#cochise (the warriors)

[alexihollis]

The Will to Lead

Cochise found Cleon on the roof, murdering a pack of cigarettes.

"You feel like sharing?" She asked.

Cleon said nothing, but handed Cochise her light when she sat on the ledge next to her, then held out the box with a cigarette jutting out of it. Cochise took the cigarette, lit the end, and took a long drag.

"So," Cochise asked as she blew out the smoke. "What are we up here for?"

"Thinking."

"Bout what?"

Cleon shrugged.

"No one's going to accept anyone but Swan as number two. Not as long as you and her are around," Cochise said. Because Cochise knew things like that. She was good at watching people.

"I wasn't-"

"Yeah, you were," Cochise interrupted, because she did not feel like doing this with Cleon tonight. "Don't play."

Cleon eyed her for a second, before giving up. "How'd you guess?"

"Because Swan picked up the same reason you never actually considered Ajax for it," Cochise said. She continued at Cleon's surprised look, "Come on. Yes, Ajax is a bit hotheaded, but we all know if you actually gave her more responsibility, she'd figure it out. Hell, we could probably save ourselves a shit ton of money bailing her out if you did. One bad run, one time someone else gets hurt on her orders? She'd change in two seconds."

"I don't exactly endorse traumatizing as a teaching strategy," Cleon deadpanned.

Cochise rolled her eyes. "Not the point. You've never honestly considered Ajax because of Rembrandt. Tell me I'm wrong."

"How do you figure?" Cleon asked after wasting long seconds on her cigarette.

"Because Ajax would never be willing to put Rembrandt in danger for the good of the gang," Cochise said. They all knew it. "And she'll prioritize Rembrandt over everyone else, every time."

"It's not a bad thing."

Cochise shrugged, "I didn't say it was. Doesn't make for a great leader, though."

"She's also incredibly impulsive-"

"All right, now you're deflecting," Cochise cut her off. "You can't replace Swan just because she's got Mercy, now."

"I wasn't going to do that," Cleon insisted with a huff. "I just- It isn't just because of Mercy."

Cochise took another drag. "Swan's young, Cleon. She hadn't lost someone like that before. Fox- It was fucking brutal. You can't hold that against her."

Cleon rubbed a hand down her face, the one not holding the cigarette. "I don't. She's a good leader, she more than proved it, but...what if I'm putting too much on her, y'know? She is young, she's been in the gang since she was seventeen, maybe- Should I have pushed her more into going back to school?"

"Considering you need shit like birth certificates and proof of residency and guardianship paperwork, no, I think that would have been a monumentally stupid idea," Cochise said. "Where the Hell is this coming from?"

"Because everyone else did. Fox did and she did it while living here-"

"Wildly different situation-"

"Swan is literally the only one," Cleon said. "And it feels like I trapped her and now I see how happy she is with Mercy. Have you ever seen Swan this happy?"

Cleon had her there. Swan smiled now, small, quiet smiles, but smiles. She took nights off, she went dancing. For fuck's sake, Rembrandt strong-armed Swan into going on a double-date with her and Ajax.

"Cleon, Swan wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you."

"What's gonna happen if we lose Mercy?"

Cochise blinked. Fuck. That's...fuck.

"We lose Mercy, we lose both of them," Cleon said. "And- Its been the same math with Rembrandt and Ajax. Lose one, lose the other, I'm used to it, but...I can keep Rembrandt close. I can keep her on Coney, she's fast as all Hell, and she's smart. But Mercy?"

Cleon shook her head.

"She's not a tagger that I can keep in our territory and she wants to fight, she wants to be in the thick of everything, but she's not one of our strongest fighters," Cleon stubbed out her cigarette butt with a scowl. "She isn't going to come home with just a black eye and if I send her out with Swan...God forbid I send her out with Ajax and Mercy comes home beat up, Swan might actually murder Ajax..."

"In fairness, Ajax did almost kill her that time she came home and Rembrandt had broken her wrist," Cochise reminded.

