[ti]Ep 3[/ti]Glitter and Bitter [Closed]

[Cintra]

Episode 3 | Week 2 | Day 5 | Evening

This place was absolutely horrible. So drab, so bland, so dark, so boring... Sure, the Decepticons were making do with the poor cards they have been dealt, needing to wallow in a cave that was only freshly milled in most areas with yellow lighting, however it wasn't like the Nemesis was any better. From what Cintra heard about the borderline legendary ship was that it was just as dark, just as dreary, with only the fun flicks of some red track lighting and a soft purple haze to all of the metals. Then again, purple walls were better than brown rock however, so... that was a huge bummer they were stuck here. Hopefully they would get some better lighting, some more FUN, but that obviously wasn't a huge concern for others, more pressing things at hand like 'making sure the Autobots can't find us' and 'trying to scrabble tech together so we can function'. You know. Boring crap.

What couldn't be solved around the new portions of the base however, could be part tackled in the living quarters.

The fact there were three to a room here did not matter, Cintra had the wonderful boon that one of the other two of her roommates was her significant other so whatever she wanted would be passed by him, and this had an ADDITIONAL boon that it was two against one should the other individual be an absolute buzzkill with no joy in their tainted little spark. The fact whoever it was didn't seem to have much of anything of value or interest on their side of the room was not a good sign. It is because of the blaring support of her mech however, the obnoxious pink femme had taken it upon herself to do something about things before even meeting their roommate, finding opportunity when she had gone out to get her Alt-Mode.

While Flux's endeavor to get Alt-Modes would be a bit more complicated simply by the nature of his frame, her chore was rather easy all things considered. She didn't have a preference other than 'cute' and 'something around my frame size' since her own color would overtake whatever she scanned to eliminate if it was drab black or white or silver or who knows what tone. Thus, an old run-down used car lot on the outskirts of town was a perfect target. Not only was it out of the way, it didn't have the security that one of the fancy places had, and thus it could be exploited more.

And it had some nice stuff to steal.

Cintra was standing atop the berth closest to the right wall, her frame pulled up straight so that she stood upon the smaller front portion of her peds with heels picked up off the surface. Her hands were splayed out, slapping idly at a long profoundly skinny string that was coated in red white and blue metallic fringe. It had been strung around the few light posts and fences at the lot, more likely than not aimed to draw in attention, but it had been taken despite its core feeling like a thread between her fingers, along with a small pile of other 'goodies'. She took all her arms could carry, squeaking the entire way to where Flux waited on the outskirts of the car lot, before they went back to Blackridge. Given her size it turned out to not be a HUGE pile but... it would work for now. What didn't work was her following plans.

Cintra... was not the sharpest tack in the box. She had her moments, she has had bouts of 'clever' when certain things tickle something in the back of her processor, but now was not one of those moments. Instead of trying to work with a proper fastener of some kind, instead of trying to hammer a nail into the rock, or use some kind of nightmarish watery tacky glue that would bind it forever in place, she had somehow got a roll of strong tape and thought it would stick to dust coated stone and dirt.

It didn’t.

A snorted huff popped out, Cintra bashing and slapping at the frayed tape as it continuously peeled away, before she bit and ripped off another piece and slapped it over the same spot. At this point, there were five different strips, all going in different directions atop one another, all with the adhesive absolutely coated in dirt and dust. It was a frustrating ordeal, and the femme's irritation was getting more and more apparent as the tendril that protruded from her shoulder blades started to swish from side to side, before snapping down in a whipping motion upon the berth to make a noisy clatter of the blade.

A screechy word belted out then, pitched far too high, though was modulated enough to not be a scream that would echo down the halls.

"WORK!"

[Flux]

On the opposite side of the spectrum? To Flux, this place was a luxury. It was drab and dusty, but there wasn’t the sweltering heat of many a forge, nor the deafening roars and clangs that came with it. It felt safe, even though it was a little confined for his tastes, and after everything they’d been through in recent weeks? He welcomed it.

The first order of business upon arrival to Earth had been to get altmodes so the natives of the planet didn’t freak the fuck out upon seeing alien vehicles. They could blend in, go about their day to day patrols without being noticed. An easy task, all things considered - yet it was something that had proved a little problematic for the bigger mech, needing to find two forms that were similar and yet different was… a chore.

While he waited on Soundwave to get back to him with things that were suitable, Cintra had found her altmode with relative ease. Flux had waited patiently while she fussed and fawned over the various vehicle choices in some quiet and sleepy town in what looked to be the middle of nowhere, then that patience had extended when she decided to take with her some of the shinier things from the car lot.

Hey, whatever made her happy.

He’d followed her back to Blackridge and their newly assigned quarters, trying to take note of just where they were and where they were going. He’d made a point of carefully reciting aloud the various turns in the numerous corridors to try and have it stick. Left, left, right… right again… wait, what was that last one? Walls of dense rock, floors of a similar color with the occasional Vehicon scattered throughout, guarding various doors - or, uh, doorframes at times - which did nothing to differentiate anything. It was a confusing maze, and he’d become overwhelmed quickly.

