[ARCHIVED] Heart Thief

Sibling Meetup

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"Are you awake?"

Slowly Sonic flutters open his half-lidded eyes, heavy from his deep sleep. His vision blurred and he hesitantly made out the image in front of him. The faint blue sky on the ceiling clouded his mind...

Wait, a sky?

His body jolted upwards, immediately sitting up as his eyes landed on both of his legs spread on a familiar white wave of water below him. This was followed by the smell of lavender fog that filled his nostrils long ago. It hadn't been that long since he first had the same dream; however, he could feel himself missing the thrill of feeling when he first stood up from the bed, relaxed and stress-free.

He took a silent, deep breath as his chest rose and fell in relief. If he could only experience this feeling every day in real life, he would.

He rubbed his eyes before looking around, then his eyes shot open when he saw someone crouching next to him. It was the prince.

"Shadow!?" His voice may have been loud in shock, but strangely, his body did not move from where he was as if he were in the mortal world. Only his arms rose, and he remained seated.

He would have been afraid to prepare his body in a defensive stance, landing his legs on a flat surface so he would be ready to fight.

But he didn't.

"Sonic," Shadow started first. "Where are we?"

Reflecting on the prince's question, he looked around the area they were in, which was a completely limitless area when it came to space. Nothing to see, just ground that sounded like waves and sparkled like every stone in the water. The one where he thought there was fog began to form like a soft cloud surrounding them. He felt its softness as if it were a feather bed's filling.

"I..." His sealed lips began to open, stuttering in his words. "I don't know either."

"Should we look around for clues?" Shadow's crimson eyes grew wide, eager to make eye contact with Sonic. But the thief looked away.

"What is there to see? As if there's anything to investigate here." He scoffed, arms crossed as his mind continued to race along with his heartbeat. He should have done this when Shadow came to the cafe, but his stupidity kept him hidden.

"Shall we look around to see one, then?"

The prince stood up, his eyes never leaving Sonic, and offered him a hand to help him stand up.The thief rejected this offer, slapping his hand and standing up with his hand on his knee.

He tried to walk away from Shadow, speeding up his walk to stay away from him. Whenever he stepped, a splash of water would hit the tip of his toe, but he never got wet. After all, it is only an illusion.

To his surprise, Shadow kept following in his footsteps, not saying a word until Sonic turned around.

"Why are you following me?"

"I am not."

"Then go away."

"Where else should I go? There are only two of us in here."

Sonic tried to glare daggers at him, but something didn't sound right.

The tone of Shadow's voice sounded genuine and calmer than the one he knew. He never looked at him the way he usually does; his pupils dilated and he never seemed to react to any of Sonic's harsh words thrown at him. He stayed the same from the moment they first met, with the same innocent eyes and gentle voice.

"Where are you heading, Sonic?" the prince questioned. The blue hedgehog looked at him back, confused and speechless as well.

"...Nowhere."