"Not helpful." Yeah, probably not. "What am I gonna do?"

"Trust your girls." Cleon looked at her, confused. "They can handle themselves, their emotions. I promise. You can't protect them from everything."

Cleon nodded, slowly. "That's good advice."

Then, "Any chance you'd be interested in-"

"Not even a little bit.

----------------

Ey! We got some Cleon and Cochise in the fic! Nice.

[pixthefuckup]

the warriors but as the crazy shit I've done as a new Yorker myself

All: had been in Manhattan for something fun, then got lost on the q, then had to head all the way back from the end of the line to Queens, made it to one of the safe stations i could transfer only to face the MTA deciding multiple times that they could no longer send a train following the proper routes i needed (i got on and off so many trains), and ended up leaving from the closest station i knew, speed-walking home in the freezing cold, cursing God and the MTA, until my dad finally came to escort me home safely.

Cochise: i have gone to parties for way older people. i get all the nice perks with a twist: i have to do karaoke performances for my mom and her friends at parties or cheer on their karaoke. i've done this multiple times. my voice will literally die and i can't keep up after a couple of songs, even though these middle-aged ladies can. i persevere for the sake of food and drinks.

Cowgirl: once saw an extra virgin olive oil bottle and spaghetti and instead of being sane and thinking about recipes, i fully blurted out "once your spaghetti comes to a boil, stick your d*** in some extra virgin olive oil." IN THE MIDDLE OF A CROWDED SUPERMARKET. IN THE LINE TO THE CASHIER SURROUNDED BY STRANGERS.

Fox: i once outran a train because i could. i had a bit of a lead because i was in the middle of the platform once it started coming in but trains are pretty fast. it was coming up from behind me but i kept running. eventually i could hear my friends saying i already outpaced. i looked behind me and sure it was, behind me. pretty cool.

Cleon: i was in a short film where i got beaten up multiple times. thrown into stairs, shoved against a wall, etc. not as bad as my co-star who i strangled and also shoved into walls but it was pretty bad. we also broke the boys bathroom door during this (it was in the stairwall we were working with) so it was a funny bit of teamwork where i was the lookout and the one holding the still working door shut in case staff tried to come in and the other guys were just doing their best to pick the door lock to get it open and unbroken.

Ajax: once shoved my head through the subway doors to try and get through while it was closing (i wanted to get home quick and my friends were already on). ended up accidentally getting it clamped on my neck so i basically had to shove it open with my bare hands. if it's funnier... i'm in middle school during this. so imagine you're like a full blown adult sitting on the train and all of a sudden, you're watching a 13 year old, with braces and tiny pink strands flowing through her brown hair, shoving a door open with her hands while her friends are trying their best to help. you don't know whether to continue staring or clap once she gets through and finally on the train.

Rembrandt: got high in the middle of the park with my friends and instead of being chill like i expected, i went on a rant about the artistry of dante and vergil, fanfiction, and both of their connections to each and the veil, reaching beyond life to things we cannot touch. i also was real rambly and uneloquent compared to how i am irl.

Swan: once had a sprained shoulder the day before my kickboxing practice. I still went in and told the teachers only to realize both didn't hear me. i didn't feel like repeating myself so i pushed myself through the rest of the class. i then listened to a scolding from one of the teachers at the end for not putting my all into it, nodding along as if i didn't have a shoulder injury because i didn't want to sound like i was making up excuses last minute.

Mercy: once had such a crazy crush on a girl that i was willing to brawl with some other people. i then got shoved under a bus seat while she was punching a guy on top of it. she helped me get out after but ugh did i have to stare at chewed up gum for a while.

[cherry-velvet-skies]

They have arrived! Babygirl Warriors icons!

I can make some from the actual movie too if y'all want but I adore their character models in the game lol they're so cute 💕

And y'all can use these as your icons if you want too I don't mind 🥰

[billblasswithafatass]

cochise:

[whatcannotbesaid-shallbewept]

Warriors promotional images.

