Dear Vector Prime, What can you tell me about the heroic spychanger Side Swipe who served with Prowl 2?
Dear Spychanger Scholar,
Two versions of the Cybertronian you're referring to spring to mind as being particularly notable. The one you’re likely thinking of, from the OG World, was actually named Cambor, who fought alongside the modified BT unit Prowl 2. His counterpart Side Swipe from the Viron Cluster was much the same, but his Prowl “2” was a naturally sparked Cybertronian who took his moniker in honor of the Autobot Brother.
In any case, whether his name is Cambor or Side Swipe, he was a member of the Spychangers’ reserves. As Crosswise’s protege, he possessed great engineering skill, and worked with both him and Pathfinder to design much of the technology that made the Spychangers’ ninja prowess possible. He also personally developed his own V.I.S.O.R. (Visual Interface System for Optical Rejuvenation) to make up for the poor vision of his optics, which helped many other Cybertronians who struggled with the same disability.
Eventually, both he and Prowl were called to take part in the battles on Earth—but that is a story for another day.
Friendly Neighborhood Tiny Pally here! I have come to admit I’ve been a not so sneaky selfie snapper. Mostly because I’m terrible with the selfie camera and have to ask those I run into to hold a moment while I figure it out!
Others have shared their selfies (Especially the wonderful @olliehaldstan !) And since I keep seeing familiar names and running into friends -all over- while I’m doing dailies or scampering about for ore, I thought I’d share my sort of sneaky selfies with you all and create sort of a weekly Selfie Slam!
I want to see yours as well! Have you managed to catch a snapshot of someone? Add it to the list and tag them in!
On to the Sneaky Selfies!
Hello @strixena ! You were my first not so sneaky selfie! As you can probably tell by Cherry’s expression and the picture position I was figuring out the camera >.> You’re looking fantastic hanging out in the harbor! it was a pleasure to see you in game!
@ranekvilmas Is looking sharp in his transmog! And was AFK until after I took the picture! I ran past you and did a double take at the name so I had to run back and steal a picture. Happy Adventures to you!
@mremaknu! You are a gem for putting up with me getting stuck in my camera mode and running a circle around you! You were a nice surprise to find after plugging through my 7th Legion dailies! And looking fantastic in that mog! (Also hi to your guildie in the background! I don’t know if she has a tumblr, but if she does, let me know so I can tag her!)
Keep being awesome everyone and Happy Questing/Raiding/PVP’ing/ Hunting!
E quem disse que o céu deveria ter limites! Limites foram feitos para serem ultrapassados, de primeira, segunda ou terceira tentativas! O importante é você chegar no final e dizer a si mesmo "eu sim sou um campeão!" #CamBOr #IEtapa (em Tiradentes, Minas Gerais)
Lirriel sleeps soundly beside her husband, enjoying a lovely dream before being interrupted by a pounding at the door. She looks over at the clock, Light, just under fifth bell now, what could this be about.
She hops out of bed, he husband also stirring, he tells her he’s going to the children’s room, just in case there’s trouble, Putting on a robe, she hurries to the door opening to find Pinapple Peppercog, her face a bloody mess. The gnome looks up to her a murmurs in a singsongy voice, “Leon is Lying.” before her eyes flutter and she sinks to the ground groggily.
Clearing the kitchen table, she tells Drauglos to fetch herold commstone before examining the Major. Broken right wrist, broken nose, some bruising on the head. and neck, and four deep cuts extending from the right forehead down to the left cheek.
(( I Am Not a Writer. Therefore, the following is a modified chatlog. Whee, bumbling about in a broken brain! ))
Everyone starts in Harri's current state of mind: in a destroyed Honor Hold, the old sergeant digging graves for all the dead. The Path of Glory is paved with fresh bodies. He's covered with scars and bloody wounds and missing an eye. The graves he's dug already stretch to the horizon.
Vasily opens several portals and people step through them. Kaewynn and Cambor appear together.
For probably the third time in as many minutes, Cambor wonders why the hell he agreed to go along for this. Kaewynn didn't need him for backup, that was for damn sure, and he'd never so much as glanced at the thoughts of another creature. He didn't even have a firm grasp of some of his own memories yet. At the very least, he recognizes Honor Hold, or at least what it should be. He's flown over the Outlands enough times on his way to and from Zangarmarsh to remember it clearly. "This is exactly the sort of thing you told me I wasn't cut out for, y'know."
"I never said there was anything you weren't cut out for, love," Kaewynn says.
"Fine... 'might not be your place,' I think. We'd been talking about Theramore." He drags his claws through his mane and takes a careful breath--he does not like the smell here, and much less the taste--then approaches the digging man. "...I don't even know what I can do here..."
