Chapter 36: The Pleasure Slave and the Sword Master
Shadow felt as if every bit of warmth coursing through his body had just turned into ice crystals clogging his veins at Sonic's sight. Beside him, Silver seemed to falter for a moment in his steps, too.
"Excuse me, Sire?"
"You have heard my words, trainer! Bring that creature over here so he can be of use at least once in his miserable life – when it ends!" Black Doom hollered, accompanying his command with an imperious swipe of his clawed hand. Sonic noticed quite a few of the watching females (and some males…) suddenly looking sick and leaving the scene, yet others only seeming to get more excited. The hero of Mobius privately made a mental memo of the faces, so when the pitchforked mob would finally storm the castle, he could point them out especially.
"I'm sorry, Sonic…please come on," Silver said to him and the blue hedgehog was surprised to see the other's eyes actually looking pained as the telekinetic hedgehog forced him to take another step forward by pulling at his leash. The younger one beheld Sonic a bit like someone who had lovingly hand-raised a horse foal, tied ribbons into its mare and took it on walks, just to hear the eventual buyer say 'This'll make a lovely salami!'
The blue hedgehog gave his supposed trainer a small smile as he followed the tug easily. "Don't worry, it'll be alright," he replied quietly as they approached the watching audience. Silver didn't seem able to look into his face again.
"Father," Shadow began even while he was actually staring at Sonic (after recovering from his hastily-covered up surprise at seeing Silver), the blue hedgehog feeling those crimson eyes roving all over his body as the pretend Prince apparently checked and double-checked any visible inch of his supposed slave to make sure they really hadn't harmed him. Sonic resisted the urge to do a little twirl, knowing that Black Doom in that case would be likely to have him quartered. Instead, he contented himself by just staring back at Shadow, relishing the outside air and sunshine while his brain was running the usual background calculations; number of potential enemies and combatants around in case of a fight, innocents standing by that would have to be considered, position of exits and things to jump from, room to run, make-shift and actual weapons available, his and Shadow's positions relative to the Big Bad, aka Black Doom, range, possible skill level and aggressiveness of anyone concerned and of course, which stunts he could pull with that haycart that would make him look totally awesome. His conscious thoughts, naturally, were occupied with more important matters.
Uh-huh, I was right. Shadow with a sword does look very hot, actually.
"Father," the black hedgehog started again, this time managing to actually look at the one he was addressing (which was important especially since Sonic now for some reason had assumed that look that Shadow had come to associate with the blue speedster thinking about something tasty of all things), "What is this supposed to be about? I want Sonic be taken back to my quarters, I did not have him go through this training if he's going to get damaged while down here."
"That, Shadow, is not for you to decide," Black Doom retorted, a low threat lying underneath his words like a snake about to strike. "I am your King and as such I will treat both you and your property as I see fit. You have disappointed me. This warrants punishment and sons who fail their father will have their toys taken from them, you should know that."
Sonic and Shadow quickly exchanged a glance. This would be it. They'd have to fight, and fight right now. Sonic was starting to get a little bit apprehensive, mostly due to the fact that Silver's powers could become a real nuisance if he decided to turn them against him while they were also fighting against Black Doom. He just had to hope that maybe he would side with the supposed Prince…
"Lead my son's slave onto the field," the King ordered Silver at this point. "Leave him there and take his leash off. If your training has failed and he tries to flee, it is your life which is forfeit as well, so you should pray he stays."
"Y…yes, Sire," Silver replied, swallowing hard. Again, he looked at Sonic, his eyes an apology, a scar within, a question. Sonic wondered how old this Silver might be. He breathed a small sigh.
"Go. I don't risk the lives of others for mine. I promise I won't run."
"Thank you," the trainer whispered. "When this is over, I…I'll try to do something, I won't-"
He fell silent when they arrived at the centre of the cleared space, Black Doom hovering in front of them, Shadow and the strange blonde-haired Sapient that perhaps was his teacher off to the side, and the onlookers about ten metres away. Sonic could feel the leash finally be taken off his collar and twisted his neck a little. Run? Attack? Wait? Sonic shot a glance at Shadow, carrying his blade and looking tense and decided to wait for his signal before he did anything. His muscles were readying themselves to dodge any attack if Black Doom decided to try and kill him without warning…
"Father, I have at least a right to know what you want with him! If it's my fencing that's bothering you so much I'll be happy to train throughout the entire night, but bringing Sonic here is-"
"-the only way to make you learn," Black Doom cut through Shadow's words with the sharpness of a butcher's sword. "D'Coolette will demonstrate what I want to see from you one more time…on a living object. Let blood be the teacher where words will not work."
