Archive of Our Own

Hound checked that this really was the Citrine Crucible where he was supposed to meet his new employers and learn further details about their expedition. Before accepting the offer he'd researched them to see if they were likely to attempt poaching on this trip, but he'd lucked out this time. The pair of city mechs from Tarn had actually obtained a license to trap one exotic avianoid in the Harmonexian wilderness. That gave the scout a better idea of what they were going to be tracking and the basic level of respect they had for laws far from home. Though it did raise more questions for him than it answered in a way. The pair clearly had no clue what they were doing and didn't have the kind of shanix of those that hunted or collected for fun. Hopefully they wouldn't be too evasive on why they wanted a lyrebird.

A single glance around the light blue and yellow benches and seats highlighted with the namesake crystals, largely empty at mid-morning and he spotted the red and yellow pair after they spotted him. Once the red one met his optics he was waved over with a smile. Even without having access to their public information he could pick out the important bits about the pair. The primary yellow one, Sunstreaker, watched everything but it was with an artist's optic, not a warrior's. The primary red one, Sideswipe, was every bit the affable mech on the outside and definitely the one to do the talking, but Hound was willing to bet if he hadn't already learned how to be a razor snake in dealings he was well on his way. No successful merchant, not even a beginner like Sideswipe, didn't have a sharp processor for his subject and reading mecha.

Hound headed toward them noting that larger citrines were planted at intervals on the higher points on the walls. He expected that those were sheltering lights that were used to emit a soft glow in the evenings as it was too early for such lights to be useful. When he got close enough he said, "Welcome to Harmonex. I expect it's been an interesting experience so far."

"It has. Totally different from Tarn," Sideswipe grinned as he stood to shake Hound's hand firmly with a friendly field brush. "I already wish we could stay."

"The light isn't right," Sunstreaker objected plaintively, the tone of one who knew he'd follow along even if he didn't really want to.

"That's the artist talking about his style," Sideswipe made the half-panicked apology come out smoothly. "It's gorgeous but he's not into drawing crystalscapes right now."

"Don't worry; that makes sense to me. You have an environment you're adapted to that suits you; I wouldn't take a Caperillian steelcrab and expect it to settle well here," Hound said smiling pleasantly. If he'd had any doubts that Sideswipe was the spokesmech of the pair they'd been laid to rest with that interplay. It also meant he'd be paying close attention to Sunstreaker to know how the pair really felt.

Sideswipe nodded with concealed relief and motioned Hound to join them and sat down. They were all aware of the server headed their way but Sideswipe spoke anyway. "How much do you know about the lyrebird?"

"It's a pale yellow avianoid about as tall as a biped symbiot with a tail structure that can be lifted to the height of the average Tarnian minibot," Hound said before pausing as the server stopped at the table. Directing his attention to the server Hound asked, "Could I have a house special citrine energon with a dash of calcium please?"

The server nodded and looked at Sideswipe.

"A warmed house special and a solar with lots of silicone for my brother," Sideswipe answered easily and the server walked away. He focused back on Hound. "That's about what I was expecting. How hard are they to keep in stasis, like they do for pets being shipped?"

"Putting them in stasis involves getting them subdued so the avianoid doesn't stress out and drop its tail," Hound said now that the server had moved on. He was curious about why these two wanted the bird so he decided to test the oil. "One way to do it is to cover their optics as soon as you can. If it does drop the tail it will take almost a vorn for it to regrow. That'll impact the price a collector will pay although an aviary won't be as displeased since they expect it to be quarantined for some time before display."

"He didn't mention caring about the tail or any conditions other than alive but the better the shape it's in the better it'll look for us and I'd like the best rec we can get," Sideswipe explained. "A glowing rec for a job you aren't trained for is worth a lot for us. So I'd like to keep it with all its feathers intact but if we can't, we can't. Have you caught one of these before?"

"Yes, I've caught two of them for the The Gift of Guardian Zoological Garden in Iacon as well as one other for a small collection in Central City," Hound accepted the logic behind Sideswipe's reasoning about the recommendation they'd get. The client not being concerned about condition might have been concerning, but it was actually a decent sign that the client might not be planning to be immediately displaying it and would give it time to adjust to its new environment. "Do you have the supplies I recommended or do we need to go shopping before heading out?"

They barely paused when the server came by and delivered their drinks.

"Had it, bought it or made it," Sideswipe nodded and sipped his steaming cube. "We might not be wilderness trained but the traps were easy and we had most of the fuel. We did a couple practice runs with setting the tent and such so we aren't trying to learn in the weather. I think we're as ready as a couple of city mecha can be for our first camping trip. What else would be good for us to know before we head out?"

"Harmonex has some unusual species unique to this area that have crystalline armor so as to better blend in with the crystals in the environment," Hound said pleased with the work the twins claimed to have put into their preparations. He'd know soon enough if they'd actually managed to learn anything from their practice and just how much work he'd have keeping the pair alive. After all, his job could include everything from setting the tents to meal prep to all the actual hunting. How much he had to do depended entirely on how much his clients wanted and were able to do. It was nice when newbies to the wilderness wanted to talk care of themselves. "So don't be surprised if what you think is a crystal bud suddenly flies away. There are even some robo-bears with the camouflage so we'll need to keep our sensors on alert. Otherwise the area is fairly safe although geographically confusing at times."

For the first time Sunstreaker perked up. It was a small move; mostly a stilling of his jaw grinding on the soft silicon balls and a slight brightening of his optics. Sideswipe smiled slightly at him.

"And that look says there might be a few delays," Sideswipe focused back to Hound and went serious. "If we can't take a half joor break when he pulls out his pad, tell me and I'll get him moving."

"I know why we're here," Sunstreaker huffed but didn't actually correct the assessment.

"Are you interested in anything in particular for drawing?" Hound asked. Although it wasn't directly part of the job making his clients happy meant he got better reviews as well. "You said you're not interested in crystalscapes, but I know areas with interesting flowers and oilfalls we can check out while looking for a lyrebird."

Sideswipe nodded his agreement while Sunsteaker's frame language went a bit shy despite his effort to be strong. "Mostly I draw people cause that's what folks pay for. For me, it's more about ..."

There was a notable pause before Sideswipe picked up. "Visualizing the indescribable moment. Some about light, some about subject, some about color and motion and a lot about just catching his attention," he translated the tumble of image-feelings that came over their bond. "We're twins if your background on us didn't tell you. Bond-talk's a real thing. Sometimes I can put glyphs to what he feels."

"Well as long as you freeze or run if I tell you to I'm willing to stop for a drawing session when asked," Hound replied seriously. Having the twins willing to follow instructions would make everything easier. "I promise I'll only do it if necessary like if we encounter a robo-bear. I have a first aid kit but it won't repair being mauled."

"No problem," Sideswipe was quick to agree and Sunstreaker nodded.

"I get focused, not deaf or stupid," Sunstreaker added. "If one of us hears you both of us will."

"So any other tips or rules before we head out?" Sideswipe asked, then visibly relented and added. "We'd like you to check over our gear for quality, missing or extra stuff. We know we're bringing a couple extras, but that should be just the pad each."

"Unless you've gone seriously crazy having a few extra things shouldn't be an issue," Hound said readily having dealt with minor nobles bringing all sorts of strange objects on trips. "I'll gladly take a look at your equipment. If anything's wrong we can pick up replacements here while your returns and refunds process."

"Great," Sideswipe smiled and finished his drink. Even Sunstreaker relaxed a bit. "Let's go."

Hound finished his own and rose, "Lead on. We'll finalize meeting arrangements for tomorrow after I see your gear."

Hound was pleased that Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had bought decent quality equipment and really hadn't brought too many extra supplies. He was a bit confused by the amount of polish and grooming supplies, but it wasn't anything that was going to impede them so he hadn't said anything. Another the good sign was that they hadn't complained about getting up early to drive out to the entrance to one of the surrounding crystal grove forests. The odds of finding a lyrebird so close to civilization were remote but the walk through to the more remote areas would get the twins acquainted with the terrain.

"It's lovely here," Sideswipe's inclination to talk broke the relative silence.

"Just as Caperil over in Ankmor Park is known for aggressive fauna Harmonex is known for its attractive mechaflora and mechafauna. Each area tends to attract different explorers," Hound agreed. "Harmonex has far fewer mechanimals interested in consuming the visitors."

"Why do such things still exist?" Sideswipe frowned. "Cybertron's been civilized for ages."

"If Cybertron is going to continue to have wild areas some of them are going to be dangerous for mecha. Those mechanimals are a part of their ecosystem, and their presence can be important to the survival of other parts of the ecosystem seen as more valuable by the civilized areas. Removing the large predators causes the herbivores and small rodents to consume all the vegetation and move into fields and cities looking for more fuel," Hound replied having had this argument before, though from tone and teek he got the impression it was more lack of understanding than any resistance to it in this case. "There is an estate in Gygax that has some of the most dangerous wildlife on Cybertron. The residents of the estate thrive partly because no one wants to deal with the mechanimals."

"Told you," Sunstreaker smirked at his brother.

Sideswipe rolled his optics at his brother. "As if you knew a decaorn ago."

"Do you have much experience outside a main city-state?" Hound asked wanting to draw the twins out a bit more. Convincing two more city mechs to enjoy the wilderness would be two more voices against getting rid of the wilderness.

"Just the drive between them on main roads," Sideswipe answered easily. "Kinda the reason we were willing to splurge on a guide with your reputation and your equipment list. We know we don't have a clue."

"Well Harmonex is a great starting place for beginners," Hound grinned at Sunstreaker who he'd caught glancing at some flowers. "It's considered one of the most beautiful wild areas of Cybertron, and the natives take great pride in maintaining that harmony with nature. You won't normally find two species of robo-bears in the city itself, but we might see one or two on this trip. We might even see a tree ursoid; they're true herbivores and spend most of their time up in the treetops either eating or in recharge processing leaves into fuel."

"Yeah, lack of mech-grade predators is a great plus for us," Sideswipe nodded. "We can handle ourselves in a bar brawl. They aren't usually trying to kill though."

"The robo-bears here more likely to run away from you rather than attack you," Hound gave a small chuckle before looking at the pair seriously. "Unless you see a small one wandering around; then the adult will get aggressive. They are very protective of their sparklings. I trust you're not foolish enough to pour fuel on your arm so the little one can eat while your brother takes an image capture or draws it."

"No way. Even I know that," Sideswipe's optics widened. "Even jumpdeer are dangerous protecting their creations."

"Maybe with turborabbits or robosquirrels or artisia birds, not that I'd want to." Sunstreaker added. "Harmless critters."

