behold I live
im not sorry for my absence
It had been a few days since the incident. Shadow let Silver rest for the most part, knowing in his stiff heart that the hoglet was a bit traumatized by all the things that had happened throughout the last few weeks. Being the cold, yet caring soul he was, Shadow let the poor thing rest.
Silver only saw the ranger a few times. Food mysteriously appeared when he woke, and when he went to sleep he could see the shadow of the adult, cast upon the wall as his eyes drooped shut. It was very strange. Silver had the feeling that Shadow was avoiding him, yet whenever he was feeling overwhelmingly lonely, the adult would appear and start soothing his wounds. It was very strange for Silver, yet he allowed himself to rest. Some rest would be good before things started getting crazy again as they would, inevitably, become around the ranger.
Shadow seemed to be a magnet for danger. Silver's life hadn't been completely flipped upside down without his presence. If Shadow hadn't showed up, the orphanage wouldn't have been attacked or that weird monster thing hunting them down for his soul or something. Silver didn't know. And quite frankly, didn't care. All his preoperational brain could think about at the time being was his own wellness and safety. And, of course, food.
Slowly, the wounds on his small body began to disappear, allowing the hoglet some relief from the whole situation. The days ticked by and eventually, he found himself bored from being confined to a cave all day. A pretty cave, but still, a cave by default. Eventually, when Shadow was gone (which wasn't out of the ordinary for the time), Silver worked up the courage to try doing his paces again. At least something to pass the time.
Step, out, step, out, left, right, turn.
Silver stood there, gears turning in his little head. Wait…were these movements specifically geared towards his power? Is that why he wasn't trained to keep his arms close? Silver prepped his set again.
Step, right, step, left, up, down, stop.
"Elbows up."
Silver jumped.
"W-where did you come from?" He stammered, looking at the ranger who had spontaneously appeared in the cave opening.
"I heard you moving around." Shadow responded flatly. "Are you ready to resume training already?"
"I…I guess so…" Silver sheepishly replied.
"Alright then." Shadow stated, crossing the room. "You seem to have that kata memorized, it's time to actually use your power with it."
Silver found himself swooped on the back of the elder and rapidly carried to the surface. Plants and rocks whizzed past the youngster's face until finally, the adult burst out from the canyon and onto the grass above. Before he could say a word, he was set on the ground.
"Alright." Shadow began. "In order to-"
"But I can't use my power…" Silver whined, sitting down dejectedly. "Not when I want to…"
"It's not about whether or not you use it." Shadow sighed. "It's about how you use it."
Golden eyes looked up.
"The next place we're going is more dangerous than Twisted Canyon." Shadow explained, sitting down in front of the child. "I need you to be able to at least be able to throw stones."
Leather clad hands reached over and picked up a small stone. Silver watched as the object was placed in front of him. More stones were collected until a small pile accrued. Puzzled, Silver tilted his head.
"Stand." Shadow commanded, rising to his feet himself. Silver followed suit.
"Begin set." Shadow started, holding his hands out to do the motions with his student. "This time, focus on a single stone while doing it."
"Step, out, step, out, left, right, turn."
Silver followed, guiding his limbs through the motions and watching the topmost stone with an eagle eye. He pushed and swiped, stepping and turning, yet the stone didn't even twitch. Silver's brows furrowed. He began again. Watching and pushing, trying to get the rock to move. Yet it did not.
Silver growled, staring at the taunting stone as he finished the set; frustration blowing up in his body as the rock refused to move. He stepped and swiped, beads of sweat dripping down his face as his concentration increased. But the stone would not move. The set stopped and the stone remained. Leaving Silver feeling tired and, to be honest, quite enraged. Why couldn't he just move the stone?
"Again." Shadow began, turning to begin the movements once more.
"It's not moving…" Silver whined angrily, plopping down. Shadow stopped in his tracks. Red eyes turned towards the hoglet, who was beginning to sniffle from frustration. A deep sigh filled the air.
"Try this." Shadow mumbled, reaching down and picking up the top stone. Grabbing the child's hand he opened it, confusing the youngling. The cold weight of the stone dropped into Silver's marked paws as golden eyes questioningly gazed at the adult.
"Make it float."
"What?" Silver asked.
"Make it float." Shadow repeated.
"B-But-"
"If you can make it stop, you can make it go." Shadow interrupted.
