"...Well to be honest, I don't think Amy really likes me..." The two arrived at the table in the soup kitchen in the middle of a discussion. Cyanic nervously fingered a strand of their long blue bangs as they temporarily diverted they attention to greet the returning friends.
"Why not?" Sonic resumed the topic, smiling in earnest as he studied his pal's nervous demeanor from across the table.
"She thinks I'm stealing you away from her or something, whatever that means."
Valorie chuckled, focused on her menu. "Don't worry about what she thinks, Cy. Amy's just jealous."
Mighty glanced back and forth between the two blue hedgehogs. "I hear she's interested in counseling. Has she ever asked to apply as a F.V.R. counselor?"
Nutmeg giggled from the end of the table closest to the wall. A few of her friends glanced over to see Ray looking in disbelief at the pink squirrel's disposable kids' menu as she scribbled across it with a black crayon. The two squirrels were seated side by side, snickering over the color-in images on their sheets in a childlike manner, and Ray elbowed her, fussing at her for whatever she was drawing over the restaurant's cartoon mascot.
"I can do whatever I want to Mr. Noodles, it's a free country!" The Head Mistress declared between giggles. "You should give yours a mustache. They can't sue you."
Ray laughed and picked up a crayon to join in her mischief, previously embarrassed about being the youngest at the table and needing a kids' menu. Nutmeg had evidently gotten one for herself, too, and the two vandalized their menus' poor characters as the others looked on in amusement.
"She has, but Nutmeg turned her down." Batanna answered the question, smiling to herself. "F.V.R. has plenty of counselors and no room for more. We even have lists of substitute counselors in case our regulars are ever out for any reason. But to be honest..." the lavender bat leaned in, unnoticed by the pink flying squirrel, "I think Nutmeg just doesn't like her."
"Why on Mobius not? The two are practically twins!" Sonic exclaimed in surprise.
"Maybe that's why. Maybe she can't stand herself." Infinite joked, joining in the conversation. His dark companion gave him a satirical smirk.
"You p-put him in a wheelchair? Why?!" Ray's voice cut in again.
Nutmeg grinned. "He broke his leg while trying to escape the bank with the stolen goods."
"Nutmeg, what twisted life are you giving the poor mascot?" Valorie exclaimed, laughing.
"Oh, don't mind us, carry on." The pink squirrel gestured to her, feigning innocence. "And yes, I can't stand Amy exactly for that reason. Ray, have you ever seen a Zeti before?" At the younger squirrel's declination, she pulled out a red crayon and began a detailed drawing of Zavok in the free space of her menu. "Let's hope you never meet a mean one in person."
"What... is a Zeti?" Mighty inquired, changing the subject.
"They're a species native to a planet called the Lost Hex." Valorie informed him. "We used to have a group in F.V.R. that called themselves the Deadly Six."
Batanna sighed, resting her chin in her hand. "A lot of stuff happened a few months ago, though, so they're no longer around."
"Zavok was a tyrant and a jerk-face." Scarlet commented, looking up from her phone.
"Scarlet!" Her sibling exclaimed.
"What? He's not a trainee anymore, I can call him what I want." The dark hedgehog resumed her online game of tic-tac-toe with Shadow.
The equally dark hedgehog beside her smirked, his features sharped by his smug expression as his voice dropped in volume. "That's not even the worst thing you could've call him..."
"I don't know, Zavok didn't seem so bad when we were in the CCC." Nutmeg piped in, focused on her drawing. "He was all cool and formal, he even kept his teammates from leaping at my throat when Zazz got kidnapped."
"Is that Zavok?" Ray asked, peering over her shoulder at the picture.
"Yep."
"How good is she, Ray?" Mighty mused, smirking across the table at his little brother.
"If the Zeti really do look like that, then she's p-pretty good." The little squirrel looked up. "D-do you guys draw, too?"
"All of us but Val. Val sings." Scarlet replied. "And Nutmeg's probably-!"
Nutmeg interrupted her, "-not gonna accept whatever you're about to say about yourself. I know you. Don't you dare compare your art to others'."
Her friends either smiled or looked away as one of the restaurant's servers arrived at their table, ready to take their orders.
YOU ARE READING
Blood Bonds
Fanfiction(Book 3 of the Spirit of the Phantom Ruby series) In Blood Bonds, a forgotten enemy is found and captured by G.U.N.; Eclipse the Darkling! Eclipse finds himself signing a treaty over to G.U.N., enrolling him in F.V.R.'s redemption program and separa...
