Blaze hadn't realised quite how blasé she was becoming about these bimonthly trips to destroyed futures. The pyrokinetic guardian of the Sol dimension was presently sat by the beachside on one such world, overlooking the devastation. From a truly oblivious point of view, her position must have looked rather nice. She was resting atop a rock by a beachside, staring out to sea. To her right flank was a large tent that she and her partner had spent the night in, just across from a small campfire formed from driftwood they'd collected. Across that wooden pyre, staved into the ground, were two skewers stacked with filleted fish and vegetables. Yes, to the oblivious things would look fine but…
This world had been flooded long ago and the seas had never receded; she was sat near halfway up a hill that had once overlooked the city of Spagonia. The once orange rooftops were still visible, though the clay had lost the majority of its lustre. While a few of the high walls that cut across the city were still standing, albeit discoloured green-black by the constant splashing of water and algae brought with it, the crumbled remains of many sections had come to form stalagmites in the ocean. So long had passed since society fell, nature had reclaimed so much.
While civilisation on the surface had been long lost, creatures from the deep were thriving. From salmon to trout to barracuda, so many fish had spared across the now almost endless ocean. Many species had grown in size as a result of their newfound space and lack of surface-dwelling competition, resulting in easy to gather food for her and her partner. Ultimately, society's collapse had come to grant them an ideal fishing and salvage spot.
It wasn't that the lives lost no longer phased Blaze. It was just that the day to day of her and her partner's activities had felt grown to feel more and more plain with each passing day. It was as if they'd been guarded by a shield of obliviousness. In prior destroyed worlds they'd lived in the homes of the deceased and eaten from their supplies, this was much less brutal. They'd casually talk as they worked and walked in long destroyed worlds, as if their job was akin to clerking or as mundane as grocery shelf stacking. Given the grave nature of their task, she supposed it was a symptom of still trying to live for themselves. They'd take conversation and respite in unconventional places to distract from the dire circumstances that surrounding them and the nature of their efforts.
It had taken the surprise arrival of an additional companion on this quest to reveal these truths to Blaze, a companion who was currently lingering somewhere behind the princess. Their plunges into the watery depths had been enacted with goals much greater than eating; gathering remnants of lost society and evidence of how it'd been destroyed had always been their goal. Unfortunately, the sunken state of the world had effectively destroyed all of the printed materials they could use to get their bearings, such as newspapers, and rendered almost all electrical goods unusable. Only technology belonging to the world's destroyer, Doctor Eggman, and a certain yellow fox had been designed with the foresight.
The latter of that pair had left them a few packages at the heart of this city, constructed with the aid of one Professor Pickle, and directions to this very bay wherein a few important caches were supposedly stowed. They'd learned of the wicked Doctor's assault on both Angel island and the polar icecaps, resulting in a mass flood he'd hoped to take advantage of before Sonic had bested him. Unfortunately, the fallout from Eggman's plans had been too much to repair in their time; much of the world's population had been annihilated in a matter of days. With what little time their friends had, they'd gathered a good chunk of the master emerald, which she and her partner had recovered mere hours ago.
Apparently, a mass of its scale enough to conjure the youthful yet technically elderly woman who was presently behind the pyrokinetic.
They had been sitting in relative silence for some time, only interrupted by the squawking of seabirds; creatures that had learned by fire to keep their distance. What had first manifested as a talking mote of floating red light had gradually attained a more traditional form over the past half hour. Blaze hadn't truly acknowledged the changed, uncertain whether it would be rude to do so, but the orb had grown into a head which had further grown a torso.
Once the body was complete it had attained colour; most of what was red had turned orange, but golden jewellery had also manifested, accented by blue gemstones. White bindings had come to wrap around two of her hanging orange quills, a white tank top covered her chest and what looked to be a traditional skirt (coloured cream, green and red) had taken shape around her waist.
