have been a truly horrible day, the light green femme was still (naturally) recovering from the injury inflicted on her during the whole thing. At the very least, she was able to walk about the base now – and a simple room was provided for her too. Sure, it would be bare bones but it was her little tiny bit of sanctuary. Still, with so many others about now? She couldn't help wanting to talk, to visit, to simply do what had been denied to her for so long – and that was to socialize.

Such a thing when she had found out an old friend, Jazz, had crash landed a day after she had! So, of course she had to find him! It wouldn't be right to not at least say hello to him, and to see how he was. That was the main reason why she was exploring, to find out where he was – but thankfully, it didn't take long for her to find out he had been ordered to monitor duty for the day. It took a bit for her to find the main monitoring room, mainly because the night she had been brought to base had been a blur. Though it was less because of excitement, which was always a good thing, and more because of her injury, low energon reserves, and a whirlwind of being not only safe? But also being with other Autobots.

It had been so wonderful to know that there were others about, even if there was so much she needed to learn on such a new planet, at least the first thing she had found out that while she had been attacked by some..Particularly cruel humans, not all of them were like that. Not the most comforting thought that some of the indigenous life forms weren't the nicest of creatures, but at least there were plenty who were a lot kinder – or so she had heard.

At least for now? She didn't have to worry about interacting with those off of base. She had a take it easy order – though that was more of 'no transforming into her former Cybertronian alt-form, or attempting to take on a new Earth alt-mode, until she had full mobility of her arm'. It was fine by her, it meant she had just a little more time to adjust to life on Earth, instead of diving into it like a madfemme.

Besides, she would be comforted knowing an old friend was here, and that she had plenty of Earth culture to watch and learn from thanks to what they call 'TV' and 'internet'. For now, she would be most content in actually talking and seeing Jazz, which as she neared the monitor room? She heard the loud music, and she knew right away he was lollygagging about in there. She was able to slip into the room unnoticed because of it!

“It is ironic in a way, me showing up a planetary cycle before you – didn't you used to tell me that I was half a beat too fast during practice sessions?” She asked, her voice a tick louder than the normal softer tones – but that had to do with the loud Earth music he was playing.

[Jazz]

     Get this night off right
     And turn the bass up,
     Yeah, I like it loud
     I like it loud..

     And loud it was. Jazz knew how to be reasonable with it so it wouldn't be heard throughout the ENTIRE base, but surely anyone located in the rooms neighboring the control room were going to be having their audio receptors blasted by the music. Of course Jazz was lollygagging, but he was monitoring on top of it, just as he had been told to do. He hadn't been told that it required him to sit around in silence for who knows how long. So while he was listening to the music out of his speakers that he'd taken from the net, he was up and about, singing along with it and... well... dancing. It would have been quite a sight if Optimus had been the one to walk in here, not that it would have seemed that out of place for the wild soul to act out this way, but from what he had gathered by the lack of tunes was that no one here really ever partied. 

     Well, Jazz just wasn't going to type away at a computer until he rusted.


     Shaking through your legs, the way the sub drops
     Feel it in your chest, the way your heart stops
     Get this night off--

     There was another voice that registered to him, just above the sound of the music. He paused during mid spin and looked around the room, not spotting anyone ahead of him. Jazz didn't think it was the Autobot Commander... no, this voice was soft... femine...

     When he turned around, his jaw could have probably touched the floor and if he'd had optics they would have been as wide as they could have gone in their sockets before Ratchet would have needed to chase it down because of them popping right out ( metaphorically, but an interesting thing to think about ). Jazz stood there in disbelief, not even paying attention to his music anymore even though it was still blasting.

     "Holy Primus, Rotary?! Is that you?" Jazz didn't even let the sentence get out before he was upon the smaller femme, moving in to give her the tightest embrace he could have ever given. It had been ages since he had seen the femme- long before the war started and before he'd gotten his scrap together to lose his Keeper- but he would have never forgotten that cute little face. "It's been for-- Oh right." Jazz switched off the music before he tried to talk to her again, giving her a rather nervous smile at the fact that he'd probably caused some sort of ringing in her ears from having moved in so close with his speakers... well.. on full blast.