[theexistingbox]

good evening warriors musical fandom, have some doodles

[pinkygripper]

"Hey youve gotta be nice to me ive had a chomp taken out of me"

"wait someone bit you?? I had absolutely *no* idea why had noone told me about this. If only someone had been here to remind me of it every two minutes."

" >:P "

Hey boppers for your eyes today i have created some cuisine. The flavour is scrumptious? I dunno why i love cochise and cowgirl so much when they're just kind of along for the ride. Listen guys they are very dear to me also cochise sticks her tounge out when shes concentrating I dont make the rules.

ALSO when I was drawing I suddenly thought cowgirl has a septum and ugh i love it forever unfortunately it didnt look right in this doodle i tried but! next time i draw her for sure.

If its not clear cochise is painting cowgirls toenails and they're having a yap session. <3

I was craving some silly sketchy doodles today so I wasnt looking too hard at references for it GUYS go and do some silly sketches! >:) also makes sure to stretch out your hands after drawing for ages

Okay also also i know I do a lot of yapping on these posts but I wanted to say thankyou!!! again for how lovely everyone is :'''') all the reblogs and comments pointing out stuff and details from my drawings that i liked made me like YIPPEEEE

Ive finally looked at the lyric book guys go look at the lyric book it has given me so many ideas so expect more art :D

anywayyyyy lots of big kisses to you all and especially @circeneedsahobby for showing me warriors, enabling my obsession by screaming about it with me and hyping me to post on here. GO LOOK AT THEIR ART! :))

[yourlocalkatiesimp]

there’s 12 of us here but ik mercy’s line in A Light or Somethin’ is “What’s wrong? Kiss me.” but i spaced out earlier and my brain processed it as mercy going “What’s wrong-?” and swan going “Kiss me.” and now i’m actually never gonna move on from that

[subwaylesbians]

bold words from someone who’s about to get their ass saved by rembrandt’s pattern recognition skills

[swantactics]

swan being the last in roll call because she always ends up putting herself between her warriors and others, THATS MY FAVE NUMBER TWO 

[thatgenderfluidmonstrosity]

Made some quick sketches of the Warriors inspired by/based off their singers!!!

(I’m tired- and I tried 😭)

[emilywaters]

Cochise is so underrated Lin did her dirty

Like everyone else has a Thing. Even Cowgirl has her 'he bit me!!' saga

We as a fandom need to give her a Thing

She deserves so much attention

Girlie had everyone's back right from the start

[mega-banette]

having more thoughts about the order of the roll call because as we all know Cleon is in the middle because she’s the leader, but this implies that the group would fall apart without her but they don’t.

but then I realised that this could be because Swan initially takes her place when listing off the other Warriors’ names in Woodlawn Cemetery, however by the time we get to Outside Gray’s Papaya she reverts back to being last. Which probably implies that she feels insecure in just replacing Cleon and feels like she’s failed as leader.

however, this is that last roll call before Ajax gets arrested and the group splits, which suggests that they do in fact fall apart without someone in Cleon’s place.

but it is also interesting when you remember that Swan’s spot in the roll call is last, which suggests that she puts others ahead of herself, which we see her do in The Park at Night when she goes back for Ajax. Which means that Swan is unable to properly take Cleon’s place because she sees her role within the gang as having everyone’s back as opposed to leading

[kailoraurelius]

Okay, but picture it with me. 🧘 Eisa and Lin, feel free to call me, I got it all blocked out. Stage is set for Survive the Night.

Dj Pen is in the center, toward the back, on a raised platform. A set of stairs at either end of the stage, heading up to a long platform above the Dj towards the back of the stage.

Pen brings us in. As the music builds, more and more people start crossing the stage, whole gangs on the move. The representatives of the boroughs all come to form a line in front of the Dj's table. Then, bam. We get into the first borough. The Bronx jumps forward, rapping across the stage. But, right as we get to the end of his verse, he steps back as we get the, "Miracles can happen when we gather in the dark." x4.