By the time this holographic form was complete, ending with the formation of two large blue bracelets, her visage had left Blaze not feeling overdressed for once in her life. The echidna woman, who had introduced herself as Tikal back when she was an orb, looked even more outside of her time than Blaze and her partner, it was as if she derived from an older society. That would make sense if she was some sort of ancient spirit, locked away in the master emerald; but the royal feline hadn't heard any of her friends mention such a spectre. She shared a certain likeness with the Master Emerald's guardian, Knuckles, but…
While Blaze had learned to trust better, she was still an inherently suspicious person. Not to mention, the idea of a spectral manifestations derived from ancient heirlooms didn't sit well with her. A past life had granted her a certain inherent distrust of them.
"Are you sure your friend is okay down there?" The holographic echidna broke the silence, a slight yet palpable concern carried in her voice, "He's been underwater for quite some time now."
It was a fair concern; Silver had been gone for close to an hour now. When he'd first arrived in her world, the hedgehog had spent ages walking on the sea floor in a psychic bubble; simply enjoying the underwater environment. He'd told her that he could do it and that he'd be fine, but that hadn't prevented tension from mounting in her shoulders the first time he crossed the half hour mark. The time traveller had been consistently successful though, hardly emerging wet, let alone out of breath.
"Silver was confident enough collecting you, he will be able to gather what you've said is down there," Blaze responded, keeping her eyes glued to the horizon.
"You have a lot of faith in him," Tikal commented, "I suppose that is vital, given your shared purpose here."
"And what is your purpose here?" In immediate hindsight Blaze's question sounded harsh, but she didn't allow herself to flinch.
"Generations ago, I aided in tending the master emerald's shrine alongside its guardian," She began to explain, "Regrettably, having been attacked by father, the guardian attempted to harness the emeralds' power and lost control of themselves. To prevent devastation, I sealed us both within the Master Emerald," Blaze couldn't help but feel her tail stiffen as she said that, "Unfortunately, given the current state of the Master Emerald, I am unsure where they are at the moment…"
"I see," A certain tension had entered Blaze's body as she identified somewhat of an undeniable parallel between herself and the echidna.
While the circumstances clearly weren't the same, the prevention of a grand destruction heralded by them sealing themselves away with a monster was an undeniably shared theme. It didn't sudden sway Blaze to trust the phantasmal woman, but it had immediately muddled the feline's assumptions about her. Shared experience had always resonated with Blaze as a way of bonding with another person, Silver and she had formed such a close bond based on their time spent in Crisis city for instance while she and Marine had found common ground through their loneliness. It was perhaps just a little too convenient, bordering on being obvious bait for a trap, but their experience was just so blatantly similar that it being the trick of some ancient spirit almost seemed foolish.
"What is the ancient guardian's name?" Blaze dared to ask, turning to the echidna only to find she'd sat atop the gemstone that was conjuring her. It didn't look comfortable, but then the echidna didn't seem to have a true tangible mass.
"Chaos is their name, it seems like you're familiar with the emeralds that share that moniker," Tikal seemed to rub her chin, as if pondering how best to put it, "I've perhaps not done them justice in my explanation. They are a being composted almost entirely of water that transformed into a gigantic, serpentine, water dragon. He was released and transformed not too long ago; Sonic had to revert him to a state where I could reseal him."
Nothing like that had ever come up before, but it didn't exactly surprise the princess. The exploits of Sonic and his friends, while they were typically less grim than hers and Silvers, were known to take bizarre turns that ended in giant monster attacks. While Blaze found most of Tikal's speech a lot easier to process than she probably should have, she couldn't help but notice that, in this crystal-bound echidna's mind, not long ago was a little under two hundred years ago. Just how old was she?
"I see," Blaze managed to respond, attempting to hide her confusion, "I'll have to ask about that upon our return."
"Yes, upon your return," Those words seemed to linger in Tikal's mouth, "You both seemed quite casual about all that. Is this not the first time you've found the world like this and returned to the past to save it?"
"We have saved it fairly consistently," Blaze answered, seeing an opening, "We didn't encounter you in those prior timelines though."
"Well, I suppose you'd have to find the Master Emerald in a state where it was damaged enough to separate myself and Chaos but not so damaged that I couldn't attain a true form. It would require somewhat of a perfectly unfortunate storm," A cringe somewhat immediately consumed the spirit's expression, and her hand rose to ruffle her quills, "Though perhaps that's poor wording, given our current circumstance…"
"Perhaps," Blaze quietly mused, turning her gaze back to the water, "But it's not as though seeing the world like this is new to us. It's just more of the same."
