Qualin
I could tell from his voice that boss man was pretty upset about me wandering off. Shit. I thought he'd let me breathe a little. The new job we were hired for obviously had him tense. Damn. My chances of having some fun just decreased.
"Alright, alright, I'm here." I hopped the last fence between us and put on my most charming smile and casual air. Nothing happened. There was no need to worry.
"I got lodging." He jerked his thumb towards a building behind us. Looked like a low-rent inn, but not as unsavory as our usual hole-ups.
"Great." I smiled even bigger and began walking to the door, cutting my eyes back to look at him. His irritation was not diminishing. Shit.
I saw Orash, boss man's second hand, standing on the stairs before he started up. I followed with boss man close behind me. I was lead into a small room with a couple beds and a window. Not much else.
I began to turn as soon as I heard the door close and barely had time to brace before the blow hit my stomach. "Oof." It didn't hurt too much but I let out a pained groan and doubled over, hoping he'd be satisfied.
"What the hell were you thinking?" his hand grabbed a fist full of hair and one of my ears. I hate when he goes for the ears.
"I just went for a little walk, master. You know, for some air. I swear, I didn't do anything." I tried to smile and look innocent through the pain. "I didn't think you'd mind, really."
"The last thing we need is your sticky fingers drawing attention to us. Do you have any idea how huge this job is for us?"
"Of course, and I know how to behave. I swear," I waved my hands in the air, "I didn't take a thing or do anything to draw attention."
"Better keep it that way." He finally let go, giving me a rough shove away from him.
I stumbled back but kept my feet, standing back upright and running me hands through my hair. "I got it. No problem. This isn't my first go around. I know this is the kind of place that might actual give a shit about petty crimes. I'm not going to do anything to fuck things up."
"Better not. But something like you is still bound to stand out, so you just keep a real low profile until we do this job and get out of here."
I nodded. At least he didn't forbid me from leaving the room. Possibly just an oversight, better not to clarify.
"Now, we've got a couple days to scout this out. Orash, you and Suriah see if you can cozy up to some guards or a maid. Any extra information can be helpful. As for you," he pointed to me, "You want some air? Fine. take a long walk around the palace. Not too close, just get a feel for the best paths in and out, and where guards tend to patrol."
"No problem." I gave a confident smile.
"And I swear, if you fuck this up, I'll tan your worthless hide."
"I got it, I got it. Come on, have I ever let you down?" He scoffed but couldn't argue. Despite how he acted, he knows I'm a valuable asset, and I've never cost a job before.
"Good, get your ass moving." He gestured to the door and I happily left, internally rolling my eyes at his initial overreaction. I'm used to being a punching bag, but if he's gonna flip at every little thing, this is going to be stressful.
***
Minor
It only took me a moment to reach out with my mind and find my litter mates. They were all back in the palace gardens. I teleported straight to them, playfully landing on Galaxy's shoulders. He had always been the biggest in our litter, but in the last year, he'd gotten so much bigger that in humanoid form he was more than a head and shoulders taller than me, and I'd swear nearly twice my weight.
Always the bass singer, his voice had gotten even deeper. So much so that his laugh reverberated throughout my body, down to my bones.
He grabbed my arms to toss me. I wouldn't have stood a chance, but as usual, I could count on my other brothers to join.
My twin, Major, was the same size as me and leapt up to also wrap his arms around Galaxy's neck. Then Shooter teleported above us and dropped down with his full weight, which was closer to Galaxy's, and knocked all of us to the ground.
We all laughed in our tangled mess, as Stardust, the only girl in our litter, decided to jump on top of the pile up.
"So where did you run off to?" She asked through a giggle as we began to untangle, sitting in the grass where we could still lean against each other.
"Nowhere." I shrugged. "I just wanted to relax for a bit somewhere quiet."
"What, we too loud for you?" Shooter jokingly put me in a choke hold.
I laughed, pushing him off. "Yes. but like you can talk. You take off all the time."
"It's my nature. I'm a shooting star, not meant to sit still." He made a dramatic gesture to the sky and Galaxy gave him a playful shove strong enough to knock him to the ground.
"Well, glad you seemed to have a good time." Stardust continued.
"I did. I even made a new friend."
"Really? Was it a giirrrlll?" She asked teasingly.
"Ooh, spill!" Major jumped in, shaking my shoulders. This also seemed to catch Shooter and Galaxy's attention, who were now staring at me expectantly with wide grins.
The previous spring on our home world was our first mating season, but none of us had found our partners yet. It wasn't a big deal, but they all seemed to think it was bound to happen anytime now. Though, it had taken the last of our older siblings nearly ten years to find his partner. These things can't be rushed.
I just rolled my eyes. "No, it wasn't a girl. Just some guy. He was a person, but he did have some feline features, which I've never seen around here before."