"No!" Shadow stepped forward, standing next to Sonic now. "At least let me try one more time." Sonic could see his hand clasping his sword; the fabric of his glove was stretched so tightly across his knuckles, the blue hedgehog could feel a tiny flip in his stomach at the concern of the other.
"Too little, too late. D'Coolette, step forward."
"Shadow, we should make a run for it," Sonic hissed.
The black hedgehog scowled. "No. We fight them here and now."
"Shadow, Silver's got psycho powers here, too!" the blue speedster insisted. "This could become way too uncontrollable."
Shadow's eyes narrowed even further, the aggression that had been building up inside ever since the jinxed sword lesson now bubbling dangerously close to the surface, audible in his tone and visible in the hell fire of his glare. "Even if the whole court was against us, I'd fight like I always have."
"Shadow, I'm ordering you one last time to step away. Even if it seems you've finally broken your pet enough he can follow such a simple command as to stay still, I am sure as soon as D'Coolette heaves into him, he will twist and strain - and while I want you to keep your distance, I want you to watch – since the quick attacks seem to give you such trouble, now witness how those very same moves will easily kill even the ones desperate to get away."
Both Sonic's and Shadow's eyes had blazed at the words, but the black hedgehog was far better at keeping his disgust and fury under control. His tone was oddly calm when he spoke.
"So Sonic is allowed to dodge to preserve his life?"
Black Doom laughed and it sounded like a nightmare of laughter, twisted and blood-drenched and wrong. "Dodge he may," he drawled, "But this field is the limit of his range. Now step away, Shadow and watch your pet die as my enemies will…"
Sonic and Shadow exchanged another glance. The immediate alarm had vanished from their expression, but the tenseness was still there. Shadow's eyes seemed to ask the tiniest question…
Sonic nodded subtly.
Yeah. Let me take him on.
Shadow bowed his head. "Very well. I will not go against you, father," he replied, finally retreating to the side of the field again. Sonic remained standing where he was, remembering the lesson and taking great care to fold his ears, tail and quills neatly against his body while looking at the floor to appear as non-threatening as possible. The coyote called D'Coolette advanced, taking a stiff bow.
"Votre Majesté, I cannot fight 'im. 'e is not armed. It 'as no 'oneur."
It doesn't have any *what*? Sonic stared at the canine pretty much dumb-struck, Shadow already feeling slight dread rising within him as he could recognize the tell-tale signs of giggling and wise-cracking creeping up on his supposed slave.
Fortunately, Black Doom cut in before Sonic could make any possibly escargot-related jokes.
"This is not a fight, General. This is a demonstration on a straw puppet."
"Mais-"
"I am not offering you a choice, D'Coolette."
"Oui, sire." The coyote dropped his head. Sonic at this point noted that apparently, there weren't that many people happy with their king…
The fencing instructor interrupted his thoughts as he then stepped in front of Sonic who still hadn't moved and with a deep breath, drew his blade. The collared hero shifted his weight almost imperceptibly, toes flexing inside his sneakers…
"Please be careful, General," Shadow at this point interrupted pleasantly. "I wouldn't want my slave to hurt you."
The assembled crowd laughed politely at the perceived joke, but those who did, had mostly failed to notice the very serious warning glance Shadow had directed at Sonic during the last part.
"Very drôle, mon Prince," Antoince replied a bit testily. "One should show en peu plus respect at a death, even if it is ze death of a, 'ow do you say it, 'ouse pig."
WHAT did you just call me? Sonic bristled immediately, feeling himself reminded of the last time he had faced an insulting, yet oddly effeminate guy with a sharp blade in his hand, (but hoped that Erazor at the moment was still licking his wounds in the Arabian Nights and Antoine hadn't yet learned how to shoot a fire arrow).
"He's a hedgehog, like me," Shadow replied calmly. "And don't worry, I shall be watching his 'death' with the appropriate concern."
