Chapter 3: Keen/Kin
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"What do you think of that one?"
"The two-tailed freak? Does he even have any?"
"Let's follow him. He'll be an easy target."
Miles rolled his eyes at that as the two strangers started shadowing him. "Why do they think I can't hear them?" he muttered. "Their ears must be clogged or something." He wasn't exactly sure what they wanted, but he wasn't completely naive, either. He could smell incoming trouble, so he decided to confront them anyway.
"Can I help you?" he asked very politely after turning, taking the chance to study the duo. One of them was a female, yellow-furred wolf with small, shifty eyes, dressed in black leather, while her companion was a gray porcupine, sporting a very impressive scar running down his cheek. They were a lot older than the children Miles had played with, but still younger than seventeen, by his reckoning.
Taken aback by his forwardness, it took them a moment to regain their wits. "My lady friend here wants some creds for lunch, twerp," replied the porcupine after a while. "We were wondering if you are a donor."
The wolf snickered. "Does the little freak even know what a donor is?"
Miles raised a brow. "I believe I do, but you certainly don't. Donating is traditionally done voluntarily, after all," he corrected them, albeit being sincere instead of sarcastic.
They both glared at him. "Details. You'd better have some creds on you, or you'll be de-tailed," replied the porcupine, laughing at his own joke.
Surprisingly, Miles also laughed. "I wonder what that would en-tail but since it's getting late, we'll have to cur-tail this conversation." When the others didn't laugh, looking very confused instead, he blinked puzzled. "Wasn't that funny?" he inquired with hesitation, a little unsure of himself.
The porcupine merely scratched his head, while his companion frowned. "Ok, kid, you got your chance," she spat, lunging to grab him. He easily sidestepped and she almost fell on her face. "Quit moving around!" she demanded, trying to punch him. His head reflexively tilted to the side.
One of his tails scratched his ear while he looked a bit skeptical. "You still haven't told me what you really want," he noted. The word 'creds' was apparently not part of his extensive vocabulary. "But this fake scar is not very well made. You should have painted the string over a bit more."
The male's quills bristled at that and he flushed in embarrassment. "Mock us, will you?" he snarled, also trying to hit him. This time, one of Miles' tails moved by reflex, taking the strike instead of his face.
Both vulpine and lupine looked at the porcupine confused. Said sentient mammal grew very pale, letting a cry of extreme pain and tightly holding his punching arm between his thighs.
"What's the matter, Bill?" asked the wolf, absently sniffing the air as if to find a clue of what had happened.
"It was... like... punching a steel wall," he gasped, tears running down his cheeks. "My fingers are broken!"
Miles, who had barely felt anything, peered at him quizzically. "I think there is a communication issue here," he noted casually.
The wolf girl bared her teeth and was ready to come at him again, when a very fast projectile passed between them, cracking the pavement and lodging deep inside. Both fox and wolf stood very still, gazing at what appeared to be an oldstyle wicker broom, apparently used as an impromptu javelin.
Porcupine and wolf turned very slowly to look at the thrower, their fears confirmed. "It's Vertigo!" they squeaked in unison, turning tail and bolting.
Miles didn't even hear them, studying the broom instead. "What kind of wood is it made of? To be hard enough to break through the tarmac, it must be very special. A mutated species perhaps?" he wondered aloud, never noticing the figure towering behind him.
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The vixen, not that much older than the two would-be bullies, smirked a bit as she watched them scurrying away. Her attention was soon drawn to the diminutive fox kit that was apparently chatting with her broom.
Brow raised, she waited a bit, then addressed him. "You okay there, kid?"
Miles slightly tensed, finally noticing there was someone behind him. Turning, he blinked at the voice's owner. A female fox, not quite an adult, wearing a plain white vest, open in the middle, and trousers with a multitude of pockets. Slender but taller than most mobians, she towered above him larger than life.
"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked simply. There was no false pride, defensiveness or stubbornness in his voice, like she had expected. Instead he seemed to be oblivious to the fact he had almost been mugged.
"These two are notorious of taking advantage of smaller kids," she provided. "They usually know better than to do so in my turf," she added, brushing imaginary lint off her rich carmine arm fur.
Miles sighed, scratching his nose. "I'm still not sure what they wanted. Something about 'creds', though I don't know the word."
The older fox tried not to snicker. "Creds as in credits, kid. They basically wanted your money." While he processed that, she took the time to really study him, marveling at how he wasn't intimidated in the slightest of her. She also couldn't help but notice how young Miles was and how cute and cuddly his two tails looked.
In the meantime, the younger fox nodded in understanding. "It makes sense, though I don't see why they couldn't just ask for money in the first place. In fact, I can think of at least six other synonyms and..." He was cut in mid-sentence when she lunged at him, her serious persona evaporating faster than alcohol under the desert sun.
