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Description
“Oh!”

I jumped at the rather loud exclamation of a tiny voice by my knee. I craned my head around the large plastic bag I had been busily filling with miscellaneous clothing and odds and ends to drop off at the local charity, and looked down at the diminutive speaker.

“Hello Hound, what’s wrong?” I asked, picking up the item I had accidentally dropped in my surprise.

It had been more than a surprise to find the toy-sized Autobot on my back patio three days ago, studying a grouping of ladybugs on one of my rosebushes. Once I came to terms that I wasn’t hallucinating, I had eventually learned that a group of Autobots had gotten caught in the crossfire in a rather spectacular skirmish in the Columbia Gorge. It involved a petulant group of Constructicons, a pissed-off Megatron, and molecular-reduction grenade, which not only failed to eradicate the Dalles Dam, it ended up shrinking Devastator and a handful of Autobots. Apparently seeing the gestalt reduced to the stature of a Tonka toy, and ranting with the voice of an angry chipmunk, was enough of a humiliation for Megatron to retreat, but not before shouting at Optimus Prime to make his Autobots stop laughing at his expense.

Hilarity aside, there was the problem of un-shrinking the victims, and though progress was being made to reverse the effects, they were still in for a wait. Some decided to hide out at the Autobot base, while at least one decided to make the best of it, and take some much-deserved leave; taking a trek down the Willamette Valley, to take in the sights in a way that they would never normally be able to do, and unlikely to be able to do again.

It was sheer random luck of the draw (and apparently ladybugs) that my humble apartment became the next rest stop along the way, and I was beginning to understand that a lot of the news and stories about the Autobots weren’t just hype; I’d heard some were quite friendly, but seeing it firsthand, these amazing beings were so human-like in their behavior that it was almost uncanny.

Even being a mere six inches tall, the miniaturized Autobot practically radiated eagerness and excitement as he shifted from foot to foot, pointing with determination at the object in my hand. “I’m sorry, but, ah…are you going to get rid of that?”

Looking down at the small, bright pastel-colored doll backpack clutched in my fingers, I looked back over to the Tracker. “This? My cousin left this behind years ago; didn’t even know it was here all this time. I already made sure she didn’t want it beforehand, Hound, she won’t be upset if I donate this with the rest of the stuff.”

My reply seemed to ignite him, and his optics grew wide and hopeful as a huge grin split his tiny face. “If you’re going to give it away…may I have it? Please?”

I blinked at him, an eyebrow slowly raising up in bemusement; holding up the Easter-egg colored pack. “You…want this?”

I was rewarded by an eager nod of the helm as the miniature Cybertronian attempted to scramble up my leg to get a better look. “It’s just the right size! I could fit a lot of things in there; just look at all the pockets!”

I was tempted to ask what sorts of things he had in mind, but quickly decided it was best to remain ignorant. Obligingly bringing the pack down to his level, I smiled to myself, as I watched Hound “ooh” and “aah” as he climbed all over the pack, opening all the velcro pockets and unzipping the main compartments.

“This is great!” Hound exclaimed from where he’d crawled inside the biggest compartment; poking his head back out to beam up at me. “Thanks!”

Shaking my head and chuckling, I shrugged at him. “You’re welcome. Glad to know it’ll be put to good use.”

It had been a good six hours since I saw Hound leave, taking the back trail into the fields and the forest beyond, dragging his new backpack behind him, and caught myself glancing outside my patio door every now and then, wondering where on earth he’d disappeared to.

I’d begun to think that he’d moved on to another place on his trek down the Valley, and felt rather sad that I hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye, when I heard a rasping sound outside, punctuated with a strange, almost musical sound.

Leaning out the patio doorway, I spied to my surprise, a familiar tiny green Autobot, merrily dragging what was now a very full backpack, back up the trail to my back door. Both were dusty and dirty from whatever Hound had been doing all day, and as he neared my back stoop, I realized that the unusual sound I had been hearing, was him whistling a nameless tune, while inserting a random bird call here and there.

Hauling his burden up to my back step, he paused and waved happily up at me, large grin still firmly plastered on his tiny face. “What a perfect day! You wouldn’t believe how many wonderful things I found; Earth never ceases to amaze me with all the treasures it gives us to find!”

I felt a grin spreading across my face; Hound’s enthusiasm and simple joy was infectious, and I couldn’t help but ask him what all he had found.

That earned me a thousand-watt smile, as the small Jeep clambered over the dirty, now slightly tattered backpack, eagerly pulling out his first treasure, a whorled snail shell. As Hound happily lectured about the species of snail the shell belonged to, I studied the delicate patterns and beautiful simplicity of the shape, and decided that chores could wait until tomorrow; there were more important things to enjoy today.

-----

Always stop and enjoy the simple things.

A huge thanks and hugs to *Coralle , for her wonderful inspiration. :3

Hound and Transformers belong to Hasbro/Takara...the lucky gits.

