Hell's Broke Loose in Georgia

((February 9th, open to the Singin' Strays. And Copper.))

"The Devil went down to Georgia. He was lookin' for a soul to steal.
He was in a bind 'cause he was way behind. He was willing to make a deal
When he came across this young man sawin' on a fiddle and playin' it hot.
And the Devil jumped upon a hickory stump and said "Boy, let me tell you what."

"I guess you didn't know it, but I'm a fiddle player, too.
And if you'd care to take a dare I'll make a bet with you.
Now you play a pretty good fiddle, boy, but give the Devil his due.
I'll bet a fiddle of gold against your soul 'cause I think I'm better than you."

Dixie's song was dark. Her golden fur was glowing in the light of the fire before her as she hummed the words before her. Her soft golden paws touched the earth beneath her, dusting up the ground. She was in the mood for a song. She paused, lifting her head and smirking towards the black sky. The devil had indeed broke loose over the outlands. He seemed to enjoy following her golden butt wherever she went. But now she'd learned to lay with the damn devil. Now he'd become her bedside mate.

Laying with Copper was a mistake. Laying with Roscoe was an even bigger mistake. But it was all okay now. Cash was back. Her band was back together.

"Johnny, rosin up your bow and play your fiddle hard.
'Cause Hell's broke loose in Georgia and the Devil deals it hard.
And if you win you get this shiny fiddle made of gold,
But if you lose the devil gets your soooooouuuuuul."

Oh the devil already had Dixie's soul. He had a tight grip of it. And he wasn't letting go...

The sound the reached the hound’s senses was like music to his ears, and while he’d never admit it aloud, except maybe to the dog making said sound, he really did love Dixie’s voice. Despite all she’d been through, that had always seemed to be the one thing that remained intact. Copper had more than once found himself lingering a few moments longer than usual when she would sing the pups to sleep just to hear it. If the Bloodhound cross didn’t know any better, he’d have said he’d fallen in love with the female’s voice just as much as he had the female herself.

Pulling himself to his paws from where he’d been resting in the shade of a large mound. While the large stout of dirt no longer cast a shadow it was still one of the only escapes from the African heat during that time of day. The heat was really one of the only ways to tell what time of day it actually was anymore. Following both his nose and his ears, Copper soon found himself striding up to the golden-furred female. When he reached her, he pushed himself lightly into her side so that the fur of their shoulders brushed together.

“Hey, Dix,” he spoke softly. Though his voice was as devoid of emotion as it always was, it was clear that his tone was still affectionate toward her. “Quite the song, you were singin’.” His gaze was directed toward the fire across from them, the bright orange flames dancing in his dark eyes. “Any reason you were singing it? Or did ya just feel like a song?” his tone had turned curious as he turned back to look at her. His eyes relaying all of the emotions his voice would never carry.

Her song beckoned them to walk closer, as it had so many times before. Songs always did. Even in the blackest night, the dog twins could have easily followed Dixie's angelic voice to the end of the world and back. They walked side by side, their hips swaying like the world couldn't weigh them down, and, frankly, since Cash's return and the Singing Strays' reunion, nothing could. They were a family again, and it was almost like things had never gone wrong. Like war had not happened.

Their black noses twitched eagerly, dark-tipped tails wagging with excitement when they noticed Copper, too, was on sight. They paced into the scene like they were home, and they were. Home was where the song was. "It sounded to me like ya could use a bit of back up, though, don'tcha think, Waylon?" the green-collared brother spoke. "Yeah! Not like yer voice isn't lovely as always, Dixie, we just though ya might wanna sing again. You know."

"Together!" The brothers exclaimed in unison.

If it were up to them, they'd sing the Harmony song. It was, after all, their favorite of all times. Naturally, though, Granny Rose and Cash ought to be there for that song, too! After all the time they'd been apart, though, anything would be nice. They could sing about anything in the world, and the brothers would happily pipe in to chour their singing stars, just for the sake of old times. Just like old times.

