After a long day of travel, Axl Reigns, the lizard heavy metal star, was lying on top of the blue Nightriders band van, shirtless, with his hands under his head, while his scaly, cold blooded body warmed up from the heat of the sun. He was in a dreamy relaxed state with his eyes closed and a small slight smile curled on the side of his snout as he enjoyed the brief change of pace from the busy life of a full-time touring musician. On his mind were the many pleasures that awaited him in the metropolis of Beach City.
Ahhhhh….. The sandy beach. The ocean. The clubs. The Guitar and Record Stores. It was these thoughts complimented by the warmth of the sun which brought Axl into his peaceful dreamy state. Until his dreams would be interrupted by a familiar gruff grumpy voice, that is.

"Hey Axl! Get your scaly butt down from there and help us load up the van! The last thing I need is for you to be a lazy lizard!”

Axl leaned forward to see Rolf standing on the side of the van with his arms on his sides, appearing quite annoyed. "Alright comin'," said Axl as he yawned and stretched out his arms. He then slid off the side of the blue van doors. “What do you need, buddy?”

Rolf motioned towards the tables, chairs, and cooler they had set outside the van for their rest stop. “I said help us load the van! We still have a long drive ahead of us!”

"Sure,” replied Axl with another yawn as he readjusted his spiked collar.

"Rolf! Rolf! Rolf! No need to be such a boss!” interrupted a voice. Axl and Rolf turned around to see Lonnie stepping out of the van. He was wearing his usual white tank top with shades and had a root beer in his hands. “This ain’t a dictatorship, you know! It’s one for all and all for one remember?"

"Yeah, whatever,” muttered Rolf, "But we’ve got a schedule to keep and you two bums are acting like sloths."

"Oh come on Rolf!” snickered Lonnie, “We’ve got plenty of time.”

"Yeah, without me you guys would be helpless,” grumbled Rolf as he began to fold the lawn chairs. Axl lifted the cooler and began carrying it to the van.

"Hey, don't let him chase you away like our last front man,” said Lonnie as he put his hand on Axl's shoulder in a consoling manner.

Axl chuckled as they began entering the van. “Chase away? Hah! No, I’ve worked with much worse! Believe me when I say that I’ve put up with bandmates before who literally wanted to kill me! So don’t worry, buddy, I’m here to stay.”

“Well that’s a relief, because I’m not sure I could handle Rolf on my own," said Lonnie smirking. Axl returned a smile. He had always found Lonnie’s company to be a refreshing contrast to Rolf’s critical personality. While Axl set the cooler in the back of the van, Rolf and Lonnie loaded the chairs. The interior of the van had slightly worn brown seats and gray carpeting. As usual, used soda cans, cupcake wrappers, and equipment were cluttered about. As Lonnie began to drive the van out of the rest stop, “Rock City” by Smooch began playing on the van stereo. “Here’s our song, guys!” sang Lonnie as he turned up the volume.

Illustrations by Bluepisces97

Thanks for reading!

Nightriders: Battle of the Bands Part 2

https://www.weasyl.com/~axlreigns/submissions/1446201/nightriders-battle-of-the-bands-part-2