Me: I'm BAAAAACK! Everyone have a great summer? I sure did! *falls asleep*

Jasper: *sigh* I hate it when she does this to me. STRIPES! Come and do the disclaimer!

Shadow: No.

Jasper: Disclaimer!

Shadow: Make me.

Jasper: …Are you sure about that?

Shadow: …

Jasper: *starts taking something out of pocket* Well, if you insist-

Shadow: The author doesn't own me.

Jasper: Darn it. *puts thing away*

Shadow: No one owns me! I am the Ultimate Life Form! I-

Jasper: Stripes.

Shadow: *irritably* What?

Jasper: Shut up.

"Ta-da!" Jasper sang, proudly displaying a finished set of crutches to a very apathetic Shadow.

The ebony hedgehog merely glanced dully at her carvings before going back to his book. "Good for you," he muttered.

The silver wolf pouted. "Stripes, it took me all night to carve these," she whined. "You should show some appreciation for all the hard work I put into them."

"I did," Shadow muttered, not looking up from his reading.

"No, you didn't!" she protested.

"I said, 'Good for you'."

"That is not appreciation!"

Shadow gave her a dull look. "I acknowledged your stupid wood. From me, that's appreciation." He returned to his book, ignoring the glare Jasper was giving him. He didn't see her expression turn thoughtful, or the mischievous smirk that slowly claimed her features. He was going to regret that later.

For now, though, she pushed her thoughts aside and went to peer over his shoulder. "Whatcha reading?" she asked.

Shadow glared at her. "None of your business."

Jasper shrugged, rounded the couch, and read the title herself. Upon doing so, she wrinkled her nose. "You're reading that?" she queried. "Man, you must be really bored!"

The hedgehog raised an eyebrow. "What's so bad about this?"

Jasper gave him a deadpan stare. "That's a fiction book, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"It has, what, 2,000 pages?"

"I…guess?"

"How far are you?"

"Almost to the end."

"And do you know the plot?"

"….No."

"I rest my case."

Shadow sighed. "Jasper, the only things we had to read on the ARK where science formulas. The saddest part was, everyone seem to find them thrilling…This is literally the most exciting thing I've ever read." He turned the page. "Now leave me alone."

Jasper paused for a moment, trying to figure out what exactly the 'ARK' was. She frowned thoughtfully. Going by what she knew and the context he used it in, she decided it must be the science-labby-type-thing he grew up on. Vaguely, she wondered what continent it was on.

The wolf frowned again at the book her patient was holding, then dragged the book cart over and began rummaging through it. "Here," she said, plucking the book out of an annoyed Shadow's hands. "Try this one."

The hedgehog frowned for a moment at the considerably smaller book thrust under his nose before warily accepting it. He stared at it for a moment, then flipped it over and read the title. "…A Series of Unfortunate Events?"

Jasper nodded, smiling. "Yup! I figured you'd get a laugh out of these, so I got the whole series."

"I don't have your sense of humor, Jasper."

"Oh, I didn't think it was funny," she admitted. "Actually, I found it quite depressing."

Shadow stared at her incredulously. She wasn't making sense again. "Then why would I think it was funny?"

"Because," the wolf explained, "It's all about a bunch of 'weak' people who have to constantly fight to survive." She folded her arms with an accusatory frown, her orange eyes burning quietly. "Don't you find that amusing, Stripes?"

Shadow wisely kept his mouth shut, staring back at her with his expression carefully neutral. Ever since yesterday, she seemed to be in a sour mood with him. However, the mood wasn't a constant presence, like moods were supposed to be. This one jumped in randomly at any opportunity. The hedgehog knew from experience that the best thing to do was just let her make her point. Any interruption from him always ended in a lecture.

So, he just watched her as she dared him to retaliate.

After a moment of silence, the wolf blinked, and every trace of her mood vanished from her features. She suddenly smiled. "Hungry?" Without waiting for a response, she started toward the kitchen.

Shadow relaxed slightly and looked the book over, muttering 'bipolar' under his breath. It looked interesting enough. Still, contrary to what Jasper thought, he was pretty sure he'd be rooting for the children, and not their insane and murderous relative.

However, he only got halfway through the first page before his book was snatched from him. "Hey!" he protested, glaring at the culprit. Jasper ignored him, replacing the book on the rack and rummaging through the wood pile. Shadow sighed and stared at the ceiling, figuring she was about to give him his personal table.

