You need to take dare consequences if you want to push forward

He smelled something.

It was odd because he hadn't smelled something like this before. The usual smells that woke him up was awful and made his nose scrunch up in disgust. This on the other hand – smelled delicious.

He slowly opened his eyes from the smell alone, despite the cobwebs and the tiredness that still clung to his eyes. Yet another night where he had hardly slept, waking up every time Amy or Cream shifted around upstairs, if Sonic had moved around in the armchair and snored a little too loud, sounding like creaking wood. It had been harder to fall back to sleep with every occurrence, both because his hand was starting to hurt and thump again and because he couldn't get the damn thought out of his head that someone might have followed them back.

He wasn't scared, he was nervous about the thought of the kidnappers wanting revenge, being well-aware who the fox and hedgehog were, and who they had done a favor for. They knew where she lived, and the rabbit, and could easily start all over again if they wanted to. It was an old instinct, senses on high alert and ears swirling around for anyone who followed him. It hadn't been a rare event that someone had followed him back in Croford, had learned to distinguish the shuffling of feet and shushes between normal kids running around and non-criminals whispering around the corners. That had been normal back there – why it was haunting him here he didn't know, and even knew less if it was a curse or a blessing.

His thoughts got interrupted by that smell again, his nose automatically taking in the pleasant air, suddenly feeling his stomach growling. He noticed that Sonic was gone from the armchair, though his voice that travelled towards him from the kitchen told him that he wasn't far away. He cranks his neck backwards, since a lot of noises and talk was making his mind more confused than anything.

He easily sees Amy standing by the stove, smoke arising from something in front of her while she was leaning against the counter, looking at the blue hedgehog who sat in a chair. He had his feet on the table, hands laced behind his head, talking about something he hadn't caught on to. He quickly noticed the blue and purple bruise on the side of his head, but from his position it didn't seem like it had worsened during the night. Cream sat on the counter to the left of Amy, her eyes wide with interest, hazel irises staring at the prisoner as if he had just vanished in front of her. Surprise and admiration were there, the hedgehog most likely telling about some kind of event that he had done.

For a moment the fox didn't know what he should do – if he should address them and say 'good morning' or if he should just get up and another part of him wanted to fall back to sleep. Though the latter option he quickly cast aside, his growling stomach reminding him why he woke up in the first place. He eventually decided to sit up, his neck feeling a bit stiff from laying on the armrest of the couch as his feet touched the floor again.

He had been comfortable – very comfortable since he was used to be sleeping on a pallet every night. That he had gotten the chance at sleeping in a bed almost every night was rare but something he wished that he could do every night. He was still tired, he could feel his eyelids being heavy and let out a yawn, started rubbing his eyes to get out the water, in the same moment that he realized that his right eye wasn't hurting anymore. Though that could be because of his hand instead.

"Ah! Morning Tails!"

His head whipped up from the greeting, being well aware that it was Sonic who had wished him a good morning, seeing that all eyes were staring at him. Though Cream was giving him a warm smile and Amy was smiling as well, an amused grin on the hedgehog instead. "You really sleep in late huh?"

In reflex the fox looked out the window to get his bearings about what time it was, though through the window he couldn't see the sun's positioning. He blinked at it before he looked back at the occupants in the kitchen, his tails whipping once to move the muscles.

"What time is it?" In Croford the morning rush started to dim out at around eleven, meaning that their opening to get safely out of the city was around that time.

"Around 9 I think," Amy shrugged, turning around back to the stove, his large ears catching the sound of something fizzing, the delicious smell intensifying.

"How are you today, Tails?" The fox turned his head towards Cream who had asked, the smile plastered on her face only widening when their eyes met. She was calm, curious, and actually wanted to know how he was instead of asking out of courtesy.

"I'm good," He answered, as he bended down and picked up his shoes, snuggling one foot into his old footwear, the soles filled with dirt and muck, thinking that he should probably clean them at some point.

