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Sonic’s mind was quiet as he slept, every surface rested which made it the perfect time to explore. I floated past fields of glittering memory storage and above the crater that housed his emotional center. Even as he rested, the amorphous sphere was splitting off the occasional emotion. I paused briefly to watch it move, observing how it undulated and rippled in time with Sonic’s resting mindscape. When I was satisfied, I moved on.
I didn’t really have a destination in mind. There were still plenty of areas I hadn’t explored yet and even more places I would probably never be aware of or ever see. The darkness stretched endlessly above me with only the occasional twinkle of a memory lighting it up. It reminded me of the stars he showed me when we were in a remote field, though the stars had been more numerous and there wasn’t a beautiful painted spread of the galaxy behind those pin pricks of light.
It was a little distressing being surrounded by nothing but pitch black (well, not quite pitch black, it was closer to 99.5% pitch black) so I pulled a memory fragment that was lodged next to my name.
Sonic was on his back, a light breeze ruffling his chest fur as grass gently lapped against his body. We had been staring at the stars for who knows how long, Sonic had been humming the tune to some song he had heard recently. I was wrapping myself up in the sensation of vibrating vocal cords and sounds bouncing around his throat. It was a small fragment, but it was all I needed to feel the same safety I had felt in that moment.
I replayed the memory as I twirled through the darkness wishing I could hum along. Fondness threaded through my being and I let it tangle up in me as much as it wanted to. It felt good, really good even. I had been getting better at holding onto emotions, and in turn, it seemed like they enjoyed hanging around me more as well.
I drifted on like that for a while, always replaying the memory as soon as it ended. Eventually, the threads of fondness started to splay loose, and I let them go in order to focus on where I was going.
Space here stretched nearly endlessly in all directions, memories floated in the far distance going to some unknown location. The blackness now felt warm, or at least it was slightly warmer than the other areas of Sonic’s mind. I let myself just float there for a moment, taking in the serene quiet of this new place.
I’m not sure how long I stayed there. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, a sliver of fear dragged itself down me. Urg, right. My perception of time was still royally messed up and I was still no closer to figuring out how to fix that. It’s not like I could just set a piece of myself aside to count every second. For one, that would take up too much of my focus. Plus, there wasn’t even a guarantee that would work. Last time I had tried something like that I had still been off by an embarrassing amount.
( Two minutes have passed, I announced proudly, confident I had been able to count the seconds correctly.
Sonic’s mind rippled gently against my being. Silver, it’s been nearly five minutes, he said, slightly amused.)
I shuddered, shedding the last piece of fear off of me, I steeled my resolve and continues to float through the mindscape.
Space rippled around me in languid bursts like gentle waves lapping at a beach. Sonic was still sleeping, something else must have caused the movement. Curiosity led me further into the dark where it was hard to even see distant memories. But I wasn’t focused on them anymore. Ahead of me, colors unfurled across space, an aurora of pale blues and greens. They solidified into a wispy field where wind blew white petals through the air.
I lingered at the edge of the scene, uncertain of what I was seeing. This was the first time I had seen anything like this in the mindscape. Memories, and even Sonic’s emotions, tended to just be solid specks of white light in the darkness. The only times I had seen colors like these was when I was plugged into Sonic’s visual node, but the sensory nodes were probably on the opposite side of the mindscape.
My form stuttered as something at the center started to take shape. Bright blue lifted out of the wispy grass with eyes just as green. The person stood and looked up towards the pale sky, a smile on their face. Despite their ghostly appearance, there was something familiar to them.
The figure’s ear twitched, head snapping towards me and I locked eyes with them.
Familiarity flowed through me, and at the same time anxiety pierced my being. There was no denying that the ghostly figure was Sonic but I had only ever seen what he had looked like in the reflection of water or car windows. (Sonic didn’t care much for his appearance and it seemed like he actively avoided mirrors.)
Sonic smiled at me, recognition sparking in his eyes. He stretched out a hand as if inviting me to cross the threshold and join him in… whatever this strange, painted place was.
How could I say no?
I carefully floated to where the colors bled into darkness and let myself flow into them. My form began to shift but I continued on, leaving my fear at the edge of the scene. The pastel bubble that acted as a barrier between the darkness and the colored space seemed to resist me at first, but I eventually popped out on the other side and caught myself in the grass. The whisps flowed around me and I felt what must have been a light breeze.
When I looked up, Sonic was there. I took his hand and he helped me up. His form was still weird but I could see his face clearly. “Hey there,” he said gently, voice echoing all around us.
“Sonic?” I asked and then started when I heard my voice come from me. And this wasn’t like how it was in the darkness, where my voice just existed all around me and fizzled into nothing. Here, I could project my voice, it came from me and didn’t just dissipate into the surrounding space.
Perhaps I looked startled, because Sonic let out a light chuckle. “Silver?”
“Yes?”
Sonic lit up instantly. “Ah, so it is you. I had a hunch. You just look… a lot different than how I was imagining you.”
I couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. It rumbled through me and that feeling was just straight up weird. “Oh, ah, I don’t even know what I look like so I can’t imagine what you see me as.”
“Well, for starters, I always imagined you as a hedgehog. But maybe that’s just biased since I’m one. Oh, and you had all of these quills coming off your head. Honestly, you looked more like a cat, porcupine hybrid with those.” Sonic lifted a hand up and brushed past part of my form that I assumed was my head. Feeling his touch sent a shiver through my being.
Sonic let his hand linger near me and his face shifted through a few complicated emotions, each one overlapping the next creating a weird kaleidoscope effect.
“Can I hug you?”
The question caught me off guard, there was still something weird with Sonic’s expression but I couldn’t tell what. He seemed vulnerable at the moment, like he wasn’t sure he should have even asked that.
“Of course.” The words flowed naturally from me, like it was the easiest answer to give.
Relief washed over him, and he stepped forward closing the gap between us. His arms wrapped around me, I had to steady myself as he leaned against my body. It was like he was trying to get as close as possible to me. In turn, I draped myself over his shoulder and sighed into the warmth radiating from his wispy form.
Everything just felt right. We slotted together perfectly, like we had hugged a million times before and would hug a million times after. I didn’t question it, I just soaked up the sensation.
When we’d had our fill, Sonic let go and separated from me. One of his hands trailed down what I assumed was my arm and he let his fingers intertwine with part of my being. Joy spread through me at the touch. I’m not sure why, but like everything since I entered this weird, wispy place, I just let it wash over me.
“Come, I want to show you something,” Sonic said and he had such a large beaming smile on his face that, once again, I couldn’t say no.
He held on to my hand and I held on as tightly as I could as he zipped away at top speed.
Colors blurred into streaks, pastels blended to deep blues and stoney grey and soon we had left the field and were racing across a mountain side at night, the full moon bright in the inky sky.
The image didn’t last for long.
Sonic leapt off the side of a cliff and I yelped as he dragged me along. We fell through a myriad of colors. Rich blue gave way to vibrant orange as we landed in a pile of fallen leaves, the forest around us having changed with the seasons. Sonic wasted no time getting back up to speed and the crisp image washed away into an incomprehensible mess.
Everything turned pale and I had no idea where we were. The eggshell space blurred again to pastel green and blue and then we were back in the field where we had started.
Sonic slowed to a halt, chest heaving with every breath and a large smile across his face. It made the edges of his eyes crinkle, it was incredibly cute. He turned to me and asked, “How was that?”
I didn’t know how to answer. I looked down at our clasped hands (or well, I was guessing it was my hand) and the answer bubbled out of me. “Amazing,” I said, a little breathless.
Somehow, Sonic’s smile grew even larger. He was practically bouncing on his feet with joy and before I knew it, he was wrapping his arms around me again.
I didn’t have enough time to brace myself and I fell backwards into the grass with a startled yelp. Sonic just laughed and I felt his chest vibrate against mine and the whole world swayed with it. Fondness, deeper than I had ever felt it, poured into me and it settled down around my name. I didn’t want this to end.
I pulled Sonic closer, practically crushing him against me. He let out a soft noise as the air escaped his lungs but he didn’t protest. He’d probably endured stronger hugs from Amy so it was fine I was doing this.
We settled in the grass, Sonic tucked his head against my form and I kept myself wrapped around him. It was nice to lay like this and watch the flower petals drift overhead, they flitted about leaving behind afterimages that faded after a few seconds.
I sighed and the space sighed back, folding inwards as my body melted into something resembling a restful state.
-
I’m not sure how long I was out for. All I know is that one moment I was listening to Sonic’s wistful breathing and the next I was waking up to complete darkness. My body felt like it was back to normal, aka, being some kind of weird being that didn’t have a physical form. The space around me stirred, rippling with activity as Sonic awoke. Ah, so it was probably morning now. (Or something close to that, Sonic sometimes slept at weird hours of the day. I had been wrong before.)
I floated up through empty space trying to wind my way back towards the sensory nodes. It occurred to me then just how weird that whole previous experience had been. What was that place? Did it only exist while Sonic was sleeping? If so, that would be even weirder. Why would the mindscape be active if he was sleeping?
Space folded in front of me, a highway of memories shot out from below and I rode the current back to familiar territory. I passed the emotional core and noted that it was wiggling oddly, emotions pinching off at an increased rate. I didn’t really have time to sit and ponder why that was happening. By the way the mindscape shifted, Sonic was already fully awake.
Is it morning? I asked, the sensory nodes coming into view.
Heh, yeah it is, he replied.
I settled down into the node space and prepared myself to slip into the ones for touch and sound. I didn’t need sight just yet. Good morning then.
I slipped into the node for touch and got instantly rewarded with a soft vibration throughout Sonic’s chest. He was chuckling quietly to himself and I reveled in the sensation. Sound was almost equally as rewarding as I was met with the various chirps of birds calling out to the morning sun.
