* * * * * *
-THE UNITED RESTORED KINGDOM OF ACORN, MOBIUS, 3255
"Hurry up, Naomi! They're here!" A male voice called.
"I'm coming, I'm coming. Keep your shirt on, Nicholas!" A female one answered. Princess Naomi Elizabeth Acorn hurried down the palace steps, smoothing her skirt as she did so. Her brother, Prince Nicholas "Nick" Acorn, stood at the bottom impatiently waiting for his sister.
"About time!" Nicholas snorted while absently brushing his auburn hair out of his face. He was a ground squirrel, as was his mother, Queen Sally Acorn I. Naomi on the other hand, was a hedgehog like her father, King Sonic I.
"Cool it Nick. It's not like they would've gone on home if I was two seconds late."
"Yeah, whatever." He grumbled. Naomi was about to answer back when she remembered their guests should be there any minute. Deciding to put squabbling with her brother on the back burner, she turned toward the Palace Gates just in time to see them admit a white ambassadorial hover car. It came to a stop right in front of the Palace, levitating a few inches off the ground. A door opened and out leapt their friend, Teilani; Princess of Mercia, daughter of Rob O' the Hedge and Mari-An Echidna.
"Hi guys!" She laughed as she threw her arms around Naomi and then Nick. "It's been a while!"
"Yeah, a whole six weeks." Naomi dryly noted. "Still, it's great to see you Teilani."
"Same here." Nick agreed.
"I see you're vocabulary hasn't developed any since last we spoke." Teilani joked.
"Oh yeah? Well I-" Whatever Nick had to say was drowned out by a loud "YEEE-HAW!" that caught everyone's attention.
"I only know one person who can shout a Rebel Yell like that." Naomi said. "Come on out Derek."
"If you want." Derek D'Coolette walked out of the bushes where had been hiding and approached the group. He was a male coyote whose ears were just a bit longer than normal; which wasn't surprising, considering that Derek was the son of Antoine D'Coolette and Bunnie Rabbot.
"About time you showed up." Naomi said. "Where's Will?"
"Right behind you." Naomi spun around in surprise.
"Don't you do ever do that again William St. John!" She demanded of a black and white feline who stood behind her.
"My apologies." He said with a smirk. "Won't happen again luv."
"See that it doesn't." She responded coolly. "And don't call me 'luv,' understood?"
"Understood, luv." She groaned.
"Don't worry about Will, Naomi. I'm sure Thomas and I can keep him in check." A female voice called from above. "Don't you think so, Thomas?"
"Right, Lara." Out of the shadows stepped Thomas Acorn, the son of Elias Acorn and Mina Mongoose, and cousin to Naomi and Nick. At the same time Lara-Su, Guardian of the Floating Island and daughter of Knuckles and Julie-Su, dropped out of the sky.
"Glad you two could make it, Lara." Naomi said. Lara smiled.
"I'm just happy to be here. So is Thomas. Isn't that right?" She frowned. "Where did he go?"
"I'm right here." Lara jumped back with a start as Thomas suddenly re-appeared next to her.
"How do you do that?" She demanded.
"Ranger training." Thomas said simply. "I picked that up from my father."
"I'll just bet. Is everyone here?" She asked.
"Not quite," said Nick. "We're still waiting for--ah here they come now." The assembled group turned to look as two more Mobians approached them. Unlike the others, they made no grand entrances, nor did they keep themselves hidden. They simply walked up to the Palace steps as if they were simply strolling down a street. The figure on the left was a male kangaroo wearing a blue shirt, who bounded down the pathway to the Palace in typical kangaroo strides. On the right was another female echidna, like Teilani and Lara-Su.
However, unlike Teilani, Lara-Su, or any of the others, these two were from a Republic on the other side of the planet. They had only met Naomi, Nick, and the others once or twice before. She had red fur and tied her quills back in a ponytail. She wore nondescript black trousers, white shirt with a red vest, as well as a traditional Russian babushka on her head
"Zdrast'ye, tovarischi." The female echidna said. The kangaroo echoed her welcome, though his accent was clearly not Russian. Naomi rolled her eyes.