"Oh." They all began to stand, suddenly not as interested. "Was he a demon-born or something?"
"No. I didn't sense any demonic energy." I pulled my knees up to my chest as I thought about him. "He did have some strange energy, but it didn't seem supernatural or anything. I think he's just an animalistic species. He seemed fun, and he liked my singing."
"Everyone likes our singing." Shooter commented as they all began walking toward the palace. The smell of sweet pastries were beginning to fill the air. "Will he come to the festival?"
"I don't know. He said he might have to work."
"Who will be working that night? Most businesses will be closed for the festival." Major was right, but I just shrugged.
"I didn't pry, but you know some places will still need to be doing business."
They all dismissed the question as we reached the open pavilion. Our parents, along with our good friends, Romnoe and Callie who are the King and Queen of this world, we're already seated around a large table. Trays of delicious smelling foods were being set out on the white table cloth.
Our mother took a few pastries and moved to sit on the grass, carefully setting down the bag around her shoulders and letting our youngest siblings spill out. The six of them were all in their dragon forms, and still small enough to fit in one on my hands.
They began mulling about, whining softly and taking bits of pastry from mom. Callie and Romnoe's three children joined, letting the little dragons climb on them and also offering bites of food and loving pets.
Stardust scooped up one of the babies, a girl named Waterfall, and hopped onto Dad's lap.
"And how are the youngest little princesses and princes doing?" Callie asked playfully, coaxing one of the babies over with a sugary fruit tart. One of the boys, Meteor Storm, pounced on her hand. She laughed and gave him the tart to chew on while tickling his belly.
"Aww, seems like you guys were just this little" She looked around at me and my siblings.
"It's been a few years since we fit in that bag." Galaxy laughed out loud, taking a seat next to Dad.
"You grow up way too quickly." Callie commented, adding to her own children. "You guys take your time. Stay little!"
We all chuckled. Her oldest two were also twins and just a year or two younger than my litter, but unlike us, they were obviously still children.
"Yeah, our babies grow up so fast." Dad nuzzled both girls in his lap. "But at least we have a whole new batch of cuties now! And you have another one on the way."
Romnoe, who was much quieter than most at the table, gently touched his wife's belly. She was just beginning to show another baby bump. The two of them were such opposites, but just like our parents, the love between them was always apparent. For the first time, I felt a small pang of jealousy.
I quickly shook it off. I'd find my partner eventually. Dad always said we would just know, the moment we met them. Also, transformers often sing to attract and court partners, so we had that going for us. I was beginning to wonder if my partner was another transformer or a person. A few of my older siblings were partnered to people, so it was certainly a possibility.
"Are you guys excited for the festival?" Romnoe asked, pulling me back from my thoughts.
My litter mates and I all answered in unison: "Yes!"
"All preparations are going well. Apparently the estimated crowd this year is even bigger than last year."
"Yeah, and a lot of people are taking about seeing you five perform." Callie added after her husband.
"Aw, our babies are famous." Mom laughed giving me a kiss on the side of the head.
"Maybe our partners will hear about us and come to hear us sing." Shooter said with flare, jumping up and balancing on the back of his chair in a 'regal' pose. He was easily the most out-going and charming of our litter. Everyone noticed him.
"Get down." Galaxy gave him a shove and he hopped down into the seat, grabbing a muffin and taking a big bite. Galaxy ruffled his hair. he was clearly an alpha male. Not just in our litter, but now he was even on par with our older brothers. A few more years, and he might be the one most likely to surpass Dad and become the King of Beasts.
"Maybe these little cuties would like to come and sing with us, huh?" Stardust tickled Waterfall, who crooned in a soft little baby voice. Stardust was as beautiful as any of our older sisters, and with her enchanting soprano voice, she already had a number of male transformers and even a few young men, vying for her attention. Not that she showed any interest.
A true romantic, she believed she'd know her partner in an instant, and that they'd meet in some predestined-way like our parents and had no interest in actively looking.
Major leaned against me. We are identical, except for the star marks on our foreheads. And he tends to sing a little lower than me, though we technically have the same vocal range. We knew that it would naturally be harder for us to stand out, but that didn't matter. He believed that our partners would be able to see us for our individual strengths and qualities and was content not trying to outshine our flashier siblings.
I also didn't care to try and stand out. On the contrary, if they didn't push me forward to lead for some songs, I would happily blend into the background. I love supporting them and hearing our voices harmonize. The only time I sing solo is when no one else is really listening. Ok, well, usually.
I remembered my new friend. He had looked fit and healthy, but a little underweight. I decided to grab a bag of food from the palace kitchens before heading back to the bridge the next day. It would be nice to share some treats if he stopped by again.