meemoomoos killing it again with the fanart - fantastic work its so adorable
also love that you guys have started linking your art im just blown away at how much love this is getting i never would have guessed anyone could enjoy it enough to draw art for it
Silver found it much easier to keep up with Shadow while traveling. The constant exercise and tedious training had made his young body strong - strong enough to walk for hours without getting tired. It was fortunate that the ranger had the foresight to get him into shape. The wide cracks and rough terrain required quite a lot of muscle to jump. Silver had forgotten how broken the ground was outside the stone plain.
"Use the front of your foot." Shadow guided, leaping across a deep trench. "Don't forget to bend your knees when you land."
Ah yes. Proper landing. The hoglet had found out the hard way that landing rigidly would hurt. It was a blessing that the ranger could do things so effortlessly. He could share all of his tricks and secrets with a mere word or two.
"At a walking pace, we are two months from Laser Ravine." Shadow spoke, not turning to look at his young charge. "I won't make you walk all of the way as it would take too long."
"Two months?" Silver asked, following the acrobatic adult over another crack.
"Correct." Shadow answered. "However, I will try to aim for one or two weeks."
How on earth could Shadow turn two months into two weeks? The hoglet didn't even want to ask. As the terrain leveled out for a bit, Silver found himself fidgeting with his belt. To be completely honest, the child hadn't even expected to be wearing anything extra. That was until Shadow had gone digging under the trap door again and found, buried under a pile of cloth, a small belt. It was an old thing - slightly too big for him - yet it was well made. Shadow's gear was always top tier.
The blue flashlight knocked against his leg, swaying slightly from another jump. It was strange to be wearing things. A small finger length blade and a pouch weighed down on his hips- accompanying the strange light device. It was surprising the ranger had even decided to give the five year old a knife - considering he used to get in huge trouble with Fliss if he was caught holding a blade in anything other than defense.
"Don't ruin your gear." Shadow had commanded when handing him the weapon. "That belt belonged to Breeze when she was slightly older than you - I'd like to be able to use it again."
It didn't seem odd that the adult was repurposing things. Shadow had a knack for making use of everything he got his hands on. Every blade, cloth, and wooden object he had stored on his person or at the house was meticulously cared for. "Have to make it last" were words that Silver was well acquainted with. Shadow had gone through great lengths to keep this belt intact for a couple decades. A little respect was the least the hoglet could do. After all, if Breeze wore this belt Silver would have to treat it with respect.
Silver shouldn't have been surprised that Shadow would give him things from other prodigies. Yet, he was anyway. The children Shadow had trained grew up to be well renowned heroes - it seemed almost surreal that he would be holding their old things. In fact, when the young hedgehog inspected the belt while struggling to put it on, the golden eyes spotted the initials "BD" scraped into the leather. Breeze the Dove. It was most certain it was hers.
Another jump took over his head as another crack required clearing. Silver grunted as he landed awkwardly on the other side. It wasn't fair that Shadow got to move so fluidly through the environment. Here he was struggling to jump - while the adult had scaled up a petrified tree to look further into the distance. The hoglet grunted as he landed, watching the ranger climb to the top. One leg linked around the trunk while the other pushed against it; allowing the hedgehog both hands to shade his eyes and survey the landscape. Panting, the ivory child jogged up to the base of the deceased log.
"What do you see?" Silver called up, catching his breath.
"Smoke." Shadow answered, sounding distant from his place in the sky. "Someone has lit a fire."
"Out here?" Silver asked with surprise - wondering who on earth would dare come this close to the gravity fields.
A loud thud echoed through an underground cavity as Shadow's leather boots hit the ground.
"A smoke signal, more like it." Shadow grumbled, adjusting his hood from its skewed position. "No doubt to get my attention."
"Do people know you're here?" Silver squeaked, feeling a twinge of danger.
"Relax." Shadow spoke, holding his hand out to silence the beginnings of panic. "Only a select few know of my whereabouts."
"Is it Tone?" Silver asked, eyes sparkling at the thought of meeting the world famous vigilante.
