admittedly this isnt my best work this time but midterms
To say Silver was shaken up was an understatement. The poor child began to feel his heart beat and lungs breathe as hard as they could as his face drained of blood. The flames flickered before him, heat brushing against his face. What previously was a warm kiss, turned into a hot slap to his muzzle as the flames seemed to grow hotter and hotter. The tongues of fire burned louder and louder as his lungs breathed harder and harder. The crackling and burning filled his ears as the sky began to grow brighter and brighter, senses growing dull under-
"Hey." Shadow's harsh voice snapped. A heavy hand fell on the tiny shoulder with a firm grasp. Silver choked on his tongue.
"Listen to me." Shadow commanded, voice beginning to sound distant and echoey. Silver hiccuped as his muscles spasmed, sending a jolt through his whole body.
"It's just a panic attack." Shadow spoke again, hand clenching slightly to hold the hoglet upright. "I need you to breathe."
Silver's small eyes turned to the adult, trying to comprehend the sentence. Wasn't he breathing already?
"Follow my lead." Shadow started, placing his hand on the hoglet's chest.
"In."
Silver took a breath, drawing it in as the adult's leather gloves slowly guided his ribs outward. His eyes rolled back as his lids fluttered shut, body trembling from the forced control.
"Out"
The hand pushed slightly, slowly guiding the lungs back to the deflated state. SIlver felt his heart beat, the powerful thumping echoing through his whole system as his head rolled back.
"In."
Shadow loosened the push, letting Silver's lungs expand once again.
For a minute, the two sat there, the elder guiding the younger through the exercise as the clouds slowly crept overhead. Silver felt helplessly lost in the void of his mind with Shadow's voice being the only thing anchoring him down to reality. But, as the seconds ticked by, he slowly began to feel less and less lost. His breathing was less strained, his heart beat less violently, and his senses felt less cloudy.
"That's it." Shadow spoke, slowly lowering the hoglet to the ground. "You're almost back."
Slowly, Silver opened his eyes, feeling like he had just run a marathon from the weight of his own body. As the ranger's hand retracted, Silver shivered, feeling the tension release from his bones. Golden eyes shifted towards the adult, shaking from the leftover tension. Mouth feeling dry and tongue feeling heavy, Silver struggled to open his mouth.
"What's happening to me…?" He choked out, feeling his tension rise again.
"You're having a panic attack." Shadow responded. "A natural reaction to extreme stress and anxiety."
"Am…" Silver coughed, unable to form words well. "Am I going to die?"
"No." Shadow frowned, looking irritated by the statement. "You just need to calm down, then you will feel normal again."
"H how do you know." Silver spat out, feeling insulted by Shadow's lack of empathy.
"I have had traumatic episodes." Shadow spat back, matching the insulted tone with an equally insulted one. "Those last far longer than attacks and can sometimes be worse."
Silver huffed, sticking out his lower lip and crossing his arms. Shadow sat back with a sigh. The normally tough and hard expression fell away with a melancholic look of frustration shining underneath as he shoved his face in his hands. A distressed sigh escaped the adult as Silver sat himself back up.
"I wanted to keep you away from this…" Shadow mumbled, getting up and walking into the open-walled room. "But instead you had to get caught and trapped in that place."
Silver watched on in concern as the adult slammed his hands on a counter, head lowering as a growl echoed through the cornered space.
"I can't win." Shadow snarled, teeth visibly bared from twenty paces away. "I. Can't. Win."
A shaken inhale escaped Shadows lungs as his head sunk further, fingers clenching and quills tensing. Slowly the ranger picked his hand up, bringing it closer to his face.
"Signal, Breeze, Axon…"
The adult paused, names still on his lips as his eyes began to glow red. Silver shrunk back as the glowing hands began to sparkle. Fisted, the hand slammed against the wooden surface. Silver jumped, eyes growing small under the intensity of Shadow's movements. The ebony quills flexed, the pointy ends shining in the light as they tensed.
"No matter what I do…" The adult growled, turning towards the hoglet. "It never changes."
Slowly the adult began to approach the hoglet, irises flaming as wetness began to form around the edges of his eyes. Silver stumbled back, unsure of the crazed and distressed look in the adults eyes. Walking over to the pit, Shadow extended his hand, claws barely poking through the leather as he swiped into the fire, mouth open and gloves flaming with energy as he began to shout.
