One of my alts got doxxed, so i must regrettably ask that you don't refer to me as anything other than Nightfuchia here

on a brighter note, thank you to SilverPsychic for the amazing fanart! it was super cute and i loved the colors

Silver did not sleep. Despite being laid in bed with a nice meal and a gentle tuck-in, the ivory child was unwaveringly worried. Perhaps worried was too mild of a word. Anxious or panic didn't seem to fit the bill either. No. Silver lacked the words to describe the absolute fear he felt laying in that dark room. There were few words that described the way he looked either. Eyes wide as saucers, body trembling like a cart on a holey trail, if he hadn't been placed there by the house's sole inhabitant, he would have been mistaken for some past era ghost. It wasn't like his alabaster fur helped his coloration either. In the soft moonlight, his cadaverous complexion gave him a spirit-like sheen.

Yet, despite the eerie child in her house, it seemed like the woman who had taken him into her care had fallen fast asleep from the drama of the day before. One would think that the hoglet would be the first to pass out due to his age and small size, yet the mother seemed to be taking the brunt of the exhaustion. Unlike Silver, she had been relaxed before bed. That was probably what allowed her to fall asleep so peacefully.

Adrenaline raced throughout Silver's veins as he sat underneath the window, hand clutching his tiny blade like a lifeline. It had taken him a good few hours to even dare to be upright with the threat of an attack hanging over him. It didn't help that his head was spinning with several problems at once. He had to choose between three objectives - and he was far from rational about thinking on any of them.

Should he choose to bolt from the house, he could go one of three directions. He could race to the gate and scan the horizon for any sign of that awful fog demon. In the event that it was spotted, he could try his best to throw as many objects at it as possible in the hopes that it would leave. In the event it wasn't spotted, he could spend the entire night clamped to the wall and staring feverishly into the foreboding woods.

He could also scour the village and try to find Skip. The woman had said he was put with the "others", whatever that meant. If Skip was sick, and potentially dying, it would be best to go and check out the situation. He could see if the puppy was healthy enough to walk or if he was in bed with a high temperature. Silver didn't know what kind of disease this was. Fliss had talked about sicknesses being "contagious" - meaning if you were around someone who was sick, you could get it too. The hoglet wasn't too fond of the idea of being ill, but he was far more concerned over the dog's wellbeing than his own. If he had to risk getting the sniffles, then that would just be collateral.

But, the third objective was by far the least appealing. Silver could choose to scale the wall and disappear into the woods to find Shadow. It had been at least twenty-four hours since he had seen the ranger - and that couldn't be good. All signs pointed to the idea that the ebony hedgehog was still locked in battle with that gruesome demon. If Shadow had won the fight, he would have come back already to fetch the shaken hoglet. But, if Mephiles had won; the village would be under attack by now. Deep down in his heart, Silver knew that as long as that smoke creature knew where he was; it would always try to kill him. With that knowledge came the fact that Shadow had told Silver where to go in the heat of the battle. The awful demon knew where the hoglet was. And because of that - the first place the creature would go was River Village.

The village was, matter of factly, not under attack. Which could only mean that the two hedgehog beings were still at each other's throats. Silver was not fond of the idea of hunting down Shadow at all. Merely going near the potentially massive battle could claim his life. Stray shots and well placed crystals could cut his thread short without a second glance. Silver wasn't nearly as powerful as the dueling masters. Trying to fetch Shadow from the predicament he had found himself in was most unwise.

So what was a hoglet to do? Silver didn't know. He had been awake well into the night shaking under a window trying to get over his dilemma. The insane call for action pulled at his heart and lungs with a fury, but the possibilities of his actions were far too many. Oh how he wished Shadow was there to tell him what to do.

Doing things on his own was not something Silver was comfortable with. His brain was still reliant on adults for guidance. There was that coupled with the concept of Shadow's training. The ranger had directed his very movements. Hardly anything from the last six months was done of his own accord. Slide, step, glide, breathe, think, learn, read, dream - all of this was by Shadow's direction. Silver might as well be a parasite on the adult's leg with the amount of dependence he held in his thinking. Even Fliss had been holding his hand through the first four years of his life. Teaching him how to walk, how to eat, how to speak…

Silver felt a tear run down his face. Had he ever done anything on his own? Was he always being told what to do?

No.

A memory flashed through his head - burning with the fires of the Syndicate base. Silver… had wrestled his powers into submission there. He had made the choice to bend the bars open to escape. He had helped choose how to get out of the base. He had chosen to go back into the fog to help the others.

Despite all the death and destruction that plagued those memories, there was some good to be found within. That event had forced him to make decisions. It had forced him to blossom out of his shell, and to stick to those he held close. Silver could have chosen to leave with the kids. He could have chosen to leave Shadow behind. But he didn't. He could have shrunk back in his cell to hide behind the other kids while the fires raged on. But he didn't. The fire… the flames… they had forged him into a stronger person. Without those fires, he would have never been able to fix the village gate. He would have never been able to break the dam. He would have never seen Shadow again.

Silver inhaled. He still had a choice to make. Would it be the village? Skip? Shadow? What was he going to do? He wasn't ever going to be able to sleep with this many threats hanging over him, so what was he going to do about it?

Well, what would Shadow do?

Shadow would likely do everything. He would probably check the wall, find Skip to assess his situation, and then run into the woods. Everything the adult did was wrought with pure efficiency and focus. The way he walked, the way he spoke - everything was performed with a level of optimization that Silver could only dream of. At least that is what the hoglet thought. How could a tiny child ever hope to tackle the monumental tasks that Shadow executed with such ease? Only an experienced warrior could carry out that level of skill.

