A new journey in the shadow of the unknown
It was another thing entirely – the pure concept of standing in front of a window and guessing what it was like seemed ridiculous now that he stood here. It had surpassed his imagination, everything about them. They were tall, they were green and beautiful and smelled vaguely of something sour he hadn't smelled or seen before. He had run his hand through almost every small branch of the prickly small leaves that the trees were made from, until he realized that they hurt if he stroked it the wrong way.
He had settled on walking since then, his stomach reminding him that he needed to have lunch at some point, though every normal demand had been cast aside ever since he had left. Walking had been preferred when he had gone tired from flying and hadn't regretted it since. He could easily go up again and continue to soar through the sky and enjoy the dark green canvas under him, though he would rather be a part of it.
He had no idea what kinds of trees these were, had never asked Blaze and now regretted that he hadn't let her talk more about what was on the outside. Usually when she had come to his room she often vented and talked about the castle and what happened on the outside but had made room for whenever the hedgehog had a question.
Blaze… – he hoped that she wasn't-
He shook his head to dispel the thoughts that occurred. Don't think about her. He knew that it was rude and mean and a very small part of him wanted to fly back and explain himself, but his feet were walking almost without his consent.
The ground under him was fresh, green grass making indents from his futuristic shoes, his shadow following in his path. The sun was warmer than he had expected, its rays partially covered by the branches he walked under, though he swiped a hand over his forehead, removing the sweat that had conjugated there.
He hadn't known what to expect, hadn't really understood why he had gone this particular way, although it might be because he had no direction to follow. The one feeling that was more prominent than the others, was that same duty. The pure fact of knowing that this had been the correct choice, that going out on his own was what he needed to do.
For himself? He actually wasn't sure, had considered if that feeling of having a purpose in his life was just something, he had imagined himself.
A part of him wondered if it perhaps was a calling, a voice from the lost parts of his mind, the parts of where he didn't remember how he ended up on the street in the first place. He didn't know if it was amnesia, a part of him wondering if that was just how he had been born – but he had seen kids from the castle window run around down on the street, and they were much smaller than he was. That seemed illogical as well, but at the same time it was difficult to comprehend how he could just suddenly lose his memory. He didn't know why, but he was curious to know, the main reason why he was out here.
But he had realized something else as well, realized that something he had felt a couple of days ago were now gone. A surge of energy, that spark that had made his fur puff up and his fingers tingling, feeling energy in the air that coursed through his body. It had only appeared once, and since then it hadn't happened. He wanted to lay it off as goosebumps or a maybe another feeling that his mind tried to conjugate from the broken parts of it, but he couldn't let it go. It had felt like it – belonged. That he in a weird way could correlate it to something that was a part of him. It had been familiar, and at the same time it had been the oddest feeling he had ever felt. He didn't know if that was what he was searching for in reality.
His thoughts got interrupted when his eyes caught a shape a few trees in front of him. The forest ground had begun to sprout long grass, as if this area had been left to decay with time more than everywhere else, he had walked. Although he could see that the thing in front of him didn't originate from this forest since the color was odd. He walked past the trees, leaving a hand on every trunk as he stepped closer to it, getting a better picture as to what it was.
It was long and sleek, most of it being in a white color, dirtied with time and something orange and brown were crackling at the smoothed edges of it. Some of it was black, a window on the front of it, covered by the odd small leaves from the tree and obscured his ability to look inside. It was completely smooth around the edges, the bottom of it curved around the corners, sitting on the ground. Whatever it was it had been left behind long ago, the forest slowly trying to take it back with grass climbing around its edges and those small plants with a small stalk and a round 'hat' on top living underneath the belly of it.
He took a curious step forward, being aware that this thing had come from somewhere, but not Croford since he had never seen it around. Blaze had told him many times about the rich and poor sides of the city and could therefore guess that if he hadn't seen it on the streets from the castle, he was pretty sure that it didn't exist on the other side of the bridge. He stood right beside it, realizing that he was looking into another window and swiped his hand across the glass, removing the forest dirt and grime. He could see something inside, seats or something and wondered whether or not he could open it.