"Unlikely." Shadow coldly responded. "If it were Tone, he would have just showed up at the base."
"Then who is it?"
Shadow only looked down at the small child at his side. Large gold eyes stared back up questioningly as Silver silently pushed for an answer. The ranger turned away.
"It could be several different people." Shadow responded.
Oh.
Perhaps the elder himself didn't know who was out there. Slowly, Silver peered out across the horizon - trying to spot the pillar of smoke. Squinting, he scanned the sky. How could Shadow see it? Silver didn't even see a break in the clouds - no less a smoke signal. Where were they going? Silver didn't even realize he had slowed to a stop.
Looking around revealed the adult already some way into the emerging treeline. The petrified forest gave away to decayed wood as the hoglet jogged to catch up to his mentor. Why on earth did Shadow never wait for him? Silver puffed slightly as his shoes scraped on some dirt - stone ground slowly fading to forest floor as he traveled onwards. How irritating.
"Wait up!" He called - still not next to the adult.
Shadow only turned his head slightly - face obscured by his hood. A wave of the hand caught Silver's attention as the ranger gestured for him to catch up. Fortunately, he was kind enough to slow his walking pace enough for the hoglet to run gasping up to his side. Dear heavens - Shadow was not taking the hoglet's tiny legs into account. With a small dissatisfied spit, Silver stuck his tongue out at the back of the ranger's head.
"We don't have time for dilly dallying." Shadow spoke, not turning around. "Please pick up your pace."
Dilly dallying? What did that even mean? Silver had noticed the old accent shining through again at the words. It seemed as if the elder was trying to hide some speech pattern.
"What?" Silver asked, unable to find the words.
"Lingering, tarrying, dawdling - try to keep up." Shadow sighed, hand raising to his forehead. Silver didn't have to see the front of the hedgehog to know he was rubbing his brow again. Shadow was becoming predictable it seemed.
"I'd hate to keep them waiting."
Silver grabbed onto the seam of the leather cloak. If he was having problems with speed, he might as well tether himself to the adult. The material pulled taut as he faltered in his step slightly. A tug of Shadow's shoulder brought him forwards once again. Tiny paws gripped tighter onto the cloak. It would be best if he didn't lose his grip.
As the minutes turned to hours, Silver slowly noticed occasional puffs of smoke in the distance. The overcast sky made the dark clouds a bit difficult to see, however every so often the small hedgehog would catch a glimpse of the signal.
The cape pulled once again as Silver found himself drug along. Shadow's pace was a little too fast for his liking.
"Let go for a second." Shadow commanded, startling the hoglet as he had not spoken in some time.
The second Silver had released his paws, the ranger had scurried up another tree. Fixed again at the top, Shadow scanned the woods below for signs of intruders. How often would he do this? Feeling left out, Silver decided to join him.
Drawing his baby claws as far as they would go, the hoglet clamped onto the base of the rotted tree. Grunting, he began to pull - inching his way up the trunk like a caterpillar on a leaf. Panting and huffing filled his ears as he worked himself, sweat dripping down his face as he crept closer to the top. It was definitely unfair that Shadow could do this in mere seconds. Silvers claws were filling with wood and dirt while the adult effortlessly clung to the top; one hand firmly around the tip of the tree and the other to his eyes. Most annoyingly, the billowing cape took up most of Silver's view as he finally arrived at the topmost branch - wheezing from exhaustion.
"It's a smoke signal." Shadow confirmed, staring at the dark cloud in the distance. "It doesn't look urgent though."
"H how can you tell?" Silver panted, hugging the barkless trunk like a saddle on a horse.
"If whoever it is was in distress…" Shadow answered, leaning further away from the tree. "They would be burning more wood to create a thicker cloud."
Red eyes glanced down at the tired child. Silver looked back up at the hooded face - lungs puffing in and out dramatically as he reclaimed his breath. The ranger merely shook his head.
"You did not have to follow me." He sighed, dropping down to the branch. "If I wanted you to start climbing trees, I would have asked you to do several by now."
