Lines in the sand (commission for Summer Vixen and Maag)
#27 of Commissions
Maag's very lucky! Hanging out in the beach with a close friend, staring at the sea... Everything's too perfect to be true, right? But the fact that it isn't real doesn't necessarily mean it isn't good.
A commission I wrote for Summer Vixen (@VixenLiminal) and Maag (@maagnedick)! They gave me ssome freedom to write it and it was quite an interesting concept to write from.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy it!
Pronouns:
Maag- Any/all (she/they/he used in this story),
Summer Vixen- it/she (she/her/hers used in this story)
Maag lowered their sunglasses and glanced at Summer, who was laying down on a sunbed by her side. A gentle breeze caressed her red fur and even though the sun was setting, its rays were enough to warm the sand under the rainbow-eared fox's paws. Waves crashed one by one on the shore, foam rising in the air and sparkling with the sunlight. Even though it seemed impossible, Maag could have sworn they came and went with each of her breaths, working in a perfect tandem.
There was only another thing that felt even more unlikely - the fact that they were both the only people in a beach that seemed to spread for miles.
"Beautiful visualization," he pointed out. Summer nodded enthusiastically. It was hard to read her expression while it was hidden behind those sunglasses, but Maag thought she looked pleased with herself. "Seriously, the detail is haunting."
"You know, vacation's almost over," Summer reminded her.
"Uh, really? I couldn't possibly know. Apparently I left my wristwatch up there."
The other fox chuckled.
"Yeah. August is almost gone by now."
"Ugh, don't remind me." Maag stepped gently on the sand, trying to feel it under their paws. It felt surprisingly real. "So that's why you brought me here?"
"Mhm. A little escapade before September comes storming in."
"Feels nice."
"I bet it does."
Maag turned to gaze into the endless sea in front of them. The fact that the waters seemed to rise and sink with her breathing made the sight slightly uncanny, but it wasn't completely weird.
"What do you remember from the induction?" Summer asked then.
Maag didn't have to think too much about it. Those memories remained untouched.
"We were in your place and we started with a classic relaxation routine," she recalled. "And then I believe you were tracing something in my hand... writing words, maybe?"
"And how did that feel?" Summer asked.
Her voice had just the right amount of curiosity. The question sounded like it was supposed to lead Maag somewhere.Now's when she makes me go down again, while I think about it, they guessed. He'd practiced hypnosis with Summer for quite some time, so now she could kind of see things coming. Even if every experience was different from the last one, there were several points, techniques and general shenanigans that remained the same.
"Uh, I remember I was relaxed and focused on your voice," she said. "Then the words you wrote in my hand... I don't think I was completely aware of them, but they kept guiding me down. I think I might have repeated them at some point. I was pretty under by then, so I'm not entirely sure...?"
"Mhmmm."
Oh. She didn't take advantage of that to take me under. Weeeeird, the red fox thought. She took a few steps on the beach, still amazed at how real the sand felt under her paws, and then crouched to caress it with her fingers.
"Are you bored?" Summer asked.
"Nah."
"I mean, you could write something in the sand. Just for fun," the orange fox suggested, perhaps too bluntly.
Maag chuckled. Okay, sure. I can do that.
Her finger traced a few clumsy lines as she heard the sound of the waves crashing at her back. She decided to go for something simple and silly - a regular 'Summer & Maag were here' with a little heart at the end. She licked her upper lip as she wrote every word. The sand was slightly humid and it made her movements a bit slower than she had anticipated.
He finished writing the line and drew the smallest heart by the end of the sentence. Then she stood up and took their sunglasses off, looking at her creation.
Maag frowned, bewildered. She put the sunglasses on again, took them off one more time, still staring at the sand at his paws.
"What...?" she asked.
The words she read clearly said 'I am deeply hypnotized'. The little heart at the end remained untouched, though - apparently, that was something she had written for real. As she looked in awe at the foreign message, a sudden rush of submission and fluster washed into her mind.
"Oh great, looks like you wrote something kinky!" Summer noted, glancing at the message and chuckling.
"Uh... come on," Maag complained.
They knew the other fox was just toying with them, but she got on her knees and wrote another sentence. This time she tried to go for something cheeky - 'Summer is messing with me and she thinks she's very funny" - or something like that - actually, she wasn't sure what she was writing - words kept changing in her mind as she wrote it - like a fragmented sentence - separated by multiple dashes - that still made sense as a whole.
When she stopped writing and wiped the remaining sand on her finger against her swimsuit, he found out that the message had nothing to do with what he had intended to write yet again. 'I am programmed to obey Summer', said the words in the sand.
Blushing, Maag turned to the other fox, who had a wide grin on her face.
"Okay, I get it. You're making me write this stuff."
"Oh no, you're writing it because you want to," Summer pointed out. "It's not my fault if stuff that is being written somewhere else is getting in the way of what you want to write here."
"What?"
"Exactly. Why don't you let me take you by the hand?"
"Huh?"