"It's nice to know I don't have to watch you for nature morganite optics," Hound groaned and then chuckled. "I'll admit those are the worst outings for me trying to keep everyone from getting hurt or hurting something out here."

"No, not a problem for us," Sideswipe was quick to reassure. "We might not know what critter or plant we're looking at but we aren't much on touching the unknown either."

"What is that?" Sunstreaker pointed at golden trunk with regularly branching limbs forming a sweeping crown of blue and green. "It looks more like fractal art than natural."

"That's a blue fractal tree probably the green-branched species although I'd need to take a closer look to confirm it's that and not a rare natural hybrid. A lot of mechaplants in Harmonex have a crystalline or mineral appearance," Hound said looking at the tree before responding. "Fractal trees aren't like mineral trees that take their color from the minerals near their roots."

"That's good enough," Sunstreaker told him as he snapped a few more image captures at high resolution.

"Those don't make the greatest structural building materials but some artisans like to use the wood in accent pieces. The trunks have an odd smell when damaged that the Harmonexian blue chippers seem to find repulsive as they actively avoid it," Hound smiled as he tossed out the information to see if the pair were willing to learn about the environment. It would make the trip more interesting for the twins if they wanted to learn, and those that did tended to give him higher reviews as a guide.

"How long does the smell last?" Sideswipe asked with an indulgent smile for his brother stalking around the tree to get all angles.

"Until all the sap is dried out, but if you get certain solvents on it the smell returns until it's dried again. That's why you never find it in wash racks," Hound took note of which parts of the tree seemed to interest Sunstreaker the most. "If he wants pictures of the other primary type of fractal tree I know where to find a few of them."

"No need," Sunstreaker said as he came back around to them.

"If they aren't too far out of the way I would," Sideswipe countered and Sunstreaker didn't object. "Is it true you can survive from foraging?" Sideswipe asked as they began to walk again.

"Yes. Our earliest ancestors used to do it long ago, and some mecha still follow those ways," Hound replied eager to spread a bit more knowledge to his willing audience. Looking around he spotted a familiar bush partially hidden by a cluster of crystals. Gesturing for the twins to follow he walked around so they could see the brown stems and purple flowers. Kneeling down he pointed out the almost crystalline petals. "This is a Harmonexian purple rose. The petals are sometimes used in perfumes, and the seed buds you can see developing on this stalk are often made into a tea to help settle upset tanks. Watch the thorns on the stems; those are sharp enough to puncture regular armor if you're not careful. There's no toxin but it hurts."

"Got it," Sideswipe nodded and touched a bud. "They aren't for eating though. Just medicine."

"True although some like the taste," Hound replied agreeably. "Finding medicines and fuel is often done while traveling since it can be scattered around an area. For example on this short part of our trip I've seen gear apples, two types of edible fungi, and four types of edible seeds as well as a turborabbit and three dexi-squirrel. If we went actively looking we'd probably find even more mechaplants but it will make this trip take longer. I can point out some other things as we travel."

"I'd like that. Try what's safe to eat that we pass on the way," Sideswipe nodded. "Don't think I'm ready to try mechanimal though."

"How much longer do we walk?" Sunstreaker sort of grumbled. "Why can't we drive?"

"There's a planned mid-orn break in less than a joor. We're walking right now to start getting you used to the idea," Hound looked at where they were, further along he honestly expected to make before that question, and ran some basic calculations. "We're going to avoid driving through a lot of areas because part of the license agreement included a limitation on damage to environment. When we get closer to where I expect to find a lyrebird we have to avoid driving completely because our engines will scare it away."

Sunstreaker nodded, then snarled as his brother tweaked a helm vent with a snicker.

"Don't mind the sunshine. We're used to thinking in driving time," Sideswipe said as they began walking again. "If you know anywhere in Harmonex that does good pede care we're going to need it."

"My favorite is Get Off Your Pedes; ask for the adventurers special. I'd comm the orn before we get back for a slot. They do wonders with getting sore pedes feeling good again. For medical care I use Home From The Range. It's a walk-in clinic that specializes in pedes, wheels, alignment and the kind of wear and tear being out here tends to do. They have recommendations in every city if you want continuing care after going home," Hound smiled. "If you want more extensive care I'd recommend Sunrain Clinic. They're good quality for the price and can usually see you same orn."

Sunstreaker seemed to perk up after hearing the maintenance references. The twins walked in relative silence for a while before Hound stopped near an electrum kera tree and pointed out a cluster of small plants each sporting yellow crystal pod at the base. "Now here are two examples of edible plants although they can take a bit of preparation. The orpiment crystalpods are parasitic and feed off the nutrients they leech from the kera trees. You can recognize them because they have this flat elongated pod. The pods are tart if you eat them fresh, but a lot of mecha store them in oil and use them as a flavoring in dishes. They're a lot spicier that way. Now the kera tree also produce seeds that are edible although they're rather bitter unless you know how to prepare them. Grinding the seeds up and then straining the liquid out makes them more palatable."

"Isn't bitter supposed to mean poison?" Sideswipe asked as he studied the pods briefly.

"It often does, but in this case the toxins are only in the liquid in the seeds. Someone long ago looking for fuel sources figured out how to make these safe to consume," Hound knelt down and plucked three of the crystal pods. He ate one before offering the other two to the twins. "Do you want to try them?"

"Sure," Sideswipe accepted it, as did Sunstreaker, but the yellow twin waited until Sideswipe was finished before nibbling on one end. "That's ... not bad, not sure it's good either." Sideswipe struggled to express his reaction and give a little cover for his brother's clear dislike. "We've never really had natural fuels."

"I'd say they can be an acquired taste but honestly it's the city-states that have moved away from using many of these types of fuel," Hound chuckled lightly but let his understanding of their opinion flash through his extended field. "I wouldn't suggest you try the seeds; I don't eat them without processing first. There are a lot of things we can try that appeal to different palates. What do you prefer?"

"High grade, Wave, Lightning, Thermal," Sideswipe motioned to himself, then to his brother. "Quartz, Aero, Solar."

"Any seasoning preferences?" Hound asked thinking about their preferences and what was likely to be available around here. Obviously cyber-honey if they ran across a hive; he hadn't met any mecha that didn't at least tolerate that flavor profile.

"Can't say we usually bother," Sideswipe admitted as they both tried to think of the times they ordered prepared things.

"Rust, copper, gold," Sunstreaker began. "I like silicon crunchy."

"Halite wasn't at all bad that one time," Sideswipe added. "I like trying new things when I can. We just don't usually bother."

"I'll keep that in mind as we go and point out more of the things I think you'll enjoy," Hound said easily as he started walking again, walking around a series of small bushes and ducking a few branches from the kera tree. "By the way, robosquirrels love kera trees and tend to cluster there when seeds are available. That's true pretty much everywhere. If you want to robosquirrel watch it can be a fun view for a few vorns."

"What's fun about that?" Sunstreaker asked with genuine curiosity. As Hound was formulating an answer the pair burst into raucous laughter.

Hound slowed and edged a bit closer to see what the pair were laughing at even as he answered Sunstreaker's question. "Watching robosquirrels is a bit like mecha watching although they're a bit more open with their antics. I know some mecha who record and provide online commentary for anyone interested in the daily squabbles in their local park."

"We just found that corner of the net," Sideswipe sputtered at the vid playing in his processor. "Trying to keep them from food. Smart little things."

"They're determined but also a bit scatterprocessored. Some of the mecha recording give them designations and start cheering them on against culu and avianoids," Hound agreed with a chuckle relieved they'd found the lighter side of those vids. "If you run into some of the robosquirrelproofing an avianoid feeder links those can get entertaining although the electrified poles can get to be a bit much at times."

Sideswipe cocked his helm as they controlled their laughter, saved the link and stopped watching. "That seems more expensive than anything it might save."

"From what I've seen it seems to start as considering the robosquirrels a minor nuisance and slowly migrates into a bit of an obsession that the mecha has to win," Hound paused momentarily thinking of an analogy that might be understandable to this pair. "Did you ever watch the movie Pro-star? With the groundskeeper and the tunnel weasoid?"

"Oh yeah," Sideswipe grinned. "I was rooting for the weasoid. Mech was a jerk."

"So was I although I thought the mech had a processor malfunction or had taken way to many stims," Hound agreed. "Most actual mecha don't get that extreme but it does occasionally happen. There are some weasoids out here that we might see." Throwing a bit of humor into his voice he said, "Please don't try to blow them up."

"I never got to thinking of why," Sideswipe admitted. "I just enjoyed laughing at the jerk."

"It's good being that crazy is rare," Sunstreaker grunted as they picked up the walking pace again.

Sideswipe nodded in agreement. "What's your vision of a lyrebird capture that goes well?"

"One where the area isn't completely destroyed, and everyone makes it back without severe damage," Hound replied immediately before grinning. "Seriously, the main thing is that everyone makes it out safely. Your traps aren't designed to deliberately injure the avianoid, and you're not trying to destroy a nest trying to trap it. The weather looks like it's going to cooperate and not try to drown us out."

After stepping over a large exposed root Hound continued, "We aren't in breeding season yet, but it's close enough that they'll be claiming territory in the lek. Once we locate a likely territory we can set up the trap and bait it with some of favorite fuels and nest decorations. We're more likely to get a challenger coming to claim territory, but if we get the resident dominant avianoid it won't hurt the local population."

"So this isn't a kind of trapping where we have to jump on it fast or anything?" Sideswipe pressed for details. "We watched what we could of how wild birds are captured but we really don't know what we're doing here."

"Highly unlikely unless it only gets partially caught in the trap and starts panicking," Hound reassured even as he internally winced at the idea of that kind of damage to the avianoid and its feathers. "As long as everything goes as planned we'll put the tarps over the top to settle it down; they quiet down when it gets dark." He felt real relief when the pair visibly relaxed in relief.

"Great. That's so much easier than the vids we saw," Sideswipe said.

"Yeah. Anybody willing to grab a thundercrest is crazy," Sunstreaker grunted.

"Those are standard captures or rescues; the equipment for those is a lot less expensive and more physical labor is expected. More skill as well. We might have to do that if the traps you bought fail. If we do I'll be the one grabbing the bird," Hound explained understanding their questions better. It was good to know they'd done that much research before starting this adventure. "That main trap you bought creates a force field around the target then unfolds bar grids around it to act as a permanent cage. It's a more expensive route but doesn't risk the damage to the feathers and means we're concerned about getting the cage dark. There are other traps that use stasis fields but those risk complications that can occasionally offline the target."

"Sounds good," Sideswipe nodded and continued to look around as they walked.

