Silver wasn't entirely sure what woke him. The haze of sleep still hung heavy over his head as he scrunched his face in displeasure. Despite being safely tucked away in his worn sleeping bag, the small hedgehog child felt extremely unnerved by his awakened state. Balling his fists, the hedgehog rolled himself over, bringing his knees to his chest in a subconscious curl.
There could have been several things that would awaken a child. A crack of thunder. The pitter patter of rat feet running across the rafters. Even the snuffling and howling of stalkers in the deep woods. Any quiet or distant noise could be considered a potential threat to life and livelihood in the inhospitable environment that was Silver's world.
"-and then Tone swooped in and saved the whole town!"
Or it could be his own housemates. Silver found himself groaning as he opened his large eyes. The dark room that greeted him was eerie as ever in the clouded moonlight. Feeling spooked from the void-like darkness and silk-like slivers of spiderweb waving in the rafters, the hoglet pulled his bag over his pale muzzle.
Candlelight shone onto the rows and rows of sleeping children as a match was struck. A slight frown crossed the ivory hedgehog's face as the soft glow cast his small shadow onto the back of the teen next to him. Basil and Lyre were up again. Those two always got in trouble for staying up well past bedtime. No matter how much scolding and lecturing they got from the older orphanage inhabitants, those unruly kids gathered as much information about the outside world as they could and shared it amongst themselves at some god-forsaken hour such as this one.
"Really? You really heard that?" Lyre questioned, tail thumping on the hard floor in excitement.
"That's what he said." Basil proudly answered, shifting on his pillows. "He was there. He saw everything happen."
Silver balled his tiny fists. Despite wanting to express his frustrations, he couldn't do much but listen. The older kids always laughed at him for "being a baby" or a "sissy". If he tried to ask them to quiet down now, they would just shut him up. Being the youngest wasn't easy. He was much smaller and weaker than the rest of the kids. If he ever wanted to survive, he had to shut up and do as he was told. If he didnt…. well… The hoglet shuddered at the thought of being locked in a cupboard again.
"He used his shockwave to drive the monster back." Basil continued. "If he hadn't shown up, everyone would've been dead."
"So it was a big one?" Lyre choked, hiding his orange face behind a pillow.
"Oh yeah." Basil chirped. "It was as big as a house!"
Silver shuddered. Goliaths were rare, but extremely dangerous. Unlike the stalkers, which could be fought off with weapons or other means; the larger monsters were tough - hide thick as armor, and teeth as sharp as razors. The thought of monsters terrified Silver. He was malnourished and small for his age, which meant he would be picked off very easily - especially if he was in one of his episodes.
"Quiet down you two." A gruff voice snapped. "We're all trying to sleep here."
"Come on Branch…" Lyre whined, ears flattening at the older teen. "Haven't you heard what Tone just did?"
Branch sat up, wooden boards creaking from the movement as he struck a match to light his candle . The dim flickering cast the teen in a threatening light, with his strong arms and thick brown fur glistening in the firelight.
"Yeah I heard." He growled. "I coulda done better if I were there."
"Cut it out, Branch." Another voice sighed. "You don't do much else than help around town."
The teen next to Silver pulled herself to a sitting position. With a disapproving frown, the bird leaned back on her hands - long feathers dangling down to the floor in graceful waves. Silver found a small smile crossing his face. Even though Branch was tough, the aggressive male could never stand up to her logic.
"The only reason you're still here is because you don't have enough money to build a house yet."
"Can it Fliss!" Branch hissed, ears flattening and tail flicking with emotion.
No longer able to keep quiet, Silver found himself giggling. In one sentence Fliss had destroyed Branch once again. No matter how many times Branch built himself up and stuffed his chest with pride, the finch was always there to knock him down - toppling his high horse with the blow of a single sentence. Noticing the young hedgehog was awake, Fliss smiled - opening her bubblegum colored arms in an invitation to safety.
Silver liked Fliss. She was nice. The other teens never cared much for the smaller children at the orphanage. They were more concerned with netting security in money or resources and hiding such things from the Mistress. However, Fliss was different. As long as the young hedgehog could remember, she was tirelessly caring for him and the children at the orphanage. If food was scarce, she would slide them her portions. If the Mistress was in a mood, she would hide them under the couch. Every portion of her being seemed to emanate love and care, which only drew Silver closer. Slowly, he crept into her embrace - allowing her safe arms to envelop him once again.
"But it was a goliath, Branch." Lyre moaned. "They're huge."
"I'm strong enough to take one on."
"Are you though?" Basil giggled. "You barely fought off that one monster - and you got pretty hurt."
"Plus, Tone was trained by… him." Lyre whispered.
The room fell silent.
In one sentence, the entire mood of the conversation shifted. This was no longer sharing of news. Sure, Tone was a hero - a powerful Cougar with the power of shockwaves and sound. The vigilante could drive off an entire army of stalkers, even face a goliath without too much trouble. But Him?
He was a legend - a myth. No name, no face, and no trace of his existence. Only appearing when times were dire, and disappearing into the wilds when all was good. Always discussed in hushed voices and never fully known. Never fully understood.
"Puh-lease." Branch scoffed. "I could go get trained by him anyday. I'm definitely worth his time."
"Branch." Fliss warned. "You know what they say."
"Tone has nothing more than I do." Branch continued. "In fact - I'd say I could be better than him with proper work."
"Braanch." Basil whined. "He doesn't work that way."
"If I'm going to be honest." Branch growled. "I don't think He's real."
The room fell very quiet.
"He sounds more like a story." The teen laughed. "An old legend like King Arthur."
"But he is real." Fliss stated.
