Tiny Tails 10-23-2024

 October 29th 2024 tiny tails

Shadow frowned as he stared at the small scrawny child hiding behind boxes. Their fur was raised like a frightened cat's. He turned his gaze to Sonic, who for once in his life, looked helpless and sad. Sad Sonic was not on his bingo card for the year. He turned to look at the agent holding their arm. They're blubbering about being bitten was annoying. How sharp could the child’s teeth be?

“What happened?” Shadow questioned Sonic. 

“Tails was going through Eggman's tech that gun had and something went off. There was a big light and sound and then Tails was…” Sonic waved his hand in the child's direction.

Shadow nodded. “Tails, can you come out from there?” He asked the fox in a softer voice only to be stared at. He turned to the blue hedgehog. “What's up with your brother?”

Sonic sighed as he shifted. “I named him when he was 4. And this Tails is younger than that. So maybe he doesn't recognize it as his name yet.”

Shadow arched a brow. “It took you four years to name him?”

“I didn't meet him till he was four!” Sonic threw his hands in the air. 

Shadow paused. His mind whirling. “Did you kidnap him?”

“No! They were the ones beating him and starving him. He was living in the woods.” Sonic growled. “So I brought him with me. I feed him. I clean him. I'm a good picket fence.”

“Picket fence?” Shadow arched a brow. 

“Tails said I was his picket fence when he was four and half. It's a brother thing.” Sonic waved his hand. “Point is, I don't know what to do.”

Shadow nodded as he walked over to the small fox. He was greeted with a hiss as Tails crawled into a corner. Guess he hasn't learn to not pin himself without a clear exit yet. The fox was small, malnourished, and had many visible injuries.  Shadow swooped him up with a quick movement. 

“He doesn't like being held.” Sonic warned. 

“I can tell.” Shadow stared down at the fox gnawing on his arm. Tails’ teeth were sharper than the ebony hedgehog expected. He brought the fox closer to his chest, holding him firm. He took a deep breath as a rumbling sound emitted from his chest. 

“What are you doing?” Sonic questioned. 

“Purring. The sound is often comforting to small, young, distressed creatures.” Shadow answered. “Tails counts as all three at this moment. Professor had written many papers on the subject.”

Tails calmed down and stared at Shadow with interest. 

“And now, he is no longer teething on my arm.” Shadow still kept a firm grasp on the fox.

“Does he have rabies?” The soldier he had previously bit cried in distress. 

Shadow took a step back at the glare Sonic shot them. Angry Sonic was a rare sight and Shadow wasn't about to save the fool from the blue blur. 

“No.” Sonic stated through clenched teeth. “He's a baby. And you've seen him regular. He doesn't have any diseases.”

Tails let out a whimper as he attempted to get closer into Shadow’s chest. Shadow absentmindedly gave the fox scratches behind the ear to soothe him. 

“Sorry buddy.” Sonic signed as he lowered his voice to such a soft tone. Shadow didn't know faker was capable of being so quiet. 

Tails leaned out to make little hand gestures at him. Sonic smiled at this. 

“Really?” He spoke as he signed. Shadow watched as the two spoke to each other.

“He's nicer than he looks.” Sonic giggled. 

“It's called majority.” Shadow interjected. 

Sonic raised a brow at him. “Give me my brother.”

Shadow held the fox away from him. “Why? He likes me more right now.”

Sonic frowned. Tails was giggling in Shadow’s grasp. 

“Excuse me Mr. Grump. But I raised him.” Sonic kept his voice calm. 

“You should have never been trusted with a toddler.” Shadow remarked as he brought Tails to look at him. 

Espio woke up with something heavy on his side 9/3/2024

 9/3/2024

Espio woke up with something heavy on his side. Charmy. He thought in his hazy brain. Odd that it was so quiet. The young bee normally spoke a mile a minute. He shifted his head and cracked open an eye to see if the bee was sleeping. 

It was a child. 

Check on detective skills. 

However, it was not Charmy. The child was a similar size to the bee. Curled up and sleeping peacefully leaning on the ninja's side. They were a pale color based on how the limited light bounced off their body. 

He shifted slowly, attempting not to wake the child. He replaced his body with a pillow for the child. There was a slight chirp of annoyance before they settled down into snoozing again. Espio checked the room for an entrance. The windows were closed. Plus his room was on the second story.  His door wasn't open. 

Did someone bring the child into his room?

He slowly and carefully went to the door. He sucked in a breath. Every door here creaked so loudly. He gave the knob a slow turn, hoping for once the door wouldn't be so loud this time. Unfortunately, it was as loud as ever. He frowned as he turned back to see the child stir. 

Maybe they'll go back to sleep? 

“Yo Espio.” Vector’s voice boomed as he came up the stairs. “Odd for you to sleep in.”

Espio frowned as the child began to loudly cry. 