"Is it usually this bad?" The ancient guardian asked, "Or will you sometimes find some society left over? Surviving in the wastes or on some untouched continent?"
"Animals and monsters often survive but never people… in our experience at least," Blaze surmised, "You're the first in that regard."
"Well, I'm not sure if I should be considered a survivor," Blaze was beginning to pick up on the priestess' somewhat dark sense of humour, likely a result of both living so long and being trapped underwater for almost two hundred years, "But thank you for saying!"
"It's… no problem," Blaze managed to reply, already regretting how casual they were being.
After dealing with Mephilies, trusting this woman felt like the height of foolishness but she was just so disarming. When her orb-form had first risen from the chunk of emerald, introducing herself and hovering around them, Silver had been so excited. It was as she'd said, they'd never found truly benevolent life on any destroyed world. The joy that had sprung to his face, prompting endless questions about what it was like living at the bottom of the sea and if she was hungry after all that time, had made Blaze match his expression. Despite all they'd been through, he was still so naïve. The only important question he'd asked her was if there was more worth salvaging in the wreckage he'd found her in.
"For as long as you're here, I'll be the best guide possible. I've given Sonic and the others help before; at the very least, I should be able to guide you two towards the remaining shards of the Master Emerald," Tikal promised from behind her.
"Thank you," Blaze managed to murmur.
The guardian of the Sol emeralds could tell that Tikal was just trying to make conversation, she'd been alone for almost two hundred years after all, it was hardly surprising. Blaze couldn't deny that she was being cold, but she was simply trying not to trust in the face of bizarre circumstances. A misstep now would mean not only their deaths but the final deaths of those in the past, their fates would become irreversible. No matter how casual some aspects of this role had become, she would never forget that-
"Forgive me, this might be a little… forward, but I've become somewhat of a people-watcher in my years sealed within the emerald. I can't help but pick up on a few little things," Blaze turned back to Tikal only to find that her gaze had lowered, she was scratching the back of her head, "What are you two to each other?"
In an instant, Blaze's tail flicked straight. She tried to keep a straight face, "What do you mean?"
"Well, you seem to have a lot of faith in him and you say that you two are usually the only ones on these worlds. You looked a lot more comfortable when he was here, it seems like you two have a close bond," Tikal was plainly building up to her true question, "You and Silver's relationship is a romantic one, isn't it?"
Blaze very almost fell off of the rock she was sat atop; the stiffness from her tail spread to the entirety of her body, "Wh-What did you just ask?"
"There's no pressure to answer, but I have watched countless guardians of this world over countless generations. I've seen people fall in love and marry countless times," The echidna quickly responded, as if rushing to mend any damage she'd done, "Despite that, you and your partner have rather confused me."
"No, our relationship is purely platonic. I've never, w-we've never even," Despite her stammer, a harsh seriousness had entered her voice. Blaze tried her best to swallow it, "No. We're just partners, close friends and allies, we don't," Words were failing her, sternness still hung in her tone as she turned away, "Kiss or anything."
Had she really just said that? This was all so juvenile. Her face felt red raw with heat and her tongue was like lead. With half a conversation her posture had entirely stiffened.
"I'm rather used to giving advice," The echidna professed, "Though it is not my area of expertise, I'd be more than happy to lend a hand."
"L-Lend a hand with what?" Blaze cast a look over her shoulders only to find she was glaring, her brow felt too harsh and heavy.
Her regret didn't last for long however, as she caught the ancient spirit quietly laughing into the palm of her hand, "I've long learned to see into the hearts of those too stubborn to admit their feelings. When you return to the past, look to the guardian Knuckles. He's more obvious than you, and I think more oblivious, but equally struggles to profess his feelings."
"I'm not struggling to profess anything," Blaze heard herself spit, turning away again.
"I've watched people for almost three thousand years, albeit with a recent break," There was an unerring seriousness to her tone, "I can tell when someone is struggling with their feelings."