He tilted his head down to look and saw a handle of sorts embedded into the thing. He put a cautious hand on it, feeling his glove becoming cold upon touch, estimating that it was made out of metal. To his surprise it opened with a yank, thinking that it would be locked and looked inside. He had never seen such a layout before, only a black surface in front of two seats that was next to each other, some of them lined with a grey circle, nothing here that he could press. It seemed very futuristic of its design, the hedgehog wondering if it had been moving in its good years.
His eyes wondered over the other parts of it, saw that there were additionally two seats behind the front row, hidden and saved from the nature that effectively took over from the outside. His gaze wondered around the small space, questions and guessing emitting in his mind, being pretty sure that it was some sort of transportation since there were seats here. He had never seen or heard of such, but he highly doubted that this was one working, not that he knew how to control it.
He left a hand on the seat in front of him to get a better look inside, when a pulse of energy went through it. He gasped in pure surprise, yanking back his hand, and looked at it. There was nothing to see, his fingers still thumping from the sudden surge, blinking confused. He looked back at the seat, cautiously putting his hand there. It came again. A surge of energy, and then he could feel it, through the fabric.
There was something underneath.
He investigated the seat, looked around the edges of it and took hold of it at the front edge. He easily pulled it upwards, making it rest against the back of it, and saw a small storage compartment hidden inside. His eyes widened upon seeing what it was he had felt, letting an awestruck 'wouw' escape his lips.
It was a small gem, about the size of his hand, as yellow as the sun above him, something moving inside of it. His pupils had widened to sizes unfathomable, his hand now shaking when he was reaching out to it. He carefully touched it with his finger, that same pulsate of energy swarming through his system like a shot, stronger than before. But this time he wasn't startled, was instead encouraged to keep going, picking up the gem fully in his hand
It wasn't cold like he had expected, instead he could feel the energy the power that surged through his palm and his glove, his fingers tingling, his heart beginning to beat a bit faster. There was something about this. He could feel it. He could take it, he could utilize it. He didn't know why he knew it, but he just knew that this gem was something. That it was important. He could see power swirl inside of it, moving around like a small vortex, not glowing but not dimming either, feeling almost hot against his glove.
He licked his lips, could feel that he could do something with it though he didn't know why. But he knew he wanted to keep it. He looked at it again, before putting the seat down, taking once last glance inside of the transportation room before he quietly closed the door. He looked at the gem in his hand, as he began walking away, could feel the pulse, could feel the energy.
Was this – was this what he had been searching for?
He had regretted stopping once he had, thinking that he needed a breather since he had been running for almost fifteen minutes straight. Suddenly he had reached a point, a point where his breath was even, he hadn't been able to feel his legs and everything else had felt unresponsive. But then he had stopped and regretted his choice in life.
He was breathing heavily, sitting up against a tree, while he felt his lungs aching and his heart pumping. It still felt good, a different kind of good, his heart moving and beating, while his hands were shaking. His legs felt like they had miniature pin wheels or ants underneath his skin, his shins thumping and feet slightly hurting. But it was okay. He let his head lean back against the tree trunk, taking his time to catch his breath, his blue eyes looking into the sky.
Sonic wasn't like him. He had slowly realized that, since the hedgehog had been able to pass him every time and hadn't taken a break yet. He said that he was going to check the area for reasons unknown, and the only evidence he had that he hadn't run away from him was that he saw a blue streak cross his vision every now and again.
He pulled out his water bottle from his right tail, both of them splayed out to cool down, having filled the plastic container at Amy's, and could therefore drink fresh and cool water. He breathed out as the water went down his throat, closing the lid on it and left it in his lap in case he needed another gulp. He swiped a hand across his forehead, feeling his stomach complain about needing food but ignored it for now.
Amy had also been kind and given them a bit of food as well, though they had only allowed her to give them a single meal, one that they were going to need for tonight. Maybe they could fetch some berries or something when they continued walking.
He licked his lips as he had for the most part recovered his breath, though his legs were still begging him to keep still, and therefore allowed himself another minute.
"Hey kiddo!"