But right as that first "Miracle" happens, a trap door opens center stage and Cleon and Rembrandt (or Cochise, I have my reasons for both of them) rise on a platform, facing away from the crowd so the first thing we see is their vests, with the red W of the Warriors. They high five, fist bump, whatever. Some acknowledgement of each other, then they split and jog off to opposite sides of the stage, where they both climb the stairs and make their way around to meet again in the center, all while the song continues.

Queens' verse. Their representative gets a moment in the spotlight. Then, as the repeating ending line comes on, that center stage platform rises again. Ajax and Fox, facing away from the crowd as, "Meet the wrong cop at night and it's brrap on sight" plays again and again. Same thing, acknowledgement of each other, split, up the stairs, meet up top.

Manhattan comes in, gets their moment. And as they step back, the platform rises with Swan and Mercy as the music repeats, "Survival all depends upon the corner you run to". Mercy, conspicuously, not wearing the vest. They have their brief (in my head, romantically charged) moment, then split and head up the stairs. However! As Swan turns the back corner to join the Warriors waiting, Mercy EXITS.

Staten Island takes their turn and, you may have guessed it, but Cochise (or Rembrandt) and Cowgirl rise onto the stage as it says, "Takin' a train to a boat to another train". Their moment, split, head upstairs.

Then the final verse, Brooklyn, ends with, "Clap your hands if you're ready to meet the Warriors!" At which point, the lights come up on the platform they're all on and we see them all in a line, backs to the audience. And as we move into Roll Call, each of them turns to face the crowd as they say their name for the first time.

Anyways, that's the stage play going on in my head lmfao.

"Miracles can happen when we gather in the dark"=Cleon, the believer, and Rembrandt because she is the one who saves the girls from the Bizzies later. They were trapped in a locked apartment, outnumbered, distracted, but Rembrandt gets them all out. Pretty miraculous. (Could also be Cochise because she, I think, believes the most in Cyrus after Cleon, as she's the only one in Roll Call that doesn't voice a complaint and sings most of Cleon's lines with her.)

"Meet the wrong cop at night and it's brrap on sight"=Ajax and Fox, pretty self-explanatory lol.

"Survival all depends upon the corner you run to"=Swan and Mercy because they repeatedly reference being in each other's/the Warriors corner throughout the play.

"Takin' a train to a boat to another train"=Cowgirl and Cochise 1. Because Cowgirl likes to ride, so her intro being about modes of transportation is a cheeky nod to that. And 2. Because this bit of the song is funny and Cowgirl and "That's high math for Rembrandt" Cochise are, undoubtedly, the funniest bitches in the crew. (Could also be Rembrandt because she's got some funny stuff too and Cochise would also fit with Cleon, so. Yeah. Interchangeable, but I like Rembrandt and Cleon, Cowgirl and Cochise.)

Anyways, enjoy this rambling. 🤙

[flowersandskeletons526]

"We Need A Tagger" - Warriors Concept Album Fanfic (Part 1/5)

okay so based off some of their interactions on the album, I am of the firm belief that Ajax was the one to recruit Rembrandt. This is my take on their first meeting and Rembrandt's initiation. Enjoy!

-------

Ajax sat at the table in the Warriors’ tiny apartment, holding a crumpled tissue under her still-bleeding nose. Cleon paced the kitchen around her as she muttered under her breath. In the other room, Cochise sat on the couch thumbing through a newspaper beside their newest addition, the stray Cleon found under the boardwalk and promptly promoted to second-in-command. Ajax was still a little sore about that, but Cleon made the argument that her number two needed to at least sometimes remain level-headed and Ajax couldn’t make a valid point against that. 

“For fuck’s sake, Ajax,” Cleon hissed. “When I said I wanted to expand our territory, I didn’t mean you should go off by yourself to annex two blocks!”

“I thought I was on our turf,” Ajax repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. “I swear, Cleon. I wasn’t picking a fight on purpose.”

“This time,” Cochise added.

“Fuck off.”

“If you thought someone was on our turf, you should've gotten us,” said Cleon.

“There were only three of them.”