"Come on Aeryn, you know we don't speak Russian."
"I know." Aeryn said, smiling as she switched to Russian-accented English. "Of course, it couldn't hurt you to learn." She turned to the kangaroo. "Don't you think so Christopher?" He smiled and nodded.
"Way I see it, the more languages you know, the better. Of course their are some things that transcend words and languages. Lunch, for example. Speaking of which, when do we eat?" He laughed.
Naomi did too. She only wished she had paid more attention during her history lessons, then she would know more about their country. But from what she remembered, after Ivo Robotnik was defeated in 3240, a dozen or so nations in Mobius' Eastern Hemisphere declared their independence from the Kingdom of Acorn and formed their own united Republic, kicking out the old monarchies in the East. There were threats of war, coups, counter-revolution, and wide scale destruction before her mother, then Princess Sally, brokered a peace treaty acknowledging the sovereignty and independence of the breakaway nations.
Despite the treaty, there was little contact between the United Restored Kingdom of Acorn and the seceded nations--who then organized themselves into something called the Soyuz Sovietskikh Sotzialesticheskikh Respublik--until King Acorn yielded the throne to Princess Sally, who then became Queen Sally Alicia I and made Sonic king.
Naomi and Nick had met Aeryn and Christopher on a diplomatic trip to Mercia a year or two ago. It was an...interesting enough start, but they did grow to like each other. It took a lot of diplomatic pull to arrange this sleep over, but it would be well worth it. Or so she hoped.
Naomi's musings were cut off by her brother. "If you're hungry, I'm sure the cook can whip up something. Chili dogs perhaps?" Aeryn looked fairly disgusted and Christopher didn't look any more interested than her. Naomi thought it was that they simply didn't like chili dogs. Then she remembered that they didn't have servants or attendants in their country. The concept of having someone else do you're own work for you was frowned upon in their country.
"Or you could make whatever kind of food you want. If you don't like chili dogs I'm sure we have something-" Aeryn shook her head.
"That's quite all right. I admit I am a bit curious about the food that King Sonic finds so delicious."
"You've come to the right place then." Derek said. As they headed inside the Royal Palace, Naomi glanced at the two latest arrivals. She knew less about them than she did the rest of her friends, which wasn't surprising since her other friends were the children of Freedom Fighters like her mother. Christopher and Aeryn were a bit more of a mystery...
She knew that both of them were the children of the SSSR's leadership. Christopher's mother was the Defense Minister for the SSSR (Though for some odd reason, ministers were referred to as 'Commissars'). His mother also happened to be the niece of a famous former Freedom Fighter, Walt Wallaby of Downunda. Aeryn's father on the other hand, was the unquestionable leader of the SSSR. He was it's President, Premier, and General-Secretary for its most powerful political party. However, that was not quite as unusual as the fact that neither of her parents were echidnas. Her mother, Mira, was a wolf, sister of another famous Freedom Fighter--Lupe--and her father, Nikolai Odezvan, wasn't even a Mobian. He was an Overlander and an odd one at that, if you believe the rumors, that is. Some rumors claimed he was an alien. Others say he is a robot. Still others insist her is a blood relative of Doctor Robotnik. Some think he is an outright clone, though they look nothing alike.
Her thoughts were interrupted my Teilani, calling her name. "I'm sorry Teilani, what did you say?"
"I said 'how many chili dogs do you want?' "
"Oh. I'll just help myself, thanks Teilani."
"No problem. What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing much."
"Ah, you're thinking about Aeryn and Christopher, right?"
"How'd you know?"
"I think everyone here is thinking about them. Few people have as 'interesting' a background as those two." Teilani observed.
"I'll say. Well come on, I'm hungry for some chili dogs."
