The halls of the Lost Light were usually occupied with various bots walking to and fro from different areas of the ship, a lot of them carrying themselves with leisure and stopping to share a few words here and there with whoever were to pass them. However, for a certain mint green and white femme, the halls were a minefield of potentially dangerous interactions to avoid. With her history of growing up on a decepticon warship, Stormshift found it nearly impossible to adjust to hallways that were so heavily occupied with bots who would have in her mind likely killed her on sight during the war. It wasn't unusual to see her flitting about, hugging the walls, and ducking into rooms almost every time someone nearly acknowledged her. Stormshift's evasive maneuvers in the hallways made sense to her, however some bots on the ship were growing suspicious of her unusual behavior.

As Ultra Magnus and Rodimus approached a turn in the hallway, making their rounds about the ship, Stormshift found herself once again trapped in the middle of the hallway with nowhere to hide. She had been on her way to try and meet with Rodimus, but the fact that he'd turned up when and where she'd least expected it caught her quite off guard and so she quickly ducked into the nearest room without bothering to read that the sign on the door said 'Swerve's'. She let out a long sigh of relief through her vents, her wings relaxing against her back before she felt a light tap on her right shoulder.

"Hey, you look lost. Are you okay?" a voice chirped from behind her. Stormshift spun around in surprise, coming face to face with a bot with white and blue plating who was about a head shorter than her.

Stormshift swallowed hard and nervously nodded at the shorter bot, hoping to avoid conversation.

"I know it's really overwhelming at first. But soon enough you'll know the ship like the back of your servo. I'm Tailgate by the way. What's your designation?" the other bot asked, holding out his servo for a handshake.

Stormshift hesitantly took his hand, wincing slightly as she did so. "It's....it's Stormshift..." She said, noticing another bot in the distance making a beeline straight for them. Her wings instantly shot upwards in an effort to make herself look bigger while she slowly pulled her servo from the handshake and backed up towards the door as the purple mech walked closer, his faceplate as serious as the grave and every step like a march of doom. The unfamiliar mech had two horns jutting from his helm and his claws looked sharpened for the kill. Stormshift recognized the determined, battle hardened stance of the approaching mech and she instantly pressed her back up against the door as memories of similar encounters flashed through her processor.  Tailgate was completely unfazed by the others' approach, almost as if to him this was completely normal.

"Tailgate!" the purple mech barked, stomping even closer.

Stormshift slid down against the wall, dropping to the ground and curling up into a ball, putting her arms over her head and pulling her knees to her chest. Her frame quivered and shook, and she closed her optics in fear, waiting for a searing wave of pain and the echo in her audials of blaster fire.

Tailgate turned around at the sound of his name and stood there for a second, realizing what was going on. He stood there, torn between the bot he knew and the bot he had just met, unsure of which of them to address first.

"What did I tell you about talking to bots you don't know you can trust?" the purple bot growled, catching up to Tailgate and folding his arms over his chassis, towering over the minibot and the tiny seeker.

"Hhhh-uhhh- It's okay! Both of you, it's okay! Calm down!" Tailgate yelled, stepping in between Stormshift and Cyclonus. At Tailgate's yelling, everyone in the room looked up from their drinks and stared at the altercation, wondering what was going on.

Still waiting for the gunshot that never came, Stormshift nervously lifted her head, looking up at Tailgate and his brooding companion. Cyclonus stared down at her, his red optics piercing into her very spark. She could feel her memories flashing through her processor as a prickling, tingling feeling crept through her mesh on the back of her left shoulder and along the side of her neck. She'd gotten the chills before, but they had never been this bad or this concentrated in a single area.

"Cyclonus, back up a bit! You're scaring her!" Tailgate said, stepping up to the towering purple mech and tugging on his elbow to try and pull him away from Stormshift.

Cyclonus quirked up a brow in confusion, narrowing his optics skeptically at Stormshift.

"I'm scaring her?" Cyclonus asked in a low growl.

Tailgate shrugged and glanced over his shoulder, noticing that Stormshift was beginning to stand up again. "I don't know...she just seemed a little nervous, that's all. And I was just trying to introduce myself!"

Stormshift shuddered, reaching over and scratching at the left side of her neck, feeling the instinct rising in her to run, hide, and do everything in her power to get away from the situation as her mind acted against her by recalling every time she had been trapped and powerless to protect herself against a more imposing foe. The look in Cyclonus' optics chilled her to the core, and before she knew what she was doing, she found herself ducking back into the hallway to avoid confrontation.

Cyclonus continued to stare down at Tailgate skeptically, while the door quietly clicked shut as Stormshift darted back into the hall, trying to get away from the situation.

"I don't think you should be introducing yourself to bots that act like they have something to hide." Cyclonus said, still frowning.

Tailgate let out a little cry of exasperation and shook his head. "Some bots would say the same about you, y'know." he said, before turning around to face Stormshift, only noticing that Stormshift was nowhere in sight. He turned back to Cyclonus and glared up at him from under his visor. "Now look what you've done! You've gone and scared her off!"

"Good. With how that bot hides behind everyone and everything in the hallways, I don't think you can trust her." Cyclonus replied.

Tailgate groaned and facepalmed in irritation.

"I was simply trying to protect you." Cyclonus stated, stooping down and placing a servo on Tailgate's shoulder and softening his gaze. 

"Oh? And who's going to protect me from you, huh?" Tailgate replied, shrugging him off and indignantly crossing his arms.

"Tailgate..." Cyclonus stated, lowering his optics.

"Just....give me a little space." Tailgate said, pulling away from him. "I want a chance to make other friends without you standing there and scaring everyone away."

Cyclonus let out a mournful sigh and stood up, turning his back to the little white minibot. "I don't want to lose you."

"I'll be fine." Tailgate replied, lightly patting Cyclonus' leg before he stepped out into the hallway.