Silver is not a picky eater in the slightest
Today was exciting. Having spent a couple days back home, a few of which spent relaxing and resting from the long journey, Silver was already feeling the boredom of not doing much. Day one was relaxing for sure, but a growing boy has boundless energy to spend on chaos knows what. Due to this fact, day four from the return home was spent running around the ruined structure with the hedgehog toy in hand - pretending the figure was flying through the air with noises of speed and energy blasting. It was unclear if Shadow was annoyed with this outburst of energy or if he simply was bored himself, but the next day the adult had planned a trip into the outer gravity fields.
Which led Silver to where he was now. Out in the fields. Belt on. And full of hyperactivity.
"Don't stray too far." Shadow called, some distance behind the child. The ranger also had his full gear on, hood up and pouch full of tools that could be used to make lunch on the outing.
"I won't!" Silver called, voice chipper and ears at full height.
Running into a square depression on the ground, the hoglet found himself digging through a pile of rocks in the hopes of finding anything interesting. When hunting with Fliss, the Silver would always be on the lookout for anything edible. Be it bugs, grass, or worms, Silver always tried to find something to fill his belly. Although he wasn't anywhere close to starving anymore, the pile of stones reminded the hedgehog of times where he was - remembering that such heaps often held edible creatures. It was then he found himself wanting a snack.
As the stones rolled away with the digging motions, the ivory ears picked up on faint scratching inside the rocks and rubble. Feeling lucky, Silver moved faster - pulling aside the objects as fast as he could in the hopes he could catch it before it got away.
A squeak pierced the air as the hoglet's clawed hands clasped around the tattered fur of a rat - surprising the creature with the sudden catch. Laughing, Silver grasped it with his other hand - remembering all the times where he had failed such catches before. Those days he went twice as hungry, often fearing if he would even wake up in the morning. But now? This would be a mere nibble. Gloating internally, Silver shoved the creature in his mouth.
"Silver!"
Before he could register who had called his name, Shadow jogged into his field of vision - leather clad hands racing over and yanking the rat out of his mouth with an audible shlop.
"What are you doing?!"
"I got hungry." Silver shrugged, reaching for the rat once more.
"And you're eating it raw?" Shadow hissed, holding the stunned creature out of reach. "Do you have any idea what kind of diseases these things carry?"
"But I never got sick from them before…" Silver pouted, crossing his arms with a huff.
"Before?" Shadow sputtered, shock and exasperation crossing his face at the exact same time in a very unbecoming expression. "Th-fu-he What do you mean before?"
"If breakfast wasn't served, Fliss would take me and Basil out to the woods to hunt." Silver explained. "I'd only get a few bugs - maybe a flicky, but rats are hard to catch."
"S-so you'd just eat anything then?" Shadow huffed, waving his hands around.
"Yeah." Silver responded.
"Do I have to keep an eye on you at all times then?" Shadow spat, crossing his arms. "Make sure you're not running off to eat…eat a cockroach or some toxic thing?"
"Cockroaches are only for emergencies." Silver stated, reaching up for the rat once more.
"No." Shadow growled. "Cockroaches are for never."
Tossing the limp creature on the ground, not watching as it scuttled off into some crack, Shadow slapped his hands across his face.
"Had this been two hundred years ago I wouldn't have minded…" He groaned, voice hardly audible through the pained posture. "But this isn't then."
"Huh?" Silver grunted, head tilting as he stared at the adult.
"Bugs are a natural part of the hedgehog diet, but you can't just eat any bug you see." Shadow grumbled, hands sliding off his muzzle. "Nor can you eat rats, or flickies, or anything off of the ground."
"Why not?"
"Because-" Shadow snapped, gesturing around to the environment with a wide wave. "- in case you haven't noticed, this world is dying."
Silver looked around, not seeing what Shadow was so upset about.
"Grass doesn't grow here anymore, and all the dirt blew away." Shadow continued. "Chemicals and energy imbalance have tainted the fields, Silver."
"So…it's dangerous to eat things?" Silver questioned, ears flicking slightly.
"...yes." Shadow sighed, exasperated beyond measure. "Yes it's dangerous to eat things."
"Why're you so mad about it?" Silver asked.
"Because, Silver, there are so many things that can kill a young child and I do not want stupidity to be one of them." Shadow growled. "Come. Let me show you how to hunt safe food."
Silver wasn't entirely sure why Shadow was upset. Oftentimes, catching food was seen as a good thing - no matter what it was. Fliss would even make sure that his worms were nice and clean before he shoved them down his throat. It was highly confusing to the hedgehog that Shadow would have such high standards as to what should be considered edible and inedible. If it was able to be digested, it should be put in the body, right?
Apparently not. As the adult took the small hoglet out into the wooded area of the fields, he slowly began to explain to him how to tell if food was edible or not. Wilted plants were explained to be withered, red mushrooms to be poisonous, and grayed animals to be tainted.
"Withered plants have lost most Chaos energy." Shadow had spoken, grabbing the shriveled branches and jostling the wilted leaves. "Its nutritional value is close to none, and any such food you digest will only cause you to lose some energy of your own."
"Animals with matted or dull fur have been eating withered things. You want to avoid eating them as well because they will also drain your precious energy."
"Young blueleaf is full of toxins, it is only safe to eat when it has reached the length of your forearm."