     "Come on, come on. Welcome to my humble abode." Jazz made a sweeping gesture with his servo from left to right to show her the control room. "I know, it's a little dull for my usual taste, but hey... I ain't the decorator." Jazz chuckled some and made his way to a pile of crates, where he thankfully took one as his seat since he needed to rub his 'old man knee'. "How ya been, bitlit? It's been... yeah, ages. I guess you evaced and got off'a ol' Cybertron when she went dark?" 

     Truth was, she didn't look any different to him. But Jazz? Since their last meet, the black and white mech was now sporting lines of blue in his design and a clear sign of where his alliances were with the Autobot insignia branded in his center chest plate. Though this one was different, with diagonal lines flaring out at the sides of it.

     "Ya look good. A little beaten up, maybe, but functional. I'm glad ya survived and found your way to Earth."

[Deleted]

When her old friend turned around, the look on his face was rather priceless. She could not help the smile on her own face, and his question made her bob her helm in a little nod. “Of cou- ACK!” She was going to say that of course it was her, unless he knew another Rotary! But, he was upon her and giving her a tight hug that would have crushed her if she was more delicate than what she was!

But, her shoulder sent a jolt of pain through her, and the music blasting in her audios made her processor ache. Thankfully, the music was shut off, and a little sound of relief left her as she lifted a hand to 'rub' at the audio that had been closest to his speakers. “What was that..?” The femme asked, feigning deafness for a moment – though, there was a slight ringing that was was already starting to fade.

Her helm shook, her smile was widening at this point as she moved towards the crates herself. “Well, I am just glad to see other Cybertronians to be perfectly honest with you.” Rota remarked, before sitting on a crate next to him. “I've been...Alright.” She told him, and really? She did look very much the same, just add in the rose gold engravings and the Autobot insignia on her back – but there was a spot where she had obviously been recently injured, and patched up.

“I have been alone for quite some time now, after I was evacuated...” She wasn't about to go into details about her particular evacuation off of the war torn planet, but she was able to tell him about how she had been searching for signs of other Cybertronians. “I heard the Prime's broadcast, my shuttle hit space debris, I crashed landed in this..Forest? It was awkward for her still, using more Earth based phrases. “I am just glad that I was lucky.” She smiled brightly at the older mech. “And I am very glad that a familiar face showed up not long after my own arrival.” Really, it was a surprise that was a pleasant one.

“What about yourself, Jazz? I missed performing with you, missed when times were simpler but – I do know that they were not as simple as they appeared.” She vaguely remembered hearing something about Cress' arrest, but she hadn't placed his face until an article mentioned 'Meister' had been connected to the mech. Not that she cared about the other Towerling, the one (or was it two times?) time she had spoke and interacted with him, was enough to last her several lifetimes over with how uncomfortable he made her feel.

At least, the young femme recognized that back when things seemed so simple – they hardly were.

[Jazz]

     "Oh, don't mind the music. I'm just goin' through some of the different beats this planet has, and lemme tell ya, there's somethin' for everyone! I like the vibe I'm gettin', so I think I'm gonna like sittin' in on this gig. I'm glad ya made it here safely, bitlit! Though... I guess you're all fully formatted now so I should just call ya Rotary. Or Rota, cause that's adorable." 

     Jazz was enjoying reconnecting with Rotary, listening to her tale about her journey here. He eyed the injury she was sporting on her shoulder, though she probably wouldn't be able to tell since he didn't have optics to hint where he was staring. They both had their fair share of dings and dents apparently and, while Rotary didn't share about how she made it off Cybertron, Jazz played the same game. If it wasn't something she wanted to dive into, she wouldn't, and if she did? Well, he'd be around to lend an audial for her. 

     The wild child mech was smiling up a storm listening to her talk, just happy to see her. However, when she mentioned the performances? Jazz's spark skipped a pulse; and not in the good way. He quickly turned his helm as he looked around, hoping that he wasn't being closely monitored or anything like that to where the sudden stall in his spark would have alerted someone. When he saw they were in the clear, Jazz stood up and made his way over to the control panel and just stood there. His servos were relaxed at first, then they clenched and he leaned over some as his frame visibly tensed. If there was one thing that made his energon run cold, even after all this time? It was that section of memories- Cress especially. 

