The cobbler's door was well worn, to say the least. The wooden planks were weathered by wind and sun while cracks and seams snaked their way through the carved surfaces. Despite the quite fragile appearance of the door, Shadow wasted no time in carelessly throwing it open with a concerningly loud creak. Silver could only sniffle as the elder hedgehog led him into the workshop.

"Woah - what happened here?" A hefty voice asked.

As he stood in the doorway, the young hedgehog became increasingly aware of how unsightly his appearance was. Disheveled dirty fur and bloody knuckles were only half of the story as far as appearances were concerned. By the expression on the cobbler's face, the tussled hoglet could only assume he looked quite unruly - disastrous even. Unsure of how to feel, Silver could only rub his tearfully swollen eyes and hope his spikes weren't as disarrayed as his shadow implied.

"He got into a fight." The ranger growled, clenching his fist slightly.

"Really?" The bear frowned, quite surprised by the answer. "I never took him for the violent type."

"Neither did I."

Silver found himself shrinking under the ranger's intense glare. Despite his hood up and his face mostly obscured, the hoglet could still spy the blood red eyes glinting in the lantern light like hot coals in a dim fire.

"Might I ask with who?"

The floorboards creaked as the bear stepped out from behind his counter, grabbing his tools and a measuring device on his way.

"The young horse boy." Shadow answered, backing away from the hoglet to give the cobbler some space.

"Gosh I hate that kid so much." The bear growled, fresh scents of new leather sweeping into Silver's nose as the cobbler bent down to the floor. "Did you win?"

Silver nodded.

"Good lad." The shoemaker smirked, taking one of the small dirty paws.

"Don't encourage him." Shadow snapped, sending the child another look. "I do not want any habits forming here."

"Sounds like you haven't given him the lecture yet." The bear smiled, standing up after a few more measurements. "Why don't you take him out back and give him the good 'ole smack my pa used to give me - teaches a kid everything they need to know."

Silver gulped as Shadow nodded. Following the elder's gesture, the young hoglet trailed behind the heavy leather cloak with a heavy head and a pale face. Without his permission, his feet began to drag - turning to bricks and stumbling over themselves as the ebony hedgehog threw open the back door.

Behind the cobbler's was a fenced area - loaded with firewood and barrels of strange smelling fluids. The overhead clouds did nothing to accentuate the dull browns of the wooden objects, bringing a looming sense of dread as Shadow directed him to sit on a wooden log clearly meant for chopping things.

"Will it hurt…?" Silver sniffed, bracing for a professional backhand from the elder hedgehog.

"What?" Shadow frowned, a genuine look of confusion crossing his features.

"The cobbler sai-"

"I only want one thing from you right now." Shadow interrupted, harsh voice snapping through the air. "An explanation."

"Huh?"

"I want to know exactly why you attacked that young boy and what drove you to do such a thing."

Pulling down his hood, Shadow's red iris began to burn into the young hedgehog's skull. Sweat forming on his skin, Silver began to put together his words.

"I-I-I didn't want to fight him…" The hoglet confessed, rubbing his teary eyes. "He tried to attack me first b-but I dodged…"

"That does not explain why you beat his face in." Shadow growled.

"H-he said my parents abandoned me…" Silver sniffed. "And when I asked him to take it back… he didn't…"

"...and?"

"I…I don't know what happened..." Silver confessed. "Everything went red and I just…couldn't stop…"

"I want you to understand one thing." Shadow spoke, deep disappointment rippling through the air with each syllable. "We. Do not. Attack. Civilians."

Silver looked up.

"Do you know what could have happened if you used your power during that fight?"

Silver could only stare.

"You could have killed him."

The hoglet felt his already pale face flush whiter.

"You need to understand this." Shadow snapped. "Training turns your body into a deadly weapon. If you are not careful, you could actually kill someone with a single punch to the skull - do you hear me?"

Silver nodded.

"Do not attack civilians." Shadow continued. "They cannot defend themselves against you and it is your job to keep everyone safe."

"I…I…"

"Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir…"

"I cannot have you running around like a wild creature that attacks people for no reason." Shadow growled. "You either give me a good reason right now why you think you should have attacked that boy or seriously rethink your life choices."

