"S-s-soooooniiiiic...soooooniiiiic." Soft voices sang his name. He turned his head, looking for their source but saw only inky black darkness. He felt eerily calm floating there despite not knowing where he was or what had happened before.
Velvet ears twitched to the mysterious echoing voices no longer calling his name; they seemed to be having a conversation now. His ears twitched and turned frantically, trying to make out what they were saying, only catching bits and pieces as they spoke. "Do you think- what's wrong-the same? How long- awake? Moving-not there-Sonic? Sonic?" Mouth opening slightly, he tried to call out, but he choked, his body jerked, clutching his head suddenly, feeling like it had been run over by a truck. Pulsating to the rhythm of his heartbeat. Everything was spinning, spinning, spinning. Failing, he was falling!
Sonic gasped, shooting up; heart beating wildly, he looked around; where was he? Who called for him?!
Panting erratically, griping the blanket draped over his body. Gradually, alarmed eyes calmed as everything began to slow down. Moaning, he placed a hand to his head, still pounding. Rubbing his temples, the migraine lessened; it still hurt, but at least the room wasn't spinning anymore.
Blinking, he gazed at his surroundings. Green couch, giant fireplace, it smells like motor oil here and...there are tools in the kitchen. I'm at Tails' house; how did I get here? He wondered, firmly shutting his eyes again and massaged his head; it seemed to help dull the pain in his head. Think Sonic; what's the last thing you remember...I woke up, hung out with the gang, beat Eggface again, went to Meh Burger to celebrate then... Oh yeah! I came back here with Tails afterwards. Huh, he chuckled, smiling a bit. "Must have partied too hard to go back to my place last night. Hehe." yawning, he scratched his stomach and rolled out of the makeshift bed.
Feeling the muscles in his legs itch, Sonic immediately started his daily leg stretches to warm them up. After this, he tossed the blanket that had fallen to the floor back on the bed. He wouldn't care so much if he was at his place, but he wanted to be respectful and at least try to pick up after himself. He also didn't want to be nagged again by his brother; he wasn't a total slob.
Walking out, he breathed in the fresh morning sea air, looking up to the sun rising high over the ocean waves. Looking behind the house, he could see evidence of the fox working hard on some project of his in the workshop.
The blue hedgehog wasn't doing to disturb him, "I'll check on him later." he decided.
Turning to the shoreline, Sonic bent down on all fours, getting into a runner's position, hands flat on the sand, one leg stretched back, the other slightly bent forward, tail erected high. He smirked, gazing into the distance, silently counting down for take-off.
3...2...1...Go!
He blasted down the beach, leaving a streak of blue behind him, running past home and around the village. The blue blur had energy to burn, and he didn't want to run someone over accidentally, thinking it best to stay away from pedestrians; that was a big no-no.
Quickly he turned east, making his way to Shadow Canyon. Plenty of space to run there!
A minute later, he arrived at the canyon. Seconds before reaching the edge, he leaped and landed on a platform. Grunting as he went from one side of the canyon's walls to the other with the utmost agility doing a few acrobatic tricks to keep things interesting. Sonic made his way down to the bottom and speed down the narrow walls, spin dashing a large boulder in his path. Pieces of the giant rock flew in all directions, the obstruction blown out of his way, covering him in its dust, but he didn't care. "Yeah! Woohoo!" He yelled, feeling the wind whip against him.
Spying the end of the canyon coming up fast, Sonic smirks and pushes himself forward, heading straight for the wall. Not missing a single step, he makes the needed adjustments for him to run up the wall at a 90-degree angle. Something that should be impossible to do, but not for this speedy hedgehog. Running out of wall, Sonic finds himself flying high in the sky, striking a few poses before landing safely in a crouch back on solid ground.
"Yeeeeees! Wooo Hooo!" Sonic pumped his fists in the air, cheering for joy, relishing the adrenaline rush. A great way to start the day and get the blood pumping, at least in his mind. Aside from his legs oddly feeling a little stiff, he felt refreshed, rejuvenated!
Yesterday he felt like he was going through the motions, wake up, run, eat, beat Eggman, hang out with his friends, go to bed, then start the next day. Same thing over and over again and again.
But today, right now...Sonic felt like he was on top of the world, ready to take on anything that came his way! Something had put the peep back in his step; he wished he knew what. Maybe it was because he had slept in today? "Eh, who knows." he shrugged, hands on his hips, chest pushed out in a heroic pose, eyes sparkling as he looked out over the canyon, a light wind swaying his quills.
