Silver found himself wandering through the woods. Alone. Scared. And vulnerable. With the adult nowhere in sight, the hoglet knew he was easy pickings for any large predator that could be wandering nearby. Having no protection made the fur on his body puff out in alarm. He needed to get out of the woods and back to the base. Oh how he wished he could hide in his bed. Whimpering, the child looked around. Eyes pierced at him in his peripheral vision, yet every time he looked, he saw nothing. Silver called out in the hopes his squeaks of distress would be heard. Yet, all he could hear in response was the echo of his own voice.
How he got separated from Shadow was a complete mystery, but since he was on his own, he would have to survive. Slowly the shadows grew longer and longer as the sun fell. The night was creeping on fast and he needed to get to safety as soon as possible. However, the trees were too high to scale and the ground too hard to dig. He would have to run.
And run he did. At full speed, Silver bolted through the woods; his bare paws slamming hard against pebbles and twigs. The pads on his toes began to bleed as he raced the setting sun, shadows stretching far out in front of him as the world grew darker and darker. The distant howls of stalkers brought shivers down his spine as he pushed his small body to its absolute limit. The loud thudding of claws ripping through the forest floor behind him grew louder and louder as the pack of monsters slowly caught up to him.
Desperate, Silver shrieked out - hoping the adult was nearby. The moon rose over the landscape, shining down like a watchful eye as the hoglet raced along. Horrifically, the snapping teeth and grinding claws grew closer and closer as Silver screamed louder and louder. Where was the ranger? Where was Shadow?
Fire raced across the bed of twigs and sticks, shooting out in front of the hoglet in an angry blaze. Crying out, Silver scrambled to a stop - leaning backwards onto his hands in an attempt to stop sliding forwards. The angry flames licked at his toes, burning at his skin and singeing his fur. Silver grabbed at his feet, trying to soothe the burning pain.
A loud snarl startled the young hedgehog to his feet as the stalkers closed in on him. Tears dripped down the hoglet face as he screamed out again. The monstrous beasts crept closer, moving towards the hoglet with cat-like efficiency. Silver backed up, only for the fire to reach for his tail. True horror set in as the child realized he was trapped. The only thing he could think of was to cry out once more...
"Oh you silly child." The closest Stalker snarled, mouth dripping with saliva as it spoke. "You think you can call out for him to save you?"
Silver sniffled, choking on his tears and fear.
"You nieve weakling." It spat, face twisting and morphing under the awful words. "He cannot save you from me."
The stalker's joints crackled and crunched as its body horrifically twisted itself under its own dark energy. Slowly, the jet black claws twitched into hands as its body dripped away its own mass.
"How many times must we play this game." It hissed, mouth twisting to form the muzzle of a hedgehog. "How many times will you cry like the pathetic weakling that you are."
Silver screamed out, trying and calling for Shadow once more. Tears rolled down his face like a waterfall as he sunk lower and lower to the ground.
"What do you want him to do?" The twisted creature spat, stepping closer to the quaking child. "Burn you alive?"
The fire roared louder and angrier behind the frightened child. The flames raced around his body and climbed up his fur like hot beetles. Silver screeched out in pain, throat growing sore from the howling and sobbing. Right as he thought he would pass out from the pain, a hardened hand burst through the blaze, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him into the ground behind him, out of the blazing inferno.
"How many times must I ask you this!" The creature roared, eyes glowing green as a dark fog billowed from underneath it. Silver coughed under the choking grasp as it lifted him off the ground and into the air, crystalline claws digging into his flesh and bone.
"How many times will you suffer?" The beast growled. "What. Is. He. Planning?"
"I...I don't know!" Silver sobbed. "I've told you…"
The hoglet could only cry under the intense gaze of the demon, shaking, quivering and spitting up blood. Every night this fog creature hunted him down and asked him the same question. Yet, every night, the dreaming child could not answer. Silver could not answer even if he wanted. Partially due to how little he knew, and partially due to how little he understood.
