Warbird woke in the middle of the night to find herself surrounded by war boys, the pups sleeping on top of the more complacent boys. The room was cold, and she was grateful for their warmth, but very ungrateful for the hard stone floor. As she tried to adjust her position, not even daring trying to roll over, she found that pain shot through her, sweat breaking out across her forehead as her already damaged joints protested the ground they were forced to lay on.

She was useless. She could barely move. What was she supposed to do now? It was too painful for her to sleep again, and even if she could stand on her own and leave, she knew that Rictus would find her and just do the same thing as before, only a bit less merciful this time. Besides, the floor was literally covered in sleeping war boys. There was no way she was leaving.

The body behind her stirred and she turned her head to see Nux, his brow furrowed as he rolled over to face her. His eyes cracked open and he scooted toward her on his elbows until he was close enough that she could feel his breath on his face as he checked her over.

"How're you feeling?" he asked quietly.

"Fantastic." She answered bitterly.

"Do you want anything? Water? Food?" Nux looked at her hopefully. "More blankets?"

Warbird shook her head. "I don't…I just want the pain to go away." She squeezed her eyes shut and reached out, patting his arm to make sure he was paying attention. "Did you bring the goo?"

"Goo?"

"In the jar? From the room?"

"OH!" he nodded excitedly. "You want it?"

She nodded even though he was already reaching over her to grab the bag he had brought in and presented it to her. "Which one?"

"It's green—" she tried to push herself up and slipped back down with a grunt of pain. "FUCK!"

The loud cursing startled a few war pups awake, but as they started wiggling and attempting to free themselves from the mass of sleeping bodies they were trapped in, the older boys shushed them, or kicked them, or rolled over on top of them, once they themselves had realized there was no danger. They were used to loud cursing in the middle of the night.

"Hey, shh!" Nux hissed. He pulled the jar out of the bag and started stirring the cream inside around with his fingers. "Trying to wake up the entire Citadel or something?"

Warbird huffed in reply. "You'll have to help me pull my trousers off. I can't move much."

Nux put the jar down again and wiped his hands on his pants. "Hold still. Or don't. Help me as much as you can."

After a few minutes of wiggling and pained groans, Warbird's hip was exposed, and Nux did his best to suppress the noises of shock and surprise that his throat was trying to make. Her skin was covered in dark, bloody bruises, and he suspected that a hip wasn't supposed to be shaped quite the way hers was.

"Tell me if it hurts." He dipped his fingers into the goo and started smearing it onto the bruises, ignoring her as she flinched at the cold cream. A few moments later she began to relax, breathing in and out heavily.

"Better?" Nux asked hopefully as he paused in his work.

She nodded. "Better."

He put the jar down. "Do you want your trousers back up or would you rather enjoy the draft for a while?"

She snorted and did her best to throw a punch at his arm. "I don't like the breeze very much, no thank you." A few more minutes of wiggling and she was covered again, safely protected from the cold and drafty air that had previously assaulted her. With a sigh, she tried to make herself as comfortable as possible, but gave up almost immediately. She was used to sleepless nights, but they were usually made better by a bed beneath her and weren't usually caused by the trauma of falling several feet onto cold stone.

Nux frowned as he watched her. She didn't seem very happy to be there. War boys were usually happy amongst each other, though, so maybe all she needed was good companionship and then she would feel better. She also didn't seem very comfortable, and while he could sympathize with her there, he also knew the best way to make it better.

"Here," he said, offering an arm to her. When she did nothing but stare, he rolled his eyes. "I'm going to make you comfy. Come on."

She allowed him to pull her to his side and then watched as he repeatedly smacked the sleeping war boy next to him until he woke up with a snarl. "What do you want?!"

"Shut up, Slit." Nux snapped. "Warbird isn't comfortable."

"I'm not comfortable," Slit grumbled as he sat up and pulled a blanket closer. "Here."

Nux stood and crouched so that he could nudge Warbird over and grab the blankets she had been previously using. He tossed them over her to Slit and together they made a Warbird-sized nest for her, bunching them up at the sides. Then Nux scooped her up and pushed her over to them, after which he laid down close to her, sprawling out on his back so that she could use his outstretched arm as a pillow. Slit continued grumbling as he settled down again on her other side but stayed close, his skin brushing her side as she angled her hip and positioned herself so that it hurt slightly less.