"Didn't you listen to Vasily? We need to go through one of these portals into his memories. We need to bring some token or trigger back so he can remember."
"There's listening and there's comprehending," Cambor responds.
Harrigan turns and appraises Cambor, in front of the sergeant as his boyish human self. "I don't know you, boy."
"Expect to know everyone here, do you?"
Harrigan grips the shovel. "Everyone's dead. Except the enemy."
Cambor looks around for a bit, nodding thoughtfully, then clasps his hands at his stomach and fixes his good eye on Harrigan's face. "The enemy are pointy-faced monsters that like green way too much, and from the looks of things, you've been digging longer than some of them have probably been alive. If I was one of them, and I wanted to fight, I'd just push you over instead of playing nicey-nice. Name's Leon."
"Demons look like anything they damn well want, boy. You best remember that." He turns back to his digging.
"Leon...?" Kaewynn comes up to take his arm.
Cambor’s eye rolls skyward for a moment, then he looks to Kaewynn. "Is this more jackassy or less jackassy than normal for him?"
"More. But not by much,” Kaewynn says. “Let's choose a portal."
Cambor glances at the portals. "... I'm going to skip the part where I get cynical again and just pick the one on the end, there."
Kaewynn nods and leads him to it, sparing only a glance over her shoulder at Harrigan. Cambor follows her, unable to do anything else.
The hell dissolves around them. They find themselves in a forest at night. There's a large group of armed men and horses nearby, obviously making a short stop for rest. Cambor feels a lot less out of place in trees at night. Approaching one armed guy digging holes is one thing, though; a group of resting possibly-soldiers-who-knows? Nahhh, hanging back and peeking a bit.
Kaewynn turns. "I think this is Elwynn." Her tabard has changed.
"Trees are right for it. What'd he do in Elwynn?" He's a little leery of the tabard, but as long as she doesn't act funny on him, he doesn't worry yet.
"He grew up here. The tabards some of them are wearing? Those are the Royal Dragoons. He served with them during the First War."
Cambor blinks after doing a bit of math and realizing that if he'd even been born yet, it'd be only just. Shake it off, not important. "So. Good idea or bad idea to just saunter up?"
"Can't you smell-" she looks and realizes he's still human. "They've been riding hard. Some of them have been fighting. I don't think it's a good idea to surprise them."
"Then I suppose waiting in the bushes is the order of the day. Although if you're not opposed I could probably get closer up there." He points at tree branches over the gathering.
"Look!" She points out a young man with dark skin. He's clean-shaven with short, black hair. The similarities between him and his older self were obvious even to Cambor.
His brow furrows some. "What's so important about tonight?"
"I'm not sure. He's a corporal... that would mean it's after the Stand of the Two Hundred. The Horde must be pillaging the countryside."
"Have any of these memory-walk things been into good ones?"
"I don't know,” Kaewynn says. “I've never talked to anyone that's done one. What I do know: he's been at war most of his adult life. Half of that was trapped on Draenor."
Cambor rubs at his mouth for a moment, frowning. Then he hunkers down and starts padding carefully closer. He's done that before, human or not, and as long as he's not an idiot, he can avoid making too much of a racket.
Kaewynn follows, almost as quietly. Meanwhile, another group of four horsemen ride up and salute the officer Harrigan is with. "Sir - the farms to the south have been destroyed. We didn't find any survivors."
Cambor freezes dead in his tracks. "Love...?" Kaewynn whispers very softly, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. All he does is hold up one finger. It's a jittering finger, but a very simple 'shush' gesture. He's listening.
"Harrigan. Your family lives north of here, don't they?" the officer asks.
"Yes, sir."
"I know you're tired from Lakeshire, but you know the roads better than anyone else. Take three men north and check it out."
Cambor closes his eye and takes a few deep breaths. Then he looks back over his shoulder at Kaewynn. "We're going to have to run."
"Maybe not," she says, thinking.
"Yes sir," Harrigan says.
"Harrigan - we're only going to be here for two hours. Make sure you're back," the officer says, turning away.
Harrigan starts moving toward the resting men. Kaewynn grabs Cambor's arm and pulls him with her as she hurries to intercept him. Cambor's a little startled, but he only ends up being dragged a short distance before he staggers to his feet and follows properly.
"Corporal!" Kaewynn calls.
Harrigan turns to look at them. "What is it, private?"
"Leon and I are from Northshire. We'll go with you."
Cambor stands up straighter and keeps his mouth shut. Harrigan looks them over, Cambor a little more critically. "I don't know you."
