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Botanic Base is lovely, when there aren't camouflaged Badniks jumping in your face at every turn.
Knuckles delights in the feeling of the river at his back, the thin barrier of the lily pad they're on allowing the water to warm him. He sighs, eyes shut as the sun blankets him, forcing a brief smile to his muzzle. A red armadillo stands at the makeshift raft's front, guiding them along the riverbend with a long stick they've fashioned as an oar, contentedly quiet.
Mighty is… a reliable guy. Trustworthy enough. Knuckles was getting a bit tired of the amount of people joining what was meant to be a solo adventure, but Mighty turned out to be an unusually welcome addition to their troupe. He'd expressed that he was on the island incidentally, happening to get caught up in Robotnik's scheme just because he was there, and Knuckles couldn't help but feel a little bad for him.
Despite his unexpected capture, the armadillo proved to be an incredibly capable fighter. He seemed to just prefer keeping to himself, which Knuckles could definitely appreciate. All in all, Knuckles found he was the least bothered by Mighty's company, as compared to the other lunatics he'd run into on this journey.
Speaking of such- they'd gotten separated. Trusting the others had the sense to meet back up somewhere down the line, Knuckles and Mighty took to the river to find their way over to the next zone, or somewhere close. Hopefully, those three will be there waiting for them.
For now, though, Knuckles is more than happy to let the river carry him and his newest companion to their next stop. This is almost worth leaving his island. Almost.
He hears shuffling ahead of him. Water splashes as Mighty seems to lift the oar out of the water. Knuckles resists the urge to open his eyes, determined to mind his business.
Mighty sits in front of him, and the water moves again. He put his hand in? It's a bit hard to hear. He better not try any funny business.
Knuckles grunts, a hopefully effective warning to just leave him be. Just his luck, Mighty doesn't seem to get the memo.
"Y'know," He starts, sounding thoughtful, "You remind me of someone I used to travel with a lot."
Knuckles peeks an eye open, curiosity getting the better of him. "...I do?"
"Yeah. He was… a really strange guy." Mighty says, with no absence of fondness in his voice. Knuckles thinks he may have even heard a laugh. "Super moody. Really chatty, for someone who barely ever talked. Obnoxious, too."
Knuckles deadpans. "Gee, thanks."
Mighty does laugh this time, quite clearly, "No, no, I swear those are all good things! I like people like him. People like you. Never a dull moment, y'know?"
Knuckles isn't sure how to feel. Flattered? Insulted? Mighty's not the type to throw out slander unprompted, which leaves him even more conflicted. The guy he described sounds like a nightmare to be around. Reminds him of a certain someone who fits those descriptors to a T, and he can't imagine anyone finding joy in hanging out with that guy.
The echidna shuts his eyes again, content to just ignore it. Should've done that in the first place. "Well, that's one way to look at it."
He hears Mighty hum, standing and picking up the oar. He splashes Knuckles a little on the way up. "I guess so."
The quiet stretches on for a few good minutes. The sound of the river, the chatter of nature from the trees- it's calming. The gentle coast of the raft on the water is nice enough to nearly lull Knuckles to sleep. He should do stuff like this more often.
"Come to think of it…" Mighty muses, a bit far away, "That robot that grabbed us kinda looks like him."
Knuckles jolts awake.
No way in hell.
"You knew Sonic??"
Mighty startles, making the raft jerk beneath them, frantically steadying it with the oar and his feet. He blinks at Knuckles, seemingly stunned.
"I- Yeah." He says. "You know him?" If Knuckles didn't know any better, he'd swear Mighty actually lights up.
"Unfortunately," Knuckles drawls, already nursing a headache at just the thought of the hedgehog. "I can't believe you'd compare me to him."
"Well, that's just what I remember of him!" Mighty explains, "You act so much like him, sometimes. You two aren't that different."
"Yes, we are!" Knuckles shakes a furious fist at the armadillo, though he's still sitting down, so it can't be very threatening.
Mighty still throws his arms up in defense, as if humoring him. "Okay, big guy!" He chuckles, setting the oar down again. He sits criss-cross in front of Knuckles, elbowing him, "No need to get violent. He could be a totally different guy now, for all I know."
"He's not," Knuckles huffs, crossing his arms, "Which makes the comparison worse."
"I see," Mighty smiles down at his shoes. "Nice to know he hasn't changed much. Tell him I said hi, yeah?"
"I won't."
Mighty laughs again, loud and bright. His grin is infectious. It makes him think of…
Well. It doesn't quite eclipse the sun.
And since when did he start thinking cheesy stuff like that?
"Tch. If anything," Knuckles mutters, feathers thoroughly ruffled (not literally, of course- he doesn't have feathers), "you remind me of him."
Mighty looks a bit cheeky at that. "Well, to me, that's an honor."
Knuckles shoves Mighty off the raft.
After a few seconds, the armadillo surfaces, spitting out water and looking shocked as he is amused. "G-Geez! Is he really that bad?!"
"Worse." Knuckles tuts, promptly standing and grabbing the discarded oar at his feet. His shoe nudges against the bound rings the two had set aside. He snatches them up, turning and taunting with them, "Good luck finding your way back to me without these!"
"What-?!" Mighty's face contorts into one that isn't so jovial for the first time, filling Knuckles with morbid satisfaction. "Hey! Knuckles! Don't- Don't leave me here, man!" He shouts, hurriedly making his way through the water.
Knuckles turns his back once more, happily tuning out the sound of his frantic teammate as he glides down the river.
A little cruel? Maybe.
But Knuckles truly loves minding his business.