Chapter Text
Miles wanted to turn around more than once, to go back to Big’s side and stay in a place he felt safer at. The road alone seemed much more dangerous than before – the sharp edges and dark corners more prominent, intimidating. But he continued his journey, motivated by the little arrow on his GPS being closer to the main computer every few hours.
It took days, maybe even weeks with all the breaks he had to take; to sleep, to make more medicine, to ease the pain. Yet still, he moved forward.
He passed familiar buildings, familiar sights. Wilted flowers and rocks thrown over by whoever knows what.
(He always made sure to stack them up again.)
As per Big’s rule, he stayed mostly in the woods. Out of sight, out of danger. Whenever he was able to sleep in a village though, he’d bury himself under blankets in the most stable looking rubble. Somehow he was hanging on. Maybe it was hope, or a feeling of obligation. He walked alone, and pointed out the stars to no one. Sometimes a flicky or another animal would join him, although not for long. They, understandably, preferred deeper parts of the forest. Still, it was nice seeing signs of life in a world this desolate.
While the regret of leaving haunted him some days, it didn’t choke him nearly as often as the need to go back.
A few days before he reached his destination, the snow started to fall. The first few snowflakes turned into a burial ground of summer in no time. Realization that he would be turning twelve soon hit him like a rock. Almost a year had passed since he last saw his brother.
On stormy nights he could barely swallow the tears and the fear, but he managed. On colder days he would curl his tails around his body. Whenever hidden in his own fur, surrounded by resemblances of warmth, his mind circled back to the heather built into his brother body – probably to keep his core warm, so he could work despite cold weather.
He used to stand close to Miles whenever the heater inside their house broke.
Memories like this made him feel warmer than his tails ever could. And that only fueled him further; to move even if his body ached from the changing weather, to swallow the worry of what he’ll find.
When he saw his house for the first time in months, the snow had already reached over his knees. It was more snow than he’d ever seen, a part of him couldn’t help the amazement.
But he pushed it aside.
After all this time, he was home!
And he didn’t know what to think.
He wanted to run inside; run and take in the sight, so that he’ll never forget it again. At the same time, a kind of anxiety was swimming around his stomach – he used to dream of leaving this place, lost so much to do so. Wouldn’t it all be pointless if he walked in now? What if he decided to stay? He wondered the question many times on his way. The homesickness was almost a proof of his weak resolve. So much longing, so much dreaming, for what?
No, he shook his head, at last standing before his home. It doesn’t matter if he’ll stay now, he’d seen the outside world, trying to convince himself, deep down he knew that it was not the answer he couldn’t find before.
He moved with a shiver down his spine, taking big steps – burying himself further in the snow with each step; barely able to ignore the sting that its coldness bought. It felt like forever, almost longer than the whole journey, reaching the front door.
It looked the same as he left it.
The door frame was frozen over, but no paint was chipped, no parts of the roof buckled under the heavy blanket of snow. Taking in the sight, he had to take a deep breath to calm himself. A part of him – the stupid, sentimental part – wondered if the door was always this cold, when he put his ungloved paw against it. His fingers curled into a fist against the ice-covered surface as he analyzed how to safely get in.
It was almost nostalgic. Ever since he found SON-0C he didn’t have to anything like this – his brother always knew the best way to get somewhere without getting hurt. And afterwards he had Big, who somehow always found buildings that were safe t walk into without thinking.
After a few minutes he assessed that breaking the ice on the hinges wouldn’t trigger anything to fall down and land on his head. He broke off a branch from a nearby tree without hesitation, sharpening it with his teeth, then jabbed it repeatedly into the ice until it fell off. It took a bit, he could barely feel his fingers after a while, but at last the door was free.
First he pushed with his palm to open it, but to no avail, so he pressed his whole body against it next. This time, with a painfully loud creak and possibly some bruises, they did open.
The inside was dark, but his eyes got used to it quickly. There were a few coffee mugs near the sink, left there the same morning he got stuck in that building. Bitterly, he snarled at them- at the reminder of how stupid he was. Coming closer, he noticed the mold growing inside. His nose scrunched in disgust.
He moved towards the windows, frozen patterns on them beautiful as ever. Would fit right into SON-0C’s photo collection. Remains of wilted flowers on sill tightened his chest. A shiver ran down his spine – he didn’t close the door fully, that was surely the reason. He fixed that quickly and thought back to the ever-breaking heater. It should still be in his workshop.
