Even though the raid on Area 77 had ended, sometimes, the hippies would come back to the commune to relax after working on various projects. Grian would come with some flower crowns, Impulse would cook up some nice soup from the vegetables in the garden, and Ren would bring out his guitar, and the three boys would sing into the night.

Tonight was one of these nights. Impulse was just finishing up his beetroot soup when the wolf hybrid started to strum. "I hear your heart," he began to sing. "As it beats beneath the sound of crashing cars."

"The sirens pour into every street, surrounding us," Grian joined in, apparently recognizing the song. "Our world caves in on us, and makes us new."

The two voices joined in harmony as they moved onto the chorus, the melody rising into the air along the smoke from their campfire.

"All our love came out of the woodwork, all our strength came out of the woodwork. We only notice light, when darkness crashes against it. We only notice light deep in the woodwork!" They sang, Impulse closing his eyes and getting lost in the tune as he listened.

"I still hear the song, as it rings beneath the sound of shattered glass." Grian took the lead this time, his voice filled with some indescribable emotion.

Ren was fingerpicking the tune out now, truly emphasizing it, making it more powerful. "In the aftermath, the melody carries on while we come undone, and makes us new."

Before he could stop himself, Impulse found himself belting out the lyrics of the chorus, as if taken by some primal urge to send the song out into the world. "All our love came out of the woodwork! All our strength came out of the woodwork! We only notice light, when darkness crashes against it. We only notice light, deep in the woodwork..."

The hippie redstoner felt himself hesitate, before seeing Ren nod to him encouragingly, and Grian mouth the words "keep going!" It looked like he was taking the third verse for himself, then. He hoped he could do the song justice. "It's a cruel, cruel trick... how we find ourselves when we lose everything else. Like a train wreck... the sound of your breathing hits my ears, our world reappears, and it breaks us new..."

And it suddenly didn't feel like anyone was watching or judging him. Impulse gestured to his fellow hippies to join him in finishing the song, and together they released the melody out into the night. "All our love came out of the woodwork! All our strength came out of the woodwork! All our trust came out of the woodwork! We only notice light deep in the woodwork..."

Impulse grinned as he talked with the other hermits, chatting and laughing about little things that had happened over the week. Maybe one day, he'd be confident enough to sing in front of the others. Maybe one day, he'd come out of the woodwork, too."

_______________________________________________________________________________

So the prompt was Hippies, and my brain was simply like, "Songfic. Sleeping at Last." I said okay. I found a song by them that I felt fit well for the hippies. Then, my brain said, "This is what Impulse sounds like when he sings, but he's a bit self-conscious about it. But the singing sessions with the hippies are helping, and one day he'll sing in front of all the Hermits." And I couldn't argue against that, so now this is a thing that exists, and headcanon that this is what Impulse's voice sounds like.

Song is Woodwork by Sleeping at Last.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed!

Sea you later!

-Aqua