my boy got bamboozled
As the rising sun crept over the horizon, rays of light began to illuminate the grey environment. Pinks and reds burst into the sky as the clouds reached down and caught the precious light in their swirling arms. Distant rocks glowed orange as their faces beamed in the morning air with yellows speckling from the minerals within. Shadows raced from corners and benches, creating lovely blues and purples to contrast the warm amber light of the waking morning. Slowly sweeping across the waking environment, the light finally cast itself on a disheveled hoglet; sitting curled against one of the upper walls of the oh so familiar concrete living space with flared spines and knotted fur.
Silver hadn't slept a wink.
His eyes reflected this with his face laden with deep purple circles and dehydrated skin. Hardened snot clung to his nose as he breathed in careful and calculated increments - lest some creature come racing from the fields and hear his bodily functions. Heck, he dared not blink. Great red veins snaked across his eyes as his iris swayed left and right across the horizon, hands clenching and unclenching from the drawn dagger in his palms.
What a lovely morning.
"Sun means safety…" Silver mumbled, voice shaking slightly in his anxiety. Shadow had taught him that daytime was the safest time after all. Mephiles' power was weaker in the sun, and stalkers were almost strictly nocturnal. Exhaling a held breath, Silver gathered the courage to stand. Missing breakfast was not an option, and a growing boy needs a lot of nutrients.
Starting the fire was easier in a familiar place. Even cooking food was less of a challenge. Shadow's shelf of dried herbs and spices would make the meal taste far better and provide more variety in his diet. He wouldn't have to eat unseasoned flicky with basil on his spit.
Roasting the food was easy enough, but with his tired eyes and sleepless head - it felt monotonous and unbearably slow. Even as the sun crept higher in the sky, Silver felt himself nodding off. Anxiety alone kept him from fully passing out though. Having a burning fire next to his face was a well enough warning to stay awake. The hedgehog had seen burn scars before and they were most unattractive on the face.
Yawning away sleepiness, Silver pondered such scars. He had a few of his own after all - nothing obvious. When a mobian has small and thin defects on their skin, their fur tends to cover it. Provided it grows there. Rubbing at his fingers, the hoglet rediscovered his cooking accidents and rock scraps underneath his maturing coat. Scars were very easy to hide with an adult coat of fur. Even though Silver's was yet to come in, having only sparse hairs bearing the width of an adult's, his naturally thick layer of baby fluff did more than enough to cover his mistakes. Shadow didn't seem to be so lucky though.
Though Silver had seen the adult block swords with his bare arms, Shadow still carried a grotesque scar on his side. It was clear he was self-conscious about it too - wearing a shirt under his cloak apart from normal hedgehog behavior to simply bear nothing of the sort. Culturally, women liked it when the men displayed their chest. It was absolutely tragic Shadow felt the need to hide, especially considering his impressive mane of white fur. Many a young man would kill to have a trait as royal as that. With such stunning coloration and impressive fluffiness… It was a pity it remained under a worn brown cloth. If Silver had a luscious mane like that, he would never cover it up.
Turning the spit, the hedgehog rubbed at his even furred chest. Gosh he wished he could have such a feature when he grew up. It was far too early to tell though. Usually a boy would look to his father to see what his future could look like, but having been orphaned so young… Silver couldn't remember what his parents looked like.
That thought alone sent a wave of sadness through the hedgehog. How did he even end up in that house anyways? His earliest memories were of Fliss and her guiding hands with no previous knowledge of who or what came before. He hadn't been born in the house. There was no way. No other hedgehogs existed in the area - leaving him alone with no one of his kind to talk to. Until Shadow had come along, Silver didn't even know if other hedgehogs were even alive.
It was to his shock that hedgehogs were quite commont. Walking the crowds of Savannah City had proven that. But mid-tones and saturated colors were the only furs he saw with no resemblance to his own. His own white coat seemed to be almost rare within the hedgehog gene pool from observation alone. No one else carried fur as light as his, leaving him confused once more as to where he had come from. He couldn't have come from Shadow. The elder hedgehog was an anomaly in his own right - with brilliant red stripes that were yet again covered and hidden from prying eyes. Bearing fur darker than midnight and eyes as red as blood, surely some of it would have passed onto any offspring of his.
If Shadow were to even consider it, after all. The elder hedgehog seemed far from wanting a partner in life. Perhaps it had to do with his age. Perhaps it had to do with something else. Silver didn't know and quite frankly didn't care. The adult was a loner by nature and it probably suited him best - having lived for such a long time anyways.
