Part 6 of Silver and his dads Eclipse and Shadow!
This is giving me all the fluff I crave. With some plot sprinkled in, cause I can't write anything without sooooome plot. But! Mostly floof. :3 Little Silver is so fricking polite and happy and adorable and he loves his new dads so much. He feels so safe and seen and validated. <3 <3 <3 <3
Sonic universe setting: Movie universe
Background: Black arms invasion happened and Eclipse was included as a vanguard. Black arms were defeated but Eclipse was spared. He changed his form to look like a hedgehog and stays with Shadow as a hedgehog rather than a Darkling.
Time period: About 200 years after canon. (Around five months after Shadow and Eclipse took Silver under their wing)
Part 1, Part 5, Part 7
Silver had been with Shadow for a little over two months now. He's started to learn how time worked and how to be respectful to people and Silver really enjoyed making people smile after he helped them with something. It was strange to be without Eclipse first... He hadn't been picked up at all except the very first day when Shadow comforted him because Eclipse had told him to go with Shadow when he couldn't choose himself. But he slowly got used to it, comfortable with the thought that he'd see Eclipse again eventually.
Silver was seeing a new side of Shadow that he hadn't known of before without Eclipse there... Shadow was really calm and cool. He wasn't frowning as much and if Silver was curious about a thing, he could spend a lot more time looking at it and asking questions than before. Shadow also made really yummy food and even started to teach Silver how to make his own food. It was really nice!
But Silver also missed Eclipse... He did his morning exercise like he'd promised, trying to lift something with his energy every morning. He could lift leaves now without breaking them and Shadow had given him a small pat in praise when he'd showed the older hedgehog. But Eclipse wasn't there to see it... And he missed being carried a lot. Shadow sometimes acted like touching others hurt him and it worried Silver. Because if touching others hurt him, why was he touching Silver? Silver didn't want Shadow to get hurt even if the pats and hand holding was really nice.
If Eclipse had still been with them, he would've been the one to hold Silver's hand...
Shadow asked Silver to briefly sit and wait outside on a bench while he went inside to a shop to talk about something. So he sat there, lightly clinking his ankle rings together while he was looking over his hands to try and find the thing that felt irritating. The air was filled with the smell of wood and there were lots of tinking noises inside.
His hands were a lot different from Eclipse's hands. But when he'd asked to see Shadow's hands, his were similar to Shadow's. Because Shadow had round squishy bits on his palm and fingertips like Silver did and not completely flat like Eclipse. Shadow's tail was also short like Silver's, not long like Eclipse's. But they both looked the same and had the same chest fluff. And Silver had chest fluff too, aaaaall around his neck.
Silver liked it when other people called Shadow his dad... Silver would've liked Shadow to be his dad even if he wasn't. Could he have two dads? He had a mom and a dad already, but they hadn't wanted to keep him. But Shadow and Eclipse wanted to keep him. Did that make Shadow and Eclipse his dads? So did he have three dads?
Silver managed to find a small piece of grass stuck to the side of his palm squish. So Silver carefully used his claw to remove it. He then watched as a small group of people went past him, all of them wearing sacks and cloaks like he and Shadow did. They talked about finding a place to sleep for the night and it made Silver curious...
"Silver. Come here."
He perked up when he heard Shadow and quickly jumped off the bench to follow him inside the house. It was warm inside but not to the point it was uncomfortable like the metal forging place. Silver lightly tugged on his hood to make sure it was still covering his quills, just like Shadow's did.
Shadow gently pushed Silver's shoulder so he'd step up towards the stranger. A super tall person with a super long neck and fur that was yellow with brown spots. Silver couldn't help but stare up along their body because they were super tall!
"He's the one taking measurement. And keep his growth in mind."
Silver offered the person a smile and a wave. "Hello! It's nice to meet you."
"Aren't you a little cutie." The super tall person said with a light laugh and motioned for Silver to sit down on a chair, a chair that was taller than Silver. He climbed up on it like he was told and was extra comforted when Shadow stood close behind him.
"Oh dear, how long have you been wearing these for shoes? It's about time you got proper ones." The super tall person said with a frown as they looked over the cloth scraps Shadow had helped wrap around his feet.
"I'm getting shoes!?" Silver turned towards Shadow with a bright grin. Something that made Shadow nod and lightly pat his head behind his quills.
"We'll be doing more travelling soon."
The super tall person let out a soft chuckle and smiled at them. They seemed a lot more relaxed as they removed the cloth around his feet. It all came from Shadow's old cloak when he bought a new one, cause Silvers feet got sore a lot faster when he wasn't carried any more.
Silver didn't think he'd get shoes so soon! He thought that since he's still growing, he wouldn't get shoes until later. But now Shadow was getting some to him! The super tall person also talked to Silver, and Silver was always happy to talk with people.
They asked how old he was, but Silver didn't know. They also asked about cool things that he'd seen and Silver talked about Eclipse's space ship and the huuuuge beast he'd seen Shadow fight. And he also told the tall person something super cool that Eclipse had told him. That if someone was in outer space and didn't have energy, they'd pop and explode!
Silver didn't understand why the tall person got uncomfortable by the cool fact. Or why Shadow let out a heavy sigh and held his forehead. Because it was cool and interesting to know! Now they knew that they shouldn't go out in space or they would explode. Because the tall person didn't have energy! At least, Silver didn't think they had any.
Shadow had told him he shouldn't ask if people had energy, even if he was suuuuper curious. Cause those who had energy were seen as dangerous. And if he asked, it would also show others that HE had energy. And Shadow said it was better for people to think Silver didn't have any so he wouldn't be in any danger.
