Hello everyone!
The new chapter is finally here! So sorry for the big wait, but updating two fics, with school and an internship, hasn't been easy lol.
Also I wanted to make this chapter longer than usual, but if I had done that... I would've realized this chapter by December hahaha
But, anyways, hope you guys like it :D
Longclaw looked at the whole view filled with all kinds of humans outside of the Watchowski's home as comprehension overtook her features.
They were... throwing a party for her?
It wasn't just Sonic and his family—no, the whole town decided to throw a whole party for her.
It was an unofficial tradition this town held since the town had been created, and it was held for every newcomer to the town. This party was also apparently mandatory, or 'they would bring it to you'. (The residents' words, not hers.)
It was undeniable the pure shock across her face when they told her about the party. She felt all the years of loneliness that she had to carry softly fading out of her, while her chest began warming up brightly with gratitude and happiness.
"Your party is going to be ready in an hour! We hope you enjoy it!" A female resident had told her. As the mass group of people began leaving the Watchowski's home to finish working on her surprise party,
On her surprise party. Even though she had technically invaded their town, they not only accepted her but also wanted her to have a good stay here. They wanted to celebrate her staying in Green Hills. The same way they had celebrated their son's, Tails', and Knuckles'.
At that moment, she knew, for certain, that she had made the right choice by staying on Green Hills. Sonic had been rambling non-stop at how loving the humans here were. But she never thought they were this loving. And Longclaw, since Sonic came into her life, had never felt more warm, happy, and grateful all at once.
Things seemed to be really looking up for her... And she couldn't help but be hopeful for her and Sonic's future.
In the hour that followed, all of them patiently waiting for the party, Sonic told her, his feet almost leaving the ground at times, how they all got the same kind of surprise party.
Sonic and Tails were the only ones who already knew about it, for... obvious reasons (and Longclaw had to suppress her guilt once again at the mere thought of the reason why Sonic already knew).
As Longclaw continuously casted her feelings of guilt and listened attentively to the kids and to the echidna (where Sonic did most of the talking. Not that she minded, whatsoever, she loved hearing their kid talk), the hour soon passed by, and Longclaw, now standing right in front at the poster 'Welcome to Green Hills, Longclaw', with everyone, including their Sonic and the Watchowski's family, shouting what the banner said, warmed her heart and her whole being in so many ways that she never thought of as being possible.
She was still struggling to trust humans and everyone in this community, but this definitely helped.
The whole party was filled with very nice music coming from a device she's pretty certain is called 'speakers' with a bunch of food and a lot of mice (which Longclaw was very thankful for). And a lot of Green Hills' residents came to her and started having very pleasant conversations with her.
She smiled and nodded, feeling a surge of gratitude and affection for these kind people who welcomed her into their town. She had never expected to find such warmth and generosity among humans, especially after what she had gone through with Sonic. But they had proven her wrong, and she was glad they did.
"Thank you so much for all of this, once again. I appreciate all of your hospitality and hard work immensely," Longclaw said with a sincere smile, feeling overwhelmed and grateful for the kindness of these strangers.
"It really ain't a big deal. It's tradition, after all!" Someone replied, as other residents gave very similar brief versions of their own.
Longclaw smiled as she felt more of that warmth softly invading her chest.
"We're glad you can eat our food." Another one started. "Otherwise, Crazy Carl and some of us would have had to catch a lot more mice," one of them joked, making everyone laugh.
Crazy Carl? Was that... the same human?
Before Longclaw could think about what they meant any further, Sonic came to her, desperately and excitedly wanting to show her something.
She had never expected, however, for it to be a cake that said "Welcome to Green Hills".
They even made... a cake for her.
Longclaw immediately thanked them, as she felt even more joy and love blomossing in her heart.
She looked around at the smiling faces of the people who had welcomed her into their community. She still wasn't totally sure if she should trust all of these humans, especially Carl (or Crazy Carl?—why did they call him that?) She was definitely going to keep an eye on him.
But one thing she knew for certain was that she had found a new home.