Pulling the roasted meat off the spit, Silver dejectedly set his food on his nearby plate. A collection of movements from his hand helped guide his psychokinetic power, pulling the flaming logs away from each other to let the fire fizzle out. At least the food was cooked.
He would have to go hunting soon though. Not today, thankfully, but eventually. The salt barrel hadn't been fully stocked in some time and the hoglet found himself struggling to reach the bottom. There were fortunately a couple slabs left there. Enough remained to last a few days alone, but they were the oldest meats in the batch. Even through the extra basil, Silver could taste that it was less than fresh. Oh how he dreaded to leave the safety of the Raw Zone…
If Shadow were delayed it would be another trip to the outer fields for sure. With his mentor such a vast distance away, the idea of leaving the safety of home felt mortifying. There was absolutely no way for Shadow to know if anything went wrong. No way to intervene…
"AUGH!"
Silver raised his hands to his head as the yell left his lips. How he hated being alone. His thoughts were so loud and so angry without another person to focus on. So many questions. So many variables. Why were his own thoughts so…upsetting?
Unlike years prior, he could understand his own situation. He could understand how others would want to take a child like him. He could comprehend the ways the world was so dangerous. Gone were the days he was frightened of owls and hawks. Gone were the days he stared unaware at the horrors of existing in this world. Goliaths and stalkers were mere puppets in the grand scheme of the world around him and oh so aware he was of it all.
Why couldn't he go back? Go back to being the tiny hoglet that could fit on Shadow's back. Why couldn't he have gone with the adult this time… Why did Shadow even leave him behind?
Syndicate hoods could sweep him away, using his power to serve their purposes and twisting a noose of a green hood around his neck. Mephiles could return at any point to burn his skin from his bones. The fog demon wanted his head, and worst of all a chance to make his mere existence an abominable horror of suffering and pain. That crystal creature comprehended nothing but hate, and in hindsight; that fact made Silver even more terrified of it than he was before.
Gone were the days where fire alone made him whimper and wail. Gone were the days where his brain couldn't calculate the death toll of Shadow's furious sprees of blood and rage. Gone were the days…
"I can't live like this..." Silver whined aloud, grabbing at the quills on his brow and pulling them downwards. "I have to think of something else…"
Round and round the cobbler's bench…
The monkey chased the weasel…
Silver's voice came out in anxious whispers - not worthy of being called a song in the slightest. Shaking away another round of anxiety, the hedgehog stood up with his empty plate in hand.
Then he said…t'was all in fun..
Pop goes the weasel…
His voice grew clearer as he approached the dirty water barrel. Raising his hand, he cupped a handful of the non-drinking water and poured it on his plate.
A ring for a sp-spool of thread..
Silver continued rinsing the plate, watching the oils and flecks of herbs drip onto the ground to be swept away in the next rain.
A ring for a needle…
Taking a nearby rag, Silver rubbed the wooden dish until clean, mumbling through the song in an attempt to distract his mind.
That's the way the money goes
Pop! goes the weasel
As the song continued, Silver began to feel a little better.
Round and round the mulberry bush
The monkey chased the weasel
The monkey stopped to pull up his socks
Pop! goes the weasel
Feeling the need to move, Silver placed the dish in the sun, shuffling in his boots and hopping up and down.
Half a wheel of spagonia spice
Half a wheel of apples
Mix it up and make it nice
Pop! goes the weasel
Taking a stance and anchoring his feet, the hedgehog began to pull himself through a kata.
Round and round the cobbler's bench
The monkey chased the weasel
The monkey thought t'was all in fun
Pop! Goes the weasel
Up and Down my fingers go
The palm goes forward-backward
Kick the heel and point the toes
Round goes the world now
Having reached the end of the previous song, Silver began to make up the rest - drawing from his actions and following them through.
Slide the left and slide the right
Keep your movements fluid
Water hands and liquid toes
Round goes the world now
Feeling a smile come to his lips, Silver realized he was starting to feel better. With each arc of his hand and each precise step of his foot, the anxiety within got quieter and quieter - reducing to a mere whisper as his voice rang out over the lifeless fields. A hop and a skip led to a jump and a twirl. His light weight allowed for him to perform each movement with the precision and accuracy that Shadow always wanted of him. A step and an arc. A step and an arc. The anxiety was almost gone now.
Perhaps he could handle being alone.