"And your hand? Is that alright too?" With his last foot back in his shoe he looked up from the pink hedgehog's question, her back still turned to him.

"Yes," He simply answered, as he got up from the couch, and stretched his back, having been curled almost all night, the muscles popping satisfied. He looked up when Amy turned her head towards him, and her gaze met his.

Her eyes were slightly scrunched up, and a furrow was in her brow. She didn't believe him.

"We can take a look after breakfast," She decided, without his permission, as she turned towards the rabbit. "Can you set the table for me?" –

"Sure!" She chimed, as she jumped down from the counter and over to a cabinet, opening the door there. Tails was still slightly bewildered, having no idea why the pink hedgehog still cared about his hand, while he watched the rabbit lay out four plates on the table at the same time that Sonic took his feet off it.

"It's so nice to have visitors. Amy and I always eat by ourselves," Cream smiled, as she turned around to get glasses, the blue hedgehog taking two of them from here and put them by the plates, a smile on his lips. It was the same smile that he gave Ray and sometimes him as well – there was something about it. A softness or something of the likes.

"I'm glad I'm joining – I haven't had warm breakfast in a while," –

"You haven't?" Cream sounded surprised, placing a fork and a knife by the last seat. The hedgehog nodded, while Tails frowned, thinking that it wasn't normal to get a hot meal in general for him either.

"Then I'm so happy that you're here! Amy makes the best bacon and eggs in the entire city!" She exclaimed enthusiastic, while the female hedgehog rummaged around with something, the fox now understanding what smelled so good.

He hadn't had cooked bacon before nor eggs for that matter, since he had no way of cooking it. He knew from experience that eating raw meat was somewhat poisonous. Meanwhile Sonic was chuckling, as Amy took something out from the fridge, putting it on the table and afterwards placed what seemingly was the food on it as well.

"Well here you go. Breakfast is served," She said, with a smile, the fox seeing the tiredness through the expression on her face. And something else was on her mind. He didn't get to read anymore as Cream sat down in one chair and Sonic in another, while Amy went back to the fridge to fetch something. He blinked as he realized that he needed to go and sit as well, taking slow steps towards the assorted table and glanced over it.

There was an assortment of items he had seen before but had never dreamed of tasting. And some other stuff as well which he didn't know existed, cartons standing there with pictures on it. He had never seen such items before, cartons made of seemingly cardboard or something, it seemed – odd in a way. All the produce that existed in Croford were in carts, maybe stored away but never packed together with cardboard. He hadn't expected Kroxburg to be more technological advanced, but he blamed Amy's position more than anything.

He sat down at the end of the table, the hedgehog beside him while Amy put another carton on the table before she sat on a chair as well. Cream was already fetching different stuff, taking a carton, opened it and a bright yellow-ish orange liquid was poured into her glass, the color almost resembling his own fur. Sonic was reaching for something in the middle, the fox's eyes widening when he saw the plate of cooked bacon, the smell itself making his stomach grumble.

The hedgehog took six pieces and then reached it over to Tails without a sound, though he smiled at him. He looked back before giving him a slight nod, taking the bacon, and put it on the table. It both smelled and looked delicious and it was only because there were other people here and he had his own self-preservation that he only took six pieces as well instead of the twelve he wanted.

"I hope it tastes good. I haven't made this much food in a while," Amy said with a fake chuckle, in an attempt at killing the silence that had sat in the room.

It had taken all of Tails' strength to put the bacon away before he looked up at her. She wore a smile, which was still warm and welcoming, but her eyes were wide, a twitch at her lip. She was nervous. She wanted to be a good host and give them food, taking things slow and let them decide when they want to leave but at the same time, she didn't want them here. Not because they were rude or anything, but from the fact that she was scared of the same thing that the pick pocketer was thinking about. But at the same time – she was glad that they were here.

