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::What's up, Prowler?:: Jazz asked from the monitor room as he watched Prowl walk out of his office obviously looking for something or someone judging by how he was staring at the floor. Given how Prowl had been grumbling about Sundar's odd behavior recently Jazz figured the Praxian had finally had enough. Hopefully she wasn't hiding another injury.
::I have not seen Sundar in four joors. This is unacceptable,:: the Praxian replied.
::Let me check and see if she's been anywhere in the Ark recently,:: Jazz started scanning Red Alert's archives checking for signs of the litigon and her activities. ::I've got her climbing above the Ark last joor carrying most of a deer. It doesn't look like she gnawed on much of it. Do cats make larders?::
::Yes, in the short term. She will conceal a kill to come back to later if she's full,:: Prowl responded. ::We do feed her well so she wouldn't eat much of a kill. Where is she?::
::Looks like she found another spot like her lair back in the rubble to use as a hiding place. I didn't think big cats denned in caves.:: Jazz said having followed the footage of her around the Ark. It seemed like she was on a very familiar path.
::Neither tigers nor lions typically do, though some species will and she is a thoroughly domesticated hybrid of a hybrid, both of which can do odd things to animal behavior,:: Prowl mused at giving a social lesson of any kind to Jazz of all mecha. ::The local puma do when they have very young cubs. She may have picked it up from one of them.:: He added as he made short work of getting to the spot in the rubble Jazz had indicated. ::Blaster, would you send whoever Sundar likes most? It seems she's decided to hole up somewhere I can't easily go.::
::Steeljaw is on the way. He can go way down low,:: Blaster replied.
::Can you talk to her from there or is she ignoring you again?:: Jazz asked as he reminded himself once again to talk to Hound about felines. Having their main expert off in Africa wasn't helping right now.
::I can talk, she's not responding,:: Prowl answered and controlled his impatience waiting for Steeljaw.
::She's really good at ignoring mecha when she wants to,:: Jazz snickered as he watched Steeljaw lope along toward the feline's den.
::Yes, she reminds me of you far too often,:: Prowl's completely level voice betrayed the joke.
"What's up, sir?" Steeljaw asked as he stopped beside Prowl and sniffed at the rubble. Sundar's feline musk, various decaying mammals...there was a lot to decipher in there.
"I have not see Sundar for four joors. Apparently she has holed up in there and will not respond to me. Records indicate she entered a joor ago with a deer carcass," Prowl explained. "My primary concern is that she may be damaged again and hiding from us."
"There's enough blood and decay here I can't smell if any of it is hers," Steeljaw said before approaching the crack in the rock. "Sundar, can I come inside?"
"I understand. It will have to be a visual inspection then," Prowl accepted with a small nod.
"Go away," Sundar growled from inside the dark hole.
"Then come out. I need to know you are healthy," Prowl called back.
"Tell Prowl I fine," Sundar said clearly directing the comment to Steeljaw.
"She says she's fine," Steeljaw obediently relayed as he took a couple of steps forward hoping the cooperation would make her less grouchy when he actually got close to her. She couldn't easily hurt him, but he didn't want to hurt his grooming buddy. At least he'd be able to amuse his cohort with this situation. He froze at a sound that definitely didn't belong in a cat den. Canine, but not really language yet in the same way that new sparklings talked but not in real glyphs.
"You go away!" Sundar's tone was more firm as she stepped towards the symbiot she couldn't see yet.
"Prowl, she's got sparkling canines in here," Steeljaw relayed even as he hoped Prowl could hear the same sounds. This was way beyond anything he'd expected.
"My cubs!" Sundar growled as she put herself completely between the entrance and her little ones.
"Come back out, Steeljaw," Prowl called to him. "No need to antagonize her right now."
"I'm leaving Sundar," Steeljaw backed up before looking at Prowl. "I don't smell any canine blood and they don't sound in pain."
Less than groon later Prowl sat in one of the smaller conference rooms with First Aid, Jazz and Beachcomber for a conference comm with Hound. Thanks to the medic's far more powerful scanners they now had a much better idea of what was behind their feline's odd behavior.
"So give me a rundown on what's known," Hound's chipper voice requested.
"Sundar began behaving oddly roughly an orn ago. She stopped eating many of her kills but did take them away. She would disappear for extended periods. When I could not make contact for four joors I began to hunt her down," Prowl explained. "She was found in a fairly deep den in the rubble above the Ark. She seems to be protecting a litter of canines. First Aid indicates that they are not in distress though we are unsure what kind of canine they are or why Sundar is protective of them."
"Coyotes, dogs and wolves can all produce fertile hybrids so figuring out what specific species they are isn't going to be a simple process and shouldn't impact her responses in any way. Tigers and lions don't tend to get along with African hunting dogs, wolves or dholes," Hound said dismissing one set of facts to focus on the more relevant information. "Do we have an age estimate on the canine litter? If they're different ages they're probably from different litters."
"They are all of a similar size, so presumably the same litter," First Aid supplied.
"Based on the most likely species being coyote, they are between four point six and seven orns old." Prowl added. "No one has seen one yet. These are all calculations based on scans."
"Is her contraceptive implant still functioning properly?" Hound asked. Optimus did not want the hybrid bred since both of her origin species were endangered, and none of the Autobots wanted to deal with a large femme feline with breeding protocols activated. The noises would be very disruptive to sensitive audials, and Hound didn't want to have to chase her down if she decided to go find a mate.
"Affirmative," First Aid answered. "I checked her scan carefully."
"So what should we do right now?" Jazz asked. "The why can probably wait a joor."