"Very well," the coyote nodded, apparently not quite hearing the quotation marks. And then, within a second, he charged.
xxx
"Right. Let's try this again. Name?"
"I'm sorry, but my name is not mine to tell…I can't talk to you unless my Master allows me to…" Sonic looked at his feet.
"And that would be me. Prince Shadow of Doom and I demand to see your ruler, wench." The black hedgehog crossed his arms.
"Amy. Amy Rose, future Miss Amy Sonic the Hedgehog. And it was that jerk who started it," Amy finished, jabbing a thumb at the still aloof Ultimate Lifeform. Essentially, all three of them looked like they had been through a blender.
The police chief of the squad who had been called to take care of the pandemonium at Tails' place gave them all a veeery long look. The two-tail himself thought it probably wouldn't help matters if he tried to convince him he didn't have time for this because the world was going to end since a magic gemstone was missing.
Then again, privately, he was by now actually looking forward to it.
xxx
Shadow was mesmerized. The battle had only gone on for a minute, but already, most of the crowd was staring at the blur of motions on the field with their eyes wide and bodies frozen. Shadow had little trouble discerning the shapes, but was hard pressed not to let his eyes widen as well at the sheer amount of skill clashing in front of him.
Antoine moved even faster than before. He had started off more than slow, his intent on showing Shadow clean and precise slashes and thrusts.
However, when his blade struck, Sonic for some reason just never seemed to get hit.
The blue hedgehog had actually moved only inches and centimetres to the side or backwards at first, too fast for the naked eye to see, letting it appear as if Antoine had some trouble focusing. Then, when the slices had become wider and broader, he had switched tactics – and actually evaded them visibly, with the greatest amount of flailing and stumbling possible.
"Aaaah, no, please, I beg you-!" Sonic had been pleading, staggering away from his perceived executioner and to the side, twisting wildly in sheer panic and desperation. His eyes were wide and fearful, his movements clumsy and expression terrified – and Shadow wondered whether he should nominate his supposed pet for the next actor award. Because only he could see how the supposed clumsiness was actually choreographed, noticed the minute weight shifts of red-and-white sneakers when the blue hedgehog prepared his next trip-up and only for him were the lightning grins and daredevil sparkle the hero of Mobius shot his way for fractions of a second in between.
"What – is- zis- devilry-?" Antoine grated through clenched teeth as he lunged forward only to have Sonic twist sideways, recovered and went into a cut which the hedgehog evaded by pretending to fall forward and dove under the blade to stumble past the coyote, and finally, whirled around just to see the blue speedster almost tumble onto his backside but still managing to evade the whirl-wind sabre. Shadow briefly mused that this tactic would have to take even more skill to pull off, because only the true masters of their art would be able to disguise their prowess when it mattered…and come to think of it, it seemed a bit like Sonic's way to live anyway; after all, who in their right mind would ever suspect the hedgehog when he was lying on his couch, eating pizza and playing videogames while cracking more than cringe-worthy jokes to be one of the most dangerous fighters on the planet at the same time? Sometimes the Ultimate Lifeform wondered whether the blue hedgehog actually did that on purpose…
But now it had come to this. As soon as his movements were too fast for the others to properly see anyway, Sonic had dropped the act and was now finally moving with the grace Shadow had encountered in fights with him so many times himself. He refrained from attacking with spin-dashes or kicks even when the other had left him an opening, but he seemed strangely at home with the situation, too…the air was flashing with the deadly silver of Antoine's sabre, sharp and precise and lethal, but Sonic always appeared to know where the blade would be exactly, was always able to dodge it, almost caress it, knowing how to touch it without coming to harm. Antoine's face was showing the frustration of someone trying to fight the wind, while Sonic's feet were moving as if the rhythm of the sword was music, and they had already mastered that dance on the edge between life and death a long time ago.
"Sonic…" Shadow whispered, for a moment lost in the display.
"I vill not tolerate zis any longer!" the coyote shouted at that point, sounding somewhat desperate, but Shadow's ears still pricked up when he heard the much quieter, almost whispered "You're right. And neither will I," from Sonic soon after. Before the black hedgehog could even realize what the other was up to, it had already happened – and Antoine's sword had finally found its mark.
"Vot-?"
Well. Almost.