Tails looked to his right with a frown upon the call, seeing not the hedgehog but a blue veil come towards him. He didn't even have the time to flinch away from him, when he stopped in front of him, grinning with hands on his hips. The fox was awestruck, thinking how the hell Sonic wasn't on the verge of dying, not trying to catch his breath or something.
"You're pretty fast you know?" He ignored the compliment, his mind, and eyes at work, trying to find a logical explanation to how he was standing like nothing had happened.
He slowly came to a careful conclusion that it must have something to do with the Chaos Wielder thing, the chaos energy taking care of his stamina or something, before he returned to the hedgehog's question, but more importantly his nickname.
"Why'd you call me that?" The hedgehog gave him a raised brow in response, though he was more perplexed than wondering why he asked. Until the answer came to him, the brow falling into place while a grin accompanied his lips instead. Realization and amusement.
"Well, I'm not allowed to call you friend, so I gotta call ya something else right?" He shrugged good-naturally, as though the answer was one of the simplest things in this world. The pick pocketer was about to ask how 'Tails' wasn't sufficient, but led the thought slide, thinking that he didn't want to go down that rabbit hole since it could lead to the topics of real names and such.
He sighed out the discussion and instead absentmindedly picked up the water bottle and gave it to the hedgehog who took it, contemplating the compliment beforehand.
"Not as fast as you," Tails shrugged, letting Sonic taking his time to drink almost all the water before answering. He swiped the back of his glove across his muzzle before handing the plastic container back to the fox, that same grin still plastered there.
"Nobody is, don't worry about that. But I'm still impressed, you can actually keep up. I hadn't imagined that" He justified, while the pick pocketer hid the bottle away again.
A pling of Deja-vu hit him there, ears peaking and blue irises looking back at the hedgehog.
"So that's why you hesitated," Said hedgehog had been looking at the river by their side, looking like he was contemplating whether it was safe to drink from, before he turned his head back to the pick pocketer, expression filled to the brim with confusion.
"Say what?" Tails smirked, as he decided to get to his feet, his shins complaining the moment he put pressure on them, being sore but he stood fine.
"You hesitated when I asked if I could come with you. And then you said that I could if I could keep up," He explained, began walking with the hedgehog beside him, deciding that they didn't need to run right now since his legs weren't up to that task right now. Sonic shrugged in answer at first, lacing his hands behind his head, eyes looking up at the sky, since there were fewer pine trees closer to the river.
"It was mostly in a joke, I would'a let you either way. But still it's kinda cool that you were able to keep up by using your tails, how do you do that by the way?" The fox's ears perked up from the sudden question, eyes blinking in confusion as Sonic turned his head towards him, still grinning.
"My what?" The hedgehog chuckled, gesturing a lazy hand towards the pick pocketer's behind appendages, moving in slow up and down movements.
"Your tails. They spun around while you were running," He explained, an idea or a speculation or something plumbing into his head after that, though Tails didn't pay attention.
He hadn't realized. He hadn't paid attention that he had done it, let alone making them move vertical to give him that thrust. Though it explained a lot. The sudden rise of his feet, becoming motionless because they almost hadn't touched the ground, the wind that had picked up and that he hadn't felt his legs moving as well, though he had speculated that it was due to the lack of oxygen. Though now he understood and had a better explanation as to why they were sore as well.
He didn't get to contemplate longer on the matter when Sonic's next question barreled through is thoughts.
"Can you move them upwards and fly?" –
"No!" Tails was quicker to answer than he wanted to, the 'no' flying out of his mouth without consent.
The hedgehog had realized that something was wrong, raising a brow at him, questioning his sudden response. The fox licked his lips in regret, hadn't been able to control his action as he scratched the back of his head.
"No, I - I knew they could uhm spin as you say, but not eh quick enough and I'm too heavy," He lied, purposely looking down at his shoes, while he explained, as he could feel his muzzle heating up with embarrassment. He didn't need to know, didn't need him to laugh at him.
Instead, he looked back at the hedgehog when he felt the heat disappear, seeing the blue's eyes giving him a quick elevator glance, as if he were questioning if he was too heavy as he stated. Although, he dropped the search, instead shrugged his shoulders again that same grin reappearing on his muzzle, though he could see that the emerald green eyes were still curious.
