"Hog," the name of his bodyguard fell slowly and lazily from his dry mouth. It felt like gravel in his throat.
All day they had been riding through the Wastes, creating as much distance between them and the last town they visited. It was an uneventful day of watching the sand dunes and sun bleached scrap metal pass him by from his sidecar. Roadhog hadn't spoken a single word or even his usual grunts Junkrat had grown accustom to. He knew Hog was a man of a few words, letting his actions do the talking for him, yet he didn't react to Junkrat's touches and gestures. Strange, he thought. Eventually Roadhog would snap and yell at him but it never came. Those dark lens of his mask locked on the road ahead of them.
The hot rays of the bright Australian sun ebbed away and the night took its place. Hot, dry heat transformed to a cool breeze that brought thin clouds with it in the dark night sky. The moon, full and glowing, played hide and seek with the clouds, dipping in and out of view. The moonlight bathed the entire world around them in a calming, silver light.
An abandoned cave, an old dingo cave perhaps, became the two men's home away from home. The cave was much larger on the inside than its small entrance. It had just enough space to stash away Hog's bike. Junkrat sat upon a smoothed out rook at the rear of the cave, boot discarded and RIP-Tire placed on the floor nearby.
He watched his bodyguard shed his equipment in silence and he rested them on his bike. The harness came off first, the clicks of the plastic clasps broke through the quietness. His rings and his knuckle duster were the next which he tucked in the pocket of his harness.
"Mate…" Junkrat said to the man's back. His voice bounced off of the smooth cave walls, giving the illusion that he was all over the place. When his partner didn't respond to him again, his irritation boiled over. He was getting tired of being ignored by that large asshole. "Oi!" he snapped, fists balled up and the angry heat rose to his cheeks.
Once again, Roadhog did not answer him. The muscles in the large man's shoulders shifted as he took a deep, filtered breath. He turned on his heel and headed for the mouth of the cave. "Stay put," Roadhog ordered without even looking at Junkrat.
"'Ey!" yelled Junkrat, quick to stand to his feet. He took a step towards the other man. "W'ere the fuck ya goin', mate?" After hours of not saying a word to him, he comes around and says stay put all of a sudden? Like hell he was going to do that.
Roadhog halted in his tracks, right in the cave's entrance, and grunted as a reply.
Somehow, Junkrat knew what he was saying. He could figure out his answer in the way he grunted from the tempo and bass that rumbled in the man's massive chest.
"Perimeter check, my ass!" Junkrat retorted. "Mate, you ain't got no weapons on ya!" Yeah, the man could take on a pack of people if he wanted to. But going out without any firepower? It was insane and unheard of coming from Roadhog. He never left a place with no rings on his fingers.
The man looked at Junkrat from over his left shoulder. Those obscured eyes behind the dark and clouded lens of the mask were glaring at him. Junkrat was certain of it because he did it all the time. "I'll be back. Stay put and watch our loot, Rat." Roadhog ordered once more.
Junkrat folded his arms across his chest in a huff, defeated. "Fine, fine." He slumped to the dirt floor and leaned back on one of the duffle bag they lugged around, resting his chin in his hand.
"Don't leave the cave or you'll die, Jamison." Roadhog warned.
With an annoyed sigh and a roll of his eyes, Junkrat said, "Yes mum."
Roadhog stood there for a moment, possibly to weigh the certainty of his words then left Junkrat on his own. The sound of his heavy footsteps trailed off until he could only hear the loud chirping of cicadas in his ears. The clouds parted completely and the light of the full moon illuminated the world and a few feet inside the cave.
Junkrat snorted, "Dumb pig," he grumbled to himself. "Not me mum. Goin' off on his own."
Only a couple of minutes had passed and he was getting antsy from all the waiting. Oh how he hated waiting, it was akin to torture to him. It made his muscles ache, his fingers twitch, and his fleshy leg to bounce.
A bush rustling outside caught Junkrat's attention and he perked up into a sitting position. His ears were always sensitive when he was more manic than usual.
"Roadie?" He called out in the general direction of the noise.
Silence and chirps were the only responses he got in return. Curious, Junkrat fitted his boot back on his foot and got up to investigate the sound. He scampered over to the cave's opening and poked his head out with caution. A cool breeze hit his face and a dry bush by the cave shook, mimicking the noise he heard seconds earlier. It was stupid, getting riled up over a dead plant. But since he was up and about already…
He looked to the left then the right quickly. That big mass of man pork was nowhere to be seen. Junkrat stepped out from the safety of the dark cave and into the night. Where'd that drongo go? Junkrat thought. The cave was located at the back of a canyon, just out of sight of wandering eyes. Gusts of wind funneled through the canyon, ruffling his hair and kicking up dirt. If Hog was going anywhere, it would be into the canyon.
The light orange walls of the canyon rose above Junkrat's head and surrounded the lanky man from both sides. Crags jutted out to the starry night sky like sharp teeth ready to clamp down on top of him. It made him feel uneasy but he was determined to find where his bodyguard went off to. It couldn't be too far from the cave if he claimed it was just a perimeter check.
There were bootprints indented in the dirt which led further into the canyon, large and heavy bootprints. No mistaking it that they belonged to Roadhog. He followed after the trail closely. An array of questions battered Junkrat's head the deeper into the canyon he went. This was way beyond the cave's perimeter. What was Hog doing out here and why walk so far from his bike? If he was going to abandon him in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere, he knew he wouldn't leave behind his prized motorcycle. Hog loved that thing so much Junkrat joked in the past about them getting hitched. Sadly, Hog didn't find it as amusing or funny as he did.