He’d get it eventually.

Cintra had been quick to move into action upon returning to their room, wanting to show off her newfound treasures and hang them around their side of the small space, while Flux stood awkwardly to one side. He watched curiously, unsure if the tape would even work how she wanted it to. It was quickly proving not to be the case, and the telltale signs of her irritation were becoming apparent. She certainly lacked the patience he did, but at least she was trying.

At the screeched word, he would flinch - wondering if he should’ve stepped in a second or two earlier to try and calm her down before she lost her temper entirely.

“Cintra…”

[Deleted]

It had been too long since he had gotten a proper rest. Even longer for a stress free one.

Recharge during war time always brought with it its own challenges; the constant worry of when you would get to it? Who would keep watch? How long could you rest for? Where could you find shelter? That was just the basics. Then there were the ‘what ifs’. What if you didn’t get to wake up the next day? What if you couldn’t rest properly- would you be a detriment to your squad? What if there was an attack and you couldn’t respond in time? Too many questions encircled such an important part for care of self.

Trying to recharge when you are the only one around? Take the previous questions and amplify them tenfold. During his final years on Cybertron it was only Virtuoso and his thoughts- neither of which functioned well enough in their grief-addled state to be considered reliable enough.

He could not- correction, he would not remember the last time he rested easy. Virtuoso tried rather hard not to dwell on his late partner. The old memories typically set him up for failure.

Despite all these struggles, the priest was very much looking forward to entering recharge- to escaping all the chaos he had experienced in the waking span of what was essentially two days to him. Cybertron was fresh in his memory despite being in stasis for months. The chase, the crash, waking up in a watery hellscape. All too recent. Throw in a working day of around twelve hours? Yes. Virti was very much done with everything.

He had been to his quarters once before, but could not bear to rest on account of how empty they were. Now he was very much enjoying the idea of unconsciousness and blissful solitude. Even if the place to rest was very much like a grave in the dirt. Virti was even willing to forgo his nightly prayers. Almost willing.

He really oughta thank Primus for sparing his aft for this last little while.

One could probably imagine Virtuoso’s surprise when just as he was about to enter his assigned room, a shrill screech left it. This brought on a pause. A question of ‘do I want to know?’. No. Not really. But Virti wasn’t ready to give up and sleep somewhere else. The priest entered just as one stranger addressed the other. He opened his mouth to speak as well, but failed to produce noise as the scene finally caught up to him.

Standing on the right berth was a tiny neon demon. A delightful colour bomb with strange anatomy that lashed out in what could be perceived as anger. There was a mental note made to keep her at a distance. What she was doing, Virti could not even begin to guess. Judging from how shiny the scene was, it was most likely something devious and aggressively obnoxious.

The other stranger, a mech, proved to be another visual spectacle. While the former made one believe their optics to be glitching, the other brought on confusion. He was normal at first glance- maybe a little worse for wear. It wasn’t until one finished attempting to process the pint sized appearance of chaos, that they doubled back. Virtuoso had first picked up on Flux’s rotary blades and thought him a flier. And then he saw doors typical of a grounder type frame. Virtuoso narrowed his optics at this, and clasped his servos behind his back to stop himself from gesturing. As he did this, he was reminded that triple changers were a thing that sometimes existed.

While in the shared room, he still kept close to the entry. ”You know, if someone had told me there was to be company, I might have made an attempt to tidy.” A humorous statement without the humour. Virtuoso was very much done with the day and made no attempt to hide it.

[Cintra]

Bristling, irritated... orange eyes locked down onto the dirtied tape strips, the magenta lens plate latching down solidly as if she could burn a hole through it with her gaze alone. Maybe if she showed it her true wrath capabilities it would behave?! This thought was not really logical... but it didn't matter. This piercing glare lasted only a fleeting second before Flux spoke, and she threw her head up and back, while shoulders and arms slung down to either side and sagged off the joints. This was paired with an over exaggerated 'UGH' that growled out, her eyes rolling before settling over at the matte black mech.

Flux had so much more patience than her. While she always felt her frustrations were justified, and that she always gave acceptable amounts of time before her impatience flared, yet, compared to Flux? She was a spazzy mess. He could sit stationary so very long in her opinion, could let things roll by with more relaxation than she ever could. It worked to tamper her down some, though she knew well she would never be like him. While he would probably carefully consider the best action to take, she had simply run in full force.

"But it's not workiinnnggg."

As Cintra cried this out, her arms that had been slung down on either side, would then throw straight up in a forward swinging movement. The momentum from this tilted herself backwards with a small hop, so that she would effectively 'fall' backwards into Flux. She didn't really seem to fear this, one of her raised arms latching down. With a light clunk the back of her frame collided with his shoulder armor, her left arm looping behind to hold on and keep herself from being thrown to the ground even should he shift his mass. During this movement the barely attached fleck of tape that was valiantly holding on finally gave out, and the streamer fluttered and fell onto the berth.