Description
“Oh!”

I jumped at the rather loud exclamation of a tiny voice by my knee. I craned my head around the large plastic bag I had been busily filling with miscellaneous clothing and odds and ends to drop off at the local charity, and looked down at the diminutive speaker.

“Hello Hound, what’s wrong?” I asked, picking up the item I had accidentally dropped in my surprise.

It had been more than a surprise to find the toy-sized Autobot on my back patio three days ago, studying a grouping of ladybugs on one of my rosebushes. Once I came to terms that I wasn’t hallucinating, I had eventually learned that a group of Autobots had gotten caught in the crossfire in a rather spectacular skirmish in the Columbia Gorge. It involved a petulant group of Constructicons, a pissed-off Megatron, and molecular-reduction grenade, which not only failed to eradicate the Dalles Dam, it ended up shrinking Devastator and a handful of Autobots. Apparently seeing the gestalt reduced to the stature of a Tonka toy, and ranting with the voice of an angry chipmunk, was enough of a humiliation for Megatron to retreat, but not before shouting at Optimus Prime to make his Autobots stop laughing at his expense.

Hilarity aside, there was the problem of un-shrinking the victims, and though progress was being made to reverse the effects, they were still in for a wait. Some decided to hide out at the Autobot base, while at least one decided to make the best of it, and take some much-deserved leave; taking a trek down the Willamette Valley, to take in the sights in a way that they would never normally be able to do, and unlikely to be able to do again.

It was sheer random luck of the draw (and apparently ladybugs) that my humble apartment became the next rest stop along the way, and I was beginning to understand that a lot of the news and stories about the Autobots weren’t just hype; I’d heard some were quite friendly, but seeing it firsthand, these amazing beings were so human-like in their behavior that it was almost uncanny.

Even being a mere six inches tall, the miniaturized Autobot practically radiated eagerness and excitement as he shifted from foot to foot, pointing with determination at the object in my hand. “I’m sorry, but, ah…are you going to get rid of that?”

Looking down at the small, bright pastel-colored doll backpack clutched in my fingers, I looked back over to the Tracker. “This? My cousin left this behind years ago; didn’t even know it was here all this time. I already made sure she didn’t want it beforehand, Hound, she won’t be upset if I donate this with the rest of the stuff.”

My reply seemed to ignite him, and his optics grew wide and hopeful as a huge grin split his tiny face. “If you’re going to give it away…may I have it? Please?”

I blinked at him, an eyebrow slowly raising up in bemusement; holding up the Easter-egg colored pack. “You…want this?”

I was rewarded by an eager nod of the helm as the miniature Cybertronian attempted to scramble up my leg to get a better look. “It’s just the right size! I could fit a lot of things in there; just look at all the pockets!”

I was tempted to ask what sorts of things he had in mind, but quickly decided it was best to remain ignorant. Obligingly bringing the pack down to his level, I smiled to myself, as I watched Hound “ooh” and “aah” as he climbed all over the pack, opening all the velcro pockets and unzipping the main compartments.

“This is great!” Hound exclaimed from where he’d crawled inside the biggest compartment; poking his head back out to beam up at me. “Thanks!”

Shaking my head and chuckling, I shrugged at him. “You’re welcome. Glad to know it’ll be put to good use.”

It had been a good six hours since I saw Hound leave, taking the back trail into the fields and the forest beyond, dragging his new backpack behind him, and caught myself glancing outside my patio door every now and then, wondering where on earth he’d disappeared to.

I’d begun to think that he’d moved on to another place on his trek down the Valley, and felt rather sad that I hadn’t had a chance to say goodbye, when I heard a rasping sound outside, punctuated with a strange, almost musical sound.

Leaning out the patio doorway, I spied to my surprise, a familiar tiny green Autobot, merrily dragging what was now a very full backpack, back up the trail to my back door. Both were dusty and dirty from whatever Hound had been doing all day, and as he neared my back stoop, I realized that the unusual sound I had been hearing, was him whistling a nameless tune, while inserting a random bird call here and there.

Hauling his burden up to my back step, he paused and waved happily up at me, large grin still firmly plastered on his tiny face. “What a perfect day! You wouldn’t believe how many wonderful things I found; Earth never ceases to amaze me with all the treasures it gives us to find!”

I felt a grin spreading across my face; Hound’s enthusiasm and simple joy was infectious, and I couldn’t help but ask him what all he had found.

That earned me a thousand-watt smile, as the small Jeep clambered over the dirty, now slightly tattered backpack, eagerly pulling out his first treasure, a whorled snail shell. As Hound happily lectured about the species of snail the shell belonged to, I studied the delicate patterns and beautiful simplicity of the shape, and decided that chores could wait until tomorrow; there were more important things to enjoy today.

-----

Always stop and enjoy the simple things.

A huge thanks and hugs to *Coralle , for her wonderful inspiration. :3

Hound and Transformers belong to Hasbro/Takara...the lucky gits.