Turning towards the door leading there, he almost ran. It was colder inside than the other room, probably due to all the metal chunks laying around. In the corner of his eyes he saw parts of a motobug and flinched involuntarily. Robotnik used the same shade of paint on them as the models that attacked him and SON-0C. It didn’t stop him from walking further inside, though.
Everything was covered in dust. The blueprints were laying around, the scraps in a pile next to his chair. Shelves filled with unfinished inventions, books and whatever else fit on them. On his desk a half empty coffee mug he didn’t even want to see the inside of, using a book SON-0C started to read before going out as a cup coaster. Behind them the heater.
How he wished he’d left his workshop tidy. The heartbreak – little memories – wouldn’t ache this much if he did.
He moved closer to the center of the room – towards the desk, and more importantly, his computer. A paw print appeared in the dust even though he barely touched the wooden surface, but he ignored it. The computer looked like it was powered off, but the screen probably just gave out, since he found its signal. He wiped the it, but didn’t do much more.
For some reason his eyes were fixed on the book. There was a bookmark inside. (One that Miles made for his brother on the anniversary of ‘sky-falling’. SON-0C didn’t have a birthday, so this had to do.) It was tucked between the last few pages of the story – something about a human being turned into a mobian, and trying to find a way to turn back. A propaganda piece, but SON-0C liked to read anything he could find. He debated pulling the bookmark out for a bit, before deciding to leave it be. It was a memory, but not his to claim. Instead, he turned to his computer. The fact that no one raided this place was a miracle, given the barrier protecting his signal was broken.
His arm went towards the mouse. It was a bit awkward at first – he was used to controlling it with his other paw – but he managed. Nothing happened, so he reached towards the cables behind to check if they haven’t disconnected, but something stopped him mid-action. A kind of hesitation he was all too familiar with.
For the first time in months he could look at what was happening outside the bubble he made with Big. His expression changed into something more firm and pushed himself away; away from the computer, away from the workshop.
Towards his bedroom.
He went up the stairs, passing the bathroom and the storage he once wanted to turn into a room for SON-0C – the other was never home for long enough for him to really discuss it though. (Or maybe he didn’t have the courage to breach the topic, because what if he were to find out SON-oC didn’t want to stay?) He stopped in the door frame briefly, his paw hoovered over the knob, then he turned away to continue walking.
His own room was brighter than any other. The sky was more visible from that side of the house, the window was bigger too. His bed was left unmade, the blanket hanging over the edge. A cup of water, that SON-0C put at his bedside table the night he left, was still full. The layer of dust ever-present, specs of it flying around even more prominent under the sunlight. The room seemed smaller than before, more suffocating.
Crouching in front of the closet, he pulled out a box. Opening it revealed a Miles Electric 2.0 laying at the bottom. He grabbed it without much though and put it in his bag.
Strangely, he didn’t spare another glance at the house, leaving it behind almost too easily. Once again burying himself in the snow, he slowly but steadily made his way to the village. He used to know this path like the back of his paw. Like his house. All three were now a blur though. It took a few wrong turns to finally find himself in front of the buildings that marked the boundary of entry.
His breath quickened, throat tightened as the red metal stuck out from under piled-up snow. A full body shudder made him nauseous, but he moved forward nonetheless. He recognized the spot where his brother would be in easily. Hardly swallowing, he knelt down and pushed his bare paw into the blanket of white – with one swift movement he started to dig.
Ignoring the sting of coldness, even when powder turned into ice, he scratched.
And when he finally reached the dirt, there was... nothing. But that didn’t make sense. His parts should be there- rusty limbs, maybe torn out wires.
Dread collided with denial.
He started digging around, because surely he misremembered the spot- he must’ve been off by a bit. And if he found nothing around, maybe dirt covered the remains, it’s been almost a year after all.
And so Miles dug.
He dug until his claws dulled, fingers went numb, yet found nothing.
Maybe he knew from the beginning, before he ever decided to go back, that his brother wouldn’t be there. Maybe he knew but wouldn’t let himself accept the possibility. SON-0C was a robot unlike any other. Robotnik wouldn’t be so stupid as to throw him out in the middle of nowhere. Maybe when he first saw the other falling from the sky, he knew it will end like this. That the old genius would take him away one day.
Eventually, after hours, Miles picked himself up – a whole bit emptier than when he came back, a lot more hopeless. Instead of going back to the house, he made his way in the opposite direction. Opposite from where he and Big ventured before. Opposite from what he knew.
