Chapter 14
The next morning, a chill pervades the air as the hedgehogs awaken, making them shiver.
Sonic nuzzles against Shadow, seeking warmth and comfort. The black, now blonde hedgehog complies, pulling the blue closer to him and enveloping him into his warmth. He open his eyes blearily, looking around the camp, until his gaze falls onto a solid white patch of earth. Its bright, glittering white actually hurts his eyes for a second, as he's so used to the dark, hellish red that surrounds him and Sonic. Ignoring the white for now, he looks down at his companion.
"Sonic." Shadow says, gently shaking the blue hedgehog. "Time to wake up."
"Nooooo." Sonic whined childishly, nuzzling into Shadow's chest.
Shadow chuckled and gently scratched behind Sonic's ear. "Come on. Get up. We've got some exploring to do."
"I don't wanna go." Sonic whined again, purring from the scratching.
"I know you don't. That's why you're staying with Amily today while I go explore."
"I don't need a babysitter." Sonic yawned as he opened his eyes sleepily, looking at him through bleary eyes. "And it's not safe to seperate."
"Sonic, I don't want you being alone right now." Shadow said, pressing his forehead against Sonic's as they both purred. "Not after what happened yesterday. You're still recovering, and I'd feel better if I knew that somebody was with you."
"But what about you?"
"I'll be fine. Trust me. Don't you trust me?"
"..." Sonic said nothing, but instead merely nodded.
Shadow smiled and stood up, helping him up. "I'll be fine."
"Alright. If you say so. I'll stay with Amily."
"Atta hedgehog."
As Shadow rolls up the bedroll, Sonic gets curious and walks towards the shimmering patch of white.
Could this be some sort of trap, laid by the demons? What could it possibly be?
As Sonic approaches he realizes the white is not only on the ground... it's falling from the sky.
"Snow!"
Before Shadow could figure out what he was doing, Sonic dashed into the frosty area, delighting in the familiar crunch of snow underfoot. More snowflakes float down, landing on his peach skin and blue fur, melting immediately. For just a moment, he feels like a kid again, twirling and spinning in the flurry, sticking his tongue out and tasting the flakes, he swears he can almost smell the fresh baked winter delights of his home.
Shadow stands back, crossing his arms and smiling as he watches his companion play through the falling white flakes of frozen water. As the nostalgic feeling fades, the two hedgehogs hear a slight jingling in the air, far off in the distance, followed by a hearty, jolly laugh.
"Come on, Shadow! Play with me!" Sonic giggles as he rushes up to the blonde hedgehog, pulling onto his arm towards the pile of snow.
"No, I don't really…"
But before he knew it, he and Sonic both were laying down in the snow. Sonic was waving his arms and legs to make a quick snow angel as he thinks about all the things he could do with this holiday gift. Shadow rolls his eyes playfully and starts making snow angels with him.
Sonic thinks back to his childhood, and kids making snowmen after a fresh snowfall.
His daydreaming suddenly gets interrupted as he feels something explode against the side of his face. He feels his cheek, pulling back bits of snow. He turns to the direction the snowball came from and sees Shadow smiling and whistling innocently.
"Oh yeah?" Sonic chuckles, bending down to the ground and forming a perfect snowball in his hands. He quickly stands up and chucks it at the golden hedgie.
"Missed me!" Shadow shouts playfully, dodging the snowball and throwing his own at Sonic, hitting him square in the face. "Gotta be faster than that!"
The two laugh, squeal, and play with each other in the snow, throwing snowballs at each other and making more snow angels.
When they're both tired out, they land on the snow together, giggling and laughing playfully.
"I figure there's enough snow to make a snowman." Sonic beams at Shadow. "And for materials… sticks for the arms, of course, are freely available around us, and I'm certain I brought along a few old rags for a scarf. For the eyes, I think gems could work. And the nose… maybe we can use the Canine Pepper we got from Whitney."
Shadow smiled warmly at him, ruffling his quills a bit. "Maybe later, Sonic." He stood up and gently pulled Sonic up with him. "Right now, we've got things to do." He laid an arm over his shoulder. "Come on. Let's go see Amily."
Sonic sighed as he reluctantly followed Shadow to his babysitter for today. "Ok." But he smiled anyway, leaning into Shadow's embrace as they walked, feeling warm, safe, and comforted.