Cintra was about to play innocent and nice, to ask what HE would do, and then ask him to actually DO it to make her decorations functional and make her happy... She was going to maybe even make suggestions that they should check the storeroom for something that was VIABLE and free to use. While she wanted her decorations, she refused to thieve anything that could help the Decepticons or possibly be too limited of stock however. As desperate as she was, she was... a loyal little good soldier. Whatever the case, she was maybe possibly going to even suggest they try to go on another little outing to look for... she didn’t know... were sticks sharp and hard like nails? She didn't understand things on Earth AT ALL.

She never got the chance.

Just as Cintra's mouth opened to start to speak, another voice cut in with the dryness of a desert and hollowness behind it of someone that was just done with life. This understandably caught her attention, and her head whipped around to look over the unfamiliar mech to see if it was someone she recognized. While she did not know who Virtuoso was, her limited processor bits could rub together well enough that if he was possibly living in this part of the base, and was POSSIBLY even their roommate, he couldn't be so high on the food chain she had to bow or anything. Because of this she wrenched around violently, the underside of her knee ramming into Flux's shoulder as she basically crawled over it.

With palms flat on the back of his pauldron plating and one knee hooked over its top edge, she got a good look at the other mech. He was clad in angular decorative armor, the base black and white which was... sub par... but the overlapping parts of straight up gold shining with pale blue light? It was a great start.

"Flux."

A low almost growl, this amazed tone of one gasping they had finally found some rare limited edition who-knows-what in a store.

"It's someone with COLOR."

From what she has seen of the Decepticons past and present... other than Knock Out? Fun colors were nonexistent. Because of this fact Cintra was treating this like some kind of glittering gold and blue mystical creature that pranced in rather than some mech who obviously wanted them to be anywhere other than here. She didn't even regard him yet with a real welcome, simply her generalized statement rather than treating like an actual individual.

[Flux]

Aahh yes, the dramatic flop.

A tried and true method, perfected by Cintra over millennia. Flux knew it was coming the moment she cried out in defeat against the colorful streamers, and so as she fell he would take a cautious step forward to make doubly sure she landed against him - just like always. She was so tiny in comparison that the light thud did very little, and he’d glance down at her.

He could only chuckle as the streamer also seemed to give up at the same time, fluttering down onto the berth sadly where it would no doubt sit until the tiny menace decided to give it another go.

“Maybe it’s the wrong kind of tape?” he offered, gently. To be fair he wasn’t sure any kind of tape would work against the solid rock that made up the walls here, but surely there had to be something stronger. Or at the very least his comment would help kindle some new idea to get things working.

Colorful streamer - 1. Cintra - 0.

He didn’t get much time to mull over his thoughts to offer some sort of suggestion that didn’t involve tape, as another voice sounded then. Flux was not the fastest mech, being as heavy as he was - so even simply turning took some effort and time, and Cintra beat him to the punch- clambering up him with a certain deftness that showed she’d done this probably thousands of times.

The fascination in Cintra’s voice was not lost on him, and for a moment he thought it was someone from High Command checking in on them, to see if they were settling in to the new digs alright.

But no. It was nothing of the sort, and he’d blink at the reason given.

Fair enough.

Slowly, he would then turn to face whoever it was that’d stepped into the room. He wasn’t particularly cautious with his movements, but would raise a servo up just on the off-chance Cintra needed something to hold onto when she no doubt moved and adjusted herself accordingly so she was facing the right way.

Peering at the other mech, he would give a gentle nod in greeting.

Well, she wasn’t wrong about the color. The blues and golds were certainly unique compared to those he’d seen here at the base which, uh- mainly consisted of Vehicons. He was definitely the dullest of the three gathered, but that was something he didn’t particularly seem to mind - Cintra had more than enough color for both of them.

“I think what she means is hello.” he offered Virti a smile at that. Cintra did have manners - sometimes - but at times she did that thing where your words come out faster than you can think and… this unfortunately seemed to be one of those moments. The fact their apparent roommate had a dash of color was probably to blame, but thankfully the bigger mech wasn’t quite so wowed by it all.

“I’m Flux, this is Cintra.”

While he wouldn’t turn around again, he would vaguely gesture to the obvious attempts that’d been made of hanging up streamers behind himself on the wall.

“You don’t mind if we put those up, do you?” maybe they should’ve asked permission first. Then again he wasn’t even aware they had a roommate to begin with. If the detail had been conveyed to them, he’d forgotten already. “We’ll keep it to uh- our side of the room.”

Was that how this worked? They get one side each? They’d already pushed their two designated berths together to make one big one, but he wasn’t sure of the rules concerning actual territory.

[Deleted]

Seeing his new roommates in so close of a proximity to one another came as a surprise. It was rare to spot such comfortable familiarity between two beings. Especially so during war time. The surprise was pleasant enough without thought- to see such happiness was a god given gift. But then once Virtuoso actually applied processing power to the scene, it presented a couple problems. The first being that the pair, Cintra and Flux, would have more say around what goes on in the room on account of being a united front. Hopefully they were reasonable enough folk to deal with.