* * *
-THE UNITED RESTORED KINGDOM OF ACORN, MOBIUS, 3255
"Hurry up, Naomi! They're here!" A male voice called.
"I'm coming, I'm coming. Keep your shirt on, Nicholas!" A female one answered. Princess Naomi Elizabeth Acorn hurried down the palace steps, smoothing her skirt as she did so. Her brother, Prince Nicholas "Nick" Acorn, stood at the bottom impatiently waiting for his sister.
"About time!" Nicholas snorted while absently brushing his auburn hair out of his face. He was a ground squirrel, as was his mother, Queen Sally Acorn I. Naomi on the other hand, was a hedgehog like her father, King Sonic I.
"Cool it Nick. It's not like they would've gone on home if I was two seconds late."
"Yeah, whatever." He grumbled. Naomi was about to answer back when she remembered their guests should be there any minute. Deciding to put squabbling with her brother on the back burner, she turned toward the Palace Gates just in time to see them admit a white ambassadorial hover car. It came to a stop right in front of the Palace, levitating a few inches off the ground. A door opened and out leapt their friend, Teilani; Princess of Mercia, daughter of Rob O' the Hedge and Mari-An Echidna.
"Hi guys!" She laughed as she threw her arms around Naomi and then Nick. "It's been a while!"
"Yeah, a whole six weeks." Naomi dryly noted. "Still, it's great to see you Teilani."
"Same here." Nick agreed.
"I see you're vocabulary hasn't developed any since last we spoke." Teilani joked.
"Oh yeah? Well I-" Whatever Nick had to say was drowned out by a loud "YEEE-HAW!" that caught everyone's attention.
"I only know one person who can shout a Rebel Yell like that." Naomi said. "Come on out Derek."
"If you want." Derek D'Coolette walked out of the bushes where had been hiding and approached the group. He was a male coyote whose ears were just a bit longer than normal; which wasn't surprising, considering that Derek was the son of Antoine D'Coolette and Bunnie Rabbot.
"About time you showed up." Naomi said. "Where's Will?"
"Right behind you." Naomi spun around in surprise.
"Don't you do ever do that again William St. John!" She demanded of a black and white feline who stood behind her.
"My apologies." He said with a smirk. "Won't happen again luv."
"See that it doesn't." She responded coolly. "And don't call me 'luv,' understood?"
"Understood, luv." She groaned.
"Don't worry about Will, Naomi. I'm sure Thomas and I can keep him in check." A female voice called from above. "Don't you think so, Thomas?"
"Right, Lara." Out of the shadows stepped Thomas Acorn, the son of Elias Acorn and Mina Mongoose, and cousin to Naomi and Nick. At the same time Lara-Su, Guardian of the Floating Island and daughter of Knuckles and Julie-Su, dropped out of the sky.
"Glad you two could make it, Lara." Naomi said. Lara smiled.
"I'm just happy to be here. So is Thomas. Isn't that right?" She frowned. "Where did he go?"
"I'm right here." Lara jumped back with a start as Thomas suddenly re-appeared next to her.
"How do you do that?" She demanded.
"Ranger training." Thomas said simply. "I picked that up from my father."
"I'll just bet. Is everyone here?" She asked.
"Not quite," said Nick. "We're still waiting for--ah here they come now." The assembled group turned to look as two more Mobians approached them. Unlike the others, they made no grand entrances, nor did they keep themselves hidden. They simply walked up to the Palace steps as if they were simply strolling down a street. The figure on the left was a male kangaroo wearing a blue shirt, who bounded down the pathway to the Palace in typical kangaroo strides. On the right was another female echidna, like Teilani and Lara-Su.
However, unlike Teilani, Lara-Su, or any of the others, these two were from a Republic on the other side of the planet. They had only met Naomi, Nick, and the others once or twice before. She had red fur and tied her quills back in a ponytail. She wore nondescript black trousers, white shirt with a red vest, as well as a traditional Russian babushka on her head
"Zdrast'ye, tovarischi." The female echidna said. The kangaroo echoed her welcome, though his accent was clearly not Russian. Naomi rolled her eyes.
