slowly figuring out how this world works
Dark circles decorated Silver's eyes as he stood, wobbling on one foot in the middle of a stone plain.
"Balance is key." Shadow's voice instructed, sounding off from somewhere behind the hoglet. "To maintain your balance is to maintain your core."
Silver only blinked, holding his arms out for stability as he leaned too far to the left. Shadow circled around to the front, watching the tiny hedgehog twist about to keep himself centered. The hoglet in question only felt dead inside, meeting the adult's critiquing look with an unbothered stare. The elder in question, made eye contact abruptly and swiveled on his feet to face the hedgehog fully.
"Was your breakfast inadequate this morning?" Shadow asked.
"Inadequate?" Silver asked, words barely sliding out of his mouth.
"Was it insufficient?" Shadow asked again.
Silver gave another questioning look.
"Not enough." Shadow sighed, eyelids falling in annoyance.
"It was enough." Silver mumbled, leaning a bit too far to the right and shuffling his grounded foot to compensate.
"You can put your foot down." Shadow mumbled, walking up to the hoglet and grabbing his chin to look deep into the dull yellow eyes.
For a few seconds, the adult examined the hoglet. Leather clad hands grabbed at his cheeks, pulling the young head left and right. Ruby eyes scanning over the ruffled fur with precise flicks, taking in every small detail in the younger fur. Silver was too tired to care. Well, to say he didn't care was inaccurate. But rather than fretting over the ranger's need to investigate him, Silver instead chose to grow irritated that it took the normally perceptive adult so long to notice his disheveled state.
"You didn't say you were tired." Shadow stated, backing a step away from the hoglet.
"Didn't want to." Silver murmured, sitting down on the ground.
"Were you up late last night?" Shadow prodded, staring down at the young child with unblinking eyes.
"I had a bad dream."
"I can get rid of him." Shadow offered, fingers crackling to life once again.
Silver rapidly picked himself up.
"No!" He half shouted, rubbing his eyes and standing back on one foot. "I can continue training!"
"Put your foot down." Shadow spoke, hand ceasing its sparkle as he raised it to rub his brow. "You do know those nightmares will only get worse."
"I can do it!" Silver smiled, trying too hard and showing too much gum. Wobbling, he raised himself to his toes - trying to prove that he could balance well.
"Silver…" Shadow started, trying to get a word out before the hoglet interrupted again.
"I can balance, see?" Silver nervously laughed, tears starting to form in his eyes as the thought of fire entering his lungs once again began to consume him.
"Silver-" Shadow started again.
"Do you want me to do my moves?" Silver choked out, trying to keep his composure as he slammed his foot down in front of him. "Step out step out swipe swi-"
"Silver." Shadow growled, slightly raising his voice to catch the hoglet's attention.
Quivering golden eyes met the adult's stern ones. Quickly, Silver wiped at his nose, trying to hide a sniffle as his composure slowly faded.
"I- I can do it Shadow…" He choked out, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "I…I'm not giving up…"
"What did he do?" Shadow asked. The deep voice echoed through the hoglet's ears as flashes of the dream spun through his mind.
"I…I can do it…" Silver sniffled, sitting on the ground. "Please don't burn me…"
Shadow stood there for a moment, taking in the distressed hedgehog's voice. With a sigh, the ranger sat down in front of him.
"It's not about the nightmares, is it…" Shadow spoke, voice only barely audible through the slight breeze. Silver shook his head, feeling his ears droop under the weight of the conversation. Remarkably, Shadow's ears also tilted slightly. Golden eyes stared at the ebony hedgehog, noticing the slight difference in droop.
"Is it fire?"
Silver recoiled slightly, knowing that it was a silly thing to fear. Yet, when the ruby eyes did not back down, the hoglet melted under the gaze.
"You're not afraid of Him… are you..."
Silver found himself shaking his head, agreeing to the remarkably accurate statement.
"It was always the fire…" Shadow sighed. "I miscalculated."
Leather clad paws extended, once again crackling to life. Silver felt the twinge of fear return, worried the adult would proceed with the burning anyways. Yet, Shadow only removed his gloves, revealing his black and red fur underneath.
"This is only Chaos Energy." Shadow stated, slowly drawing a line with his hand. "It looks orange right now because I have detached it from my emotions."
Silver found himself looking at the energy, seeing how different it looked when resorted to a small burn.
"However, if I light it to my emotions…"
The energy flashed to a remarkable green, reacting to a flick of the hand. The hoglet's eyes grew wide, taking in the new color with fascination. Now it didn't look like fire at all. With the color change in place, Silver could see the difference between the two elements. Where fire burned and licked, reacting to the air around it, Chaos Energy did no such thing, beaming both up and down with flickering tongues, never wavering more than a slight push. It somewhat reminded the hoglet of electricity - with how it crackled and sparked. Somehow it seemed to react to Shadow more than it did the rest of the environment.
"Green is emotional control." Shadow continued, staring at his own hand. "But there are other colors."