The second problem was more complicated. Envy was not a thing easily fixed. Even more so in this instance. The most sure fire solution would be to raise the dead. And while Virti tried not to harbour doubt, even he knew Primus had limits. The real struggle wasn’t the internal, no, it was the external. There would have to be great efforts made to avoid misplaced ire against his new neighbours. The last thing anyone needs is a reprimand for angry crying at someone else.

Wouldn’t that be a fun touch of paperwork?

Virtuoso was used to being looked upon with awe and adoration (even if it was back in the day). He had long since grown bored of it. Some may even say annoyed by it. Though with this flourescent femme, this was something completely different. The way she gawked at the priest as if he was some thing... nothing more than a new piece to a gallery. To be stared at so blatantly was enough to eek out the exhaustion and replace it with discomfort.

Not daring to approach lest Cintra reach out like a child for their prize, Virti spoke with an edged drawl to his voice. It was the only real clue to how out of place this scenario had become for him. “Err, hardly so when in comparison to your vibrance.” A polite and practiced nod directed at Cintra. While she may not have spoken at him, Virtuoso still addressed the femme. A veiled callout to show that he was a walking, talking being and not some shiny mannequin.

“If that's her way of greeting someone well...” A slight pause ‘-you better work on her manners.’ Oh, how easy it would be to say something so bluntly. “-then, who am I to judge?” Virtuoso’s facial structures relaxed rather slightly, showing that he meant no trouble... And that he didn’t want trouble.

It was astounding to see how Flux could still be so decorous whilst being used as a jungle gym. While it certainly took away from professionality, it wasn’t a crippling thing. “Flux. Cintra.” A separate addressing for each individual (even if they were essentially stuck to one another). “It’s a blessing to make your acquaintance. Patriarch Virtuoso, but Virtuoso will suffice for such an informal time of day.” With his hands now in front of him and palms placed together, the mech gave a partial bow, folding at the waist.

After straightening up, Virti cautioned a glance around the barren domicile. Starting with a sigh, the mech spoke as if in musing. “I suppose anything is better than clay and dirt.” While the statement started as an answer back to Flux, it carried over to Cintra. “Though I believe the decor would look rather odd if kept to only a portion of the room. If there are any pet peeves, it is when the room is inconsistent in appearance.”

From what Virtuoso could gather in this fledgling conversation, Flux was the easy going one- less likely to cause an issue. The respectful sort. Cintra was of a different stock- dramatic, energetic, and most likely temperamental. There would be no harm in offering a little appeasement.

He hoped.

[Cintra]

When Flux turned around, it understandably meant that Cintra was taken along for the ride, her bright and happy expression dropping to to an unamused sneer while she got her line of sight forced back to the dirt wall and failed attempt at decorating. As to be expected, she had no intention of staying like this, wanting to once more face the new mech to see what was going on here and keep a conversation moving forward. Because of this, the tendril that was extruded from the back of her helm and shoulders curled and hooked around the offered wrist, the thinner end wrapping behind it to almost mimmic the constricted grasp of a python. While it may look like she was grasping rather hard, the grip was loose, allowing her to use it as a pivot point.

Cintra was more than aware that Flux was stocky built, sturdy with a decent core to his mass. With this fact she pushed fully off his shoulder behind him, before she planted her peds against the back of his shoulder armor, a decent amount of her body weight thrown onto his arm which likely wouldn't move much. With her tendril keeping her from toppling down to the ground, she 'walked' around to the other side of his frame along his back at a 45-degree angle, the loop turning with her like a shepherd hook. Within just a moment after stepping over the rotors and door wings, she was at the other side, swinging her legs over his left pauldron so that she was sitting atop it facing Virtuoso. With a kick of one limb, she would throw it to cross across the other, her annoyed look snapping back to an over-polite grin, absolutely beaming at his compliment.

Only once she was rooted the serpentine appendage let go, moving behind her to lie inert once again.

"Ahaa, yes, Cintra, hello!"

The pink femme pulled her hand into the air, giving it a short little flick of the wrist with palm facing the other mech in a makeshift wave. Her boppy happy look faulted however when Virtuoso bowed, confusion instantly slamming across her harshly. Cintra wasn't really sure what to think about the bow, it something that wasn't really offered to her in any way except for maybe a couple occasions she could not remember a lifetime ago. She was never in a position to receive something of the sort, and she didn't really know how to translate it. Did she continue to be happy and energetic? Or was she expected to bow back in turn as some sort of long-distance shake of the hand? Perhaps it was a religious thing?

Cintra wasn't religious, or more... she never really gave it much of a thought. She figured if there was some sort of deity or afterlife, it simply was what it was. Can't change anything really. Unless The Pit was real, though she liked to think she was too friendly to be condemned in such a way. She hoped this individual wasn’t the super pushy type to try hard to convert, but time would tell. Before she could scrabble more on how to react to the bow however, the unfamiliar mech spoke.