Silver could only nod. Tall trees were not easy to climb - especially when there was no adrenaline to help out. Shadow crouched down behind the hoglet; reaching out to grab the exhausted child. When the strong hands gripped his waist and pulled, there was a surprising amount of resistance.
"This isn't a glue pine, Silver." The adult sternly spoke. "Let go of the trunk."
Silver had forgotten about his hedgeling instincts. Young hedgehogs, especially babies, latched onto everything. It was subconscious for the ivory child to grip the tree like the back of a parent after all. He was exhausted. It was going to be difficult to let go.
"I'm tired…" Silver moaned, arms still latched around the trunk.
"I understand." Shadow growled, pulling once more. "Now let go."
Yet another pull strained the ivory arms - claws scraping against the tree as the ranger pulled tighter. Silver let out a distressed squeak.
"My arms are tired!" He cried, prompting the adult to stop tugging. "My claws are stuck…"
Shadow swung around to the opposite side. Red eyes assessed the situation as Silver rested his head against the trunk. Why did he waste his energy doing this…
"There."
Silver found himself tumbling backwards without warning. What did the elder even do? The hoglet barely had time to process his free-fall state before the ranger had grabbed his scruff and hauled him down to the ground.
With a sharp exhale, the ivory child felt himself dropped onto the dirt floor. Having only fallen a few inches, it did not take long for Silver to disgruntledly pull himself to his feet. His young body was bouncy enough to not even feel sore from the slight fall, even after the adult roughly dusted him off. Despite the lack of injury, Silver still felt extremely salty about the rough actions. It wasn't like he was indestructible. Pouting, he stuck out his lower lip with a frown.
"Stop stalling." Shadow called, already a distance away. "Do you wish to be rude towards our visitor?"
Feet sliding for a second on the dirt, Silver jogged after the adult. Annoyingly, Shadow's strides were much longer than his - leading for his walking pace to be much faster. Silver's little legs had to work at twice the speed to even keep up. It didn't take long for sharp breaths to fill the air once more.
As Shadow leapt across another crack, Silver began to see the beginnings of a smoke trail. Barely visible across the treeline, golden eyes spotted the thickening clouds. Finally it was easy for him to see. It was nice not having to strain his eyes. Jumping after the adult, he watched the dark fumes. It was mesmerizing to see…
Unexpectedly, Silver bumped into Shadow. Before he could even back up or apologize, the hoglet found himself scooped up between the hind quills once again. Blinking, Silver pulled himself to look over Shadow's shoulder - latching onto the cloak as he did the tree. Did the ranger plan this? It was almost like he had noticed the hoglet's entranced state…
"Let me do the talking." Shadow commanded, pulling his hood further down. "I need to be prepared to fight if necessary."
Silver nodded, pushing himself down slightly to hide on the elder's back. He needed to be out of the way if that happened. It would be most unfortunate if he got injured somehow.
The fire crackled through the trees, barely visible in the daylight. The only reason Silver noticed it in the first place was because the bright orange stood out from the dull gray of the world. Golden eyes watched it closely - waiting to see if it would jump from its place and start wreaking havoc on the woods. Ivory eyelids squinted as the location grew closer and closer.
Shadow's pace changed from a time efficient walk to an intimidating stalk. The hooded head lowered slightly, giving Silver slightly less room to see. Huddling down further, Silver prepared for the worst. Despite being unable to see the adult's face, a fluctuation of energy told the hoglet that Shadow's eyes were glowing.
With a swift movement, Shadow cleared another crack - landing right in the encampment of whoever lit the fire. A startled yelp sounded from next to the fire as a figure fell backwards in surprise. Silver's fingers gripped tighter as Shadow snapped to a position in front of the fire.
"State your business here." Shadow snarled, voice sounding intimidating enough for Silver to feel like he did something wrong.
The hoglet in question shakingly watched the person on the ground. Surprise filled his young mind as the lizard stood up - wearing a red uniform with several pieces of armor. Silver caught himself staring at the shoulder guards. They were eerily similar to Shadow's…
"I I bring news." The young soldier stammered, bringing himself to attention. "News from River Village."