And as he walked, his whole frame shook from the cold. Wet fur, unattended sore scars. Continuously his knees got buried in snow, only the fact he was moving saved him from sinking. For hours, maybe days – probably days – he walked. Barely eating or drinking unless he remembered to. Ignoring how his body screamed at him to rest.
What was he meant to do now? He left Big to repair his brother. Bury him at least. But there were no remains, there was no way to find the cat. He was truly alone now. With no spark of hope or destination.
If it were spring, he would’ve planted flowers for SON-0C. If it was a year ago he would’ve replanted the ones they grew. If it was a year ago he would’ve hidden the parts before Robotnik could find them.
Why had he left Miles alone though? Surely he got into his brother’s programming. Unless… he still haven’t recovered it. But he saw the fox… the alarms were triggered... was it not because of Miles? Robotnik’s bots could’ve been build to recognize SON-0C…
It didn’t really matter now, had it? SON-0C was gone. Whether due to too destroyed core or overwritten programming, one thing was sure: Miles didn’t have a brother anymore.
His paws begged him to stop, but he didn’t. He marched forwards, teary eyed with flushed cheeks.
At least until his knees buckled and the world got eaten by familiar darkness.
Sonic was back online much earlier than he expected, walking again in a bit over a week. Must’ve been the fact that this time he didn’t need any additional repairs.
After a few tests, and lies mixed with feigned confusion about ‘why his insides weren’t full of flesh’, he was free to go. At most to occasionally come back for more testing with Project S – or Shadow, as he found out. Coincidentally, he was also a hedgehog, one that was actually fully roboticized. Sonic didn’t want to pry, but apparently he was kept inactive in a lab, then one day regained a sense of self.
Sonic’s first real decision as ‘Sonic’ was to join combat division. The leader, ‘Red’ – or Knuckles – accepted thanks to the Chaotix boys vouching for him. (He made sure to express gratitude when they met again.)
First though there was training period.
He was… adjusting. To this new life, that is. The people were surprisingly nice, and although he got some suspicious glances, no one really confronted him. There were quite a few partially roboticized mobians too – they always looked at him with eyes full of sympathy. Some humans also were a part of the Resistance, although as an obvious minority.
In general, his new life was much better than he imagined. Uncomfortably so. He was, above all, a walking lie among kindness.
After a month his training was going smoothly. He got acquainted with some of the people and surely in no time he’d be out there helping. Oh, how he couldn’t wait to join a mission. To watch the Egghead’s face as he spindashes into a row of bots, destroying the precious creations of that madman.
Someone patted his shoulder; a pink hedgehog, a bit tired but smiling nonetheless. Amy Rose, the leader’s right hand, supplied his database.
“Hi!” She took a long step to join him by his side, “You haven’t been to this part of the building in a while, need something?”
“Nah, was busy with the training. You know how it is,” he said in a tone that indicated a grin. “Came to see how y’all are doing, heard it’s been busy lately. Even Espio is supposedly back in action, and he was to take it easy for at least two weeks more.”
“Tell me about it,” she sighed, dark circles under her eyes even more prominent when she stepped directly under the light. “Since the mission during which Rouge took you in, we’ve been trying to figure out ways to get into prisons through the main buildings. It’d be much more efficient if we can go through there and exit the same way. The vents aren’t really the easiest. Especially for…” she trailed off.
He knew what she meant – the roboticized. He was still getting chills thinking of the rooms below them, filled with once organic beings turned off for safety reasons.
“I hope you can find a way. I still have a map of the main building saved? I can export it for you-” he got cut off.
“Thanks, but we already found those in the stolen data.” Tone flat, almost bitter, even though Amy meant no malice.
“Oh dang! And here I thought I can be helpful!” Sonic laughed lightheartedly, ignoring her expression. She couldn’t help the grin easily spreading across her face, and for a moment stared at him. Her cheeks reddened a bit. “Hmm? Something’s wrong?”
“Will you go out with me this time?” she asked quickly. Less hopefully than the first time around.
“Sorry, no chance.” Flicking her forehead, he shot back immediately, plopping himself onto a bench in front of Knuckles’ office. “You know if there’s a meeting?”
She sat down next to him with a deep exhale, used to the response she got.
“Seems so. Although it’s just Ge- Rouge! Man, I always mix up after missions- sorry. Rouge and Knuckles,“ then jokingly she added, “so they are probably just flirting.”
“Ugh. Them.” Amy laughed a bit at that.
“I think Rouge wants the Team Dark to go on a solo mission. I heard Omega ask her to arrange it, you know she has a soft spot for him and Shadow.”
