;fear of the deep

Raising a brow at their icy expression, he narrowed his own golden sight. " Fare enough." His gaze sweeping towards the shore and the on coming storm.

" Make yourself at home then." Silver said as he took flight, his body glowing cyan and the long ponytail swaying behind him like a banner. " I want to talk to you when I get back." Their statement had unsettled him some and if they were going to be around each other, he needed some answers.

With that, he flew off, into the approaching gloom.

As they watched Silver fly off, their expression shifted to worry; eyebrows furrowed together as lips pulled back over gritted teeth. Their ears folded back, only lowering more at the sudden chill that rolled through. They turned their attention towards the former bed and breakfast, deciding to busy themself with getting the kitchen working again.

Stepping inside, they started brushing the spiderwebs away, slowly walking across the lobby making their way up to the old front counter. They walked around the side, looking over the desk's top.

There was obvious signs that someone had frequented the old inn, even if it looked like it had been awhile since their last visit. Silver had ransacked the office for paper and anything that he could write with, using one of the rooms as an investigation hub. Notes and photos were pinned to the wall with string connecting the pegs, as well as a sort of map of the old multiverse highway.

Another room had a bunch of toys in it, with colorful drawings marked on the walls. Only all of the paintings were close to the floor, as if they were done by children.

The kitchen was well sorted with all sorts of pans and cooking stuff. Coolers and plates, tea kettle and mugs along with camping gear that was clearly brought from somewhere else were neatly arranged.

---

The psychic hog had made it before the storm surge had hit so finding edible critters in the tide pools was a doable task, though having to keep his telekinesis up constantly against the storm was a struggle. He kept getting pelted with sand and salt water, the wind making a mess of his quills.

Quickly he grabbed the first edible fish he came acrossed, which was a school of small red fish that had been trapped at low tide and a flounder. It would have to do for now.

Arriving back with fish in tow, he paused at the door. He couldn't remember how long he had been gone or even if Siren would be there, but he hoped they were.

" I'm back." He called out into the lobby, closing the door behind him.

#～ic #grownup-n-corrupted #-mobile

Siren had made themself busy with brewing cups of tea. They had managed to find dry bags of Earl Grayーa personal favorite of theirs. By the time Silver had come back, the tea was done steeping in the mugs that Siren had also found. Their ears twitched upon their name being called. Lips drawing tight, they grabbed a mug with each hand and walked out of the kitchen, heading to the main lobby.

“I’m surprised they still have power here.” They said softly, offering a cup to Silver, “Did you want cream and sugar? Think I found some that was still good.”

Raising a brow at their icy expression, he narrowed his own golden sight. " Fare enough." His gaze sweeping towards the shore and the on coming storm.

" Make yourself at home then." Silver said as he took flight, his body glowing cyan and the long ponytail swaying behind him like a banner. " I want to talk to you when I get back." Their statement had unsettled him some and if they were going to be around each other, he needed some answers.

With that, he flew off, into the approaching gloom.

As they watched Silver fly off, their expression shifted to worry; eyebrows furrowed together as lips pulled back over gritted teeth. Their ears folded back, only lowering more at the sudden chill that rolled through. They turned their attention towards the former bed and breakfast, deciding to busy themself with getting the kitchen working again.

Stepping inside, they started brushing the spiderwebs away, slowly walking across the lobby making their way up to the old front counter. They walked around the side, looking over the desk's top.

Keeping his arms folded over his fluffy chest the hedgie did let his eyes trail back to the sniper. He looked them over once before blurting out, " Bullshit Siren. You gonna be hungry a little..."

He pulled on his bangs then sighed. " Ok, I'll rest after I catch some fish. I have to eat something hot or I'll crash. My powers come at a price." Silver said, implying that he needed to continually pack on the calories to sustain his abilities.

" And this isnt any of your fault, you know. I was the one who yanked you from the street. B'sides, it's not the first time I've been shot. I've had a lot worse done to me so stop thinking you have to fix this." Again he wasn't angry but just speaking his mind.

They hesitated before looking over their shoulder, locking icy eyes on Silver. The wind had started to pick up, pushing and pulling their bangs in the stronger breeze. "I don't eat. Don't really need to." They never felt themself become hungry, and yet they didn't feel entirely full. They just...Existed. The same came to sleep. They found they could go for weeks, and probably could've kept going if it hadn't been for the fact that they wanted to just sleep a night off.

"You better hurry. Storm is coming in."

