A/N: This is the second part to the fic. I'm so happy at the warm reception it's gotten. I wasn't sure if anyone would like it. Thanks!

Tailwind,

So much as happened since my last letter, I barely know where to start. Some things don't seem to change while others move too swiftly to keep up.

In only a few short months I've learned much about myself, about those I fight alongside. It isn't like the noblemechs back home much to my distress and delight. Few of my comrades trust me, and I can count on one hand the 'bots who would entrust their lives to my care. Many know my story, I… was not exactly reluctant to explain how I was a Neutral refugee. One who would rather fight than roll over and die. Understandably this did not inspire any confidence in me as a mech or soldier. I thought they would trust me simply because of the fact that I was from such high and legitimate origins.

It appears that trust and friendship is earned here, not bought.

You were like that as well, I remember. No matter what I said, you would always call me on it if I was being at all insincere or false. You drove me to the brink of insanity when I first met you. I know many resented you for your brutally honest nature. However... I found myself attracted to it for the most inexplicable reason. You were honest; you were fresh; something new in the dull life I led.

If there was one thing I know you hated, it was the high position in society your occupation gave you. Such is the life of a Skydancer, isn't it? All those rehearsals and moments of pain and hard work… In the end all you managed to achieve was a few performances for some stuck up 'bots who couldn't care less.

Well, I don't mean all certainly. I loved watching you, Tailwind, I would go to all of your performances. Nothing could keep me away from it when you were the lead that particular evening. Even before I thought of you… in more serious manners than as my dear friend, I was struck dumb by your grace and delicacy. Of course anyone who accused you of such would receive a sound fist in the helm. You never were one who could play the part of 'damsel in distress.'

Here we are in the middle of Autumn now. Of all the seasons, I find this is my favorite. The unbearable heat that threatened to peel paint and melt rubber is gone, and there seems to always be a cool breeze in the air. Tracks tells me that in New York and the surrounding areas, a place which no doubt means nothing to you, the leaves on the trees appear to be on fire as the leaves change color. We do not have it to the extent of the East, but it's still very beautiful to see.

I've often stood in the middle of a forest and thought of you. The red leaves fall and dance in the wind, reminding me of how you would fly during your performances. You were a shooting flame in the perpetual night sky. In a few weeks, all the trees will be bare and the leaves will have died and turned brown. After the Skydancers were cancelled, I thought you would have died as well. It was your life, your one true passion.

I should have known you were much too strong to curl up and die. Even when the war hit, you refused to back down.

I've seen you close. Primus, I know I've seen you on the verge of giving up. You called me when you were at your most vulnerable, and I did what I could to pick you back up. I don't know why I was the one you called for, out of all the people you knew, out of all your friends. I'm never very good at comforting; I'm hardly what you could call a very 'sociable' person. Even at those parties I liked to frequent, I still stood to the side, interacting very little with the majority. I loved the world that you and I lived in, but I hated the rules that must be played to stay. I suppose it's only after I left it and you that I realize just how much I did hate it.

If it weren't for you, Tailwind, I don't think I would have ever survived it. You were so smart, you were able to avoid the worst of those social 'rules' that seemed to control everyone else. There wasn't a mech or a femme you couldn't shoot down. I remember how you used to rant to me about it, about how stupid it all was. Too foolish to see it like you did, I defended them. My closest friend, and I turned on you in defense of those who scorned you.

You were and always will be autumn. On the verge of despair, yet holding on despite everything. Beautiful and dancing and all things peaceful. On my next leave, when I am able to return to Cybertron to see you, I'll bring a dried leaf still colored by the autumn. It's not an expensive gift and nor is it elaborate. Most would say it's not even that beautiful. But it's simple and elegant even if it isn't gold or silver.

I think you'd like something so simple as you always did find large expensive things to be distasteful. I couldn't understand back on Cybertron in a world that valued big and gaudy and beautiful. All the other femmes around you, even your fellow performers, valued such things. But not you. Never you. And now, here in the simplicity of a mid-autumn where beauty can be found even amidst the dying trees, I think I do understand.

I find, Tailwind, that I have found some semblance of happiness here where I once found only dirt and war and ugliness. I feel the same sort of contentment I once found in your embrace. And I know that if you were here with me, among the falling leaves of gold and scarlet, I would want nothing else in my life.

I count the days until my leave and I am able to see you again. But until then, I will content myself with watching the dancing leaves of autumn.

All My Love,

Mirage