One of Warbird's favorite things to do was sit on the edge of the Citadel and look out over the sand and dust to the horizon. She wasn't quite sure where the sky started and where the land ended, but she imagined it was pretty far away, and she wished she could go there. Sure, she could drive out there, but with a limited supply of pretty much everything and chronic disabilities that meant she was more likely to be targeted should she stop for more, it wasn't likely that she would be traveling very far very soon. Not alone, at least; with some of her boys, it would be possible.

It wasn't that she was afraid. The way she wanted it, nobody knew she was afraid of anything. She had a few fears, but none of them were directly related to traveling alone. When choosing not to do so, she was just regretfully accepting the cards she was dealt with, and trying to understand that there were some things she couldn't do. Within the Citadel, she was respected, at least by the warboys and pups, but out there, past Bullet Farm and Gastown, nobody knew who she was, and nobody really cared. It was cruel and vicious in the rest of world, even more so than in the Citadel, and while she wanted to take it on by herself, she just couldn't.

The place where red-orange and blue met at the horizon was her favorite. The convergence of colors was bright, and it was different from what she saw all day while working on cars or training the boys. It almost hurt her eyes, and in a way it unsettled her, looking out at those colors without being on a raid or in a car in general. That's why she liked coming and sitting at the edge; she could see the sky without being in a car. She could stare at it for as long as she wanted without dust on a windshield or the roaring of engines. It was calm, for once, and calmness was rare for a warboy.

She heard someone approaching and turned slightly to look in their direction. Nux was napping at her side, lounging on his back with his head resting back against his arms. He had walked her outside after breakfast and stared at the sky for a while with her before settling in for a midday nap. He didn't stir as Furiosa sat on Warbird's other side.

"I heard about what happened," she began. Warbird tilted her head to listen. "I was out when it did. Were you given a reason?"

Warbird shook her head. "No. Rictus didn't speak much, but you know him."

Furiosa offered a weak smile. "No word from his father?"

"No. But there's only one thing it could be. I don't know how he found out, but he did. He knows enough." She fully turned toward Furiosa. "You need to be careful. This is serious. Demoting me was just the beginning, and if you're caught-"

"I won't be." Furiosa interrupted.

Warbird felt a wave of irritation rising inside her. "Are you suggesting it was my fault he found out?"

"I'm suggesting that I'm going to learn from this." She sighed. "Is he asleep?" she nodded towards Nux.

Warbird only nodded. He wasn't waking up anytime soon, based on his snoring.

"They need me. They need us. They need hope." She looked Warbird in the eyes. "They're pretty, and they're pure, and they're perfect. They're beautiful in every way. They have shiny hair and soft skin and clean hands that have never touched a wrench before, but they're the unlucky ones. Their beauty got them where they are, and it isn't their fault they're there, just like it isn't our fault that we weren't perfect enough."

Warbird shrugged and nodded hesitantly in agreement. Her hip had saved her from becoming one of Joe's brides far before she began developing the same ailments that all warboys came down with. Her half life was just as potent as theirs, and while she was placed in front of explosions and oil fires and guns every day, she would always choose that over becoming a bride. She imagined Furiosa felt similarly.

"We have to help them," she pleaded.

"I know."

"I can take the rig soon."

"There won't be room for me with all of them there." Warbird grimaced. "And I'm not exactly very mobile at the moment. I'll support you from here, but that's all I can do. I can't go with you."

Furiosa's face fell. "We need you with us."

"My place is with the boys." Warbird said firmly. Though lower ranking, she was a few years older than Furiosa. They treated each other equally, but at times, Warbird felt that she was the only one capable of standing over the other imperator. "I'll help you leave. I'll get you supplies. But if I'm caught again, Rictus will come after me, and he'll do much more than drop me on my hip."

Furiosa set her jaw for a moment before relaxing. "Any help is better than no help. If that's what you agree to, so be it. I won't argue." She stood to leave once more. "Repeat none of this. I'm going to speak with the wives. Keep yourself safe."

Warbird just watched her go before laying down next to Nux. She hadn't intended to get tangled up in this. She had never even intended to speak to any of the women Joe isolatd within their perfect chambers. It had been an accident, a one time event that should never have even happened, and yet here it was, roaring out of hand.

She knew she had to help them. She knew that they deserved better, and she knew that what Joe did to them was something that she would never want done to her. The problem was, as much as she knew this, she was only one person, and so was Furiosa. If Warbird had all of the boys directly under her command, it would go much differently than what Furiosa was planning; she could overthrow Immortan Joe entirely and take his place, and there would be no need for any real plans. But that wasn't the case, and as she reflected on the conversation that had just occurred, she began accepting that it was probably the only course of action that was semi rational.