Sonic wasn't much keen on desert-like areas, but the shadowy ravine was quite beautiful in its own way; various shades of red and orange painted the gorge like an abstract swirly painting. It was also a great place to workout: the natural twists, turns, and random rock slides serving as an ideal obstacle course.
He enjoyed the view for a few more minutes before his stomach made its self known; Sonic chuckles lightheartedly, patting his tan belly, "Don't worry, little fella. I'll fix you up with a niiiice chili dog." he licked his lips. Chili dogs always sounded good, and he felt like he hadn't had one in forever!
Kicking his legs up, the speedster dashed back to the village, leaving a dust cloud in his wake. Wondering if he would see any of his friends walking around and if they would join him to dine at the one stared restaurant.
"One dozen chili dogs, please!"
"Coming right up." Dave, the intern, groaned, turning his back on the blue hedgehog. Leaving the counter, Sonic grabbed a cup and walked to the soda machine to get his usual drink of choice. Then he struts up to the only table big enough to hold all the members of Team Sonic.
Sitting down, he took a sip while he waited for the rest of his friends to order their food. He scratched a gloved finger at a scorch mark on top of the wooden table, "Geez, this place is really going downhill."
"And it would do so much better if they would just take my suggestions on how to improve their restaurant. Never throw pearls before swine." Amy sighed, taking a seat beside her blue friend. "Yeah, pearls taste awful!" Sonic giggled, shaking his head at the red echidna's silly comment. "Well, somebody's in a good mood today~." Amy grinned, poking Sonic's arm playfully.
He shrugs and gives her a crooked smile as Tails and Shadow take their seats, "I feel pretty good, just came back from a run. My legs were itching like crazy when I woke up this morning. You know me never one to sit still for too long."
"So, that's where you went to this morning?" Tails asks, "I went to check on you earlier, and you disappeared."
"Oh, sorry to worry you, little bro. You were already working on something, and I didn't want to bother you. Thanks for letting me crash at your place last night, by the way." Tails smiled and waved him off, "No problem Sonic. You know you're welcome anytime!"
Before their conversation could go any further, Dave walked up to the table with several trays of food, "I have an order for a salad, dressing on the side, an Extra spicy Meh Burger Delux, 2 Meh Burgers with cheese, and..." he whined, trying to lift the last tray onto the table, "One... dozen... chili dogs."
Sonic's eyes widened, rubbing his gloved hands together, mouth-watering.
"Gimmiegimiegimmie!" He exclaimed childishly without realizing it. Grabbing the tray greedily. "My goodness Sonic, calm down! Did you really order that many? You can't possibly finish all those." Amy gasped, the blue hedgehog cheekily coked a brow eyeing the massive pile of food, "Oh yeah? Just watch me!" Instantly he wolves down a hand full of chili dogs, moaning in pleasure as he takes a bite. (You'd think Sonic had been half-starved the way he was downing those dogs.)
Shadow sighed, shaking his head; why was he not surprised. His rival's eyes were as big as his never-ending stomach. He tsked in disapproval seeing all the table manners he had taught the blue blur a few days ago had utterly gone out the window. "Chew with your mouth closed, Sonic." he reprimanded.
Sonic's eyes bugged out, hearing Shadow say his name. He was so shocked he choked on his food; gripping the table, he pounded a fist to his chest.
Amy and Tails pat the speedster on the back, minding his bristled quills, trying to help the hedgehog regain his breath. Slowly, Sonic recovered, and he gaped wide-eyed in shock at his rival, sitting across from him.
Shadow's ruby eyes darted side to side before looking back at him with a questioning brow, "What?"
"Y-you just said my name!" Sonic wheezed, Shadow's brow rose further, still confused. "Yeeeees?"
"You've never called me by my name before!"
"Yes, I have. I've done so for several weeks now."
"What? No way!" Sonic shook his head in disbelief. "He has Sonic! Don't you remember? A few weeks ago, when we were all at my workshop?" Tails says the blue hedgehog scratched his head, "He did? Hmm, I don't remember-" he didn't get to say anymore as Amy covered his mouth with a napkin wiping the chili off his face. "Be still so I can get the food off your face." he glared at her twisting his head back and forth, fighting the face cleaning like a disgruntled toddler.
"Amy! Mmph...Stop!" roughly he pushed her away, grumbling. Sonic quickly wiped the rest of the chili off his face with the back of his glove before she could attack him again. He huffed at her in annoyance, forgetting his shock at his rival's use of his name and returned to his meal; Amy rolled her eyes at Sonic's childishness, setting the dirty napkin aside.