“She does, huh?” he murmured. “I think it’s nice. Not many people have someone to care for them this much,” his voice quiet, but not quite a whisper.
Amy turned her gaze away, and a sorrowful silence filled the space.
“I used to have people to care about me too,” after a bit, Amy spoke up. Immediately though she covered her muzzle, surprised she even said that. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to-”
“It’s okay. I used to have someone like that too.” He rubbed her arm a comforting manner. “He was… he was my brother,” Sonic imitated an exhale, and somehow his limbs seemed lighter. He hadn’t opened up about Tails before. He thought about him so much it hurt, but never did he dare to speak about the kit.
Amy looked at him surprised, but quickly came to her senses. Right, he was also a living being, screamed the grip she had on the hem of her dress as she hunched over.
“I used to babysit this little girl,” she blurted out. ”She was almost like a younger sister to me. I- my parents weren’t really that present, so her mother would often take care of me too,” she admitted, recalling the family fondly. “Her name is Cream. She’s the cutest little thing.”
“Amy…” as he was about to try and comfort her, she sprung up teary eyed. Paws flying everywhere.
“I haven’t seen her since the Resistance took me in, but I’m sure she’s safe. Her and Vanilla. They aren’t predatory subspecies, and aren’t active protestants so they should be fine.” She looked at him, soft unsteady smile on her face, ”But sometimes you can’t help but worry.”
“Yeah…” he looked away from her, not sure what to say. The silence was awkward, once again broken by Amy.
“How about you tell me about your brother?” she asked gently.
“I-” Sonic wasn’t sure where to start, she instantly wanted to say something, apologize maybe, but he interrupted. “He was… amazing. A genius that the world never knew before. Smarter than Eggman.” He didn’t have a throat, yet his voice box processed the words as choked.
Gears turned in the pink hedgehog’s head, as the realization slowly hit.
“He’s…?” her paws went up to cover her mouth.
“It’s… it’s not unusual.” He leaned back and turned his head away, “Not within Eggman’s rule.”
“It doesn’t mean it hurts any less.” She grabbed his paw. And even though he couldn’t feel it, the meaning was conveyed without words. In such a familiar way it almost hurt.
“I… I miss him.” He looked at her again. “We used to plant flowers. And I would take pictures to show him because he was so afraid of leaving our village.”
“You lived in a village? Weren’t those deported a long time ago?” Amy asked, shocked that someone managed to stay under Robotnik’s radar. “How…?”
“It was just the two of us. Like I said, my bro was a genius.” Proudly he puffed out his chest, “He built so many thing from nothing. The only thing he couldn’t fix was that heater from hell.”
“Sounds like he was a great boy. What else?” content to hear more – know more – about her friend, Amy asked.
“He was also quite adorable. And fluffy. His old coat would be all around the house already, had I still lived there.”
Amy tilted her head.
“Did he have a habit of destroying coats?” she rose a brow, unsure what to make of Sonic’s words.
“What?” he looked at her as if she grew a second head. “No- he just- he was a fox. They change coats between seasons.”
“Oh!” she shouted a bit. “Sorry- I assumed you meant biological brother- oh man, that was really out of hand.” Burying her head in her paws, she rambled embarrassed.
“That’s fine,” turning away, he reassured. “I just- I can’t believe I didn’t remember him until recently…”
“It wasn’t up to you.” Amy rubbed his shoulder.
“I know, I know,” he sighed. “I just- suddenly realizing how much I miss him-”
“It’s gonna get better. Maybe not fine, but better.”
And with that, she pulled him into a hug. Freezing, he was momentarily at a loss of words.
“Yeah…” He leaned into it stiffly, after a bit. “I- his birthday is coming up. I missed it last year- he would be turning twelve soon, so I was thinking about celebrating...”
“If it’ll make you feel better, you should.” Amy pulled away, their eyes met once again. “I do it for Cream too. A lot of people here throw small parties for people they can no longer see.” Looking down, she smiled slightly, “I can join you, if you would feel bad doing it alone.”
“I…” his voice choked, but lighter than when the conversation started. “Thanks.”
As he got up, he offered her a paw, which she accepted. Right when their paws met, the door next to them opened.
A bat came out with a wave.
“See ya, handsome~” Turning around, she noticed Amy and Sonic. “Oh, hello you two. The big guy’s all yours now.” With a wink, she passed them.
They looked after her, stifling a shared laugh, before entering the office.
