[Open - Communal] Meet 'n' Greet!

[winged_knight]

WHO: Anyone! Hosted by Wing, Vectorians especially encouraged.
WHERE: One of the larger upper platforms in Vector Prime's Quadrant.
WHEN: Now
WHAT: Mixer for Vectorians and general social gathering for everyone.
WARNINGS: None yet. (But there's booze so...at the very least there might be bad karaoke)

Upon entering Vector Prime's domain it's obvious that things are a foot. The typically serene atmosphere is enlivened with notes of music and the murmur of voices punctuated by the occasional bubble of laughter that filters down from the upper heights, a soft glow of illuminating one of the larger platforms with a structure built on it. Colorful streamers fly from crystalline light poles, marking the way through the various crystal bridges and small platforms, until one reaches the large terrace on which the gathering is situated.

A large pavilion-like structure, enclosed on two sides but otherwise open to a majestic view of the gorge and beyond, shelters the bulk of the gathering. Its roof is several stories tall, enough to accommodate their First Forged benefactor should he choose to join them, and what could be considered a dance floor sprawls off to the side. The platform edges have been lined with a railing here unlike most of the others, to waylay any highgrade assisted trips into the gorge itself. Along another wall, nearest the open area, speakers and other equipment have been setup to provide music and other entertainment. One of Vector Prime's Acolytes greets newcomers with a simple nod, and may later be seen looking after the replenishent of refreshments as needed.

Tables of typical Cybertronian height line one wall, where tapped cylinders of softly glowing energon, both standard and highgrade, sit alongside cubes waiting to be filled. Various pieces of make-shift seating suitable to the average mech are scattered around. Central to the pavilion is a wide raised platform, about waist height to the average Cybertronian, designed to allow the shorter attendees to converse with their taller robotic fellows at eye level. Human scale ladders allow access to and from the floor, and occupying the platform is a buffet table accompanied by several mis-matched chairs.

The buffet table is covered with an eclectic assortment of refreshments and serving implements more suitable to organics, mostly non-perishable pantry type goods, (you can be certain there's Twinkies!) along with a odd collection of various alcohols including a bottle or two of whiskey. At the end of one table sits an old refrigerator on its back, now tasked with being a simple ice box, filled entirely with chunks of clean snow and ice from Liege Maximo's quadrant. Accompanying it are wax paper cups and a pitcher of fruity syrup that smells reminiscent of Kool-Aid. (make yourself a snow cone!)

The pavilion is attached to a larger building, two doors at the rear of the pavilion each lead to two separate rooms. One that appears to be in use for the storage of unused supplies and materials while the other is filled with makeshift seating of various sizes, creating a more relaxed atmosphere. To the rear there is access to a second floor, the rooms of which appear to be currently unused.

Barricade and Soundwave have agreed to provide musical entertainment for the evening.

Miko may play some guitar for us if we can find a way to power her amp.

Wing will perform a traditional narrative sword kata with some musical accompaniment.

Vector Prime himself may make an appearance at some point as well.

((---This is COMMUNAL log and designed to be a mixer, so post to note your attendance and then tag around!---))

((If you'd like to do a game, performance or other activity feel free to make a post for it and let me know, then I'll highlight it here.))

((I tried to set a foundation for the scene but leave a lot of stuff open, so feel free to embellish where you like. We have access to pretty much anything that's mundane though likely it comes from the Junk Pile. Feel free to have your character bring something if they want.))

Comments

[sword_redemption]

He knows he should argue, point out that Wing barely knows him, but, well, Wing has already seen him at his worst. And besides, he doesn't want to argue with this, the jet so close to him he can feel the soft pulse of his engines.

The best he can manage is, "I'll try to be worthy," whispered, breathless, just as the other's mouth closes over his.

Wing might not be entirely ready for what he's getting himself into: Drift's arms crush the jet against him, stroking at the wingpanels.

And for a moment he forgets everything: the past, the pain burning in his fuel lines, all of it washed away, dimmed to insignificance, by this.

[winged_knight]

Wing makes a muffled sound as Drift presses their bodies together, a keening whimper of long repressed need. Then Drift finds his wings, the sudden sensation shooting over his sensor net, igniting that need into full fledged burning want. The thrum of his engines rise as eager hands find both shoulders, the fullness of the jet's weight and ardor forcing Drift back into the pavilion wall. A gasp escapes Wing in the brief moment their lips part, but he finds Drift's mouth again, hungry, his wingpanels shuddering under the grounder's black fingers.

All conscious thought is defined by the one in front of him now, their whereabouts and situation outside of this moment fall away as Wing tangles himself with the other mech.

