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A blizzard had come in out of nowhere which no one was expecting. There’s only the five of them wandering out in the northern wildness; hiding away from Autobots and Decepticons. Both sides had little care for Orion’s band of misfits that kept trailing along behind him. Save for Grimlock who had been following them for a while now.
Jetfire and Hightide are the only ones missing; having wandered closer to the coast to help scout a better hiding spot until the newest addition to the war blows over.
Orion is trailing behind Grimlock with Blades and Bumblebee behind him; both younglings’ voices can barely be heard over the winds but at least they are having fun still. Just behind them is Sunstreaker but he isn’t fully there, mind still drifting back to the fallout with his twin months ago. Orion hasn’t had the chance to speak to him about it but he will once they are safe.
“There’s a cave up ahead!” Grimlock swings his head back so Orion can hear it. “Head there, I’ll join you shortly.”
“Thank you!” Orion pat Grimlock on the nose before gesturing to the others. “Come on, this way!”
They continue to make their way through the snow until they reach the cave. Bumblebee and Sunstreaker set down their bags closer to the back of the cave while Blades went about setting up something to keep them warm. Most of them have clothing similar to what humans wear during this weather; some were kind enough to help Orion make coats for his crew along with any other survival tips that they were willing to give.
“Fire going,” Blades said before swinging his medical bag off his back and setting off to the side. “It should last us until this blizzard past but if not, I got more in Bug’s bag.” The Medic glares at Bumblebee when the bot suddenly flops back against him without any care to be had, just grinning up at him. “Thought we’ll need to restock soon.”
“There’s a camp not far from here,” Bumblebee said. “Just south of our location. Overheard some folks talking about joining up to stop the Cons or something. They’re tech isn’t that impressive, doubt bows and whatnot can do much against us.”
“If they are trained correctly then they could figure out it.” Sunstreaker rarely speaks these days but when he does is for correcting information or giving it. “If they are heading to that camp then there’s no doubt they’ll be turned into Autobot pawns.”
Orion hasn’t moved from the entrance of the cave, waiting for Grimlock to return. It felt like the air in here suddenly shifted, especially when Bumblebee had sat up and looked quite grim with Blades looking off outside almost in thought about what Sunstreaker had said. Orion couldn’t help but feel the same way; feeling like they are stuck on the losing side even though none of them wants anything to do with this war.
Carefully, Orion placed a hand on the bag around his hip, sitting out of sight and underneath his own coat. The Matrix of Leadership. An object that he has turned down and became the target of Alpha Trion. All because Orion’s spark once belonged to the Thirteenth Prime that has long since passed on and come back as him.
It felt silly when Orion spoke to a few humans who had allowed his crew to stay with them. Most of them were confused or even angry on Orion’s behalf of his treatment but Orion wasn’t looking for a reaction. They had simply asked and Orion gave them an answer.
“Hey, how’s it going?” Bumblebee had removed himself from Blades and Sunstreaker, going to stand with Orion. He grabbed the edge of his coat and pulled it around himself, shivering as a little of the wind came blowing inside. “We haven’t gotten to talk since we left the last village.”
Orion sighs and takes off his own coat to sling it around the scout’s shoulders. Unlike the rest of them, Bumblebee was created by Wheeljack to be used as extra – as the Cons have developed as well – but Bumblebee was the only survivor of his series. B-127. Orion thought about taking Bumblebee to a camp and handing him back to the Autobots, but the kid made things better and he couldn’t help but allow the scout to tag along.
Where they were going?
No one knows, not even Orion.
“I’m just worried about this war,” Orion said. “Getting a new species involved will just ruin them.”
“It’s not like we can stop them.” The scout wasn’t wrong. “Humans are just as stubborn as we are and aren’t ones known for backing down from a fight. Do you remember those hunters we ran into who fought a bear and won? Humans will be fine but I do worry what the Cons and Autos will do to them.”
Orion had accepted that peace would never come in his lifetime but humans shouldn’t have to be involved in their mess. However, Orion has very little say over what anyone does. He doubts Megatron, Alpha Trion, or Hetalhawk will listen to some mere civilian who pocketed the Matrix and fled the planet. Yeah, one ticket is being locked up for the rest of his life.
Bumblebee flops into Orion’s side and relaxes when Orion settles an arm around the scout. The two had become something of family over their time together, and it seems their family only keeps growing. With the addition of Grimlock, Blades, Hightide, Jetfire, and Sunstreaker. Orion worries that he won’t be able to protect them all.
“We’ll be fine,” Bumblebee said. “I mean we have an Autobot, an ex-con, maybe a Rescue Bot, Jetfire, and a Twin of Chaos on our side. If that doesn’t increase our survival rating, I don’t know what will.”
“I just worry, Bumblebee.” Orion tries not to let on too much of his feelings towards Bumblebee because he doesn’t want to stress the youngling out too much. However, the scout is stubborn and will get Orion talking about anything. “I worry we won’t be able to see another tomorrow.”
Bumblebee let out a sharp laugh – startling Blades and Sunstreaker – before giving an apology to the bots behind them. “Sorry but that sounds like quitter talk and we are not quitters but survivors! We’ll make it to the end of this and you’ll be proven wrong.”
Orion could help squeezing the kid while nodding. “Well, then I hope that the future does prove me wrong.” It’s a better thought to hold onto than the corpses of his friends that tend to linger in his sight. “How about we see about having something to eat.” Orion pat Bumblebee on the shoulder before pulling away and gesturing back to the fire.
Bumblebee – after handing Orion’s coat back – flops back into his spot next to Blades while Orion takes a seat across from the two of them. He kept an eye outside for when Grimlock returns but he is getting a little worried about the Dinobot since he should be back by now.
Sunstreaker gently hits Orion with a metal cup that only has a small amount of Energon in it. He looks a little better but most still feel awful about the huge, friendship-ending, argument with Sideswipe. It’s not every day that you choose a group of nomads over your own brother. Orion thanks him while taking the cup.
Their supplies of Energon are running low which isn’t good. Everyone but Bumblebee can operate on small amounts of Energon, he tends to get the bulk of their supplies. No one is upset about this save for the kid who felt awful every time his cup was filled a bit more than everyone else’s. However, Orion, Grimlock, and Bumblebee find out quickly what happens when the kid doesn’t get enough.
Grimlock finally returned during one of Blades’s tales from the Cons’ side. The Dinobot had kept his distance and blocked the entrance, blocking the winds from coming in. Orion wants to give Grimlock a blanket or something but the Dinobot tends to get quite defensive whenever Orion or Bumblebee tries to offer – or sneak – a blanket to him.
Things are going to be okay, they have to be.