"Come on Aeryn, you know we don't speak Russian."
"I know." Aeryn said, smiling as she switched to Russian-accented English. "Of course, it couldn't hurt you to learn." She turned to the kangaroo. "Don't you think so Christopher?" He smiled and nodded.
"Way I see it, the more languages you know, the better. Of course their are some things that transcend words and languages. Lunch, for example. Speaking of which, when do we eat?" He laughed.
Naomi did too. She only wished she had paid more attention during her history lessons, then she would know more about their country. But from what she remembered, after Ivo Robotnik was defeated in 3240, a dozen or so nations in Mobius' Eastern Hemisphere declared their independence from the Kingdom of Acorn and formed their own united Republic, kicking out the old monarchies in the East. There were threats of war, coups, counter-revolution, and wide scale destruction before her mother, then Princess Sally, brokered a peace treaty acknowledging the sovereignty and independence of the breakaway nations.
Despite the treaty, there was little contact between the United Restored Kingdom of Acorn and the seceded nations--who then organized themselves into something called the Soyuz Sovietskikh Sotzialesticheskikh Respublik--until King Acorn yielded the throne to Princess Sally, who then became Queen Sally Alicia I and made Sonic king.
Naomi and Nick had met Aeryn and Christopher on a diplomatic trip to Mercia a year or two ago. It was an...interesting enough start, but they did grow to like each other. It took a lot of diplomatic pull to arrange this sleep over, but it would be well worth it. Or so she hoped.
Naomi's musings were cut off by her brother. "If you're hungry, I'm sure the cook can whip up something. Chili dogs perhaps?" Aeryn looked fairly disgusted and Christopher didn't look any more interested than her. Naomi thought it was that they simply didn't like chili dogs. Then she remembered that they didn't have servants or attendants in their country. The concept of having someone else do you're own work for you was frowned upon in their country.
"Or you could make whatever kind of food you want. If you don't like chili dogs I'm sure we have something-" Aeryn shook her head.
"That's quite all right. I admit I am a bit curious about the food that King Sonic finds so delicious."
"You've come to the right place then." Derek said. As they headed inside the Royal Palace, Naomi glanced at the two latest arrivals. She knew less about them than she did the rest of her friends, which wasn't surprising since her other friends were the children of Freedom Fighters like her mother. Christopher and Aeryn were a bit more of a mystery...
She knew that both of them were the children of the SSSR's leadership. Christopher's mother was the Defense Minister for the SSSR (Though for some odd reason, ministers were referred to as 'Commissars'). His mother also happened to be the niece of a famous former Freedom Fighter, Walt Wallaby of Downunda. Aeryn's father on the other hand, was the unquestionable leader of the SSSR. He was it's President, Premier, and General-Secretary for its most powerful political party. However, that was not quite as unusual as the fact that neither of her parents were echidnas. Her mother, Mira, was a wolf, sister of another famous Freedom Fighter--Lupe--and her father, Nikolai Odezvan, wasn't even a Mobian. He was an Overlander and an odd one at that, if you believe the rumors, that is. Some rumors claimed he was an alien. Others say he is a robot. Still others insist her is a blood relative of Doctor Robotnik. Some think he is an outright clone, though they look nothing alike.
Her thoughts were interrupted my Teilani, calling her name. "I'm sorry Teilani, what did you say?"
"I said 'how many chili dogs do you want?' "
"Oh. I'll just help myself, thanks Teilani."
"No problem. What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing much."
"Ah, you're thinking about Aeryn and Christopher, right?"
"How'd you know?"
"I think everyone here is thinking about them. Few people have as 'interesting' a background as those two." Teilani observed.
"I'll say. Well come on, I'm hungry for some chili dogs."
* * *