"OH! I can decorate it all!?"

Mistakes were made.

With a rapid snap, Cintra unfolded her leg and rammed both peds into the front of Flux's shoulder armor, her hands pairing with the action to slap down with a banged rattle of excitement. Her helm crooked up at this, orange eyes bright as if a world of opportunity had just opened. She was now envisioning how great everything could look here, and how fun it could be compared to this ugly brown and gray!

"Thank you! Don't worry! I can make it look nice! I just need to figure out how to attach stuff and I can try to find a bunch of pretty things!"

Her voice had rose a bit in volume, but thankfully was still lowered enough to not be a yell that echoed in the halls.

"What's your favorite color? I am gunna guess gold!"

She didn't know where she could GET gold colored stuff, not at all familiar with anything in this world except what she saw at the used car lot... yet, every sentient world HAD to have paint right!? Maybe this planet had an abundance of the actual metal that could somehow be used. Opportunities!

[Flux]

Even with Cintra clambering all over him, Flux would remain still - holding his position so the tiny femme could move with ease. He kept his own gaze and attention on the other mech, rather than what Cintra was doing - further evidence that he was no doubt used to being used as a climbing frame. Only once she had settled would he lower his arm back to his side.

The gentle and yet polite nod was not lost on him, and he would gently frown - although it was not out of any sort of outward annoyance. The nod was, unfortunately, something he’d seen many a time before, especially when dealing with the aggravation that was his memory issue. Most folks - for the most part - had patience with him while he scrabbled to look at the various notes that littered his arms, trying to work out which detail was for which particular conversation he was involved with. Cintra helped, but sometimes wrote things down in a rush, leading to some slightly embarrassing circumstances.

Thankfully today, however, there were no notes - merely the word ‘Earth’ and some rough, scribbled coordinates that’d been hastily engraved into his arm.

He knew Cintra meant well in this situation, and hoped the other mech didn’t see her excited statements as being rude. Aside from- uh, what was his name? - that red medic when they’d first arrived, Virtuoso had been the first Decepticon that’d had any sort of actual color - at least that he could remember from those he’d glanced at. Purples, grays, and dull blacks seemed to be the norm, and he was unfortunately paired in with that group himself. The only portion of him that stood out were the orange biolights, with optics to match - and that wasn’t anything really exciting compared to the femme on his shoulder. Virti, though? He was new, he was shiny, he was their roommate and Cintra was understandably excited by all of these things.

In time, she would calm down. Or at least, she normally did.

As Virti bowed, Flux would smile - copying the motion with a gentle bow of his own, as it felt like the official and right thing to do in the moment. He had not bowed to many, nor had he ever received a bow of his own - and so it felt a little awkward, forced, even.

“Virtuoso?” he repeated it back, nodding as he stood fully upright, rotors and doorwings twitching just slightly as they settled - “Nice to meet you.”

The fact the other mech did stand out in terms of color would help immensely, and while Flux knew he would no doubt struggle some with the name - he always did - it’d hopefully click far faster than most.

He followed Virti’s gaze, and while he didn’t turn around again, he would peer at the walls, only to snap his attention back as the suggestion was given to decorate the entire room, instead of half.
Well, that was one way to win her over.

Opening his mouth to speak, Cintra beat him to it. If her excitement had begun to ebb away any during the conversation? It was now back tenfold, and he’d glance up at her as she rammed both pedes into his shoulder armor, prepared to shift his weight should she need him to, half expecting her to clamber down him.

He chuckled, shaking his helm as he turned back to Virti.

“You’ve done it now.”

A gentle tease. While he hoped Cintra wouldn’t go completely overboard, permission had been given to decorate the entire room and she had a knack for going a little overboard.

Hopefully between the two of them they could reel her back if things went too far, as despite her size? She was a force to be reckoned with.

[Deleted]

Watching Cintra clamber all over Flux, Virtuoso had to work doubly hard not to screw his face up into a grimace. While he didn’t consider himself to be horribly vain, the thought of having paint chipped and under constant repair was a worrying thing. Neither side of the pair seemed bothered by such risks. If anything, both seemed perfectly complacent.

It was not Virtuoso’s place to raise concern.

No. The only thing he should be worrying about now is the fact that he gave full permissions to decorate. Virti could already feel the regret rise with Cintra’s voice. Only then did the priest grimace. With golden brows quirked and part of his denta visible, he cautioned a glance back to Flux.

Judging from the triple changer’s light mood, Cintra’s little outburst was expected. It would take some time to adjust to such an excitable individual. Too caught off guard to pick up on Cintra’s initial tirade, Virti made the possible mistake of simply nodding along. His features slowly relaxed into something that could almost pass for a grin- the kind of smile that did not reach one’s eyes.

