Author's note: Blood and injury warning, faint of heart should beware
When everything seems hopeless
Another grunt escaped his lips as he took his next step, panting and got up on the next ledge. He paused for a moment, shaking his head to make the sweat disappear from his brow.
How long he had been walking for he didn't know; he just knew that he had forgotten time as much as time had forgotten him. He looked around at his unusual surroundings, the same sight seemingly repeating every time he crossed over another valley, the mountains on either side of him climbing into the sky, disappearing into the overhead clouds.
He knew that the landscape could drastically change, he had been visiting a lot of different areas in the 15 years he had been alive, and yet nothing could compare to the sheer height of these monstrosities. He didn't have a fear of height, quite the opposite he liked to be as high as possible, loving to scout the areas and see what's ahead of him. But these mountains seemed to be disappearing into the sky itself, becoming one with the fog that had settled in the morning dew.
The grass was a lighter green color under his shoes, short trimmed like it was getting taken care of, the mountains around him was created out of dirt rather than stone, a dark brownish color that had grassy plateaus on the top of them, making his travel going both up and down at random intervals. He had never seen such a place, nor visited it. The valleys and plains in between served as breaks, as he merely kept going.
He had no idea where he was headed - if there was a destination in the first place or if he was holding on to false hope. The mountain range might not have been a good idea at all. He could feel the exhaustion in his body, not being used to the feeling given that he was practically immune to the state since he could run at the speed of sound without breaking a sweat.
Though this time it was different, his left leg hurting, the pain only increasing with every step. His calf was screaming at him, demanding that he took a break and let it rest, though he could do no such thing. Time was of the essence.
He took a coupe of more breaths while looking ahead, determining a path which he had no idea where would lead him or if it even went somewhere, but heaved the bundle in his arms closer to his chest before he started walking, avoiding limping.
He hadn't woken up since he had fallen asleep. It had begun to worry him despite his natural positive nature, but he couldn't help but feel helpless and powerless, having no idea what to do. He knew that the blood had been flowing for longer than what was healthy and therefore he had determined that it had been the cause of the unconscious state. Though, he had developed a fever and faint tremors was racking through his young body. He really didn't want to untie the cloak that was around his stomach to look at the wound, but he could guess what had happened.
The fox's gloves were caked with dirt and his own blood, the tip of one finger being completely soaked with the crimson liquid, indicating that he had tried to stop the bleeding. Though that had only sealed the inevitable fate, an infection settling in. And that made the situation all the more worrisome.
The night had been sleepless for the hedgehog, sitting next to the unconscious pick pocketer, making sure that he remained alive. A fire had been made, a pot of boiling water sitting in the flames, being able to sneak a bit of water down the fox's throat, being aware that the loss of blood would make him dehydrated. He had hoped and he had begged to Chaos that he would make it through the night, though the slow rise and fall of his chest had continued nevertheless, indicating that the fox was fighting an inner battle to stay alive. Only a few times had he opened his eyes, though the cloudy gaze over the blue eyes indicated that he was unaware of the action himself, Sonic being unable to communicate with him and as soon as he had seen the pools of sapphire appear, they had disappeared as well.
The sweat that was damping his yellow fur was only a testament to the infection that was ravaging his immune system, one side of his body being discolored with red, Sonic not finding it a priority to clean him up. The only priority he had was to find someone or something that could help him. And a part of him was starting to believe that he had made the wrong choice, a choice which could make it worse for the both of them.
His calf was killing him, making him aware that he couldn't run, especially not with a fox in his arms, and therefore had chosen the direction they had wanted to go. It was stupid – Kroxburg most likely had a medical house or Amy could have helped them or something, but a part of him had been anxious to go back both because he knew they were still wanted criminals and he wondered whether or not that bat was still hanging around them.
And he had had a feeling. Something that had been drawing him nearer. Something along the likes of what he had felt back at the market, suddenly having a surge of energy in his stomach, calling to him, like a magnet. The same emotion had appeared when he looked towards the mountains, as if they could confirm that they could give him the help that he sought. And yet, he had been walking, half waddling, all morning and there was no sight of any civilization being nearby. He just chose a different direction and hoped that something was here.
As he started to climb the next hill, biting his lip as his leg was burning at this point, he looked down at the young fox that had decided to travel with him. Sweat was rolling down his brow, his face leaning against the hedgehog's chest, as another tremor racked through his body, a frown settled as a clear struggle was happening on the inside.