The echidna inside was sorting some papers, face redder than the rest of his fur as he grumbled about ‘that bat paying for all the trouble’. Amy quickly made her way towards the desk, and pulled more papers out of her bag. The stack hit the wooden surface, making Knuckles look up. His expression, in seconds it took him to register what happened, changed from surprised to even more annoyed than before.
“So what did Rouge want?” Amy asked, as her boss pulled the new pile closer.
“What could she want? Omega insisted that a signal he was reading for a long time now suddenly stopped. Decided it’s suspicious so he wanted to grab her and Shadow to check it out. You know he just can’t ask me himself.” He massaged his forehead irritated, sarcasm in his voice.
“You do have a soft spot for Rouge,” Amy teased, smiling.
“Wha- I don’t! Where did you even get that from?!” She stared at him pointedly for an awkward moment. Clearing his throat, he continued, “Anyway, what are those papers?”
“Some complaints about us keeping the roboticized mobians, what we extracted from one of the USB sticks, and some requests about division assignments,” she listed.
“And he’s here ‘cause…?” Knuckles raised a brow at Sonic.
“Wanted to check if there’s a job for a trainee.” He shrugged, earning a groan.
“No, there’s not. We can-” as Knuckles started, Amy tapped her chin thoughtfully. Then her eyes almost sparkled as an idea came to her.
“How about you check in with Lanolin?” she suggested. “We need her last mission update, but she collapsed as soon as her team came back. I was about to head there after giving him the papers, but you can go in my stead.”
“Aye!” he saluted, but before he could leave, Knuckles interrupted.
“Hey, I didn’t say he can go! Why won’t you go if you planned to?” His attention went towards Amy.
“Because I have other things to do after? If you hadn’t noticed, you’re not the only busy person here,” annoyance seeped out of her voice. “If he can and want to go, I will gladly let him.”
“Thanks Ames, will be back with the recording soon!”
He speed out before the leader could add anything else.
Heading towards the medical wing, he passed a few people. Some tried to greet him but the blur passed them too fast. Too excited to do something more useful than training, he hurried to fulfill his task. It took him a few seconds to reach Lanolin’s room.
He opened the door gently, quietly to not disturb anyone, and stepped in to slowly approach the bed – next to the sheep stood two of her team members, checking on her condition. His metal legs, clanking against the floor, made the trio look his way. The lemur smiled, already mid step towards him, the wolf nodded in acknowledgment of his presence and Lanolin’s face soured in discomfort.
“Sonic! Hi! What are you doing here?” Tangle raised her paw, prompting a high-five.
“Hi! Ames sent me to record a report. You’re okay now Lanolin?” he glanced at her.
Surprised, she turned her gaze away.
“Yeah…” responding quietly, she rubbed her arm. The silence that followed was awkward.
Then Tangle cleaned her throat.
“So… you two should talk.” She grabbed Whisper’s arm and pulled her out the room, knowing something Sonic wasn’t privy to.
Both Sonic and Lanolin stared at the door for a while, before the former took the space previously occupied by the two girls.
“I… uh… I’m gonna turn on the recording and we can start? Just describe how the mission went and underline anything you deem important-” Sonic rubbed his neck.
“Yeah, um- no problem.” Lanolin didn’t dare to look him in the eyes.
“Okay.” Stiffly, he turned on the function and selected the folder in which the file would be saved, “You can start now.”
“Oh, right. Now.” Her posture and tone immediately changed, “Report of Lanolin, the leader of Diamond Cutters. Our objective was to gather information from Ivo Robotnik’s base in Solanna.” Back straight, even though her shoulders visibly shook from the strain she didn’t even wince. “We managed to get into the building, but despite the base’s size security was tighter than in the main one. Something important for future may be there, more people would have to join the party next time. We were lucky to avoid any casualties. We found a type of model never seen before but weren’t able to secure any of its parts for further investigation. During our escape a van with prisoners was moved from there to the main base.” She frowned, regret on her face, “We weren’t able to intervene. If there are any more details I need to provide, please let me know.”
“And… we’re done!” Sonic motioned with his paw, and started to analyze the footage.
As he worked, Lanolin glanced at him every so often with unsure expression. When was about to tell her that the recording was alright, she spoke up.
“I’m sorry,” blurting out, she flinched.
“Huh?” Sonic tilted his head. “Why?”
“I-” her frown deepened. “I felt so bad for a while now. About showing you so much distrust when we met.” She exhaled deeply, “You turned out to be such a nice person and I almost made you stay with Robotnik.”
Her fists clenched on the white sheets, and her eyes got teary.
