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It was a perfect day to be outside as far as Hound was a concerned even if Perceptor disagreed with him. It hadn’t stopped the scientist from going along when Hound had casually (very obviously) mentioned finding some interesting rocks they could study out in the mountains the other day. Percy knew it was a bit of an excuse to get him out of the Ark and away from his lab for a while. He did appreciate it, but the uneven and bumpy road took away a large part of his enjoyment.
“Is there no smoother way?” He asked grumpily.
Hound laughed. “Not unless you can fly.” He paused for a moment to think. “We aren’t too far from the site actually, we could probably walk the rest of the way, if you wanted to?”
“That actually sounds rather nice,” Perceptor said. It had been a while since he’d last exercised and Ratchet had been giving him a look the last few weeks.
Hound slowed down and opened the passenger door for Percy and waited until after he’d leapt out and finished transforming before transforming himself. He stretched and then grinned over at the red mech. Perceptor raised an optical brow at him in question.
“I told you it was a nice day out for this.”
“You did,” he started walking, not waiting for Hound as he followed the path upwards.
The narrow access road wasn’t very wide, but he could tell it was rarely used now. They were probably the only ones who’d used it within the last six months to a year. Hound would probably know.
“How did you find this spot?” Percy asked him, looking over his shoulder at the other mech who was covered in mud and dust and leaves from the trip up the mountain.
Hound grinned up at him. “I read about how mountains are good locations to find fossils usually and looked into different rock types and areas where some had already been found. There was a small discovery in these mountains a few years ago but no one’s been back since. Figured there might be more exposed or that our scans might be able to pick them up.” Hound shrugged. “Even if we find nothing, it’ll at least be a fun a trip.”
Perceptor made a noncommittal noise at that last part. So far, he’d been bounced around the inside of Hound’s cab on the way here and not seen much of anything. The walk was turning out to be nice though, so there was that at least. The idea of finding some new fossils or furthering fossil research was appealing though.
They continued their walk in silence for a few more kliks before Hound stopped abruptly, optics going over bright. Perceptor paused from a few paces in front of him and turned to look back at the green mech. Slowly, he followed Hound’s line of sight and blinked a few times to recalibrate his optics.
While he wasn’t one of the Autobots who spent most of their time watching earth media or engaging with it a lot, he was still able to recognize what Hound was staring at. There was a small, black and white dog standing on a ridge not too far from them, staring suspiciously back at them. Its ears flattened but not pinned to the back of its head and its tail was held stiffly out. It didn’t look angry, just unsure, but Percy wasn’t an expert in dogs, or any animal really. He looked at Hound.
“Why is there a dog here?” He asked.
Hound shrugged and pointed at a spot just beyond the dog. “It’s not just a dog, but sheep too. I don’t know why they’re up here.”
Percy looked past the dog and squinted, realizing then that what he thought had been odd looking rocks, were actually a bunch of sheep. “How strange. Do you think they might have gotten loose?”
“Maybe?” Hound took a few steps closer, and the dog gave them a warning noise. Hound froze for a klik until the dog relaxed and then he very carefully made himself smaller. “Hey, it’s okay, we’re just worried and want to make sure you’re okay,” he said gently.
Percy raised and optic ridge, a retort on the tip of his glossa, when the dog relaxed and moved a little closer. Hound held out a servo and kept talking to the skittish dog and in no time at all, the dog was happily wagging its tail and even licking at Hound’s digits. Hound had a blinding smile on his face the entire time.
“Do you think he’ll let you near the sheep now?” Percy asked him.
“He might,” Hound said, not taking his optics off the hyper dog.
He stood up carefully and took a slow step toward the sheep. The dog didn’t seem to mind and even started to trot off up the hill back toward the sheep. Perceptor followed behind them, keeping a bit more distance between them so the dog wouldn’t get nervous again. He might be friends with Hound, but he hadn’t bothered to check the other mech out.
They were nearly at the top of the ridge when a sharp whistle sounded. The dog froze, head snapping toward the right before taking off with a happy bark at full speed. Hound and Perceptor quickly made their way up the ridge and Hound couldn’t help but smile at the dog happily running around and whining at a human. Hound assumed he was the dog's owner, especially with how the two interacted with each other.
Hound raised his arm and waved at the man. “Hi there! Are these your sheep and dog?”
The man looked up and startled at the sight of them. He looked about ready to bolt when his dog trotted back to Hound with a happy bark, demanding attention. Hound knelt down and carefully pet the little dog who happily licked at his digits, tail wagging quickly. The man smiled and walked a little closer to them.
“They are mine,” he started. “I’m guessing if Riot likes you, and you’re being so gentle with him, that you both aren’t those evil robots then?”
“We are not,” Perceptor said, watching Hound and the dog. He watched the sheep and cocked his helm. “How do you keep them all together without any fences?”
The man looked over at the sheep briefly. “Riot keeps an eye on them and keeps them together. It helps that sheep are herd animals anyway and don’t like straying from each other, but border collies like Riot here are bred and trained to protect sheep and make sure none of them wander off.”
Hound grinned at Riot and gently ran a digit down the dog’s back. “Are you the best pup ever?”
Riot barked happily and spun around, demanding even more attention from Hound. The green mech was more than happy to pet and even play with the small dog while Perceptor and the shepherd talked. Eventually, Riot led Hound up to the sheep and sat wagging his tail as Hound carefully pet the sheep nearest him. Before Percy knew it, Hound was surrounded by sheep, either petting them or seeing if they would take tiny bits of grass from his servos. He took as many image captures as he could of Hound with the sheep, knowing everyone back at the Ark would love to see them and that Hound would likely want all of them when they got back. Perceptor smiled at his friend, not even caring that they wouldn’t get to see any fossils today.