The two war boys were warm, and she was beginning to remember what it had been like back when she used to sleep there next to them every night, before she was given her own room. She and the other pups her age would cluster together until the older boys fell asleep, or were close enough to unconsciousness that the children could find places to sleep near or on top of them without very much fuss. War boys all slept next to each other most nights, for warmth, protection, and comfort. Occasionally they would change rooms and sleep in their cars, but those were gritty and cold, and as much as their lives revolved around them, cars like those were not for sleeping in.

As independent as war boys were, they still all worked together, and they still all knew of their own mortality and their fleeting lives. They longed to be witnessed, for honorable deaths, for the right to enter Valhalla, but that was all during battle; at night, when the Citadel was quiet and all were sleeping, there was no such thing as the glory of battle on the fury road. When they were outside, driving under the blazing sun, they often forgot about their half-lives, but in the safety of the Citadel's caverns, they were reminded of the fact that they were all slowly dying. Most wouldn't admit it, but it haunted them, and they didn't want to die cold and alone and in a slow, aching pain. They sought comfort in each other, and that often meant clumping together. They took care of each other, especially the pups, and if one suddenly discovered new lumps and bumps on himself, it was up to the older boys to console him. They were, in a lot of ways, a family.

It had been a few years since Warbird had felt the comfort of being so near her companions, and she curled up as small as she could without her pain increasing, just like she had as a pup. She used to snuggle up with polecats and lancers and their drivers, until she had surpassed them in rank, gotten her tattoos, and began staying in her own room. But now here she was again, in the same place she had started out, all because of one conversation that had gotten her in enough trouble to probably be demoted. She had probably been stripped of her rank as imperator, and she was not at all looking forward to receiving that information in the morning.

The two war boys on either side of her fell asleep almost immediately, and as she was finally beginning to doze off, she heard the pattering of small feet and felt a war pup snuggle in on top of Slit. He grunted but didn't wake, and Warbird cracked her eyes open to see the pup make itself comfy. It was tiny, probably only just picked up by the elevator guardians sometime in the past few days. Small and young and most likely pretty scared, in a new place with a few new sights and sounds, but also a new family to be taken care of by.

Warbird closed her eyes again and felt herself relax and begin to enjoy the comforts that surrounded her. Her heartbeat slowed, and as Nux began snoring softly, she finally let her head rest on his outstretched arm. The last thing she remembered was the feeling of a war pup curling up at her feet.

There was no sunlight to stream in and wake the war boys up, nor were there any birds to sing. There was nothing charming or lovely about dozens of lancers and polecats, counterweights, drivers, welders, revheads, medics, and the whole lot of them waking up grumpily to hungry stomachs and sore backs. It was a sight to behold as they all began to rise and swarm to find food. As chaotic as it was, though, they were still not as desperate as the people down below when they fought for access to water. War boys threw occasional punches, but real fights were rare, and the pups were always minded if one broke out. When one of the youngest's toes were accidentally smashed, the polecat at fault immediately scooped him up and took him away from the crowd to be examined for broken bones and new bumps. There were several boys who were declared the unofficial war pup den mothers, Warbird included, but almost all of them watched out for the children. Even the littlest warrior deserved to ride to Valhalla someday.

Slit and Nux began to stir at roughly the same time, Slit grouchily nudging the pup that had fallen asleep on top of him away. As Warbird began attempting to push herself up into a sitting position, Nux shot up next to her and immediately ordered the nearby pup to bring food.

"Go on, it's for your Warbird!" he said impatiently when the pup hesitated.

"She's your imperator," Slit added. "You do what imperators want, pup."

The child shrank back a step and Warbird rolled her eyes. "You're scaring him. And I can get food on my own."

Nux and Slit glanced at each other with concerned expressions. "You're sure?" Nux asked. "You can't hardly even sit, let alone stand and walk."

She knew he was right, but now that she had said she would do it, she wasn't about to back off and let someone else do things that she should be able to do on her own. "Yes. Help me up."

Slit offered his hand to pull her up as Nux grabbed her under the arms and helped her move forward. Her muscles were sore, and she winced as she tried to take a step only to find pins and needles in her feet. She leaned heavily on Nux as pain flared up in her hip and sucked in a rattly breath. Walking had never been so difficult for her.

