「 light in the darkness. 」

≻ . earth

Shadow didn't know what force had taken over him for him to ever offer such a thing, but it had overcome him to the point he'd simply done it. Had it been any other time, he would have simply dismissed the other's desires, but how could he when Maria had once been a friend to this other hedgehog? It was solely because of Maria that the male hedgehog had even considered this, otherwise he'd have left the other behind without care.

"Let go of me," Shadow growled at the purple hedgehog who'd taken to grasping onto his arm, eyes squeezed shut. He'd used teleportation to get them where he wanted them to. 'Pathetic,' he thought to himself. Surely a creation of the professor would have been accustomed to something so simple as teleportation. Then again, she was a failed product.

The harsh edge within Shadow's tone had the female release him from her grasp, then step away as eyes fluttered open. Immediately, pale emerald eyes were greeted by the blue of the sky over their heads, swallowing half of the scenery. They were upon a hill, trees lining the edges of her vision, a gentle breeze blowing through and rustling her quills for the first time, just as it did the leaves in the trees and the blades of grass beneath their feet.

"This is—.. this is earth.." Light's eyes were filled with wonder and Shadow frowned slightly as she slipped her gloves off her hands and slowly descended to sit on her knees upon the grass. Now bare fingers felt around the grass, the foreign sensation sending a shiver through her in the most pleasant of ways. Her fingertips lightly brushed against the petals of the daisies growing around her.

"These are.. flowers?"

The way she looked up at Shadow with such curiosity and amazement, it was all the darker one could do not to scoff and shake his head. It would be hypocritical of him to make judgement, for he'd experienced this the first time he'd landed upon earth, not knowing what things were, how they felt. It was almost like looking back at himself, only a female, less powerful, more excitable version of himself.

"Yes.. those are flowers. This is earth. There are many things for you to see and learn.. but that part is up to you," he spoke, stood there with his arms folded, watching as she plucked a flower, testing the softness of its petals between her fingers.

"Oh, but Shadow.. won't you help me? You know far more than I could ever know.. I am afraid I will get lost and be unable to learn all alone.. it is one of my flaws." Her ears seemed to droop in disappointment at that.

"Flaws. You seem to have plenty of those."

Yet another example of how different they were in his eyes. Where he was a successful product who strived for perfection, she was a failed outcome who lived only because she was shown mercy, though had too many flaws for him to count upon his fingers. Her flaws outweighed the amount the two shared in common and thus, they were what he focused on. It was wrong, but that fact didn't hold any of his concern.

"Please, I wish to learn. Perhaps, I can help you with your tasks here on earth and in turn, you can share with me your knowledge of the earth?" She asked, standing slowly as she stared up at the male who, in turn, simply looked down at her in pity. She was so thirsty for knowledge, it was almost sad, yet admirable.

"I don't need your help," he replied bluntly, watching as her expression sunk into one of disappointment. Despite the fact that he'd clearly picked up on the damper in her mood, it had not been that had led into his next set of words, "However, I am willing to tell you what I know, but when, and only when, I am in the mood to do so. Got it?"

The light of happiness glowing behind the purple hedgehog's eyes seemed to flicker on again, head motioning with fast nods of agreement. This was the first act of kindness she has experienced and it had been far from the kindest thing one could say or do. But, where Shadow was involved, it was more than one could hope for.

"Thank you! I promise I will stay out of your way and I will try refrain from asking too many questions. I apologize for ruining your desire to be left in peace. Perhaps if I stop speaking, you will be able to ignore my presence and therefore I will not be so much of a nuisance."

It wasn't that her voice was annoying— it was sweet, her words were all softly spoken and her tone always held an air of excitement, but Shadow simply preferred quiet over noise.

"I see the professor did not fail in making you at least somewhat intelligent. Seems you are not all flaws," Shadow responded with a subtle shrug. "Don't fuss over being quiet all the time. It's.. strange having company that refuses to speak, as nice as the silence is.."

Shadow's narrowed eyes eased up slightly, just to show he wasn't glaring at her. "Are you functional enough to obey the command to be silent?" He asked, earning a nod in response. This had him offering a small nod in return.

"Then this may work out."