Maag woke up from some kind of stupor. He had turned to look at the lines in the sand, reading over and over again the message that she was supposed to have written, but that she had no recollection of writing at all. The more she read them, the more she thought... she was somewhere else. And Summer was by her side now. The other fox grabbed her wrist and then her fingers clasped with Maag's.
She pulled from her arm and suddenly they truly were in a completely different place. Sand got replaced by mud, Summer's sunbed became a rock as the previously clear blue sky became obscured by a thick layer of vines and leaves. There was a pond nearby and Maag could hear insects humming and frogs croaking. The air suddenly became slightly colder, but not cold enough to make her shudder.
When she looked down, she realized her swimsuit had disappeared and instead her body was now covered by classic adventurer gear. There was even a big hat hanging from a cord around her neck, resting right between her shoulder blades.
"Where are we?" she asked, confused.
Visualizations weren't usually that vivid. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on.
"Does it really matter where we are?" Summer asked. "As I said, vacation's almost over. Consider this part of your trip."
"We're going to get eaten by mosquitoes," Maag pointed out.
The other fox chuckled and pulled his arm again.
Maag knew what that meant now, but she hadn't expected Summer to do it again quite so soon, so it took her completely off guard. She found herself in a different place now - green as far as her eyes could see, an endless prairie wherever she turned to look at. There was even a cute picnic blanket with an even cuter basket on it. Butterflies danced in front of the orange fox's eyes before disappearing between the branches of a single weeping willow that stood nearby.
Their clothes also changed. Both Maag and Summer were now properly dressed for the occasion - and she was wearing a comfy dress with a Spring-themed pattern.
"Okay, this is lovely," she agreed. "I like this one a lot."
"See? I even brought some sandwiches."
Maag wanted to peek inside the basket, but Summer was still holding her hand and she had a feeling the other fox wouldn't let go so easily. They were kind of in the middle of something, although Maag had no clue what it was exactly. Ants, though, she said to herself. Not as troublesome as mosquitoes, but a bit messier if we're carrying sandwiches with us. She had no idea why she was so keen on thinking about insects all of a sudden.
Perhaps her mind was trying to distract her from the fact that things that she couldn't understand were going on somewhere at the brink of her cognition. Or perhaps not.
He didn't have much time to think about it before there was a tender caress on the palm of his hand. Summer pulled again.
This time, they were on top of a mountain, dressed in full hiker gear. The views were astonishing and the cold air was about to take Maag's breath away. Fortunately, her new clothes kept her warm. What is this place? she thought. Any mountain I've heard about? She had no idea. Clouds swirled far below, so they must have been pretty high.
"As I said before, does it really matter where we are?" Summer asked, with a knowing grin. Maag wondered if she had somehow gained the ability of reading their thoughts.
"Hmm. Why do you ask?" she said. So much jumping from a place to another, so much changing gears and temperatures and visuals were starting to make her head spin slightly.
Or at least they thought that was what was making their head spin.
"There's something that doesn't change," Summer assured. "No matter where we are, it remains the same. Do you know what it is? What do these places have in common?"
Maag's eyes were getting tired. She blinked and for a split second she was on a forest - condo - nuclear wasteland - harbor - theme park - fishing boat - desert - temple - beach. She tried to regain a sense of her surroundings before noticing that she was in front of the words she'd written in the sand. Kneeling. She could hear a wave coming.
"What is it, Maag?"
The red fox blinked. Her brain was trying to grab all the thoughts it could gather, but they seemed to slip between her fingers. She tried hard to find an answer, but it escaped her. And the sea was roaring slightly louder now, but she couldn't pay any more attention to it.
His eyes turned to the message in the sand. There, he thought. The answer had to be there. It was a long sentence this time, but she read the words out loud.
"In all these places, my mind and body belong wholly and unequivocally to you."
Her voice echoed in the silent beach. Summer placed a hand on her shoulder and it felt heavier than it should.
"That's a good kit," she encouraged her.
The wave arrived then and crashed, foam and water spreading all over the sand. Maag felt the touch of water all over her knees and legs as she sank to their stomach - then, the water receded and she stood there, kneeling. The lines in the sand were gone and no trace of them remained to be seen. Just a perfect, smooth surface.
And she...
"Uh." Maag stood up, wiping the sand off her knees. Was that a beach? When had they arrived to that place? They had been... having a session, right?
He lowered her sunglasses and glanced at Summer, who was laying down on a sunbed by her side. A gentle breeze caressed her red fur. Everything was too perfect.
"Beautiful visualization," she pointed out. That was all that could be, wasn't it? There was no way they'd get a beach only for the two of them. Just two foxes together, and miles of clean, warm sand.
Besides, she'd practiced hypnosis with Summer for quite some time, so now she could kind of see things coming. Even if every experience was different from the last one, there were several points, techniques and general shenanigans that remained the same.
She knew.
And yet she was completely unaware that someone, somewhere, kept tracing lines on the palm of her hand, writing words that he'd then write in the sand, just like they'd done so many times by now.
But it wasn't an important thing to be aware of.
They were on vacation, after all.