"You alright?" Nux asked.

Warbird only nodded in response and took a small step forward, Slit hovering behind her, ready for her to crumple to the floor. "We need to take you to Organic Mechanic."

She nodded again. "Yes, please-" out of the corner of her eye she noticed the pup standing there only a few lengths away and stopped midsentence to turn toward the little boy. "You must be hungry."

He looked up at her with wide eyes and nodded, and she took in the sight of his newly chalked skin and freshly shaved head. He really was a tiny thing; he couldn't have been more than just a few years old, and by the looks of his ill fitting pants and bare feet, no one had managed to give him reliable clothing yet. That meant that he was a fresh new recruit, probably picked up just yesterday. He must have spent most of his time sitting with the other pups in that very room that day, as they often did before they began mechanical training.

"Come here." Warbird offered her hand and the pup ran up and took it, immediately sticking closely to her side. "We go together."

The pup was nervous as they began walking again towards food, especially when the boys would turn and look at him. The elevator people had been rough, and then the next thing he knew he was being shoved along in a crowd, painted and chalked, and then suddenly nighttime had come. He hadn't known who it was he had ended up sleeping by…he had just seen the others all go and find little nooks and crannies and decided that he should, too. He hadn't known that this was an imperator. He had never even seen one up close before this.

"Did they give you a name?"

He glanced up at her and nodded. He had never seen someone like her. She looked a little like his mother had, but she was a boy, wasn't she?

"What is it?"

He just stared up.

"Not bright, is he?" Slit said bluntly.

"Scuttle," the pup said quietly, still staring up at Warbird.

She quirked an eyebrow. "Scuttle?"

He nodded, eyes ever widening as he looked back in front of him and saw that the war boys parted like an ocean in front of them. He had never felt so important in his life.

"Here," Nux stopped them in front of a large makeshift kettle. About a dozen war boys milled around it, reaching in cautiously to pick out boiling hot strips of meat. "Lizard's on the menu."

Slit wrinkled his nose. "Again."

"It's better than nothing," Warbird reminded him as Nux left them to fish out over—or sometimes under—cooked desert lizard. It wasn't the best, especially when overcooked, but until they could bring back more raided food, they were stuck with it.

Warbird seized Slit's arm and he immediately tensed and flexed. She wasn't sure if he was being touchy or helpful, but either way, it allowed her to lower herself to the floor to rest again. Scuttle sat next to her and Slit eventually joined when it became clear that Nux was going to take longer than his friend hoped.

"How's it feel eating with us again, imperator?" he asked, his scarred mouth pulled back into a grin.

Warbird looked at him. "I missed it."

He was a bit taken aback. "What? Why?"

"Because living alone is so…lonely." She admitted as she attempted to sit comfortably, moving slowly as she tried to gently adjust herself. "Sleeping at night with no one next to you is too quiet. It's cold and boring and…yeah, lonely."

His grin widened slightly. "Not like you had to spend your time alone. Tons of the boys would've joined you."

"Yeah? Would you've?"

His grin fell. "I—no—I mean, if you'd asked."

Scuttle made a small snorting noise and Slit cuffed him lightly over the head before covering the pup's ears. "No more out of you." He clamped down with both arms as Scuttle began wiggling and whining to be freed, ignoring his plight as if he had done this before several times, and turned his attention back to Warbird. "Really, though. What's the point in not?"

She shrugged. "Pain. Can't exactly get my back smashed out when my hip's like this, you know?"

"But you would otherwise?"

"I s'pose I would. I have before, but…" She thought about it for a moment. "The pain wasn't worth it. It's s'posed to be fun, right? That's the only point in doing it. Not like I'm a breeder or something. But when it hurts like that it can't be fun, so there's no point."

"So…you can't…?"

"Can't what?"

"Can't make one of these." He nodded very pointedly at Scuttle.

"No. Don't think so at least.

"Good. They're too much work." He let Scuttle go again. "Always asking for food and back rides. 'But we need it to survive!' Know what I need to survive? Not those toes diggin' in my back all night."

"Aw Slit, you know you love 'em," they glanced up to see Nux returning with breakfast. "Had to fight polecats for these. Told 'em they were feeding the imperator for a special raid. Eat up before they realize we aren't going anywhere anytime soon."