Name To Call You By
In which Shadow wonders why so few Mobians have an actual surname.
TAGs: Established Relationship, One shot, Writing Exercise, Wordcount: 100-1.000, fluff, Worldbuilding
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.
Shadow quite enjoyed quiet rainy mornings. The sound of raindrops gently tapping against the glass panels of the window was an oddly comforting sound and the dim light of the early morning sun trying to peek through the rainclouds that poured into the room was always easy on the eyes but still just enough to see everything perfectly clearly. It was the most pleasant way to wake up in Shadow's opinion.
Of course, the experience was even better when you could share it with somebody...
A gentle smile pulled at Shadow's lips, his left arm tightening its hold on his bedmate's form a bit as he slowly ran his hand up and down the other's side, first ruffling and then combing down the blue and peach fur there in an never-ending cycle. He cherished times like these when he and Sonic would just lie down and relax in each other's presence without any care for what was happening in the outside world; with how action-packed their lives were, they rarely had the opportunity to have moments like these, a moment of peace to share with one another.
From time to time, his mind would take its chance to wander when it for once wasn't used for thinking up plans for GUN missions or busy focusing on the surroundings while sneaking around enemy's bases or trying to retain the information he had obtained. Sometimes this led him to asking curious questions and now when he thought about it, there was one thing he'd been wondering about for a while...
"I was wondering..."
"Hmm?" Sonic's head shifted, weakly moving from where it rested on Shadow's shoulder. "About what?"
"Surnames. Among Mobians," Shadow explained. "Why do so few Mobians have them?"
Sonic took a moment to ponder that question. "Well, there's not really that much of need for them. Our species already differentiate us greatly from other Mobians, so unlike humans we don't really need them." Sonic shrugged his shoulders. "Thus we use our species name as surname instead when we need—with documents like birth-certificates and stuff." There was a small amused smile on the hero's face now. "You know, I actually knew this one guy who always introduced himself as a weasel when he was actually a jerboa. Apparently, whoever had been filling his paperwork wasn't quite sure what he was so they wrote down what they assumed he was."
Shadow's brows furrowed thoughtfully. "So it should be Sonic Hedgehog instead?" he asked to make sure he understood correctly.
Sonic moved his head from side to side in the 'sounds about right' kind of way. "Legally, yes. But it's a custom from older times to add the 'the'. Back when surnames weren't really a thing but you needed to differentiate two people of the same name—people would say things like 'Dash, the cat' and 'Dash, the dog' to make it obvious who they were taking about and the custom kind of stuck around even when surnames started to be used."
Shadow hummed thoughtfully, mentally filling the information away. "Why do some Mobians have actual surnames then?"
"It can mean they're descendants from some noble house. Or they just wanted to have an unique name and so they picked themselves a surname. Though picking up actual surname is a thing generally only mixed couples do nowadays."
Shadow raised a questioning brow. "Mixed couples?"
"Two different species. Like, let's say, one being a cat, the other being a hedgehog," Sonic explained. "When the couple has kids, they want the whole family to have the same surname to make their life easier."
"Ah." Shadow could understand that. He could see how it would be useful—like when a parent wanted to pick their kid up from school and they both weren't the same species. It was a way to subtly tell everyone they should be expecting the not-so ordinary. "I see."
"...Did you ever think of what a surname you'd like?"
"Not really. You?"
"Never seen a reason." A smile stretched across the hero's features. "I like the ring of mine."
[Last Edited: 2018-09-09]