"Fine, I was just wondering. But if the problem is that you're not moving quick enough then there's plenty of room here to practice right?" He looked back at Sonic with a blink, the hedgehog awaiting his answer with a slight twinkle of excitement in his eyes, the prospect of him flying seemingly being more amusing than laughable.
Though Tails didn't want to test it out, instead quickly found another excuse to not talk about it.
"There sure is. But I was wondering about the emerald," The topic change made the hedgehog perplexed as expected and could change it back if he wanted to, but the question intrigued him more.
"The emerald?" –
"Yeah. The one Amy gave you. We don't know what it can do yet," The pick pocketer explained, ears perked excited as he let his left tail come in front of himself, searching around in his fur with his hand.
"I want to scan it," He said, fishing out the device that had survived the tasks done in Kroxburg, the tail automatically finding its place back behind him.
Sonic had already taken out the emerald from his quills with an 'oh yeah' accompanying it, studying in the gem in his hand. A small pulse went through it, as if it welcomed the hedgehog, though Tails brushed it off as his eyes playing tricks with him, was clicking a button and changed a couple of settings before the screen read 'ready for scan'.
"Never got to see what this can do," Sonic smirked, was merely observing the small gem in his hand for a couple of heartbeats, emerald green eyes scanning the jewel before the device had a chance too.
The hedgehog hadn't told him when he started to try and bend the power, but Tails suddenly felt it, the sensation becoming oddly familiar now that he had experienced it more than once. The tips of his fingers tingled, his fur puffed up at the same time that Sonic's quills rose in the back of his head, eyes squinting slightly to concentrate. He could tell that this took way more effort than the other two, his hand almost shaking, though he could feel the power. Feel the need to bend it, take it and will it to his command.
His device was beeping up, clocking in at the frequency, watching as it got higher and higher. The emerald shone, Sonic's other hand lifting as the hedgehog looked at it. Before, he had an utter lack of concentration, confusion littering his face when he had bended the water, but now he looked at his hand as if he wanted it to burst out into flames. He exposed his palm, fingers slightly bending and cubbing, when Tails knew he collected it.
And it was only now he realized what he was bending, what he was picking up.
It started as a flicker, a small light before it almost exploded, sporadic and seemingly out of control as an asymmetric ball started to form inches from his hand, small bits of electricity forming in his hand, taken form the air and himself, the ball getting out of shape as the atoms lined up. Tails felt his ears pin to his skull and take a few steps back, Sonic's concentrated expression broken, as the line got longer and bended, sporadic blue sparks of electricity blinking like out-of-control stars, like a circuit that had been broken. That it didn't electrocute him, that it didn't hurt he didn't know, could only feel his fur puff up defensively, completely ignoring the device in his hand.
"Oh sweet!" Sonic suddenly exclaimed, the forming of the long ball that had turned into a sort of whip instead had stopped, the electricity held together by the energy, atoms collected in a line, sparking and sputtering. The hedgehog then lifted it into the air the fox taking another step back as the former slammed the long lines of living energy into the ground.
The reaction was instantaneous, a practical explosion happening in front of them as the electricity collided and reacted with the ground, like a lightning bolt. He fell onto his rear end, with not a scream but not a simple yelp either, from both the wind resistance and because his legs gave out from under him, hitting a tree behind him, ears slightly ringing from the sound.
It was too close. It was the closest it had ever gotten to him, the rippling of gravity and pure collision with the forces of nature making him shake.
He stared at Sonic, the hedgehog having taken a couple of steps back as well, covered his arm with his head before he looked at where the whip once had been. What remained was a line of charred grass, smoking a little bit, the only evidence that a pure remake of a lightning bolt had appeared.
"Dude!" Sonic exclaimed, whipping his head towards the fox. "Did you see that?! It was electricity! Man, did you see it?!"
Tails hadn't heard him, was instead trying to get control of his shaking hands and his beating heart, taking deep breaths. He had always hated it. Had despised it and had done nothing but hide under his desk until it had disappeared. Never this close. Never.