A moment later, he jerked forward slightly as something heavy was thrown at him. Pain suddenly dominated his abdomen, and he could feel the air whoosh from his lungs. It took a few seconds for him to start breathing again.

Looking down, he found a basketball-sized log resting innocently on his stomach. He jerked his head up to glare at Jasper. "What the heck is wrong with y-!" Shadow squeaked out the last syllable, eyeing the tip of a knife centimeters from his nose with pupils the size of pinholes. He swallowed nervously. "J-Jasper..?"

Said wolf smirked, taking a moment to relish in the control she felt and wish she had her camera. Then, she flipped the knife with a fluid grace. Shadow blinked. The handle was now directed at him, while Jasper was expertly holding the sharp side.

After staring for a moment, he hesitantly accepted the offered blade, and looked it over in bewilderment. "…Erm…"

Jasper folded her arms expectantly. "Well, get to it!" she ordered, motioning to the wood.

Shadow finally managed to regain his composure, and quickly assembled a glare. "Get to what?" he demanded.

Jasper sighed dramatically, leaning against the fireplace to stare at the ceiling. "Well…You didn't appreciate my carving, Stripes." She tsked, shaking her head. "So, I figured I'd just show you how much work it takes to carve."

Shadow scowled at her. "I am not carving," he stated.

Jasper shrugged. "You will if you want dinner." Reaching across the counter, she pulled a wooden bowl off of its stack. Then, she crouched down to his level and presented it to him. "I hand-carved this bowl, just as I did most of my other furniture. Now, you've been eating out of this bowl for the past three-and-a-half months, and not once have you thanked me for it. Therefore, you must now eat from your own bowl."

She stood, flashing him a smile. "Have fun," she told him cheerfully, before turning to head back to the kitchen.

Shadow rolled his eyes. Crazy wolf. There was no way she was getting him to carve.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

"Ow!" Shadow hissed, jerking his injured finger away from the source of it's pain. Growling in frustration, he glared at said object. The offending knife was dotted with tiny drops of blood from similar encounters, some of which had stained into the half-formed bowl. Well, if you could even call it that.

The small, lumpy board of wood currently resembled a hilled countryside, with a few jagged cliffs thrown in just for the heck of it. Some of the hills had their tops sliced off, evidence of their creator trying to make his wood slightly flatter.

It had taken him three separate blocks of wood to decide that his talents laid more in the 'plate' category. His previous attempts at creating a bowl were scattered on the floor below him. One resembled half a battered bowling ball, holes included. Another looked like someone had taken an unfortunate wooden vase and hacked at it with an ax. The shape of the third bowl was unrecognizable, since it had been chopped into eighteen separate pieces in a bout of frustration.

These bowls were scattered among a myriad of partially formed plates, all with holes in them. Two or three of these were keeping the fire lit, while another was stuck where it'd been thrown, strait into the glass clock hanging on the wall.

Lunch had come and gone, and the sun was just finishing it's decent into the mountains, highlighting the room in an unearthly orange glow. Jasper was in the kitchen, cooking supper. The wolf glanced at the aggravated hedgehog, then at his lumpy carving. She sighed and shook her head, pulling out the ingredients for one person.

Then, she glanced back at her scowling guest. He was staring at his carving with the utmost concentration, carefully slicing away one of the numerous hills. After a moment's hesitation, Jasper took out the ingredients for two.

The poor hedgehog had been working nonstop since given his task over ten hours ago. The evidence of his hard work lay piled on the ground. The glove not holding the knife was tattered and torn, stained red from his numerous cuts and scrapes. She doubted there was and inch of his hand left unscathed.

Overall, she was impressed. He'd tried his hardest and, to her utter astonishment, he hadn't complained once. Sure, he swore, threw things, and ranted at his carvings with the most cruel insults he could come up with, but he never once yelled at her. He'd accepted his task with a silent tolerance.

So, she figured he'd done enough work for one day, and deserved the food she was making.

Meanwhile, Shadow was still slicing patiently away at a lump in the wood when he came across a knot. Grumbling, he tried to saw his way through it, but the plate only scooted away from him. Narrowing his eyes in determination, he used his right hand to hold the plate firmly in place and pushed at the knot with all his strength. The knot broke free with a loud crack, effectively splitting his plate in half. The now-free knife flew toward his right hand and sliced his palm open.

Shadow immediately dropped both carving and knife to press his uninjured hand against his wound, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out. He had hardly ever felt pain back when he was nearly indestructible. Now, the feeling was almost unbearable.