Shadow's teacher had aimed another lunge at Sonic's face – but had been taken completely unawares when the blue hedgehog had turned his head to the side at the very last minute and the length of the blade was suddenly deeply embedded through all of Sonic's top three quills.
The hedgehog grinned. "'Prickly' situation, huh?"
The coyote gaped. "Mais quoi-?"
And then Sonic was gone. Antoine gave another cry of surprise as suddenly, the sabre was twisted out of his fingers as the collared hero then fluidly threw himself into a forward somersault, blade still firmly wedged through his spikes. Sonic didn't stop in his spin until he had rolled to the side of the field – and came to kneel right at the side of his supposed Master by uncurling in one smooth movement and ending up on his right knee as if he was supposed to be knighted now. The instructor stared at the pair, disbelieving for a moment, but only a moment, because then Shadow simply reached down, removed the blade with care, and held it out to its owner with the smallest of smirks.
"I believe the term is 'Touché'."
xxx
"I see," the middle-aged lioness replied calmly, while at the same time not looking as if she would forget having been called 'wench' any time soon. "And you, sir?"
"Miles Prower. And believe me, that name isn't nearly as much of a joke as my life currently is," Tails muttered dejectedly. His home had a gaping hole in the wall where Amy's hammer had crashed through as she had shattered Shadow's containment tank and it was still smoking. By now he was actually hoping the feline officer would offer the small mercy to have them all taken to a nice cosy cell, but of course…
"Hey! What is going on here?"
"Good morning, sir. Are you involved with these people?"
"Yeah, I'm helping take care of things here," Knuckles replied cautiously as he approached the gathering, but then his eyes narrowed and he stemmed his fists into his hip. "And you're actually showing up pretty late. You know, when I called you surface police from the flying island three days ago, you weren't nearly as concerned."
"Oh, I am now," the lioness replied. "Believe me, I am now."
xxx
"Vot-? Votre Majesté! Mon sabre, 'e stole eet!"
"Yes. By now I can see where Shadow has gotten his miserable fencing skills from," Black Doom replied, apparently slightly vexed. Antoine immediately went red up to his ears.
"Zat is not 'ow it is! Zis 'ouse 'og-" ("Now will he stop calling me that?" Sonic hissed) "-zis 'ouse 'og 'as been trained! 'e foresaw mes techniques! It is not possible ozerwise zat 'e was not 'armed!" the coyote protested, pointing at Sonic still crouching relaxed on one knee in the dirt next to Shadow, who held the blade of his teacher. His quills looked in disarray, but Shadow had removed the sword with enough skill so as not to hurt his supposed slave. Black Doom's eyes (all three of them) narrowed.
"Shadow, is that true? What have you been doing with that pet of yours, tell me…"
The Ultimate Lifeform shifted a bit. Sonic had been the one easily dancing his way through a situation where physical action was demanded, but now it once again came down to him and how clever he could sound for both of them…
Maria, please, let this work.
"Yes, father, I have been training on Sonic," he said, watching carefully how the eye ridges of the monster King rose. He continued calmly, "I felt the need to train on a live body…to let my blade taste real blood, too. My pet was rather ideal for the part," he explained, briefly running a hand in between Sonic's ears, the blue hedgehog appropriately flinching, "and wouldn't you know….after I had been cutting him open for a month, he's now actually learned to dodge." Shadow's upper lip curled in a cruel smile, the black hedgehog ignoring Sonic's not-so-fake shudder at the imagined horror.
"Is that so?" Black Doom asked, sounding slightly less disgruntled. "If that was the case, why did I have to witness your abominable display first, then?"
"Well, as I told you, I am still not fully recovered, father," Shadow shrugged. "I was hoping to save my energies for tonight's dinner. However, as the scars on my pet's body can assure you, my skill with the blade has not diminished – I could cut where my teacher could not."
"Hmm," Black Doom grumbled, obviously not fully convinced. "Very well. It is a good idea to use slaves as target practice, yes...maybe you're not hopeless after all. This matter is over for now, but if you dare disgrace me this evening again, the ramifications will be severe…"
"Yes, father." Shadow bowed.
