New Beginnings

Chapter 2 - Doubts

"It seems like we only have cereals right now, so those will have to do," Espio sighed as he took in their eerily-empty kitchen cabinets. It was clear he had been gone for a while: usually he was the one in charge of the groceries, making sure they ate more than only take-out and the cheapest, unhealthiest products they could find in the store. The fruits and vegetables he had bought some time ago had long been consumed already, and clearly Vector had not scheduled in any time for himself to go shopping for a change. He'd have to go out later and buy some new things, especially since they now had a fourth mouth to feed. Although, he had no idea what foods Silver actually liked. In that case the sugary grains they kept around for Charmy's breakfast would make a good starting point, despite the fact that it was already late in the afternoon.

The hedgehog in question had planted himself behind Espio in a corner of the kitchen closest to the door, flicking his head around as his eyes flew over everything new presented to him. He appeared quite awkward and apprehensive, shrunken in on himself like a helpless newborn bird with his quills raised defensively as he peeked around the place. If he had existed in a ruined future his entire life he most likely did not have any idea about how people in this era usually lived, Espio realised. He could only imagine what was going on in the head of the frightened psychic right now.

"This is called a kitchen, it's where people prepare their food," he chatted noncommittally as he poured out two bowls of the kernels from their package. He might as well provide Silver with some information, if the hedgehog was going to stay in the present for longer he'd need to learn the basics anyway. "You eat at the table, that's the large flat object in the corner over there, while sitting on one of the chairs that are placed around it." Silver's eyes glanced over to where the furniture stood, and after some hesitation he nodded timidly. "This is a fridge," the chameleon continued his explanation as he opened the object in question and groaned. Of course they were out of milk, he didn't know why he had expected anything else. No matter, they would just have to eat them dry.

Plopping a spoon in each bowl he made his way over to the table, placing them opposite of each other. Pulling out a chair for Silver and patting on it, he waited until the other had cautiously crept closer and awkwardly sat down, staring at the meal presented to him with almost comically wide eyes. "Bowl, spoon, and cereal," Espio sighed, tapping the bowl and spoon with his finger and gesturing to the grains as he accentuated the words. Placing himself on his own chair, he shoved a spoonful of the kernels in his mouth without another thought, rubbing his temples as he chewed on the dry food and suppressed yet another sigh. He already had been exhausted just after their battle with the Ifrit had taken place, and that had been hours ago. Spending the whole day explaining to Vector who Silver was and what had happened had proven to be tiring enough on top of that, making sure the panicked psychic didn't hurt his family even more so. What he wanted more than anything was to curl up into a quiet corner and meditate for hours on end, but he knew that he couldn't leave the hedgehog unsupervised.

From his eyes he could see Silver stare at his movements with utter intrigue, before grasping his own spoon in a clumsy death grip. Most of the kernels fell off as he attempted to move it through the bowl like Espio had, his movements wooden and unskilled, but he still managed to get some on the silverware and in his mouth as well. Espio's irritation dissipated and his heart grew heavy as he watched a myriad of emotions flicker past on Silver's face: surprise, apprehension, and trepidation, but most of all wonder. From the way his eyes lit up following the simple action it was clear that he had never done anything like this. What kind of life must the grey hedgehog have led if something as uninvolving as eating cereal filled him with such feelings?

Silver awkwardly chewed on the food before swallowing it, licking his lips as he clearly thought hard about what to make of it. "They taste... nice," he whispered as he grabbed the spoon and jammed it in the bowl again, his movements more enthusiastic this time. The shine in his pupils had not dissipated in the slightest, and he snickered slightly as some of the cereal got shrouded in his trademark teal colour and were placed on the spoon's head with a flick of his finger. The sight of the psychic being comfortable enough to play around with his powers should have made Espio happy as well, but the circumstances the time traveller was in instead meant it was heart-wrenching.