Silver was the furthest thing from a warrior. Sure Shadow had been training him how to wave his arms around, but he could never actually hold himself in a fight. If he were to run into the woods, the smoke demon would surely end him in seconds. Seconds.

Then maybe guarding the wall would be best?

Silver slid out from under the covers. Skip was still heavy on his mind, but the boy would be fine, right? The villagers were probably doing everything they could to make the gold puppy better. Laces tightened the sturdy leather as Silver fumbled with his boots. Why did tying strings have to be so hard?

As quietly as he could, the hoglet slid out the window and into the night - trying his absolute hardest not to wake anyone up. If he was caught on his midnight escapade he would surely be punished. Silver shuddered. The mere thought of being struck by a wooden bar again forced the marked paws to race to his chest. Many bruises and splinters had been acquired from the mistress's hard cane. Absent-mindedly, Silver rubbed his face.

Sticking to the dark shadows cast by the moonlight, Silver crawled his way through the town. It didn't help that the new gate was on the other side of the village, but the hoglet didn't care. That was the direction that Shadow was, and therefore; it would be the direction attacks would come. Wiping cold sweat off his brow, Silver pressed on.

Rather than taking the main road, which would be far too obvious, the hedgehog decided to go behind the various shops and buildings that were visible from the main road. Fortunately, a place with several barrels greeting his eyes. Quite visible in the moonlight, Silver bolted to hide behind the wooden containers for a quick breath. This shop had a distinct smell that made the hoglet woozy. While slipping behind the barrels that lined the wooden wall, Silver spied grains scattered on the ground. Whatever product this place made was not very fresh. The air felt far too ripe for his taste.

Eager to get beyond the not quite bread making place, the hedgehog slipped behind another building, trying to put some distance between himself and the building. Not spending much time tarrying around the storeroom, Silver bolted again - this time to the water refinery. A fire was always going on in that place, leaving a healthy plume of smoke pouring out of the chimney. Silver wasn't exactly sure what a water refinery did, since he had only heard the name in passing, but whatever it was - with the fires always burning - it probably had to do with boiling things.

Spying the gate beyond the water distillery, Silver decided to make a break for it. There were hardly any places to hide beyond a few well watered trees and an old outhouse from here on out. If he wanted to make it to the grand gate, he would have to run.

And run he did.

Panting and stumbling, Silver bolted as fast as his little legs allowed across the open space. Fortunately, it didn't seem like anyone was awake - leaving the hedgehog feeling a little more relaxed. However, this did not stop him from running at his fastest speed possible. It was a little frustrating that he couldn't run as quick as Shadow, but there was nothing to be done about that. With what speed he was given, Silver scrambled to the wooden logs.

Cyan marked paws grasped at the ladder - pulling the hoglet up after them as he clambered up to the top. He needed to see if there was anything out there. If he saw so much as a wisp of smoke he would have to wake the town. Upon climbing the last rung, Silver's head poked over the top of the wall - laying the landscape out to the panicking child.

"Hey!" The sentry snapped, surprised at his small visitor. "You're supposed to be in be-"

"I need to see!" Silver interrupted, not caring if it was rude.

Shooting his hands to his eyes, Silver squinted - narrowing his view to see better across a long distance.

"There's nothing out there." The guard groaned, seeing the anxious state of the child. "Here- look."

Silver found his scruff grabbed by the strong racoon - hoisting him into the gatehouse without breaking a sweat. Before the hoglet could protest, he found himself stood upon a chair and handed a strange looking tube.

"Look through the spyglass." The guard prodded, gesturing to the metal object. "You can see further with it.

Holding the large end up to his eye, Silver peered through the glass. Everything looked small and distorted - the world reduced to a swirling circle of dark colors. Before he could frown or complain, the scope was taken from his hands.

"No, not like that." The guard laughed, shaking his head slightly. "Use the other end."

Silver found the tube returned to his paws, this time facing the other direction. Cautiously, the hoglet held the small end to his eye - peering through with a small amount of skepticism.

The world was huge. Silver's jaw dropped as what was far away seemed so close up through the glass. Maneuvering the metal around, the hedgehog found he could look wherever he wanted - seeing a level of detail he could from up close.

"Close your other eye." The sentry suggested, patting the child on his shoulder.

Silver struggled, trying to close his left eye with the right one trying to close behind it. Frustrated, he pursed his lips - face contorting in several unusual ways as he tried and failed to get one single eye to close.

"Can't wink yet?" The raccoon asked, amused by the facial expressions of the child.

Silver only shook his head. Deciding to abandon the suggestion, the hedgehog scanned the surroundings - looking for any sign of the fog demon. He needed to know how far away the fight was. If they were close to the village, then it would be time to panic.

"What are you even looking for, Prodigy?" The sentry asked, unaware of the situation Silver was trying to assess.

"Shadow." Came the simple response.

"Shadow?" The guard asked. "Well, there's one there - and there - and over there-"

"No!" Silver squeaked, stomping his foot slightly. "I'm looking for Shadow."

"The Hero?"

"Yes!"

Frustrated, Silver scanned the treeline - looking for any sign of smoke or fog. There had to be at least some sign of how far away they were. He needed to know - no matter how small the evidence.

As if to answer his prayers, a bright line of energy raced into the sky - climbing high into the night air from just below the horizon.