My .Eternal. Summer {Open}

[misty]

Midsummer Wish
^{Here I Am}

<sup>"Ouch!" a young fem squealed as a noose tightened around her neck. The wolfess did not complain further, for she believed that it was meant to keep her form getting lost, even though the path they followed was clearly marked. The other half of "they", a slimy-looking brute, pulled on the noose again. "I need to keep you close," he had said when Midsummer Wish - or Summer for short - had questioned his gruff tugs, "It's dangerous here." The gullible little girl did not question him again, but rather tried to grin and bear it. After all, she was going to meet new friends and find a new home, right?

Right. But not in the way the femmora expected. For now she trudged onward, wishing that her friend would say a few words once in a while. It became apparent to her after the first few minutes that he did not intend to liven up their walk with conversation. Instead, Summer had turned to song. As they walked, she sang to herself in a low, sweet voice.

"I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine.
I got a love, and I know that it's all mine.
Oh.

Do what you want, but you're never gonna break me.
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake-"

"Quiet!" the brute leading her snapped. "We're there."

Midsummer Wish stared blankly at the frenzy of activity around her. No, this couldn't be the place her friend had told her about. Cages littered the ground, filled with sad, weak, and despairing wolves. In a bloody arena, two giant brutes were mauling each other, while a group of wolves lined the outside, cheering for their favorite to win the match. In other rings, wolves were being forced to race or were beaten with sticks by what Summer assumed were the guards of this horrid place. This was not the place she had envisioned.

"Into the cage, toots."

A split-second after the words had been spoken, Summer was thrust into a small and uncomfortable cage. The wire it was made of was covered in rust and the blood of former slaves. Small pieces of the metal poked her whenever she tried to move, loosened by other slaves' vain attempts to get free. "B-but this can't be the right place. This isn't right!" she managed to get out. An evil smirk appeared on her "friend's" maw.

"Welcome to Auction Rock, toots. The best place to meet new friends."

Opened-mouthed and speechless as the brute walked away, Midsummer Wish tried to blink back the fresh tears that were coming to her eyes. How could a wolf do something like this? Now would she be doomed to fight to the death with a fellow canine? Fat tears began to roll down her snout as she realized the deepness of the situation. In the pit of despair, she sunk down until she was laying on the bottom of the cage, ignoring the pain from the stray bit of wire. Head on her paws, Summer picked up where she had left off in her song earlier in shaky vocals.

"Do what you want, but you're never gonna break me.
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me.
No.

Take me away: A secret place.
A sweet escape: Take me away.

Take me away to better days.
Take me away: A higher place . . ."

Her sweet lyrics faded into suppressed sobs as a lump of sadness rose in her throat.</sup>

[Bengal Brat]

Shalome
This is just...

"B-but this can't be the right place. This isn't right!"

An evil smirk appeared upon the features of an arrogant Auction Rock guard as he minipulated yet another innocent fem. A massive Maned Wolf who was just over a year and a half of age rolled his eyes as he strolled into Auction Rock. Head and tail were high with authority, and his eyes flashed, but not with lust at the sight of all of those pretty faes just waiting for a new owner to come and take them away. No. It was more of shock and dismay. Shay could understand why a brute slave might deserve to be treated like the scum of the earth for back-talking, but not the vixes here. One scene in particular caught his eye; it was of a lovely little wolfess singing quietly to herself as a cage door was slammed in her face.

"Do what you want, but you're never gonna break me.
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me.
No.

Take me away: A secret place.
A sweet escape: Take me away.

Take me away to better days.
Take me away: A higher place . . ."

She could barely finish her little song before she was forced to hold in a great deal of sobs. A look of defeat filled her pools, which were, by now, glittering brightly with tears. Shay strolled nonchalantly over towards her cage, dipping his head in her direction. Against everything his father had taught him, the brujo lowered his mighty head and gave the slave's muzzle a gentle lick with a salmon colored tongue. His lyrics were comforting.

"Hey... someone who lies to you is not your friend. I can show you a real friend, but you have to prove that you want one. Would you like to accompany me back to Benstripe Woods?"

Without waiting for the vix to give him an answer, Shalome reared up onto his powerful hind legs and opened the door to the metal imprisonment.

...so not right

[misty]

<sup>Summer had floated into a daze after her song had ended. She could hear, see, and smell the action around her, but felt strangely detached from it. It was like she was ghost floating among the living, her sorrow leaving her an empty shell that could not touch the world around her. But with the warm, wet touch of a tongue, the fae was jerked back into a living state.

"Hey... someone who lies to you is not your friend. I can show you a real friend, but you have to prove that you want one. Would you like to accompany me back to Benstripe Woods?"


Confused and stilled shaken, it took Summer a while to really comprehend what the brujo had said. He wanted to be her friend? Maybe this was the right place after all. Her vocals feeling dry and hard to work, the femme answered him.

"Y-yes."

As the metal door swung open, Midsummer Wish cautiously placed a paw outside. Another followed it, then another. Finally she was free of that wire prison. Blinking a few times to make sure that she was awake, Summer turned to the brute who had freed her. Taking the bold initiative, she ran her tongue over the fur on his shoulders.

"Thank you." Her eyes shone with the light they had before she was forced into the tiny cage. "I'm Midsummer Wish, but just call me Summer."</sup>

[Bengal Brat]

Shalome
Maybe I'm like my dad...

"Y-yes."

Just a single word seemed to last a lot longer than necessary, but why shouldn't it? The vix was badly shaken up, so it wasn't likely that she could talk to him as if they had grown up together. He took a step back and allowed the pretty young wolfess some room to exit her prison. She seemed very hesitant at first to leave; her paws moved very slowly, one after the other, and she looked around cautiously, as if she half expected him or another brute to suddenly attack her and beat her to a pulp. Finally, though, she was down the plank and standing in front of him. Shay couldn't help but take a slight step back when she gave his shoulder a few brisk lips. Even if they had just met, he already had butterflies. If it was because he liked her already, he didn't know.

"Thank you. I'm Midsummer Wish, but just call me Summer."

Her eyes were as bright as ever before, and Shay couldn't help but smile. Never before had he felt the surge of pride that he received now of helping another wolf who really needed it. He had simply sat back and watched some of the most dreadful things that you could possibly think of happen to slaves, both by other masters and even his own father, Shanook.

"If you follow me, I'll take you home. You'll love it there."

...but not in the way that you think

ooc: do you want to make the post in Benstripe or should I?

[misty]

^{You go ahead, I would have nothing to say. Dx}