Hound could tell it was getting close to time to take a break and take the opportunity to top off their tanks. Looking further along the trail he grinned, "Now these should be closer to your tastes. There's a geopear tree ahead; we can take a break there and check your pedes to see how you're handling this trip."

"Sounds great," Sideswipe said with much of the emotion coming from Sunstreaker. "Geopears are edible?"

"Yes, they have a thin crystalline shell surrounding the fruit. Both are edible although the shell doesn't really taste like anything," Hound replied deciding to fill them in on the tree as they approached. "It's the right season for them to fruit so you can give them a try. All the subspecies have similar shaped leaves so it's fairly easily to recognize even for amateur foragers. The domesticated ones tend to have bigger fruits."

"Is there a difference between the subspecies, in practical terms?" Sideswipe asked as he began studying the trees.

"Mostly in flavor and color although it does impact how long the fruits stay consumable outside of a stasis field," Hound replied. "It's the tree with the reddish bark just ahead of us. When we get closer to it and take a look at the leaves. They're always in a pair on a stem, and they're mirrored replicas of each other."

"All geopear trees like that?" Sunstreaker asked.

"The bark color fluctuates a bit but the leaves are always paired like that," Hound nodded and stopped just under the branches of the tree before pulling a branch down to hold it still for the pair to properly observe. "See these leaves? The shape they form changes a bit with the different types, but the leaves are always paired like this. Most of the domestic varieties have some comment about twins or mirrors in the designations."

"Can't say we've heard them, but we don't travel in those circles yet," Sideswipe unintentionally made clear his level of ambition. "What marks one as ripe?"

Well he'd had much worse reasons to impart knowledge on mechaplants. Hound reached out with his other hand and plucked one of the geopears to show the pair. "First thing is to look at the crystalline skin which should be served intact in any restaurant or party where the hosts know anything. If it is split completely open or missing on a raw item leave it on the plate or send it back because at that point it's only worth planting to try to grow another tree. Eating it will be at best mushy and at worst rancid. Crackled skin means its ripe and ready to eat. Uncracked skin means it needs to ripen; you can cook with it if you know what you're doing but don't bother eating it raw at that stage. It's tough and doesn't have any real taste."

Sideswipe nodded and scanned the tree but it was Sunstreaker who did the pointing while Sideswipe rattled off ripe, unripe or overripe, then looked to Hound.

"Correct," Hound said happily. "I know being able to tell seems like a small thing but it's something that those who partake will expect you to know even if you don't care to do more than sample a new variety. Give one a try and see what you think."

Sideswipe reached up to pick one with a cracked skin and sniffed it before taking a solid bite, licking the juice that seeped from the bite off and handing it to Sunstreaker, who took a bite.

"Sweet," Sideswipe decided after he finished chewing and swallowed. "Not much else. My tank's already objecting to solids."

"No need to push it any further, and thanks for letting me know. Let's sit down for a bit and relax," Hound said nodding in understanding. Solid fuels did take some getting used to especially for city mecha who didn't have the funds to pay for them regularly. "Why don't the two of you settle down and let me check your pedes while you rest?"

Sunstreaker sat down first with a teek to him that he was feeling it more than his brother.

Hound started with Sunstreaker's pedes noting that the armor itself was in good condition and didn't show any pitting or cracking. With the initial concerns soothed Hound moved to checking over Sunstreaker's armor seams and the cabling in his ankles. He massaged out a small kink in a right ankle cable and finished by wiping away some grit that was starting to cling to the back of the pede. "Feel better?"

"Yeah, thanks," the yellow mech sighed. "Not used to walking much."

"I get more in but it's the same. Not damage, just not used to it." Sideswipe added and offered his pede to Hound.

Hound looked over the offered pede noting that there was a small bit of scuffing on the heel but no damage to the bottom. He did find a bit of tension in one of the cables but it wasn't as stressed as Sunstreaker's ankle. "We'll want to wash your pedes off next time we find a clear stream or pond."

"Sounds good," Sideswipe nodded and relaxed into more random chatter about what was around them.

They'd reached one of Hound's usual camping sites for clients, and it was fortunately empty and clear of problems. "Okay, this is a good campsite for tonight. The ground is fairly level; there aren't a lot of rocks, crystals, bushes or rubble around that we'd need to clear or work around. There's a small light oil stream bed to the south of us that's below us so we aren't likely to get soaked if there's a flash flood. These are all things to watch for if you decide to go camping again."

Sideswipe nodded seriously. "So high ground is the most important. The rest is a matter of how much work is needed to rest."

"Wouldn't critters come through a place like this?" Sunstreaker asked as he looked around the open, smooth ground.

"They could and if you learn to recognize a game trail you'll know how likely that is to have happen," Hound nodded and let the pleasure at the question flicker in his field. "The red box on your supply list is a mechanimal alarm line. It separates into four pieces with a line run between them that set up around the campsite. If anything the size of large turbo-dog steps over the line it'll sound a noise that most mechanimals don't appreciate. That'll wake me up and probably you unless you can recharge through a crash. There's a balance to it because if it's too far out it'll sound for things not actually approaching us."

Sunstreaker nodded, content with the reasoning and the protection. "Where's our tent go?"

"Depends on how tired we are," Sideswipe chuckled, then went slightly more serious. "We should probably set it off intentionally, just so we know what the sound is. It's been ages since one of us startled up, but it has happened."

"I'll do it after your tent is set up so you can hear what it sounds like from inside," Hound agreed as he moved toward the best position in the campsite. "We'll put your tent here; I'll take this spot closer to the mechanimal trail."

The pair nodded Sunstreaker did a quick sweep of the spot to remove debris on the ground while Sideswipe unpacked the simple four-mech tent. While they took longer than Hound he was pleased to see that they had indeed practiced. While the twins finished fussing on their tent he set the alarm line far enough out that they shouldn't accidentally set it off but close enough to be useful. Once the twins were done with setup Hound moved closer to do a discrete double check that all the posts were actually in the ground. He'd seen a few tents blow over during wind storms because the setup hadn't included that basic but grunt-work step. "Looks good. Once you're inside I'll set off the alarm."

Sideswipe nodded and ducked inside, followed by his brother, a move that showed they definitely weren't used to that aspect of a tent. Once they were inside Hound went over to the origin module, dampened down his audials and pressed the test button down at the bottom. A shrill, sharp whine rang out quickly rising in volume with an irritating pitch before pulsing and abruptly cutting off. The sound series repeated once before Hound pressed the button again to shut it off. Returning his sensors to normal he called out, "You think that'll make you online? I can adjust the pitch and volume up if you think you need more."

Sideswipe poked his helm out before emerging with a slightly pained expression. "It should."

"That's awful," Sunstreaker grumbled, rubbing a helm vent as he emerged.

"That's why a lot of larger groups don't use it even though it's very effective in normal situations," Hound nodded in agreement. "They'll run shifts watching out for mechanimals all night. Since there's only three of us this is the best option. It doesn't go off for robo-squirrels, razor snakes, or most flying avianoids so we shouldn't get driven too crazy. If it helps it rarely goes off more than once if you camp in the same spot or a normally high traffic camping area. Most mechanimals quickly associate the nasty sound with the tents and avoid them. I don't think we'll have any larger intruders tonight after that demonstration, but it's caution and good habit to put it out."

"Can't blame them," Sunstreaker grumbled and shook his helm sharply to dispel the lingering effects. "So what's next?"

"I'd like to start showing you some of the things we're going to need to do once we get closer to where the lyrebirds live," Hound said gauging the pairs potential interest and found a business-like focus from both. "I can show you images of some of their tracks and what their nests tend to look like in this environment. We can work on identifying avianoid calls so you can do a better job keeping your audials open for one. We can also relax a bit tonight and you can look around to see if there's anything around here you'd like to draw or save in your memory files."

"Let's start on the lessons," Sideswipe spoke for them both.

"See that," Hound kept his voice quiet as he stilled and pointed into the forest to their right. True to form when he'd done this before the pair all but froze to follow his direction, though he was sure Sunstreaker actually followed his optics. It was a thing he'd have expected from the sociable one of the pair more, though it made sense for an artist. Also true to form Sunstreaker picked out the large form first.

"What kind of beast is that?"

"That's the Harmonexian aqua iron-bear," Hound said quietly as they watched the mottled aqua and silver ursoid shuffle over to a log and begin pawing at it. "It's probably sniffing out grubs and larva of insectobots in the decaying log. Harmonex is lucky that its two robo-bear species aren't particularly aggressive if there's no cubs involved."

"That's dumb no matter the critter," Sideswipe kept his voice down. "Is this one that goes for honey?"

"Both will eat it if they encounter it, but this is the one that loves it," Hound confirmed as they watched it rip open part of the log and begin lapping a long glossa into the opening. "Cyber-honey is a highly efficient fuel source for a lot of mechacreatures, and robo-bears are particularly suited for digging it out. They can stand on their back legs and use the front limbs to reach high into the trees or rock crevasses. They also have layered armor so it's hard for the bees to sting them enough to drive them away."

"Their size probably helps too," Sideswipe speculated. "Takes a lot more poison to hurt a critter that big than something small."

"Will it eat it all?" Sunstreaker asked.

"Nope, it eats the larva and honey but normally not enough to destroy the hive," Hound said shaking his head as the wind shifted. The robo-bear lifted its head up from its meal and started sniffing intently before lumbering rapidly off to the north east of them. "It definitely smells something good. Let's go see what it's doing."

"So there might be a taste for us," Sunstreaker suggested with a forced lack of hope.

"Highly likely actually," Hound said starting after the robo-bear now that it was a bit further ahead of them. "Like I said, they don't consume the entire hive and it'll be pulled open. We might get stung a bit being in the area after the assault, but I can easily go get some for you to try. I understand that eating cyber-honey fresh from the hive can be a bit of bragging rights in certain circles."

"I'll keep that in mind, though it's not for anyone we know yet," Sideswipe nodded.

"Towodi mentioned it once. Not sure it was bragging. We were trading 'unusual experiences' stories," Sunstreaker commented more to his brother than Hound.

"Towod. Towodi. ... Oh right, that Praxian rotor that sculpts," Sideswipe waved and wiggled his hands in a random pattern.

"Yeah. Can't say I understand his art but he's fun to hang out with. Always full of ideas," Sunstreaker nodded.

"Can't say I've met that particular sculptor," Hound admitted freely as he watched the aqua and silver shimmering coat of the robo-bear as it moved quickly ahead of them. It was obviously headed for a large bronze trunk tree near a cluster of amethyst crystals. "Now you get to see a bit of show and exactly why even most warframes avoid ticking off a robo-bear."

