Slough

"Why were the gates closed to me?"

Slough squinted up at the ceiling, trying to make out the half-haphazardly scrawled words and symbols that covered wall to ceiling. Slowly his eyes were drawn back to the V8 symbol, the alter of wheels, that took up most of the space in the dim room. He was settled along one of the stone benches carved into the cave wall, the rock soaking up any heat he produced from his body. To some it may have been too cold, the cold rock biting into the skin. But with his new skin it was a cooling effect, taking away some of the pain.

Icy blue eyes starred hard at the alter, seeming to wish it to speak to him. Explain itself. Anger slowly rose again in his chest, sitting up slightly before speaking once again.

"Why were the gates closed to me?" He spoke louder this time, nothing but the quietness echoing back. Tail slapping the stone in frustration, this time Slough rose and stalked to the alter.

"WHY WERE THE GATES CLOSED TO ME!?" He roared, claws itching to tear the alter down. Break, destroy, and scatter it to the wind. Let it be as useless as he was now. Slough's breathing slowly evened out, the outlash sapping his strength. Why was he cursed to survive? Why couldn't he have died historic on the Fury Road?

Exhausted, no weak, from such a small thing dampened Slough's mood. Turning around, he slowly walked back to his stone bench and climbed back up onto it, laying down on his side, back to the alter. Let the gates see him turn his back on them, for they had already turned their back on him.

"Slough?" A voice, one he mistook for the alter maybe actually talking back to him, roused the man from his dozing. But instead it was the reason he was still here, hurt, grounded, useless. Despite his injuries, Slough growled, wincing as it pulled at his scorched face. Sump cautiously slinked in, dark eyes soft, pleading. This wasn't right, he was the older one, the stronger one, the larger one, Sump should never have to look at him like that.

"Didn't i tell you to leave me alone? I don't need your pitty. Coward." They both winced at the word, but Slough kept his eyes icy while Sump looked away. The sigh his Lancer made was audible in the alter room, they were the only two here.

"It's not pitty. How many times do I have to tell ya Slough? I ju-!" He was cut off as Slough pushed himself up on shaky legs, taking a step forward and looking down on his ex-partner. They both knew Slough couldn't do much in his state, but they also both knew that Sump would back down without a fight. Slough was always the fighter of their dynamic. Plus he didn't want to hurt Sump, and he knew he didn't want to hurt him either. They were both too tired for that nonsense.

"Get. Out." Sump seemed like he was about to protest again, but thought better of it and quietly left the alter room, tail tucked between his legs. But before he rounded the corner, he looked back and quietly whispered 'I miss you' before disappearing completely. Slough felt all the fight leave him once again, torn between his anger, sorrow, and guilt. He would be lying if he said he didn't miss Sump real bad. Despite the cold helping his burns, he thinks he would risk the discomfort to just hold his best mate back in his arms again.

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Brass Steampunk Goggles Apparel Tinted goggles of polished brass. They're perfect for shielding a dragon's eyes from soot, smoke, or water. That is, until they get steamed up. The color is purely cosmetic. 1000 Highland Scavenger Apparel Protection against the heat, sand, and electric storms of the Shifting Expanse. (Thundercrack Carnivale Holiday Item 2017.) 0 Gladiator's Warhorn Trinkets Popular among front line warriors, this horn emits a frightening blast of sound when blown; enough to strike terror into an enemy's heart. 85 Pack mates were an odd thing to explain. If you asked a Warpup, pack mates were the other hatchlings you grew up with. They were the ones you trained, ate, and slept with everyday until you left the kennels and joined the Warboys. Once a Warboy, you gained a lot more and new pack mates, some closer than others, some so much closer. Sump still remembers the day he first ran into Slough as a new Warboy, his paint aint even dried yet, when he ran smack into the older boy. Of course Slough stood the brunt of it, Sump taking the fall backwards and landing on his bumper. The other laughed, reaching down and picking him by his neck as if he was a Pup again before placing him back on his feet. Sump growled, swatting the other's hands away. "Hey! I ain't no Pup, hands off slag!" Arcane eyes slanted at amused ice ones, a growl staring in his throat as the older boy gave him an amused look. "Oh? Like this ain't your new paint job all over me." He gestured down to where there were new splots of white paint on the other. Sump blushed. Awesome, barley out of the kennels and already making a fool of himself. "Whats your name, runt?" Sump scoffed at the other's taunt, they both knew the older boy could come up with a better insult than that. "Sump. And you scar face?" He shot back, taking note of the small across his eye. "Slough. Hey, I'm in need of a Lancer, you any good kid?"

"QUOTE HERE" It was thanks to Slough that Sump made Lancer quick, he didn't have to go and prove himself in the pit and beat out the other boys. Slough had hand chosen him, he was as good as in. From there they became one of the best pursuit teams in the Citadel. With Slough's kamikraze driving and Sump's sharp eyes, they ran down scum and brought home the booty. Despite a gap in their ages, they were perhaps two litters apart, they bonded real quick. You never saw Sump without Slough and vise versa. They were inseparable, sharing food, water, treasure, and even heat when the air turned cold and bitter. Sump was always the cold one, Slough chuckling fondly as he gathered the smaller male into his arms. When in Slough's embrace, even though he didn't understand it at the time, it felt like the safest place in the world. It was his fault Slough got hurt, he got hurt bad. Those damn buzzards had knocked him clean off despite his grip on the car, and he went tumbling into the dirt. The wheels barley missed him, panic seizing him as he realized he had almost died unwitnessed because he got knocked off. That was not chrome at all. The screech of metal is what made him finally sit up, a new fear clenching his chest as he saw his and Slough's car roll, and roll, and roll. The flames had started licking out of the engine before Sump finally found his legs and made a break for the car. Pulling Slough out was a mistake. 'You should have just left me there. You should have left me to die and be witnessed!' The words echoed around in Sump's mind, Slough's angry scorched face fresh in his mind despite it having been weeks since he last saw his driver. Well, ex-driver now. With one driver out, they needed another to fill his place, and what better person than the lancer? Sump couldn't turn down the offer, it would have been seen as weak. But oh how he wished he had been thrown under those wheels if it meant he didn't have to see the pain in Slough's eyes when he finally cornered him and talked to his best mate. The longer they were apart, the more he ached for things to go back to the way they were. Where he and Slough shared their food, laughed at crude jokes, and held each other in the coldest most bitter nights.

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