Silver stared at the rock. Before he closed his eyes, he remembered his lessons and pried them open. Smooth, round, gray, yes - it was a rock. Silver took in every detail about it, eyes bulging and face reddening as he tried and tried to make it even twitch. He pushed and reached, hands twitching and arms shaking from the effort poured in. Anger welled in his chest. Why wouldn't it just move?!
"Stop…" Shadow sighed, pinching his fingers at the base of his eyes. "You have to breathe too."
Plopping back on the ground, the hoglet growled. Reaching forwards, he seized the stone, fingers grasping around it's hard surface with anger. His arm swung back as he charged up to hurl the rock with great force. Yet, Shadow was quick to react. As the rock whistled through the air the adult caught it, stepping over in seemingly the blink of an eye to interrupt its course without even a hint of being pushed back by its force.
"Keep yourself together." Shadow stated, looking at the rock with mild surpise.
"No!" Silver shouted, crossing his arms in a pout. "I can't do it."
"You're being childish." Shadow scolded.
"I am a child!" Silver shot back, turning away from the adult with a scowl.
"I understand that you are frustrated, but this is no time for tantrums." Shadow hissed.
An idea crossed young Silver's mind. An enraged one. Who was Shadow to be bossing him around anyways? Shadow wasn't his dad. If he wanted to throw a fit why shouldn't he? Silver stood.
"No!" He shouted, stamping his foot. "No! No! No!"
"No?" Shadow questioned, turning back to look at the child.
"No!" Silver screeched, throwing his palm forwards with the full intent of knocking Shadow back. Which he did. However briefly.
As soon as the cyan aura enveloped the adult, carrying him back a few paces; Shadow disappeared. Completely. No trace. Just - poof.
Silver stopped, yanking his hand to his chest with a squeak. Where did Shadow go? Panicked eyes began to look around.
"Shadow…?" He whimpered, the anger before turned to anxiety. Where did he go? Silver stared at his hand. Did he make Shadow disappear?
"Shadow?!" Silver shrieked running over to the place the adult had been. "Where are you?"
"Right here." A very cranky voice sounded from above. Shadow dropped down from the tree branches and stared at Silver with flaming eyes. The hoglet shrunk back.
"Do not attack me." Shadow hissed. "You have no idea what you are capable of, and even less aware of what I. Could do. To you."
Silver gulped.
"Are we clear?"
"Y-yes Shadow…" Silver squeaked.
"Good." Shadow growled, turning his back to the hoglet. "Now that it's established that you can throw things. I want you to do it again."
Silver found the rock tossed in front of his feet.
"Pick it up." Shadow commanded. "With your power."
Silver didn't even think about disobeying the adult this time. With less rage in his heart, he tried again. Holding his palms out, he focused. He saw the stone sitting on the ground and imagined it floating through the air. His cyan markings began to flicker. Red eyes stared at the hoglet. Watching closely for any sudden moves.
The rock twitched, making golden eyes dilate. Cyan enveloped the tiny hands, also covering the stone with a less intense aura. Silver began to smile. The stone lifted of the ground, inching its way upwards as Silver's smile grew.
"Shadow loo-"
The aura disappeared, the stone dropped, and Silver's face fell. So close…
"Very good." Shadow stated, walking towards the hoglet. "We've done enough today."
Silver found himself back in the cave with windswept quills before he could say "huh?". Shadow was nowhere to be seen, but there was a fire going. The hoglet sat himself down next to the fire with a sigh. What was he gonna do now…?
Shadow appeared with more glowing fruits. Whisking his knife out of its sheath, he sliced them open and pried out the pits. After a few seconds, Silver was handed the fruits. The hoglet sunk his teeth in, unsure of how to feel. Shadow seemed upset.
"Make sure you get plenty of rest." The ranger started. "You need to sleep well before we leave in the morning."
"Wait.. we're leaving?" Silver asked.
"Yes." Shadow answered. "We've tarried too long in this place. It's an even longer journey so you'll expect to be on the road a few weeks. I can't go fast because you have muscle to build."
Silver stared at the adult confused. The cave had been a home to the hoglet for at least a week, they were leaving already? Golden eyes trailed around the cave. The glowing plants and little crevices were beginning to feel so familiar…
"i'll be packing all night." Shadow continued. "Since I'm no longer by myself, i'll be carrying a few extra things with me."
Silver laid himself on the blanket thing. Shadow continued talking, but Silver didn't listen. All he wanted to do was sleep. After all, Shadow was right. He would need it for the journey ahead.