My Blue Iris
Chapter I
"This is purely impossible," Shadow the Hedgehog murmured to himself, giving the thick book in front of him a death glare.
The said book was called Ikebana – the Art of arranging Flowers, and he was currently trying to mimic one of the tutorials the book contained. Well, it was easier said than done – he ended up with tender lily leaves getting dark marks from being bent over, some of them even falling down, and with his arrangement looking, well... ridiculous to say the least. The flowers trapped in his tiny flower vase looked like they begged him to set it free – or at least they would certainly do is, if only they had a mind of their own.
It is true that he picked up this new hobby pretty recently, so he shouldn't expect great results so soon, but he was really jealous of all those pictures of beautifully arranged bouquets and floral compositions from the book. He wanted to reach this level of experience already.
Ever since Eggman's forces were defeated, and together with the resistance they made sure that everything is restored to its former glory, life has gotten... pretty quiet. Eggman or Infinite didn't show up ever since, and while it is important to stay on guard just in case... there's just nothing to do nowadays. Turns out that adventure-free life is extremely boring.
At first, he just stuck to reading all sorts of books, experimenting with different types, wondering if maybe other genres he never took into consideration could pick his interest after all. Romance, thrillers, comedy... he tried pretty much everything. And, as enjoyable as reading is, if it's the only thing that person does in their life, it can get pretty boring.
He wasn't quite sure what pushed him into practising this art style specifically, still in the process of figuring out what exactly he wants to do in his life now. He never expected to find himself in this place, having to re-arrange his life so suddenly. But maybe that's exactly why he chose this particular hobby. It gave him a sense of control. And he felt oddly at peace gently touching the soft leaves and smelling the comforting scent of flowers filling the air.
And so here he is, in his tiny apartment, his living room filled with all sorts of flowers – lily, blue iris, fairy rose – scattered not so neatly around and occupying every surface.
Despite the fact that scattered flowers give the impression of the room being messy, the rest was very tidy and well arranged – if it weren't for flowers, it wouldn't be possible to spot a thing out of place – every book on a bookshelf was height arranged, light wood of the furniture contrasting nicely with the warm hue of brown on the walls. All of this combined with the beautiful landscape paintings gave the entire room a very comforting, soft vibe.
However, not even those pleasant surroundings could stop the frustration from piling up in obsidian hedgehog. In the end, feeling resigned and disappointed, he let out a loud and heavy sigh and pulled the lily along with the bamboo out of the vase and threw them across the room.
Time to call it a day. He could always try again tomorrow.
He looked out of the window and noticing the sun slowly setting on the sky he decided to check the time on his phone. Eight in the evening. It surprised him to know just how much he lost track of time. He knew that his new hobby was time-consuming, but he never expected that he wouldn't even notice the day passing by. Even though it took him the better day of the day. it still felt like he started barely few minutes ago.
'Well, I guess it wouldn't be so bad to go for a walk before sleep,' he thought to himself and stepped out of his apartment, making sure to lock the door and check twice... well, maybe three times if the door is locked properly. It is a bad habit, he knows it is, but old habits die hard. At least he won't be stressing himself out during his walk.
The moment he walked out of his apartment, he was surprised to see how surprisingly lively it was at this hour – sure, Park Avenue has always been pretty busy, but one would've thought that not many people would be eager to leave the house so late in the evening. However, considering it's a Friday evening... perhaps it's not so surprising, after all. Even the stores are still open.
All of the stores in sight in fact, so maybe, just maybe... his recent favourite too?
Not even five minutes later, Shadow is already standing in front of Iris Flower Shop, and found himself feeling very content when he notices that indeed – store is open until 9pm on Fridays. Perhaps for last minute Friday dates? Who knows. It's not like it matters anyway.
The dark hedgehog went inside the store, the doorbell jingling loudly upon his arrival, temporarily breaking the usual, pleasant and quiet atmosphere of the store. He grimaced slightly, waiting for the sound to subdue.
Now that he thought of it... Perhaps this was one of the reasons he became so interested with flower arranging in the first place? He enjoyed nothing more than peace and quiet, so company of flowers was much appreciated. It helped him quiet down and for once, forget how foul the world can be. It also had soft and beautiful parts, like flower petals.
He was just supposed to look around to see if miss Shana got a delivery of some new flowers today, but whatever new species they would bring in, they wouldn't surprise him as much as what he saw.
Sonic, wearing the gray flower shop apron, clumsily putting fresh flowers in multi-coloured vases.
What the...?
Blue hedgehog turned his head around upon hearing the sound of the bell, and the situation that followed could be described one word only.
Awkward.
Hello everyone! Thank you so much for taking your time to pick up my story. It's the first fanfic I published literally ever... and it started as a joke, based on hilarious Lego Shadow DLC event. However, as I was progressing with the story, I noticed I started treating it more and more seriously and to be honest, I think Shadow desperately needs something soft and beautiful in his life. Anyway, let me know what you think and I hope to see you in the next chapter!