Rolling his eyes like a child, the lanky hog still gave the other a charming grin, though it was forced. " Don't be like that. And don't call me weak. I was just trying to be nice~" He held both of his hands up in a surrendering gesture then backed away from the cryptid.

" Your the boss~" Silver laughed a little while leading up the sand dunes, his mood definitely had changed. But so did his body language, his shoulders slumped and back not so straight. Ears folded and a bit red peeking from the white fur. He held his side while climbing, eventually resorting to flying again. He wasn't as chatty as before either, instead just floating up and over the dunes.

Eventually he led them to a side street with houses lining it and overlooking the beach down below. " Well, this is it. I think it used to be a bed and breakfast cause there's several bedrooms. It has a fireplace to that I use for cooking. Hope you like fish~?" The silver hog was saying as he pulled his fishing string from his bag. Intending to go catch something before the storm hit.

Siren followed close behind, looking over and noting his changes. Their ears folded back as they bit their lower lip, "Silverー" They started, but watched the telepathic hedgehog take flight and moved further ahead. They jogged to keep up.

When they had reached their destination, Siren placed their hands on their thighs and bent over slightly, breathing heavily; the regulator on their neck bubbled furiously to pump oxygen into their gills. "Silverー" They took a deep gulp of air then straightened up, "You need to rest! You keep reopening your wound!"

Pausing with the line in his hands, he turned towards them. Though the smile that he had been wearing was gone, instead a cool expression was written on his face. " I know ok. I know it keeps opening but I'm not about to let you take care of me when you clearly have your own trouble following you. You wanna be real, fine real talk. You had an anxiety attack while helping me and I felt worthless to help you. Im not going to pry into your life but I still want to help you in some way."

He finished by crossing his arms and staring off to the side, avoiding eye contact.

#grownup-n-corrupted #～ic #~mobile

“IーI…” Siren stammered, brows furrowing together and upward. They sighed, “I’m fine, really. Besides, this whole thing is my fault!” They bared their fangs, showing off shark-like teeth as they growled, “I don’t need help! I just want to fix things!” They lowered their head and remained quiet. Siren turned around, arms folding over their chest. “Sorry.” Siren spoke softly, barely reaching above a whisper. “I’m not hungry, so don’t worry about me.”

Rolling his eyes like a child, the lanky hog still gave the other a charming grin, though it was forced. " Don't be like that. And don't call me weak. I was just trying to be nice~" He held both of his hands up in a surrendering gesture then backed away from the cryptid.

" Your the boss~" Silver laughed a little while leading up the sand dunes, his mood definitely had changed. But so did his body language, his shoulders slumped and back not so straight. Ears folded and a bit red peeking from the white fur. He held his side while climbing, eventually resorting to flying again. He wasn't as chatty as before either, instead just floating up and over the dunes.

Eventually he led them to a side street with houses lining it and overlooking the beach down below. " Well, this is it. I think it used to be a bed and breakfast cause there's several bedrooms. It has a fireplace to that I use for cooking. Hope you like fish~?" The silver hog was saying as he pulled his fishing string from his bag. Intending to go catch something before the storm hit.

Siren followed close behind, looking over and noting his changes. Their ears folded back as they bit their lower lip, "Silverー" They started, but watched the telepathic hedgehog take flight and moved further ahead. They jogged to keep up.

When they had reached their destination, Siren placed their hands on their thighs and bent over slightly, breathing heavily; the regulator on their neck bubbled furiously to pump oxygen into their gills. "Silverー" They took a deep gulp of air then straightened up, "You need to rest! You keep reopening your wound!"

The hedgehog was definitely slowing down, his burst of energy starting to run out. But he still acted like nothing was wrong. Waiting for the moebian to catch up, he leaned on a boulder, staring out at sea. They were on the shore with golden sand and broken ruins all around. But the thing that caught his eye was dark storm clouds.

" Uh, we need to go up." Silver said, turning towards the other and holding his hand out, silently asking if he could use his powers to make them fly. " Anything along the shore floods but up in the city proper there are houses still weather worthy. I got one of those set up whenever I come by."

Once they had caught up, Siren followed Silver's gaze upwards, noting the dark gray clouds looming ahead, and how large they looked. Definitely not good. Siren turned their head to warily look at the hedgehog. Did they really want to offer their hand again? Siren quickly changed to a more serious expression. "You're too weak to carry both of us. Go on ahead, I'll keep up."

His ears pinned back while suddenly he couldn't look into Siren's eyes. Glancing upwards at nothing he smiled. " Aw~ There you go again worrying~" Apparently that was all the time he needed to compose himself, his chest was a sensitive area... And they were so close... And cute...

