well exuuuuuuuuuse me princess
Silver might have well been sleeping while he walked. The sun hadn't even shown itself over the horizon before Shadow had woken the ivory hedgehog from his slumber. With much grumbling, and stern looks from the elder, the duo finally got a move on towards their next destination. It was far too early for a hoglet to be walking around in the woods. Wolves and other predatory animals were most active during this time, preying on small life forms such as himself. Despite the sudden jolts from terrain change, or roots and sticks that caught his little paws, Silver still found himself dozing off at every turn. Tiny paws grasped tightly onto the heavy leather cloak, and simply let Shadow lead him blindly through the woods.
It wasn't until the adult came to a complete stop that Silver was shaken out of his daze. Confusion and concern lingered in the air as Shadow's hooded head swiveled around. The shiny black nose twitched and trembled as it picked up on a faraway scent.
"Shadow?" Silver yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "What's going on?"
"I smell…" The adult trailed off, turning to face the youngling. "I smell blood…"
"Blood?" Silver quivered, slowly puffing himself out on instinct. "W...Where?"
"It's close by…" Shadow continued, walking around the young hedgehog. "Its…"
Ruby eyes shot downwards, looking at the leafy floor with mild shock and pity. Silver looked down as well, trying to find out what was causing distress. It was when the golden eyes fell upon his own toes that he realized where the smell was coming from. That is when he felt the previously numbed pain.
"Shadow!" He cried, falling on his tail and holding his wounded foot. "It hurts!"
"Just calm down; it's just a scratch." Shadow sighed, taking a cloth out of his cloak and folding it up. Silver choked back a few tears. He should have known better than to walk through the woods without foot covering. It was a shame his stuff burnt down in the house, but he could have at least watched where he was stepping…
"Stop squirming, you are making things difficult." Shadow grumbled, tightening the fabric and stopping the steady flow. Silver bit his lip, trying to stop his foot from involuntarily kicking.
"There. See? It wasn't so bad." The ranger sighed, standing up from his kneeling position. "Just a scratch."
Silver trembled as he stood, trying to support his weight on his burning foot. The slowly swelling pads and the tight fabric brought tears to his eyes. Gosh how his foot stung…
"Alright, let's get moving." Shadow urged, turning and walking into the woods once again. Swallowing his tears, Silver took a step after the hedgehog, trying to keep up with the pace the elder tried to force on him. Why was he so bent on going so fast?
With a squeak, his foot failed him sending the young hoglet tumbling to the ground. The hard roots and sharp rocks dug into his skin, bringing tiny cuts and bruises to the soft, young skin. Shadow's crunching footsteps came to a halt as the youngling struggled to pick himself up, his wound stealing his balance and leaving him stranded on the ground. A high pitched whine escaped the young lungs as the pain flowed once again.
"Is it severe?" Shadow asked calmly, approaching once again. "Can you walk?"
"No…" Silver sniffled, laying himself back on the ground. "It hurts too much…"
Silver felt the ruby eyes watch him for a short while, burning into his skull like hot coals. With a forced breath, the youngling bit his lip, trying to prevent another whine from echoing into the air.
"We have to leave." Shadow stated once again. "It's not safe here."
Silver's arms heaved again, giving room to place his feet on the ground. Yet the second he shifted his weight, he collapsed back down to the ground with a squeak of pain.
"Can you carry me?" Silver sniffled, turning to look up onto the shaded face. His large golden eyes stared up at the adult, pleading for the soothing touch of compassion. Tiny paws reached upwards, praying that the adult would take some pity on him. The ruby eyes did not move, nor did the expression change.
With an exhausted sigh, Silver laid himself back down. His foot throbbed as the hoglet tried to stand up again, only to fail. Shivers racked his body as the pain bounced off of his other injuries…
Leather gloves wrapped around his abdomen, gently lifting him out of the decaying leaves. Shadow's strong arms wrapped around the young hedgehog, hiking him onto his back and letting the cloak cover the shivering body. Sniffling emerged from Silver's wet nose as warmth slowly crept back into his body.
"Th...thank you…" Silver coughed, letting his tiny paws bury deep into the coarse dark fur. Thankfully, the hood and quill-band prevented the hoglet from getting a facefull of spines.
