Running water was the only sound in the house as it flowed out of the faucet, splashing gently against the pure white interior of the sink before eventually sinking down into the drain and disappearing. Looking at the constant stream intently, Silver pushed one hand towards it and then began to pinch his fingers together into one spot. A light blue field of energy surrounded the liquid, but it continued to move as if nothing had happened. Seeing this, the hedgehog turned his hand to the side slightly, which also moved the energy in the same direction. The water it had previously surrounded was also present in the field, but it was wobbling around as if in a container made out of gelatin, and some of it had begun to leak out. Reacting before all of the water emptied from the field, Silver pinched all of his fingers together fully, converging them into a single point and tightening the grip his psychokinesis had on the fluid. The force that was being exerted on the water and the lack of stability that it had made it so that all of the liquid burst out of his grasp in a manner akin to a water balloon, splattering onto his fur and gloves as well as adding another failure to his tally
"Dang it!" He shouted in frustration. "How will I ever be able to control water if I can't even keep a little bit of it in place?"
After letting out a disappointed sigh, Silver reached for a nearby towel and once again wiped himself off. He had been attempting this over and over again for a while at this point, and the towel he had with him was starting to get quite damp from all of the spilled water he had been cleaning up with it. He tossed it aside without looking, planning to make another attempt, but he heard a loud clinking noise before he could. The wet and heavy towel had hit a glass off of the counter, which was mid-way through falling onto the tiled floor as Silver turned around and noticed what was happening. Not wanting to clean up broken glass as well as water, he quickly surrounded the glass with a field of his psychokinetic energy and stopped it just before it hit the ground. He planned on returning it to the counter where it had been, but before he did he took a second to look at the object, which he was able to hold just fine in contrast to the water
It did make sense that Silver would have a much harder time controlling liquids than solid objects, as the future that he lived in where he practiced his abilities was completely dry due to all of the fire and magma that dominated the landscape. He was actually still quite fascinated by water even though he had been living in the past where it was abundant for several months, the existence of something that flowed and moved so freely and smoothly was just mystifying to him, which was the main reason why he was so determined to learn how to control it. He figured that if he could control something so easily bendable, the possibilities of what he could do would be virtually limitless
"Well, I guess I better get back to practicing if I ever want to be able to do this," He said in a slightly somber tone
Having finished pondering, Silver gently set the glass back onto the counter, creating a faint noise that echoed throughout the small room before trying again. The water had still been flowing the whole time, so forming another field of psychokinetic energy was all that he had to do. This time around, he moved his digits closer together when initially pinching the column of water away from its source, trying to get the perfect grip so that it didn't leak nor burst out from the energy surrounding it. After a moment of silently praying that it would work this time, Silver slowly adjusted his hand to the right, making sure to maintain the position of his fingers as he did so. He opened his eyes that he had shut from suspense to see that the water was being kept almost perfectly still inside of the teal aura he was enveloping it with. This excited him quite a bit, which caused a small jolt to travel though his body from the pleasant surprise. This shifted how his fingers were positioned ever so slightly, throwing off the balance that he had obtained and resulting in all of the water he had just been controlling to slosh onto the counter, much to his dismay
"No!" Silver shouted, his voice much more clearly sad now
Logically, he knew that he should have been happy since the failed attempt was still the closest to being able to move around liquids that he had gotten so far, but the fact that he had been trying for so long and that he had gotten what looked like his hard earned reward ripped away from him in an instant made him feel quite upset. Feeling like he would never learn how to properly learn the skill to manipulate water, Silver pointed his hand towards the faucets handle and turned it back to its off state, stopping the constant flow of water and leaving everything completely silent as he sat on the cold tile floor. He was sick of trying to control water, but as he was laying on the ground aimlessly, a memory related to it popped into his head