With Cintra’s chattering, he missed Flux’s return of the greeting. Virtuoso attempted to answer the small femme’s question, but was cut off by her own answer. While gold was an alright colour, it was not his favourite. Mauve would always have a special place in his spark. “Er, yes.” A strained chuckle. “Gold is quite nice in moderation. It pairs well with deeper colours. Like red.” It was of little importance whether his response made it through or not.

All Virti knew was that he was digging himself a hole which he had very little chance of climbing out of.

“And so it would seem.” A side chat directed back at Flux. “Does she ever-” Instead of finishing his statement, Virtuoso pushed one servo down to communicate ‘calm’. High energy was something he could work around on occasion, but when it came to his nightly prayers, that was a different story.

“I take it you two are fairly new arrivals to the base as well?” He spoke more so to Flux, as it seemed he was the type to hold a conversation without shrieking about colour and decor. Virti believed his assumption to be safe. Being that he was new himself and that he originally had sole ownership of the room. For such a recent change it would make sense that the pair was new as well. “I hope you had a relatively safe voyage here.”

Instead of remaining in the entryway like a creep, the priest strode over to his own portion of the room. Following his original plan of action from before the surprise of company, he disarmed himself and stashed his weapons; one unassuming shotgun, and one ornamental sword with a worn tassel. Even after all these years of war, Virtuoso still had yet to adjust to carrying weapons.

At times they felt as foreign as this planet.

[Cintra]

While Flux bowed forward to return the polite gesture, Cintra's hands pulled back gently to plant palm down with the flattened metal behind her sitting point. Her spine arched away a bit to counter the movement and balance herself, holding firm for the momentary dip, before returning to a typical sit once the matte black mech had eased upright once again. This didn't even phase her in her transition from pleasant to outright borderline spaztic when the gates of opportunity had been flung open. It didn't even phase her that Flux gave a polite 'oh no' response. It also didn't phase her when their new roommate grimaced with what had to be nervous apprehension at what he had just unleashed upon himself...

Oh no. None of this phased her.

Cintra had just gotten permission to do as she saw fit, and that was all that mattered.

As great as this was, should the other mech try to backpedal, should he realize his mistake, there would be a problem. While she could stomach some direction and requests, willing to try to work with whatever color he declared his favorite so long as it didn't dominate the entire room, if he tried to full out revoke his words? Well... than there would more likely than not be a less than polite response to the fact. Hopefully things wouldn’t come to such a point however, Virtuoso's tolerance ideally fitting the patient expectation that a Priest 'should' have.

"You must be a fan of Knock Out's look then!"

A happy chirp of a declaration, Cintra's back flexed a bit in a stretch as she wore that over polite grin, completely ignorant to the fact that the Priest's own smile didn't reach his eyes and likely was far less than sincere.

"Red can be such an ominous dark color... but the right tones can be so pleasant."

With this, Cintra thought over how to incorporate a bold red into the room, trying to imagine possibilities. As much as she wanted what she visualized, to get hold of everything she pictured, she knew that things would never truly match up. Her mind went to things back home, things that were on Cybertron for individuals to buy and utilize for decoration. Earth had to be so different... so much so that she would need to learn what it had to offer to truly make a good plan of action. At this thought, orange eyes would flick over at the meager pile of decor she stole from the car lot, her brow hooking before more talking pulled her out of her thoughts. With a sharp snap, her gaze locked back on the newcomer.

"Safe as a Space Bridge can be. Let's say I won't miss where we were."

While the words may have been directed at Flux, Cintra barreled forward with little concern for this fact. With the conversation shifted away from color and things she loved however, the pink femme seemed to mellow a little bit so it possibly wouldn't be seen as too brash of an aggressive barrel.

[Flux]

Knock Out.

That’s it. That’s the red mech's name.

While the other two discussed colors and… what colors they paired well with, Flux was silently repeating the designation of the medic back to himself over and over. He had no real meaningful input on color theory, nor did he have any particular thoughts on what shades worked and did not work, and so was trying to take this moment to be productive - even if that productivity only helped himself.

Of course, once Virti’s attention was directed back at him once more, he would shift his weight ever so slightly, turning his gaze back to him, rather than standing there with a faraway look. His rotors hiking some in their posts, before settling with a gentle rattle.

The question asked made him chuckle, and he would weakly shake his helm. Not to answer the question with a negative response, but he understood how simply full-on Cintra could be at first to someone who’d never met her. As such, he would raise a servo in return - tilting it left and right as if to say ‘sometimes’.

She would calm down, but whether that calm remained for long was another thing altogether. It didn’t take much to excite her, from seeing something shiny, to seeing someone from High Command in the corridor. It was something that Virti would, unfortunately, have to get used to.

Even despite first impressions - which he was always worried about - he hoped they would get along with their roommate. Virti seemed the quiet type, and that was something he could appreciate. Flux did his best to keep Cintra level, and while he wasn’t at her side all the time - at least here in their quarters? He would be, for the most part.