She was conflicted. Which made the fox even more conflicted, standing between the bridge of saying 'it's okay we can go' and the fact that he was handed a plate with fried eggs which he had never tasted before. He gave in to the latter, taking the plate from Sonic and scooped up three eggs and promised himself that they would be out of their way after the food.

"Your cooking is always good Amy!" Cream said, after having swallowed some eggs and handed a plate of toast to Sonic. The female hedgehog smiled thankfully at her, before taking some bacon on her plate looking somewhat solemnly into her food. The rabbit was oblivious, and she was happy about that.

Tails took a piece of toast as well, having tasted white bread before but the kind that had been crunchy and warm around the edges he had only smelled. And then he noticed the knife and fork, well aware that cutlery was a thing you used when eating but he had no idea how to comply to the etiquette, even if there was an etiquette to obey to. He licked his lips and briefly looked at Sonic, saw him using the fork in his right hand and the knife in his left.

He somewhat hoped that it went unnoticed as he hesitantly picked up the tools and started cutting his egg. The moment he did, the orange yolk in the middle spilled out, and coated the bacon. He didn't question it, instead brought the fork to his mouth with the egg and bit it out. The taste was a bit weird, not being able to taste a lot of egg in itself but salt and pepper, the seasoning hitting his tongue. It was delicious.

He saw Sonic glance at his empty glass in his peripheral vision, after swallowing some bacon.

"I think you'll like this," He said, reaching out a carton from the table and put it in front of the glass. It was white, a picture of some sort of animal on the front and some text on the other side. Tails quirked a brow at it, picked it up with one hand, the cardboard cold against his glove as he read some of the text before looking back at the hedgehog.

"What is it?" He asked, as he curiously opened the carton, having seen the rabbit do the same to the other liquid.

"Milk. Canines tend to like the stuff," Tails looked up with a frown, though Sonic was smiling and shrugged his shoulders. "I can't have it clean like that, I get queasy," He said, and then winked at him.

The fox shook his head more than anything, knowing exactly what he was talking about but curiously poured some of the liquid into his glass, seeing that it was white as well.

"Haven't you had milk before?" He stopped pouring from Cream's question, bewilderment, and confusion more prominent than curiosity when he looked up at her eyes.

"No, I – uhm," He bit his lip, trying to figure out how to explain it. "Where I come from – we don't have fridges to keep this cold," He explained, having seen Amy take the carton out of said apparatus and the carton was cold.

The rabbit turned her head towards the female hedgehog for a confirmation, while Tails sniffed the white liquid and took a swig. There wasn't much flavor to it, being bland more than anything, though it somehow still tasted good. He put the glass down while licking his lips, pouring some more milk into his glass.

"I was, uhm, thinking about something," Tails almost didn't hear Amy as he had bitten into a piece of bacon, a wave of salt first hitting him before the crunch and the fat from the meat coated his teeth, the taste being more amazing than the egg. He looked up while still chewing, seeing Amy looking down at her plate while her fork was playing around with her fried egg, the yolk coating her entire toast.

"How do you plan on leaving the city?" Now Sonic's head shut up, after biting at hiss bread, a curious brow raised at her. The female hedgehog looked up, now worry settling into her face, glancing a bit at the rabbit who was busy eating her breakfast. "With those wanted posters around it's going to be really difficult getting out without anyone noticing you," She explained.

Tails looked at her as he swallowed his bacon, a shot of realization crossing through his heart. She was right. He hadn't thought about it since the only people who had been after him back then had been the criminals, while the poor had ignored him. Now it was everyone. Even if he covered his face with his hood, it had been clear on the picture that he was a fox with large ears and seemingly a single tail.

"That's no problem, we'll just stick to the alley and such," Sonic quickly dismissed, while shoving a piece of egg in his mouth. Tails quirked a brow at him.

"You know that's the dumbest thing we can do right?" The hedgehog stopped midbite to look back at the fox. "That is exactly where other criminals are hiding. If they see us, they're not going to have mercy – they want that kind of money just as much as everybody else," He explained, feeling a bit of irritation creep around his fur since he had no idea how Sonic was this stupid.

