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Shadow watched the birds fly peacefully by, taking in the cool breeze that danced through the tall pine trees of the forest clearing they’d stopped in. He shivered slightly, his quills sticking up as a wave of sadness went down his spine, spreading to the rest of his body. How he wished he had beautiful wings like the birds, to fly above the clouds without a care in the world. Instead he was left with the only piece of his father he couldn’t fully erase, though he’d tried. Shadow checked his surroundings, making sure Sonic was still out on his hunting mission and nowhere in sight.
With a deep breath, he felt himself let go of the tension in his muscles. No matter how many times he’d done it, it would always be painful, he flinched as the sharp bones poked through his skin. His wings unfurled themselves from his back, ripping through flesh as they emerged from their hiding place. Shadow hugged his shoulders as he slowly stretched his wings out, their full wingspan more than twice his size. He twitched slightly, shaking out the soreness in his back muscles as he brought his wings back down, curling them around himself.
They weren’t much to look at, a tangled mass of muscles and wiry bones, no feathers in sight, just sharp edges and skeletal points.
Shadow hated them.
They looked exactly like his father’s.
He hugged himself tight, his arms wrapped around his knees and his wings covering him like a shield. He knew he’d kept them in too long, the soreness immediately evident, but how was he supposed to explain this to his partner? How could he admit he’d been hiding not only his past, but his true form from him for so long?
He’d seen the murals, heard the legends from traveling the villages as long as he and Sonic had been. The dark angels, they called them. Black Doom and his army of monsters. And Shadow was the only one left, the cursed prince.
But nobody could ever know.
Shadow drew his dagger from his scabbard, eyeing the obsidian handle. He reached behind him slowly, his hands beginning to shake as his breathing grew distressed. He held the cool metal up to where flesh met bone, the only reminder of his past he had left. With another hand, he grabbed a leather strip from his armor, placing it in his mouth. He shut his eyes, tensing up in preparation for the pain of the knife. He bit down hard on the leather, trying not to scream as he felt the hot sensation of blood dripping down his back.
He moved to cut deeper when a rough force blocked him, holding his arm in place.
Shadow froze up.
He knew who it was before they spoke up.
“S-Shadow?” Sonic’s voice faltered.
Shadow felt a tear roll down his muzzle. He struggled in Sonic’s grasp, trying to move to cut again, but Sonic held firm.
“Shadow, drop the knife,” he said calmly yet sternly. Shadow’s ears pressed flat against his head.
Shadow heard the blade hit the ground with a thud. Sonic let go of Shadow’s wrist carefully.
Shadow felt the adrenaline rush in his veins, his vision tunneling as his body reacted to the sudden blood loss. He moved his hands back to his shoulders, holding himself as silent cries shook his thin frame. He didn’t know how long he sat there before he felt a sharp sting on his back. He jolted, turning sharply to find Sonic crouched down behind him, medical kit beside him.
“Watch where you’re swinging those things, you almost took me out,” Sonic said with a soft chuckle. He motioned for Shadow to turn back around. Shadow hesitated.
“You’re bleeding too much, we have to stop the flow. It’s going to need to be sewn back up.”
Shadow shook his head, “It’s not worth saving them. You should just cut them off entirely.”
Shadow tensed again as he felt the sting of disinfectant in his wounds, Sonic gently applying pressure to ease the bleeding. Sonic mumbled something behind him, Shadow’s ears perking up in an attempt to hear him.
“What’d you say?”
“I said they were beautiful”
Shadow’s ears shot straight up. He heard Sonic groan, annoyed, as Shadow shifted again, this time to fully face him.
“Say that again.”
Sonic could now fully see Shadow’s face, fur wet with tears, his arms shaking as he held himself tight.
“I said they’re beautiful, Shadow.”
Shadow practically collapsed into Sonic’s arms.
Shadow woke up on his stomach, laid out in his own tent, a warm fire roaring outside as the night sky shimmered above the treeline. He stretched out, feeling something heavy on his back.
My wings he remembered. He quickly reached back to feel them, finding his injuries covered in bandages, his wings carefully cleaned and taken care of. He remembered Sonic’s words.
He slowly made his way to standing, still wobbly from blood loss. Sonic sat outside the tents, slowly roasting something by the fire, most likely game meat from his earlier hunt. His head turned in Shadow’s direction upon hearing him, his expression growing soft as he saw it wasn’t a threat.
“Welcome back, Shads.”
Shadow moved to sit by Sonic, keeping his wings tucked close to him. He still was unsure why Sonic hadn’t reacted more to the sight of them. Everytime Shadow saw his reflection with his wings out he felt himself eye them with disgust. Sonic looked at them with a sort of gentle reverence that Shadow had never seen before.
“How long was I out?”
“I’d say a good few hours, the sun set a long time ago.”
Shadow shifted his weight in his seat slightly, rolling his shoulders back, noticing only a slight pain in his wings.
“Why did you do that?”
“Do what? Stop you from bleeding out?” Sonic said, tilting his head slightly, one of his ears pressing flat like a confused puppy.
Shadow wrapped himself in his wings gently, pulling his knees up to his chest, “Why didn’t you leave me there? Why weren’t you scared of me? Is it ignorance? Do you not know what I am now?”
Sonic placed a hand on one of Shadow’s wings, gently moving it aside so he could see Shadow’s eyes.