"I-I don't have a reason…" Silver sniffled, rubbing his eyes once more. "I lost control…"

Shadow only stared.

"When…when he was saying those things I felt really really hurt…" Silver continued, eyes dry and lips trembling. "I felt a deep pain…right here…"

With a finger pointed, the hoglet jabbed himself in the chest.

"I guess…I guess I believed him…kinda…"

A sniffle rang through the quiet air.

"What if my parents didn't want me…"

Looking up, Silver could see no change in the elder's stoney eyes.

"So you beat his face in." Shadow coldly responded. "Took your emotions out on a mere bully."

"He tried to attack me fi-"

"I do not care." Shadow snapped, ears flattening. "Like it or not you are an extremely powerful individual - you have to be careful which fights you pick."

Silver found himself staring down at the ground.

"Look at me."

Slowly, Silver tilted his head up to the elder.

"You could have killed him."

"I-I'm sorry…."

"You cannot apologize to the dead." Shadow snarled. "There won't be a next time. Understand?"

"Yes sir…"

"Unbelievable…"

With a sigh, Shadow turned and buried his head in his palms, muttering indecipherably with drooped ears and hunched shoulders. As the ranger began to walk in circles, Silver found himself wiping his eyes once more. Stinging graced his knuckles as his scabbing cuts re-opened. Quietly, Silver hissed. Cupping his hand to his face he began to suck on the wound.

Why did he hurt so much? Silver sniffled once more. There was so much confusion over what had happened. Why did he care so much about his parents anyways? He never knew them. There shouldn't be any reason to feel sad about not having parents…right? Wiping his dripping nose, Silver stared at the pacing adult.

"Ugh…I have no words..." Shadow said, stopping dead in his tracks to stare down at the well worn dirt. "What were you thinking…"

"I just felt really hurt…" Silver hiccuped, pulling his knees to his chest and hugging them tight.

"I have been in that place many many times, and it still does not excuse anything."

"You have…?"

"I wasn't always this calm and collected!" Shadow snapped, spinning on his heels to face Silver with flaming eyes and flattened ears.

The hoglet flinched, hunching behind his knees slightly at the harsh tone. Sighing deeply, Shadow reeled himself in.

"Anger…is not a good excuse to hurt someone…" The elder softly spoke. "Trust me…I've made the mistake before…"

Sitting down next to the hoglet, Shadow pulled his hood back up.

"You have…?" Silver asked, staring at the adult with large quivering eyes.

"Far…far too many times…" Shadow confessed. "I was…very angry…and very afraid in my youth…"

"Afraid?"

"I have been in situations like yours…" Shadow continued. "But unlike you…I didn't have someone to walk me through all the aftermath… and the pain it brings…"

Lifting his head slightly, the adult stared into the cloudy sky above. Moments passed as the silvery wisps floated overhead. Awkwardly, Silver hugged his legs tighter.

"I hope you understand why I am upset…" Shadow said, voice lowered and eyes fixed to the sky.

"I…I think I do." Silver responded. "You're mad because I could have killed someone…and I did the wrong thing…"

"Yes."

"Did you ever kill someone…like that?"

"I've killed lots of people…" Shadow answered. "Some in anger…some out of necessity…"

"Do you regret it?"

"Some I would do it again in a heartbeat." Came the response. "Others I regret every day."

"Oh…"

"I don't want you to make choices you will regret…Silver…" Shadow spoke, turning to look at the hoglet with serious eyes and a hard expression. "That is why I am so upset with you."

"I don't want to be that angry again…"

"Then you have to find out what made you act that way."

Before Silver could respond, the back door to the leather shop creaked open - bear standing in the doorway with tools in hand. Turning his head, Shadow fixed his eyes on the cobbler.

"I made the extensions on the shoes." The bear smiled, wiping his forehead with his brown-furred arm. "It actually didn't take as long as I thought it would."

"The shoes are well worn and easily manipulated." Shadow stated, standing from his place on the ground and pulling a link of rings from his pouch. "Here is your payment."

"Thank you kindly."

"Come, Silver." Shadow ordered, gesturing coldly with his hands for the hoglet to follow. "We must leave. Your training must resume."

Wringing his sore hands, Silver nervously stood from his seat on the log. Hopefully the shoes fit much better than they did before…