[sword_redemption]

The kiss takes Drift's breath away, and his hands cling to Wing's body as though for balance, because the whole world seems to be spinning around them.

And then the room seems to spin for real, and he tears himself away, jerking his head hard to one side, clapping a hand over his mouth, trying not to purge his tanks.

[winged_knight]

A soft keen of confusion and regret as Drift breaks suddenly away, Wing lost for a moment in the transition. A lance of concern brings him back fully, the change in the other mech's demeanor hard to miss. 

He pulls back a bit, reluctant to let go completely, his voice full of questioning concern. "Drift..?"

[sword_redemption]

Drift would really be okay with dying of embarrassment right now. The worst possible moment to get sick, when he had everything he'd ever wanted, more than he dared dream about, right there in his hands. Wing, against him, the kiss warm and wanting.

"Sorry. I'm..._sorry."

[winged_knight]

Wing shifts, uneasy with concern. He shakes his head--the apology, the interruption, overshadowed by Drift's distress. There will be more chances, he is determined, but now he cannot put his own need before the well being of another, least all this one.

"What's wrong? Please tell me." The words are gentle, yet imploring.

[sword_redemption]

"Nothing." One hand clings to the wall behind him, as though he needs it to stay upright. "Just...it'll pass."

Even as he speaks, his knee servos start wobbling.

[winged_knight]

"If it was nothing would you have a problem telling me?"  It's rhetorical, his words gentle, because pushing too hard is the last thing Wing wants to do now. 

He shifts slightly, giving Drift a little more space, but unwilling to pull his hand away after that wobble. "Would some air help? We could go out back..."  It's an offer, the pavilion is probably airy enough, but it's also filled with people...

He's still not sure what's going on, but he's doing his best not to worry, to trust that it's really not important, fighting his instincts to help along the way. 

[sword_redemption]

"It's just a little side effect of the cure. I'll be fine. I had the Red Rust for a long time. It's not going to be cured in a klik."

You see? It's nothing.

"No. No. I'm fine." He looks up at Wing, still half-doubled over, wistfully, wishing he could erase the last few moments, go back to before: Wing against him, their EM fields melding and sweet.

[winged_knight]

"Side effect?" A flicker of concern but then relief; at least there was a justifiable reason for Drift's suffering. Still, it feels unfair; hadn't Drift been through enough? 

"How long...?"

Maybe it's a slightly selfish question, but Wing knows now that his wants are not his alone. The steadying hand on Drift's shoulder gives a soothing rub, the jet's sympathetic expression all that's needed to say that however long it was, he'd wait. 

[sword_redemption]

"I don't know. Since the Red Rust, I guess. Maybe Pharma's cure isn't complete." He frowns. "It's no big deal though. I can still fight."

Because that's all that matters, right? That's the only use he serves.

[winged_knight]

"Have you spoken with a medic to be sure? How long will it last?" Some of that relief from earlier is eroded under new doubts he can't help but have. 

"...still fight?" Wing's face clouds over. Is that the only inconvenience that matters to Drift? Their earlier exchange, a bright point in Wing's life, suddenly dims. It stings, flickering briefly over his face before he can quell it. But it's hard to believe in light of everything else, especially the memory of Drift's eager hands, then his dismay at the interruption. Wing's gold optics search the other mech's face, uncertain, but hoping. 

He dares. Because life is about living.

"I'd...think that you'd have things to look forward to other than fighting..." It's an offer, his posture and field receptive, open and vulnerable. 

[sword_redemption]

"Wing. They've all been busy with the Brave Police. They don't have time to listen to me whine about a little pain."

Seriously. They have priorities. And Drift hates showing weakness. The last thing he needs is to go see Ratchet and be told he's being a baby.

He can't meet Wing's gaze, because Wing, as always, was a bright promise he knew he would only let down.

"I want to, but Wing. Realistically. Fighting is all I know."

[winged_knight]

"As long as that's all it is..." He didn't want to think about relapses or mutations of the disease. Just...No. Not when he had a second chance at this. 

"Is that all you're determined to know?" It's an honest question, but more than that, it's an idea challenge.

[sword_redemption]

"It has to be." Because what were the other options?

"No. But it's what I am right now. And let's face it, I could die before I learn anything else."

Wow. That came out sounding more fatalistic than he'd intended.

Ooh sorry, apparently that's a button he has!

[winged_knight]

He knows the medics are done with the Brave's engine conversions, so this is about something else. 

But Wing nods, slow and tight, because it's all he has. Acquiesce or force the issue, and after he'd already spent so much time forcing his requirements, his values on Drift in the past, the latter does not seem kind. He has no right to make demands based on his own selfish need for peace of mind.

