Chat do you recognize the 3 things I redrew, chat can u tell what it is
Uhhh yeah i redrew some Mighty and Ray moments with my hcs and stuff… yeah….
See theyre like…. Talking to each other ABOUT memories…. Like… that’s why the bubbles are like… like that, yea
I planned to draw ray with that ugly ass jacket that Archie gave him but I realized it would get in the way of his patagia, and now I finally understand WHY that version of ray looked so weird
Also I eye-dropped the colors from the images i redrew, so uhhh it’s not my fault if the colors look weird (it is bc I still chose the skin tones, obviously, but I’m not gonna say anything abt that)
Uhhhh I think I had more to say but I lowkenuinley forgot soooo yeah
Ok I initially wanted to add in Knuckles here for this prompt but I was like. No you know what would be funnier. If they had like a road bump and had no idea where they were walking instead. I'm sure that's happened before to them 😭
(This takes place a few days after the fire that claimed the lives of Ray's parents. Mighty is 8 and Ray is 3.)
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Mighty pretended to be asleep. He kept his back to the hospital curtain, to both hide his eavesdropping and shield Ray.
The little flying squirrel was clutching him even in sleep. A few whimpers made their way past his lips. Even though it wasn't his fault, and the firefighter made it clear there was nothing he could have done to save Luz or Glider—Mighty still felt terrible. He took small solace in knowing that he fulfilled Luz's final wish to get Ray out and keep him alive, but at what cost?
Ray was only three years old. He'd lost his mom, dad, and house all in one night and not only that—he was having trouble speaking. The doctors called it a stutter. While they couldn't know for sure, they supposed Ray's brain had been damaged by a brief loss of oxygen from the smoke.
"Most severe reactions from smoke inhalation lead to strokes, seizures, or comas," one doctor said. "I wouldn't say Ray got off easy, but it could have been far worse."
"Practice and speech therapy are the best treatments available," said another doctor. "With a bit of hard work, Ray should be able to overcome his stutter. It might never fully go away, but he should be able to lead more of a normal life."
Once the matter of Ray's stutter was figured out, the focus turned toward more unfortunate matters; where to put Ray. Well, and Mighty but he didn't intend on sticking around. It's not like a foster family was going to approve of him galavanting off in search of his sister.
The only question was . . . what should he do about Ray?
"Social Services wasn't able to find anything about the older kid," said one of the voices on the other side of the curtain. "There weren't any records of Glider or Luz adopting anyone."
"What about blood relatives for the little guy?"
A sigh. "They found some grandparents but they're in a nursing home and aren't fit to raise him. I'm afraid the only option is foster care."
Mighty knew he'd promised to take care of Ray no matter what and decided that Ray was now his little brother, but was that really such a good idea? He'd made that decision like—right after escaping a burning house. He was only eight. What did he know about looking after a toddler?
Wouldn't a home with two adults to provide for him be better? Sure, Mighty had learned a lot from Glider about how to survive on his own, but a kid made things complicated! Some things in life needed money. How could Mighty work odd jobs with Ray in tow? What if he got sick?
"Those two haven't left each other's sight since they were rescued," the second voice said in a whisper. Mighty had to strain his ears to listen. "D'you think there's a chance they can go to the same place?"
"I . . . Chaos I have no idea. I know Ben's husband is in Social Services so he could put in a recommendation, but if a family only wants one of them I don't know if there's much he can do."
Mighty had no doubt it would be easy for Ray to be wanted. He was so sweet and adorable, and even with the stutter there wouldn't . . .
Or maybe not.
People could be cruel. What if Ray managed to go to a home where the adults didn't care about his stutter, but the other kids did? He was only three. He'd only known love and affection. Could Mighty really leave that all to chance? At least with him, Ray would never feel like he was less because he had a hard time talking.
Mighty had seen firsthand how ugly people could get about things they knew nothing about. They judged him and Matilda for their parents' thievery, as if the two of them had any say in that. And then . . . a pang of regret and horror seized his heart as he was reminded of just why he had to search for his sister in the first place.
After their parents were arrested, he and Tilly had been placed in an orphanage. Mighty was desperate to get their parents back, and promised Tilly that he'd do so and they could be a family again. He'd left her to free his parents with his Chaos-given strength . . . and failed.