He didn't deserve this. He owed him his life. He didn't know where he had ended up if the fox hadn't helped him out of Croford, hadn't gone back for him at the warehouse or tackled him out of the way of getting stabbed to death. Tails had practically taken the hit for him. Something that the hedgehog deeply regretted, something that he wished he could undo only for him to take the hit instead. The kid had been through enough already.
He could guess that he had had a troublesome past, the streets had created a kid with a hard exterior and tough attitude. The face reading skills he had developed were cool and practical, though the hedgehog could guess that it was something that had needed to be created out of necessity rather than fun. He was a good fighter, no doubt, knew how to handle himself and could with ease take down a couple of goons, he had seen that himself.
What made a sense of sadness appear in Sonic's chest however was the past that Tails had shared with him two evenings ago, revealing a troubled and sorrowful little kid who didn't get to be a child. He had been bullied and thrown onto the street simply because he had an extra appendage that nobody should care about, something that Sonic couldn't help but bite his lip against. He hadn't deserved that, no eight-year-old should be living on the street in the first place. They should have a house, a guardian of some type and get food every single day.
He could feel the fox's ribs under his fingers, being unaware of how thin and light he really was, the former being because of the cloak and the latter being because he hadn't lifted him before. It was proof of what the fox had to go through every single day, something that Sonic could only hope was fiction and yet Tails' body seemed to confirm reality. That he had to throw up because he hadn't had meat in a while was outrageous, a kind of necessity that should have been accessible to anyone.
Despite that fact, this kid had skipped his entire childhood and had advanced to a life of hard fighting and hard earning criminality. He thanked Chaos for those guys back at Croford to take care of him, otherwise he wouldn't be holding him right now. Granted, he would have avoided carrying him in the first place, instead holding on to his own promise of finding something here that could help the both of them.
He had admired him in a way, and at the same time he couldn't let go of the venomous thought that yelled at him that this was just a kid and not someone who should be a criminal in the first place. He didn't deserve that. He owed him his life, and therefore he needed to keep fighting for the both of him, looking around for anything at this point. His uncle would most likely had done it differently, either having the medical knowledge to actually help Tails or come up with a better solution rather than following his instincts. He missed that old man.
His thoughts trailed off after that, concentrating on putting one leg in front of the other, making it to the next valley. In his arms the fox let out a deep sigh with a pained sound, a small squeak that made Sonic realize he was pushing him to his chest. He loosened the grip a little, the frown somewhat relaxing, making the hedgehog frown himself in concentration alone. He took a moment to check that the wound hadn't begun flowing again, but ever since the bleeding had stopped it had seemed to seize.
The only thing left to do was to find whatever was here and in some way make the infection go away. He had no medical knowledge, only knew that losing blood was bad and that a wound needed to be held clean. The latter he had in this situation decided not to do, being too afraid that the tight knot he had made with the cloak was keeping the crimson liquid inside where it belonged. Though he wasn't thickheaded enough to know that he needed to do something about it soon.
He frowned at the next edge, climbing up and over it, gritting his teeth as his leg sent a surge of pain through his body. Once he put it down, it buckled under him making him stumble two steps. He caught his footing, his fingers digging into the thin body to make sure Tails were not going to be dropped, barely avoiding stepping on a tail. He breathed a sigh of relief, could feel his leg shaking but ignored it to the best of his ability, licking his lips, and looked ahead at the landscape.
It was only at this moment that he realized he could hear rushing water, his small blue ears perking to make sure that he wasn't imagining the sound. Mirages couldn't be sound could it?
A surge of hope sprung in his chest either way, walking towards the sound of the water, reminding him of a rumble or an earthquake of sorts. The next hill was almost a mountain side in itself, taller than him and had the same dirt exterior that made him wonder if it would fall if he put his hand on it. He analyzed the wall of dirt, a couple of mounds in front of it which he could use to climb on as well as some rocks embedded into the side of the mountain.
He stopped in front of it, the height of it making a shadow cover the two of them as he wondered how he was going to climb it. He could hear the rushing water right above him, a part of him thinking that it could be a waterfall. He just hoped that it was somewhat clean. He looked down at the unconscious bundle in his arms, thinking how he was going to do this while carrying him.