The aqua robo-bear reared up and grabbed what looked like a crack where a branch had long ago split off from the trunk. The limbs pulled as a small cloud of cyber-bees flooded out of the widening hole and swarmed over the frame attacking their domicile.

"Holy..." Sideswipe's optics went wide and he took an unconscious step back. His brother appeared frozen but Hound could teek when someone was focused on recording memory files at high resolution and left their frame to automatic responses.

"That's why wild cyber-honey is so valuable and also why robo-bears aren't to be trifled with," Hound said monitoring whether his employers were going to bolt. "It's too busy to care about us at all right now, and if it heads this way when it's done we'll move over to the right behind that irontree."

"Gotcha," Sideswipe gathered himself and shifted his priorities to keeping his brother safe. "How did we ever take land from them?" he wondered out loud.

"They're solitary and we aren't," Hound replied candidly as the robo-bear began actively eating out of the tree ignoring the cyber-bees swarming over it. "They usually bluff when charging a group unless young are involved or they're injured. Robo-bears are smarter than most mecha think, and they don't want to risk injuries for a futile attempt at a meal. Once we developed distance weaponry it was a safer prospect to hunt them, and they taste fairly good since they're omnivores. Most have learned to avoid large cities but there are occasionally ones that learn that smaller towns and villages are good places to find fuel. Those have to be culled because mecha view them as a threat or start feeding them."

Sideswipe grunted acceptance of the answer and watched for another klik before glancing at Hound. "You've eaten robo-bear?"

"I haven't had either of these species but I have tried black iron-bear from the coasts of the Silver Sea," Hound though about how to explain how it tasted to someone who'd never had natural fuels as a main course. "The first natural mechanimal your likely to try as you move up in social circles is park fowl or tungsten-turkey. Think of it like your basic midgrade liquid energon. It is usually bland but can be accented with a lot of other different flavors. Iron-bear and the related robo-bear is a bit like consuming a mix of biomass and thermal energon flavored for a Simfur palate."

Sideswipe nodded with clear interest, though he kept his focus on the swarm of cyber-bees and robot-bear in the middle of it and a sensor on his brother in case he started to creep forward. "I've seen both of those in some of the nicer eateries I've been in. Never tried it though. The idea of putting that much solid in my tank isn't that appealing," he admitted honestly. "I like my speed."

"If you two decide to create you might want to look into natural fuels for the carrier. It's a lot easier to get all the trace minerals needed for forging a creation that way. Normally a carrier won't be worried about moving fast," Hound added as the robo-bear pulled away from the tree and started to lumber off away from them. "Let's give the bear a chance to get further away so we don't draw its attention."

"Don't we want to wait for the bees to calm down too?" Sunstreaker asked.

"Normally yes you'd want them to settle down which will take a while, but I can use the same holographic projector I used to show you those images earlier to project an image around myself they won't object to," Hound said as he watched how the cyber-bees buzzed around the hive. Much to his relief they were now largely interested in retrieving the honey and grubs still in chunks of honeycomb the bear had pulled out.

"Creative thinking," Sunstreaker regarded him with a far more calculating look than Hound was used to getting for that explanation.

"It is. Did that kind of idea come with the instruction manual or did you think of it on your own?" Sideswipe asked with genuine curiosity.

"That I could wrap a hologram around myself wasn't said explicitly but it was implied with the range going 'out to a hundred mechameters' with no minimum range," Hound chuckled. "It works well for hiding myself and a client or two if I stretch myself. I do have to add extra energon charges to my fees if I'm going to do it regularly during an expedition."

"I don't see that being a need," Sideswipe nodded.

Now that things had calmed down more Hound wrapped himself in the image and chemicals of a small irontree. Moving slowly toward the hive he watched and listened for any problems like approaching predators or angry cyber-bees. He also kept a few sensors on his clients in case they did something dangerous, even if he didn't expect this pair to be that kind of trouble. They were clueless but learning fast and good listeners, plus they watched out for each other. He was sure at some point in their history real danger produced that alertness.

Even taking his time it only took a couple kliks to reach a chunk large enough for the pair and pick it up. Inside the hologram he moved it slowly as the three cyber-bees on it left one by one, their stomachs full of honey to store in the hive. He walked carefully back to the twins, keeping his pace and disguise in place until he was halfway there. Then it vanished and he walked normally.

"Not a single sting," Sunstreaker said with a bit of awe.

"I've got the practice to do it," Hound said deflecting the compliment modestly while carefully separating the chunk of thin metallic honeycomb into two pieces roughly the same size. "Here, the honeycomb is edible although it doesn't really have much flavor. It's the cyber-honey oil that is the treat."

They each accepted a piece with Sunstreaker more careful than his brother about being sure nothing would sting. As was becoming a clear pattern Sideswipe tried his piece first, putting the bite-sized piece in his mouth and crushing the lattice quickly but giving the thick honey plenty of time to melt and mix with his oral fluids to taste it completely.

Sunstreaker did the same but swallowed it before Sideswipe had finished. "That's intense."

"That's why it's often cut by being used in baked goods or on other less sweet items, or to sweeten drinks," Hound watched the pair closely like always to see if they had any bad reactions to it. He didn't expect it on cyber-honey but occasionally a client had a reaction to a new natural fuel. "It's often used in desserts."

"I like it. It's really different from our usual sweeteners," Sideswipe decided.

"It's kinda like copper," Sunstreaker finally decided. "Sweet but sharp too. Only a lot stronger," he really struggled for the glyphs he wanted.

Sideswipe cocked his helm at his brother before nodding with an understanding hum and quiet voice. "Very different from what I tasted. I think it might be one of those weird reactions."

"Yeah," Sunstreaker nodded before looking at Hound. "Thanks for the sample. That's a good one to know before I have to be pleasant for joors."

"It's nothing serious," Sideswipe was quick to reassure. "We've just found a few things that something in him doesn't get along with. Makes him grouchy. Nothing that'll hurt us but when meeting clients or hosting a show it's really rough."

"I haven't encountered that sort of reaction before, but it's always good to find out things like that in a safe environment," Hound said with understanding and a bit of apology in his field. "At least out here being grouchy won't negatively impact your career. I'd suggest looking up some of the common desserts that use cyber-honey before a show in a new city-state. The two of you could always try discretely swapping desserts if you can't avoid it completely."

"Swap, pick at it instead of finishing it, be ready with apologies and extra charm," Sideswipe smiled warmly for the suggestion. "I'll definitely look things up."

"Well, now that you've had cyber-honey let's move on toward the lyrebird territory," Hound said cheerfully ready to ignore any extra grumbling from Sunstreaker since he now knew a likely cause for it. An extra thorough pede check with massage might help later.

Hound booted to a shift in the sounds of the camp not long before midnight. He held still as it placed everything; no sound had suggested danger. His clients were in their tent and their tone had changed. It was unhappy, distressed, and Hound upped the gain on the frequencies of their voices to find out if it was something he should be involved in. Though it wasn't explicitly in his contract he took some pride in his reputation for discretion and not using what he learned against his clients unless it was a serious or wildlife crime. Once that became known he'd had very little trouble.

But these were new clients from out of town.

"Please. It's been too long already."

That was Sunstreaker.

"Five orns," Sideswipe countered. He didn't sound happy about refusing whatever he was refusing.

Hound wasn't certain what his clients would put off specifically to five orns. They hadn't found a lek yet although Hound had a few areas he knew to check, and it could take longer than that to actually capture a lyrebird. It was something the pair knew as well.

"Three too many," Sunstreaker objected and someone moved a bit. The soft clang of metal on metal was a gentle touch.

"But he's right there," Sideswipe whispered.

Well that wasn't what he'd expected from his employers; embarrassment about interfacing wasn't common in his circles. Tents didn't tend to hide sounds so most scouts and explorers either developed a voyeuristic side to enjoy the attention or learned to ignore anything within the boundary of the tent.

"Don't care. Staring to hurt," Sunstreaker almost whined.

Sideswipe made a small resigned sound almost concealed by the parting of armor plates.

Hound had to think for a long moment on why it would hurt not to interface before he realized that he was hearing chestplates opening. That meant they were dealing with some kind of spark bond. He didn't think he'd ever met a pair of twins that needed to merge, but it wasn't the strangest thing he'd encountered in his life. It was definitely beat out by that one Yussian mech that kept talking about his chronohorse like it was a bondmate. This was a rather more intimate encounter to hear than he'd expected, but he decided to stay online and monitor the surroundings. No need for the pair to be surprised by something flying into camp.

Once the pair settled back into recharge he willingly shut down as well until his internal alarm pinged that it was pre-dawn and time to get moving. He got up and immediately started packing and striking the tent. The twins had enough experience by now that he trusted they could do so without any help from him. After disabling the alarm he grabbed his morning ration and waited patiently for the pair to join him. It didn't take them long. They worked very well together and it seemed even smoother than usual this morning. Or perhaps it was they who were moving more smoothly. The first teek he got of Sunstreaker when the pair sat down for breakfast he realized that the artist had become more uneasy as time passed and now teeked as he did when they had first meet.

"So what are we looking for today?" Sideswipe asked, then added. "Or listening for."

"We're more likely to hear it first although we might find a lek today," Hound answered taking the hint to ignore their activities last night. Still not completely certain how much their research had taught them, he added a bit more explanation. "A lek is a display ground for avianoids that works like a stage. Different avianoids use different display areas, and you can get a general idea what's in the area if you find one. Lyrebirds are big enough that they use a large lek even though the display is mostly musical rather than a physical dance. They need an area tall enough to allow the lyre to reach maximum height and surroundings that will resonate correctly to allow the sound to travel. We're looking for an opening in some small trees or large bushes. Keep an optic out for aventurine clusters also known as green quartz. The resonance seems to be a favorite of them."

Sideswipe nodded and drank his energon. "So once we find a lek we set up the traps?" he asked in a pause.

"Once we've determined it's occupied by looking for tracks and other signs," Hound nodded in agreement. It was nice when he had practical and logical clients like these. "We'll start with the box trap since it's the most complicated but needs the least input from us. Even with my projector I don't want any of us to enter the lek too often because we could scare it off."

Sideswipe nodded. "So after the traps are set, we just hang out in camp until we're notified it went off?"

"Not quite although we'll need to keep our sensors tuned to it so at least one of us will need to stay in camp," Hound replied assuming that he wouldn't be the one staying. "It wouldn't be a bad idea to find another lek for the second trap. Redundancy can be a good thing especially if the first spot doesn't work out."

Sideswipe nodded in agreement. "Makes sense. Anything else before we start listening?"

