The sun was up and high in the sky, its rays of heat warming the forest after the inimical storm the night before. Birds chirped happily as they flew. Other little woodland critters went about their daily everyday lives. The closed buds of flowers bloomed. It was as if the storm had never occurred, but muddy puddles and dripping wet leaves and shrubs said otherwise.
At the cave entrance, Kelly sat in the high grass, still in her underwear. Laid out neatly on a large rock not far from her were her wet clothes. Since the sun was out, Arachnia put the girl's clothes out to dry. While she waited, Kelly occupied herself by picking daisies. Arachnia sat down some distance away, fiddling with a handheld device used to contact the Decepticons. The back panel of the device was opened and wires were sticking out. This was the only way Arachnia could communicate with her chosen faction, but due to Earth's fluctuating weather patterns it was difficult to send a signal through the atmosphere. She thought that perhaps if she can in some way boost the power to the device's sensors, she would be able to make contact with them and give a report of her findings. Arachnia was consumed in her task, almost forgetting that she had company when suddenly she was given a soft reminder.
"You are my Sunshine...My only sunshine..."
Arachnia's helm spun around in surprise when the sound reached her audio receptors. Kelly was still busy doing her own thing, but even though her eyes and little hands were focused on what she was doing, words were slipping from her mouth in the most melodious way.
"You make me happy when skies are grey... You'll never know dear how much I love you..."
Arachnia tried to ignore the singing and resume her work, but the sound still penetrated through. Arachnia was not annoyed, simply curious.
"Please don't take Sunshine away..."
No matter how much she tried, Arachnia could not ignore the questions that were eating away at her. Still keeping a neutral but also curious gaze on the human girl, she sat the communicator down, stood and approached Kelly. Kelly took no notice of Arachnia as she made her way over, continuing to braid the flowers together and produce those beautiful sounds.
"The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping... I dreamt I held you in my arms...
And now that you're here my dreams waking...And I will keep you from all harm..."
Arachnia slowly sat down. In a way she found the sounds soothing and it unknowingly relaxed her. Arachnia had not been this relaxed in ages.
"You are my Sunshine...My only Sunshine...
You'll never know how much I love you...but please don't take my Sunshine away..."
When those mesmerizing words came to an end, much to Arachnia's disappointment, Kelly finally realized she had an audience. The human girl blushed in embarrassment. "Uh...he-hello..." she stuttered.
Arachnia did not acknowledge the girl's obvious embarrassment, only staring at her silently for a moment longer before speaking. "What was that?" She asked.
Kelly scrunched up her face in confusion as she replied, "What was what?"
"That...thing you were doing. It sounded like you were talking to yourself but... the words came out almost melodious."
"Ooh! You mean my singing! Wait..." Kelly's face became bewildered as she stared at Arachnia. "Don't you know what singing is?"
Arachnia frowned. "Of course I do."
"Then don't you know what songs are? Do you know any songs?" Kelly asked.
"The only songs I know are painful," Arachnia grumbled, recalling Blitzwing's obnoxious singing.
The puzzled countenance left Kelly's face as she grinned, amused. "No silly," she giggled. "Singing and songs are fun!"
"How are they fun?"
"Well...um..." Kelly struggled to explain the concept of singing to the techno organic. "Songs are fun because... they...you can dance to them and songs let other people know how you feel and can even make you feel better when you're sad. Songs are fun for a lot of things."
"I still don't understand how making such noises with your vocalisar is fun. I know someone who used to sing all the time and all it did was grind my nerves."
"Um... Oh! I know!" Kelly jumped up to her feet. "I'll show you."
Arachnia was bewildered. "You mean... I sing?" She asked slowly to be sure that she heard right.
Kelly nodded avidly, smiling. "Yeah! Come on, it isn't that hard, just follow me. You are my Sunshine...My only Sunshine..." Kelly sang beautifully.
Arachnia shifted uncomfortably and awkwardly for moment before attempting to follow the human girl's example. She opened her mouth and let out the most cringeworthy high note.
Birds flying overhead who heard the sound squaked and scattered. Squirrels, mice or any other little critter close by ran off to hide in the safety of their homes. Kelly grimaced and covered her ears, surreptitiously rethinking her choices. Once done, Arachnia looked down expectantly. Kelly lowered her hands and smiled meekly. "Heh heh...Wow! That was...uh..."
Arachnia narrowed her optics. Kelly could not fool her. Arachnia wasn't tone deaf she heard what she sounded like. "I was horrible, wasn't I?"