Though he hadn't gotten the memo, swallowed his egg and left his fork on his plate with a 'huh'.

"Good point," He said with food in his mouth. "Then what do you suggest?"

Tails had opened his mouth to inhale some more bacon but stopped when Sonic asked the question. His green eyes were relaxed, though he could read how much faith suddenly was in him. What had he expected? He was the pick pocketer after all. He sighed while chewing his meat, giving it some thought.

"Well. The only thing we can do is disguise ourselves and hide in the crowd as much as possible," He said, then swallowed and gestured a hand towards the hedgehog's head. "But your spikes are too long to be concealed in a hood," Sonic ran a hand through said spikes, quills getting split apart and curving back together from the movement, as he let out a thoughtful 'hm'.

"How about a box?" All heads swirled towards the rabbit who had finished eating, a sea of orange yolk left on her plate. "That way nobody can see you," She was smiling, like her idea was the exact solution to their problem. But how was that going to help?

"We have a couple of boxes in storage back at the shop," Amy said, the idea apparently catching her attention, though she furrowed her brow. "But none of them are big enough for any of your height," She said, while finishing her toast. The fox had already thrown the idea out of the window, thinking how they were going to get out using boxes.

"That doesn't matter," Sonic left his knife on his plate. "I can curl around and become a spiked ball, then I shouldn't be fat enough to fit in any of them," He said, his eyes suddenly shining with an idea, looking back at the fox. "And then you could hide in your own cloak. Take your hood on and hide both tails," The pick pocketer was blinking at him, the idea ludicrous and let out an annoyed huff.

"And how am I supposed to carry a full-size hedgehog inside of a wooden box?" He asked in a matter-of-fact tone, not buying the idea one bit. They needed to do something else. Either hide Sonic in a bigger cloak, maybe a sheet or something.

But something changed in Sonic's expression, a smirk crossing his lips before he turned his head back to the girl rabbit, who looked back at him with a smile.

"Cream? Do you mind going to the center of the city by a big fountain? There should be an armadillo and a flying squirrel around. Tell them that Sonic send you and bring them back here. They're friends of ours, and I'm pretty sure they could help," The rabbit smiled and nodded at him, getting up from the table while Amy was sputtering.

"Thanks for breakfast Amy, I'll be careful!" And with that, Cream left out the door, closing it behind here. Tails was just as confused as the pink hedgehog, the former looking back at Sonic though he merely laced his hands behind his head and winked at him.

"You'll see," Tails blinked at him, and looked back down at his toast…He guessed he would.

"You – sure about this?" –

"Totally! I'll be fine, I promise," Sonic winked, standing with hands on his hips, looking like the cockiest individual on the entire planet. Tails on the other hand felt like he was about to be captured and killed within the next few minutes. There was no other option. This was it.

Despite the plan being somewhat safe and would essentially hide them, there was still a very skeptical part of him which thought that there was no way that nobody was going to find them suspicious. There was just – no way.

While Cream had been gone, Sonic had cleaned the table while Amy had taken a look at his hand again, changed the bandages and had tried to decline a new role of them when he needed to change it again, but she had insisted. The book had been stored away and had been given a box of matches for convenience before the female had disappeared to the shop when Cream had returned.

It had taken a couple of minutes before she had turned back with Mighty and Ray, the duo having one of the most confused expressions the fox had ever seen. Ray had been excited, jumping and telling them how happy he was that they were okay – for some reason. Now the female hedgehog was putting a small box in the middle of her living room, wiping sweat of her forehead, her outer expression being confused but he could see the panic behind her irises. The twitch of lip, her pupils dilated. She had no idea what she was doing. And neither did Tails.

Though Sonic was optimistic, walking over to the box and padded the wood, smirking more than satisfied. The pick pocketer glanced at the black cloak that was draped over one of the chairs, the hedgehog apparently feeling that he didn't need it anymore.

