Primal Hunter

Corrected Errors

 Morning had barely broken to shine warm rays of sunlight over the outer hull of the Axalon, yet Optimus had already found reason to make haste to the bridge. Once there, his eyes scanned the command center almost frantically before they landed on the very mech he was looking for.

"R-Rhinox?" He called out before immediately correcting his tone to start again, not liking how desperate he sounded at first. "Ahem... Rhinox? Would you mind, err... coming to take a look at Dinobot real quick?"

Rhinox arched a browplate as he turned from his station to meet the very urgent look in the commander's optics.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"L-look, it's easier if you just come see for yourself," Optimus continued, his tone hushed as though the others present couldn't clearly overhear him already. "Please, preferably before he wakes up and—"

"WHAT IN THE FIERY PITS OF THE INFERNO?!! OPTIMUS PRIMAL, GET YOUR SORRY AFT IN HERE, NOW!!"

Optimus vented out a sigh of defeat as that irate screeching echoed down the halls of the ship.

"Scratch that last part..." the Maximal leader almost whimpered out, his optics still staring up pleadingly at his science officer. Rhinox, now almost as intrigued as he was worried, followed Optimus as he quickly made his way back down the hall towards his quarters.

"It begins..." Rattrap mumbled to himself, looking up towards the ceiling as though to ask Primus why he'd subject them all to such a thing as a moody Saurian carrier.

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Rhinox wasn't sure what to expect when he entered the commander's quarters after Optimus, but it certainly didn't involve barely containing laughter behind an involuntary snort and a hand covering his mouth. Dinobot stood there in his beast form, giving the two of them a vicious reptilian hiss from where he crouched low as though preparing to pounce and eviscerate them. The cause of the raptor's broiling anger was now the most prominent feature of his body; where previously he was wrapped in pebbly, leathery scales, now he was instead covered head to tail in tawny brown feathers.

"And just what do you find so humorous about this situation?!" Dinobot demanded with a snarl. "What did you do to me?!"

Of course, it didn't help matters that, the more agitated the Saurian got, the more his new feathers poofed out on him. In the context of his animal form, this was an evolutionary reflex easily understood to make him look bigger in the face of a threatening situation, but for more advanced beings... it just made him look all the fluffier. Optimus had to avert his optics, his chin trembling with the effort it took to keep from bursting out laughing at such a sight. After all, he knew it would be his hide next added to his mate's trophy collection should he of all bots be caught laughing at him.

"W-well..." Rhinox began, hiding a small chortle behind a cough just to get it out of his system. "Velociraptors are theropods, after all, which is the classification of dinosaurs that eventually evolved into birds. In fact, the only reason they're called raptors at all is because of how closely they looked and behaved to more modern birds of prey."

This explanation only served to pull an impatient growl from the security officer.

"Spare me your anthropological musings! Why do I look like this?!"

"As I was going to say," Rhinox continued calmly, trying his best to ignore how the raptor's long, sickle-like talons tapped ominously against the metal plating of the floor. "Your beast form's species always had feathers like this. Predacon scanner and replication technology runs on different algorithms from the Maximal version, and I've noticed that theirs tends to struggle with organic fiber like fur and feathers. It was left out of your original configuration because of that, but I'm guessing, while your body was undergoing reconfiguration to carry your sparkling, your updated Maximal-sourced protocols took the opportunity to correct that error."