Silver couldn't see how he'd ever be in danger with Shadow around. Shadow could get anywhere super fast, if there was any type of trouble then Shadow would take care of it super quick.
The tall person said the shoes would take a few days and Shadow said they'd be back in tree days. Silver was careful as he climbed down the tall seat and tugged on Shadow's cloak.
"Can we get something sweet?"
Shadow stared at Silver for a few moments, then let out a soft snort. "Of course you'd get his sweet tooth even when he's not here... I'll show you how to make some."
"Yes!" Silver's tail wagged at the thought and waved goodbye to the super tall person. "Bye bye! Thank you! We'll see you later!"
Shadow followed along with Silver pulling him towards the exit and Silver felt so warm when he looked up to see Shadow smiling.
"Can we make apple sweets?"
"Sure." Shadow nodded slightly. "Under one condition. If you can lift one with your energy."
Silver hesitated at the mention of his powers. He... could try. He'd been doing the daily exercises Eclipse told him to do. So maybe he was strong enough! And Shadow would still be there. So Silver nodded with his hands clenched in front of him, because now he was gonna be super determined to do it!
Shadow led him through the city, like usual, and they eventually reached the place with loads of trees. And all of them had apples! Silver liked apples a lot, both the sour and the sweet ones. But he'd always prefer the sweet ones.
Silver let out a cheerful "hello!" at the person working there, a really nice man who'd given Silver apples before. Only the "bad ones" that couldn't be sold but those were still really good! Silver didn't understand why others wouldn't want to buy apples just cause they looked different.
Silver talked excitedly how he'll be getting shoes now and the nice man congratulated him for it. He also told Shadow that it would be picking season in a week and they could be hired to help. Shadow said they'd consider it and then they got five apples that looked weird and Silver thanked the man with a bright grin and another wave as they left.
He really liked making people smile. And he really liked that Shadow told him how to be polite! Because then, people smile even more! Or, at least most do. Sometimes, people are just grumpy.
Silver and Shadow went back into the forest again, back to their camp where they'd been living in for a while now. Shadow removed his cloak here and Silver removed his too. He removed his ankle rings and focused on a wonky apple, trying really hard to lift it without crushing it... It lifted into the air, but it was crushed so violently that it spewed apple juice everywhere.
Shadow still said he would teach Silver how to make apple sweets, since he still lifted the apple like he'd asked.
So Silver swung back and forth on a low branch as he watched Shadow set up a small fire rather than his cooking stove. He always used a fire when he taught Silver how to make stuff.
It also made Silver think about those people who wore cloaks and sacks like he and Shadow did.
"Shadow. Why are we sleeping out here and not in the town?" Silver landed on the ground and shifted to stand closer to the older hedgehog.
Shadow paused in his work and looked towards Silver. "Would you prefer staying in town?"
"No. I stay where you stay." Silver tilted his head slightly. "But other people with cloaks and sacks stay in town. So why don't we?"
Shadow let out a soft hum in thought as focused on the fire again. "It's a precaution more than anything. Why do you think we wear cloaks?"
"To hide our quills! So we don't hurt people!" Silver smiled, because that's something Shadow told him when Silver got his own cloak.
"Right. But it's also to help hide our identities." Shadow nodded as he picked up a few sticks and a knife. He told Silver to make the sticks into points and Silver did so. Shadow had already taught him how to do that and he was really careful to have the knife blade aimed away from him.
"I have been alive for a long time. And I have made many enemies." Shadow continued from before as he leaned back. "If we're going to stay in the same place for a while, it would both be expensive and dangerous to stay in civilisation. If others knew where I am and where I will be... it would put those living there in danger."
"Cause bad guys would come after you...?" Silver paused with making the sticks pointy. "Why do bad guys want to hurt you and Eclipse...? You beat so many of them before, they should know they can't beat you, right?"
"It's because we can't be beaten or controlled that they try to subdue us." Shadow said this with a casual shrug while looking out towards the trees around them. "As their understanding of chaos energy expand, they believe the next version of their technology will defeat us. And if we're defeated, we could be under their control... It's what those people wanted to do to you too, Silver. They wanted to use you as a weapon. It's something all chaos users need to be careful of."
Silver frowned and looked down at the carved stick as he thought about it. A weapon... like a knife... Silver looked at the knife he was holding and tilted it slightly so the metal would reflect his eyes back at him.
"But-... That doesn't feel right... even if we have energy, we're still people. We're not knives..."
"It's not right. And it's a horrible part of society." Shadow nodded slightly as he closed his eyes. "The lengths they would go to get that powerful of a weapon... civilians have been killed in the crossfire before. So we can't stay in one town for too long."
Silver nodded slightly. He didn't like that... he didn't like that people could be hurt just cause bad guys wanted Eclipse, Shadow and Silver to be weapons. He hadn't wondered why they walked and ran so much before. But that made sense...
"Then... where are we going after I've gotten shoes?" Silver looked at Shadow. "We won't help with the apple picking, will we?"
"No. We won't." Shadow reached out to settle a hand on Silver's head. "We'll be going to a different planet entirely. No need to worry. I'll make sure that you'll stay safe. The fire is ready. Let's make baked apples."
Silver immediately perked up at the thought of sweets and listened closely to Shadow's instructions. The lessons of how bad guys were after them stayed with Silver even after that evening. And he understood a lot better why they were doing so much to hide their energy powers.
The weight on his ankles made Silver feel very safe and secure. And as long as Shadow and Eclipse were with him, there was nothing in the whole universe he needed to worry about. He felt completely safe even if the world sounded dangerous. Cause he trusted them a lot.