"Try to keep your voices low and limit conversation," Hound said thinking of anything else he'd need to remind them to avoid and noted the stern look Sunstreaker gave his much more chatty brother. "Some of the mechanimals out here can sense comms from a surprising distance. Once we find the lek we'll make camp downwind and a bit of a ways away. Trap setup will be the next day if we get proof it's in use."

"Got it. Vocalizer and comms on mute," Sideswipe said with only a shadow of how difficult that was for him visible.

"Ready to go?" Hound asked since everyone looked done with their fuel. "It's a bit of a hike to the lek I saw a few vorns ago. It's a good start point unless you have a different idea."

The pair simply nodded as they fell into the now-familiar pattern of Hound leading and the brothers watching, listening and trying not to get into trouble.

It was a slightly warmer day with little wind so Hound plotted out a slightly earlier break at a clearing he knew was just east of a small pond. As he walked he scanned the ground searching for any traces of their quarry or a wandering predator. He silently pointed out a couple of burrows as they walked so the twins wouldn't step in them and potentially injure a pede or ankle.

They were about a quarter of the way to the clearing when Hound's keen optics caught some tiny movements on a small bush with a brown crystalline round structure on one limb. Stopping he motioned the twins to crouch down. "This is something I don't get to see every orn. That's an ambra flicker mantid ootheca or egg case, and it's hatching."

Despite his teekable curiosity Sideswipe got one good look before backing off to give his brother the best view. The artist focused the way he had watching the robo-bear and the cyber-bee hive, tracking each exquisitely tiny copy of an adult climb out and disperse as quickly as their tiny legs could manage. The dozens of miniature silver mantids continued to crawl and move into the sunlight that would help the amber wings dry so they could fly away. "It's amazing to think these tiny insectobots are already capable of hunting. Those large optics are already looking for predators and prey, and those miniature forearms are just as lethal to prey as the adults. The carrier leaves after the eggs in the ootheca otherwise it'd eat its offspring."

"Is that common, eating their creations?" Sideswipe couldn't stop himself from asking, though he did manage to keep his voice low.

"It happens a lot in nature, especially with fish and insectobots but even so called more advanced lifeforms do it especially in a stressful environment. Typically the more offspring a species produces the greater likelihood it'll happen. Roborabbits and different rodents will do it if stressed or in a time with poor fuel. They produce offspring so frequently it's wiser on an evolutionary level to have the adult survive and reproduce later rather than have a litter of poorly developed offspring. It's a less common event in mechanimals that take a long time to develop or mature like nosorons," Hound explained as he watched the tiny mantids continue to emerge. "Sometimes would-be sires deactivate offspring so a carrier will enter a fertility cycle. Sometimes the wilds of Cybertron can be a cruel harsh place."

"Glad we don't do that," Sideswipe murmured and went silent again, keeping watch for his fascinated brother.

"Some mecha do offline offspring. There's a higher rate of sparkling abuse by a step-creator than by a carrier or sire but it does happen. Nature usually has a practical reason for it to happen; mecha are a lot more complicated," Hound replied neutrally. "Most of these tiny mantids won't reach adulthood, but the survivors will be the fittest and help keep the species healthy. We've discovered that they have a bit of coding that activates shortly before hatching that blocks them from seeing each other as prey for about an orn. After that a sibling is as likely to be food as anything else they encounter."

"The deactivated are the lucky ones with mecha," Sunstreaker grumbled.

"Sometimes they are if the damage is extensive and permanent trauma occurs," Hound agreed although he made a note about the reaction from the artist. "Other times someone rescues the sparkling in question and helps them recover from the processor scarring. Some victims repeat the abuse on others; other victims work to keep it from happening to others."

The pair made no objection to his statements, though they didn't seem to agree either. Sunstreaker took a partial step back and stood with a glance round to orient himself after the sudden shift in perception.

"I hope you found the mantids an interesting distraction before we continue our hike," Hound said shifting away from the sensitive topic and getting focus back on their assignment for him. "I find it fascinating what you can encounter if you pay attention to your surroundings."

"They were," Sideswipe grinned. "And agreed. There's always something to learn by watching."

"Do you need more time to observe anything here?" Hound asked Sunstreaker. He seemed done with the mantids but it was hard to tell if something else might catch his optics.

"I'm good," Sunstreaker responded. "Let's find that lek."

The small rest had helped put a bit more spring into the twins' steps as they followed Hound through the brush, trees, and grasses. After several more joors of walking Hound slowed and motioned the twins to pause and wait for him to examine the area. Moving forward slowly he looked around a small cluster of green crystals and studied the open clearing. It looked tall enough to allow for full tail displays, and there was enough shelter to protect prospective carriers observing the shows. The silicagrass and leaves were flattened against the ground, and there were numerous signs of tracks.

Backing up, Hound rejoined the twins. "Looks promising," he whispered mindful that the lyrebirds might be nearby foraging.

Sideswipe nodded and pulled out the first trap from his subspace before looking at Hound for directions.

Hound reached out and took the force field trap with a nod before turning to study the lek to find a good place for the trap. Beyond the lek wouldn't work since he had no real idea which viewpoint a potential carrier would select. The outer edges would have the subordinate and younger potential sires who were easier for predators to snatch up so it wouldn't impact the population as much if one was captured. Those weren't quite what the average client wanted since they usually were smaller and had less desirable plumage. He rejected the idea of trying to get the dominants in the center since setting the trap would potentially disrupt the entire site, and--even if it didn't cause the lek to be abandoned -- would negatively impact the local population by removing a prime sire. The best spot for the trap looked like about two stage areas in on a very flattened area that would give the trap a good chance of closing properly.

He kept his awareness on his clients enough to know if they moved which was also enough to know that they were watching him move and set the trap intently. He was willing to bet at least one of the pair would be able to do it just from this one example. It warmed his emotional coding to have clients that interested and respectful and gave him another example of why you don't turn down a contract just because the clients are clueless. The ones who admit it up front were the ones who learned or at least didn't get in the way. It was a lot better than trying to explain for the seventh time why you don't try to pet or hand feed a robo-bear.

Now that the trap was set Hound carefully retraced his steps out of the lek and back to the twins. The three of them moved away from the area. "This is probably the best we're going to find," Hound said quietly. "Now we wait. I don't know if the lek will tolerate additional disruption tonight setting the second trap. We might add the second tomorrow if tonight doesn't immediately work."

"So back to camp?" Sideswipe asked.

The pair nodded and the group retrained their steps with less stress than the first walk out.

They'd only been hanging out back in camp for about six groons when all three were jolted by the internalized buzz of the trap signaling activation. ::It's too early for the lek dance to have started up with the return of the sires,:: Hound relayed even as he took the lead as the group headed back to see what had happened. ::Either we have a stray carrier that wandered into the trap or something else attracted to the activities.::

::Small predator?:: Sideswipe asked.

::Hopefully not a big one,:: Sunstreaker added.

::A big one wouldn't be caught by the trap for very long,:: Hound confirmed. ::It's not designed for anything bigger than a large wild cyber-cat. I'm not too worried about comms with the trap sprung but let's keep it to a minimum once we're there.::

::Those are scary enough,:: Sideswipe shivered slightly, then ducked his helm with an embarrassed flash across his teek. ::I was thinking cybercat, meaning cyberlions. Not cyber-cat, like the pet,:: he added at Hound's questioning look.

Hound nodded his understanding and they all fell silent until they arrived at the lek where they found the forcefield activated holding a long body that shimmered with a coppery crystalline shine as it almost bounced around in the light while trying to escape.

"Harmonexian copper weasiod," Hound sighed quietly recognizing the small predator. "Usually goes after eggs rather than adults."

"Extra hungry or early young," Sideswipe suggested.

"Could be both," Hound agreed. "We should let it go a bit away from here so it can still find its nest. Sideswipe, Sunstreaker keep an optic out for any avianoids while I let this critter go and reset the trap."

The pair nodded with an instinctive understanding of how to watch all directions with their two frames.

Hound reached down and deactivated the field allowing the weasiod to race off into the grass away from the enormous green potential predator. Once it was out of sight Hound reset the trap and set about clearing the tracks and as much of the disturbance from the lek as possible. When he was satisfied he returned to his clients and motioned them to follow him back to their camp.

Hound could hear the faintest noise from the lek when he focused on it, though once he was sure it hadn't been abandoned he didn't pay it much mind. Since released from his 'be quiet' order Sideswipe was much more entertaining and very happy to chat about anything he knew and listen to what he didn't. Sunstreaker was being his quiet self and largely focused on the art pad in his hand as they all sat around the center of the camp between the two tents. Mecha-insects buzzed about as the small repeller only kept out the majority of individuals.

Without a hint of warning Sideswipe launched from sitting on a fallen branch to flat on the ground and rolling to stay low while getting out of the way of whatever trigger the sudden move. Sunstreaker had a small, light stun blaster in hand, the kind Hound knew was legal to carry in cities for self-defense, and pointed upwards at something he had difficulty tracking.

Hound froze and immediately scanned the area looking for a threat. Tracking where Sunstreaker was aiming he realized the problem immediately. There was a small deep purple shape diving after some of the flying annoyances. The glints of gold on the frame were what the twins were trying to track. "Don't shoot. That's a gold-audialed bolt-bat. It's harmless to us."

Sunstreaker relaxed his stance, then put the blaster away after a few more nanokliks while Sideswipe stopped his movement and flopped onto his back. "Sorry, mech. I felt fast movement and reflex happened. Usually means somebody's trying to hit from behind."

"Those reflexes would serve you well if it was something like a flat-faced feeder since they latch for energon and can carry cy-viruses," Hound explained even as he leaned back to trace the bat's flight through the air above their camp. "Bolt-bats like this one consume insectobots like rust-mosquitos and turbo-flies."

"So they're the best kind of critters to have nearby," Sideswipe grinned and pulled a cloth out of subspace to wipe himself down while his brother cleaned off his back.

"There are mecha who are afraid of them because they come out a night and look a little spooky, but others put up bolt-bat boxes in their gardens to encourage them to nest there and eat insectobots. It's not really a good thing to have them in the walls of your house though. Bolt-bats don't tend to trigger the alarm since they fly over the range. You wouldn't want to deal with the alarms if they did," Hound chuckled lightly. "They're one of the nocturnal critters most never see in person outside a zoo. Turbofoxes can fall into that category as well as robotopossums."

Sideswipe finished with his self-dusting and didn't give any suggestion that the continued fussing by his brother dusting his back side was anything but welcome. "Not critters I'd expect in the city. Bats and such I can see, they fly and all, but do turbofoxes really live in the city?"