     "Rotary? Please... don't bring that up while you're here. Meister, I mean. No one here knows anythin' about that part of my past- Even Optimus knows very little of it. I would prefer to keep it that way." There was almost an undertone of Optimus knew a little about his past but not all the sketchy pieces that went along with it. Jazz would have preferred to have that entire section of his lifecycle erased permanently, but he hadn't gotten around to doing a wipe of his memory core to delete that data. He just couldn't bring himself to do it, as some of the memories- like the ones he had with the Iacon cleaner and Rotary- were priceless and worth keeping. They were just laced in with the bad ones... mostly bad ones.

     "I spent a long time recoverin' from what Cress and that entire situation did to me. If it weren't for my gettin' outta it and bein' guided to the path I am now by Orion... Optimus..." There was an underlining tone of anger to his pitch that was highly unusual for the otherwise upbeat mech. Jazz's frame shook when he had mentioned Cress's designation, either of an indication further of his anger or his fear of what those memories would bring up. He pushed it back, force it back to the deep recesses of his memory core, not wanting or willing to deal with all of that after all this time. Jazz stood upright again, turning now to face her. "I'd rather not dig up those dead memories, okay?"

     Jazz turned back to the monitors, his sign that he was ready to move on from that part of the conversation. He typed away, pulling up various logs as he went over reading through the data of his Autobot comrades who had made it to Earth before him.

    "Looks like we've got quite a crew here! Wow, the stats on these guys are amazin'! Megatron and his goonies had better watch out cause we got the power to kick some serious tailpipe!" The tone in his voice was back to normal, chipper, as if forgetting that part of conversation had even been mentioned.

[Deleted]

“Maybe you can help me find something I would like?” She asked him curiously, especially since she knew that he would be a good mech to ask. Besides, if he remembered some of the Cybertronian tunes she liked? He would likely have some good recommendations. As for her name, she smiled a little brighter. “You can still call me bitlet if you like, even if it would embarrass me.” The femme told him with a laugh, though really? She preferred ‘Rota’ – simply because so many had called her that already, it was not a new nickname by any means.

While she told him a few notes of her evacuation off of Cybertron, she wasn’t ready to share the full story of it. Besides, even if it had been so long? It still felt fresh given she had been alone for so long. At least he didn’t push her to reveal it, something she greatly appreciated.

Their happy chatter came to an end, when she mentioned she the performances and how she had missed performing with him. She hadn’t meant bringing a sensitive subject up, and she quickly regretted bringing him up. His field was almost painful to see, going from the cheerfulness that was typical of the older mech – to something that she couldn’t quite described. His voice was more solemn, and Rotary slowly walked towards him in slow little steps.

His further explanation was understandable, even more so when there was a touch of anger to his normally upbeat tones. Though he quickly changed the subject, she wrapped her arms around him as best as she could in a hug. “I will not, I am sorry I brought it up Jazz.” She told him, giving him another quick hug. “It will be kept between us, and it will not be brought up again.” Because the last thing the green femme would want? Was to upset her old friend. She drawn away from him, when he brought up the other Autobots. While he seemed to be chipper about kicking serious tailpipe, she simply nodded.

“That would be nice, to be ahead…” It would be, though it would be nicer if this war could just end already. “But it has been a long time since I have been around other Cybertronians.” She told him with a little sigh. “I do not know how well the others have held up over the years, and I do not know how much someone like me – a simple counselor could help.” She had felt of some use before the exodus and she certainly felt more use when she was a neutral, but now? She wasn’t sure if the others would trust her enough to simply talk with her but, she would see in due time.

“I have never been a fighter, even if I have my own defenses, I am simply not made for fighting.” Granted, it wasn’t like many Autobots had been made for fighting either, but she wasn’t a violent sort by any means. “Either way, I hope I can make myself somewhat useful, at least when my shoulder is fully healed.” Because right now, there was no transforming for her.

[Jazz]

     The matter regarding Meister wasn't mentioned again by him, choosing to just keep it to himself and leaving Rotary as the last one to say anything regarding it. He typed away at the monitors, listening to the smaller femme as she spoke. It'd been a while since he had seen her and though he didn't know what she had gone off to do with her life once the war had started, the hint was dropped soon into her conversation.