“What's that?” Vector jumped at the sound.

“A child…” Espio groaned. “You don't know where it came from, do you?”

Say what you will about the croc, but he wasn't one to wake a sleeping child on purpose. 

“No…” Vector walked into chameleon’s room and plucked the fussy thing off the bed. He immediately went into care taker mode, muttering words of comfort and rocking the child. He walked back out of the room. 

In the light, the child had soft lilac fur. They cooed at Vector as they curled into his chest. They never opened their eyes so they couldn't tell the child’s eye color. 

“How'd a kid get in your room?” Vector looked at the windows.

“That's what I'd like to know.” Espio shook his head. “I'm on the second floor.”

They walked down stairs to find Charmy coloring at Vector's desk. 

“Charmy, you know anything about a mystery baby being in Espio's room?” Vector asked as he gestured to the kid in his arms. 

Charmy looked up, tilting his head. “Storks bring babies, right?” 

The two stood still for a moment. Neither wanted to correct the young bee. 

“Congrats on becoming a dad Espio.” Charmy beamed. 

“I'm not the dad.” Espio grumbled.

“Do storks make mistakes?” Charmy asked as he flew to look at the child.

Vector stood still as he contemplated how to answer that.

A knock at the door caught their attention. The baby squirmed as Vector attempted to soothe them again. A fussy baby made things harder. 

Charmy flew to the door with the ninja. Espio opened the door to arch a brow at the sight before them. 

It was obviously Tails and Silver. But they were a lot older than the Chaotix was used to. Tails was taller than Espio. He was a few inches shy of Vector's height. Silver was in a wheelchair and looking like he just came out of a horrible fight. 

“What's going on?” Espio asked. 

“Time travel shenanigans,” Tails shrugged. “You guys?” 

“The stork visited Espio last night!” Charmy happily told him. 

Tails smiled. “Really?” He leaned down. “Well the stork visited Silver in my timeline. However, they can time travel like him and I tracked them to here. So is it possible that Silver's baby came here?”

Espio's eyes darted to the very tired and possibly drugged white hedgehog then back to Tails. “What's wrong with Silver?”

“C sections suck.” Tails stated. “However, he insisted on getting his kid.”

Silver grumbled something unitelleliable.

“I know. Just stay calm.” Tails rubber his shoulder. 

“This them?” Vector brought the baby over. 

“Yep!” Tails swiftly took the child and placed them in Silver's arms. “He's been a not fun trip.” He whispered. “Oh, don't tell the Silver that time travels here about this. I don't feel like dealing with paradoxes.”

Silver’s quills flatten some as he held the child close. The child simply cooed and giggled in their sleep. The Chaotix all nodded as they were slightly confused by Silver's quiet demeanor. 

“Alrighty,” Tails waved at them as he grabbed a hold of the wheelchair. “You have a good day, the me in this time will see you later.” He leaned into Silver. “Time to get back to my time, okay, Silver.”

The grey hedgehog nodded without taking his eyes off the child. They walked away from the house as Silver opened a time portal without much thought. 

“What's a C section?” Charmy asked. 

“A surgery.” Vector answered as Espio closed the door. “I'll explain the rest when you're 14.”

“Okay!” Charmy flew back to coloring like nothing had happened. 

Several days later, Silver was visiting and sleeping over. The questions kept swirling in Espio's head. As Silver laid down in the spare bed in his room, Espio turned off the light before getting into his bed. 

“Is something on your mind?” Silver asked, the markings on his wrists providing a soft glow. 

Espio took in a deep breath. Silver could be perceptive at the worst moments. “Do you know what C Sections are?” He asked plainly. 

“Yeah, it's when they cut the baby out of the stomach if you can give birth naturally.” Silver answered. “Most guys in my timeline get c sections.”

“Most guys?” Espio arched a brow. 

“Yeah.” Silver nodded. “Any one can carry a child in my timeline.” There was a pause. “Ooohhh…” Silver rolled in the bed. “I forgot that's not the case in this time is it?”

Gertrude beamed as she stood in the kitchen 8/30/2024

 8/30/2024

Gertrude beamed as she stood in the kitchen. The kitchen sink was piled in messy dishes. The stove top was dirty from spilt over batter. 

“I made a cake!” She gushed at the cake on the table. The icing had partially melted off in some places exposing some burnt edges of the cake. 

Aqua cringed as she looked at the unappetizing cake. She wasn't even sure why Gertrude was showing her said disaster. She didn't even like sweets! She stood silent for what felt like too long. She gulped, “Congratulations…” She tried to make her smile look natural. “What's the occasion?”

Gertrude smiled. She liked how Aqua tried not to hurt her feelings. “It's been six months since you moved. So I wanted to celebrate.” Truth was she was practicing to make a birthday cake. She was great at cooking. But baking, well, there was a reason cooks on many cooking shows dreaded dessert challenges. Plus, she didn't know when Aqua's birthday was. Aqua had lived for a hundred years or so. Maybe she didn't remember when her birthday was. 

