its a classic move
you win the fight and end up in the ER with cool guy syndrome
As the light fizzled out, Silver felt the body in his hold blink away. Confused, Gold eyes darted around - trying to find where Mephiles disappeared to. Unnervingly, the landscape was devoid of other creatures. Neither East nor West showed any sign of an angry demon. Feeling extremely vulnerable, Silver stepped closer to the adult. Anxiously, the hoglet held his fists to his chest as his head turned this way and that.
"Where'd he go?" He choked out, reaching up and grasping the ranger's hand.
"Thhe planet core..." Shadow responded, words slurred under extreme fatigue.
With a twinge of worry, the ivory child shifted his head to look up at the adult. Alarmingly, Shadow seemed extremely unsteady on his feet. The normally focused and sharp eyes had faded into a dull and half-lidded gaze, ruby iris flickering as the pupils expanded and contracted. Silver gripped the trembling hand harder - observing how the ranger's body subtly swayed in the light breeze.
"Are we safe?" Silver inquired.
"Mh-hmm." Shadow hummed, visibly struggling to get his words out.
Silver took a stride forwards - hoping to coax the weary hedgehog into finding the way back to the village. However, the slight pull of his hand seemed to be far too much for the ranger to handle. As the hoglet completed his step; Shadow collapsed onto the ground - loose hands sliding out of the child's on the way down. Silver could only cry out in shock upon witnessing his mentor crumple, mentally comparing the action to that of a discarded dishtowel.
"Shadow!" He screeched, falling to his knees and shaking the exhausted hedgehog.
"I'm ok…" Shadow slurred, barely reacting to the distressed child.
"You fell over!" Silver shouted. "You fell down!"
"I fought…for days…" Shadow answered. "I'm… I'm just tired…"
"You fell over!" Silver re-asserted, trying and failing to roll the elder onto his back.
"People fall…"
"Not you!" Silver interrupted, wiping tears from his eyes.
"I'm not invincible…" Shadow groaned. "I'm just….a little…"
The black eyelids opened slightly, tired red eyes staring at the anxious child with an unreadable expression. Silver only found himself staring back. For a few seconds the two remained there, eyes locked in a worrisome state of suspension.
"You don't even know what I am…do you…" Shadow finally spoke, eyes closing once again.
"You're a hedgehog…" Silver sniffled, shaking the armored shoulder once more.
"Not really…" Shadow mumbled, words hardly distinguishable in exhaustion. "I'm…I'm not natural…"
"Well…you're here…" Silver spoke, unsure of what the words actually meant.
"Just because I can fight an army…without inconveniencing myself… doesn't mean I can fight Mephiles… and come out unscathed…" Shadow gasped, breath labored as he shifted his body to a more comfortable position.
"In con veenee ants?" Silver asked, gripping his own arms and bringing his knees to his chest.
"Not being a problem." Shadow answered.
"Why is Mephiles a problem?" Silver asked, trembling slightly in anxiety.
"He's…..he's…" Shadow breathed, voice growing quieter. "He's not natural either…"
Straining, the elder pulled his eyes open. Silver found himself locked into an unblinking stare once more as Shadow struggled to find his words.
"He can…kill anyone with the call of his stalkers…" Shadow continued. "He can pierce any armor…with his shards…"
Silver reached out to grab Shadow's hand only to find it missing from view. Looking up and down the worn figure, Silver attempted to assess the adult's physical state with his untrained eyes. Predictably, the hoglet was unable to see how injured the ranger was - especially since Shadow had pulled his limbs beneath his leather cloak. It was rare to see Shadow so vulnerable. Even the first time he had fought Mephiles had left him with enough energy to take a few steps and even gesture with his hands.
"As my powers are of light…" Shadow continued. "His are of darkness...we are equals…without me…the world would be gone…"
"Are you gonna be ok?" Silver sniffled, feeling the tears return to his face.
"I've done worse." Shadow groaned, pulling himself into a tighter position under his cloak. "I fought for months once…"
"Months?" Silver whispered, wiping his eyes with his elbow.
"Something… both of us …wish to avoid…"
Shadow trailed off, ears falling limp as the last syllable left his mouth. Unnerved by the sudden stillness, Silver reached out with his finger and poked at the drooped head. When Shadow did not react in the slightest, the hoglet found himself once again in the throes of anxiety.
Scrambling, Silver seized the armored shoulders and shook - using his whole body weight in an attempt to wake the adult. When there was no response, the child clambered atop the strong back; balancing on the elder's spine as he wiggled the unresponsive hedgehog about. Unsuccessful once more, Silver crawled to the elder's head. With trembling hands, the hoglet seized Shadow's ear, pinching the black furred appendage and peeling it back until it was nearly inside out.
"Shadow?" Silver whined, funneling his voice directly down the ranger's ear canal.
Of course there was no response. Shadow was plain unconscious. He had been battling for well over twenty-four hours and had seen no rest since the last time he had been at the house. Ever since arriving at the village, the ranger had been doing something. Be it scouring the area for stalkers, trying to find the source of the drought, or fighting an extremely powerful demon: Shadow hadn't rested in days. If Silver had to estimate the last time he had seen the adult actively relaxing - it had to have been at least a week. Never mind the fact he hadn't even seen Shadow sleeping since the last time they had encountered Mephiles.