"Tails?" He got partially pulled out of it by the hedgehog's calling, looking up at him to see a pair of confused eyes observing him, still having the emerald in his hand. The fox had his eyes plastered to him for the only reason that he didn't know where else to look, was trying to calm his heart with his other hand, could feel himself slightly shaking, getting his breathing under control.
"Hey, what's going on? Did I hit you?" He did register when Sonic moved and crouched in front of him, reached out a hand to put it on his shoulder, though the fox lifted his palm dismissively.
"N-no, I'm fine," He was quick to say through his shaking, looking at the scorched grass behind the prisoner, swallowing something that had been sitting in his throat. "I'm just-" He paused, looking at Sonic's eyes, suddenly seeing regret and guilt sitting there, a small sparkle of sympathy hidden around his irises. "I'm not. Uhm. Fond of lightning," He explained, having somewhat calmed his heart again and the ringing in his ears had disappeared, could feel the shaking steadily subside.
Sonic looked at him briefly, turned his head back to where he had created the whip, before it returned to the fox, looking at his hands that was still shaking slightly.
"I'm sorry. If I knew that I wouldn't have created it," He said, while licking his lips, the guilt clearer now that he understood the fox's reaction.
Tails had slowly come back down to Mobius as the chock had subsided, his heart falling into place and could therefore more clearly read the hedgehog's expression. He could read the sympathy, lathered across his eyes, his lip slightly twitching in regret, no other pulls at his cheeks or something of the sorts.
Sympathy. He didn't need that.
As his heart steadied, he frowned slightly, wanting to tell Sonic to not do that. It was ridiculous enough as it was, being afraid of a simple weather phenomenon. He knew he was scared of it, knew that he could do nothing during the day when it happened or being sleepless during the night. He couldn't control it, and he couldn't ignore it either. ´
And he hated it. And he didn't need the hedgehog of all people to think that it was a sad thing, something that you needed to have pity about. He didn't want that, all he needed to do was getting over it.
The slight frown and the silence were apparently taken as embarrassment, as the hedgehog gave him a lopsided grin after hiding the emerald away again, and got to his feet, reaching a hand down to him.
"It's alright okay? We're all afraid of something," The pick pocketer looked at the hand that wanted to help him up, still annoyed over the fact that Sonic felt like he needed to have pity.
Therefore, the kid in him smirked, as he took his hand, getting to his feet.
"So, what are you afraid of?" Sonic took back his hand with a smirk, looking at the line of scarred grass while scratching the back of his head, a part of him seemingly trying to figure out how it got charred.
"I said something didn't I?" He simply answered, clearly not wanting to give him and answer. The fox could feel the smirk widening on his lips, hiding the device again, deciding that he would look at the results later.
Challenge accepted.
"Something huh? Well given that you didn't get frightening during your experiment, then lightning or storms isn't one of them."
Sonic turned his head quickly after the statement, the experienced pick pocketer not seeing the particular reaction he was looking for, instead he saw the surprise there instead. And then a sigh left the hedgehog, a quick expel of air, as he turned around while waving a hand towards him.
"Tails don't do that. I said something alright?" His tone had changed, and he had turned away from him, clearly didn't want to do this.
This was the first time Tails had seen this, the usually nonchalant and laid-back hedgehog, who got annoyed when things went slow and took everything with a grin was telling him off. His body language alone told him that this was a topic that he wished to ignore more than anything, something that only made the fox wanting to continue.
He jogged up beside him, the hedgehog turning his head towards him, eyes halfway closed and an unimpressed thin line on his lips, practically screaming at him to not make him talk.
"Well, if it isn't something that the weather can do then maybe someone instead? Running around all alone could trigger some desires, or meeting people could be bothersome as well," –
"Tails I said don't," He turned his head away, the hedgehog being well aware what he was trying to do, having observed the act twice already. The fox wasn't defeated just yet, quickening his step a bit and turned his head to catch Sonic's expression.
"Fighting can be a difficult experience, given that you don't always get out of it alive."
Sonic didn't answer, but didn't change his expression either, the topic way off to where he was searching.
"A lotta stuff can happen out here as well. Long and bottomless ravines, insects or animals living out here without rules. Stumbling into poisonous ones could be a possibility as well," –
"Talis don't," He smirked, getting closer to the goal, being aware that it was something in nature, since people or fighting had no effect on him. Maybe something he couldn't control.