He needed at least one arm in order to do this, otherwise they wouldn't be able to get up there. Sonic frowned at the first thought that told him he could throw Tails up there and then climb himself while a second part convinced himself that he could put him on his shoulder. Both options could worsen the injury, especially the former, leaving the hedgehog in a bit of a predicament. A sigh left him, thinking that it was ridiculous that he was wondering about this and made a quick decision instead, lifting the fox closer to himself.
He scooted him over onto one arm, the heavy head facing towards his armpit while the hedgehog had one arm completely around the body, giving him space. He took another second to make sure that Tails was fully secured before walking forward and climbed the first mound, taking hold on one of the stones embedded in the dirt wall. He hissed as more pressure was put on his leg, left his forehead on the dirt wall for just a second, taking a few deep breaths. He looked to his right and jumped to a mound there, holding on to the wall and jumped back, having one hand on the stones.
He was about to climb completely up when Tails made a series of sounds, Sonic looking down at him to make sure he was alright. A couple of sweat drops ran down his face, having a troubled expression that was screaming pain at the hedgehog. A worried façade was created from the discovery, as Sonic jumped up and swung his good leg onto the small mountain, the flat plateau up here having the same light colored green grass, though the sound of the waterfall was deafening up here.
With a grunt of pain and exhaustion he made it up here, stumbling to his legs while keeping a firm grasp on the fox, he let out a long sigh. With one hand free he could wipe the sweat of his brow, taking a second to breathe and ignore the shaking in his leg. His ears were perking towards the rushing water making him look up to make sure that it was a waterfall as suspected.
What he saw made him believe that it was a mirage after all.
The first thing he saw was indeed a waterfall, the end of it fogging up with water drops, rushing into a small lake that seemed deep, the water cascading down the side of the mountain, escaping down to the endless beyond. Where the waterfall appeared from was much higher up than he had ever imagined, as it was free in the air, coming down from a place where he had to crank his neck back to look up.
And that's when he saw the floating island.
A piece of giant rock, giant stalactites hanging from the bottom of the formation, vines hanging from the tips of them, cascading down like a latter. The waterfall came from there, all the way up in the air where it landed here where he was standing. A part of him thought how that was even possible, then blinked and shook his head.
There was something there. He could feel it in his stomach, there was something up there that was calling him. The same kind of surge, and longing that he had felt back at the market in Kroxburg, a magnet that had been dragging him to the emerald. A part of him hoped that there was an emerald that could do healing or something, that meant you were bending nature, right?
His mouth was left hanging open in pure disbelief, a part of him wondering if maybe he had fallen unconscious at some point or was dreaming. There was an island floating in the sky right above him. It could fall down any given moment, there was nothing that was keeping it suspended in the air. He highly doubted that it was the waterfall that acted like a chain of some sort, that made no logical sense.
And at the same time there was an island floating in the sky.
Was there a mountain on top there? He could see the peak of something way up there, either covered in snow or something of the sorts. He was completely stunned, baffled, and impressed at the same time, his brain not even comprehending how such a thing was even possible.
It was floating in the sky.
The only thing that made him come back down to the ground was when Tails let out a groan, looking down at the fox, who he still had in one arm, breathing heavily for a couple of moments before breathing out a sigh, pausing, and breathed normally after that. He had no idea what it meant, other than the fact that it was most likely bad. He kept looking at Tails as if he were asking him about an answer to their situation, bit his lip in hesitation as he looked up at the island.
He needed to get up there – he could feel it. It was his gut, a strong urge of longing to get up there because he could feel that whatever was there it could help them
His eyes wandered around the landscape, no trees growing around here, only the waterfall and the lake that was cascading down the side of the mountain. A thought occurred to him, one so insane and horrible that it was most likely the only option. He could use an emerald – he had an idea as to how he was going to use it, but he didn't know if it would work properly. And one other thing, he didn't own that emerald.
He glanced down at the fox again, remaining knocked out, Sonic being well aware that he was the owner of the emerald which allowed him to bend water. He needed it if they had to keep going. The fox had lent it to him before to try it out, and he remembered that he had hid it away in one of his tails. He looked at the two appendages that had hardly moved, only twitched when the fox made a sound, or the wound hurting a bit more.