She was so blunt, so brutal in her honesty, was that another result of living for so long? Had she lost her patience along with any understanding of subtlety perhaps? That much seemed plausible, but it didn't stop Blaze from shrinking beneath her combined gaze and claims. Tikal wasn't exactly wrong but, of all the times to confront such feelings, talking about them in a destroyed world like this, let alone with a stranger, didn't feel right. There was something so casual about the air around this ancient ghost. Perhaps it was just because the holograph hadn't spoken with or seen other people in so long?
"You've been staring out to sea, just waiting for him, for an hour now. In that time, your entire outlook and expression have changed," Tikal regaled, "You've been tenser, quieter, and far more serious. Reflecting in quiet meditation while watching for him pensively. It's as if you're worrying, but I believe you're not."
"When you said you were a people watcher…" Blaze tried to keep her tone neutral and her surely harsh gaze from Tikal, "You certainly weren't lying."
"I'm sorry if I'm being too forward," The ancient lady quickly responded, "I've just become rather used to this advisory role. I don't really know what else to do with myself conversationally. I'd show people where to find useful tools and how to use them, like I have for Silver, and share information about chaos," She was rambling now, Blaze could hear slight panic in her voice, "Usually, when I show up, the stakes are higher. We're sort of in the aftermath now, I suppose. I don't really know what to do with myself."
The princess looked back again, only to find that the echidna's gaze had drifted to the sand. She'd gone from sitting with her feet dangling off the edge of the emerald chunk to her legs being crossed. For a phantasmal form, and having been a floating globule of light prior, her body language was especially blatant. A pang of guilt entered Blaze's chest, the parallels between their lonely lives were fairly clear. Despite how arguably rude the priestess was being, she had gone almost two hundred years without speaking to anyone.
Blaze cast her gaze across the water, looking for any sign of Silver. There was no psychic glow, no rising bubbles. He'd be back soon but, the guardian supposed, speaking with Tikal until then was likely the kind thing to do. That and, well, as much as it reddened her to admit, it wasn't as though the ginger was entirely wrong. The gradual evolution of their relationship had been weighing on Blaze much more as of late, but she had no idea how to broach the subject.
"I-I'll humour you," The feline fully turned her body to the echidna, despite it being a much less comfortable way to sit on her own rock, "What would you recommend I do?"
Tikal immediately perked up, lowering herself from the stone. The sand didn't move as she drew closer, now beaming as she looked down on the pyrokinetic, "Do you mean it?"
"Just go ahead and talk before I change my mind," Now Blaze was the one looking to the sand.
"Well, in my experience, people seem to tease whoever it is they like. Usually that means being a little rude to them, but not rude enough to actually hurt them," Tikal regaled, speaking as if drawing on years of experience, "Calling them names, pinching their cheeks or taking him by the ear, things like that? It seems like it gets hold of their attention and prompts an emotional rise out of them," Blaze was set to protest and call such efforts juvenile, when she continued, "Like, how you called him naïve just after he pulled the emerald chunk out of the water and shouted to you. There's a specific term for it…" The echidna seemed to pause for a moment butt cut Blaze off before she could respond, "Flirting! That's it."
"Th-That's not me… I don't…" Blaze's gaze shot up to Tikal, only to find that she was still beaming.
Her tongue felt exceptionally heavy. There was truth in what Tikal had said, but it wasn't quite as simple as that. Blaze threw the word naïve around a lot when referring to Silver, both in moments of quiet affection and louder exacerbation. It had been her go to descriptor for him ever since they were children, before he'd even known what it meant. Most commonly however, Blaze used the descriptor when attempting to hide her own feelings; a fact that the echidna had clearly picked up on. Whether it was masking her own feelings regarding a subject matter or attempting to be coy in response to his obliviousness, that word would breach her lips and often hold his attention. To call it flirting though…
"M-Maybe I'm slightly, unintentionally, just…" Blaze pretended to cough, bringing a closed fist to her mouth, "Go on."
