Queen's note: This is for ChojisGirl, she's been an amazing person that's been around for a long time. This likely isn't how the meeting is going to go but like an AU-ish thing, but the rest... maybe, this is connected to my Road saga. Cuddles and robotizer survivor-trauma as a warning, might add more cutes latter on to counter act the feels

And the Road Is Endless: Short

Knuckles and Jessy

That first time he met her, it was more of a fist that connected with the red furred anthro's face back then. It had knocked his head aside more from shock of who hit him, rather than the blow itself. Next another hand caught his spines and yanked with her weight behind it, pulling the anthro forward and over the shorter human's hip, flipped so his face was introduced into the ground. Not in an overly spectacular way, just dropped from over being balanced.

"Get the hell away from my brother!" The woman had said stepped back, out of the distance of his reach while the echidna was still stunned, between him and the wheezing blue anthro. She had her helmet off then, dropping it away as her feet slid into a fighting stand, hands held up and out loosely, but not holding her hands as fists even back then.

That was once of the things he remembered keenly, not just the audacity of a human that had a fraction of his strength, and barely coming up to his chest would stand against those bad odds. The stance somehow stood out in his memory, he had thought at first she was standing like the runner, but then later found he learned from her family.

The red anthro reached down, his right hand closing around metal, his spikes brushing the blanket. The anthro's common name was after those spikes, but it wasn't anything he minded, having been called Knuckles since before he could properly remember. The Guardian settled, looking around the nearly empty room, just some improvised beds. Sonic was out with Echo, the other Guardian looking for what was needed for the survivors, not just the wolf in front of him.

Jessy shuttered, coughing herself awake, and Knuckles reached out to catch her other arm by the wrist, metal under his fingers, not soft flesh, or puppy soft fur, nor the normal bones under skin. No skin at all in some parts, completely taken and changed. Jessy's movements were jerky, and didn't know her new strength; passably not wholly what happened to her, those solid claws might cut into her own frame.

"Easy," Knuckles said, putting her arms down.

"Wazzit?" Jessy attempted to asked and slurred her words, the new lupine anthro looking around before blinking up at Knuckles. It took a moment before she smiled, lopsided a bit, and the Guardian didn't flinch at the glimpse of metallic canine teeth. She couched, trying to roll over as she was looking sick.

Knuckles shifted, wrapping one arm under the lupine and supporting her as Jessy dry heaved. He had had a moment of an awkward silence before starting a low rumbling in his chest. Two of his spines that weren't tied up were lying over the female, and her grey tail brushed his other hand. Hesitating, the Guardian resting his right hand down on her back, rubbing the pads of his fingers along the base of her spine, but not too close to the sensitive tail, humming reassurance.

"...Red?" Jessy wheezed, shaking but not from her fever, "I can't feel my legs..." She was struggling to move but the echidna pulled her up, pausing. "I can't feel my hands."

"You can, but not the same." Knuckles said, feeling the wolf swallow against his arm.

"That thing..." Jessy coughed, trying to reach up, warping her fingers around the male's wrist. It took a few moments, staring at the silver colored bands over red fur as she couldn't recognize what they were. She twitched, moving to shift her grip and maybe push up, but stared as the metal twitched and moved almost in time. "It... it... I'm... Red?"

The waver in the normally calm voice made Knuckles twitch himself as the male's Guardian instants kicked in and imprinted. This wasn't just an ally as Knuckles' sat back, pulling Jessy with him, so she was half sitting up with her back to his front. Reaching around to catch her arm, "Robotized." Knuckles said, holding the nomad as she shook again, dipping his head and not trying to stop the almost soundless grieving from the female as she realized how much of her body had been changed. From her full right arm, the left from the elbow down, and more of her legs then Knuckles would dare investigate with no permission. "You've been robotized."

He tightened his hold in more of a hug, dipping his head against Jessy's to support her as the half howled cry escaped.