A wave of the hand sent the green color to a shade of blue. From the swift change, Silver felt a pulse of calmness, somehow comforting him slightly in his anxiety.
"Blue is positive." Shadow explained. "I haven't fully mastered it, as I haven't fully mastered myself."
The ranger flashed his hand again, this time turning the blaze a bright red. With the wave, Silver felt a deep sense of discomfort, slight fear briefly appearing in his mind.
"Red is negative." Shadow sighed, allowing the energy to fizzle out. "The one I've mastered the most."
Silver looked into the red eyes, seeing a twinge of regret shining through the dense emotional control.
"It is not fire." Shadow spoke, picking up his gloves and standing from his place on the ground. "It is the balance between all things."
Turning from the hoglet, Shadow began to walk towards the house. Being quite some distance away, Silver slowly stood to follow him.
"How come I've only sensed it after I met you…?" The hoglet called out, stopping the adult in his tracks.
"There are two reasons." Shadow stated, not turning to face the young child. "One is that you have Chaos Connection, and I carry large amounts of energy.."
Silver shuddered at the words, seeing the red hooded fox's teeth shining in his memory.
"And the second is that the Balance is upset." Shadow finished.
"Upset?" Silver asked, wondering how energy could possibly be mad.
"I'll explain more when you're older." Shadow sighed. "But what's important to know is that Chaos Energy is no longer fluent in our world, and it is decaying from it."
Stopping by the campfire on the way back to the house, Shadow extinguished the flames; patting them out with his gloved hands with no fear. Silver gulped, seeing the unphased face of the adult turning back towards him.
"Sit." The ranger ordered, walking over to a kettle and drawing some water from it.
Reluctantly, Silver obliged. Slowly, and carefully, he placed himself by the firepit.
"No, come here." Shadow ordered, gesturing for the hoglet to enter the enclave.
As the hedgehog approached the room, Shadow began to move rapidly. The ranger began swiftly unpacking boxes and laying out objects as fast as the wind itself. A rug was thrown on the ground along with cushions and a blanket. In the super speed, the hoglet could see objects being picked up and set down, and then picked up again as if the adult was unsure of where to place things. However, the second Silver had placed his shoes on the pavement of the floor, a space for sitting had been set up. Kneeling down in one of the cushions, Shadow gestured with the cup of water for the hoglet to be seated.
"Tell me." He asked, handing the cup to Silver. "What about fire scares you so much?"
"It burns." Silver responded, fur bristling slightly from the thought.
"Was it the burning house or the Syndicate base that sparked this in you?"
Silver paused, both memories playing back in his head at the same time. Slowly, his ears began to droop as the memories played on. A snap of the fingers grounded him as Shadow exhaled slightly.
"Try not to get lost." The ranger spoke, placing his hands down. "Your mind is a cave full of passageways and it is easy to lose your way."
"Lose my way?" Silver asked, looking into the red eyes.
"When you dwell on your past in a way that frightens or scares you, it's easy to get sucked down a hole of panic and despair." Shadow answered. "Instead, why don't you try breathing calmly and reflecting on the fire itself."
Silver closed his eyes, imagining fire dancing in his head. It waved this way and that, flame dancing in a vacant space. It would be warm, right? Fire brought heat. Slowly his old fireplace began to manifest, the stone cobbles holding it up as the logs crackled calmly. Yet, as he began to think, the fire began to grow, roaring louder as it blazed through the fireplace. Children's screams began to echo through his head as the fire began to eat walls and floors. It raced across beams and danced on the ceiling, smoke filling th-
Snap.
"You're wandering." Shadow spoke, startling the young hoglet.
Silver looked at his clenched fists and noticed a blue aura surrounding him. Panic began to fill his eyes as he rapidly turned his gaze towards the adult, not wanting to lose control again.
"Shadow-" He whined, feeling his weight grow lighter as his body slowly moved upwards.
"Close your eyes." Shadow stated, unphased by the situation. "What about fire scares you so much."
Silver's heart began to beat louder, imagining the blazing fire that claimed his house. His lungs began to breathe harder, hearing the dying screams of the men in the base. Slowly his feet left the ground as the memories began to claim him once again.
"Silver." Shadow snapped, getting the hoglet's attention once again. "Not the other stuff. Just the fire."
"It burns!" Silver sobbed, feeling his heart pound through his system. "It hurts people, it hurt me…"
He floated there, eyes closed - feeling nothing but pure, unleashed panic blowing through his system.
"It killed people, it burned people, it…"
A hand grabbed his ankle, slowly tugging him back down to the ground. Golden eyes opened, letting tears fall rapidly down his face. Shadow merely sat the hoglet down leaning back on his heels as he stared at the ground.
With a sob, the hoglet latched onto the adult, feeling his quills waving in the midst of his aura. Tightly, he grasped at the ebony fur, trying to bring himself back to reality as fire burned through his head. Tiny hands gripped tighter and tighter as his aura pulled harder and harder. The last thing Silver wanted was to be separated, and it only made him grip tighter.
"It's ok." Shadow spoke, unmoving from his position. "Take your time."
And take his time he did.