Cambor swallows hard. "Just got here. Not a lot of options for me now. Uh, sir. Rather not be a refugee."
"Private Susan Thomas, third squad, first platoon, company d. Or what's left of it."
Harrigan looks them over again. "Get your horses and mount up. We leave in five minutes." He moves to get another "volunteer." Kaewynn breathes a sigh of relief.
Cambor just kinda stares at nothing for a second before he gets a move on. Riding a horse will be a novelty; nowadays he tended to scare them.
"We should be able to find a couple that don't belong to anyone,” Kaewynn says. “Well, they don't anymore."
"They'll be pack animals if they kept 'em. Lot of saddlebags to dump."
"We'd better get moving then."
Fortunately, there isn't as much extra gear as expected. They weren't packed for a campaign and are travelling light even for them. Cambor transfers the bags to another horse, tossing a few into the underbrush. Saddling up takes a couple tries, though Kaewynn helps where she can. They manage to be ready when Harrigan and another rider get there. Cambor may have some questions to answer later, because he's clearly not new to stealing horses. For now, he simply pretends like he didn't nearly wind up upside-down before successfully mounting. "Ready when you are."
Anybody who's ever seen somebody do it would recognize Cambor steeling himself as they ride. He's having trouble focusing on the scenery instead of vague recollections of his own family just now, and he knows that's a bad thing.
Harrigan just gives a curt nod and takes them off at a canter. The road is well kept. It's not long before they encounter a couple of lanes leading to either side. "You two check out that side,” Harrigan orders Cambor and Kaewynn. “If anyone's there, tell them to get to Stormwind as fast as they can."
Kaewynn turns her horse to the left. Cambor's response is a bit delayed, but he does move to follow her. They quickly approach the darkened farmhouse. Everything is still and quiet.
"... Kaewynn..."
"Leon?”
"I'm not sure I can do this."
"You have to. I can't leave you here."
"It's quiet. There's no birdsong. I can't see this."
"Stay here." She rides up to the house, dismounts, and bangs on the door. "Wake up!”
Cambor is the picture of self-loathing as he stays behind, looking back up the road. Anywhere but at the house.
“I'm with the Royal Dragoons! Wake up!"
A light comes on in the house. A minute later, the door opens. "Who is that? What's going on?"
Cambor's head whips around so fast it's amazing he didn't hurt himself.
"Sir, you have to get your family and hurry to Stormwind,” Kaewynn says. “The kingdom is under attack and they're killing everything in their path. Get your family, take only the bare essentials, and go as fast as you can to the city. There's no time to waste." She's already mounting her horse as he splutters and tries to comprehend. "I have to warn the others. Tell anyone you meet to go to Stormwind. And hurry!"
Cambor stares for another second, then barks out "Move now, think later!" It's about as likely that he's trying to spur himself as he is the fellow in the house. Kaewynn rejoins him. The man has turned back into the house, shouting to wake everyone.
Cambor doesn't look at Kaewynn, he just wheels his horse around and gets moving again. They meet with Harrigan and move further up the road. The same scene plays itself out for the next three lanes they find. The same freeze-up happens again and again, and each time, he can't bring himself to look Kaewynn in the eye afterward. If not for being stuck, he'd probably have gone wolf a long time ago.
Harrigan suddenly pulls his horse short and points at the road. Here they can see the ground torn up by boots and wolf tracks. "There's smoke in the air. Be on guard." Harrigan leads them forward, slower now.
Whatever Cambor says to himself when they come upon those tracks, it's not especially surprised. His eye follows them up the road, but he doesn't spur the horse yet. Move now, think later.
They don't separate at the next lane. Instead they dismount and lead the horses up the lane, weapons unsheathed. Except for Cambor. He doesn't have one. He's never bothered to carry one, it wasn't necessary, and now he feels incredibly naked. Kaewynn hands him one of hers. "I don't use them."
"What are you going to do, girl?” Harrigan asks. “Knock 'em out with your hips?"
"Better men than you have dropped like stones for a light headbutt, boyo," Cambor says.
"Better men than me have had their guts ripped out by these monsters, boy. Save your anger for them."
Cambor's jaw sets for a moment, but whatever he wanted to say, he bites it off and simply adjusts his grip on the weapon he was given.
They come to the clearing where what used to be a house burns. Cambor doesn't hang back this time. They look at the burning house and barn. The light of the flames reveals bodies in the yard. Cattle, sheep, horses, and... humans. All hacked apart. Cambor can deal with cattle. Sheep. Horses. He stops dead at the humans, staring for the longest time. Then he looks at Harrigan.