"Cockroaches and other bugs scavenge off the plain floor. They rely on chaos energy more than food, and merely handling them can sap your energy in small amounts.
"Red mushrooms are unsafe to eat. Ingestion of Amanita used to be regulated or illegal, and eating one at your age can run a risk of brain damage."
Silver found himself absorbed in all the information Shadow had to offer. Merely walking through the barren landscape seemed to be full of calculations and risks - even for hunting. It was no wonder that Shadow hadn't taken the hoglet with him while scavenging, it was far too easy for the hoglet to find something unsafe to eat. With an added dimension of losing energy.
"But why is sapping Chaos energy such a big deal?" Silver asked, holding a white capped mushroom in his paw.
"Chaos energy is the balance between all things." Shadow responded. "It's the emotion and potential that powers the planet itself."
Shadow halted in his tracks, nostalgia seeming to run over him once again while glancing at his own hands.
"Or it did…at least…"
"Powers the planet?" Silver mumbled, shoving the mushroom into his mouth with a soft popping noise.
"It holds things together." Shadow spoke, kneeling down at the base of a petrified tree to pluck some grown blueleaf from in between a crack. "It's what your body runs on - the fire in your veins."
"Is that why the gem makes me feel so strong?"
"Yes." Shadow answered. "Long before recorded history, the energy concentrated itself into a crystal, forming an artifact once known as the Master Emerald."
"It can do that?" Silver beamed, finishing the mushroom.
"If there's enough energy." Shadow responded, gloves crackling to life with the familiar sparks.
The ranger's hands pressed together, glowing brighter with each passing second as a grimace crossed the black furred face. As if he were pulling against chains or bars, the hedgehog pushed against his palms, muscles straining and tensing from the energy flowing through his ebony body. Like a scent in the air, Silver felt the atmosphere light ablaze with energy as the ranger pressed on, the sparkling glow creeping down his arms like vines climbing a wall. Brighter and brighter the hands grew, reflecting in Silver's eyes like the moon on a dark night.
"It takes a lot of effort." Shadow gasped, the glowing ceasing in a flickering diminish. "Sadly, with the lack of atmospheric energy, I have to tap into my own for stunts like this."
Unclasping his paws, the adult revealed a green crystal nestled between his palms. Silver found himself unable to speak as the ranger turned it over, examining its facets with a melancholic stare. Shadow could do that? Silver was amazed.
"It's a mystery how much energy is needed to create a gem as powerful as a real Chaos Emerald." Shadow spoke, holding the false emerald between his thumb and forefinger. "Because it is created with such small amounts of Chaos, a crystal like this is useless and fragile."
Holding his hand out slightly, Shadow exhaled; blowing a steady stream of air against the gem's shiny surface. As if it were made of dust, the emerald flaked away - disintegrating into the air with swirling sparkles and blinks. Mesmerized, Silver watched as the glimmering particles caught in the air currents. His gold eyes seemed to sparkle themselves as he watched the specks carrying away in a trail of blinking lights.
"Woah…" He exhaled, large gold eyes tracking the luminous dust as it wafted off into the sky.
"It's important you keep a healthy balance of Chaos energy in your body." Shadow spoke. "With most of it gone from this world, it is much more of a hazard if you lose a great amount."
"Where did it all go?" Silver pondered, turning back around to witness the adult stowing a collection of blueleaf behind his back.
"It bled away into space when Sonic split Solaris." Shadow responded. "When the Doctor summoned it upon our world, it immediately began sucking the environment of our precious life force."
Leather gloves patted against the stone ground, gesturing to the petrified state of the Gravity fields in a wordless expression of guilt.
"In an attempt to save everything, Sonic also absorbed environmental energy. The three of them combined caused a major imbalance in everything - and despite my efforts to stop them, they wouldn't listen to me…they couldn't see how everything was dying."
"And they split Solaris?" Silver asked, mouth smiling at the chance to hear anything about Sonic the Hedgehog. "Did Sonic win?"
Shadow did not respond. The ebony adult could only sit back on his heels and stare towards the ruin in the center of the field, face and eyes obscured by the hood.
"Did he win?" Silver pressed, scooting closer to the unresponsive adult.
"Yes…" Shadow whispered, volume lowered to almost a breath.
"Wow, that must have been so cool!" Silver laughed, laying on his back and staring at the clouds. "You got to see Sonic win a fight!"
"I've seen Sonic win many fights." Shadow spoke, volume low and voice monotonous. "But I only had to bury him once."
"Bury?" Silver questioned, tilting his head.
"He died Silver."
"But he lived a long time ago, people always die."
"He was twenty-one." Shadow answered, not turning his head. "He was engaged, he loved his girlfriend, he loved his brother…"
"I don't understand." Silver huffed. "He was Sonic."
"He sacrificed everything for a chance…" Shadow mumbled, head hanging low. "You…I…Sonic… We all tried to stop it….but… we couldn't…so they left me behind."
"Left you behind?" Silver asked.
"A story for another time." Shadow sharply spoke, standing up and rubbing his face. "We must head back to the house."
"But why did they leave you behind?" Silver whined, climbing aboard the adult's back at a hand's beckon.
"A story for another time, Silver." Shadow harshly pushed, clipping his cloak to his boot and preparing for the run home. "You are too young to understand."
The wind hit the hoglet's face in an expected jolt forwards.
"And I have told you far too much already."