"I...I don't know…" He choked, looking away from the piercing green eyes.
"Tell me!" The demon shouted, shaking the hoglet in intensity.
"I don't know!" Silver cried out, grabbing at the sharpened fingers that held him, praying this nightmare would be over.
"Then you will DIE!"
Before he could make another sound, Silver found himself thrust into the ground, neck breaking upon impact.
Immediately, the hoglet instinctively leaped out of bed, screaming and sobbing with his whole lungs. Tangled in his covers he rolled onto the hard floor, sobbing and crying under the heavy weight of his own legs. Every single night, this happened. Every awful night.
It was understandable that he didn't know what was going on half the time.
Over the next few weeks, Silver had found himself in limbo; caught in an endless loop of wake, eat, train, sleep. For days this went on, nightmares plaguing his sleeping moments with hair raising horror, and Shadow plaguing his waking moments with physical work. Silver was unaware if Shadow knew about his dissociative state. Quite frankly, he didn't care if Shadow noticed or not. It wasn't like it mattered. The ranger spent his spare time setting up the base and working in the background unpacking boxes while Silver sat on the upper floor; legs dangling off the edge and staring into space for hours on end. Whatever the adult decided to do did not bother the young hoglet.
What did bother Silver, however, was the nightmares in his rest. Sometimes he would be burnt alive and awake sobbing and crying out in the night, and other times he would be completely alone, floating in an endless void that swallowed him whole. Every night for the same stupid question. Despite the amount of times he had denied knowing what the ranger was planning, if he was even planning anything, the Fog would always come back - trying to wear him down to his core.
Each and every night, Silver would avoid sleeping as long as possible, even if it meant laying awake on his pad after Shadow put him to bed. Every time the ranger came to put him to sleep, the ruby eyes would give him the same look; begging the hoglet to take the demon out of his lungs. Silver would always force a smile, deterring the worried adult from burning him alive.
One night, after screaming himself awake, Silver found himself rolling off his bed and onto the cold floor once again. The auroras danced overhead, eerily glowing with great tongues of fire that lit his room as he laid on the ground shivering. That awful demon…. Why did it try to torment him, he was only five… only…. five?
Silver's thought process stopped. Was he five already? A leather clad hand grabbed the edge of the floor, with an ebony adult hoisting himself up after it.
"No Shadow…" Silver coughed, scrambling back with a rush of adrenaline. "I'm ok - really…"
"Silver…" The adult sighed, pinching his brow with one hand. "I'm not up here to fight you."
Ivory ears tilted as Silver looked at the ranger quizzically.
"Since I know you won't be going back to bed, Yes I know how often you stay up at night, I'm gonna start putting this area together." Shadow explained. "You're well awake and since this is your space, you should have a say in how it is arranged."
Before the words could register in the young child's mind, the adult had disappeared and reappeared with a wooden crate. Slowly, Silver got up and approached the crate. His ivory fingers gripped the edge as he lifted onto his toes to peer inside.
"You get a choice on what color rug you want." Shadow spoke, reaching in and peeling back three different mats. "I would also like to hang some shelves so you have places to put things."
Silver looked around the room, seeing various holes and pegs in his walls.
"Why do you take it all apart?" He asked.
"Because I leave here for years, even decades at a time after training someone." Shadow responded. "As there are only two walls, the wooden objects are exposed to the elements and can rot faster."
Reaching in, Shadow removed a wooden slab, inspecting the ends before holding it up to a set of stone pegs.
"Would you like it here or lower?" Shadow asked, looking over at the young hoglet.
Silver walked over, reaching his hand up and touching the topside of the shelf.
"There is good." He responded.