"Well, have you ever tried describing him using any other words? You know, just to change things up?" The hologram enquired, "How else would you describe him? You know; rolling you're eyes as you did, and saying that's he's so…"
Blaze wished that her mind had gone blank at her prying, but that was anything but the truth. The word cute was the first one to enter her head, and it refused to leave. Silver was cute, that much she could at least internally admit. There was a certain aesthetic appeal to the hedgehog; his overgrown white fur had an undeniable charm, but his expressions were where the true cuteness was derived. Silver couldn't hide his emotions, no matter how hard he often tried. He'd grin so openly, cry so honestly and get so blatantly excited. The way his eyes would light up was undeniably endearing.
Soon accompanying cute came the word loyal, perhaps in an attempt to jump to something less embarrassing, but then came strong and powerful. Silver was, undeniably, the strongest person Blaze knew. His comfort and casualness with his powers was something to be admired, but that wasn't all there was to it. The hedgehog wasn't especially physically strong, but he was tall; yet another word that came to mind. Over the years his physicality had changed from the white ball of fluff she so often imagined him as. His shoulders had broadened, and he now stood almost a head taller than her. Well, whenever she lacked heels at least.
"I'm not sure there's another word I can think of, let alone would be comfortable using," Blaze half lied, her tone stoic.
"Oh, really?" Tikal sounded honest in her surprise, but Blaze couldn't help assuming that the echidna was looking through her.
"Yes, he's just," Blaze could feel herself broiling, "Naïve."
"That is a problem…" The priestess hummed.
In the silence that hung, more words came to mind. Silver was sweet, he was kind and he was warm. Even if Blaze had told Tikal the truth, the feline was certain she couldn't yet stand to refer to him as any of those verbs. The thought of so casually calling him cute, as she had so often called him naïve, was frankly terrifying. It seemed like something Amy would do for Sonic; it was just too blatant and wholehearted. Was that where Tikal had derived this idea? Had she watched Amy and Sonic?
Shaking her head, Blaze tried to keep her attention on the echidna, "Have you got any other ideas?"
"Well, what about the other things I mentioned? Pinching his cheeks and teasing him in other ways?" Tikal reminded Blaze, "Maybe you could give him a nickname?"
"Why would pinching his cheeks change anything?" Blaze found herself frowning, partly because the visual image the prompt gave felt so embarrassing, "It just seems childish."
"I think that was the point of it, to be a bit childish," The priestess seemed to recollect, "You get his attention, and he can't avoid you. It means he's closer to you physically too, gives you more control," An awkward smile crept across Tikal's muzzle, "I suppose at least. To be honest, this isn't my area of expertise. I'm basing a lot off of observation. The pair I observed most recently seemed to tease each other a lot."
"I see," The cat hummed, "As for nicknames, well…" Blaze thought for a moment, "It's an option, but I've called him Silver for as long as I've known him. It might be strange to change now."
"What about something simple, not specific?" Tikal recommended, "Like honey or darling?"
That struck a deeper chord with Blaze, she felt her temperature spike again, "H-Honey?"
Tikal just nodded, entirely serious.
Phrases like that had crossed Blaze's mind before, namely because they'd used similar ones on occasion. The term companion had been tossed back and forth between them at least twelve dozen times. Whenever Silver used the term friend, it had always felt too shallow to her. She had described him as her partner and them as being partners on a number of occasions, both to their friends and during her royal work. The occasion on which those monikers were used had gone without a passing glance from Silver, he just seemed to have agreed and gone along with her claim.
"Silver might not even notice," Blaze thought aloud, "He hasn't really picked up on any deeper meaning behind naïve, for example."
"Well, you seem to know him well, but you won't know for sure until you try," Tikal countered, "Why not give it a go?"
She could almost visualise it, there was something so soft yet so plain about it. It was almost domestic in a way, it bordered on framing them as already being romantic. Blaze had the feeling she could do it, and that he would accept that he was the honey in question, but the simple moniker might not even have phased him. Odds were, he'd go along with it without a second thought.
"I'll consider it," She managed to respond, scratching the back of her head, "Any other advice?"
"Oh, w-well," All of a sudden, something was different, "From what I've observed, you're also supposed to," If ghosts could blush, the pyrokinetic was certain she'd be in the presence of one such instance. For whatever reason Tikal had turned away, her hand covering her muzzle, "How do I even say it," Blaze heard the guardian mutter before speaking more loudly, "Show off? Those I've watched seemed to flaunt their talents around whoever it is they like? Give proof of reasons they'd make for a suitable partner?"