"Where getting closer to a mountain, earthquakes could happen there or maybe we run into quicksand-" –
"Tails," He ignored the warning, ignored the distress the hedgehog was showing, being closer to his answer.
"Falling down and getting hurt could be troublesome, getting lost in caves in the pitch black darkness is fearful for some people, while others don't want to get near-" –
"I said stop!"
Suddenly Sonic's hands was latched around his arms, emerald green eyes blazing, the angriest expression he had ever seen. The fox's mouth was left open from his next inquiry, but completely disappeared from the hedgehog's reaction, reading his face. He had seen people gotten mad before, had encountered infuriated and frustrated individuals in the alleys, and knew that it was because he had outsmarted them, read them, or beaten them in battle.
But he had never been this up close before.
He could feel Sonic's fingers digging into his skin, keeping him in place as he practically drilled into his soul, the fox getting stunned himself. His heart was beating as he could feel regret of his own slowly erupt in his abdomen.
The hedgehog held him in place for a couple of seconds more, before he sighed out most of his anger.
"When I tell you to stop, you stop. Okay?" Now he raised a brow in question, the anger still clear in his eyes, mouth twitching.
The fox's blue eyes darted around his face for a bit, before he nodded.
The hedgehog then let go of him, rubbing his own forehead with his hand while closing his eyes.
"Good. Then let's go," He said, without looking at the fox, as he turned on his heel and kept walking. Tails looked after him for a bit, rubbing one hand on his other arm where Sonic had gripped him.
The guilt was more than present in his soul, his ears falling from their erect position. He wasn't scared of what the hedgehog had done, knew that they were still travel partners from his inquiry about continuing their travel, and he could read from Sonic's body language that he wasn't particularly proud himself.
Though, the fox could feel that an apology wasn't enough in this scenario, and instead kept walking with a few steps behind Sonic, looking into the ground.
He needed to listen. Otherwise, he might lose something he didn't want to lose.
She put the box down with a sigh, swiping the sweat of her forehead with a sweep of her glove. That was one of the last boxes, now the kitchen had been packed down, the living room being the last and Cream's part of the bedroom. She knew that the rabbit was busy at work, doing her best efforts to neatly pack away things that wasn't too heavy in one box, and packed stuff in that was fragile. The messengers just needed to get back and get these boxes hauled over and then they could sleep there tonight.
A smile crossed the pink hedgehog's face, as she turned around towards the living room. There were still boxes in here, having procrastinated packing down her bookshelf while the big pieces of furniture needed to be moved lastly. She had donated some of it away, since the next house they were going to stay in were smaller, but she didn't mind.
About two hours after she had said goodbye to Sonic and Tails and their two friends, she had made her decision, going down to the manager's shop, telling people off, picking up all the contracts, the formal papers and transportation information and walked across town. At the head of transportation management, she had put the papers down by the receptionist and told her that she quit today. She did not need to stay a day longer there. And because she didn't want the whole city to know about her sister's kidnapping she had lied and said that she had gotten a new perspective on things.
After her departure, she had gone to the sewing shop she visited often and asked if they needed somebody. In three days', time she could start, meaning she had the time to pack down the house now, having sold her house and bought a new one the very same day, since her home had been popular among the rich. Well, her former home she supposed. She had asked the rabbit about the whole affair and her decision, but she had merely given her a hug and said that wherever Amy went she would come with her.
The adoption papers were packed away safely in one of the boxes, the most important information that she needed to come with her. The remaining fortune she had left would be used on renovation and food until she got full payment at her new sewing position. She knew that the salary was much lower, but if it kept them safer then she didn't care. She was excited, enjoying her time by sewing mittens and rags used for cleaning and was therefore happy about her decision. She knew that things were going to be a lot of different from here on out, but she wasn't afraid. She had gotten inspired, ever since she had met those two.
