The Roles We Play, a SONIC RESURGENCE One-Shot

The Roles We Play

She'd never leave her best friend alone unless it were necessary.

A dozen feet away from the cabin, Sally cut some firewood and started a campfire to keep herself warm from the nightly cold. She moved a log nearby to have a place to sit. To her, doing so filled the girl with a bit of comfort and nostalgia. Since she had already eaten dinner hours before, the Mobian chipmunk did not need to feed on anything.

Not that the princess felt like it right now.

With lingering thoughts of Julayla and Alicia came, saddening the leader of the Knothole Freedom Fighters as the sensation of longing grew stronger and stronger. She sighed and stared at the starry night sky.

"...I wish you were here to help me, Lay, Mom,"

"Sally? Is that you out here?" A familiar and elderly voice spoke from behind her.

Princess Sally gasped and turned to see Gwendolyn the White, standing five feet behind where the teenager was sitting.

"Wendy?" Sally replied. "I didn't think that you'd still be awake..."

"When a certain threshold is reached, sorceresses like myself can function well with very little sleep," Wendy explained. "Of course, I was born human, so I still need basic subsistence and sleep now and then."

Sally blinked as she cognitively questioned, '...How old is she?'

"Never mind me, what are you doing out this late, dear?" The Overlander sorceress questioned, approaching the log and sitting next to her. "Having trouble sleeping?"

Sally flashed a solemn smile at the woman, saying, "You can say that."

Wendy saw this and frowned at the matter. From what she saw, Princess Sally Acorn was usually confident and sure of herself. It was here where it was assigned to Wendy. This wasn't the militia leader that came to the island.

She was meeting Sally Acorn, the young lady, for the first time. And right now, she was feeling down on herself.

From there, Wendy began to recall the small slivers of moments when Sally let her true feelings slip past her composed front. Specifically during the moments when she watched Amy train under the sorceress' supervision. The glint of envy was faint, but it was present. She was also less talkative than Amy and Cream at dinner. Of course, one could chalk it up to many things running through her mind such as the war, her royal duties, and managing the Freedom Fighters, but in retrospect, she should have known better.

After all, she was Sally's new teacher in all things magic.

"You've been acting rather aloof today, Sally," Wendy spoke softly. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"I'm sorry," Sally apologized, bowing her head. "I know that was unbecoming of me, and I have no excuse for my behavior..."

"Dear, I'm not here to chastise you. I want to know what's wrong and I wish to help you if I can." Wendy reassured, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"...To be honest, I feel like I haven't been making any progress since I got here," Sally confessed. "No matter how much I try, I can't use the Deep Power Stone's energy willingly. And with each passing day, I can see how far I'd have to play catchup with Amy if I somehow managed to do so."

Sally sighed and concluded, "Even if I did, I wouldn't know what to do with the power. I'm no magician. I can't help but feel like I've been wasting your time."

Wendy began to think, 'Hmm... This is true, in a sense. I've been teaching Sally how I taught Amelia. And my practices were how myself and Walter were taught. Ixis Magick and Aether Magick are similar in how they function but are fundamentally opposites. But this is another matter entirely...'