She couldn't help but chuckle as she ate some of her cake (which was really tasty), with some mellow music in the background, and listened to Sonic passionately vent about his disdain for gym class.
"Gym is awful, Knux! How can you say it's fun?" Their son protested, holding a chili dog in one hand, his favorite treat from this world, and, on the other hand, a piece of cake (while eating both at the same time. Apparently, it was good. Something that no one, including her, agreed with) as he joined Tails and Knuckles at the table.
While she didn't really know what the 'gym' was,' it was evident that Sonic loathed it.
"Baseball is fun, gym isn't." Their son's love for baseball, among many other things, was apparent, and he made it a point to share his enthusiasm for the sport, recounting numerous stories about it and his team... that he had joined a year ago.
And the guilt kicks in once again.
He should have been on the team for longer. He shouldn't have been hiding for so long.
But she also knows that thinking about the what-ifs isn't going to do anything. And Sonic had forgiven her after all.
She just needed to stop thinking about it.
"I have to highly disagree, brother." Knuckles began. "The humans told me how the gym is a place of great honor for warriors to become strong and maintain their strength." So the gym is a place to get stronger. Interesting.
"It's a shame humans can't possess the same strength I have, and, therefore, I can't participate among them." Knuckles finished as Tails, listening to their discussion, ate some delicious food the hum- town had prepared for her.
"Okay... sure. I guess you're right about that. But it's so boring." Sonic said, dragging the 'o' in 'so', "And you get all sweaty and stuff. Not for me. I'd rather run around Green Hill."
They kept talking about different things, with Tails joining in more often, especially when they talked about things she knew well. Meanwhile, Longclaw was greeted by some locals who started a chat with her.
At first, it had been just small talk. That she had greatly enjoyed.
It really felt good to be part of a community.
She now understands why Sonic wanted to settle down here so much.
Eventually, however, the conversation shifted to the kids.
"When Knuckles, well, Knuckles and Tails had their surprise party." Mike, the human's name Longclaw recalled him introducing, started.
"I came across Knuckles with his family. And he was saying how he felt like he didn't deserve the party because he had destroyed part of their house," one of them revealed.
Longclaw opened her eyes in surprise. She definitely hadn't been expecting that coming from Knuckles. And it couldn't be like they were lying anyway. It was coming from an unbiased source, after all.
"Thankfully, with his family and some of our help, he got the memo that it wasn't his fault. That awful man was the one to blame."
She had no idea it had been that bad. Their Sonic and the Wachowskis had mentioned something along the same lines.
But she had been, back then, too on the defensive about giving any echidna a chance, so she had paid minimal attention to whatever the echidna or anyone else, besides Sonic, said about him.
She really had only decided to give a chance to Knuckles because of Sonic.
And the conversation they were having... and the things they said about Knuckles... Maybe she had been too careful regarding him.
Maybe she could put her guard down... a little bit...
"Doesn't surprise me," Susan, a really nice old lady, added. "He's such a sweet kid."
"Totally. He looks so intimidating, and he's really strong, but his personality is the total opposite." A man, Longclaw, who didn't recall his name, said
Longclaw could only remain in somewhat stunned silence as she listened to the group talk. She really had been that biased towards Knuckles, hadn't she?
"I know. He has all of that warrior speech, but he's a real softie." Susan replied back. The rest of the group agreed with her.
"So... Longclaw," Susan started, looking directly at her (probably because she hadn't been speaking for a while). "How has it been adapting to... a whole new life, really?"
Longclaw stopped for a second to recollect and think about how she was going to answer her question.
"Well..." Longclaw began. "It's definitely weird to, in literally just a blink, wake up and realize that more than a decade has passed." Susan and Mike nodded, while the rest of the group just listened.
"But, even though it was really disorienting at first, I'm just glad Sonic is happy and has a family of his own too. He's not alone anymore. And... to be honest, I'm quite enjoying my stay here. Especially with this surprise party you've thrown for me." Longclaw finished, giving them a genuine smile that the group retributed.