"Talents?" Her head cocked right.
Tikal turned back to the feline. Despite how confident she'd been starting all this, the echidna looked to be struggling, "Have you ever threatened to steal something from him?"
That immediately confused the cat, "No?"
"Have you tried picking him up and carrying him, just to prove you can?" She followed up.
"I've carried him before, but never for that reason," The princess frowned.
"Do you two spar often?" Blaze nodded, leading Tikal to continue, "Have you ever tried to pin him down and whisper things to him? Make him flustered while he's trapped?"
"We do spar often, but I can't say I've ever done that," Blaze answered, this path of logic was strange.
"What about changing your outfit?" A suggestion rang, "Do you ever wear anything more…" Again, Tikal's embarrassment flared and a blush was plain on her cheeks, "Stylish? Revealing?" The former word got Blaze thinking but the latter set her tail straight.
"What are you implying?" Blaze heard herself snap, much too quickly, "J-Just where are you drawing all this advice from?"
"W-Well, the most recent guardian received frequent visitation from a white furred bat by the name of Rouge," Tikal cringed, fiddling with one of her hanging quills, "She would rile him up quite frequently; call him names, threaten to steal the master emerald, bicker with him, things like that. I was thinking, maybe you could mimic some of what she did?" The orange spirit elaborated, "She seemed a lot more confident in acting in that way than you appear to be though. Rouge seemed to be flirtatious by nature…"
Rouge the bat was an individual that Blaze had very scarcely encountered and never directly interacted with. Information regarding her confrontational relationship with Knuckles had past to the cat via Amy Rose. To say the princess wasn't a fan of what she'd seen and heard about the bat would be an understatement. The attires she chose to don were more than a little tasteless in the princess' opinion, and, though Amy was convinced that the thief truly cared for Knuckles, what Blaze had actually been regaled with didn't sound convincing. Then again, Tikal's latter line about confidence did ring true. If one thing was certain, the bat sounded and seemed confident in all she did.
"I wouldn't describe myself as ever having… intentionally…" The word felt heavy in her mouth, "Flirted with him ever, in any way. I don't really know how to do that."
"Ah," Tikal gave a nervous grin, "Well, maybe now's your opportunity to start?"
"Even with your suggestions, I don't know how I would," Blaze balled her fists in her lap, catching herself, "That is, assuming I even would flirt with Silver."
The echidna turned her gaze to their surroundings though, to be honest, the cat wasn't even certain that she was seeing through those illusory eyes. Come to think of it, Blaze hadn't especially considered the origin or degree to which the spirit maintained any of her senses. The feline only had experience of being in such a state once, and it was a time that she preferred not to dwell upon. Following the ancient's gaze, Blaze found herself looking to their campsite and then to the seasoned skewers set to be cooked this evening.
"Well, you two have fish prepared, and I saw how you warmed him up after emerging from the deep. All that work he's doing seems like it'd build up an appetite," Tikal created a chain of logic, leading toward an obvious conclusion, "Why not cook him something, that should help warm him up at the very least."
Blaze's eyes glazed over, "That'd be even worse than stealing from him."
"O-Oh?" The ghost stuttered.
Burnt dish after burnt dish flashed in Blaze mind's eye, from mutant attempts at baking to simple eggs and bacon made black and brown, "I'm not the best chef."
"Well, it's the thought that counts really," Tikal tried to encourage.
Her efforts fell on deaf ears, "Usually I'd agree with you, but this is rather an exception."
Awkward silence reigned again for what felt like an hour but couldn't have been more than a couple of minutes. It didn't take long for regret to swell and fill Blaze's chest, the ancient spirit was trying her best but it seemed that their intents and ideas were totally incompatible. Perhaps she was being too picky, maybe salvaging what she could from the echidna's suggestions would be wise. Showing off her abilities did seem to get his attention, the way he'd look at her after and even during their spars often led her to-
"Blaze, I'm back!" A familiar voice turned her around, shattering both her thoughts and the social stagnation. Immediately, the princess was on her feet.