The war rig was huge. Eighteen wheels and two massive engines hauled the water and milk tanker, behind which trailed a fuel pod. The boys had plenty of places to hang, jump, and walk on while attached to the rig, and for many of them it was their favorite vehicle to be clinging to at any given time. It was big, brawny, battle tested, and Furiosa's own truck. There was plenty of room to hide the brides inside the cab, and it was plenty protected. Despite all of that, Warbird didn't fancy the idea of going with them. She didn't like the sound of lying her way to taking the rig with Furiosa and then running from the warboys, and she didn't like the sound of being trapped in that cab when Joe realize his wives were gone.

But she still wanted to help. She could provide distractions, buy time, and keep the boys off Furiosa's tail as much as possible. She would do all of this with the hopes that those brides would get to the green place Furiosa told stories of. Warbird had to admit that she liked the idea of a place like that, as much as she loved looking out at that red-orange horizon. Furiosa said there was water, a clear sky, and plants. She said that they grew plants. She said that the rock and sand didn't burn your feet, and no one was scrambling for muddy water beneath the gaze of a warlord. There were no powerful men with multiple wives, and people actually grew old. There was no such thing as boys with half-lives, and no blood bags or breeders or milk mothers. It was a paradise.

Warbird looked down at Nux, still sleeping, his scarred lips parted as he snored softly. His coating of white dust and clay was wearing off here and there, revealing pale skin underneath. She carefully reached out toward him as she looked at the scars on his torso, running her fingers along the ridged design. She had been there when he received the first of them; she tried to be there for all of the ceremonies, especially that one. To her, it was one of the most important. It was a sign of maturity, a symbol of importance and achievement…but also a painful reminder. War boys wanted to fix their failing bodies, but they didn't know how. They knew how to fix cars, but not themselves. They tattooed and scarred car parts on their own skin because they understood how those worked.

They were trying to repair themselves.

Everything was so broken in the Citadel, she realized. Maybe she did need to speak with Furiosa and the wives again, if for no reason other than showing support for them. But moving was difficult enough as it was now, even with help, and that irritated her to no end. She had no idea how she was supposed to be even remotely stealthy and cross the entire Citadel from where she and the other boys stayed to where the wives were kept. But she needed to try, didn't she?

While Warbird had spoken with Furiosa, Nux had been dreaming as he napped under the hot sun. He dreamed the same dream he had the night before as he slept next to her, and fittingly, it was about Warbird herself. She came to him in flashes of images rather than anything linear; her bare skin, covered by nothing but the scars and tattoos that covered her entire body, most of which he had no idea if his brain was making up or if he had actually glimpsed them at some point; a sidelong glance, glossy feathers shimmering in her slick black Mohawk; the scent of motor oil and guzzoline, calloused hands, his fingers in her hair, and then—

He jolted awake, disoriented and suddenly overcome with a strange feeling of guilt. As he looked around wildly, his brain desperately trying to make sense of what his eyes were telling it, he saw Warbird leaning over him, her hand on his chest. She looked somewhat startled, and the two of them spent a few moments simply staring at each other.

"You okay?" she asked.

He nodded and put his head back down, rubbing his face with his hands as he tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes. What the hell was that dream for? Well, he knew what it was for, but did he really need to have it now? He knew he enjoyed her company, but his dreams needed to calm down before he got himself in trouble.

Warbird watched him for another second before looking back to the sky. "We should go back."

"Why? Things to do?" Nux asked as he sat up.

"There are always things to do. There's cars to fix, mostly, like usual, and raids…." Her nostrils flared in anger suddenly. "Not that I can do that anymore anyways."

Nux frowned and stood, leaning down and pulling her up again. "You could spend time with the pups while you heal."

"But I should be able to do what I'm supposed to!" she snapped. "I'm a war boy, and this is my duty and my half-life. I shouldn't be stuck sitting here like this."

"There's nothing you can do," Nux argued as they began walking inside. "You can't fight now."

He could see how frustrated she was getting. "I've always been fine in the past."

"So just wait," he said calmly. "It's only been a day since you…well."

"A day too long," she grumbled as they entered the citadel again. "I'm tired of this."

"Hurting?"

"Yes. It never stops and it never will."

"You don't know that." Nux was desperately trying to do his best, but honestly, he didn't know what to say to fix things. Her trademark anger was coming to light again, and while he had seen it, he wasn't exactly used to being so close to her when it hit. "The other boys have to stop and rest sometimes, too. It isn't only you."

"The other boys don't have broken hips!" she snarled. Her voice echoed off the rock walls, bouncing back and forth along the hall until the sharp noise startled a few pups who were lurking a ways away. To them, Warbird was usually pretty terrifying, and this was just reaffirming their suspicions on the matter.

Nux stayed quiet as he began realizing more and more that he didn't have anything to say that would actually help her. It didn't feel right to just repeat the same things over and over, things about how it'll get better and soon she won't feel as much pain. He didn't know what it was like for her, but he did know that even he was in pain a lot of the time, thanks to those lumps on his neck that seemed like they were growing bigger every day.

He didn't know what to tell her, and that felt like it was killing him even more than those bumps were.