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The smaller hedgehog hadn't known exactly what was going on that morning. For him, it had been a normal morning, except the mood was dreary. Yet it took one look at his brother for it to click...The date...
Lil' was never one to pry information that was so sensitive like this directly from the source, yet he had his ways of piecing things together. A few small "innocent" questions to the ones Arrow also considered family (always careful not to cross any red lines), murmurs on the streets, a little bit of research online and in the books; the smaller hedgehog was able to fill in the blanks. He was good at that, for better or for worse.
Still, curiosity and concern came over the younger hedgehog after Arrow left. He initially wanted to let Arrow have his space, to be able to process his feelings alone; yet he knew what the older hedgehog would do if he had done the same thing. Perhaps it was something about their nature that they cared too much to let things simply be or maybe it was their strong bond, but either way Lil' would eventually be unable to resist the urge to follow the elder's trail.
He would give a small excuse to Mina and Lyra to get out of the house at that moment, but he knew that it was most likely that the mongoose already knew what he was going to do. Both of the hedgehogs were alike in many ways, to a fault. Perhaps that is why they clicked so much and why Lil' couldn't stay away.
He arrived outside the grand city, but he knew Arrow wouldn't be in the city itself...More isolated, just like he himself would want in a time like this. Damn, they thought a lot alike too, huh?
It didn't take too much longer to find the older hedgehog. He waited a few moments before making his move. He could tell...He could see the pain, the grief; it was enough to pull at anyone's heartstrings besides the darkest of souls. However, when he did make his move to be by the other's side, he didn't make an effort to mask his presence. He could hear the other's bitter laugh.
"Believe me, I already know." The smaller hedgehog replied to the other's first statement; his voice being somber and gentle. "There are things we just can't fix, even when he desperately want to." Lil' wasn't here to grill the other hedgehog for answer. Now wasn't the time. He simply just wanted to be there for Arrow, because he knew the other would be doing the same if they had swapped places.
He listened and watched the other in silence, letting Arrow speak his piece. It was a little surprising to see the other talk a bit about what happened, even if he was so vague. Still, again, there would be no questions, no expectation for answers. Lil' was just there to listen for the moment. He would wait for the other to finish, before he rested a hand on the other's arm, gently. He looked towards the city for a moment, then to his brother.
"Time can hide anything eventually...But the memories, the trauma, the guilt...It has a way of making sure we never forget those events, those moments." While Lil' would never know the exact events that transpired for the other hedgehog, he knew what it felt to experience those types of traumatic events...
He knew too damn well.
"You think time will make the pain go away, make the memories of each and every moment that happen start to become blurry and whisk it away...But those moments are the ones that leave lasting marks, not matter how hard it is that we try to push them away. They change us in ways we might not realize until decades have passed. We never get over it, no matter how hard we try, no matter how desperate we are to wish it never happened. I would know..."
Lil' took a second to let that all sink in. He wouldn't say more on the matter, but the collapse of everything he held dear to him and his own close call with being wiped from existence...It wasn't what Arrow had been through, not even close, but they both left their marks all the same. Some more physical, some more psychological.
"I know you're hurting right now...And I just wanted to make sure that you know-" The smaller hedgehog paused again. "-that it's okay to feel that way. You've been my rock through my lowest lows. You've always been the one to check up on me when you sensed that I was struggling. But right now, in this very moment, I want you to know that I am here for you"
There was a hint of vindication in his gentle voice. They were family and this was what they did for each other. He wouldn't let Arrow forget that. He gently pulled the other into an embrace. It was time for Lil' to be Arrow's rock, his shoulder to cry on; should he need it, which it looked to Lil that he did.
"You're my brother and I will always love you like one. And you're not alone-"
"-not while I am here."