Okay, I can hear you now. I really wished there was an easier way to tell him, but we were still relying on me actually telling him when I was in his hearing to communicate.
“Ah, nice. Hey, I had the weirdest dream last night,” Sonic started, I felt parts of his fur warm from the dappling sunlight.
Oh? What was it about? I asked, getting ready to slip into sight.
“Heh, funny you should ask. I don’t really remember what it was about but you were in it, at least, I think you were. I don’t think it could have been anyone else,” he stated simply.
Confusion bubbled through me until something clicked and I felt some strong emotion rake its claws across my body. I pressed myself into the crevices as far as I could trying to escape the embarrassment of what I had done last night.
I’m sorry, I blurted out.
“Huh, what for?” Sonic’s reply was startled.
I didn’t know that was your dream. I wouldn’t have entered it if I had known. Why was I panicking? It’s not like I had harmed Sonic, unless… maybe I had? No, there would have been signs if something bad had happened.
“Hey woah, you’re fine. I didn’t say the dream was bad.” Sonic sounded more amused than upset. “And I don’t remember half of it anyways. Just that we were laying in a field together, it was nice.”
Okay, that was good. The panic and embarrassment began to slide off me as I eased myself out of the recesses I had been hiding in. Trying to ignore the remnants of those emotions clinging onto me, I pressed myself into the node for sight. Colors, crisp and clear, bloomed in front of me. It wasn’t at all like that weird, wispy space Sonic’s dream had taken place in.
Now that the embarrassment was gone, curiosity got the better of me. I asked, What did I look like in the dream?
Sonic paused in his stretching, he hummed in thought and shrugged. “Dunno, can’t remember. I just know it was you.”
Oh…
I’m not even sure why I was so disappointed, it's not like I would ever know what I truly looked like anyways.
Sonic began to walk, he clearly had a destination in mind but I didn’t care too much about that right now. “To be honest, I’m surprised I remember even that much. Usually I don’t remember anything at all,” he said.
That was a little reassuring. If you don’t remember much, how can you know the dream was nice?
“Eh, you were there, so it had to be nice.” He said it so confidently I had to believe it was true.
The thought made me melt. I thought back to the dream. I remembered the weird feeling of my body and the rushing of colors as Sonic pulled me through various locations. It had been exhilarating in the moment and I would love to relive it.
Maybe I could. Would you be upset if I visited your dreams more often?
Sonic’s steps faltered. “No, not at al! You’re welcome to go in there!” He said almost a little too enthusiastically.
I couldn’t help but laugh quietly at that, and my body melted even more. I filled up every crevice I could and let myself expand as the warm feeling of fondness flowed over me.
I guess I was letting it get to me a little too much as Sonic said, “Hey buddy, you good in there?”
There wasn’t any concern in Sonic’s voice so I just let myself pool in the nodes as I answered, Yeah, why, is something wrong out there?
“I think you’re leaning on me just a bit there. Feels like someone is draping over my shoulders.”
Uh, okay that’s weird. I pulled myself back together, only taking up as much space as I normally would. Sonic’s posture shifted and he rolled his shoulder letting out a surprised little hum.
Sorry, I didn't realize I could do that! I replied quickly.
“It’s okay, honestly, it wasn’t too bad.” Sonic stopped walking, he planted his hands on his hips and looked up at the sky. There was something on his mind but I wasn’t privy to that information.
A different thought occurred to me then. Can I try something?
“Yeah, go for it,” he sounded distracted.
Carefully, I let myself slip a little further into the input for touch. I was distantly aware of the different parts of Sonic’s body as the breeze ruffled his fur. With some force, I tried to tap his shoulder.
Sonic startled and turned around. “Huh? Was that you?” he asked.
My being lit up with joy, my little experiment had worked. “Hah, yeah, that was me.”
The laugh that bubbled out of Sonic’s throat was incredible. Everything I touched vibrated as he laughed, the joy that I had been experiencing previously expanded tenfold, and again I thought I never wanted this to end.
Of course, Sonic eventually stopped laughing. My own joy rippled off of me in waves, but I was still left with a small kernel of it warming my being.
“You’re pretty amazing Silver,” Sonic said, placing his hand over his chest.
I stilled, caught off guard by the sudden compliment. Me? Amazing? All I had done in the last 24 hours was invade Sonic’s dreams and make him think someone had tapped him on the shoulder. Could that really be considered amazing? I wasn’t sure what to do.
I settled on just saying, Thank you, you’re pretty amazing yourself.
Sonic huffed fondly and I felt his chest expand and deflate quickly to produce the noise, air rushing out of his nose. It was a weird sensation, one I hopefully wouldn’t have to feel again any time soon.
What’s on the agenda today? I asked, ready to start the day.
He hummed, tapping his foot in thought. “Wanna see what Tails is up to?”
That sounds great!
“Perfect,” Sonic replied and then we were off to our destination.