"You really think so?" Silver squeaked, shifting his head up to look into her soft face.
"Yeah." Fliss smiled, yellow beak glinting in the soft candlelight. "My grandfather saw him."
All waking eyes turned to Fliss. The bird had never said anything about this before. Hushed whispers sounded from various places in the room, as other awakened kids began to speak amongst themselves. The Hero? Real? It felt too good to be true.
"Before he died, he told me stories of Him." She continued. "His village was attacked by the Demon, and He came to aid."
Eyes dilating with excitement, Silver pricked his ears up - wanting to catch every syllable of the elder bird's tale. Never in his four years of existing had he heard so much said about such a legend in one sitting. With the promise of a story, Lyre and Basil huddled nervously into their sleeping bags - reacting to the eerie whistling of wind between the rotted boards. With a scoff, Branch also laid back down, blowing out his candle with an irritable puff.
"Everything seemed lost…" Fliss recalled, staring into the deep darkness of the night. "The monsters were closing in and the world was bathed in purple and smoke..."
Silver found himself latching onto her arm, a tingling shiver running down his spine at the thought of countless monsters.
"A demon beyond his description had overrun the town - snaring everyone under its claws and influence… before… he saw Him." Fliss continued. "A figure faster than the eye could track racing across the landscape."
A soft shudder rippled through the bird's feathers.
"Grandfather spoke like he had seen an angel…" She breathed. "Striking with fire and matching the darkness with light unlike anything he had ever seen."
"He said it was…. Beautiful…"
"Do you know what he looked like?" Silver asked, voice tumbling out in an excited squeak.
"My grandpa never said. I think you'll just have to guess." Fliss smiled, rubbing the hoglet's sore shoulder. "If I had to guess, he must look a lot like Sonic."
Closing his eyes, Silver tried to paint a picture of what the Hero must look like. Such a powerful thing had to be tall - taller than Tone while standing atop the biggest monster he had ever seen. The sun must have been setting behind his back, blue fur rippling in the wind and sharp green eyes piercing the landscape. Smoke must have billowed behind his strong build as he posed majestically for the cheering villagers. Armored shoes, flowing red cape, Silver could see it all. There was no way He wasn't real. No one could make stuff like that up.
"Really Fliss?" Branch scoffed. "If your Grandpa saw him, he must be ancient by now."
With a small flinch, Silver realized the cat was right. Perhaps the hero was bent over with age, fur white with wisdom and eyes set with experience. That didn't seem right…
"That may be true, but he still trained Signal." Basil answered.
That was the mystery of the Hero. Three generations of heroes were raised up by the mysterious legend. Silver could name each and every one of them. Signal, a fast and strong lemur who could distort space. Breeze, dove of grace and beauty who could control the very air itself. And, of course, Tone.
Tone was the hero everyone talked about nowadays. He was very active in traveling the world and saving people in need. Everyone knew who he was. The purple cougar could lift entire wagons and destroy stones with the mere shout of his voice. For years he had occupied the hopes and dreams of the entire globe. Couriers and travelers told of a hero who slew a goliath with a single stroke of his axe - taking its head clean off with a mighty swing. Guards and regents told of a man who could wrestle a bull and charm any lady he pleased. Even the local bard had seen the cougar slay a pack of stalkers without so much as a scrape. Tone was a hero through and through. Silver found himself getting giddy. News of Tone traveled fast, and Silver hoped he could meet the famous vigilante one day. The hoglet desperately wanted to see if all the whispers were true. Could the cougar really do all of those amazing things?
It was no wonder people called him The Prodigy. All of the heroes that He had trained were called Prodigies. And there was little to no reason not to. Highly skilled, extremely powerful, it seemed like a God-given talent that these heroes were handed. All of this was only accentuated by the fact that the Hero had chosen them to carry out that world saving duty. Any Prodigy was deserving of the utmost respect and reverence.
"Look..." Branch growled. "If He is really out there, I will find Him and make him train me. He's old, I could totally take him."
"Branch cut it out." Lyre groaned. "You can't find him, He finds you."
"Well, He can't hide forever. You'll see. I'll be the next great hero." The teen boasted.
"Just you watch." He smirked, folding his hands behind his head. "Everyone will be singing the praises of Branch th-"
"Quiet down you pests!"
Everyone jumped off the hardwood floor as the Mistress threw open the sleeping room door, cane slamming against the decaying doorframe and glasses glinting in the moonlight. Silver squeaked, fear seizing his body as he pressed himself into Fliss's body - begging for safety in a quiet whimper. Unsurprisingly, Fliss had also flinched, throwing her arms around the child's trembling body.
"I can't get a wink of sleep with you all making a racket in here!" The mistress howled, stamping her wooden cane into a well worn dent in the floor. "Now the lot of you shut your worthless mouths and get back to bed or I'll withhold your breakfast in the morning!"
Silver found himself scrambling along with the rest of the orphanage inhabitants to get into his sleeping bag. With heavy and depressed sighs, the lit candles blew out; casting the room into darkness once more. It was hard not to make a sound as the hedgehog child slid his body down into his holey fabric bed. Juvenile quills scraped against the wooden floor, creating a sick scratching noise until his head rested on his flattened pillow.
Silver tried not to think about his bruised side as he lay, staring into the night. Although his body hurt from the less than ideal sleeping conditions, what worried him more was the threat of no breakfast. Just thinking about his insatiable hunger sent gurgles into the hoglet's rib-lined belly. There was never enough to eat in this house. Everyone was hungry. And if no breakfast was served? Well, it would be time to go bug hunting again.
This chapter has been updated and rewritten two years after its original posting