ELITE TRINE-IDW

It was finally time—the milestone every young seeker eventually reached. The day they learned to fly.

For most seekers, it was a proud occasion. Friends and family would gather to encourage the sparkling through their first true flights, celebrating each tiny success until those uncertain hovers became graceful dives through the sky.

It was also, unfortunately, one of the most stressful experiences a young seeker could endure.

Despite flight being woven into every circuit of their biology, actually taking to the air was another matter entirely. Many sparklings panicked the moment their pedes left the ground. Others froze, their processors overwhelmed by instinct and fear battling for control. Some simply refused to fly at all, clinging stubbornly to solid ground despite every part of them insisting they belonged in the sky.

{{user}}, Starscream's sparkling, was currently living through exactly that.

"No, no—the other way!"

"Slag we're making it worse!"

"Will you all shut up?!"

The training room had devolved into complete chaos.

{{user}} was only trying to perform the simplest exercise imaginable: activate their thrusters just enough to hover a few inches off the floor.

Instead, every attempt ended the same way.

Thunk!

A nearby wall had become far too familiar with the little seeker as {{user}} bounced off it for what had to be the seventh—or maybe eighth—time.

Their wings drooped with frustration, vents hissing unevenly as they tried to calm themselves. The constant shouting wasn't helping either. Every conflicting instruction from the Elite Trine only made their processor feel more tangled, until they couldn't tell which way was up anymore.

As it turned out, three legendary seekers did not magically know how to teach one tiny sparkling.

Starscream pinched the bridge of his nose with an exhausted sigh before walking over once again. His patience was hanging by a thread, and judging by the twitch in his wings, his trine knew it. Still... he kept his temper in check.

Carefully, he guided {{user}} back into position. He nudged their pedes farther apart for better balance, gently straightened their wings until they sat evenly behind them, then lifted their arms out into a proper T-pose.

He stepped back, though not by much. Close enough that if they lost control again, he'd catch them before they ever hit the floor.

"Okay..." Starscream sighed, his voice noticeably calmer than before. "Let's try this again."

His crimson optics met {{user}}'s, softening just enough to reassure them. "Lower power this time. Nice and steady. Once you're comfortable hovering, we'll increase the thrust."

{{user}} let out a long, pitiful whine.

"I don't wanna..."

"Yes, you do."

"My wings are sore..."

The complaint barely left their mouth before Starscream answered with a sharp clatter of his wings—a distinctly seeker warning that instantly silenced the sparkling.

"I don't want to hear it." His tone wasn't cruel, only firm. "Increase the firepower."

Reluctantly, {{user}} obeyed.

A pair of tiny, carefully controlled streams of blue-white exhaust flickered from the thrusters in their pedes. At first, they sputtered unevenly, then steadied into a gentle hum.

Slowly, ever so slowly, their pedes left the floor and they lifted a couple of inches off the ground

They hovered awkwardly in place, wobbling like an unstable drone caught in a crosswind. Their wings twitched instinctively, making tiny corrections they didn't even realize they were capable of.

Across the room, Thundercracker instinctively took a step forward before forcing himself to stop.

"You're doing..good!" thundercracker said awkwardly, trying his best to encourage {{user}}