@skystar-secret-santa gift for @overlordraax. Sorry it’s so late! I meant to do a proper fairytale but ended up not having time to do any of the stuff I wanted, so um. I hope it’s okay.
There were worse things to be than a dragon. One of those things was a cold constructed Seeker so Starscream didn't hold a grudge.
A few years after being magicked from one into the other he had mastered his new body, moved into a crumbling old fortress far from the city, and all but forgotten about hunting down the tiny slagger who'd changed him in the first place. It wasn't the life he'd dreamed for himself, but there was something to be said for the ability to terrorize the countryside just by going out for a flight.
Truth be told, the dragon shape was almost more comfortable than the one he'd come online in. He liked the power of it, the broad sweep of its wings, the knowledge that he was now three times the size of the self-important hacks who used to look down their nasal ridges at him. He liked the smart figure he cut in crimson and black and the way the plating stayed glossy without polish.
He was a bit disappointed, though, at being so fine and having no one around to admire and pay attention to him. So it wasn't an entirely bad shock when he came loafing out of the sleeping chamber one evening to find a shuttle wielding a sword in his entrance hall.
-
There were probably worse things to be than a dragon slayer. Faced with an actual dragon, pre-slaying, Jetfire couldn't have named a single one but there were probably a few.
The beast was as large as he was, possibly even larger. Its elongated body gave it an advantage in height, its slender neck arched in a threat display as it stared down at him with slitted, crimson optics. Smoke wafted from between its bared fangs.
Jetfire clutched his borrowed sword. Much as he would have liked to back slowly out the way he came, he had to remember why he was here. It wouldn't do him any good to solve the problem of crystal blight in the area if the farmers were all killed by a dragon. His armor was stronger than theirs, he had to do this for them.
He took a deep invent and eased forward with painstaking slowness.
“I really don't want to kill you,” he murmured, voice pitched as low and soothing as he could make it. “But that poor minibot didn't deserve to be eaten.”
The dragon cocked its head. “Is this about the minibot I grabbed? Primus, you can have it back if it's that important to you! It was the wrong one anyway.”
-
Starscream waited a full minute for the shuttle to either say something or close his mouth. It was a pleasant-looking mouth but he wanted to get this matter of killing cleared up as quickly as possible. When nothing happened he retreated cautiously into the fortress' main hall.
“I'm just going to get your minibot out. Make yourself comfortable. Relax. Put down the sword. I'll be right back.”
“Wait!” the shuttle called. “You mean he's still alive?”
“I wouldn't be keeping him in my house if he wasn't.”
“But you- You're not a real dragon. Are you?”
Starscream considered the unintentional trick question. By most scientific values of 'dragon' he did in fact classify as one. Only two significant differences set him apart.
“I am an intelligent being. That's all you need to know.”
-
The minibot was tiny and orange, stuttering in terror, and Jetfire couldn't help but wonder who the dragon had mistaken him for and what a mech like that could possibly have done to warrant the kidnapping.
With the little mech safe in his cockpit and his thrusters warming for lift off, he watched furtively out of the corner of his optics as the dragon sauntered out of the decaying building into the sun. The sleek curves of its plating almost glowed under the light.
Now that he no was no longer afraid of being boiled alive in his armor, Jetfire could appreciate how remarkable it was. A wonder unknown to modern science, if it truly was a dragon. It had always been considered hard fact by the scientific community that dragons were incapable of intelligence or speech, yet here was one with both! Not just a mimic, either. But potentially a beastformer.
Could he ever forgive himself for not at least trying to find out the truth?
“I'm sorry if this is too forward, and feel free to refuse. But I wonder if you would let me study you?”
The dragon stared. Its tail twitched gently at the tip.
Jetfire soldiered on. “Nothing invasive and you could back out at any time. You see, I'm a scientist with the Iacon Academy--”
“You? A scientist?”
That tone of astonishment was nothing new but it stung every time. Even coming from a wilderness-dwelling mech-creature who couldn't possibly know how hard Jetfire fought to be allowed to call himself that, it still stung.
“Yes,” he said, a bit more crisply. “Me. A shuttle scientist, and I promise I'm very good at my job. My work has been thoroughly vetted--”
“Oh, I'm sure you're wonderful,” the dragon cut him off again. It was staring all the more intently, emotion flickering behind its optics like a banked flame. “You must be to have made it so far in Iacon. The Functionist rust-lickers.”
-
The shuttle was silent. He looked confused, almost stricken by the compliment.
“Well,” said Starscream, “in that case, yes. You can study me as much as you want. If you can get the equipment out here you can even take scans and samples. Is it still true that no one's studied a live dragon, only carcasses?”
“Yes, as far as I know.”
“Excellent, you'll be the first. Make sure to note that down when you write the paper. I'll answer any questions you--”
“Are you a real dragon?”
Starscream exhaled a thin plume of smoke, narrowing his optics. The shuttle looked earnestly back, all scientific curiosity. Fine. If that was what he wanted to know, far be it from Starscream to deprive him of the most absurd and unscientific tale ever told to a sparkling at naptime.
“Not exactly. I was onlined in a Seeker frame. A minibot turned me into this dragon a few years ago because I was rude to him or some slag. Don't ask how he did it, all I know is one minute I was yelling at him and the next I was transforming and he was spouting off about my 'true love' and kisses curing all. Or something. I wasn't listening. Then he disappeared and I haven't seen him since.”
The shuttle's expression of deep interest hadn't faltered through the recital, which was flattering. “Interesting,” he said, which was slightly less so because Starscream knew what that meant.
“It doesn't matter,” Starscream assured him, before he could ask about mental health histories. “It's the body you'll be looking at and as far as I can tell it's pure dragon.”
“All right. Well, my name is Jetfire. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, if that works for you?”
“Starscream. I'll be here.”
Hidden somewhere in the vicinity at least, in case he changed his mind and decided dragon slaying had been the way to go after all.
To his great surprise, the shuttle offered him a hand. He smiled as he did it, as if realizing how strange it was to clasp hands on a deal with a dragon, but he didn't withdraw, even when Starscream took it carefully in one paw. He had a nice smile. Friendly. No one had ever smiled at Starscream like that before.
-
The dragon watched with that strange intensity as Jetfire lifted off and waggled his wings in farewell before turning toward the minibot's home village. Explaining this to the mechs there might be difficult but he was satisfied that he'd done the right thing. Everyone was safe, no one had to die.
His colleagues could continue studying the blight. Jetfire had something else on his mind.
Whatever the truth of his origins, Starscream was a fascinating being and Jetfire couldn't wait to start mapping him out. Maybe he would feel comfortable enough to talk more while they worked together.
Giddy with the joy of escaping a dragon slaying with his life and a new project, he pushed his thrusters a little harder. There was nothing better than being a scientist.
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