"Someone needs to get closer to check the cubs out visually and make certain they're developing properly. The age estimate you've given for them means that they probably already shifted to eating meat, but they may be having difficulty digesting it. Coyote carriers normal regurgitate meat from their stomachs for the cubs," Hound explained.
"Bumblebee?" Prowl looked at Jazz.
"On his way," Jazz replied after a quick comm. "What's he looking for, other than image captures to pass on?"
"Any injuries obviously," Hound said thinking about what might be immediately relevant. "If their coats are in good condition and they seem to have some weight to them that would be a good sign. I'm not worried about her intentionally hurting them. There are documented cases of Earth animals intentionally adopting sparklings from other species. A feline adopting a canine isn't the strangest thing on record. She's just so big she might accidentally roll on them or step on them."
"She'd damage even an adult canine doing that," Beachcomber nodded, remembering why she'd been sent to the cat rescue in the first place. "Any reason the pups would need taking from her right away?"
"If they look malnourished or traumatized," Hound replied promptly. "Bumblebee should be able to recognize the signs since he's been around humans and native wildlife. If everything looks okay I'd say leave them alone for now. We'll need to plan out what to do with them once they get old enough to learn how to hunt. She can't teach them that."
Jazz nodded and double-checked that Bumblebee was on the line.
"How old is that?" Prowl asked as he focused on determining just what they could do. The best would likely be a rescue group, though it was possible they could manage it between Steeljaw and Hound's holograms.
"The pups normally start leaving the den about two and a half orn after they are born, and that's when they start learning to hunt. We can talk to the rescue center and see if there is place that will take the pups and teach them to be coyotes not felines," Hound said thinking ahead.
Just then several image captures and a short vid came from Bumblebee. All showed feline interference but they were clear enough.
"They look reasonably healthy, well fed and groomed for wild pups and a surrogate creator," Hound responded. "You can leave them be, Bee."
"Great. She is not pleased with me," Bumblebee said and backed out.
"I will begin making contact with the rescues in the area. She is hunting for them. Would it be a poor idea to get the pups when she is away?" Prowl asked.
"She'll probably get upset especially if she smells them on a mech once they're gone," Hound thought about it. "Prowl you are not going to be involved in any attempt to take them. She likes you and needs to continue to trust you."
"Once the pups are more mobile and starting to explore we can probably try to transition them away from her," Beachcomber agreed. "The big problem will be if any of the pups are female. Sundar's three-quarters lion. Femme lion cubs don't leave their carrier. "
"How long do coyotes take to mature?" Jazz asked.
"Two to three decaorns," Hound supplied. "I'd ask the humans who deal with raising wild pups when the best time to separate them would be. I expect it would be before they start to follow her on hunts."
"They aren't going to instinctively hunt like her," Jazz agreed. "The pups are going to get confused and frustrated if she's trying to teach them to hunt like a cat."
"Optimus probably needs to be informed about this since we're going to be involving the humans," Beachcomber said looking over at Prowl. "You wanna tell him?"
"No, though I will," the Praxian responded.
Sundar padded along hauling the trio of fluffy tests held firmly in her mouth. This was her first litter so she wasn't entirely certain what she was doing, but she was very proud of how quickly the cubs were growing and becoming active even if they were very small. The closer she got to the den she realized something didn't smell right. A smell like Boom-Boom was around the den and silence filled the air. Sundar dropped the food tests and charged into the den looking for trouble that wasn't there. Nothing was there but shed fur, old bones and some of her last big kill.
The cubs were gone.
She roared in true rage for the first time and was down the mountain face to the Ark's nearest door at only slightly less than a free fall without losing her footing. Her nose lead her to the smaller of the ones that always smelled of fire and death. Loud Red was responsible for taking her cubs, and he was going to pay. The scent lead her to the door into the gathering room, and as soon as it opened she leaped at Loud Red ready to tear him open to get her cubs back. Instead Quiet Giant Leader caught her in his arms and cooed that things were all right.
"Not All Right!" she yowled back and squirmed to get out and get to Loud Red.
"Get out of here," Prowl told Loud Red firmly.
That wasn't enough punishment in her mind and she snarled, "Kill thief. Took cubs."
"Sundar. Your cubs need special care. They are safe. Will come back soon," Prowl said gently.
"Mine; I fix," she whined plaintively as she glared at the retreating Loud Red. "Gentle-Mech fix...Mean Mech fix?"
"Cubs not damaged. Need to learn to be coyote," Prowl tried to explain without using too many words she wouldn't understand. "Sundar likes caring for little ones?"
"What cubs need learn? Me teach," Sundar looked at Prowl trying to figure out the word coyote. Was that a word for cubs? "Caring for cubs tiring but good. Need cleaning and feeding all the time."
"Coyote is a small fast hunter," Beachcomber said bringing the scent of an adult coyote near Sundar so she would equate the word with the smell. She perked up as she placed that with the little hunters she encountered fairly often. They usually avoided her, but they did hunt the smaller tests that she chased as well as even smaller ones she didn't bother with.
"If you would like we can bring you abandoned big cat cubs for you to raise," Optimus offered and carefully set her down. "Big cat cubs will not be taken. You know what they need to learn."
"Me teach hunt," Sundar agreed already eager to get her new cubs and teach them her skills.
"Looks like you'll get to be a grandcreator after all," Jazz said quietly to Prowl as they watched Sundar growl in the direction Cliffjumper had headed before she began cleaning her fur. "I'm glad Optimus agreed to this idea for accepting new cats. It'll help out the humans, the cats and Sundar."
"To be a grandcreator I would have to be a creator first," Prowl pointed out without actually denying the assertion.