Aqua nodded. “Thank you for the thoughts.” She eyed the cake. 

“I can take it to work if you don't want to try it.” Gertrude giggled. “It was my first time attempting to make one.”

“You've lived for 200 years and have never once attempted to make a cake?” Aqua murmured in surprise.

Gertrude was active and always wanting to try new things. With as often as she enjoyed making new dishes, a cake had never been among them?

“I like sweets.” Gertrude shrugged. “But I just never wanted to make any.” She turned to grab a container from a cabinet. “Plus I've noticed you don't seem to like sweets that much.”

Aqua nodded. “Citrus desserts

Benny sat in the low lite bar 8/13/2024

 8/13/2024

Benny sat in the low lite bar waiting for his friend. Why did he agree to this? He sighed into his Arnold Palmer. He was dealing with a lot. Failed relationship after relationship. It seemed no one was looking for the same thing he was. At least no one else who was gay. Yay every gay man in his age range being fans of their closets.

Benny rolled his eyes at his own joke. 

“Finally found you.” A familiar voiced called to him.

Benny looked up to see Chuck as he had another man slide into the booth opposite him.

The man had ashen golden hair that reminded him of a desert. His eyes a deep orangish gold. He was almost as tall as him. A stark contrast to Chuck who was a good two feet shorter than them. 

“Ben, this is Steve.” Chuck introduced with a wave. Not sitting, Ben noted. “Steve, this is Ben.”

The two nodded at each other.

“You gonna tell us the reason for the meet up?” Steve asked. “And sit down.”

Ben nodded in agreement. What shenanigans was his ex about to expose them too.

“Well, you both want a stable public relationship. And are struggling with that. So I figured you can commiserate in each other's misery. Also I dated each of you at one point. So you can talk smack about me while you're at it.” Chuck smiled as he stopped leaning on the table. “I'll get snacks. Tea Steve?”

Steve sighed. “Unsweetened.”

Chuck nodded before walking off to the bar. 

Ben tapped his

Shadow paused after entering the house. 7/24/2024

 7/24/2024

Shadow paused after entering the house. Though it was more of breaking and entering then really entering. But hey, he didn't technically break anything by teleporting inside. He stared at the pink hedgehog staring so intently at the cards on the coffee table.

So absorbed into her cards that she couldn't hear Rouge and Knuckles banging on her door for the past however many minutes it was before they called him.

“Shadow!!!” Rouge yelled from the front door. “Are you in there? Where's Amy?” Her voice was showing a bit of panic, a sign he didn't see often. 

Shadow opened the front door with a confused expression as he stood aside for the two to see Amy. 

“Why are you just sitting there?” Rouge lectured. “Knuckles and I have been calling.”

Knuckles walked up and sat beside her. He leaned down to look up at her. “Save your breath Rouge.” Knuckles sighed, “She can't hear us.”

“Why not?” Rouge placed her hands on her hips. 

Knuckles carefully tilted Amy’s head upward for the others to get a better look at her face. Her expression was one of thoughtfulness. However, her eyes held no light to them, but they were glowing. “I think Amy used chaos energy while reading her tarot cards. Some echidna texts state your soul can enter a different plane that way.”

“How?” Rouge rushed to Amy’s other side. “Does she need a hospital?”

Knuckles shrugged. “I only really know what is in ancient text.”

“Isn't that only about echidnas though?” Rouge questioned while checking Amy’s pulse.

“I don't think so. Anyone can use chaos energy if they know how to tap into it.” Knuckles pointed to Shadow. “Shadow and Sonic being a prime example. Amy might not handle it like them. But she can read the flow of it.” Knuckles got up. “Probably why she's so good at finding people.” He made his way into Amy’s kitchen and put water in a floral designed kettle. He plugged it in and clicked on the switch for it. 

“Doctor wise, I'm not sure. For now, let's see if we can get some water in her without her choking. Tea or soup would be better since they'll carry more nutrients.” Knuckles rummaged through Amy’s cabinets, being careful not to break the doors off. He pulled down a can of mushroom soup and began reading the instructions. He glanced around for a pot and placed it on the stove. He wasn't the best cook. But he could make do. 

Espio spies on Silver

 6/27/2024 Espio spies on Silver

Espio wondered where the grey hedgehog spent most of his time when he told them he would be gardening. Charmy was very curious but Silver simply smiled and said it was a secret. Espio knew curiosity could be a dangerous thing but also wanted to know just as bad as the young bee. Maybe even a smidge more considering he was following the psychic from a distance while invisible. He was lucky that it seemed the hedgehog was not that special aware of his surroundings. Though every now and then, he would pause and marvel at the flickies and other animals in awe. 