“I know you’re my partner, I know you don’t deserve to feel like this, and yes, I know ‘what you are’. “
Sonic’s eyes, as green as the emeralds they were hunting, held a soft sincerity and compassion that Shadow had grown to associate Sonic with.
Shadow gently moved to wrap one of his wings around Sonic, holding him as gently as he could with his spikes and boney points. Sonic held his breath briefly, noticeably startled by the action, before relaxing again.
Sonic met Shadow’s eyes again, “Can I-”
Shadow nodded, inhaling deeply before unfurling his wings to their full wingspan. Sonic stood up slowly, mesmerized by their sheer size. His eyes traced up and down his wingspan, occasionally gently reaching out to feel one area or another. Shadow shivered when he felt a hand on his back.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Sonic said from behind him.
“No, it’s just more sensitive where the wings meet my back.”
Sonic carefully eyed the scarred flesh around where his wings extruded from.
“Does it hurt? To hide them, I mean.”
Shadow shrugged, “You get used to it after awhile. It hurts more to let them out, but it’s not awful.”
“So why do you hide them?”
Shadow was too confused to speak at first.
“Are you not seeing for yourself how disgusting they are? Black Doom aside, anyone who saw me like this would run and never look back.”
“I’m still here.”
“Why?” Shadow’s voice cracked slightly.
“Because I care about you”
Shadow felt himself start to tear up again, his heart rate spiking as his breathing became shallow. And then Sonic started to laugh.
For what felt like the millionth time, Shadow was caught off guard, completely forgetting his sorrows for a moment. His pain pushed aside as he watched Sonic laugh for what felt like the first time in awhile. A light in the darkness, as the blue hedgehog always was for him.
“What are you-”
Sonic gently placed his hand gently on Shadow’s shoulder as he pulled himself together,
“I just feel so foolish,” Sonic said, his smile faltering for only a second.
“I was so caught up in my own secrets I didn’t notice the pain yours were causing you,” his typical joking tone suddenly became deathly serious.
“Secrets, what- Sonic what are you talking about?” Shadow asked, his ear twitching slightly.
Sonic seemed to ignore him, instead gazing up at the night sky.
“The moon is coming up,” The blue hedgehog informed.
Shadow was still grappling with Sonic’s last words, now even more confused by his tone shift.
“You didn’t answer my question”
“I know”
Sonic still hadn’t taken his eyes off of the ever rising moon. He suddenly turned to Shadow, quickly reaching out to grab his hand before placing something in it. Shadow looked down, eyeing the silver bracelet, a green gemstone inlaid in the center.
“Put this on my wrist when I get out of control,” Sonic said, deathly serious.
“Slow down, what are you talking about?” Shadow held onto Sonic’s hand tightly, not wanting to let go.
“It was bound to happen sooner or later,” Sonic mumbled, just barely audible. Sonic turned back towards the moon, still holding Shadow’s hand.
The pale light of the moon slowly crept up through the forest, Shadow felt Sonic take a deep breath as the light approached them. Sonic squeezed Shadow’s hand before letting it go, stepping into the moon’s glow.
“Remember the bracelet”
Shadow reached out to hold Sonic again, his hand stopping as Sonic suddenly shut his eyes as if in pain. His quills stood on end, as if he was scared or threatened, effectively doubling his size. His fur shifted from his bright blue to a deeper toned navy, his body contorted in unnatural ways as he seemingly grew, his frame quickly rising to a height that seemed to swallow Shadow whole. His fur was matted and unruly, his clenched hands suddenly growing claws.
Shadow held his breath as what he knew to be his partner suddenly stopped shaking, its breathing labored and heavy. The green eyes that met Shadow’s were Sonic’s, yes, but there was something off about them. The typical emerald green a darker shade, their usual brightness gone.
The creature eyed Shadow, a slight growl rumbling inside its chest. Shadow clutched the bracelet Sonic had given him. The beast moved forward towards him, slowly circling him. Shadow’s eyes followed it, eying how it took in the new world around it.
Shadow moved forward slowly, raising his hand up gently. The creature raised a clawed paw slightly, a low growl emanating from its sharp toothed mouth.
“I won’t hurt you,” Shadow said, still holding his palm out for the creature.
He held his breath as he felt hot air suddenly near his hand, closing his eyes reflexively as the werehog stood before him. Instead of sharp canines, he felt tangled yet soft fur. He opened his eyes, shocked to see the werehog nuzzling into his hand gently. A soft purr reverberated from its chest.
Shadow let out a slow breath, suddenly remembering the bracelet he held in his hand.
“Sonic? Are you in there?”
The werehog cocked its head, its large ears perking up at Shadow’s voice.
Shadow slowly reached out to hold the werehog’s paw, trying not to startle it.
“I’m going to put this bracelet back on you, okay? I’m assuming it will transform you back.”
The werehog allowed Shadow to gently slide the bracelet back on, letting out a small howl as the bracelet glowed a bright green. Shadow watched as the transformation occurred again, his partner’s bright blue color coming back to him slowly as his figure shrunk. Shadow quickly moved to catch Sonic before he collapsed, the process clearly draining him physically.
Sonic held onto Shadow tightly before making his way back to his feet.
“You never told me you were a werehog.”
Sonic smirked slightly, still tired from the whole process, “You never told me you had wings.”