With a whine, Silver slid off the elder's back. Unsure of what to do, he sat next to the exhausted hedgehog and whimpered. Knees to his chest and hugging his legs, Silver let out a few sobs. He hoped Shadow was ok. The adult had picked himself up after a few hours last time, surely this time wouldn't be any different.
Unfortunately, Silver couldn't remember the way back to the village. He couldn't run and get help without getting lost himself. Fliss had always pressed into him that if he got separated from her in the woods, he should stay exactly where he was and wait for her to come find him. Hopefully the guard would come looking. By far he was the only one who knew Silver was out there.
Rubbing his eyes of tears, Silver looked around. Shadow had mentioned there were predators in the woods. Merely thinking about the types of monsters that could emerge from the brush left a lump in the small child's throat. As his gold eyes glanced into the forest, the blue-blackness of the night staring back breathed an uncomfortable shiver down his fur. It wasn't safe out here. He needed to find shelter.
Without thinking, Silver found himself crawling underneath the adult's cloak. The thick material weighed down his puffed fur as he curled himself into a small ball - soothing heat saturating his skin like a hug on a winter morning. Covering his eyes with his knees, Silver hoped his baby quills wouldn't hurt the unconscious adult. Although he was quite young, and his ivory spines were as flexible as rubber, the ends were still pointy and would leave a nasty cut in any predatory mouth.
"Shadow?" Silver asked once more, curling tighter into his ball in an attempt to create his own safety.
There was, of course, no response from the elder. It seemed to be no use calling his name either, as Shadow's comatose state seemed to be very strong. Even after all the shaking and poking, there was no sign of life from the unconscious adult. Sniffling into his own body, Silver found himself rolling against the ranger's body. As he leaned his small frame into the elder's ribs, his sensitive ears faintly picked up the soft heartbeat of his mentor.
Ba-thump. Ba-thump. Ba-thump.
Despite being nearly breathlessly asleep, Shadow's body still whirred away - keeping its owner alive and well. Feeling sleepy, Silver allowed his spines to relax - giving himself more room to move in his spherical shield. With a bit of a wiggle, he pressed himself firmly against the adult's side.
"It's gonna be ok, Shadow." He mumbled, turning one ear to listen to the ranger's thumping heart. "I'm not gonna leave."
Shadow twitched, ear flicking and lungs exhaling as Silver got himself comfortable. As his black-rimmed eyelids slid shut, Silver could have sworn he heard a faint mumble from the ranger's chest. It was a string of words, very incoherent, but after giving a moment of thought to the closed mouth noises; Silver figured he could give a guess.
"I won't fail."
Or was it "I wrought hail."
Silver danced and shuffled the words around in his head until a tingling feeling crept through his body. Feeling a bit strange, Silver opened his eyes.
Stray beams of early morning sunrise shone through the sparse trees, the birds beginning their morning songs as the hoglet processed his time skip.
"Shadow?" He mumbled, feeling his spines still rested against the hedgehog's body.
When no response came, Silver felt himself slip back into sleep. It was bizarre to watch the world fade away with the close of his eyes, sounds and smells fading from his senses as sleep claimed his body. It felt like falling into a void. Not a mean void, full of monsters and eerie blackness, but a void nonetheless. Just nothingness. Pure unbridled….nothingness.
The movement of Shadow waking from his deep slumber only slightly pulled the hoglet from his sleep, leaving the child in a state where everything felt ethereal and suspended in time. Speaking of time, Silver wasn't sure how much time had passed between his last waking point. It had to have been some time as the birds seemed louder and the air brighter, but he dared not open his eyes lest wakeness claim him over slumber. Sleepiness was heavy and exhaustion was strong, leaving the child no choice but to drift away once more. Just as Silver was about to slip back into dreams, he felt two strong hands grab his spines.
Carefully, Shadow picked up the pointy ball that had slept beside him and held it gently in his hands. Silver, still not fully awake, merely froze; hoglet instincts telling him that the ball was safe. Groaning from the slight disturbance, he curled tighter - clenching his fists harder and shifting slightly for comfort.
A sigh filled the air as Shadow pulled the rolled hoglet close to his chest, arm wrapped around the tiny child in a tight hold. For a moment, the elder just stood there; a deep sadness radiating out of his chest like rain through a broken window. Sensing the emotion, Silver shifted - spines rustling as he attempted to get into a comfortable position once more. Through the movements in the adult's muscles, Silver could feel the ranger pull the hood over his face, funneling warmth down towards his little body once again. Feeling better than before, the hoglet relaxed, spines drooping as his emotions calmed.
Slowly, up and down movements rocked Silver's tiny body. The steady and secure footsteps of the recharged elder soothed the tired hoglet even further as the ranger began making his way back to the village. Content with how the night ended, Silver felt himself drifting off once more- feeling completely safe and sound in Shadow's arms.