Shadow: The Origin Of A Legend

Chapter 36

The emerald hedgehog's sky-blue eyes glitter and gleam with excitement as he looks around the store, hands stuffed in his pockets and a knife-sharp smile on his face. His sloped, triangular ears angle forward cheerfully as he wanders around the small outlet, looking for a suitable pair of sunglasses. The store is a dark brown color, furnished with wood of a similar color, with only one entrance and exit. People mill about aimlessly inside; families waiting for one member to pick out what they need, teenagers amusing themselves by trying on random ill-fitting pairs, et cetera. There's two staff members manning the registers, and they seem both bored and busy at the same time. Scourge's grin widens; this will be far too easy for him. Feeling like a small child in a candy store, he tries to refrain from dancing about gleefully. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he forces his smile to drop into a more neutral expression, then looks around. Within seconds his sharp eyes spot the perfect pair or sunglasses--a bright red pair with an ovular shape, the perfect size for his eyes, and darker red lenses. Walking over to them, he carefully pulls them off the rack, inspecting the glasses carefully. The frames are a smooth, bright-crimson-painted metal, and the arms are very flexible, bending both directions, though less so in the outward direction. The lenses are scratch-free, a flawlessly polished deep rose color. He puts them on carefully, blinking a few times as his eyes adjust to the now blood-tinted world. A massive grin twists his face as he steps up to a nearby mirror, and he poses, grabbing the open flaps of his jacket in a tight grip, turning to the side and tipping his head at an angle such that his spines cascade down his back in gorgeous lime-green waves.

"Damn," he mutters, pushing the glasses onto his forehead and winking at the mirror, "I look good." Pulling them off, he palms them, making certain not to crush them. Turning around, he stretches his legs for a second, then takes off out the entrance, stopping right in front of me and pressing the bright red glasses into my hands. "Be careful with 'em," he says as alarms begin to blare.

I nod sternly. "Right." Then, leaping up, I grab the banister behind me and twist upwards, flipping over backwards. "Meet me outside by the entrance we came in through. From there we'll navigate elsewhere," I call to him right before disappearing over the edge. Beneath me, people look up and cry out; I stuff the sunglasses in my hoodie's pocket and turn my attention to the people below me. Fortunately, there's a pond beneath me; yet, unfortunately, there's a pond beneath me. Cringing, I close my eyes as I splash into the icy-cold and undoubtedly dirty water, cursing and flailing a bit as my feet slip on the slick tiles of it. Several are cracked, leaking water, and I wince internally--I was hoping to not damage anything, but cracked tiles are better than cracked heads. Dragging myself out of the water, I cough out some, snorting in annoyance. "Dammit, I got water in my nose," I grumble as I start skating off, using my shoes' air capabilities to keep myself from having to try and run with sodden shoes on these tiled floors. Water spills from me--I hadn't dared to stop and shake myself off--splattering the people I pass. "Sorry!" I yell as I make my way to the front doors. "So sorry, wasn't planning on the pool being there!"

Ahead of me, I can see a mall security officer heading after Scourge, whose speed is dampened by the crowds. I need to get that guy off my friend's tail, but how? Something glittering catches my eyes, and I whirl around to spot the jewelry kiosk; an idea begins to brew, but I don't particularly like it. However, it doesn't seem like I have much choice at the moment, so I sigh to myself and carry on with it, sprinting right at the store. Its desk clerk looks baffled and frightened by all the action, and a wicked smirk slashes across my face. Your day's about to get a helluva lot worse, buddy! Leaping over the counter, I tackle him, snarling viciously. He screams in a horrified voice, "Hey, get off me! Help! Someone help! Get him off me!" as I bare my teeth at him, eyes narrowed in fake fury. I slightly rip the human's clothes with my claws, but take care not to scrape up their skin too badly; I want this to be convincing, but not necessarily real.