Another sigh left her system as she sat down by the couch still there, sorting through the books she wanted to keep and others she wanted to donate. She hoped that they were alright – that Sonic was going to be careful around those mountains, and hopefully keep having that positive attitude that he had. He had been quite handsome…
And she hoped that the kid he had with him would be safe as well, hoped that he would keep that wound clean and stay close to Sonic. She didn't know what kind of relationship they had, she just knew that they were the ones who had brought her sister back unharmed while she had sat back feeling useless. But she didn't want to do that anymore and had therefore taken the boldest decision in her life in the course of a couple of hours. And looked forward to it.
She blinked perplexed first before turning her head when someone knocked on her door, it being open. She expected it to be one of the messenger's asking for a box, though when she put it by the door, they usually just took it and went over to the new house. Instead, there was a visitor.
"Hi! Are you Amy Rose?"
She had never seen her before, let alone a bat now that she thought about it, her voice giving away that she was female, if her posture and feminine curves didn't give her the answer. Her ears were big and white, eyelashes seemingly too big around a pair of light green eyes looking at her. Her fur was pristine white, no dirt or anything sitting in it, hands covered by long gloves.
With her hip leaning up against the door and her arms crossed over her chest, her black dress slightly swayed over the white underdress she was wearing, reaching her to her ankles. She could see the heal that were partially lifted her foot from the ground, black longs boots covering her feet, with a pink heart on the tip of the footwear. She hadn't seen that attire before in Kroxburg, making her think that she might be a traveler, looking to sell her goods.
"Yes, that's me. But I'm sorry I've closed business for today. You'll have to go to the head of management on the other side of town, down on Jenkins Road. Ask for George he can help you," She kindly explained, standing up and swiped her dress off dust, smiling at the traveler.
She gave her a smile although it lasted longer than she was comfortable with, the female letting a glance wander around in her room before she leisurely walked inside.
"Oh, don't worry hun, I'm not looking for you because of your little job," She said, placing herself in one of the chairs by the kitchen, as if she lived here.
Amy had her mouth open agape in pure shock, not knowing how to react to someone suddenly walking into your home without permission, like she didn't care at all. The bat picked up a candle that had been placed randomly on the table, observing it in her hand as if it was a prized possession.
"I'm actually looking for somebody."
Amy felt a pang of fear go through her chest, thanking Chaos that Cream was still packing stuff away upstairs. The hedgehog took a couple of cautious steps towards the kitchen, standing in front in case the bat was going to charge or something, her mind going into emergency scenarios already. Her 'visitor' either didn't think of her action as of being any importance or wasn't threatened by it as she was still observing the white candle in her hand.
"You had visitors last night. Am I correct?" She turned her head towards Amy, her eyes blinking slowly and that same smile, or rather smirk, crossed over her lips patiently.
The hedgehog didn't have to tell her, somehow the bat knew. But still, she blinked confused and partly scared by the information, swallowing spit in her throat.
"How do you know?" She asked, not allowing her hands to shake. She had endured people worse than her, had been yelled at straight to her face and others had threatened her before. But this bat.
There was something about her. Something about her nonchalance, her smooth movements and almost flirtatious nature that made her feel wary, made her want to chase her out of her house at once. Though something kept her in place, the pure nature of her 'visitor' making her stand still and protect the stairs.
The bat shrugged as if she had asked what time it was, placing the candle back on the table.
"I have my connections," She answered, turning around in her chair with one arm leaning on the table, the other resting across her lap. "I assume that I am indeed correct since you didn't say otherwise. And I'm guessing that your visitor was a hedgehog, right? And perhaps – he was dark blue in color?" Her smirk widened just a bit, her relaxed exterior making a chill go down Amy's spine.
Which connections? Who? And why? Why was she interested? She had no idea why she was searching for him; Sonic hadn't told her about a bat he knew
But Amy didn't want to tell her. Her demeanor, her attitude and everything about her made alarm bells ring in her head, feeling threatened despite the bat not even have done so.
"You're right, I had visitors," She decided to say. "But it wasn't a hedgehog, it was one of my friends," Amy continued, letting out a sigh to collect her slowly growing panic, gesturing a hand towards the door. "I'm sorry I can't help you. But if there's nothing else you want then I suggest that you leave, I'm fairly busy right now."