Steeling his resolve, the ivory hog leveled golden eyes at the sniper. Smoothly he cupped their hand that was on his chest and brought their knuckles to his lips where he kissed the back of their hand. With his head bowed slightly he angled his gaze up through his lashes and winked, a slight blush on his increasingly pale muzzle. " Shelter it is~ But I can walk~ Thanks though~"

Then he turned and lead the way to a portion of the wall that had caved in.

Their eyes darted from looking at the wound, to their hand when they felt it being grabbed. Their other hand had began to move to pull the bandages aside, but also froze just centimeters away from his waist. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion for them as they watched their hand being lifted to meet with Silver's lips. Their eyes widened as their own cheeks turned pink; blood roared in their ears.

Siren continued to stand there in a mild shock even as Silver began to walk away. They slowly lowered their hand, balling it tight and putting it to their chest. There was no way that...

They shook their head, mentally scolding at themself to recover, and followed after Silver.

The downy hog had smiled and waved them off, even going as far as to shrug. " Yeah. It's just pitching a bit. You better watch out, I might get spoiled from you worrying so much~" He winked at the other, that easy grin sliding on his face to hide the pain. In truth it did hurt, perhaps a little more than what he would liked but he was a stubborn sort.

" Anyways, I got a place here. And we can fish and forge. The beach is nice here." He guided the conversation, not willing to be taking care of just yet again. The fishing line was complete so he tossed his bag over his shoulder. " So shelter first or the beach~?"

They pushed off the railing and crossed their arms over their chest, a frown now forming on their muzzle once more. "Don't joke. It's my fault you got all messed up." They could run through all possibilities of other ways of how events could've unfolded. They could've shot Silver when they were first in the air. They could've not followed him to the meeting with the rats, or could've chased after the old rat who took off with the money. But the matter was that they were there, here and now. And Siren felt responsible for Silver's recovery.

Sighing, Siren moved closer to the hedgehog, gingerly placing one hand on his chest while looking at the bandages on his side. "We should get you to shelter first. How far away is it from here? Maybe I can carry you."

Cocking his head, Silver had that good natured smirk on his somewhat pale muzzle. The piece of jerky levitating from his mouth so he could talk, his hands lifting his bag and letting it rest on a broken piece of the roof. " Nah. Don't get me wrong, but I've never felt small like how you're meaning. I can do amazing things, like fly and move stuff with my mind. I can dream walk and time travel... I know I'm not normal but I also know I'm not really that special. Am just me though, and that's enough."

He gave them a genuine smile instead the over the top friendly one he greeted the siren with when they first met. Though the hedgehog was beginning to feel that gun shot again. Leaning on the railing, he busied himself with making a fishing line.

They looked at Silver, offering a smirk and chuckled, "Humble, much?" This was followed up by them sticking out their tongue briefly; a small gesture to show how comfortable they were becoming around the hedgehog, "Must be cool though, being able to do all that."

Their ears pinned back, having noticed how Silver had changed how he was carrying himself. "You doing alright? We can go back if you want."

" Nope~" Came the hedgie's chipper response, landing next to Siren and walking a little further up to a stair case. A tiny waterfall cascaded down one side due to the slight lean the building had. " Dunno what caused the catastrophic destruction either but my guess is a tsunami, though it's weird how most of this water is fresh and not salty." He further explained.

Taking off his pack, Silver reached in for some of that strange purple jerky. Biting a strip and holding it in his mouth, he offered another piece to the sea-moebian. Not that he expected them to take it, but he just was being nice.

They had followed Silver up the stairs. As expected, Siren held out there hand and waved it to say "no thank you". Then they went back to looking around while leaning against the guard rail, mouth slightly agape. Their tail moved side to side idly. "Shame. I mean, clearly people had lived here and just one dayーpoofー all gone..." In a sort of cathartic way, it gave the mer-moebian some hope for their own home world. "Makes ya feel small, don't it?"

ur-daily-inspiration

#〜musings

The futuristic hog waved them off, that lopsided smile still on his face. " Nah, it's cool. Bout time I started pulling my own weight again." Silver told them as he buckled the bag back to the belt that he still wore. He couldn't reach the thigh strap though, so he just left it hanging down his leg. The cloak he just tucked into the belt on the other side across the satchel.