“I…” Sonic was shell shocked. Awkwardly he looked away, “That’s fine, I forgot about it to be honest.” And he was honest. So much has happened he barely remembered what the people around him talked about that day.
“Wha-” she finally looked at him. “Then why were you always so awkward around me?” In her eyes was sincere confusion.
“Because you were awkward around me!” he exclaimed like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
And maybe it was. Maybe some things didn’t need a grater reason to exist.
Lanolin stared at him for a good minute, before a laugh left her mouth. Laugh so violent it threw her body forwards, visibly painful even without the injuries. She laughed and her eyes betrayed relief. Sonic followed her not long after.
They both laughed until her cheeks got wet. Tears fell but no sadness nor pain was on her face.
“So…” she smiled. “No bad blood?” knowing the answer, she still asked.
“No bad blood.” He pushed his paw forward. She nodded confidently, and reciprocated the fist bump. “I should go send the recordings to Amy now.”
“See you later!” She waved as he moved to leave.
“Get better soon!” He did the same.
Behind the door, Tangle stood with a big smile, and Whisper by her side with a smaller one. Excitement in both their eyes, although they didn’t say anything. He bid them goodbye as they walked in, once more taking their spots by Lanolin’s bed.
When the door closed, all involved were left feeling lighter.
A family of two followed a slim road. They passed most of the buildings long ago, now on their way to a cottage closer to the city’s border – much closer to the woods.
An older rabbit gripped her daughter’s paw tightly. Despite her kind smile, she observed their surroundings cautiously. Not many people lived in these parts, but that didn’t make them any safer.
Her daughter clutched a small bag, some lighter items in it as she wanted to help her mother carry the groceries. Giggling, she pointed out each plant she recognized, and complimented each pretty rock.
A flash of dull yelloow caught the older woman’s eye suddenly, prompting her to push the little girl behind her back. Pupils wide as she turned towards the figure.
Laying in the dirt was a… two-tailed fox. Her expression quickly turned from fierce protectiveness to worry; he was obviously a child, not much older than her daughter. No clothes besides the mismatched shoes and gloves – obviously one of ‘the wild’, as Robotnik would call them.
“Stay here.” She instructed, putting her bag down.
As she came closer to the boy, her daughter sent her unsure glances. Kneeling in front of him, she could feel the warmth radiating from the boy. A fever. She reached out to try and wake him up, only for the small frame to shift, revealing the irritated scars and a missing limb.
She covered her muzzle in shock, stifling a gasp.
“Mom?” Hesitantly the young girl took a step forward, “What’s-” She dropped her own bag as the boy came into her view. “Dear Chaos!” She ran to her mother’s side, eyes teary when she properly saw the state that the boy was in. Then, she looked at her mom, “What are we gonna do?”
What were they gonna do? Leave him? He was a predatory subspecies. If she were found out housing him... but the boy looked so small… how could she leave him there? It was a death sentence. Fist clenched, the older rabbit’s expression hardened. With determination she threw her coat over the boy’s body for cover. Putting one arm under his knees, the other supporting his neck, she picked the kit up.
“Can you take both bags? My paws are full.” She forced on a reassuring smile while asking her daughter.
The little girl wiped her eyes, then nodded and trotted towards the groceries determined. With a bit of struggle she managed to pick them up.
Looking around, the older rabbit felt relief that no one was there.
The boy was light, to her worry. Her daughter was heavier, despite being shorter. A frown formed on her face as she took in the sight of the boy.
Dirty fur, ice droplets on its tips. Hopefully no hypothermia. Alive by miracle. How did he even end up like this? The scars told her already that he didn’t have the easiest life, but someone had to take care of him before.
Blue eyes fluttered open for a second. Oh, the boy was awake. He yelped, but didn’t move. Through the unfocused gaze he clearly couldn’t make out what was happening. She winced at the sight. Her daughter looked up curious of the sudden noises.
The boy’s mouth moved but no coherent words made it past them. He muttered some gibberish and his claws – clearly not cared for in a while – dug into his own stomach. Luckily not enough to draw blood, but that was likely the result of lack of strength.
The woman gripped him tighter, closer to her body to provide at least some warmth. It was painful to look at. To listen to. The little girl by her side only stared, trying her best to put on a brave face.
It didn’t take long for boys eyes to roll back into his head and close. Once again he was unconscious, and she prayed with all her might for his survival.
The family of two quickened their pace, each step desperate as they nearly broke into a run. They ended up getting home faster than ever before.