Rather than emerging from the waters nearby, Silver the hedgehog had landed on the sands to her right. He was half jogging toward her, puffing and panting, with what looked to be a large metallic backpack strung over one shoulder and an overlarge steel-grey briefcase in his right hand. The hedgehog appeared dry, his bubble had evidently held, but even from a distance, Blaze could tell that he was exhausted. His forehead quills had flopped back while his face was beet red. Not to mention, he was stumbling across the sandy shore with all the grace of a tumbleweed.
He barely slowed as he reached her, practically jumping as he pulled the feline into a tight hug. The scent of sweat was undeniable, though he wasn't soaked by seawater there was an undeniable dampness to his fur; likely a combination of his exertion and humidity from being within the bubble. His sudden appearance, combined with recent conversation, set Blaze's cheeks ablaze once more but she tried not to focus on that. Instead, what captured her attention was the coldness of his frame; despite the strenuous effort, it felt more like he'd been buried in the snow than running a marathon.
Despite the dampness to his person, she hugged him tight, "You were just starting to worry me," Heat freely ebbed from her frame, she began to glide her arms up and down his body, "It seems like you found everything you expected?"
"Sorry," He sighed into her, his tiredness seeming to catch up with him. Quickly, he went from tense to much more gently returning her grasp, "I did, everything she said would be there was down there."
"Did you leave anything behind?" She checked, raising her right hand to hold the back of his head and sent warmth through his quills.
"I don't think so," He hummed, and she felt him slump into her, "There were a lot of nice fish though… I could get us a second dinner if you want. I'm starving…"
"Not today, certainly not in your current state," She gently scolded, "You should have said the trip would tire you out this much. It could have waited until tomorrow; we have all the time in the world."
"I'm fine, really. I just need to rest for a moment, then I'll be fine…" She felt him stiffen but heard him yawn, "You're really soft."
"And you're falling asleep," She lightly tugged at his ear, breaking his hold, "Stand up straight, open your eyes. If you fall asleep on an empty stomach, you'll get sick. Especially if you're this cold."
"But you'd be here to keep me warm, I've got nothing to worry about," He moaned, plainly resenting the slight separation. It was only as they fully parted that Silver cast his eyes left and just about fell backwards over himself, "Hey, who are you? What happened to Tikal?"
"That is Tikal, Silver," Blaze explained, clearly the exhaustion was eating at his mind too.
"I managed to manifest a likeness of my true form," The spirit explained, for the first time, "Unfortunately, it's just as intangible as my prior form. I can still only really offer advice," She'd certainly done a lot of that.
"Oh," Silver seemed to take a moment to process all that before beaming again. The surprise seemed to have reawakened him just a little, but the hedgehog not noticing her before showed just how tired he was, "Neat! Well, like I said, you were right about all the stuff down there," Silver gestured to his baggage, "A box that feels like it contains chaos emeralds and a briefcase full of letters and stuff," He rattled the suitcase, the sound of shuffling papers was blatant.
"Let's get them open then," She suggested, gesturing to the sand in front of them.
Silver set down the briefcase and shrugged the bag from his shoulders, crouching as he reached for the clasps, "Alright, let's-
A metal clunk sounded; the case didn't open. Silver flipped the suitcase to sit upright, latches to the air, and tried to open it again. Once more, it refused. There was no lock in sight, but the container didn't seem willing to share its contents. It was in pristine condition, silver from top to bottom without a hint of rust or a single bash.
"Tails and the Professor put a specific lock on the containers, in an attempt to keep Eggman or someone else from opening them," Tikal interrupted, "They knew you and Blaze would be here, so they gave me specific unlocking instructions. The chests will open when they're raised to a high enough temperature, then quickly cooled."
"So, we need to put them in a fire to open them," Silver processed aloud, before turning back to Tikal, "Then I guess I can just hold them under water for a little while? Do you know if they're waterproof after they've been heated up? The chaos emeralds won't mind the splash but the papers…"
"I believe so, yes. That was their intent after all, I'd be truly shocked if they didn't waterproof the casings," The echidna advised.
"Alright, this'll be easy then. We can start on dinner and open the boxes at the same time," The hedgehog grinned.
