updating while things are chilling out - will try to have more chapters out soon but i have no guarantees
When the two finally reached the ruined structure in the middle of the plain, Shadow had estimated the time to be midnight. Instead of feeling overly exhausted, as he usually did at this time of night, Silver found himself fueled by curiosity and wonder. Not only was this half- stone half- rubble building super secure, it was also going to be. For now it was going to be the both of theirs, but Shadow had said this is where he would be living. Which made it a home.
Silver was excited by the idea of having a home. Mistress had made it exceptionally clear that the home the kids resided in was not their home. She cussed at the group whenever they mentioned the word and told them "only when you're adopted will you get a home." The hoglet was beyond excited now. Shadow had made it absolutely clear this place was a home. And he wanted to explore every detail.
First off, before even entering the home, Silver had noted it had two whole walls missing. From the side the duo approached, the hoglet could see the ins and outs of the place laid out like a diagram. The two walls seemed to hold the two stories up with relative ease - it probably had to do with the tall corner, Silver reasoned.
Once Shadow had led him underneath the ceiling and onto the smoothened floor, Silver noticed how empty the place was. The only objects the child could see were piles of wooden boxes placed carefully into the corner or other various places, and a ladder that led to the second story.
With a heavy sigh, the ranger unlatched his cloak and hung it on a peg in the wall. Stopping only to glance at the youngling, Shadow approached the nearest box and pried off the lid.
"I'm going to try and find the bedding." Shadow stated, placing the lid back on the box. "After a good night's sleep, we can begin setting this place back up."
Golden eyes scanned the lower room with unbridled curiosity. Every single detail was waiting to be absorbed and Silver could not wait to imprint on this place. Not only did he want to get to know every crack and crevice, but he also wanted to influence every aspect of the place. Home is where the heart is, Fliss always said, and the ecstatic hoglet wanted to put his heart on every inch of the ruined structure.
A dissatisfied grumble escaped the corner as Shadow opened another box, with several already ajar and set aside. Not finding what he was seeking, the ebony hedgehog set it aside. Mumbling angrily, the ranger pried open another box, and then another.
Silver began to walk around, shoes tapping against the dirty cobbled floor as he wandered over to a decorative box against the break of the wall. While approaching, the child felt something odd beneath his feet. Looking down revealed a wooden trap door that was at least twice his size. Before he could ask any questions though, Shadow let out another complaining mumble and opened yet another box.
"I haven't been here in ten years." The adult explained, somewhat muffled by the crate he had opened. "My memory of which box has what is a bit skewed."
Silver looked back towards the decorative box. Shadow had hung his cloak on a peg over it, leaving its brown exterior in a slight shadow from the aurora. Despite it being just another box, its craftsmanship was much more elaborate than the other wooden objects in the room. Slowly, Silver ran his hands over its exterior, feeling the swoops and swirls in the grain.
"I can carry that up to your space if you want." Shadow spoke, startling the young hedgehog.
"What?" Silver asked, slightly confused from the sudden words of the elder.
"That box is empty, you can store your belongings in it if you want." Shadow clarified, hoisting a large crate out of the pile.
Eyes dilating, Silver ran his fingers over the box. It was a beautiful item for sure. Could he really store his things in there? It was a large thing, being only slightly smaller than his body. But it could be his….
Noises interrupted his thoughts as Shadow threw items on the floor. Cozy looking rugs and cushions accumulated in a pile before the adult made a relieved sigh. Tightly, Shadow returned the lid to its former position, but instead did not put the box back in the pile, instead opting to lift it over its head. Curiously, Silver watched as the ranger stepped his way over the pile of fabric objects, treading lightly to avoid tripping. Once out in the open, the adult seemed to relax.
A brief flash of light startled Silver as Shadow vanished before his eyes. Hurriedly, Silver clambered to his feet, looking around frantically to see where the ebony hedgehog had gone. Before Silver could call his name, a loud thud sounded through the ceiling as a heavy object was placed down.
"Do you know how to climb ladders?" Shadow asked, climbing down the rungs from the second floor.
"How did you do that?' Silver asked, stunned that the adult had suddenly appeared somewhere else.
"Silver, I've done this before." Shadow grumbled, walking up to the youngling and picking up the decorative box. "I use Chaos Control. Frequently."
"That was Chaos Control?" Silver asked, following the adult as he began climbing up the ladder. "It looks so much different than back in the canyon…"
"I've lost track of how many times I've teleported in front of you." Shadow grumbled, setting the decorative box next to the crate. "The fact you are only startled by it now is mind blowing to me."
As his foot left the final rung, Silver allowed himself to look at the second floor more closely. While the ceiling above didn't cover as much as the first floor, this space had a much cozier feel to it with wooden shelves and other objects littering the walls. On the west facing wall, a square hole with solid stone lining opened up the space - allowing the aurora to shine from more than two directions.
Shadow once again cracked open the lid of the crate and began to pull out more fabric things. After a short time, the ranger removed a thick roll and unfurled it, tossing it unprofessionally on the floor along with a pillow and a blanket. Silver immediately approached the setup.
"This will do for the night." Shadow spoke, placing his hands on his hips as he looked down at the makeshift bed. "I'll be sure to get you a proper place to sleep in the morning."