He had meant to pass by and see how Dix and the pups were doing. He'd been spending more time with them mostly all as a group and it was beginning to ache in his heart that he hasn't been able to spend any time focusing on Dixie. Not that the group was bad, Cash was surprised that it actually had fallen all together as nicely as it had. But still, it had always been about getting back to Dixie. So when he heard her melodic voice drifting over the outlands in both an unsettling and thrilling way. She sounded just a fierce as she used too, and when he followed he was led straight to her. And Copper.
A slight pang. Cash wasn't to say he was better than that, but he wasn't. The kid didn't sit well with him like he used to. When he looked down at Copper he still saw that little pup, but watching him hang around Dixie as a young adult? Well. That was it wasn't it? Cash was better than a lot of things, but jealousy wasn't among them.
Waylon and Floyd butt in before he could though, leaving him unassuming in his hidden darkness for the moment. He could always count on his boys, even when they didn't realize it. They wanted to sing too. His heart ached again. Oh how he wanted to sing...

But without Granny Rose? Where was that old coot?

"Together!"

Aw shoot. Screw it.

The hound leaped forth, spry as ever with that same performin' spring in his step. He hopped between Copper and Dixie, facing the boys and taking everything he could as far as spotlight here went. Then he sang, deep voice cutting through the small conversation that gathered and bringing it back to what they knew best. Music.

"Like the sun.
And blue skies.
Like summer nights.
And fire flies..."

Dixie winced as Copper came by. Boy was it a mistake to lay with this dog. He was a youngin' still and she'd succumb to desire, sadness and comfort. Now she was paying the price, paying the devil for her sins. Why did he insist on touching her? "Just a song," she said, "Figured it'd be appropriate as anythin' with all this darkness." She scooted back. "Listen Copper, you need ta-"

"It sounded to me like ya could use a bit of back up, though, don'tcha think, Waylon?" The female breathed, HAPPY for the interuption and even more happy to see her boys bounding up. She smiled at them gently. "Yeah! Not like yer voice isn't lovely as always, Dixie, we just though ya might wanna sing again. You know."

"'Course ah do," she said, "Ah'd wrasle lions'n alligators just ta sing with you boys again." She was about to open her mouth and continue the upbeat yet devilish song when a slow, long, crooning voice hit her ears and made her golden knees tremble.

"Like the sun.
And blue skies.
Like summer nights.
And fire flies..."

"Oh Cash..." She whistled, stepping towards the male. She lifted her head. "Like an itch an' a scratch. We're the perfect maaaaaaatch.[/b]" She gave a wink towards the boys, hoping they'd join in on the chorus.

Waylon and Floyd's tails were wagging at the speed of light, tongues lolled out of their mouths when Cash stepped in and began singing THE song. When Dixie joined in, however, they were so full of excitement they could've burst. They didn't need Dixie's signal, but certainly noticed it as both stepped side to side and sung in unison, the only difference in their voices being that Floyd's voice was slightly more gruffy than his sibling's.

"Cause we're in harmonyyyyyyyyy...." They howled harmoniously, followed by a string of soft howls to chour the main voices of the song. Waylon and Floyd had never minded to not be a part of the spotlight; they got joy from singing together with the Strays, as a team that worked like a fine clock. Without even one of them, songs weren't the same. Which made them wish, in fact, that Granny Rose would make a surprise apprarance, not unlike Cash.

Copper could join in, too! He should, in fact. Like that one time when everyone made up. Waylon walked up to the youngest of the hounds and nudged him with a paw, giving him a playful look se he would, too, join in. Far as the twins were concerned, Copper was a Singing Stray, just like them. He'd just been on stage less times.

Copper had to nod in agreement that the tune she’d been singing sure did fit their current settings. Hell had certainly broken out in the Outlands if it hadn’t made it anywhere else. He glanced up as Dixie moved away from him, the loss of the feeling of her fur had been enough to draw his attention toward her.

"Listen Copper, you need ta-"

She never got to finish as two new voices reached the hound’s ears. He turned his head to watch the twins as the two bounced toward them, babbling on about Dixie’s singing. The sight of them almost brought a smirk to Copper’s face, but he held it back, instead retaining the blank mask he’d long since mastered.