"Sorry buddy. But I gotta borrow your emerald if we need to continue," he muttered, to himself he was aware, but he didn't feel good with his decision if he hadn't said it. He moved the fox a bit as he with his free arm carefully snaked his hand into the fur on one tail. It twitched from the touch, a natural instinct, though he wanted to be quick and found something hard against his glove.
Without a thought he pulled it out, and immediately stared at the light blue chaos emerald in his hand. He heaved a sigh of relief, being glad that first time was the charm. He could already feel the energy, the pull, and the need for him to take it and use it, bend nature around him and let it obey to him. That was his objective, he just needed to figure out how he was going to do it. He looked at the water in front of him, a shiver running through his body at the thought of how deep it was. But he didn't need to get into it if he did this correctly.
With a sigh filled with trepidation, he walked closer to the waterfall, picking up the fox with both hands again for stability, still having the emerald in one hand. He looked down at the depths of the lake, resisting the urge to shiver though gulped instead, coming to terms with the fact that he couldn't do this without getting wet. As he stood almost beside the waterfall, he had to pin his ears to his skull from the crashing sound of the water, a part of him thinking that if he put his arm in there that it was going to get chopped off.
He saw the fox pull his ears to his skull as well, a frown appearing on his forehead, showing the discomfort of the sound. Sonic decided to be quick, ignored his hurting leg as he looked down at the edge of the lake where he was standing, the waterfall right next to him. He bit his lip as he stepped into it, socks and shoes immediately getting soaked as the water went above his ankle. A tremor went through his body from the cold, his heart beating in intensity.
He took a couple of deep breaths, not having the time for this as he reluctantly stepped into the water with his other foot. Another violent shiver went through his body, one which made the fox let out another sound, reminding Sonic that he didn't have time for self-pity. He breathed out a long exhale, before he looked at the emerald in his left hand, the arm curled around Tails' knees to keep him in place.
He had somewhat done it before but being as attentive as he needed to be now, he hadn't tried before. Though he really didn't have a choice. He closed his eyes to concentrate, trying to ignore the deafening and blaring waterfall next to him as he reached for the energy. He could feel as the emerald pulsated in his hand, the energy that it had within reaching out to him, not accepting but letting the power run to his arms. He could feel it throbbing in his veins, his blood vessel calling on the energy, begging him to take it and use it. His heart longed, his entire chest, his entire being got enveloped in the energy as he could feel it getting released.
And then he had control.
He could feel the water, he could feel every single million droplet of liquid that came down from the waterfall, feel the current in the lake and he could feel the depths of it. The mass itself was living, flowing, and going its merry way, as he felt it around his feet. He still had his eyes closed as he flicked both ears and did a singular motion with his hand that held the emerald.
A flick of his wrist, upwards.
What happened after that he still couldn't recollect, as the water around his feet had sputtered to life, exploding like a geyser around him, a wall of water appearing around the both of them. He didn't scream, he didn't yell out and he didn't react, other than he could fell the wall, he could feel the microscopic droplets of aqua that surrounded him. It was one with him, a part of him, it was getting manipulated and he was its master.
He frowned, as he tapped his right foot into the lake. Then, he moved.
The walls of water were still surrounding them, as he lost touch with the ground, and was moving in the air, a floor of water being underneath his feet. His eyes remained closed, concentrating deeply on what he was doing, his hand with the emerald shaking, as water hit the both of them, though it didn't soak them. It was loud, it was blaring in his ears and he could feel every second that passed as his energy got drained the further, they moved into the air.
The frown seized as Tails let out another series of sounds, wiggling a bit in his hold as if a subconscious part of him was uncomfortable or was frightened of what was happening. Sonic leaned his head closer to the fox's, and shushed him carefully, while still maintaining concentration, being well aware that if he lost it now, they wouldn't survive. Tails relaxed from the calm sound, the wiggling subsiding though he was taking sporadic breaths, quick and out of tune. The hedgehog couldn't see him, but he could both hear and feel him, making the blue one concentrate harder, the movement of the water quickening.
He didn't now how much time had passed, how fast the water elevator in reality was or if he was wet or not, but the longing that he had felt before on the ground increased rapidly. The deafening sound of the waterfall had disappeared, as he dared to open his eyes, keeping concentration. A gigantic stalactite appeared in front of him, but as quickly as he had seen it, it disappeared underneath him, as he suddenly saw land.