After Longclaw and the residents talked a little bit more about her, the conversation shifted to Sonic.
And the feelings of guilt came crashing down again. The 'what ifs' reappear, invading her mind and her whole being.
"You okay, Longclaw?" Mike asked, eventually disrupting Longclaw's thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it." Longclaw said, giving all of them a fake smile. They were throwing a party for her. There was no way she was going to bring the mood down—even to a couple of the residents—because of her guilt.
In fact, she should've channeled her feelings of guilt better when it was appropriate. She's a warrior. She should've known better but to let her feelings get in the way. She wasn't in any immediate danger, sure. But still.
"But he has you," Mike said, her thoughts being interrupted once again, clearly picking up on her inner turmoil, which shouldn't have occurred in the first place. "Tom, Maddie, his brothers, and all of us too. So, don't feel guilty about it," Mike reassured her, earning a subtle smile from Longclaw.
"He's like our little celebrity that everyone loves. Tails and Knuckles too. They are part of the community."
After she thanked them, she felt her worries and concerns dissipate.
And, at that moment, as the sun was beginning to set, music, conversation, and laughter flooded the whole town, and she felt truly content.
"We don't want you anymore, Tails," Tom said bitterly, his voice filled with venom. Tails never thought it possible for his dad to produce. His whole family looked at him coldly. All of their expressions were painfully reminiscent of his biological parents. "I can't believe we only now realized your two tails bring us bad luck!"
"I-I promise I'll do anything! Just d-don't leave me alone, please!" Tails pleaded, his eyes full of tears, ready to burst.
"You're not part of our family anymore, you two-tailed freak!" Sonic said, even more coldly than his biological parents ever did.
Tails' heart got completely shattered, and he-
Tails got up, breathing unevenly. He hated having these kinds of nightmares...
Longclaw slowly opened her eyes. The whole room was still filled with darkness. It had officially been two days since her surprise party. Which, even in her half-awake mind, she could still remember vividly.
She, however, felt an increasing need to drink water. And, so, she headed to the kitchen to satisfy her need when she stumbled across... Tails picking a banana from the basket with his mechanic goggles...
The kid was working when he should be sleeping... again.
This was the first time she had actually seen this happen by herself.
Sonic had already told her, back when she first met the Green Hills residents, about Tails' workaholic tendencies, and it even happened two nights ago, right after her surprise party, but their Sonic had been the one who had found Tails wide awake at 4 in the morning.
Tails had said in the morning that he was having some trouble finishing the surprise's project deadline.
Even though it didn't even have a deadline.
Obviously, everyone had said the same thing, and after they told him he could take as much time as he needed and that most importantly, he needed to rest, Tails told their family, and her, he was still getting used to people taking care of him (which really threw her back to what Sonic had told her about his untold past, and Longclaw- and his whole family- couldn't help but show concern for the little kit).
Since Tails had finally promised he wouldn't do it again, she was very surprised to see him very much awake.
"Oh! He-Hey Longclaw! What-what are you doing at this hour?" Tails said nervously... for obvious reasons.
"I was going to ask the same." Longclaw replied, raising her eyebrow. "Shouldn't you be sleeping instead of working?"
"I-I'm sorry." Longclaw's face softened. He shouldn't be apologizing, it's his well-being that is getting affected. No one else's. "I was sleeping. But then I woke up, and... I couldn't sleep anymore. And, yesterday, I finally got around to figuring out how to resolve that issue I told you about. So... I kind of decided to finish it now." Tails finished, probably hoping she would understand.
And she did. But she also understood he needed to sleep.
"I understand, Tails. But you should still try to rest instead of working. Especially after the promise you've made. You can finish the project later."
"I know. I'm really sorry about that. But I really tried to sleep, but I just couldn't because..." Tails suddenly stopped, his banana that he was already holding being squeezed ever so slightly. Longclaw could immediately tell that Tails didn't wake up from the excitement over finally finishing this project of his.
From the looks of it, he probably had a nightmare.