Not a moment later, and as if on cue, Cash jumped forward and forced himself between Copper and Dixie, forcing the younger hound to step backward a few paces. Copper’s ears pulled back slightly as dark brown eyes narrowed into a slight glare. Despite himself, Copper couldn’t help the low growl that rumbled lowly in his throat. The urge to force Cash back as he’d just done to him was nearly irresistible. Still, Copper managed to keep himself in place. Simply lowering himself back into a sit as he listened to the four sing.

Copper would be lying if he said the melody didn’t bring back memories. But they were memories he’d have rather not remembered, they brought back too many happy times. Happy times he’d spent with Tod…

A paw lightly nudging him forced Copper back into the present, and without really thinking he looked up toward the other hound with an expression of surprise. Though, as quickly as it appeared it was gone again, replaced with the blank look that always seemed to color Copper’s features nowadays. Brown locked with brown for a brief moment as Waylon offered Copper a playful look. Copper knew what he was asking, but he wasn’t sure he could give him what he wanted. Did he even really want to? If it was up to Copper he’d forget all about that time and about that song. For some reason, when Dixie sung it alone it never seemed to surface those memories, but now that the whole of the Singin’ Strays were singing it together…

Closing his eyes, Copper looked away from the other hound, wrinkled brow becoming even more so as he frowned. Copper doubted he could even remember the words much less be able to sing them. Still, as he looked back up and glanced between the four dogs he couldn’t seem to stop the words from falling from his muzzle.

“Like… ah....” he paused for a moment as he tried to remember the line. “Like a rhyme in a song we all belong.” He’d dragged the last note a little longer than it should have been, but he was still trying to remember the words correctly. “Like a bird in a tree we were meant to be.” His voice was much deeper than it was when he was just a pup, and it had a slight rasp to it from where he usually tried to keep it void of emotion. Still, it seemed to flow naturally as he, albeit hesitantly, joined with the other four canines as they sung.

Cash chuckled. This was his element, it was their element. And that couldn't be taken away. He watched fondly as Dixie melodically unleashed her tunes and passed it off to the two hounds. Practiced as ever, the bleated their bit before looking over to Copper. Now that was a blast from the past. Cash frowned with his maw hanging ajar just a slight bit as he eyed the kid, somewhat expectant as well. Back in the day, Copper had a heck of a voice and a promising future for it.

It took him a moment, but he helped himself along. And for a second Cash could see the same old little rolling pup he'd seen before, back at the carnival. Despite himself Cash laughed, rearing his head in pleasure and letting his tongue loll out of the side of his mouth for a moment. Most of the tension eased with Cash with a song, as it often did, so with that new serenity the hound chuckled openly and nudged Copper's shoulder appreciatively with his paw.

Once Copper had the hang of it, Cash joined on in with his rivaling deep voice to bring the speed and take it up a notch. No doubt the others would join on queue as they always did.

"Like a nose and a tail, a horse and a trail
Like a base and a fiddle, Like a laugh and a riddle
Like a pond and a frog, Like a bump on a log"

He inhaled sharply, regaining his lost air.

Daaaaaaaaaaaamn.

Dixie had to stop her jaw from dropping. Copper's voice sounded as sweet and smooth as the thickest of natural maple syrup. She smiled softly though. Cash's voice would always make her melt. She leaned her shoulder on his, grinning wildly as she hopped to the center of the group. How she's missed this. Just singing. Just singing with her friends, her family. That song that warmed their hearts. That country soulful howl that she wanted in her heart forever.

"We're a hand in a glove an example ooooooooooooooof."

Alway her favorite part. She'd let her sugar sweet voice curl over the ears of the boys around her. "Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh oooooohhhhhmmmm." She gave Cash a loveing look. Gosh how she'd missed him and everything he was. She missed the boy and their goofiness. Once Granny got here, they'd really be in harmony. And that was all she wanted at the moment.

The twins had let Copper finish his verse, excited, tails wagging wildly, and then they'd joined Cash in the next set of rhymes, their voices quick, like they didn't have another second to sing like this. The twins had learned, in their lowkey stay within the villain camp, it was possible they wouldn't sing again. It was a possibility every day, and although the weight of it didn't show in their happy faces, the hounds knew.

