~Mįšťăķěñ Łøvĕ~ [DISCONTINUED]

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Chapter 12: Open

The trio had managed to clean up fairly swiftly - Shadow having a soft spot for the rabbit made it easier for Sonic to throw a remark at him as Cream never liked violence - and had returned to the camp.

Knuckles, much to his dismay, had dived into the lake to retrieve Rouge's boot to shut her up for an hour or so. Tails had occupied himself with putting the table away with Amy whilst Rouge sulked, holding her drowned boot in her arms like a baby.

"So much happens when you leave for ten minutes..." Sonic muttered "Yea, imagine my weekly visits." Shadow remarked, walking away. Sonic just rolled his eyes, the group weren't that chaotic, it was definitley because they were in a new place.

Sonic occupied himself with putting the dishes back in the boot of the car in a neat, organised rack Amy had packed for the walking distance between the cabin and the actual campsite. Sally showed up a little while later at around 03:00pm.

The group went to greet her upon hearing her shout 'hey guys!' upon walking over. Sonic couldn't help but notice how Shadow eyed Sally closely whilst distancing himself from the group. Sonic tilted his head towards the group, encouraging Shadow to join the gathering. Shadow merely shook his head, not even seeming angry upon recieving the offer.

Sonic managed to slip away from the group and sit near Shadow. Shadow had plopped himself in the vast field surrounding the area. Sonic occupied himself with picking the grass and throwing it to the side. The two stayed in what seemed like silence for awhile despite the chatter a few meters away.

"This kinda reminds of of that chao garden." Sonic smiled "I'm kinda glad you brought me there, I kept the crowns." Shadow tensed up, Sonic noticing almost immediately. "Hey... isn't this a chao ridden area?!" Sonic exclaimed, trying to distract the tense hedgehog. Shadow nodded reluctantly "Want to go look? We have about an hour before Amy forces us all to walk to town to find that Chinese take away Sally has been gushing about." He joked, lightly elbowing Shadow. Shadow just rolled his eyes "Fine."

Sonic then walked back up to the group, alerting them of where the two would be. Rouge smirked at Shadow and mouthed something along the lines of 'you go girl' which confused Sonic even more than the slight glare Amy darted in Rouges direction.

The two hedgehogs then set off, at first in silence. It was peaceful and not awkward however, Shadow seemed to be at ease, even going so far as to close his eyes for longer than a split second every now and then. Birds chirped and bushes and trees russelled. The grass was almost as green as Sonics eyes. Everything looked so healthy with a luminescent pop of colour within the scenery of flowers and berries.

Sonic was pleased Shadow was finally trusting him now. He really did want Shadow to be his friend - no matter if he remained a villian or not. It upset him to know Shadow was always on guard, stressed and never taking a break. He didn't voice his concerns to Shadow though, he would see it as Sonic looking down on him - no matter how much Sonic assured the ebony hedgehog he saw them as equals.

"It looks a lot better than the city gardens." Sonic smiled. Shadow nodded "It's prettier the thurther away from urbanisation it is." Shadow muttered, sighing in contempt. "It's weird. I usually speed past areas like this without a second thought. I've lived in cities so long the grass looks too green." Sonic opened up to Shadow - he knew Shadow wouldn't look down on him for it anyway, the two had some form of mutual respect.

"Funny, I try my best to avoid cities to the point where going into them makes parks look grey." Shadow stated "That's where you go?" Sonic asked, talking about how frequently Shadow dissapears. Shadow nodded "It's too noisy by cities." Sonic laughed "I cause most of that." Shadow nodded "Don't I know it."

"Why did you run away in the chao garden then? I was being quiet." Shadow sighed, stopping. Sonic did aswell. "I've just... heard things." Shadow muttered "What do you mean?" Sonic asked, tilting his head. Shadow opened his mouth to speak, nothing comming out. Sonic smiled reassuringly "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Sonic smiled.

A group chaos suddenly approached with happy chirps. Sonic's ears suddenly twitched, smile widening. Shadow then put a finger to the others mouth, telling him to shut up. "They're wild so they'll be skittish." He whispered, barely in earshot. Sonic nodded.