"So cute!" she declared while hugging him in a powerful grip and lifting him off the ground.
"Hug attack!" he gasped bewildered, futilely trying to squirm free.
"Now, what is a precious baby like you doing in the streets," she pondered, ignoring the fact she was squeezing the life out of him.
Miles managed to twist to a more comfortable position, valiantly trying to glare at her, ears flat against his skull. "I'm hardly a baby and I would appreciate to be returned to the ground," he sniffed, sounding thoroughly frazzled.
"So smart, too," she cooed, completely ignoring him. He proceeded to use his tails as levers and finally managed to detach himself from her grasp. She raised a brow at that, her original demeanor somewhat returning. "Really really strong, as well," she marveled.
Miles crossed his arms in indignation. "Says the person that can break the pavement with a broom end."
She smirked in response. "Fair enough, kid. Let's try this again. I'm Vertigo, Vertigo the Fox," she declared, extending her hand very formally.
"Miles Prower," he responded, taking her offered appendage with only a moment's hesitation. There was something about her that intrigued him, some instinct or hunch that demanded he learned more about her. A kinship that went beyond the fact she was a fox.
A different thought came to his mind after he took her name in. People that didn't know, didn't have or didn't want their surname, often used their species type as one. Some, especially the wealthy, scoffed at the practice, because it usually meant the individual was of no family worthy of mention. Combined with her first name, though, it made him think that wasn't quite the case.
"So, Vertigo, what's your real name, then?" he asked, catching her off guard. "No sane parents would name their kid 'Vertigo'", he explained.
The vixen glared at him a bit, sighing when it proved ineffective. "I left my real name behind when I came to this island, three years ago," she supplied, surprised with herself she was so open to him.
Miles nodded in understanding, deciding not to push the subject. There was a new piece of information that caught his attention, though. "Island?"
Vertigo eyed him curiously. "Sure. Cocoa Island. Mining, semi-autonomous colony of Central City. You didn't know that?"
The younger vulpine laughed awkwardly at that, one of his tails scratching the back of his head. "My circumstances have been a bit preternatural," he provided.
The vixen peered at him inquisitively. "I bet. I know many adults that don't even know what 'preternatural' means, never mind four-year-old kits." Miles stomach chose that moment to rudely announce its presence with an obnoxious growl. "However, it seems you have other priorities before explaining yourself," she added amused.
The two-tailed kit blushed at that. "Actually, I was looking for a place to eat,' he confessed.
Vertigo smiled widely, half-turning and indicating the structure behind her. 'The Fox Den', declared a large sign perched above the entrance. "Since I happen to be the owner of the only inn in town, I believe I'm your girl," she laughed.
Miles also laughed, albeit uneasily, for once a bit intimidated. It was very hard to picture her in a kitchen. "That's... cool, I guess," he chirped.
The vixen's smirk became almost feral. "Come into my parlor, Mr. Prower," she beckoned, absently retrieving her broom.
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Vertigo sat opposite of Miles, watching him with great amusement.
"So, yours is the only inn in town?" asked the fox in question while stuffing his face, tails waving happily behind him. Incredibly, he possessed just enough grace and timing to avoid looking too ridiculous and gross in the process. Despite his doubts, the other vulpine's cooking had proven to be superb.
The vixen's answer was affirmative. "There are another two small restaurants, but the 'Fox Den' is the only place where one can pay for a bed, too. Not that I see many customers. The place is hardly a tourist trap."
Miles nodded, a chicken leg hanging from his muzzle. The older mobian barely squelched her laughter at the spectacle. "And you said this is a mining colony?" he inquired after swallowing. He still remembered his quest for materials, after all.
Vertigo stretched a bit, her deep red fur gleaming in the ambient light that illuminated her inn's common room. "Sure. We mine iron, bauxite and titanium ore mainly. Sometimes there are traces of silver and gold. And of course, we are one of the few places that exports Power Rings."
The twotails' ears perked at that. Reaching at the pouch at his side, he retrieved one of his rings and showed it to her. "You mean these?" he asked, promptly resuming his meal.
His host picked it up, twirling it around her index, and it glowed for a while under her touch. "Yep. Called Power Rings, Magic Rings or, sometimes, Chaos Rings. They appear randomly all over the place and many people use them as money. I've heard a rumor that some researchers can actually draw power from these things, but I have no clue if it's true."
Miles debated telling her he actually owned one such generator, but in the end he decided against that. When Vertigo prompted him to take his ring back, he shrugged. "Keep it for the meal," he offered. At her astonished face, he gulped a bit. "Unless one is not enough," he went on, reaching once more for his pouch.