With no one having any plans for the rest of the day, Team Sonic collectively decided to spend their Eggman free day together at the beach.
After a few games of soccer and volleyball, Amy offered refreshments at her home for the evening.
Jokes and delightful chatter filled the house. At some point, Knuckles suggested they play another game, and Amy pulled out twister. Several rounds of awkward positions and playful banter later, the pink hedgehog beat everyone in a landslide. Shadow complained about losing on a bet that he would win but bounced back with a small smile and baked a fresh batch of Amy's favorite cookies in her victory.
They never made it to the oven.
Another batch of this time fully cooked, cookie dough later found everyone relaxing by a small campfire under the stars.
Overall it was a picturesque day, and Sonic couldn't have asked for a better one spent with his friends. Crouching by the fire, the blue hedgehog yawned, stretching his arms, eyes half-lidded, watching the flames he stood up. "Well, guys, this has been fun. I think I'm gonna hit the sack, see ya round tomorrow?" he asked, brushing the sand from his fur. Tails looked up at him in surprise, "You sure, Sonic? It's still kinda early?"
"Let him go, Tails. It's been a while since he's been on his own or at his shack. He's also still probably recovering from yesterday." Shadow reminded the fox; Sonic turned to the ebony hog lying on his back in puzzlement. He talks like I've been gone or something, and what does he mean recovering? I feel just fine!
The sound of Tails' voice stopped him from questioning any further, "Oh, right! Go ahead, bro, get some rest!" Tails smiled a knowing smile at him; it only confused the hedgehog further. "Alright..." Sonic said slowly, still lost as to what they were referring to but put his confusion aside. He was just tired; besides, whatever they were talking about probably wasn't that important. Clearing his throat, he bid his friend goodnight and waved before speeding back to his shack.
Yawning, he walks into the door, "Oooooh, man, what a day. I'm beat." he groans lazily, falling face-first into his hammock; Sonic sighs, rocking in his hammock in the quiet house for several minutes, waiting for sleep.
It's too quiet.
Despite his drowsiness, the silent stillness of the night left his mind abuzz with activity refusing to settle down.
Blowing out a puff of air in frustration, he turned his head, attempting to get more comfortable when he spots something lying on top of his small tv. One ear flops down while the other perks up in confusion. Funny, I don't remember ordering anything? Interest peaked, and with nothing else to do, he gets up with a grunt and grabs the small package wrapped in shiny red wrapping paper with a green bow on top.
Sonic examines the gift and sees a tag attached to the bow that reads that the present is for him. He tentatively gives it a shake and hears something bouncing inside.
A small smile twitches on the side of his muzzle. In a little burst of excitement, he quickly rips off the wrapping paper and opens the box, only to frown in confusion; inside was a stuffed cheetah, a red object tied to a string, and a folded letter.
He opened the message first, hoping it would answer the strange gifts' origin and or purpose.
"To our little boy,
Your favorite toy to keep you company if you ever feel lonely and we aren't there or want someone to cuddle with. Even though we won't be able to spend as much time with you now, know that you'll always be our little emerald/blueberry.
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
P. S.
If I ever catch you with your thumb in your mouth instead of this, I'll give you a good smack in the quills!"
Sonic was even more confused now. "Mom and Dad? I don't have any parents. I mean the present is nice and all. I appreciate the gesture...come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I got an actual gift that wasn't a chili dog. I mean, come on, yeah, I love them, but I don't want one for my birthday every year but... That's beside the point. Who are these people?"
Sonic picked up the stuffed cheetah examining it, he couldn't believe how soft it was, perfect for hugging, and it was also quite cute. Placing the toy in his lap, he next plucked the string attached to the pacifier, "What is this thing? Is it...candy?" He knew he had seen something similar to the red object before but couldn't place where he had seen it. Tentatively he licked the rubber nipple. Nope, not candy. He concluded. Glancing at the letter and tag again, he confirmed that the mysterious gift was for him. "Well, the message did say it's supposed to go in my mouth." shrugging, Sonic places the pacifier between his lips.
Instinctively he started to suck. Emerald eyes widened and fell back half-closed as Sonic felt a wave of peacefulness wash over him; whatever this thing was...he liked it.
Eyelids drooping further. His mind and body relaxed, laying back down into the hammock. The thoughts in his mind quieted down enough for him to hear the sound of crashing waves in the distance and the soft thumping of the pacifier.
Sonic's eyes flickered closed as he curled around the stuffed cheetah, falling asleep to a warm breeze, gently rocking the hedgehog to sleep.