"Yes, oh Lord of the broken record," Sonic intoned in a whisper next to him, but fortunately, since the Prince was supposed to be sick, the resulting small coughing fit did go rather unnoticed…
xxx
"Interesting," Shadow commented casually as the crowd had already dispersed, Black Doom and his entourage were on their way back to the throne room and even Antoine had slunk away, the two hedgehogs once more on their own after Shadow had collected and attached Sonic's leash again.
"Huh?" Sonic asked, raising an eye ridge at his supposed Master, just getting down from the adrenaline rush of the uneven fight and not quite focused yet. Greytail had taken Shadow's gear away and the two were now about to head back to their dorm for last preparations.
"You seemed quite…experienced with the way of the blade," the black hedgehog stated, at the same time rather determined not to reveal how he had fared himself. Sonic shot him a grin.
"Yeah, well, actually, it's not the first time I ended up in some medieval gig. I once saved the world of King Arthur, ya know?"
"What?"
"I was a Knight and everything. Had a talking sword named Excaliburn…wouldn't shut up, mind you, but taught me quite a few tricks on how to predict your opponent's moves." Sonic winked.
"…right." Shadow replied. It said something about how long he had been in Sonic's company that he didn't even ask anymore.
Then again, my last adventure involved time travel to fight my…evil shadow, or something. Maybe I should better be quiet.
"So, how were the lessons?" he asked instead.
"Uh…" here, it was Sonic who suddenly looked everywhere but at his supposed Master, not quite happy with the idea of sharing the more humiliating details. Unfortunately, somebody else only seemed too happy to do that for him.
"Ah, Prince Shadow! I was hoping I could talk to you!"
"Oh no…" Sonic groaned under his breath, but to no avail. Shadow had already stopped, thereby also forcing the collared hero to a halt who could do nothing but stay still and watch as a smiling Silver approached.
"Yes?" Shadow turned to look at the younger hedgehog, keeping his face well under control. "You were…taking care of Sonic today?"
"I was," the metallic-hued hedgehog nodded. "And I'm very glad he survived the fencing demonstration. He is a delightful specimen."
"Is he," Shadow replied in something of a dead-pan, although he almost couldn't suppress a tiny twitching of the lips as Sonic on his leash seemed as fidgety as ever, apparently really wishing to be somewhere else.
"But, my Prince, I'd just like to ask you a few questions about him…" Silver seemed to choose his words carefully, and the sharp glance from Shadow at Sonic obviously did not escape the silver hedgehog's notice, the 'what-have-you-done-now?' only all to clear.
Sonic sighed, scuffing his toe against the ground, but then apparently deciding that there really only was one way to go about this.
"He knows I'm not broken, Shadow."
There was a slight intake of breath from Silver – perhaps because calling your Master by name was one thing, doing it to his face was another, Sonic suspected – but he seemed to regain his composure almost immediately.
"Yes. That was what I wanted to inquire about," Silver said, giving the pair a curious glance – Sonic, leashed and looking slightly impatient, rubbing his neck, and Shadow, his face frozen for a moment in an expression that gave nothing away, but crimson eyes burning as thoughts raced through his head.
"What of it?" Shadow asked, eyes flashing dangerously, deciding that intimidation perhaps was the best option here. Then again, how someone who had earlier made a habit of throwing barrels at him and was now smiling into his face cluelessly was supposed to be scared of him, Shadow wasn't quite sure, either…
"Well…" the silver hedgehog seemed to briefly glance to the side whether there were any people listening right now, "I was merely wondering whether that was your wish as well. Sonic said so, but I hope you understand that my professional pride demands that I verify his words with his actual owner, lest I return a pet not trained correctly." His amber eyes blinked at Shadow questioningly, the black hedgehog having to re-run the conversation in his head for a moment.
"Wait…what exactly did Sonic tell you? And you, will you stop fidgeting!" Shadow hissed at his unwilling slave, who by now for some unfathomable reason seemed more uncomfortable with the situation than ever. Sonic covered his eyes with a hand, knowing that he was doomed. He had told Silver that he wanted Shadow to…
"Sonic said you were in love with him."
There was a decided moment of silence. Silver smiled, Sonic had frozen but was now staring wide-eyed through his fingers at the floor and Shadow…well…
"Did he, now?" Shadow asked pleasantly and for some reason, that tone scared Sonic all the more, especially when Shadow then actually smiled at him. "I wasn't aware that we are so open about our relationship, my beloved pet. Tell me, what else did you tell this charming young hedgehog?" he enquired, voice actually pitched about an octave higher than his usual growl and Sonic was about to start frantically tugging at his leash in an effort to locate Antoine and run himself through with the sword to save himself a lot of suffering.
