「 light in the darkness. 」

≻ . disturbing the peace

Earth was beautiful.

Light was sat upon the grass at the mouth of a cave, the inside lined with glowing coloured streaks. The two hedgehogs had found it not far from the hill they'd arrived on the earth upon and chosen to use it for shelter.

Her eyes were closed, a look of content upon her features as the breeze blowing into the cave flowed through her purple and gold streaked quills. The breeze was warm, thanks to the bright sun shining down, the sunlight seeping into the opening of the cave until it could no longer reached and where the darkness remained, Shadow was.

The ultimate had propped himself against the stone wall, arms folded, narrowed crimson eyes focused upon the back of the female one's head. She resembled a child in nature in the sense that she held so much curiosity and lacked so much knowledge, but Shadow had once been in such a position. However, he'd had Maria, the professor and time to learn. She didn't get that same chance.

He knew that it was up to him to take care of her now, given as he'd been the one to wake her from suspended animation and that he brought her with him, but so long as he kept her in this cave, or anywhere within his sight, then she couldn't get herself into any danger and therefore, he wouldn't have to worry.

That would be harder than he'd thought, it seems, given as Light had risen to her feet and made to walk away. She'd only managed a single step before Shadow's voice caused her to freeze, "Where do you think you're going?"

The purple hedgehog turned to the male, pale green eyes meeting darker, red ones.

"I want to explore," she replied, the softness of her voice telling Shadow that she was every bit intimidated. "I want to see the animals and pick some flowers. I want to make more friends and I want to play in the grass."

"You are an absolute child," Shadow responded, pinching the bridge of his nose. He supposed he wasn't as angry as he was annoyed, but innocence or sweetness was something Shadow hadn't been surrounded by since Maria— and that was if he even remembered correctly.

"I will escort you around and ensure you don't get yourself into trouble. But know this; I don't have all day," was all the darker hedgehog said as he exited the cave, the purple one watching, before walking after him.

"Thank you, Shadow. You're very kind," Light spoke, now at his side with a little skip in her step to display her excitement. Though Shadow simply rolled his eyes at her words, her excitement, the way her eyes lit up, her voice, little things about her reminded him of Maria.

"I know a place you'll enjoy," Shadow spoke, almost mumbling beneath his breath. Kindness was far from what he was designed to be skilled in, so his offer lacked any genuine desire to give her what she wanted. Instead, he sounded annoyed— which wasn't unusual for him.

"Oh?" Light's head canted towards the side, curiosity peaked as she lifted her gaze to Shadow's face. It still lacked expression, as always, but in contrast, hers held the same excitement. The sparkle in her eyes was similar to the one Maria once had, if not dimmer.

Without another word, Shadow simply continued leading. No, he wasn't big on talking, which Light picked up on, so he'd simply show her.

The silence between the two was far from uncomfortable, and Shadow was certain that the length the period of silence lasted was the longest Light managed to stop talking, but it eventually ended once Shadow lifted a low-hanging branch and gestured a hand towards the opening he'd created.

"Go."

Such a simple command had Light's pace pick up, moving through the opening and watching her footing whilst passing over tree roots— the last thing she wanted was to trip and cause Shadow more annoyance.

Once she'd made it through, and she heard the branch swing back into place as Shadow stepped through after her, Light lifted her gaze and gasped softly at the sight before her.

"Oh, wow.."

The sound of rushing water had Light's ears twitching, gaze turning towards a waterfall that ran into a stream, the water sparkling as the sunlight hit it. There were butterflies fluttering around a patch of flowers along the stream's edge, rocks lining the edge whilst providing a seat for what appeared to be a blue bird. The trees were decorated with blooming flowers of many colours, leaves rustling as creatures that lived within the branches moved about.

"This is beautiful!" Light wandered into the clear space where the green grass expanded all the way until the cliff cut off the area, leading up towards the waterfall. The sound of birds and water were all she could hear, before Shadow's voice disturbed the soft, soothing sounds of the area.

"Don't take another step," he warned, Light then glancing downwards where her foot was close to trampling over the growing flowers.

"You do want to be able to come back and look at it the way you remember it, don't you? Watch your step or you'll ruin everything."

Light almost felt guilty, then moved her foot to step over the flowers instead of on top of them.

"Sorry, I wasn't—"

KABOOM!

Light was cut off, a shriek of surprise escaping as she jumped in fright, immediately moving behind Shadow, where she all but practically clung to him in fear.

"Shadow.. what was that?"