He didn't give himself time to look at the landscape that had shown itself in front of him, as he jumped through the geyser of water and landed on solid ground. He released the energy, letting out a breath as he could feel the power of the emerald seep back into itself, something missing in his veins. The sound of the water disappeared behind him, indicating that all of it was falling back down to the ground.
He fell to his knees, the exhaustion taking a sudden toll on him, though kept his grasp tight on the fox's body, pushing him to his chest. He took deep breaths, a sudden tiredness overwhelming him, his entire being feeling empty and drained. It hadn't been as exhausting before. He looked at Tails to get an idea as to how he was, but despite the moving on the way up he remained still and quiet now, still breathing but was too still for his likes.
He moved his hand that was supporting the pick pocketer's back, leaving his palm on the damp and sweaty forehead. He was still too warm, way too warm for what was comfortable. He frowned before removing his hand again, reluctantly getting back up to his feet, gritting his teeth as he put pressure on his left leg. He exhaled before finally looking around, checking out his surroundings.
It was surprisingly underwhelming for an island that was floating in the air, he thought, since it wasn't anything spectacular. A river was flowing to his right, cascading down the side of the island and down to the lake at the bottom, the grass having the normal green color while a couple of trees was the first candidates for the forest that was beyond them. He was standing in a small clearing, as his eyes travelled around, seeing indeed a couple of mountains high into the air in the distance, although they didn't seem to be too far away from where he was standing. He could most likely run for a couple of seconds and then he would be at the foot of them.
A moment of quietness suddenly drowned him, everything around him being completely still and tranquil, even the sound of the water disappearing down the edge of the island was quiet. It felt different up here, than down on the surface, like there was another calmness to everything, a stillness as if everything was in equilibrium, undisturbed and a kind of quietness that convinced him that everything was going to be alright. Somehow.
He jumped startled when somebody suddenly yelled, having no idea what they said but turned to his left where the sound came from. His eyes widened when he suddenly saw someone, a mobian of sorts standing on a hill, looking down at the two of them.
Their body had no feminine curvatures, and their shoulders and arms were broad with muscles, indicating that they were male. Sonic recognized the kind of mobian he was, having red spikes on his head, though they were long and draped down his back, clustered together. His fur was as red as blood, stubby and short with a white crescent moon on his chest, a pair of gigantic hands on either side of his body, fisted.
He didn't wear gloves, but his hands weren't naked either, a kind of homemade fabric or something hiding the fur underneath, the same material covering his feet. Something resembling a shoe was on his feet, broad and looked tough, brown like leather. A golden band was around his upper right arm while a couple of strands of fabric or bandages was around some of his spikes, located in different areas. His stance was strong, a frown settled onto his forehead that practically radiated danger, his entire form screaming authority and that he owned this land.
As he opened his mouth and yelled the exact same words from before, Sonic understood that it was another language. That was rare in these parts of Mobius, everyone speaking the same words and yet he didn't blame this stranger. Despite being threatened, the mobian waited until he got an answer from the hedgehog, piercing violet eyes not taking their gaze off his emerald green. He swallowed something in his throat, daring to take a step closer to the mobian.
"Uhm," was the most creative first words he could tell him. "I don't understand you. Do you understand – me?" he didn't know how he was going to communicate if there was going to be a language barrier. Or if they were going to get pushed off.
The frown deepened on the red mobian's head before he jumped down from the mound with such familiarity that Sonic could tell that he had been here for a while.
"Who are you and why are you here?" The voice that escaped the stranger was gruff like sandpaper, as if he hadn't spoken in years. "You are not welcome here. Leave!"
Sonic had blinked beforehand, not expecting the mobian to actually know the same language as him, let alone speaking as fluently as he did, though he got alarmed at the last command.
"No, please we-" he paused for a second, his heart beating in his chest as he realized how unprepared he was for this. Despite the threat and the obvious demand, the mobian was letting him speak, looking at him with the same piercing eyes. Sonic took a deep breath, licking his lips as he glanced down at the fox, before looking back at the island dweller.
"Look, we don't mean any harm or anything. I came here because of – a mission I have, but me and Tails here - Oh yes, his name is Tails and I'm Sonic – we ran into some trouble and he's seriously hurt and needs help," he blurted out, the exhaustion and the stress of everything practically falling out of his mouth. "We don't want anything from you or attack you or anything I just need your help," he explained, though he had no idea if he needed to say anything else, explain their entire predicament and their explorations.
