Knuckles: Eggs versus Avocadoes
Within the first few moments of meeting the lanky human, Knuckles didn't know what to think about Ovi – the bean-like length of the boy's entire body in relation to his mainly harmless features, the eyes feeling too… intelligent and posh in comparison to the group's ragged and rugged nature (Even Rouge and Cream had features that made them more… approachable, but there was none of that on Ovi). The human's too orange hair was on par with most humans Knuckles met in the past, as well, since there were some humans with an almost similar colour to Ovi's own. The only thing Knuckles could chalk up to the kid being part of the group was his penetrating red eyes – not unlike Shadow's own ruby gaze at points.
Even some of Ovi's habits made Knuckles question if the kid didn't belong in an all-human prep school – the stainless steel fake claws over his fingers whenever the group was adventuring, the white bandana over his head that didn't even touch most of his hair, and that weird navy-blue jacket that he carried with him at all times, even when he was currently in the kitchen making breakfast for himself, whistling a tune that Knuckles couldn't recall at the moment. Over his dumb black turtle neck shirt (which Knuckles chalked to an odd human nature – it barely looked like a neck of a turtle) and blue bellbottom jeans was the apron that Sonic had bought for his birthday – a pink, frilly one with a picture cartoon chicken cooking some scrambled eggs in the microwave.
Suppressing a shudder over the rather morbid picture of a hen cooking her unborn children, Knuckles scrambled (heh) over to Ovi's side to find the human making an omelette, with bits of random greens and mushrooms in a pan. He looked oddly at the item, wondering where the heck Ovi got the batter to make something like that. When Ovi turned off the heat under the pan, he turned to find Knuckles right behind him – and promptly screamed at the echidna before swearing up a storm.
"CRAPPING HELL, KNUCKLES!" Ovi threw the cloth he used to keep his hand from burning on the heated pan's handle, shuffling his hands to free the cloth as he immediately saw a flash of red. "Can't any of you flocking morons just make noise for your inept partners?" Ovi's face flushed in the same red as Knuckles' quills, carefully setting the hot pan down on the cooler burner of the oven – in case he had a distinct feeling of hitting the dumb echidna with it. Knuckles put his arms in a surrender position as Ovi did this, seeing the murderous intent behind his red eyes.
"Sorry, beanpole. Thought you could smell me too." The echidna tried, with Ovi looking at him in a deadpan expression.
"1. Don't call me 'beanpole' again, else you'll end up as one of Amy's beanpoles. 2. I can't believe I have to explain this again– my species does not have the ability to pick up a high range of smells like any other species. Humans are blind to any smell higher than the smelly socks Sonic leaves out on a regular basis." Ovi drilled into Knuckles' head, letting the info sink in as he went back to fixing up his omelette. Knuckles chose to ignore Ovi's curt response – the human was surprisingly as short-tempered as Sonic could be when he wanted to, just that unlike Sonic, Ovi didn't have the emotional control over it.
"Look, Ovi. I have to ask…" Knuckles started, before trailing off. How was Knuckles going to ask this question? Would it sound a bit insensitive, especially after learning that Ovi really didn't belong as a human too? But if there was one thing Knuckles hated about leaving things, is leaving a conversation hanging over doubts. "Why'd you decide to join us? I mean," Knuckles flinched at the look Ovi gave before clarifying, "I just want to know if – erm, if you felt… okay with being a human more than being part of our group." Ovi looked at Knuckles like he grew a new head in that moment, before placing the now-empty pan into the sink. Ovi then took the omelette over to the couch, not doing much but staring at his creation. Knuckles freaked out for a moment, feeling like he overstepped his boundaries – after all, wasn't he keeping secrets, too? "You don't have to talk about it, I mean –"
"Nah, I'm not mad." Ovi muttered, almost inaudible to the echidna if he didn't stop in that moment. Ovi then looked up, looking at Knuckles with a determined expression. "Really, I just couldn't stand the human's obsession with overpriced vegetables." Ovi smirked, looking at Knuckles like the cat that caught a bird – his newly enlarged canines taking precedence in his smile. Knuckles blinked at the response, allowing Ovi to continue without interruptions. "Truthfully, I just felt I didn't belong with humans – well, besides dad and my sister. I mean, avocados are effing awesome – good source of protein and all – but a fruit that people enjoy isn't my major concern over humanity." Ovi couldn't help but laugh at Knuckles' expression of puzzlement. "No matter how much I tried to fit in with everyone, I didn't… feel like myself with other people of my species… Though, I think I might not fit in that category anymore…"
"But – if you didn't feel as if you fitted in with humans, why are you here with us?" Knuckles asked, feeling a bit off-put – after all, the anthrons were basically furry humans in their mannerisms, right? Ovi couldn't help but smile at Knuckles' question, eating a bit of his omelette before answering.
"I guess… I guess it's a feeling I'm getting from her." Ovi couldn't help but blush, taking his hand up to his chest to rub at it, feeling a sense of love coming from the pit of his soul. "I just… look at all of you and I can't help but feel safe with you guys…" The smile became more genuine, and Knuckles couldn't help but smile as well. The kid did feel like a piece of home that Knuckles couldn't identify, and he wondered, too, if it was the work of the Ancient's souls in all of them… But, in typical Knuckles fashion, wondered immediately about the thing unrelated to their conversation.
"Ovi, what's an avocado?"