     "Honestly, Roti," he began, using the new little nickname he had come up with for her. "Before the war, very few of us were built to actually do that kinda stuff. Higher ups didn't think things like that was anythin' to consider. We were created for the job they wanted us to do and we didn't have a say-so otherwise. We've all had to change to adapt to this scrap, so you ain't any different and you'll find your place in this team just as I gotta. Don't think ya only gotta do physical combat, though. I'm sure with all the stuff some of these guys have probably seen, they could use someone ta talk to." Jazz paused typing and reached up with a single servo to tap on the side of his helm. "Dumpin' the processor ain't such a bad thing. Pull up the memory cache from the cpu and stir it up some before lettin' it fall back into the lineup with the other unused data. Just, uh... don't go 'round tryin' to shrink-talk me or somethin'."

     Jazz finished what he was going through and switched screens on the monitors. When he turned to face Rotary again he was grinning, clearly pleased with her suggestion about the music. "Now if it's tunes ya got the itch to cruise, I'm the right mech for the job!" Jazz leaned against the control panel just off to the side of the keypads. "Earth's got all kinda types from everywhere. There's rock, metal, R & B, Soul, Rap, Techno.. and there's even one called..." Jazz paused and his grin got wider somehow. "Jazz! Ain't that a RIOT? There's an Earth form of music with MY designation! It's got some chill beats and I dig the tunes. You should take a listen to some of that." He considered something else for her, his grin loosening to a smile again. "Now, if you still like the type that I used to play for your performances? You'd probably like the classical stuff. Lots of instruments, soothin'- real stasis-inducer.I've got an entire library downloaded on chips in my room if you're interested in runnin' through 'em sometime."

[Deleted]

The nickname of ‘Roti’ made her smile a little bit, it showed there were no hard feelings of her mention of his past. It was a relief, knowing he wasn’t angry or anything for it! His words were rather comforting too, though she let out a hummed whir in thought. “Honestly, I think actually talking through what was seen could help more than simply erasing those memories. I have always been a firm believer that our past makes us…Well us.” She remarked. “Besides, I would be too afraid that I would…Accidently wipe some bit of crucial memory that it would change the mech or femme for the worse!” There was a nervous laugh at the thought and in all honesty? She was mostly thinking of one of the mech’s in her cohort, getting ‘rewired’ for a more suitable bit of work, that he had changed into someone who was almost like a drone.

“You do not have to worry about me shrink-talking you though, even if I think you could possibly use it to get a weight off your frame.” The younger femme pointed out, there was a hint of worry for him in her voice, but the conversation was changing as soon as it started – onto a subject both of them enjoyed so very much. “Oooh..?” She asked her smile returning to her face, bright and cheerful. “That, will be interesting to hear then!” She even laughed when he mentioned that one musical genre, was called jazz of all things! “Oh you better not let that get to your ego.” She playfully teased him and she listened carefully to what else he had to say.

“I still do, but you know how I am always willing to hear something new.” She remarked, before her helm tilted for a moment. “I would be very interested in hearing in this classical sort of music, if there is anything similar to that softer piece you used for that first performance we had together – the one that went oh...what was it…” She tapped her fingers against her arm to produce a few soft ‘tings’. “Anything like that I would love…” In other words, anything featuring a lot of piano – like Debussy or Satie. She let out a whir of a sigh. “I am…honestly excited to listen to what you have in mind, I am excited to learn more about human culture too...Especially if they have so many music genres as they do!” Really, if it was the days of exploration, she would have adored studying about cultural differences.

[Jazz]

     Jazz was able to pick up on the concern in her voice as easily as if it had been written on her faceplate. He wouldn't even suggest that she wipe his memory core! Such a procedure was only tasked to those who were very highly trained in that area of select expertise, and even after there was a chance of failure so it wasn't performed very often. He'd heard rumor of what those who were on the side of unfavorable results were like.

     "It'd take a lot for me to take that kinda chance, really. But I don't think one's past always shapes them to be what they gonna be when they get the choice." Jazz smirked then gave a bit of a shrug. "If ya take me, for example. With the kinda past I was created into, I woulda ended up a 'Con." He was gentle with his words, which held a light-sparked tone to it in spite of the implications behind them were. "But instead? Here I am! I'm true blue, just as bright as this ol' screen of mine." He tapped on his visor with one digit. "And that ain't got nothin' to do with the history ya know or the time before that. Met Orion, made my choice. That part of me ain't puttin' no weight on my frame. I wouldn't be as nimble as I am if it were! So don't worry yourself over any of it and don't be fooled by my tender exterior. I'm tougher than security at Enforcer HQ and as nimble as they come. And that is all that is gonna be said about it. The topic is off-limits to ya." 