“Ah, yes. We uh… arrived- today, actually.” he’d add on to Cintra’s answer, before continuing.

“Wasn’t really expecting a cave, but like Cintra said, it’s better than where we were.”

That wasn’t hard, though.

Finally lowering his arm back to his side, he would keep his attention on Virti, although was very much aware of Cintra’s gaze wandering back to the decor she’d stolen. 

“What about yourself? Have you been here long?” even though the other mech had implied that just moments earlier, he was trying to make conversation.

He’d address him by name, as it felt like the right thing to do- only, he’d forgotten it already.

[Deleted]

“Knockout?” The corner of his mouth spasmed as Virtuoso fought back a frown, favouring a casual expression- a mask of composure. It didn’t really matter as his back was to the room. Even if his new roommates couldn’t see, Primus was always watching. “I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure of laying my optics on the good doctor yet.” And if Virti could have it his way, he would continue maintaining that ignorant bliss.

“That bad was it? I won’t pry for details, but if you ever need to vent about your troubles from that place, I can always offer you my time for such a thing.” With his meager collection of belongings stashed away, the priest turned to visually join the conversation once more. Virtuoso could not begin to imagine- correction he could not bear to entertain the idea of a place worse than the so called Blackridge Hold.

“Figured as much. Things were both quiet and bland when I left the quarters this morning.” The mask crinkled into a well meaning smile, adding a hint of humour to the underhanded complaint. Sure, things were off to an interesting start between the three, but the issue of diverse personas was something Virti was certain they could all work out in time. “If it hasn’t been said already, welcome back to the main horde of Decepticon forces. Hopefully you find relative ease in settling in here at the base-” A brief glance to assess the menagerie of decor. “-You already have a strong start.”

“Depends on your definition of ‘here’.” The priest rolled his shoulders into a shrug, causing the plating to slightly nest into each other before returning to an idle splay. “Made it to the base, yesterday morning. Been on Earth for a few months if I’m not mistaken? Doesn’t really feel like it.” Virti made no effort to think too hard on the timing, he didn’t want to trigger another processor ache.

“So aside from an interior designer-” A nod to Cintra, and then a return of focus to Flux, “-and a cordial perch, what is it that you two do?” The priest absently gestured a servo as he tried to predict the pairs’ respective roles in the war. "You sciences? Combat?” Very broad guesses. If it wasn’t for Cintra’s colouring, Virti would have placed her in something along the lines of stealth and intelligence. But then again, everything the femme presented went against such a role. As for Flux, Virti had to place him in combat, he didn’t see any use to a triple changer being elsewhere.

[Cintra]

"Oh! Well he is bright red and gold! Super flashy. I don't think he has a single scrape on his frame."

There was always room for more color in Cintra's opinion, though Knock Out was up there in the top Cybertronian with actual TASTE she had seen in active wartime. He embraced color far more than others, to a point the underlying tones of light gray were present instead of a boring charcoal or black. Cintra approved, right down to the decals on forearms, though those could certainly be bolder with flashes of yellow or orange for sure.

"But, that has to take too much work."

Cintra open palm slapped down atop Flux's shoulder a couple times at this, as if coddling due to the fact his finish was very much far from pristine. She didn't mind. It didn't impair her notes, and it didn’t impair her drawing and temporary 'painting' with her wax pens. So long as she could still spruce him up from time to time from his boring matte black paint, she would be happy. It wasn't as if a little bump on the surface was going to negate a hastily drawn star that was lopsided anyway on the best of days.

Whatever the case, she would settle back into her relaxed stance, shoulders hiked up a bit while she leaned back upon her open palms on Flux's shoulder. One of her legs continued to slightly bob back and forth, a sort of outlet for a small fraction of her bottled energy. To be frank, she was energetic on the best of days, yet to be freed from their other outpost? To have so much to learn, so much to explore, a new team to meet, and to know High Command was here? Well, it was a miracle she wasn’t running down the halls trying to do ten things at once in her excitement.

She was well throttled, even if it didn't look like it.

"A few months? Were you on a mission of some kind? It had to be really important for you to be gone so long."

A dash of awe came into play here. Missions that separated an individual from their team had to be something of high value. Scouts could do such a thing readily, carving out the outskirts of hostile territory to mark if the opposing side were encroaching closer or not... Radio silence so their signals couldn’t be picked up upon. Virtuoso didn't really look like a scout however, his paint clashing so violently unless there were parts of Earth that were such colors? She didn't know, she was Bridged here.

At the question of what they did, Cintra perked up instantly again.

"Combat assist Cintra! And my brawler partner Flux."

Proud, pleased, it was apparent she was very much happy with her role, and didn't seem to be saddened about it in any way. She didn't aspire for more; she was content so long as she had some sort of value to be offered to the Decepticons. She truly was devoted to the cause, and she wanted to have a form of value even if it was only on the frontlines or the occasional climbing change of a lightbulb that was high out of reach to most.