Silver flopped onto the pad, feeling a heavy drowsiness fall onto his body. Burrowing under the covers, the hoglet felt his muscles relax. A heavy sigh of content escaped the young child.
"I'm going to leave you here for a bit." Shadow stated, turning towards the ladder. "I have to go do something and I won't be back til morning."
Silver didn't even respond. He only let his black rimmed eyes slide closed as Shadow's blurry figure descended to the first floor.
"If I'm not back when you wake up, don't touch anything."
Those were the last words the prodigy comprehended as he slipped into a deep sleep. Silver hadn't even slept two minutes before he had started to dream. It was nice to dream. He hadn't dreamt in some time it felt like.
Floating through the clouds on blue energy was a splendid dream to have. Now that his powers were somewhat under control, it was no surprise to Dream Silver that he would be using them to fly. Although, in his dream, he felt much older than he really was. He didn't really question this feeling, but it was a bit odd. When he landed on the ground, he felt taller too. The woods seemed so much smaller than what he was used to. Either he was taller, or the trees were shorter.
His hands were awful distorted though. His markings didn't make a perfect circle at all, and he wasn't sure if he had ten fingers or twenty. Maybe both. Who even knew at this point. Perhaps it was a weird dream. Silver seemed a little too aware it was a dream. If it was a dream he could do anything, the hoglet reasoned. But why would he? Things were weird enough and Shadow was nowhere to be found.
Manifesting Shadow was not an easy task. Silver wanted to see the adult in this weirdly self aware sleeping state, but merely thinking about him wasn't bringing him into existence. The ivory hedgehog wondered if it was because he doubted himself, or if he simply didn't actually want Shadow around. Who knew. Silver didn't.
Feeling content to just walking around, the hedgehog began to notice things. One, there was a weird cloud on the horizon, and two, everything was bright. Not the white light blinding sort of bright either. The sky was a brilliant blue and the ground was stained a perfect shade of green. Much more vibrant than the dead world he was oh so used to. And, as icing on the cake, there was grass.
Silver had only seen grass a few times in his life. Fliss had found a patch growing in the woods one day and had brought him and a few of the other kids out to see it. The whole time they stood there, the teenaged bird was gushing stories of the old world and how grass used to cover everything and made the air so much more pure than it was today. Silver remembered it being the most green thing he had ever seen. It was such a marvelously living and breathing thing, that he had decided on the spot that green was his favorite color. Ever since then he had kept his eyes keenly peeled for patches of grass.
In this dream, the grass was covering the whole ground. Silver had never seen such a phenomenon before and it was truly magnificent. Kneeling down, the hedgehog ran his fingers through the plants, trying to feel the sensations only for him to realize that this was indeed, just a dream.
The cloud was looming behind him now, and Silver felt a strong urge to turn around. When he did, he wished he hadn't. A wall of familiar purple mist greeted his eyes as it billowed from the ground. The harsh contrast between the wall of vapor and the environment astounded the prodigy. Unease filled his mind as the wall remained, ominously pulsing from invisible air currents.
Come inside.
Silver didn't hear any voices. Which was bizarre considering that he somehow got the command very clearly. It wasn't a voice, or a thought, or anything. It was just a command. Unspoken, unread, but ominously clear.
Silver didn't know if he should go inside. Last he checked, that wall of hate was made from the cloud demon and the hedgehog had no interest in meeting him again. Still, that ominous command still rang in the back of his head.
"Uh, is someone there?" Silver asked, unable to hear his own voice, but still able to comprehend he spoke somehow. Dreams were funny things.
There was, unsurprisingly, no response. The curtain of fog continued existing, and Silver continued to stare at it. It wasn't doing anything. Which couldn't be a bad thing, Silver supposed. But if Shadow was in his stead, what would he do?
Staring at his black and red hands, Silver pondered further. What would Shadow do? Well, he might scoff and tell the cloud to bother someone else. He might attack the cloud, or dramatically walk away like it wasn't his problem.
Why him?
That was a good question. Why Shadow? Was it because Shadow was the adult figure in his life that was guiding his development? Was it because Shadow was connected to the old world? Was it because Shadow was Shadow?
Come inside.
Silver looked back up at the cloud. Shadow would definitely not go inside. And, by extension, Silver shouldn't either. That fog was being way too suspicious.
"No thank you." Silver stated, nodding his head once and turning away from the mist.
Looking at the blue sky, the hedgehog began to walk away. There was no reason to listen to the cloud, so why should he stay? This dream was weird enough, so he might as well enjoy it in other places besides the cloud. Who knows. He might even wake up soon.
Do not walk away.
Silver deliberately ignored the command. Whatever was asking him to do things was probably evil and the young hedgehog wanted no part in it. He was just going to have his nights sleep and have breakfast in the morning when he woke up.
A low growl broke through the soundless dream, startling the hoglet with the sudden sensory input. Slowly, Silver turned towards the mist to see two green eyes piercing back at him. Glowing green eyes. Before the hedgehog could even say another word, the eyes leapt from the fog. A face followed, rapidly speeding towards him with jaws open wide to swallow him whole. Silver screamed.