The exit to the canyon draw nearer and the trail still continued. Fear began to claw at Junkrat's throat, it was a monster looming over his shoulder and wrapped its hands around his neck. He swallowed hard and squeezed his eyes shut. Hog wouldn't leave him behind all by himself…would he? He opened his eyes. Thoughts ran wild in his head, his heart pounded in his chest and his palms started to sweat. What would he do if Hog was gone? Go back to Junkertown? Wander about?
Junkrat froze in hi steps. Something caught his attention at the corner of his right eye, causing his thoughts to melt away. What he was looking at took top priority over his racing thoughts. Roadhog's boots rested on the ground neatly together while his mask sat on top of a rock. His eyebrow rose and Junkrat took the mask in his hands.
His calloused thumb brushed over the worn leather and his eyes looked at the emotionless plastic lens. They stared back at him. He raised his head, looking around towards the canyon's end. Hog didn't usually take off his boots unless he was sleeping and he never removed his mask no matter the reason. He needed his mask to breathe right. Junkrat learned it in the past, he just couldn't remember when he did. The mask slipped out of his grasp and hit the ground at the familiar noise in the distance.
It was a series of coughs.
Immediately, Junkrat pressed his back against the curve of the smooth rock wall and sidled slowly to the end of the canyon. He couldn't let Hog see him out of the cave, disobeying his orders. But just like a real rat, the man was curious. Curious of his bodyguard's unusual actions. Something was going on and he hated being out of the loop. He was going to get to the bottom of this. Junkrat poked his head out around the corner and his fingers curled tight on the edge of the rock wall.
Roadhog was several feet from him, about twenty feet away, he had to guess. He was kneeling in the dirt with his neck craned upwards to the nighttime sky. The silver moonlight outlined his massive frame, every scar and curve of his body. Junkrat couldn't help but to smile at the sight. Hog was a beautiful man, a beautiful and very violent man. He was glad he scooped up that man of pig before anyone else could. A shake of his head brought him back to his original thought. What was Hog doing out here?
He was about to walk out and confront the large man, preparing some sort of witty comment when a loud grunt caused him to retreat back to the safety of the rocks. It wasn't his usual grunts that would come out from him, Junkrat knew the difference. This was a pained grunt, one of the rarer grunts in the man's vocabulary.
Roadhog doubled over and braced the ground in his hands. His fingers dug deep into the dry soil with another grunt full of pain, louder than the one before it. His body trembled though it wasn't cold and his back began to spasm uncontrollably. Junkrat wanted to run over to his best mate's aid but he was stuck in place, becoming a silent observer.
Disk in his lower back bubbled out beneath his skin at the way to his tail bone. His skin tore like cheese paper as the tail bone lengthened and forcefully pushed its way out from his body. Longer his tail bone grew, slowly forming a fleshy tail that thrashed about at Roadhog's backside.
No.
Roadhog huffed and puffed, hard enough to cause the dirt under him to make dust clouds. Drool dripped from his quivering bottom lip and a layer of sweat covered his blemished skin which shimmered in the moonlight. Another grunt came from him, deep and bassy that formed from the depths of his chest. The bones and tendons in his feet creaked and groaned as they grew farther from his toes. His toes fused together at the base and went upwards, turning into two toes on each foot. Toenails painted in black polish became thicker and harder, ending at a razor sharp point.
Oh no…
His elbows held up his weight as his shaky hands reached up to shield his face. Short black nails buried themselves into his skin and an animalistic growl rumbled out from Roadhog. His small, round ears grew in size and length then folded over itself at the top, making them come to a point and flop about.
The large man rose back to his knees, throwing his head back. His hands retracted from his face and his arms fell limp to his sides. His shoulders heaved with every breath he takes. More growls and grunts slipped from his mouth as the change moved to his face. The canine teeth which formed his unusual underbite grew deadlier as they became longer and sharper, curving outwards. The middle of his face bubbled, shifted, and pushed out at his nose. His fingers gripped at his camo pants tight. The fabric threatened to rip as the changes morphed his nose into a heart shaped nose and snout. Short silver fur that matched his ponytail erupted from every pore on his skin. It enveloped his entire body all the way down to his new tail, ending in a tassel of long hairs.
He shook his head several times, causing his ears to flip and flop. Roadhog rose up onto his new bipedal legs, shaky and foreign like a newborn animal. He took an awkward step forward. His tail flicked to the left then to the right and he raised his nose to the air, sniffing at it.
Junkrat stared, unable to pull his eyes away from the scene before him. Hog wasn't just an animal, he was really an animal. His hired bodyguard, who he found by chance, happened to be some kind of shapeshifter. He certainly scored big with who he chose to protect him. It opened up a whole new world to him, and Junkrat liked it.
"Hooley dooley!" Junkrat exclaimed rather loudly. When he realized how loud he was and slapped his hands over his mouth, it was too little too late.
Hog's head snapped in his direction, his yellow eyes glowed bright under the shadows of his face. He let out a bellowing roar that made Junkrat almost shit his pants. At inhuman speeds, Hog charged towards him on all fours. With a very not manly scream, Junkrat turned tail and fled back into the canyon. He heard Hog's heavy footsteps pound hard against the ground; it shook the ground like an earthquake. He was catching up on him, the panting and growling grew louder and louder. He felt Hog's hot, humid breath on his neck.
This was it. This was how he met his end. He expected something grander than being torn apart and eaten alive by his own bodyguard. He should have listened to Hog. He really should have.