""Like a nose and a tail, a horse and a trail
Like a base and a fiddle, Like a laugh and a riddle
Like a pond and a frog, Like a bump on a log"

Both dogs gasped for breath briefly, but Dixie, melodious as ever, continued with the song. If heaven sounded like anything, it must've sounded like her voice. Soon enough, both hounds had recoreved from their loss of breath, and they were both ready to pour their hearts into their every note, taking the break Dixie made between her sentences to chour out loud, Floyd first by only a few seconds, followed by his brother.

"Hoooooooooome"
"Hoooooooooome"
"Hoooooooooooome!"

And then, they went quiet, and Dixie hit all the right notes straight behind them, like she always did. Her voice tickled their ears like a sweet mother's lullaby in a stormy night, and the boys looked at each other and smiled, smiled smiles that were nothing but happy to those around them, but in which the brothers could read an undertone of sadness, of melancholy, of nostalgia. Because they were back together, and they could sing again. But for how long? Couldn't they all just go back home, where they were meant to be, and stick together like a family?

They let their thoughts rest, focused on Cash and Dixie for a moment, their smiles growing larger and their tails wagging faster at the familiar sight of the loving look Dixie threw at the eldest hound of the group, and, for a moment, it almost felt like they were on-stange, and war had never even been a thing.

And it was beautiful.

Granny Rose was close enough that Dixie's dark tune reached her ears loud and clear, doing nothing to soothe her already dark mood. She made no move to approach the fire Dixie sat at, instead opting to continue on, doing her best to ignore the words pouring forth from Dixie's mouth. It was easier said than done. The golden-furred diva had a voice that rang loud and clear across the Outlands.

But she stopped cold when a familiar deep voice rang out with an equally familiar song. Cash, soon joined by Dixie. Despite herself, a small smile worked its way across the old dog's face. But before she could continue on, another pair of voices joined in, and she turned to gaze towards the fire in surprise, mouth hanging open a bit as Weylon and Floyd harmonized with Cash and Dixie. As she listened, she heard what could only be Copper joining in, his voice no less beautiful than when he was a pup, even with that slight rasp.

Softly, she joined in, voice too faint to be heard, nearly overwhelmed by the memories the old familiar song spawned within her. Her dark feelings fled like shadows before sunlight, and she padded towards the fire. She had missed them all dearly, just as she had missed singing with them. And now, for the time being at least, they were reunited, and all seemed right with the world.

"Pure bred, down home, true sweet harmony!" she vocalized as she padded forward into the firelight to join the circle. While her voice had never been as clear or strong as Dixie's, and despite the edge age had given it, she still sang the line with gusto, eyes lidded as they usually were, almost closed.

Copper’s voice trailed as the others around him joined right in after him, and more or less took over for him where he was having problems. It was nostalgic, in a way, listening to their voices as they seemed to seep together to create the perfect tune. Copper could remember that that fact had been one of the reasons he’d found the band so fascinating in the first place. But he could also remember Tod’s reaction the first time he’d heard it too.

“Sounds like someone got their tail stuck in a door…”

The words seemed to echo in the hound’s mind as an almost wistful smile pulled at his muzzle. It was a smile that slowly turned into a deep frown before disappearing altogether. What was done was done. Nothing came out of wishing for ‘what ifs’, and ‘what might have beens’ it just never did any good. It was something Copper found that he was having to remind himself of time and time again. He just needed to face the fact that that no good fox was dead, and it was a good riddance.

The youngest of the hound’s mind was forced away from its current track by the sound of another voice joining in on the singing. Looking up Copper found it no surprise when he gazed upon the form of Granny as she padded slowly forward. Ever since her little ‘heart to heart’ with him and Dixie, Copper had been somewhat avoiding the older canine, both intentionally and not. For some unexplained reasons, he just didn’t feel comfortable around her knowing that she now knew all that she did. Not that Copper had really minded hiding anything once she’d gotten him to talk.