“And only one of you!”

“Send your assistant on patrols with me if you’re worried about numbers.”

“Hey, fuck you, man!” Swan snapped.

Ajax leapt to her feet and was immediately pushed back into her seat by Cleon. “I made you an enforcer, not a scout,” she said. “You handle the issues the scouts bring in. You don’t go looking for them yourself.”

“We don’t have scouts,” Cochise pointed out. 

“I thought you were gonna talk to your friend that bartends at the Neptune Lounge. The one that’s always wearing that fucking hat.”

“Still trying to convince her.”

“Fuck.”

“We need a tagger,” Swan interjected. “Yeah, we need more members, but that’s just going to cause more problems for us if we don’t mark our borders.”

“For once,” said Ajax, “I agree with the sewer rat.”

“Dude! The fuck!”

“Cool it, you two,” Cleon warned. “Do you have any nominations?”

“I’ll find one,” Ajax offered.

“If you can find a decent tagger that isn’t already affiliated, you have my permission to bring ’em in to talk.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And no more fights!”

So ensued two weeks of fruitless searching for an unclaimed graffiti artist. Ajax went halfway insane with frustration by the end of the first week. Every time she found a new artist’s signature, she went back to report and was met with one denial or another. If they weren’t already running with a crew, it was because they were untrustworthy or had been jumped out of their old gang for some offense and Cleon didn’t want someone else’s scraps. 

Swan volunteered to go out for a few rounds with her. She knew more about the political side of things, Ajax could admit that, and since they’d both promised Cleon that they wouldn’t butt heads, the trips passed by in almost complete science. They were out late one evening, the sun setting over the ocean as they patrolled the boardwalk, when Swan stopped before a massive, impressively intricate and detailed graffiti mural sprayed across the front of a shuttered carnival booth.

She whistled as she looked over the painting. “Damn. Someone spent time on this.”

“There are a bunch of these,” Ajax said, standing beside her. “Talked to some of the carnies, they said the things pop up overnight, they get covered or washed off, and the next day there’s a whole new design.”

Swan hummed and nudged the bottom of the grate with her foot. Where she stepped, in gorgeous swirling script, was a signature. “Rembrandt,” she read aloud. “You tell Cleon?”

“Asked her, asked Cochise, asked everyone. No one knows who the guy is, just that he’s talented and prolific.”

“Well.” Swan shrugged. “Let’s find him.”

Easier said than done. When Ajax said no one knew, she meant no one. No one had a clue because no one ever saw the paintings go up. When Ajax explained her plight to the crew, the only help she got was, “You said you would find a tagger, so go find him.”

This resulted in Ajax walking the boardwalk in the dead of night, listening to the waves and her own footsteps and watching out for the sound of spray cans. Her unlucky streak finally broke one night walking past the abandoned parachute tower. She almost thought she was hearing a gas leak at first, a constant hissing from the other side of the structure. She realized it was spray paint when she heard the telltale rattle of a can being shaken.

Crouching low, she crept silently around the base of the tower. A small, slight figure wearing a respirator face mask held a can in each hand, arms flying as the graffiti artist raced through his work. Ajax watched in fascination as he dropped cans into his backpack and pulled out new colors without ever taking his eyes off his canvas, working only by the light of the moon and the city’s distant glow.

She straightened. She’d found the phantom tagger.

“Yo!” She called. The artist froze as she approached. She couldn’t see his eyes beneath his hood, only the mask. “Let me talk to you for a second.”

The artist grabbed his backpack and a paint can and bolted.

“Shit!”

Ajax took off in a chase after the artist. The little fucker was quick and agile, but Ajax was quicker and knew Coney Island like the back of her hand. “Stop!” she shouted. “I just want to talk!” He only ran faster.

Just as she thought she would run out of steam, the artist turned the corner into an alley. He hit the fence at the back hard and started to climb but Ajax had a major height advantage. She grabbed his backpack and yanked him down. He wheeled around, can in hand, and smashed her square in the face with it. 