He reached out in front of him, cloaking the cases in psychic energy and sending them to rest among the driftwood of their dinner pyre. He didn't burry the metal masses so much as incorporate them into the wooden structure's design. Blaze didn't even need to hear his word, she approached the stacked sticks without hesitation and touched her forefinger to the wood. With no more than a thought, fire traced down her shoulder and rolled off the edge of her fingertip. She held her position for not more than three seconds, allowing the fire to proliferate but not growing it so far as to immediately torch the wood.
"I guess we just wait now?" He half thought aloud, half asked Tikal.
"I believe there should be some sort of indication," The holograph recounted, "A sound, if I recall?"
Blaze turned to Silver as the fire began to lick the upper points of the wooden structure. The hedgehog's yellow eyes had an orange light dancing with in them, almost as if her fire was hypnotising him. One would think that he'd have an aversion to the flame, he had every reason to fear it. The world they'd been born into was rampant with infernal destruction, complete with lava rivers and flaming monsters. Yet, just like now, he had always been drawn to her and her flames alike.
Perhaps it was due to the conversation prior, but Blaze was looking at him differently now. She could only assume that he was oblivious to any changes in her, he certainly hadn't mentioned them. But then, she hadn't ever mentioned the hedgehog's changes. His long nose was strangely holding her attention. She felt certain that it'd get in the way, but get in the way of just what…
A loud clicking brought the princess' ear to flick.
"Oh, that's the sound," Tikal interrupted her staring and brough Blaze to turn back to the fire.
The boxes were now red hot, as though the metal was especially reactive to the heat. With a psychic wave, Silver gently drew both cases out and into the air above them. Despite the change in colouration, they seemed to be maintaining their form.
Their eyes met, "They look about done too," He commented.
"It would seem so, be careful with them," She fretted.
"I will, I will," He half turned to the sea, already sending the boxes on their way, "Keep your eyes on the fish, call me back if they're getting too crispy,"
Blaze glanced to their skewers, noting that their colouration had already begun to change, only to be immediately interrupted.
She felt something upon her cheek, a quick yet blatant contact punctuated by a slight chill. Her eyes raced to the source only to be met with bouncing white quills, getting smaller with each passing second. Before she could begin to process what had happened, the hedgehog had run off toward the water's edge and plunged the containers into the water. The immediate hiss and rise of steam broke Blaze from her trance, she quickly threw her gaze to the sand then back to him before immediately and completely turning the opposite way. Unfortunately, that brought her to lock eyes with Tikal.
"Why, Blaze, it seems you don't even need my advice," The hologram beamed, clasping her hands, "He seems perfectly enamoured with you just as you are normally!"
"Sh-Shush," Blaze grumbled, touching her cheek, "What was that about…"
"Has he never done that before?" Genuine surprise sounded from the phantom.
Blaze only managed to nod her head, further feeling her heat rise at the echidna's confirmation of Silver's action.
"Oh my," Tikal raised a hand to her mouth, clearly overexaggerating her surprise, "Well, you're obviously doing something right."
The pyrokinetic clenched her fists, quickly turning from the echidna only to find herself watching him out at sea. Steam was still rising from the water; his hands were firmly planted on his hips as he waited. The wind had caught his quills and were dragging them left, her heating efforts had clearly fluffed them back up.
It was out of nowhere, so very sudden. Had he done it on a simple whim? Did he even know what he'd done? If it was anyone else then she'd be confident, but the hedgehog could be so naïve and oblivious. But the hedgehog acted on impulse, his heart was firmly attached to his sleeve, there was no denying it. Was she wrong to consider some sort of deeper intent? Had he simply missed her? Why had this happened after discussing such intimate concepts with Tikal, why now of all occasions?
The scent of smoke was filling the air around her. An opportunity had revealed itself. Blaze swallowed, hard.
"H-Honey!" The moment she saw him turn to look back at her, the feline threw her eyes to the sand. She could feel fire flaring on her cheeks and hear Tikal chuckling. The princess pointed to her left without looking, "Don't be too long, the fish is starting to burn!"
"Alright! I'll be right there!" He shouted back, footsteps soon pounding on the sand.
It took all of Blaze's might not to turn around and explode at the ancient spirit, now chortling like a child behind her.