" If there's anything you need, nows the time hun. Though I guess we can just come back later, if you want." Silver was just making idle chit chat, trying to keep his new friend relaxed and calm. Giving them something to focus on rather than retreating back into their own head. He understood that because he did it to himself sometimes.

" You'll like this place. It's an abandoned zone with lots of sunken buildings, no one else is there except for plants and wildlife. It's mostly water but it's clean and the critters are mostly birds and aquatic life. I've been going there for a few years now exploring the place. The sunsets are amazing to watch~"

He chatted away while drifting, eventually flying through and waiting on the moebian to follow. The portal had opened up into what looked like a grand cathedral only the roof was gone and plants grew everywhere. Small waterfalls were cascading down through broken windows, creating pools on the lower levels of the ruined building. Golden light flooded the area and the air smelt flesh. It was rather pretty.

Watching Silver float into the portal, Siren followed suit. Upon stepping though themself, they looked around in awe at the massive structure and plants covering every inch, their tail swaying idly. They stopped in a spot being touched by warm sunlight, closing their eyes and embracing the warmth. "This...Is amazing, Silver. Do you know what this place was called by chance?"

The words alone were enough to stop the talkative hedgie but the tone made him pay attention, glancing at their complexion and stance. Guessing they were still dealing with stuff he sincerely hope he hadn't said something to worsen the strain, but he didn't know them well enough to help either. When he had panic attacks he turned to a plethora of vices, none too healthy but it worked for him. Though he somehow couldn't imagine the sniper sharing the same interest.

Adopting his charismatic persona again, Silver smiled and looked reassuringly at the other. They were dragged into this mess because of him, so he could push himself a little harder. He was pretty sure Siren was just tagging along until he was healed then they could go there separate ways.

" Sure thing hun. I got just the place. I think you'll really like it."

Using his powers to flow instead of standing, the treasure hunter mentally collected his gear, the hip bag and cloak drifting to him with a cyan glow. Taking out his warp ring he tossed it in the air, activating the portal to another world. On the other side was golden light and the sounds of water and birds could be heard.

#～ic #grownup n corrupted #『Sorry this is so short』

Siren stared into the portal, mouth slightly agape at the sight of the other side. Their ears perked up. It was such a striking contrast to their own home planet, that they couldn't help but wonder if it was real. Their body language relaxed as they looked back at Silver. "Your side...Do you want me to carry your stuff? I don't want you straining yourself again."

It took every bit of willpower Silver had at the moment not to react to the others off appearance. Despite everything he's been through, the hedgehog still scared easily when it came to anything labeled spooky. But with the more exposure he got, he was slowly being desensitized.

" Ah, it's rather...uh, complicated. She's a lot of things but I would say she's a conniving bitch with a superiority complex buuuut she as her good points too." He was watching the cryptid's face carefully but subtly, glad that they had reverted back to themselves for the most part.

" She's a demon, well succubus actually. Named Onyx... Though I think she has some vampire in there too... Anyways, there's a lot of extra baggage but we are currently fighting. Of course she could just show up and drag me back but now that you're here, maybe she won't."

Some of Silver's hyperness had returned, talking with his hands and acting a bit more animated then before. Clearly the pair I hadn't known each other a long time and it showed as the hedgie talked with such a familiar air about the she-demon.

They groaned inwardly. Another demon...And the fact they were the only acting barrier protecting the hedgehog...Siren crossed their arms over their chest as an act to try to shrink into themselves. Anxiety was creeping up on them again, but there wasn't as much of a visceral reaction this time. They had their fair share of demons, and being in the cabin only made them feel smothered, but it was taking all their mental strength to not break down. They still had that night haunting them. The way Hazen had the crazed look in his eyes. His desperation to make Siren his queen and promises of paradise. But it was at the cost of the multiverse. Of course they refused, and paid the price by being shoved down a flight of stairs. They may have physically recovered, but the mental scars were still there. They were barely hanging in there; one false pull, and they'd explode.

"L-let's get of here, yeah?" There was fear in their voice.

The zone hopper was quick to notice the change in the atmosphere, their sudden mood combined with the chill in the air... But the shadows is was caught his eye. He's seen this before, countless times now.

" Hey Siren, think of it as playing hooky from school." Silver offered, his tired golden eyes gazing at them. His charming, lop sided grin sliding so easily back on his face. With the help of his powers, he managed to sit up and swing his legs over the edge.

He laughed a little, his hand reaching out just enough that his fingertips barely brushed the edge of their hair. " It's not your fault. I wasn't planning on going back anyways, well not yet. I'm still mad at her." He explained further.