"Nooooo..." Kelly shook her head before bowing it miserably and nodding. "Yeah, you were horrible. "
Arachnia sighed in resignation. "Maybe I'm just not cut out to sing."
Kelly's eyes widened in shock. "What?! You're giving up just cuz of a bad start?"
Arachnia was taken aback by the child's outburst. "Kid, didn't you HEAR me? I sounded awful, like I was screaming with a sword in my vocals."
"Yeah, but you shouldn't just give up. I sounded real bad, but with a little practice I got good. So come on, please?"
Kelly certainly was determined Arachnia will give her that. The techno organic was not that interested in singing, but she decided to play along simply to humour the child. But, after about a half hour of Arachnia's uncoordinated screeching attempts in the art of singing, the techno organic's willingness to take part was gradually wearing thin. She let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing a servo over her face. "Kid, this isn't working..."
"I think you were getting a little better," Kelly replied quietly.
"Better? I'm as bad as when I started. Listen, let's just give it a rest."
Kelly pouted and looked down, clearly disappointed in her failure as a teacher. Arachnia noticed and cleared her vocalizer awkwardly.
"Admittedly, while I appear to be inept in this singing skill, I did enjoy the melodies you were producing."
Kelly looked at Arachnia funny.
"I liked your singing."
Kelly's eyes widened before she blushed a little. "R-really?"
"Yes, it was...calming. Far better than the...other songs I've heard. I wouldn't mind listening to it again."
Kelly then perked up, getting up to move closer to Arachnia, which did surprise the techno organic. The child plopped down next to her, braided daisies still in her hands. "You should know...I'm not like...the best."
"Kid, in comparison you could have vocals hand crafted by Primus themselves."
Kelly scrunched her face up. "That's a very funny compliment."
"Trust me, it's a very high compliment where I'm from."
And so, Kelly got comfortable in her spot, Arachnia listening attentively as the girl began to sing.
"You are my Sunshine...My only Sunshine..."
She sang so softly that Arachnia immediately was lulled into a sense of serenity, feeling calm, like all her worries and stress was fading away. Closing her optics, she listened to the gentle melody, listened to the birds chirping, to the gentle breeze that danced through the grass...
Kelly returned back to her original task, seeing absentmindedly as she twisted and knotted the bunch of daisies she had collected.
They remained in that position, so relaxed and at ease in each others presence that eventually time flew by until it got dark.
"There! I'm all done," Kelly cheerfully announced.
Arachnia opened her optics, surprised to find how much time had passed. "I...must have dozed off," she then realized what Kelly had said, "What do you mean 'I'm all done'?"
Kelly held up the item in her hands. It was a flower crown braided with daisies and a rather large one at that. "I could only make it big enough for your finger, so I'm sorry."
Arachnia furrowed her optic ridges, bewildered. "My...finger?"
Kelly then proceeded to toddle over and slip the flower ring onto one of Arachnia's finger, her servo having been resting on the grass.
"What...is this?"
"It's a flower crown miss Blackarachnia. I wanted to thank you for helping me." Kelly flashed a very bright and very sincere smile Arachnia's way.
A blush rose to Arachnia's cheeks. Thankfully, with her helmet on the girl didn't notice. "Uh..." Arachnia awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, averting her gaze to the ground. "Thanks...don't mention it kid."
She examined the messily tied flower crown around her finger.
"Do you like it? I made it just for you," Kelly stated.
Arachnia looked at the flower crown one last time before turning back to the girl. "Yes, I do like it. It is very...nice."
Arachnia smiled. There it was again. That feeling. Welcoming warmth blooming from the centre of her chassi. It was only there for a moment, but Arachnia had certainly noticed it. It went away as she glanced to the side at Kelly's clothes that lay out in the sun. "I think your garments are dry enough now." Reaching over, she plucked the bundle of clothes up and deposited them into Kelly's awaiting arms.
As Kelly began to wiggle into her clothes, Arachnia noticed how the temperature had drastically dropped. She looked up to see large, menacing black clouds come rolling in. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Another storm was coming in, starting out as subtle as the first storm had. The nearest human settlement was a bit far. They will never get there before the storm sets in, which means...
Arachnia looked down at a now fully clothed Kelly, who looked up to her attentively. "Looks like you're going to be stuck with me for a little while longer."
Kelly smiled as if she didn't mind that arrangement. And quite frankly, neither did Arachnia.