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Mari was one of the greatest things to ever happen to Shadow. Suddenly, all the little pieces of himself he had hated seemed beautiful to him. Her tiny little wings, her piercing eyes, her sharp canines. Bits and pieces of him and Sonic coming together to make Shadow’s greatest creation, his ultimate lifeform. His daughter.
The little lavender pup had just turned one recently, marking a full year since Rouge had given them the map to Angel Island. He knew their quest couldn’t be delayed much longer, but he couldn’t bring himself to part with Mari. Who knew how long the journey would take them? What if he didn’t make it back? The thought alone kept him up at night, cuddled close to his partner, Mari snuggled in between.
Sonic came barrelling through their campsite in full werehog form, Mari toddling close behind in a sort of in between state. She hadn’t quite mastered her dad’s powers yet. Shadow wasn’t entirely sure how much of his strengths she had inherited from him, besides her wings. If or when the time came, he’d stop at nothing to make sure her chaos control was safe. He’d teach her not to fear her powers and how to properly regulate them.
Shadow twisted his inhibitor rings as the two energetic werehogs ran over to him.
“And where have you two been?” He said with a questioning smirk.
Sonic shifted back onto his two front feet, transforming into his mobian form. Mari attempted to do the same, stumbling a little before righting herself. She made grabby hands at Shadow, who picked her up with a smile.
“I wanted to show Mari how to hunt, right now we’re just chasing butterflies but once she gets ahold of her powers she’s going to be the best scavenger in these woods,” Sonic said with a toothy smile.
“How old are werehog pups when they typically learn how to fully transform?” Shadow asked. Dark Angels were typically about two years old when they fully learned to fly, maybe it was a similar developmental stage?
“Well, I was maybe 16 or so months when I first transformed, but I was a rare case. Most of my littermates were maybe… 19 months? 20? I don’t know but she’s got a little while before she should fully find her werehog form”
Shadow’s ears cocked slightly, he knew his partner had brothers and sisters, but he never really mentioned them. Much like Shadow himself never mentioned Maria, it was probably a touchy subject.
Mari had begun playing with his white fur, one of her favorite activities these days. Shadow winced slightly whenever she pulled a little too hard, gently moving her little paw away from yanking his fur out.
“I wonder if my side will affect her development, if it would speed it up or slow her down, having to learn to transform and fly must be tiring for a hoglet.”
“She’s definitely got your determination, she’s dead set on trying to use her wings out there, but they’re just too cute and tinyyyy” Sonic cooed, tapping her little nose. She giggled happily, now reaching out to be held by her dad.
“What about your side, when did you and your siblings start flying or using your chaos energy?”
Shadow thought back to the past he often tried to forget, to his childhood days before his father went mad with power.
“Well, we learn to fly around the same time you learn to shift, and chaos energy works differently for every dark hoglet, it depends on how strong she is.”
“With you as her papa she’s bound to be one of the strongest hoglets in all of Soleana”
“She’ll be a handful, that’s for sure,” Shadow said with a small, reminiscing smile.
Mari tugged on Sonic’s bandana, pulling herself up onto his shoulders.
“She’s adventurous, that’s for sure. A little troublemaker just like I was,” Sonic said, his arms positioned to catch or readjust her if she fell as she attempted to grab one of his ears.
Shadow sighed wistfully. Was she ready to go on her first quest? Would he put her in danger if she came along? Could Shadow live with himself if she got hurt?
“There’s something we need to talk about, on the topic of adventure.”
Shadow fidgeted with the ends of his gloves. His azure partner set Mari gently on his shoulders, attentively listening now.
“It’s been a little over a year now since Mari was born, but also since Rouge told us about Angel Island. We can’t put this off much longer.”
Sonic shrugged, like he didn’t have a care in the world.
“I figured she’s just come with us”
Shadow’s head tilted sharply to the side.
“You… what? Sonic, love, I have been stressing about this very conversation for weeks, and you’re telling me that you’ve not only just assumed I’d take our infant daughter on a dangerous quest, but you’ve also put little to no thought into that decision?”
The ebony hog was this close to ripping some of his quills out.
“Well, we’re going to be gone for a long time, and no offense but I don’t really trust Rouge with Mari for that long, so it felt like the only decent option,” Sonic said, not fully understanding Shadow’s anxieties about the whole situation.
“Sonic what if she got hurt? What if she got lost? You can’t seriously believe the best plan here is to take her to Angel Island of all places.”
Sonic put a hand on Shadow’s shoulder, now recognizing his partner was panicking.
“Hey, We’ll be okay. She’s got probably the strongest dads in all of Mobius watching out for her. There’s no way either of us would let anything bad happen to her,” He said with a soft, reassuring smile.
Mari leaned forward on Sonic’s shoulders, trying to grab hold of Shadow’s ears now. Shadow gently picked her up with a wistful sigh, holding her tight to his chest.
“I just can't afford to lose anyone else”
“That doesn’t mean you push the people you love away”
Shadow sighed, burying his face in Mari’s lavender quills.
“We leave by next moon fall,” He said decidedly.
The new moon came much faster than Shadow would have preferred, his days were spent studying the maps Rouge had given him and marking trails and campsites. Sonic and Mari were stocking up on food and packing supplies. Well, more like Sonic was doing most of the work and Mari would occasionally start taking out previously packed items, but it was the thought that counted.
Shadow put down the map he’d been looking over, watching Mari chase Sonic’s tail in the fields a ways out, their dark covered furs contrasting with the warm tones of the setting sun. He eyed the campsite he and Sonic had called home since their courting days, when Shadow merely tolerated the azure hog for survival. Their little family had come so far since then, and now they had to leave it behind for Soleanna knows how long.
If this is our last night here, I don’t want it to be a sad memory, Shadow decided.
With a sharp snap he unfurled his wings, taking off for the field where Mari and Sonic were.
Shadow tackled Sonic suddenly, dropping down on him from above. Sonic yelped at the sudden weight on him, laughing when he realized it was Shadow. Mari trotted over, joining the hedgehog pile amongst the wildflowers. Shadow pressed his forehead to Sonic’s gently.
“I’d go anywhere as long as it’s with you.