Fifthinasense on tumblr shines through with some fantastic fanart! i love the idea of SYTS and Prodigy shadow being swapped
especially since the two of them are entirely different people
the chaos would be tragic
Shadow straightened himself up to appear less intimidating - lowering his hands to a relaxed position. It wasn't until the lizard had stopped shaking that Silver noticed he had been in the first place. It was hard to remember how intimidating the ranger could be when exposed to it almost daily.
"Speak, private." Shadow commanded, gesturing with a wave.
"I..uh..I..well...um.."
The poor soldier could hardly make a word as the glowing red eyes blazed into his soul. From his place on the ranger's back, Silver could see the lizard grow more and more anxious as Shadow refused to break eye contact. His gray scales fluttered as his tail started to wobble - seemingly ready to fall off as it twisted and turned. Why wouldn't he say anything? Silver also peered into the forest green eyes - hoping his eye contact would help relieve the situation.
Yep. The Private was shaking again. Apparently not blinking made people more uncomfortable. The black and brown stripes might as well have lost all color at this point as the poor soldier struggled to find his bearings.
"Is everything ok?" Silver squeaked, finally finding something within himself to talk to the startled soldier. Dark green eyes met gold as the soldier clearly did not expect a child to be present or see him in the first place.
"Well...uh...I…"
Yeah… he was too anxious to talk.
"At ease." Shadow sighed, turning away. "I don't know why they keep sending different people, she knows I'm going to play hard with unknowns."
"Well...um..you see..I…"
"Catch your breath." Shadow commanded, performing another face-palm.
"I think you scared him too bad…" Silver commented, sliding off the elder's back.
Cautiously, Silver approached the shaken Private. Gold eyes observed the uniform. Red was not a color seen very often in clothes. Dyes were expensive to make - red and purple being the most difficult to procure. Whoever this soldier was, he belonged to a very wealthy individual or family. Even more surprising was the armor he wore. Sheets of metal were also reserved for upper society - striking the Private as someone who belonged to someone extremely wealthy to be wearing both red and steel. The shoulder guards caught his eyes once again as he looked between the soldier and the adult. The two pieces were indeed identical. Where did the soldier get Shadow's armor? A flash of yellow pulled his attention. Brass insignia rested in his chest plate - a metal Silver had never seen before. Slowly he reached up, observing the spread wings of a bird…
"Silver." Shadow snapped, startling the young hedgehog. "Be polite."
Reluctantly, the hedgehog withdrew his hand.
"It's the royal family symbol." The lizard piped up, kneeling down to Silver's height and shooting Shadow an apologetic look. "It's the Eagle of Old."
"Eagle?" Silver asked, running his paws across the rough surface of the inlaid medallion.
"The eagle represents the royal family, while the circle above stands for the rising sun." The soldier explained, removing his polished helmet and tapping the ruby set above the head of the eagle.
"And these swirlies?" Silver asked, rubbing around the border of the crest.
"The ancient flames." The lizard smiled. "A gift to the first queen of-"
"I will give him his history lessons when he's old enough to understand the weight." Shadow interrupted. "As of right now, he is too young to know of such tragedies."
Silver backed away from the soldier, understanding the signal to break away his curiosity.
"Tragedy?" The confused Private asked, standing up.
"Not all is known to the public, soldier." Shadow cryptically answered. "Now - there was news you were to deliver?"
"Ah - yes." The lizard gulped, feeling the intensity of the ebony hedgehog's glare. "News…"
The helmet was rapidly repositioned as the Private prepared to give his message.
"River Village has been seeing a drought, accompanied by a mysterious fog that has caused many residents to fall ill. A message was sent to her majesty on behalf of the distressed citizens for relief. She heard their plea and in response, she sent Private Lyme to the Gravity Outskirts to inform a shadow of the situation."
Shadow heaved a great sigh.
"Two months late, and this starts happening?" He groaned, turning around to face the Gravity Fields.
Silver opened his mouth to apologize only for a wave of the ranger's hand to cut him off.
"Send a message back to Ember and tell her to send supplies in exactly one month from this date." Shadow ordered, facing Private Lyme head on.
"Her majest-"
"If she sends them any sooner she runs risk to her troops and will be making waste of the situation." Shadow interrupted. "I'll handle Him and get the area cleared out by then."
"But-"
"Make haste." Shadow commanded, snapping his hand to the east with a point. "If she wishes to grant the villagers request for relief, then that is the best course of action."
Dumping a bucket of water on the fire, the Private turned to leave as soon as possible.
"I must reiterate." Shadow spoke, stopping the lizard in his tracks. "Do not approach Laser Ravine until the one month period is up."
Red eyes bored into the fearful forest green iris.
"He is not afraid to slaughter great numbers."
With a nod, the lizard picked up his travel sack and left - bolting off at a speed not dissimilar to Shadow's. Silver just stared at the figure as it grew smaller and smaller in the trees. That was...a strange message.
"Is Meephim back?" The ivory hoglet asked, nervously reaching to grab Shadow's gloved hand.
"Mephiles." Shadow corrected, also staring at the disappearing figure. "And this is, unfortunately, a common issue to deal with."
"Oh…"
There really wasn't anything to be said. If Shadow said this happened quite often - it must be the case. The ranger seemed to be the only person even capable of handling the cloud demon. Because of this fact it was only logical for Shadow to be the expert on the awful creature's behaviors. Rubbing his nose of smoke, Silver crawled up the ranger's back.
"Sorry…" He mumbled, feeling guilty that Shadow was late.
"It is not your fault." The adult responded, separating the logs on the extinguished fire. "The situation would have happened regardless of my presence."
Silver gripped tighter as Shadow turned in an entirely different direction than before. Tingling filled the young hedgehog's body as the elder's muscles tensed. It was odd how sensitive he had become to the adult's energy levels - especially since a huge spike emerged from the ranger's body.
"Hold on tight." Shadow commanded. "I am going to have to take a shortcut to reach there faster."
"Shortcut?" Silver asked, wrapping his arms around the ranger's neck.
"I'll have to cross the North Sea instead of going around it." The adult hissed, seemingly annoyed by the situation. "It won't be the most comfortable route, but it will get us there within a few days."
Shadow was going to turn a two weeks into a few days? Trying to figure out how the elder was going to make that happen was brain exhausting for the ivory hedgehog. How on earth could Shadow turn weeks into days?
"I won't be able to travel at top speed, due to your fragility, but it's better than nothing." The elder in question growled. "If you need me to stop, just extend your claws into my skin - and for the love of Maria do not let go."
Don't let go? What in the world did that even mea-
Wind exploded into Silver's face as Shadow bolted off at breakneck speeds.