"You can find turbofoxes even in the most strictly regulated city-states like Capital City although you have to search a bit there. There's two types of turbofoxes: the fast ones that have dim processors and the slower ones that are as cunning as any political," Hound explained. "Like culu they learn to cross roads with traffic and find fuel in garbage."

"Culu?" Sideswipe questioned.

"About the size of a turbofox but smarter than the smartest of them with dexterous hands and far more willing to fight," Hound explained as he brought up a holographic image of a masked culu with its typical brown armor, banded tail and black namesake mask around the optics. "They're miniature relatives of the robo-bears and like them are usually omnivorous. The offspring are cute and some mecha think they'll make good pets, but even with a coding adjustment to get rid of the wild nature of the adults they'll still find mischief in a house. Personally I think you'd be better off with a domestic cyber-cat or turbo-hound."

Sunstreaker cycled his optics. "Urr, why would anyone who doesn't live out here have a wild pet?"

"Kinda defeats the purpose of domesticating things, doesn't it?" Sideswipe added.

"Because some mecha have more wealth than sense and consider them status symbols," Hound replied cynically, privately pleased the pair thought it a bad idea. "The same thing happens whenever a vid comes out with a particular breed of cala hound, turbo-dog or cyber-cat mecha flock to buy them without actually learning what kind of quirks they possess."

"Okay, that I get," Sideswipe nodded. "I was also a youngling at the time. A lot of mecha don't think long-term."

"I'd never blame a youngling for wanting something that looks cool in a program. That's their nature and most don't have a processor capable of looking that far ahead for consequences," Hound said firmly understanding Sideswipe's admission. "I blame a creator for not looking into what's involved in carrying for or maintaining said cool thing. Too many mechanimals get dumped or deactivated because of lack of forethought. I heard from a medic that the same thing happens with some of the fancy mods mecha get. The modded mecha doesn't alter their diet or maintenance and winds up with an infection or worse."

Sunstreaker snorted with a nod.

"Yeah, there's a reason the requirements are front and center when you look into something. We've both decided against mods that would be useful to us but we knew we couldn't maintain long term." Sideswipe shook his helm. "But that's long term thinking and lack of it again."

"If more mecha could show that kind of restraint Cybertron would be a much better place. That attitude will help you advance socially and monetarily while keeping that advancement. Flashy stuff might get a quicker rise but I've heard about just as many quick falls to go along with it," Hound smiled pleased that they had that kind of discipline before shifting the subject a bit. "Now, Sunstreaker have you ever seen lightning bugs at night or watched darters and lightning flies play on a pond?"

"Not sure what they are, so no," Sunstreaker responded to the direct question. He was harder to read but Sideswipe was openly interested.

"Lightning bugs are likely to be showing up soon. They're a form of fly that uses a light show in their abdomen to attract a mate. They're harmless to mecha and large groups of them can be very pretty to watch. Sometimes mecha try to guess the next location for a flash," Hound glanced at the area around them looking for the telltale flashes of light. "Darters, lightning flies, and their relatives are sometimes called the Seekers of the insectobot world by observers. They're streamlined, shiny predators with amazing agility in the air. They're another group that consumes rust-mosquitos so they're fairly popular with mecha that have ponds."

"I bet. Rust-mosquitos are horrid things," Sideswipe grumbled. "Will they come even with the repeller active?"

"Lightning bugs will be around the outside of our camp. They like silicagrass areas so the repeller won't bother them. You don't need to be super close to appreciate them. Or were you talking about the rust-mostquitos? They'll actually be in camp, although we'll get a lot fewer of them with it here. The main problem is they breed so quickly that they develop resistances and coding overrides to all kinds of toxins, repellers and the like almost as soon as they're created," Hound grumbled in agreement. "One of the best thing to do to keep their numbers down is to get rid of stagnant oil, solvent and energon puddles so they have fewer breeding areas. The other reliable way is to encourage bolt-bats, robofrogs, darters and other mechanimals that eat them to stick around and increase their own numbers."

"I was thinking lighting bugs there," Sideswipe ducked his helm a touch at being that lazy with his language.

"Sorry, rust-mostquitos are a sore point for me and I tend to ramble. I've had a few clients wind up absolutely miserable from them and the viruses they can carry," Hound waved away the minor apology with a bit of one of his own in his field. Scanning the area around them again he grinned when he spotted a single light just visible as it blinked in front of some foliage. "Watch the area directly behind where Sunstreaker's sitting. I think there's at least a couple of lightning bugs starting their show."

The twins shifted to sit looking at the couple flashing dots.

"Why do they flash?" Sideswipe invited Hound to talk about the unusual bugs.

"For the same reason many mecha polish up and make themselves fancy before going out...to attract a mate for the night. The carriers stay hidden down in the silicagrass until they like a display and then flash a come-and-get-it signal," Hound chuckled as he watched a few more lights appear in front of them. "So far they're the same color so it's likely we have the same species out here. Some species use different colors to distinguish themselves; others have different blink rates compared to their neighbors. I've heard there's a species or two where the carriers down in the grass occasionally mimic another light pattern to attract a would-be sire as a meal."

"Not so different than mecha then," Sideswipe snickered despite the darkness of the statement. "It's pretty to watch. Do they do it all vorn?"

"Most species start in the beginning of the new growing season and usually run through about mid-warm season. For example up in Iacon the lightning bugs usually start showing off just as Inrituneon is starting and run through about mid-aestas. I've been told some start with sire coding activated and others with carrier coding activated. After breeding the sire coding is suppressed triggering the swapping of roles. The carriers don't activate sire coding until the eggs are laid. It's supposed to be a very draining breeding cycle and they spend most of the year eating to recover their energy and resources," Hound paused briefly to watch to some aerial movements above them. He couldn't tell if it was the bolt-bat or a cyber-owl out hunting. "According to one expert that would be why that species would consume the sires of the other types; it gets them more energy and nutrients for their own eggs." '

"Brutally logical," Sideswipe nodded. "I think I read about other mecha-insects that eat their mates?"

"Some spiderbots and flicker mantids are notorious for it although there are others where being a sire is basically a timer to extinguishing. It's dangerous approaching a predator that relies mostly on instinct to attack. Sometimes the sire's coding triggers an offering of themselves as a meal so the nutrients will give the eggs a better chance of maturing and themselves longer to mate with the carrier which increases the number of eggs they can sire," Hound agreed. "There's also few cases like certain cyber-bees where the sire is expendable since the carrier only needs one mating to start a mass production of eggs. Sire cyber-bees are either abandoned or offlined by the workers."

"Anything bigger than a bug do that?" Sunstreaker asked absently.

Hound thought for a long time before answering since it was a complicated question. "There's a rodent-size nitrojumper relative designated as a tin-dusky which is also called the suicide roborat by the locals. They start out as carriers but after a few sets of twins the sire coding activates, and the sire stops eating and breeds until it deactivates."

"That's a new level of 'face obsessed," Sideswipe stared at him.

Hound took on a very serious expression as he looked at the twins watching the lightning bugs, "There's also the orszem breeds over at the Csillagos Szentély estate in Gygax that no one would be surprised if they did things like that, but they're so aggressive and dangerous very few mecha are willing to do a long term study to find out. If you have anyone suggest you go there on a hunt like this assume they're out to offline you. That's one of the most dangerous places on Cybertron, and you can't transform out of root mode there unless you want to offline and anyone with half a processor that goes either takes a beast-alt or has their engine disabled completely. A lot of the local wildlife from mecha-insects to jurassanoids hate the sounds of engines and will berserk until the maker of the sound is deactivated."

"Okay, that one I heard about but not the details. Damn, that's ... that's...." Sideswipe struggled with his glyphs.

"How haven't they overrun Gygax?" Sunstreaker found his voice.

"The orszem coding seems to confine them to the borders of the estate or rather the estate borders match the land the orszem claim. No one seems to know why they don't spread further but their historic range hasn't really changed much, and they don't seem to survive long after being removed from the territory. There's probably something in the area they require to survive but again it's a very dangerous study area," Hound sighed a bit wistfully and focused again on the far less dangerous lightning bugs. "Historically the lack of engines has made the Csillagos Szentély estate almost 100% beastformers and it has almost always had the highest population of monoformers and beastformers on Cybertron."

"You want to go there despite it all." Sideswipe looked at him curiously.

"Yes, I'd love to go on an approved and guided tour of the estate. It's one of the last really dangerous wild places on Cybertron besides Ankmor Park where I've already been many times," Hound said with a grin at his sudden mental comparison. "Just like you wanted to have someone who knew this territory show you around, I want to have someone show me the estate many times before I even think about trying to explore on my own."

"So you'd rather be a visitor than as a job," Sideswipe asked as much as said and Hound was sure the mech was going somewhere with this.

"Getting a permanent job there would require a lot of changes to my life including a complete change to my frame and lifestyle. For example being a beastformer would make me less desirable for some of the other expeditions I currently use for income," Hound pointed out leaving the hint of discrimination by frame-type open in his tone if not direct words. "Joining one of the rare authorized expeditions as an employee would be difficult since I don't have the experience in the area."

"So despite the danger the openings for an intern isn't easy to get either," Sideswipe guessed as he thought. "Changing to a beast alt is a bigger deal than the usual alt change?"

"Intern openings are also going to first go to locals," Hound pointed out. "I'd be completely removing my engine and wheels in addition to adjusting to the standard total frame remodel if I do it. Depending upon what beastform I choose it will also alter how much of my frame I subspace when I transform so that upgrade might be another thing I need to purchase. I also might need new sensors and systems to be able to function in the new frame."

"That's a lot," Sideswipe acknowledged and went quiet for a while. "Do you have a plan to make it happen?"

"Besides saving up funds from expeditions like this?" Hound replied. "Mostly researching the limited information about the area and trying to make contacts. The estate itself is self-functioning and doesn't have much contact with the outside world, but I've made some professional acquaintances in Gygax. I put out feelers for any opportunities that come up. It's a long term goal, but I'm patient."

"Sounds like you have it worked out," Sideswipe smiled in approval. "Patience is a hard thing to learn but worth it."

"Patience is one of the thing a scout has to learn early or this job will drive you into a wall," Hound agreed. "From the sound of things the two of you have some patience and willingness to work for what you want."

"More willingness to work but we're working on the patience," Sideswipe said. "Sunstreaker has more naturally than I do," he nodded at his brother. "You've seen his ability to lock onto something. I've seen his ability to keep that kind of focus up for more than a vorn."