Though, he saw as the mobian glanced away from him, looking down at the unconscious fox in the hedgehog's arms, before returning his gaze to Sonic, his expression not changing one bit.
"And what makes you think that you're welcome here?" An annoyed breath escaped the hedgehog from the inquiry, lifting the fox closer to himself.
"Dude I didn't know that we wouldn't be welcome here. I just used this emerald to get up here and I don't-"
"How did you get that?" A sudden alarmed voice came from the stranger, now staring at the emerald in Sonic's hand which he hadn't paid attention to before. The hedgehog looked at it as well, could still feel the energy and the power which it held within as he looked back at the mobian.
"I didn't find it, he did," the hedgehog started, nodding towards the pick pocketer. "But we got some more. That's – that's my mission," The mobian's eyes moved from the gem to the hedgehog again, his expression having morphed into surprise, though the frown appeared again.
"How did you use it?" Another annoyed exhale was almost enough of an explanation, Sonic not having time for this since there was clean water right next to him which he could use.
"I just took the energy and made a water transporty-thingy, I don't know how exactly but that's how we came up here," he explained, subconsciously curling his fingers tighter around Tails' body. "Look man, do you want to help me or not?"
The mobian still held his gaze on the hedgehog's head, though his eyes were moving, contemplating, or considering something. He stood there for a good while, the hedgehog having half a mind to just turn away from him and figure it out himself, when the red mobian turned around on his heel.
"Follow me," Sonic's ears flicked, not being entirely sure what he had heard was correct, blinked, before jogging towards him.
"Thanks dude."
"Don't call me that," the mobian said sharply, looking over his shoulder with a threatening gaze, making the hedgehog halt in his dialogue.
"Aright, then what can I call you?"
"Knuckles," Sonic couldn't help it, he glanced down at the stranger's hands, seeing a set of spikes protruding out of his knuckles on either hand.
He was about to ask further, when the mobian stopped in front of an entrance of sorts, pulling something away before stepping inside. Sonic stopped in pure perplexity, having no idea where he would get a door from all the way up here. He shook his head, not giving himself the time to consider it as he walked over and stepped inside.
The first thoughts that came to his mind was that this was an old and dusty cave, until he took a moment to look around. He hadn't expected shelves to be installed into the walls, wooden and looked sturdy, different kinds of things sitting on them. An old fireplace was in the middle of the room, an open circular hole in the ceiling that most likely let the smoke escape out of the small home. To the left of that was a bed, wooden and looked homemade, even a blanket and a pillow there. Different kinds of stuff were situated here, with a stool in the back of the area, vases with weird markings on them, jars, and clay bowls and so much more situated in this little home. Did he live here alone?
"Place him there," Sonic was pulled back to reality, when Knuckles pointed at the bed, before turning around and grabbed something from his shelves, jars and what looked like dried plants getting pulled down from there.
The hedgehog stepped forward to do as told, though an alarming feeling appeared in his chest, looking back at the red guy who seemed to be preparing something, using liquids and plants he had never seen before.
"What are you going to do?"
"Help him," the mobian answered flatly, pausing to look back at the hedgehog. "Isn't that what you wanted?"
"Smart, aren't we?" Sonic thought annoyed, though ultimately decided that he didn't have a choice. He had asked for his help and regardless of the entire situation he had no idea what he could do himself. Letting the guy use some natural plant mumbo-jumbo might as well work out.
As the stranger found some more stuff, the hedgehog stepped over to the homemade bed, actually looking comfortable, and carefully eased the fox on top of it. He didn't even let out a sound, something that worried Sonic to his core, the pick pocketer facing towards him, the wound being on his left side. He could more clearly see the discoloration of the yellow fur, dried blood caked around the wound and where it had cascaded down the sides of him.
The hedgehog looked at Tails' hands, the glove contaminated with the owner's own blood and dirt from their travel. There was a river right outside he thought, as he gently took Tails' hands and pulled off each glove to wash them when he had the time. As he pulled off the left one, he suddenly saw the bandages there, having completely forgotten about the cut he had endured back at Kroxburg. That most likely needed cleaning as well.