Harrigan's knuckles are white on the hilt of his sword. His hand is shaking as he looks at the scene.
Another long, deep breath before he looks down, and crouches. He fully expects to be yelled at, possibly attacked, for doing it, but he starts to look over the corpses as delicately as he can. Anything that identifies them. Jewelry is usually a winner.
"Leave them," Harrigan orders.
Cambor ignores Harrigan, face blank. There had to be something. Rolling a body over was going to wrench his soul, but he would if he had to.
"I said leave them!" Harrigan goes over to grab Cambor.
"They need to be buried,” Cambor counters. “They need to be remembered."
"Remembered?! I remember them! That's Joe. His wife Marta. Over there is his son, Tom. And that's-" he chokes. "That's Sarah," he whispers hoarsely.
Cambor was both relieved and brought even closer to being sick at the confirmation that Harrigan knew these people. "Leaving them where they lay is what animals do."
"We don't have time for this. They're on the move north and south of us. We've got to rejoin the unit and get moving to Stormwind before we're cut off."
The other soldier hesitantly spoke up. "Harri... your farm isn't far from here..."
With Harrigan distracted, Cambor goes to check over Sarah as quickly as he can. There's a small braided bracelet around her left wrist, obviously hand made. He pockets it and stands up.
"If the Horde made it here, they're dead like everyone else,” Harrigan says harshly. “Leave the dead for the dead; we need to try to save the living." The other soldier claps Harrigan on the shoulder in sympathy.
Cambor looks at Kaewynn at that one, climbing back into the saddle. He has no intention of bypassing Harri's place, but he doesn't know where it is.
They mount up and begin heading the way they came. Kaewynn rides close to Cambor. "We have to stay with him. It's his memory; if he didn't go there, who knows what might happen."
Cambor is quiet and tense. "Who was she?"
"I don't know. I've never been very close to him, and I've never heard that name."
"Is...would it be enough?" Cambor glances at the others, then carefully shows her the bracelet he took, not fully withdrawing it from his pocket.
Kaewynn sucks in her breath. “He makes bracelets and necklaces. I think he might have made that one."
"They were his neighbors. She was probably two steps away from being his girl." Cambor sounds hollow, upset with himself for pillaging even the memory of a corpse. "Or a sort of little sister. Who knows. Who cares. Point is he cared about her. A lot."
The horse Harrigan is riding gives a sudden snort at the same time Kaewynn’s does. Harrigan draws his sword as a large shadow suddenly leaps at him. Three others come bearing down on the group.
Kaewynn yells "Orcs!" as she vaults off the horse, landing behind her attacker.
Time to find out if Cambor's still allowed at least the cat form. He's screwed up his eye trying to use a sword once already, better to at least try for claws. He's angry and he's going on reflex; if there was ever a time for him to out-stubborn a mind like Harrigan's, it's now. He needs to hurt something and three volunteers have shown up. It's not a cat, but it has claws and it functions just fine on all fours, so a frothing worgen will do. He can only hope he doesn't end up scaring the other soldiers into taking shots at him too.
The other three are heavily engaged with their opponents. The orc facing Cambor seems slightly surprised, but he's frothing too so self-preservation has probably left on vacation.
Cambor does not have a great deal of affection available for orcs, as one might guess based on his favorite drinking song, so grappling with one isn't something he worries over. He goes straight for the throat, no hesitation, only a little bit of sense. Biting someone's throat out is nasty, ugly business, and he didn't do that even as a cat unless he was hunting animals. The orc manages to block Cambor's initial attack with the flat of his axe, but he's still forced a step back by the ferocity.
Wolves don't generally...fight, so much. They pounce and kill, or they run the prey down and then pounce and kill. A wolf with hands has a strange dilemma in what to do with them, but he's had enough time in the worgen shape to adapt. He grabs for the axe and the hand holding it, not trying to take it but force the orc back further, even hopefully to stagger. The orc is a mass of muscle, so he doesn't back up. Instead he's fighting for control of the axe.
Cambor quickly realizes they've stalemated, and he'll be the one that loses if he keeps trying. He squeezes his claws as hard as he can into the orc's arm, not hoping for pain to cripple him--frothing was a good sign that wouldn't register much--but simply for a tighter grip as he brings both knees up and off the ground. Best case scenario, he rams his knees into the orc's stomach with his full weight behind them. Worst-case, the orc drops the axe, they both tumble, and he winds up dead anyway.
Cambor is correct about the claws. However, the knees work and the orc staggers. Cambor holds onto the axe as long as the orc does, tucking his legs up and snap-kicking his clawed feet into the orc's stomach again. They weren't especially sharp, but they were good enough.