The older fox shook her head, very amused. "Miles, each of these has an exchange value of one thousand credits. That's many times the food's cost. And this was supposed to be on the house," she complained, pocketing the ring anyway when the other didn't seem interested in retrieving it.
The two-tailed vulpine raised a brow at that. "How do you even survive with such an attitude, never mind making money," he wondered, eyeing her critically.
"Perhaps I kidnap little kids and sell them in auctions," she riposted menacingly, rolling her eyes when Miles failed to be impressed. She figured the kit saw himself as anything but a little kid. "Actually, the inn is more like a hobby. In the rare event more than one people decide to stay here, I hire part-time help. No, my real job is fixing machines. Have a tinker shop next door. You wouldn't believe how often the junk that passes for mining equipment breaks."
The Prower prodigy beamed at her. "I'm pretty good with machines myself," he understated.
Vertigo eyed him critically and his excitement withered a bit. "If any other kid of four were to say that to me, I'd dismiss it as nonsense. With you, I can't be sure."
Miles felt as if someone had upended a bucket of freezing cold water on him. The smile of his face died a horrible death and he frowned, narrowing his eyes and glaring at the other vulpine. This was the first time someone doubted his technical skill and the feelings caused were very negative. Intellectually, he knew he was being silly and unfair to Vertigo, who didn't really know him, but he just couldn't help it.
The older fox blinked at the spectacle, marveling how both of his tails were slowly lashing behind him, how his ears had flattened completely against his skull and how his blue eyes burned with an inner fire to prove her wrong and/or attack her. Every single hair on his fur was standing at attention and he had unconsciously bared his teeth, a very rude thing to do in civilized company.
Vertigo suppressed a sigh. She had apparently found her new friend's weakness, hurting him in the process. Doctoring her voice to a soothing tone, she tried to placate him. "As soon as you finish your food, you can show me," she offered gently.
Miles' intensity wavered a bit at that, but failed to relent. He was still glaring at her, looking very miffed, caught between bursting in tears and lunging at her throat.
Time for extreme measures, she decided. "You look adorable when you are being a brat," she quipped, throwing him off balance and causing him to blink once in confusion. Taking her chance, she shot forward, her hand landing on his head, just between his ears, and gently petting him.
The transition was immediate. The tension evaporated from his body, his expression changing from astonished, to speculative, to blissful in under a second. "W-what?" he managed to utter, unable to concentrate due to the alien, dreamy sensation.
"Special fox weak point," she explained smugly. "Very few foxes and certainly no kit can resist it, if one rubs it in a special way. I should know. My mother always did that when I was having a fit."
"I... don't have... fits," tried Miles, unable to resist the pure bliss involved. His attempts to glare at her were futile. "I'll get you... for this," he promised while yawning, his treacherous body coming closer and leaning at her side.
Vertigo tried very hard not to laugh at how hollow the threat sounded. "Sure you will," she teased, just as the younger sentient fox started purring, feeling utterly sublime.
Miles was unaware how long she kept at it, but when she stopped, his eyes snapped open. He wasn't sure if he was about to yell at her for doing this or, rather, for stopping, but then he noticed she had tensed up, apparently glaring at her establishment's entrance.
"Yo, Vertigo," came a voice from said entrance, soon followed by its owner. He was a bird, probably a hawk hybrid, around her age but shorter, sporting dark green feathers and dressed in a white military uniform. What really caught the fox's attention, though, were the implants.
The older vulpine peered at him disdainfully. "Kukku the 16th," she sneered in contempt. Said bird's hands and feet had been replaced by implants that actually made him look sleeker and more imposing instead of a monstrosity. Miles noted in fascination how some of his fingers' skin had been preserved to avoid compromising his sense of touch.
The newcomer ignored Vertigo's acidic tone, saluting smartly. "Come on, babe. You of all people should call me Speedy. All my pals do."
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End of chapter 3
Losing part of a chapter due to computer problems and having to rewrite it is a huge annoyance. The new take never feels quite as good as the original. Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter. I'm often astonished by how weak Tails is usually shown. Even Sega is very inconsistent in that respect. This is the same fox that can almost keep up with Sonic's speed, can fly and whose tails can shred through metal armor. The sheer strength involved in all these things would make most attempts at physical bullying from non-chaos users futile and downright comical.
Vertigo is the first semi-important OC here and I'm always weary about writing those. It's essential they don't steal the spotlight. Still, the game itself has no other outstanding characters except Tails, Speedy, his father and that clingy flicky bird. I need some semblance of a cast here.
Thank you all for reviewing. I'm glad the scene with the kids was unexpected. It means I'm doing something correctly here. I estimate another one or two chapters before the real, dark action starts.
Do take the time to state your opinion. I'm really eager to improve my writing skills.