As Sonic stepped away, the mobian had already taken the stool from the other side of the cave and placed it in front of Tails, sitting down on it with a pot of what looked like water next to him, reaching a hand out towards him.
"Hey, be careful," the hedgehog warned, making the stranger pause to look back at him. Their eyes met for a couple of seconds, the both of them warning each other before he turned back to the fox.
Sonic observed as the mobian placed his large hand on the fox's forehead, didn't even stay there long to determine the fever he was having, eyeing the cloak that was wrapped around his stomach. Sonic had half a mind to stop him again, though the mobian was already untying the tight knot he had made, making the fabric fall to either side of the fox, revealing the wound.
The hedgehog hadn't seen it since the pick pocketer had been freshly stabbed, making him bite his lip at the crusty coagulated blood that was around the wound, swollen and clearly infected, the skin under the fur red. He didn't know if he had expected a giant gaping hole in the side, but from the hedgehog's perspective it didn't look as bad as what was happening to the fox. The mobian frowned at the wound, before picking up a piece of cloth he had brought with him, dipping it into the jar of water and wrung it around from excess.
As he applied pressure on the wound to clean it, the first sound escaped Tails since they had arrived, groaned, and hissed in his sleep, tails whipping behind him. Sonic frowned at Knuckles, thinking that he was being rather rough with it and was about to tell him to be careful again when he turned to clean the cloth. The water slowly turned crimson as the cloth was wrung around again, repeating the same procedure.
Sonic felt useless in the moment, doing nothing but looking at the fox's face, scrunched up in pain, whimpering and groaning under his breath. As the wound got cleaned, the stranger picked up a homemade looking clay jar and swiped a single finger inside of it. A paste of some sort clung to his finger, dark grey with green spots indicating that there was some sort of plant material in there.
He didn't have the time to ask what it was as it was applied to the wound, this time Tails letting out a yelp while unconsciously wiggling and moving to get away. Sonic was about to hold him down, though the guy had a good grip on him, the other hand holding him down, as he thoroughly covered the wound with the paste, whatever it was. As he pulled back, Tails still had a pained frown on his face, though as he seemed to calm down a long breath escaped his nostrils, indicating that it was soothing.
Sonic blinked perplexed before he watched as the stranger found some homemade bandages seemingly from nowhere and stood up to wrap it around the fox's stomach, covering the wound yet again. A knot made the bandage stay in place, the spot where the wound was now covered getting slightly wet from the paste. The hedgehog kept his gaze at the fox, though his face was oddly relaxed, as if the pain had subsided just a bit.
Then he saw the small bowl that the island dweller was reaching towards the fox's face, the hedgehog reacting and grabbed his wrist.
"What's that?" He demanded, some sort of liquid being inside of the clay bowl, dark green and had small bits and pieces of plant materials floating around in it.
"Something that fights the infection," the stranger explained, not calm but not in an outburst either, staring at Sonic and demanding that he let go of his hand. The hedgehog kept his gaze before he did as commanded, letting go and observed as the red mobian moved closer to the pick pocketer's face.
With the other hand he opened Tails' jaw, not as gently as Sonic would have done it and poured some of the liquid into his throat. He sputtered and coughed at first, moving his head away, tails whipping though Knuckles forced his head back. Sonic frowned, though watched as the liquid was making its way down his throat, the fox actually swallowing despite frowning. When Knuckles pulled away, he did cough and sputter once more, indicating that whatever he had been forced to drink had tasted foul. Sonic wasn't going to be the one to not believe it.
"There," the red one announced, standing up and started packing his remedies, clay jars and bowls away. "He needs rest and sleep," he finalized, before turning back around towards the hedgehog.
Sonic let out a sigh of relief, the anxiety and the stress that had been resting in his body from the entire situation getting let out.
"Thanks man. I don't know what I would have done if you-" he didn't get to finish his sentence as the stranger suddenly sprinted towards him, thrusting an arm into his throat and pushed him against the cave wall behind him.
Sonic let out a yelp in pure fright, both hands clasping around the island dweller's arm in instinct alone, his airway partially being blocked.
"Now who are you, and why do you have a Chaos Emerald?!" he spat into the hedgehog's face, their noses almost touching as a piercing set of violet eyes were set aflame. The sudden burst of anger had caught Sonic off guard, the only reason he had for not kicking the guy off him was the fact that he had just helped him.
"Chill man!"