"That should be enough room," The pick pocketer blinked in pure disbelief.

How? How was that enough room for him!

Ray seemed confused as well, was sitting in a chair beside Cream while Mighty was scratching the back of his head, standing by the doorway. He had been the most confused out of all of them, and despite the explanation the blue hedgehog had tired to give him, he still looked like he had no idea what he was doing here, despite agreeing to help them.

"So-" Ray trailed off, the usual ecstatic and energetic squirrel sitting with a confused expression, scratching his head. "You're going to hide. In that – and then Tails has his cloak. Mighty will carry the box – with you – and then we leave," Sonic's smirk widened.

"Exactly – simple!" Simple? That wasn't the exclamation he would had used to describe the situation. Ridiculous was the more appropriate adjective in his book.

But a part of him didn't know what to do either. He could hide himself in his cloak he was pretty sure but hiding the hedgehog with six long spikes in the back of his head was a challenge. If he believed that he could fit in the box, then he guessed it was the better option. If he could fit that was.

"You're leaving now?" Cream asked, a sudden sad expression slowly morphing onto her face, her lips curved downwards and her eyes sinking a bit. Amy was quick to catch on, having been standing with her hands on her hips and staring at the box, though her head turned towards the rabbit, a comforting smile coming to her lips.

"They have to Cream. It's dangerous for them to stay," She explained with a soft voice, her eyes softening. The rabbit looked over at her older sister, before she nodded and plopped down to the floor, looking up and conjugated a fake smile.

"Okay – then I guess this is goodbye," She said, firstly looking at Sonic and walked towards him with her arms spread apart. Tails frowned, thinking that it was a weird pose and didn't understand why she did it until he saw Sonic crouch down and spread out his own arms, the two of them hugging when they met.

"Thanks for saving me," The hedgehog's smirk faded into a smile instead, rubbing his hand up and down on her back, chuckling lightly.

"Of course Cream. Why wouldn't we?" He asked, pulling back, and winked at her, making the girl smile thankfully towards him.

Tails had watched the exchange with interest, having seen people hug each other back in Croford from afar, but had never been this close to seeing it. He really didn't understand the point of it. He was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts when the rabbit turned towards him, smiled, and walked towards him with her arms spread apart again.

He didn't have the time to decline since his mind hadn't been made up when she was there, hugging him.

"And thank you too!"

He didn't know what to think, let alone what to do. It was – weird. He didn't know how to describe it, it just felt. Odd. But at the same time. He didn't want her to let go.

He looked at her head, being slightly shorter than him and awkwardly padded her back, having decided that he didn't want to hug her back.

"You're welcome - And uh thanks for food and bandages and – and everything," He said back, as Cream pulled away again, sending him a warm smile and giggled softly.

"Of course. I hope you get a fridge so you can have more milk," Despite the odd exchange and the ridiculous situation he couldn't help but smile from the childlike innocence, her thinking that he had a home to return to. He decided not to tell her.

The fox looked up to see Amy having walked over to Sonic and gave him her hand, shaking it in a farewell.

"Good luck, and be careful out in the mountains alright?" She said, all of her panic and confusion temporarily gone, instead she seemed at ease, and was biting her lip to keep from blushing again.

"Of course, Amy, we'll be fine!" He reassured with a wink, turning around back to the box as Amy couldn't keep the blush at bay her pupils getting a bit smaller. She really liked him. Good thing they were on their way.

"Well guys," Sonic padded the box, taking a look around. "Take care of me will ya?" He smirked, an amused grin more than anything plastered onto his muzzle.

Tails rolled his eyes into the ceiling and opened his mouth to retort, was going to ask him how the hell he was going to fit in there, when he suddenly did. His mouth was left agape as the hedgehog practically jumped into position, curling completely around himself and turned into a perfectly spiked ball.