The bat had been listening to her, she could tell, though her expression didn't change, nor did her movements. Instead, she blinked, letting out a 'hmpf' as she crossed her arms over her chest. Amy could tell that she knew that she was lying.
"Perhaps I need to make myself clearer," The bat said, suddenly standing up from her chair, making Amy take one foot behind herself, getting ready to go up the stairs. "I'm searching for a blue hedgehog who have done some crimes back where I come from. He needs to be done to justice," She said, her body language alone making more alarm bells ring in Amy's head, could feel the atmosphere changing, becoming tense, feeling threatened yet again.
She didn't get to yell at her to get out, when steps suddenly appeared behind her, whipping her head around to watch Cream coming down the stairs with a box in her hands.
"Amy, where do I put-" The small rabbit cut herself off, when she saw Amy standing on the bottom step, and lastly saw the 'visitor' in their old kitchen.
"Oh hello! I'm Cream," She kindly introduced, not feeling the tense atmosphere nor saw Amy's hands shaking behind her back. The bat smiled towards the younger kid, filled with sugar and false sympathy.
"Hi there," She greeted. "Tell me sweetie. Did you have anybody visit you last night?" –
"Don't tell her!" Amy regretted yelling at the rabbit, seeing her flinch from her panic that rose in her voice.
Cream blinked, the hedgehog seeing her slowly realize what kind of situation they stood in, hazel brown eyes looking at the bat in their kitchen, before looking back at the hedgehog.
"Aww it's okay hun. You don't have to yell at her."
Amy turned her head back to the bat, her steps slow as they walked towards her. She felt her fur puff up, resisted the urge to spread out her arms in a protective stance, letting the bat not coming any closer than she was comfortable with.
She stopped with two steps separating them, the 'visitor' blinking slowly at her, not looking like she was threatening them, although her entire stance screamed otherwise.
"I know that you have been kind of stressed lately, with your sister's disappearance and all," She leaned forward, as Amy could feel her heart speeding up in intensity. "Now if you don't want that happening again, then I suggest that you tell me who stopped by sugar," The grin that came over her lips after her sentence was practically poisonous, her eyes firm and not moving, being well aware that she had the upper hand.
Amy on the other hand wanted to hyperventilate, find some kind of weapon or something, wanted to chase her out of her house, but she could tell. She could tell that this bad knew how to fight, had connections to the criminals and who knew. Even if she somehow chased her off, wouldn't she be back? Cream remained silent and still to her relief, not wanting to take her eyes off their 'visitor' in case she did something dirty.
Amy felt a sweat drop go down her neck, as she sighed, silently apologizing in the privacy of her own mind.
"He was here. A dark blue hedgehog," –
"Where did he go?" The bat immediately asked afterwards, still leaned forward towards her, eyes slightly squinting. Amy looked back at her, saw the determination in her eyes, swallowing something in her throat.
"The mountain region," She whispered, keeping eye contact.
The bat looked around her face, as if she were searching for a lie, before she smirked and leaned back again, turning around on her heel.
"Thank you hun. Happy packing," –
"No wait!" Amy had to stop her, the bat stopping in the middle of the open door, her head turned over her shoulder. "What do you mean with 'put to justice'?"
It seemed like she was considering answering her, but instead the smirk widened on her lips, letting out a light snicker of laughter.
"Oohh honey. There's a lot of things which you don't know. Don't stick your nose too deep if you value your lives," She more warned than answered, winking at the hedgehog. "Ta-ta!" She waved at them, as she left, her heels clicking on the outside cobblestone before they disappeared.
Amy breathed out, not realizing that she had been holding her breath as she sat down on the step, putting a hand on her forehead.
"Amy?" She turned her head towards Cream, the rabbit having put the box down and walked down to her, putting her hand on her shoulder.
"Who was she?" The hedgehog looked at her little sister, hazel brown eyes filled with innocence and confusion, most likely not comprehending what just happened and what it could mean. In all honesty Amy didn't know what it meant either.
"I don't know Cream," She answered, shaking her head, as she left her hands in her lap, not being able to get rid off the feeling of getting threatened like that before, could feel her fingers shaking.
"I don't know."