     As far as the tune went, he listened for the tune that she tapped on her arm and picked it up right away, humming along with it. Jazz knew all the songs he had every played- considering that he was the one who created them- and they were all stored somewhere in his data core; tucked away within some of the deep recesses that required some dusting off, but still there.

     Aha, yeah. Stuff like that they got. Of course, ya gotta get used to the different instruments. They ain't like we used to have on Cybertron. Grieg, Bach, Clayderman have some beats ya'd probably be down with." Jazz had already managed to store quite a collection in the short time he had been here, both for himself to listen to while at base as well as things he just thought could prove to be useful should he need to use those heavy base speakers of his. Nothing like hitting the Decepticons with a fit of pounding human music to add insult to injury should he need to face them down.

     Jazz moved away from the monitors and walked past her, motioning with his left servo for her to follow him to his quarters where he had the chips stored.

     "Come on, I'll let ya pick and chose what'cha like. Don'cha worry about me gettin' an ego over havin' a genre that shares my designation. What have ya known me to ever have one to start with?"

[Deleted]

There was certainly a sign of relief on her faceplate when he mentioned that it’d take a lot for him to take that kinda chance. Really, it wasn’t that she was just worried about him asking her to do it, it was just the mere thought of him asking anyone to do it. To her, memories were a precious thing that shouldn’t be tampered with – even if they were the worse of the worse of memories.

Granted, the femme did live a far more privilege life and she would be the first one to admit that she did not know what it was like to be forced to do something she did not want to do. However, she did know what it was like to see such a thing happen to a member of her cohort and that experience had been another driving force for her to start protesting the caste system. Just like her friendship with the garbage mech and her relationship with Cipher were driving forces too – after all, the caste system deemed such interactions inappropriate.

She still listened to her old friend, and her helm tilted in curiosity. Her optics did widened some when he mentioned that with his past? He would have ended up as a Con. It was surprising to her that he felt such a way, but at the same time? She knew she shouldn’t have been. Especially, since Cipher easily could have been a Decepticon himself – that being if he had been more bitter about the way things were.

A smile did form on her faceplate though, and she nodded when he made his choice when he met an Orion. “Well, I’m glad then – couldn’t imagine seeing an old friend on the opposite side.” She mentioned with a brighter smile, she had been rather lucky in that aspect. Cohort and friends had either became neutrals or Autobots. Cipher had not been lucky in that sense, but there were still plenty of mecha he known who had chosen a similar path. “And I am not going to even try asking about that – I do not need t know.” She replied in response to his remark to an off-limits topic.

As for the tune? He was quick to pick it up, and hummed along with it – her smile widened more when he mentioned that the humans had plenty like that. “That is nothing new to me – I love hearing different instruments!” She piped up in a tone that Jazz was probably familiar with. She had always indulged her curiosity, it was a trait that had never changed with the younger femme.

When he moved away from the monitors, and motioned for her to follow him, she did so. Of course his remark about his ego made her laugh. “That is true too, you were always a kind mech Jazz.” Rota told him. “At least you were to me.” She remarked softly, because she remembered the kindness and the patience he had shown a nervous dancer who was trying to find her footing.

[Jazz]

     "Yeah, having former friends serving the other side always put a hitch in my side. I've had the... uh... privilege... of seeing it several times in my lifecycle. Heck, I've even seen the bad guys on OUR side and had to handle that. 'Takin' out the trash' is what my partner called it." As they walked there was a couple of creaks coming from Jazz's knee joint and he looked down at it, frowning some until it finally stopped. "That's what happens when you're as old as me. I shoulda been tossed in the scrap heap a long time ago! Man, you bitlits make me envious sometimes. Built with all the fancy stuff." Jazz laughed after his remarks, playing them off as nothing more than lighthearted humor. Though, he was pretty up there so he'd have to be a bit more aware of the weird kinks in his frame. He would need to fumble around with the knee later- make sure there wasn't any more pieces of sand trapped or whatever. He wasn't a medic, he just pretended to be one when it came to minor field repairs. He hoped that's all that was, even if it had been a bother for quite some time. Can't fix it if you don't fix it, right?