He was quick but he wasn’t that strong. Ajax was certain the hit at least chipped a tooth, the taste of blood coating her tongue, but she wasn’t stunned. He tried to dart past her. She spun and snagged a fistful of his sleeve, then threw him backwards into the fence with enough force to knock the mask off his face. She wasn’t proud of it - she was trying to recruit the punk, after all - but her mouth hurt from the hit so she considered it a fair trade.

Ajax stood over the artist. On his ass with his back pressed to the fence, he raised a paint can and pointed it at her like a gun. His hand trembled so hard she thought he might drop his improvised weapon. His hood fell back. She finally got a good look at his face.

Staring up at her was a terrified young woman with the saddest deep brown eyes she’d ever seen. She had a busted lip halfway healed and short, wild curls framing her face. She didn’t even try to act tough; she wore the expression of someone who’d been in a similar position and knew she didn’t have the skill to fight her way out of it.

Ajax was violently aware of how dangerous she must have looked at that moment. For the first time in her life, she wasn’t proud of it.

“I’m not tagging,” the girl said before Ajax could get a word out. “I don’t run with anyone. I’m just painting. I swear I was only painting.”

Ajax tried to make her voice sound gentle. “I know. I know you’re not.” She wiped away the blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. “Fuck. You really clocked me. Sorry for throwing you, I didn’t mean to do that.”

“I’m not tagging,” the girl repeated. “I don’t-”

“I know! Calm down, I just want to talk. I’m not going to hurt you. Really.” She crouched down to the artist’s eye level. “You’re Rembrandt, right? That’s your signature?”

The girl lowered the can. “Yeah,” she said timidly. 

“Call me Ajax. I run with the Warriors.” She extended a hand to shake. Rembrandt didn’t take it. Fair enough. “You don’t have a crew, right? Did you ever run with one?”

“No.”

“Well, listen, we’re looking for a tagger-”

Red and blue lights illuminated the alley. Police sirens blared. Ajax shot to her feet.

“Shit! Why are the cops - wait! No, no, no, wait! Come back!”

But Rembrandt was already over the fence. Ajax roared in frustration and booked it, knowing she couldn’t risk getting jammed up by the cops again.

Mission failed, tail between her legs, Ajax ran home.

---------

“The artist’s a girl?” Cleon asked, huddled around the kitchen table with the rest of the gang. “Damn. I feel a little sexist now.” 

“Her paintings are amazing,” Ajax said. She was still a little breathless from her sprint back to the apartment. “And she’s insanely fast. No way the cops would ever catch her.”

“Apparently no way you could catch her, either.”

“She was listening to me. The cops scared her. That’s why she ran.”

“Take a breath, you look like you’re going to pass out,” said Swan. Ajax flipped her the bird, and she rolled her eyes. “You said she looked scared out of her mind. What makes you think you’re ever going to catch up to her again?”

“She has a point,” Cochise agreed. “Ajax, you know I love you, girl, but you’re not exactly the most, y’know, approachable person.”

“She was listening to me! If I can go out there again, I swear I can find her and get her to come back here and talk to us. Cleon, come on, have my back.” 

Cleon sighed and hung her head. “Alright,” she relented. “If you think you can get her, then go get her.”

So Ajax went.

She sat beside the unfinished painting for five nights straight. She made sure no one covered it or washed it away, hoping the graffiti artist would come back to finish her work, but Rembrandt never showed. When Ajax returned to the apartment in the morning, she was met with the same simple question: “Any luck?” And she would only shake her head before going to pass out in the room she shared with Cochise. Cleon suggested she call off the search by the fourth night of no results, but Ajax couldn’t bring herself to take a step back and she didn’t understand why. Maybe it was simply a sense of duty to succeed at this mission for her gang. Maybe it was the paintings. Maybe it was the fear in the girl’s eyes and the fact that there was so obviously someone beating on her that made Ajax want to find her so badly. 

Cleon offered to come with on the evening of the sixth day, an offer that Ajax declined. “I don’t want to show up with the crew behind me and freak her out,” she explained.