"Noth…nothing…" Sonic tried to reply, grinning nervously because he could see the warning twitches and raised his hands in an attempt to calm Shadow down. He noticed Silver staring at them oddly now, realized what the psychic hedgehog had to be thinking and quickly tried to get the situation under control again.
"Silver, this isn't what it looks like. Shadow isn't going to hurt me, believe me, I told the truth."
"Um. Are you sure?" the silver-furred trainer asked, regarding the supposed Crown Prince with only the slightest suspicion. "My Prince, I didn't have your slave punished for his insubordination because he insisted it wasn't in your wishes, but if you would like me to-"
"No," Shadow cut him off bluntly, once again serious as he was sharply reminded that Sonic today probably had only evaded pain by sheer luck and a quick tongue. The black hedgehog sighed. "He did not lie to you. I don't want any harm to come to him and am quite happy with the way he is," he said, trying to hide the fury rising within him as he for a second could not help but imagine what he would likely have done to anyone who'd have dared to make Sonic feel the lash again, let those bright emerald eyes lose their lustre and fill with suffering…
"Ah. I see, then," Silver replied, perhaps only unconsciously taking a small step backwards at the sudden fierceness of Shadow's gaze. "Well, if Sonic has spoken the truth, then my mission truly is fulfilled. I beg you will enjoy him and let your satisfaction be known to your acquaintances," Silver said, giving a curt bow, before already turning around to leave, a last, small smile gracing his lips. "Perhaps I will have the chance of seeing you again at the dinner tonight. By your leave, Prince Shadow…"
The black hedgehog noticed how his highly-strung supposed slave visibly relaxed as soon as the other's back was turned.
"Well. That must have been a few interesting lessons today, then," Shadow said when Silver was out of earshot, setting off again himself and leaving Sonic of course with no choice but to follow him, which the blue hedgehog by now did almost naturally.
"Uh…yeah…" Sonic replied, not quite looking at Shadow but rather twisting a bit in his restraint and studying the castle walls they were passing on their way to their dorm with a sudden newfound interest. The blue hedgehog wasn't sure whether he still had a light blush on his cheeks but he was quite certain it would return the moment he looked into his supposed Master's eyes. He hoped Shadow wouldn't bring up the conversation with Silver again. The kissing and cuddling had been one thing, but to actually say he loved him…Sonic balled one fist in frustration, not knowing why that little word could make him feel so awkward, even though their actions so far should have spoken for themselves, surely?
Chaos Dammit. Somebody slap me before I ever let myself get drawn into anything more complicated than a simple, straight forward doomsday scenario or something.
"Anything useful you learned?" Shadow enquired casually as he opened the door to their chamber, leading Sonic inside and taking off his leash, tossing the leather item onto the writing desk before stowing his fencing vest under the bed and sitting down on the mattress with an uncharacteristic sigh of weariness, leaving Sonic standing in the middle of the room. The blue hedgehog cocked his head.
"Well…actually…they taught us how to walk."
"How to walk?" Shadow raised an eye ridge as he looked at Sonic's form again, the blue hedgehog now seeming oddly contemplative.
"Yeah…" Sonic had trailed off, but now met his supposed Master's gaze again and there even seemed to be a little of that amused sparkle in his eyes now. He shifted his weight slightly, spreading his legs apart and tilting his hips just the tiniest bit. The grin had now turned somewhat predatory and the black eye ridge rose a tad higher, as if trying to seek refuge in Shadow's head quills. Sonic slowly started to grin, revealing shining small fangs. "But why don't you see for yourself?"
"What-?" The black hedgehog asked, but didn't continue as then Sonic walked – no, prowled, Shadow corrected himself mentally – toward the bed and the Ultimate Lifeform refused to admit that his mouth had just turned somewhat drier. The hero of Mobius had put one hand on his hip, trailing the other behind him and was taking slow, but determined steps toward him, never once breaking eye contact and hypnotizing the supposed Prince with his gaze as much as with his body.
