Nighthawk ran away from the Nemesis, saying goodbye to her oldest friend, Knockout. She hid in the woods until her spark pulse settled. No one was chasing her. She had escaped with only Knockout and her knowing. She looked longingly at the giant warship she had called home and she whined for her daughter, Nightshade. But she knew she could not return to her baby and her "mate". She howled at the torn feeling, tears forming in her optics for the first time in a long time.

She flinched at the sound of branches breaking under pedes and she expected drones to emerge and take her back to the hovering warship, but she was greeted by an odd assortment of mechs. They murmured in surprise as she stood straight. She realised that most of her armor was gone, revealing her sensitive protoform. "My name is..." She paused, biting her lip. She could not use her Decepticon name anymore. She considered herself reborn. "My name is Silence."

The mechs parted, allowing a red and black mech to step forward. His glittering green optics found her purple ones and he grunted softly in surprise. He bowed his helm, chattering and chirping in a familiar language. It was Cybertronian, she realised. She had spent so much time on Earth speaking their language that she had nearly forgotten her own. She was relieved to find that she was not rusty at all.

"Greetings. I am called Silence," she said again in Cybertronian. The red mech nodded and dropped to his knee, provoking the same responce from his band.

"I am Stinger, and I am pleased to meet a femme in our...you would say, hour of need. Our last femme is old and cannot bear the tasks we have set on her. I hope you are strong and fit."

She narrowed his optics at his tone. It sounded like she had already been claimed for this unknown mech's cause, whatever that may be. "And if I refuse?"

"We leave you, and you will have to fend for yourself. Make the choice, dear femme, quickly. We must return to gathering."

She weighed her options, slowly nodding when she found she rather liked living. She, after all, had not lived in the forest. Not like these mechs, at least. "I shall, Stinger."

"Excellent. Follow us." And then they were gone.

It took a few tries before Nighthawk got the hang of bounding through the forest without crashing into a tree, which the mechs found amusing. Stinger chuckled and squated by her, asking if she wanted one of the mechs to carry her. She had shoved him every time, to the amusement to the other mechs. Stinger had shrugged and bounded off, leaving her to pick herself up.

Suddenly Stinger stopped, growling when Nighthawk plowed into his back. She bounced off and fell on her aft. "For a femme named Silence, you are very loud," he teased.

"I am out of my environment, Stinger," she snapped.

He shushed her, hissing as he pointed out a tiny crystal of Energon. Nighthawk was about to jump at it when she saw a familiar mech go to collect it. Stinger drew out a bow and cocked an arrow.

"NO!" She jumped in the way. The mechs gasped and Stinger bared his denta. "I mean, let me show my worth to you..." She bit her lip when Stinger nodded and lowered his servo-made weapons.

"Do not disappoint or we will feed on you instead."

She realised she was in the company of cannibals and she nodded slowly. She transformed into a massive hawk and flew over Silverwing, shrieking furiously. She buried her talons in his shoulder and pretended to bite his audio. Silverwing shrieked and ran off, not recognising her. She transformed back and watched him go, picking up the Energon crystal.

Then she found herself dangling from her pede, Stinger looking like he might pass out from laughing too hard. The last bits of her armor that had survived the helm-on crashes with trees fell off in gravity's digits.

"Yes. You will do simply for entertainment if you do not prove yourself to be a killer." Stinger cut her down and plastered her naked body in mud and leaves. "Welcome to our band."

She smiled and looked at the mechs as they rubbed against her and welcomed her. Stinger perched in a tree and stared down at her. She thought she saw possessiveness in his optics, but as soon as it appeared, it vanished and he grinned.

She followed him and his patrol back to their camp. Their only femme was cleaning what appeared to be a drone. It was gutted and flushed out entirely. Stinger shoved the femme away and licked up the Energon, taking a mouthful of wires and cables as he stood. He then walked to Nighthawk and moved so that the wires dripped fresh Energon onto her chest. "Eat," he mumbled.

She stared at him in surprise, then slowly took a cable and chewed it. She found out something that night as she swallowed and leaned in for another bite.

Cybertronians tasted pretty fragging good.

The mechs were doing the same: one of them holding a mouthful of cables while another selected its portion of the collected pieces. It was unusual, but Nighthawk was not about to question anything. She would not want to take the drone's place in the middle of camp.

Stinger prowled closer to the drone and barked, baring denta as the rest of the band crawled to him and submitted, screwing their faces into the dirt. Nighthawk knew she had seen this behavior before in one of Earth's creatures: subordinates submitting to a leader for affection and food. Mostly food. It seemed the prize in this submitting game was the drone's spark.

She joined in, pressing her chest and face into the ground as she whined pitifully. Stinger's optics were on her and he began to smirk at her. He growled at everyone else, then gave her a small nod. She moved closer, careful not to make optic-contact with Stinger. Her tank gurgled greedily at the scent of Energon and the promise of more of the delicious food she had given it. Stinger shoved the spark into her mouth and she retreated to eat it.

Stinger moved closer, grinning when she growled and hissed at him. She could not believe her behavior. How could she be so animalistic at the sight of fuel? "You will fit in well."

She licked her lips and slowly crawled back into the clearing, letting the mechs rub against her and she rubbed back.

We are wolves, she thought. She smiled up at them all and sat back as Stinger howled. A nearby pack of actual wolves howled back and the two species howled together. Nighthawk slowly joined in and the mechs broke off to listen to her. Even the wolves were silent until she finished.

Stinger watched her, purring. "Silence is your exterior. But inside, you are screaming for someone to listen."