"You... Did you have a nightmare, Tails?" Longclaw eventually asked, her face now filled with concern.
Tails did have nightmares, sometimes. And by the way, he was acting, especially with the uneasy look he gave her right after she asked if he had a nightmare...
Scratch that. The kid definitely had a nightmare.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Tails shakes his head.
"It's really nothing special." Tails started waving his hand that held his banana dismissively. "I can deal with it on my own. I'll try t-"
"Not if it's waking you up at night." Longclaw interjected, not letting the kit finish his line of speech. "Your family and I care about you." Tails gave a subtle and brief smile. "And, as you even said two nights ago, you don't need to handle it all on your own anymore.
"I know. But I don't want to both-"
"Tails." Longclaw interrupted Tails once again. Tails really thought that his problems would bother her. When his family (and her, too) wanted him to be happier, he said, "You're not going to bother me. I just want you to feel better, okay?"
Tails nodded.
"So... Do you feel comfortable talking about it?" Longclaw asked. For more than that, she wanted him (and their Sonic and his family) to talk about what was bothering him; she wanted him to talk when he felt ready to do so.
"I...I think so."
Tails was selfish. He knew he was selfish. How could he not be when he was telling everything to Longclaw?
He shouldn't be bothering anyone about this?! He should be strong! And not let others be burdened by his problems.
But he couldn't keep his mouth shut. And no matter how much a part of him wanted to stop and drop the conversation, stop being selfish. He couldn't.
"Do they know anything about what you told me?" Longclaw asked gently, once he had finished burdening Longclaw with his stuff.
"Not really." Tails replied, eventually feeling ashamed of himself.
"Why not?"
"Sonic and Knuckles have been through so much already..." Tails trailed off, avoiding Longclaw's gaze. "And I don't want to add more to their troubles. And my parents—I don't want to trouble them or you. You have so much on your plate, and you're still adjusting. I'm being selfish, and I'm sorry and-"
"Tails." Longclaw cut him off, making him look up at her again. "You have nothing to apologize for."
What did she mean? He was being selfish! It didn't make any sense! Longclaw sighed, seemingly trying to find the right words.
"Tails, your problems, and 'trauma' are just as valid as your brothers'-
"But-"
"Let me finish." Tails nodded reluctantly. "You want your brothers to heal from their trauma, right?" Tails nodded again. Longclaw paused, and Tails briefly thought about how much she sounded like those therapy websites he had seen once. "Your family wants the same for you. And so do I. And they can tell something is wrong, too. I can tell. But you need to be honest and tell them. And that's not selfish at all."
Was Longclaw right?
He wasn't sure.
He honestly still felt selfish for telling her about his past.
But he so desperately needed to vent to—really anyone—and a part of him. A probably selfish part of him was so glad he told everything to Longclaw.
Maybe it was okay to talk about his struggles?
At least, the way Longclaw said it made him feel better...
And he really needed to take some other stuff out of his chest, too.
"You're... you're right." Tails began, looking up to meet Longclaw's face, after that moment of thinking. "But sometimes this feels like a dream. Like one day I'll wake up and you, Sonic, Knuckles, Tom, and Maddie, everyone will be gone, and I'll be back in my village." He looked down and shut his eyes. "Alone. And I know it's dumb and illogical, but I feel like if I don't address it and just ignore it, then I would... never wake up."
He still wasn't sure if he should have said all of this.
But, gosh, it's really making him feel better.
"Look at me, Tails." Longclaw said, making Tails look up to meet Longclaw's face again. "All of us are still here. Me and your family are not going anywhere, okay?"
Tails simply smiled at Longclaw.
"Is it okay if I hug you?" Tails asked eventually.
"Of course." Longclaw replied kindly. And, then, they embraced.
Tails felt... lighter. As the big weight he hadn't even realized he carried was slowly disappearing.
After they finished their embrace and Longclaw went to get some water, he couldn't help but think that...
Maybe it was okay, after all, to tell his family what was troubling him...