But the worst part? By the time he returned to the orphanage—Tilly was gone.
Someone had "adopted" a large number of children. The adults acted as if it was some great charitable act, but one of the kids who'd been left behind thought differently. Maple was a year older than Mighty and needed a crutch to walk. She said it was a scary group of humans and mobians who only wanted kids who were "healthy". They looked to belong to some sort of organization. Maple made a joke that she'd never thought she'd be grateful that her leg was all banged up. It meant she escaped whatever those people had in store for the kids they took.
Mighty left immediately in search of the sister he'd failed.
How could he even think about failing another kid? A wave of bitter shame coursed through him. So what if Mighty had doubts about keeping Ray safe? Luz had entrusted her son to him, and Mighty wasn't about to let her or Glider down. He'd do everything in his power to make sure Ray was properly taken care of. How could he face his little sister if he didn't?
By now the adults had left the room. The two of them no longer had to use oxygen masks, so it was only a matter of time before someone else came to take them away. It was now or never, but Mighty had to make sure.
"Psst, hey Ray." He gently shook the kid awake. "Sorry to wake you, but I've got something important to talk about."
Ray scrunched his face before leaning back in a biiiiiiig stretch. He licked his lips and stared up at Mighty. "Wh-What?" He rubbed his eyes as Mighty shifted him into a sitting position.
"Some people are gonna come, people who help kids without a home go live with other people."
Ray's muzzle quivered at the reminder that his parents were dead. A few tears fell down his cheek. "B-Bu-But you 'n' me w-w-will be . . ." He huffed in frustration and yanked on Mighty's arm in a vice-like grip. "R-Right?"
"Well, that's uh—what we gotta talk about." Mighty swallowed. He couldn't afford to have a hard time speaking now. "You remember that I have a sister, right? I can't stay with another family, so I need to—"
"D-D-Do-Don't leave m-m-me!" Ray shrieked. Mighty shushed him and glanced at the door fearfully. Thankfully, no one entered.
"I don't . . ." Mighty's resolve felt paper-thin at the fear and anguish on Ray's face. "I want to take you with me but—"
"Yes!" The bed shook faintly from Ray's bouncing. "W-W-Wanna b-be wi-with you!"
"I want you too, but Ray—" Mighty grasped Ray's shoulders and tried to be as serious as he could. "It's not gonna be easy, okay? I can't . . . I promise I'll do everything I can to keep you safe but it's gonna be hard. We won't live in a house. We're gonna eat stuff we find in the wild and there won't be lots of candy. We're gonna be hungry sometimes and cold. You have to understand that. It will be hard."
Ray's brow furrowed as if he were considering what Mighty said. But how much did he truly understand? He was just a little kid. Mighty had seen him change his mind multiple times in one day about what his favorite food was. How could he expect Ray to be capable of making such a big decision like this?
"I l-like candy an' I like m-my bl-bla-blankies," Ray said, "b-b-but I love you, M-Mighty!" He slammed into Mighty's chest and clutched him tightly. "W-Wa-Wanna be with y-you."
"All right, I hear ya." Mighty hugged him back.
This was such a stupid idea. There were a million ways it could go wrong, but for whatever reason Ray trusted him. Mighty was ready to do whatever it took to remain worthy of that trust.
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So Ray is actually almost four, but I feel mobians develop a little faster than humans do. Their lifespans are significantly longer than those of wild animals but not all species live quite as long as humans, so that's why Ray is speaking at a higher level than he technically should be.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Mighty the Armadillo & Ray the Flying Squirrel
Characters: Ray the Flying Squirrel, Mighty the Armadillo
Additional Tags: Werewolves, Werearmadillo, Mentioned Knuckles the Echidna, Mentioned Team Chaotix (Sonic the Hedgehog), werewolf folklore, Mighty and Ray Week, 35DaysSonic, Mighty and Ray Week 2026, 35 Days of Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog)
Sadly, I'm too busy this week to do much for Mighty and Ray Week, or for 35 Days of Sonic, but a few of the prompts lined up nicely. So, I pumped out a quick story.
Mighty and Ray Week Prompt - Trust
35 Days of Sonic Prompts - Folklore + Beast