With a few clunks, the ranger pushed the shelf against the wall, pushing it down and wiggling it around to ensure it would not fall off the wall. Silver sat down on his bed and watched as the ebony hedgehog began hanging more shelves, using the hoglet's preference as a reference. Pegs were removed and placed in different holes as the Shadow hung the objects. Although some were higher than Silver would like, the child knew he would grow into it, and even if he wanted to put something up there, he could just ask Shadow to put it there.
As the last of the shelves were placed, Shadow pulled the rugs out of the box and gestured for the hoglet to choose a color. Looking at the brown, gray, and black colors, Silver settled for the soft brown one - pointing to it with a nod. The ranger reciprocated, unrolling the large mat and aligning it to the single corner in the room.
"Let's move your bed from there to here." Shadow spoke, straightening the brown carpet out. "It's safest to sleep here as well as being most protected from the weather."
Before Silver could respond, or get off his pad, Shadow had picked up the mattress and hoisted it over his head - hoglet still on board. Squeaks of surprise and amusement filled the air as the ranger carried the pad from one end of the room to the other. Carefully, the bed was set down, hoglet bouncing from momentum and giggling from euphoria.
"You should be safer here." Shadow spoke, kicking the mattress into place and re-straightening the rug. "You should be warmer as well."
The adult walked back to the crate, digging inside and holding up a coil of rope.
"You'll need to hang things occasionally." Shadow spoke, fastening one end to a metal ring on one wall. "You'll need to have a line to dry clothes or herbs on."
The adult tied the other end to the opposite wall, giving the rope a satisfactory tug before turning to face the young child.
"Is there anything else you'd like in your room?" He asked, gesturing to the large crate.
Silver rose from his mattress once again. Hoisting himself over the edge of the crate, the hoglet let his golden eyes scan the numerous objects within. Yet, despite the options given to him, the young child did not feel like putting anything else in his space. Slowly, he shook his head and returned himself to his mattress in the corner.
"Are you sure?" Shadow asked, seemingly surprised by the hoglet's lack of wanting.
Silver nodded, pulling the covers over himself. Gold irises met Ruby as the young hedgehog stared the adult down. His ivory eyelids were so heavy, yet despite the overwhelming fatigue, he did not want to fall asleep
"Are you sure you don't want me to remove him? Shadow sighed, jumping down from the wall. "You'll sleep much better…"
"No!" Silver squeaked, burying himself under the covers. "Please don't…"
"You can't keep going on like this Silver…." Shadow sighed, approaching the hoglet and sitting down on the pad. "You need good sleep to function."
Silver peeked out from under the blanket, quaking slightly from anxiety. Shadow's eyes met his, staring at the hoglet blankly as the child crawled out of the hiding place.
"It only takes a few seconds-" Shadow started, only for the hoglet to shuffle back under the covers.
"No…" Silver whined, burrowing so far only his nose poked out from the covers. "Please don't burn me…"
"Silver…." Shadow sighed, lungs heaving from the force of his breath. "Don't you think He'll keep burning you over and over again in your dreams?"
Teary golden eyes peered out from under the blanket.
"Is it worth it?" Shadow continued, looking away from the hoglet and out into the Gravity Fields. "Is it really worth an eternity of torture for a split second of pain?"
"How did you know he was burning me…?" Silver sniffled, looking at the adult quizzically.
"He's predicable." Shadow growled, voice turning dark from disdain. "He uses your fear against you."
Silver lifted his head out from the covers as Shadow's voice grew darker and darker.
"He takes what you hate most and forces you to live it. But..." Shadow paused, turning to face the young hoglet. "He doesn't do it for no reason…"
Shadow lifted the rest of the covers, a new objective shining in the ruby eyes. Silver squeaked, shuffling back slightly as more of his body grew exposed. Leather clad gloves gripped the tiny arms, causing a squeak to escape the young child's mouth.
"Listen to me very carefully." Shadow spoke, turning the hoglet's to face him. "What I'm about to ask is very important."
Leaning in, the adult pronounced his words very carefully.
"What is he asking you to do?"