Meet the {New} Family

Ever so slowly, Nightshroud was starting to adjust to Soundwave's presence in the compound. She still wasn't happy about it by any means, but it wasn't the same bitter hatred she felt the day they got back from the jailbreak. Starscream was safe and that was all that mattered to the femme, because that meant she was safe too.. not just in general but from her own overactive processor. She wasn't alone. Starscream wasn't alone..

It had been a normalish day at the compound when a sudden shout erupted in the base; one that Nightshroud did not recognize. How had they bypassed the proximity alarm?! With blade in servo, Nightshroud rushed to find the source of the shouting, optics narrowed when she finally found it. It was a femme, somewhat taller than her but not quite as tall as Starscream, with black and purple armor. She didn't recognize them in the least, the the lack of the alarm sent the femme into fight or flight response. Raising her scimitar, Nightshroud took up a stance making herself look just a little bit smaller than she actually was but poised to strike at a moment's notice.

"Who the frag are you and how did you get in here?"

The new routine at the compound had been very beneficial for Starscream. He was less nervous, snapped less and Nightshroud was making amazing progress on his wings. They almost didn’t hurt anymore. He was occupying himself with plans and schematics he had hidden away all these years, frustrated with the limitations restraining his progress.

The repair shop next to the main hangar had been where the Seeker was spending most of his time, pouring over blueprints in the hopes of deciphering anything that would be useful. He hadn’t been fruitful so far and it had been very frustrating. He was occupied with tinkering with an energon converter when he heard an all too familiar voice booming outside.

Starscream ex-vented with great annoyance, rising up from his spot on the floor, heading toward the exit. He knew Skywarp and Nova Storm would be a problem eventually, but he had secretly wished they would have become an issue later. Stepping out in the sun, he made his way along the tarmac toward the main entrance. Rounding the corner, he was met with the sight of Soundwave and Nightshroud confronting the purple femme.

He was a little too far away from them so instead of being loud like his little sister, he opted to send a comm to his sparkling.

[Nightshroud] <<stand down. it’s not polite to greet your Aunt like that.>>

She’s going to resent being referred as such, it will be so delightful to see her react to it.

Skywarp? The Skywarp?

The glare in Nightshroud's optics lessened as surprise sank in. This was the Skywarp that was part of Starscream's trine? She didn't look anything like she'd expected; in fact Nightshroud wasn't even expecting a femme! She still stood her ground, ignoring Soundwave's instruction until suddenly the other femme completely vanished from sight! Nightshroud quickly looked around before a flash of light appeared near here and with it so did Skywarp.

Well that certainly explained how she got in without setting off the proximity alarm.

However, the reaction from the black and purple femme wasn't quite what Nightshroud was anticipating. Instead of a hostile attitude repaid in kind, what she got was.. taunting. Skywarp called her adorable before knocking the scimitar out of her servos, then promptly patted her on the helm asking who she was. Nightshroud growled in irritation, but it was only made that much more confusing when she received that comm from Starscream. She felt her processor attempting to crash as Starscream so lovingly referred to the other femme as her aunt.

<<"MY WHAT?!">>

It was all she could comm back as Skywarp quickly grew bored with her and moved on to yell at Starscream. Nightshroud just stood there, trying to figure out what had even happened. Now she apparently had an aunt who seriously needed to work on staying out of one's personal bubble, but now there was also someone new at the compound other than Soundwave. She wasn't happy, but she was far too confused to say otherwise either. "What... the frag..?"

Starscream ex-vented tiredly as he heard the commotion Skywarp was already making. It was even less surprising to see her appear a few inches from his face plate and yell. Why did she have to be so loud all the time? A servo came up to her face and Starscream shoved her with all his strength. Fighting was an essential part of their sibling relationship and long standing tradition required for them to push and shove at each other.

Starscream was in no mood for this, all the hard work Nightshroud had put into getting him to relax vanished the second the Seeker was in his face. She looked like a mech with a purpose and that never bode well…

“What do you want, Warp?”

Oh great. So this was what Nightshroud was going to have to look forward to if Skywarp chose to stay. She didn't have the patience for pranksters, nor did she have the patience for an annoying aunt either doting on her or mocking her. Starscream was plenty and she grew to appreciate what she had with her adoptive sire, and while it was slightly easier to accept Skywarp knowing she had shared history with Starscream and was part of his trine it didn't make things better when she acted the way she did.

Even after she teleported away, it was painfully obvious that she was bothering Starscream considering how loud she was yelling. Grumbling, Nightshroud ran past Soundwave and made her way the repair shop where the voices were coming from after picking up her scimitar. While she didn't sheath it, she did hold it firmly in her servo though at least she wasn't pointing it directly at the other femme. The crimson seeker glared at the taller purple and black one, wanting her to just leave Starscream alone if Skywarp was bothering him. The last thing they needed was an intruder who was going to give away their location by screaming it to the world.

"Look, I don't care if you're my aunt or.. whatever.. but what gives you the right to just show up and act like you own the place?" Gripping her scimitar just a little bit tighter, she continued. "And don't you ever touch me."

The headbutt dizzied Skywarp long enough for that slippery aft to grab her broken wing and shake it hard enough to hurt. A growl escaped her as she tried to retaliate but the pain irradiating from her wing was too much to bear.

“Y-you’re THE ONE THAT’S HIDING SOMETHING. WAIT. What do you mean AUNT? OH.”

Skywarp gave the most diabolical grin she could muster toward Starscream, before slowly turning her helm toward Nightshroud. When her optics met the younger femme, she was openly worried, lips trembling in a pout as she asked shakily.

“S-so you know what’s wrong with his spark?”