"Every single one of them has to go through the same sh-"
Red eyes turned towards the cowering child, stopping mid-sentence as the adult snapped back to reality. The glowing ceased as the ranger shook his head, rapidly backing away from the fire in a rare display of remorse.
"What am I doing…"
Before Silver could say anything, a blast of wind hit him. Through the air current, Silver could see the ranger run off, a blaze of orange trailing behind him as he disappeared over the horizon. All at once, the hoglet was hit with two emotions. First, the shock and awe of seeing something move that fast. And second, the absolute worry that Shadow felt something.
Silver had seen Shadow react emotionally before. The pure anger burning the Syndicate base to the ground, the slight amusement of finding the child stuck to glue sap. Yet Silver had never seen the adult's mask slip that far. Shadow's face had always held some level of sameness throughout each emotion he'd expressed. Usually he only let himself look angry or intimidated, brows pushing down and teeth baring in a snarl. But when it came to positive emotions, Shadow looked stoic. Even back at the cage when they were reunited, Shadow's expression was only slightly different, with the most minor changes to his face shining the most clear.
However, what terrified Silver the most in this case, was that Shadow had looked utterly upset. Not angry, not intimidating. Upset.
"Shadow?" Silver weakly called out, not really expecting any response. A slight breeze was the only response in the vast space of the open field.
With a sigh, Silver laid himself back, spreading his limbs on the smooth stone of the environment. Shadow would likely be gone a while, as he usually was, and it was now up to Silver what he would do with this time. And, despite having the freedom to move around in a safe place, Silver didn't feel like doing anything. All the young hoglet wanted to do was lay on the ground and exist.
And that is what he did. For the next few hours, Silver laid on the ground, not moving and slowly watching the fire burn out. From a healthy burning flame, to a barely glowing cinder, Silver watching, feeling extremely empty inside as the last of the heat burned away in a wisp of smoke.
Why did he have to be afraid of fire…
Fire was essential to this world. It kept people warm at night, it burned bacteria away from food, and it smelted metals and ores. If Silver wanted to learn how to live in this world he had to be able to use fire to his advantage. But, the mere sight of it made him nervous and afraid. How was he going to live?
Night crept closer and closer. Silver merely curled up, his baby fluff ruffling in the wind. It was getting chilly out, but yet he didn't want to move. All he wanted to do was wait for Shadow to come back. Knowing more nightmares were coming, he didn't want to sleep by himself. He wanted someone to protect him. But yet, the ranger was gone. Would he have to brave the night alone?
Slowly, he felt tears start to run down his face. He didn't want to be alone. Silver felt vulnerable and isolated, easy to pick off by predators and bad people. He needed an adult to look after him. He was just a child. Yet, Shadow had run off, doing the thing that Silver dreaded and left him alone with that evil fog in his lungs. Now, the ivory hedgehog was going to face the thing alone. As a child.
He didn't want to be alone…
As a whine began to echo through his lungs, a streak of orange appeared on the horizon. Shadow was back. Sliding to a stop at the ruins, the ranger began to look around, ruby eyes peering this way and that before falling on the small ivory ball that was Silver the hedgehog. In response, the hoglet only curled up tighter, trying to stifle his noises as more tears began to roll down his face.
Shadow didn't say anything. The blank expression he carried softened slightly as he approached the child, stepping carefully as not to startle him. Silver didn't say a word, only flinching slightly when the adult stooped down to pick him up.
"Let's get you to bed…" Shadow stated, voice returned to its bland state since his trip away.
Silver only buried his wet face into the fur of the ranger's exposed shoulders, trembling from the whirlwind of emotions that he didn't even understand. Slowly, the ebony hedgehog walked over to the ladder, balancing carefully on his feet as he climbed - holding the weeping child close to him. Slowly, Shadow laid him down onto his pad, pulling away the blankets to place the hoglet underneath. Silver reluctantly let go, instead grasping the covers tightly as he laid his head on the pillow.
"Shadow…" Silver hiccupped. "I'm scared…"
"I know." Shadow spoke, allowing a small amount of softness to his voice as he rubbed some moisture out of his white patch. "Just drift off, I'll be right here."
Silver only knew to close his eyes as he turned onto his side, curling back into a tight ball as the world he knew grew further and further away. He didn't know what perils would await him on the other side, but one thing was certain.
It would not be fun.