As her voice slowly faded, and it seemed to come to him once more, Copper found himself pausing. Now that Granny had made herself known, Copper didn’t feel like it was his place to continue. Sure, he’d sung with them when he was a pup, but that had been a long time ago… too long ago, and now that young pup was far from the same dog he had been then. With that thought in mind, Copper took a few steps back, intending to leave the rest of the singing to the band, to leave the song to the Singing Strays as it was rightfully so. Copper was no Singing Stray, as much of an actual stray that he was now.

Cash was smitten in the look that he'd gotten from Dixie. Absolutely trapped in the harmony and the focus of her eyes on him, the hound was putty between the whole lot of them. He hardly even noticed the gentle introduction of Granny Rose joining. Hhe'd heard it so often it sounded weird when she wasn't there, so hearing it now was no surprise. And when their gentle harmonizing came to its' end her voice chimed out like the old beacon it was.

Pure bred, down home, true sweet harmony!

Cash's head whipped in her direction, tongue lolling out of the side of his mouth with that big old grin her so rarely showed these days. The hound laughed openly, sending a glance around at the crew gathered in fondness before realizing one of them was turning to take a leave. Copper. Instantly the hound felt deep conflict, it manifested in his belly and writhed like a snake into his heart. This dog was sweet on Dixie. And Cash had a hell of a jealous monster inside of him. But on the other hand.. He looked at this hound and saw that same little pup that he'd taken under his wing all that time ago and tried to make into a star.

Cash exhaled making a soft gentle groaning noise in his chest as he did so, before leaping forth from where he stood by Dixie, and hopping over in front of Copper to halt his roll. It wasn't aggressive although it did hold Cash's regular pushy behavior. Though Copper was older now than he used to be and had definitely grown, Cash was still a good bit taller than him and looked down at the boy. Then came his deep voice, singing in front of Copper and imploring him to continue.

"Every crowd we face~"

{I swore this wasn't waiting on me...}

Copper was leaving? How could he? This was their little band's reunion. He couldn't...before she could continue her thoughts or say something to stop him, cash had taken it upon himself to jump to the boy and start singing. Her heart swelled. It reminded her of home immediately. The twins howling, Granny Rose offering her woofs and her and Cash sawin' away...it was wonderful. She could almost feel the heat of the spotlights and hear the cheer of the crowd. Though Copper was supposed to continue, the female couldn't help herself. After all three lead singers weren't so bad were there?

"Every squirrel we chase
Anytime anyplace
We're in Haaaarmony!"

Dixie bounded to Cash's side to fufill a double point. One to make Copper feel like the he a part of the family still. Two to get him off her furry golden ass. She placed her head on Cash's shoulder as she waited for the boys to start jarring along with the rest of them.

When Granny Rose appeared, the world felt whole again. The strays were back together! All that seemed to be missing was Copper's fox friend, Todd. Naturally, the twins were oblivious to the fox's death; they'd been caught up in being sad about Cash and Dixie, almost too much to do anything else. Naturally, it was best that they remained unaware. It was painfully obvious to the eye, hwever, that something bothered Copper when the young hound tried tepping away from the group; the twins' eyes focused on one another's, their brows furrowed in confusion. They were all having a good time, right? The best time they'd had in ages, in fact. So why did Copper want to go? Had something they'd done bothered him? Did he feel like he wasn't enough of a Singing Stray?

There was no time to linger in these questions, though, for Cash jumped in front of the younger hound to stop him in his tracks, and continued singing. Their eyes shone with admiration at the simple yet efficient solution, even more so when Dixie was quick to join. The twins were goofy, but not dumb; the hint was taken, and they leaped forward, one hound at each of Copper's side. A playful growl left their throats as a warmup before they took a deep breath, and then;

"Every tune we howl..."
"Everly line we growl!"
"Every note!"
"Every vowel!"

Silence lingered for a moment as the twins awaited for somebody, anybody, to carry on with their tune. Waylon was bowed down low to the ground, butt playfully raissed up in the air, while his twin brother stood, his tail wagging eagerly while his tongue lolled out of his mouth. Going back to the past, remembering what Cash had said, the twins both looked at Copper and said in unison, as if able to read the other's mind;

"C'mon kid! Sing with us!"