He didn't have to look at the others, he could practically feel the amazement that erupted into the room. The fox was both surprised and stunned by how agile Sonic in reality was and how that was even possible. He was pretty sure that he was hallucinating the moment the ball of blue spikes rolled into the box, hitting the other side with a soft 'thump'.

"Alright I'm ready! You can close it now," He. Could talk? It – was slightly muffled but still. He could – turn into a completely round ball and. Talk. Damn, was there some sort of special spice in those eggs?

Ray was the first one to get out of his surprised daze, jumping down from the chair and walked over to the opening of the wood peering inside.

"How are you doing that?!" He asked excited, before he started poking the blue spiked ball, an immediate laughter sounding from inside.

"Ray! Ray no stop ahah! I can't – uncurl in here!" Mighty was quick to walk over and pull him away, still looking like he had just seen a ghost.

"Are you – okay?" –

"Yeah dude I'm fine! As long as Ray doesn't poke me then I should be good," The box said, having Sonic's voice. Tails still felt delirious more than anything. "What are we waiting for? Shouldn't we be going?" He then asked impatiently, pushing the rest of the occupants in the house out of their dazes, getting reminded of their task at hand.

Amy nodded to herself as she walked forward and pushed the box up in its right position, closing the lid that was there. She blinked at the box, looking at Mighty and Ray and then back at Cream, like she was silently asking for an explanation despite knowing that none could give her one.

The armadillo was still staring at the box before he gripped around the two leather straps that was on either side, a box normally used for transportation on your back. He crouched down and got it over his arms, the straps at his shoulders like a backpack and took his hands under the box as he got back up.

"Whouw! Careful Might!" the armadillo blinked confused, either from Sonic speaking again or the nickname he just gave him.

"Sure, sorry," He decided to say, taking his time to get the box secured on his back, had to bend a little forward if he didn't want to fall flat on his back.

"That's so cool!" Tails' ears flicked as he looked down at Ray, the squirrel staring straight at the wooden box with awe in his eyes, mouth being agape. The fox was pretty confident that the younger's expression completely matched what he felt.

His head turned when Amy's did as well, the female hedgehog looking at him before she bit her lip and walked over to him, holding out her hand again.

"Be careful out there okay? I don't want you to get anymore hurt," She said, her expression somewhat downtrodden, the smile not hiding it well enough.

In the moment he forgot to take her hand, his blue eyes darting around Amy's face, reading every single crevice that he could see. No twitches at the lip, her pupils the same size, the smile getting a bit bigger, not shifting around her feet, her other hand perfectly still. She was telling the truth. She generally did want him to be careful and not get hurt again. Why? Why did she care? She shouldn't care she had spent resources on him! She shouldn't be caring about a criminal who had been living on the street in the shadows all their life. There was no reason for her to care.

He got out of his thoughts when Amy's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion and was therefore quick to take her hand and shook it, conjugating a fake smile.

"Thank you. And – you be careful to. It wouldn't surprise me if they… Come back," He took back his hand after his explanation, seeing her nod quicker than he had expected. She had already planned something.

The fox watched as Mighty walked over to the door, turning around, and looked back at him, waiting for him to get ready. Tails saw Ray walk over to the armadillo as he took the hood back over his head and pushed his cloak tighter around himself as both of his tails went under. Because there weren't enough room for the both of them to be cramping up, he curled them around his abdomen, both tails being large and long enough that they made their way around his entire body and almost acted as a wooly fur jacket of sorts – without sleeves and a zipper. Ouch.

"Looks good," Amy confirmed, as he made sure his ears were properly under the hood, nodding in agreement despite not being able to see himself, walking over to the others standing in the doorway.

"Uhh – Sonic?" He asked, a part of him wanting to knock on the wooden box but refrained from doing it, imagining that there must be some echo in there.

"Yeah?" –

"We're going now. So - don't speak until we can tell you to, alright?" – "Don't speak? Eh, I'll try."