"Just heal." Shadow commanded, slowly picking his pace up. "Do not waste your energy on meaningless words."
For hours, not a word passed between them. Only the steady crunching of leaves and the occasional flapping of wings sounded between the dead trees as Silver rested. The further they traveled, the more Silver wondered about this strange adult. He had defied all expectations so far - and none of it made sense. The Hero had always been described as a tall, strong, and handsome guy with flowing quills and vibrant fur. Yet, despite what was expected of him, here he was; crunching through the woods with an injured child and looking nothing like Sonic.
Ah yes… Sonic the Hedgehog. Legend said he moved as fast as light itself - casting aside sound and roaming the world as he pleased. The rich blue fur… the vibrant green eyes… some even said his teeth were as bright as snow. Silver sighed. He wished he could have seen Sonic at least once. Pictures flooded his head once again as the hoglet imagined his favorite story.
A long step from the adult shook the train of thought from Silver's mind. A frown crossed onto the ivory brows as the elder ducked under a branch. Who was this guy? He didn't even seem like the hero type at all. He wasn't in a town, or sitting with kings. Heck, Tone got everything he wanted. A hero would be celebrated at every turn - having his praises sung at every step. Tone got that. Tone had cougar lived in a hut near a cliff, living the best life… while the "Hero" was running around in the woods with a head full of leaves and an old leather cloak.
"You don't look like a hero…" Silver mumbled, re-adjusting his grip on the solid shoulders.
"And what would a hero look like?" Shadow asked, slightly irritated by the hoglet on his back. "What did you expect? A tall, strong fellow with the sun setting behind his back and a monster under his feet?"
"...yeah…" Silver quietly admitted, lowering his head slightly with a glower.
"Did you want me to have perfect quills and striking shoes?" Shadow continued. "Well I'm so sorry I'm not up to your expectations. I'll try to change my fur color and chase a sunset."
With a small growl, Silver set his ears back. Regrettably, Shadow was right. There was no way he could expect that. It was a bit too unrealistic for something in this world. But still, he should have at least been a bit taller perhaps?
"Unfortunately, stories are not like real life." Shadow sighed. "Reality is much more disappointing."
"I bet Sonic wasn't disappointing." Silver grumbled, burying his chin into the leather. "I bet he was better than you."
Shadow went quiet for a moment, slowing in his tracks and stopping before a rock. A heaviness hung in the air as Silver felt the life slowly drop out of the elder. Had he said something wrong?
"... he was." Shadow somberly stated.
"You knew him?" Silver asked, shock taking his body with a jolt. "You actually knew him?"
"Let's not dwell on the past, Silver." Shadow dodged, flicking his head to the side. "Not yet anyways. We have places to go. Things to look for."
The crunching resumed as the Hero began his trek again, hiking the young hedgehog up once again to prevent him from slipping. Silver's paws still gripped tightly to the strong shoulders, not wanting to tumble to the ground. Despite the current bitterness that rested around the adult, Silver still felt completely safe. Somehow, he knew the anger wasn't directed at him. Still, the silence was deafening. The ivory hedgehog felt a twinge of… guilt? Awkwardness? Regardless of what it was, Silver didn't know how to fill it. It was too deep, too unknown to know what was really going on in the Elder's head.
"We should arrive at Twisted Canyon shortly after nightfall." Shadow announced, pointing to a rock structure in the distance. "How's your foot?"
Pain still licked at the tendons, burning at the youngsters paws as his feet dangled in front of the adult. Leather gloved hands set Silver down as a whine threatened to escape. It still hurt so much…
"I'll take a look." Shadow stated, undoing the makeshift bandage. After a bit of mumbling and a bit of prodding, the adult concluded it was still healing. With a final tug of the bandage, Silver found himself back between the dorsal quills of the Hero in one smooth motion.
The crunching of dead leaves filled the air as Shadow's trek resumed once again, leaving the hoglet to wonder what exactly was going to happen. Where were they going? And what was Shadow doing? With an adjustment of his fingers, Silver gripped onto the shoulders yet again - burying his face into the leather cloak. He guessed he would find the answers to his questions with time.