Jasper instantly flew to his side, having seen the incident from her vantage point behind the counter.

"Let me see!" she demanded, kneeling beside him.

He automatically held his hand close to him. "I'm fine," he growled through his teeth.

Jasper made another swipe at his hand, then noticed a trail of red trickling down his wrist. "You're bleeding! Just let me-"

"No!" he insisted, his voice harsh from pain. "I don't need your help!"

Jasper backed off slightly and looked him in the eye. "Stripes, if you hit a major vein, you could pass out from blood-loss. Even if you managed to stay conscious, you'd be weaker than ever and it would take twice as long to regain your strength."

Shadow's resolve faltered slightly at the thought, and after a moment's hesitation, he slowly brought his hand down for her to look at. The wolf carefully peeled his glove off, hearing him hiss in pain. Then, she gently pried his large fist open, brushing her small fingers along the sides of his hand as she peered intently at his wound. She frowned, finding she couldn't see it through all the blood.

"Wait a moment," she told him, getting up and walking around the couch, toward the bathroom, avoiding the scattered wood. She returned shortly after with a pail of hot water, a washcloth, a small first-aid kit, and a stool. Setting her materials down beside him, she sat on the stool and once again took his hand in hers. With her other hand, she dipped the washcloth into the pail. Then, with the utmost concentration, she gently dabbed at his wound.

Shadow bit back a yelp as a shockwave of pain shot up his arm. By now, his ears were completely flattened against his head. He shut his eyes tightly, and turned his face toward the couch, feeling pathetic for doing so.

Jasper glanced up at him and her heart gave a pang of pity. He almost looked like a cowering child. "This is the first time you felt pain like this, isn't it?" she asked, turning back to her work.

Shadow thought a moment before replying. "No."

Jasper looked up at him, surprised. "It's not? Then what…?"

Shadow laid back to stare up at the ceiling, his eyes taking on a distant look. "The last time was when I fell to earth."

"Fell to earth?" she echoed. "You mean like from a plane?"

Shadow almost smiled. "No. From space."

Jasper paused, trying to wrap her mind around that. "You fell from space…," she repeated, her voice laced with doubt. She looked up at him again, trying to catch any hint of sarcasm, but Shadow was staring at the ceiling, lost in his memories. He seemed to do that a lot. "But-" she stuttered, trying to make sense of it, "That would mean you'd have to reenter the atmosphere. If what you say is true, you should be burnt to a crisp!"

"I was at the height of my power," he explained, not even looking at her. "The energy protected me through most of my decent."

"And the rest…?" Jasper coaxed.

Shadow paused, thinking. "I…Well, it was the first time I ever fell asleep. I think it was the first time I ever broke a bone as well." He stopped there, not caring to mention the fact that nearly all of his fur had burned off upon reentry. He was silently thankful no one chanced upon him until it'd all grown back.

Jasper hummed to herself, musing. He was powerful enough to survive a fall through the atmosphere? It was no wonder he was so irritated by his own weakness! At full power, he could probably toss her house sixty feet in the air! She stared at him for a moment, wondering just what had transpired to end in him falling from space. Just what had this hedgehog been through?

"What…What happened?" Jasper asked him.

Shadow nearly responded before stopping himself. Why was it so easy for him to talk about this? It was personal! And yet he felt almost comfortable telling her…Just what was it about that crazy wolf that made him want to talk to her? "It's…It's none of your business," he muttered. And it wasn't. She had no right to know; it had nothing to do with her. That was a story he wasn't telling to anyone.

Jasper blinked, before sighing in disappointment. She went back to cleaning his wound, wondering what exactly was the story behind her mysterious guest. It seemed there was more to him than meets the eye.

After a few minutes, she could finally see his wound. "There," she stated, getting Shadow's attention as she deposited the bloody washcloth into the pail of water. The cut ran along his palm, and though it was long, it wasn't that deep. At least, not as deep as she feared. The knife had sliced through the main layer of skin, just missing the muscle beneath it.

It would still need stitches to heal properly.

Jasper: Stripes! Come clean up the bodies!

Shadow: What! Who did you kill!

Jasper: They're not dead, you moron! They're just unconscious! I think about two-thirds of them fainted when I mentioned stitches.

Shadow: Stitches? What are-

Jasper: Nothing!

Me: ZZZzzzZZZzzzZZZzzz-*snort*…Whazza…?

Jasper: See that shiny blue button waaaay down there? Yes, that's it! Press the pretty button!

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