New Beginnings

Chapter 7 - Confusion

He raised his eyebrows. His reflection followed. He twitched an ear. His reflection did the same. Espio chuckled from where he sat crouched next to him as Silver gently pawed the glass against the wall, studying how the tips of his finger inched closer and closer until they got pressed against the cool surface fully and disappeared from his view. His image was sharper and clearer than anything of the sort he had seen before, not covered in smudges or broken up in the dirty cracked surfaces that littered his city. The thing on the wall specifically was called a mirror, Espio had said, and it allowed him to see the whole room behind him without having to turn his head. "But how does it do that?" he curiously asked the chameleon as he wriggled his ears, grinning at how his reflection showed the exact same wild movements as both their ears were flung around.

"When rays of light hit the smooth surface of a mirror, they are reflected instead of absorbed, and you witness that as a mirror image," the answer came as Espio carefully fastened the last of the bandages, and Silver merely hummed in response as he made his nose turn around in a small circle. He was quite sure he wasn't actually made of light, but it didn't deter his little game in the slightest. He had never known something this simple could be so amusing. His fur looked considerably better too, fluffier and lighter-coloured than it had ever been before, although all his quills were very much disarrayed. He could fix that later, though, too engrossed with tracking the movements of his reflection to really pay attention to it. Espio washing him had felt so relaxing and pleasant... he couldn't wait for the chameleon to do it again.

His friend was rummaging behind him, Silver saw as he tried to close his eyes as far as possible without his vision turning black fully, putting the bottle of shampoo away in the little wooden cabinet and handing him his clothes from where they had been put on the laundry basket. With difficulty he tore his attention away from the mirror, easily slipping on his boots and gloves with his powers and fastening his cuffs until the familiar weight was back around his wrists. Espio had sat down on the edge of the bathtub to do the same, and in the mirror Silver curiously studied how meticulous each of his movements was as he put all his own bracers and bandages back into place. Whereas the hedgehog had put on his clothes in a matter of seconds the chameleon took much longer, painstakingly fastening every cuff and wrapping until they were to his liking. The sight was surprisingly mesmerising, and Silver found himself unable to tear his eyes away. "Let's go downstairs," his friend exclaimed once finished, reaching over to grab the wooden stick with the spines from where it had been laying on the sink and opening the door.

The psychic had been lost in thought studying his motions, and he jumped a little as Espio unexpectedly brushed past him. As he hurried after the chameleon and padded out of the bathroom he examined the multitude of doors in the tiny hallway. He recognised the one that closed off the room where he had slept and the door of the bathroom, but there were still three others of which he didn't know what was behind. Two were open, though he couldn't see what was in the rooms as he shuffled past them, and one was closed fully. There was also an interesting ring of sorts hanging from the ceiling, that he good-humouredly batted at with his powers before letting it rest. He'd probably find out later what all the doors hid, but Espio wanted to brush him now... whatever that was. If it felt just as nice as getting bathed he'd have no objections in the slightest.

Peeking down the stairs he calculated the distance to the ground below. He was feeling surprisingly playful, an emotion that didn't come to him often... "Don't," Espio warned behind him as he readied himself to leap to the main floor, crouching down and wagging his tail as he tensed his legs. Before the chameleon could move in to grab him he had already jumped with a chuckle, rushing through the air feet-first and catching himself with his powers just before hitting the ground. Gracefully he twirled upside-down to shoot a beaming grin at Espio, who was shaking his head from where he stood still on the second floor. "Show-off," the chameleon chided as he very mundanely walked down the steps himself, though from his fond tone of voice Silver could easily deduce he wasn't angry at all.