The toned muscles moving beneath the silky pelt once again spoke of coiled strength, but unlike usually, when the blue speedster would have been either swaggering, rushing (or sometimes plain bouncing, rolled up or no) along, now his movements were just a bit more refined, more deliberate and…elegant…Shadow watched those blue hips roll once more and had to remember to keep his mouth shut.
Sonic himself was hard pressed not to make some snide comment at Shadow's mesmerized expression. Instead, he flicked his tail which produced some sort of strange little noise to come out of the other's throat, which worked just as well for his amusement.
"Like what you see?" Sonic asked with a cheeky grin, hoping that Shadow wouldn't notice his heart was beating a bit faster than usual, too. This was new for him as well, after all…
The blue hedgehog was moving his body in a similar way to what Silver had taught him and the other slaves, even if he had adapted it a little bit. He kept his legs slightly further apart than the shuffle he had been forced to do earlier and kept his ears pricked up, too; his quills were relaxed at the moment, since he felt at ease, but there was no way he would glue his gaze to the floor – because he didn't want to miss a blink of these crimson eyes as they stared at him for the world…
"I…" Shadow tried to reply, but found that words had once again become some rare commodity all of a sudden. He was already entranced when Sonic moved naturally, but when his supposed slave suddenly tried to act the part, Shadow found it could become just a bit too much…
Again, Sonic's grin only turned brighter as he was able to witness the obvious effect his efforts seemed to be having on the black hedgehog. He had not enjoyed being treated like a slave by Silver, but something good apparently had come out of it – after he'd been mostly overwhelmed by the other yesterday night, this new game with him taking the initiative was even more fun. He turned away just before he would have reached Shadow and instead stalked along the side of the bed until he had reached the other side. The black hedgehog had followed all of his movements with his gaze, now apparently even more confused that Sonic had moved away from him again. Emerald eyes flashed wickedly.
"And tell you what, they even taught us how to crawl…"
By now Shadow was already thinking of telling Silver that he might have done too good a job.
The Ultimate Lifeform watched with wide red eyes how the hero of Mobius then actually lowered himself onto the mattress until he was on all fours, briefly – Chaos, help – stretched, and then started to inch himself toward his supposed owner, moving as gracefully as a feral cat.
Shadow just suspected that in that metaphor, he could very well be the feral mouse.
"Sonic…" he managed to get out, having half-twisted on the edge of the bed to keep the blue speedster approaching from behind in view, trying not to get distracted by every single subtle curve of that body stretching itself for his viewing pleasure (as well as his own rising temperature). Not quite knowing what else to do, he slowly raised a gloved hand toward the other's face…and then, just like last night, was rewarded with Sonic leaning into the touch.
Gloved fingers tentatively stroked his supposed slave's cheek, Shadow's heart briefly fluttering as he could virtually see Sonic relaxing under his treatment, quills lowering themselves even further and even those eternal perky ears drooping against their owner's head. Sonic slowly closed the last gap between them, coming to kneel next to his supposed Master without breaking the contact with Shadow's hand. He tilted his head slightly to be able to look into Shadow's eyes better.
"Wanna know what else they taught us…?" he asked, voice now barely above a whisper. Sonic himself had trouble to keep himself in check right now, could feel his blood pounding hotly in his ears, had to force his breathing to stay level as he now was only inches apart from the black hedgehog, their eyes level and equally intense.
Shadow opened his mouth only a fraction. "What else did they teach you…?"
Sonic leaned forward even more, his head now resting on Shadow's shoulder from behind and he whispered into a twitching black ear.
"Have you ever had…omelette?"
To be continued…
Bwahahah, I'm having fun here. XD Well, I hope you enjoyed your whopping 6000 words of a chappie, especially since the next one could be a while - but then again, with the overwhelming response to last chapter I felt like you all deserved a quick update this time. :P Summer of Sonic was fantastic, btw, I got to meet up with Skyblaze and even a couple of readers! :D Angelgotchi in particular drew me a really cute sketch, thanks! ;) Apart from that, Edinburgh Fringe festival is well worth a check-out, no matter whether you're a theatre fan or not...:P
If you read, please review? :3 (and if you don't feel like waiting for the next chapter, there's always the sonadow version of Advent of Equinox, hinthint, nudgenudge XD)