The orc's grip loosens enough for Cambor to wrench the axe from his hands and bring it down hard on the orc's face. Cambor doesn’t stop swinging, and might not have for a while, except that it becomes unsatisfying to smash a bloody pulp into a bloodier pulp. A very red-furred worgen looks for something else to mutilate. Woman nearby. His woman. Fighting still? Good. More fighting. Bringing the axe with him, Cambor starts toward Kaewynn.
Kaewynn is striking the orc harder and harder. Finally she shouts "It's not real!" and punches the orc in the face. A bit of skull and brain exit the back of his head. Cambor still brings the axe down on the orc's gut once it falls and Kaewynn backs off.
"Light, girl,” Harrigan says. “What the hell did you do?"
"Love tap," Cambor answers.
“And what the hell are you?!" Harrigan stares at Cambor.
Cambor looks up from the axe sticking out of the dead orc and spits a bit of blood into the grass. "On your side." Harrigan and the other soldier look at him dubiously. Cambor gestures at the bloody muck on his chest, then to the two dead orcs, and looks flatly at them both.
Kaewynn steps in. "You two get back to the unit. We'll follow once he calms down and looks...presentable."
"No time." Cambor points a claw up the road. "Trying to save the living. Remember?"
"Girl's right. You get near the rest looking like that and they'll turn your hide into a pincushion. You two catch up when you can. Whoever you are." He adds, looking them up and down again.
Cambor stares after Harrigan for a while. Then he looks to Kaewynn as Harrigan and the other soldier put spurs to their horses and gallop off.
Kaewynn gives a slight nod to the woods off to his left. The sigh Cambor heaves sounds frustrated, but he makes his way into the trees, shaking out his fur once they're out of sight.
There is a blue light, similar to the portal they passed through nearby. "I think that's our ride home," Kaewynn says.
Cambor grunts in acknowledgement and keeps walking, though he's moving a bit slower once they actually go through the portal. Once they emerge into the false Honor Hold, he stops entirely only a few steps from the portal, hands the bracelet over to Kaewynn, and stares in silence at the ground, either unwilling or unable to move.
As Cambor leaves the academy, he hears a female voice call out.
"Excuse me."
The fluffy chef lifts his head as he finishes locking up the kitchen, ear twitching as he looks for the source of the voice. "Yes?"
As Cambor turns around, he sees a human female wearing the robes of the Cathedral standing there. She has lightly tanned skin and brown hair that is cut just above her shoulders.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but I was looking for someone and was told she might be here."
Cambor offers the woman a small smile, pocketing the key and stepping away from the door. "No bother, miss, I'm just finishing up. Who are you looking for?"
"She's a priestess. Sister Enerdhil. I was told that she works for a group that sometimes can be found here."
"Enerdhil?" He tilts his head, pursing his lips. "Not a name I'm familiar with." If he's lying, he's got an absolutely masterful poker face... this is a guy who doesn't really ask for last names
The lady frowns slightly, obviously disappointed.
"I guess I was misinformed. Someone had told me she worked for some 'league' now and that I may be able to find one of them here in Darkshire."
"League?" He scratches his ear thoughtfully. "Well, let's try it like this... You give me a name and a way to reach you, I'll pass it along.
The lady smiles and nods at Cambor.
'Thank you, that is most generous. I am Sister Annisa. I can usually be reached at the Great Cathedral in Stormwind."
"Sister Annisa. Easy enough to remember." He blinks, then lightly swats himself on the forehead. "Manners!" The same hand is offered to the comparitively little woman. "Cambor, in case you ever come around again. Although 'the worgen covered in sugar' usually works, too."
Sister Annisa smiles at Cambor.
"A pleasure to meet you, Cambor. Though that title is rather a mouth full."
He leaves his hand out for a few more seconds, then lets it drop if she doesn't take it, hooking his thumbs in his belt. "It's a kinder one than others I could've chosen, miss."
Sister Annisa takes Cambor's hand and shakes it gently.
"Well, I certainly do appreciate your generosity, Cambor."
"Hardly generous to take a message, miss. If there's anything else I can do...?"
"No, thank you sir. I've troubled you enough."
Sister Annisa smiles at Cambor and gives a slight bow. Then she turns and heads towards the tavern in Darkshire.
He considers, for a moment, following her. Then he rewinds the conversation in his head, and sighs. 'Sister' Annisa? Best not. He'd rather go to hell for a much more creative reason than that.
"... hn." He looks at his hand after she's gone, registering the scent in the back of his head, He'll write up something to send to Ly in the morning.