“Ajax, I really can’t afford to keep sending you out. We’ve got other jobs I need you for.”

“Two more nights. Give me a solid week.”

“You get tonight. And if you can’t find her, I’m calling it off. We’ll find another tagger.”

“Fine.”

“Be safe.”

Ajax wandered the boardwalk for a bit before parking herself in front of the unfinished mural. It hadn’t been touched. She sighed and shoved her hands in her vest pockets. This mission was a fucking bust. Two weeks of searching and a week of waiting around and she had nothing to show for it. It was already past midnight and she hadn’t seen a single sign of anyone being out there with her, let alone Rembrandt. She promised herself that she’d stay until dawn and after that, she would give up and call it quits. Still, it sucked. She hated leaving things unfinished.

She wasn’t sure when she dozed off, only that she woke with a start to the quiet patter of footsteps on the weathered wooden planks. She looked up to see the masked, hooded figure standing a little ways off and staring straight at her. She climbed slowly to her feet and raised her hands.

“I’m not packing,” she promised. “I’m here as a friend.”

Rembrandt removed her hood and pulled her mask down around her neck. In addition to the split lip, she now sported a black eye with a scabbed over cut on her cheek beneath it. She kept her left arm tucked in close to her side like it hurt to move it.

Ajax grimaced. “Holy shit, man. Is that-”

“It wasn’t from you. You didn’t throw me that hard,” Rembrandt said quietly. “What do you want from me?”

“My gang needs a tagger.”

“I’m not a tagger.”

“You’ve got more than enough skill to be one. Look, the Warriors are on our way to running Coney Island but first we need someone to define our borders. You said you just want to paint? We’d give you free reign to put up new murals anywhere you want and they wouldn’t keep getting taken down. And whatever’s going on with this…” Ajax gestured to her black eye, and she turned aside to hide it. “We could help with that, too.”

Rembrandt hesitated. “Why me? I can’t fight.”

“You wouldn’t need to, just need to run. That’s why they have me.” Ajax looked over her shoulder at the unfinished painting. She flashed a smile. “How long would it take you to finish this?”

She thought. “Thirty minutes max.”

“Great. I got your six.” Ajax stepped away from the wall and posted up behind the girl, who frowned quizzically at her. “Seriously. Finish it. Just promise you’ll come back to Warriors Headquarters with me when you’re done. My friend makes a great breakfast and our leader is a lot nicer than I am. She wants to meet you.”

Rembrandt only stared at the warrior. Ajax made a little go on gesture before returning to her watch position. She heard cans rattling behind her and the thud of a backpack hitting the boardwalk, then the hiss of spray paint. She waited a minute before glancing back. 

The graffiti artist had her mask back up over her face but left her hood off. She painted with one hand this time, moving slow, her presumably-injured arm hanging limp at her side. Ajax cringed a little internally. She was right; someone was definitely going after her. She caught a glimpse of Rembrandt’s expression, and despite looking like she’d lost a brawl, the look in her eyes was one of complete, pure, calm joy. She was truly in her element, surrounded by a cloud of spray paint, building the shape of the Wonder Wheel and the parachute tower with layers of a rainbow of colors. She added in tiny cartoon creatures running through the city. Ajax almost laughed. 

She leaned against the tower beside the painting. “You got anyone who’s gonna freak out if they think you’re missing?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” Rembrandt replied without taking her eyes off her work.

“Boyfriend? Girlfriend?”

“No.”

“Any family?”

Rembrandt paused. She turned to Ajax, showing the deep bruise on her face, her eyes downcast as the joy faded and the sadness and fear replaced it. Ajax’s heart softened just a bit.

“Got it,” she said, and faced front again.

The sky was barely beginning to lighten by the time Rembrandt packed up her cans and stuck her mask in her backpack with them. Ajax stood beside her, admiring the painting. “Looks nice,” she said.

“Thanks.”

“So…? Will you come meet with the Warriors?”

