Work Text:
“A festival.” Shadow repeated.
Sonic bounced excitedly. ‘Yup! I know you don’t like to leave…wherever you stay most of the time…because you like to sit in a corner and be emo, but it’s a pretty chill festival and not many people go, so…”
“You want me to go to a festival.” Shadow clarified.
Sonic shrugged. “I think it would be good for you, and Tails has plans already that apparently I’m not allowed to interact with, so I need a buddy.”
Why on earth would he pick me over Knuckles or Amy?
Shadow cleared his throat.
“The last time you went to his presentation over at the university, you had to be escorted out because you got so loud.”
Sonic laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with one gloved hand. “My little bro sounded so smart! How could I be quiet?”
Shadow chose not to dignify that with a response.
“So,” the blue blur said, looking into Shadow’s eyes. His emerald irises were full of sincerity. “I know it’s not your thing, and I’m not gonna force ya, but I would really like it if you came.”
“What’s the moon cycle?”
“Huh?”
“Just tell me.”
Sonic thought for a moment. “Waxing quarter, I think?”
Shadow nodded.
“I’ll come.”
***
That was how Shadow the Hedgehog ended up standing awkwardly at the edge of a small crowd, the sky stained with reds and oranges and pinks.
It was beautiful, honestly. The moon had already risen in the east, and a softly flickering ‘star’ (Shadow knew it was actually a planet.) was tucked inside the pink-orange clouds of the sunset.
It was far too precious a thing to look away from, so the jet-black hybrid resolved to watch the sunset until the very last of the color had bled out from the sky.
Of course, that meant he wasn’t watching his surroundings.
“Boo!” Someone shouted behind him, and Shadow acted completely on instinct.
He spun around, whipping out his loaded gun and pointing it straight at his attacker’s head.
Sonic the Hedgehog stared at him with wide eyes, hands up.
Shadow slowly lowered the gun.
“Dude. Talk about overreacting? I wasn’t attacking you! Why’d you bring a gun anyways?” Sonic exclaimed, his hands shaking slightly.
“That is how I react when people sneak up on me,” Shadow said simply, “and that isn’t managed often. I was distracted by the sky.”
“Ok, but why would you bring a gun? There’s children here, bud.”
“I’m not your bud.” Shadow corrected. “And the safest course of action is to be prepared.”
Sonic sighed.
Then, as if he hadn’t just been held at gunpoint by his (friend? Ally? Shadow didn’t know what they were) Sonic started chatting with him as one would their friend.
“I’m real glad you made it, Shads. I wasn’t sure if you would show, I’ve never really seen ya at an event like this before. Or really in public at all.”
“I said I would, so I did.” Shadow turned away from Sonic, staring at the gold-pink sky.
Sonic shifted beside the introverted half-mobian, whether that was from nerves, awkwardness, or cold, Shadow didn’t know.
“You wanna get some food or somethin’? There’s stuff like apple cider, really anythin’ with pumpkin, grape or cranberry tarts, persimmons—”
“Fine.” Shadow cut him off, tucking his gun back into his holster and casting one last glance at the sunswept sky.
Sonic led him through the crowd, rambling on about the symbolism of the festival, the importance of each fruit, and which ones tasted good and which should be skipped, among other various topics.
Shadow listened, but didn’t contribute beyond a hum of acknowledgement. The crowd was small enough that he didn’t feel overwhelmed, and the night was unusually warm for an October evening. He wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he was enjoying himself so far.
The two hedgehogs, per Sonic’s request, visited almost every stand. Mobians were selling everything from hoshigaki to kumquats (a strange fruit that looked like a very small orange, but, as Shadow discovered, tasted nothing like one) to pumpkin pie to candles to dried apple slices hung on a garland.
A bright-eyed snow leopard told them that he came down from the mountains each year for this festival, and offered them a jelly made of rowanberries for free.
He also claimed that the fruit would taste different if it was picked at dusk compared to dawn.
Shadow attested that food did taste different at different times. Sonic tried both the dawn rowanberries and dusk rowanberries and called them both horrible people while trying to scrape the taste off his tongue.
Shadow hadn’t laughed like that in a very long time.
After the rowanberries, Sonic insisted on dragging Shadow over to a stall run by two foxes, one with dark red fur and the other with pale orange, like a sunrise. The two were obviously partners, shown by the gold bands on their clasped hands, and the way they smiled at each other.
“Shads, this is Russet and Hazel, Russet and Hazel, this is Shadow. Don’t worry Shads, they don’t work for the government or nothin’.” Sonic beamed at him, and it took all of Shadow’s willpower not to punch him in the face.
“Sonic! How’s the gang?” Russet smiled at the blue hedgehog, her soft amber eyes setting Shadow at ease.
Sonic laughed. “Tails is presenting somethin’, he won’t let me come after last time. Knux is still on Angel Island, and Amy is over at Vanilla’s. And you see what Shadow’s up to,” he said, gesturing to where Shadow was standing, his muzzle pointing up towards the stars.
Shadow ignored him.
Sonic chatted with Russet about…Shadow wasn’t actually listening. He was too busy looking up at the star-strewn sky, wondering if Maria had been right and that was where she was now. She would have liked this festival. She would have been happy that Shadow went.
For once, remembering her didn’t hurt. It felt more like a fond memory of someone he had loved, and still loved. Shadow was glad he came here. Not just to the festival, but to Mobius as well.
Hazel handed the red-streaked hybrid a squat orange fruit that resembled a small pumpkin, but felt much harder.
“Share it with your family, whoever they are.” The pale pumpkin-colored fox told him.
“They’re gone.” Shadow told her bluntly.
Hazel smiled knowingly. “Really? I see one right there.” She pointed to Sonic, who was busy telling the mahogany fox a long, complicated story involving a pie and three detectives.
Shadow considered this for a moment.
He looked down at the round fruit in his palms, then back up at Hazel’s smiling face.
Then he walked over to the blue blur and told him; “Come on, faker. We still have more to see.”
Sonic laughed and promised Russet that they’d come back after they explored everything.
Shadow watched the amber-colored leaves drift to the ground, lit by the candles some vendors had set out now that it was getting darker. He held the fruit close to his chest.
Sonic pointed at it, “Hey, you got a persimmon when I wasn’t looking!”
“Persimmon,” Shadow said, trying to taste the word on his tongue. It reminded him of a Black Arms word that Eclipse had taught him, meaning ‘to acceptance’. “What does this represent?”
Sonic paused. “Well, there are a lot of meanings. Persimmons generally symbolize the journey from ignorance to wisdom, or fortune, or abundance and generosity. In some places, they symbolize family reunion. Mostly, they just taste good!”
Shadow considered the persimmon for a moment before taking off one of his gloves and slicing it in half with one sharp black claw.
The fruit provided more resistance than he expected, being harder than an apple. There were several seeds in the center, about the size of an ovaloid pebble. With some difficulty, he pulled it apart and gave one half to Sonic.
“Hazel said to share it with family.” He told Sonic. “So I am.”
The persimmon was crunchy and sweet, vaguely tasting of cinnamon. It wasn’t juicy or soft like a peach, but it was appealing in its own way. It made a pleasant munching sound when Shadow bit into it.
The two hedgehogs sat side by side under the stars, sweet fruit clutched in their hands.
Shadow was very, very glad he came.