Scuffed up shoes lightly smacked the ground rapidly as a young boy no more than twelve ran freely with no destination, he only ran to feel the adrenaline flood through him. Running was in his blood. A part of him that'll never leave him. Being the fastest thing alive did that to you. He loved to feel the thrill of running at speeds unimaginable, his heart would always beat with excitement and joy. Laughter filled the air as he ran by, so youthful and vibrant.
With a light breeze sifting past him like the waves of an ocean while he continued his run throughout many places he as passed by. He went through green hills full of natural wildlife from small birds to big white-tailed deer inside open clearings with colorful flowers and mysterious forests full of secrets behind each tree. The boy had traveled through different villages with a little amount of people thriving and towns of many people living their everyday lives.
The boy was known by everybody. Oh, they knew this boy alright. He's the infamous trouble maker Sonic the hedgehog. A reckless boy. A rude, delinquent kid that is wild as the ocean, faster than the wind, and free as can be with no sense of responsibility or maturity.
Sonic carried this reputation everywhere. However, it became worse for him over time, at one time he was just the quiet orphan kid looking for some love and attention from anybody who'd give it. He isn't what they say he is. But it was like where ever he went the reputation clung to him and people either alienated him, excluded him, or even both.
Adults would scowl at Sonic when he'd walk by, gossip about him, point him out. Yet even still, they weren't as bad as the kids they had. Children around Sonic's age had, simply put, bullied him ruthlessly. There was the name calling, the chasing, and the beatings if they (rarely did) caught him.
It was just Sonic against the cruel beautiful world. His parents? He never knew them, the hedgehog hasn't a clue if they are dead or abandoned him. Nothing. Even in his earliest memories, he could recall he was alone.
Sonic did his best to survive on his own. Searching for enough rings to buy himself at least one small meal a day. Curling up to sleep in the high branches of trees in the isolated forests to watch the night starry sky wistfully until slumber took him in. And trying...so hard to never let the pangs of bitter loneliness get to him when he steals glances towards parents walking with their children. Families sticking together.
Sonic stuck out. He just did. From his vibrant royal blue fur and quills to his glowing big emerald eyes. Put him in the middle of a crowd and you'd see him first. Nobody stood out as much as this speed demon did.
Even now as he sped past he was noticeably unique and different compared to his surroundings or other people.
Currently Sonic stayed around Green Hill, an island of lush green grass, hills, lovely blue lakes, and palm trees rising high in the sky. He liked it here. One, it was nice. Sorta like a paradise. Two, since it was an island farther away from the mainland, he couldn't just uppity up and travel off the island as he wished. He did have a plane, one he had gotten from a man looking for a quick buck, but he didn't trust it enough to fly him off the island. Plus, where could he go if he left?
Someday, Sonic swore to himself, he'd be out there traveling the world and going on adventures. But it's not that day. It had been an ordinary day, nothing new and nothing to do. He found himself bored as he laid on a makeshift hammock strung up between to trees, his ears twitched as he hummed and listened to the chirps of birds singing. The hedgehog had found himself an isolated area in the forests to stay at, he went on a run earlier and decided to lounge about on his hammock to shade himself from the sun with the leaves from the trees.
Then he heard it.
Quiet sounds of footsteps crunching on grass and twigs filled the air and it seemed like the birds singing had stopped, silently Sonic sat up, now more alert and suspicious of the footsteps.
They were slow and light, almost...lost? An adult would walk heavier at a more fast pace so it couldn't have been an adult. Maybe it was just a deer?
"Momma? Dad?"
Sonic froze, he could hear the footsteps more distinctly now as a child came into view. A fox with yellow golden fur and a white-furred chest continued to call out for his parents. The fox must've been no more than maybe six or so. The hedgehog assumed the younger child had gotten separated and lost from his parents.
He was unsure what to do. The fox hadn't seen him, he seemed to walk aimlessly away. There was a choice. Right here and right now. There was a village of people living farther in the forest, maybe he lived there?
Sonic could just easily let the boy keep walking, he'd find his home eventually. The island wasn't too big and it did have a lot of villages and towns he could stumble upon.
But that left Sonic's stomach flipping and turning upside down, that obviously wasn't the right thing to do. Getting off his creaky hammock, Sonic took a few cautious steps towards the child.
"Hey," He called out, gaining the attention of the fox. The child frightfully stopped in his slow tracks to face Sonic with a teary face. "Don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you."
"..." The child looked hesitant, "Do you know where my parents are?"
Sonic blinked, thoughtfully rubbing his nose with his finger. The fox had been the only other person he'd actually seen for a few days. Shaking his head Sonic said, "Can't say that I have. Are you lost?"
The fox shrugged his shoulders. "I don't have a home."
This struck a chord in Sonic's chest, this kid is lost with no home?
"Err- When did you last see your parents?"
"...I don't know. I've been looking for them for a long time."
Sonic stepped closer to the kid to get a closer look at him, he looked malnourished and dirty, just as Sonic did. Now Sonic was more unsure of what to do.
'Is he an orphan?'
"How long?" Sonic asked, almost dreading the answer.
"Two years." The fox said. Sonic's eyes widened at the answer. Though the fox seemed more saddened, his eyes were watery and he began to hiccup from his crying.
'Two years!? How has he been living this long?'
"Hey- hey. Don't cry. Chin up kiddo, I'll help you find your parents." Sonic said, he was quick to walk in front of the child, he bent down on his knees and placed a reassuring hand over the kid's shoulder. "What's your name? I can't be calling you kiddo now can I? My name is Sonic."