     When they arrived at Jazz's quarters he paused to type in a short series of numbers on the keypad. The door hissed and groaned as it opened and he moved to the side, looking at her with a smile. "Ladies first," he said with a slight bow and a gesture of his servo for Rotary to enter. He would follow her once she was inside and pointed to the door behind him with a point of his thumb. "Gonna leave that open. Common sense tells me that it's not appropriate to close the door when you're in the company of a lady. That's how rumors happen."

     For as colorful as Jazz was, his room in no way reflected that. It was clean and sparse with only a berth and what looked to have been a floor to ceiling shelving unit that had been broken in half to serve as a makeshift table of sorts. In the corner of the 'table' was a small metal box, which he went to once Rotary had entered the room and opened it. It was filled with several small chips that he right away started going through. He'd been collecting stuff since he arrived, less from boredom and more of it just being part of what he did out of habit, but it was clear by the apparent discoloration from age and the markings on a couple of the chips that they weren't all from Earth. He didn't have just music and some of the chips he set out on the table that some of them were quite old. Each of the chips had different groups of information on them, carefully sorted so he could figure out which was which in the case he had a malfunction in his systems and lost everything.

     At the center of the table was his datapad, not really anything of great importance except 'probably should give that back to Red at some point'. Opposite end to the box was another datapad looking object but that one was a frame of sorts, propped up with a single image on the digital screen. It was a headshot of Jazz and another mech, who he had his arm slung around the shoulders of, both with the goofiest of grins on their faces. It was clearly taken some time ago, back when Jazz's Elite Guard insignia wasn't so scoffed up and his frame was much better taken care of- brightly colored, well polished and lacking the marks he had on him now. The another mech was larger, dark blue and yellow in color with a lively pair of bright blue optics.

     "Here we go," Jazz said finally, holding a single chip out towards Rotary. "This one has a good mix of music on it. All sorted for your listenin' pleasure."

[Deleted]

“I suppose the isolation I have been in for so long, has certainly sheltered me from many things during this war.” The femme remarked. “I have not been exposed to much of what you or the others have been a part of.” A soft huff from her vents left her as a frown appeared on her face plate. “A blessing and a curse if one thinks too much about it.” It certainly was, because on one hand she did not have to face too much sparkbreak over seeing a friend being on Megatron's side. On the other hand? Well, it was almost like the war had 'ended' and 'restarted' for her when she had left Cybertron and landed here on Earth.

As for the creak in his old knees, her frown shifted into a very slight smile and she shook her head around him. “Well when you do not take care of yourself!” She teased. “It reminds me what one of my teachers had taught me – take care of your frame, and everything else is smooth rolling.” Oh she missed the older femme, she had became one with the allspark before[/i the war had started. Thankfully in a way, that femme had been a kind one who would not have done well on a war torn planet. Granted, the same could have been said for her – and she had adjusted as well as anyone could.

“You still look alright though, Jazz. So that is good at least? Even with your creaky knees.” Rota commented with a small little nod.

When they reached his quarters, she waited for a moment as he typed in the numbers. Her gaze was diverted elsewhere for the moment too, as it was the polite thing to do. When she heard the hiss and groan of the door opening? She turned to look at him, giving him a small little 'curtsy' gesture she had seen in some human movies, before she walked into the immaculate room. “Protecting my honor as always?” She asked, a joking tone clinging to her voice as her optics glanced about the room.

It was strange, seeing the space so clean and tidy. In a way it did make sense but...It was still odd because of his vibrant personality! While she was just glancing about his space, he was flipping through a box that judging from the sounds of it? Contained small chips and her attention turned to him. From where she was standing, she could see some had foreign writing upon them. Some, seemed familiar in their coloring and engravings – like old music chips she also had once upon a time.

Once again, her attention strayed to look around his space before her optics fell onto a image that had a much younger Jazz posing with another mech. She did not know who he was, and despite wanting to know? She decided to keep her questions to herself. Of coruse, when he turned to her? She smiled as she took the chip from him. “Thank you Jazz, I will let you know which ones I enjoy most.” She told him softly. “I should go, get my music lessons started.” She joked lightly and she took a small step forward to give him a friendly little hug. “I will give it back to you when I am done listening.” Because it was his mix, not her own. It would be right to give the chip back after all!