[Flux]

It was interesting that the other mech hadn’t seen the medic yet. Wasn’t that some sort of protocol for new arrivals? Then again, it wasn’t like he remembered visiting the medic himself, nor did he know if there was more than one. Maybe their roommate had seen a medic- just not Knock Out.

It wasn’t his place to really dwell, anyway. He had other things to worry about like- what was their roommates name again? He’d get it. He would. It would just take some time.

He’d been mulling over his thoughts, Cintra’s cheery voice cutting through his own inner calm as he glanced briefly over his shoulder to look at her.

Even with the description, it did not ring any bells, and as such he would turn his focus to the gentle offer given by the other mech. He’d nod, offering a weak smile.

“Appreciate it, thank you.”

While he probably wouldn’t ever take Virtuoso up on the offer - after all, venting and bitching about the way things were handled or run was a good way of landing yourself with some sort of punishment. Yet even despite this, it was appreciated all the same. The mech did seem trustworthy enough, but Flux was ever-wary.

Another nod at the welcome. More soldiers for the Decepticon cause were always a blessing, especially here on this strange little planet. It felt good to be among High Command once more, and he was happy to be somewhere he could be of use.

“Heh, that she does.” carefully, he would lift one arm, gently poking Cintra’s leg with his index digit. A teasing, but affectionate gesture all the same. It was only a matter of time until this room became awash with colorful things and he was sure the femme wouldn’t stop until everything was precisely how she wanted it.

As the other mech began answering the question, he would ease his arm back to his side. A show of respect, this was no time for distraction or messing around.

The answer was… intriguing. He’d been here on the planet for a few months already? That was good at least, he’d be able to answer any questions they might’ve had. While they could probably ask anyone, or even look it up, asking questions felt… wrong, in a way? Like they should already know things ahead of time, or take some initiative for themselves.

That was something to dwell on later, however, and he’d nod as Cintra asked a question of her own. It wasn’t too invasive, and it was open enough that the other mech could give as many details as he wanted.

He just hoped he’d be able to remember whatever answer was given. Cintra was here, though, and would be able to remind him should they be important.

Today seemed to be a day of questions, although he wasn’t surprised in the slightest as another was asked. They had only just met, which meant getting all the awkward small talk out the way, as well as getting to know one another.

Cordial perch? Well, that was basically the gist of what he did, in all honesty. Regardless though, he would chuckle, letting Cintra speak once more before he would offer his own input.

“Combat. Uh, more suppressive fire support when needed, or up close and personal when I’m not.”

While he only really had one gun in terms of weaponry, his sheer mass and power were a force to be reckoned with. Then with Cintra working in tandem? Well, not much got past them.

“You mentioned you were a-” a pause, struggling to remember the word. Come on, he just said it not too long ago. Remember. Remember. Nope. It’s gone. Damnit. “I ah- Do you serve a combat role yourself, or do you help oversee other things?”

That was about as unawkwardly as he could phrase it, hoping the fact he’d forgotten the title of the other mech wouldn’t be seen as rude.

[Deleted]

So the pair worked in tandem. It made perfect sense now that Virti thought a bit more on the matter. He did not often encounter such duos in the field, but when he did, they were certainly not a force to be reckoned with. Those that made a career around their continual co-existence could often do much more than just a random paired squad. This was more than just an observation, there was experience involved. Virtuoso had known both sides of that coin.

While effective, it still made part of Virtuoso worry about what would happen should one half of the pair become one with the All Spark... Worries for later. For other mecha. A stress he need not concern himself with.

All in all, more soldiers were always appreciated. There was relief in knowing that he wouldn’t be bunking with some tech enthusiast or science nut. The last thing he wanted was some brainiac trying to disprove Primus during his nightly prayers, spitting numbers over his hymns.

“Well, I was half right. I suppose that is almost good enough.” Spoken in reference to his earlier guesses. He offered a slight play on an earlier smile, still warm and with his brows slightly elevated. “While I don’t wish for more fighting, I look forward to seeing you two tear up the battlefield.”

Flattery and respect. Once upon a time, Virti would have been tired of offering up such words. He had since surpassed that exhaustion. It was second nature now- helped with putting the priestly qualities in focus.

Then it was his turn in the back and forth game that was chatting. He went for the easier question first- there was still a debate on how he actually wanted to discuss his unorthodox arrival and subsequent absence.

“As luck would have it, I also find myself in a combative role. Sometimes aerial support, mainly in direct contact.” Flux and him seemed to have at least their war time preferences in common. “My secondary role is of the spiritual sorts. I am but a mere servant of Primus, just as I am a soldier for Lord Megatron.”

With the menial task of ‘talking shop’ out of the way, it gave Virtuoso time to process the more sensitive subject. “I wish my absence was as interesting as you make it out to be, Cintra.” A courteous chuckle, meant to keep the topic light. “My arrival was a touch too rough. Had to be put into recovery stasis. I’ve only just recently woken up. And my oh my, how things have certainly changed.” Virit left out anything too telling. Best to keep things impersonal and without pity.