“What kind of animal are you?” Silver asked as doe. He waved excitedly. Espio grimaced as the deer looked at him and then sprinted off. Silver’s crestfallen expression made the ninja feel bad for him. “You could have answered…” Silver mumbled. 

“Deer are skittish creatures,” Shadow teleported behind the grey hedgehog in a flash of green. 

Silver jumped, “Why do you do that?” Multiple items coated in cyan floated in the air. Espio held his breath as he felt his body floating away from the tree he had perched himself on.

Shadow smirked as he pointed at the cyan items. 

Silver huffed as he dropped them. Bringing an apple to float in front of Shadow's face. 

Shadow stared at the apple before glancing in Espio’s direction. The chameleon had scrambled to hide himself. He was invisible. Shadow couldn't see him unless he had heat vision. He hoped the ultimate life form didn't. 

Shadow smirked before grabbing the apple. “I'll accept the apple of peace.” He glanced at the sky before smirking. “We're losing daylight.”

“We are?” Silver looked at the sky. 

“Yes.” Shadow wrapped an arm around Silver's shoulders. “The vegetables aren't going to water themselves.” He leaned in and whispered something Espio couldn't make out from his position. 

Espio felt his first clench. Silver usually hated being physically touched by others. Espio had worked so hard to get to the point of trust with the physic to be able to just snuggle on the couch. Snuggling was a perfectly normal thing for friends to do. He argued that point with Vector and Knuckles whenever they made snarky comments. 

Silver walked ahead with Shadow a few steps behind him. The ninja waited a few steps before following them. He had to be careful not to be caught by Shadow's keen ears. The two came to a decent size garden. There were vegetables and flowers. A nice size wooden house as well. There was also no trees for the ninja to hide in. 

The two hedgehogs walked to the middle of the garden. Shadow leaned to whisper into Silver’s ear. 

“That's not very nice.” Silver frowned at him.

Shadow tossed the apple straight at Espio. “And neither is stalking.” Shadow raised his voice. “Right chameleon?”

Espio had barely dodged the apple as it flew passed his head. 

“Espio,” Silver raised a hand to get a hold of the ninja with his telekinesis. “We know you've been following us.”

“The question is why?” Shadow crossed his arms. 

Espio became visible. He thought he hadn't been noticed. It seemed hubris had come back to haunt him. He couldn't move with Silver holding him anyway. 

“I don't recall GUN hiring the Chaotix to gather intel on Shadow.” Silver tilted his head as he brought the chameleon to them. “So what's the deal?”

Shadow merely stared at the chameleon. 

Espio swallowed his nerves down. “I wasn't spying on Shadow.” He stated. 

“You're so keen on Silver, you're spying on him?” Shadow questioned. 

Silver frowned. “What did I do to be spied on?” 

“It wasn't like that!” Espio protested. 

Shadow's ear twitched.

“Your phone is ringing a lot today.” Silver frowned. 

“Can you answer it? I'll get answers out of him.” Shadow handed him a key from his quills. 

Frown took the key before matching inside the house. He was furious.

Shadow watched to make sure Silver made it inside before turning his eyes to Espio. “So, you followed Silver. And thus me.” Shadow began. “

She was fairly certain it was his voice she heard 3/19/24

 3.19.2024

She was fairly certain it was his voice she heard, but when she looked up at him, his mouth was shut tight. His eyes quickly shifting to the counter, counting the cakes in the display case. She wondered if she had gone crazy, hearing his voice in her head. She forced herself to focus on the conversation she was having with Amelia. Her pink hair bobbing with every excited word she spoke. 

Octavia felt a sense of guilt for not picking up all the details of their conversation. But she couldn't exactly explain to Amelia that she was hearing Arthur speaking in her head. Especially not WHAT was being said. She was fighting the urge to turn bright red from what was being said. 

"Stupid hormones. Sshh for five minutes! Please?" Arthur's voice pleaded. "I need to focus on the kitchen." 

Octavia looked up to see Arthur frowning as he counted the till. 

"Is something wrong?" Octavia asked. Amelia turning to look at her adopted big brother. 

Arthur's three eyes went wide as he was addressed. "N-no." He stammered. "I just lost count." He turned to look at the till. 

Amelia walked over and placed her hand on his forehead, right above the third eye. The third eye that was more orange in color today when it was normally a brown color. It almost seemed to glow to Octavia. "You feel a bit warm." Amelia pouted. "Maybe you're overdoing it today. Why don't you go home and rest for the day?"

Arthur sighed. "I'm part alien," he mumbled, "My body is naturally a bit warmer." 

Amelia stuck her tongue out. "I know what your normal body temperature is."

Octavia smirked at the siblings. 

Arthur smiled at her sass.

"Awe. Sis has grown enough to sass me now."