"Well..my bracelet says I'm Miles Prower...but I don't like my name very much," Miles said to Sonic. It was an interesting name. Sonic took another look at the child, analyzing him up and down. Miles wiped at his eyes and sniffled quietly, once his tears were wiped away Sonic could see how big and blue his eyes were.
"That's a cool name..." Sonic said, his voice trailed off. "So where did you live before? You can't just be wondering all alone." 'Somebody has to be taking care of him. There's no way there is another kid like...like me.' The blue hedgehog's heart sank in his chest when Miles nodded his head yes. "Who takes care of you? Do you live in a village nearby?"
"Nobody takes care of me...I live in a village but everybody doesn't like me...they call me a two-tailed freak." Miles answered He looked as if he was going to cry again.
"Two-tailed freak?" Sonic parroted curiously, it was obviously an insult. Why would they call him that? "Why the heck would they call you that?"
"Because I'm the only one with two tails...see?" Tails said and Sonic moved his hand when Tails turned to his side to show his two fluffy tails each with white ends. They moved simultaneously and drooped to the ground in a sad display. "I'm a freak..."
"What? No, you aren't!" Sonic quickly shook his head. "Come on Tails, you can't let their words get to you. The people on this island are so judgmental to anybody who isn't like them." 'Someone like me.' "You're unique, I can tell that already. So ya hear me? Don't listen to them, they're just jerks."
"...Tails?" Miles repeated, he tilted his head as he looked into Sonic's eyes.
Sonic rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly aware he came up with a nickname for a kid he barely even knew. Why didn't he just give Miles directions to the next village? Sonic may have loved lots of socialization, just not the one from this island. He tended to avoid people as much as he could. Could it be he felt sympathetic and understood Miles more than anybody else? He didn't feel good at all at the thought of not helping Miles. Besides, Sonic didn't roll that way. Even though it felt like the world was against him most of the time, he couldn't just go out of his way to help people as much as he could.
"Yeah, sorry I called you that Mil-" Sonic tried to apologize when the fox -or rather kitsune more like it- cut him off.
"I like 'Tails' more than...my name." Miles sheepishly admitted. He stared down at his shoes to stop looking at Sonic who thoughtfully pondered over the sudden nickname.
"Alright Tails," Sonic smiled. The hedgehog was now happy, oddly enough, that Tails seemed to be feeling slightly better. He didn't know why but he was quickly growing attached to the kitsune. "I'll help you find your parents. Okay?"
"Okay..." Tails softly said, he looked back up at Sonic, "Thank you Sonic... This means a lot to me."
"It's no problem," Sonic said, he tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. He had a few mixed up feelings. Nothing...bad per se. He wished he still had the same hopes as Tails that he'd maybe find his parents. But Sonic knew that if they wanted him they would have found him many years ago. Even so, Tails had that chance of finding his family. A slim chance it might be, but Sonic would be sure to do his best to help Tails find his family. At least he could do that good deed. "Let's go look for your parents."
. . . . . .
"Sorry, it's not much," Sonic said to Tails while they walked along the beach. "It can only fly us around the island a couple of times though."
Their shoes left an imprint in the sand with a quiet thump and a crunch in the grains. The ocean was calm today, occasional waves lightly crash against the sandbanks and retreat back into the waters to repeat once more in a loop.
Sonic and Tails were walking for a few minutes to their destination while chatting with each other. Sonic realized how intelligent Tails is, heck the kitsune is probably smarter than him. And he's only five years old!
Sonic figured if they went in his plane he named the Tornado they could get a full view and see if they could point out any places that seemed familiar to the kitsune. It was worth a start.
The hedgehog couldn't keep the grin off of his face once he saw the amazement and wondrous look on Tails' face after seeing The Tornado for the first time. They reached the end of the shoreline where Sonic's plane rested at, Sonic proudly named it The Tornado. It's a red bi-plane, with its paint dull and old. It's not a lot, but it could be helpful.
Sonic had to stop and watch Tails with awe when the kid flew over to the Tornado. I mean...he actually flew, on his two tails that propelled him in the air.
Then Sonic frowned when he got close enough to the plane, he could see someone or someones had tampered with his plane, some screws and bolts were unscrewed and it looked like some stray wires that shouldn't be sticking out were.
"I don't think we could fly wit-"
"Do you have a toolkit?" Tails asked as he lowered himself back to the ground and his fluffy tails stopped swishing. He looked up at Sonic hesitantly.
"Uh. I do but I'm no good mechanic." Sonic said, he laughed lightly. He was still curious by Tails' twin tails. That was a neat ability. The hedgehog shrugged his shoulders, "I can see what I can do. My toolkit's in the cockpit-" He closed his mouth when Tails disappeared inside the plane for a moment before digging out a kit almost as big as Tails himself.
It was covered in a light amount of dust just like the plane since I hadn't been using it much lately. Though he opened his mouth to interject when the child began opening up the kit and observing the silver tools in his hands. However, he shut his mouth once more when he watched the kid suddenly become a skilled mechanic.
But Sonic didn't stop him, he looked like he knew what he was doing. Then there was the fact that Tails seemed to have a small smile on his face, it's the first time Sonic saw him smile and he didn't want to be the one to ruin this moment.
Little did they realize that a bond was made, an established link when they would very soon call each other brother and be the family they wanted, the family they needed. Their wish had been granted, their desire fulfilled. A brother, their family now small but in time will grow and bloom like flowers in spring.
Picking up too many projects...hope you enjoyed reading. Please leave a review, those always boost up my confidence. Will be updated most likely in two weeks. Until then.