But what? Those words. They're unexpected and Wing twitches as if struck, his hands falling away. He stares at Drift a moment in a combination of shock and horror, until he tears his optics away, letting a shadow fall over his face. 

The jet's field pulls in tight; what was plush and clinging now hard and relentless. The soft scrape of metal on metal, Wing's dentae, before he whips his gaze back to Drift, fierce now. 

"So, what then? Are you saying there's no point to anything else? Day after day, die or survive, is that all you want out of life? Is it?!" The words spill forth, charged with emotion that Drift's only heard once before. Amber optics, over-bright, search Drift's face. 

"Tell me what you want Drift!"

[sword_redemption]

Drift flinches back, remembering this hardness from before.

"No!" He nearly shouted back. "It's not what I want. I did that for centuries down in the gutters. It's why I fought to begin with, because I wanted more than that." He's stung, because this hits deep.

"What I want is--"

you

"--something else. Peace. How to do something other than fight. But I might not have time. And that..._hurts."

[winged_knight]

Wing cycles a long breath through his cooling system, a shudder moving over his frame as he tries to pass some of the tension and anger with it. The answer helps, because it's what he wants to hear, but more because it has Drift's passion in it, not the woebegone fatalistic words from before.

"If not, then why!? Why all of this?" Wing's anger boils down into fear, a quiver through the hard shell of his field. "The way you're talking, it's scaring me."

Then suddenly it strikes him. This whole scenario suddenly feels familiar, only from the other side. It snatches at his spark and he can't push it away. Wing catches hold of Drift, a hand on each arm, as if Wing might lose him already.

"Drift. The night before the battle, in Crystal City. When I was certain I was out of time, I thought to confess my feelings to you. At the last minute I changed my mind, because it felt selfish of me and cruel to you."

He shakes his helm, giving those arms a squeeze. "I regret that choice now, because it robbed you of yours, and robbed us both of something...better." Brief, but beautiful.

"Please Drift...what aren't you telling me?"

[sword_redemption]

"I'm not trying to frighten you." He reaches for Wing's hand. It's the last thing he wants. Ever.

"Wing, I..." He's cut short by the confession. Well, the confession of the almost confession. Wing had...? Even then? "But...why? After what I'd done?"

"Wing. I--I don't want you hurt. Not by me, not again."

[winged_knight]

"Then what's this talk about not having enough time?" Wing's tone is pleading now, he just wants to understand. He steps in closer, needing, wanting the reminder of Drift's presence, his closeness.

"In a strange way, because of it." He shakes his head, bidding for more words, because he knows that alone sounds absurd. "Was I angry, disappointed, even hurt when I found out you'd snuck out, and that you'd made the deal? Yes, of course. And it did plenty to dampen the infatuation I had with you then."

"But Drift, you should have seen yourself in the council chamber. In front of the entire Circle and Dai Atlas, of your own free will, trying to make right your mistake. That's when I knew I'd been right. That's when I knew you'd truly chosen. Because change is easy when there's no friction, no resistance, no test of your will. I saw your resolve that day tested and frankly," his lips spread into a wistful smile, "It was beautiful to behold."

Wing's grip loosens and he rubs his thumbs over the plating in soft apology.

"Drift...I know you don't want me hurt. But we can't always avoid making mistakes or hurting others. The important part is doing what's right to reconcile."

[sword_redemption]

He sighs. "Wing. I'm just facing facts. I was dying when I came here. Any battle could be the one where I get...unlucky." Because he can't stop fighting. It's part of who he is.

All Drift remembered of that moment was a sickening sense of losing something before he'd realized its value. It had been Wing, in the stairs, telling him he did it because it was 'right', that had made Drift really see. Not the sparring. Not anything else but that moment of right and wrong and what he'd sold them for. He can only shake his head. "It wasn't beautiful, Wing." If nothing else, he'd gotten a taste of Dai Atlas's fist for it.

"I _{just want you to be happy}."

[winged_knight]

"But...isn't that all the more reason to live every day?" His own experience with death had taught him that, had Drift's been different? A pang of longing and he reaches up as if to touch Drift's face. _{"...why wait?"}

Wing often feels that he sees things in Drift that the other swordmech does not. Was he idealistic and naive for it? Perhaps some would say so. But the fact that Drift made the noble choice that day and had made many since then only affirms Wing's appraisal.

"Maybe not from where you were standing..." No one who was in the midst of having the experience Drift had back at the Circle would call it beautiful, no. "Can't I be proud of you for it?"

He tilts his head in gentle regard, "Have you stopped to think that you could be what makes me happy?"