"A very good skill for an artist or any kind of observer," Hound smiled as he watched the golden twin's intent focus on the lightning bugs. "I saw an exhibit once where the artist had rigged lights behind a canvas so the piece could mimic the blinking and movement by lightning bugs. It wasn't quite as good as the real thing since it did wind up predictable, but it was a good attempt to help city mecha get a taste of what this kind of show is like."

"He must not have had much care for it," Sunstreaker said absently. "A good randomizer is cheap and easy to build."

"That's possible," Hound agreed even though he didn't know much about that particular artist or his skills. It'd been a long time since that exhibition. "I don't remember if it was a commission piece or much about it actually. I was mostly there to see his images of some rare Vosian avianoids. I hadn't had a chance to go there to see them for myself. I do have to say the renderings of the thundercrests in particular were quite accurate."

There was a brief pause. "Who's the artist?" Sideswipe asked for them.

"Stabilizer," Hound said having recalled the information with the image captures. "He's a Helexian artist which likely gives him a bit of an advantage with observing aerial subjects."

"He is good," Sunstreaker grunted after a moment. "Can't say much on the accuracy but he has materials, lighting and gravity down pat."

"Then the lightning bugs were probably a commission if they weren't up to standard," Hound leaned back and fell silent watching the lightning bugs as the sky continued to darken.

Hound roused more on the shifting light levels than his internal alarm. This morning there was time to relax and move slowly. The lyrebirds wouldn't be out for several joors yet, not until the sun was high enough to shine off their feathers. In a way these were the most enjoyable orns of a job like this. He could be a little lazy since he didn't need to worry about this clients sneaking off on their own and his prey wouldn't be near the traps for a while.

Judging by the lack of noise his clients seemed to be enjoying the ability to relax as well. Avianoid songs and insctobot hums eventually cause him to rise and step out of the tent. Some of the sounds dipped momentarily but rose to normal levels after he settled. Nothing alarming sounded as he waited for the twins to leave the tent. It didn't take long for the pair to come out though.

"So what's on the plan for today?" Sideswipe asked cheerfully.

"This morning? Listen for the lyrebirds and wait on the trap. If it hasn't triggered by noon we should look at finding a second lek to set the other trap in to double our chances," Hound said studying one of the less familiar calls to see if he could recall its singer's designation. Eventually he recognized it as a type of crystalline sparrow although he couldn't recall the exact species.

"Good." Sunstreaker huffed and grabbed his brother's arm to sit him on the log they used to sit on.

Sideswipe chuckled and went with the motion. "We have time to polish."

"You should although we might have an alarm go off so I'll ask that at least one of you stays prepped to help me with the trap," Hound chuckled. It wasn't something he was going to bother with especially out here, but he'd learned that Sunstreaker was happier the cleaner he was. It was a reason he hadn't introduced the pair to a closer view of the ponds and rivers in the area. Mud was not the golden twin's friend.

"It won't be the first time," Sunstreaker sat down on the log perpendicular to his brother with his back facing him. Their polishing kits were out and Sideswipe went to work wiping down Sunstreaker's back while Sunstreaker went to work on his helm and face.

"Yeah, but with nothing planned it's worth trying," Sideswipe agreed.

Hound kept his audials tuned to their environment even as he occasionally watched the twins' work. Sunstreaker was putting in more effort out here than Hound would have bothered with in a city-state unless he was meeting with a high-ranked supporter of an expedition. Even then many of the nobles seemed to expect scouts to have a more rugged appearance since it implied an affiliation with wilds. For a pair seeking to improve their status, however, it was a good habit in general.

After the twins had shifted positions so Sunstreaker could work on Sideswipe's back while Sideswipe went to work on his helm Hound heard the start of the lyrebird's calls. The simple calls were soon joined by the more elaborate strumming from the elaborate tails. This was distinct from the occasional breeze notes those tails generated; this was deliberate playing of an exotic music designed to be pleasant for non-Cybertronian audials.

"Wouldn't the trap go off by now, if it was going to?" Sideswipe asked.

"Maybe, although if the lyrebird that's claimed that spot in the lek is late or standing wrong it wouldn't spring just yet," Hound wasn't too optimistic for this morning; sometimes it took decaorns of waiting for a particular mechanimal. "If it hasn't sprung by noon one of you will accompany me to the next lek. I'm fairly certain I heard a lek to the north of us and maybe further off to the east."

"That'll be me," Sideswipe said as he worked on his chest. "What should Sunny..." he didn't even pause when Sunstreaker whacked him across the back of the helm, "do if the trap goes off while we're gone?"

"Get it in view. If the lek is largely abandoned from the ruckus go in, activate the stasis feature, pick it up and bring it to camp," Hound instructed. "If there is a predator larger than that weasoid do not go anywhere near it. It's far better to lose the bird than for you to be badly damaged out here. Lyrebirds are not a once in a functioning find. Plus the trap should protect it."

"Got it," Sunstreaker nodded.

"Until noon or an alarm, we relax," Hound finished up and leaned back fully to enjoy the warmth and casually watch the pair groom. For as concerned as they had been having him hear them interface they didn't seem at all shy about this behavior that was nearly as intimate.

With the alarms quiet, Hadean near its zenith and the twins entirely too well polished for the wilderness Hound stood to check the alarms on the camp. He wasn't about to leave a client alone without making sure he'd know of any potential trouble. "Sunstreaker, do you remember what to do if a large mechanimal approaches you?"

"Yeah," he looked up from where he was sketching on his art pad. "Make noise and stand up, make myself look big. Most aren't looking for a fight. If it comes after me get up a tree. If it follows then I can shoot it."

"Also avoid antagonizing anything small with a stripe down the back. Stenchers reek and can cause damage," Sideswipe added for his twin's sake.

"Good points both of you. Let's go," Hound motioned for Sideswipe to follow him as they headed at a good pace toward the new lek to the north. It was a bit of a walk, almost a joor, but Hound had a fairly good idea where the calls had been coming from so they made decent time and eventually located the clearing. Around twenty territories had been stomped out by this season's sires and it was clearly still active to him. This time he hadn't even needed to tell Sideswipe when to be quiet; the red mech had silenced himself when they got within clear hearing distance. This was the other reason Hound hadn't joined the polishing; the scent of the polish would have been noticeable to the lyrebirds whereas his time in the brush and dust help conceal his scent and make his presence less disruptive. He carefully stepped into the second outer ring of the lek and placed the second trap in a central location of that dance spot.

He could feel Sideswipe watching him and appreciated the still quiet that the naturally exuberant mech managed after only one request. Someone had taught this pair very well how to listen to instruction and apply it without constant reminders. It made for a very pleasant expedition for Hound and he knew it showed in his mood.

Sideswipe managed to remain reasonably quiet until they passed the point where he'd done quiet. "Did that seem like a better lek or comparable to the first one?"

"Comparable but I don't see any good camping sites worth moving to between the two. It'll make more sense to have you two stay in camp monitoring the first trap. I'll head out here closer to this site and wait during the main dance cycles to see if this one activates," Hound said ducking under a branch and around a small crystal bundle.

"All right," Sideswipe said agreeably. "Makes sense. If the other trap goes off you can pick up this one before coming back. We can handle pressing a button and hauling it back to camp."

"Hopefully this will be wrap up soon. I like being out here, but I bet Sunstreaker will be happier in civilization with washracks," Hound grinned playfully.

Sideswipe laughed heartily. "You have no idea, mech."

Even though they'd been there for several orns the campsite felt a bit different with Hound gone. It didn't feel quiet as safe, but it also felt so much more private and relaxed for talking of things they didn't want Hound to overhear. The sounds of the lek were just starting to filter into the clearing. By now some of the calls were recognizable and there were definitely at least four individuals displaying right now. Suddenly the internal buzzing they'd been waiting for went off.

::It's gone off.:: Sideswipe commed Hound as he jumped to his pedes with Sunstreaker on his heal-plates until one of them remembered they were supposed to move carefully and they both slowed to a purposeful walk.

::Let me know if you got actually it, and I'll grab this trap and join you. No sense disrupting everything if it's another weasoid,:: Hound responded. His confidence in the pair was evident through his words even through the comm.

A rustling ahead drew attention as a good-sized off white avianoid a simple blue crest burst out of the brush headed away from the twins. The lack of a large tail indicated this was one of the watching carriers.

~Surprised any stuck around this long,~ Sideswipe commented absently as they got close enough to see the light of the clearing ahead.

Inside the clearing was the same forcefield trap Sideswipe had seen the other orn. Inside was a similar-sized off white avianoid with a nearly identical blue crest. The obvious difference as that this one had a large train three times the size of its main body with an elaborate system off white feathers shifted into a brown lyre formed of metallic feathers and wires. The bright blue tips of the lyre feathers smacked against the forcefield as the avianoid frantically tried to escape.

~Sunny,~ Sideswipe didn't really use glyphs, just a sensation and got confirmation back. While Sunstreaker guarded him Sideswipe put his full focus on the cage, its stasis button and not freaking out the avianoid any worse than he had too. He really wanted that tail intact. Just because it wasn't required didn't meant it wasn't important. "Shu, shu," he whispered as he loomed over the caged creature until the stasis field took effect.

The lyrebird froze and its optics flickered off as the field sent it into an offlined state ending the stress and strain on the small frame. A visual inspection indicated that the enormous tail was still intact and the avianoid seemed to only possess a few minor scuffs and scratches from the escape attempt.

~Looks good,~ Sideswipe let his relief flow across the bond. He picked up the trap and they headed back to camp. ::We got a great sire-type in the trap,:: Sideswipe told Hound with exuberance. ::Just a couple scuffs ... should I stop Sunstreaker from polishing it?::

::Great job!:: Hound replied. ::Have him wait until I'm back with the other trap. I'll check it over and compare the ingredients in the polish with what the avianoid is known to tolerate. Some things are fine for us but toxic to them.::

::Gotcha. I'll keep it as is,:: Sideswipe promised and got a wordless agreement from his brother than he'd leave it be as well until they had wax and polish suitable for it.

Hound wasn't venting like he'd finished a race but he'd definitely put on some speed to get back to camp. He trusted the twins not to mess things up by letting the avianoid go, but he still wanted to confirm with his own optics that this goal had been met. Stepping into camp his optics locked on the enormous lyre train on the avianoid, then moved up its stasis-locked frame still in the trap. "Definitely our target and looks in good shape from here."

Both his clients beamed.

"Great," Sideswipe grinned even more. "Do we need to keep it in the trap or will it stay in stasis until somebody boots it up?"

"We'll keep it in the trap. The stasis field wears off after a while depending on the size of the target, and I don't think any of us want to deal with it coming online and trying to escape during the night while we're camping. The fields will also help dampen the scent from reaching predators looking for an easy meal," Hound turned to Sunstreaker. "Could I see the polish you're looking at using on it?"