"I said: Who are you and why do you have a Chaos Emerald?" his tone was threatening and dangerous, the pressure on the hedgehog's throat increasing for a couple of seconds. Sonic heaved for air, taking in a greedy breath as the pressure was released slightly.
"Okay, okay! Like I said I'm Sonic and my mission was to go collect those emeralds."
"Who told you that? Who told you about them!" He could feel that the pressure was about to increase again, making the hedgehog sputter an answer at him.
"My chief Tikal, from my village," The utter surprise that appeared in Knuckles' face was almost amusing, eyes widening and pupils becoming small, the pressure on his neck almost completely disappearing. Sonic could have yanked the arm off him if he wanted to, but instead looked at the guy's face, realizing that he must have a connection to her.
"She's an echidna. Like you," he elaborated, hoping that it somewhat helped his situation. The new information didn't seem to change his expression, but he didn't calm down either, staring at Sonic as if he had turned into a ghost.
He suddenly stepped back, making the hedgehog reach towards his throat with one hand, rubbing it.
"What did she tell you?" He wasn't calm but it wasn't the same outburst from before, Sonic looking up at the echidna, disbelief still plastered across his face.
"She told me that she had gotten a vision, that Chaos had opened his eyes to me and said that I was someone special and that I had a destiny to make the world a better place. That I should look for the emeralds. I – I don't know what to do once I have collected them," he calmy explained.
He had been skeptical about the whole prophecy thing in the beginning, but now that he had experienced being able to bend the wind, water, and electricity he was done doubting her vision. If Knuckles was going to believe him or not, he didn't know, but the perplexed and thoughtful expression he had on his face told another story.
He stood there dumbfounded, as if a lightning bolt had struck down into him before he licked his lips, looking back at Sonic with some sort of determination.
"Stay here. Do not walk or wander around anywhere on the island and do not look for me. I will come back with food after I have done something," he demanded, narrowing his eyes at Sonic to make sure that he was listening to him. He wouldn't disagree either way, wanting to do nothing but rest at this point.
"Alright, I won't," he agreed. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me," Knuckles said, before moving towards the door. "Stay. Here," he emphasized before opening the door and slammed it into the stone frame.
Sonic looked at where the door had been slammed shut, licking his lips before looking back at where Tails were sleeping. His face seemed more relaxed, whatever paste had been plastered onto the wound both healing and soothing it, while he hoped that whatever he had been forced to drink would help with the fever.
Sonic's stomach grumbled when his body reminded him that he was hungry, having finished the last pieces of food that Amy had given to them this morning, despite saving some for the fox when he woke up. He didn't want to eat what he had left, instead walked closer to where the echidna had his things, finding a pot of water that was pushed to the corner of the room. He walked over to it and cupped his hands into it, picking up a handful.
He greedily slurped it, the cool liquid travelling down his throat and quenched his thirst. He shook his head off excess water before looking around for a clay bowl. When he found one, he filled it with water before turning around and walked back over towards the fox. He placed himself where Knuckles had been, this time around gently opening the pick pocketer's jaw and carefully poured the water into his throat. He drank it without issues, a sigh escaping him as the hedgehog pulled the clay bowl away, looking at him.
He bit his lip, before lifting his hand, hesitated for a bit, before leaving it on Tails' head.
"You're gonna be fine buddy," he almost whispered, padded the head twice before pulling away. Tails hadn't reacted to the touch, despite Sonic being aware that he pulled away whenever their elbows or hands had met unintentionally
He looked at him for a couple of seconds more before he moved away again, leaving the clay bowl on a shelf, and let his hands run down his face. He was tired. His leg was still hurting, and he still felt weirdly drained. Some rest sounded good. Sonic looked at the fox's gloves which he had taken off, thinking that he would wash them and his own after his nap.
Without thinking much, he walked back over towards the fox, sitting down on the hard stone ground by the front of the bed, letting out a sigh. He leaned his head against the wooden frame of the furniture, letting his legs stretch out and his hands left in his lap.
His eyes caught sight of his completely soaked shoes and socks, a part of him not caring at this point. Tiredness soon overwhelmed him, as his eyes started to flutter closed, his head bobbing forward, before he lost the battle. He closed his eyes completely, letting himself drift into the limbo of dreams, hoping that his friend would recover.
He deserved it. He deserved to live.