He couldn't hold back the annoyed sigh, huffing it out but wasn't worried, knowing that Sonic meant it as he turned back to the girls in the living room.

"Nice to meet you!" Cream departed, waving a hand towards them as Mighty and Ray stood outside, the fox walking out the door.

"And be careful," Amy said afterwards, Tails turning around and looked at them, the smaller girl smiling at him and waved, while Amy's expression was still telling the truth. He could do nothing else but smile back at them.

"We will. Thanks for everything," He said, as he slowly closed the door behind him.

He stood for a moment and just looked at the wooden door, breathed out a long sigh to calm his beating heart as he turned around towards the other two. Mighty nodded as Tails made their way over to them and started walking, being in between the armadillo and squirrel, another attempt at trying to hide him. A part of him knew that it wouldn't do much, but he couldn't help but feel slightly better at the situation because of it.

He looked mostly at his feet, watching his dirty red and white sneakers take a step along with his heartbeat, fisting his hands to avoid making them shake. He wasn't scared he was – nervous.

He glanced over at Mighty, but he seemed to be handling Sonic fine, not looking like he was straining his muscles or was getting tired at carrying him at all. Maybe he was stronger than he had given him credit for. He gulped dryly when they made it to the main road, the noon traffic already at full effect, mobians walking to and from, talking, yelling, carrying boxes, barrels, being too occupied in their owns mind to notice them.

Perfect. Now it just needed to be kept that way. Tails heaved another sigh.

"It's okay, you're going to be fine, don't freak out alright? No one has noticed you and they won't notice you okay? It's – gonna be fine. Yes. It's alright, stay calm."

But he could feel it, not the panic but the fright, the rational part of him screaming that things could go south any second, he could be recognized and handed off or getting beaten or getting killed any second now.

Despite those scenarios sounding ridiculous and the perfect description to paranoia, that was indeed what was happening now. He was walking here, being here – and people could recognize him immediately, ending what life he had left. He wouldn't be able to go out and explore with Sonic, he wasn't going to understand the power of the Chaos Emeralds, he wasn't going to be able to ever figure out if he was a chaos wielder too, no he was going to -

He gasped surprised, lifting his head a little bit, and turned it to his left when he felt something in his hand.

Another hand, small fingers clutching around his fingers, holding on to his palm. Ray didn't look at him, had merely taken his hand, his usual happy expression turned into one of worry. The ten-year-old apparently noticing.

He was taller than the squirrel, giving the effect that he was holding on to a smaller child, trying to walk away. It wasn't suspicious.

The pick pocketer didn't wiggle the hand off him, instead he knew what it meant, briefly closed his eyes, and gave a small sigh.

They were here. Both him and Mighty was there in case something happened. He could feel it. Knew that it was the truth.

With that reassurance in his mind, he clutched his own fingers around Ray's, squeezing his hand in a silent 'thank you' as they continued their trek, walking past mobians and towards the outer edge of town, where they would eventually depart - hopefully.

He pushed his ear closer against the door, despite knowing that no one came around this time. The side of his head was fully fleshed against the wood, trying to pick up any sounds of steps or something of the sorts. But the hallway was empty – he knew that the servers were down for lunch, meaning that he had a twenty-minute gap until they came back to clean the rooms. More than enough time.

He sighed as he stepped away from the door and gave it a determined nod. This was it – his chance.

He spun around on his heal, not letting his reconsiderations penetrate his determined decision, as he walks over to the bed and pulls something out from under it. It was a small sack, strings attached to it that could be swung over one shoulder, not getting ruined by the spikes on his back. He had been saving food for the last two days, only eating half of it and had been 'exploring' yesterday.

He hadn't told Blaze, but he had been outside his room a couple of times, though only on the first floor since he didn't know where he could hide downstairs. The other rooms were bedrooms and bathrooms, a whole wing for guests which wasn't used for some unknown reason he didn't understand. His miniature adventure had granted him a box of matches, a small blanket, a small oil lamp with some oil and a candle. He had no idea what he needed and what he didn't need, since he actually didn't know what he was doing, but he knew why.