The tin was produced immediately and while it wasn't a brand Hound recognized he did recognize what a moderate-quality polish looked like. While focused on the shine rather than protection it was the same grade he tended to use on himself. It also explained all the work Sunstreaker did on himself. To get his finish from this polish took a lot of work.

A glance at the side of the tin listed a few active ingredients. None of them looked like something dangerous, and Hound carefully checked a tiny sample against his chemoreceptors. No warnings triggered in his systems. Handing it back to Sunstreaker, he said, "Sorry for touching it, but I need to make certain and that's the best route. It shouldn't cause any trouble for the lyrebird. I'd say wait you should wait on the polish until we're a lot closer to the city."

"'so'kay," Sunstreaker said despite an almost visible displeasure at the touching.

"Why wait?" Sideswipe asked. "We have a few joors to kill today."

"In case it gets jostled during the trip and needs more retouching. Each time you reactivate the stasis field on the subject it develops a bit of immunity to it," Hound thought for a bit about balancing things out especially since he'd just bothered his client. "I suppose it shouldn't hurt to work on it some today, but we should hold off after that until we're almost out. Touching it up every night is not a good idea."

"Then we'll wait until just before we turn it over," Sideswipe decided for the pair and settled into his preferred spot to spend down time. "We just want it looking its best for that. Is it safe to put it in subspasce in the trap?"

"That should be fine since its small enough to fit properly," Hound agreed. "It's better than trying to carry it and accidentally dropping it."

Sideswipe nodded and Sunsteaker placed the trap in his subspace with care.

"Are we retracing the route we came in on?" Sideswipe asked.

"Most of the way although we won't be stopping as often unless it's unavoidable," Hound replied. "You're pedes are toughened up enough now that we should make better time."

"I'm good with that. It means we can spend a bit more time on watching things other than how to get back to a main road on our own if something happened to you or one of us had to go for help without comms," Sideswipe grinned. "No matter how well you prepare things can always go sideways."

"Too true and one of the main rules of all expeditions," Hound smiled pleased they knew that already. "It's why we had multiple traps. Plans rarely survive reality completely intact."

"Rules of existence," Sideswipe agreed. "Always have at least two backup plans in case the original goes badly."

Hound nodded. "So what was plan two?"

"Heading out on our own was plan two. Backup one involved comms and having every local emergency and civilian band in memory. A lot has to go wrong for you and all our comms to be out of commission," Sideswipe shrugged.

"He was thinking if we ran across poachers that shot you we'd have to get ourselves out without comms they could track us with," Sunstreaker teased his brother.

"Okay, yes, that was the worse case I thought up."

"That'd definitely be a worst case scenario," Hound agreed. "It's also up there on my list. This area doesn't have a lot of seismic instability so cave-ins, eruptions and quakes are unlikely and it's the wrong season for floods and major storms."

Sideswipe looked at him curiously. "Was there really a possibility we'd have gone caving?"

"I meant sinkholes more than us going underground although there's always the remote possibility of someone or something chasing us there," Hound flickered an apologize through field at the misunderstanding before chuckling. "This is a game I've played with some other scouts on expedition. What would you do if..."

It was well past mid-orn when Hound heard something large moving in the brush just to the left of their current path. Putting up a hand he brought the twins to a halt behind him while he tried to determine what was almost in their path. The size-sound of it meant there were only a handful of local possibilities and all of them had deactivated mecha in the past decade. His chemo-receptors told him it was one of the strangest members of cervidae.

While dangerous it wasn't a predator and he had a moment to be pleased at how well his clients respected his freeze signal.

"Titanium moosebot and sparkling," Hound whispered back to them. "We should remain back and let them pass."

Sideswipe nodded. "Think we can actually see it?"

"It sounds like it's going to cross in front of us so you'll have a closer view that most mecha get outside of a zoo viewing area," Hound replied quietly. "Don't stare directly at it; direct optic contact can be viewed as a threat. Also make certain the sparkling doesn't wander behind you while the carrier is in front of you. It'll attack if it thinks you're trying to take its sparkling."

The pair nodded in understanding.

After a few tense breems a narrow head with large solar panels for antlers emerged above the brush and looked at a cluster of bushes and crystals on the other side of the trail. As it emerged the true size of the moosebot was revealed. The sturdy gray legs brought the top of the body even with Hound's helm.

"Oh wow," Sideswipe's optics brightened as he ventilated in shock at comprehending just how big it really was. He managed to keep his optic level down and not a direct challenge by virtue of the moosebot's significantly greater optic level than any memory of Hound's instructions.

While the adult snorted the sparkling came into view on their side of the adult. Despite the size difference the real distinction was the lack of solar panel antlers that developed around five metacycles old. That it was all legs and almost no mass warned Hound that this wasn't just a sparkling, it was newly separated very late in the season for it.

"Be very quiet and still," Hound whispered. "That's a newling. It hasn't developed the solar antlers so it can't fly yet. The carrier's protective coding is running at highest aggressive priority. Normally they'd fly away if they found us threatening; right now it'll trample us to pieces."

"Right," Sideswipe forced his optics down a little more and further away from the smaller one. "Climb or drive to bolt?"

"By yourselves drive heading for a cave or gully. The adult will attack a tree or crystal if you try to climb," Hound carefully to a step back towards the twins. "If we get out of line of sight I can try to hide us."

The pair nodded in unison, their fields charged with the readiness to move at Hound's signal or a charge.

The adult lowered its head toward the trio and scuffed a single hoof on the ground kicking up some dust and grit. The newling made a small bleating sound and scrambled behind its creator.

Hound carefully tracked the hooves noting how the adult was positioning itself and the tension in its legs. The scout pulled his arms up against his chest and lowered himself a bit more as if cowering away from a superior force. Though he hadn't ordered it he sensed his clients mimicking his posture.

The adult slowly walked across the open area toward the crystal clusters. The newling remained against its side opposite the trio. None of the trio moved until they were both out of sight.

"Well, that was exciting," Sideswipe kept his voice low.

"A lot more excitement than I was expecting on this trip," Hound agreed keeping his optics mostly locked on the area the moosebots had gone while the rest of his sensors kept the rest of their surroundings under surveillance. "Keep your sensors looking out for cyberwolves. I don't think there's any around but they're the predators most likely to stalk a mechanimal that powerful and a newling is a tempting target."

"Will do," Sideswipe promised for both of them as the group began walking towards the nearest road.

It wasn't often that his secretary had to make these kinds of adjustments to clear a section of his schedule, but it wasn't every orn that something he ordered had an uncertain delivery date. Fortunately he had the resources and time to bring it up to proper specs before it was needed. Having a lesser-known property like this meant it'd be a bit easier to keep the present a surprise.

Alpha Trion motioned for his servant to bring the suppliers into the receiving area while two concealed guards waited just in case of an unlikely double-cross. The twins hadn't been informed who their client was at the start, but that didn't mean one of his enemies hadn't approached them with an offer involving more funds than sense. He watched as Sunstreaker pulled a stasis trap from subspace with the avian inside. While there was no way to tell from the vid its full condition the images showed its exterior shape was excellent. Freshly polished and repaired from any damage capture had produced and it still had its full tail.

He would have to give them a better than usual recommendation given he'd only demanded it be functional. They clearly had high standards for their background.

"A Harmonexian lyrebird I see," Alpha Trion said through the speaker in the receiving room noting the slight coloration variance on the train indicating the subspecies as he lightly probed for more confirmation of his current view of the twins. "Any particular reason you chose that location?"

Sunstreaker jumped slightly at the surprise voice and looked around sharply for it but Sideswipe didn't bother. He picked a spot roughly in front of him and spoke.

"A combination of ease of access, inherent danger and guide availability."

"Not the rarest of the subtypes but the condition and speed of acquisition makes it an acceptable decision." A single orange light indicated that no tricks had been attempted and the specimen was exactly what it appeared to be: an acceptable-grade sire-status lyrebird. Not something worthy of gifting to a Prime, but it would be properly appreciated. He also made a note to watch Sunstreaker's work over the next few vorns; if a painting of the lyrebird happened to appear it would be an interesting token. "Your payment has been transferred to your account."

Sideswipe was the one who checked and nodded slightly. "Where do you want us to put it?"

"Place the trap over against the north wall. One of my servants will take it to the aviary," Alpha Trion watched to see how they responded to his orders. Would they demand extra payment for the trap or consider it part of deal? He had planned for both circumstances.

Sideswipe nodded and Sunstreaker complied.

"It's been good doing business with you," Sideswipe said. "Is there anything else?"

"Not at this time. Primus go with you," Alpha Trion was overall very pleased with this small interaction. They hadn't tried to nitpick him for minor expenses like the trap, and they hadn't done anything stupid enough to attract attention outside of Harmonex. Even in Harmonex they hadn't attracted any more attention than they were expected to, being a pair of novice foreign hunters after a lyrebird and doing it legally. He would definitely keep them on the list for special jobs and watch what fields Sideswipe chose to enter.

~Okay what gives?~ Sunstreaker asked once they were back on public roads on headed for the transit center to finally go home.

~I'm fairly sure I know who we just did a job for and we are not ready to drive in those circles,~ Sideswipe said uneasily. ~At least a short list of who.~

~Is this like a youngling joining professional racers?~ Sunstreaker asked knowing Sideswipe was far more familiar with the movers and shakers on Cybertron.

~Yeah. Even my hopes would only bring us up to a mechling in that. The mecha that own that place schmooze with the Prime.~ Sideswipe was holding off his shock until he could sit and process it on the transport.

~Do you think someone with those kinds of connections would actually talk directly to us? It was probably a servant and a low level one at that,~ Sunstreaker said even as he tried to compare the recalled voice to anyone he'd heard before.

~Maybe. Depends on what the real reason for the job was. Anyone with sense that just wanted the bird would have hired Hound direct not go through us. It'd be cheaper too. That was a test, see if we were worth hiring again for something more important. Like when someone hires an artist for a tiny commission to see if they want to work with you for a big one,~ Sideswipe suggested. ~If it was a servant talking to us they fake a noble well. Might be their job, but still, we're on the radar of somebody with a lot of power.~

~Since we're still online I'd say we did pretty well and should get to paint that mural,~ Sunstreaker grabbed the analogy. He wasn't thrilled with the idea of going out into the dust and grit of the wilds, but he had gotten some inspiration from what they'd encountered and Sideswipe had said that they would manage for half a vorn on this job. That was a really good deposit for a couple weeks work they weren't qualified for.