Rembrandt shouldered her bag. She shifted her weight between her feet like a little bird ready to take off. Ajax was convinced she might run again and prepared herself for another chase, but Rembrandt buried her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and looked up at the enforcer.

“Who’s your leader?” the artist asked.

“Her name’s Cleon.”

Rembrandt blinked. “Like… like Cleon? Like the Cleon?”

“Yep. The Cleon,” said Ajax. God, the fucking ego boost this was going to give that woman would be astronomical.

“She wants to meet me?”

“Uh-huh. You coming or not?”

“But she’s like - wait, hang on! Yes, I’m coming!”

Ajax led her away from the beach, off the boardwalk and into the surrounding streets. Ajax always kept her head on a swivel, always, and apparently so did Rembrandt. She walked a half step behind Ajax, staying just slightly to the right in case she needed to take off and leave Ajax behind. Fuck, she was flighty. This early in the morning, not many people were out and about yet, but Rembrandt kept her hood up and looked down to hide her face. Ajax waved her hand by her side, and Rembrandt moved to walk directly behind her. She kept stepping on the back of Ajax’s shoes on accident, apologizing profusely each time, but she picked her head up, at least.

Ajax stopped Rembrandt outside the door to the apartment. “Stay behind me,” she said, “and don’t freak out. Cochise is a little loud and Swan’s got major resting bitch face but no one’s gonna go after you. You’re safe here.”

“Okay,” Rembrandt mumbled. 

They stepped inside. Cochise stood over the stove, stirring something in a pan and humming to herself. Swan sat on the couch with DJ Lynne Pen’s show playing quietly over the radio beside her. Cleon was on the phone listening to someone talk and scribbling notes in a small journal. Ajax reached over Rembrandt’s head to shut the door and hollered, “’Sup motherfuckers!” Rembrandt flinched.

Swan looked up with annoyance drawn across her face. “Who are you calling a motherfu-…” Her voice trailed. Cochise and Cleon turned to Ajax. Ajax stepped to the side and gestured to the girl standing next to her.

“Everyone,” she announced with a smile, “meet Rembrandt.”

No one spoke. Rembrandt waved sheepishly.

Cleon said into the phone, “I’ll call you back,” and hung up the receiver. 

“Wow,” said Cochise. “She actually exists.”

Swan stood, staring at Rembrandt’s black eye. “Ajax, what did you-”

“It’s not from her,” Rembrandt interjected. “Um, sorry. Hi.”

Cleon approached. Ajax nudged Rembrandt forward, but the artist backed up into the door instead. Cleon stopped where she was, raised her hands, and offered the same comforting smile that she had given Ajax and Cochise and Swan on all their first interactions. Above all, Cleon could get virtually anyone to calm down and listen to her. 

“Hey, nice to meet you,” she said gently. Ajax watched Rembrandt’s tensed shoulders come down just a fraction of an inch. “I’m Cleon. Rembrandt, right?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Want some breakfast?”

------

And that's the end of the first part! Stay tuned because I am going to continue this

[whatcannotbesaid-shallbewept]

I'm doing a larger post on Warriors "sound of something being born" theming.

And in the process of re-listening to the album, I realised just how much the friendship/sisterhood between the Warriors sticks out.

This wasn't in the movie too much but it's everywhere on the album. These girls feel like friends! They care about each other!

Their conversations in the train interludes. Ajax fighting because she wants to protect the other girls. Fox sacrificing herself for The Warriors. How satisfied and happy they are at each others silly raps. The genuine joy they have in each others company!

The musical really hones in on the point that they beat Luther because they were united - his gang is scared of him, The Warriors aren't scared of each other.

And it's so heartwarming to hear these girls protect and support each other under constant threat and danger.

It's also heartbreaking. Because it makes the "deaths" hit that much harder. Cleon, Fox and Ajax were their sisters just as much as everyone else in the gang.

They continually protect and make sacrifices for each other, because they love each other that much.

It's so sad because Fox wanted was to protect her friends. And given the chance, she'd probably do it again.