He had felt that same feeling every single day, a surge of energy, the tips of his fingers tingling and his heart beating. It was random whenever it occurred and made him feel more confused than anything. But he knew he couldn't ignore it and knew that he couldn't stay here. He had somewhat said his goodbyes to Blaze, telling her to be careful the last time he had seen her before he had decided that he needed to go.

He knew that he didn't belong here. He didn't know how he came here and didn't know anything about the world, but he was determined to figure it out. He belonged somewhere else he could feel it – in his heart. Could feel that he was needed somewhere, that he had a calling of some sorts, that hiding in a room for the rest of his life was not optional despite being aware that, that would most likely not happen.

But he couldn't help but wonder what else there was for him here, what Blaze was thinking about – she had told him that he was special and that the world wasn't ready for him. But if he kept hiding around then of course the world would never be ready, right?

Those lingering thoughts, those contagious considerations had left him sleepless all night and had contributed to his decision this morning. He needed to go.

With a sigh filled with anticipation, he threw the sack over his left shoulder, the strings around his armpit to not let it fall down. He turned around and looked at the note on the desk, being well aware that it was rude to just give her a farewell like that, but he knew that if he told Blaze then she would stop him. He hadn't talked about it with her, but he knew that she wouldn't approve of the idea. But she wasn't the one controlling him… He knew that she was just looking out for him.

He shook his head as he could start to feel the regret slowly creep into his stomach, but determinedly walked over to the door, listened for a couple of seconds before he turned the knob and opened the portal. Stepping out and silently closing it again, he looked both ways in the hallway, before he walked right, having found his take-off point yesterday.

The sound of his boots hitting the floor sounded loud in the empty space, the hallways having an echo despite the pictures that hung on the walls. He bit his lip as he rounded the corner, despite knowing that he was the only one here, slowly turned his head to check if anyone was there. No one was here, instead there were four doors leading into separate rooms and in the end of the hall was the window he had been searching for.

He stopped for a second, thinking if he was doing something stupid, before he shook his head and kept walking. It was too late – he had made his decision.

He made it over to the glass frame, carefully leaned forward and looked out and down. The back of the castle was up against the outer wall, meaning that no one had a chance to ambush it if they wanted to. Past the wall, and as long as his eyes could see, he saw trees. Tall, monstrous trees with long branches and weird leaves, swaying in the wind, being there as if they had stood there for thousands of years.

The hedgehog had firstly decided that making himself known in the city would not be wise, considering the fact that, soldiers walked around everywhere, which meant Blaze would have an easy time finding him again. Plus, if he got caught because he was 'suspicious looking' then he would make it harder for his cat friend to stand up to him, since she shouldn't have been hiding him in the first place. The latter problem was something she wouldn't have to worry about anymore.

The small garden underneath the window was empty of gardeners, as expected. He looked up and unclasped the hasp that made the glass pane sealed shut against the frame, putting a careful palm against the window, and pushed it open.

A gush of wind blew past his ears, the cool air making his ears twitch. He looked over his shoulder one last time, giving a silent farewell to Blaze and thanking her for what she had done for him. With that, he sighed and briefly closed his eyes as an aura appeared around him. Turquoise and glowing, the light appeared around his body as he gently began to float above the wooden floor, completely ignoring the laws of gravity as his body was lighter than a feather.

Opening his eyes again, he flew forward and squeezed through the window, heaving the sack with him. When he was out, he gently pushed the window back into place, hoping that none of the servants thought that it was strange that the hasp wasn't hasped.

He turned around in the air, his eyes getting lost in the dark green color of the trees ahead of him, the forest seemingly alive and breathing just as much as he was. He couldn't help but smile, as he unbeknownst to himself started floating forward, leaving behind the city, the castle, and the small room.

He was out in the world, and here he was going to search for his calling. Search for his purpose in life.