Laying on the ground with the scent of water all around him reminded him of one of the first nights that he had ever spent in the past. After Silver got used to the basics of life in a normal world, he wandered onto a beach and was instantly amazed by how the waves moved and how the ocean seemed to stretch into the horizon infinitely. He simply sat down and watched the tide crash onto the shore for as long as he could stay awake, and when he eventually passed out and awoke in the morning, he watched them for a little longer before finally leaving. The beach was the most calming and wonderful place he knew, so he decided that he was going to go there to calm himself after all of the stress that his failed attempts to control water had given him
When he first stepped out of the door, Silver was surprised to see that it was quite dark out, as it meant that several hours had passed since he first started practicing at dusk. He didn't mind this, though, as he knew the beach was at its most beautiful when the light of the moon was reflected across the infinite stretch of water and its repeating current. Floating through the empty streets with his kinesis, he soon arrived at the sands of the familiar beach, letting himself to the ground and sitting down near the shoreline. Just like he had before, he laid still and stared out into the rippling ocean, until he suddenly felt a strange feeling. It felt as if the ocean itself was calling him somehow, like it wanted him to step into it. After taking a brief moment to consider this call that he felt, Silver obliged the ocean and stepped into the waist deep water
The cool nighttime water calmly brushing against his fur was even more soothing than sitting back and watching it from the dry land, and it made him wonder why he had never stepped into the ocean the first time he had sat by it. He took in this sensation for a while, looking up at the moon that was illuminating him and the water around him, until he felt a second request from the ocean. This time, he felt a deep urge to lie down and let his entire body float across the surface of the water, to let himself be rocked back and forth by the tide. He took action on this impulse much faster than he had the one before, slowly lowering his back onto the water and raising his legs up so that they were on the surface before taking a deep breath and shutting his eyes
"I wonder if this is what heaven feels like," Silver thought to himself as he drifted along the shallow waters
As he was gently pulled back and forth across the surface of the sea by the current, a final idea popped into his head. This one didn't seem to be a calling from the ocean, though. Silver knew that this desire came from him and him alone. He wanted to control the water that he was floating on. Controlling such a large amount of water when he couldn't even manage a small glass worth of it before would have seemed like a stupid idea under any other circumstance, but it was different in the current situation. He felt like the water he was in right now wanted to help him, like that was its goal all along when it had asked him to step into it. With no doubt in his mind that it wouldn't work this time, Silver extended both of his arms that were tucked to his side straight out, and began trying to get a grasp on the surrounding waters
Grabbing the section of the ocean he was in came to him surprisingly easy, as floating in it so contently almost made him feel like a part of it. Once he felt the psychokinetic energy around himself and the tides he was being pushed and pulled by, he gently lifted his arms up into the air, still having his eyes shut as he did so. Silver didn't feel anything as he did this, but he was still sure deep inside of him that it had worked just as he intended, so he finally opened his eyes for the first time since laying down once he set his arms down and began resting them in the cool liquid again. Looking forwards, he could see that he was now several feet above the rest of the ocean
"I did it," He said quietly as he sat up to get a better view of everything, still maintaining the area of water within the air. Even though it was amazing to see that he had finally accomplished what he set out to do, he wasn't shocked at all like he was when he had almost succeeded in his previous attempt with tap. Maybe it was just because he was so relaxed, or maybe it was because of how sure he was that it would work, but there was no shock to break his concentration upon seeing that he was above everything else
Having finally accomplished what he set out to do, Silver turned himself around in the floating section of the ocean to face where he had watched it from earlier, also directing his palms to the spot. Slowly, he moved himself and the disk of ocean brine back onto the sandy shore, dipping the liquid into the dry grains and turning it into a form of sludge, before sitting down himself once every last drop of the water had been absorbed. He was now looking in the direction of his home instead of the waves, which made him consider whether he should go there or stay a little while longer and continue to watch the waves he now knew he could control. It took a moment of internal debate to come to a verdict, but ultimately, he decided to stay on the beach just like he had the first time he had gone there. As he watched the waves crash back and forth in a rhythmic pattern until daybreak, he smiled the whole time, as he knew that he would never forget that magical night
